927 Property Owners Meet with Tyler on Revaluation
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If you had questions about your new assessment, you were not alone. According to Village Assessor Nanette Albanese, 927 property owners, or about 15% of Scarsdale property owners, held "informal" meetings with representatives from Tyler Technologies, the company that conducted the Village-wide revaluation. Tyler is now reviewing the information gathered at those sessions and will determine whether or not to adjust the valuations in time for the June 2, 2014 tentative assessment role.
All 927 property owners will receive written notification of the outcome of their meetings. Even those who did not have a meeting could receive notification of a change in valuation if Tyler determines that "a change is warranted."
Apparently Tyler was alerted to a few homes that were under-assessed and they are taking a second look at those as well.
Though some whose valuations were decreased are bemoaning the fact that they are paying 2014 taxes based on the old, higher valuation, Albanese says, "It's not a matter of fairness ..... it is the law. Taxes are always paid on a prior year's assessment and the period to have addressed the purported "underassessment" has long passed."
Those who have noted errors on their property data card, even if it doesn't affect valuation, may want to call it to the attention of Tyler so it can be corrected. Tyler is currently working at 25 Ramsey Road and corrections can be sent to them at that address.
New Historic Preservation Code Under Consideration
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The Village Board of Trustees is continuing to work on revisions to a draft of the portion of Village Code concerning historic preservation. Trustee Stacey Brodsky, Chair of the Trustees Law Committee, appeared before the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale on Monday April 28th to update the group on the Board's progress on drafting new preservation code and to clear up misconceptions about the current process.
League member Lisa Eisenstein reviewed the current law and lead a discussion about current practice and new proposals under consideration by the Board to safeguard Scarsdale's historic treasures. While some thought these new laws could protect neighborhood character and stymie development, this is not the purpose of the new code that is currently under consideration.
Currently Scarsdale has a reactive process whereby properties are only considered for preservation after an application for demolition has been filed. Since the Village does not currently have a proactive method of land-marking historic properties or resources, these properties are only evaluated if someone wants to take them down.
Under a new law the Village would have a process to identify and designate properties as landmarks.
Here are the criteria in the current draft that would be used by the Committee for Historic Preservation to determine whether to recommend a property for historic designation to the Village Board:
- The depth and significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering and culture present in districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association and:
- That the building, structure, site or object in question is associated with events that made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of Village, regional, state or national history or:
- That the building, structure, site or object in question is associated with the lives of significant persons or:
- That the building, structure, site or object in question embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components my lack individual distinction or:
- That the building, structure, site or object in question has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places or NYS Register of Historic Places or Westchester County Inventory of Historic Places. A National, State or County listing is not alone sufficient to warrant designation as a landmark.
Unlike current practice, the Committee for Historic Preservation could be proactive about identifying sites or 
properties that meet these criteria. They would make their reccommendation to the Village Board who would have the power to impose it. Owner consent would not be required, as the committee reasons that ownership is transitory and the current owners might not concur with what the Village Board deems best for Scarsdale.
However, under the new statute, renovations would be permitted as long as the essential elements of the façade that make the building historic are maintained. The trustees reason that only the building façade is of public interest and the landmark designation would not govern interior renovations or improvements. Owners of landmarked properties would be required to maintain the features that are historic such as architectural symmetry, materials, rooflines or any other historic elements. A newly formed "Design Review Board" comprised of members of the CHP and BAR would review and approve renovation plans for historic properties.
There would be a tax incentive for any improvements on a land-marked property and following a renovation, the new assessed value would be phased in on a sliding scale over a 10-year period to curb tax increases for renovations of historic properties. Brodsky did not envision that a land-marked home would suffer a decrease in value, as owners would still be permitted to renovate a home to today's standards, and the designation might give the home distinction or cache.
Brodsky said that these new criteria for land marking are more stringent and that only a modest number of sites and homes would meet them. She envisioned that buildings like the Scarsdale Woman's Club, the Scarsdale Library or Wayside Cottage might be the first to be considered. The new criteria could not be used to protect a home simply because neighbors don't want to see it torn down. For example if a home without any architectural significance belonged to someone well known, the fame of the prior tenant alone would not be enough to landmark the house.
Brodsky also sought to clear up confusion about buildings that had been identified in the Historic Resources Survey conducted by Li/Salzman Architects and presented to the Village in 2012. Brodsky explained that the properties that were identified in the reconnaissance survey have not been landmarked. The architects did a survey of the Village and called out certain homes and districts for consideration. However, nothing has been done to date to landmark these properties and a more thorough research study would be needed before the CHP could designate properties as historic.
One provision of the proposed draft should please former Village Trustee Robert Harrison. The new law would require the CHP to make all decisions at public meetings pursuant to the NYS Open Meetings Law. Currently the CHP does their deliberations behind closed doors, a policy to which Harrison frequently objects.
For now, no new law has been passed. Until then, if a property is to be demolished, an application needs to be 
filed and the Committee For Historic Preservation will consider the appropriateness under the current criteria.
