Scarsdale Business Alliance Appeals to the Village of Scarsdale for Funding

What role should Village government play in ensuring the vitality of the retail community in Scarsdale Village? Who should fund the efforts of the Scarsdale Business Alliance (SBA) to bring foot traffic to the Village, beautify the Village Center and make it an appealing place for retailers to locate their businesses?

That was the question on the minds of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees when the Scarsdale Business Alliance made an appeal to the Village Board to help them fund their efforts at a work session on February 6, 2024. Specifically, the group would like to replace volunteer efforts by retaining an Executive Director to run the SBA and serve as a development officer.

At a work session of the Village Board on February 6, 2024, former Mayor Jane Veron and SBA President Marcy Berman-Goldstein outlined their multi-year effort to bring back a defunct Chamber of Commerce. As a part of their work they grew the membership ranks from Village businesses, hosted events like Light the Dale, the Farmer's Market and the Scarsdale Music Festival and funded the large Dine the Dale tent on Spencer Place, giving the community an outdoor venue for gatherings.

They pointed out that these efforts strengthened community building, made Scarsdale more walkable and helped to fill empty storefronts. Though they will not continue to erect the Dining Tent, they do hope to continue their efforts by working with the county on a program called “Destination Scarsdale,” which would attract county wide traffic to the Village, especially on Bicycle Sundays when Scarsdale is a mid-point along the Bronx River Parkway bike route.

However, the revenue from membership dues at $30,000 falls short of what the group requires to hire the Executive Director at a salary of $80,000. They hope to hire a professional to build relationships with business owners, run events and sell sponsorships for SBA initiatives. Sponsorships of the Dine the Dale tent brought in almost $60,000 in revenue and without that the group will run a deficit. Also, the work has been fueled by Marcy Berman-Goldstein and other volunteers who are asking for help.

In a discussion about the request the Trustees asked questions about the SBA budget, and also wanted to know if this was a one-time request or if the expectation would be that the Village would fund the SBA year over year.

The trustees said they will continue to discuss this request in their upcoming budget sessions.