Scarsdale Runners Go the Distance in the 2016 NYC Marathon
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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There were many current and former Scarsdale residents among the 50,000 runners from 120 countries who ran the NYC Marathon on Sunday November 6. It was a beautiful warm day, and these runners were exhilarated by the experience and shared their stories with us.
Megan Simon, a Greenacres mother of two also 
ran her first marathon on Sunday. She trained using the TCS NYRR Official Virtual Marathon Trainer, a 20-week virtual program that was customized by NYRR for each runner and emailed her a workout plan for each day. It also provided helpful tips about the course, race day prep and nutrition. Megan was surprised by how much fun she had. She said, "No matter how much pain I was in I just wanted to keep going and I was smiling the whole way. I was also really touched at how all five boroughs come together to be so supportive. From Brooklyn to the Bronx the people were so amazing!! I was very proud yesterday to be a New Yorker running this race!" She continued, "I was inspired by all the amazing strangers that were cheering me on and the fact that my friends and family were at mile 19 and mile 22. The bands and music and enthusiasm were truly like nothing I have ever felt before."
Scarsdale kids turned out at the train station to cheer their folks on. Pictured here, they were holding signs for Megan Simon and Gregg Monterosso.
Discussing his experience, Gregg Monterosso said, "This was my 4th NYC marathon and I am happy to say that I finished all four of them. I trained using an online training application for 16 weeks starting back in the first week of July. My training consisted of running 4-5 days per week and a pyramid of increasing mileage and then tapering down during the final two weeks prior to the race.
New York is always an amazing marathon experience...the people that line the streets make it an amazing day! This year I ran for Fred's Team, which is a fundraising team 
for Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital and I raised over $3,300 dollars.
My sister in law passed away in June 2015 from breast cancer, leaving behind my brother(her husband) and two young children, sso this race was special to me this year. That is what kept me going this year despite a knee injury that hampered me during my training and also from mile 7 on to the finish on Sunday. I will absolutely do it again as I want to beat my personal best time of 4 hours 24 minutes.
Matt Hershey (SHS '09) and Greg Seiden (SHS '11) have been friends since they learned to walk but had no idea that they both were running their first marathon. They met toward the end of the course and were thrilled to finish together. Greg Seiden age 23 said he felt really good until the 20-mile mark on the Willis Avenue Bridge and pressed on to the end, even walking at times, due to the cramping in his legs.
Matt Hershey said he trained by doing short to medium distance runs before work during the 
week and long runs on the weekends. He was inspired to stay the course by friends and family along the way and a great playlist on his phone. He was surprised by how sore he was the day after the race but is already making plans to do it again.
Scarsdale High School friends Hannah Fastov and Julie Salzman, both ran their first marathons with the Athletes to End Alzheimer's Team. Hannah took a few practice runs with the team, but mostly trained on her own, increasing the length of her weekend runs and ultimately doing a 22-mile final training run.
She was surprised by how friendly all the runners were at the starting line which "relieved some of her nerves," and she make several friends along the way. Fastov said, "The crowds along the route were awesome, each unique and true to the ethnicity of their neighborhood. The music was a treat and a motivation to keep moving."
Julie Salzman says she's been 
hobbling on sore legs since Sunday and almost asked a man to give up his subway seat for her a few days after the race. Though she was athletic when she was growing up she only started running three years ago and also trained with the CaringKids Athletes to End Alzheimers team. She said she had no idea how difficult a marathon could be and her legs ached early in the race with the pain setting in at mile 17. She says she kept telling herself, "One more mile until I will see my family, a half a mile until my friends. I had to finish because I heard there would be incredible yet embarrassing, loving signs waiting for me!" She decided not to bring headphones and listened to the encouraging strangers along the way who fed her snacks to keep her going.
She ran for herself, her Grandpa Les and for all of the strong people on t
he team who have been affected by family members with Alzheimer's. Though she loved the experience, for now, she's going back to yoga.
We also received marathon photos from Andy Mayer and sisters Mei and Sue Zhou. Did you run? Send your photos and experiences to Scarsdsale10583 at scarsdalecomments@gmail.com and we'll include them on the site.
WeRun Club Sends Seven to the Marathon:
The WeRun club sent seven runners, two event volunteers and one cheering team to join the 51k runners and 2 million spectators from around the world. All their runners finished the daunting 26.2 miles run.
Meiliang Wu 3:08:52
Lei Zhang, 3:35:25
Chen Zou, 3:40:41
Zhanjie Li, 3:41:36
Xiaohui Wang, 4:23:10
Aihui Li, 3:55:36
This was Lei's first marathon, he said he trained by following a plan from "Advanced Marathoning". "The second half is a lot harder than expected even with long training runs. The crowds, the friend, the family support and determination are main inspirations," recalled Lei, "the crowd is awesome! Too bad I missed a few friends when they yelled at me but it's a wonderful experience." "I would continue to run the marathon" added him.
