Around Town

Details: Published: 16 May 2013; Created: 16 May 2013; Last Updated: 16 May 2013; Hits: 5899

This letter was submitted by Robert J. Berg of Tisdale Road in Scarsdale:
An Open Letter to Scarsdale Taxpayers – Just Vote "No" on May 21 and Defeat the Bloated Proposed $145.3 Million School Budget which Defies the New York State Tax Cap and Raises your School Taxes by 3.93%.

The proposed budget will increase your school property taxes by 3.93%, and will blow through the State tax cap by $701,267, while spending $1 million on building the empty shell of an ill-defined "Wellness" Center.
57% of households in Scarsdale have no children in the school system, but pay most of the cost of educating other people's children.
Less than 1 out of every 10 registered voters in Scarsdale ACTUALLY votes on the school budget most years. This means a small minority dictates the outcome of the vote and your tax burden.
Empty nesters have the power to limit their tax burden, BUT ONLY IF YOU COME OUT AND VOTE "NO" ON MAY 21. Don't complain about your property taxes – do something about them this time!

I have two children who currently attend the High School. I will vote "NO" on May 21 anyway. Here are some of the "facts" as I see them that lead me to my "NO" vote.

1. The $1 million taxpayers are being asked to dole out this year for the proposed High School Wellness Center is "a pig in a poke." Instead of funding a complete, fully outfitted, state of the art fitness center, filled with high tech gadgets, all the $1 million buys is the construction of the walls, ceilings, ventilation system, and electrical system in a pancake-like sprawling 4,500 square foot space with severe height constraints. So far unsaid is how this Wellness Center will be equipped, who will pay for the brand-new elliptical cross trainers, stationary bicycles, treadmills, free weights, and strength and conditioning circuit machines sufficient to allow an entire physical education class or two to work out simultaneously, and who will staff the Center. During the tour I took last week of the facilities, the gym teacher told me that preliminary cost estimates for the equipment range up to about $200,000 and that the old equipment in the current fitness center will not be used in the new Wellness Center, but will be disposed of. And don't forget, the $1 million won't cover the glass-walled central core classroom/laboratory that is supposed to be the hallmark of this facility. So don't believe the "spin" of the Administration and the Board of Education that the Wellness Center is just a $1 million line item in a $145 million budget. It's going to cost a lot more than that for Scarsdale taxpayers. Further, the taxpaying public will not be permitted to use the facility – it is only for student and staff use.

2. More fundamentally, in a time of continued economic stress, the "fact" is that Scarsdale High School already has more than ample physical fitness facilities, and they have not been put to the most effective use. There are, astonishingly, three full-size gymnasiums in the high school plus a large multi-purpose room, as well as the existing fitness center. Of course, outside, the high school has a beautiful track, an artificial turf field (that is expected to need replacement in the next few years for an estimated cost of $800,000), many tennis courts, platform tennis courts, and a baseball diamond. Even assuming that the current fitness center should be moved, why not use the existing, spacious, high-ceiling multi-purpose room immediately adjacent to the massive new gymnasium for the Wellness Center? That multi-purpose room is already very well-lit, has modern ventilation, lots of windows, and is conveniently located right above the locker rooms. That solution immediately saves taxpayers $1 million and new equipment could be moved right in this summer.

3. The Administration's contention that moving the fitness center from its current, out-of-the-way location down dimly lit, unattractive corridors will somehow then free up that "prime real estate" smacks of internal inconsistency. How can that space be considered prime real estate? More significantly, when I toured the space last week with Principal Bonamo, I noticed that the corridor walls appeared to be structural, load bearing walls that likely would not be able to be blown out to open up this "prime real estate." Principal Bonamo said that, to his knowledge, no one has yet determined whether or not these are structural walls. So no one really knows how or if this supposedly dingy, cramped, remote fitness center and adjacent no-longer-in-use bathrooms, locker rooms, and offices can miraculously be transformed into "prime real estate" and at what astronomical cost.

