Longtime legislator, transportation director and volunteer moving to Florida
Vincent “Vinny” Tamagna, 65, represented Philipstown and part of Putnam Valley on the Putnam County Legislature for 19 years, until 2013, when he left office and was appointed as county transportation director. He is also an active volunteer, including with St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, the Hudson River Valley Institute and the Constitution Island Association.
On Wednesday (Aug. 14), Tamagna resigned from his county position to become director and program manager of the paratransit system for Broward County Transit in the Miami area. He sat down this week with reporter Michael Turton.
Did you grow up in Philipstown?
I grew up in Continental Village, but on the Westchester side. I graduated from Lakeland High School. When I got married, we bought a house on Winston Lane.
You’ve had a long career. Why not retire?
Well, my mother is 87 and still works full-time at ShopRite in Carmel! I still have a full career ahead of me. I want to apply everything I’ve accumulated, including my doctorate in public policy, leadership and values-based leadership. I’m a worker, and I can’t wait to start the new chapter.
How did you get into politics?
I was president of the Continental Village Property Owners Association. We wanted our flagpole painted but no one was listening to us at the Town Board. So, at age 28, I ran unsuccessfully for Philipstown supervisor and then ran unsuccessfully for a spot on the Town Board. But the third time was a charm, and I was elected [as a Republican] to the county Legislature in 1995.
What did you find most challenging as a legislator?
I was always kind of the maverick — one of the biggest challenges was that District 1 only has one legislator. Every other district has at least two. It’s difficult to convince people. But Sam Oliverio [a Democrat who represented Putnam Valley], who was also from western Putnam, was supportive and nonpartisan. We were able to initiate some great things: Preserve America, the industrial development agency, the first tourism promotion bureau, a domestic partner registry, an economic development corporation and agricultural districts. I led the charge for term limits. There should be term limits at every level of government.
Will Putnam ever share sales tax with its municipalities?
I don’t think so. While there are hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax collected from car sales, we don’t have a dealership in Philipstown. We have some good restaurants, but if you look at their sales tax receipts, we can’t compete with the big businesses in the Town of Southeast, such as Home Depot and the like. While we are burdened with tourists, we don’t have the same contributions in sales tax. It is really a false argument. If we want to be smart, we’d look at the tremendous amount of property tax that goes to the county. I believe that would be a stronger argument.
You were appointed in 2003 as the Hudson River Navigator to promote the Hudson River Valley. What are some things that were accomplished?
Tremendous things happened. We brought in big grants for Scenic Hudson for the West Point Foundry Preserve. We got a Preserve America designation and the grants that came with that. When Mary Saari was clerk for the Village of Cold Spring, she wanted to digitize a collection of historic photos, and a grant came through for that. In Westchester, in partnership with cadets at West Point and Metro-North, we designed a way to remove derelict railroad ties from the little bay outside the Croton railroad station, enabling kayakers to safely use it.
How have you been involved with St. Mary’s?
In 2014, my friend and church treasurer Mary Powell asked me to join the vestry. Five years ago, I became the rector’s warden. With my background in project management and construction, we put together a five-year capital plan and tried to look at fundraising opportunities and the creation of new revenue streams. I’m happy many people have joined in. I think St. Mary’s will be in great shape in the near future. People now see it as more than a church; the property is the heart and soul of Cold Spring.
What is your role at Constitution Island, and what are your hopes for it?
I became vice president of the Constitution Island Association in 2012 and its president since 2016; I’ll stay until I finish my term at year-end. We received $8 million in funding to restore the Warner House and create an education center. We’re also preserving the three redoubts. I hope the island can again offer the educational programs it once had, including the significant history of Indigenous people. We want to welcome more visitors, especially during the 250th anniversary of our country in 2026.
What changes have you seen in the county transportation system?
It’s a different system than when I became director in 2013. It’s well organized. It’s passed five Federal Transit Authority audits. The fleet is wonderfully maintained. The contractor, MV Transit, could not be better. They worry about everything, from being on time to how we get grandma to dialysis treatment. We’re launching a micro-transit pilot in Patterson which I also had slated to put in Philipstown, Putnam Valley and Lake Peekskill soon. It’s basically Uber for public transit. An algorithm dispatches vehicles to places where people want to go. It isn’t fixed routes that are running empty. This will be different: If there’s no demand, there’s no vehicle.
What is your view of the trolley?
I first saw a trolley in Savannah, Georgia. I went to Putnam County and said, “We should do something like that.” We found federal funding and we did it. I’m proud of that. We were running well — not great — until the pandemic. Now we’re creeping back again. We need to focus on promotion; it seems people like to fight it instead of promoting it! This year we’ve been featured in The New York Times twice. I get nothing but positive comments from the public. We need to do a better job of connecting it to places. Boscobel will be a hub for Fjord Trail sprinter vans and the trolley, with connections to the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Magazzino, Manitoga, the trailheads and the like. We’re looking forward to supporting the Fjord Trail transportation plan, but I wouldn’t change the trolley schedule until that plan is known. Otherwise, it’s just guessing.
How will you cope with the Florida heat?
It’s probably in my DNA. My family is from the Mediterranean — Sicily — and I like hot weather. I’ve never been afraid of a hot seat! I don’t golf, I’m not a boater, but I love music and like to travel a bit. My son Nicholas, a countertenor, performs internationally, including in Rome, Paris and Germany. After things are running smoothly in my new position, I’d like to be able to kick back and enjoy more of his performances abroad.
