Residents Ask Village to Find Solution to Sewage Back-ups in Edgewood
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“In municipal government it all comes back to the sewers,” opined Scarsdale Village Manager Steve Pappalardo at the November 12, 2019 meeting of the Village Board. He was responding to complaints about sewage back-ups from a group of residents on Barry Road who reported that raw sewage was “forced into the basement sinks and floors of some homes” at 2 pm on Sunday October 27, 2019.
According to Greg Schwend, who spoke on behalf of the Drake Edgewood Neighborhood Association, this was not the first incident. The issue was first noted in 2005 but it took until 2011 for neighbors to organize and complain to the Village. In 2011 the County of Westchester cleaned a sewage trunk line that lies in the bed of the Hutchinson River. According to Schwend, “Capacity was improved by their cleaning and the problem seemed to have gone away after that for a few years.” However he said, “Now it has reappeared. It happened three times last year and at least twice this year.” He said, “I stood before the Village Board eight years ago and asked the Village Board to treat this issue as if it were you and your own home. And here we are eight years later.”
Reading from Village code Chapter 244, Schwend said, “It is critically important that the Village maintain, repair, improve and replace when necessary components of the sanitary sewer system in order to reduce extraneous flows and illegal discharges. Municipalities must by law take action to fix and maintain sanitary sewage collection systems to reduce all non-sanitary flows into the system.” He added, the Clean Water Act creates strict guidelines for municipalities to maintain their sanitary sewer systems. Westchester County code mandates that municipalities must take immediate action to reduce extraneous flows into the sanitary sewer system.”
He continued, “These extraneous flows get into the Hutchinson River. We know we have a flooding issue. We know there is an intra municipal agreement to take care of the flooding, but this is not the cause of our sewage overflows. The cause is too much water getting into the sanitary sewer system. What I didn’t know before but know now is that a lot of Arthur Manor and Edgewood are connected into a sewer system that has an overflow connection into the Barry Road line. The Bronx River district is causing our problems. It is likely that there are illicit connections going into that system that need to be investigated. I like the idea of a Village code change that allows inspectors to go into homes to check these connections.”
Greg Linn, also on Barry Road said, “I moved here in 2010 and at the closing the previous homeowner told me about the shut off valve to turn off if sewage starts coming in. It did improve after 2011 but the problems are back. They are disgusting and gross. When it rains heavily sewage backs up into our downstairs shower. I appreciate all the effort but it is continuing to happen. If there are any faster solutions, I would be very appreciative for the health of my family and our neighbors and the value of our homes.”
Mr. Zeng on Barry Road said, “I just moved here two years ago. Before he moved here we heard about a good town and good neighbors. We found a lovely house on Barry Road and bought it – but then got a big surprise. It was raining and I found a back-up in the basement and found out about the sewage issues from neighbors. People have a good impression of Scarsdale and good expectations. I hope you will spend more time helping the residents understand the problem and tackling it. I appreciate your help to resolve this problem.”
Village Manager Steve Pappalardo had prepared remarks on the subject. He said, “I want to provide background information on the flooding and sanitary sewer issues, specifically at the end of Barry Road. This section along the Hutchinson River is within the FEMA 100-year flood plain. It is an area at high risk for flooding. These floods have been happening more frequently.
Standing high water of the Hutchinson Riverbed exacerbates these problems. The Hutchinson River in this area is in need of clearing and de-silting…. During rainstorms, it overflows.
Scarsdale Village is collaborating with the County and the Village of New Rochelle on a multi-million improvement project for this work. The work also involves moving four existing culverts to move the water downstream more quickly. This is different than building retention basins as we did in Fox Meadow. In this case we want to move the water out of Scarsdale more quickly.”
He reported, “After numerous stops and starts over the last few years, the proper intra-municipal agreements are now in place for a $3.5 million in county and NYS grants for this work. The work to draft an RFP has now begun. It is a very complicated project because it involves getting the right of entry from numerous private property owners and it involves a dam where ownership issues exist. Despite these obstacles the three entities will see this through. Hopefully when the work is done, homes along that river will be removed from the FEMA flood map.”
