Edgemont Varsity Girls Soccer is the Team to Beat
- Details
- Written by Julie Miner
- Hits: 6714
2013. The year that the Edgemont varsity girls soccer team will make it up on to the banner as league champs. Back and better than ever, the girls' soccer team is revved up and ready to go.
Led by captains Gaby Susz and Gabby Pereira, Edgemont's sense of unity and team spirit is on the rise. The starting line up looks strong and healthy. Up in the front starting at the two striker positions is captain Gaby Susz, a great right and left shot, and her partner in crime Gabi Casado, a returning junior with a great shot and fiery wheels. In the mid field is returning sophomore superstar Zoe Ballas and the other senior captain Gabby Pereira, with her great ball handling skills and a mean foot. On the wings are returning junior Madi Welker, and senior Hannah Bender who can both cross with accuracy and might. Defending the goal the team's shut down defense includes Allie Krez, Lilianna Christie, Maia Leeds, and Ameila Kollenborn. With expert coaching from Coach Hawks and Coach Waters, the team is planning to make it far into sectionals and win the league.
Edgemont had their first game just a few days ago against AA league team Croton Harmon. Although it was a tough match up Edgemont came out on top, with a 3-2 win. Come out and watch Edgemont at home against Eastchester this Wednesday September 18th at Edgemont High School at 4:30PM.
Does Scarsdale Need More Open Space?
- Details
- Hits: 3046
Though some fear that all of the open space in Scarsdale has been grabbed by developers, the reality is that the village is actually 30% open space. This includes village-owned properties such as parks as well as privately owned properties including the two golf courses located within our borders.
However in order to preserve scant open space for the future, the Finance Committee of the Scarsdale Village Trustees met on Tuesday night 9-10 to consider the creation of an Open Space Preservation Fund. The fund would allow the Village to purchase pre-designated properties when they become available and would be funded by a real estate transfer tax when homes are sold.
Specifically, the trustees discussed imposing up to a 2% tax on the amount of a sale above the median home value. For example, if the median home value in Scarsdale is $1,100,000, a buyer who purchases a home for $1,300,000 would pay a fee of up to 2% of $200,000 that would go into the open space fund. The median home value calculation would be done by the state.
In 2007 the NYS Legislature passed the Hudson Valley Community Preservation Act that enables any town or city in Westchester and Putnam Counties to establish a community preservation fund and impose taxes to fund it.
In order to establish the fund the new law would need to be passed by village-wide referendum, so all residents would have the chance to vote on the measure. The act requires that the village establish an open space advisory board to designate parcels to be acquired in advance. Only properties on this list can be purchased with the funds, and the list can be revised every five years.
A similar measure was considered by the Board of Trustees in 2010 but turned down due to the recession. Realtors feared that the imposition of the tax would further depress real estate sales at the time. A calculation from a village report shows that if the village had imposed a 2% tax at the time, $1.9 mm would have been raised in 2010 and $1.5 million in 2009.
What are the merits?
- It creates a fund to preserve open space and shield scarce space from development.
- It would also allow the Village to purchase land when the opportunities arise rather than having to post a bond.
- The monies would be accrued without raising taxes each year to feed the fund.
- The burden would be borne by newcomers to Scarsdale who may be attracted by the open space they would help to preserve.
- It prevents development of open space – and as Trustee Stern said, it allows the village to "save the town for our children and our grandchildren," because once a home is built on a site, that land can no longer be preserved.
However, some had reservations about the proposal.
Jon Mark pointed out that "more open space means that the property tax roll is going down. I understand the desire to increase the amount of open space but there is a cost in lost tax revenue." He added, "By the time this fund accrues, the open spaces may be gone. I have a real question about how much it accomplishes – though we could also post a bond to buy open space."
David Lee also had doubts and said, "This puts it on the back of people who are selling their homes. It will have a depressive effect on the sales price and will be felt by the seller."
Since the measure would need to be passed by a village-wide referendum, the trustees discussed how to gauge public opinion on the creation of the preservation fund. They decided to reach out to the Scarsdale Forum and to the League of Women Voters to do studies to assess the sentiments of residents on this issue.
Fire at Rye Ridge Shopping Center Closes Many Businesses
- Details
- Hits: 6994
An electrical fire in the power room of the Rye Ridge Shopping Center on Wednesday August 21 has caused half of the businesses at the center to close their doors. According to the Rye Ridge Fire Department, smoke and flames broke out at 9:30 am on 8-21 from a fire on the lower level. The electric service is now out in many stores and some suffered smoke damaged to their merchandise. They will not re-open until power can be restored.
