News & Announcements
4th Grade Poster Contest
The Low Bridge High Water Festival was cancelled, but the 4th grade poster contest continued! View the art work of our local students here. Job well done, everyone! Prize winners to be announced soon.
Sidewalk Cafe & Merchant Table Permitting
On May 18, 2020 during the regularly scheduled board meeting, the Village Board voted to suspend Chapter 58 Section 11 Subsection F on Sidewalk Cafes and voted to temporarily replace that section with language pertaining to the 2020 outdoor season.
It is the Village Board's hope this temporary change will assist village merchants as we begin to reopen with restrictions due to COVID-19. The 2020 regulations can be found here.
If you have questions please contact the Building and Code Department at 637-5300 x114 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SUMMER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY-DEADLINE TOMORROW (6/11/20)
Our Department of Public Works is looking for summer help. Please see the advertisement here.
2020 Brockport Arts Festival Cancelled
Brockport Integrated Service Clubs Organization (BISCO): ANNOUNCES CANCELLATION OF THE BROCKPORT ARTS FESTIVAL IN 2020
The August 8-9, 2020 Brockport Arts Festival is canceled. Today, the Co-Chairs of the Brockport Arts Festival conclude that conducting a Festival in Brockport would be inadvisable and impractical because of the health threat to participants, the community, and all individuals traveling to and from the festival.
It is with great sadness we make this decision today. The Festival brings artists and crafters from the region together with the tens of thousands of people from the surrounding area who come to enjoy the art, music, foods, and fellowship. Our festival is organized and run by volunteers and its income is poured back into the community every year to meet the needs of area children. We’ve had our festival in Brockport for 25 years and we look forward to coming back in 2021 to start another 25-year run.
- Cindy Ingraham & Randy Dumas, Brockport Arts Festival Co-Chairs
We will all miss the wonderful Brockport Arts Festival this year. It has become a village institution that people from all over the region look forward to attending. The organizers worked hard on this year’s festival, but have made the safe and sensible decision in the midst of the COVID pandemic to cancel it. We look forward to welcoming back the Brockport Arts Festival in August of 2021. - Mayor Margay Blackman, Village of Brockport
VB Meeting 6-1-20 Cancelled
The regularly scheduled board meeting for 6/1/2020 has been cancelled.
The next village board meeting will be held on 6/15/2020 at 7pm. Location to be determined, check back here prior to the meeting for a physical location confirmation or a zoom login invitation.
Please check our Facebook Page for regular Friday video updates by Mayor Margay Blackman. A special video message will be posted by 5pm today.
5-18-20 VB Meeting Login
Agenda and Packet can be found under Government/Village Board/Minutes and Agendas
Topic: Village Board Meeting
Time: May 18, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82648556718?pwd=blpnS25zeitscmhUeE5PZmVkK2ZOdz09
Meeting ID: 826 4855 6718
Password: 786241
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,82648556718#,,1#,786241# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 826 4855 6718
Password: 786241
Covid-19 - Community Updates
Please check our Covid-19 Section under the News tab at the top of our homepage for updates on our community, answers to questions, how local reopening will happen, and what businesses are open when. The Mayor will provide a video update there and on our Facebook page.
Mask Distribution - For All Residents
Monroe County has enough masks for all county residents. Please read how local residents can get their masks here.
GET TESTED - Essential Workers - Please read!
Health care, first responder and other essential workers in NY can now be tested for #COVID19 by calling (888) 364-3065 or visiting covid19screening.health.ny.gov and clicking on "start assessment." Tests are by appointment only. See the list here of qualifiying essential workers.
There is lots of capacity at MCC’s Brighton campus. Call/go online to register.
Village Board meeting 5-4-2020
The login information for tonight's village board meeting can be found at the top of tonight's agenda or here:
Location: Zoom teleconferencing, per New York State Executive Order 202.1 the open meeting law has been suspended until May 15, 2020. Members of the public may join the online meeting through a computer by visiting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87558610643?pwd=TmNoaElmRjFCeEdnYUJkU0dVVTVRQT09
or using a telephone by dialing +1 (646) 558-8656. Meeting ID: 875 5861 0643 Password: 073995
Questions and comments will be taken via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
SCHEDULED POWER OUTAGE
Saturday, May 2nd, from 6:00 AM - 5:00 PM, National Grid will shut power off to Main Street businesses to upgrade to new electrical infrastructure. This will only affect the businesses on the WEST side of Main Street at King St, south to Erie Street.
The municipal parking lot (Lincoln Lot) between King St and Erie Street will be closed starting Friday morning through Saturday evening for this project.