He continued, “In 2011 the County conducted certain flow studies and determined during certain rain events that the flow level of the sanitary sewers spiked. Storm water entered the sanitary sewer system through either direct storm water connections, or storm water entering through faulty sewer pipes. This is called infiltration. The Village lined defective sewer pipes on Barry, Carmine and Johnson and Tunstall Roads to seal the pipes. The Village did smoke testing. Tests resulted in violation notices to homeowners.’
‘Sewage in this area enters the system through a county owned 12-inch trunk sewer which sits in the river bed. The city of New Rochelle also discharges sewage to this trunk line. During 2011 the County reported that this pipe was only operating at 60% of capacity. The County flushed and cleaned the trunk line in 2012. It requires annual cleaning in order to handle the volume.
During rain events this county trunk fills up, the sewer line backs up, causing the sewer manhole at the end of Barry Road to pop and dispense sewage onto the roadway. These issues continue to concern the village. We are doing an SSES of all districts. The Village is considering doing a study of how the Bronx Valley to the Hutchinson Valley. Necessary to discuss the impacts and expedite this study.”
He concluded, “The Village is working on the flood and sewage issues in this area to mitigate the issue. If there was an easy fix, we would have made it by now.”
Village Engineer David Goessel described the work that Village, County and City of New Rochelle has already done, admitting they were not able to solve the problem.
He provided a list of action items to continue to address the problem:
He recommended continuing to study the problem and to work with architects and engineers to review the results of prior studies. He said that wet weather televising and monitoring could help to locate the sources of inflow.
He believes that removing the connection to the sewer system from other neighborhoods might have impacts on other properties. He said, “Scarsdale will continue to work with the City New Rochelle on the trunk line and we will work with the neighborhood associations to identify the sump pumps and find out how relevant they are. If many homes have illicit connections to the sanitary sewer lines, the village can consider adding drainage to accommodate those homeowners.”
He said, “The Village will continue to work with the County to guarantee that the trunk line is cleaned so that it can work at capacity. In 2011 hydraulic capacity was found to be at 60%. Annual service is key to preventing back-ups.
The Village will work with staff to develop Village code regarding defective sewer laterals and illicit hook-ups to require inspections or affidavits from plumbers. At the time of sale the homeowner would need to provide affidavits from a licensed professional or village staff to show that there are no faulty laterals or illicit connections.
Last he said, “The staff will work with occupants to provide advice.”
Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps
In other public comments David Raizen from the Scarsdale Ambulance Corps came to the mic to ask the public to support the corps. He said, “It’s annual fundraising time. We mailed out an appeal. We made 1800 calls this year. We do mutual aid to neighboring communities
Half of our budget comes from donations and half come from “soft billing” where we get paid over 80% of the time. We received some stipends from the Village for fuel and repairs to the vehicles. We also take residents to doctor’s appointments. We have four ambulances for now.
We are able to staff three. We run CPR and EMT classes at the ambulance corps, one for high students during senior options. In short, it’s fund drive time. We now also cover a small sliver of the north end of New Rochelle” He asked residents to respond to the mail appeal.
Scarsdale Youth Council
SHS student Ben Assa proposed the creation of a Scarsdale Youth Council comprised of 10 -15 residents aged 14 to 18. This would allow young residents to advocate for themselves and discuss local issues relevant to them. It would promote civic education, leadership, public speaking skills and support civic engagement projects. He suggested they could deal with issues such as distracted driving, vaping and smoking.
Remembering Jim Labick
Bob Harrison spoke in memory of his friend Jim Labick who passed away. He said Labick worked on the Scarsdale Forum and on fiscal affairs committees. He said, “We worked together to see that the Boards did their best to keep our tax rates down. Jim was 80 years old. He moved to Nashville to be near his daughter. I think it is important to let the community know about Jim’s passing.” He proposed a minute of silence on behalf of Jim Labick.
