Flood Much?
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If your basement was wiped out by the waters of Hurricane Irene or its aftermath, you may be wondering if there is anything you can do to protect yourself in the future. It seems like “hundred year” storms are coming our way on a more regular basis. In fact, in April of 2007 and March of 2010, much of Scarsdale was inundated, including houses that were not in a flood zone and had never been flooded before.
We were offered flood insurance about a year ago and turned it down. But now that we have seen that Mother Nature means business, we plan to reconsider our options.
To learn more about flood coverage, we spoke with Roz Binday of Advocate Brokerage in Scarsdale, who insures many Scarsdale homes and here is what we learned about flooding and insurance:
- Flooding is a standard exclusion.
- Federal flood insurance is available to those who live in “favorable flood zones” – which applies to most Scarsdale homes – for $405 per year.
- For those in flood zones federal flood insurance is available – but at a higher cost. Binday estimates that the insurance could cost up to $3,000 a year for a home that is in a designated flood zone.
- Federal flood insurance covers the home foundation including posts, pilings, and piers or other support systems. Also included is certain mechanical equipment necessary for the habitability of the building, such as furnaces, hot water heaters, clothes washers and dryers, food freezers, air conditioners, heat pumps, electrical junctions, and circuit breaker boxes.
- Federal flood insurance does not cover your furnishings, floor coverings, carpets, media systems or the pool table in your basement, if it is below grade. Strange as it sounds, not all basements are below grade.
- However, if the flooding goes up to the first floor, which is unlikely in a home with a full basement, federal flood insurance would cover up to $250,000 for the house and $100,000 for the contents with a $1,000 deductible.
- Don’t wait until just before a storm to request the insurance as there is a 30-day waiting period before it goes into effect, except in cases where flood coverage is required by a mortgage provider at the time of closing.
Some regular homeowner polices offer limited coverage for water damage; not from flooding, but for sump pump failure. In homes that have a sump pump that fails, policy owners can usually recoup $5,000-$10,000 for damage.
But the good news for those who are in acceptable flood zones, is that if you want more extensive flood coverage it is available from premium carriers at a price. If you’ve had to replace your possessions once already and want to be insured against future events, you may decide that higher premiums make sense for you.
If you have questions about flood coverage, ask Roz or Denise at Advocate Brokerage, 820 Scarsdale Avenue, Scarsdale,914.723.7100 ext. 104 or by email at: [email protected]
Scarsdale Rallies for the Cure
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Fox Meadow Tennis Club hosted a tennis and platform tennis Rally for the Cure event on Saturday, September 17. Attracting 50 participants, the event supported the Susan G. Komen Foundation's efforts to raise awareness about breast cancer and fund research. Both club members and non-members played in a team competition, with the "White" team besting the "Pink" team on both the tennis and platform tennis courts. Players enjoyed crisp, clear, pre-fall weather that was perfect for both the tennis and paddle groups.
The Fox Meadow Rally for the Cure organizing committee included Scarsdale residents Helyn Ferebee, Wendie Kroll, Robin Aisenman, and Frances Galloway.
Corporate sponsor for the Rally was Country Bank, which was represented by employees from the branch. An active raffle also aided the fundraising for Susan G. Komen, with generous prize contributors including Ken and Liz Whitney; Piper’s Kilt, Eastchester; Mark Devincenso, Continental 109, Bronxville; Carlos Restaurant, Yonkers; Katherine Winters Hair Salon, Irvington; Harvest on Hudson; and Fox Meadow tennis/paddle professional Gary Squires among others.
Mother Nature Damages Area Clubs
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An excessively hot summer and flooding from Hurricane Irene has taken a toll on two area clubs. In July, the heat wave that brought 100-degree temperatures to the Northeast damaged the greens at Scarsdale Golf Club (SGC) on Clubway in Hartsdale. In July the Golf Course Superintendent noted that several of the greens were straw colored, thinning and showed signs of blight. He sent samples of the greens to laboratories and found that the grass suffered from summer stress as a result of drought, high temperatures and nutrient deficiency. What was the recommended treatment? The club was advised to reduce stress on the grass and improve air circulation to allow the greens to recover. Greens keepers removed trees and bushes that limited sunlight and air movement around the greens, placed temporary fans near the afflicted areas and mowed less frequently; however they were not able to halt the damage. As a result, in order to keep the course open for play, temporary greens had to be installed at many of the holes.
The SGC greens are planted predominantly with annual bluegrass (Poa) which germinates in the fall, spreads in the winter, produces seed in the spring and dies in the summer. The weak shallow roots could not survive in the extreme heat and humidity. While the temporary greens were in place, the club seeded with new Bentgrass varieties and aerified the greens. As of September 2nd, 12 regular and 6 temporary greens were open however, the entire course will be closed from September 6- 10. On September 10, the club hopes to reopen the course including all of the regular greens.
Next year, the Club reports that they may have to close a select number of greens for a period of up to four weeks in August. They plan to groom trees to improve airflow and will continue to use temporary fans. These measures should give the greens the chance to recover.
At County Tennis on the Bronx River Parkway, which will celebrate its centennial next year, Mother Nature caused a 
different problem. Heavy rain from Hurricane Irene on Sunday August 28th flooded the Bronx River. As it overflowed, it washed away seven tennis courts at County, which is located directly on the river. In the interim, the club made arrangements with other tennis clubs to accommodate their members.
The courts at County need to be repaired immediately. Wood retaining walls, curbs and fences all have to be put back in place and the club does not have the funds to do the work. As a consequence they have assessed their members to fund the work and also applied to FEMA, the USTA and Westchester County for relief.
Facing 9/11 at Scarsdale High School
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Scarsdale High School students commemorated 9/11 with two assemblies on September 9th. Tracy Garrison Feinberg from Facing History and Ourselves was invited by the student government to speak about the events of September 11th on the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
“How quickly our understanding of the world changed that day,” said Ms. Feinberg, addressing the students as she began her story of how she was affected by 9/11. Ms. Feinberg described the beautiful, crisp blue skies that morning, and how she was planning to complete plans for her wedding, which was scheduled for the end of that fateful week. Unfortunately, or fortunately, she was sick that day and opted to stay home. Her husband-to-be was supposed to leave early that day to pick up a few things at Century 21 near the World Trade Center, but decided to stay home with her. Had he stuck to his original schedule he would have been right around ground zero when tragedy struck.
The two were watching Good Morning America when at 8:46 am the program was interrupted with a report that there was something wrong at the World Trade Center. Initially, no one knew what had happened. But In the next twenty minutes when subsequent planes hit the other tower and the Pentagon, they knew it was a terrorist attack.
Ms. Feinberg also remembered her “happy and delightful” friend Debbie Welsh who used to walk her dog around wearing a big full coat, Ms. Feinberg laughed as she reminisced about calling Welsh “Cruella De Vil” from 101 Dalmatians. Debbie was a flight attendant on Flight 93, the plane that was hijacked and crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. Debbie Welsh was a beloved friend of Ms. Feinberg and her loss was heart-breaking.
Ms. Feinberg and Ms. Welsh’s stories were only two of the many told at the assembly, including stories high school students shared from their own experiences. One student remembered her father covered in dust walking away from the site while another recalled watching and re-watching the videos of the towers collapse. Others recollected heroic neighbors lost in the disaster and recounted their own concerns about how to comfort their sullen parents.
Tracy Garrison Feinberg’s powerful message to the students was that as we move forward, we must always remember the lives lost, the heroes, and the events of September 11th, 2001, for they changed our nation forever.
Teacher and Student Government Advisor Neil Ginsberg said, “The assembly provided the students with an opportunity to learn a little bit about what happened and how individuals felt about the events of 9 11. The students were quite attentive and were discussing the ideas as they were walking out. It also gave them ideas on doing service for others. But, better than the assembly, the discussions in many classes afterwards, once again, showed the way our teachers made the most of the moment.”
Contributor Sunny Feinstein is in her junior year at Scarsdale High School
How Scarsdale's Emergency Operations Team Battled Irene
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Most residents awoke on Sunday morning and were surprised and relieved to find that their homes were relatively intact. Though there had been driving rain during the night, initially it did not appear that many trees and wires were down and the majority of homes in Scarsdale had power. However after the storm seemed to have passed late Sunday afternoon, Scarsdale was hit by 35-45 mph winds that brought down more trees and power lines. As of Monday night 8/29, 750 homes in Scarsdale are without power. According to the Mayor, Con Edison repair crews are expected in Scarsdale anytime between now and Wednesday morning. Once they arrive, nearly all power will be restored within 24 hours, except for individual house service lines which are a reduced priority
A look at this week’s police blotter shows that beginning at 2 am on Sunday morning 8/28, police and firemen were answering calls every ten to fifteen minutes. Trees and branches were falling in quick succession, knocking out power lines all over the Village. Furthermore, flooding on Cayuga Road, Greendale and Oxford Road, and Fountain Terrace to name a few, made roads impassable and Village personnel had to block these roads off to prevent accidents. While residents slept, the Highway Department, Scarsdale Police and Firemen were busy all night clearing roads, moving wires and securing Scarsdale.
In total, Village crews responded to 90 locations for tree or debris removal; the Fire Department responded to 98 calls: 41 for flooding, 16 for suspicious gas odor, 32 for carbon and fire alarms and 9 for power problems, and the Police Department responded to approximately 120 calls that were storm related, assisting residents with their cars and homes and dealing with broken traffic lights.
At 6:00 pm on Saturday, the Village established an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and maintained constant operations there until 6:00pm on Sunday evening. The EOC was manned by Police, Fire, Public Works and Village management employees, with Public Works Director Benedict Salanitro functioning as the Incident Commander. The staff at the EOC coordinated the Villages’ response to all aspects of the emergency, while Police personnel at dispatch dealt with the high volume of emergency calls for service. During the peak hours of the storm, some police personnel worked over time to assist with the increased call volume. The Police Chief, Fire Chief, Public Works Director, Village Manager and Mayor were all in regular communication with EOC staff, and took part in county-wide telephone conferences through the Westchester County Office of Emergency Management. A great deal of planning, preparation and coordination went into minimizing storm damage and disruptions and to bringing the Village back to normal.
Take a look at the following police log – it was a very busy 24 hours for Scarsdale Village Personnel and we owe them our gratitude:
Fallen trees, wires and branches were reported at:
- 2:00 am on 8/28 on Bouldevard
- 2:12 am on 8/28 at Mamaroneck Road and Leatherstocking
- 2:30 am on 8/28 at 1120 Post Road
- 3:23 am on 8/28 on Nelson Road
- 3:41 am on 8/28 on Jefferson Road
- 9:17 am on 8/28 where a tree fell on a 2005 Toyota Prius parked on Bradford Road
- 9:57 am on 8/28 on Heathcote Road
- 10:07 am on 8/28 on Ridgecrest East
- 10:10 am on 8/28 on Saxon Woods Road
- 10:27 am on 8/28 on Dell Road
- 10:47 am on 8/28 when a tree fell onto the roof of 1207 Post Road and caused damage and leaking
- 11:02 am on 8/28 n Cohawney Road
- 11:26 am at 297 Boulevard
- 12:17 pm on 8/28 on Fountain Terrace
- 12:39 pm on 8/28 at Secor Road and the Heathcote Bypass
- 12:43 pm on 8/28 on Penn Boulevard
- 12:57 pm on 8/28 on Park Road where a tree had fallen and wire were on fire
- 13:14 pm on 8/28 on Carthage Road
- 3:36 pm on 8/28 on Mamaroneck Road where a transformer had blown
- 4:15 pm on 8/28 on Clarence Road for another transformer fire
- 4:23 pm on 8/28 on Clarence Road where electric wires were on top of a parked car
- 4:38 pm on 8/28 on Barry Road
- 4:49 pm on 8/28 at 1245 Post Road
- 5:05 pm on 8/28 on Palmer Avenue
- 5:07 pm on 8/28 on Continental Road
- 5:13 pm on 8/28 at 1025 Post Road
- 5:19 pm on 8/28 on Potter Road
- 5:20 pm on 8/28 on Stonehouse Road
- 5:22 pm on 8/28 on Fox Meadow Road
- 5:22 pm on 8/28 on Rock Creek Lane
- 5:36 pm on 8/28 on Walworth Avenue
- 5:57 pm on 8/28 at 1023 Post Road
- 6:03 pm on 8/28 on Lee Road
- 6:36 pm on 8/28 on Dobbs Terrace
- 7:29 pm on 8/28 on Mamaroneck Road at Cooper Road
- 8:06 pm on 8/28 on Wildwood Road
- 9:18 pm on 8/28 on Sherbrooke Road
