Scarsdale10583 Preschool Guide
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Attention parents of preschoolers: Now is the time to consider where your child will go to school in September, 2013. Programs are already filling up, and if you haven't done so already, consider your options, schedule a school visit or attend an open house at a pre-school soon. Here are four excellent local programs for your consideration:
Hoff-Barthelson Music School: The HB Preschool offers separate half-days for three and four year olds in a safe, nurturing environment which promotes the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive development of young children. Experienced teachers meet each child's developmental needs and build toward readiness for kindergarten. Children are involved through play in a full curriculum, with a special emphasis on music and art, which introduces numbers and language arts, science and nature, and dramatic play, cooking, sand and water play, and outdoor play. Twice weekly music and movement classes in Dalcroze eurhythmics are a highlight of the program.
Hoff-Barthelson Music School is one of Westchester County's most cherished and active cultural resources and has achieved national recognition as a premier community music school for its unsurpassed leadership in education, performance and outreach.
Hoff-Barthelson Music School, 25 School Lane, Scarsdale, NY 914-723-1169 email hb@hbms.org or visit www.hbms.org
The JCC Early Childhood Center provides a nurturing and safe environment based on the philosophy of purposeful play. Through play, children 17 months – 5 years learn to touch, hear, feel, taste, see, move and create a world of wonder and possibility. In this warm and supportive setting, children are encouraged to explore and socialize. In all programs, children learn to take turns, share and cooperate with others. Our exceptional staff of early childhood educators provides age- appropriate learning tools needed to foster independence as well as enhanced listening, language and academic readiness skills. Children of all ethnic and religious backgrounds are welcome. Jewish holidays and the values associated with them as well as secular celebrations are brought to life through stories, dramatic play and preparation of traditional foods. Each class also participates in weekly specials, including swim, gymnastics, physical education, creative movement and music.
JCC Early Childhood Center programs include Me 2, a two day, morning program for young twos. For two year olds, we offer 2, 3 or 5 day morning programs (9-11:15am), that may be supplemented by adding Lunch Bunch, a supervised time for lunch and play, 11:15am-12:15 pm. For three year olds, 3, 4 or 5 day morning (9-11:45am) or full day (9am-3pm) programs are available. For four year olds, 5 day morning (9-11:45am) or full day (9am-3pm) programs are available. For 4/5 year olds, our Connect 5's program provides a transitional year of pre-school for children who may benefit from an extra year before kindergarten. Three, four and five year olds may supplement their day with afternoon enrichment programs (11:45-3pm). Enrichments vary by age and something different is offered each day.
For more information and to set up a tour, contact Julie Dorfman, Director, JCC of Mid-Westchester Early Childhood Center, 999 Wilmot Road, Scarsdale, NY 10583, 914-472-3300, x412, visit us online at www.jccmw.org or or email: dorfmanj@jccmw.org
The Early Childhood Program at Congregation Kol Ami is dedicated to providing a comprehensive and 
developmentally appropriate curriculum while teaching and modeling Jewish values. Our focus is centered on encouraging pride in oneself as an individual and as an important member of the Jewish people. We believe that children learn best through experiential play and provide for these rich experiences within warm, accepting, and nurturing surroundings. All of our Head Teachers hold Masters Degrees in Early Childhood or related educational fields. Our teacher-student ratios are 1:5.
We offer a wide range of programs for children and families. Starting with the very young, Mommy Talk, a drop-in playgroup for infants 2 to 9 month olds, and First Friends, a non-separated playgroup especially tailored for children 13 months to 21 months. Our 2's can choose from two to five day experiences, 3's programming choices include three, four, and five day morning opportunities with additional programming every afternoon until 2 pm. Our 4's can choose between morning programming and full day programming until 4 pm. Our A Step Ahead! program for specially designed for children turning 5 from September to December provides full-day pre-k learning until 2:30 with options to stay until 4 most afternoons. School day specialists include Gym, Music, Israeli Dance and Movement, Nature, Gardening, and Torah Alive!. Afternoon fun includes Soccer, Art, Yoga, Nature, Literacy, Math Magic, Cooking, Karate, and Ballet.