In his comments, Mayor Samwick discussed leaf season and said, “Leaf piles in the streets are a hazard. Put leaf piles on the grass – or mulch in place. He also warned residents about the new license plate readers that police are using for parking enforcement. He said, “There are different zones in different areas – so please be aware of the regulations – and please use Pango.”
Assistant to the Village Manager
Village Manager Steve Pappalardo welcomed Assistant to the Village Manager Aylone Katzin who replaces Josh Ringel who is now working in Tarrytown. Katzin has a masters degree in Public Administration from SUNY Binghamton and previously worked for the Town of Port Chester.
Scarsdale Runners Cross the Finish Line at the NYC Marathon
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Emily Michaels, SHS Class of 2010 completed the race for the second time, this year in just 3:46.As always, many Scarsdale natives were among the 50,000 who ran the New York City marathon on Sunday November 3rd. Here are a few locals who took to the streets of the five boroughs and completed the 26.2 mile race under sunny but cool skies.
Zach Gompertz SHS ’08 trained to run the NYC Marathon years ago only to see the event canceled as a result of Hurricane Sandy. This year he was determined to try again despite starting the MBA program at USC’s Marshall School. All was going well until he suffered a knee injury in the last few weeks. On Sunday he had the knee taped and ran despite the pain. It was touch and go for a while but he managed to make it to the finish line and fulfill a lifetime goal.
Running his fourth NYC Marathon, Greg Seiden, SHS Class of 2011 said, "I was only looking to finish the race smiling. I ran alongside a long time friend from college which proved to make a huge impact on my time and level of fun. We pushed one another through the Bronx, Harlem and down 5th Avenue to the finish line. I was so grateful for the beautiful weather, another opportunity to run and for the friendship."
Greg Seiden, from the SHS class of 2011 is a veteran of the race and this year was his fourth NYC marathon. He crossed the finish line in 4:32.
Emily’s classmate, Gigi Rawanduzy from the SHS Class of 2010 looked great after finishing the race in 5:25.
Zach Gompertz flew in from Los Angeles to do the run.
Matt Paskalides, age 29 and a graduate of Edgemont High School finished in 3:47
Get Out the Vote for Your Neighbors Running for the Citizens Nominating Committee on November 12, 2019
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On Tuesday, November 12, a week after the November 5 general elections, Scarsdale voters will turn out again to elect their neighbors who are running for seats on the nonpartisan Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC). Sixteen residents have volunteered to run for open spots on the CNC as representatives from each elementary school district. Those who are elected will join current CNC members to meet and evaluate non-partisan candidates for the village offices of three Trustees and Village Justice. The 30 elected members of the CNC will then nominate candidates to represent the Non-Partisan party’s slate in the village election, which takes place on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.*
The Procedure Committee, comprised of CNC graduates and other Scarsdale volunteers, administers the CNC process. According to Procedure Committee Chair Eric Cheng, “these are the candidates whose names will appear on the CNC ballot on November 12, and the current members of the CNC. Biographies of each candidate will appear in the Election Brochure mailed to all residents, who are encouraged to look for it in their mailbox the week prior to November 12.
Procedure Committee Co-Chair Sarit Kessel Fuchs stated that “Voters this year will elect two candidates from each Election Unit neighborhood with the exception of Quaker Ridge, where voters will elect three candidates, and the third highest vote getter in this election will fill a one-year vacancy. The new nominating committee members elected on November 12 will join 19 other residents now serving staggered three-year terms on the CNC.”
This year the Procedure Committee has proposed no amendments to the Non-Partisan Resolution, the governing document of the non-partisan electoral system.
ALL DAY VOTING: The CNC election will be held on Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at Village Hall. Residents who are qualified voters may vote in person in the Village Hall Lobby on that date from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, or by mail-in ballot. Mail-in ballots must be received in the Procedure Committee’s Chase Road P.O. Box 284 by 5:00 PM on Election Day. In the event of a tie, a run-off election will be held on Tuesday, November 19, 2018.