Among the stores and restaurants that are closed are:
- Sportech
- All Dressed Up
- Family discount and Ace Hardware
- Chipotle
- Starbucks
- Shoe Inn
- Mixology
- Indigo Chic
- Chop't
- Dusty Rose
- Lv2bfit
- Buddha
- Club Sandwich
- Ridge Barber Shop
- The Ultimate Touch
- UPS store
- NewDance
- SLT Pilates
However D'Agostino's, Z-Life Denim Lounge, Finches, Verizon, Landsberg Jewelers, Chase Bank, Racanelli's Pizza and Brew and the Rye Ridge Deli are open – but the deli is accepting cash only as they cannot approve credit cards.
Card Games at the Scarsdale Adult School
- Details
- Hits: 4799
Bridge, canasta, and mah jongg are growing in popularity, especially at Scarsdale Adult School. Classes in all begin the week of Sept. 16. New to SAS, Robin Brown and Jill Marshall, two experienced bridge instructors, will be leading the fall bridge courses. Brown is an ACBL certified bridge director and teacher and Marshall is a Gold Life Master. Brown will be teaching the beginner bridge class on Tuesdays from 1 to 2:45, the advanced beginner workshops on Wednesdays from 1 to 2:45 p.m., and the intermediate to advanced course on Wednesdays from 11 to 12:45, all at Westchester Reform Temple. Marshall will lead "Supervised Play" on Tuesdays from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. at Westchester Reform Temple. Six bridge classes cost $150, with prices adjusted accordingly for courses having fewer or more meeting dates.
Veteran instructor Alice Levinson returns to SAS for day and evening classes of beginner canasta (Wednesdays 10:30 to 12:30 p.m., 1 to 3 p.m., or 7 to 9 p.m.). Levinson will also run the evening sessions of beginner mah jongg on Tuesdays 7 to 9 p.m., and Katie Goldberg will be back for the daytime sessions (Mondays 1 to 3 p.m. or Thursdays 10 a.m. to noon). Both the canasta and mah jongg beginner classes run six weeks and cost $130, with an additional materials fee payable to the instructors. Daytime classes are at Westchester Reform Temple and the evening classes are at Scarsdale High School.
Interested players may sign up as a group, with a partner, or as a singleton as a great way to meet other players at the same level. Courses are filling quickly. If your desired class is full, please place your name on the waiting list in case there are openings. To register, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org.
Let's Get Ready Completes Successful Season
- Details
- Hits: 3060
Let's Get Ready recently completed their Summer 2013 season. High school students in need from communities in Westchester and Connecticut received free SAT instruction and college admissions counseling. Among the volunteer tutors from Scarsdale was Matthew Yaspan who served as the Head Verbal Coach in Port Chester.
Here is a comment on his experience:
"Let's Get Ready has been a wonderful, unique opportunity for me as a coach. I've coached both math and verbal at two different sites, Port Chester, NY and Somerville, MA, and both have been great experiences. The best part about being a coach thus far has been seeing the students improve and succeed, not just in the sense that their SAT scores have increased, but also that their goals are becoming larger and their fervor to go the extra mile to improve themselves is constantly increasing.
Going in to a semester at Let's Get Ready, I ask students what their goals are for the course. Almost always, the response is "to increase my SAT score." Every single time, they reach that goal so quickly that they expand what they want. The more I tell them about college and the more campuses they visit with Let's Get Ready, the more they feel they can get out of the program and college itself. The goal changes from increasing an SAT score to getting into a specific school, succeeding there, and using that degree to establish themselves and accomplish more than they had ever imagined entering the semester.
When you coach these kids for weeks, going over the application process and the nuances of college life, you make a large emotional investment in their success, and 
when a student gets to the next level, you feel a very strong sense of pride in them and yourself. One student I have had the privilege of teaching is now a student ambassador for the program, and the others are all poised to succeed in college and beyond. I have been fortunate to have had every advantage since day one to succeed: great teachers, great resources, and motivated peers. To take what I've learned from these assets and utilize it to teach other students with the same ambitions I had is a truly special opportunity for me, and Let's Get Ready is the best way to do it."
Let's Get Ready programs are built upon collaborations with community organizations and local high schools. Summer sessions in Stamford, Greenwich and Westchester County began in June and were staffed by college student recruits who returned home to Connecticut and Westchester for the summer. Students were divided into groups based on their performance on the test. They were given three diagnostic SAT tests for practice prior to taking the exam to gauge their progress and also received 15 hours of comprehensive information and guidance regarding college selection, applications, financial aid and scholarships.
Let's Get Ready operates programs in partnership with 34 prestigious colleges and universities in the Northeast, in the fall and spring, and with many communities between New Jersey and Maine over the summer. For more information, contact Lauri Novick at 646-808-2766- or by email at: [email protected].
(Top) Group Photo of Let's Get Ready's Summer 2013 Port Chester Graduates, Coaches and Site Directors.
Photo Credit: Jaclyn Quartner
