Mayor Reviews Sewage Treatment, Lead Abatement and the Tax Cap
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 3482
Scarsdale Mayor Jon Mark discussed three issues that the Village will address in the coming months at a summer meeting of the Village Board on August 11.
The first involves a Westchester County Consent decree from the Department of Environmental Conservation regarding the release of untreated sewage into Long Island Sound. The DEC has found that at times the amount of untreated sewage released into Long Island Sound from Westchester County exceeds legal limits and has ordered the County to perform a study to determine what work needs to be done to remediate the situation. The sewer evaluation study (SSES) will determine problems and identify repairs to solve these problems. In addition, they have ordered that retention facilities for untreated sewage in New Rochelle be closed.
According to Mayor Jon Mark, the County undertook negotiations with the DEC and failed to appraise or involve the 10 municipalities affected. In June 2015, the County demanded that the 10 municipalities accept the terms of their negotiations with the DEC, authorizing penalties of $25,000 to $200,000 per day for the release of excess sewage --with costs to be born by the municipalities, rather than the County. In response, the municipalities set up a meeting to review the terms of the agreement on August 13th. Mark contends that since the County is party to the DEC order, these fees should be paid from sanitary sewer district fees collected by the County.
A precedent was set fifteen years ago when similar work was done and paid for by sewer district taxes Mark called this a "regional issue," and said that either way residents will end up bearing the cost of the remediation through higher fees to the County or to the Village.
He also said that several NYS grants might be available to pay for the work, but cautioned that for a variety of reasons Scarsdale may not be eligible.
Lead and Asbestos Abatement
Mark then addressed concerns about lead and asbestos abatement raised at Village Board meetings by resident Phyllis Finkelstein and addressed in the Scarsdale Inquirer on August 7th. Finkelstein was concerned that the Village failed to monitor lead and asbestos levels when an older home at 5 Dobbs Terrace was being renovated, endangering neighbors and their property.
Responding to calls for stricter enforcement and new village code regarding lead and asbestos Mark said that the Village is engaged in a balancing act between providing services and allocating resources to meet these services. He noted that the removal of lead and asbestos is regulated by state and federal agencies. Mark said that the Village could adopt additional regulations to regulate removal, but said that the Village does not have the resources to enforce the code. He said, "Staffing and budgetary priorities are identified during the budget process. While the Village may do more on this topic, there are other issues that have greater impact on Village residents as a whole."
Commenting on the issue, Trustee Bill Stern said, "If you think you have been affected by lead from a teardown, go have your blood tested for lead – that's the way to see if you have been harmed."
Last, Mark alerted residents that the 2% tax cap will actually be even lower this year. The cap is adjusted based on inflation rates, and the Village recently learned from the NYS Comptrollers office, that the adjusted rate is expected to be around .73% - less than 1% -- for the 2015-16 budget year. He warned that the trustees may need to vote to override the tax cap to continue to maintain services in Scarsdale.
Other Village business included the following:
The Board of Trustees accepted a gift of $85,000 from the Friends of the Scarsdale Library for implementation of the library master plan improvement project. The Library Board recently retained Plan A Advisors to undertake a capital campaign to raise funds for the estimated $12 million improvement plan for the Scarsdale Library.
Trustees accepted a gift of $500 from the family of Arthur Manor resident Anthony J. Boggi for a bench to commemorate Boggi who was an auto mechanic for the Department of Public Works, a volunteer firefighter and a resident of Scarsdale Village for 68 years. He passed away on May 23, 2014.
A public hearing was scheduled for September 21, 2015 to consider the repeal of the Lot Area Coverage portion of the Village Code.
More Thoughts on Gravel Surfaces
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 4602
The Scarsdale Board of Trustees is now considering changing village code to count gravel surfaces in the calculation of lot coverage. Currently gravel driveways are considered "pervious" ... and with this change, gravel would be treated as "impervious," similarly to asphalt. We spoke to Scarsdale architect Bart Hamlin about the proposed change and here is what he shared.
Do you think this moratorium has had an effect on building projects? Renovations? Demolitions?
