SNAP May Meeting
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Scarsdale Neighborhood Association Presidents convened on May 17 at Village Hall for the SNAP meeting, led by Vice Chair Diane Hirschberg. It was the night before the School Board election and both Suzanne Seiden and Bob Harrison stopped by the meeting to introduce themselves and campaign for the support of the Neighborhood Association leadership.
On the agenda was John Bonanno from the TVCC Neighborhood Character Committee. Bonnano’s Committee is working with the Neighborhood Associations on developing a profile of each neighborhood to identify home styles, homes of distinction, heritage trees and other factors that define the area. The goal is to develop a miniature comprehensive plan for each area, which in the long term could be used to enforce contextual zoning. This is zoning that would regulate construction based on the character of the existing housing inventory including style, building heights, sizes and setbacks so that new construction and renovations would conform to existing homes. The Committee has asked each Neighborhood Association to complete an extensive questionnaire and so far a few have been completed.
Scarsdale Trustee David Irwin gave the group an update on Village business. He reported that the Village budget was passed and is up 5.95% over last year. All Village revenue sources have declined including mortgage recording taxes, sales tax, fees for building permits and interest income. All told, these revenue sources declined 9% or $3 million dollars at a time when health insurance and labor costs rose. Due to this decline in revenues, the Village is now behind in it’s road repair schedule and unless revenues recover the Village may be forced to raise taxes, reduce services or consolidate with other villages. Irwin credited the League of Women Voters with recommending that the Village gather community input and indicated that the Village may do so.
Irwin also reported that developer Frederick Fish would submit a revised proposal for a 15-year lease of Village land adjacent to the Bistro Citron Building. His last letter had proposed a 49-year lease of the driveway with an option for a 49-year renewal.
In other business, the Village is looking into measures to improve emergency response in light of communication failures during the March, 2010 storm. SNAP is slated to have representation on the committee that will study this issue and make recommendations.
Also on the minds of Village Trustees is a possible tax revaluation. Due to over 500 tax grievances filed this past year, the village had to raise the overall tax rate by 1% to fund the budget. Though it is not likely that the County will fund the revaluation the Trustees are hopeful they will find an outside funding source as the revaluation is expected to cost $1.5MM- $1.8MM dollars. The Trustees will be studying this issue in the coming months.
Janet Bell raised an issue of concern to the Heathcote Five Corners Coalition and area residents. The large “Office For Rent” signs at the Bistor Citron building violate village code and she asked Irwin why the village is not enforcing regulations.
The organization approved the nominating committee slate of SNAP officers for 2010-11 and renamed Linda Lieberman as Chair, Diane Hirschberg as Vice Chair, Jim Pullman as Secretary and Jay Klein as Treasurer.
Missing Safe, Pedestrian Struck and an Uninvited Guest
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Burglary: a safe containing important documents, gold coins, and a $50,000 fountain pen collection was stolen from a Lebanon Road home, sometime between 6:30 pm on 5/14 and 9:30 pm on May 15th. The safe had been in a second floor office, covered by clothing. The safe was heavy and would have required two people to carry it. There were no signs of forced entry into the house and cash, jewelry and electronics placed in the same area as the safe were left untouched.
Damage: The glass storm door was damaged and the front door was found ajar at a Black Birch Road home at 4 pm on 5/12. Kristina Posey returned home to find the broken glass. Police determined that the glass panel had not been properly secured and bumped against the front door when it fell.
A Birch Lane home was egged at 10:30 on Friday night 5/14. The resident heard shouting and a car driving way.
Just minutes later, at 10:40 on Friday night, a rock was thrown through the bedroom window of a Cayuga Road home.
A Fairview Road woman reported that someone stuck a stick through their rear screen door and created a hole sometime during the weekend of May 14th
A Heathcote Road woman reported that someone had spray painted a sign she keeps on her front lawn to slow traffic when her children are outside playing. The incident was reported on 5/12.
Fights: Police responded to a 911 call to a Continental Road home on the afternoon of 5/12. A mother and son had gotten into an argument and following the spat the son took the car keys and drove away.
An altercation broke out between Robert Rosenberg of Kent Road and Paul Cintra of Greenkeepers Tree Company. Mr. Rosenberg was walking across the Post Road at Olmstead Road in the crosswalk on the morning of 5/13 when he claimed that Mr. Cintra, who was driving, came close to hitting him. Cintra was making a left onto Tompkins Road from the Post Road.