Same feeling echoed by Zhanjie, who also ran it first time. "I run routinely 3-4 times for total around 25 miles every week. For marathon, extra long runs on 
weekends are necessary to go long and experience the ultra distance, and at the same time build the necessary cardinal and muscle strengths." "I was surprised by the enthusiasm I saw from other runners as well as the cheers along the way." Zhanjie has been running for several years, "marathon is always the one task on my schedule. This one is definitely a long overdue one. I want to give it my best all the way to finish line." He continued "the crowds along the way are great. The supports and cheers they gave are tremendous." As to the question - do you think you'll do it again? With no hesitation "Yes, it's a tough dashing to the finish line but fun after your cross it."
For seasoned runner Chen, this was her third time marathon race. "I do not have much time to train. I normally train at the early morning or 9:30pm when my kids are in bed, and Sunday morning when they are in Chinese school." She said, "I am surprised by the "bonding" experience for my body and spirit. During the training and after the marathon race, I feel I am stronger, I can take more challenge in all aspects." "I am inspired to have a better me, and to show my kids the strength of persistence." She agreed that the cheering crowds are very very enthusiastic and encouraging, "the crowds give high fives, cheer, or provide food and drinks." "Yeah, I will do it again. I will keep it going!"
One member from the WeRun cheering team, Tony, said "as a spectator, I've been to the events several times, cheering for family members, friends, colleagues and all other runners and always got inspired by participators and their lengthy training stories. This year, that feeling became ever stronger. Since joining the WeChat running club, founded by Westchester local Chinese residents earlier this year, I resumed my regular training, which have been stopped since college. For the first time, I feel I can be one of them, instead of just applauding for them. I believe that day won't be far away."
It has been a fun and fruitful year for the WeRun club. Their members practice every Saturday morning along the beautiful Bronx river trail. They exchange the training experience and race information, and as always welcome all seasoned and novice distance runners. For more information, email Lisa Tan at lisaytan@yahoo.com.
Burglar Enters Occupied Kensington Road Home on Halloween Night
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(Updated November 2) Scarsdale Police report that a brazen burglar wearing a ski mask forced his way into a home at 6 Kensington Road through the back door around midnight on Halloween and went into the homeowner's bedroom where he was asleep.
There were a total of five people in the house at the time but they didn't realize that the man was inside until the homeowner woke up and the burglar fled.
The homeowners called police at 12:08 am on November 1 and officers were on the scene quickly. The suspect took a few items, but dropped them on the way out of the house. Detectives will send the dropped items to the Westchester County Crim Lab for DNA analysis and they are also reviewing security footage 
from videos of the home and the neighborhood.
No one was injured and police report that there has not been a burglary in Scarsdale since August 24th.
This special report is brought to you by Scarsdale Security who can protect your home and family with the latest security technology. Call them at (914) 722-2200.
Traffic Consultants Make Recommendations to Improve Safety in Scarsdale
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Are speeding drivers, careless pedestrians and cyclists and inadequate signage posing a danger to Scarsdale residents? Should speed limits be lowered, more signs and bike lanes added to make Scarsdale safer? In response to concerns about traffic and pedestrian safety outlined in a November 2015 report from the Scarsdale Forum's Municipal Services Committee, the Village of Scarsdale instructed the police to step up traffic enforcement and also hired a traffic consultant to study the issues that were raised about many locations around the Village.
Police took their job seriously and caught many drivers in the village off guard during the first half of this year. So if you got a ticket in Scarsdale Village from the Scarsdale Police in the first half of 2016, it may have been due to this enforcement initiative that increased ticketing for the following offences:
- Failure to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks
- Failure to comply with traffic regulations (stop sign, red light)
- Distracted driving violations (phone usage)
- Failure to wear a seatbelt.
A report issued in July 2016 shows that for the first six months of 2016, police gave out a total of 412 citations for the violations listed above as compared to 250 for the first half of 2015, a 65% increase.
Police also deployed a speed wagon to track driving speeds at three locations in Quaker Ridge where the Forum reported there were problems with speeding. It turned out that people were not speeding – in fact, 90% of drivers were going under the speed limit with the remaining 10% drivers within 5mph of the limit. The monitored locations were Franklin Road and Harvest Drive, Heathcote and Stratton Roads and Penn Boulevard.
As a second step, consultants TRC Engineers of Hawthorne analyzed safety in the Village and in Quaker Ridge and delievered a report and recommendations to Village Managers in July. The engineers were invited to present their results at a meeting on Tuesday night October 26. The report can be viewed on the Village website here:
Scarsdale Village: Because of traffic coming over the Popham Road Bridge and the presence of the train station, the pedestrian crossings at Popham and Chase Roads as well as Popham and Overhill Roads have been safety trouble spots.
