Register Now For Spring Courses at the Scarsdale Adult School
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Scarsdale Adult School registration for the spring/summer semester is now open. Printed catalogs have just been mailed and are also available at both the Scarsdale Public Library and Scarsdale Village Hall. At more than ten convenient local venues, new and returning faculty will be teaching enriching day and evening courses to adults seeking to satisfy their intellectual curiosity, learn new skills, and enjoy scholarly rapport with other members of the community.
This semester at SAS includes a wide range of humanities classes on art, architecture, film, history, literature and music appreciation. The adult school offers recreation classes in dance, fitness, golf and card games. To satisfy increased demand, SAS has added more computer-related classes to its skill enhancement course selection, along with unique courses in arts and crafts, cooking, photography, foreign languages, music, finance, and self-improvement. Health and wellness courses on nutrition, spirituality, and stress reduction round out the curriculum.
To enroll for classes and view all SAS offerings, visit www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org . Call (914) 723-2325 with any questions.
News from the Assembly: Tappan Zee Bridge and
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Public officials and advocates for cycling and walking will hold a press conference to call upon state reviewers to carry out an in-depth study of whether the Tappan Zee Bridge can be transformed into a park for pedestrians and cyclists. The press conference will be held Friday, January 20 at 1 pm at the office of State Assemblyman Tom Abinati in Tarrytown
The review would be part of the environmental study underway by the US Department of Transportation and the state Department of Transportation involving construction of two new spans to replace the old bridge.
Speaking at the press conference will be Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner, White Plains Common Councilwoman Milagros Lecuona, Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, and David Wilson, executive director of the Bike Walk Alliance of Westchester and Putnam.
According to a previous plan scrapped by the US DOT in 2011, the old span would be taken down after the first new bridge was erected. But federal and state officials have yet to say if that’s their plan for the new proposal.
Under the environmental review, Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner is calling for engineers to consider preserving the old bridge as a park. Such preservation efforts have proved wildly popular at lower Manhattan’s High Line, and Poughkeepsie’s Walkway over The Hudson.
While its structure may no longer meet guidelines for the federal Interstate system, Feiner proposes that the engineering team consider its structural integrity for a park, and conduct a cost-benefit analysis to determine the financial issues involved in demolition or preservation.
What: Press conference on Tappan Zee Bridge transformation to Tappan Bridge Park
Where: Office of Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, 303 Tarrytown Road, Suite 229, Tarrytown
When: Friday, Jan. 20, 1 p.m.Contact: David Wilson, 914-217-5600 davidmckaywilson@aol.com
Cuomo Signs Paulin's Open Records Legislation into Law
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has signed A72-B/S3255-B, a bill sponsored by New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) to increase transparency and civic participation in the process of government. The new law requires that records be posted on government websites or otherwise made available prior to the meetings of public bodies. The bill was initially passed in the Assembly, and later in the Senate, where it was sponsored by Senator Stephen Saland (R-Poughkeepsie).
“I offer congratulations to Assemblywoman Paulin and Senator Saland regarding a bill that will improve the operation of government and the lives of thousands of New Yorkers,” remarked Bob Freeman, Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government. “The public will soon have the opportunity not only to listen to public discussions but also to review the records that are the subject of those discussions.”
As a result of the law, which amends the public officers law, members of the public will have access to documents before scheduled open meetings of public bodies, such as school boards, state agencies, and village, town, and city boards. If the public body maintains a website, the records will be placed online as soon as possible prior to the meetings. This measure of transparency will serve to increase the involvement of the public, as well as reduce the need for Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests, which can be costly for state agencies to process.
“It is an important law, because offering the public the opportunity to more effectively participate in the process helps elected bodies conduct fair evaluations,” stated Paulin. “I applaud Governor Cuomo for his commitment to accountability and open government, and I look forward to working together on future initiatives.”
Edgemont Grapples With Challenging School Budget
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Edgemont's December 13th Board of Education meeting was packed with residents, teachers, parents and students who turned out to learn about next year's school budget and how the NYS tax levy cap will impact the schools. A number of students spoke very passionately and asked that the BOE not cut programs at the schools, especially electives that they were planning to take during their senior year.
Assistant Superintendent Sue Shirken shared some new information that will affect the tax-cap formula, but many variables are still undetermined at this point such as the pension plan and insurance premium increases. The three principals, Dr. Barry Friedman (Junior/Senior High School), Dr. Ed Kennedy (Seely Place) and Ms. Jen Allen ( Greenville) presented recommendations intended to trim costs without harming the quality of an Edgemont education. Everyone is working together to figure out the best way "to do more with less."
Some of the recommendations at the high school level included increasing class sizes especially for electives and the honors/AP courses, eliminating Study Skills for Success class, eliminating some of the English and Social Studies electives, and eliminating the overnight 9th grade camp trip to Frost Valley every winter. The Science Scholars program would start in 10th grade (it currently starts in 9th grade) and there would be a re-structuring in the A-school. Also, certain electives would only be offered every other year. Some residents expressed concerns that the English curriculum would be impacted negatively if electives were cut (i.e. Modern American Literature and Speech). Dr. Friedman explained that there would be a new English 12 class that would replace the cut electives. This new class would combine parts from those electives.