The members of the 2019-2020 Procedure Committee are: Stephen Baer, Daniel Brown, Eric Cheng, Chair, Marie DiPalma, Madelaine Eppenstein, Sarit Kessel Fuchs, Vice Chair, Dan Gerardi, Judy Wenjing Kerr, Jon Leslie, Matt Martin, Barry Meiselman, BK Munguia, ML Perlman, Andrew Sereysky, Gregory Soldatenko, Peter Tesler, Amber Yusef, and Anne Zink. Contact: Eric Cheng, Chair, chengchoi@optonline.net; Sarit Kessel Fuchs, Vice Chair, kessel7@hotmail.com
* Under New York State Law, candidates may run outside the non-partisan election system for village office through a write in campaign or by obtaining the prescribed number of signatures on a nominating petition.
Trustees Examine Proposal to Implement Ride-Sharing for Scarsdale Commuters
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As the Village explores the best mix of parking, residential, retail and community amenities for the Freightway site, they must also do a bit imagining – that is imagining what life will be like in the 30-50 years in Scarsdale. Whatever is built on that site will have to continue to be an asset to the community for many years to come.
With thoughts of the future in mind, Scarsdale Village Trustees invited two vendors to a work session on October 22 to explore the possibility of ride sharing, rather than parking, for commuters using Metro North. Biddle Real Estate Ventures, who may or may not be one of the responders to the RFP for the entire Freightway project, partnered with ride-sharing company Via to propose the implementation of a ride-sharing program using a branded fleet of commuter vans.
They made their case contending that a parking garage was a 20th century solution to address the Village’s “first/last mile commuter transportation needs.” They said that car ownership is in decline and believe that a large parking garage will become obsolete. With a new garage to replace Freightway estimated to cost at least $25,000 per space for 730 spaces, the consultants believed that the new garage could cost at least $18,000,000. If the Village built a smaller garage and implemented ride-sharing, some of these funds could be used to build other community amenities.
They proposed ride-sharing in 8-seat commuter vans to reduce the number of individual cars in the Village at peak times, reduce auto emissions and make Scarsdale more green. Via already offers similar programs in 80 cities providing 60,000 rides annually.
The program would work as ride sharing programs do in New York City.
Here’s how:
-The customer would request a ride on their cell phone
-The Via algorithm would match the passenger with a vehicle
-The customer would be instructed to walk to a nearby meeting point
-The customer would be picked up and share a ride
-The customers would be dropped off at the station
But would it take more time to get to the train? According to the two, the trip would actually be shorter as it would shave off the time to get into the Freightway parking lot, park and then walk to the train, which they estimate takes about 8 minutes.
As Village Trustees and Managers contemplate taking down the existing garage during the construction process, ride-sharing could solve the problem of what to do about all the cars in the absence of the 720 spot garage.
The task of delivering hundreds of commuters to the station on time each day, might not be as easy as it sounds. How to test the viability of the proposal? According to the presenters, Via software engineers could simulate requests using Scarsdale’s road speeds and congestion and the company also suggested that they might be able to do a 3-month trial run with actual vans.
In order to ensure a regular stream of revenue, they suggested charging riders an annual fee rather than charges for individual rides. The cars would be owned by a fleet manager but bear Scarsdale Village branding. They suggested that during day time hours and at night these same vans could be used to take people into the Village, do school pick-ups or provide rides to restaurants.
Though there were still many questions to be answered, at the conclusion of the session the trustees asked the representatives to come up with a proposal for a 3-month trial run using actual cars and software to see if this was indeed workable in Scarsdale.
More to come….
Village Attorney to be Replaced with Outside Counsel, Trustees Express Support for Reducing Speed Limit to 25 mph, Climate Change and more...
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Mayor Marc Samwick announced that Village Attorney Angela Sapienza-Martin would return to her previous position as Director of Personnel and Risk Management and the position of Village Attorney would be eliminated at the October 7 meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board.