In answer to your immediate question - Yes, I am sure this change of requiring gravel to be counted as lot coverage will have an impact on some projects. If there is a great deal of lot coverage from walks, patios and driveway - this may actually limit your building coverage to less than allowable building coverage. In this case, not counting some of the driveway coverage because it is converted to gravel will allow you to increase your building coverage. This fact may be enough to make a renovation/addition project worthwhile. To cite a typically situation, older houses do no have family rooms. These houses often do have driveways that go to the back of the property (resulting in more lot coverage). Converting some of that driveway to gravel (and therefore not count towards lot coverage) had allowed the building footprint to be increased thus allowing the addition of a family room to an older home.
The lot coverage regulations put limits on two different conditions:
1) total allowable lot coverage for principal building (your house) and
2) total allowable for all lot coverage including house and all other impervious coverage.
Although there is a lot of talk about how the building will get bigger if the gravel is not counted - what people have failed to describe is that there is an primary component of the regulation that limits the building coverage. So the building cannot be as big as the total allowable total lot coverage. The building footprint can only be as big as the maximum allowable building coverage.
I do not know if there is a direct correlation between lot coverage and demolition. I think the primary reason for full house demolition and removals is that renovating and updating old houses is difficult, costly and, most importantly, hard to estimate the full cost until after you do internal demolition to see the state of the structure and mechanicals. On the other hand, new buildings - including the cost of full house demolition and removal, is much more predictable which is important for a developer and home owners who wants to reduce their risk of cost overages.
If the driveway is considered impervious, approximately how many square feet does that take away from the proposed home? How much smaller does it have to be?
Back to the relationship of building coverage and total coverage. If walkway, patio and driveway coverage is very large, than the building coverage may be less than the maximum allowable. Conversely, reducing total lot coverage by making the house closer to the street and/or making the garages face the street could help reduce lot coverage of walkways and driveways. This will keep "other" coverage lower make it more likely you can obtain the max allowable building coverage, and - it will also have an effect on the entire street landscape. In other words, be careful of unintended consequences. (Note - credit to Dan Hochvert for bringing up unintended consequences in a recent discussion.)
Another factor in this related discussion of building size is the allowable floor area of the house - meaning not just the footprint but all the applicable areas of every story of the house - sometimes including basements and third floors - depending on the design. The total allowable floor area is calculated based on the lot size and a floor area ratio that varies according to what zoning district the house is located in.
One other thought - it is not the gravel that is impervious. Water will pass through the space between gravel stones. It is the substrate that can become impervious. It really depends on how the driveway is constructed. A more scientific process would include an understanding of different construction types and testing of the actual substrate before gravel is applied in order to know if the surface is impervious, partially impervious or pervious.
All said, there are many factors - and counting gravel as pervious or impervious is only one factor.
Deborah Goldreyer and Bart Hamlin of Hamlin Goldreyer Architects have received, for the third year in a row, the prestigious "Best of Westchester" award from the readership of Westchester Magazine. Hamlin Goldreyer are a husband and wife team that work in their Scarsdale residence in the Greenacres neighborhood. They have been providing high-end, custom residential design services for 24 years in Westchester County, Fairfield County and Long Island - with most of their projects being built in Scarsdale. This local design team was selected as one of the 12 best architectural firms in Westchester County by a panel of judges in 2012, also for Westchester Magazine. In addition to building designs, Hamlin Goldreyer provide a full range of interior design services including kitchens, bathrooms, family rooms and libraries. You can view their work at their website - ScarsdaleArchitects.com - and on Houzz.com.
Breaking Into a Career in Hollywood
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 8226
Breaking into the movie business isn't easy, but 2007 Scarsdale High School alumni Patrick Brescia is off to a good start. Below he shares the story of how he got his first job and then moved onto to new opportunities.
What has been your career path in Los Angeles?
After graduating from Boston College in 2011, my goal was to work at a talent agency. I had interned at a local agency in Boston, but after graduating I wanted to take the leap and move to LA. My first job was at International Creative Management (ICM) where I started in the mailroom. Over the next few years, I held several roles, ultimately becoming the assistant to the head of the Media Rights division at ICM.
