Last September, a new statue was installed at Harbor Square in Ossining, while across the Atlantic, its sister city, Alijo, Portugal, has an identical statue in its town. Commissioned by developer Martin Ginsberg and created by Portuguese artist Cesar Israel Paulo, The Angel commemorates firefighters on two continents. This touching display of sorority led us to find out what other Westchester towns have siblings:
Port Chester — Portchester, Hampshire, England
Like New Rochelle, Port Chester shares a namesake in Southern England. Twinned in 2010, Portchester, UK, and Port Chester, NY, are both suburbs of major shipping towns: Ports Mouth and NYC.
Peekskill — Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Established in 2000, the relationship between Castlebar and Peekskill was born out shared heritage and fostered by the Peekskill St. Patrick’s Committee. The two share an artist-exchange program.
Yonkers — Ternopil, Ukraine
Yonkers and Ternopil, Ukraine, first broke bread 1991. Initiated by the Ukrainian-American Youth Association, the pact between the two cities was originally just a student-exchange program. The relationship has become strained in recent years due to the lack of volunteers willing to assist with implementing programs.
Ossining — Sassinoro, Italy
Ossining has another sister city, in Sassinoro, Italy. Hundreds of citizens from Sassinoro ended up in Ossining after passing through Ellis Island, looking to build a new life in Westchester. In 2009, the cities renewed their sisterly oaths and have maintained their close family ties.
Harrison — Montgeron, Ile-de-France, France
These two sisters shared the twinning oath (an actual thing) in 1991. The vow promises to maintain permanent links between the cities, developing bonds of sibship by encouraging their citizens to visit their sister city.
