Stand With Us to Counter Anti-Israeli Billboard Campaign at Metro North Stations
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Israel education group StandWithUs is countering the anti-Israel billboard campaign at Metro North stations in Westchester by placing six of its own ads beginning the week of July 30 for one month. They appear on similar platforms as the anti-Israel ads including Scarsdale, Mt. Kisco, Chappaqua and White Plains stations for a total of 75 ads.
The StandWithUs billboard campaign will highlight Israel's history, its gifts to the world, and underscore the Palestinians' refusal to say yes to peace.
One StandWithUs billboard informs viewers that the land of Israel, renamed Palestine by the conquering Romans in 135 CE, has been the Jewish homeland for over 3,000 years. A second billboard features a picture of the Bible along with the tagline, "According to this 3,000-year-old best seller, Israel is the Jewish homeland." The third visually details how Palestinians have said no to territorial compromise and peace repeatedly since 1937. A fourth billboard underlines the fact that Israel saves water through cutting-edge water conservation technology that is being exported around the world. The fifth shows how Israeli technology helps Americans, in part by creating American jobs. The sixth shows a Palestinian and Israeli boy hugging, reminding viewers that Israel Needs a Partner for Peace and urging the Palestinian leaders to accept Israel as its Jewish neighbor. Viewers will be directed to learn more at either www.sayyestopeace.org or www.onlyisrael.org .
"We cannot allow the public to be misled by the factual distortions in yet another anti-Israel campaign. We are committed to countering 
anti-Israel campaigns whenever they appear," stated Roz Rothstein, CEO of StandWithUs.
“Anti-Israel activists continuously try to undermine American support for Israel with campaigns that misrepresent Israel and its history. The anti-Israel ads are a shocking distortion of history. The message presumes there once was an Arab Palestine, when in fact no such country ever existed. As two of our billboards point out, this region has been recognized as the Jewish homeland for over 3,000 years. Our billboards will show some of the documentation to prove this fact-- the Arch of Titus in Rome, as well as the Bible. Our billboards will focus on the real Israel--its vibrancy, creativity, and humanitarianism--and underscore that Israel is on the forefront, working alongside the U.S., of making the world a better place," explained Rothstein.
"The founding of modern Israel was an act of historical justice. The injustice is that Palestinian Arabs have continued to reject all territorial compromises for peace. That’s why one of our billboards will detail the number of times that Palestinians have said no to territorial compromise and peace," stated Avi Posnick, regional coordinator of the New York chapter of StandWithUs. "Our billboard campaigns highlight how just Israel’s founding was, how MUCH it has sought peace with its neighbors, and how it is fulfilling its goal of helping people around the world."
StandWithUs (SWU) is an eleven year-old, international, non-profit Israel education organization that supports people around the world who want to educate their own local campuses and communities about Israel. Learn more at: www.standwithus.com .
New Restaurant, Stores and an Indie Theatre Coming Soon
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A few of the empty storefronts in Scarsdale Village will soon be brought back to life. The space once occupied by shoe repair merchant Vaccaros, which closed almost a year ago after 82 years in the village, will be transformed into a Middle Eastern wine and tapas bar. The new restaurant will be run by the owners of Taiim Falafel Shack in Hastings on Hudson and they hope to open in the fall.
Also in the works for Scarsdale Village are a blow dry bar and a new audio and home theatre merchant. However, many spaces remain vacant, including the large Waterworks store that runs between East Parkway and Harwood Court, several stores on Harwood Court and the spaces formerly occupied by Good Life Gourmet and Verizon on Spencer Place.
Are high rents the cause of these vacancies? We noticed that the space formerly occupied by Mayfair Court on Harwood Place is renting for $62 a square foot, which translates to $4,667 per month, or $56,919 per year. The former Waterworks Store, which is 2.953 square feet of space is also listed for $14,765 per month. Comparable locations in Bronxville are listed at $40 a square foot, two-thirds of the prices in Scarsdale.