Spienza-Martin was appointed to the position of Village Attorney in June 2018 after long-time attorney Wayne Esannason retired. However, Samwick explained that Adil Tahir, who took over as Director of Personnel, would be leaving, and Sapienza would return to her former position. Rather than fill the position of Village Attorney, the Village will retain a law firm to handle the Village’s legal matters. He said that the Village’s “needs are broad, requiring expertise in a wide array of practice areas,” and that a firm could offer these services at a reduced cost. A search committee has been formed to interview prospective firms. In the interim, former Village Attorney Wayne Esannason will return as Village Attorney, effective October 21.
Fall Leaf Collection
Samwick announced that leaf collection would begin on October 15 and said the schedule is available on the Village website. He reminded residents to pile leaves on their lawns, not in the streets and warned against blocking storm drains, hydrants and corners. He said that residents, not their landscapers were responsible for violations. He also asked residents to consider mulching in place rather than raking leaves for collection. Mulch mowing is more efficient, reduces the need for watering, improves lawns and enhances the soil.
Streetlights
Ron Schulhof provided an update on the conversion of Village streetlights to LED light, reporting that 1,500 lights were converted by the Village’s highway department during the summer. This phase, along with the first phase of conversion to LED lights on high traffic roads will yield the Village a savings of $100,000 per year and will also save energy. As of now, about 93% of the lights have been converted. The committee is looking for LED alternatives for decorative lights in the Village.
Climate Change
Tim Foley and several residents spoke about measures the Village could take to address climate change. Foley is co-chair of the Scarsdale Forum’s Climate Resilience Committee who is exploring how Scarsdale can address the challenges of climate change. They plan to do a study of climate action plans from comparable communities and explore sources of funding.
As a preliminary step, the committee is recommending that Scarsdale join the NYS Climate Smart Communities Program by passing a municipal resolution to take 10 pledges to adapt to mitigate global warming. He said, “Joining 34 Westchester communities would qualify Scarsdale to receive technical support, rebates and matching funds from the state to adapt to climate resilience projects.”
The committee also recommends that Scarsdale declare a Sustainability Day on a Sunday in May 2020 to celebrate the Village’s accomplishments to make Scarsdale a more sustainable community, to educate the community and to call for every community to do their part to mitigate the effects of climate change.
He concluded by saying, “The time to start planning and taking action was yesterday.”
Former Trustee Kay Eisenman from Brewster Road echoed Foley’s remarks. She is a member of the committee and hopes that the Board will sign onto to the resilience pact. She said, “I don’t see any downside in us doing this.”
Darlene Francois-Haber from Nelson Road, also on the committee, said she looked at the 100 items on the climate smart community checklist for the program. She said, “We already have 100 points toward certification. This is a win-win. There is nothing to lose and everything to gain. We are talking about gaining matching funds for our municipality. I urge you to take the pledge and establish a sustainability day.”
Former Village Trustee Bill Stern spoke in favor of leaf mulching and the climate change resolution. He said, “We have to be more aggressive than just using education.” About Foley’s proposal he said, “we need to support these two measures… It’s extraordinarily important to keep Scarsdale for future generations. There is always push back but the government should act for the greater good.”
Jordan Copeland from Woods Lane spoke in favor of the climate change resolution. He said, “Scarsdale is a leader in every way and we should stand up for what is right for the future and the kids.”
Speed Limit
Apparently the speed limit on local streets is dictated by the New York State law. Current law mandates a speed limit of not less than 30 miles per hour, even in areas with busy pedestrian activity like the Village Center. Research has found that pedestrian accidents and fatalities are significantly reduced when the speed limit is reduced from 30 mph to 25 mph. However, the Village has no power to reduce the limit under current NYS law. NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin has introduced two bills to allow municipalities to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph and the Scarsdale Board of Trustees passed a resolution in favor of this new legislation.
The Board voted unanimously to support the resolution. They agreed that reducing the speed limit would improve safety and all found it frustrating that this was not under the jurisdiction of the local government.
However, Mayor Samwick noted that the matter is up to the Village’s Traffic Safety Committee, which is comprised of engineers, law enforcement and members of the Village Manager’s office. He said, “We should recognize the process. Our view is clear. We are the policy body – but this is not our decision to make.”
