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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 12 March 2015

Created: 12 March 2015

Last Updated: 12 March 2015

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Elsie Rubenstein Smoler died in her sleep on March 7, 2015, a few weeks after turning 90. After graduating from Erasmus High and Adelphi College, Elsie worked at WNEW and Mademoiselle before marrying Irwin Smoler in 1950. For more than 50 years, the Smoler's lived in Scarsdale where they raised their three children, Fred, Michael, and Arlene. Elsie Smoler served on the School Board and was President of the Board in 1987-88. Her picture still hangs in the Board of Education room at SHS today. In 1995, the Scarsdale Foundation awarded her the Scarsdale Bowl for service to the town, including presidency of the School Board. Her son, Fred Paul Smoler is the Adda Bozeman Professor of International Relations at Sarah Lawrence College and served as a contributing editor to American Heritage Magazine.

Longtime resident Evelyn Stock had this to say about Elsie Smoler; "Elsie was a truly kind, caring person, extremely intelligent and willing to ask the tough questions. She gave a lot to Scarsdale in many areas, most notably on the Scarsdale School Board where she served as president and the Scarsdale Adult School board which she chaired. She was a good friend."

Cantor Kerry Ben-David:
Cantor Kerry Ben-David, Cantor Emeritus of Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El and Cantor of the Jewish Family Congregation in Lewisboro died of a heart attack on February 25, 2015. Ben-David was the beloved cantor at Scarsdale Synagogue from 1985 to 2005.

He is survived by his wife, Batyah Godfrey Ben-David, his loving and musical children, Adam Ben-David, Sheera Miller Ben-David, his devoted son-in-law, Steven Miller, and grandchildren, Baxter Miller and Shadow Miller.

Funeral services were held at Scarsdale Synagogue on Friday February 27, 2015, and he was buried at Sharon Gardens.

On a memorial blog about Ben-David, one SSTTE congregant remembered him this way. "When I think of Kerry one word comes to mind- "joy!" Pure unadulterated joy. For that's what he was. It is what he was as a person: It is what he exuded as a spiritual leader. And it was his very unique contagion. For he brought to his cantorial calling great music, and a great voice. But he brought to it something far more meaningful. He brought to it his soul. And we, a struggling congregation in the early 80's were the blessed recipients of this spiritual windfall."

Kerry trained my three children for their Bar and Bat Mitzvah's and single-handedly bar mitzvahed my first child when the rabbi fell ill at the last minute. With no rabbi on the bima, Kerry let my son lead the service and it was a pleasant surprise for all. Our entire family can attest to Kerry's warmth, jovial nature and love of music. When Kerry was in attendance at the synagogue, the event was instantly fun. He imparted his musical talents to his children Adam, who is now a Broadway conductor and Sheera who serves as cantor of Temple Israel in NYC. As the two grew up we were often treated to their performances as well.

Kerry was truly one of a kind. He was born to Irish parents and named Kerry McDevitt, and ultimately became Cantor Ben-David. He may be the first and last Irish cantor we will know.

Donations may be made in Cantor Ben-David's honor and memory to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org), where he and Batya spent so many years volunteering. Remembrances can be made on the SSTTE blog page. 

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 03 March 2015

Created: 03 March 2015

Last Updated: 03 March 2015

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Here are remarks from Fox Meadow PTA President Margot Milberg about proposed staff cuts at Fox Meadow Elementary School that she made at the Board of Education Meeting on March 2nd.

I am Margot Milberg, reside at 14 Axtell Drive and am currently PTA President for Fox Meadow School.

First, I want to thank the Board of Education for acknowledging my email and for hearing my concerns. I am here tonight to reiterate my concerns over the elimination of .8 of a secretarial position at Fox Meadow. I didn't find tonight's answer very satisfactory as it did not tell me why the position was eliminated or how the role will be supported with some possible aide time.

I am still unclear why this position is being eliminated. Even though our secretary is retiring after 25 years of service doesn't meant that we don't have a strong need for administrative help. I don't understand the logic for this decision. Just because someone is retiring doesn't mean we should do without them. No other elementary school has had a cut in their secretarial/administrative staffing. We are not asking for more administrative/secretarial help, we are just asking that the help we have not be reduced.

There are several reasons why I feel this position cut is coming at a bad time for Fox Meadow.

First, we have had the largest school population for the elementary schools for the past several years. Next year we are projected to have 462 students, 4 fewer than Quaker Ridge. However, I know from experience that many families move to Fox Meadow from overseas during the year, and I am positive that our school population will grow and we will have the largest student body of all of the elementary schools.

