Chair backs $2,500 River Arts grant if group explicitly includes unincorporated Greenburgh artists

The Town of Greenburgh Town Board discussed a request from River Arts for a $2,500 grant and said any town funding should be conditioned on the organization confirming that artists from unincorporated Greenburgh can participate.

Chair said River Arts “have lots of arts programs” that benefit residents in the town and suggested the board could include the grant in the 2026 budget if River Arts makes its programs truly available to everybody. Multiple board members raised concerns that, as presented, River Arts had not yet confirmed inclusion of unincorporated artists.

One member said the organization told them it would not immediately accept residents from the town’s unincorporated area but would consider it in the future; several board members said they would support funding only when inclusion is explicit. A staff trustee who had discussed the program with local organizers described the request as reasonable but said the group had asked the town for a letter of support rather than a municipal resolution, and that the County of Westchester would need to provide a formal resolution for regional or corridor-level recognition.

Board members agreed to follow up with River Arts to request written confirmation that unincorporated Greenburgh residents would be able to participate; if that confirmation arrives, the board said it would consider including the $2,500 in the 2026 budget. The group’s request was otherwise deferred for budget timing and clarity about participation.

Next steps: staff will contact River Arts to request explicit inclusion language and bring any confirmed funding request back to the board as part of the 2026 budget process.