RyeCity REVIEW THE
February 16, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 7 | www.ryecityreview.com
Killian gets GOP nomination for Senate By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
Boundless Adventures, an aerial outdoor park with several obstacle courses, will open its first New York state location in Harrison this month. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Lorrie Funtleyder
City Council creates committee to oversee tunnel project By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer The Rye City Council unanimously approved establishing a committee to collect information on Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposed construction of a tunnel linking Long Island to Westchester County, which re-
cently picked up steam after the state began soliciting ideas from private investors. Known as the Long Island Tunnel Advisory Committee, the council created the ad hoc board on Feb. 8 to oversee the proposal, which suggests connecting either the city of Rye or the village of Port Chester to the town of Oys-
ter Bay on Long Island, among other locations. “This project is still a long way away, but of course Rye’s concern is great,” said Rye City Mayor Josh Cohn, a Democrat, who added that a tunnel would promote congestion around the 95 and 287 interstates. “We’re all familiar with how difficult it sometimes
is to get on either of those roads during lengthy traffic times.” The advisory committee will be made up of two members from the city Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Committee, three residents from neighborhoods near the proposed location of the tunnel at TUNNEL continued on page 8
With the Republican nomination in the rearview, former Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian will prepare to take on Democratic candidate and state Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer in an upcoming special election for a crucial state Senate seat. On Feb. 7, Killian won the nomination in a vote by Republican district leaders over candidate Dan Schorr, a former inspector general in Yonkers and previous candidate for Westchester district attorney. Both Schorr and Sarmad Khojasteh, who stepped aside just days prior to the nomination process, have pledged their support for Killian. The nomination will kickstart Killian’s second attempt to win the 37th District state Senate seat after a failed bid to unseat current Westchester County Executive George Latimer, a Democrat, in 2016. Because of a special election, there will be no primary following the nomination process. Similar to her bid in 2016, Killian—who served on the Rye City Council between 2012 and 2017—will run on a platform of reform and bucking an Albany establishment through term limits and a redistribution of school aid. Both Democrats and Repub-
licans consider the open seat— which was vacated by Latimer, who assumed his role as county executive in January—to be a critical one as Republicans currently maintain just a one-seat majority in the state Senate. In New York, Democrats currently control the Assembly and governorship. While Killian will position herself as an alternative to establishment politicians, Mayer will look to capitalize on a reinvigorated Democratic voting base, fueled in large part by opposition to President Donald Trump, that prompted an influx of Democratic votes across the county in November. The resurgence catapulted Latimer and local Democrats across the county to a convincing win over seven-year incumbent County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, and established a new super majority of Democrats in the county’s Board of Legislators. Both candidates will look to establish a quick presence in an expedited race that will be decided in a special election on April 24th, a date decided by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, earlier this year. The seat is one of two open seats in the state Senate and the winners will face a quick re-election turn around in November when state legislators KILLIAN continued on page 5