The engineers observed and monitored pedestrians attempting to cross Popham Road in the Village, "especially those that are mobility-challenged or impaired and senior citizens who sometimes struggle to cross Popham Road in the allotted pedestraian phasing time."
They recommended a few alternatives for improving safety for pedestrians crossing these three intersections: Chase Road at Popham Road, Popham Road at Chase Road and Popham Road at East Parkway.
In order to give pedestrians more time to cross and to increase the visibility of the crosswalks for drivers the recommended the following alternatives:
- Extended Flashing Don't Walk Time which simply involves changing the timing on the "Don't Walk" signage.
- Colored/high visibility crosswalk: Consultants recommend that striping and wording be added to the pavement before the crosswalk to warn drivers to slowdown or stop before the crosswalk.
- Addition of a traffic signal on the right hand side of westbound Popham Road just before the crosswalk to enforce stopping and reduce the number of drivers who stop in the crosswalk because the existing stoplights are further ahead.
- Lane assignments: Consultants recommend adding a sign that indicates lane assignments on westbound Popham Road before Chase Road to establish appropriate lane assignments, especially the right turn lane.
- Installation of "Turning Vehicles Yield to Pedestrians" and "No Turn on Red Signs" adjacent to the traffic signals.
- Installation of backplates or rectangular shields that fit behind the traffic lights to help with the glare.
- Addition of blinking pedestrian signs with passive detection that blink when a person is walking between two signs – or crossing the street.
- Additional street lighting could be added
The consultants also analyzed the intersections of Crane and Fox Meadow Road and Crane and Stonehouse Roads and found them both to be "acceptable," but made several suggestions for improving safety there including removing bushes and vegetation that obstruct the sightlines, adding a yellow sign that says "intersection ahead," on eastbound Crane Road between Fox Meadow and Stonehouse Roads to let drivers know that people may be crossing as well as an additional sign at the intersection of Crane Road and East Parkway that would say "Traffic Exiting Parkway Does Not Stop."
The report goes on to make similar recommendations for many intersections in West Quaker Ridge including intersections with Weaver Street. You can read the entire report here.
Scarsdale Rocks Back-to-School Fashion
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- Written by: Traci Dutton Ludwig
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They've been back in the classroom for about a month, and it finally feels like fall. That means it's time to cozy up to beautiful jackets, new boots and a surge of back-to-school fashions. Because warm temperatures during the first few weeks of school tingled with summer's giddiness, back-to-school shopping is experiencing renewed interest in the village these days. According to Rachel Uchitel, owner of Wyatt Lily, "'Back-to-school' started late, but it's really going strong – because it basically just got cold this week. A lot of my customers are coming in now looking for leggings, comfort wear and other really warm and cozy things."
This year, Uchitel is seeing a strong demand for personalization and individuality in clothing. She offers in-store monogramming with glitter letters or monochrome letters so kids can wear their favorite sayings, sport their initials or interject a bit of humor into their looks. 
Popular personalization among the pre-school crowd includes "King of Time Out" and "I only date models." Older kids have also hooked into the trend. One student running for school government cleverly designed a cute sweatshirt advertising her candidacy and asking for votes.
"Glitter letters for the girls can really spice up simple tops and bottoms to make them special," Uchitel said. Leggings – especially in fun colors, faux leather, or camouflage prints – are the bottoms of choice this season. They're comfortable, cute and can easily be worn with other pieces to create a variety of looks.
Because this season's palette of navy, gold, black and gray expresses a toned-down vibe, Uchitel looks for clothing that has fun embellishments and interesting details. Patches, this year, are especially popular. For 
ultimate style, she recommends keeping everything a bit sophisticated, rather than childish. "I've got some really great, yummy, slouchy hats with sparkle for colder weather. Everyone loves them. I've also got fur wrist clasps that work like a snapping bracelet. They're so great that parents are buying them for themselves as well as for their kids."
Skull motifs, in sophisticated tones of silver, bronze and gold, are a favorite at Wyatt Lily. Just like the fur bracelets, any accessory embossed with a skull has become popular among all age groups. This season, Uchitel recommends getting the look through key chains, mini purses or backpacks – for young ladies and mommies too.
