Today's News

Details: Published: 26 May 2010; Created: 26 May 2010; Last Updated: 26 May 2010; Hits: 6767

Good news – the owners of the Heathcote Tavern Building at 2-4 Weaver Street say that they have found a tenant to open an Italian restaurant on the site. According to information communicated at the Trustees Law Committee, the new tenants are Italian and will open a restaurant called Apulia, provided that the Village renews the lease for the Village-owned driveway that leads to the Tavern parking lot.

The five-year lease for the driveway expired in May and Developer Frederick Fish has requested a 15-year lease renewal.

Members of the Heathcote Five Corners Coalition have expressed their concern about the Village’s lack of communication with residents about the lease proposal and have asked the Village to provide details for review. The Coalition also believes that it is not in the best interest of the Village to enter into a longer-term lease with different restrictions than the former 5-year year provided to Fish. In a letter to the Mayor and Trustees, the Coalition says:

Even rolling over the Lease on the same terms as the current lease does not itself achieve the stated objectives of the Village with respect to development at 2-4 Weaver Street (including the preservation of the Tavern and reducing traffic entering and entering on Weaver Street from the area near the dance studio), except to the limited extent that the current use restrictions require operation of a restaurant and cocktail lounge under the terms of the current lease.

Details: Published: 26 May 2010; Created: 26 May 2010; Last Updated: 26 May 2010; Hits: 6157

alt Passed out on Walworth: A Walworth Avenue woman found two drunk men passed out on her lawn on Monday afternoon 5/24 at 3 pm. Not knowing whether they were sick or just asleep, the woman approached the two and they were unresponsive. The men, wearing undershirts and jeans appeared to be Hispanic and 20-30 years old. She called the police and six police vehicles sped to the scene, including an ambulance. When the men came to, one said, “it’s my birthday.” The two had apparently been out celebrating, drank too much and lay down to nap on their way home. SCARVAC took them to White Plains hospital for observation. Residents have noticed increased foot traffic on Walworth Avenue to and from White Plains.

Arrests: A Mt. Vernon man was chased down and arrested after he attempted to cash a fraudulent $4,500 check at TD North Bank on Central Avenue on Monday May 24 at 4:30. The man, who was identified as Winston A. Foster, age 28 of Bell Avenue in Mt. Vernon, presented a check for $4,500 to the teller. She became suspicious when she learned that the customer had opened the account at a TD North branch in the Bronx earlier that same day. Bank employees stalled the transaction while they called the police.

Foster got nervous and quickly left the bank where he was confronted by Officer Erika Daniels of the Greenburgh Police Department. The suspect ran but was followed by Daniels and a good Samaritan named Dante Gonzales. In the struggle to capture Winston, Officer Daniels broke her leg and was taken to Westchester Medical Center where she was treated and released.

Foster was charged with:

Forgery in the 2nd degree, a class D felony
Assault in the 2nd degree for injuring Daniels
Resisting Arrest

He is currently in the Westchester County Jail in Valhalla and is due on Greenburgh Court on June 1st.

Anthony Turturro of Pompano Beach, Florida was stopped by police when he was driving 50mph on Fenimore Road at 10:30 pm on 5/20. He was found to be driving with a suspended Florida license. A check also revealed that his NYS driving privileges had been revoked for a DWI and failing to pay an assessment. The man was arrested, released on $60 cash bail and his car was impounded.

Car Break-ins:

A rash of car break-ins were reported. Similar break-ins have occurred in Mamaroneck and police believe all these incidents are the work of the same suspect who remains at large.

Two incidents occurred in the parking lot of the Scarsdale Pool between 5:30 and 8:00 pm on 5/19. The front passenger window of a 2008 Toyota Sienna was broken and the owner’s purse was stolen, along with credit cards, a checkbook, a driver’s license and keys. Police found a half-empty beer bottle near the car. Also that evening, the front passenger window of a 2009 Toyota was broken and a wallet was stolen from a woman’s purse. Taken were $100 in cash, credit cards, a driver’s license, gift cards, and personal checks.

At 6 pm on 5/21 an Edgewood woman’s red Honda Pilot was parked at the Quaker Ridge School while she watched a game. The passenger side window was broken and her bag was taken with her wallet, blackberry, identification and credit cards. A bus driver, who was parked in the lot said the suspect asked him for a cigarette before breaking into the car. He described the man as white, 20-30 years old, 5’10” -5’11”, about 170 pounds with an average build. He had short brown hair and was wearing a baseball cap, a white t-shirt and plaid shorts.

