Details

Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 24 September 2026

Created: 24 September 2026

Last Updated: 25 September 2026

Hits: 1025

With the advent of scooters, electric scooters and e-bikes, it is time for an update to Scarsdale’s Village code regarding the use of bikes and motorized vehicles on Village streets. The last update was 50 years ago, in 1966, and since that much has changed.

At the September 22 meeting of the Village Board Trustee Kofman introduced a public hearing on proposed changes to Village Code involving bikes. He explained, “The Prohibited areas for bikes on sidewalks in the Village center.code was last modified in 1966 and currently regulates on which sidewalks bicycles are allowed to be operated across the village. The proposed amendments would modernize this chapter to more clearly address the use of bicycles and electric transportation devices within the village. In addition to bicycles and bicycles with electric assists, the new code will address scooters, skateboards, unicycles, and other one-person electric devices. The amendment intended to establish a clear and consistent framework for how these devices can be operated within the village, particularly with respect to sidewalk use. And nothing in proposed amendments would restrict the local use of a wheelchair on a village sidewalk by a person with a disability.”

According to a memo from the Village, “Under the proposed amendments, bicycles with electric assist, electric scooters, and electronic personal transportation devices could not be operated on Village sidewalks and would instead have to be walked. The Village’s existing provisions allowing conventional bicycles to be ridden on certain designated sidewalks would remain in place but would not extend to these electric devices. The draft also expressly preserves the lawful use of wheelchairs and electrically driven mobility assistance devices by persons with disabilities.”

See the maps of the Village and Five Corners showing where riding on sidewalks is prohibited.

During the hearing several people spoke about the proposed changes.

Mary Laptek, of Bradford Road, speaking on behalf of herself said, “I agree completely that pedestrians must always have the right of way. However, I want to highlight a vulnerable group that is often overlooked in these discussions. Neighbors with mobility impairments who rely on electric scooters or compact devices as assisted equipment. On busy stretches like Route 22, the sidewalk is their only safe option. So I urge the board to carve out a clear, practical exception for powered assistive mobility devices, not just traditional wheelchairs, so that safety rules protect pedestrians without inadvertently cutting off disabled residents from navigating our town safely.” Prohibited areas in the Five Corners

Myra Saul said … “There remains a serious concern regarding bicyclists who use the sidewalks to ride their bikes. Here I am speaking of both adults and especially children. My understanding is that pursuant to the state's village and vehicle and traffic law, no adults are permitted to ride their bicycles on village sidewalks. Please confirm if that is correct. My understanding is that only children of tender years are permitted to ride their bicycles on village sidewalks pursuant to the state's vehicle and traffic law.”

“I'm no expert in this law, but regardless of the age of women, children, especially those who appear to be of middle school age, ride their bikes aggressively on village sidewalks. The senior advisory committee has informed the village that this situation is an accident waiting to happen. Children routinely bike at high speed and expect seniors to get out of their way instead of set of recognizing that they must accommodate walkers, sometimes they alert walkers to their presence with a small bell that can be hardly heard, especially if the walker is wearing AirPods or hearing aids, or they speak softly from far away. There have been numerous close calls. At some time, a walker will be hit, fall, and suffer a life-changing injury. This is very serious stuff for the individuals involved. It also raises issues regarding the village's potential liability. We need a concerted effort by the police and the schools to teach school-age children safety rules with respect to walkers and others who have the right to their public space on sidewalks before it is too late.”

Emily Goodwin of Secor Road said, “The proliferation and growing use of electric bikes and scooters presents a significant safety challenge, both for those operating these vehicles and for pedestrians who increasingly must share limited space. While I believe the proposed amendments address many of the key concerns, I am concerned the enforcement will be difficult if left solely to the police. Keeping our citizens safe will require active collaboration among parents, schools, children, and the police department. Children should be educated about the importance of appropriate safety equipment, including bells or horns and helmets, which are required under New York State law for anyone under the age of 13, as well as the general rules of the road, parents should likewise be educated about the consequences of failing to enforce and reinforce these requirements at home.”

Carol Silverman called for bringing back Bike Safety training. He said, “When my children were young, there was a whole police effort made. The kids brought their bikes. They got a special little inscription on it in case the bike got stolen. To the best of my knowledge, that's no longer happening. … It’s in the interest of safety for both pedestrians and the bike riders. So it's just my suggestion that somehow the Village Board and the Board of Ed get together and the police department and put that program back into effect.”

