Kensico Community Green Dedicated to Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Westchester leaders, friends, family and President Bill Clinton gathered at Kensico Dam Plaza on September 9 to honor Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey and to name the large lawn in front of the dam as the “United States Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey Community Green at Kensico Dam Plaza.” Lowey served sixteen terms in the United States House of Representatives and passed away in March, 2025.

The ceremony was led by Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins who said, “Congresswoman Nita Lowey spent more than three decades serving the state and the people of Westchester.” He said, “Today is about remembrance but it’s almost about something more, it’s about legacy. When we speak of Congresswoman Nita Lowey there’s no shortage of accomplishments to point to. For more than three decades she represented the people with strength, intelligence and a commitment to public service.” …she stood up for families and children….. she highlighted her opposition to proposed cuts in the public broadcasting service with Bert and Ernie hand puppets.… One of the most important parts of Nita’s legacy cannot be measured in legislation, funding or years in office. It can be seen in people. Nita understood that leadership was not supposed to end with you. It means opening doors to those who are not usually invited into the room.” “… She developed the next generation of leaders.”

In the audience were many people who she helped to get on their way.

He continued, “…A community green is not something simply to be looked at. It’s a place where people gather, it’s where conversations happen, where children play, where communities celebrate their heritage.”

President Bill Clinton took the mic and joked, “I knew her (Nita) way before I thought I would be taking orders from her…. She understood how democracy really works.”

He said when he was President and Lowey was serving as the first woman to co-chair the powerful House Appropriations Committee, she was on the “just say Yes list.,” among the people who got their way virtually 100% of the time. He told aides, “Why waste your time? We are going to cave anyway.” He remembered, “Her smile concealed a will of steel. She beat you to death but always smiled.” He called, her, “Miss Efficient Government.”

He remembered that unlike some politicians, Nita did not play fast and loose with the facts, but “99% of the time, she actually knew what she was talking about.”

Remarking on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 this week he remembered that he was in Australia at the time of the attack where all along the great barrier reef signs were posted that read, “Our Hearts Are With You America.”

He said, “Do you think we would get that kind of response today?”

He continued, “I’m here today because we have been through a series of challenges which should make you wonder if we can preserve our constitutional democracy.”

“Earlier this year Trump committed an act of candor. He said, “I do not consider myself bound by the constitution or bound by my oath of office. At least he fessed up about it.… “ The former President said, “No one is right all the time. No one has the right to be a dictator. We need a system that is self-correcting because we all make mistakes.”

He thanked Nita for making America work – and showing that we can reach across the lines that divide us. He said she taught us to “Talk to your neighbors whether they agree with you or not. And keep showing up.”

Congressman George Latimer took the stage, and said, “What an honor to be at the podium where William Jeffreson Clinton spoke. He said, “The legacy of Nita Lowey is not forgotten. She brought Bert and Ernie into Congress to make the case for National Public Radio. She was a warm person who was always there for us.”

Latimer said, “I didn’t really understand her until these last 19 months in Congress. She did good things all across the country with her position in Congress. She had very small feet, and very big shoes to fill.”

He continued, “I wish I could hit that button (on his phone) and ask Nita how I can get something through Congress. I want to be like Nita Lowey. She took the authority and used it well.”

State Senator Shelley Mayer knew Lowey well calling her “my mentor and friend. She was the consummate leader – what we should aspire to be.” "She was the daughter of Jewish immigrants, the President of her class at Bronx Science and the first women to chair the House Appropriations Committee. She understood that money was to make people’s lives better.”

Mayer said, “She will be remembered for how she treated people. I commuted to Albany with Nita. We talked about how to make government better…. She could really listen – and made people feel heard. She wanted to hear what you were saying, what mattered to you and how she could make that happen.” She believed “that government should leave peoples’ lives better than what they found it.” Mayer said, “May this beautiful place remain a gathering place for the future.” – and make the legacy of Nita Lowey be what a leader can be.”

Chairman of the Westchester County Board of Legislators Vedat Gashi noted that Lowey believed in him and supported his own path to public service. He remembered her coming to one of his earliest campaign events and joining an Albanian dance with his mother. He said ,“She was warm, down to earth and genuinely interested.”

Nita’s husband Stephen Lowey asked the group, “How old was she when she was first elected to Congress?” The answer was 51 years old. She was born Nita Melnikoff in the Bronx and went on to Mt. Holyoke College. After graduation she worked at Young and Rubican taking surveys around the country, and me her husband in Nantucket when she was 23 years old. They had three children within five years and she was elected to head the PTA. After she campaigned for Mario Cuomo he invited her to work for him and she eventually rose to become the Assistant Secretary to the State of New York. Then she ran for Congress … and he said, “the rest is history.”

Pat Keegan served as District Director to Congresswoman Nita Lowey for more than 26 years. She said, “Members of Congress have two full time jobs – one in Washington and one in their home district. While in Washington Nita saved public broadcasting, chaired the House Appropriations Committee and set up an EPA office for LI Sound. Back at home she helped solve constituents’ problems and partnered with communties to make them better places. She helped with 2000 cases a year and rarely took a day off. Keegan said, “Nita was a doer,” who secured the funding for The Rising, which is the 9/11 memorial at Kensico Dam.

Following the speeches, the plaque naming the community green was unveiled.

Watch the ceremony here: