Ossining Aqueduct Hub art deadline is June 26 as work continues

Ossining’s public-art deadline for the Aqueduct Hub arrives this week, giving Westchester-based artists until June 26, 2026, at 5 p.m. to submit proposals for a large exterior design at the downtown parking and transportation project.

The Village of Ossining is seeking an original digital design that would be printed on a 1,740-square-foot tensile mural scrim wrapping the northeast corner of the new Multimodal Aqueduct Hub. The selected artist will receive a $5,000 fee for the final digital design and print-ready file, according to the village’s request for proposals announcement.

Eligibility is narrower than a general statewide call. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and must either live in Westchester County or maintain a studio in Westchester County.

The art call is tied to a larger downtown project

The mural is not a stand-alone streetscape item. It is being planned for the Aqueduct Hub, which is under construction at the former Brandreth Municipal Lot near Main and Spring streets in downtown Ossining.

Village materials describe the hub as part of Ossining’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative work. The village received a $10 million state DRI award, and the Aqueduct Hub project received $2.243 million through that program plus a later $1 million award from Empire State Development, according to the village’s project page.

The same village page says the hub is intended to provide more than 200 vehicle parking spaces, e-bike rental and charging, EV charging, a rooftop solar array and a design meant to fit the Main Street corridor. The project also is intended to improve pedestrian access to the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail.

River Journal reported in March that the broader transit hub project is estimated at about $21 million and projected to add about 242 parking spaces, along with EV charging stations and e-bike rentals and repairs. The publication reported that construction was underway at the former Brandreth Street parking lot near Main and Spring streets.

Why residents and businesses are watching

For downtown residents, drivers and business owners, the practical question is not only what the art will look like. It is whether the new garage eventually eases parking pressure around Main Street and helps make other downtown redevelopment plans more workable.

Village materials say the hub is meant to support redevelopment of centrally located downtown properties now used as surface parking. In plain terms, the garage is being used as a parking replacement strategy: add structured parking first, then make it easier for the village to move forward with other Main Street projects without losing needed parking capacity.

That longer-term goal comes with short-term construction impacts. News 12 Westchester reported in May that large trucks were expected to deliver project pieces over a 10- to 12-week period, with possible brief road closures on and around Main Street. The report said those deliveries were expected Monday through Friday between 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., and that Ossining police would help keep traffic moving.

Drivers, downtown workers and customers should treat the Main Street and Spring Street area as an active construction zone and allow extra time when notices or visible work suggest delays. The traffic impacts described in the May report were construction-period disruptions, not permanent road closures.

What to watch next

The next immediate milestone is the June 26 art submission deadline. The village has not announced a selected artist, and the hub itself remains under construction.

After the RFP closes, residents can watch for the village’s artist selection, additional construction updates, parking information, traffic advisories and any new details about how the hub connects with other DRI-funded downtown work. For Main Street businesses and regular downtown visitors, the key issues will be when the garage opens, how parking access is managed, and whether construction-related disruptions change as the project moves into later stages.

Sources

• Village of Ossining public art RFP announcement
• News 12 Westchester report on Aqueduct Hub construction and traffic
• River Journal report on Ossining transit hub groundbreaking