Police Report: Firefighters Shore up Central Avenue Apartment After Car Crashed through Wall

Scarsdale firefighters who are part of Technical Rescue Squad 36 assisted in shoring up a Central Park Avenue two-story apartment building after a car drove into a garden apartment April 12. The accident occurred around 2 p.m. on the side of Building B of the Scarsdale Ridge Apartments in Greenburgh. An elderly man and woman were the driver and passenger of the car, a blue Honda Accord. The car penetrated the building’s wall, creating a large hole, and the car continued to drive halfway into the building. The couple was taken to Westchester Medical Center with reported “minor injuries.” Nobody else was injured in the accident. The entire building, consisting of twelve apartments, was evacuated, and all utilities were shut off.

The initial public safety response consisted of the Greenville Fire Department along with Greenburgh police. While assessing the situation, the Greenville FD Incident Commander requested a response from Technical Rescue Squad 36, along with the Greenburgh Technical Rescue Team. TRS-36 consists of the Fairview, Greenville, Hartsdale and Scarsdale Fire Departments. According to Scarsdale Fire Chief James Seymour, “When TRS-36 is requested, assets from each of the four departments respond along with assets from the Greenburgh Police Department with pre-assigned apparatus and equipment.” Firefighters participating in TRS-36 worked to mitigate immediate risk by shoring the building, and engineers were called in to further check the accident’s impact on building’s overall structural integrity.

Over the last 18 months or so, representatives from 12 local fire departments, in cooperation with Westchester County Commissioner of Emergency Services John Cullen, have been working on the implementation of a technical rescue squad matrix. During the planning stages of this initiative, training, equipment, dispatch and responses were addressed. Currently, three Technical Rescue Squads are operational and identified in the County’s computer aided dispatch (CAD) system. The Squads are TRS-32 (New Rochelle), TRS-34 (White Plains) and TRS-36. As this concept continues to evolve, additional area departments will be blended into the matrix.

“In cooperation with DES, we have requested that instructor authorization courses be taught from the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control,” Seymour explained. “These instructor authorizations will certify our local fire officers to teach these particular courses to our firefighters, in an effort to increase the amount of personnel adequately trained to the highest level possible.”

Explaining the necessity of the technical rescue squads, Seymour said: “This initiative began with the identification or belief that fire departments must be better prepared to respond and mitigate more than just fires. Throughout Westchester you can easily find workers in trenches, workers in manholes and other confined spaces, people stranded at increased elevations and buildings that have been structurally compromised. These squads have the necessary assets to respond to these types of incidents within our response districts.”

The Central Avenue accident was the initial response for the newly aligned TRS-36 team, and it was a success.

“People should know that area fire departments work every day trying to identify ways to better protect their residents,” Seymour said. “This program will allow for an expeditious deployment of necessary manpower and equipment in cases for which people find themselves stuck, trapped or incapacitated in trenches, confined spaces or even building collapses.

Bank Robbery on Tarrytown Road
On Friday April 13th at approximately 2:45 P.M. Greenburgh Police Officers responded to the Chase Bank located at 409 Tarrytown Road on a report of a bank robbery. The suspect passed a note to the teller and fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash. The suspect was described as a black male wearing a black and white shirt, red hooded sweatshirt with a black hood, black hat with a red brim, blue jeans, and white sneakers.

Stolen
On April 9, an Eastchester woman reported someone stole her iPhone 8. She said she had accompanied her sister and nephew to a children’s Spanish class at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church and School from 10:30 a.m. until 11:20 a.m. that day. During the class, she used her iPhone to take pictures of her nephew. She placed her phone on top of her purse, which was on a classroom desk and visible to others in the room. After walking outside to the car, the woman realized she did not have her phone with her. She called it three times. The first two times, it rang out and went to voicemail. The third time, it went immediately to voicemail. She then went back into the classroom to look for her phone, but it was not there.

On April 10, a Popham Road man reported his passport might have been stolen. He said he last saw his passport inside his residence at the end of February. He did not move his passport to another location or use his passport, but in March, he noticed it was missing. He believes it was stolen.

On April 13, a Wildwood Road resident reported a package from Amazon was stolen from her front porch. According to tracking information, the package was delivered April 9. It contained Ray Ban sunglasses valued at $180.