4. Empty nesters, in particular, should ask themselves: "How long will I be able to afford to stay in my home in Scarsdale where I have lived for 20, 30, 40 years or more if my property taxes keep soaring?" Unless we are fortunate enough to be multi-millionaires, sadly, for most of us, we will come to the only rational economic decision – we'll have to move away because of the excessive property tax burden, which is predominantly driven by the school budget. Forcing our empty nesters to leave town because of uncontrolled school spending is wrong on so many levels and is destructive to the very fabric of the community and to the many community organizations that depend heavily on the extraordinary time and talents provided by empty nesters. Scarsdale is not just a way station for people to leave after they have had their children educated in our schools – an education which empty nesters subsidize by more than half. Empty nesters – this is your community – you need to come out and vote "NO" and protect your financial ability to remain here.

5. The District is presently negotiating with the teachers' union for a new contract. The current teachers' contract expires on June 30 of this year. The School Board has, for several decades, followed an avowed policy of paying teachers at the absolute highest compensation levels in the entire State. This practice has, unsurprisingly, created a dramatic gap between teacher compensation in Scarsdale and in our peer school districts like Bronxville, Chappaqua, Edgemont, and Rye City. The School Board and Administration have publicly expressed that they will seek to reduce the salary gap. How can they convince the teachers that tough economic times warrant a contraction in the salary gap in the face of a spendthrift budget?

6. Only four school districts in the lower Hudson Valley, including Scarsdale, are proposing budgets which exceed their State-adjusted tax caps. All of our peer school districts, however, have proposed school budgets that fall within their State-adjusted tax caps and some of which are more than $1 million below their allowable tax caps. These peer districts include: Bronxville, which for the past four years had come in with no growth budgets, and whose budget this year will be $300,000 below the tax cap of 3.24%; Edgemont, with a projected tax increase of only 2%, and a budget which provides for no staffing cuts and no increase in average class size; Mamaroneck, with a projected tax increase of 2.73% and a budget that comes in $1,158,027 below the tax cap; Katonah-Lewisboro, with a projected tax increase of only 1.34% and a budget $192,257 below the tax cap; Rye Neck, with a budget $1,618,988 below the tax cap; Pelham, with a projected tax increase of 3.25% and a budget $403,402 below the tax cap; and Harrison, with a budget $749,608 below the tax cap. The Scarsdale School Board, however, slaps taxpayers in the face, crashing through the tax cap with another huge 3.93% spike in school property taxes and a $1 million expenditure on a subterranean shell.

This year, you have the chance to send a strong message to the School Board and Administration – Stop the spending madness and stop it NOW! Please come out to vote on May 21, and vote "NO." I assure you that Armageddon will not be at hand – You'll get a chance to vote "YES" a month later when the Board presents us with a budget that eliminates the $1 million down payment on the ill-planned Wellness Center and comes within the tax cap by drawing down $700,000 from our more than ample reserves. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at the polls.

Very truly yours,

Robert J. Berg

Details: Written by Joanne Wallenstein; Published: 15 May 2013; Created: 15 May 2013; Last Updated: 15 May 2013; Hits: 5558

GoodHumorTruck The new Village Board under the direction of Mayor Bob Steves handled a busy agenda at the May 14 meeting – and appears poised to tackle some of the larger issues facing the Village, including historical preservation, flood remediation, and development. The Board has scheduled upcoming meetings on a range of unresolved issues and Steves seems determined to reach decisions on some prickly problems that have circulated around Village Hall for months, or even years.

On Tuesday night Steves opened the meeting by recognizing the Scarsdale Coalition on Family Violence and their efforts to provide education and support to the community to identify healthy and unhealthy relationships. He encouraged parents and children to attend a community event on May 22, "Love Shouldn't Hurt" at the Scarsdale Woman's Club and named May 22, "Talking with your Kids about Healthy Relationships Day." Lauren Pomerantz from Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling and a Scarsdale High School student also attended the meeting to encourage participation in the event.

