Bill Colona, the Director of Government and Community Relations at Pace, and Julian Alston, president of SGA have been working together over the past summer in order to strengthen the relationship between Pace and Pleasantville and address any concerns Pleasantville residents may have.

Colona invited Pleasantville residents and the Pleasantville Advisory Council to join the inauguration ceremony of Pace’s new president Marvin Krislov later this month, and also invited them to a home football game.

None of the invited Pleasantville residents came to the game. Still, Colona believes that it’s good for Pace to make the effort to be a good neighbor.

“When you think about culture and relationships between institutions, I think it’s important for members of those parties to be invested in assessing that culture and changing it if need be,” said Colona.

Alston has taken initiative in enhancing this relationship by reaching out to Colona and setting up a meeting with the Mayor of Pleasantville, Peter Scherer in order to address how this can be done and what Pace can do on its end.

One of the biggest concerns that was raised during this meeting was that there are certain times of the week during the evening and early morning where residents on Bedford Road complained of noise, littering, and vandalism.

“I tell everyone to think of Pleasantville as their community. Would you want to trash your home town? If you wouldn’t then, you shouldn’t do it here,” said Alston.

Alston has proposed a late-night shuttle run on weekends in order to avoid noise complaints and to keep residents happier.

Alston has also met with Bill Flooks, the President of the Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce, in order to make Pleasantville more of a college town and have banners up in the windows of local businesses because of how heavily the town relies on Pace students for business.