Sustainable Sleepy Hollow

Please come out to Village Hall next Tuesday, February 10th to let the Board of Trustees hear your voice on the gas-powered leaf-blower ban. The meeting starts at 7 pm, and we expect this agenda item to be early on but will update this post if we receive more specific timing.

Gas-powered leaf blowers top the list of residents’ concerns, but our research shows that there will be opposition to the ban. We hope you and other residents can discuss the air and noise pollution. Speakers get 3 minutes each.

Last week, Sustainable Sleepy Hollow presented research and recommendations to the mayor and board of trustees to follow the lead of other neighboring municipalities with a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers (GPLBs). This recommendation was the result of months of research on other municipalities’ laws, and discussions with neighborhood groups, garden clubs, landscapers, equipment suppliers, large landowners and more.

The Sleepy Hollow board of trustees will open a public hearing on the proposed ban on Tuesday, February 10 starting at 7 pm at Village Hall (28 Beekman). How can you help?

1. Show up! Your voice is always strongest if you attend the hearing in person. You can plan to speak for up to three minutes on your perspective.
2. Email the board. If you cannot attend the hearing in person, please email the board at the email addresses below. Even if you have emailed in the past, please send your email again and indicate that you would like your email to be considered as part of the “Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban Public Hearing.” You can send one email including all of the addresses (see below).
3. Review and share our flyer. In particular, note that

• There are now electric leaf blowers as strong as gas ones.
• Landscapers can change batteries throughout the day just as they refill gas tanks now. Many already have the equipment for other towns that have stronger bans.
• Electric leaf blowers are a much healthier option for operators, passerby and residents. Please check out the citations in the flyer for more information.

You can send one email including all these addresses to reach the mayor, board, village administrator and village clerk. Subject Line: Proposed Gas-Powered Leaf Blower Ban –  mayor@sleepyhollowny.gov,  lconnell@sleepyhollowny.gov,  jhusselbee@sleepyhollowny.gov, ckrall@sleepyhollowny.gov, jtriguero@sleepyhollowny.gov, jrodriguez@sleepyhollowny.gov, psheeran@sleepyhollowny.gov, agiaccio@sleepyhollowny.gov, pmccarthy@sleepyhollowny.gov 

Thank you for taking the time to improve our health and environment. Questions? Email us at sleepy.hollow.eac@gmail.com.