The Goods

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Category: The Goods; Published: 04 April 2017

Though the Village election is over, and some members of the Village Board who came under attack for the 2016 Revaluation are no longer serving Scarsdale, the Article 78 proceeding, filed on January 13, 2017, which demands that the Village void the 2016 revaluation lives on.

In response to the Article 78, the Village of Scarsdale filed a motion to dismiss on February 15 on the basis of a number of procedural issues and that the petitioners failure to prove their claim that properties were overvalued or that the revaluation constituted a waste of or injury to public funds" or that it was illegal, imperiled the public interest or "calculated to work public injury." See more here.

In the intervening weeks, the Scarsdale Committee for Fair Assessments, who filed the Article 78, filed an opposition brief to the motion to dismiss on March 17, and then the Village parried with a reply on March 29.

Now another group of Scarsdale residents has filed their own motion to intervene in the case. Their objection stems from the Article 78 petitioners' claim that they filed their action "on behalf of all other taxpayers in the Town/Village of Scarsdale." This new motion to intervene was filed on April 3, to "correct the false record put forth by the Committee and make clear that "all other taxpayers in the Town/Village of Scarsdale" do not agree that the Committee represents their interests." In fact, the motion says that the intervenors "Object to the Village wasting its time and money defending the Article 78" and also "Object to the prospect of Scarsdale's tax assessment procedure being dictated by a judicial monitor rather than proceeding under the established municipal and state regulatory procedures and administrative remedies that govern residential property tax assessments."

The intervenors, listed below, are represented by Jennifer Barrett, Marc Greenwald and Kevin Reed, three attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart and Sullivan, who are also Scarsdale residents. They did the work on a pro-bono basis. They represent Andrew and Mary Louise Perlman, Richard K. Abbe, Susan Upton Douglass, Eli R. Mattioli, David M. Matusz, Carole Anne Parlato, Josh Silverman, Seth I. Silverstein, Jill F. Spielberg and Gabrielle Reiffel Wise.

Kevin Reed, one of the attorneys who filed the motion to intervene said, "Our clients filed their motion to intervene in the Article 78 proceeding to make clear to the Court that the self-appointed Scarsdale Committee for Fair Assessments does not represent all Scarsdale taxpayers. If the motion is granted, our clients will advocate to the Court that that the Article 78 proceeding is without merit, that a rollback of the 2016 assessment would cause the Village more harm than good, and that grievances with the results of the 2016 assessment should be pursued on an individual basis through the administrative and judicial mechanisms provided by New York State law."

The motion provides some history to support their claim. Was the Article 78 intended to benefit just the 151 petitioners who signed it or all Scarsdale residents? It quotes a 12/6/16 letter from Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez to Scarsdale Neighborhood Association Presidents that seems to indicate that only the signers would benefit. It says, "It is important that you understand the way the process works. Only those residents who join the group that is bringing the action, can receive refunds from the results of a successful Article 78 proceeding.... There is a risk of losing, but there is also upside to winning the Article 78 action."

The background information includes the results of the recent election in Scarsdale Village where the newly formed Scarsdale Voters' Choice Party focused on "the flawed Ryan revaluation" and vowed to pursue the Article 78. Two of their candidates were signers of the Article 78. Since the Scarsdale Voters' Choice Party was soundly defeated, the attorneys posit that the Article 78 does not represent the interests of all homeowners.

The motion to intervene states that New York law gives the local assessor authority to perform valuations and empowers homeowners to grieve any perceived inequities. Furthermore, if the tax valuations were rolled back to 2015 levels, the motion claims that others who saw their taxes go down between 2015 and 2016 would be "prejudiced."