At the elementary schools, the strings consultant appears to be saved much to the relief of the approximately 30 parents that had shown up to support the strings program but the percussion and brass music consultants will most likely be cut. The popular Washington DC (Greenville 5th grade) and Philadelphia (Seely 5th grade) trips are safe for now but 6th grade camp may be gone after this June. The principals also talked of decreasing teacher aides' hours and perhaps decreasing the Physical Education staffing by reorganizing how staff are used at the three schools. But this will not result in any change in the amount of PE that students receive.
Several parents asked about the possibility of a 60% vote override. One parent, whose children have already graduated from the high school, spoke in support of the superior Edgemont education that her children had received while in the schools. She said she encouraged the BOE to try for the override and not cut programs for the students. The BOE has not made any final decision yet and has said that they will consider all possibilities. They also reemphasized that there are no final decisions regarding any cuts in programs at this point. Right now there is a $1.8 million dollar budget gap to fill if the Board elects to stay within the lax levy cap and maintain all existing programs and services. The proposed cuts discussed by the building principals do not add up to a $1.8 million dollar savings so more cuts in various areas (perhaps in sports) will be discussed during upcoming BOE meetings. This month the administration will also have final numbers for the pension plan and insurance premium increases and these two numbers will help with determining the final budget gap, which will hopefully be substantially less than the current projection of $1.8 million.
Superintendent Nancy Taddiken, acknowledge that "this is a stressful time," and spoke about a superintendents group that has been working together to petition Albany for mandate relief, especially in the area of pensions. She will send a letter to the PTA and PTSA to encourage everyone to petition Albany for mandate relief. However, these discussions on state mandate relief will not result in any changes that will affect the 2012-2013 budget cycle. The next two BOE meetings are on Tuesday, January 10th and Tuesday, January 24th (both start at 8:15 pm in the high school's LGI room). Once again, everyone is encouraged to attend the meetings to learn about the upcoming budget and voice their concerns. Once the budget is adopted in April, changes cannot be made, so now is the time to ask questions and express opinions.
From Edgemont: Next Steps on NextG and a New Assistant Principal
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The installation of cell phone antennas on residential streets in Edgemont could be averted. At a well-attended meeting of the Edgemont Community Council (ECC) on Thursday, January 5th, ECC President Geoff Loftus told the group that Crown Castle, a company that owns, operates and leases cell phone towers, now has an agreement to acquire NextG, who has filed an application to install antennas in Edgemont. Since Crown Castle holds an exclusive license to operate wireless facilities on state property, including right-of-ways on Central Avenue, Dobbs Ferry Road and Saw Mill River Road their purchase of NextG would remove any impediment to NextG's use of the right-of-way and eliminate NextG’s need for a special permit to install antennas in residential neighborhoods.
According to a memo from the ECC, Michelle McNally, an Edgemont resident and member of the Antenna Board of Review, has written to Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner as an individual, urging him to refer NextG's application back to the Review Board. Feiner believes this will happen at or after the Town Board public hearing on January 25th. Feiner has repeatedly stated that he would prefer that the cell phone antennas not be placed on residential streets and hopes that a solution can be found that does not violate federal law. Federal law limits the ability of governments to reject antenna applications for health reasons. The ECC hopes that since NextG, as a part of Crown Castle, should now be able to provide service without installing residential-area antennas, it will not be granted a special permit to do so. Feiner says that the Crown Castle purchase changes the dynamics of the application and feels there is a good possibility that the Town Board will refer the matter back to the Antenna Review Board.
However, in an update on 1/12/12, Loftus sent the following letter to Scarsdale10583 that was read into the record during the Public Comment portion of the Greenburgh Town Board meeting on Wednesday night January 11. According to Loftus, the Town Board is poised not to follow the Town's law and appears ready to allow NextG to install antennas in residential neighborhoods.
To the Greenburgh Town Board: My name is Geoff Loftus, and I'm the president of the Edgemont Community Council.
I'm here to ask the that Town Board refer the ECC's proposed amendment to the Town's antenna law to the Planning Board as soon as possible and ask for an expedited process, so that a public hearing can be held promptly. (The amendment was sent via e-mail to all of you on Monday evening, and I've brought hard-copies tonight.)
Given that the Board has invited NextG representatives to attend next week's work session, and that NextG may file new or modified applications, it is especially urgent that this amendment not be held up for changes that Town departments also might want to make to the law. There's no need to wait on our proposal: the Town can amend the antenna law later if there are other amendments it wishes to add. Additionally, there is no need to wait on Federal input – Federal law is not controlling in this instance. And, if the events of the last several weeks prove anything, it is that residents need immediate notification about applications to install antennas in their neighborhoods. And why would the Board hesitate to give them adequate advance notice? After all, aren't the residents the people the Town Board is supposed to represent and protect?
