Details

Published: 29 April 2010

Created: 29 April 2010

Last Updated: 29 April 2010

Hits: 4471

County Executive Robert P. Astorino said last night at the annual meeting of the Edgemont Community Council that Westchester County is going through the tough times right now that Edgemont went through five years ago when it took steps to end runaway spending and spiraling taxes.

Speaking before a crowd of more than 80 people at the Greenville Elementary School, which included School Superintendent Nancy Taddiken, Astorino praised Edgemont’s school district leaders for having the foresight years before anyone else to make the hard decisions on what to save and what to cut. He compared Edgemont’s decision to eliminate the elementary school bus service to its Greenridge neighborhood that the district had been providing for decades with his own controversial decision to eliminate an express bus that runs along Central Avenue to Manhattan. “I know you in Edgemont know how difficult it can be to cut buses. Believe me I know,” Astorino said.

Astorino said there was a $166 million shortfall in the county’s budget, that the county would have to raise taxes by 30% to balance the budget, that he was sticking to his campaign pledge of no tax hikes, and that, as a result, the county had no choice but to cut spending. He said Westchester County had the dubious distinction of being the highest taxed county in the United States for two years running and vowed to “take Westchester out of medals contention” in that category.

Astorino repeated his call for a 15% across the board contribution to health insurance by all 5,600 county employees, a number of whom, he said, would have to be layed off. He said that county employees currently pay nothing for heath insurance which for each family plan costs county taxpayers $22,000 annually.

Astorino said he was reaching out to everyone in the county to get ideas on how to economize and cut costs. He said he had recently met with Edgemont resident and New York City hospital executive John Sganga to discuss ways in which the county could reduce spending at Westchester Medical Center. He also said he had met with a number of the county’s school superintendents, including Edgemont’s Taddiken, to discuss ways in which the county would work with the school districts to reduce their own spending.

“We all serve the same taxpayers,” Astorino said, “We just provide different services.” He added that the idea of county leaders meeting with school officials was once like mixing “church and state” but no longer.

Astorino was introduced by ECC president Bob Bernstein who first met Astorino last year at a Republican fundraising event held at the home of Edgemont residents Ken and Helene Orce. Bernstein, who is chair of the Edgemont Democratic Party, said he had never before attended a Republican event and that for him, “It was like eating ham on Yom Kippur – it was something I just didn’t do.”

Astorino said his message of controlling taxing and spending had bipartisan support and pointed out that in the general election last fall, he won both Scarsdale and Edgemont, where Democrats have long enjoyed a substantial edge in voter registration.

In other business last night, the ECC honored longtime Edgemont resident and Citigroup CFO John Gerspach with the Silver Bowl Award for distinguished community service. Gerspach was introduced by Silver Bowl committee member Geoff Loftus, who recited Gerspach’s long list of community activities, describing him as “tireless and indefatigable.”

The ECC membership also re-elected Bob Bernstein as president for a fourth successive one-year term, after passing a bylaw amendment waiving the ECC’s term limits provision that limited service as president to three successive one-year terms. ECC directors are still subject, however, to a six-year term limit provision.

In addition, the ECC adopted a second bylaw amendment to give the ECC greater flexibility in appointing residents to serve on the School Board Nominating Committee, which is sponsored by the ECC. Most SBNC representatives are supposed to be selected individually by Edgemont’s eight civic associations during their respective annual meetings. However, in recent years, certain of the civic associations did not hold annual meetings and, as a result, no one from their associations were eligible to serve. The bylaw change allows the ECC directors to fill such vacancies from residents who live in areas where civic associations are inactive.

Bernstein explained that the ECC appointments would be for one year only and that if any previously inactive civic associations held their annual meetings in time to appoint SBNC representatives in time to serve in the fall of any year when the SBNC becomes active, the ECC would in each case let the civic associations decide who was to serve from their areas.

“We want our SBNC membership to be as inclusive and as diversified as we can make it. Everyone from throughout Edgemont should be represented. And no one should be disenfranchised from serving because his or her civic association happened to be inactive that year,” Bernstein said. SBNC members are required to attend at least three school board meetings before they may participate in SBNC deliberations.