The two secretaries we have today at Fox Meadow have tremendous interaction with parents, students, teachers and visitors. An elimination of position could adversely affect the safety and service at our school. Our students arrive by public and private bus, parent drop off and by walking. These secretaries coordinate the arrival and dismissal of students and field many calls from parents throughout the day on transportation and changes to a child's after school plans. The elimination of a position will affect their ability to field calls. I am very concerned about the lapses in safety if we are not fully staffed. If we are understaffed, the secretary will not be able to field the many calls and there will likely be a lapse in safety.

These secretaries know everyone by face and they know who belongs at our school. They are our first line of safety defense at Fox Meadow. They know the vendors and delivery people and the parents. It will be hard enough for a potential new hire to come in to our school and be up and running right away but then to be short staffed will make the position very difficult and it causes me great concern. The secretaries have a vested interest in the school, receive benefits from the school and work at the school throughout the year including the summer. Giving us some aide time to fill in is not the same as having a secretary who is working on a daily basis even with reduced hours. We don't want someone to fill in when we need help, we want someone who is there daily and who knows the students, parents and different vendors.

As we've heard and know, Fox Meadow's front office is being reconfigured and renovated starting this summer to make it more secure and to address some safety concerns by having a glass window to pass by prior to entry into the school. The work is not projected to finish until the fall after school starts. It is likely to go much longer. During that time, the front office staff will be relocated elsewhere and it will be quite hectic at Fox Meadow. It will be even harder for a new secretary to be in this role and to be without appropriate help. This is certainly not the right time to be cutting staff at Fox Meadow.

The renovated office and plans to make the school more secure will not make our school any safer if we don't have the right number of staff to run it. We can't expect one person to be there from 8-4:30 and answering all of the phones, meeting people and handling billing and we don't want our phones to go unanswered or into voicemail during the school day. It is only a recipe for a problem.

Again, I ask you to look into this matter and reconsider eliminating the position. We are just asking to keep what we have -- nothing more.

Thank you

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 25 February 2015

Created: 25 February 2015

Last Updated: 26 February 2015

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Former Village Trustee Jon Mark has been nominated to serve as Mayor of Scarsdale by the Scarsdale Citizen's Nominating Committee. As of today, he is running unopposed. So assuming all goes as planned, Mark will be elected Mayor of Scarsdale in the village-wide election which will be held on March 18th. We asked Mark a few questions so that you could learn more about him.

How many years have you lived here and what are some of your most vivid memories about growing up in Scarsdale? How has the Village changed since then?

I have lived in Scarsdale for a total of approximately 40 years. My parents moved here in 1951 a few months before my fourth birthday. Scarsdale was my home until 1968 when my mom moved to Riverdale after marrying Fred Friendly following the death of my father Sandor Mark in 1967. After a period away for college, law school and work, my wife, BK Munguía, and I returned to Scarsdale in 1992 and have been here ever since.

Most of the physical changes in the Village from the 1950s to now are the number of homes in the Village. For example, I grew up on Haverford Avenue a few houses in from Weaver Street. The lot on the corner of Weaver was an empty field. Across the street from us we looked out on approximately 28 mostly empty acres where Louis Marx, the founder of the Marx toy company, lived with his family. My brother and I would watch Louis jog for hours -- rain or shine -- up and down his long driveway that extended from his house at the top of the rise on Haverford to Weaver Street. He kept a horse on his property that we would feed carrots to through his pasture fence.

In terms of the schools, I went to Quaker Ridge through 8th grade--it was Union Free School District No. 2 -- the rest of the schools in Scarsdale being Union Free School District No. 1. As a result, those of us who went to Quaker Ridge did not get to meet the kids in the other schools in Scarsdale until High School which required us to learn a lot of new faces.

Why did you decide to return to Scarsdale to raise your own children?

We returned here for some of the same reasons my parents moved here -- and people move here today. Principally for the schools and also to live in beautiful surroundings with an easily enjoyed outdoors.

What do you like about living in Scarsdale?

BK and I have made many good friends here that we enjoy...and it's still a physically beautiful place to live.

What did you enjoy most about serving as Village Trustee?

The opportunity to give back to the place that served me so well growing up and in my adult years.

What were some of the key resolutions you worked on as Village Trustee?

