Greenburgh Town Councilman Ken Jones is retiring from the Town Board after 12 years of hard work and dedicated service. Monday, December 18th, was his last official Town Board meeting and the Board paid tribute to his exceptional service. You can watch the tribute to Ken in the video link below. Ken will be replaced by Councilwoman-elect Joy Haber who takes office on January 1, 2024.
“A big thank you to Ken for all you did to make Greenburgh a better place,” Town Supervisor Paul Feiner shared.
Ken has served as liaison to the Greenburgh Housing Authority, helping the GHA obtain approvals for new, state-of-the-art affordable housing units; and to renovate older, existing units and obtain funding to provide broadband internet services to residents.
Ken served as as liaison to the Hartsdale Parking District. He helped the parking authority come up with creative new policies to overcome pandemic challenges.
Ken worked to improve pedestrian safety–securing funding and approval for almost 12 miles of new sidewalks around town, many built with funding from the federal and state governments.
The Councilman encouraged Town Board members to conduct department head evaluations and organized the review process.
During his tenure, Greenburgh enhanced playgrounds and our parks and initiated new programs and activities. Last night Councilman Jones voted for the proposal by Sportime to build/operate a robust racket sports program including pickleball at AF Veteran park-there will be free programs for seniors, disabled and scholarships.
Ken worked to make sure that our court system is well run and pushed for the appointment of the first African American police chief in Greenburgh history;
During Ken’s tenure, Greenburgh was named the 9th Best Family Friendly community in the United States by Fortune Magazine and the 8th Best locality in the northeast by Money Magazine; and, all the bond agencies gave Greenburgh a triple A bond rating–the highest rating a municipality could obtain–a rating reserved for only 2% of American municipalities.
You can watch the tribute to Ken Jones by all the members of the Greenburgh Town Board in video below
Ken has lived in Greenburgh full time since 2003. His parents moved from New Rochelle in 1984 when his father inherited the house where Ken lives now. In 1984 Ken was away at Cornell University and then the University of Wisconsin Law School so he only came home to Greenburgh sporadically. After graduation from law school he moved to New York City where he lived for 10 years. In 2003 Ken inherited the house from his mother and he has lived there since.
In addition to being a Greenburgh Democrat, he is vice president of the Parkway Gardens Civic Association, a member of the Westchester Black Bar Association, and a 2018 recipient of the Thurgood Marshall Award from the Black Democrats of Westchester for his dedication to civil rights, community activism and devotion to equal justice for all. In 2017 he was named Mentor of the Year by the William F. Carter Foundation for his program “Careers in Law Enforcement” which he ran for youth at the Theodore Young Community Center.
He also sits on the boards of the Howard Memorial Fund and the Fellas Scholarship Fund; both funds provide financial assistance to students in college and medical school.
As Councilman, Ken is the liaison to: the Greenburgh Town Court, Department of Philanthropy, Department of Community Resources, Greenburgh Housing Authority, Greenburgh/Elmsford Community Action Program, the Hartsdale Public Parking District, the Westchester Community Opportunity Program and the Police Advisory Committee.
In addition to being a three-term Councilman, Ken is a Senior Associate Counsel at the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County. He is also an Administrative Law Judge for the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.
While holding office here in Greenburgh, Ken has been available and responsive, present in the community, and leading by example. He has been an advocate for low-income and workforce housing, an advocate for our Town Court and Greenburgh Police, an advocate for organic waste recycling in the town, and a role model for youth at the Theodore Young Community Center.
His wife is the artist and therapist Jeanine Primm Jones. They live in Parkway Gardens in a house where Ken’s family has lived for over 90 years.
