The swearing in ceremonies at Village Hall in Sloatsburg on the first Monday of December was a long time coming and represented a significant changing of the guard during this year of Covid-19. With attendees wearing masks, and generally socially distanced from one another, longtime Sloatsburg Mayor Carl Wright swore in Peter Akey as the new village mayor — which officially capped Mayor Wright’s long and productive leadership of our rustic foothill village.

Sloatsburg’s longtime Mayor Carl Wright presided over his last official duty Monday, December 7, when he swore in new Mayor Peter Akey. Wright has served as Sloatsburg’s mayor since 2000, with additional stints from 1975-1981 and 1985-1989. His legacy has included extending and making improvements village common properties and and securing Sloatsburg as a gateway to the parks region.

Sloatsburg’s annual December reorganization kicks off the new village administrative and budget year and generally sets the operating rules for village government meetings. It’s also the time when newly elected officials are sworn in.

Mayor Peter Akey represents a new generation of village leadership, one that has mostly worked in tandem with former Mayor Wright’s vision of the village as a semi-rustic community in the Ramapo Mountains. With Akey’s ascension to the mayor’s seat on the dais, the village will continue to embrace that vision while also positioning itself as a gateway community and trail town.

New Sloatsburg signs, including street signs, are samples of the quiet changes new Mayor Pete Akey has already made in the community, helping to rebrand the village and revitalize its economy. Now comes the real challenge, leading Sloatsburg through these next days of a Covid-changed outlook. Mayor Akey has surrounded himself with a whole new energized municipal team to meet the challenge.

Akey has surrounded himself with an energized team that will confront a whole new slew of municipal issues as the days of Covid-19 continue. Sloatsburg has been on solid ground thanks to topnotch budgetary management (due to cooperation between the board, Mayor Wright and the wizardry of Village Clerk Thomas Bollotta) but will face a new municipal playing field defined by shrinking revenues and state funds.

Thankfully, Sloatsburg was well positioned before the pandemic hit, with major municipal infrastructure improvements already underway and was enjoying an expanding local economy rooted in the village’s growing reputation as a gateway stopover into Harriman State Park.

Monday’s swearing in also installed new Village Board leadership that reflects a truly diverse representation of the local community. The three new trustees include Thomas Donnelly, Darrell Frasier and Joyce Donohue.

Village of Sloatsburg Annual Re-organizational Meeting Swearing In Ceremony. Congratulation to Peter Akey, New Mayor of Sloatsburg!@Sloatsburgny @SloatsburgLib @pantry_food @SESPirates @BusinessCounty @RockLegislature @rocklandgov @TrusteeAkey #sloatsburgvillage #sloatsburgmayor pic.twitter.com/MhniZnZYe7

— Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce (@SloatsburgC) December 8, 2020

Donohue takes Mayor Akey’s former trustee seat, and is a very savvy appointment by the new mayor. Donohue is the first female to serve on the Village of Sloatsburg board since Barbara Berntsen and comes with a large community service portfolio, including her work as director of the Sloatsburg Food Pantry and vice president of the Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce. Donohue will prove an enormous asset to Akey’s administration as a liaison to the local business community.

Sloatsburg resident Darrell L. Frasier is sworn in as a new Village Trustee by new Village Justice Jerome Jefferson. The evening saw three new trustees take their place on the dais, representing a diverse Village of Sloatsburg constituency.

Darrell L. Frasier also has a strong community engagement background that includes his chairing the Sloatsburg Revitalization Committee (Beautify Sloatsburg), member of the Sloatsburg Library board and stint on the village  Building & Zoning Board of Appeals. Frasier has been active in promoting Sloatsburg’s historical assets and helping to revitalize the village as a gateway to the parks region.

Thomas Donnelly represents Sloatsburg on the Suffern Central School District and was Suffern High School’s longtime Resource Officer while a member of the Ramapo Police Department.

Village of Sloatsburg Annual Re-organizational Meeting
Swearing in Ceremony!
Congratulations New Village of Sloatsburg Trustee Joyce Donohue! @Sloatsburgny
@SloatsburgC
@TrusteeAkey
@SloatPubLibrary
@donohue_brennan
@BusinessCounty @rocklandgov @SuffernCSD pic.twitter.com/F9EtlZU35t

— Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce (@SloatsburgC) December 8, 2020