We are writing as concerned neighborhood residents in the Village of Ossining to formally submit our input regarding the recurring events and the annual multi-day festival(s) hosted by St. Ann’s church.

While we respect the religious mission of the organization and acknowledge the value of community gatherings, the scale and execution of these events—specifically the annual festival and Portuguese Day Festival -- have grown far beyond the capacity of our residential streets to absorb safely. Our neighborhood repeatedly suffers from extreme traffic gridlock, blocked driveways, illegal parking on lawns and sidewalks, and severe noise pollution from amplified music and DJs that penetrate double-pane windows inside neighboring homes morning and night. Most alarmingly, congested streets during peak event hours have repeatedly restricted lane width to a degree where emergency response vehicles (fire trucks and ambulances) would be unable to pass safely.

Under the provisions set forth in the Village of Ossining Events Planning Guide, we respectfully submit the following concerns, observations, and requests for formal conditions on future special event permits.

1. Request to Reclassify the Festival as a Level 4 Special Event
Based on the scale detailed in the Events in Ossining Planning Guide, the annual festival draws thousands of attendees from across the region over multiple days. This level of attendance, combined with street parking overflow, alcohol sales, food preparation, and secondary street impacts, unquestionably meets the threshold for a Level 4 Event.

Classifying this event as Level 4 is essential to ensure:

• Mandatory Multi-Departmental Oversight: Required coordination between Ossining Police, Fire, Recreation & Parks, and DPW.
• Traffic & Parking Management Plan: A formal, enforced parking strategy (including shuttle options or designated off-site parking) to ensure emergency lanes remain open and neighboring driveways are accessible.
• Public Safety Escrow & Details: Increased paid police details for traffic control and parking enforcement on surrounding residential side streets.

2. Public Safety, Emergency Access, and Adverse Impacts
(Planning Guide: Page 1, Purpose & Page 16, Item 2 - "Adverse Effects")

The Planning Guide explicitly notes that special events must not unduly disturb nearby residents in the peaceful enjoyment of their homes, nor endanger public safety or impede emergency services. Page 16 (Item 2) highlights the grounds regarding adverse impacts on the neighborhood.  For example: the “high probability of disorderly conduct likely to endanger public safety or to result in significant property damage may result from the special event.”  With the amount of children present alongside speeding vehicles racing for parking spots and for pleasure, the inevitability of a terrible accident increases each year.

While Page 16 grants the Village grounds for permit denial based on negative neighborhood impacts, we want to emphasize that our goal is not to deny the church the opportunity to host its traditional festival. Rather, we ask that approval be strictly conditional upon binding mitigation measures that protect resident safety and basic quality of life.  Alternatively, the event can be moved to a location more appropriate to its increasing size and scope.  

3. Separation of Religious Services vs. Secular/Recreational Activities
(Planning Guide: Page 11, Item 23 - Outdoor Services)

As stated earlier in this document, we fully recognize constitutional protections surrounding religious worship. However, a clear regulatory distinction must be maintained between core religious services and commercial or recreational activities (e.g., fairs, carnivals, DJ performances, weddings, and soccer matches). The following standards are not currently being met/enforced and we ask that that change immediately:

• Time & Sound Restrictions: Strict curfews and decibel limits must be applied to all outdoor sound systems, live music, DJs, and sporting events (soccer tournaments). Amplified sound for secular activities should cease promptly at reasonable evening hours (e.g., 9:00 PM on weeknights and 10:00 PM on weekends).  Similarly, they should not start before 9:00 AM.  
• Outdoor Services Compliance: Any outdoor religious services must strictly adhere to the operational guidelines on Page 11 (Item 23) without expanding into unstructured outdoor entertainment.
• Non-festival events: While indoor/outdoor religious services are exempt from special permitting under Village Code § 226-4, commercial fairs, carnivals, live music/DJs, and soccer tournaments are secular recreational activities under Chapter 226. These should trigger mandatory special event permitting because they involve amplified sound, public food/alcohol sales, and road/parking disruptions.

Notification and penalties: As per Village Code 226-10, the church needs to notify property and business owners within 50 feet of the location of the event.  Furthermore, “the notice shall be sent out by regular mail within 20 calendar days after notice from the Superintendent using the property owners' addresses on the most recent tax roll and business owners' addresses obtained from available sources. Such notice shall include the sponsor's name, telephone number and email address, special event date, time, location and rain date and such other information as required by the Superintendent. Proof of mailing upon the property owner(s) and business owner(s) shall be provided to the Superintendent within 20 calendar days of mailing.”

This has not happened once in the past 10 years, nor have penalties been issued per Village Code 226-11.

4. Gaming, Fundraising, and Financial Activities
We ask that SEAC verify compliance with New York State Charitable Gaming laws and Village guidelines regarding all fundraising activities on-site:

• Raffles vs. Auctions: Organizers must strictly adhere to NY State gaming definitions. If raffle tickets are sold, pricing must remain static as established; ticket prices cannot escalate dynamically over public announcement systems during the event under the guise of an "auction,” as happens at the Festival.
• Indoor Gambling & Currency Exchange: We request that SEAC inquire whether unpermitted indoor gambling or games of chance involving monetary exchanges are taking place on the property, and confirm whether the required State Gaming Commission permits have been filed and approved.  

5. Alcohol Permits & Conditions
(Planning Guide: Page 2 & Page 7, Item 11)

While alcohol service is permitted under Village rules subject to proper SLA licensing, Page 7 (Item 11) allows the Village to set custom conditions to protect the public interest. We request the following binding conditions in the permit:

• Alcohol sales must close at least two hours prior to the event's nightly conclusion.
• Consumption must be strictly confined to a designated, barricaded beer garden area to prevent open containers from spilling over into neighboring lawns and public sidewalks.

6. Fire Safety, Open Flames, and Cooking Equipment
(Planning Guide: On-Site Cooking & Safety)

Large-scale public food preparation presents unique fire hazards.

• We request that the Village Fire Inspector perform mandatory pre-event inspections of all commercial cooking equipment, propane storage, and open-flame setups.
• For all events on Church grounds, any unpermitted open flames or non-compliant outdoor cooking setups observed during event hours will be reported immediately to emergency services for immediate shutdown to ensure neighborhood fire safety.

7. Temporary Structures and On-Site Housing                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         (Planning Guide: p5)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               While the Special Event Guide regulates temporary stages and structures (Item 8), it does not permit temporary residential housing, camping, or unpermitted overnight lodging on church grounds for event staff or vendors.

• We ask SEAC to clarify that church grounds cannot be used for temporary residential housing during the event.
• Event organizers should be required to utilize local hotel accommodations in town for out-of-town vendors, staff, or guests.

NO DONATIONS PLEASE.