The Scarsdale Procedure Committee Invites Scarsdale Voters to Submit Suggestions to Improve the Non-Partisan System
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The Scarsdale Procedure Committee (PC), whose members are representative of Scarsdale’s five elementary school neighborhoods, is inviting Scarsdale voters to help improve the non-partisan election system’s governing document and the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC) processes. To accomplish these important tasks, the public is being invited to review and comment on a summary of proposed amendments to the document known as the Non-Partisan Resolution, which are available on the PC’s website here, along with the current Non-Partisan Resolution marked to show proposed changes.
According to PC Chair Michelle Sterling and Vice Chair Peri Zelig, “The Scarsdale community’s non-partisan system of electing qualified candidates for village office is governed by the Non-Partisan Resolution – a living document that, since its adoption in December 1930, has been amended 42 times, most recently in November 2018. The system administered by the PC establishes a method for selecting a slate of qualified candidates for Mayor (every two years), Trustees (every year according to staggered terms), and Village Justice (every four years). Periodically, the community is asked to comment on proposed changes to the Resolution which are ultimately submitted to the electorate for a vote on ratification. Today’s announcement represents a collaborative opportunity for Scarsdalians to make a positive difference in the civic affairs of Scarsdale.”
This annual non-partisan election procedure, which is managed by residents of Scarsdale and is similar to the School Board Nominating Committee system, works like this: the PC administers the annual recruitment and election of voting members of the 30-member CNC. CNC members – six residents from each of Scarsdale’s five elementary school districts – are elected by their neighbors to vet and nominate a slate of candidates for Village office positions which may be open in any given year. By contributing input on potential revisions to the Non-Partisan Resolution, Scarsdale voters play an integral role in the process that helps to select Village government, another unique feature of Scarsdale’s non-partisan system in which partisan politics and electioneering is avoided.
Procedure Committee chairs Sterling and Zelig stated that “all comments received by the PC from Scarsdale voters and community organizations during the 90-day public comment period, from June 27 through September 2022, will be reviewed by the PC. At the end of its public review, the PC will propose amendments that, in the Committee’s judgment, should be presented to the electorate on the Tuesday November 15, 2022 ballot, when the voters go to the polls to vote in a new class of Citizens Nominating Committee members.”
The members of the 2022-23 Procedure Committee are: Michelle Sterling, Chair, Peri Zelig, Vice Chair, Christian Callaghan, Susan Douglass, Madelaine Eppenstein, Carly Grossberg, Elena Kanner, Jon Krisbergh, Liz Lashbrook, Barry Meiselman, BK Mungia, Abigail Sterling Olsen, Camille Roche, Emily Shteinhauz, Ilissa Siegel, Jill Spielberg, Laura Thierer, Jay Wechsler
The Procedure Committee invites the public to review and submit comments about the proposed amendments via email to Procedure Committee Chair Michelle Sterling, and members Madelaine Eppenstein.
Public and Media Contact: michellesterling1@gmail.com; meppenstein@eppenstein.com
Man Arrested for Possession of Semi-Automatic Handgun in Greenburgh Home
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Greenburgh Police were called to a home at 332 Ridge Road at 6:50 pm on June 26 about a fight in the basement and the possibility that a man there had a firearm.
Before they arrived, there was a report of car fleeing the scene with three to four men inside.
Police entered the house and found two residents of the home and a man later identified as Daniel Bigelow with a gunshot wound in his leg.
The resident said that Bigelow had been dropped off by the occupants of the car. He pulled out a black semi-automatic 9 mm handgun and fired at one of the residents, missing him. During the struggle that ensued, Bigelow shot himself in the leg.
Bigelow was taken to Westchester Medical Center in stable condition and is expected to survive. He was arrested and charged with PL 265.01 Criminal Possession of a Firearm, a class E felony.
Arrested
Daniel Bigelow
33 years old
160 Westfield Avenue
Elizabeth, NJ 07208
Mayor Veron Asks Residents to Complete the Pool Survey
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Mayor Veron to YOU: Please Take the Pool Survey!
Check out Mayor Jane Veron’s brief interview on the Pool Complex Study. In this video short, Mayor Veron explains the crucial decisions we all face as a community regarding the future of this treasured community asset.
She also encourages everyone to participate in our online Pool Survey, which closes on June 17. We want to hear from you, so jump in and tell us what you think!
Residents Say New Flood Plane Regulations Do Not Go Far Enough
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Water rushed into a home on Willow Lane during Hurricane Ida in September 2021.The Village Board of Trustees got some pushback from an attorney and residents on proposed changes to flood damage prevention laws that do not go far enough to address longstanding issues with flooding in the Village.
On Tuesday night June 14 the Board held a hearing on code changes to bring the Village into compliance with FEMA requirements for flood damage protection.
In summary, the changes would require new and replacement equipment and prefab homes located within a Special Flood Hazard Area to be sited two feet above the base flood level, to prevent damage during storms. The requirements pertain to electrical equipment, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, pool equipment and generators.
According to a memo from Village Planner Greg Cutler, “The purpose of this code is to require that all new or substantially improved development meets a higher standard for flood safety and damage prevention. The freeboard requirement ensures that new construction and substantially improved construction remains safe and undamaged during flood events that exceed the base flood elevation for a 1% annual chance storm.”