Budget Adoption Notice 2020-2021
The Village Board passed the budget for the June 1, 2020- May 31, 2021 fiscal year on April 20, 2020. Read the full notice here.
Village Board Workshop Canceled
The Village Board Workshop regularly scheduled for April 27, 2020 has been canceled.
Letter to landlords from Mayor Blackman and SUNY Brockport President Macpherson
To view the letter to landlords from Mayor Blackman and SUNY Brockport President Macpherson, please click here.
WATER MAIN FLUSHING REMINDER - STARTS TODAY
REMINDER: WATER MAIN FLUSHING STARTS TODAY! The DPW will start flushing NORTH of the canal this am. All hydrants, WEST of North Main St. (Rt. 19)
See the flyer here.
Login to VB Meeting 4/20/2020
To login to the Village Board Meeting for 4/20/2020 at 7pm, see below. All questions during the meeting (or prior) can be emailed to Mayor Blackman at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Agenda will be uploaded to it's normal location on our website under Minutes/Agendas in advance.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91592638213?pwd=OHd5VHROOFNTNXZvVzFXS2ExNFZXQT0
Meeting ID: 915 9263 8213
Password: 058228
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,91592638213#,,#,058228# US (New York)
Dial by your location
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
BROCKPORT'S BIG TRUCK DRIVE-THRU - SUNY BROCKPORT
TODAY! 4-6 PM - Visit the Village of Brockport, Department of Public Works & Town of Sweden Highway Department for "Brockport's Big Trucks" at SUNY Brockport, Lot T! You can bring your family for a drive-thru experience and see the equipment used to keep your community running! (Must stay inside your vehicle.) Click here to see flyer.
Letter to Community - Suburban News 4/11/2020
To my neighbors, my community, my village –
I love you. I miss seeing you at village hall. I miss seeing you walk down Main Street, linger over store windows, run to catch a movie, play on our playgrounds, and grab ice cream cones. I miss the Brockport merchants, browsing downtown on my lunch break, buying earrings or books on a whim, grabbing that needed cup of coffee. I miss our elders -- my mentors and friends.
Please stay at home. Please be part of the solution. We are doing it. We are helping to flatten the curve. Don’t stop now. We all have an important role to play. Our essential workers on the front line need us to stay out of the way. Let us thank them the best way we can – from a distance, preferably from home.
Sunshine and holidays are not a sign that the COVID-19 crisis is over. This is not the time to have an extended family work bee at your house or to play catch with your neighbors. If they don’t live with you, they don’t belong with you. Vulnerable neighbors – of all ages – live on every street. We are a team – when we work together we are a great team! Please be responsible and respectful. Be a team player. We have critical weeks ahead of us. Our community is counting on you.
The best part of Brockport is still here - our optimism, our volunteerism, our community spirit. In this moment, being our best means staying apart.
Well wishes,
Erica L. Linden
Village of Brockport Clerk/Manager
New Information for Applying for Unemployment
Albany, NY (April 09, 2020) - Facing an unprecedented spike in unemployment insurance applications related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the New York State Department of Labor and the New York State Office of Information Technology Services today announced a “Tech Surge” in partnership with Google Cloud, Deloitte, and Verizon to improve the reliability of the state’s online and telephone-based unemployment insurance application systems. The Tech Surge will include critical upgrades to the Department of Labor’s technology systems that will increase its capacity to accept and process applications, making it easier for New Yorkers to apply for benefits.
Importantly, the Tech Surge will include a new, streamlined, and more reliable online application system – which will be available at labor.ny.gov. New Yorkers are urged to use the new online system, which can handle most applications from start to finish, dramatically reducing the number of New Yorkers who must speak to a claims specialist on the phone.
In addition, the Department of Labor will roll out a new “call back” system, allowing their staff to proactively call New Yorkers who need to submit additional information to support their existing unemployment assistance application. This means New Yorkers who have already filed partial claims under the old system and had been told to call the hotline to finish their application should not — instead, the DOL call center will call these New Yorkers directly.
In order to launch the new, streamlined application system, New York State’s online unemployment insurance application will go offline today between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM to be rebooted.
“I recognize that this is an extremely challenging time for all New Yorkers,” NYS Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said. “I have been unemployed. I understand the urgency. We want you to be aware of the steps that we are taking to respond to each of you, as quickly as we can. We know that your livelihood depends on it and we assure you that you will get your benefits.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the New York State Department of Labor's unemployment insurance filing system has faced an unprecedented increase in volume — with peak weeks seeing a 16,000% increase in phone calls and a 1,600% increase in web traffic, compared to a typical week.