Some hoped that this new law would prevent teardowns and limit the size of new homes on Village properties. Brodsky explained that the historic preservation law would not address this concern. However, the Board of Trustees has asked the Planning Board to to look into treating gravel driveways as impermeable (as they are for storm water purposes) for purposes of lot coverage, which would affect the size of houses on properties. Driveways are currently considered permeable surfaces (like grass) and therefore their area does not count when calculating the maximum size house on a property. The Board of Trustees may also reconsider the FAR calculation, which was implemented 10 years ago and may not be doing enough to prevent over-sized houses from being built on existing lots.
New Appointments to Scarsdale Village Boards and Councils
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The Village Board announced the following appointments to Village Boards and Councils at their first meeting with the newly elected trustees on April 8th. Here are the new appointments to Scarsdale Boards and Councils:
Board of Ethics: Evelyn Stock will serve as the chair and Jane Veron has been appointed as a member of the Board.
Library Board: John Harris has been appointed as a member of the Board.
Advisory Council on Youth: Polly Klein and Debra Burnham Hyman to serve as members. Lou Mancini is re-appointed as a member.
Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens: Barbara Baum, Joan Gips, Terry Kessler Schwarz, Marjorie Spiro and Bob Wax have been re-appointed as members of the Council, and Carol Silverman has been re-appointed as chair.
Board of Appeals: Jeff Watiker will serve as a member, Justin Arest will serve as an alternate and George Lindsay will serve as chair.
Council on People with Disabilities: Beatrice Cremieux, Robin Goldman, Marian Green and Carol Kadanoff have been re-appointed as council members and Marian Green will serve as chair.
Conservation Advisory Council: Ron Schulhof and Cynthia Roberts have been re-appointed as members and Lee Fischman will serve as chair.
Board of Architectural Review: Carl Finger will serve as a member and Jessica Kourakos and Jamie Kayam as alternates. The BAR will be chaired by Jack Scott Miller.
Planning Board: Dan Steinberg will serve as a member, William Ortner as an alternate and Seth Ross was re-appointed to chair the Board.
Committee for Historic Preservation: Bana Choura has been appointed a member and Paul Diamond will continue as committee chair.
Advisory Council on Parks and Recreation: Sean Kelly, Louis Vetrone and Matthew Zik have been re-appointed as members and Gerard Varlotta has been re-appointed as chair.
Advisory Council on Technology: Daniel Finger, Kamal Mehta, Michael Raposa and Iliya Rybchin have been re-appointed as members and Bruce Well as chair.
Cable Television Commission: Raphael Abada and Christopher Marvin appointed members and Lorayne Fiorillo as chair.
Advisory Council on Human Relations: Timothy Foley, Michael Duncanson and Doris Pechman as member, Michael Duncanson to chair.
Water Line Break Should Be Repaired Tonight
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(5:30 PM Update from the Village) Please be advised that the Village contractor has successfully installed a line-stop approximately 200 feet east of the water main break in order to stop the water flow between these two points. The repair area is now free of water and the contractor is able to access the trench to repair the water main. Additionally, with the line-stop in place, Village crews will begin opening the valves that were previously closed in order to restore water to all homes that are currently out of service. Residents will experience low water pressure initially until the water main is repaired and the Reeves Newsome Pump Station is placed back in service. The water main and pump station should be back in service late tonight. Updated information will be available on the Village website and another message sent if necessary.
Please be reminded that traffic through the Fenimore, Fox Meadow and Walworth intersection is still restricted to one reversible lane with the associated traffic delays.
Thank you for your understanding and patience as the Village works towards remediating this situation.
A portion of Greenacres and Fox Meadow has no water, low pressure or discolored water following a valve failure at the Reeves Newsome Pump Station, which is currently under repair. The line and valve started to leak Tuesday morning April 22 and despite efforts to repair it all day and night, the leak continues on Wednesday April 23. Workers on the bridge now say they hope to have it repaired by tonight. A reader who lives on Oak Way says his home has had no water since last night at 6:30 pm.
The affected area extends from the Bronx River Parkway to the Post Road, north of Butler Road to Kingston Road.
There have been significant delays crossing the bridge to and from Scarsdale where a policeman is directing traffic through one open lane.
In addition to the issues at the bridge on Fenimore Road, the county has informed Scarsdale Village that the southbound exit of the Bronx River Parkway at Crane Road will be closed for three months starting 10 am on April 26. From this Saturday until the anticipated re-opening of the exit on July 26 drivers going southbound on the BRP who wish to go to Scarsdale Village will need to exit at Harney Road and drive north to the Village.
David Raizen Draws Record Crowd to 2014 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner
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It was a night of firsts for the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner – with the youngest honoree in the history of the Bowl, drawing the largest crowd ever to a new venue for the event. Bowl Chair David Brodsky greeted the 440 guests to the Fountainhead in New Rochelle, and thanked friends, former Bowl members, SCARVAC volunteers, the Mayor, the Bowl Committee, local officials and the community for turning out to honor David Raizen for outstanding community service. A special shout out went to Deb Pekarek, a newly-minted Village trustee who served as secretary/treasurer of the Bowl Committee and Evelyn Stock who is both a trustee as the Scarsdale Foundation and a member of the Bowl Committee for extraordinary efforts in arranging the festivities. Brodsky noted former Bowl Honoree Eda Newhouse who passed away recently and also thanked Scarsdale School Superintendent Michael McGill who will be retiring at the close of the school year.