Madelaine Eppenstein spoke in favor of the resolution. Jordan Copeland asked the Village to also consider using other tactics such as pavement lines and obstacles to slow the flow of traffic. He said, “About the reduction of the speed limit to 25 mph, I am in favor of safer streets. Enforcement, education and engineering can all be used to improve traffic safety. I urge you to be creative with engineering solutions. In Sweden they are shrinking their lanes. There is more you can do with paint. Increase the cognitive load on people. Think about using striping to get people to slow down. Take the focus away from enforcement and figure out how you can make them slow down.”
Freightway RFP Process
Both Robert Berg and Michael Levine spoke about the RFP process for the proposed development at the Freightway site.
Berg opined about a lack of transparency. He called the project “a train wreck waiting to happen.” He said, “It is the largest development project since the downtown was first built. It should proceed only if it makes sense to the existing property owners. It must reduce the taxes of single-family homeowners or else it does not make sense to the do the project. It is almost guaranteed that it will require homeowners to pay more taxes to subsidize the homeowners who live there.”
He objected to the bidding process which he said protected the six original bidders. He said, “The result is that five of the six submitted the bids, two joined forces, reducing the total bids to four. Only three bids were submitted. Now the board will select two finalists.” He claimed that this prevented residents from getting the full benefit of competitive bids. He asked that the bidding be re-opened.
He continued, “You have released no information about the bids that were submitted three weeks ago and shared nothing about the type of housing each bidder proposed. If it is for rental housing the project fails from the outset because rentals receive more favorable tax treatment than single family homes under NYS real property tax laws. Rentals typically pay 1/3 of the taxes of single-family homes under the law. If rentals are constructed, nearly all homeowners will be subsidizing those rentals. They should pay the same rate of taxes. We don’t need to build Freightway to increase our own taxes.”
Berg also objected to another $40,000 that had been allocated to the Freightway planning consultants.
Responding to Berg, Mayor Samwick said that the Board of Trustees had requested a change in scope and that was why there was an increase in the fee to the planning consultants. About the real estate taxes, Samwick said that was a NYS law. He said, “What are the costs of doing nothing.” This would definitely be a burden on Scarsdale taxpayers.
About transparency, Samwick explained that some confidentiality was necessary to protect the Village’s negotiating position with the bidders.
Trustee Veron responded to the charges about the bidding process. She said, “The Planning Department reached out to many developers who did not respond with a bid. They cast a wide net…. Whether they choose to participate is up to the developer.”
Michael Levine said he was “disappointed that the responses were not released.” He said, “I am concerned about the financial impact on current taxpayers. We should get some amenities, but it should not be a negative. Our school taxes are the highest in Westchester as we have the highest percentage of students – we have 26% as compared to an average of 17%.”
Levine said, “The RFP has a request for a 20-year cash flow statement and an economic impacts statement. It asks for the number of school age children anticipated. I am suggesting that these items be released before the final decision is made.”
Mayor Samwick said these impacts would be part of the SEQRA review.
Farmers Market
Bob Harrison said he is “troubled by the hours for the Scarsdale Farmer’s Market which is held from 10:30 – 2:30 on Thursdays.” He said he hears objections from Village merchants. He wanted to get some feedback on the market and the location of the farmer’s market.
Assistant Village Manager Ingrid Richards said, “the market is held on Thursdays from 10 am to 2:30 pm. The hours were decreased, and we believe these hours work well. We are constantly looking at the best way to operate it. It typically takes about five years to establish a market that works well for the community. The market will run through November 15.
Village Manager Steve Pappalardo added, “When the hours were extended until six pm the merchants did not get enough business to warrant the extended hours.”
Road Repaving
Trustee Arest announced two resolutions to increase funds for roadwork in Scarsdale. The first was a transfer of $381,000 of surplus funds from the 2018-19 budget for road resurfacing for the 2019-20 calendar year. Another resolution was approved to allocate a $94,000 reimbursement from Con Edison for road repair in 2019-20.
