Police Update Tuesday March15
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Lieutenant Andrew Matturo gave Scarsdale10583.com an update on the restoration and a report on the activities of police, firemen and village personnel during the weekend storm. He said that in his 26 years working for the police “this was the worst storm he had ever seen.” Police received just under 1,000 phone calls due to storm-related incidents, with 170 reports of downed trees and 19 homes hit. Two shifts of policemen worked through the night on Saturday as well as 20-30 employees of the Department of Public Works, firefighters and the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Two homes went up in flames simultaneously on Saturday night. The Mayor, Village Manager, Head of the Department of Public Works and others came to Village Hall to manage the response. Both paid and volunteer personnel deserve our thanks for the extraordinary job they did to assist Village residents in need.
Though progress in restoring power may seem slow, Maturro reports that Con Edison is moving forward and has brought in crews from as far away as North Carolina. You may notice trucks from “Pike Electric, N.C.” on the streets and they are here to help. Though most of our main thoroughfares are open, there is still considerable debris on the side streets. Matturo hopes that power will be restored to all residents by Friday and thanks you for their patience.
The bottom line is that no one in Scarsdale was badly injured or killed. Some were trapped by fallen trees and wires in cars and in homes , but everyone escaped injury. Given the strength of the winds and the scope of the storm this is nothing short of miraculous. Regrettably, one man who was visiting Hartsdale died when a tree hit his car on Saturday night.
Scarsdale Schools will be closed on Wednesday as buses cannot pass through our side streets. In addition, power must be restored to Greenacres, Fox Meadow and Quaker Ridge elementary schools. Broken traffic lights on Post Road are also a hazard and hopefully they can be fixed by Thursday. The district has used up their last “snow day.”
Today, with the sun out and temperatures in the sixties, it appeared that the worst was over. Clean-up crews were busy all over town and it looks like Scarsdale is returning to normal. Hang in and continue to send your comments and questions.
In other police news, thieves continued to plague Scarsdale this past week, with a home burglary in Greenacres and five car break-ins, all in Quaker Ridge.
The home burglary was on Oakstwain Road where someone entered the home around 5 pm on Saturday night by kicking in the front door. Taken were a 26” flat screen television, silverware, jewelry and currency. Also missing was a pillowcase -- reminiscent of the robberies last week where thieves took pillowcases, possibly to hold stolen goods.
The five car break-ins all took place during the night of March 11-12. On Vernon Road the driver’s side window of a 2010 Volkswagen was broken and a baritone saxophone and an iPod were stolen from the car. On Sycamore Road a 2008 BMW and an Alpersons truck were parked in the driveway. Vandals entered both and stole Nintendo games, clothing, silverware and fencing gear. The front passenger window of a 2008 Ford was broken on Black Birch lane and an iPod was stolen. Damage was done to the audio system as well. Also on Black Birch Lane the front passenger window of a 2006 Toyota was shattered and the car was searched. Nothing appears to have been taken. A 2005 Acura was also vandalized that night; the driver’s side window was smashed and missing were a GPS system and a Bluetooth headset.
At the parking garage at 2 Underhill Road, the cashier’s booth was entered during the night of 3/12. Someone pushed in the window air conditioning unit and stole $680 in cash and an iPod.
Two employees of the Scarsdale Medical Group on Popham Road reported thefts that had occurred in the past. Shamina Dickson said that two diamond rings and a gold anniversary band were taken from her work station on 2/13 while Eva Hernandez reported that $150 in cash had been taken from her pocketbook on 3/8.
Lucky Man: Balducci’s cashier Daisy Arauz found a wad of cash wrapped in a rubber band on the floor near her register on March 8th. Store manager Angel Caban called the police who unwrapped the roll and determined there was $1,980 in cash. They took the money to the police station for safekeeping. Mark J Stuart of Larchmont realized he had dropped his funds and called Balduccis to see if the cash was found. The store manager let him know that the money had been turned over to the police. Police reviewed the Balduccis surveillance video and interviewed Mr. Stuart. They determined that Mr. Stuart was the rightful owner of the money and returned it to him.
Lucky Lady: Leanne Moore of East End Avenue NYC called police to say that someone had removed two bags of clothing from her car. She had been shopping at LF in Scarsdale Village and placed her purchases in her car. She returned to the store and found her two bags of clothing in the store. A man had come in to the store with the bags and said that someone had placed them in his car. It appears that Ms. Moore put her bags in someone else’s car and lucky for her, he returned them.
A Connecticut woman in distress stopped at Scarsdale police headquarters at 5 am on the morning of 3/11. She said she had a migraine, was distressed over a strained family relationship and wanted to stop in and talk. She declined assistance and said she would go to White Plains Hospital and left the police trailer.
In the midst of the storm at 11 pm on Saturday night police were called by a Barry Road resident to say that kids were throwing cans in the street. When police arrived the group broke up and police found empty plastic cups in the street.
Police were called to assist in the evacuation of two elderly residents from their Brewster Road home on 3/14 when their heat and lights went off in the storm. Mr. Dowd suffers from Alzheimer’s and initially refused to leave but was eventually convinced to go stay at the Crowne Plaza with his wife.