During the night of 5/19- 5/20 the driver’s side window of a BMW, parked in the driveway of a Stonewall Lane home was broken. Damage to the car was valued at $500 and $3,170 in property was taken from inside the car. While looking around the area, police recovered some of the stolen items from neighboring lawns. They found bags, gym clothing, surgical loops and lamps and paperwork. That same night, Mamaroneck police reported similar car break-ins on Marlbourne Lane and Old Mamaroneck Road.

Stolen Bikes: A trek bicycle, valued at $2,000 was stolen on the afternoon of 5/18 when it was leaning against the store window of The Dark Horse on Harwood Court in Scarsdale Village. Another black trek mountain bike, valued at $500 was stolen from a bike rack on Depot Place on the morning of 5/20.

Warmer weather is bringing in renewed complaints from feuding neighbors. Richbell Road residents called police on the morning of 5-17 to report loud music coming from their neighbor’s property. The caller believes her neighbor is playing the music as a form of harassment due to a dispute over a property line.

A Corell Road woman anticipated trouble when she was firing her nanny and asked police to standby on the afternoon of 5-17. However when she returned home she found that the nanny had packed her belongings and left without an incident.

Solicitors: An elderly man appeared at the door of a Bradford Road home on the afternoon of 5/17. He was not wearing a badge or an id and left the premises before the police arrived. Also on Saturday, solicitors were reported on Murray Hill Road, and Sheldrake Road and later that evening on White Birch Lane.

Fights: On the morning of 5/19 Metro North called Scarsdale police to intervene in a possible assault in progress on the platform of the Scarsdale Train Station. Witnesses reported that two men were fighting but they had already boarded a southbound train.

A caller reported that two women were walking a stroller on the Scarsdale High School track around noon on 5-19. Police spoke to the women with the stroller, and even though it was not clear whether strollers are permitted on the track, the women decided to leave.

Another dispute also occurred at the track at noon. Two women who were walking the track alleged that another walker made rude comments to them, and as they got into their car the woman said, “"It's an abomination. You're gonna pay for this, bigtime!" The walkers felt threatened and unsettled and wanted to report the incident to the police.

At 5:30 on 5/19 a verbal dispute broke out between two drivers at the intersection of East Parkway and Spencer Place. One driver asserted that the fight started when the other driver gave him the finger.

On the night of 5-19 police investigated a report of a drunk driver on Mamaroneck Road at Brookby Road. They interviewed the driver who said that her cell phone had fallen, and her car swerved when she reached down to retrieve the phone.

On 5/20 Mrs. Zuo of Scarsdale came to headquarters to report that an unknown man called her home looking for her daughter. The man claimed that he obtained her daughter’s personal information, including her name, address, and phone number from the hard drive of her discarded computer and he offered to copy the files and either e-mail them to her or arrange a meeting so she could pick them up. The old computer had been left at the Scarsdale Sanitation facility approximately two weeks ago so that it could be recycled. The man refused to explain how he obtained the computer and did not leave his name or phone number. Mrs. Zuo contacted the Sanitation Department and was advised that they would investigate the incident.

An Elmdorf Drive woman called police on 5/20 to say that her home alarm had gone off and the previous day and her wallet had been stolen. Police came by, checked the house and found no evidence of criminal activity.

Locked Out: A Wayside Road resident locked herself out of her house at 8:30 am on 5/21. The Fire Department was able to get in through an unlocked window and let her back in.

Fooled: Andrew Greenberg of Freightway Classy Consignments reported that he was sold counterfeit silver coins. Greenberg reported that he paid $250 for what he believed were “old silver coins,” but later found out from a coin dealer in White Plains that the coins were copies.

Gone: A Quaker Ride woman came to Police Headquarters on 5-21 to report that her daughter was missing on the afternoon of 5/20. The girl had recently been released from The Children’s Village in Dobbs Ferry. Due to this incident a probation officer arrested the girl and returned her to The Children’s Village.

Yuck! A Black Birch man and his daughter, parked in front of their home on Sunday afternoon received a nasty surprise. Two men in an old blue car passed by and hurled an open plastic bottle filled with urine at their car. The car sped away and police were unable to locate the suspects.

Parties: Police received a report of a loud party on Gorham Road around midnight on May 20th. Upon arrival, police found people outside playing music. The homeowner explained that it was his daughter's birthday and she had invited some friends over to celebrate.

In addition on Thursday night May 20th there were numerous noise complaints – at 9:47 pm kids were found at the Edgewood School, at 10:37 pm there was loud music coming from Saxon Woods Golf Course and at 11:15 pm, there was a report of kids hanging out at the Fox Meadow School.