Schedule a visit and see for yourself. Come feel the warm sense of community that is the hallmark of the Early Childhood Program of Congregation Kol Ami. Call our Director, Nan Blank at 914-949-4717 x107, to schedule a mutually convenient time when you can come by. You will meet our staff and observe first hand the programs that will nurture your child and begin their journey into the world of school and community. Feel free to visit our website at nykolami.org
WRT Center for Early Childhood: The Early Childhood Center at Westchester Reform Temple (WRT/ECC) is a state licensed preschool offering programs for infants through pre-K. We offer a comprehensive, top-notch educational program in a warm and nurturing environment. We are dedicated to enriching young children'slives socially, emotionally, academically, spiritually and physically. We strive to be inclusive, welcoming every child regardless of cultural background or affiliation. The ECC is a family-centered community where parents are encouraged to become involved in both the classroom and other school activities. Parents are included in holiday parties, weekly Shabbat celebrations, regular newsletters and e-mails, social functions and teacher conferences. Families are also invited to many activities open to the greater temple community like Sharing Shabbat, children'sHigh Holy Day services, charitable activities, and holiday carnivals and festivities. The ECC seeks to create a stimulating environment for children and their families so that they may grow and explore the world together. We see the preschool experience as a critical first step in a child's journey of developing values, self-esteem and lifelong learning —planting the seeds from which a child will eventually grow into adulthood. Free, drop-in morning groups, including an Infant Class on Wednesdays and a Bagels and Babies Playgroup on Fridays, are offered throughout the year.
Contact Susan Tolchin, Director Westchester Reform Temple Early Childhood Center, 255 Mamaroneck Road, Scarsdale, New York 10583 by phone at 914-723-5493, ext. 8620 or email: Sue.Tolchin@wrtemple.org.
Rabbi Brown to be Installed at Scarsdale Synagogue 12-14
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Jeffrey C. Brown will be installed as Rabbi of Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El at Shabbat and Chanukah services, to be held on Friday, December 14th. The community is invited to join in this celebration at 7:30 p.m. in the Synagogue's sanctuary at 2 Ogden Road in Scarsdale.
On this special night, which coincides with the seventh night of Chanukah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, Rabbi Brown will officially become the Reform Jewish congregation's third senior Rabbi since it was founded over 50 years ago. Rabbi Brown came to the Synagogue in July to succeed Rabbi Stephen A. Klein, who served as the congregation's Senior Rabbi since 1982 and continues his affiliation as Rabbi Emeritus.
The installation ceremony will be conducted by Rabbi David Ellenson, President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Joining Rabbi Ellenson will be David Frank, Senior Rabbi of Temple Solel in the San Diego area community of Cardiff, CA. Rabbi Brown served as Associate Rabbi of Temple Solel for more than seven years prior to assuming the Scarsdale Synagogue pulpit.
Along with Rabbi Emeritus Klein and the congregation's Cantor, Chanin Becker, other participants in the installation ceremony will be Rabbi Lisa Goldstein, Executive Director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, and Cantor Leigh Korn of Temple Isaiah in Lafayette, California. A reception will follow the installation ceremony and service.
About Scarsdale Synagogue
Scarsdale Synagogue Temples Tremont and Emanu-El is a Reform Jewish congregation committed to building a covenant community of shared lives and real relationships. Founded in 1961, the Synagogue was joined by the memberships of Tremont Temple of the Bronx in 1976 and Temple Emanu-El of Southern Westchester in 2008. For further information, please contact: Gary Katz, Executive Director Scarsdale SynagogueTemples Tremont and Emanu-El at GaryKatz@sstte.org or by phone at (914) 725-5175
Plans Progress for Construction at Heathcote Tavern Site
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Architect Mark Behr was back before the Land Use Committee of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees on 11-19 to present proposed changes to the term sheet for the sale of village-owned land at 2-4 Weaver Street to developer Frederick Fish. Behr reviewed plans for the new building that will include 11 apartments – one of which will be an affordable unit. A survey of the village-owned property that surrounds the site revealed that there are 5,715 square feet of additional space and the developer has agreed to pay the Village $95,000 for that property. That's on top of the $150,000 already agreed to for the strip of Village-owned land that now serves as the driveway to the parking lot of Massa on Weaver Street.
