PEEKSKILL – Mayor Andre Rainey, the City of Peekskill’s youngest mayor at age 37, announced on Friday that he would not seek re-election at the end of 2021, having served six years in elected office. Rainey plans to spend more time with his family.
Over the last four years, Rainey helped the city secure a $10 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, $6 million in other grants to assist with projects including the revitalization of Fleischman’s Pier.
During his tenure, the city also saw the installation of electric charging stations, and a vast array of mix-use development to the city, including 82 new units of mixed-income, affordable housing currently being built on Main Street. He also secured a deal to have the Boys & Girls Club operate the Kiley Youth Center under a 50-year lease with the Peekskill Housing Authority – along with $2.7 million in funding to support the effort.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to help build a 21st-century city that offers hope and opportunity to everyone who calls Peekskill home,” said Rainey. “At the end of this term, I will be proud to leave a Peekskill that is not only financially secure, but one that is greener, more economically diverse and inclusive, and one that is working to ensure that everyone who wants to live here can do so.”
The mayor said there is still more work to be done. “I intend a positive transition to ensure that whoever the next mayor is, he or she has everything they need to continue the progress. After all that we’ve faced this year – the pandemic and the racial injustices – I’ve decided I need more time to focus on rebuilding my business, on my family, and most importantly, on raising my children.”
Elected mayor for the first time in 2017, Rainey defeated two-term incumbent Republican Frank Catalina and went on to win reelection in 2019.