Farther afield, another new treat is in store. Now you will be able to eat dinner while watching independent films. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is set to open in Yonkers this holiday season, one of several new movie theaters opening in Westchester. The new theater at 2500 Central Park Avenue will present indie and foreign films in addition to larger blockbuster hits. Alamo theaters are unique in that they allow moviegoers to enjoy a full meal during the film. The Alamo theater is just one of many new openings in Yonkers, including the opening of an Apple store, adding to Yonkers reputation of being a sixth borough or sorts.
Yonkers isn’t the only Westchester town receiving a new movie theater. Sundance Cinemas is planning on opening a new theater in Ardsley. Sundance is known for providing, in the words of Sundance Group President, Robert Redford, “a grown-up movie going experience,” playing only the finest movies from around the world. However, an environmental impact statement needs to be completed before construction can proceed for Rivertowns Square, a new complex along the Saw Mill River Parkway that will house the Sundance Theatres.
Stand With Us To Counter Pro-Palestinian Billboards
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Avi Posnick of StandWithUs forwarded the following to Scarsdale10583.com in response to the article about the pro-Palestinian billboards at Metro North train stations: StandWithUs (SWU), a non-profit international group will counter the Pro-Palestinian billboards posted at ten Metro-North stations with their own billboards that talk about Israel's achievements and desire for a partner for peace. SWU is an 11 year-old, non-profit, international Israel education organization. They will place at least 50 ads after the anti-Israel ones come down and in similar locations. They are in the process of refining their messaging with CBS Outdoors and will soon release a photo of their billboards.
StandWithUs has countered anti-Israel billboards wherever they've appeared. In September, 2011 SWU countered 25 anti-Israel ads in New York's subway system with 25 ads that informed the public that “Israel Needs a Partner for Peace.”
In 2007 and 2009, SWU ads appeared in Washington, DC, Albuquerque and Houston (with Bridge Houston), with the 
message, "Teach Peace, Not Hate." In 2010, it was Chicago's Metro system, and SWU allied with other groups to successfully persuade Seattle's Metro to reject proposed ads with inflammatory, anti-Israel accusations. In 2011-12, SWU countered four anti-Israel ads in San Francisco BART. In April 2012, SWU placed billboards in Denver with the message, "Baby Israela, delivered by Israeli Medics in Haiti. Israel Saves Lives." SWU's plan to counter anti-Israel ads in Los Angeles in June, 2012 were derailed when CBS Outdoors pulled the anti-Israel ads because campaigners were misusing the company's name in e-mails and petitions.
To learn more visit www.standwithus.com .
Books Wanted for the Friends of the Scarsdale Library Sale
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Are you looking to clear some shelf space and get rid of old books? The Friends of the Scarsdale Library is now accepting lightly used books for their annual book sale. Books can be donated from now through Saturday, August 25th and should be left inside the gray door at the side of the Scarsdale Library. The library is located at 54 Olmsted Road at Route 22, Scarsdale, NY. Books should be in saleable condition. Damaged, moldy or dog-chewed books will not be accepted; nor will textbooks, encyclopedias or magazines.
The Book Sale boasts more than 60,000 almost-new and out-of-print books, including bestsellers, classics, biographies, fiction, parenting, cooking, art, computers, humor, self-help, drama, religion, business and poetry. There is also a large selection of books for children, as well as DVDs, CDs, videotapes, books on tape, and sheet music. More than $45,000 was raised last year. All proceeds from the sale support library programs and projects.
Westchester County’s premier book sale will begin on Friday, September 7th from 7 to 9 pm with a “Friends” preview. New members may join at the door that evening for $25. The sale will run until Sunday, September 16th. New books are added to the sale daily.
For more information, please contact Kathy Steves at Steves10583@gmail.com. The Scarsdale Public Library is located at 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY, 10583. Phone: (914) 722-1300.
A Hot Week in Greenburgh: Police Report
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Tempers flared during a hot week in Greenburgh. Here’s the report from the police: Ex-husband Assaults Ex-wife: Around noon on Thursday, July 5th a 33-year-old Manhattan woman was assaulted by her ex-husband, Manuel Gomez of the Bronx, during a personal dispute in a car on Hartsdale Avenue. Police reported that Gomez, a 52-year-old lawyer, grabbed the woman’s hair, punched her in the left side of the face, and pushed her into the driver’s side door. Gomez was charged with assault and held for arraignment.
Busted at McDonalds: On July 6th at 10:00 am, Alim Epps, an unemployed Yonkers man, age 31, was searched after being reported for refusing to leave the McDonalds at 407 North Central Avenue. When police arrived on the scene Epps did not provide proper ID and kept changing his story about who he was and where he was going. After finding a bag of marijuana in Epps’ pocket during a weapons pat down, police searched his bags and found 40 Ziploc bags of marijuana, 24.3 grams of powder cocaine, 16 caffeine pills, and other plastic bags used for packaging narcotics. Epps was carrying the drugs in a brown paper bag, inside a black plastic bag, with an A&P bag as the outer bag. He was charged with criminal possession of marijuana and narcotics.
Drunk Driver Drives Into Pole: At 11:30 pm on July 4th police responded to a report of an accident at the intersection of Ridge Hill Road and Hillcrest Road in Hartsdale. They arrived to find a 2004 Nissan that had been driven into a telephone pole. The driver appeared to be drunk and admitted to drinking beer. He also said he hadn’t slept all night. The driver, who was identified as Josue Franco of Hartsdale, had a BAC level of .08. Besides Franco, there were five other passengers in the car. Two of the passengers were sent to the hospital, two reported no injuries, and the other refused transportation to the hospital. Franco was arrested for DWI and released on bail at Greenburgh headquarters this morning.
Neighborhood feud: There seems to be no end to the feud between neighbors Michael Marom and Audrey Pierot on South Healy and Elizabeth Street in Scarsdale. This week Marom called police at 7 am on July 2nd to complain about the placement of his neighbor’s garbage can, with Pierot claiming that the can is actually on her own property. She countered by saying that Marom had placed orange construction barriers in their shared driveway that prevent here from getting in and out of her property.
An hour later, at 7:52 am, Pierot called police to say that Marom was spray-painting their shared driveway, and complained that he was spraying her portion of the driveway. Police took photos of the paint job to give to the Building Department. Police don’t know the location of the property line and the Greenburgh Building Department is looking into it.
Drinking bareback: Just before midnight on July 4th police found a man lying down on the pavement in the parking lot of 80 East Hartsdale Avenue dressed in only his underwear. He appeared to be drunk and had a cut on his knee. The 27-year-old man from Boats Landing, NY said that he was staying with his sister at 100 East Hartsdale Avenue but could not provide an apartment number. He became aggressive and combative and was handcuffed and taken to WP Hospital. Police later found that the door to 100 East Hartsdale Avenue had been pulled off the track and also found a pair of flowered shorts and raybans in the vestibule which were returned to the man at the hospital.
Tomato Attack: At 9:40 pm on Friday, July 6th, a 42-year-old Scarsdale male living on Central Ave reported several tomatoes thrown at his front porch. The victim reported that he has an ongoing dispute with his upstairs neighbor and believes he may be responsible for the tossed tomatoes.
Scratched at Trader Joes: A Florida woman parked her cars outside Trader Joes on Central Avenue on the afternoon of July 2nd and came back out to find a large scratch on the passenger-side front and rear doors of her 2011 Nissan. The scratch appeared to be made by a sharp object and was estimated at $400.00.
Car Hit: A Yonkers woman who works at Hurricane Wings on Central Avenue reported that her car was hit by a SYSCO food truck making a delivery to the restaurant on the afternoon of 7/2. Her 2007 Eclipse was hit by the 18-wheeler but the driver did not report the accident initially but later claimed that he tried to notify the manager but couldn’t find him.
July 4th Shopping Mistake: A White Plains woman went to Klaff’s on Central Avenue to shop on the afternoon of July 4th. She opened the front door of the store, the alarm went off and she realized that there was no one inside. The store was closed but the door had been left unlocked.