Phyllis Samuels, a 25-year-long buyer for Neil's Corner Spot, 
said, "Although back-to-school shopping starts as soon as the buses from sleep away camp return, it continues throughout the fall." Among the most popular items this season are patches and denim, she said. "We're seeing a lot of jeans – skinny jeans, torn jeans and patches everywhere." Patches capture a retro, 1970s-style vibe, but they have become especially user-friendly through pin-on versions and stick-on versions manufactured by a company called "Hipsta." In addition to accessorizing jeans with patches, Samuels recommends using them on sneakers, leggings, backpacks and flannel shirts. She said, "Flannels – worn open over tank tops – continue to be a popular look for girls – as well as grommets and lace-up everything."
Construction details – such as laces, grommets and studs – are wildly popular embellishments within the season's palette of neutrals. "This is not a very colorful season. There's a lot of gray and olive," Samuels said. Black – the uniform color of the 1990s – is also back in style, as evidenced by the wave of students wearing black T-shirts rolling in and out of Scarsdale High School at the beginning and end of each day.
"Back-to-school looks for boys focus on comfort, practicality and, often, a certain sports appeal," Samuels said, "Boys want the same kind of comfort that girls have long enjoyed." She said fuzzy pajama pants and jeans made from French terry with stretch are popular for boys now. College T-shirts, jerseys with draft picks and sports shirts from all the popular New York teams remain favorites too – and Neil's has them all. Flannel shirts are another trend in boys' back-to-school fashion this season. However, unlike girls, boys wear their flannel shirts buttoned-up and un-tucked.
For the high school crowd, most trends trickle down from young pop-culture icons like Kendall Jenner, 20, and Gigi Hadid, 21. According to LF Store stylist Alianna Anselmi, some of this year's biggest back-to-school trends include embroidery on denim, suede and sweaters; camouflage tops and jackets; vintage looks; bomber jackets in every color and fabric; off-the-shoulder, choker tops that zip at the back of the neck; lace tops for layering; and satin slip dresses. The palette is subdued – black, gray and olive – but tempered by the feminine softness of blush pink and plum. "It's like a 90s grunge look but more fun, young and girly," Anselmi said. "Imagine a vintage looking, oversized black band T-shirt paired with a pink skirt ... or a sequined slip dress worn over a casual T-shirt, layered with a denim jacket and boots."
Because of the season's wildly changing temperatures, fall is all about layering. "We do a lot of mixing and matching at LF. This way you can experiment and play with your clothes. You can be inspired by those trends that Kendall and Gigi are wearing, but you can also personalize a look to make it your own. I always tell girls they should never be afraid to try a new trend. They should never be afraid to be the first person to wear something new," Anselmi said.
For a great fall wardrobe, she recommends a mix of fun trend pieces and amazing classics. These include some recommended essentials. "You'll want to start with a really great pair of well-fitting jeans that you can wear with everything, then mix it up with some of this year's ripped styles," Anselmi said. "You'll also want a really good skirt that you can wear all season with tights and tall, thigh-high boots. I'd go for a beautiful suede or leather skirt that you can dress up or down." Other gorgeous pieces include classic leather bomber jackets, pretty bralettes for layering beneath loose dresses and oversized slouchy sweaters, and flannel shirts embellished with mesh panels, contrasting sleeves or hoods.
Chokers – in denim, leather, lace, suede and bejeweled 
– dominate this season's jewelry trend and "are a great way to give a basic top a totally new look," Anselmi said. Suede baseball caps in army green, black, gray and blush are another hot accessory for back-to-school. Because these caps are both practical and cute, some girls are buying them in every available color. "They look really cool, add definite style to your look – and are great for those days when you're rushing out the door or didn't have time to wash your hair," she advised. Over-the-knee boots, which were trending last fall, have already gone viral in this year's scene. Anselmi said, "Tall boots in beautiful suede are great with short, chunky heels or flat soles. You can wear them with fall's shorter skirts to keep your legs warm, or you can pull them over skinny jeans for a really stylish look. Some versions are coming in with stitched embroidery details or a distressed look, which I think is great because you don't have to worry about the scuffing up the toes when you wear them."
Double Standards for Parking Near Houses of Worship
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Scarsdale10583 received this letter from a reader
Dear Scarsdale10583: I have lived near Hitchcock Church for over 20 years where both sides of Walworth Avenue and Greenacres Avenue are often lined with cars on Sundays, weekdays and evenings. As the church has a very small parking lot, churchgoers, congregants and nursery school moms often fill both sides of the street, making it very difficult to pass. The street gets so crowded that only a single car can pass, often causing a back-up.
I am also a member of a local synagogue and note that on the two high holidays of the year, streets adjacent to the temples are lined with signs precluding synagogue attenders from parking. On some streets, where parking is permitted on all other days, parking is not permitted on either one or both sides of the block. It's frequently difficult to park to attend services, requiring a long walk to the temple.
Why are church attendees permitted to park on both sides of the street, while Jewish congregants are not? Shouldn't the same standards apply for all houses of worship? Please explain.
