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Published: 22 March 2011

Created: 22 March 2011

Last Updated: 22 June 2011

Hits: 6884

Hoax: The 91 year-old grandfather of a Scarsdale girl drove up from New York City with his driver and his aide after he received a phone call stating that his granddaughter had been arrested on the afternoon of March 17. The man explained that he had received a call from his granddaughter and a public defender who asked him for his credit card number. Fortunately he did not provide the credit card number because police had no record of the girl’s arrest. They contacted her father who confirmed that his daughter was in school. The grandfather was the victim of fraud.

Leave Please: A member of the clergy at IHM in Scarsdale called police for help when a disruptive man refused to the leave the premises. Gregory Brown of the Bronx came to the church on the afternoon of March 14 seeking money and after the Father gave Brown a donation Brown refused to leave. When police arrived he left the area.

Arrests: On the night of March 19, police responded to call about disorderly kids at Greenacres Field. When they arrived, the kids fled. However one 17 year-old boy was found hiding in the backyard of an adjoining home. The boy had been drinking and was in possession of beer. He was brought back to dispatch where his father was contacted come to pick him up. The boy was issued summonses for unlawful possession of alcohol and for being on the school field after operational hours.

John Braile of East Setauket, NY went to Village Hall on 3/15 at noon to take care of an outstanding arrest warrant for a vehicle violation. The man was placed under arrest, booked and processed. He was given a court date of 3/23 and released on $200 bail.

Car in Flames: A car owned by Eli Wachtel of Shaw Road caught fire when it was parked on Garth Road on the afternoon of 3/14. Police used three fire extinguishers to put out the fire.

Accidents: As the car fire was being extinguished, a police car collided with a car driven by a Garth Road man at 5 pm on March 14th. The driver of the civilian car left the scene because of the car fire on Garth Road. A traffic cop instructed the man to turn onto Ardsley Road.

A Scarsdale sanitation worker reported that his pick-up vehicle had hit a parked car on the morning of March 18. The worker left the pick-up facing east on Kingston Road in Greenacres and went to the back of 16 Montrose Road to pick-up garbage. When he returned, he found that the vehicle had travelled across Kingston and collided with a car parked in the driveway of 14 Montrose Road.

Damage: The front hood of a 2005 Audi was scratched on the evening of 3/18. The owner believes the damage may have been done with the car was parked at the Scarsdale Middle School for a performance.

Trouble: A woman got into an altercation with the parking attendant at the lot behind HSBC in Scarsdale Village on the morning of March 16th. The woman had a doctor’s appointment on Overhill Road and rather than park in the lot under that building she wanted to use the outdoor lot. However, since the outdoor lot is reserved for customers of businesses on Scarsdale Avenue the attendant instructed her to park across the street. The angry woman called the police to complain but was gone when police arrived.

A concerned 20 year-old Scarsdale boy came to police headquarters at 3:30 am on 3/19 to report that he had been in a fight at a Post Road home earlier in the night. Though he was not injured he did admit to drinking and wanted advice from the police. Given that he was underage, police called the boy’s father to pick him up and no action was taken.

An Overlook Road woman reported the receipt of upsetting emails from her son’s girlfriend who in Hong Kong on March 16th. The girlfriend went to Hong Kong to visit the woman’s son. Police said that the emails were not criminal in nature and told the woman to stop contacting the girlfriend.

Locked Out: A Fox Meadow Road woman locked herself out of her house on the afternoon of 3/16. Police were unable to find any way to get in and called a Garth Road locksmith who was able to get into the house.

Animals: Police received a report that a dog had been hit by a car on the Heathcote Bypass on the morning of March 18. However, when they went to investigate they found a dead possum.

Noise: In the early morning hours of 3/19, police received reports of loud kids on Hyatt Field and in Davis Park. At Hyatt Field, the kids fled when they saw the police and at Davis Park police asked them to disperse and they cooperated.

Harassed: On March 16 the father of a Wildwood Road girl came to police to complain that his daughter was receiving harassing posts on her Facebook account. She was named on the “Westchester smut list” with three of her friends from SHS.

A Fox Meadow woman called police on the afternoon of March 20th to complain that she had been verbally harassed by her husband while they were driving. The two got into a fight about putting their children in car seats. Police told the woman that this was not a police matter and the woman agreed to contact her therapist for help.

Fall: Arlene Kolbert, age 68 of Irvington tripped and twisted her ankle on a curb in front of Great Stuff in Scarsdale Village on the afternoon of March 17. She was taken to White Plains Hospital by SVAC for treatment.

Signs: Police removed two signs posted on Village property for a company named “iDriveyourCar.com from Post and Fenimore roads on March 19. The company, which is located in Westport, CT, was issued a citation for violating Village code.

A Stratton Road woman awoke on the morning of 3/19 and found a street sign and a traffic cone on her front lawn. She also reported that she heard the doorbell ring at 2:15 am the previous night, but did not answer it.

The stop sign at Burgess and Richbell Roads was defaced. The word “ZOOTING” was written on it with a black sharpie. The damage was discovered on March 19th.

Found: A postal worker found a black purse when she was delivering mail on March 14. Police found the name of the owner insider the purse and her father agreed to come in and pick it up.

Details

Published: 28 March 2011

Created: 28 March 2011

Last Updated: 29 March 2011

Hits: 4558

Missing Jewels: On 3/23 a Crawford Road woman reported that jewelry valued at $13,000 had disappeared from her home when she was in the hospital between November 1 2010 and January 5, 2011. The jewelry had last been seen in a locked cabinet in her bedroom but the key to the box was kept in the kitchen. The woman will provide photos of the missing jewelry to police.

Arrests: On the night of March 22nd, Silbert Gray Jr. of the Bronx was picked up in the Bronx for a traffic offense. When police checked his license they found that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Scarsdale since 2006. Gray was transported to Scarsdale and arrived after midnight on 3/23. He was processed, released and given a court date of 3/30/11.

Anthony J. Rodriguez, age 21 of Bronxville appeared at Village Hall on March 25 to clear up an outstanding arrest warrant. Rodriguez was taken to police headquarters where he was processed and released on $100 bail, pending a 3/30 court date.

Fraud: A 92 year-old Greenacres woman appears to be the victim of fraud on the part of a roofer. A caregiver for the elderly woman found a receipt for a $2,400 withdrawal from the woman’s Chase account. When she asked about it, the woman said she had no memory of making the withdrawal. The old woman suffers from short-term memory loss. The caregiver asked questions at the bank and a teller reported that a bald man, claiming to be her roofer, accompanied the woman to the bank while she withdrew the funds. The teller asked the man for his business card and he said he would bring one in from his car but he never did. The woman no longer drives after she had a serious accident last year and her children live far away. Her children have taken away her personal checks in the past. Police will follow-up to assess her ability to care for herself.

A Foxhall Road man came to police on 3/23 to report that he received a collection notice for a debt he had not incurred. The notice was from Sunrise Credit Services and it said that the man owed $267.95 to Cablevision. The man told police that he was up to date with his payments to Cablevision. The collection agency was trying to collect the debt from a customer with another name, but with the same social security number as the Scarsdale man. Cablevision believes that someone used the Scarsdale’s mans social security number to open a fraudulent account.

Dog bite: A Fox Meadow mother came to police headquarters on the afternoon of 3/24 to report that a dog bit her son at the Fox Meadow school field on 3/20. Her son was riding his bicycle when a gold and white dog named “Dunkin” chased him. The boy fell off his bike and the dog bit the boy’s upper thigh. The bite punctured the skin and caused bruising and swelling. The dog’s owners supplied up-to-date vaccination papers.

Trash: A Nelson Road man complained that kids had thrown garbage out of the window of a 2000 Honda Civic onto his property on the afternoon of 3/25. The man identified the kid who was driving and police found that the garbage was from McDonalds. Police went to SHS and spoke to the young man who was driving the car. He admitted to throwing the garbage and was a given a summons. The boy identified the passenger in the car and said, “We both did it.” Police found the second young man who also admitted throwing the garbage and claimed they “thought it was funny.” He was also given a summons. Fred Goldberg, Assistant Principal was notified and he said that he would contact the boys’ parents.

A Butler Road man reported that the drivers of a silver vehicle had placed four bags of yard waste on his property at noon on 3/21. The man had the license plate number of the car and police identified the driver as Thomas Darby of Congers, New York and tracked him down. Darby came to headquarters and admitted to leaving two bags of refuse on Butler Road. The waste came from the Verizon substation off Locust Lane. He agreed to properly dispose of the waste.

Trouble: The counselor at a residential home, Search for Change on Post Road reported that a resident had created a disturbance and left the house on foot on the evening of 3/22. Police found the woman on the Post Road and she was calm. However, due to problems she was having with other residents in the house, the counselor did not want her back in the house. The woman contacted her mother who came to pick her up, signed her release and took her into custody.

A young man from Scarsdale came to police on 3/26 to complain that he was receiving annoying text messages from two people and wanted them to stop. He said that there was a history of antagonism between him and the two texters. Police called the two and instructed them to cease.

A Colvin Road woman called police at 5 am on Monday for help restraining her husband. The man has mental illness and wanted to go out and visit. Police went to the home and convinced him to remain inside.

Locked in: A Yonkers woman locked her three-year-old son and her keys inside her car on Chase Road on the afternoon of 3/26. Police called the Heathcote Gulf station and they sent someone who was able to unlock the car.

Animals: A Woods Lane resident called police to report that birds were flying around inside the house at 8 am on Sunday 3-27. Police went to the home, opened the windows and the birds flew out.

A man accidentally ran over his own dog at a Brookline Road home on Sunday afternoon 3-27.

Details

Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 17 March 2011

Created: 17 March 2011

Last Updated: 17 March 2011

Hits: 5186

Reporting on the Scarsdale election this week placed me in the middle of a struggle between the designated slate and challengers seeking write-in votes. Because I have been accused of taking sides in this contretemps I feel it is necessary to set the record straight. As I was posting comments on the site from both sides, and in effect mediating a dialogue between the factions, I became the target of accusations of bias. At the same time I witnessed the kind of tactics some use to get their way.

Here’s a timeline of events:

On Friday March 11, five days before the election, a friend called to tell me of a grass roots campaign to elect two write-in candidates in the March 15 election. Sharon Lindsay was the candidate for Mayor but my friend was not able to remember the name of the candidate who would challenge Robert Harrison for Trustee.

I called Sharon Lindsay and was able to verify that she was running and she informed me that Robert Selvaggio was a write-in candidate for Trustee. Since Ms. Lindsay is a former Trustee and Deputy Mayor and was speaking about herself, she was obviously a credible source. I also asked her for the names of those who had initiated the write-in effort and she told me that though there were a sizable number of supporters they were not comfortable going public with their names.

I posted a simple announcement of the write-in campaign and included instructions that I found online on how to cast a write-in vote in the booth. The announcement received enormous response – to date the original post has 1,499 page views. Many commented and their posts make for good reading.

However, one comment I received from Andy Bass disturbed me and proved to be an auger of what was to come. Here is what he wrote:

“Like much of her reporting on Scarsdale 10583.com, this article by Joanne Wallenstein fails to provide the key facts and ask the critical questions that are incumbent upon any journalist."

"Ms. Wallenstein writes, "...a well-organized group of residents has selected two people to challenge the Non-Partisan Committee candidates." The next most obvious question is, who comprises this "well-organized group?" … Why is she not informing her readers who these stealth organizers are?”

“Why did the stealth group choose to initiate their effort on only the Friday night before the election, less than 90 hours before the polls open? Why did the stealth organizers only contact Ms. Wallenstein with the news of their campaign and not other media outlets such as The Scarsdale Inquirer, Scarsdale Patch, The Journal News, News12, etc.”

In response to Mr. Bass’s questions I did ask for the names of the backers of these candidates and they did not wish to publish their names at that time. The candidates did not contact me; I contacted them. In speaking to the two candidates I noted no “stealth” tactics.

On Monday the day before the election, I realized that many residents did not know anything about the two write-in candidates or even how to spell their names. I contacted Robert Selvaggio, the candidate for Trustee, to learn more about him. Using the bios I already had of the CNC candidates and information about Lindsay and Selvaggio I posted a voters guide presenting the facts about each of the candidates. Given that the election was being held on Tuesday, and in response to several requests, I sent out an email blast to let people know where and when to vote.

And what popped up in my inbox on Monday evening? An email from Bob Harrison himself, which accused Jeff Blatt and Scarsdale10583 of sponsoring the write-in campaign.

In his words, “Many Scarsdale voters are unaware of the fact that the Scarsdale Citizens' Non-Partisan Party is in a CONTESTED ELECTION for MAYOR and VILLAGE TRUSTEES vs a write-in campaign sponsored by Jeff Blatt with the help of the www.scarsdale10583.com web site. They are pushing write-in votes for Sharon Lindsay for Mayor and Bob Selvaggio for trustee.”

Wow – that was news to me! Jeff Blatt is a former member of the School Board who has written for and commented on the site. I contacted Mr. Blatt about his role in the election and he was as flabbergasted by this email as I was. Mr. Blatt told me he had known nothing about the write-in effort before it was published on Scarsdale10583. He certainly never approached me about sponsoring a campaign. I was surprised to receive this email from Mr. Harrison who was hoping to be elected to the post of Village TRUSTEE the following day. I later learned that this message, filled with false claims, was widely circulated.

Tuesday was election day and early in the day I received an email from someone who had gone to vote and asked for instructions on how to cast a write-in vote. They told me that there were poll watchers on hand who had prevented the election workers from providing instruction. Poll watchers in Scarsdale?

That afternoon I went to vote myself and was heartened to see a line of voters snaking out of Village Hall. I was voter number 287 and it was only 1 pm. I knew that 287 was more than the total number of votes cast in most recent elections and was impressed that so many had come out. A policeman was on duty --something I had never seen before in a Scarsdale election as well as three poll watchers – another first. The poll watchers were closely monitoring the process and shouting objections to the election workers.

To see if the process was working fairly I asked for instructions on writing-in a vote and was given help and I also noticed instructions on write-in votes inside the booth.

After voting, I stepped over to the three poll watchers to say hello and was quickly shooed away by poll watcher Janet Bell who advised me in a stern tone that I had no business there. Was she serious or kidding? It was hard to tell and I backed away in surprise.

Later that night I attended the reception at the Scarsdale Women’s Club where the Citizen’s Non-Partisan Party was hosting an election night reception. There I learned that the Citizen’s Non-Partisan Party had hired an election attorney – another first --to monitor the voting process. But what was even more disturbing to me was a rumor floating around that the website Scarsdale10583 was actually owned by Jeff Blatt and that I was his puppet reporter.

To set the record straight, Jeff Blatt does not own the site, I do.

As everyone now knows, all the hoopla around the election including the coverage on the site only served to involve more people in the process. Even the Chair of the Citizen’s Nominating Committee thanked me for helping to get the word out about the write-in campaign, rally voters and increase awareness of Village government. No one had ever imagined that over 1,000 people would vote.

So why the mistrust of Village officials to run and tally votes in a Village election? Why the attempts to discredit the website and the personal attacks against me?

Where did all of this begin? There must be more to the story. If you have clues please post them here. Everything I find out you will read on Scarsdale10583.