Deaths: Isadore Levin, age 87 of 8 Brayton Road was suffering from pneumonia and a stroke died at home of natural causes on the morning of March 11th. Mrs. Susan Schweitzer, age 71 of 3 Sherbrooke Road was pronounced dead at 3 am on March 15.
Important Information from Mayor Stevens --Monday March 15
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At a municipal conference call today with Con Edison we were advised that there are still 67,000 customers in Westchester without power. There has been little restoration of power in the county. Most of the effort has gone towards de-energizing power lines so that trees that are blocking roads can be removed. Restoration of power can't really begin until Con Ed can get to the lines.
As of this morning Con Ed had two crews in Scarsdale working on de-energizing lines so that our village workers could remove trees. Scarsdale Village has also retained the services of an outside tree removal company to aid in the work. Con Ed is now saying that they expect to begin to restore power in Scarsdale starting later today but that many may not be restored until Thursday or Friday. Con Ed is bringing crews in from other parts of the country and they expect to have 160 crews working in the county with five assigned to Scarsdale. We hope to see these additional crews later today.
Con Ed advised us that some people who now have power may experience a loss of power as repairs are made. These outages should be temporary but could last two or three hours. Dry ice is available to everyone at three locations- New Rochelle City Hall, 515 North Street; Saxon Woods Park - Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains, and Empire City in Yonkers. Distribution hours are 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
In the village, 70% of households are still without power. Village Hall is open but is also without power. At one time we had 180 trees blocking roads and trees have damaged forty to fifty homes. Crews from the Scarsdale Department of Public Works are working non-stop with Con Edison to clear fallen trees.
As of noon today there was only one East West traffic corridor open: Mamaroneck Road to Fenimore Road. Post Road was open from Boulevard to White Plains. Heathcote Road, Drake Road and Weaver Street all had blockages. Sections of almost all major roads have been compromised by fallen trees and wires.
For those without power, please be careful when using candles; we have already had house fires. For those who have had some tree damage, please make sure that your chimneys have not been damaged and make sure your carbon monoxide alarms are working.
Building Department personnel are available to help people with damage to their homes. We have also instituted an emergency procedure for obtaining building permits.
If you do have power, think about taking in a neighbor or a friend without power - or at least inviting them over to warm up. Please check on any of your neighbors who are seniors - especially those who live alone. If you think that someone needs help, call the police at 722-1200.
Carolyn Stevens
Mayor
Cheesery Owner Passes Away
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This just in from a Scarsdale10583.com reader: Clifford Anthony Hall, of Hartsdale, New York, born May 10, 1956 in the Bronx, New York, died May 4, 2010 at Schnurmacher Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in White Plains, New York after a long illness. Survived by his wife of 30 years, Patricia (Keary), and beloved father of Christopher Andrew and Michael Clifford. Survived by his parents, Stephen and Teresa (Kerrigan), Linda Carolan, Andrew, Stephen and nephew, Brian Carolan. Cliff is also survived by Kevin and Frances Keary, Susan Keary, Jeanne (Keary) and Patrick Kelly, Frances (Keary), and Timothy Hunt, Kevin and Nancy Keary, John and Nicole Keary and Andrew Keary. Also survived by nieces and nephews, Katie, Tim, Emily, Alex and Samantha, Kevin Michael III, Anne Frances and Caroline.
Cliff was the owner of the Hartsdale Cheesery for 24 years. Family will be receiving visitors at Ballard-Durand Funeral Home, 2 Maple Avenue at South Broadway, White Plains, New York on Thursday, May 6, from 2-4pm and 7-9pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be at Sacred Heart Church in Hartsdale, New York, on Friday, May 7 at 10am with cremation at Ferncliff Crematory, Hartsdale to follow.
(Closing of the Cheesery Early March 11, 2010)
The owners of the Hartsdale Cheesery were evicted for non-payment of rent early Thursday morning, March 11. According to the managing agent, Langsam Property Management Company in the Bronx, the management company went through lengthy court proceedings to evict the owners of the Cheesery and early today a Constable arrived to evict them. Papers were served and the store’s locks were changed.
Though the management company has gotten mixed signals from the Cheesery’s lawyers, a representative from Langsam said that the management company is hopeful that the Cheesery owners will work out a payment schedule for the past due rent and reopen their doors. If not, Langsam will be forced to turn off the power and clean out the store, which still has perishable food in the display cases.
For now the store is locked, windows are dark and food cases are half-filled. It appears that the management left suddenly, without saying goodbye to their neighbors or posting a sign to announce the closing. The possibly fled in anticipation of the eviction.
Employees at the pharmacy next door were shocked as one man had purchased a cup of coffee yesterday and the Cheesery employees did not breathe a word about their plans. Another Greenacres resident went to the store Wednesday morning. The door was locked and they claimed to be having “trouble in the kitchen.”
