I've Got Your Number
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Here is a letter from a Scarsdale10583 reader: We live in a town where seemingly eternal education (and its resultant financial success) is the highly valued norm. Within each household, at least one member's name is followed by MD or JD, or at least one person makes the daily pilgrimage downtown to Wall Street, where the stars of the financial sector shine brightly. Having lived in this community for over 17 years, I could not help but notice that our limitless opportunity (read entitlement) has resulted in an interesting phenomenon; each individual person has come to believe that he is uniquely the most important person alive.
Yet I remain in Scarsdale, ensconced in my community, having found my smaller world – friends with shared values, common beliefs and an appreciation of the fortunate hands we have been dealt. Why, then, put forth the effort, take pen to paper to express my view regarding our privileged neighbors? Sadly, intellect and finance do not necessarily have wisdom as a corollary. I have a pet peeve which is clearly not shared by many in this town, a grievance ignored by most, a simple task which if not undertaken, can only result in harm to oneself and possibly others.
HOUSE NUMBERS! Drive through Scarsdale and notice that it is the rare home that clearly displays a number. Homes large (gigantic) and small (still quite large) remain unidentifiable in conflict with the residential code, building code and fire code for the state of New York. This issue has been difficult for me for many years, as I struggled to locate unfamiliar houses for my children's playdates or attendance of birthday parties. The creation of applications such as Waze has vastly improved my life, by immeasurably diminishing my overwhelming anxiety associated with any sentence beginning with "Mom – can you please drop me off at...?" More importantly, I am not the only one unable to readily locate a specific address – the speed with which ambulance workers, firemen and policemen identify one's house is also impeded by an absence of visible house number. A few years ago, the Scarsdale Fire Department, in an effort to facilitate home identification, even went so far as to provide highly visible, reflective white house numbers on green backgrounds to be placed outside an individual's residence, available at no cost to anyone upon request. Did our citizens avail themselves of this opportunity? While few did, the predominance did not ... perhaps the esthetics of the signs were too displeasing. If so, alternatives include personally acquiring a more elegant house number, or delaying the identification of one's home in the case of emergency (or playdate).
I am left wondering why people with such intelligence, so much education, would not perform a task as simple and helpful as placing a visible street number on their home or property. Enable those who want to help you (or have our children play together) to do so. To our emergency workers, when you are in danger, you truly ARE the most important individual alive... give our responders an opportunity to find and assist you, should the situation arise.
High School Students Invited to Enter Essay Contest
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The Scarsdale Republican Town Committee has launched its first-ever essay contest, called "Engaging U.S. History: Scarsdale Student Essay Contest". In Scarsdale, high school students study U.S. History during their junior year, and the contest is intended to promote a deeper engagement in an important issue or recurring theme in our nation's history. The SRTC will award a substantial prize to each of the three winners: The John Jay Prize in U.S. History, $500; The Major William Popham Prize in U.S. History, $250; The Emily Ogden Butler Prize in U.S. History, $100. The contest is open to all high school juniors residing in Scarsdale, whether they attend public or private school.
The Essay Topic requires contestants to discuss the Founders' conception of federalism, and then to relate that conception to two or more events in the 1787-1850 period and to a contemporary issue, such as education or same-sex marriage. All essays must be post marked no later than November 24, 2014. James Burkee, an historian at Concordia College, will judge the essays, and the prizes will be awarded at a public ceremony, the date for which will be determined soon.
Linda Killian, Chairwoman of the SRTC, said, "The framers of our Constitution debated many key issues regarding the structure of our government that are still being argued today. We believe the "Engaging U.S. History" essay contest will help focus attention on some of these issues, engage students more deeply in them, and provide a meaningful incentive to participate."
Details about the contest and a required Application Form can be downloaded at: www.scarsdalegop.org.
Spotted Around Town this Week
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Here are three photos taken this past week in Scarsdale:
Yarn Bomb at Scarsdale Library
A reader sent in this photo of the "Yarn Bomb" with a Halloween theme on a tree at the library. Will anyone take credit and tell us more about it?
