Letter to the Editor: Artifical Turf Poses Health, Flooding and Environmental Risks
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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(This letter was written by Michelle Sterling of Brayton Road)
Dear Board of Education, Superintendent Patrick, Mayor Arest, Village of Scarsdale Board of Trustees, and Village Manager Marshall,
Thank you for your joint field study and work to address the optimal use of fields for Scarsdale students and residents.
This letter is to express my strong opposition to the installation of artificial turf fields due to the serious health, flooding and environmental risks for our residents and town.
The benefits of artificial turf, as touted by their manufacturers, include 24/7 use, all-weather play, and a maintenance-free field. This pitch makes the allure understandable.
Science however presents a more sobering reality.
Health Risks – Toxins from rubber infill
A typical artificial turf field utilizes rubber infill made of toxic chemicals, including known carcinogens and neurotoxins. Crumb rubber dust and small pieces are inhaled and ingested during gameplay. As the fields heat up, the rubber off-gasses and the toxins are further inhaled.
Health Risks – Toxins from plastic
Artificial turf’s green plastic includes toxic chemicals in its makeup. Anti-static chemicals are used, as well as flame retardant chemicals, and perfluorinated chemicals (PFAs), which have already been banned in Europe and increasingly throughout the US due to their toxicity. Young and developing children are especially vulnerable to the toxic exposures from the chemicals in artificial turf.
Health Risks – Compacted surfaces
Statistics show that injuries are actually more common on artificial turf surfaces. The G-max rating - the ability to absorb impact – of artificial turf surfaces are high when they are first installed. The surface quickly changes however as the materials are compacted, leaving a rock-hard surface that makes injuries more likely and more severe.
Health Risks – Extreme heat
Studies from Brigham Young University show that artificial turf averages over 30 degrees hotter than asphalt and over 80 degrees hotter than natural grass. On a hot sunny day, artificial turf fields can reach 180-200 degrees.
With warmer weather now occurring for more months throughout the year, there will be an increasing number of days where artificial turf gets too hot, causing it to be unusable. This will reduce playing time in periods of high heat (which are becoming increasingly frequent).
Dehydration, heat stroke and other serious heat-related illnesses have spurred turf manufacturers to sell water cannons for field cooling, even though the water only reduces the temperature for about 20 minutes, at which time the process has to be repeated. Heat also increases the off-gassing of artificial turf’s toxic chemicals, which makes them more problematic due to inhalation exposure.
Health Risks – Cancer risks for athletes
There are a growing number of reports of higher than usual cases of lymphoma and leukemia among athletes playing on artificial turf, especially soccer goalies, who regularly dive onto the turf, releasing dust and infill particles, that they then inhale and absorb.
Environmental Issues – Plastic disposal
There is also the concern about the eventual disposal of artificial turf fields. Every 10 years when the plastic field has reached its useful life, it will need to be disposed of. What this means is that every ten years we are going to send to our County incinerator literally tons of plastic to be burned. It feels completely against everything we should be and are doing in Scarsdale environmentally to take out nature and install plastic in its place.
Environmental Issues – Green space elimination
Climate change is no longer a future event. We are living it. Just this week we are experiencing 80 degree days in November. In school and at home we teach our kids about climate change and stress the need to address it. It seems wholly antithetical to what we know to be reality, to lay down a sheet of plastic on top of nature. Green-tinted plastic is not green space.
Environmental Issues – Flooding exacerbation
Scarsdale is facing flooding issues, and the loss of environmentally beneficial natural grass, which will only create more flooding issues. Logically, given our flooding issues, it does not make sense to take a step that will decrease water absorbtion and exacerbate flooding.
Scarsdale Middle School – No safe option
For the middle school in particular, it is being proposed that the entire playing field is covered with artificial turf. What will happen to the student or family that does not want their children playing on artificial turf? What will be their option and is it fair to leave families without one? All children should have an option to play outside in a safe environment.
Natural Grass – Many benefits
Naturally maintained grass fields require no chemical use, as beneficial soil microbes deal effectively with body fluids. Natural grass does not need to get disposed of every 10 years. Natural grass does not need to be filled with toxic rubber pellets. Natural grass maintains a cool temperature and in fact absorbs and disperses heat and sequesters carbon.
Natural Grass – Please explore it further and provide more detail
In the next version of the field study proposal, please include more detail on the ways to retain and improve our natural grass fields. My suggestion would be to seek a proposal on this from an expert in this area. For example, Chip Osborne, President of Osborne Organics, 781-254-7862, has many years of experience in creating safe, sustainable and healthy athletic fields and landscapes through natural grass management. The Village used him successfully until 2016 under former Parks Dept Superintendent Jason Marra.
