This Fall, Mow, Don’t Blow, Your Leaves: Better For Your Lawn And The Environment
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The following was written by the Scarsdale Conservation Advisory Council
Mowing leaves into tiny pieces on your lawn--also known as mulch mowing-- is healthier for your lawn and soil than piling or bagging them to be removed. Leaf-mulched lawns often need less fertilizer and water. It is also better for our environment because the pollutants from leaf blowers and trucks that must haul away the leaves are avoided. And, leaves piled in the streets can be a thing of the past! Homeowners around Scarsdale have been mulch mowing leaves for many years with great results. Here are the facts:
Mulch mowing does not harm your lawn—it makes your lawn healthier. Decomposing mulched leaves nestle between the individual blades of grass where weeds can germinate. Once the small bits of leaves settle in, microbes and worms start breaking them down. The nutrients from the decomposed leaves enhance the soil.
Done correctly, mulch mowing should not make your lawn look messy. As long as the mulch mowing creates small pieces--about the size of a dime--the shredded leaves quickly settle into the lawn, and your lawn should not look messy. It is important that the leaves are shredded because whole leaves left on a lawn can smother the grass.
It’s easy. Mulch mowing can be done with any standard homeowner or commercial lawn mower. Simply mow over the fallen leaves. All types of leaves can be mulch mowed. (Pine needles, which are acidic, may change the ph balance of your lawn if mulch mowed in large quantities, so consider using pine needles as a mulch around the base of pine trees.)
All landscapers have the equipment to mulch mow. If you have a landscaper, ask them to mulch mow your leaves. Many, but not all, landscapers have experience mulch mowing. If your landscaper is new to mulch mowing, the following are key points for them to know:
- Equipment: To help shred the leaves into small pieces, it’s recommended that a mulching blade be used. This type of blade, which has grooves to shred the leaves, is inexpensive and available for any type of mower. Mulching kits, which include additional attachments beyond just a mulching blade, are also available at any mower distributor and can be fitted to commercial mowers.
- Mulching Technique: Mowing the leaves in a circular pattern, rather than back and forth in lines, will result in smaller pieces of leaves which decompose more quickly and will avoid “striping lines.”
- Time: It should take your landscaper no additional time to mulch mow leaves rather than blowing them to the curb. In fact, if done correctly, it actually saves time. It is just as easy (or easier) to mulch mow than it is to blow leaves curbside.
- Cost: Mulch mowing leaves should not cost more than having leaves blown to the curb or bagged. There are many landscapers in Scarsdale who have been mulch mowing properties for years at no additional cost. If your landscaper claims it will be more time-consuming, ask them to try it for a few weeks. They will see it takes no extra time.
If you mow your own lawn, just keep mowing! You can continue using your mower without installing a mulching blade, but sometimes you may have to go over certain areas of your lawn twice to make sure the leaves have been cut into small pieces. Better yet, you can install a mulching blade yourself or bring it to any local mower shop to install. Try to mulch leaves once a week so the piles don’t build up too high for your mower, especially during the heavy drop of leaves. Remember to keep the blade sharpened and the deck height adjusted as needed.
Large piles of leaves will become markedly smaller when mulch mowed. Shredding piles of leaves significantly reduces the volume of leaves. What looks like a huge leaf pile will shred into tiny pieces and quickly settle into your lawn. Even if you need to put some leaves to the curb during the heavy leaf drop, any reduction in leaves put curbside benefits our environment.
Excess mulched leaves can be placed in your garden beds. Leaf mulch can be placed into garden beds to help prevent weed growth, to conserve moisture and sprinkler usage and to provide a protective layer in winter. Shredded leaves look great, are a healthy addition to your yard and will save you the cost of buying wood mulch. Remember, to avoid damaging trees and plants, never place mulch directly against a tree trunk or shrub and never pile mulch more than 2”- 3” high in a garden bed.
Leaf mulch mowing benefits our local landscape, reduces the number of truck trips in our community and gets large piles of leaves off our streets.
If you would like to learn more about mulch-mowing, the Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em Mulch Mowing site is a great one leleny.org or email Scarsdale’s Conservation Advisory Council.
School Board Nominating Committee Seeks Candidates
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The School Board Nominating Committee (SBNC) is seeking candidates to participate in Scarsdale’s vital nonpartisan process. The SBNC is a committee of residents elected from across the Village for the important role of recruiting, vetting, and nominating candidates to fill vacancies on the Scarsdale Board of Education.
All residents who are qualified voters and interested in maintaining the excellence of Scarsdale schools are strongly urged to consider running for an SBNC position. Each year, two members are elected from each of the five elementary school districts to serve a term of three years on the Nominating Committee, followed by two additional years on the Administrative Committee. Terms begin in January 2023.
The SBNC Election will take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Scarsdale Middle School. The election snow date is Wednesday, January 11.
If you are interested in running for the SBNC, please visit the Join SBNC – Scarsdale SBNC page on our website for more information and biographical and petition forms. Alternatively, you can pick up forms at Village Hall or the Scarsdale Public Library.
The deadline for candidates to submit materials is Monday, November 14, 2022. Questions can be directed to Susi Coplan via email at [email protected].
Scarsdale Village Says Your Water Bill Might be Wrong
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Does your water bill look higher than normal? There might be an error. On August 16, 2022 the Village of Scarsdale sent out a note to residents letting them know that some of the bills might be wrong. The note says:
The Village is aware that some water customers have received much higher bills than reasonably anticipated for the June 15, 2022, quarterly billing. Staff are amidst reviewing the matter and will be making any necessary adjustments. Notification will be provided to any water customer receiving such an adjustment.
