Arts and Entertainment

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 09 March 2014; Created: 09 March 2014; Last Updated: 13 March 2014; Hits: 3122

RaizenSVAC To the Editor of Scarsdale10583.com: As Chair of the 2014 Scarsdale Bowl Dinner, I cordially invite all Scarsdale residents and friends to celebrate Scarsdale volunteerism and to honor David Raizen, the president of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps on Wednesday evening, April 9th at our new venue, The Fountainhead in New Rochelle.

Our honoree has positively impacted the lives of many of our fellow citizens, from those stricken during Hurricane Sandy, to those affected by the heat at High School graduations, to those who have dialed 911 seeking emergency ambulance transportation to the hospital – David has been there for all of us. This is our chance to thank and honor him.

But the Scarsdale Bowl Dinner is more than just about one honoree – its is about all the volunteers -- the Trustees, School Board members, the PTA presidents and PTA members, the volunteer firemen, the Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders, the sports teams' coaches, the Nominating Committee members, and the hundreds of other committee members – everyone who contributes her or his time to make our Village more liveable and more enjoyable – the Bowl Dinner is a celebration of all of us and all of our neighbors who volunteer. There are few events scheduled during the year that offer as enjoyable an opportunity to gather together with so many fellow Scarsdalians as the Bowl.

If you have misplaced your invitation accidentally, there's no problem: just go to the Scarsdale Foundation website, www.scarsdalefoundation.org and click on the link on the right-hand side of the page to purchase tickets for the Scarsdale Bowl dinner You can download the registration form, indicate with whom you would like to be seated, or sign up for a "get-acquainted" table, and mail it in to the address indicated.

I promise you will leave the dinner happy you made the effort to attend and proud that you are part of this special community.
See you on April 9th!

Cordially,
David M. Brodsky
Chair, Scarsdale Bowl Committee 2014
4 Burgess Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
davidmbrodsky1016@gmail.com

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 05 March 2014; Created: 05 March 2014; Last Updated: 06 March 2014; Hits: 9423

votebutton A reminder to Scarsdale residents that the Village Election will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014. All Election Districts will be voting at the Scarsdale Village Hall. Hours of the election are 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and noon to 9:00 p.m.

On the ballot will be three candidates nominated by the Citizen's Non-Partisan Party for Scarsdale Village Trustee: David Lee (running unopposed for a second term) and Deb Pekarek and Marc Samwick, both running opposed for a first term.

Friday, March 7, 2014 is the last day individuals may register with the County Board of Elections to be eligible to vote in the Village Election. March 11, 2014 is the last day to receive applications for absentee ballots to be mailed to qualified voters. After that date, personal applications can be accepted from registered voters at Village Hall until March 17, 2014.

Call the Village Clerk's office, Village Hall at 722-1175 for more details.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 27 February 2014; Created: 27 February 2014; Last Updated: 27 February 2014; Hits: 4156

feiner This just in from Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner: Due to the impasse between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Westchester County over the affordable housing settlement the county lost $7.4 million in HUD funding in Community Development Block Grants from fiscal year 2011. According to Feiner, some of these funds were earmarked to help low income neighborhoods in Greenburgh for sidewalks/safety enhancements in north Elmsford (where there was a pedestrian fatality in recent years) and street scaping enhancements on Manhattan Avenue, near Union Baptist Church.

In order to secure the funds, Feiner wrote to HUD and asked them to send the funds to the state, rather than the county – suggesting that the state could allocate the monies to the intended beneficiaries. However, in the letter below from HUD, they say that the $7.4 million in funds has already been "reallocated or otherwise expired."

Feiner says, "I am extremely disappointed that HUD will not provide the grants to any entity other than the county. I think communities like Greenburgh are being penalized for a dispute that is taking place between County Executive Astorino and the federal government – something that we have nothing to do with. The town of Greenburgh is not one of the communities that were ordered by the federal government to build more housing. We have been building affordable housing on our own –voluntarily for many decades. Because of the county government's actions, the Town of Greenburgh is losing significant grants that were earmarked to help low income neighborhoods. Among them: sidewalks/safety enhancements in north Elmsford (there was a pedestrian fatality in recent years) and street scaping enhancements on Manhattan Avenue, near Union Baptist Church.

Here is the text of the letter: (it's puzzling that it's stamped January 28, 2013 – not 2014!)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
WASHINGTON. DC 20410-l 000

ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS

JAN 2 8 2013 (stamp receipt)

Paul J. Feiner
Town Supervisor Town of Greenburgh
Office of the Supervisor
177 Hillside Avenue
Greenburgh, NY 10607

Dear Supervisor Feiner:

Thank you for your letters of November 12 and December 24, 2013, to Deputy Secretary Jones urging the Department to provide communities that are members of the Westchester Urban County Consortium with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. HUD appreciates the keen interest you have in this issue, and understands your concerns about the effect that the County's noncompliance has had on services to residents of the Town of Greenburgh.

Like you, HUD is anxious to gain resolution of outstanding issues regarding the County's Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, so that the County may move forward with its HUD funded housing, community development and homeless assistance programs. Regretfully, the County's refusal thus far to come into compliance has meant that $7.4 million in FY 2011 funds for housing and community development have already been reallocated or otherwise expired. Additionally, HUD has been unable to approve funding for the County for FY 2012 and 2013 and these funds will also be subject to expiration or reallocation without appropriate actions by the County to correct the noncompliance. Should the County resolve the issues, however, the Department will be able to release available funds to the County.

HUD has considered other alternatives-including whether HUD could grant the money to the State to administer within the County or to otherwise get money to serve intended beneficiaries within the County. In fact, HUD was able to reallocate FY 2011 Emergency Solutions Grant funds to the State to administer within the County. Unfortunately, for CDBG and HOME, statutory provisions prevent the Department from providing the grant to any entity other than the County to provide funds within the Urban County Consortium. HUD must ensure that the County's actions and documents comply with statutory and regulatory requirements as well as the terms of the Settlement Agreement before it can approve its action plans. Going forward, the Town of Greenburgh could qualify as an entitlement community and receive direct CDBG entitlement grants separate from the County once the current Urban County Cooperation Agreement period expires at the end of the County's 2014 program year on April 15,2015.

I hope the information provided is helpful. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Dominique M. McCoy
General Deputy Assistant Secretary for
Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 04 March 2014; Created: 06 March 2014; Last Updated: 06 March 2014; Hits: 3723

gameeting2012 If you've got questions, they have the answers. The people who lead Scarsdale will be on hand to greet local residents at the 12th Annual Town Hall meeting of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association on Thursday, March 13th in the all-purpose room at Greenacres Elementary School.

All Greenacres residents are invited to hear the Mayor and other Village leaders discuss current issues and initiatives.

Topics of interest will include:

Tax Revaluation Results
Homestead Tax Option
Future of the Greenacres School
School District Budget & Strategic Plans
New School Superintendent Search
Plantings in George Field

Mayor Bob Steves, Police Chief John Brogan, Fire Chief Tom Cain, Village Manager Alfred Gatta, Greenacres Principal Gerry Young, Board of Education Vice President Sunil Subbakrishna Greenacres PTA President Dana Matsushita, Recreation Department Superintendent Jason Marra, SVAC David Raizen, and Ken Mazer of Volunteer Fire Co 2 will all attend.

A question and answer period will follow the panel presentations. Refreshments will be served starting at 7:15pm, with the meeting starting at 7:45pm.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 20 February 2014; Created: 20 February 2014; Last Updated: 20 February 2014; Hits: 4236

Diao 2 There was a silver lining to the continuous storms that dumped over a foot of snow on Scarsdale and closed schools for a record number of days. The Scarsdale Village Recreation Department seized the day and announced a Snowman Contest – taking the focus away from plowing to building some very creative snowmen.

01/27

Forty families got involved and from these pictures its evident they had loads of fun and were very creative in their approaches. Pictured here are an Olympic snowmen (one riding a snowboard), an igloo, a snowman attending a barbeque, another at the beach, a snow turtle, a veggie snowman sprouting celery for ears and a Lego king snowman plus many more imaginative creations.

Fenster2 The Village awarded winners who will receive prizes courtesy of Imagine Candy – but winning was hardly the point. The contest was a good reason to get outside an enjoy the white stuff before it melted: