Despite the pandemic, Jaroszynski is touting the successful re-birth of the village’s business district during his time in office.

“It was an honor to be reelected by the residents of Falconer,” he said Tuesday, a day after he was sworn in as mayor for a second term. A brief ceremony at the Falconer Library included his daughters, Hannah and Kate. His wife, Ellicott Town Justice Sally Jaroszynski, administered the oath of office.

Falconer Trustee Alan Gustafson Jr. also was sworn in during Monday’s ceremony.

Jaroszynski served on the Falconer Village Board prior to becoming mayor. He was still getting settled into the leadership position when the COVID-19 pandemic impacted how people worked, shopped and lived.

Falconer Mayor James Jaroszynski is administered the oath of office from Town Justice Sally Jaroszynski. He is pictured with his two daughters, Hannah and Kate. Submitted photo

“Three months into my term the pandemic hit,” Jaroszynski said. “For the next two years, we have been fortunate to have had private investment in new businesses.”

Indeed, a handful of new businesses — many locally owned and operated — have cropped up in the last couple of years. Jaroszynski also helped lead efforts to revive the Falconer Business Association, which is still ongoing.

Due to COVID-19, Falconer received hundreds of thousands of dollars in American Rescue Plan Act funds. To date, some of those funds have gone toward maintenance on village buildings. The Village Board is expected to discuss at an upcoming meeting what to do with the balance of its ARPA funds.

“We’ll look at ways at how we can spend that money,” Jaroszynski said.

He said the village also is waiting to hear whether it will be awarded funds through the highly competitive NY Forward program. Established by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the program’s aim is to “invigorate and enliven downtowns in New York’s smaller and rural communities.”

NY Forward is scheduled to invest $100 million, with each of the state’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils will have the option of recommending two communities for $4.5 million awards, or three communities one of which will receive $4.5 million and two will be awarded $2.25 million.

Last year, Falconer and the village of Westfield worked with the Partnership for Economic Growth and consultants with Barton and Loguidice to establish a vision for its respective downtowns by identifying priority projects and developing a master plan to obtain possible funding.

In August, nine potential priority projects were unveiled in Falconer. They included: park improvements; a complete streets feasibility study; trail connections and park improvements; waterfront activation and enhancement; parking lot improvements; Main Street design guidelines; streetscape improvements; building facade improvements; and placemaking, wayfinding signage and connectivity.

Jaroszynski said village officials are “eagerly waiting” to learn whether Falconer will be awarded funds.