Veterans' Tax Exemption Revisited By Scarsdale BOE
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- Written by Melissa Hellman
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The issue of the Alternative Veterans' Tax Exemption was revisited at the Board of Education (BOE) business meeting on January 12, 2015.
To recap, Governor Cuomo enacted legislation in December 2013 that would allow (but not require) school districts to provide tax relief to qualified veterans. Veterans already receive partial exemptions for Village and County taxes, and this new legislation provides an additional avenue for exemptions. The law provides a benefit for qualifying veterans and their surviving spouses by reducing their taxable assessments – and therefore their property taxes. As of April 2014, there were 305 veterans in Scarsdale receiving various levels of exemptions.
In April 2014 the BOE discussed this issue at a business meeting. Ultimately, the Board voted against the exemption by 5-1 based on the fact that information about the implications to the other taxpayers were unclear partially because Scarsdale was in the midst of a property valuation reassessment. The burden of the exempted amount (at the time estimated to be $558,358 at the highest level of exemption) would not be funded through the state or federal government but would be shared among the balance of Scarsdale taxpayers. The legislation required the resolution to adopt the exemption to be passed by May 1, 2014 (along with a required public hearing) so there was little time to gather additional financial information or hear from the general public on the issue. Many veterans spoke at that meeting and were extremely disappointed that the BOE voted to take no action on the matter.
Fast forward to January 2015 when the BOE feels more confident about the timing and its ability to gather information. The Board was in agreement last night that it should move forward with the first step of providing the basic exemption level for qualified veterans. Once a resolution that a basic level of tax exemption is enacted, the Board may decide to increase or decrease the exemption level based on specific guidelines set forth in the legislation. The decision to increase or decrease the exemption amount is required to be made under a separate resolution and after a public hearing. The plan right now is that a resolution on the basic exemption will be available for discussion at the next BOE meeting on January 26, 2015 and will be voted on at the February 9, 2015 meeting along with the required public hearing. The Board has asked for more information from the Scarsdale Tax Assessor to be available for the January 26 meeting in order to fully understand the numbers involved.
During the public comment period, the BOE heard from two long-term resident veterans. Mr. Martin Molot of Lincoln Road wanted to make sure that as the BOE weighed the additional tax burden to non-veterans it took into account the fact that the overall tax base in Scarsdale is increasing as a result of the large amount of new construction.
Mr. Newton Schiller of Lee Road said he attended the meeting to make sure that the BOE took action on this item and thanked the Board for making decision to move forward.
Community members are urged to view this portion of the meeting on the BOE video on demand site as well as to review the supporting materials available with the January 12, 2015 meeting agenda and come to the next BOE meeting with questions and comments.
Scarsdale in the News
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdalians made headlines this week for reasons good and bad. Here are four of your neighbors in the news:
SHS Alumni Zachary Seward, age 29, married Kate Laurie Lee at the Liberty Warehouse in Brooklyn on New Year's Eve. While attending SHS, Seward was a champion debater who later went on to Harvard where he was the managing editor for the Harvard Crimson. At Harvard, Seward co-wrote a story for the Wall Street Journal breaking the news that President Larry Summer would resign. He is now the product director and senior editor at Quartz, a business news website owned by Atlantic Media. His parents still live in Scarsdale where his dad, Stephen Seward serves as the executive director of the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation which is now raising money to support a new design lab and fitness center at Scarsdale High School.
Rob Fishman, a 2004 graduate of SHS was named to the Forbes Magazine 4th annual list 
of "30 under 30" millenials who the magazine calls "young game changers, movers and makers." Fishman is a co-founder of Niche, a network of more than 5,000 creators across 16 social-media networks such as Instagram, Snapchat, Vine and Tumblr, in 2013. Has an ongoing relationship with Hewlett-Packard, which began after an initial Vine campaign collaboration became a nationally aired TV spot consisting solely of Vines. In its first year, Niche grew to 34 employees with $9 million in revenue. While at SHS Fishman was also a top debater and editor of the Maroon. Before forming Niche, he worked as the Social Media Editor of the Huffington Post. (Full disclosure, Fishman is the son of the founder of Scarsdale10583.com.)
Last, In February, HBO will air a six-part documentary about an infamous Scarsdale man, Robert Durst, who is a suspect in the murder of his wife Kathie in 1982, the killing of friend Susan Berman in 2000 and the dismemberment of a merchant seaman in 2001. Durst grew up in Scarsdale, one of four children of real estate magnate Seymour Durst and his wife Bernice. It is reported that at the age of 7 Durst witnessed his mother's suicide when she jumped or fell off the roof of the family's home. A NY Times article from 2001 says that Bernice "became disoriented by an overdose of medication for asthma and fell from a rain-slick roof -- but family members acknowledged that Bernice had committed suicide." We have been unable to find out the address of the Durst's family home in Scarsdale, but if you know the location, please share it in the comments section below.