The negotiations for the sale of parcels of Village land for the 2-4 Weaver Street project was the most challenging and time consuming matter I had the lead on as Chair of the Land Use Committee. We had at least eight Committee meetings on this matter, and several Board meetings on it as well, over a two-year period. This matter had a bit of history to it and was a focus of a predecessor Board. At the time I left the Board in March 2014, the Board had adopted a form of Non-Binding Term Sheet that set out the conditions of sale whenever it might occur. This was arrived at through a process that took into account Village objectives that would not have otherwise been achievable (preservation of the facade of the Tavern building for 25 years, no commercial use of the ground floor space, one less curb cut set further back from the five corners intersection and an affordable housing unit, among other things). I believe the process was one that allowed all who wished to have input to express their views and have them considered and provided an explanation of why the Board was proceeding as it did.

There were a number of other matters, but that one stands out for me.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing local government?

Budget issues and the Governor's desire to force municipalities to consolidate through the so-called 2% cap on real property taxes is the biggest challenge our local government faces. I use the term "so-called cap" because it is not a cap at all. Even if a municipal budget complies with the "cap", the compliance calculation excludes state-mandated payments (pension and benefits) so increases in those costs which are controlled in Albany will produce property tax increases even if Village costs are contained. Albany's goal is to shrink and in some cases eliminate local governments – a goal that may be warranted in some cases, but one size does not necessarily fit all, or more to the point fit Scarsdale. However, even without this pressure, each budget year calls for a review of what municipal services are required and/or desired by residents and what we are all willing to pay for them. We are slowly coming out of the economically challenging period that started with the credit crunch of 2007-2008, but if the economic tide is rising, it is not clear it is rising for all -- or at the same rate for all. For retirees living on fixed incomes the economic environment is also a challenge. Further, with a tax base that is by and large residential, substantially all the cost of financing the Village falls on residents and not commercial establishments. Containing the costs municipal government can control while maintaining the quality of life that we want as residents of Scarsdale is what I perceive as the biggest challenge for Scarsdale's local government.

Any thoughts on how to address them?

The Village staff and Board go through a rigorous budget process and examine the trade-offs involved in each budget line item. Often that means deferring capital projects in favor of budgeting for operating needs. That in turn may mean that infra-structure maintenance falls below desired levels until appropriate funding can be allocated for it.

In terms of the state-mandated payments referenced above, that is an issue that can only be addressed in Albany.

It is often difficult to get people to volunteer to service on Village boards and councils and participate in the non –partisan system. How can we get more people involved?

That's a good question and I wish I had an answer. Young families who move here are of course fully occupied by raising their children and pursuing their careers. They have little time for extra-curricular activities of the sort municipal government involves. However, I believe that Scarsdale is attractive as a community in large part due to the involvement of residents in the Village affairs. Hopefully as they adjust to life here and when time permits, the younger generation will come to see that they can have a voice in Village affairs and will seek to volunteer. Some already do, but when more do, that should be a positive development. That is not to say that attracting volunteers is only an issue among the younger set. It is something more residents should consider doing, regardless of how long or short a time they have lived here.

What's your view on Scarsdale's unique form of governance – the non-partisan system?

I have addressed this topic publicly a number of times, most recently at the last Village Board meeting I attended as a Trustee on March 25, 2014. Here is what I said:

"I would like to take this brief time to address a broader subject in light of my experience over the past four years and express my thoughts on our non-partisan system embodied in part by this Board.

Since the early 1900s Scarsdale residents have run municipal government on a non-partisan basis. While dissatisfaction with that approach is expressed from time to time, the overwhelming evidence is that our Village is very well run as reflected by the continuing desire of almost half our residents to remain here long after their children have completed school, and by the arrival of new residents. The very able Village staff keeps things running day-to-day and I see no basis for concluding that a partisan system of electing officials overseeing Village staff work would improve how the Village staff carries out their day-to-day duties.

What the Mayor and the Village Board do in general terms is to oversee the staff; establish spending priorities through the budget process; appoint residents who volunteer to the various Village Boards and Councils; and focus on areas of resident concerns and consider how improvements might be made. What the non-partisan system supports is the very strong Board principle that when acting, Board members must consider the interests of all residents when deciding on a course of action.
The ability of the Board to approach issues without the pressures of partisanship gives it the freedom to balance competing concerns in exercising its judgment on the matters before it. It does not mean that the Board is always right. It does not mean that every resident is happy with every Board decision—we receive regular reminders from residents that some are not happy with Village operations or decision-making. However, it does mean that every resident who wishes to voice an opinion to the Board is heard and his or her comments are weighed in the balance. That openness of approach – the willingness to hear all sides of an issue -- is not something that I am convinced a partisan system would produce, much less improve.