If you have a question about your water bill, please email [email protected] or contact
the Water Billing office at 914.722.1170.
For those having received an exceptionally high bill, thank you for your understanding and
patience while we research the matter and move towards a resolution.
We asked Assistant Village Manager Alex Marshall for anything more she could share and she said, “We are still analyzing the situation and don’t have additional information to share at this time, but we are working with our software vendor and departmental staff to make sure that we address the underlying cause and implement the appropriate remedies.”
This is not the first time there was an issue with billing for water. In November 2016, the Village found that a third of customers were overbilled for excess water usage and credits were issued to 1,600 customers.
Calling All Scouts
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This announcement was sent to us by Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez:
Scarsdale’s Cub Scout Pack 440 and Troop 4 are pleased to invite any and all K-11th grade students in Westchester County to their two recruiting events on Sunday, September 18 (Scouting activities) and Sunday, October 23 (pumpkin carving). The September 18th event will be at 4pm at Hitchcock Church, 6 Greenacres Avenue in Scarsdale. The Scouts will showcase a variety of fun Scouting activities both for elementary school-aged Cub Scouts, as well as middle and high school-aged Scouts.
This summer, Troop 4 Scouts Aidan Copeland, Christian Kirkendall-Rodríguez, Kent Mazza, Neal Mazza, Nikolas McMahon, and Noah Millard earned almost twenty merit badges in Animation, Canoeing, Disabilities Awareness, Chemistry, Climbing, Emergency Preparedness, Entrepreneurship, Game Design, Metalwork, Moviemaking, Oceanography, Photography, Radio, Safety, Space Exploration, and Welding. Scouts working toward attaining the rank of Eagle Scout must earn at least 21 merit badges each and complete other requirements in the areas of leadership, civic education, community service and fitness. 
Scarsdale’s Troop 4, a secular Scout group founded in the 1920s for students in middle school and high school, has as its objectives to help Scouts develop character, civic mindedness, fitness and leadership skills. The troop achieves these aims through camping, outdoor activities, STEM projects and community service, all while having a lot of fun. Troop 4 embodies the values of inclusion, tolerance, and mutual respect for all people. The troop is very active and meets every Monday evening from 7pm to 8:30pm at Hitchcock Church, which kindly lets the Troop use their space.
Troop 4 has started a girls-linked troop which will have some of the events with the boys. The girls will also be designing their activities and events and will work toward achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez will be the Scoutmaster for this group; this summer she completed Scoutmaster leadership, child protection, and diversity, equity, and inclusion training courses.
Cub Scout Pack 440 is a fun and educational pack for boys and girls. Every year, cub scouts participate in outdoor adventures, community service and STEM activities. A highlight of the year is the pumpkin carving event where Cub Scouts and their guests enjoy creating spooky pumpkins; the event also includes a spooky dessert contest. Brian Rosenthal is the pack’s Cubmaster.
Any sixth to eleventh graders interested in joining Scarsdale’s Troop 4 may contact Scoutmaster Ted Mazza at [email protected]. For the girls-linked Troop, please contact Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez, [email protected] Please visit Troop 4’s website and Facebook page. For Cub Scout Pack 440, please contact Cubmaster Brian Rosenthal, [email protected]; you may visit Cub Scout Pack 440’s website at https://scarsdalecubs.wixsite.com/pack440.
Discordant Residents Kill Proposal to Erect Protective Netting at Driving Range
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A proposal to protect the residents of an apartment building at 140 East Hartsdale Avenue with Driving Range Protective Netting to be erected by Scarsdale Golf Club, got tangled up at the Greenburgh Town Board meeting and is now being withdrawn.
The application to install the netting was made after the club received requests from residents at 140 East Hartsdale Avenue and Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, who recommended that the club bundle this application with one to install a temporary tennis bubble and netting behind the 16th green. There have been no objections to these two proposals.
However, residents of neighboring apartment buildings at 80, 100, and 120 East Hartsdale attended the hearings and complained the netting would contribute to flooding and suggested that it would be a danger to wildlife and compromise their views of the golf club.
Scarsdale Golf Club contends that there is no basis for these objections. According to a letter from the Club’s Manager Bill Minard, “The same netting used for bird aviaries and is supported by representatives of both the Audubon Society and Greenburgh Nature Center. The President of the Greenburgh Nature Center actually resides behind 16 green and supports the safety of the nets for birds. The Club would never compromise our wildlife program. The netting will have no impact on other animals. Of course, the DRPN will have absolutely no impact on contributing to their existing flooding conditions and we have already partnered with the town to assist in developing a remediation plan for a much larger flooding issue. Finally, the claims that the DRPN will impact their views are also distorted. Both 80 and 100 will have no views of the DRPN, and only the corner apartments on 120 will see the DRPN from one side but their views of the golf course directly in front of them remain unobstructed.”
Nevertheless, the club has now been advised to separate the application for this netting from the other two proposals for the tennis bubble and the netting at the 16th green. Though they originally feared it would delay the process, they directed their attorney’s to withdraw the application for the netting for the driving range until the other two proposals have gone through.
Though Feiner originally recommended the proposals be bundled, after the withdrawal he sent out a news flash to Greenburgh residents saying, “Scarsdale Golf Club withdraws net proposal (see attached). They are looking at alternatives. Appreciate their responsiveness to the residents of E Hartsdale Ave.” This made it sound like the club was doing something that would negatively impact the neighbors when in effect, the $200,000 in poles and netting was requested by residents to protect them.