On 5/21 police were called at 11:20 pm to investigate youths drinking on Cooper Road. Police found that the adult residents were home supervising the gathering and no alcohol was found.

At 11:30 pm on May 22 Police were called to Greenacres Avenue to investigate a noise complaint. When they arrived, numerous kids fled on foot and police found a few beer cans in the backyard. Police spoke to the 17 year-old girl who lives there who said that she had invited a few friends over but other uninvited guests had shown up as well. She refused to let them in. A half hour later there was another report of noisy kids at the Fox Meadow School.

Found: A Seiko watch was found at the Scarsdale Middle School on May 18th. A voter turned in the watch to the election staff during the school board and budget vote.

Details: Published: 18 May 2010; Created: 18 May 2010; Last Updated: 18 May 2010; Hits: 4513

Both the candidates and representatives of Friends of Slate 2010 were out in force today, seeking to draw residents to the booths to vote in Scarsdale’s first contested School Board election in recent memory.

At the Scarsdale Train Station, both Suzanne Seiden, the candidate chosen by the School Board Nominating Committee, and independent Bob Harrison were on hand to chat with voters, distribute leaflets and encourage everyone to go to the polls. For Scarsdale residents, the vote is being held at the Scarsdale Middle School, and booths are open until 9 pm tonight. On the ballot are School Board Nominating Committee candidates Jill Spieler and Elizabeth Guggenheimer, running for their second three-year terms, as well as first-timers Lew Leone and Suzanne Seiden, who is being challenged by independent candidate Bob Harrison. Voters will also vote for or against the $135 million school budget. Which represents a 2.56% tax increase in Scarsdale and a 5.77% tax increase in the Mamaroneck Strip.

The community was surprised to see Scarsdale engaged in a whirlwind of activity. Full page ads were taken out in the paper, campaign signs appeared in windows of local retailers, direct mail was sent out and volunteers made phone calls from a local real estate office to encourage their neighbors to vote. In the past, since the SBNC candidates were not challenged, little campaigning was done.

In Edgemont, the community will choose four school board members from a list of five potential candidates and vote on a $48.5 million school budget. The Edgemont School Board Nominating Committee has endorsed David Chao, Tom McCormack and Gerry Stoughton for a second term on the Board and David Stern who is running for the first time. Challenger Caroline Tzelios is also vying for a seat. The budget will mean a 2.55% tax increase. Edgemont residents are encouraged to vote in the old gym of Edgemont High School and polls are open until 9 pm tonight.

Details: Published: 19 May 2010; Created: 19 May 2010; Last Updated: 19 May 2010; Hits: 5529

Edgemont voters approved the 2010-11 school budget by a margin of 77.5% to 22.5%, with 764 in favor and 222 opposed. Edgemont’s margin of approval is believed to be the highest rate of approval by any school district in Westchester County.

The budget that voters approved called for an increase in spending of 1.1% but, because of reduced property tax assessments, required a tax increase of 2.5%. Nonetheless, the hikes in Edgemont were the second lowest in twenty years and capped a five-year financial turnaround for the district, which has had single digit increases every year since 2006. Unlike most school districts in the area facing tough economic times, Edgemont was not required to lay off any personnel or cut programs this year.

Edgemont elected the entire slate recommended by its School Board Nominating Committee to the Board of Education. Elected to three-year terms were David Chao, Thomas McCormack, and David Stern. Elected to fill the remaining two years on Allan Pepper’s term was Gerald Stoughton.

Former Board president Chao was re-elected to the Board with 740 votes. He is an Edgemont alumnus who was part of the leadership team that led the district’s financial turnaround. Chao, a graduate of Dartmouth, is a professional financial investor and advisor.

McCormack, a corporate litigator in Manhattan with Chadbourne and Park, was re-elected to a second three year term. He received the second highest vote total, with 710 votes. McCormack has degrees from Stanford and Cornell.

Stern was elected with 689 votes. He is also an Edgemont alumnus, and the younger brother of Sarah Stern, the former board president who led the district’s financial recovery. Stern holds business degrees from Yale and is a management consultant. Stern’s mother, Betsy Stern, is also a former member of the board and served as its president in the 1980s.

Stoughton, a financial planner with the Port Authority of New York, was re-elected with 660 votes. Stoughton holds degrees from Columbia and Harvard.

Details: Published: 17 May 2010; Created: 17 May 2010; Last Updated: 17 May 2010; Hits: 4140

While all of New York waits with baited breath for Andrew Cuomo to formally announce his gubernatorial candidacy (now rumored to occur on May 25th) there is an election this week with profound implications for public education in New York State. On Tuesday May 18th most public school districts in New York will hold school board elections and school budget votes (all except the large cities).

