County Executive George Latimer is Pleased with Westchester's Progress on COVID
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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(Updated June 18, 2020) Can we let down our guard about transmitting the virus? How many cases are there in Scarsdale and Westchester and how many new infections?
As of Wednesday June 17, County Executive George Latimer reported that social distancing efforts had been effective and that the County overall has seen a dramatic decrease in the number of new infections and fatalities. He reported that the county has now tested over 212,982 people, or 21.3% of the population. At a press conference held in Larchmont on June 17, he reported that over 3,000 people were tested on June 16 and only 17 were positive, a dramatic decrease in the infection rate. Latimer says there were two fatalities due to COVID on June 16.
Overall the County Executive is pleased with Westchester’s progress, but still cautious about lifting the enforcement of measures to stop the spread of the virus. He was sporting a new haircut and reported that he was happy to return to his church.
Here are the numbers as of Monday June 15:
The June 16 statistics show that in Scarsdale, there were 3 active cases and no new cases in the last 24 hours.
In Westchester County overall there were 792 active cases and 36 new cases in the last 24 hours.
There are about 100 patients hospitalized for COVID in the county.
Latimer said, “All of the sacrifices we made got us to fewer cases, new infections and deaths.” He warned, “If we turn and go the other way, we’re opening ourselves to difficulties.”
A Moving Vigil Strengthens Residents Resolve to Fight Racism and Police Brutality
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- Written by Jack Silvers
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Throughout this past weekend, the Scarsdale Village seemed to be in full pre-summer bloom, filled with shoppers, walkers, and restaurant-goers whose masks were the only indication that these were not-at-all normal times. On Sunday night, however, the relaxed atmosphere abruptly changed minutes after 6 pm, as Scarsdale residents gathered in and around Chase Park to attend the Vigil for George Floyd and Victims of Police Brutality. In an event that attracted at least 350 black-clad residents and featured nine powerful speakers, the citizens of Scarsdale made it abundantly clear that even if police brutality and systemic racism have not devastated our city like others, they are still scourges at the forefront of our collective consciousness.
The organizers of the event, four young Scarsdalians and members of the Scarsdale High School Class of 2016, greeted the crowd by explaining the purpose of the event. Mentioning the names of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and George Floyd, they acknowledged the limitations of their own perspective, with three-of-four of them being white, while emphasizing the importance of listening and reflecting on the current nationwide movement for change. Standing on a raised podium in the upper center of the park, they were surrounded on all sides by residents young and old, many of whom carried signs reading “Enough is enough” or “I can’t breathe,” and all of whom wore masks in order to be admitted onto the park’s grass. A few mutters and shuffles could be heard as the organizers finished speaking, but as Scarsdale Mayor Marc Samwick stepped up to the microphone his words rang out to a crowd hanging on his each and every word.
Samwick led off a line-up of nine speakers which included county officials, students, and long-time Scarsdale 
residents, each of whom offered a different viewpoint on how racism plays out in policing, education, and other areas, even in a progressive community like Scarsdale. The black community of Scarsdale, and especially the city’s black youth, was strongly represented by current Scarsdale High School students and college students. These speakers expressed frustration with an education system that consistently failed to represent the voices and history of their community, and stressed that attending a vigil was far from enough to confront long-standing racial inequities in Scarsdale and the broader US. Zoë Sussman, a graduating senior at SHS, captured the urgency of change when she said that “doing the bare minimum in 2020 is simply unacceptable.”
Throughout the event, there was no dearth of concrete policy and individual goals proposed. Shawn Patterson-Howard, the first woman of color to hold a mayoral position in Westchester and the current mayor of Mount Vernon, called for the repeal of provision 50-A, a statute of New York state law which shields police officers’ disciplinary records from the public eye (and that is expected to be repealed by the state legislature this week). The potential awkwardness of her calls for police reform, as officers lined the perimeter of the park and closed off traffic to make room for the vigil, was not lost on Ms. Patterson-Howard, as she acknowledged the important work of cops while adding “it’s hard to be a good cop in such a broken system.” Other speakers, such as former SHS teacher and the first black GQ cover-model Rashid Silvera, drew on decades of personal experience with racism and implored the audience to seek out lessons from the past to shape the current movement. The stories of two former law enforcement stand-outs, Arnold W. James and Steve McDonald, guided the speeches of Silvera and Petero Sabune, a Nigerian-American reverend who said that “seeing each other as human beings” is essential in order to prevent future tragedies like George Floyd’s.
