Mahopac, NY – New York State Sen. Pete Harckham announced today that new pedestrian crossing safety beacons have been installed here in the vicinity of Villa Barone Hilltop Manor on Route 6 thanks to a state grant he secured for the Town of Carmel Police Department.

Senator Harckham, along with Carmel Town Supervisor Michael Cazzari, Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffman, Carmel Councilmember Robert Kearns and Villa Barone co-owner John Crecco, visited the site recently to inspect the six new Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacons (RRFPs) at the crosswalk across the roadway, which employ user-actuated amber LEDs to aggressively flash and alert approaching motorists to yield to pedestrians.

“This important public safety measure is a testament to what we can achieve for the safety of our residents when people work together,” said Harckham. “Knowing that pedestrians were often taking risks when walking from a parking lot to the entrance of Villa Barone across a busy roadway, we worked in tandem to help solve this problem without impacting the local taxpayers. Thank you to Carmel Supervisor Cazzari and former supervisor Ken Schmitt, along with their staffs, plus Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffman for their strong advocacy regarding this pedestrian safety measure, and also the New York State department of Transportation and Tito Davila, a member of my team who has since retired, for facilitating this necessary upgrade.” 

The state grant, totaling nearly $47,000, allowed the purchase and installation of the six RRFPs and the improvement of existing signage with flashing LED lights, which will benefit both residents of the Town of Carmel and out-of-town visitors to a popular event center. These improvements will be used in conjunction with the presence of a uniformed Carmel police officer present during large events at Villa Barone to ensure pedestrian safety.

In recent years, the part of Route 6 in the vicinity of Villa Barone has been the scene of a number of accidents involving pedestrians, including one in which a sheriff’s deputy was struck by a vehicle and seriously injured.

Carmel Town Supervisor Michael Cazzari said, “The Town of Carmel is very appreciative and thankful to our State Senator, Pete Harckham. Once again, through his perseverance and commitment to public safety, he has provided funding for our police and this warning light and strongly advocated to the DOT to get this much-needed public safety project completed.”

Carmel Police Chief Anthony Hoffman said, ““The Carmel Police Department thanks Senator Harckham for his help in aiding our officers in making sure that this busy area of Route 6 is safe for all.”

John Crecco, co-owner of Villa Barone Hilltop Manor, said, “I’d like to personally thank Senator Harckham for his hard work in ensuring safety for our patrons at Villa Barone and helping to get this crucial grant funding for this crosswalk and traffic lights.”

The SAM grant awarded to the Town of Carmel Police Department was approved by the New York State Senate and administered by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) to support community and economic development initiatives.

Since taking office in 2019, Senator Harckham has delivered more than $40 million in state grant funding to municipalities and nonprofit organizations throughout the 40th Senate District.