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Written by Stacie M. Waldman

Published: 30 September 2021

Created: 30 September 2021

Last Updated: 30 September 2021

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March 12, 2020 marked the darkest day in Broadway history. The COVID-19 pandemic hit and Times Square emptied out as theatres went dark and shut their doors for what was originally mandated to be three weeks. As a result, almost 100,000 people were immediately out of work. It was a huge loss for Broadway fans and employees that turned into an 18-month closure.

This month, Times Square came alive again the weekend of September 17-19 to celebrate the curtains going back up in NYC theaters. Representatives from The Broadway League and the Times Square Alliance spoke about the plan for reopening Broadway and casts from both established and new shows performed including Phantom of the Opera (four phantoms sang together), Dear Evan Hansen (four Evan Hansens performed together), Tina, Mrs. Doubtfire, Ain’t too Proud, Aladdin, The Lion King, Caroline, or Change, Company, Chicken and Biscuits, Chicago, Come from Away, Diana, Hadestown, Girl from the North Country, Jagged Little Pill, Lackawanna Blues, Pass Over, Six, Thoughts of a Colored Man, Wicked, and more.

Broadway is back with plenty of free concerts, sold out shows, a Tony Award ceremony, and strict yet easily manageable safety protocols that aim to keep audiences, artists and staff safe.

What stuck with me from the September 19 Curtain Up! concert wasn’t a performance, but a plea from Hunter Parrish from the original cast of Spring Awakening and from “Weeds” (HBO) fame. He is rehearsing with a new cast for the return of To Kill A Mockingbird on Broadway, and said, “…there’s one character missing, and it’s you.” The audience.

Survey Results

So, what will it take for YOU to be back in a theater?

Here’s what a survey of Scarsdale locals revealed:

Scarsdale is a cultured village, and 87.5% counted yourselves as regular pre-pandemic patrons of Broadway. Close to 10% have already been to one of the 15 shows that have reopened and another 10% are going to a show in the next month. Almost 30% of respondents plan to see a show in the next three months and 20% more by early 2022. However, a little under one-third of those surveyed do not plan to be in a theatre in the near future. Why? Reasons include brining COVID home to unvaccinated kids, concerns about people removing masks and a complaint about having to wear a mask inside if you are vaccinated.

COVID Safety

According to the Broadway League, all 41 Broadway theatres in New York City will require proof of vaccination for those over 12 years of age and proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours (or within 6 hours for a rapid test) for those under 12 or those exempt due to a medical condition. Proof can be shown with the actual card, the Excelsior pass, or a photo of your vaccination card. Masks must be worn in the theatre at all times, except while eating or drinking in designated areas.

Scarsdale’s response? A solid 72% of people do feel comfortable with these rules and 28% do not feel safe and are not ready to be back in a theatre.

Real World Experience

In order to assess the experience, I attended Come From Away. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I’m here to report that I felt extremely safe and believe that theatre is one of the safer inside places to go during the pandemic. Here’s why:

Even though there was a downpour of rain, a COVID-safety officer was outside checking vaccine cards (or test results). My son, age 11, was PCR-tested the day before and there are rapid test stations all over Times Square so it’s simple to get a test right outside the theatre. Several people responded that they would not go to a show until the entire audience, including kids, is vaccinated, but I was reminded that my son goes to school every day with hundreds of children that are not vaccinated due to age. He plays soccer and he went to day camps, and most places we go don’t consist of mostly vaccinated and fully masked adults.

Remarkably, every single person in the theatre that I could see had a mask on and was wearing it properly. Masks stayed on. Those attending Broadway shows now tend to be people who want to see more Broadway shows open and stay open and are motivated to do their part. The vaccine mandate assures that you’re not surrounded by anti-vaxxers and the mask mandate assures that you’re not surrounded by anti-maskers. Ushers WILL escort you out of the theatre if you remove your mask. We had box seats so we had a beautiful view of a fully masked audience; this also allowed us to be socially distanced.

What’s Open Now? What’s on the Horizon?

New York Theatre Guide is a good source for what’s playing now and what is opening soon. There are currently 15 Broadway shows open and 28 will be in action by the end of October. 37 out of 41 Broadway houses will be in operation before the end of the year. There are also a number of off-Broadway shows that are worth checking out and can be found on the same site.

The audience wore masks at a recent performance of Come From AwayBack to Broadway

Being back in a theatre was emotional for me. You can feel the appreciation the performers have for the audience that took the leap to come back to Broadway. The ushers are happy to greet you and even the staff in the ticket booth, who might be notorious for quotes such as, “Are ya getting a ticket there’s a line of people do you know what you want if not come back please bye,” have been so thankful for a ticket purchase.

In the play Come From Away the pilot, Beverly Bass, was ready to fly again after 9/11 but realized that passengers weren’t when she returned to an empty airport. She thanked each person she passed on the way to her flight for getting back on an airplane. That’s what it felt like to be back in theatre. It took a leap of faith to buy that first ticket, but once we were in our seats and the first performer came out on stage, applause erupted and it felt great, it felt right and it felt safe.

Also worth noting is safety and crime. In NYC. I have been in the city (including commuting in on Metro North and using the subway) and I feel safe traveling by myself, including at night. Times Square is as busy as ever and most restaurants are open for business. Many restaurants have extensive outdoor dining options (good-bye wide sidewalks and street parking) and heated spaces. Restaurant Row on West 46th is quite a scene these days with large outdoor dining structures. Some restaurants are offering Back to Broadway specials. Bringing the kids? Bareburger has $10 off $30 when show of your theatre ticket and they have legendary Brussels sprouts, by the way.

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 07 October 2021

Created: 07 October 2021

Last Updated: 07 October 2021

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The team celebrated Senior DayThe Scarsdale Girls Varsity A scored another fast victory at home on Tuesday October 5 at a make-up match against Ursuline. As the Scarsdale B team needed the courts for a home match as well, the coaches agreed to play one eight game pro set rather than the usual three set matches.

The Raiders, who are undefeated for the season were on an off the court in a flash. Playing first singles for the team, Natalie Hu served ace after ace. Her opponent often watched in awe. Hu barely dropped a point the entire eight games, and was the first to finish, 8-0.

Freshman Giana Marks also overpowered her opponent. With daunting serves and deep ground strokes to the baseline she secured an 8-1 victory. Playing third singles, Maya Cukierman also had a smooth win at 8-3.

In fact, Ursulines two singles players had paired up to play first doubles, so that match proved to be a bit more challenging for the Raiders. However, the talented team of Campbell Alin and Laura Mendez prevailed, 8-3. The well oiled second doubles team of Maya Vora and Yelena Sahakyan prevailed with an 8-1 victory, and the third and fourth doubles teams followed suit, winning 8-4 and 8-1.

Team Seniors flank their manager

Commenting on the team’s stellar season, Coach Jennifer Roane said, “With so many new players this year I wasn’t sure what to expect. What a happy surprise…. and they are nice kids too!

The team will send three singles players and two doubles teams to the sectional tournament at Harrison High School this coming weekend. On Thursday October 14, the entire team will play in the first round of the regional tournament at home.

Following the match, Giana Marks showed off team mascot Ace the Bear who was sporting a Wilson tennis bag with a mini racquet inside. He’s been with the team since 2019.

Singles Players Cukierman, Marks and Hu are all smiles after a victory over UrsulineFirst Doubles Team Campbell Alin and Laura Mendez

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Written by Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 23 September 2021

Created: 23 September 2021

Last Updated: 11 January 2023

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Driving rains and inadequate storm management systems caused catastrophic flooding in ScarsdaleThe timing of a developer’s appeal to build eight homes and a private road on a swampy lot at 80, 88 and 90 Garden Road could not have been worse. In the wake of Hurricane Ida, which deluged Scarsdale with an intense downfall of eight inches of rain, neighbors were already stressed and aggravated by flooding in their streets and their homes. The prospect of taking down over 300 trees and displacing even more pervious surfaces drew scores of residents to Village Hall on Wednesday night September 22 to voice their objections to the Planning Board as they heard the developer’s seventh attempt to win approval in 2021.

In response to questions from Mott MacDonald, an engineer retained by the Village to review the plan, the developer’s Attorney Lucia Chiocchio of Cuddy and Feder and his Engineer Eliot Senor presented their latest plans on how the property could retain more water than it generated and to explain where excess water would drain.

In their latest iteration, the builder is proposing to raise the grade of the seven acre site by four feet by hauling in truckloads of landfill and enclosing the site in a six foot retaining wall. Rather than pave the private road, they would use porous pavement over a 2-foot bed of gravel.

They claim that the current water table is four feet below ground and propose to install an underground detention system to collect the water in 36 inch pipe sections. Senor claimed that the landfill will absorb more water than the existing ground does now and that his conservative estimates showed that the development would decrease the overall run off to Cushman Road by about 5%.

The road and detention system would be maintained by a private homeowner’s association.

The developer supplied a tree analysis to show the effects of tree removal and replacement. He plans to remove 322 trees to build the development and to plant 438 replacement trees to absorb water and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As it will take decades for these trees to reach maturity, he provided a series of calculations showing how many gallons of water these trees could absorb and CO2 they could absorb at mid-maturity.

Senor said he walked the property after Ida and “did not see a lot of standing water, and the road was not muddy.” He said, “The stream did not exceed its banks.” He continued, “I saw the devastation on Cayuga Road but this will not add any water to that system – it will reduce it by 4% or 5% at total build out. We are providing for a 100% impervious surface.”

However after reviewing the report, MacDonald concluded, ‘In all, it appears that even if the assumptions and conceptual model that Garden Road site following rains from Idaunderlie this analysis were appropriate for this site, the community would have to wait more than a decade for relief from the increased runoff caused by the replacement of 322 existing trees (plus about 70 invasive maple trees) with 438 small replacement trees.

About the water table MacDonald concluded, “The hydrologic analyses performed mostly focus on managing and reducing runoff but do little to address the impacts of the proposed work on the water table. In that the neighboring properties suffer from wet basements; it is not enough to target runoff alone. It may be that the combined proposed diversions from eight new private wells, without any return of wastewater to the aquifer, would be sufficient to assure the Board that the proposed subdivision would not cause a long-term water table rise or otherwise exacerbate the problem. But the proposed replacement of more mature trees with the proposed 3-inch DBH plantings will result in an increase in the amount of water that reaches the ground and a decrease in the amount of water taken up and transpired. Although there will be an increase in the proportion of impervious cover, the increased amount of water reaching pervious surfaces will increase groundwater recharge causing the water table to be higher than it might otherwise be.”

Planning Board Chair John Clapp said “In brief we are looking at a net increase of covered surface of 1.3 acres, an 18% increase in covered surfaces and the removal of 400 trees. The replacement trees will only absorb 13% of the water that is currently absorbed. He said, “the applicant will need to respond to Mott MacDonald’s memo before the project can move forward.”

Planning Board member Deb Pekarek asked for clarification on the site and was told, “The disturbance area is 5.2 acres and the total property is 7 acres which includes the house at 90 Garden Road. This was originally a 13 lot subdivision and 4 homes have already been built on Cushman Road. The original plan included a detention pond but there will no longer be a pond.”

Senor said “We have already removed some trees, brush and small saplings, but no trees about 6” DBH.”

Later at the meeting Village Engineer David Goessel said the developer had in fact removed 43 trees, 8 or which were larger trees that required a permit. He said a summons has been issued.

Another Planning Board member discussed the runoff. He said, “A 5% improvement is a very small improvement – this margin of error is not acceptable – it could in fact be worse.”

MacDonald said, “The area already floods. If you fill it in it could make the flooding higher. I asked for an off-site drainage analysis. We need 100 year storm analysis. We are trying to make sure that this does not exasperate an existing problem. There is only a one and half foot drainage pipe there now.”

A topographic map shows water from the Sheldrake River draining from Garden Road, past Cushman and Sheldrake, to Fenway Golf Course and down to Cayuga Road.About the porous pavement, MacDonald said, “As the years progress it will get less effective. The pervious pavement deteriorates and needs to be maintained.”

The public comments portion of the meeting extended well into the evening. Many read from letters they had sent to the Planning Board to object to the development and you can read the letters here:

A representative from Fenway Golf Club, which is downstream from Garden Road said that “five golf holes were impacted in the storm – a lake was created on the golf course…. Mr. Senor has to demonstrate that there will be no additional runoff.”

He continued, “Our consultant found no data for the claim of a 5% reduction. There is no analysis to show whether it’s right or it’s wrong –there is nothing to review. I am disappointed that this is on the agenda again without all the pieces. Why have they not mentioned the Sheldrake River Basin? That is why Scarsdale is flooded. They should not increase pressure to the neighbors.”

A team of lawyers and engineers from Zarin and Steinmetz representing Bob Falk of 3 Willow Lane said, the engineer’s “statements are unsubstantiated. There is incomplete information and deficient data. They have not produced an updated SWIPPP (a stormwater pollution prevention plan) as is required by the Planning Board. During Ida, water rushed down my client’s driveway. His first floor was wrecked during the storm.”