The last speaker of the night, famed musician and Hamilton actor Christopher Jackson, admitted that he was glad the vigil had been delayed from its original date of Friday, June 5th, because the rain gave him more time to think about what he wanted to say. His core message - that we must “comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable” - dovetailed well with the prevailing atmosphere of the vigil, one that was both deeply fed up with the current state of racism in our country but also hopeful for the future. Even after Jackson’s speech ended and the vigil concluded with an eight-minute and 46 second moment of silence (the duration representing the time that Officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on Floyd’s neck), his closing lines seemed to permeate the park as people filed out. He urged everyone in attendance to “never underestimate what a small group of people with conviction, with heart, and with perseverance can do to change the world - because that’s the only thing that ever has.” One can only hope that the verve of Scarsdale residents who turned out with signs and supportive shouts will truly become the action that Jackson and the other speakers demanded.
Photo Credits: Jack Silvers and Flo Weiner
Why I Support the Non-Partisan System And You Should Too
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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This is the opinion of Scarsdale10583 site founder Joanne Wallenstein:
What used to be the exception has now become the norm. Scarsdale’s unique non-partisan system of government, which was designed to prevent divisive partisan elections, is being challenged at every opportunity. Each year seems to bring contested elections, undermining a system that was formerly the envy of many other communities.
As most of you already know, Scarsdale’s system to elect candidates to the school board and village board calls for candidates to be vetted and nominated by committees of elected representatives from each of Scarsdale’s five elementary school neighborhoods. In the case of the school board nominating committee, the nominators are elected to serve three-year terms. By design these candidates have no specific agenda or party affiliation. They are nominated to do what they believe is best for the children and taxpayers of Scarsdale.
Since the nominators three-year terms are staggered, each year brings ten new members to the committee, with ten completing their service. This process ensures that the committee is infused with new blood and new points of view each year. That committee of elected representatives is charged with reaching out to the community at large to identify willing and capable residents to serve.
The process served Scarsdale well for decades. Talented and collegial people stepped up to lend their expertise to the board of education and help the school administration to uphold excellence in our schools. Yes, challenges from opposition candidates arose from time to time, but they were few and far between.
But recently these challenges have become so frequent as to undermine the entire system.
Why now? It’s really not clear. Is something amiss at our schools? Is the budget out of control? Have college admissions rates declined? Is the district losing faculty or administrators? Has morale fallen? The answer to all these questions, at least from my observations, is no. Yes we’re in a pandemic, but the district has been responsive, flexible and has designed an e-Learning program that is already being modelled by other schools. The proposed budget increase is de minimis, kids have been admitted to the colleges of their choice and the district maintains its stellar reputation.
So again, what’s the opposition about? The School Board Nominating Committee did their work and vetted and nominated two worthy candidates to join the board in July. I haven’t heard a word against the credentials or reputations of either. They appear to have just the right skill sets to complement the board.
The truth is we can’t identify a polarizing issue or policy that’s dividing the community and would spur opposition to the non-partisan candidates. In fact, all three candidates support the school budget and urge you to vote yes.
All that’s dividing us is a highly active political campaign by the opposing candidate who is sending out emails, letters and flyers and advertising to support her campaign. As a result, those who support the non-partisan system and their candidates are forced to spend time and money defending the candidates nominated by the SBNC. These same volunteers could be doing more to move the community forward and help those in need in these perilous times. Instead, they are asking for contributions to wage a full-scale campaign, simply to defend Scarsdale’s unique form of governance that ironically is supposed to prevent divisive politics.
For the rest of us, who live here because the village is well run, it’s truly tiresome to be on the receiving end of this hoopla. We all have a lot on our minds. The COVID pandemic, illness, death of loved ones, the resulting economic crisis and anxiety about our future all weigh heavy on my mind. I am sure you have your list too.
I don’t need divisive politics in the place of refuge I am fortunate to call home; Scarsdale.
So when my ballot for school board and the school budget arrives in the mail sometime after May 27, I am going to vote for the two candidates nominated by the School Board Nominating Committee, Amber Yusuf and Bob Klein, and vote YES for the school budget.
Scarsdale is one of the only places I know where things are going in the right direction. Let’s cast of a vote of confidence in the non-partisan system of governance for the Village we all love.
SHS Seniors Drive by For Graduation Gowns and Cupcakes
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Cupcakes Donated by Lulu Cake Boutique of ScarsdaleScarsdale seniors had an added treat when they went to drop off their textbooks and pick up their graduation gowns on Thursday June 4. They were greeted by Deans, their class advisors and administrators and after receiving their hats and gowns they were handed a cupcake, donated by Lulu Cake Boutique in Scarsdale. The bakery baked and donated and individually boxed 350 cupcakes for the senior class of 2020 who will miss their prom and traditional graduation ceremony.
Students were given instructions to stop by in their cars to deposit books and retrieve gowns, not the usual graduation procedure but necessary due to NYS social distancing guidelines. The 350 students will be spaced over a two day period.
Here are photos of the drive by pick up and drop off. Students who had entered a time capsule prediction years ago were handed their letters along with instructions and material to create a Shrinky Dink for a senior year art piece that will be put together by the Scarsdale High School PTA.