After a blessing from Rabbi Bruce M. Freyer, the speeches got underway. As a lifelong resident of Scarsdale, the founder of Scarsdale Security and President of the Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps., Raizen has a wealth of friends who purchased seats to the event and came to laud his efforts on behalf of the Village.
Scarsdale Foundation President and former Village Trustee Richard Toder was eloquent as always and quoted Benjamin Franklin who said, " He that drinks his cider alone, let him catch his horse alone." Calling Franklin the father of volunteerism he quoted him again saying, "The good men may do separately is small, compared with what they may do collectively,' and added "I have no doubt that if Franklin had the good fortune to live in Scarsdale, he would have been awarded the Scarsdale Bowl." He thanked Bowl Chair David Brodsky for his "herculean efforts" to move the Bowl to a new venue and presensted Deb Pekarek with a beautiful bouquet of red roses.
First up was Fire Chief Thomas M. Cain, in full uniform. He revealed that he began his 
29-year friendship with David over a cup of coffee and a diet coke at the Heathcote Deli in January 1985. Cain worked part-time at Scarsdale Security and noted that Raizen always put the needs of the ambulance corps before the business, staying up all night on calls. He credited David with building the "most highly regarded volunteer ambulance 
services in Westchester County," and said Raizen was "an extraordinarily intelligent and compassionate community- minded individual who selflessly gives of himself to his friends, his employees, his neighbors, his relatives, as well as thousands of complete strangers on a continuous basis."
Steve Rambone, who has known David since high school gave a comic recap of their lives together. He joked, "What a crowd! Did you offer everyone a free alarm system? He called David "Mr. Scarsdale" and remembered that they started their first business together, "Raizen and Rambone Home Repairs." They both drove Chevy Impalas to high school and shared a passion for electronics and carpentry. In fact, the two launched the alarm company in Raizen's garage and while Raizen built the business, Rambone went on to teaching. He said that Raizen "designed, built and staffed one of the finest ambulance buildings" and called him a dedicated father and a great employer.
Former Mayor Peter Strauss joked that in elementary school, Raizen "was a little boy running around the classroom sticking pins into sockets, eager to see what would happen – all the while making his teachers crazy. That little boy was wired – and as we know today - a large part of the world has been wired by that little boy!"
Strauss continued, "That restlessness, that patience, and that persistence have neve
r left David; they are at the heart of everything he has done since – in his family, in his security business, Scarsdale Security Systems, and in his extraordinary leadership of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps."
He said that Raizen "is continuously solving the problems facing his multi-faceted world – in his family, in his business, and in the unrelenting pressure of the daily needs of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps," and credited him with strengthening the total emergency services in the Village.
The big moment arrived and Raizen was awarded the Bowl. He lost his characteristic worried expression and beamed as he held the bowl aloft.
He opened by saying "Scarsdale is my home. ...It's the site of all of those elements and memories, large and small that comprise a life—my failures, my successes, and my many milestones: learning to walk, learning to talk, learning to drive. My first date, my first kiss. So I think you will know what I'm talking about when I say it feels a little odd being awarded for service to my community because serving my home is the most natural thing in the world."
Discussing the calls he said, "At the ambulance corps, it's a lot of missed meals. A lot of interrupted holidays. It's time away from spouse and children, not only for all of the emergency calls, but also for the hundreds of hours of training."
"So why do we do it? Of all the ways we could serve our incredible town, why the ambulance? To the dismay of Chief Brogan, my response to that question is often, "Where else in the world do I get to go 90 miles per hour, down the wrong side of the street, chasing the cops!!"
Remembering his early experiences with EMS he said, "I didn't get to go on my actual first call until I was 18. That first call was a DOA. Maybe that should have discouraged me, but I was nervous, and it was comforting to see right away that I couldn't really screw this one up. "...This is a calling. I didn't choose the EMS. It chose me."
He thanked the entire corps, many who were in the audience saying, "And I'm not the
only one. I may be the face of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps, but there are seventy-five other volunteers and career staff alongside me, and any credit I receive equally goes to them."
He told the group, "I love what I do as President of SCARVAC, and I hope to do it for years to come, as long as the membership allows me to and will put up with me."
Encouraging others to volunteer, he said, "The best way we can show we're grateful for our town is to serve it. So, to all of you currently not serving Scarsdale, I ask you—find your calling, and do your duty. Serve your home."
He closed by saying "When I say good-bye to people, I often joke by saying, "See you later. Well, actually, I hope I don't, but you know what I mean." To all of you, I want to say, "See you later," and this time, I hope I do. And you know what I mean. Thanks."