Also proposed was an 8-foot variance to allow the developer to build a green deck to cover parking in the rear of the building that backs onto the Heathcote Bypass. The greendeck would be landscaped with trees and shrubbery to mask the parking structure below it. The cupola from the top of the tavern building that blew off during Hurricane Sandy will also be repaired.
The new building will be set 40-feet back from Weaver Street and the additional land around the property will allow for a better 
configuration for the structure. The project has already passed the SEQRA process and was found to have no negative environmental impact on the village.
Residents from the Heathcote Five Corners Coalition attended the meeting to pose questions and comment.
Saying, "the devil is in the details," Marty Kaufman asked if "we can agree on the wording" of the changes to the term sheet and also wanted to know, "how can we confirm that the developer will not ask for additional changes to the term sheet?" Trustee Jon Mark replied that the process "was organic" and, in response to Kaufman's request to bar the developer from asking for additional changes, Mark responded, "I think that's an overreach," because "situations could occur where change would be required."
Lika Levi said, "it seems like planning for the Five Corners was a hodge-podge process," and Ruth Frankel added, "Anyone that lived in a different country can see it is biased here. It is wrong how you are handling your business here."
Following their comments, Trustee Mark summed up and said, "I am inclined to recommend that the developer's request be granted." "Land use provisions as part of the sale are beneficial to the Village of Scarsdale. If not for these provisions, the developer could build a building that was all commercial – and increase traffic – or resell it to another developer. This allows us to have significant input into the building."
Update: At the 11/27 meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, the non-binding term sheet that provided for the sale of the additional 5,715 square feet of land was approved by the Trustees.
Mayor Defends Storm Response
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The Mayor continued to use her pulpit at the televised Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting on Tuesday night November 27 to defend her performance and lambast her critics. In what appeared to be a referral to Scarsdale10583.com and its users she said, "if you get your information from ill-informed websites frequented by cyber trolls who are encouraged or even wholly created as sock puppets by anonymous bloggers you'd get a skewed view of the Village's response to the crisis." These new attacks follow comments at the 11/13 BOT meeting where she said, that we (the Village and the Mayor) "were and remain hounded by divisive, nasty and unhelpful media pressure."
Also, this week, she responded to a letter about storm response from the Greenacres Neighborhood Association, saying, "I am very disappointed in the false statements, in the unofficial policy comments offered, and in Mrs. Steves' taking responsibility for publishing this in reference to the crisis."(note: Mrs. Steves is Kathy Steves, President of the Greenacres Neighborhood Association."
At the 11/27 meeting of the BOT Flisser addressed comments made by Mark Lewis, at the 11/13 Village Board meeting. He charged the Village and the Mayor with a litany of failures in their response to the storm including their inability to clear roads for the election and to have power restored in a reasonable period of time. During his remarks, he turned to the Mayor and said, "if you can't stand the heat, you should resign."
In response she said that Lewis "attacked her" with "false statements" and said that he (Lewis) was a failed "political operative" who was "hoping to improve his now lost position" as head of the "Democrat organization" of Scarsdale. She said, "the Democrat party had lost significant position in Scarsdale, including failing to raise a majority in two voting districts; Heathcote and Quaker Ridge."
We spoke to Mark Lewis to clarify his role with the Scarsdale Democratic Town Committee. He told us that he gave up his role as Chair voluntarily at the end of his term in September, 2012, before the election. Alan Goldston was elected to that position unanimously. Lewis is now serving as Vice Chair of the Westchester County Democratic Committee. Lewis said that he is proud of all the Democratic candidates who won in Scarsdale, including President Obama, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Eliot Engel. State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, the three State Supreme Court judicial candidates as well as Judge David Zuckerman who ran for County Court Judge. We also checked how Scarsdale voted on November 6th and found that Scarsdale went overwhelmingly Democratic with President Obama winning 59% of the vote, Kirsten Gillibrand, 70% and Congressman Eliot Engel, 65%.
She went on to criticize "State Legislative Representatives" – perhaps referring to State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin –and called Paulin's efforts with Con Edison "histrionic." She said, "I attended twice daily conference calls with the County Emergency Operations Center and Con Edison -- most of the time wasted at these conference calls included histrionic pleas from your elected state legislative representatives who Mr. Lewis represents, desperately angling for votes at this late stage, creating theatrical emotional episodes by those who had no command training nor authority in this event."
It should be noted that Paulin ran unopposed.
The Mayor gave an account of her activity during the storm fielding "scores of phone calls from her home phone, arranging and attending meetings and summed up by saying, "others may break down in a crisis – "I don't."
Commenting on the storm, Assemblywoman Paulin said, "This was a terrible storm. It was devastating to see so many in Scarsdale suffering. We were very hard hit. My staff and I worked diligently everyday around the clock directly with Con Ed to get as many homes restored as quickly as possible. I know every other elected official and the Scarsdale Village staff did what they could."
You can watch the 11/27 meeting on the Scarsdale Cable Channel from November 30 through December 2 at 2 pm, 5 pm, 7:30 pm and 10 pm.
See below for the email to the Greenacres Association as well as notes from Mayor's remarks at the 11/13 Board of Trustees meeting.
Emaiil to the Greenacres Association
Here is the text of an email sent by Maryor Flisser in response to a letter from the Greenacres Association about storm response. The neighborhood association letter can be viewed by clicking here. The Mayor's response is below. Excerpts from the Greenacres letter are in italics:
From: mayor@drflisser.com
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 5:20 PM
To: Proscars@aol.com; Stacey Brodsky; Jon Mark; mayor@drflisser.com; Kay home; Steve Pappalardo; Alfred Gatta; bob steves; David Lee
Cc: Donna Conkling
Subject: GA Meeting Publication
This email is public; it may be considered a written communication to the Board.
Alerted by some residents, I read Mrs Steves' published report of Trustee Mark and Deputy Mayor Steves participation at the GA meeting on 10583.
Quotes are below:
"Communications between the Village and residents was also acknowledged by the Trustees to be below reasonable expectations."
M's response: We spoke to thousands of residents on the phone, the lines in the PSB (Public Safety Building) were open and manned with personnel 24/7. The phone personnel were heroes under the pressure. I was in the same room with them. We answered thousands of emails. I spoke with scores on my listed home line alone. We sent out about over 100,000 communications. I attended 3 resident meetings myself during the crisis and Trustees continued to attend their liaison meetings, as I see here. We have not even investigated this claim statement, yet conclusions are "acknowledged."
"Robo calls from the Mayor were helpful, but a bit late in the process."
M's response: The Robo Calls started before the event and continued daily until power was almost entirely restored.
"Though not formally organized by the Village, Halloween is a major community event and the Village should have communicated some policy about trick or treating prior to and during the crisis since public safety was an issue."
M: There was careful communication about Halloween. A state of Emergency was declared to be in effect. Residents were warned about dangers to children from tree limbs and wires. I can show you quotes & responses from Residents, if you care to research this issue.
"Mr. Mark added some additional items that will now move off the back burner for more immediate consideration: Liberalizing and amending the Village code governing the installation of home generators."
Is the PB (Planning Board) "The back burner?" We held public meetings before the PB referral as well. We have been working on this since 2011, research, planning, legal, etc. This is not a trivial safety & environmental issue.
"Concern for the elderly or disabled during such a crisis was also expressed, and a plan to better identify those who may need extra assistance will be developed."
M: There is a Registry for Disabled Residents already in place in Scarsdale. The first responders have the information on their screens. We set this up in April of 2008. There's also a program for PWD in Westchester called "Ready Westchester" that dates from 2008, in which we participate. It involves county personnel coming in to evacuate disabled & elderly if needed. I publicized this on the VB, on occasions that I can document. I'm sorry that you are unaware of these programs. In addition, during the crisis, the Police Department continued careful welfare checks on residents. Residents were offered free accommodations with transportation to an assisted living facility.
"We encourage those who have not signed up for the Village's Emergency Notification system to do so through the Village's website."
M:No one ever needs to sign up for the ENS. It's automatic on the reverse 911 number. Extra numbers and email addresses may be signed up.
I am very disappointed in the false statements, in the unofficial policy comments offered, and in Mrs Steves' taking responsibility for publishing this in reference to the crisis.
Sincerely,
Miriam Levitt Flisser
Mayor
Mayor's Remarks at the November 13, 2012 Board of Trustees Meeting
At the 11-13-12 meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees the Mayor recapped her own response to the storm as well as the work of the Village staff, emergency personnel and the Department of Public Works.
She said "Scarsdale Village did everything possible to assist Con Edison crews," sent out "12 robo calls", fielded "100,000 phone calls and 12,000 emails" and provided "updates to local media from employees homes."
According to her remarks, the Village also received support from local officials. "The County Executive came to Scarsdale", "our NYS Senator called" ... "our incoming U.S. Congressman came to the library on election eve" and she "spoke with the Governor's office using her shaky cell connection and being repeatedly disconnected."
She said, "These prodigious political feats did absolutely nothing to restore our power one second sooner.... This was the massive failure of the disaster response of a monopoly public utility."
She decried her critics, saying, "Those of you who took valuable time in a crisis to show your displeasure about Village elections are ignorant of the process. ... any interested citizen may appear on the ballot. And added, "These are unpaid jobs, by the way."
She ended by saying, "Your Village Administration performed admirably, and even though we were absorbing the collapse of Con Ed by accepting calls about outages, far outside of our critical responsibilities, were bereft of our own communications infrastructure, and were, and remain hounded by divisive, nasty and unhelpful media pressure in this time of crisis, we served the public with dedication."
Distinguished Alumni of 2012 Honored at Scarsdale High School
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The Scarsdale Alumni Association recognized distinguished alumni of 2012 in the Scarsdale Library on Saturday morning 11/17. Association President Ricardo Garcia-Amaya '97 and Director Emeritus Eric Rothschild '54 lead the proceedings and honored the following:
- George C. Branche, III, M.D. (SHS '74) – Leader in the field of Sports Medicine - Association of Tennis Professionals Physician of the Year.
- Meredith Gavrin (SHS '87) – Educator, Founder of New Haven Academy
- Jonathan Haidt (SHS '81) - Leading Professor of Ethical Leadership, Author
- Alison Knowles (SHS '51) – Guggenheim Fellow, Avant-Garde Renowned Artist
- Randal (Randy) Livingston (SHS '71) - Business Leader, Led two companies through IPO, CFO of Stanford University
- Charles Maier Ph.D. (SHS' 56) – Professor, Author, Director of the Center for European Studies at Harvard
- Michael Mark (SHS '68) - Grammy Nominated Musician/Composer
- Stephen J. Nicholas, MD (SHS '78) - Leader in the field of Sports Medicine - orthopedic team physician for the NY Jets and NY Islanders.
- Michael Roth (SHS '83) - Award Winning Violinist
- Cynthia E. Rosenzweig Ph.D. (SHS '66) – NASA Expert in Climate Change
- Christopher Schroeder (SHS '82) - Tech Entrepreneur, Investor, Author, Expert on Startups in the Middle East.
- George Zimmer (SHS '66) – Business Leader, CEO/Founder of Men's Wearhouse
Photographer Sarah Schuman, a Scarsdale alum herself, was on hand to take photos.