Missing: A Middle School girl failed to attend classes at the school after she was dropped off there on the morning of May 10. The school notified the student’s father, who called the police. Patrol searched the school and found the student in the downstairs bathroom. She was turned over to her school guidance counselor for follow up.
Strange Missive: A Zachys employee reported that he received a strange letter including newspaper clippings, political commentary, rantings and ravings on May 11. He wanted to record the incident.
Power Tool: A Sage Terrace man came to police headquarters on May 2 to report that someone was using a power saw at 9:30 am at his neighbor’s home in violation of the village code. Since police did not witness the incident they could not issue a summons. The man then took the incident, which he documented on video, to the Village Attorney who was also unable to take action and referred the incident back to the police.
Solicitor: A Hillview Road resident reported that a man was going door-to-door, claiming to be soliciting for a construction company on the afternoon of May 11. Police found the man who was an employee of Urban Development Solutions of Michigan City, Indiana. He was actually selling magazine subscriptions and was issued a Village Code Summons for soliciting without a permit.
Fraud: A Black Birch Road man reported fraud on his Yahoo account on May 12. Karl Maramorosch responded to a fraudulent email requesting his date of birth and Yahoo password. With that information, someone changed his password, locked him out of his account and sent emails to his contact list. The emails requested $1,940 to assist Maramorosch, claiming that his “hotel in Wales was razed by fire and he needed $1,940 to relocate.” Upon learning about the fraudulent emails from a friend, the resident contacted Yahoo to block his old account and establish a new one.
Uninvited Guest: Warren Cole of Manhattan entered an Innes Road home without ringing the bell on the evening of May 12th. He had come to Scarsdale to attend a Shiva but found out he had the wrong address. The surprised resident let him know that the family he was looking for no longer lived there.
Found: Andrew Weisfeld of Heathcote Road found a brown Labrador retriever on Heathcote Road on the morning of 5/13. He attempted to return the dog to the owner but no one was home so he placed the dog in a dog pen in his own backyard. When the owner came home, the dog was returned.
Man with a Camera: On the afternoon of 5-14 a caller reported a man with a camera on the grounds of Scarsdale High School. Police searched the area but were unable to locate him.
A large group of students were reported to be hanging out at Hyatt Field on Friday night May 14 at 9 pm. Police arrived and saw several kids leaving the area.
Central Taxi picked up two boys at 65 Saxon Woods Road at 1:49 am on May 15th. He drove them to Grove Street in White Plains and they ran out of the taxi without paying.
Followed: On Saturday morning 5/15 Sherrian Grant said that she was followed by a dark car with tinted windows as she walked on Fenimore Road in Mamaroneck. She flagged down another car and was driven to East Parkway in Scarsdale where she reported the incident.
Barry Tucker of Manhattan claimed that his EZ Pass was stolen from his car when it was transported from Palm Beach Florida to the Quaker Ridge Golf Club in April. Though there was an EZ Pass in the car, he later determined that it was not his and it had been placed in his car to replace his EZ Pass. Over two hundred dollars in unauthorized charges were made on his account. The incident was reported on 5/15.
Beer Cans: A Foxhall Place resident found empty beer bottles in his bushes on the morning of 5/15. Police agreed to take extra ride-bys to check the property in the future.
Ground Hog Day: White Birch Lane residents found a sick animal in their yard on Sunday afternoon 5/16. Police arrived and identified it as a sick ground hog. They received permission to kill it and fired two rounds at the ground hog and then removed it from the yard.
Car Accidents:
A Scarsdale resident, driving a 2008 Cadillac was making a left turn onto Popham Road from Garth Road when he struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk at noon on Wednesday May 12th. The pedestrian, Samuel Cohen of Lynwood Road, Scarsdale, complained of pain in his leg and was taken to Westchester Medical Center by SVAC.
Dean David Mendelowitz’s 2007 Honda was parked in the staff lot at SHS on May 11th when it was hit by another car driven by a student.
On the morning of 5/15 two cars collided at the intersection of Mamaroneck Road and the southbound exit ramp of the Hutchinson River Parkway. The collision caused a 1999 Chevy Van to spin around, leave the roadway and ram into a stonewall owned by the Saxon Wood Golf Course. No injuries were reported.
Jean Eisenstein, a 97 year-old White Plains driver ran into a car driven by Cole Ilana Yaverbaum of Larchmont on Popham Road on Friday morning 5/14. Yaverbaum was travelling west on Popham Road when Eisenstein turned left from Lockwood onto Popham and caused the collision.
