Thursday: Kavesh's Last Meeting as Mayor

Richard Kavesh, Nyack's Democratic mayor, will oversee his final board of trustees meeting Thursday evening, 7:30 p.m. at .

Kavesh will be replaced by , who bumped him off the Democratic ticket and won the mayoral seat by a 352-vote margin in November.

Kavesh's two-year term, which began January 2010 and was preceded by nine years as a village trustee, was defined by the and . Kavesh was the only Nyack lawmaker who opposed the Superblock, criticizing its scope and grandiose goal of overhauling 3.7 acres in the village's heart. He was the an agreement with Riverspace that marked a large step forward for the project.

"I think it will inevitably lead to a parking garage behind Depew Avenue," he trustees in April.

During his tenure, Kavesh also supported a , which gave way to shows like filming downtown, and that raised property taxes by less than one-percent, the lowest increase in a decade. No public employees were laid off.

Kavesh also championed that took place at Waldron Terrace and Depew Manor.

There were controversies, too—a drawn-out that began with a gay pride flag flying over Village Hall.

Kavesh also gained attention last May when he the party name "Nyack First," a moniker his opponent Jen Laird-White had been using for years prior. Kavesh eventually withdrew his hold on the name, but not before Laird-White changed her campaign, and folks labeled Kavesh's move "dirty politics."

Tonight's meeting will be Kavesh's last as a lawmaker, but the agenda has no shortage of issues. Lawmakers will discuss a , Nyack's own and more.

Kavesh weighed in on his final legislative meeting Wednesday afternoon. He said a smoking ban at Veterans' Park is a no-brainer, but will not see passage under his mayorship—a public hearing would be required first, and then a vote.

"I'll continue pitching in 2012 in a new role, but I'll keep my promise never to run for office again in Nyack," he said.

Kavesh also noted the village has narrowed emergency alert providers down to about 10, and will discuss them Thursday evening.