Mayor’s Comments
Opening the Village Board meeting, Mayor Arest recognized Carla Samuels who retired that day after 40 years of service to Scarsdale. About Samuels, he said, “Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with her nose of a warm smile, her incredibly kind disposition, and the genuine care she brought to every interaction, she spent decades helping the people who serve this community, often quietly and behind the scenes. And she always did so with professionalism, patience, and grace.”

Pickleball Courts
The Mayor thanked the Recreation Department and the Department of Public Works for their work to improve the temporary pickleball courts at Crossway. He said, “The result is a significantly improved playing experience for our residents today, while we continue working toward the new permanent course that the community deserves.” See more on the new pickleball courts here.

Comments from the Deputy Village Manager
Deputy Village Manager Emily Giovanni introduced Caroline Hurley is the Village’s new administrative intern.
She said that Rock the Dale, originally schedule for September 20 had to be postponed due to weather, and will likely be rescheduled for Sunday October 11, 2026.
Scarecrow Making Hayday will be held at the pool complex on Saturday October 3 from 11 am to 2 pm. She explained, “You can build your own scarecrow with straw and string provided by the recreation department. But you do have to bring your own clothes and accessories to give your scarecrow some personality. There's also going to be some food, some DJ entertainment, face painting, crafts, and of course, animals from Weinberg Nature Center registration is $75 per family and is available online.”

Halloween
Giovannia said, “The Halloween Window Painting Contest will take place in downtown Scarsdale on Sunday, October 18, from 9 am to 4pm with judging on Monday, October 19. The Scarsdale Halloween Parade is scheduled for Sunday, October 25.

Public Comments
Ying Ying Na from Rock Creek Lane said, “I want to thank the our mayor and the board for strengthening protection of wetlands, watercourses, and the buffer areas….You may already heard about the proposed development at0 Spier Road. … As of today, 428 community members signed the petition to stop that development. So the concern is really about flooding and drainage issues. As the lot has a live stream running through, it's a rocky slope. It has an open drainage on the side…. The development will bring down 13 mature trees…. The neighbors were talking about improveing our infrastructure before we add to the existing condition.”

Joe Lawrence raised concerns from a community meeting with Con Edison on September 15, 2026. He asked for an update on plans to excavate the gas line that has already been buried and questioned Con Ed’s requirement that anyone who needs the utility to repair their damaged sewer line sign a release before the work is done. He said, “We didn't ask for this pipeline to be put into our streets. Now we are at risk for our lives and our property, and now they're asking us to go out of pocket to hire a lawyer to review a waiver.”

The Mayor responded to Lawrence saying, …..”We were waiting for a lot of information from Con Edison relating to the work they plan to do, and the timeline… so that Superintendent of Public Works and the entire team can review them and make sure that everything meets the specs that we will require. Of course, we're bringing on our own inspector as well.” “There has been direct communication with the with DPS and PSC. We have a direct line with them now, which I think is actually great for Scarsdale in the long run.” “We are not aware of any evidence at this point that the specific matter under federal investigation and with an indictment occurred directly in Scarsdale. So I just I just want to make that clear. Again, that doesn't mean we aren't looking into everything ourselves and expecting to get plenty of answers, but specifically, we're not aware of any of that fraudulent activity that was uncovered….and we do appreciate that there will be extra checks. It's unfortunately going to be a huge inconvenience to the residents who live there, but we also want answers, and we also want to make sure that everything is being done with the safety of all of our residents in mind.”

A new playground is planned for Davis Park

Other Business
Core Burn Pilates received permission to open a 1,539 square foot studio at 100 Christie Place in the space formerly occupied by the Bank of America.

A contract was awarded for painting Wayside Cottage.

A contract for $349,700 was awarded for a new playground at Davis Park at 198 Lyons Road. The plans include the construction of new play apparatus and safety surfaces. Take a look at the schematic for the new playground.

The Village approved new policies regarding fund balance and credit cards. See the details here.

Details

Written by: Christine Weston

Published: 16 September 2026

Created: 16 September 2026

Last Updated: 16 September 2026

Hits: 1294

This letter was submitted by Christine Weston

Dear Scarsdale Community,

Today, a new traffic light went live at the intersection of Post Road and Edgewood Road—and for me, it represents much more than a traffic signal.

In May 2022, my son was hit by a car at this intersection. Thankfully, he was okay. But as a parent, it was the kind of phone call and experience you never forget. It also brought into sharp focus something many of us already knew: this was a dangerous intersection, particularly because of its proximity to Edgewood Elementary School.