Commenting on the motion to intervene, Attorney Robert Bernstein who represents the Scarsdale Committee for Fair Assessments said, "I don't think the interveners understand or appreciate what the legal proceedings here are about. The Article 78 petition is not a class action filed on behalf of all taxpayers. It is instead a legal proceeding brought by a committee of 152 (now154) individual property owners in the Village of Scarsdale who are seeking to enjoin the Village from levying taxes on all village taxpayers on the basis of a tax assessment roll which intentionally and systematically undervalued Scarsdale's larger homes by valuing them at substantially less than 100% of market value, while Scarsdale's smaller homes were valued at 100% of market value or more. The petition was supported by a statistical analysis which showed exactly that. Such intentional systematic undervaluation violates New York state law and the equal protection rights of Scarsdale taxpayers to property taxation based on a uniform percentage of value across the board. The remedy for a serious violation such as this is not to do nothing and leave things just the way they are, which is what the interveners suggest, but rather to require Scarsdale to use an untainted assessment roll going forward in which all Scarsdale taxpayers, those in large and small homes, pay only their fair share."

The case is in the hands of Judge Bruce E. Tolbert in White Plains.

Have a comment? Please include your first and last name.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Category: The Goods; Published: 30 March 2017

LincolnCenter2 The Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society's Young Artist program is one of the most competitive programs in the area. Schools throughout the Tri- State compete to be selected and this year Scarsdale is the only school from Westchester County tthat will participate. Other schools that have groups attending this year include: LaGuardia, Special Music High School, Stuyvesant, Great Neck, Hunter, Tenafly, and the Dalton School.

The groups that are selected receive two coaching sessions with members of the Chamber Music Society and then perform a concert in Alice Tully Hall on April 27th.

lincolncenter The district is very proud to have two groups performing. The first is a duo for Soprano and Violin. Nivi Ravi, Soprano and Laura Clapp, Violin with perform - Four Songs for Voice and Violin by Holst. The Second group - also with Laura playing the violin is a Piano Trio with Annling Wang, piano, Laura Clapp Violin and Melinda Orengo, Cello. They will be performing Smetana's Piano Trio op 15.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Category: The Goods; Published: 16 March 2017

schoolbell It's official! The Scarsdale Schools schedule will be longer for the 2017-18 school year with 80 minutes more per week at the elementary and middle schools and an additional 75 minutes per week at the high school.

At the elementary school, 16 minutes will be added per day. At the middle school, morning homeroom will be eliminated, each period will be longer and six minutes will be added to the end of the day. School will start at 8:10 am.

At the High School, the first bell will ring at 7:55 am with class beginning at 8 am. The new schedule will add two minutes each to periods 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 and period 5 will have three additional minutes. Homeroom will occur two days per week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays between periods 2 and 3.

SHS PTA President Amy Song had asked that parents and students be included in the conversation about how the extra time would be used but they were not invited to the table this year.

Here are her comments on the new schedule:

The SHS PTA Executive Committee has been very vocal about this issue and feels that the new schedule reflects a lost opportunity for students where writing labs, themed classes or supervised study sessions would have been a more meaningful use of 75 minutes than the accepted plan of adding two minutes to each period. Parents and students feel shut out of a process that immediately and directly affect them, so we will continue to urge the BOE and STA for more collaboration going forward.

More importantly and less mentioned, we must preserve the unique culture at Scarsdale High School where teaching and learning are not only quantified by total classroom minutes, but also through immeasurable acts of instruction that take place outside of class or school. Students are constantly meeting with teachers throughout the school day (including entire lunch periods) and appreciate the free email exchanges at any hour (including weekends which some districts disallow). Some students have even disclosed attending group review sessions in the evenings with teachers willing to accommodate their busy after school schedules. These are just a few examples of how one-on-one, non classroom experiences add instructional value and also allow teachers to get to know students more effectively.

This process also enables our high school teachers to spend inordinate amounts of time writing quality student recommendations for college or summer programs as opposed to some districts authorizing generic form letters (gasp!) to help reduce teachers' personal time commitments.

Scarsdale High School prides itself on boundless, professional education that prioritizes student learning both inside and outside of the classroom resulting in an experience that is closer to that of a private institution. We should be very careful about chipping away this culture because once it is gone, it will unlikely return, and we will end up being very much like any ordinary public high school.

I am hearing that in addition to feeling like this is not a good use of their time, students are disappointed with the inconsistent end times, lack of homeroom for three days (students use homeroom to meet with other study groups, teachers, or deans, get a much needed break and receive important school announcements), and no provision for extended lunch. Parents have similar concerns including the earlier start time. One parent sent me a great link about how studies show that earlier starts correlate to poor productivity and performance for our teenagers.