Identity theft
On April 9, a Rugby Lane man reported unauthorized charges were made to his credit card. He said he believes he lost four credit cards and his New York Sports Club ID card at the NYSC facility in Hartsdale April 8. He received a call from Chase bank’s fraud department on April 9, stating that someone attempted to use his Chase debit and credit cards at the Best Buy location on Central Avenue. Chase declined the attempted transactions. While following up with his other credit card companies to report his cards had been lost, the man learned a fraudulent transaction had been made at the Apple store in the Ridge Hill Shopping Center in Yonkers. The transaction was evenly split between two credit cards. The manager of the Apple store said the transaction had been captured on video. Police are following up.

On April 11, an Oxford Road resident reported his American Express card was used to make a fraudulent purchase of $35.68 at a Chipotle Mexican Grille on April 6. He informed American Express that the transaction was fraudulent, and the account was closed. The man also reported an unknown person attempted to credit cards in his name at Lowe’s and Home Depot in March. These attempts were denied.

Handbag
On April 10, a Garth Road storeowner reported possible fraud with a handbag transaction. The owner of the business said a woman purchased a $9,200 blue and black Hermes Birkin handbag on March 19. She paid $700 cash and split the difference between two credit cards – $4,250 on an American Express card and $4,250 on a Visa. On March 20, the woman returned to the store and wanted to put the same handbag back on consignment for $9,800. The storeowner said both credit card companies had informed her that the customer was disputing both charges of $4,250. The creditors refunded the customer a total of $8,482.50, according to the storeowner. The storeowner reached out to the customer by leaving her a message. The handbag is at the store and the owner believes it is the same handbag that was originally purchased on March 19. Police advised the storeowner this is a civil matter.

Visitors
On April 11, a Brite Avenue resident reported her house had been listed for sale that day, and shortly thereafter, two women came to her house and asked to look around. The resident’s nanny let the women into the house. The women stayed in the house for some time, looking around. One said she might want to move to Scarsdale from New York City. Nothing appeared missing from the house. Police advised the resident to talk with her nanny about who is allowed access to the house.

Metal detector
A caller reported seeing a man with a metal detector walking in the area of Brite Avenue and Sage Terrace April 11. Police spoke with the man about the complaint. The man said it was a hobby of his, and he told police he was using a map to make sure he only stayed on public property.

Ticket machine
MTA police reported the ticket machine on the Scarsdale train station platform, on Depot Place, had been tampered with April 12. Scarsdale police checked the area for suspects but did not find any.

Disputes
A Bradford Road resident and a contractor had a verbal argument over the possible impact that construction activity was having on Bradford Road traffic flow April 12. The resident called police. Patrol advised both parties to obey all traffic rules and stay civil with their disagreements.

A taxi driver reported a verbal dispute with a passenger over the fare from JFK airport to Christie Place April 15. While police were on the scene, the driver and passenger came to an agreement over the fare, and the matter was resolved.

Bus
A man had accidentally boarded an Express Bee Line bus, missed his intended stop in White Plains, had an argument with the driver and eventually got off at a stop across from Scarsdale High School on Post Road April 12. He called police for assistance. Police stayed with the man until a local bus headed toward White Plains came, and the man boarded the bus.

Ring
A Post Road resident called police for help in removing a ring at 11 p.m., April 12. Patrol called Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps for assistance. The ring was successfully removed.

Cars and roadways
Police tied up fallen wires on Secor Road April 9.

A person in a Honda parked on Meadow Road had pulled off the parkway to make a phone call April 9.

After an Overlook Road resident complained about traffic hazards caused by illegally parked cars, police went to the area, saw numerous illegally parked cars and issued summonses April 10.

Police spoke with Scarsdale Avenue gas station employees who parked their cars, without permits or authorization, in Merchant Lot, April 12. They were told to park elsewhere, and police will follow up.

Construction vehicles were parked in such a way on Brookby Road that it was making traffic flow difficult April 12. Police spoke with the vehicles’ drivers, and those drivers moved their vehicles.

Patrol issued summonses to two drivers who parked in handicapped spaces near the high school’s turf field and five drivers who parked their cars on Wayside Lane in violation of two-hour parking restrictions April 13.

Police helped a Popham Road motorist start her car after she reported a possible problem wither battery April 14.
A fallen branch broke a streetlight and knocked down wires on Burgess Road April 14. Police stood by for the highway department and Con Edison.

The swing door to a construction site on Weaver Street was blowing open and obstructing the roadway April 14. Patrol closed the gate and positioned cement blocks to prevent it from blowing open.