After the accident, I began advocating for a traffic light. I quickly learned that because Post Road is a New York State road, this wasn't something our Village could simply decide to do. It required the involvement of New York State, traffic studies, approvals, funding and coordination among multiple levels of government.

It took more than four years.

There were plenty of moments when it would have been easy to assume that nothing was happening or that our concerns had disappeared into a bureaucracy somewhere. But behind the scenes, people kept working.

I am enormously grateful to Mayor Justin Arest and Deputy Mayor Dara Gruenberg for listening to our concerns and advocating on behalf of our community, and to Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and State Senator Shelley Mayer for taking up the issue at the state level and working with the New York State Department of Transportation to make this light a reality.
I also want to recognize my neighbors Jason Andrus and Glenn McClanan, who joined me in advocating for a safer intersection and helped keep attention on the issue. This was very much a community effort.

Today, we got to see the result.

At a time when it is easy to become cynical about government and whether individual voices can make a difference, I think it's important to tell the stories when the process does work.
Residents identified a safety problem. Neighbors came together. Our local officials listened and advocated. Our state representatives took action. And although it took far longer than any of us would have liked, today there is a traffic light at an intersection that will be safer because of that collective effort.

My son is older now. The children walking to Edgewood today were not the same children who were there when this effort began. But that's part of what makes this moment so meaningful to me.

We kept pushing for a change that might not benefit our own children as much as it will benefit the children who come after them.

So today, as that light turns red, yellow and green for the first time, I want to say thank you—to Mayor Arest, Deputy Mayor Gruenberg, Assemblywoman Paulin and Senator Mayer, and to the neighbors and community members who spoke up and stayed involved.

What began with a frightening experience for our family has resulted in a lasting improvement for our community.

This is what local advocacy can accomplish, and it is what government can accomplish when residents and public officials work together.
--Christine Weston

Details

Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 09 September 2026

Created: 09 September 2026

Last Updated: 14 September 2026

Hits: 3019

It turns out the Scarsdale Pool will be open for another summer. Hoping to start a long imagined redevelopment of the site this fall, the former timeline called for the pool complex to close in September 2026 in order to build an outdoor and indoor pool complex, targeted for completion before the 2028 summer season.

At the Village Board meeting on September 8, 2026, Deputy Mayor Dara Gruenberg made the following statement, announcing that the pool will again be open for the 2027 season. Though the Village is committed to building the indoor/outdoor complex, more work needs to be done to design on a project that can be completed within the Village’s budget parameters. The new goal is to begin work on the complex after the summer of 2027 pool season.

Here are her comments:

We wanted to take the opportunity this evening to provide an update on the Pool Complex Project and where things stand as we continue moving this important project forward.

First, I want to begin with an important update to the project timeline. The current Pool Complex will remain open for the summer of 2027. Based on the schedule we are working toward today, construction would begin following the 2027 season, with the goal of opening the new outdoor complex for the summer of 2029 thereby only being closed for one summer.

This represents a change from the timeline we previously anticipated, and I want to explain why.

As the project has advanced and the design and cost estimates have developed, it has become clear that additional work is necessary to refine the scope of the project. Our objective is straightforward: to preserve the programmatic priorities that have emerged through several years of community engagement and planning, while delivering the project within a budget the Village can responsibly support.

The Board has been clear in its commitment to this project. Earlier this year, the Board of Trustees unanimously authorized the bond issuance to fund the project, an important step in moving it forward. At the same time, we have an obligation to ensure that the project we ultimately deliver aligns with the budget we have established.

Doing that thoughtfully requires time.

Over the past several months, the Pool Working Group, together with Village staff and members of the Pool Redevelopment Advisory Committee, or PRAC, has been engaged in intensive work to refine the project by scrutinizing costs, identifying opportunities for value engineering, reviewing assumptions, and weighing design and programmatic choices against both our priorities and our budget.

This builds on several years of substantial work by Village staff, PRAC, the Board of Trustees and resident volunteers to evaluate alternatives, engage the community, develop and refine the program, and analyze both project costs and long-term operating implications. That work has helped establish clear programmatic priorities for a modern indoor/outdoor complex designed to serve Scarsdale for generations.

The core goals and programmatic priorities have not changed. Our work now is focused on determining how best to deliver them within our budget. That means carefully evaluating scope, layout, materials and systems, and identifying where adjustments and efficiencies can be achieved without compromising the fundamental goals of the project.

Taking the additional time to do this work now is the responsible course. It allows us to refine the project before moving into construction and, importantly, means residents will be able to enjoy the existing Pool Complex for another summer.