The Department of Labor Tech Surge is providing critical upgrades to New York State’s unemployment insurance filing system during this crisis. These efforts are expected to increase capacity and reliability. Specific actions include:
· Google Cloud has worked with the State Office of Information Technology Services to create a more user-friendly, streamlined, and reliable unemployment insurance application for the Department of Labor. The online application will shut down from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM today to transition to this new streamlined application. Specific upgrades include:
o Leveraging Google Cloud’s infrastructure to increase reliability and allow the application to scale, so it can handle a high volume of users;
o Allowing users to save an incomplete application and pick up where they left off;
o Providing an “every device experience,” so New Yorkers can file from smartphones, tablets, and laptops; and
o Streamlining the number of questions so the application is shorter and easier to understand.
· Deloitte is opening an additional unemployment insurance call center staffed by hundreds of experienced customer service professionals, which will dramatically increase the number of calls that can be handled; and
· Verizon is expanding the number of phone “ports” for the Department of Labor’s call center from 1,750 to over 10,000 by the end of this week -- increasing the center’s call capacity.
· The Department of Labor will begin rolling out a “call back” feature which allows state representatives to call New Yorkers with incomplete unemployment insurance applications and finish their applications over the phone. This means those who fully complete their claim online will NOT need to call the state themselves. New Yorkers who had previously been told to call the hotline should not — instead, the DOL will call them to complete their application. To prevent fraud, state representatives will verify their legitimacy by providing New Yorkers’ claim type and filing date.
In addition, the Department of Labor has:
· Drastically expanded the call center’s hours, including opening on Saturdays and Sundays:
o Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM to 7:30 PM
o Saturday and Sunday: 7:30 AM to 8:00 PM
· Increased the number of servers that support the online filing system from 4 to over 60;
· Implemented a new, more efficient filing system based on the first letter of the applicant's last name (alphabetical order):
o A - F : Monday
o G - N : Tuesday
o O - Z : Wednesday
o Missed your day: Thursday through Sunday
· Streamlined the claims process, automating additional processes and reducing the situations in which a filer has to call and speak with a representative; and
· Dedicated 1,000 staff to the Department of Labor's unemployment insurance Telephone Claim Center — compared to roughly 400 who typically staff the call center — with plans to bring an additional 1,200 staff on board, including those at the new Deloitte call center.
Last week, the Department of Labor also launched a new PSA that provides information on how to apply for unemployment benefits and reassures New Yorkers that if their unemployment filing is delayed, they will still receive full unemployment benefits. The PSA is also available with Spanish subtitles here.
In addition, earlier this week Governor Cuomo announced he had directed the Department of Labor to immediately make $600 in additional weekly unemployment benefits available to all New Yorkers. The additional benefits were included in the Federal CARES Act, but, unlike other states, New York began delivering the extra unemployment insurance to unemployed individuals before Federal funds are disbursed to the states. New York is also extending the period covered by unemployment benefits for another 13 weeks, for a total of 39 weeks.
The New York State Department of Labor is dedicated to ensuring that every New Yorker who is entitled to unemployment insurance benefits will receive all benefits due. New Yorkers seeking to file an unemployment insurance claim should visit labor.ny.gov or call the Telephone Claim Center at (888) 209-8124. Below are some resources that will assist New Yorkers in filing their claims:
What You Need to Know and Do About the CARES Act
Real Property Tax Law
EXTENSION OF PAYMENT DEADLINES FOR PROPERTY TAXES AND OTHER LOCAL FEES/CHARGES - guidance provided by New York Conference Of Mayors (NYCOM)
Please take notice - to answer questions regarding village taxes (mailed out May 31, 2020) at this time, no extension is in place.
"Local governments do not have unilateral authority to extend the interest-free period with respect to the payment of property taxes. This may only be done pursuant to subdivision 2 of section 925-a of the Real Property Tax Law which provides that “during a state disaster emergency, the Governor may, by executive order issued upon the request of the chief executive officer of a county, city, town, village or school district in the affected area, extend by up to twenty-one days the final date for paying taxes without interest or penalty in such county, city, town, village or school district. If such an extension is granted, and any taxes are not paid by the final date so provided, those taxes shall be subject to the same interest and penalties that would have applied if no extension had been granted.” Additionally, the Governor has the authority, under his emergency powers, to unilaterally provide for such an extension of the interest-free period on a statewide basis. To date, he has taken no such action." - NYCOM