The ECC's amendment to the antenna law has three important points:
* It moves the notification of residents to the time an application is filed, not when it's completed.
* It increases the geographic area of notification from a 250-foot radius to 500-feet, ensuring that all the residents who are concerned will be notified.
* It invites those notified residents to comment before the Antenna Review Board.
We believe these changes will help the Antenna Review Board do its work -- greater input from the community, earlier in the process has to be beneficial.
I also want to express the ECC's ongoing concern regarding NextG. It is our understanding that you have invited representatives of NextG to next week's work session. If that's correct, shouldn't residents directly affected be invited as well? And . . . is it really fair to hold such a meeting on a Tuesday morning when many residents are at work? And even more important, with the public hearing on NextG's applications still pending, is it even proper to hold a Town Board work session with an applicant at all?
We ask that you give us a timetable for when our proposed amendment will be introduced and acted upon. Please stop utilizing decoys such as Federal law. Please do not meet with the applicant or do not meet with the applicant without involving the residents. Please enforce the town code as written and serve the residents of Greenburgh and not the applicant.
Many Edgemont residents continue to worry about the possibility of NextG cell phone antennas on their residential streets and hope NextG will change course. Ellen Weininger, Educational Outreach Coordinator for Grassroots Environmental Education, and Deborah Kopald, a nationally recognized public health advocate who lives in Orange County and has consulted to governmental officials, nonprofit organizations and concerned Westchester residents on DAS and other wireless transmitters and devices, both expressed their concerns that radiation from cell towers can cause health problems and should not be taken lightly. They feel that these cell transmitter systems pose an even greater health risk than cell phone towers. The public hearing will be held on Wednesday January 25th at 7:30 pm at Town Hall and is open to public comment. It is still important that Edgemont residents attend the hearing and express their concerns to the Town Board.
New Assistant Principal for Edgemont High School:
On the school front, the Edgemont Board of Education will officially hire a new Assistant Principal for the high school at the January 10, 2012 meeting. After a wide search, Doron Markus will join the administrative team at Edgemont. He is the Science Department chair at Hastings High School and a popular teacher with students. Mr. Markus has a BA in Political Science from SUNY Albany, certification in Biology from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, a Masters of Science in Education Administration from the College of New Rochelle, and is working towards his doctorate (Ed.D) in Instructional Leadership at St. John's University. Prior to entering the field of education he owned a vintage clothing store in Toronto, Ontario. During his career as a teacher he taught in Ft. Lauderdale, in Barcelona, Spain at the American School of Barcelona, and at Hastings High School. Also at the January 10th BOE meeting, there will be a review of the new K-5 mathematics program: Math in Focus.
The Edgemont Scholarship Council (ESC) continues to work to help college seniors. The Council’s seeks to ensure that no child is denied a college education because of insufficient finances. Through the generosity of the community and through various fundraising efforts, each year the ESC awards thousands of dollars in need-based scholarship money to eligible Edgemont graduates to further their studies. Save the date for their annual Make-a-Difference event on February 3rd. Invitations will be sent out soon.
Finally the 2012 spring musical, Oklahoma, has been cast and the students are hard at work under the direction of Director Kelley Morse to bring to life the story of two young cowboys who vie with an evil ranch hand and a traveling peddler for the hearts of the women they love In the Oklahoma territory at the turn of the twentieth century. The show will run from March 22 – 25 and information about ticket sales will be available on February 1st on the school's website. Last year's spring musical, Grease, sold out three of the four performances, so order your tickets early.
Tracing the Roots of Scarsdale's First Black Families
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An exhibit tracing the ancestry of Scarsdale’s first black families that was originally on display at Scarsdale Village Hall has now been moved to the Mount Vernon Public Library, where it will be on view until January 7, 2012. The exhibit is titled, "Early Scarsdale Along Saxon Woods Road" and was compiled by Phyllis C. Murray with contributions from Donna Lockley, Robinette Purdy Allen Robinson and Alfred Surya Peterson.
The display includes documents and photos from the Purdy African-American family that date as far back as 1850 and extend into the next century. Their descendants, friends and family lived along Saxon Woods Road. Included are photos of tombstones in the African-American cemetery in Rye, a display of matriarchs and their properties, and a military chronology from the Civil War to World War II.
The importance of education is highlighted with photos from the early days of the Quaker Ridge School which was always
Mount Vernon Public Library
28 South First Avenue
Mount Vernon, NY 10550
Virginia McClellan Moskowitz Local History Room
Municipal parking across from South Second Avenue entrance.
http://www.mountvernonpubliclibrary.org/First-Avenue-Window
Pictured at top: The Barry Avenue Church organized by Robert Purdy of Scarsdale in 1852. Erected in Mamaroneck, NY circa 1903. Photo from the Larchmont Historical Society.