As we undertake this next phase of work, we are also further deepening the Village’s bench of professional expertise by adding three resident volunteers with significant architecture, design and construction experience to PRAC. They will lend their industry knowledge and expertise as we continue to advance the project:

Scott Schiamberg, a 16-year Scarsdale resident, brings more than 30 years of sports architecture, design and planning experience, helping to shape sports venues, stadiums and training facilities for organizations including Major League Baseball, the NBA, NFL and NHL, as well as the Olympic Games.

Jack Miller, a 30-year Scarsdale resident, brings more than three decades of experience working with developers, architects and engineering firms on large-scale design and construction projects. Jack has served on the Village’s Board of Architectural Review, including several terms as chair, as well as the Planning Board, and currently serves on the Committee for Historic Preservation.

Christian Callaghan, a 30-plus-year combined Scarsdale resident who grew up in Edgewood and returned nine years ago to raise his family, has over 20 years of professional architectural and engineering design experience. A licensed architect specializing in human-centered design and collaborative project delivery, he has served on the Village’s Board of Architectural Review since 2020 and has been an active contributor to multiple Scarsdale civic organizations.

We are incredibly grateful that Scott, Jack and Christian are willing to volunteer their time and considerable professional expertise to this project.

We have reached an important point in this process. There is substantial work still ahead, but there is also a shared commitment to moving the project forward thoughtfully and responsibly.

As we do that, our priorities remain clear: delivering a pool complex that meets the needs of our community; preserving the essential elements of the program residents have helped shape; managing costs responsibly; minimizing the amount of time our community is without a pool; and ensuring that what we ultimately build will serve Scarsdale well for generations.

We will continue to keep the community informed as this work progresses and as important decisions are made. We are grateful for the continued engagement of our residents and, especially, for the extraordinary commitment of our Village staff and volunteers who continue to devote tremendous time, energy and expertise to moving this project forward.

Though some may be disappointed to learn that the project will be delayed, Carrie Moscowitz, who contacted us, was pleased to know the pool will again be open next summer. She said,

“So happy!!! This is fantastic news. At least, this will get us another year to enjoy the pool. All of us who love and actually use the pool have been very upset all season.

We don’t need all the doodads that are in the plan. We don’t want a $100 million facility. We are not interested in a very expensive indoor pool that will cost a fortune. It will be potentially used by a tiny fraction of Scarsdale homeowners. We just want an outdoor pool that is available every summer, without interruption.

The smart way to approach this would be to deal with the outdoor pool and then pause before proceeding with an indoor facility. Doing it that way provides an information about actual usage of an enhanced facility. The users of an indoor pool will be a subset of the users of the outdoor one.

This is what people who actually use the pool have been saying to me all summer.”

Priscilla Warshowsky sent the following:

Hello - as a 30 year member of the pool and having grown up in Scarsdale, I agree with Carrie Moscowitz's comments that we don't need
all the "doodads" that have been proposed for the pool.

She is absolutely correct that the community does not need or want a fancy country club atmosphere with indoor pool and restaurant. There are plenty of other choices for those activities.

My children who were all lifeguards there and my grandchildren enjoy it the way it is.

What truly needs to be done is to fix the heaters/filters, pave the parking lot, and put in new showers.

Everyone I speak to at the pool agrees with this. We all are hoping that the Board with the 3 new volunteer architects will have open meetings to discuss how they are planning to proceed.

Input from the community and the staff at the pool is critical as their opinions should be considered.

Thank you,
Priscilla Warshowsky

Details

Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 31 August 2026

Created: 31 August 2026

Last Updated: 31 August 2026

Hits: 2291

Kyle Gifford, a 1973 alumnus of Scarsdale High School passed at age 71 on August 24, 2026. Gifford was the son of ABC newscaster Frank Gifford and Maxine Gifford and was an award winning football player at Scarsdale High School, playing on the 1972 Raiders when they won the state championship. He went on to Colorado College and graduated with honors. Read his obituary on Legacy.com.

According to the New York Times, In 1979, at the age of 24, Kyle was seriously injured in a car accident on the Palisades Parkway, when the leased 1978 Lincoln Continental he was in split into three pieces, killing two of his friends. Kyle sustained head and internal injuries.

At the time of his father Frank Gifford’s death at the age 84 in August 2015, Scarsdale10583 published this article about the Gifford’s years in Scarsdale. See it here.

Please share memories of Kyle or the Giffords in the comment section below.