County town and village taxes have skyrocketed in the past year or two (for which there is no direct vote). School district budgets however are put up to a plebiscite every year. School boards in New York have endeavored to move heaven and earth to keep school expenditures to a minimum this year. In the midst of rampant teacher bashing and so many lamentations about the state of our public schools, most districts in the state are proposing budgets that are less than 2% higher than last year. And given the rate of increases embedded in contractual obligations and required pension contributions (all outside the control of school boards) that means deep cuts to get to those numbers. Moreover, many school districts in New York rely on state aid. Yet Governor Paterson has proposed to cut educational spending by over $1 billion. But school boards can only guess what the real numbers will be because the state legislature has failed to adopt a state budget and there's no resolution in sight. Aside from the uncertainty from Albany -- school districts across the state have been decimated by the dramatic drop in property assessments -- thereby driving down the primary revenue source for school districts -- the property tax. So while many school districts adopted budgets that are at or close to zero increases over last year, the property tax rate in most districts are slated to go up by an average of 3.3%.

Assuming all school budgets pass on Tuesday (highly unlikely) there will be, according to Tim Kremer, the Executive Director of the New York State School Boards Association, a least 14,000 teachers who will lose their jobs. Another 5,000 non-instructional school employees will also be axed. So in the best of circumstances at least 20,000 will lose their jobs this year. If school budgets are defeated at the polls -- the ramifications are drastic. Contingency budgets will be pegged at a zero percent increase over last year's budgets with harsh restrictions as to how you get there. You could see the wholesale elimination of important educational and co-curricular programs - and layoffs could be double that of what Kremer estimated. What's the impact of this on the classroom? Much larger class sizes, elimination of athletics, arts, and foreign language. And these cutbacks come at a time when the pundits and critics of our educational system continue to bash teachers, administrators, and public schools generally. Inflicting this budgetary damage will only make it worse.

Rye blogger and community activist Charmian Neary lays much of the blame at Albany's doorstep. In a letter to the Journal News, Neary states:

"It's important to talk about the sorry state of our state Legislature and how that affects schools across Westchester. The Legislature every year passes more and more laws -- which we are then mandated to include in our school budgets -- but they do not increase our state school aid accordingly. ...In Rye, where I live, the schools next year will see an increase in enrollment of 1.2 percent -- and a budget increase of 1.3 percent (or only one-tenth of a percent above enrollment). This is the lowest tax rate increase in almost two decades. The taxpayers need to hear that fact above all the noise. School taxes are the only taxes we as voters can vote against directly, so it is tempting to register our frustration at the polls during our school budget vote. Please remember before you vote, however, that the men and women with the real power to change the way schools are funded are on the ballot in the fall. Voting against your school budget does not send a message to Albany. They only listen when it's their office on the ballot and their career on the line. If you're angry about taxes let them have it -- but not by voting against your own kids."

On Tuesday the voters are not only voting on school budgets, they are also electing school board members. Lois Winkler and Lisa Davis, respectively the president and executive director of the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association emphasize the importance of choosing school board members wisely: "Local school boards make the governance decisions that affect how our children are educated and how our tax dollars are spent. Boards of education will face ever more challenging issues in the years to come, and the districts with solid leadership teams will be best prepared to navigate through rough waters." http://bit.ly/92dilB.

There are hundreds of solid citizens on the ballot Tuesday -- yet there are also some clinkers and some more destructive. In Buffalo, a school board candidate wants eliminate sports from the school day: The Buffalo News reported that board candidate Ford Beckwith wants to eliminate athletics: "Do we want to continue to sink money into sports versus education?" asked Beckwith, a Navy veteran. "You should teach kids to read, write, do math and science. . . . Everything after that is a bunch of crap. How many kids will grow up to play football?"

And in Harrison, board candidate Naomi Oppmann has what she thinks is a brilliant idea about how to raise revenue for schools:

"Have a company pay to put their logo on a school roof that has a flat roof (so that the artwork would only be seen from the sky)-since we are in the flight path to many area airports it would make it more appealing to businesses."

I'll leave the last word on this to Winkler and Davis:

"Public education is at a crossroads. School districts must come to grips with shrinking resources, long-standing union contracts, and federal and state mandates, while being ever mindful of the needs of the local taxpayer and the student in the classroom. We need to elect board of education members who are able to maintain a clear and consistent focus on strategic goals and priorities. Now, more than ever, an effective school governance team is critical to the long-term success of every district. Board of education members have the power to lead a district to great success or to lead it astray. Choose wisely when you cast your vote on May 18."