via City of Poughkeepsie, 12/27/2011

Mayor John C. Tkazyik has appointed Paul Ackermann to the position of Corporation Counsel. Mr. Ackermann has worked for the City as Assistant Corporation Counsel since 2008. Mr. Brian Morgan, current Corporation Counsel, has decided to go back into private practice.

Mr. Morgan said, “I have informed Mayor Tkazyik that I am planning to return to private practice at the end of my term as Corporation Counsel of the City of Poughkeepsie. When Mayor Tkazyik appointed me to the post of Corporation Counsel in 2008, it was with our mutual understanding that I would accept the post for the four-year term prescribed by the charter of the City, and thereafter, I would return to my law firm, Jacobowitz and Gubits, as a private citizen. Mayor Tkazyik has charted a wise course for the City to avoid tax increases and reductions of key public services. The Law Department will continue to assist the Mayor to meet those objectives.”

Mayor Tkazyik said, “I would like to thank Mr. Morgan for his years of service to the City. I wish him great success in the future.”

Mr. Paul Ackermann was born and raised in the City of Poughkeepsie graduating from Marist College with a B.A. in Political Science, Pace University School of Law Cum Laude with a J.D., and again from Marist College with a Masters in Public
Administration. Prior to working for the City of Poughkeepsie, Mr. Ackermann was in private practice with a concentration in real estate development, business formation, zoning, planning, real estate, and tax certiorari law. He has been an active member of the community as a pro bono attorney for the Poughkeepsie Neighborhood Club and Hosanna Church.

Mr. Ackermann said, “I am honored and humbled by the faith that Mayor Tkazyik has placed in me and am extremely grateful for the opportunity to represent the City in which I was raised. One of my top priorities has always been to serve the community that has meant so much to me and taught me so much. I am looking forward to working with the City Council and Mayor in constructive and innovative ways to serve the public and I understand that the challenge before me will be to uphold the tradition of exemplary representation that the City of Poughkeepsie has received from prior Corporation Counsels.”

“Mr. Ackermann has been an exemplary attorney in our department and has the experience to become Corporation Counsel. With a combination of experience working for the City of Poughkeepsie and in private practice, I am confident that he will do a great job in representing our City,” said Mayor Tkazyik.

The Mayor also announced his reappointment of City Chamberlain Deanne Flynn.

Appointments must be confirmed at the reorganizational meeting of the Common Council on January 2nd at 6pm.

via Poughkeepsie Journal, 12/21/2011

The Catharine Street Community Center honored 10 individuals Tuesday for their longtime support. Honorees seated in the front row, left to right, are Sally Mazzarella and Carlos Alarcon. Standing in the rear are, left to right. James Walker Jr., Wilfred Rohde, William Davis, Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik, Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson, Charles North and Chris Petsas. / John Davis

In kicking off its 90th year serving the children and families of Poughkeepsie with educational, health and cultural programming, the Catharine Street Community Center honored 10 of its loyal supporters.

The center presented awards to the 10 at a ceremony and buffet Tuesday evening at the Poughkeesie Grand Hotel in the City of Poughkeepsie.

“Everyone of them has contributed significantly to the Catharine Street Community Center and the Hudson River Valley,” said Edward Summers, president of the center’s board of directors.

Dutchess County Sheriff Butch Anderson, one of the honorees, also served as event master of ceremonies.

The approximately 120 people who attended purchased raffle tickets and participated in a silent auction.

The money raised benefits the center’s after-school program.

The other nine other honorees were Carlos Alarcon, a center parent; William Davis, former center board member and longtime volunteer; Charles North, president and CEO of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce; Chris Petsas, former center after-school teacher; Wilfred Rohde, principal engineer with Rohe, Soyka & Andrews; Barry Rothfeld, president and publisher of the Poughkeepsie Journal; New York State Sen. Steve Saland, R-Poughkeepsie; Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik; and James Walker Jr., vice president at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Sally Mazzarella represented Saland who did not attend.

Rothfeld also was not present.

via WAMC, 12/15/2011

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY (WAMC) – Two powerful politicians got together today to map out a strategy for re-imagining one of New York’s great riverfront cities: Hudson Valley Bureau Chief Dave Lucas reports.

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik and Dutchess County Executive-Elect Marc Molinaro at Poughkeepsie City Hall, looking at plans for improving the infrastructure. ..:: WAMC Photo by Dave Lucas ::..

Dutchess County Executive-Elect Marc Molinaro walked over to Poughkeepsie City Hall for the informal meeting with Mayor John Tkazyik: a brainstorming session over bringing some change and adding a dash of excitement to the city…

City Hall is looking toward implementing a variety of upgrades one official described as a way to “put the stamp on Poughkeepsie for the next generation” … Mayor Tkazyik is advancing plans to convert Market Street back to two-way traffic and opening up 95 parking spaces along the busy artery – some other one-way streets would also revert to two-way to help make downtown more attractive to vehicular traffic.

