Elevators to be Installed at Both Scarsdale and Hartsdale Train Stations - and More from Village Hall

Taxes, field lights and elevators at both the Scarsdale and Hartsdale Metro North Stations were among the many topics discussed at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday June 25.

Grievances

Mayor Samwick reported that the final count of grievances filed this year was slightly higher than reported last week. There were 635 applications filed with the Board of Assessment Review which is up from 552 in 2018 and down from 709 in 2017. He interpreted the count saying, “It is not surprising to see an uptick in grievance filings relative to 2018 given the adjustment to the real estate market resulting from the state and local tax deduction limit that was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.”

Freightway

Samwick said that the RFP for the Freightway Development Project was released to six companies that responded to the original RFEI. The responses to the RFP are due by September 16 and the next public meeting will be held in October.

Anti-Semitic Incident

The Mayor discussed an alleged Anti-Semitic incident at a Village Store on Monday June 24 that was reported on social media but not to the Scarsdale Police. Samwick said, “The Village Board strongly condemns this type of action, which is not indicative of the greater Scarsdale community, as we all know, but we cannot control the actions of individuals. We will continue to treat this potential event seriously and will report to the community in the event information becomes available that residents should be aware of.”

Lights at Butler Field

Last, following a joint meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Education and the Scarsdale Board of Trustees on June 19, the Village Board passed a resolution at their June 25 meeting to refer the matter for review to the Village Planning Board. Samwick said, “The Village Board has expressed its conceptual support for the Butler Field lights project and its appreciation for the extensive community outreach performed by the School District. This evening the Board will vote on referring the Butler Field Lights project to the Planning Board for its review and recommendation. This referral is consistent with approaches that the Village and School Boards have taken in the past with a constructive outcome for the community.

Elevators at Train Stations

Representatives from Metro North attended the meeting to report that they are planning to install an elevator on the west side of the station, that is the side for passengers headed south. A similar project will be undertaken at Hartsdale train station where Metro North will install elevators on both sides of the tracks.

They explained that they will construct of an elevator, an elevator room to house the mechanicals, a new sidewalk and curb cuts to allow wheel chair access. Timing calls for completion of the design work in the third quarter of 2019 and procurement of a contractor in the first quarter of 2020. The work is expected to take 20 months and will be done at night. There will be no disruption of train service but there could be some noise. The work will involve “jacking the overpass” to allow for wheelchair access. The overpass itself will get a bench, new heaters and new lighting.

The work at Hartsdale train station will have a similar timetable and two elevators and two machine rooms will be installed.

Renovations at the Girl Scout House

The Board held a hearing on and approved a resolution to apply for a $114,000 Westchester County Community Development Block Grant for upgrades to the Girl Scout House. Speaking for Scardale’s Seniors, Carol Silverman said, “These upgrades are necessary to maintain this much needed building which serves Scarsdale seniors and beyond our borders.” If the funding comes through, the plan is to install a new roof, windows, floors, radiators and replace the kitchen.

New Elevator at Village Hall

The Board also held a hearing and approved a resolution to apply for another Westchester County Community Development Block Grant to upgrade the elevator in Village Hall. The total cost of the elevator is estimated at $142,000 and Scarsdale Village would pay $71,000 and use the grant for the balance.

Noise

In public comments, Michael Rubin of 33 Crossway asked the Board of Trustees to consider a change to the Village noise ordinance to bar construction on Saturdays, Sundays and official holidays. He said he recently experienced in the building of a new home next door and is now faced with more construction on a neighboring property.

Road Resurfacing

The board allocated an additional $221,000 for road resurfacing from unallocated capitol budget revenues from the 2018/19 fiscal year. The money will be used for road milling and paving.

Tennis Court Repairs

The Board passed a resolution authorizing a $57,960 contract to Sport Tech Acrylics Corp to repair cracks and resurface the tennis courts at Scarsdale Middle School and Scarsdale High School. Bob Harrison spoke in favor of the repairs and asked that the work be done after the summer season for Scarsdale Youth Tennis.

Easements

Two resolutions concerning easements were on the agenda for the meeting, and the board approved one and tabled a decision on another.

The Board approved an agreement with Bobby Ben Simon, developer of a property at 129 Cushman Road, to reroute a drainage line on the property and revise the Village easement agreement to reflect the positioning of the relocated line.

However, the Board moved to table a vote on a resolution regarding an easement at 4 Bethel Road where construction of a new home encroached into an easement area. The building inspector found that an asphalt concrete driveway extension, cobblestone curbing, permanent mounted basketball hoop, heavy stone retaining wall and soil fill of approximate depth ranging between two and four feet encroached on the easement and violated code.

Bench at DeCicco’s

The board accepted a gift of $1,800 to install a bench in front of DeCicco’s market in honor of Ilana Kestenbaum who passed away this year. According to the resolution, “Mrs. Kestenbaum lived in Scarsdale and the surrounding area for over 40 years and loved to spend her days sitting on the bench in front of DeCiccos while people watching or catching the sun throughout all four seasons.”

Scarsdale Concours

The board granted permission to the Scarsdale Concours Car Show to hold the event on October 6, 2019.