Though this is no ordinary year, it’s clear that the Senior Transition Day Committee is doing everything it can to ensure a special graduation experience for the Class of 2020.
Pat Frusciante handed out graduation gowns.
Senior Class Advisors Eileen Cagner and Alex Greenberg
School Government Advisor Lauren Barton
An almost grad with her family.
Grad receives a cupcake.
Seniors Despondent Over a Cancelled Graduation. What To Do?
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- Written by Oscar Tirabassi
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Scarsdale High School teachers had a nifty solution – a surprise car parade. On Thursday, May 7th, Scarsdale High School teachers, wearing SHS-themed attire and maroon bead necklaces, paraded around the streets of Scarsdale to bring a bit of cheer to the homes of students. They blared the song “We’re All In This Together” from the canceled senior class musical High School Musical, and drove by in cars sporting balloons and markered-on supportive messages. At every house they visited, even if the student wasn’t home to be greeted, they placed on the senior’s lawn a sign with the words “SHS Seniors 2020 #allinthistogether” as a tribute to a school year ended early.
But how did this surprise come to fruition?
This event, out-of-the-blue as it seemed, had actually been planned for some time by the two senior class advisers – special education department chair Ms. Eileen Cagner and math teacher Mr. Alex Greenberg – in conjunction with several members of the senior class government and other faculty members, parents, and administrators.
The teachers were split into multiple teams and given lists of students to visit within a specified area. English teacher Mr. Stephen Mounkhall’s team, which visited houses near Fox Meadow, included friends Ms. Claussen, Ms. Bryant, Ms. Wright, Ms. Jakymiw and Mr. Viviano, and he wrote that he found the experience greatly rewarding, even when he did not know the student for whom he was cheering.
“We were energetic and laughing from the moment we met in the track lot to festoon our cars with streamers. We laughed the whole time (when we weren’t cheering). Sometimes we laughed at the absurdity of cheering at an empty house (not every student on our list was home); sometimes we laughed at hearing ‘We’re all in this together’ on repeat for 3 hours; sometimes we laughed because the people biking by were giving us strange looks; sometimes we laughed because we had not spent time with people outside of our immediate families for months, and even though our faces were mostly covered by masks, we still felt a strong connection.”
When visiting students he already knew, “the emotion felt like ‘I am glad that we are shouting for you, but I would much prefer a quiet conversation in my office’ mixed with pride, sadness, uncertainty, confusion and joy.”
“I was hoarse by the end of the three-hour journey that had taken us about one mile as the crow flies. I am pretty sure everyone in our group was hoarse. Mr. Bedoya and Ms. Warshowsky finished their list in another part of Scarsdale before we did, and they joined us for the last few houses, so we had even more honking horns and screaming teachers.”
Students on the receiving end of the festivity were just as grateful to be a part of the experience. SHS senior Izzy Lelis, who lives on a busy road in Scarsdale, was one of the first houses the teachers visited on May 7th but did not think of checking to see who was honking and cheering outside. She later walked out of the house and saw that the sign had been placed on her lawn, but the teachers had already left. Later in the afternoon, to her happy surprise, the teachers came back and cheered for her once again so she could experience it for herself.
“I was so grateful and it shows how much the teachers really care for their students and wanted to make this experience as best as it could be,” she wrote. “Everyone I talked to was just so happy and thankful for the effort they put forth behind the scenes to create this surprise for us because it made all the seniors feel celebrated and united, even though they can’t be physically together.”
SHS senior Rebecca Maude, one of the teachers visited by Mr. Mounkhall’s team, wrote that she was also thrilled by the visit.
“It literally made my weep and I couldn’t stop smiling and my dog wouldn’t stop barking. It was really nice to see three of my teachers that I had had in the past. The whole experience actually made me happy for once to be a 2020 senior despite everything we’re gonna miss.”
“We could not be more thrilled to have been able to individually honor each senior while also having a collectively shared experience with the entire Scarsdale community,” Ms. Cagner wrote in an email. “The students and families were so gracious and the smiles on their faces mirrored the ones on ours! This day will definitely go down as one of the highlights of my career.”
While COVID-19 has brought hardship to our community and other communities globally, it has also emphasized our positive spirits, goodwill, and optimism in the face of adversity. The car parade, for many of Scarsdale’s students, parents, and teachers, encapsulated that feeling perfectly.
The celebration isn’t going to end yet, either – the administration of SHS recently announced the creation of a special committee for senior events. "This committee has been charged with the collection and vetting of ideas from the community (teachers, parents and students) so that we can actively discuss and pursue options,” wrote Principal Kenneth Bonamo in a widely sent email. "The committee agenda includes discussions of Senior Options, our Awards Ceremony, Senior Day, Prom and Graduation. We have been discussing alternatives that include events with appropriate social distancing as well as those we may need if group gatherings of any size continue to be banned.”