Student wellness is also very affected by this new schedule which by the way is this year's compact initiative school and district wide!

SHS sophomore and athlete Emmeline Berridge offered the following comment on the revised schedule for next year.

"I think the new schedule is similar to any change in that it will take a while to adjust to it. One of the biggest adjustments being the starting time. Although 5 minutes doesn't seem to make a big difference, 5 minutes to a sleep deprived teenager means a lot. Also, the differing end times based on the day will take getting used to. Being in the school for the past year and a half I have memorized when each period ends, which helps me plan my time during a free or while meeting a teacher. The more complicated schedule is going to be difficult to memorize and I will definitely struggle with that for a while. Another aspect that I'm not fond of is the removal of homeroom on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. For someone who has limited frees like myself, homeroom has always been a quick break in the day where I can rest my brain. Without this time, my productivity and focus will most definitely decrease during the day. With regards to sports, the schedule doesn't really affect much. However, on Fridays, coaches usually make practice at 2pm instead of 3pm because everyone has 7th period free on Friday. Because students lose this free, coaches will not be able to have the earlier practices and sports will get out later on Fridays. Overall, I definitely think this new schedule will do more harm than good with regards to the well being of SHS students. In a community that seems hyper focused on wellness, I'm not sure this is the right move for Scarsdale High School.

In response to the article above, Dr. Thomas Hagerman, Superintendent of the Scarsdale Schools sent us the following:

(1) Amy Song did not raise this issue with the District until late Fall, when this work was well-underway and an established Committee in place, even though the contract with the STA was ratified at the end of the last school year, and instructional time was a known outcome at that time. Moreover, the PTA was not closed out of the process. Amy met with Ken several times on this subject, and I met with the entire PTA Exec Board for several hours to hear/address their concerns. Although the MOU (memorandum of understanding) from collective bargaining stipulated the make-up of the instructional time committees, I have told Amy that I am very open to parent and student participation moving forward.

(2) You claim that: "students use homeroom to meet with other study groups, teachers, or deans, get a much needed break and receive important school announcements"....As a reminder, homeroom is five minutes long, fairly early in the day, from 9:53-9:58. This is not enough productive time for study groups or conferencing. Roll call and announcements, yes.

(3) In terms of inconsistent dismissals, that already happens for our students, depending on their schedules and "frees". All students days begin and end differently, depending on their schedules. This is not a change in practice.

(4) 7th period on Friday is unchanged, so I am unclear why it is characterized as a loss of a free.

Do you have thoughts on the new schedule? Share them in the comments section below.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Category: The Goods; Published: 23 March 2017

MichelleHirsh A candlelight vigil was held in Sherbrooke Park on Tuesday night March 21 to memorialize wife, mother, friend and community volunteer Michelle Hirsh. Friends gathered at her home on Pinecrest Road to share memories and offer condolences and respect to her family; husband Scott and children Madison and Jack.

Michelle fought a valiant battle against pancreatic cancer and survived 30 months before she passed away on Monday March 20 at the age of 50, just a month shy of her next birthday on April 22. She was diagnosed with stage 3 pancreatic cancer in September 23, 2014 and underwent many rounds of chemotherapy and ultimately had surgery in April 2016 to remove the tumor. She vowed to never give up and became an ardent support of the Lustgarten Foundation. Her goal was to raise $150,000 and a walk for her team will be held at Rye Playland Park on April 23. Watch a video of Michelle speaking here.

On Tuesday, hundreds gathered down the front path and along the driveway of her home which stands high on a hill above the neighborhood. The flickering candlelight created a beautiful tableau for a woman who requested that no funeral be held for her as she didn't want anyone to be sad.

Remembering her friend, Denise Koslowsky said: michelleanddenise

"Today the world is a little smaller and there is a little less light as we honor and remember a true Superstar Michelle Snayd Hirsh. Michelle did not want a funeral, because she did not want any of us to be sad. So I am going to try to not be sad while I say a few words about my friend, Michelle.

I adored Michelle from the minute I met her, and felt lucky that the Hirsh family blessed Scarsdale. Michelle quietly did for others and never ever asked for anything in return. She always had a big smile on her face, and whenever I was in her presence I felt special and valued. I suspect that everyone who knows Michelle felt exactly the same way. Michelle never wanted to be the center of attention. She flew under the radar and did not get caught up in the politics of Scarsdale. And, if you ask me she made the BEST jalepeno margaritas and guacamole on the East Coast!

Michelle loved her wine, and loved to break bread whenever possible. Nothing made me happier than walking by and seeing Scott Hirsh and Michelle in their Adirondack chairs in their driveway drinking a beer or a glass of wine, always with an invitation to share with a friend.

I learned from my friend - the importance of staying positive, the need to stay connected, and the meaning of commitment.

When that dreaded diagnosis of pancreatic cancer became a reality 2 1/2 years ago, Michelle stepped up to the plate and became a role model to us all. She reminded us of the importance of living life to its fullest and the power of positive thinking. Michelle reminded us that community matters, and why we need to rally around each other. I know her life was cut short, but I also know that it is a miracle that she lived with pancreatic cancer for 2 1/2 years. She never quit. While Michelle did not ask for much, she did ask for us all to support The Lustgarten Foundation and help to find a cure so that other lives are not cut short like hers.

To Madison Hirsh and Jack, the memory of your amazing, beautiful, strong, smart, organized, dedicated mother will live with you forever. To Scott Hirsh, you were the love of her life, and we all know she was the yin to your yang. You balanced each other perfectly.

In her memory, and to make her wishes come true, we light our candles and hold them high. I will miss our talks, and I will miss her smile, but I know you are smiling down on all of us."

vigil1

Neighbor and friend Anne Moretti added:

"Denise's comments were really beautiful and captured the essence of Michelle's passion for life and for her determination to help others, especially in their fight against pancreatic cancer. Michelle was one of the truly wonderful human beings who represented the best in all of us."

Meredith Alin also spoke at the vigil, saying:

hirsh-alin "I had a special relationship with Michelle Hirsh. But most of you did as well. She had a way of making every individual feel like she had a special connection with him or her. No matter her own struggles, even cancer, she always asked, listened and took an earnest interest in the issues that her friends were grappling with.

I met Michelle through the Junior League. My first years as an active member, I served on the JLCW Board with her. We became fast friends but friends based on substance. We would spend hours together at the cottage, talking about things that mattered while sharing many laughs. At the end of that year, a fellow board member and close friend of Michelle, Meggy Wagner, gave Michelle and I each a gift of a personalized notebook. My notebook proclaimed me the brains of the JLCW, a dubious honor. Michelle's proclaimed her the heart of the JLCW.

How accurate that was. Michelle really was the teammichelle heart of her community. But in some ways she was the brains too. Michelle in reality was my advisor on matters concerning my kids, my marriage, my job and the JLCW. I am sure that she shared her wisdom with many of you. She always understood the human aspect of any situation. She stopped to consider what motivated people,, how decisions would impact other and how others would react to certain situations. She taught me stop and think about the ramifications of my decisions. She made me a better person and she made her community a better place.

I love her and will miss her."

A walk for pancreatic cancer research will be held on April 23rd at Rye Playland Park. Donations will go to the Lustgarten Foundation Sign up for Michelle's team and make your donation here.

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Category: The Goods; Published: 08 March 2017

trustees At the end of the League of Women Voters of Scardale Candidates' Forum on Tuesday, moderator Karen Schatzel paid Scarsdale a big compliment, saying, "The level of civility tonight has restored my faith in the American system."

This year, a test of Scarsdale's Non-Partisan system has increased voter awareness and engagement. A new political party dubbed "The Scarsdale Voters' Choice Party" is running a full slate of candidates for Mayor and Village Trustees to challenge the four candidates vetted and selected by the Citizens Nominating Committee. There was fear that rancor would result from a full-blown political campaign in a Village election that usually only draws about 300 voters.

But on Tuesday night March 7, everyone behaved. berg hochvert

The LWVS Candidates' Forum is not a traditional debate. Participants make opening statements, respond to questions and end with closing statements. There are no direct attacks or rebuttals. The format worked well this year and allowed all eight candidates to present their credentials and their views.

The Citizens Non-Partisan Party ticket is led by Dan Hochvert for Mayor, with Matt Callaghan, Carl Finger and Seth Ross for Village Trustees. Hochvert is a former Village Trustee who remained active in Village affairs since his 4-year term ended in 2010. Callaghan and Finger are both currently serving as Village Trustees and running for second terms in office. Seth Ross served and chaired on both the Zoning and Planning Boards for ten years and has many other volunteer activities on his resume. All were vetted and selected by the 36 members of the Citizens Nominating Committee who themselves were elected in a general election in Scarsdale Village.

The newly formed Scarsdale Voters' Choice Party was created in brice the wake of Scarsdale's 2016 tax revaluation when a group of residents questioned the validity of the revaluation, the competency of the vendor who conducted it and the oversight by the Village Assessor, Village Managers and Trustees. These residents called for the Village to void the revaluation and return to a prior tax roll. When the Village failed to do so - for a host of reasons – 151 petitioners named the Scarsdale Committee for Fair Assessments sued the Village. Two people who signed the petition for the Article 78 are among the four candidates running on the Voters' Choice Party ticket. That ticket includes Robert Berg for Mayor, with Brice Kirkendall-Rodriguez, Carlos Ramirez and Robert Selvaggio for Village Trustees. Both Kirkendall-Rodriguez and Selvaggio signed the suit that contends that the Village bungled the revaluation and is poorly managed.

Among the themes that emerged from Tuesday night's forum were the value of experience, the fiscal health of the Village, government transparency, the merits of partisan and non-partisan systems, the role of the mayor and trustees in Village management, sustainability, roads and taxes.

baylormorel During the trustee candidate's discussion, the Non-Partisan Party candidates emphasized their experience in Village management and their ability to make the best decisions for Scarsdale based on input from residents and qualitative and quantitative information. Trustee Finger said, "If I had made campaign promises I would not have had the freedom to make the best decision based on the information I received."

The three trustees from the Scarsdale Voters' Choice Party had less experience with volunteerism in Scarsdale so they emphasized their professional credentials and willingness to serve. Selvaggio touted his skills in finance and modeling and credited Mayoral candidate Robert Berg with bringing 'fiscal discipline" to the school budget by organizing a successful campaign to vote down the first school budget in Scarsdale in 49 years.

In terms of the current state of the Village, the candidates differed. Trustee Callaghan credited the Village with a triple AAA rating from Moody's, low debt, a wealthy tax base and healthy reserves. However Brice Kirkendall Rodriguez pointed out, "It's important to understand economic issues. 40% of Scarsdale residents have a household income of under $200,000. There has been a 4% decline in household income over the last two years. Budgets exceed the rate of inflation. I have served on community boards in other locales. My understanding and compassion will help." Selvaggio added, "Village taxes have risen 69% over the last 12 years. Our residents' earnings have not kept pace with inflation. We must reduce the rate of tax increases."

According to Village Manager Steve Pappalardo, the projected Village budget for 2017-18 calls for a tax levy increase of 2.19%, all of which is due to a 12% increase in health care costs for Village employees. He says that if health care costs had not risen, the Village budget would be flat. This budget will mean, on average, a $223 increase per household.

In discussions about the 2016 revaluation. Selvaggio called it the Ryan-gate affair and said, "It was recognized to be faulty." He continued, "I joined the Article 78 and this issue of a conflict is going to come up. I will consult with my fellow trustees about recusal from that issue." He later said, "We're going to undue that damage and get it right." Answering a question about the revaluation, Finger said, "The 2016 revaluation has been statistically confirmed to being close to actual sales. We need to look at the true situation. We are governed by what we can legally do. We can look at the process and look at how we got to a point where people felt disenfranchised. We want a community that is satisfied with the process and understands that we did the right thing."