Protest on the Post Road:
While the Concours D'Elegance was taking place in Scarsdale Village, a group from Immaculate Heart of Mary were stationed on the Post Road to protest abortion. See their photo here.
Deep Ditch on Paddington Road:
Last – can anyone give us an update on this 7 foot ditch at a home on Paddington Road? It's been like this since last spring – and we wonder what's going on down there. Trench warfare?
Scarsdale Tennis Team Excels in Conference Matches
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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It's been a thrilling week for the Scarsdale Girls Varsity Tennis team who played in the conference tournament at Harrison High School in post-season matches on Tuesday, October 14 and Wednesday, October 15. The team was in high spirits after a stellar season where they won 12 matches and dropped only 1. Though some of the best teams in the area including Edgemont, Kaio, Clarkstown North, Horace Greeley and Suffern were not in their league this year, Coach Jennifer Roane arranged special matches with some of these teams and Scarsdale excelled in these non-league matches as well. She proudly told me that Scarsdale triumphed in non-league events against Bronxville and Edgemont.
The SHS team sent one singles player and two doubles teams to the conference that 
included teams from 21 schools. Ashley Granieri, who has played singles all season, elected to continue to play singles in the conference, while Kim Zou and Adrienne Travis who had played first and third singles for the team, paired up to play doubles. First doubles team Kate Rabin and Jessica Tsai entered the tournament as well.
For their opening matches on Tuesday, Rabin and Tsai played O'Brien and Grandville from Tappan Zee and won easily 6-2, 6-2. Tsai said they were a bit tight in the beginning but held their ground and succeeded. Later that evening they played their second round against Feitler and Orgielwicz of Mamaroneck and won 6-4, 6-3.
Zou and Travis who were new to doubles as a team also reported being shaky in the first set but beat an team Wolfe and D'Onofrio from Byram Hills 6-4, 6-0. Later that day they met Gray and Luongo of Nyack and barely gave up a game, winning 6-0, 6-2.
In singles Ashley Granieri dominated, beating Kaleigh D'Arcy of White Plains 6-0, 6-0.
All three teams were poised for day two of the conference. Though it was windy and threatening to rain, the matches proceeded and proved to be competitive. We saw Granieri play Deana Giambo of Harrison. Granieri's used her short slices to lure her opponent to the net and then followed up by passing Giambo with a cross-court drive. Granieri won 6-2, 6-3 and will play in the semi-finals of the conference when the rain stops.
Day two was also successful for both of Scarsdale's doubles teams:
Rabin and Tsai were paired against a powerful pair of sisters from North Rockland, Dwyer and Dwyer. They had a very competitive match that looked like it could go either way. The Scarsdale team lost the first set 2-6, won the second 6-4 and pulled out a victory in a close 10-7 tiebreaker.
Travis and Zou played Ursuline rivals Foster and Campose and scored an impressive victory, 6-4, 6-0. We saw Travis playing the backcourt and setting up Zou who has a powerful overhead and was successful at decisively ending many points with strong shots from the net. If the two Scarsdale doubles teams continue to win in the next round, they will end up playing against each other for the conference title.
Out of the twenty-one teams entered into the conference, Scarsdale's three entrants all succeeded to the final rounds. We'll be watching to see what happens in the finals.
Sign Up for Halloween Window Painting in Scarsdale Today
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The Scarsdale Parks and Recreation Department will be holding their Annual Halloween Window Painting Contest and Parent/Child Halloween Window Painting program on Sunday, October 19th from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. All kids who live in or attend public or private schools in Scarsdale in grades 1 – 10 are eligible to participate in this event.
In addition to the Window Painting programs, there will be a Costume Parade held in the Village streets by Chase Park. The parade line up begins at 2:45 pm in front of Chase Park. The parade will start at 3:00 pm. Special entertainment and refreshments will be provided after the parade. All Pre-K and Elementary School children are welcome to participate in the costume parade.
The deadline to register for the Halloween Window Painting programs is Monday, October 13th. As windows are limited, registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Please register online at http://reconline.scarsdale.com.
For questions, call the Recreation Department at 722-1160