The HBO series, called "The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst" is based on nearly 10 years of research by the filmmakers who reviewed documents and conducted more than 100 interviews with friends, investigators, journalists, lawyers and relatives. The film was made with Durst's cooperation and includes more than 25 hours of interviews with him.
Durst, now 71, lives in Texas and owns a townhouse in Harlem, In 2006 he was awarded $65 million in a settlement of a lawsuit over his share of the family fortune.
Intense Rainfall Tests Scarsdale's Storm Water Management System
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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How did the Village's new storm water management system perform during the heavy rainstorms on Tuesday December 9th? We asked Village Manager Al Gatta and Department of Public Works Supervisor Benedict Salanitro for a report on areas that have flooded in the past and here is what they shared:
From Village Manager Al Gatta:
"The first issue was the amount of rainfall. The Public Works Department reports that 3.16" of rain fell with great intensity over a 12-hour period, not the 24-hour period which was the design standard for the improvement projects. Also the Village-wide drainage system was still retaining water from rainstorms on the previous Saturday that decreased the amount the system could hold on Tuesday.
The improvements at George Field Park performed as expected with a small amount of flooding on the north end, across Eton Road. The rain garden at Cooper Green, opposite the public safety building also performed as designed and there were no problems.
However, at Brewster Road we had flooding in the high school parking lots but the road was open. We believe the flooding was caused by excess water in the watercourse from the rains on Saturday and the rain intensity on Tuesday. The 3.16" of rainfall entered the system too quickly, causing the parking areas to flood.
The Hutchinson River area had little flooding, but had some discharge from the sanitary sewers. We are looking at this issue with the County and the Village may have to undertake an Inflow/infiltration Study to determine the amount of rainwater that is getting into the sanitary sewer system and causing the backups. We are also working on a project with New Rochelle and the County to determine if the incidence of flooding can be reduced in the Hutchinson River area."
From Benedict Salanitro, Supervisor of the Department of Public Works:
"The very intense rainfall accumulation in a relatively short period of time (3.16 inches in 12 hours- as reported by Westchester County in Mamaroneck), was a perfect recipe for flooding and nuisance water to accumulate in low lying areas. This intensity together with about an inch of rain accumulation from the previous Saturday, (into part of Sunday) caused excessive saturation of the ground and the water was able to sheet flow off of the lawn( mimicking blacktop surface runoff) with greater velocity than normal.
The areas around Brewster Road (High School) was one of the first areas that experienced water related issues around 10 am, because the flows were so high. Many folks were not expecting to see the type of flooding that occurred and expressed concerns about the drainage system not being able to handle the rain, but in fact the conditions that we experienced was in-line with the expectations based upon the actually rainfall and duration.
The time that it took for these areas to recede was also an indicator for us of how well the system does in fact work, given the limitations of the amount of rainfall. All in all, while there were many areas of concern, understanding the storm characteristics puts everything into perspective."
Asked about homes near Cayuga Pond in Heathcote, Salanitro added, "There was flooding on some properties along Seneca and Cayuga that surprised some people, but we believe that the improvements worked as expected."
Hit Parade: The Top Stories of 2014
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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I am often asked about the top stories on Scarsdale10583. Readers want to know what content gets the highest number of hits and resonates most with readers. Now that we've come to the end of 2014 I thought I would share the greatest hits of 2014 with you as measured by our site analytics.
Some will seem quite obvious – but others are more curious:
1) Tax Revaluation
The coverage of the tax revaluation was a big hit on Scarsdale10583. Real estate tax appraisals are top-of-mind for Scarsdale homeowners and many were eager to know how their home was appraised, what their new tax rate would be --- and most important, how their tax bills compare with that of their neighbors. The first Village-wide revaluation in 49 years caused much discussion and debate, sometimes escalating to heated shouting matches. Especially popular was an eloquent complaint from notable Scarsdale residents Seymour and Audrey Topping about the injustice of raising the tax bill for their home on 2 acres in the Heathcote Association. They currently pay $45,000 per year, but with their new assessment of $4+ million, they stand to see an increase in their tax bill. They are not alone in their discontent and hundreds of appeals are now before a judicial administrator so there will be more coverage to come.
2) Vaping
What exactly is vaping and why should you care? Vaping or smoking hookah pens is a new trend among teens. These slick, flavorful e-cigarettes are nicotine-free and tar-free and marketed as safe cigarettes. But are they safe? Read what the controversy is all about.