The Voters' Choice Party has complained that the Village government lacks transparency and that it is undemocratic in that residents have no choice on candidates for trustee and cannot vote on the Village budget. Seth Ross answered those claims, saying, "I would like to see more people take advantage of the opportunities to engage. The Village Staff and trustees are happy to engage... Meetings are open and televised. If you're frustrated – get your voice out there and it will be heard." Kirkendall Rodriguez said, "I don't want to do away with the system....I prefer a system where the voters can determine who has merit. ... More people will come to the polls. When you see your school taxes and county taxes you will see the increase. The civic mindedness of the Voters Choice Party will have a place as well as the opportunity for choice.

The two candidates for Mayor, Robert Berg and Dan Hochvert were asked similar questions.. Berg credited his party with the large audience, saying, "We have accomplished a lot. There's lots of interest and people who want to hear our views."

Hochvert introduced himself as "a doer," who changed Village code, walked the watercourses and made decisions that benefitted Scarsdale.

Both candidates agreed that the Mayor's role was to lead and keep an eye on Village staff – without meddling in the day-to-day work.

When asked for priorities, Berg said "Roads, roads, roads. The state of the roads is atrocious!" He advocated the purchase of 10-year bonds at low interest rates to repair all of Scarsdale's roadways. To that, Hochvert responded, "We have plans to bond the library, and a bridge over the Heathcote Bypass. Bonding roads would make it "interesting" to stay under the cap. Our debt service rises from all the projects that we will bond. We can't just focus on bonding for roads. We can't ruin our rating by exceeding debt service targets by spending $28 million on road repair."

In response to a question about the trade-off between tax rates and Village services, Berg said, "Taxes in the village are going up twice as fast as inflation. It is morally wrong that people can't afford to stay here. We have to get our tax rate under control. If not, we'll go into a death spiral. Too many empty nesters will move out and we have to build more schools. We have to stop hiring consultants. We have to cut programs like the Teen Center." (Note – school district enrollment in the Scarsdale Schools has been almost flat for the last ten years. Demographers do not anticipate a surge in the school population.)

Hochvert explained the use of consultants, saying "The Village has decreased its staff since I left a few years ago. You hire consultants because it's more economical for a temporary study. You don't have to pay benefits."

Both candidates appreciated the way public comments are handled at Village meetings. Though the official time limit is 5 minutes, the Mayor often lets residents speak at length and answers their concerns. Hochvert said, "When I was on the board, the 3 minute limit was observed. Now the mayor and board has some dialogue with the speaker. It builds trust! I would not limit speakers' time – I think the dialogue is good."

Berg who is a frequent speaker at Village Hall meetings, agreed, saying, "I am a veteran of public comments. I usually cannot restrain myself. I get cut off after 3 minutes at the school board. At the village, they listen and don't limit speech. It's the right policy. People want to vent and you need to hear your comments."

Concerning the Village in a Park, preservation of trees and homes, Berg said, "There is a certain character that needs to be preserved. I used to like trees before two fell on my house. Now I am concerned with trees that are close to houses. We need to preserve the trees to the extent that we can. We need to make sure that the developers preserve trees. We need to look at the FAR (floor area ratio code) and eliminate FAR loopholes that allow big houses on small lots."

Hochvert added, "When I was on the planning board we convinced developers to save trees. I am not sure that FAR is the best way to limit development. We should also look at lot coverage to prevent homes from covering almost the entire lot." At another point in the discussion, Hochvert said, "We need to maintain the tree canopy that absorbs much of the water. I made code changes that have been effective in preventing flooding and planted hundreds of trees in Harwood Park."

Summing up, Hochvert said, "I believe that working with the board and staff cooperatively is the best way to ensure the best decisions. Experience and knowledge counts."

Berg told the audience, "Your attendance here shows that you want choice. You can have a choice and make your village your village. If you're happy with the status quo, vote for the CNC candidates. My slate is skilled in finance, technology and law. We recognize the problems. I have the leadership skills – I know this village intimately and we would love to serve you."

You can watch the Candidates' Forum on Scarsdale Public Television here.

The Village election will be held on Tuesday March 21st at Scarsdale Library from 6 am to 9 am and from 12 noon to 9 pm. The last day to register to vote in the election is Friday March 10.

In order to register with the Westchester County Board of Elections to vote you must: