One Expensive Storm
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Now that the trees have been cleared, wires put back into place and we’re all taking our electricity for granted, make a guess… how much do you think Scarsdale Village spent to clean up the storm? $50,000? $500,000? In fact, according to Village Manager Al Gatta, the answer lies somewhere in between. And in a year when village finances are severely strained and there is already an estimated shortfall in revenues of $90,000, where will this money come from?
At the March 23rd meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, Mayor Carolyn Stevens asked Gatta to give an accounting of the cost for the extra work done by fire, police, public works and parks personnel. The Village incurred costs for overtime, vehicles, supplies, and equipment for emergency services, property damage repairs, and tree and debris removal. In total, the Village answered 7,200 calls from Village residents in need of assistance. Gatta estimates that the total cost of the storm to Scarsdale was $358,000. If a state of emergency is declared for the area, Scarsdale will apply for federal aid to close the gap.
In other news from the Village Board of Trustees, Board members and the community said their goodbyes to Trustees Sharon Lindsay and Dan Hochvert, both who have completed four years as Village Trustee. Kind words were exchanged by all about the enormous contributions both have made to the Board and to the Village. They will clearly be missed. Speaking for the Scarsdale Forum, V.P. Bruce Wells expressed his thanks for their dedication to Scarsdale and Jane Veron thanked both on behalf of the League of Women Voters. Kay Eisenman and Jonathan Mark have been elected to serve in their place and will begin at the first scheduled meeting in April.
Spring Offerings from the Scarsdale Adult School
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Dealing with clutter gets easier with Home Organization for Your Busy Life, taught by certified professional organizer Bonnie Joy Dewkett.
To learn how to get off the lose-and-gain weight seesaw with a unified plan for lifelong weight-management, the Scarsdale Adult School is offering Winning the Weight Loss Game, a four session workshop meeting on Tuesdays, starting April 6th from 7 - 8:30 pm at Scarsdale High School. Based on the latest research, the strategy presented by Karen Reznik Dolins EdD, RD, CSSD, CD-N, and a Board Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics specializing in health promotion, sports nutrition and clinical dietetics will teach you how to balance diet and exercise. Discussion will focus on the effect of exercise on metabolic rate, how much exercise is needed to promote healthy weight loss, exercise intensity and fat loss, the role of strength vs. aerobic training, the number of calories to eat in a day and where to get those calories. In addition you will create individualized practical exercise and menu plans.
To register, or for information on all course offerings, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org. Questions? Call 723-2325. Catalogs are available at the Scarsdale Public Library and Village Hall.
Feiner Wants to Call in the National Guard
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Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner is calling on the National Guard to assist Greenburgh during future crises. The recent storm and resulting power outages have caused thousands of Greenburgh and Westchester residents to lose power for days. In response, Feiner has written to Brigadier General Patrick Murphy of the New York National Guard. Feiner is urging the New York National Guard to take steps so that the next time there is a serious storm that leaves homeowners without power the National Guard could be activated to help.
According to Feiner, the New York National Guard could be used to direct traffic at intersections where lights are out, to help cut down trees or stand guard near downed wires.
In a letter to Scarsdale10583.com, Feiner says, “Con Ed and local governments are trying hard to restore power but the amount of damage has made it impossible to get to everyone immediately. Some people will be out of power for six or seven days—which is unacceptable. Even after a power outage, there is significant work to do. It will take the town weeks to clean up the mess. We could use the help of the Guard. If the Guard becomes part of power outage emergency planning , Guard members will get terrific practical training and can help localities restore power quickly.”
Here is the current status of the restoration in Greenburgh from Con Edison: Of the more than 11,000 Greenburgh customers affected by the storm 5,400 remain without service as of 6:50 AM Tuesday morning. Today, Con Edison is cutting trees off wires, and removing fallen wires and broken poles so that state crews can restore the power.
Lowey to Speak at Global Hunger Shabbat
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Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey will join with Jewish communities nationwide to observe a Global Hunger Shabbat at Westchester Refrom Temple on Friday March 19. The service, beginning at 7:45 p.m., is open to the community and will be a source of solidarity, education, reflection and advocacy to raise awareness about global hunger.
Global Hunger Shabbat is part of the American Jewish World Service’s (AJWS) campaign Fighting Hunger from the Ground Up created to build awareness about the political roots of hunger. Scheduled to coincide with the Shabbat just prior to Passover, Global Hunger Shabbat will evoke the Passover message of all who are hungry, let them come and eat, on behalf of the more than a billion people suffering from hunger worldwide.
The speaker for the evening, Congresswoman Lowey, represents New York’s 18th District, including parts of Westchester and Rockland Counties. As a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she chairs the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee and is a senior member of the Homeland Security and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Subcommittees, Lowey is an extremely effective, committed legislator with a substantial record of accomplishment.
This event is free and open to the public at Westchester Reform Temple, located at 255 Mamaroneck Road in Scarsdale, NY. For directions or information, call the Temple at 914-723-7727, email to office@wrtemple.org, or visit the web at www.wrtemple.org.
Village Elections To He held Tuesday
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Bruce Wells of the Scarsdale Forum reports that the village election will still be held despite the loss of power at Village Hall. Village Hall is operating on emergency generators and since the voting machines are mechanical, the voting can go on without power. The Village Election is scheduled for Tuesday March 16th from 6am to 9am, and then from noon to 9pm.
The Scarsdale Woman's Club has no power at this point, so the planned reception to be held there Tuesday night is temporarily on hold. If the power is restored to the Woman's Club there will be a reception there to welcome the new Trustees from 8:30pm to 10pm. All are welcome.