After ICM, I went to work at 3 Arts Entertainment which is a talent management/production company. I worked in their branding division which connects celebrities with brands and endorsement campaigns. While at 3 Arts, I participated in a meeting with a start up called Kernel. The business model seemed extremely new and exciting. They are changing the way marketing and promotion campaigns are developed as well as creating a market place for consumer products within various entertainment sectors.
Explain what Kernel does and how it is funded:
Kernel started approximately a year and a half ago. There are 10 full time employees as well as a handful of consultants. Kernel is a digital media company that engages audiences throughout the entire entertainment property lifecycle. From pre-sale to post event, Kernel targets audience's involvement with offerings such as early access tickets, branded merchandise, exclusive digital content, and customized VIP experiences. Fans get behind-the scenes videos, interviews, and social media interaction. We currently have deals with 20th Century Fox and Sony but there are contracts out to all major studios. Our lead investor is the founder of Whole Foods. We first gained success when Sony turned to Kernel to stream The Interview during the cyber hack scandal at the studio. Online streaming wasn't in the original business model however our extremely talented web developers worked tirelessly for 5 days straight to accomplish the task for Sony.
What is your role at the company?
I work in business development at Kernel.
In what way did your Scarsdale education prepare you for the work you are doing now?
My Scarsdale education has been invaluable. Not only does Scarsdale prepare you for college, but also it teaches you the skills to thrive in the real world. We are fortunate enough to have the best teachers, and inspiring role models, who motivate Scarsdale students to set goals and achieve them. Growing up in Scarsdale I was surrounded by smart, driven mentors and peers. That passion and dedication has led me to where I am today on the path towards my goals.
Would you recommend a career in the movie business to students or recent grads? What's the key to getting your first job and establishing yourself in Los Angeles?
The movie business is extremely challenging, but very exciting. I would recommend the industry to people who have a strong dedication for film and television but who have patience and understanding that it is a long road ahead. The key to getting your first job in LA is to meet anyone and everyone you can. I reached out to all my contacts to see who I could meet in Hollywood/LA. I took a one-way trip west and set up as many coffees, lunches and dinners as I could. It was that networking that lead to my first job in Hollywood.
How can people here use Kernel or experience what it does?
Kernel targets super-fans of major franchise movies and IP to create a fan club community. Last week we went to Comic Con to promote our movies with Fox and Sony where we engaged with our target demographic. These fans are extremely passionate and we plan to give them an opportunity to get even closer to their favorite content. Our core business started within the movie industry but we are expanding into areas such as television, sports, comedy, music and video games.
Swim Across America 2015
- Details
- Written by Debra Hyman
- Hits: 5952
Twenty three years ago, identical twin brothers Josh and Jeremy Glantz were swim coaches at the Larchmont Yacht Club when the mother of three participating children succumbed to brain cancer at the age of forty two. In her honor, they swam across the Long Island Sound to raise funds for cancer research. Their crossing evolved into what has become the largest regional swim event organized by Swim Across America (SAA) with more than 600 swimmers annually and more than $15 million raised since the event started! SAA is dedicated to raising money and awareness for cancer research, prevention and treatment through swimming-related events.
In 2005, Josh formed a team made up of Scarsdale friends and other swim enthusiasts and it has grown steadily over the years. The team annually honors a friend who has been stricken with cancer, or is undergoing treatment and the team rotates captains to encourage greater participation.
This year the team was named in honor of Josh's friend Susan Moody Prieto, a Princeton University collegiate swimmer, endurance swimmer, and founder of Swim4Good, a charity that promotes children's literacy. The mother of two young daughters, Susan was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer in August 2014. After being treated with chemotherapy, during which she had many complications, she was declared cancer free in March 2015. She is currently receiving radiation therapy.
Team "Swimming for Susan" has raised more than $70,000 so far for the 2015 event; it has surpassed its fundraising goals each consecutive year. In total, the 2015 Long Island event raised over $1,050,000.
The Long Island Sound event starts off at the Larchmont Yacht Club, and swimmers participate in 2k, 5k and 10k courses. After the swims are completed, SAA welcomes the swimmers ashore and celebrates their athletic and fundraising accomplishments at a ceremonial brunch along the waterfront.