The Cheesery sold bagels, smoked fish, cheeses, coffee and gourmet foods. They had the corner on the coffee market in town for years but were challenged by the opening of the Starbucks in the Hartsdale Station and the very successful bagel store across the street. However they did have a loyal base of customers, especially at holiday time, when residents ordered large trays of smoked fish, flavored cream cheese, and bagels. With Passover and Easter only weeks away, the management company is hopeful that the owners of the Cheesery will return to provide many more great meals to local residents.
State of Emergency Declared in Scarsdale
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Sustained winds of up to 60 miles per hour hit Scarsdale hard last night and left 70% of residents without power, over 170 trees down, cars and homes with extensive damage and residents in peril. According to Con Edison saturated grounds exacerbated the problem as the wet grounds loosened the soil around tree root systems and caused many to topple over. In the Scarsdale P.O. 5,800 homes are without power. District schools may be closed tomorrow, Monday March 15.
Homes on River Road, Donellan Road, Drake Road and Johnson Road were all hit by trees and residents were forced out. The Village declared a State of Emergency on Saturday night and police have asked people to refrain from driving to keep roads clear for repairmen and prevent additional incidents. As of noon on Sunday Fenimore Roads, Kingston Roads, Huntington Roads were blocked as well as Sherbrooke, Morris Lane, Birchall Drive, Heathcote Road, Weaver Street and Mamaroneck Roads.
Around town, it appeared as if a tornado had blown through. Devastating damage was done in Edgewood on Johnson Road between Sprague and Boulevard where at least five trees feel in a row. A BMW with passengers inside was hit and the car was trapped by trees in front and behind it. Luckily the driver and passenger were able to escape the car uninjured. Another car parked in a driveway on Johnson Road was flattened and a home was smashed by another large tree. The scene is a tangled mass of trunks and branches. I saw some homeowners trying to forge a footpath back to their home amidst the trees, wires and Con Edison trucks.
This is the worst situation Con Edison has seen in decades. Power outages are widespread and hundreds of individual repairs will need to be done. Before Con Ed can restore power, they will need to make work areas safe so that trees can be cleared. Today, Sunday, they will be turning off the power to live wires so that tree crews can remove trees. Once this is done, they can work on restoring the power.
Mayor Carolyn Stevens reported that many Village employees came to work Saturday night to manage the emergency. There were two simultaneous house fires, one on Overhill Road and one on Brewster Road and it was fortunate that the Fire Chief was here to supervise.
Miraculously, there have been no serious injuries reported in Scarsdale. However in Hartsdale a man was killed by a tree that fell on his car. Mayor Stevens said that she saw residents removing police barricades and emergency tape in an effort to maneuver their way around town. This puts others at risk and she asks that you leave barricades and tape in place.
At my own home, a large tree hit our house, shearing off railings and gutters and landing on our car. The thud as the tree shook the frame of our house was terrifying.
Here is a statement from Mayor Carolyn Stevens written on Sunday morning 3/14:
In an attempt to keep folks in their homes we have declared a State of Emergency for the Village We have over 170 trees down that are blocking roads - many of those involve electrical wires. We have had crews out removing trees in the roadways where there are no wires involved - they have been working since yesterday afternoon and we have brought in one private tree removal company to assist with that effort.
Over 70 % of the Village is without power at this point. Con Ed advised that they would have a crew here @ 7:00 AM to begin shutting down power on live wires in the street so that our crews can remove the trees but they have not yet arrived. Last night we also had two active and simultaneous house fires; one due to unattended candles and another caused by an electrical issue. Benny has been working since yesterday afternoon with his crews. Al, of course, has been working as well. Both Chiefs Brogan and Cain came in last night along with Andy Matturo in efforts to help coordinate efforts. We had reports of 3 or 4 cars hit with people inside and one pedestrian.
Check out Scarsdale on the home page of the New York Times website. Please report damage in the comments section below and send photos and comments to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com
Greenacres Town Hall Meeting Tonight
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The Greenacres Association will host their eighth annual Town Hall meeting tonight at the Greenacres School. Join them for refreshments at 7:15 and the Town Meeting at 7:45. All Scarsdale residents are invited to meet the people who run the town and discuss issues of relevance to Greenacres and Scarsdale. Come by to hear updates on the Village and School Budgets, development, traffic, the comprehensive plan, flooding and more. Babysitting will be provided so bring your kids.
Here is a list of the panelists:
- Vice Mayor Sharon Lindsay
- Police Chief John Brogan
- Fire Chief Tom Cain,
- Superintendent of Schools Michael McGill
- Village Manager Alfred Gatta
- Board of Education Vice President Jill Spieler
- Greenacres Principal Gerry Young
- Recreation Department Superintendent Suzanne Busby
- Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corp David Raizen
- Volunteer Fire Company 2 Jim Buck.
Meet your neighbors, ask questions and learn more about our town.
For information, contact: Greenacres Neighborhood Association President Deb Pekarek at dpekarek@verizon.net or 723-6171
Thursday March 11, 2010
Greenacres 8th Annual Town Meeting
Greenacres School 7:45 pm Meeting 7:15 pm Refreshments
Babysitting provided