Assistant Village Manager John Goodwin provided an annual report on the Village's storm water activities for the period March 2012-March 2013, discussing public education and outreach efforts, the leaf-mulching program, Sustainability Day and inspection of Village run-off. More information is available on the Village website.

A public hearing was held on revised Village Code regarding peddlers and vendors on Village property. The new code will limit access of these vendors.

Under the new code no peddler's vehicles can stand within 500 feet of a school during the school day or during summer camp, trucks cannot park within 100 feet of an intersection and trucks cannot remain in any one place for more than 10 minutes out of any consecutive 60 minutes and after 10 minutes must move at least 500 feet from their current location.

This new code will restrict the ability of ice cream and other food trucks from selling food at school fields. The revisions were passed unanimously by Village Trustees.

During the public comments section of the meeting Carl Whiteback, attorney for Avital Rozycki and Gregory Soldatenko spoke on behalf of his clients who wish to build a house on a vacant lot off Faragutt Road that they purchased in 1999. Since the lot has no street frontage the Scarsdale Zoning Board of Appeals has turned down their application twice. According to Whitebeck the lot meets Village specifications in every other way and he appealed to the trustees to remap this portion of Heathcote to make the "paper street" that abuts the lot into a Village street so that a house could be built on the lot.

Former Village Trustee Bob Harrison attended the meeting in tennis attire to make a pitch for Scarsdale kids to sign up for the re-established Spring Youth Tennis League. So far, 40 kids have enrolled. Players can register via the Recreation Department and the fee is $15.

The Board of Trustees agreed to waive the rental fee of $5,112 for a Philippine family living in a Village-owned house at 2 Drake Road. The Westchester County Department of Social Services is looking for new accommodations for the family and is hoping to move them elsewhere in the coming year.

The Board of Trustees referred an application to build a 115-unit assisted living facility at 25 Saxon Woods Road to the Land Use Committee.

The Board agreed to subdivide a property at 53 Penn Boulevard and assessed owners Jennifer and Michael Barlow a subdivision fee of 4% of the lot value or $54,000.

The following appointments were made to Village Boards and Councils:

Duncan Wilson of 21 Ridgecrest West will serve on the Conservation Advisory Council
Charles R. Greeble, 40 Tompkins Road, Advisory Council on Human Relations
Stephen Nichols, 14 Heathcote Road, Advisory Council on Parks and Recreation
Ron Lobato, 274 Boulevard, Advisory Council on Technology
Lucas J Meyer, 21 Autenreith Road, Associate Village Historian

The Board of Trustees agreed to remit $1,991.86 in taxes to Steven Greenberg, owner of 271 Fox Meadow Road, to correct an assessment error for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Details: Published: 29 April 2013; Created: 29 April 2013; Last Updated: 01 May 2013; Hits: 3541

arborday1 The Village of Scarsdale celebrated Arbor Day and their 30th consecutive designation as a Tree City USA at the Scarsdale Pool on Friday, April 26, 2013. The Village planted a Swamp White Oak, Red Maple and American Basswood to replace fallen trees and provide shade at the Scarsdale Pool. Trees help define the Village's village-in-a-park character, beautify the community and provide many environmental, social and economical benefits.

The Tree City USA program is sponsored by the Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the arborday2 National Association of State Foresters and the USDA Forest Service. Scarsdale has met the four standards to become a Tree City USA community. Tree City USA communities must have:

1. A tree board or department
2. A tree-care ordinance
3. A community forestry program with annual expenditures of at least $2 per capita
4. An Arbor Day observance and proclamation.

In other tree news, The Board of Architectural Review approved the first "Heritage Tree" designation in the Village of Scarsdale. The Heritage Tree Project is sponsored by the Friends of the Scarsdale Parks, Inc. Known locally as a "Village in a Park," and a Tree City USA, Scarsdale officially moved to a higher level of distinction with the creation of womensclubtree the Heritage Tree program. The first tree to be designated is the majestic White Oak (pictured here) located on the front lawn of the Scarsdale Woman's Club headquarters, which achieved landmark status in the National Register in 2008. The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks and the Scarsdale Forum will commemorate this historic occasion and the Heritage oak tree on Sunday, May 19th at 2 pm at the Scarsdale Women's Club, 37 Drake Road. Admission is free. After the ceremony, Cornell Professor Nina Bassuk will lead a discussion on "What to Plant Now." Cornell Cooperative Extension will be in attendance to answer gardening questions. The Friends of the Scarsdale Parks will also be giving away free saplings of either white oak or red twig dogwood.