County Executive-Elect Molinaro believes Poughkeepsie will prosper through city and county teamwork. Tkazyik recalls he and Molinaro collaborated in the past on the Mayors and Supervisors Association when Molinaro served as Mayor of Tivoli. Tkazyik says the two are also looking into using mass transit as an economic development tool and a way to bring more pedestrians into the heart of the city. Molinaro pointed out that the meeting with Mayor Tkazyik is the first of many planned political pow-wows.

Molinaro is stepping down as state assemblyman to take the reins from retiring County Executive Bill Steinhaus on January 1st.

via Mid Hudson News, 1/3/2012

POUGHKEEPSIE – Hundreds of residents, officials and well-wishers packed the Grandview ballroom on Poughkeepsie’s waterfront, to observe the inauguration of the mayor and city council.

Mayor John Tkazyik begins a second term following a close reelection last November. As a Republican, he faces the next two years with a strong Democratic majority on the common council. Bipartisanship was stressed in his inaugural speech.

The mayor said city officials may have “our partisan difference and disagreements” on how to allocate the scarce resources of a city that faces cutbacks in state and federal aid.

“But today, let us acknowledge there is nothing partisan of safe streets and clean parks, nothing partisan about ridding this city of drugs and gang violence, nothing partisan about creating a climate conducive to job growth, or creating a ladder of opportunity where people can climb as far and as fast as they would like,” he said.

Tkazyik said the diversity of the city’s population should not divide Poughkeepsie, but serve as a source of strength.

The mayor noted past achievements. “We have made progress in making this city a safer place to live, an emerging hub of economic activity. We have managed to keep a budget in balance and a tax levy under control, by working together for the common good,” Tkazyik said.

via Poughkeepsie Journal, 1/3/2012

With a promise to balance budgets, further business development and continue to fight to make the streets safe and clean, John C. Tkazyik was sworn in to a second term as the mayor of the City of Poughkeepsie.

“Being your mayor is the highest honor I have ever known,” Tkazyik said Monday to the 400 or so people gathered for a mayoral inauguration at The Grandview in the City of Poughkeepsie.

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik speaks after being sworn in Monday, January 2, 2012, at the Grandview in the City of Poughkeepsie. / Karl Rabe

The ceremony included the swearing in of eight City of Poughkeepsie Common Council members and words of support from local community, religious and political leaders.

“We’re here for you to help bring about … the renaissance that is very much a part of the city’s future,” said newly sworn-in Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro of the mayor.

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik is congratulated after being sworn in Monday, January 2, 2012, at the Grandview in the City of Poughkeepsie. / Karl Rabe

Describing the job as “deeply personal,” Molinaro, who served as the mayor of the Village of Tivoli for 12 years, described Tkazyik as a man that “eats, lives, breathes and sleeps the City of Poughkeepsie.”

The one-term Republican mayor won a narrow victory in November against Democratic opponent Ken Levinson, who refused to concede defeat until a final count of absentee ballots was tallied two weeks later.

Poughkeepsie Mayor John Tkazyik is sworn in Monday, January 2, 2012, at the Grandview in the City of Poughkeepsie. / Karl Rabe

Addressing the mayor and Common Council members, Thomas O’Neill, the former Common Council chairman, commended Tkazyik for his perseverance in the midst of a national and statewide financial crisis.

“Mayor Tkazyik has shown a remarkable ability to deal with this crisis but he cannot do it alone,” he said.

O’Neill spoke of what he defined not as “crime” but a “serious and significant gang problem,” calling for a “broad-based” approach involving schools, churches and policymakers coming together to address the problem.

Tkazyik’s first term in office saw city residents reeling in the wake of a rash of shootings and homicides. They included several shootings along downtown’s Main Street, among others, and the homicides of Jessica Welch and city police officer John Falcone outside of the Poughkeepsie Train Station in February.

Under Tkazyik’s leadership, the city implemented a series of crime control initiatives: the Cash For Tips program, in which cash is paid to people providing information leading to the recovery of an illegal gun or leading to the arrest of a person possessing an illegal gun; summits with young people and youth groups to address crime in the city; the expansion of police foot patrols; and the establishment of new safety regulations for convenience stores operating past 11 p.m.

Other accomplishments during his tenure include the drawing of new restaurants and two new supermarkets to the downtown area and development along the waterfront, among other large-scale business investments.

Tkazyik said he was proud of having presented a balanced budget and the development that had taken place during his tenure. He thanked the many people who, he said, had helped him to bring it about, including those who “toiled without credit.”

“Too many people in this city are without work, too many still live in fear of crime,” he said. “Our mission is not yet complete.”

The position of mayor carries a four-year term and pays $25,000 per year.