Lucas Remedios of Hartsdale was the victim of a hit and run accident when a pick up truck hit his car on Fenimore Road and sped away without stopping. The incident occurred at 4 pm on 5/13.
Two 78-year old drivers ran into each other on Sprague Road, when one driver attempted to go around the other. The driver thought the car she was passing was parked.
From the Greenburgh Police Blotter:
Impaled Deer: On Monday night May 10 around 10 pm a large deer was found impaled on the fence of Mount Hope Cemetery. Two stakes from the fence had impaled the deer in the chest and lungs and the animal was struggling to breathe. Police shot one .40 caliber round, killed the deer and removed it from the fence. Notification was made to the Town Highway Department to remove the carcass and Mt. Hope Cemetery was also contacted to advise them of the incident.
While shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop on the afternoon of 5/12, Anita Cozza, age 63 of Armonk had her bag stolen while it was sitting in her shopping cart. She was looking at items on shelves when she noticed her bag was missing. Though the video surveillance was on at the store it did not record the incident.
Nadin Abraham of Chicago came into the Chase Bank on East Hartsdale Avenue on the afternoon of 5/12 and attempted to withdrawal $3,900.00 from an account. The account was flagged for possible fraudulent activity by the Chase security department. Abraham did have a driver’s license with the correct name but when the bank called the fraud department she fled the bank and left the license.
An employee of Urban Development Solutions was found going door to door on Tanglewood Road in Scarsdale on the afternoon of May 15. He was advised of the town code that prevents solicitation without a permit and he was taken to Central Avenue by police where he was picked up.
A Nissan Pathfinder, parked on Dromore Road on Monday morning 5/17 was vandalized. Someone broke the rear drivers side window of the car and stole a purse from the backseat. The purse contained a blackberry, several credit cards, a NYS driver’s license and $50 in cash.
A Challenge to the Non Partisan System
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The non-partisan system for the election of school board members in Scarsdale and Edgemont is now being challenged. In both districts, independent candidates who did not receive the committees nomination are vying for a seat on the district school board.
In Scarsdale, the School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) has been selecting candidates to run for the school board since 1965 and in recent memory no candidates have run without the committee endorsement, In Scarsdale, the SBNC members are elected by residents of each of the five elementary school areas and serve for three years on the committee, followed by tenure on the administrative committee. Six representatives from each of the five areas are elected by the general population, for a total of thirty voting members. Four non-voting members, the chair and vice chair and representatives from SNAP and the TVCC are also on the committee.
In Edgemont, two representatives from each civic association are nominated to serve on the committee. The SBNC nominates candidates to serve on the Board, but sometimes independents do petition to go on the ballot and recently one ran and won. After the candidates are nominated, the Edgemont SBNC runs an Open Forum where each candidate is asked questions submitted by the community to allow residents to learn about the candidates, their qualifications and views.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of the current system?
Among the benefits are the following:
• The SBNC seeks out candidates for school board and reaches out to a wide swath of the community to find suitable candidates.
• The committee vets the candidates, reviews credentials, checks references and assesses their ability to work with others and build consensus. In Scarsdale, any comments made about a candidate must be attributable to the source, preventing hearsay. In Edgemont, where the committee is smaller, this is not the case.
• The committee considers the composition of the current board of education and selects candidates that offer needed skill sets. They strive to nominate a balanced board.
• Since meetings are private, candidates are shielded from public review and commentary. It is believed that more residents are willing to put themselves forward for candidacy since they are shielded from the strain of an open election.
• The committee seeks to prevent candidates with an agenda or single issue from being nominated and looks for those that are open-minded and can balance the needs of the entire community.
• The committee works to nominate a collegial board that can work together effectively.
• The non-partisan system has diffused heated elections and divisiveness as in the past only one slate of candidates is presented for election
• The system avoids expensive campaigns
What are the disadvantages?
• The SBNC may choose not to put forward a candidate who advocates for a single issue, which may inhibit diversity of opinion on the board
• It may deter individuals who are not selected by the committee from running though they have the right to do so
• The system discourages open debate about candidates’ qualifications as committee meetings are not open to the public
• Since only one slate of candidates is proposed, the community is not given a choice in the voting booth
• As residents vote for SBNC members, not the school board candidates the selection of the candidates is somewhat indirect, similar to the Electoral College system.
