Con Ed to Inspect and Repair Damaged Sewer Laterals, A Call for Green Infrastructure and More from the Scarsdale Village Board

There was good news this week for residents in Greenacres and Fox Meadow whose sewer lateral lines may have been damaged by Con Edison’s installation of a large gas transmission line from August 2021-October 24, 2026.

On May 12, Con Ed issued a press release that confirmed that they will conduct inspections of lateral sewer lines for specified homes along Walworth Avenue and Fox Meadow Road that may have been damaged during the installation of a large gas main.

Here is what Con Ed said:

This informational notice provides important details about Con Edison’s plan to offer sewer-lateral video inspections to homeowners whose sewer laterals may have been impacted by previous gas construction activities performed along Walworth Avenue between August 2021 and January 2023 and Fox Meadow Road between May 2023 and October 2024 by a contractor working for the Company.

What we are offering:

• A licensed sewer lateral inspector will conduct video inspections from the home to the sewer line in the roadway;
• Appointments Monday-Friday over the next several weeks beginning May 18, 2026, with the expectation of completion by the end of June; and
• Access to the video inspection at no cost to the homeowner.

The memo says they will repair any lines that were found to be damaged by the construction activity.

Click here to see the addresses of homes on the list, to schedule an appointment and to get answers to your questions from Con Edison. Residents who want to schedule an inspection or have questions should email scarsdalescheduling@coned.com. 

At the Village Board meeting on Tuesday May 12, 2026, some still had questions about the issue and may not have been aware of the press release issued earlier that day.

Antony Lacoudre of 73 Walworth Avenue presented the Board with a list of residents on Walworth who had already had to make repairs to their sewage lines. He said, “Five people had to pay between $20,000-$40,000 and 20 people had a camera scope showing faulty connections. Something happened external to us. It hit Walworth Avenue hard.”

Joe Lawrence of 7 Walworth Avenue who has been advocating for the Village to defend residents said, “I want to review the letter I got from Con Ed. A Ms. Cummings handed me the flyer and said she had contacted 50 houses in Greenacres and was going to head down to Fox Meadow tomorrow. She said the list is based on engineers’ diagrams on where those laterals cross the sewer main.”

“I am glad that Scarsdale is being transparent about this and that Con Ed is accepting responsibility for it and will make the repairs. I want to thank the Mayor for getting involved- there was a lot of resistance in the beginning. They are only assuming responsibility for the connection in the street. This does not certify our lines – but they might be out of code anyway. Many of the lines are clay and subject to damage. The construction did jeopardize the integrity of our streets. The construction went on for a long time and we were very inconvenienced. And now we will be inconvenienced again when they tear up the streets to repair our lateral lines. I am glad they are assuming the cost of repairing the lines, but the inconvenience is still there. I am wondering what they could do as an act of public sympathy…. do something for the residents. It is really absurd what we had to go through. It doesn’t do any good for Scarsdale. It is just connecting one community to another. We could have Con Ed help our community…. to help pay for a park, kids programs, charitable donations to community efforts. I am glad that we reached this conclusion. We have a solution at hand. I am happy that everyone will have their lines inspected – even those that were not affected by the construction.”

Calling in, Michael Levine said, “I live on Walworth – but my house is not on the list for an inspection. How were houses put on the list? There was activity on the side streets – Colvin, Berkeley, Brayton – is there an assurance that unless your lateral goes to Walworth that there is no exposure? If the connection is to a side street – not Walworth – could there be exposure?”

Also calling in, Yiwei Fang from 29 Walworth asked, “Have they committed to inspect every house on Walworth or only the ones on the list?”

The Mayor responded saying, “The list was created based on engineer’s drawings. Village staff added any homes to the list whose sewer lines were above or below the line. If you are being inspected it doesn’t mean there was damage – but Con Edison will repair any damage. About 60% of the laterals on the list were cut – and restored. I would encourage you to email the woman who was walking around to ask your questions. They believe that the damage is only where the transmission line was routed.”

About the flyers the Mayor said, “Some of the flyers were delivered – but not all. We were told a good amount were delivered. There is an email address in the FAQ that we pushed out – we want everyone to know about it.”

Stormwater and Green Infrastructure

In other business at the Village Board, SHS Junior Laila El Moselhy called for the Village to incorporate green infrastructure into the Sheldrake Watershed project with involves draining and culverts across the street from the Scarsdale Middle School and a retention basin at the school field.

She said, "Good evening. My name is Laila El Moselhy, I live at 35 Brite Ave and I’m a junior at Scarsdale High School.