The four school board candidates who received this year’s SBNC endorsement for the four open positions – Gerry Stoughton, Tom McCormack, David Stern and David Chao were all introduced at the meeting. A fifth candidate, who is running without the SBNC endorsement, did not attend the meeting.

Details

Published: 03 May 2010

Created: 03 May 2010

Last Updated: 03 May 2010

Hits: 4485

Bicycle Sundays are back! Joggers and walkers and those with scooters and strollers are welcome to enjoy the Bronx River Parkway from White Plains to Yonkers. The 2010 dates for Bicycle Sundays are on May 2, 9, 16 and 23; June 6, 13, 20 and 27; and September 12, 19 and 26. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A portion of the Bronx River Parkway is closed to cars for the exclusive use of bicyclists, joggers, walkers, and those with scooters and strollers. The course runs from the Westchester County Center in White Plains, south to Scarsdale Road in Yonkers, a round-trip of 13.1 miles. There are many points of entry and exit along the way. Parking is available at the County Center lot in White Plains for a fee of $4.

For more information go to: http://www.countycenter.biz/BikeSkateSundays.htm

The Scarsdale Farmer’s Market is now outside, every Saturday morning from 9:00 – 1 :30 in the parking lot at Village Hall. There’s farm fresh produce including lettuce, tomatoes, mushrooms and everything green on your list. The market also includes baked goods, breads, and rotating vendors offering organic meat, herbs, plants, oils and even NYS wines. Support the Scarsdale Farmer’s Market rain or shine every Saturday morning. Read more from Market Lady Carol DeLisa at: http://localmarketlady.blogspot.com/

The Village of Scarsdale is seeking information from residents and businesses with respect to their understanding of stormwater related issues in the community. In order to better understand what the Village must do to inform residents and businesses, they would like all residents to complete a short questionnaire to support Scarsdale’s continuing Stormwater Management efforts.To complete the questionnaire got to the Hot Topics secions of the village website or click here.

 

Details

Published: 21 April 2010

Created: 21 April 2010

Last Updated: 21 April 2010

Hits: 4610

On Wednesday April 21, Seely Place Elementary School, in conjunction with the American Heart Association, conducted a CPR training program for all 6th-graders. The impetus behind the program was last summer's near-death incident with EHS Senior Cody Fisher. Since then, Cody and his mother, Alisa Herschaft, have been active advocates for CPR/AED training. As a result, more than 42 faculty members voluntarily completed a training workshop this past fall, with future workshops planned. While Fisher and Herschaft considered that a good start, their vision extended much further.

Through their efforts, the American Heart Association donated more than 150 training kits (CPR Anytime™ for Family and Friends) so that every 6th-grader, at both Seely and Greenville Elementary Schools, could not only learn CPR, but also take the kits home to teach their parents and friends. Each kit contained an inflatable mannequin, an instructional DVD and a booklet. "From the minute I walked into the building this morning, there was tremendous enthusiasm for the program," said Mark Hurley of The AHA.

Program facilitator Letitia Osborne explained to the children, that administering CPR could double or triple the chances for survival if someone stops breathing. In addition to full and hands-only CPR instruction, children learned how to respond to a choking victim and Captain Lis, from the Greenville Fire Department, provided an overview about the use of an AED machine. Herschaft realized the importance of knowing CPR after Cody nearly died from cardiac arrest last summer while working at a sleep-away camp. "If it had happened in front of me I would have had to call 911 and wait," she said. As Captain Park, of the Greenville Fire Department, said, "from the time you dial 911, to when help is dispatched and arrives, it could be 3-5 minutes. Knowing how to do CPR immediately could make a huge difference."

As Alisa watched the training session, she dabbed away tears from her eyes. Today is of particular significance to her as it is also Cody's 18th birthday, a day he reached largely due to these life-saving techniques. "I'm just so happy he's alive, and doing so great," she said. This fall, Cody will be attending SUNY Albany School of Business, a rare honor for a freshman, and will be managing the school's football team. When asked what he thought about the fact that this program happened to be taking place on his birthday he said, "It's really heartwarming. A great gift."

At-Home personal CPR Training Kits are available, for $35, through the American Heart Association website or 877-AHA-4CPR.

Betsy Cadel is an Edgemont resident, freelance writer, and wants to wish Cody a very happy birthday.