Village Board Gives Greenlight to Demolish Greenacres Home, Awards Medal for Heroism and Appoints Architect to Oversee Construction at 2-4 Weaver Street

Heroism, historic preservation, lights and building issues were all on the agenda at a busy meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board meeting on Tuesday night October 14.

Police Officer Patricia Arcesi was awarded an Exceptional Duty Medal for her work in the arrest of an armed man who was fleeing a burglary on Walworth Avenue in July 2013. Arcesi came upon a white SUV with North Carolina stopped on Mamaroneck Road at 10:35 pm blocking traffic. She approached the driver and while she was speaking to him she received a hotline message from the city of White Plains which said they were looking for a car that matched the SUV's description in connection with an interrupted burglary on Walworth Avenue.

As she listened to the dispatch she saw the driver of the car become anxious and agitated and move his hands around the car despite the fact that she told him to keep his hands on the steering wheel. For her own safety she drew her weapon on the driver until back-up arrived. When police got the man out of the car they found what appeared to be a black semi automatic handgun which was later determined to be a pellet gun replica in the driver's side door of the car. The suspect also had a Rye PBA surgeon badge, and Eastchester EMS Medical Director badge and other police paraphernalia along with a vanity license plate that said New York Police.

Arcesi was recognized for remaining "alert, calm and in control in the face of a volatile situation that could have resulted in the use of extreme force." The suspect was arrested for criminal possession of a weapon 4th degree and unlicensed operation of a vehicle.

In the public comments portion of the meeting, Adrienne Price of Herkimer Road took her troubles directly to the Board on Tuesday night, explaining that the developer of a house next door to her house had changed the topography of the site. According to Price, the Board of Architectural Review approved plans for the new home that provided that the level of the backyard remain the same. However, Price reports that the builder added four feet to the height of the backyard, making a visual impact on her property. Despite repeated calls and meetings with the Village Engineer she said nothing had been done. In a rather heated exchange, Village Manager Al Gatta defended the Building Department and Village Engineer saying that the Village has asked the developer for a new storm drainage plan and that the site can't be "brought into compliance while it is under construction." He assured her that the C of O would not be granted until the site was in compliance with the plans.

In other land use news, the Board of Trustees announced their findings following a special meeting on September 22 to consider the fate of 22 Montrose Road (pictured above). The Committee for Historic Preservation had barred the demolition of the home after their May 20, 2014 meeting where they found it had significant historical importance. The owner appealed the decision to the BAR who voted in favor of permitting the demolition by a vote of 3-2. However since that was not a majority vote since others were absent this vote resulted in a default denial.

The decision was then appealed to the Board of Trustees that has different criteria for preservation. After consideration of their four criteria the board found that the house should not be preserved because it "represents the face of the neighborhood," and granted permission to owner Seymour Wald and the prospective buyer Steven Silberstein to tear it down.

Turning to the development of a 14 unit residential building at the site of the Heathcote Tavern and parking lot, the Board approved a resolution allocating $39,000 to retain architect David A Barbuti to review the building plans and inspect for compliance with the plans during construction. The independent monitor will advise the Village on the consistency of the construction documents with the approved plans to ensure that both the interior and exterior are built to match what was approved by the various Village boards.

Road closure: Fenimore Road will be closed from Fox Meadow Road to Oak Way on Monday October 20 and Tuesday October 21 from 9:30 am to 3 pm. The closure will allow for an excavation to measure a water main so that the Village can purchase a line stop. The Village needs an exact measurement to replace a critical valve at the intersection. Therefore, Fenimore Road will be closed for almost six hours a day on Monday and Tuesday

Village Election: The Board authorized the General Village election for March 18, 2015.

Portable Lights for Youth Football: The Board approved a resolution to permit the use of temporary lights at Supply Field for Youth Recreational Football from October 15 through November 21 for three days a week until 7:30 pm. Use of the portable lights has been donated by a Scarsdale resident and those same light will also be utilized by the Scarsdale Teen Center for their haunted house event for nine nights in October.

Peter C. Alderman Foundation: The board received a letter of thanks from the Peter C. Alderman Foundation for the use of village streets and the Fox Meadow School to hold its annual fundraising walk to celebrate Peter's life. Peter died 13 years ago on 9/11 and the even raises fund for the foundation's mission which is to heal the emotional wounds of war-affected societies around the world.

Fire Chief Thomas Cain sent us the photo below of the swearing in of firefighter Michael Owens on October 15, 2014. Owens transferred from the Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department where he has been employed since 2013. While with Mamaroneck Owens completed an intensive seventeen-week training program at the Westchester County Career Fire Academy at the County Fire Training Center in Valhalla, NY and is already a Nationally Certified Level II firefighter. Owens is from Valhalla and is single. Several on-duty Scarsdale firefighters attended the ceremony as well.