Nearly a decade ago, Christy Knell was driving around downtown Dobbs Ferry. She had a vision.
“I would look at this corner next to Rochambeau Wines & Liquors. They had this empty storefront, and I would drive by it, and I just kept wondering…‘How you might get people to want to open business in Dobbs,’” Knell said.
Years later, Knell was elected as mayor of Dobbs Ferry at the end of 2025. She will serve a two-year term, and is eligible to run for re-election in 2027.
“As you get into it, and you see all the other parts of government, and how all anyone’s trying to do is come up with solutions that make the most people happy,” she said.
Before her election as mayor, Knell sat on the board of the Chamber of Commerce and joined the Nominating Committee. She also joined the Village Board of Trustees and served as a trustee for five years. Outside of civil duties, Knell is an award-winning graphic designer and co-founder of HudCo, a coworking and event space in downtown Dobbs Ferry.
Knell’s inauguration signifies a turning point for the Village government since the previous mayor, Vincent Rossillo, held a six-year tenure in office. When Rossillo announced that he would not be running for re-election during his last term, Knell offered herself up for consideration as his replacement and was endorsed by the Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee.
When the election rolled around at the end of last year, she ran unopposed. This is not an isolated event — according to a report by the Carnegie Corporation, fewer than 15% of eligible voters turnout for municipal elections. Nevertheless, Knell and her team held a traditional campaign.
“If we don’t campaign, then no one knows it’s happening. And I feel like that’s why it is important to have contested elections. But in lieu of not having them, then it’s still our place to make sure people know there’s an election, and what the names are, and why we’re running,” Knell said.
As Knell transitioned from campaigning to governing as mayor, she appointed Nitin Gupta, The Masters’ School Doctor, to fill her seat. Gupta said, “She’s got a great vibe. She’s very open. When residents email her, she really responds to them as quickly as any mayor can.”
Now that she’s in office, Knell has a number one goal: “I want to have a capital plan so that we know what we’re spending big money on over the next five years, just get that in place.”
Nitin explained the importance of a strong capital plan: “Increasing the economic diversity of this village is important and that starts by kind of making sure we’re making fiscally responsible choices as a board. If we’re spending irresponsibly, taxes go up, rents go up. People are priced out.”
For several years, Dobbs Ferry has suffered from infrastructure faults. So, once budgeting is sorted out, the underground is at the top of Knell’s list.
“The big thing that you’ll hear is all of our infrastructure, like the pipes and everything underground — like the super un-sexy stuff — all of it’s really old, the whole state kind of falling apart underneath,” she said.
Structural concerns have been an ongoing issue in Dobbs Ferry, and have been the focus of Village government for several years.
The new mayor is also focused on making Dobbs Ferry more liveable above ground, by continuing an affordable housing project initiated under Rossillo’s term. In the spring, the Village partnered with Kearney Realty & Development Group to build mixed income housing on Cedar Street.
“Keeping that moving is definitely on the agenda,” Knell said.
Over the course of her term, Knell further hopes to bolster civic engagement.
“I’m always trying to get as many voices in the room as we can,” she said. “That’s going to be a part of this year, too; trying to figure out more interesting and innovative ways of connecting with more residents.”
She elaborated, “I like the idea of getting high school students, middle school students, elementary school students, and having them be a part of all the decisions that we make.”