Greg Fleisher and Environmental Engineer said, “The current site has very poor drainage. In raising the grade you create a host of other problems. Where does the water go once it hits the water table? Where does the ditch around the property drain? There is a pond in the southeast corner that drains into one 18 inch pipe to Cushman Road. This will worsen conditions on Cushman Road – excess water will jeopardize those properties.”

Robert Rieffel of Cayuga Road said, “There is little infrastructure built to accommodate all this water. Our rights must be weighed against the rights of this developer. The existing infrastructure is already inadequate. Protect the rest of the Village, not the developer.”

Another Cayuga Road man said, “Our street was devastated. Cushman Road is 30 feet higher than Cayuga Road. Water goes downhill –it doesn’t make a difference how. Cayuga is the last built development. We have drainage from Catherine on the east and Cushman and Garden on the west. There is a serious issue…people losing their basement sand first floors repeatedly – this is a real, grave situation. There is an obligation to deal with people’s homes. I am 76 years old – you can’t go through this over and over. There are easy remedies for this water – please address it. This area is being devastated; infrastructure improvements are needed now.”

Andrew Rodman of Cushman Road said, “Is the grade being raised next to the water tower – it will all drain into my property? I will build a wall and drain into my neighbor’s yard– and if this proceeds Bobby Falk’s house will be washed away. There was a heck of a lot of water after the storm on Garden Road. It is sad what is going on – we have to save Scarsdale.”

Greg White from 44 Garden Road said, I have lived here for 30 years. I am a civil engineer. I am a new grandfather. Garden Road is the Indianapolis speedway in the morning and at night. If we have more cars and buses, it is going to be scary. I am frightened for the children in the area. The water table is so high that we don’t need sprinklers. The hydrostatic pressure in this area is extraordinary. The roadways will fail. The soil is dense clay so the water doesn’t go anywhere. Two weeks ago we lost two cars in the storm and our first floor library is also gone.”

Shari Beckman of 75 Garden Road said, “The current developer proposal for the site at 80 Garden Road is a nightmarish vision for all of the residents who live in our beautiful, but waterlogged, area. We have lived in our home, which had been newly developed at the time, on Garden Road for twenty years. The builder proudly showed us the sophisticated, synchronized multiple sump pump system he installed to allay fears on the part of potential buyers who knew that the home was built in a wetland area and quite literally sits on top of water.

Over the years we have been here, we have watched ponds of water appear on our back property from moderate rains. We have also suffered three separate incidents of serious flooding of our entire lower level; we have emergently drained, dried out, de-molded, gutted and rebuilt this space at tremendous cost, emotionally and financially. We live, by the way, on the opposite side of the road that is known to dangerously flood so often. It is clear to us that we and our neighbors live with the peril of endless water below. There is no way to change that.

But it is also clear that the deliberate removal of 5 acres of fully grown trees with substantial roots that have taken hold over the years would seriously deteriorate an already impossible situation. From every perspective, ecological and practical, this would be an extremely grave mistake. Furthermore, the proposed building of so many additional homes would deplete even more the existing shortage of our scarce resources, such as outdated phone and electrical wiring and insufficient water pressure.

With climate change issues upon us, when we expect more frequent and serious storms, this is not the time to be building new structures atop a deteriorated infrastructure. We all know that at Disneyworld, underneath the magic of the sights and sounds we enjoy with our grandchildren, is an entire secret city that services the wonder and awe we experience at such a special place. We consider it a privilege to live in Scarsdale, but shudder to think of what our village looks like underneath the charm and beauty of the homes that make up our community.”

Barry Abramson of 98 Garden Road has lived here for 23 years. He said, “I urge you to reject the applicants proposal. My backyard is adjacent to the project. One third of my yard has standing water after a rainfall. The three new houses on Cushman Road increased this from 25% to 33%.”

About the landfill he said, “About bringing in 1000 truckloads of fill … What is clean fill? Fill is not clean. It is not free of contaminants and pollutants like arsenic, asbestos, lead, and lead paint chips. There will be debris flying and we will be breathing it for years. The wall surrounding it will need weep holes and the fill will drip out of the wall and drain into my backyard.”

Bob Berg said, “This is one of the worst applications I have seen. The developer has chutzpah. This is a wetlands. The stormwater system can’t take the stormwaters that we already create. The whole idea is crazy. Cayuga Road should never have been developed – it should have been open space.To allow this to go forward would be a crime.”

At the end of the meeting the Planning Board again voted to hold over a decision on the application.