I’m interested in civil engineering, and over the past few months, I’ve been trying to learn more about how infrastructure decisions get made in Scarsdale. I reached out to the Village Engineering Department and spent time speaking with Village Engineer Dave Goessl about the challenges the Village is facing.

What struck me most was how much of the work today is about maintaining systems that were built generations ago, aging storm drains, sewer lines, culverts, and flood-control infrastructure that were never designed for the kinds of storms we’re experiencing now.

I saw the impact of that personally during Hurricane Ida in 2021. I live on Brite Avenue, and that night, cars stalled in the roadway, basements flooded, and neighbors who had never experienced flooding before suddenly faced major damage and reconstruction. Since then, the Village has clearly taken the issue seriously. There have been drainage studies, engineering reports, environmental reviews, and major discussions about flood mitigation throughout the Village, but I am here specifically about the Sheldrake watershed.

I’m here tonight because I want to recommend a newer way of going about these infrastructure projects that you may or may not have already looked into.

As I understand it, the Sheldrake flood-mitigation project and the middle school’s field work are now happening at roughly the same location and on a similar timeline. This creates a rare opportunity for coordination, not only in construction but potentially in funding.

Most of the flood-control projects currently under discussion rely on what engineers call gray infrastructure: larger pipes, culverts, and storage systems designed to move water away more efficiently. Those investments are important and necessary.

But there’s also another category of infrastructure that many communities are adopting alongside traditional systems: green stormwater infrastructure.

That includes things like bioswales, rain gardens, permeable pavement, and other landscape features that help absorb and slow stormwater before it overwhelms drainage systems downstream. New York City has installed over eleven thousand of these and cut runoff into combined sewers by more than twenty percent. I want to highlight New York State’s program called the Green Resiliency Grant. It funds up to ninety percent of the cost of projects using green infrastructure, up to ten million dollars per project. The state awarded sixty million dollars last fall, and the next cycle is opening soon.

The Sheldrake project is already going to disturb the middle school site. While the ground is open, I was wondering if the village could pair the Sheldrake work with watershed-scale green-infrastructure components. Such as, bioswales along streets that feed the basin, permeable surfaces at parking lots, and a bioretention feature on the school grounds. And then apply for a Green Resiliency Grant to pay for it.

Because the site is already being studied, engineered, and disturbed for stormwater work, this may be exactly the kind of moment when integrated planning can save money and strengthen long-term resilience at the same time.

I also think this could become an educational opportunity. Scarsdale students are learning about climate science, sustainability, engineering, and public policy in the classroom. A visible, modern stormwater-management project in our own community could become a real-world example of those ideas in practice."

The Mayor thanked her and said “there has been discussions about stormwater improvements at that site – staff has been talking --but I don’t know if exactly what you are discussing has been discussed. Please share your information with us.”

Trustee Tim Foley added, “You are right – this is a trend among communities to see how they can improve stormwater infrastructure while making repairs. I saw a similar project in Hoboken. You are definitely ahead of the curve.”

Village Manager Alex Marshall reminded residents of some upcoming events. She invited everyone to the Memorial Day Parade on Monday May 25, 2026. She said there will be a celebration of the nation’s 250th and Scarsdale 325th birthdays at 10 am where the winner of the Scarsdale Flag Design contest will be announced – and the flag will be revealed.

On Sunday May 31, there will be a 325th birthday celebration for Scarsdale at Chase Park from 9:00 am – 1:30 pm with fun and games for children – along with the weekly Farmer’s Market.

Resolutions

Trustees passed the following resolutions:

-Alpine Tree was given a contract for Village tree work for emergencies and off-peak hours.
-A resolution for $40,000 was signed to deliver police uniforms.
-The Village wide fee schedule was adopted for June 2026.
-Eilenn Gregwear was appointed as Deputy Village Clerk and Deputy Town Clerk.

Letters

Letters were received requesting additional hours for public access to the Take it or Leave it Shed, concerning the antisemitic incident at the high school and another inviting the Board of Trustee to the Girl Scouts Gold Award ceremony on June 7 at 4 pm at the Girl Scout House on Wayside Lane.

Tax Collections

The Deputy Village Treasurer reported that the County’s collection percentage for this year is 92.40%, indicating that current county tax collections are slightly lower than they were at this point in 2025, when the rate was 93.24%.

As of May 7, 2026, an additional $1,390,535 in County taxes has been collected, leaving an uncollected balance of $2,116,472. Delinquent reminders for the 2026 County tax were mailed and emailed on May 7, 2026.

As of April 30, 2026, total outstanding liens amount to $514,998. In addition, outstanding current tax collections totaling $1,002,968 were transferred to delinquent lien status effective May 1, 2026.

Watch the meeting here: