Eastchester Review 7-31-2015

July 31, 2015 | Vol. 3, Number 29 | www.eastchesterreview.com

Eastchester REVIEWTHE

what’s in the old quarry after listening to an hour-long pre-sentation from environmental consultant and hydro geologist Bill Canavan, of Hydro Envi-ronmental Solutions, Inc., who summarized the results of his company’s remedial investiga-tion of the site. A draft of the final result is being prepared for the DEC and then will be distributed to the Planning Board members and made available to the public.

Until then, the board is working off of Canavan’s syn-opsis, which said the 109-125 Marbledale Road property is a landfill between 16 and 85 feet thick where the quarry used to be, and is filled with cinders, ash, construction and demo-lition debris, glass, mattress parts and metal auto parts. The study included tests on the groundwater, surface soil, subsurface soil and soil vapors and found a number of con-taminants, such as lead and mercury in the subsurface soil tests, throughout the site.

Despite the discovery of these contaminants, Canavan said the 3.5-acre site can still be developed into the proposed five-story, 163-room Marriott SpringHill Suite hotel.

“Historic landfilling does not pose a significant risk to human health,” Canavan said.

But the site will require a cleanup plan that Canavan said will include a combina-tion of soil excavation and off-site disposal; capping, which

By JOHN BRANDIStaff Writer

The Village of Bronxville is implementing some chang-es to its parking regulations, which will be rolled out in the coming month.

Bronxville is embarking on changes to its meters and park-ing lots to address concerns from residents over coin-operated limitations and to tackle long-standing problems with parking in a municipality that hasn’t found a solid solu-tion yet, according to village officials.

Mayor Mary Marvin, a Re-publican, said enacting these

changes will also encourage more space turnover to in-crease retail business, bring about uniform parking regu-lations across the village and make meters more understand-able, customer friendly and technologically advanced. The mayor also believes August is a good month to enact such re-form because fewer people are in town during the summer.

“August is the quietest month in the village, so we hope to figure out any kinks before everyone is home and in the village post-Labor Day,” Marvin said.

The village is working with Israel-based Pango, a mobile

technology company, so resi-dents can now pay for meters from anywhere using their smartphones or handheld de-vices. The app is already in use in neighboring Eastches-ter. However, Marvin said, a ban on meter feeding will also be enacted through the Pango system to prevent someone from occupying the space all day. A law discouraging this has been on the books for Pax-ton Avenue, Park Place and Pondfield Road, but a recent push by village officials in April has revived enforcement as the behavior persists, ac-cording to the mayor.

The mayor said working

with Pango stemmed from resident concern over having to physically feed the meter when at the nail salon or using the bank for additional, un-foreseen time.

“Residents asked us to look for an alternative to al-ways needing coins,” Marvin said. “Also we just want to keep up with the new technologies and offer options to parkers.”

The time to park at a street meter will also change from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., adding an addi-tional three hours of enforced parking. The village lots, how-ever, will remain free past 6

HOTEL continued on page 8

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Pollutants found in Tuckahoe hotel site

By CHRIS EBERHARTStaff Writer

The site of a proposed hotel on Marbledale Road in Tucka-hoe is home to an old village quarry and a New York State Department of Environmen-tal Conservation designated Brownfield site. This means the property has potentially hazardous substances, pol-lutants or contaminants that would have to be cleaned up before any construction can commence.

For months, the Tuckahoe Planning Board listened to personal anecdotes about the garbage and harmful chemi-cals that have been dumped over the years in the old quarry.

Lifelong Tuckahoe resident Anthony Lore, who neighbors the location of the hotel pro-posal, recalled his high school days working with different contractors and dumping as-bestos from pipes and oil burn-ers in the quarry.

Joseph Marinello, another lifelong village resident who lives near the proposed hotel, said he remembers when he worked with his uncle doing work for a plumbing contrac-tor in the Garth Road section of Eastchester and dumped loads of asbestos in the quarry.

“It worries my heart to see this hotel going [in the quarry site] because I know what’s been dumped in there,” Mari-nello said. “I’ve seen it.”

On July 21, the Planning Board got a better feel of

Bronxville to implement new parking restrictions, mobile app

pARkINg continued on page 5

In good weather we trustAttendance and revenue numbers for Playland this year have exceeded 2014 numbers thanks, in large part, to some good weather this month. For story, see page 3. File photo

2 • THE EASTCHESTER REvIEw • July 31, 2015

Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

1

2 3 4 5Bronxville Criminal Court

6 p.m., Justice court

Eastchester Lake Isle Advisory Board meeting

7 p.m., Lake Isle

6Tuckahoe village board

work session 7 p.m., Village Hall

Eastchester Environmental

Community meeting7:30 p.m., Community roomTuckahoe Small Claims

Court7:30 p.m.

7Tuckahoe School District ACT registration deadline

for September

8

9 10Tuckahoe village board

meeting8 p.m., Village Hall

11Tuckahoe court

7:30 p.m.

12Bronxville Vehicle and

Transportation Parking, small claims court9 a.m., Justice court

Bronxville Design Review Committee meeting

7 p.m.Bronxville Planning Board

meeting7:30 p.m.

13 14 15

16 17 18Eastchester Town Council

meeting8 p.m., Town Hall auditorium

19Eastchester Library Board

of Trustees meeting6 p.m., Library auditorium

Bronxville Criminal Court 6 p.m., Justice court

20 21 22

23 24Tuckahoe administrators

meeting7 p.m.

Tuckahoe Board of Education meeting

7:30 p.m., TMS/HS Library

25Bronxville Zoning Board

meeting7:30 p.m.

26Tuckahoe residents

meeting7:30 p.m., Circuit Avenue

Park

Bronxville Vehicle and Transportation Parking,

small claims court9 a.m., Justice court

27 28 29

30 31U.S. Open begins

August 2015Planning ahead...

July 31, 2015 • THE EASTCHESTER REvIEw • 3

Playland revenue, attendance up over 2014By CHRIS EBERHART

Staff Writer

Playland had what was con-sidered by many to be a suc-cessful season in 2014, and early revenue and attendance figures as of July 19 have al-ready outpaced last year’s numbers.

Through July 20, 2014, Playland had a total atten-dance of 230,295 and took in gross revenue of $4.26 mil-lion. This year through July 19, which includes the latest numbers obtained by the Re-view, Playland had a little less than 5,000 more patrons visit the park—235,125—and made nearly $150,000 more—$4.4 million—in gross revenue.

The major difference be-tween this year and last was better weather on July 4—which is generally the busiest day of the year at the amuse-ment park—after a washout in 2014. Through the month of June and heading into the July 4 week, attendance and rev-enue figures were nearly iden-tical, with 135,587 visitors in

2014 compared to 134,031 visitors in 2015, and a gross revenue of $2.58 million in 2014 and a gross revenue of $2.51 million in 2015.

After July 4, 2015, numbers spiked to 178,998 visitors and gross revenue of $3.35 mil-lion, as opposed to 165,353 visitors and a revenue of $3.12 million in 2014.

Westchester County Depu-ty Parks Commissioner Peter Tartaglia said the numbers in-dicate about a 6 percent uptick in business over last year.

“Last year, we had the tail end of a hurricane that de-stroyed most of business on July 4 except for the fire-works show late at night,” Tar-taglia said. “This year we had some rain, but it rained early. So from about 4 p.m. on we packed our parking lot and made up a lot of revenue.”

Since hitting a low point in 2013, Playland has been on the upswing in terms of both atten-dance and revenue, and the driv-ing forces behind that, Tartaglia said, are good weather and an in-creased number of promotions.

“Weather is always the main factor and will continue to be,” Tartaglia said referring to the amusement park indus-try, and, in particular, Playland. “Then there are the promotions and discounts that we’ve been adding.”

Last year, the county started half-priced evenings on Tues-days and Thursdays at Play-land. This year, the county ex-tended that initiative to include Wednesdays and also added a Mother’s Day and Father’s Day promotion, where moms and dads were able to enter the park for free.

“Those are just some of the new promotions,” Tartaglia said.

Playland could see another jump in productivity begin-ning next year and beyond with Standard Amusements preparing to take over man-agement of what is the only county-owned amusement park in the nation.

The agreement between the county and Standard was approved by the Westchester

pLAYLAND continued on page 13

PlAylAnd AttendAnce yeAr-to-yeAr comPArison AFter July 4 2015 2014Non-Resident Attendance Gross Revenue Attendance Gross Revenue

Ride All-Day 31,658 $949,740 31,379 $941,370Junior 7,467 $149,340 6,895 $137,900Spectator 14,706 $147,060 15,151 $151,510 Resident

Ride All-Day 56,926 $1.42M 46,300 $1.15MJunior 7,333 $109,995 6,422 $96,330Spectator 24,050 ------------------ 23,160 ------------------

Season Pass Sales

Non-Resident 368 $34,960 507 $48,165Non-Resident (4 or more) 248 $21,204 166 $14,193Resident 1,485 $118,800 1,628 $130,240Resident (4 or more) 1,358 $97,776 849 $61,128Spectator Non-Resident 61 $2,135 70 $2,540 Promo Season Pass 1,114 ------------------ 1,029 ------------------

Season Pass Redemptions (from sales)

Non-Resident 1,571 ------------------ 1,541 ------------------ Resident 6,426 ------------------ 5,538 ------------------ Spectator Non-Resident 12 ------------------ 76 ------------------ Other

Promotional 13,935 ------------------ 9,703 ------------------ Group Rider 14,914 $298,280 19,188 $383,760

TOTAL 178,998 $3.352M 165,353 $3.124M

At the end of June, the 2014 and 2015 attendance and revenue numbers for Playland were nearly identical with 134,031 and 135,587 visitors in 2015 and 2014, respectively, and gross revenues of $2.51 million and $2.58 million in 2015 and 2014, respectively. the major difference was the July 4 weekend weather which allowed the 2015 numbers to surge.


What’s going on...Purchase a brick and add the inscription of

your choice to honor, remember or celebrate a special pet or person or to express support for Pet Rescue. Your words will create a lasting me-morial that will greet visitors to Pet Rescue for years to come.

This path will be a reminder of the generosity and love for Pet Rescue’s rescues. The path will also fund upcoming renovations to Pet Rescue’s home and further their mission to save helpless animals and find them safe, loving homes.

The size and cost of bricks are:4"x8" brick can be inscribed with up to 3

lines/18 characters per line at $150.8"x8" brick can be inscribed with up to 6

lines/18 characters per line at $300.Array of four 8"x8" bricks can be inscribed

with up to 12 lines/36 characters per line at $1,000.

Payment can be by PayPal, or you can mail a check to Pet Rescue, P.O. Box 393, Larchmont, N.Y. 10538.

Pet Rescue is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit orga-nization. Your donation is tax deductible as al-lowed by law. Proceeds will go to Pet Rescue's Building Fund.

For more information on how to place an or-der, send an email to [email protected] or visit ny-petrescue.org.

Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Thursday at noon. Though

space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send

all items to [email protected].

Eastchester Public Library tal collections, call the Reference Desk at 721-8103 to make an appointment for a free one-on-one technology lesson.

Summer Mystery ClubOn Wednesday, Aug. 5, the EPL Mystery

Club will discuss Jim Kelly's “Nightrise: A Philip Dryden Mystery.” Copies are now avail-able at the Circulation Desk. The Mystery Club is open to all and new members are always wel-come. Meetings begin at 2:30 p.m. For more in-formation, call the library at 793-5055.

Tuckahoe Public LibraryFor the kids

Registration is required for all programs.LEGOS in the Library: Come to the library

and create a masterpiece to display. Open to ages 5 to 10. Friday, July 31 at 4 p.m.

Superhero Crafts: Make your own superhero costume this summer during the rest of this three-part craft program. Open to ages 5 to10. Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 4 p.m. Registration is required. Call 961-2121 or visit tuckahoelibrary.org.

Bronxville Women’s ClubHappy Holiday Hour

On Friday, Aug. 7 at 7 p.m., the Bronxville Women’s Club will host a preview showing of the new musical, “Happy Holiday Hour” at The Bronxville Women’s Club. The musical wel-comes audience participation and is being pre-pared for the Norwegian Cruise Lines’ winter production. The audience will party like wacky elves as they enjoy six delicious cocktails and an uproarious holiday extravaganza.

The show features 20 beloved holiday favor-ites with a twist—such as “We Need A Little Cocktail” and “The 12 Drinks of Christmas.” “Holiday Happy Hour” will have guests jin-gling their bells and making their way under the mistletoe in this rollicking new interactive show starring an amazing cast of Broadway fa-vorites, including Dominic Sheahan-Stahl from “Xanadu,” Matt Ban from “Rock Of Ages,” Kate Morgan Chadwick from “Grease” and Sarah Nathan from “Bring It On,” and directed by Holly-Anne Palmer of “Jersey Boys” and “700 Sundays.”

Advance reservations are strongly encour-aged as seating is limited. Light fare will ac-

company the musical. Reservations are $10 for BWC members; $20 for non-members. Reser-vations may be made by calling the BWC at 337-3252 and/or mailing checks made out to the Bronxville Women’s Club, 135 Midland Ave., Bronxville, N.Y. 10708.

Blood donation opportunities

Eligible donors are encouraged to choose their day to make a difference. Donors of all blood types—especially types O negative, A negative, and B negative—are needed.

Date to donate blood:Thursday, Aug. 13, 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., Ameri-

can Legion Hall, 40 Bell Road in Scarsdale.How to donate blood: Download the American Red Cross Blood Do-

nor app, visit redcrossblood.org, or call 1-800-RED CROSS (733-2767) to make an appoint-ment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card, driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17, 16 with parental consent in some states, weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements. For more information, visit redcross.org or on Twitter at @RedCross.

Buy a brick to help Pet Rescue

A walkway of personalized, engraved red bricks will soon lead to the front door of Pet Rescue's new home in Harrison.

Summer Reading GamesRegistration is now open for Children's Sum-

mer Reading Games. This year's theme is “Ev-ery Hero Has a Story.” Participants are eligible to win prizes based on how many books they read this summer.

Registration for Summer Reading Games is open to all, regardless of residency or library card status. You may register in-person or online. Please note that for your child's reading totals to count toward our end-of-summer raffles, they must visit the library and fill out their raffle tick-ets in person.

The library will also offer a number of ac-tivities for children participating in the reading games, including concerts, animal demonstra-tions and craft activities. Online pre-registration is required for these activities through the website, and begins one week before the activity at 9 a.m. Most activities are open to all; a select few are limited to Eastchester and Tuckahoe cardholders. Visit eastchesterlibrary.org for more information.

Teen Summer Reading GameFor those entering grades six and up. The

theme is “UNMASK!” Registration is now open and will continue through the end of the game on Wednesday, Aug. 12. Each book you read this summer will earn you one raffle ticket for prizes, including brand new books, at the end of the summer. You will also be able to earn up to one prize a day by answering our daily trivia question at the Reference Desk. For a complete list of our teen reading events, visit eastchesterlibrary.org and click on the “Events” tab, or stop by the Reference Desk to pick up a brochure. Registration for all events is online.

Free technology lessonsIf you need help accessing the library’s digi-

New to the Review

Suzy Berkowitz also joined the Review in June as an editorial as-sistant. She graduated from SUNY New Paltz in 2014 with a B.A. in Journalism. While at New Paltz, Berkowitz was the arts and enter-tainment editor and social media chief of the school’s weekly news-paper, The New Paltz Oracle. She

also spent her last semester of col-lege as an intern reporter for The Poughkeepsie Journal. Berkowitz is from Brooklyn, currently lives in Queens, and spends her free time teaching karate and self-defense to young girls.

You can reach Berkowitz at 653-1000 ext. 30 or [email protected].

suzy Berkowitz

Sibylla Chipaziwa joined the Review in June as an editorial as-sistant. Prior, she was the mu-nicipal meeting producer for LMC TV’s news show “The Lo-cal Live” based in Mamaroneck. The United States is the fifth country Chipaziwa has lived in. She graduated from SUNY

Purchase with a B.A. in Journ-alism, while minoring in Po-litical Science. Local politics is where she plans to establish herself as a multimedia reporter before moving on to cover glob-al affairs.

You can reach Chipaziwa at 653-1000 ext. 25 or [email protected].

sibylla chipaziwa

James Pero is the newest staff writer to join the Review. Pero is a graduate of SUNY Purchase, where he studied journalism, cutting his teeth as a managing editor of the school’s arts magazine, The Pur-chase Beat. After graduating, Pero moved on to become a staff writer

for news media startup Curi-ousmatic where he wrote about global finance and world con-flicts. Pero is a resident of Mount Vernon and originally hails from Buffalo.

You can reach Pero at 653-1000 ext. 20 or [email protected].

James Pero


p.m., according to Village Ad-ministrator Jim Palmer.

Marvin said this change will prevent those who enjoyed free evening parking but were not ac-tually using the establishments they were parking in front of. Moreover, with additional meter time, Marvin said this will de-crease village taxes by 1 percent with the increase in revenue. The efforts here should generate around $100,000 annually, ac-cording to Palmer.

Though the mayor said that this change came about from speaking with merchants, Kevin McNeill, co-owner of Dobbs & Bishop Cheese Shop on Pond-field Road, said meter feeding isn’t a noticeable problem.

“Workers all usually park away from Pondfield and the topic of feeding meters by shoppers isn’t one that’s come to my attention over the years,” McNeill said.

Though the shop owner said he was supportive of the Pango system, he didn’t want the topic of vacant storefronts to be over-looked as an issue that contrib-utes to parking headaches.

“If they were all filled, we’d

pARkINg from page 1

have more foot traffic,” he said. Changes will also be imple-

mented in the Cedar Street and Garden Avenue parking lots.

The Cedar Street lot cur-rently has 76 spaces, all avail-able for two-hour limits. But

according to Palmer, 61 spac-es will be transitioned into three hour parking spaces, and of those 61, seven will be re-served for residents. Eleven will remain on two-hour lim-its and four will be reserved

for merchants. The Garden Avenue lot has

a total of 36 spaces that cur-rently have a two-hour limit. With the upcoming changes, Palmer said 18 spaces will be moved to a three-hour limit

and the remaining 18 spaces will have a four-hour limit.

“Parking in the village is a constant balancing act be-tween the needs of residents, customers and merchants,” Marvin said.

Tammy Ehrenfeld, own-er of NORTH, a Pondfield Road merchant, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

CONTACT: [email protected]

the Village of Bronxville is rolling out new parking measures in August to attempt to modernize its system. File photo


Astorino takes housing war to Clinton’s home

By CHRIS EBERHARTStaff Writer

Hillary Clinton’s home in Chappaqua, N.Y. was the lat-est battleground in the hous-ing war between the federal government and Westchester County Executive Rob Astori-no, a Republican.

On July 21, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office said Westchester County should be held in contempt of court and be forced to pay monthly fines of $60,000 for violating the terms of a 2009 affordable housing settlement.

As part of the settlement, which was signed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, and former County Execu-tive Andy Spano, a Democrat, Westchester had to build 750 units of affordable housing in the county over a seven-year period, complete a source of income legislation—which bans discrimination against potential renters and home buyers based on their source of income—and complete

an analysis of impediments, which is a review of the barri-ers affecting the development of affordable housing.

Astorino, who took over the county executive’s office in 2010 after defeating Spa-no, has strongly contested the settlement from the outset and said the federal government is overreaching and threatening to dismantle local zoning.

Until recently, the analy-sis of impediments was the main source of contention between the two sides. The eight Astorino administration-completed analyses of im-pediments, all of which claim Westchester doesn’t have ex-clusionary zoning, were de-nied by HUD, and the county executive refused to submit the analyses completed by the federal monitor Jim Johnson, who is overseeing implemen-tation of the settlement, that said otherwise.

Now the two sides are fight-ing over the financing bench-mark put in place by the settle-ment, specifically involving a development in Chappaqua,

Clinton’s hometown, and whether the units should count toward the end of 2014 financ-ing benchmark of 450 units.

The housing monitor said in a May 8, 2015 report that the 28-unit Chappaqua train station development shouldn’t count toward the 450-unit benchmark because the fund-ing was not in place by the end of 2014, and the project’s completion is shrouded in doubt because of litigation and heavy scrutiny by the commu-nity and New Castle officials. But the county says the fund-ing is in place and the project is moving forward, so the units should count, which would give the county financing for 454 units.

David Kennedy, assistant U.S. attorney, backed the mon-itor’s report and said the coun-ty should establish an escrow account in the amount of $1.65 million, pending the develop-ment of the 24-unit shortfall under the 2009 affordable housing settlement. The mon-ey would be returned if the county meets its next financ-ing benchmark of 600 units by the end of 2015. If it doesn’t, the county would lose $68,800 for each unit it’s short.

Astorino counter-punched by knocking on Clinton’s door to put her on the spot and ask her in front of a large press contingent if she, as a pre-sumptive Democratic nomi-nee for president, thought her hometown of Chappaqua was discriminatory and if she supports the current admin-istration’s “radical housing policies.”

“It would give many of her neighbors in town and throughout the county some comfort to hear her respond ‘no’ and ‘no,’” Astorino said.

Although the former secre-tary of state and U.S. senator wasn’t home, Astorino left his contact information with one of her aides and continued with his press conference on her front steps.

“The federal government’s assault on our local commu-nities in Westchester is dumb-founding, shocking and coun-

terproductive,” Astorino said. “Here’s how it works: HUD decides whether your neigh-borhood meets the quotas the agency believes represent the proper balance of race, in-come, education and other demographic features. If the zip code doesn’t measure up, HUD then prescribes correc-tive measures, which essen-tially come down to running roughshod over local zoning so HUD can socially engineer the character of your commu-nity to bring it in line with its quotas.”

Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Mike Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat who has been lead-ing an unprecedented legisla-tive effort to act on behalf of the county, which is typically done by the county executive, in the housing matter, said he has been critical of the coun-ty executive in the past, par-ticularly about not filing an analysis of impediments that would be deemed acceptable to HUD.

But Kaplowitz said he’s standing with Astorino on this particular issue.

The chairman said there’s no reason to be held in con-tempt when the Chappaqua development project is mov-ing forward after receiving fi-nal approvals at the beginning of July, and added the the fed-eral government is going after

the wrong issue. “This is like having a kid

not doing well in school be-cause he doesn’t do his home-work but punishing him for us-ing a red toothbrush instead of a blue one,” he said. “It defies common sense and feeds into the overreaching argument that the county executive has been saying all along.”

Affordable housing was the focus of a recent Supreme Court case that resulted in a 5-4 decision in favor of HUD and disparate impact, which says housing discrimination doesn’t have to be intentional in order to be illegal.

Charles McNally, an HUD spokesperson, told the Review in a previous interview that this Supreme Court decision is “another important step in the long march toward fulfill-ing one our nation’s founding ideals: equal opportunity for all Americans.”

Astorino said the decision “puts unprecedented power in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.”

Kennedy supported the monitor’s position that a civil contempt motion should be filed against the county, but the county won’t be required to pay fines until federal dis-trict court Judge Denise Cote makes a decision on whether to uphold the motion.


Westchester county executive rob Astorino holds a press conference in front of Hillary clinton’s home in chappaqua, n.y., after the federal government said a chappaqua affordable housing development shouldn’t count towards a benchmark number as outlined in a 2009 affordable housing settlement.

rob Astorino leaves his contact information with aides to Hillary clinton asking her to contact him to let him know if she thought her hometown of chappaqua was discriminatory. Photos courtesy Westchester county

Publisher | Howard Sturmanext. 21, [email protected]

Executive Vice President | Ira Ellenthalext. 28, [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief | Christian Falconeext. 19, [email protected]

Sports Editor | Mike Smithext. 22, [email protected]

Editorial Assistant | Sibylla Chipaziwaext. 25, [email protected]

Editorial Assistant | Suzy Berkowitzext. 30, [email protected]

Reporter | Chris Eberhartext. 26, [email protected]

Reporter | John Brandiext. 18, [email protected]

Graphic Designer | Arthur Gedin

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Advertising Coordinator | Marcia Schultzext. 27, [email protected]

Staff WritersJackson Chen, James Pero

Staff PhotographerBobby Begun

ColumnistsMary Marvin, Tonia Tagliaferro

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REVIEW



At the Village Board of Trustees meeting in July, the trustees and I adopted zon-ing and parking changes with the goal of increasing local shopping, services and dining traffic.

On the zoning front, we have updated a process to streamline the course of open-ing a business in the village. In addition, we expanded the types of businesses that can offer outdoor seating.

The outdoor option will be renewable yearly to ensure that the village has control over the cleanliness, ambi-ence and seat regulations on the site.

Revamping the zoning code—which was largely written be-tween the ‘50s and the ‘60s—is an ongoing process, as we are attempting to reflect the needs of the current economic environment. To retain a via-ble business district in the 21st century, a new balance has to be struck between the sale of soft goods and the delivery of services.

On the parking front, at the request of customers, we will be adding a non-coin phone app option for meter payment called Pango beginning in August.

This app will allow time to be added to a meter remotely up until the hour limit of the specific meter. For example, if parked at a three-hour me-ter where a driver has paid for two hours, they can add the extra hour via a mobile device. However, they cannot add hours beyond the meter’s time limit. Without this regu-lation, commuters would be able to park in front of Value Drugs all day by adding time from their Manhattan office, which would defeat the goal of stimulating local shopping.

To assist businesses whose customers require longer stays, including restaurants, hair salons, the movie theater and exercise studios, three and four-hour meters have been added in both the Garden Av-enue and Cedar Street lots. In addition, all lot meters desig-nated for commuters and mer-

Support local businesses and be mindful chants are open to the general public after 3 p.m.

We continue to encourage our merchants and their em-ployees to make use of the more outlying parking spaces avail-able. There is nothing more frustrating for one merchant than to arrive at work to find a fellow merchant parked all day in front of their store.

Like our neighbors in Tucka-hoe, Yonkers, White Plains and Ridge Hill, we have extended our on-street meter hours—in the village’s case, until 9 p.m.

To avoid having to leave a movieor dinner early, coins or Pango can be used just once to reach the 9 p.m. time limit. It is important to note that only on-street meter parking is af-fected. All of our lots remain a free option. For example, if someone parks right in front of the movie theater, payment will be required versus the free option across the street in the Kraft lot.

The benefit is twofold. Ob-viously, there is a monetary one. Village residents live in the most highly-taxed commu-nity in the most highly-taxed county in the country. The ad-ditional meter revenue is an-ticipated to lower village taxes by at least 1 percent next year.

After diligent surveillance, we also determined that many of the formerly “free spaces” in the evenings were being more used by folks heading into Manhattan events versus those frequenting local busi-nesses. In the end, shopping local is the goal of all our mod-ifications stated above.

Small businesses are the backbone of the sustainability and value of Bronxville, just as they are for our economy na-tionwide. They are the peak job creators, currently generating more than half of all the new jobs in the country. When small businesses flourish, there is a multiplier effect on the econo-my of other new hires, includ-ing accountants, lawyers, archi-tects and cleaning staff.

As a result, many of the forward-thinking communi-ties throughout the nation—Palo Alto, Calif.,Winnetka, Ill., and Morristown, N.J., come to mind—have realized that keeping purchases local cre-ates local jobs, keeps money lo-cal, saves on fuel and ancillary

transportation costs, encour-ages a walking environment, fosters a human connection between merchants and cus-tomers, and increases overall property values.

These communities have so named their initiatives “Sup-port our Supporters,” recog-nizing that it is the local mer-chants, not the Amazons, the Zappos and the Costcos, that provide the gifts to every local organization.

Contrary to popular be-lief, purchasing on the Inter-net may be a tax-free conve-nience at midnight, but in the long term is ultimately no bar-gain. Without local purchas-ing, Bronxville would have lost approximately $900,000 in sales tax revenue last year, translating into a whopping 12-percent tax increase for residents.

So as you soon prepare for back-to-school shopping, please think local and support Bronxville merchants. It is the best long-term bargain of all.

Two issues related to both the business district and the summer months require your attention and vigilance as well. During the warm weath-er, there is a cadre of folks who walk through village streets just to test car doors, and if unlocked, take what they can—change, wallets, GPS devices and sunglass-es. This practice is prevalent throughout lower Westchester and simply a crime of oppor-tunity. If cars are locked, they are bypassed; if not, front seat contents are taken. Please do not forget to lock all car doors.

In addition, we are see-ing a proliferation of solici-tors, be it for the purchase of candy or simply a donation for a “worthy cause.” Sadly, we have found these charities lack the required village sales permit and devoid of legitima-cy. If you are approached, just ask for a valid village permit. Quite often just the polite in-quiry has resulted in departure from the village. As a remind-er, the First Amendment pro-tects the “selling” of an idea so those requesting your time or signature to discuss per-haps fracking or clean water are constitutionally protected to do so without any prior vil-lage approval.

involves creating and main-taining a hard surface, usually concrete or asphalt, over the contaminated soil; and vapor mitigation.

“It’s not a clean site, but the horror stories we’ve been hearing...the data indicates otherwise,” Canavan said.

After listening to Canavan’s presentation, the Planning Board decided to publish on the environmental notice bul-letin, an online publication of the state DEC that publicizes proposals and actions of land use boards throughout the state, a draft of the condition-al negative declaration under the New York State Environ-mental Quality Review Act, SEQR, which says the project will not have any significant adverse impacts on the envi-ronment but conditioned on the project, making DEC and the state Department of Health requirements. This vote opens the public comment period, which ends on Sept. 15, the day of the next scheduled

Planning Board meeting. It’s customary in many municipal-ities to not schedule land use meetings in August.

Come Sept. 15, the Plan-ning Board can either decide to extend the comment period, move ahead with the condi-tional negative declaration or decide against the negative dec-laration and force the applicant, Bill Weinberg, of the Eastches-ter-based Bilwin Development Affiliates, LLC, to complete a full environmental impact state-ment, EIS, which could take up to a year to complete and cost millions of dollars.

The latter is the route that Planning Board member Mel-ba Caliano called for during the meeting on July 21. Al-though she voted in favor of posting the conditional nega-tive declaration to the Envi-ronmental Notice Bulletin to illicit public comment, Ca-liano argued in favor of a full EIS.

“Given the history of the site, given the level of public

participation, I want a belt and suspenders, and I think this site warrants that kind of thorough-ness,” Caliano said. “I think the public’s concerns will be more than addressed then.

“I don’t want to even be thinking about ‘should’ve, would’ve, could’ve.’ I want to go to sleep at night and not think about if I should’ve done something different.”

During the meeting, plan-ning board consultant James Pinto made a suggestion to the board that it should look into hiring its own, independent environmental consultant to help the board sift through the environmental reports, a senti-ment that was echoed by Ca-liano and Marinello.

Tuckahoe Village Adminis-trator David Burke said if the village were to hire the consul-tant, who would then be paid by Tuckahoe, the developer would set up an escrow ac-count to reimburse the village.


HOTEL from page 1

the tuckahoe Planning Board listened to a summary of the results of a remedial investigation that said there are chemicals on-site but not enough to pose a significant threat to human health, so the old quarry property can be developed into a proposed marriott hotel, pictured. rendering courtesy Village of tuckahoe



Stamford, Conn., resident Anne Katcher has been a driv-ing force behind the West-chester/Fairfield chapter of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, which continues to make strides to spread awareness and to raise money for treatments and cures for blinding retinal diseases.

At the age of 61, Katcher has dedicated her retirement to raising local awareness of the need for resources for those living with retinal diseases in the areas of Westchester and Fairfield counties. As president of the local chapter, Katcher has been committed to bring-ing attention to the need for resources for those living with retinal degenerative diseases, which affect more than 10 mil-lion Americans.

Katcher’s passion is a personal one. Her husband, Mitch, was diagnosed with

retinitis pigmentosa, RP, more than 20 years ago, which has caused his peripheral vision to slowly deteriorate. Inspired by Mitch’s resilience—and the long-term community involve-ment from her mother who passed away in 2014—Anne took an early retirement from her job as senior vice president at AXA Equitable Life Insur-ance to focus on her husband’s health and finding a cure for these diseases.

Katcher became an active member of the Foundation Fighting Blindness in 2012 and became a national trustee in 2013. She had a significant im-pact on the success of the foun-dation’s “Banking on a Cure” fundraising dinner in New York City in 2014, helping to raise more than $1 million.

“One of my key goals in tak-ing on this leadership position

is to provide support to those affected by rare retinal diseas-es, provide information to the wider community and develop relationships with local medi-cal and business professionals who can help increase aware-ness of our mission to cure blindness,” Katcher said. “I’m extremely honored to serve in this role and look forward to helping bring attention to an issue that has been very impor-tant and personal to me.”

Since joining the founda-tion in 2012, Katcher’s support has helped increase not only awareness of retinal diseases, but also funding through her work. She has helped raise more than $1 million in fund-ing for early-stage research for sight-saving and sight-restor-ing therapies.

For more information, visit fightblindness.org. (Submitted)

Foundation raises retinal disease awareness State doesn’t vote on EFD election change bill

By CHRIS EBERHART

Staff Writer

Since 2010, the Eastchester Fire District has been unsuc-cessfully trying to move the fire commissioners’ election from December to coincide with Election Day in Novem-ber in an effort to bolster voter turnout. But another New York state legislative session has now ended without a change.

This year, as in years past, the bill, which requires ap-proval from both houses of the state Legislature, a signature from the governor and autho-rization from the Westchester County Board of Elections, passed in the Democratic-majority state Assembly but never made it to the floor of the Republican-led Senate. So, the 2015 fire election will once again be held in December.

State Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat who carried the bill in the Senate, said there was no reason why the bill hadn’t been voted on.

“We did everything we could,” Latimer said. “We filed the bill in January, so it wasn’t like it was a last-minute June bill. We prioritized it. We inter-

acted with the majority. We had elected officials in the area lob-by for it. I’m at a loss to explain why it never came to the floor. And whatever the [Republi-cans’] opposition to the bill is, they haven’t made public.”

Latimer sent a letter to state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, a Huntington Re-publican, asking for clarifica-tion about why the bill did not pass, but has yet to receive a response.

Dennis Winter, chairman of the Eastchester Board of Fire Commissioners, has been pushing the move for years and said the inability to pass the bill is “discouraging,” but the fire district will again push to move the date to November next year.

The bill passed the As-sembly in 2011 and 2012 but died in the Senate both years. In 2013, the bill passed both houses after what Winter called an “aggressive” effort by Latimer in his first year as a senator. Shortly after, the bill was signed by Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

But issues with the election date move were raised by the county Board of Elections.

Taijan Jones, an executive as-sistant to the county Board of Elections commissioners, told the Review during a previous interview that the fire district elections and elections run by the county Board of Elections have different standards with respect to factors such as pe-tition filing and machine use, and that the language of the bill in 2013 had to be altered to conform to Board of Elec-tion standards.

Latimer said the bill, amended in 2014 to reflect the changes required by the Board of Elections, was resubmitted during the 2014 legislative ses-sion but was shot down by the Senate because of last-minute concerns over wording. Lat-imer said the objections were voiced too late in the legis-lative session to change the wording in time.

The issues brought up by the Senate in 2014 were ad-dressed in the 2015 submis-sion to the state Legislature, but for reasons unknown to Latimer, the bill never made it the floor of the Senate after passing the Assembly.


A bill to move the eastchester Fire district elections from december to november never made it to the new york state senate floor during the legislative session, and sen. George latimer said he has yet to receive an explanation. File photo

trooper is a gorgeous ridgeback mix, about a year old and 72 lbs. He is the sweetest boy with a very calm demeanor; just a great dog. He will surely melt your heart with his soulful eyes. trooper is neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, heartworm tested and microchipped. Why not donate $300 to larchmont Pet rescue and make trooper part of your home—you won’t be sorry. to learn more, call us at 834-6955 or visit ny-petrescue.org.(Submitted)

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Pace offers $25K scholarships for WCC grads

Pace University and West-chester Community College announced on June 19 a first-ever scholarship program to attract local transfer applicants who have graduated with a two-year associate’s degree and wish to obtain a four-year bachelor’s degree.

The initiative will provide transferring full-time students who have successfully gradu-ated from WCC and meet eli-gibility requirements with an annual scholarship equal to $25,000 to be credited against the university’s standard full-time tuition. The program will begin in the 2015-2016 aca-demic year. WCC graduates interested in enrolling for the fall semester may apply at any time. Transfer applications will be accepted through the summer.

Pace is nationally recog-nized for experiential learn-ing, exceptional job placement and positioning students for professional effectiveness and success. This unique scholar-ship is designed to provide students with a solid education and access to the real-world experience critically needed upon graduation at a substan-tial reduction in cost. Based on the 2015-2016 rate, the schol-

arship will enable eligible stu-dents to offset more than 60 percent of the full-time cost of tuition during their first year at Pace. The scholarship is for study at Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus only and is not available for the iPace online degree program.

“We are delighted to give eligible Westchester Com-munity College graduates the opportunity to earn a 4-year bachelor’s degree through this innovative scholarship pro-gram,” said Pace University President Stephen J. Fried-man. “Our ability to enable them to imagine new futures and advance their lives is at the core of our university motto of ‘Opportunitas.’”

The new scholarship pro-gram responds to student and industry needs, offsetting the rising cost of obtaining a four-year degree and bridging the gap between academia and what employers want. Ad-dressing the kind of change needed in higher education, the collaboration is a concrete re-sponse to the often prohibitive cost young people face to ob-tain a four-year degree, as well as industry concerns that col-lege students nationally are not graduating with the skills nec-

essary to enter the workforce. Added benefits for Pace

University-Westchester Com-munity College scholarship re-cipients who otherwise might depend entirely on student loans to finance a four-year degree potentially include a smaller debt burden and a re-payment term shortened by several years. The scholarship program is yet another ex-ample of Pace’s commitment to leadership in providing a quality education and position-ing students for professional success. The initiative also marks the first time Pace has collaborated with a two-year school to offer students such a unique opportunity that benefits both schools and surrounding communities.

To graduate from WCC, stu-dents must meet certain mini-mum performance require-ments. By opening the scholar-ship program to WCC gradu-ates with a minimum GPA of 3.2, Pace can substantially en-sure continuing access to high quality applicants equipped with the ability to excel, suc-ceed and ultimately graduate from Pace.

For more information, vis-it pace.edu or sunywcc.edu. (Submitted)

Dear Tonia:It’s so confusing today to

know what’s in style. I want to look good but still be com-fortable. No matter what I do, I still don’t look anything like the models I see in the media. I need to make changes but don’t know where to begin. Can you help?

P.H.,Larchmont

Dear P.H.:We get trapped in the me-

dia image of what we think we should look like rather than accept who we really are in our own natural, comfort-able style. We get caught up because we want to feel better about the way we look.

Remain true to yourself and update your look without changing who you are. Don’t try and compare yourself to models you see. Believe me, they don’t even really look like that. Look closely: they have no pores. With a bit of Photoshop, a makeup artist and a hairstylist, you too can morph into model material.

Why should we change who we are? Change begins when we have a reality check and see ourselves as we really are right now, and not how we looked 20 or 30 years ago. Get a better understanding of your body type and what works or doesn’t work for you and, more importantly, why. Then

begin by making the effort to look your best every day.

Dear Tonia:I often go “commando” be-

cause it’s easier and I don’t have to worry about panty lines or wedgies. Some of my friends think it’s gross. What are your thoughts?

M.S.,Mamaroneck

Dear M.S.:Going “commando” can

be fun, freeing and feel sexy in the right circumstances, but proceed with caution. Like ev-erything else, there’s a time and place for it. Keep in mind that certain fabrics such as linen or silk are going to reveal a little too much of your “commando” profile. Be careful with tight pants, as you won’t be safe from “camel toes”—a seriously unattractive look. Also, it’s not ideal if you are going to be do-ing anything that’s going to have a sweaty outcome.

Going “commando” is not nearly as big of a deal as we all think it is, mainly because you don’t really have to tell a single person you’re doing it. Make your panty status your little secret revealed by choice, “butt” not by visual impact.

Dear Tonia:I want to look great but

money is an issue. I can’t af-ford designer clothes, even discounted, but want to feel better about myself and how I look. How can I look like a million bucks without spend-ing a million?

R.S.,PortChester

Dear R.S.:Look at fashion magazines

to see what’s in style. Go to a better store and see what they are showing. Then emulate what you see and like in a less expensive way. Be sure at least one piece you are wearing is a quality piece. You don’t need a lot, only the right pieces.

Money doesn’t have to be the issue. There are myths that people who wear designer-clothing are considered to be well dressed. It just isn’t true. What makes you feel like a mil-lion bucks is not being afraid to do your own thing. Wear what you like and what you feel com-fortable in, provided it fits well and flatters your figure. Don’t be afraid to be different. You can start the trend and set the standard rather than just follow it. All it requires is the belief that you can—confidence.

Self-confidence and keeping some things secret

tonia saysTonia Tagliaferro

Tonia Tagliaferro is a fashion stylist. For questions and advice, you can contact her at [email protected]. And for more information,

visit artofdressing.net.

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County Board of Legislators in June. As part of the 15-year Playland agreement, Standard will invest $25 million—$2.25 million in upfront costs to the county and $22.75 mil-lion in direct investments into the 87-year-old amusement park—and pay annual rising payments to the county start-

ing at $300,000. The county will also receive 7.5 percent of the profits once Standard recoups its initial investment.

Currently, Standard and the county are in a co-manage-ment period, a time when Stan-dard is shadowing the county in order to better understand how the park is run. The co-management concludes at the end of October, at which point

Standard will make a final de-cision if it wants to stay in or opt out of the agreement.

“So far [the co-management period] has been good,” Tar-taglia said. “They’ve been ob-serving and asking questions like ‘Why do you do this?’ or ‘When do you do this?’ So far, it’s been productive.”


pLAYLAND from page 3

14 • THE EASTCHESTER REvIEw • July 31, 2015 SPORTS

Maybe I’m just an easy mark, but right now, I can’t get enough of Alex Rodri-guez.

Prior to the start of the base-ball season, I penned a column in which I admitted that, de-spite my Red Sox fandom—or perhaps because of it—I was rooting for the disgraced Yan-kees slugger to turn back the clock this year.

Sure, my desire to see him play well this year was born mostly out of spite for the Yankees. I wanted to see the fans that had vociferously turned their backs on the re-peat PED offender struggle to come to grips with rooting for him to become an important part of the organization again.

But on Saturday night, I was simply rooting for him as a baseball fan.

Blast(s) from the pastIn the midst of what has

been an amazing season for the 40-year-old, A-Rod had a truly magnificent night against the Twins this past weekend, clubbing three hom-ers to help the Bombers rally against Minnesota.

All the steroid stuff, all the years I spent rooting against the guy, suddenly, it just didn’t mat-ter to me. I was just happy to see him still playing at a high level.

On Sunday, the MLB Hall of Fame inducted four new mem-bers. For a fan, like me, who came of age in the 1990s, it was a particularly poignant ceremo-ny. Three of the best pitchers of my youth, and one of the most consistent—almost boringly so—players of his generation in Craig Biggio, headed for en-shrinement, felt to me, like the end of an era.

For the last few days, I’ve been watching retrospectives of the careers of these iconic play-ers: the masterful John Smoltz, the intimidating Randy Johnson

and the sublime Pedro Marti-nez, who just so happens to be my favorite player of all time. It was bittersweet watching them take the stage at Cooperstown, because as many great memo-ries as those three gave me in my youth, Sunday’s induction ceremony was another remind-er that their time was over.

With that being said, today is a fun time to be a baseball fan, especially a young one. There is so much up-and-coming talent in the game right now, it’s hard not to be excited. Carlos Correa is poised to be the next great American League shortstop. Mike Trout continues to do unbelievable things in the outfield. Young arms like Chris Archer, Dallas Keuchel and Chris Sale are writing their own pages in the books of baseball lore.

But every now and then, it takes an A-Rod, a man with more faults than you can count, a man reviled by as

on July 25, Alex rodriguez belted three home runs in a yankee win. even an avowed red sox fan like sports editor mike smith can appreciate A-rod’s resurgence in 2015. Photo courtesy wikipedia.com

many fan bases as there are in the sport, to remind you that the past isn’t all that far in

the rearview. For older fans, like me,

somehow, that’s comforting. Follow Mike on Twitter @

LiveMike_Sports

Follow Mike Smith @LiveMike_Sports stats • recaps • commentary

Follow @eastchesterviewfor Mike’s live, in-game action updates

To CoVER loCal spoRTs, you nEEd a

LIVe MIKe!

July 31, 2015 • THE EASTCHESTER REvIEw • 15SPORTS

Divers compete at countiesBy MIkE SMITHSports Editor

Local competitors made waves on July 27 as the diving competition for the 10 to 13 age group signaled the kick-off for the 90th annual West-chester County Swimming and Diving Championships. Despite some stiff competition in the girls’ division, Rye Golf Club’s Kathryn Laverty came away in first place at the his-toric swim and dive meet.

Laverty, a Rye resident, tal-lied 198.5 points on the after-noon, which was just enough to give her the edge over She-norock Shore Club’s Devon Ott, who placed second with 184.65 points. Coming into the event, Laverty, 13, said she was confident in her ability to place high, but she didn’t necessarily expect to come out on top.

“I definitely thought that winning was possible,” Laver-ty said. “But I also knew there was a lot of good competition here.”

The City of Rye had several top 10 finishers on the day, as Laverty and Kimberly Wei, seventh place, both scored well for the Rye Golf Club, while Ott, Caitlyn Walsh, fifth place, and Brennan Vincent, ninth place, all came out of the Shenorock Shore Club’s pro-gram. Keelin Sibley, who fin-ished in eighth, dives for the Westchester Country Club.

The Westchester County Championships pit the top swim and dive clubs in the area against one another in a two-week-long competition to-ward the end of each summer. The Greenburgh Swim Team comes into this year’s competi-tion having won in both 2013 and 2014.

According to Laverty, the annual competition is always exciting, given how well the divers know one another.

“It’s great, I know all of them,” she said. “And I even dive with Devon [Ott] in the winter for the Marlins Dive Club.”

That closeness, she said, helps each diver strive to raise her game for the big competition.

“I thought most of my dives were pretty good, but I can

definitely make some improve-ments on them,” Laverty said following the Monday competi-tion. “I just need to think about those and remember those cor-rections for future meets.”

In the boys’ competition, Pound Ridge’s Augie Hibler came away with a first place

finish, scoring 185 points on the day.

“I’m pretty happy,” Hibler said after the final scores were tallied. “I’m just glad that I didn’t fail.”

The diving events contin-ued on July 28, after press time, with the boys and girls

14 to 17 age group. On Aug. 3, the area’s top swimmers will get a chance to shine when the swimming portion kicks off at Rye Playland. The meet will continue until Thursday, Aug. 6


Keelin sibley leaps off the board at the county dive championships.

Kimberly Wei looks to stick the landing at the lake isle country club in eastchester. Wei, diving for the rye Golf club, came in seventh place.

Augie Hibler prepares to dive on July 27. Hibler won the boys’ division. Photos/mike smith

Kathryn laverty executes a dive on July 27. laverty won the girls 10-13 age group at the Westchester county dive championships.

16 • THE EASTCHESTER REvIEw • July 31, 2015 SPORTS

Documents

Eastchester Review 7-31-2015