Details: Written by Evan Scott; Published: 08 May 2013; Created: 08 May 2013; Last Updated: 08 May 2013; Hits: 6061

Acappella Saturday May 4 heralded the seventh annual Night of Rock, a benefit concert for The Center @ 862, formerly known as The Scarsdale Teen Center. Held this year at Rudy's Restaurant and Bar in Hartsdale, the event drew an eclectic group of performers ranging from Scarsdale Middle School eighth graders to high school alumni who have been playing together since their days at SHS in the sixties. Jimmy Fink of 107.1 The Peak hosted the event that included a 50-50 raffle for items ranging from gift cards to signed sports memorabilia.

The evening opened with a performance by Scarsdale High School's very own a cappella club, For Good Measure. Started in 2001 by Jessica Chayes, For Good Measure has performed everywhere from a cappella competitions and sporting events to concerts with groups from schools as prestigious as Yale University. In line with the theme of the night, the group sang songs ranging from "You and I" by Lady Gaga to "Somebody to Love" by Queen, complete with a vocalized version of Brian May's classic guitar solo.

The following act, 20 Questions, a band of six SMS eighth graders, set the tone for the rest of the night. Arguably some of the most talented thirteen year olds on the local scene, the self proclaimed "coolest kids in the world" played an energetic set replete with classic rock and R&B crowd pleasers. Filled with early sixties era rock styled saxophone solos from Zach Kapner and crooning vocals reminiscent of Marvin Gaye by the band's front man, Robert Chappell, 20 Questions set the bar very high for the rest of the night.

Next up was Nordic Fury, the brainchild of lead singer and composer Karel Ullner. This young musician, who has recorded with the likes of Peter Calo of Carly Simon fame, has released an EP titled "You've Seen Nothing Yet!" recorded at New York's prestigious Avatar Studios. Karel and his musicians performed original songs with an energy and comfort on stage not seen in many young performers. The set closed with a cover of nu metal band Korn's 1998 throwback "Freak on a Leash", Ullner nailing Jonathan Davis' lyrical styling, down to the nonsensical, borderline scat, vocal bridge. If the difference between making it in the music industry and failing is sheer dedication and persistence, Karel Ullner is sure to be a household name in just a few years.

Kicking off the adult half of performances was The Offbeats, a collection of musicians who have been playing together on and off since the mid sixties. In their third benefit show for The Center, the band is fronted by Jay Shulman, a cellist for the Long Island Philharmonic, and Thom Pernice, creator of the website scarsdalerocks.com, a site dedicated to documenting the local bands of Scarsdale from their own high school days.

The next band was The Blues Mothers, an aptly named group of women, with the exception of drummer Bill Reeve, that combined elements of blues, folk, jazz, and rock into a truly original sonic experience. With a combination of acoustic guitar, flute, harmonica, a tight rhythm section of bass and drums, and vocal harmonies from the five women who shared the front line of the stage, The Blues Mothers played everything from original compositions to a cover of Van Morrison's "Moondance". The set was teeming with perfect selections for the back and forth soloing of flute and harmonica. Mannes College of Music trained flutist Pam Sklar and Chicago blues harmonist Hope Berkeley seamlessly blended the two instruments, complimenting each other in a way one might not expect from such radically different timbres. The Blues Mothers are starting a weekly gig at Scarsdale Village's Taiim Cellar, located at 11 Boniface Circle, on Wednesday, May 15th.

A last minute addition to the set list came on next. Local rapper Webstar, Alex Weber, a former Scarsdale High School student, was accompanied by DJ Golden Retriever, SHS graduate Connor Bodine. Using beats they made themselves, Webstar provided old school style lyrics that tried to bring fun back into rap. A direct backlash against the "whiny rappers" like Lil' Wayne and Rick Ross, Webstar is "trying to change the face of music." Webstar seemed at ease with his visibly well-rehearsed music and gave one more testament to the way that music drives young people everywhere to create and express themselves in public forum. Nothing can be more powerful than having one's voice heard, and rap, when done in an honest way can provide one of the most intimate environments for that.

The last act of the night was Electrik Buddha, an indo-funk rock fusion of genres heard almost nowhere else. Electrik Buddha sounds something like the love child of Erkin Koray's psych-rock inspiration of the seventies and Ravi Shankar's Indian music. Born out of a collaboration between guitarist Jayesh Gandhi and singer Samyukta Ranganataan, the set featured songs from their eponymous debut album with accompaniment by Naren Budhakar on tabla and midi controlled backing tracks filling in for the otherwise much larger band. With Samyukta's haunting vocals and Jayesh's fiery guitar leads, Electrik Buddha closed the night on a musical note that is heard from no other band.

While the event was billed as a benefit for The Center, it inadvertently became an art forum for a previous generation of local musicians to pass the musical torch to the current generation. During the entire show, it was inspiring to see the youngest members of the crowd, the eighth graders from 20 Questions, staying as late as their parents would let them, hanging around their elders, asking questions, and learning by watching those with decades more experience. Nothing could be more rock and roll than hanging out and watching live music with middle school students.

Evan Scott is a former Scarsdale resident, Purchase College graduate, and freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected]

Details: Published: 24 April 2013; Created: 24 April 2013; Last Updated: 24 April 2013; Hits: 4884

silverpromdress Although there are differing opinions about the upcoming prom scheduled to take place on Thursday, June 6th, one thing is certain: the dance is a quintessential high school experience. Even if a student doesn't attend the dance, he or she cannot avoid the mayhem involved with prom fashion.

The last thing a girl wants on prom night is to be wearing the same dress as her friend. To prevent this potential drama, the senior girls traditionally create a group on Facebook where they post the dresses they bought so their classmates know which dresses have already been taken. "There isn't really one specific kind of dress a lot of girls wear because everyone tries to be unique," said Senior Hayley Maybaum, "but a popular style is to have a dress with a sort of tighter top then a flair at the waist." Many students purchase their dresses online from La Femme, or at local stores like BCBG, All Dressed Up, Lord and Taylor and Bloomingdales. As for hair, a common theme in all styles is to include an intricate braid.

It is widely acknowledged that girls are more obsessive about prom than boys. Naturally, boys don't have to worry about the same things girls do regarding hair, makeup, or finding a unique dress. Most boys stick with a tuxedo or a suit. One of the factors a boy needs to consider fashion-wise is how to match a piece of his suit or tuxedo with his date's dress or flowers. Despite all the work from both genders put into the dance, the prom is still celebrated as an important tradition for everyone to enjoy, "Prom is definitely worth it... because I think it's a great time to be together for the last time as a senior class to celebrate our whole Scarsdale youth," said Senior Evan Hendel.

Other students are just happy that prom marks the end of their high school experience, "I'm excited for prom itself, but I'm also excited because it marks the end of senior year," said Senior Jake Tesler,"and I'm very happy to leave, and get out of high school and start the rest of my life."

Planning for prom itself is a lot of work, but Senior Caroline Rodman took on the role as the head of the prom committee. She organized prom to take place at The Surf Club in New Rochelle, a seaside mansion overlooking the Long Island Sound. With the venue set and prom quickly approaching, "the class of 2013 seems to be extremely excited and tickets have been selling rapidly -- it's going to be a great time," announced Rodman.

Putting everything else aside, prom is a time for the senior class to celebrate the hard work leading to their graduation from high school. So whether a girl has an elaborate updo or a simple braid...or whether a boy is wearing a tuxedo or a suit, the seniors deserve to enjoy their last time to be students at Scarsdale High School.