According to Josh, this year's team captain, "Every year our team grows, and we stay motivated. We all know people who have been touched by cancer, and this is a way we honor them – to raise money doing what we love, to help find a cure." Josh was joined by Joe Kaufman and Chip Rich in the 10k distance, which departed from Glen Cove, Long Island and crossed the Sound back to Larchmont. Joel Talish was also supposed to swim the 10k but was unable to swim due to an injury. Participating in the 5K were Peter Doyle, John Needham, Eldad Blaustein, Debra Hyman, Carol Wolfe, Razy Hirschberg swam the 2k. Jennifer Feeley and Lou Dearstyne were also on the team though they don't live in Scarsdale. The 10k swimmers were accompanied by kayakers and Scarsdale residents Caroline and Christopher Shannon and Enoch Palmer.
The team welcomes all who are interested in endurance swimming for a cause. Teammates swim and train at various pools in the Scarsdale area, including the Scarsdale Pool, JCC and Hummocks. For more information, join the team for next year, or to make a donation visit their website.
Task Force Recommends Sustainability Initiatives
- Details
- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 3448
When the Scarsdale Board of Trustees considered a resolution to end leaf pick up in Scarsdale in the fall of 2014 they formed a Leaf Education Task Force with the mission of educating the public about the benefits of mulching leaves in place rather than raking them to the curb for pick-up by the Village. After hearing public comments pro and con, the trustees decided that it would be best to raise public awareness about the benefits of mulching in place before passing a resolution to change the Village's leaf pick-up policy.
At a July 14, 2015 work session with the Scarsdale Board of Trustees the task force reported on their progress and made a recommendation for moving forward with sustainability initiatives in Scarsdale.
Task Force member Anne Jaffe Holmes reported that the group worked on a study of the soil composition in Chase Park, to gage the effects of the onsite mulching that is being done in the park. Turf management expert Chip Osborn said that all the leaves in Chase Park should remain them and found that the turf and soil have shown benefits from leaf mulching. Osborn will run an educational program in Scarsdale to teach sustainable management techniques to residents.
Madelaine Eppenstein told trustees that the Cornell Waste Management Institute had enlisted to Scarsdale to participate in a downstate soil study to determine the effects of mulching on soil. They will use about a third of Chase Park for the study. For a control property, they have identified a home on Autehreith Road where the homeowner leaves absolutely no organic matter on the lawn ... "a zero organic waste property."
Task force member Ron Schulhof outlined efforts to reach out to residents, landscapers and houses of worship through the interfaith council. The task force is hoping that houses of worship will mulch mow and place signs that read, "Leaf and Grass Mulching in Progress," on their lawns to educate their members. These signs are available for pick up at Village Hall.
In addition, the group hopes to create magnetized signs that can be affixed to village trucks that say, "Scarsdale Mulches – Leave Leaves in Place." The cost would be approximately $20 per magnet for ten to twelve trucks.
Other initiatives include the development of an FAQ list with answers to questions about mulching and how to make it work and an upcoming landscape design conference to help landscapers design properties that will be amenable to eco-maintenance. The Task Force hopes to get residents to sign a "Leaf Pledge" to mulch and will also make phone calls to landscapers to encourage them to use mulching blades on their customer's properties.
Trustees had asked the task force for additional recommendations and they offered one at the meeting. The task force recommended that the Village end the practice of picking up grass clippings from Village curbs. Arguing that grass is 99% water and nitrogen, they said that it was best to leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Holmes said, grass is "organics that come up from the earth that is designed to go back into the earth."
The task force believed that this was a small step forward for Scarsdale and would serve to educate the public about the benefits of mulching.
Village Manager Steve Pappalardo told the group that the village picks up 15,000 tons of yard waste a year, and 15% of this is from village-owned properties. About the proposal to stop picking up clippings, Pappalardo said, "I think it would require some education. I am concerned about pulling the plug with pulling people into the conversation."
Mayor Jon Mark added, "It would be good to get some community feedback.
We need to take some time to get some input from the community and the landscapers."