Patrol removed a yard waste bag from the Five Corners intersection April 14.

Patrol notified the highway department about a fallen tree on Cooper Road April 14.

Patrol issued a summons to the owner of a parked car blocking a driveway on Walworth Avenue April 15.

A handicapped driver reported a car, without handicap tags, was parked in a handicapped spot on Depot Place April 15. Patrol issued a summons.

Three car accidents were reported in the village this week.

Dog bite
On April 14, a Garth Road woman reported an unknown brown and white dog on Chase Road had bitten her earlier that day. She said she had been walking with her dog when she passed the offending dog and its owner. The offending dog lunged at her dog, and the woman pulled her dog away. The offending dog then bit her leg and held on with its teeth, causing the woman to shake her leg to get the dog off. The bite caused a puncture wound and bleeding. The owner of the offending dog asked the woman if she was OK. The woman said she walked away because she was afraid the offending dog would bite her again. The offending dog’s owner was described as a woman with white hair, possibly in her 60s.

Animals
A baby owl was in the roadway at Post and Burgess roads April 12. A wildlife rehabilitator was consulted. The rehabilitator determined the owl was healthy and probably only days away from being able to fly on its own. Patrol relocated the owl to a patch of woods away from the roadway.

A caller reported a person running with an unleashed dog on Lyons Road April 14. Police went to the area and found the person sitting with a dog nearby. The person was advised about village code regarding unleashed dogs and left the area.

Noise
After neighbors complained of noise, police asked a Larch Lane resident to take her dog inside the house April 11.

On April 14, callers complained about a loud outside party on Berkeley Road. Patrol advised the homeowner to lower the volume of music, and the homeowner obliged. Approximately 45 minutes later, another noise complaint was received. Patrol went to the house and, at the request of the homeowner, patrol assisted in dispersing guests in an orderly fashion.

Residents twice complained about loud music coming from Saxon Woods Grill at 10:30 p.m., April 14. Patrol notified Westchester County police and advised the manager of the Grill. The manager said the event was ending momentarily, and patrol stayed on scene to observe this.

Lost and found
A person found a laptop computer and a bag at the Scarsdale train station and gave them to police April 12. Police used information on the laptop to identify the owner. The owner was contacted; her identity was verified; and she picked up her computer and bag. All items in the bag were accounted for.

Firefighters
According to Scarsdale Fire Chief James Seymour, the fire department responded to 31 incidents, including some mutual aid calls, this week. He shared the following narratives:

On April 11, a contractor excavating ground by hand saw gas bubbling near a gas main on Bradford Road. Firefighters notified Con Edison and responded to the scene. There, in addition to a possible gas leak, firefighters noted an open excavation trench, wider and deeper than four feet and without required safety measures. Firefighters notified the building department, and the contractor was informed that necessary trench shielding must be in place before work could continue.

A gasoline generator was leaking fuel in a Post Road garage April 11. Firefighters removed the generator and spread Speedy-Dri on the leak.

On April 13, a teakettle left on a gas-fired stove had overheated and melted in a Claremont Road kitchen. Firefighters removed the kettle from the stove and placed it outside. Firefighters detected elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the kitchen and investigated further. They measured highest levels of carbon monoxide in the basement boiler room. Con Edison was called to the scene. The boiler was shut down, and firefighters cleared the air inside the house using positive pressure ventilation. The boiler flue pipe was found to be separated and leaking exhaust into the basement. The boiler was red-tagged. Firefighters found a previous red-tag for the boiler dated May 2016. Firefighters advised the resident to contact a heating contractor for repairs. Firefighters also noticed numerous smoke detector heads missing and no carbon monoxide detectors present. The resident was advised about how to correct the situation.

On April 14, a Church Lane South resident reported that heat from a halogen lamp placed near a light switch melted the plastic switch. Firefighters de-energized the switch at the circuit breaker panel, capped the wires with wire nuts and advised the resident to call an electrician for repair.

Firefighters assisted White Plains Fire Department by covering one of their stations while White Plains firefighters were battling a structure fire on Ferris Avenue in White Plains April 14.

An oil burner was misfiring and creating smoke inside the basement of a Chateaux Circle apartment building April 14. The burner was shut down, and the building was ventilated. The super of the building was notified. He responded to the scene and called a boiler technician for repair.

This report covering police and fire department information from April 9-15 has been compiled from official information.

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