3) Massa Closes
Massa will go down in history as the last restaurant to occupy the former 
site of the historic Heathcote Tavern. Ever since Scarsdale lost the tavern, the fate of the building has been in question. Bistro Citron made a go of it for a few years, and when they closed their doors Massa filled the void. Popular for a time, it also lost its way while the owners of the building were engaged in the lengthy process of getting permission to convert the site to initially 11 and now 14 residential units. Though the façade of the tavern will be preserved, that's about all that will remain of this iconic building.
4) Earl Graves Home Goes Down
When Earl Graves agreed to sell his brick mansion at 8 Heathcote Road, the new owners asked for permission to raze it. They claimed that the house was a warren of small rooms, poorly constructed and difficult to renovate. However, the application to tear down the house put the Village's Historic Preservation laws to the test. After all, the preservation laws instructed the Committee on Historic Preservation to determine if the "building is related to an historically important individual." Clearly Graves, the founder of Black Enterprise Magazine, was important so the CHP denied the demolition request. The buyers appealed that decision to the BAR who turned them down initially but ultimately voted to permit them to tear everything down but the brick façade of the central portion of the house. That is all you will see today if you drive down Heathcote Road. A single wall of bricks. Check it out.
5) More Closings
In February of 2014, the popular Golden Horseshoe restaurant Katzenberg's disappeared overnight. Management didn't even mention their plans to their employees who showed up for work the following morning only to find the doors locked. This is the second time that Katzenbergs has opened and closed in the same shopping center. Puzzling indeed.
Also popular with readers was the more recent news that both Taiim Middle Eastern Wine Cellar and toy store Scarsdale Children's Play were closing.
As much as readers wanted to know what closed, they were also interested in what was opening. Two new restaurants appeared on the local scene and were enthusiastically greeted by Scarsdale10583 readers. The Spadaro family who made their name in New Rochelle, has now opened an italian eatery on Central Avenue and enthusiasts of Greek food will be pleased to find Petra, a new Greek restaurant on Garth Road.
6) Prom Photos
Always popular with readers are the photo galleries from the pre-prom red carpet events preceding the Scarsdale Prom. The parade of seniors all decked out for the prom rivaled Hollywood celebrities at the Emmy's. Check out this year's stars of the senior class.
7) Don't Ask Don't Tell
Questions Not to Ask or Answer in Scarsdale got lots of attention on the site. Most of the questions involve the kids – from tots, to teens to grads. Read this so that you don't insert foot in mouth.
8) Hora Time
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs Scarsdale Style: These life cycle events are a focal 
point of a Scarsdale childhood. So many variables, so many decisions, so much money! This article reviewed it all. Where to have it, who to hire, how to entertain your guests and imbue the day with meaning as well.
9) Police Report and 10) Real Estate
We can't complete this article without mentioning the Police Blotter and the weekly Real Estate column... perennial favorites on Scarsdale10583. Petty crimes, family disagreements, mishaps and stunts provide great fodder for comment. House sales and stories and the constantly shifting real estate market all make for lively reading too.
Thanks to all of you for sharing your Scarsdale experiences with us on your community website, Scarsdale10583.com. Continue to send your stories to [email protected] and together we'll make 2015 another great year in the 'dale.
Storm Inundates the 'Dale
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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We rode around town during the rainstorm on Tuesday December 9 to see if the new storm water improvement projects were successful at alleviating flooding.
Our first stop was George Field where the impact of the work was dramatic. The Village constructed a 7-acre dry retention pond at George Field, which is the largest pond in the county. The field was filled up and looked more like a lake than a green, and appeared to be doing its job of retaining water for slow release downstream. However, across the street, a home on Oxford Road still had considerable flooding in its sideyard.
At the library, library pond had expanded and the benches that usually border the pond were actually in the 
water. We don't know if library pond was intended for additional water retention.
At the high school there was water water everywhere. The parking lots were deluged, the stream that runs along the parking lot was totally submerged and the drinking lot was underwater.
On Thursday, parents with high school students received an email that said:
"The Brewster Road and Wayside Lane entrances to the pick-up/drop-off circle are closed. We ask all parents who normally use the circle for pick-up to instead pick up their children on Post Road. All students will be instructed to go to Post Road to be picked up. We anticipate continued problems with flooding, as rain is forecast through tomorrow night. Therefore, we encourage all students to use buses and to carpool as much as possible. Parking spots are in short supply as the gravel lot and the lot at Harcourt Road have already flooded."
Hopefully when the storm water management project now under construction in Harcourt Woods is completed, the high school will be spared from flooding.
Did you have flooding in your area? If so, send your photos to [email protected] and post your comments below.