• The SBNC administrative committee often has trouble finding residents to run to serve on the nominating committee and therefore, some of the seats may not be contested.
Until now, the system has served both communities. All indicators show that the school boards have worked effectively with administrators, parents and students to provide an exemplary education. The Districts receive nationally acclaim, parents seek to move to the area and year after year students are admitted to top colleges.
With strained financial resources and cuts in state aid, school budgets are now under intense scrutiny. As the school board is responsible for fiscal decisions, and the budget is under the magnifying glass, members of the board are being closely examined as well.
Residents feel strongly about the process. In the words of the membership of the Edgemont SBNC, “The Board of Education is a crucial link in the chain of teachers, programs, administrators, staff and dedicated parents that support our School District, and the mission of the SBNC is to select from among qualified candidates those individuals who, in the Committee’s judgment, can best serve the School District’s needs. Edgemont’s SBNC is made up of volunteers nominated and elected by members from each of the civic associations as well as a high school representative. The SBNC is charged with interviewing and endorsing candidates for the School Board. As SBNC members we are required to attend School Board meetings and to be informed about school matters so that we can conduct a thorough interview and make an informed recommendation about a candidate. It is a time consuming process, but one that has served our community well by providing an intensive vetting process for selecting School Board candidate.”
What do you think? Does the current system serve the community in tough times? Please add your comments below.
Burglary, Car Theft and Missing Jewelry from the Police
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Scarsdale Police Report: Burglary: A Hillview Road man found an open kitchen skylight and dirt on the table beneath it when he returned home on 5/5 around 5 PM. It appeared that someone got in through the skylight and entered the master bedroom where they tossed the room and took jewelry valued at $2,200. The burglars also rifled through another bedroom and a home office and pried open a lock box. Though the house is alarmed there was no alarm on the skylight and the motion sensors where not on at the time of the incident. The residents had their gutters cleaned the previous week and police tried to reach the workmen.
Gone: a green 2009 Toyota Highlander, valued at $41,000 was taken from a Clarence Road home during the night of 5/2-5/3. The car was locked and keys were inside the house. There were no apparent signs of force and the man’s Honda Accord was untouched.
A Heathcote resident came to police on 5/5 to say that $62,000 in jewelry was missing from his home. He said that his wife reported that the jewelry was missing from her jewelry box but that he did not suspect anyone of stealing it. He provided the police with photos of the jewelry which included a diamond engagement ring, a yellow diamond ring, a ruby ring and diamond stud earrings.
Arrest: Police stopped a man driving a 2002 Acura at 1 am on May 9 while doing routine traffic enforcement. They found that the car smelled of marijuana, the driver’s eyes were bloodshot and his speech was slurred. They asked the man to get out of the car and found several plastic bags of marijuana in the car. The man admitted to smoking pot and was arrested for unlawful possession of marijuana and unlicensed operation of a car since his license was suspended. Shkelzen Zherka, age 19 of Garth Road was taken to police headquarters for booking, given a court date and released on $100 bail.
Diaquane Williams, age 21 of New Rochelle was pulled over by police after her ran a traffic light on East Parkway on Friday afternoon May 7. A computer check of his license showed that he had 8 suspensions. He was arrested and released on $100 bail.
Tree Damage: A Popham Road woman parked her car on Authenreith Road on May 8th. When she returned to the car later that day, a tree branch had fallen on the 2002 Chrysler and damaged the roof, trunk and rear window. Police removed the branch from the car and it was towed to Ted Herman’s auto shop for repair.
Car break-ins: Vandals broke the rear drivers side window of a car parked in the Crossway Parking lot on Friday evening May 7. They made off with a pocketbook, textbooks and personal papers.
The front passenger window of a 2007 Acura parked in the Alternative School Parking lot was smashed n the morning of May 5th. Missing from the car was a black tote bag valued at $1,500 containing a driver’s license, credit card, keys and $60 in cash.
Stolen Bicycle: A $600 bike, parked and locked on East Parkway was stolen on May 3rd.
A Verizon worker called police to say that a crew from Pioneer Valley Cable was working in a Verizon manhole without authorization on May 4. A utility coordinator for Cablevision arrived and said that Pioneer had been hired by Cablevision and claimed to have permission from Verizon. Police attempted to reach Verizon but were unable to verify that the workers had permission to be in the manhole so they left.
Argument – an Edgewood Road man called police on 5/6 when he was trying to get the car keys back from his drunk wife. He did not want her to drive. Police arrived and mediated.
A Benedict Road woman called police on 5/6 to report that someone had placed items including doors, garbage bags, a hot water heater and a toy castle in her dumpster. In addition, lawn furniture that she had placed in the dumpster had been removed from the container to make room for these items. She noticed that work was being done across the street and suspected that workers there may have been depositing refuse in her container.
On Saturday afternoon and evening high winds whipped up and brought back memories of the big storm in March. Many trees and branches came down with incidents reported on Walworth, Taunton Road, Circle Road, Fenimore Road, Stratton Road, Overhill Road, Post Road, Brambach Road and Mamaroneck Road. A newspaper vending machine blew over and struck a car on East Parkway and wires were down on Boulevard, Ridgecrest East, Madison and Montrose Roads. The winds continued on Sunday morning where another tree fell on Brewster Road and a tree limb leaned on a power line at Chesterfield Road.
Greenburgh
A 2005 black Mercedes Benz disappeared from a Fort Hill Road driveway sometime during the night of May 5. The resident awoke on the morning of May 6 to find the car gone, though he had left if locked in the driveway. The man also reported that he was three months behind in his lease payments however after making some calls he found out that the car had not been repossessed by the bank.
An Evandale Road resident found a stranger in her yard when she returned home around 4 pm on Friday May 7. She asked him if he was there to read the meter, and he replied “yes” and left the property. However a few hours later she called Con Edison who said that the meter was not due to be read until the following week. The man was described as a black male, 5’11”, age 30-35 years old, wearing a black button down shirt and gray slacks.
An iPod touch was taken from the backpack of a Withington Road boy while he was at school at Edgemont High School. The incident was reported to police on May 8.
Luis Evangelista, age 40 or New York City was caught stealing four bottles of cologne from Marshalls on Central Avenue on Saturday May 8th. The security officer saw the man conceal the bottles and leave the store. Evangelista was stopped outside the store and brought back in for questioning when he admitted the theft. He was taken to Greenburgh Police for booking.
Ramonita Ortiz, age 42 of Yonkers was spotted taking 4 X box games from Best Buy and concealing them in a foil lined bag on Saturday night May 8. The foil-lined bags are used because they block store sensors. She exited the store, the security officer stopped her and she was taken to the Greenburgh Police for booking.
A live rooster was found on Fox Glen Drive in Hartsdale on Sunday May 9. Animal control personnel responded and caught the bird.
Fish Requests 98 Year Lease at the Five Corners
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After a period of silence from developer Frederick Fish, it appears that the fate of the former home of Bistro Citron at 2-4 Weaver Street is again in play. Recently, large “for rent” signs were posted on the empty façade, renewing the hopes of some residents that the building would again become a restaurant and that plans for a housing development had been shelved.
However, it has now come to light that the Village received a letter from Fish on February 25, 2010 asking for a 49 year lease on the village-owned strip of land that is used as a driveway to the site parking lot, along with a 49 year option to renew the lease. Without use of that land, the developer cannot provide access to the parking lot, and the current lease expires on May 31, 2010.
An April 29th letter from the Heathcote Five Corners Coalition to the Mayor and Trustees notes that the current lease, dated 2005, requires the developer to use the strip of land “in conjunction with the operation by it of a restaurant and cocktail lounge.” Since there is no restaurant or cocktail lounge in operation, the Coalition contends that the 2005 Lease has automatically terminated.
Furthermore, the proposal from Fish asks for permission to use the premises adjoining the Land for “any lawful use ... permitted by Village of Scarsdale zoning code, and not be restricted to restaurant use only” in exchange for agreeing to maintain two exterior facades (the Weaver and Wilmot Road facades) for the term of the lease or “as long as the building can be used in an economic manner.”
However, this implies that if the building cannot be used in an economic matter, the facades could be sacrificed.
In early February, 2010 the trustees voted down the sale of the land to Fish in response to residents who wanted clear restrictions on the use of the property. By proposing a 98-year lease, with no restrictions on the use of the building, this new proposal would bypass the need for a land sale and give Fish freedom to use the building as he chooses.
In closing, the Coalition wrote, “It is not in the best interests of the Village to agree to a new lease that contains terms or conditions any more favorable to the Developer than the terms and conditions contained in the 2005 Lease” and asked the village to keep them apprised of any future developments.
The Trustees Law Committee discussed the proposal in executive session on Monday night May 3rd, but have not made their discussions public.