Another benefit of our system is that there are no barriers to entry. Almost any resident can participate by simply investing the time and effort to do so. Many take advantage of the opportunity and more should. Board members are your neighbors and the issues that the Board addresses are issues for all of us in the Village. The community interests Board members share with all residents is one of the strengths of our system."

As Mayor – what do you look forward to addressing – what issues do you expect to address during your term?

I expect that the Board that takes office in April 2015 will continue to address issues that have faced Boards over the past several years: budget, land use, development, historic preservation and sustainability will all continue to be among the issues on the Board's docket. The Board will address specific issues in these and other areas as a body as they are presented. I also look forward to making greater use of the newly reinvigorated Scarsdale Public Television in an effort to continue the work of Mayor Bob Steves and the Board to enhance transparency of Village operations and have spoken to members of the Cable TV Commission on this topic.

Many people seem to leave the Village after their children graduate from high school. Do you think Scarsdale is hospitable to empty nesters and seniors? What works and what could be improved?

It is true, many leave, but many stay. I believe approximately half of our residents are empty nesters. There are a number of programs that focus on senior citizens in Scarsdale that seem to work for those who participate in them: Senior Adult Programs operated by the Village Parks and Recreation Department and the liaison work done by the Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens are among those programs and organizations. While the good work that these programs do could be expanded, finding additional Village funds for such programs becomes a budget issue and involves the sort of decision-making referred to earlier. Those who leave the Village do so for a variety of reasons and I understand from speaking to some friends who have left, that the high property tax cost of living here is often a principal reason for their departure as opposed to the lack of senior oriented programing (there clearly are other reasons too ranging from desires to be near adult children and their families, a move to a sun belt region and the like). A large part of that cost, however is attributable to the school budget which is approximately three times the size of the municipal budget. Since empty nesters are by definition not using that asset of Scarsdale, many logically feel they no longer want to bear that cost, which is certainly a reasonable position to take. However, as noted in answer to some of the first questions above, since the schools tend to motivate people to move to Scarsdale, modifications in the structural model that finances the school budget and municipal budget would involve a community-wide discussion that goes far beyond the scope of what the Mayor and Village Board are generally asked to do.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 18 February 2015

Created: 18 February 2015

Last Updated: 18 February 2015

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You Say Sheep, I Say Goat: In between snowstorms, Greenacres School held its ninth annual Lunar New Year Celebration, which includes the traditions of China, Korea and other Asian countries that follow the lunar calendar. On Tuesday 2/10, Ms. Cooper's fourth grade class led the lion parade throughout the school—with its own Southern Chinese lion head and accompaniment of Chinese drums, gongs and cymbals.

Each year, many Greenacres parents collaborate to purchase New Year decorations to embellish the lunchroom, entrances and bulletin boards in the school; to make cultural presentations in their children's classrooms and to organize a Chinese New Year lion parade. Red envelopes, clementines and other goodies that symbolize prosperity for the coming year are distributed to the children.

Preparations for the Lunar New Year are underway all over the world. According to the lunar calendar, the first day of the New Year is Thursday, 2/19/15. This begins the Year of the Goat (or Sheep). Lasting for 15 days until March 5th, the Lunar New Year is celebrated by more than 11 countries in Asia—from Beijing to Manila, from Bangkok to Sydney. People born in a year of the goat are very serene and calm. Therefore they tend to have fewer health problems.

You can celebrate here in town at the Chinese Lunar Year celebration at Scarsdale Public Library on Saturday, February 28, between 2 and 5 p.m. Families can enjoy performances, arts/crafts, games and food. The program will feature traditional dancing by adult and youth groups, fashion shows for adults and children of traditional costumes, music and, of course, Chinese food. There will be crafts and games for children of various age groups, including coloring, games run by high school students taking Chinese language classes, goat crafts made from paper, and creating the traditional Chinese knots.

The event is open to the public and is sponsored by the Scarsdale Chinese Association.

An estimated 1.4 billion Chinese people worldwide, or 20% of its population, are preparing to celebrate. Marked by festivities ranging from firework festivals to underwater dragon dances, the New Year is rung in with a big bang!

Are you up for an adventure next weekend? Take in an authentic Chinese New Year lion parade. Lion and dragon parades will circle the streets of Chinatown on Sunday, February 22nd, starting at 1:00 PM. Here are links for the parade route and photos from last year's festivities: