Infighting on the Port Chester Board of Trustees has delayed and hampered New York State mandated police reform measures in the village.

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order requires the Board of Trustees to meet as the Port Chester Board of Police commissioners and receive community based input on needed police reform measures.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s required steps have been delayed, because of a contentious attitude by some Board of Trustee members, who are opposed to the criminal justice reform laws passed by New York State after civil unrest in Port Chester and other communities this summer.

Port Chester Mayor Richard ‘Fritz” Falanka and the Trustees must give the public ample time time to comment and the new reforms drafted on April 1, 2021

Public outreach is key to meeting the executive order’s requirement that Port Chester modify and modernize policing strategies, policies, procedures and practices that addresses the needs of the communities of color in this minority majority village.

Community activists say that Port Chester will lose state aid and grants that are desperately needed during this pandemic if the Mayor and Trustees continue with the delays and infighting.

Port Chester’s newly engaged voters want the village’s elected officials to closely adhere to the guidelines in the governor’s executive order and specifically target police actions in communities with a high level of police interactions.

Some trustees want to replace multiple community listening sessions with a diverse community reform committee that they appoint from party loyalists of color.

One trustee is supposedly seeking to replace the multiple community listening sessions with a survey bulk mailed to addresses in the 10573 zip code.

And then there are trustees that say all of the above should be done and perhaps an independent consultant to run the process for the village.

But community leaders say the clock is ticking as the mayor and trustees continually argue with each other instead of listening to the community.