Marian Green, Advocate for the Disabled, Remembered at Scarsdale Village Hall

Marian Green, Joe Lawrence, Tim Foley and Elizabeth LawrenceThe absence of a familiar presence at Village Board meetings was noted at the July 14, 2026 meeting. Mayor Justin Arest opened the meeting with the following comments about Marian Green who was killed in a disturbing assault in her home over July 4th weekend. Green was the Chair of the Advisory Council for People with Disabilities and members of the council came to Village Hall to honor her.

Arest said the following about Green:

“I want to take a moment to acknowledge the profound loss our community suffered this past week.

Marian Green was a passionate and unwavering advocate for residents with disabilities. She devoted well over a decade to the Village's Council on People with Disabilities, including many years as its Chair, and before that chaired the C.H.I.L.D. committee, Children Having Individual Learning Differences, a network of Scarsdale families supporting students with learning differences. Her passing is a loss for the many residents she advocated for, and for this Village as a whole.

For those who attended our meetings, Marian's voice was a familiar and welcome one at this podium. She spoke up for accessible sidewalks, reminding us that safer walkways serve not only residents with disabilities, but commuters, schoolchildren, parents, joggers, walk-to-worshippers, dog walkers, and anyone else who enjoys the simple pleasure of walking. She advocated for sufficient handicap parking, for inclusive programming for families of children with learning differences, for a library that lived up to the Americans with Disabilities Act, and for a Scarsdale where belonging was not conditional.

Marian did this work with patience, with data, and with precision. At our August work session, she walked the Board through the sidewalk condition assessment and challenged us to think more carefully about accessibility throughout the Village. She closed that discussion by saying, "I am optimistic that we are moving forward." At our November work session on sidewalks and paving, she urged the Board to invest in concrete sidewalks, calling them an investment with, in her words, "immediate ROI and long term" impact, and encouraged us not to let the rebuild become a slow, incremental "drip, drip, drip." That challenge has stayed with me. We share her belief that durable infrastructure is a worthwhile investment, and our goal is to continue making meaningful progress, pursuing grant opportunities wherever possible, and improving accessibility throughout the Village. In December, when the conversation turned to budget line items, she reminded us not to conflate sidewalks with pathways because the distinction mattered for how we allocated resources and set expectations. That precision was Marian: not simply raising concerns, but helping us make better decisions.

Marian's advocacy touched more than one institution in this Village. Our Library Director shared a reflection I want to pass along tonight. Marian reached out to her when she first came to work at the library in 2009, inviting her to a Council on People with Disabilities meeting. From Marian, she learned about the accessibility challenges of the library building, and that early conversation helped inform the thinking behind its eventual renovation. She was a stalwart supporter of accessibility for all, approaching every issue with both a sense of humor and compassion. She loved living in Scarsdale, and she loved the library. She even participated in the library's strategic planning focus group. That is the Marian so many of us knew: not simply raising concerns, but rolling up her sleeves and helping to shape the answers.

The Board of Trustees and I have long appreciated her thoughtful participation and her commitment to making Scarsdale more accessible and inclusive. Her voice helped shape the sidewalks we are rebuilding, contributed to the thinking behind the library's accessibility improvements, and leaves behind a stronger culture of advocacy on our Council on People with Disabilities. We intend to continue building on that work in the years ahead.

I ask that we hold Marian's family, her friends, and everyone she touched through her advocacy in our thoughts.

I now ask everyone here this evening, and those watching from home, to join me in a moment of silence in memory of Marian Green. May her memory be a blessing.

Out of respect for the judicial process now underway, I won't say anything about the pending case. But I want to thank, on behalf of the Board and the entire community, the members of the Scarsdale Police Department. Chief DelBene and his officers responded with professionalism, care, and resolve to a call no community ever wants to receive. They worked through the night and the days that followed, alongside the Westchester County Department of Public Safety and the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, to secure the scene, gather evidence, and bring the matter into the hands of the courts. Their work does not undo this loss, but it reflects the standard of service the residents of Scarsdale can count on. To Chief DelBene and every officer and investigator involved, thank you.”

During Public Comments, Susan Petula, who served on the Advisory Council on People with Disabilities make the following comments on behalf of the council. She said,

“We are shocked and profoundly saddened by the sudden passing of our council chairperson and friend, Marian Green. She lived to serve and advocate throughout the village. This place we all call home is a better community because Marian chose to invest her skills and energy to make a difference in Scarsdale. She will forward by remember as passionate, bright, kind, generous, creative and selfless. Our community has lost a unique gem with Marian’s passing. As her fellow Council on People with Disabilities Committee members, we ask all who read or hear this message to please pause for a moment today to remember Marian and legacy of service."