The October field study presentation came up with the easy answer and recommendation of using artificial turf to solve the question of extending field play. However, the easy answer is often not the best one, or the only one, and I implore you to please explore and consider natural grass field improvements.
I realize the desire of the community to have extended playing seasons and increased field use. I am a parent of a Scarsdale student athlete who is now a college athlete. My daughter played on Scarsdale’s fields for her entire time in Scarsdale and I have seen my share of rainouts and reschedulings. That being said, not having artificial turf fields in no way hindered her sports career, and I am forever thankful for her health as she didn’t have to play on artificial turf while at Scarsdale. Please consider the serious risks of covering our fields with a combination of plastic and rubber. Let’s instead create improvements to our natural grass fields that will increase their playing time.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Michelle Sterling
Brayton Road
Scarsdale, NY
Note: Comments on the Field Study can be submitted here through Monday, November 11, or can be emailed to the Village of Scarsdale Board of Trustees mayor@scarsdale.gov and the Board of Education boardofed@scarsdaleschools.org next week.
A Party in the Streets on Halloween
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The FMNA distributed Halloween gifts on Shawnee Road.This year several Scarsdale neighborhoods closed streets to allow for safer trick or treating. In each of the neighborhoods barricades were set up and manned by volunteers who barred cars from traversing the streets while kids and families were out.
Warm temperatures and beautiful weather turned Halloween into a party in the streets in Fox Meadow, Greenacres and
Heathcote.
Fox Meadow:
Janice Starr, President of the Fox Meadow Neighborhood Association said, “It was so gratifying to see that the Halloween street closure event has become a part of the fabric of the annual Halloween celebration in Fox Meadow. Young families start their trick-or-treating by visiting the Fox Meadow Neighborhood Association table on Shawnee Road to get their water and complementary flashlight sand glowsticks and continue in the safety of the closed streets. The centralized location provides a party atmosphere and an opportunity for friends and neighbors to meet and mingle. Everyone seemed genuinely grateful for the organized evening and other neighborhoods have begun to emulate this successful model!
A crowd in Greenacres
The following streets were closed in Fox Meadow: Chesterfield between Brite and Kensington, Cohawney between Brite and Kensington, Shawnee between Chesterfield and Cohawney, Hampton between Chesterfield and Cohawney, Brewster between Fenimore and Butler
Greenacres:
In Greenacres, after quite a few emails, the neighborhood was successful in getting enough volunteers to man the barricades to close Brewster Road between Fenimore and Huntington, and Sage Terrace between Putnam Road and Brite Avenue. The streets were closed between 5-7pm on Thursday, 10/31. Neighborhood President Kristen Cipriano said, "For the second year in a row, in partnership with our neighbors and the Village/SPD, the GNA was able to close streets in Greenacres without our amazing community members who volunteered their time."
Thanks to the following for manning the barricades: Barbara Chesler, Elaine Weir, Elise Flagg, Gabriel Streche, John Clapp, Kathryn Cotter, Liz Shelawala, Margreta Morgulas, Melissa Eisenberg, Michelle Lichtenberg, Mindy Green, Pete Jones, Steven Schnur
Take a look at these photos of Halloween revelers enjoying the fun.
Heathcote:
According to Jeannie Rosenthal, Vice Chair of the East Heathcote Neighborhood Association. “The closed off area of East Heathcote had close to 1,000 people on Halloween. It was wonderful to trick or treat with my kids feeling relaxed and happy, not having to stress about cars. All the families were very grateful to the volunteers who organized this and monitored the barricades to make it possible. The East Heathcote Neighborhood Association definitely plans to make this an annual tradition.
Jessica Bandel added, “It was a huge success! Big shout out to Cliff Seltzer from EHNA who facilitated the insurance piece of it to have the streets closed! Cliff was also manning a barricade. Many neighbors also came out to man the various street barricades on Fayette, Lebanon, and Ardmore. All of the families felt so much safer with the street closures. This year, the closures included the part of Carthage Road from Fayette up to Ardmore. It was amazing!
An estimated 1,000 people came out for Halloween in Heathcote.
We also asked Scarsdale Village Manager Alex Marshall for feedback and she said, “I did receive a complaint from one resident prior to the Halloween road closures in Fox Meadow this year about the closures being inconvenient. I didn’t receive any other complaints or concerns about the road closures on Halloween. This year we used Everbridge, our emergency notification system, to give the community a heads up about these road closures as well.
Halloween Window Painting 2024
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The annual window painting contest on Sunday October 20, 2024 drew many young artists and families to the streets of the 'Dale. They painted both comical and artistic creations with cultural and political themes.
As always, it was a brilliant display of talent from the Village's young residents.
The event was enhanced by the presence of the Sunday Scarsdale Farmer's Market - and County Executive George Latimer stopped by to say hello.
Take a look at the painters in action here - and email your photos to scarsdalecomments@gmail.com to add them to our gallery.
We will post the results of the contest later this week when we receive the information from the Recreation Department.
Bravo to the young artists!
Attorney, Volunteer and Village Justice Cindy Dunne Passes Away at 67
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The Honorable Cynthia ("Cindy") Keeffe Dunne: November 10, 1956 – October 24, 2024
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Cynthia Keeffe Dunne, affectionately known as "Cindy" or "Cindy Lou Who." Cindy left this world on October 24, 2024, surrounded by loved ones, after a courageous battle with Glioblastoma Multiforme. Cindy devoted her life to justice, community service, and to loving her family and friends. She is survived by her husband, Timothy Dunne; her children, Sean Dunne, Deirdre Dunne, Margaret Taubman; her son in law, Oliver Taubman, whom she recently welcomed into the family with open arms; and by her devoted caregiver, Hyacinth Roberson.
Cindy was born on November 10, 1956, in Yonkers, NY, to John Keeffe and Frances Keeffe. She was raised in Scarsdale, NY alongside her two sisters, Amy Peckham and Gigi Schwartzman. Scarsdale is also where she met, first in childhood and then years later, her beloved husband of 38 years, Timothy Dunne, and where they raised their family. Cindy ended her career in public service as the Honorable Village Justice of Scarsdale.
Cindy was a lawyer with extensive trial and appellate experience. She dedicated over 28 years to the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, serving in both the civil and criminal divisions as an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Senior Trial Counsel. Cindy prosecuted hundreds of cases ranging from public corruption, federal taxation, commercial disputes, employment discrimination, armed bank robberies, kidnaps, violent gang prosecutions, and civil rights violations to complex financial crimes. She earned numerous awards for her dedication and achievements, including being a three-time recipient of the Department of Justice's Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys Director's Award. She earned her B.A. from Rollins College and her J.D. from Pace Law School.
Cindy delighted in her children's lives and accomplishments—they were her greatest source of pride and joy. She cherished her bond with her siblings and was a tender and supportive aunt to her six nieces and nephews, as well as their partners and children. She was a loyal and generous friend who graciously hosted many joyful gatherings that will be sorely missed.
Cindy will be remembered for her resilience and her commitment to doing what was right. She was a two-time president of the Scarsdale Rotary Club, where she received the prestigious Paul Harris Award for her contributions to the public good. She was an active volunteer and board member for many organizations, such as the Scarsdale League of Women Voters and Hawthorne Country Day School. Cindy was dedicated to supporting America's first peoples as a board member of Lakota Children's Enrichment in service to the Oglala Lakota Nation.
The family would like to express their gratitude to her care team, especially her caregiver, Hyacinth Roberson, and her doctor, Dr. Peter Chei-Wei Pan, at the NewYork-Presbyterian William Rhodes and Louise Tilzer-Rhodes Center for Glioblastoma, for their compassionate support throughout her illness.
A visitation with the family will be held on Friday, November 8, 2025, from 3–7 p.m. at the Edwin L. Bennett Funeral Home in Scarsdale, NY. A funeral service will occur on Saturday, November 9, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the Scarsdale Congregational Church, followed by interment and a reception. Instead of flowers, the family requests donations in Cynthia's honor to the Pine Ridge Girls School or the Scarsdale Congregational Church.
Pancake Breakfast is a Hit in Greenacres
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Do I smell pancakes? The Greenacres Neighborhood Association hosted their ninth annual pancake breakfast on Monday October 14 and the aroma of sizzling flapjacks and maple syrup wafted across the field.
An estimated 200 people from 65 households turned out to enjoy chocolate chip pancakes, donuts, coffee and juice and the company of their neighbors.
This year everything was green like Greenacres. Plates and utensils were compostable and the new green tablecloths can be used over and over again.
Tony Moncheril from Brite Avenue headed up the event. There were four propane-powered griddles going, lots of tables and chairs and many volunteers to make it a success. He was happy to report that the neighborhood association has lots of new members and an uptick in community spirit.
Learn more about the Greenacres Neighborhood Association and join here.