At the hearing, the Board heard from attorney Helen Mauch of Mintzer Mauch LLP who is representing 30 clients who live in in a sensitive drainage area along Garden, Cushman, Willow and Sheldrake Roads.
She pointed out that these changes do nothing to address her clients’ concerns about flooding risks from construction. She said that her clients have written to the Village to ask for stricter requirements in sensitive drainage areas including grade changes, tree removal and retaining walls, as recommended by the Village Engineer.
She wanted to know why the Village was taking a piecemeal approach to the issue and said these proposed changes are “simply not enough.” Furthermore, the Board has rejected her clients’ request to impose a temporary development work moratorium, even though it's well within the Board’s authority to make the legislative changes that will provide some protection to residents living in sensitive drainage areas. Ms. Mauch asserted that the “changes need to be made now.”
Her client Helen Maccarino of 83 Cushman Road also spoke. She told the board that “a lot of neighbors are struggling with the repetitive flooding that goes on primarily due to stormwater runoff,” and asked the Board to amend the code. She asked the Board to be more specific about when they will be tackling this issue and said it should be given a high priority due to climate change and more ferocious storms that are happening more frequently.
Bob Harrison also voiced his concerns about flooding of the sanitary sewer lines. He said there have been issues with roots growing into the lines. He also complained about heavy rains flooding basements.
Both the Mayor and the Village Manager responded.
Veron said, “she understands the frustration and that they all feel and the sense of urgency on the storm sensitive drainage areas and the need to address it.” She said it was not an issue of priorities and that the Village Managers are working behind the scenes to address the issues.
Village Manager Rob Cole said, “Staff is working in parallel on a number of different projects, one of them would be the sewer lateral inspection law that will be coming to the Village Board within approximately 30 days.” He also discussed a “flood study” to target flood relief throughout the community, as well as some local laws to deal with sensitive drainage areas.
He said the staff will work with the Village Board to vet the proposals and a work session with the full Village Board will be planned. However, he warned, “There’s almost no infrastructure project or code change that's going to preclude the types of events such as a storm like Tropical Storm Ida and some of the more intense rainstorms that cause flooding damage on Scarsdale properties.”
Public Hearing re Signs
Also on the agenda was a hearing about a proposed new law prohibiting signs in the Village right of way. The new code would apply to all signs, regardless of content. The law simply bars all signs in the right-of-way, which is usually ten feet from the curb. If passed by the Village Board, the law would require most signs to conform to these new requirements within 60 days, with an exemption for signs that will cost more than $1,000 to relocate, providing evidence is supplied to support a waiver. There are exceptions for signs at a place of worship or a country club.
Bob Harrison asked whether or not the legislation includes an amortization schedule. Rob Cole responded that the law includes definitions of what constitutes a non-conforming sign and under what conditions they have to be brought into conformity. It specifically references the $1,000 and provides a reasonable pathway for all signs to ultimately be brought into compliance without presenting an extreme hardship for any one individual or entity to remove a sign simply because the law changed.
Read a draft of the proposed code here:
In other news, the Board approved:
-a resolution for the Scarsdale Business Alliance to hold their annual sidewalk sale from Thursday July 28 to Saturday July 30 in Scarsdale Village.
-a contract for Coach Bus Services for the Teen Travel Camp
-An administrative award for Detective James Gannon for the arrest of a suspect in a serious assault with a knife in June 2020.
-An administrative award for Detective Robaire Johnson for his work in capturing the suspect involved in the same incident, for road rage incident leading to a stabbing.
Letter to the Editor: Anti-Abortion Trespassers Should be Give the Maximum Sentence
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To the Editor:
The right to abortion isn’t just under attack... the women in our local community are being threatened. Christopher Moscinski, Matthew Connelly, and William Goodman were found guilty of criminal trespass after invading All Women’s Health & Medical Services on November 27, 2021. They must be given the maximum sentence allowed by law— three months in jail and a $500 fine.
This is far from a rare occurrence. The three perpetrators belong to anti-abortion extremist group Red Rose Rescue, which repeatedly ignores state and local trespassing laws, as well as the privacy of patients. The group is proud of the terror their members inflict on anyone seeking reproductive health care— they videotape their attacks and brag about the harm they cause through online religious newspapers. This attack is no different. The three invaded the health care center and refused to leave, harassing and intimidating both patients and staff.
Red Rose Rescue continues to wreak havoc on health care centers because its members are rarely ever sentenced for their repeated crimes. Letting these men go wastes taxpayer money and time for the legal system and police department. These men cannot get away with a simple slap on the wrist. We want to see our money spent right, and the justice system serving sentences that fit these crimes. This group makes a mockery out of the justice system, wasting resources and continuing their heinous crimes with no intervention from our local law enforcement.
It’s not much to ask our local law enforcement to protect our reproductive rights and simply stop the harassment inflicted on those who seek health care. We cannot live comfortably with the fact that we’re in a democratically controlled state and county. Abortion will be legal in New York even if Roe v. Wade is overturned, but that does not mean access to health care will be easy. We need to acknowledge that there are anti-abortion groups in our community and they are very dangerous. By not giving the three guilty perpetrators a proper sentence local law enforcement would be condoning their despicable actions. The maximum sentence will not only act as a lesson to Christopher Moscinski, Matthew Connelly, and William Goodman, but to Red Rose Rescue as a whole, that their unlawful actions will have consequences.
Sincerely,
Olivia Halligan, Scarsdale Resident
