After the Storm in Edgemont
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The unexpected snowstorm on October 29th caused widespread problems throughout the tri-state area and Edgemont was not spared. Sandra Miller of Con Edison reports that 100,000 customers in Westchester were affected, 3,000 of those in Scarsdale. Connecticut fared even worse. As of November 8th, a full 10 days after the storm, 23,000 customers there remain without power. Fortunately I did not lose power and was able to open up my home to Edgemont neighbors who needed a warm place to spend the night or a freezer to store their frozen goods. Thankfully, most residents in Edgemont did get their power back by Tuesday morning, well ahead of the initial Wednesday night estimate from Con Edison. All Edgemont schools re-opened on time on Tuesday morning and life got back to normal. Unfortunately even neighbors in Scarsdale, had to wait another day to have their power restored.
I contacted Paul Feiner, Town of Greenburgh Supervisor, to get his thoughts on the widespread power outages that occurred in Edgemont. Supervisor Feiner told me he was in constant contact with Con Edison officials from Westchester. He explained that Con Ed assigns government liaisons to all local governments and he sent all the complaints he received from residents to these liaisons. Feiner says that during this past storm, "They were not very happy with me---in fact they told me I was sending them too many e mails. I’m not sure if my constant communications helped a lot but I was not very happy with the time it took for the outages to be responded to." Perhaps it was all his emails and complaints that helped restore Edgemont's power well before the expected deadline?
Cablevision and Verizon also assign liaisons to government officials and Feiner sent them many emails as well. Feiner also has good relations with those liaisons but this was not always the case. Feiner recalls that: "Over a decade ago I was not very pleased with the response I received from Verizon. I wrote to Ivan Seidenberg, head of the company. He responded immediately. And—after that I started getting almost instant responses from Verizon every time I have a complaint."
Feiner believes in the importance of constant communication and keeping everyone informed with the most up-to date information during critical situations. He sends emails to people who subscribe to the town’s "e list" (approximately 1,500 people). He also uses social media, sending email alerts to his facebook friends (almost 4,000), linked-in contacts (about 1,000) and posting tweets on twitter. The town website also posts all his email reports. Additionally Feiner has his own blog www.paulfeinerblogspot.com.
Some local residents question why the power lines are not moved underground to avoid repeated power outages. Feiner agrees. "Con Ed says it’s too expensive to put wires underground. But I think it would be affordable if the wires were gradually placed underground. It would make sense to do this when roadwork is being done (for example: on Dobbs Ferry Road there was a major sidewalk, drainage, and traffic safety improvement project on the road. A left turn lane was created on Jackson Ave)... I feel that we're living in a third world country. Many of the Edgemont residents have experienced outages every few months. Con Ed should do a better job and be proactive---so the same people don't have repeat power outages every few months."
The October nor'easter will not be soon forgotten, but at least Edgemont was out of the dark quickly!
Girls Inc. Makes it Fashionable to be Strong, Smart and Bold
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How powerful is the purse? At Girls Inc of Westchester County’s annual fundraiser, the answer was $150,000 strong. That’s the amount the local chapter of the 145 year-old national girls’ empowerment organization raised in a single night. Their recent ‘Power of the Purse’ gala brought celebrities, business leaders and designers together to raise money for programs that enhance the financial literary, everyday savvy, and self-assurance of local girls between the ages of 9 and18.
Held in Ardsley at ‘Life: The Place to Be,” the festive Power of the Purse gathering featured an exciting auction of unique, individually-crafted handbags designed to honor 11 Westchester “purse-o-nalities.” A teen from Girls Inc.’s programs strutted the runway to model each designer-created masterpiece, to share her dreams for the future, and to invite the crowd to invest in girls like her.
NBC-TV Today Show financial advisor Jean Chatzky served as the emcee for the evening. New York State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins,
By the time the evening drew to a close, the ‘Power of the Purse’ event had achieved – and exceeded - its initial goal.
“It was wonderful to see so many people come out in support of Westchester girls, and our effort to teach girls the skills they’ll need to be financially independent adults.” said Sally Baker, Executive Director of Girls Inc. Westchester.
The many heartfelt testimonials offered by local Girls Inc youngsters inspired and engaged the more than 400 guests. Enthused Matisse Clayton 11 of New Rochelle, “Girls Inc. has empowered me to be whatever I choose – a journalist, a doctor, a lawyer or a president.” Added Roosevelt High School student Margaret Herring of Yonkers, “I was considered to be nothing and fought to be something; I triumphed. I’m half way here so who’s going to stop me?”
The ‘Power of the Purse’ gathering serves as the centerpiece of Girls Inc. Westchester’s annual funding campaign, which raises money for programs that inspire all girls to be ‘strong, smart, and bold.’ Through workshops, classes, and conferences, Girls Inc. Westchester helps pre-teens and teens throughout the county learn about leadership, financial literacy, media literacy, science and technology careers, and more.
“This event gave the all-important message to Westchester girls that they matter, and that there are countless women and men who care about and are willing to invest in their future.”
(Pictured at top: Shell Roberts, Sabrina Standard, Jacqueline Williams, Andrea Stewart Cousins: Photo Credit Cesar Rivera)
Police Investigate the Death of an Edgemont Grad
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Residents of Chimney Pot Lane in Ardsley found the body of a 20 year-old Hartsdale man in their yard at 1:50 pm on Wednesday October 19th. The body was identified as Charles A. McCarthy of 300 South Central Avenue, Hartsdale. An autopsy was done by the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office but the cause of death has not been determined and the department is awaiting toxicology reports. The Ardsley Police, Westchester County Police and the Medical’s Examiner’s office are conducting an investigation into the matter but according to police “the incident does not appear to be criminal in nature.”
McCarthy was a 2010 graduate of Edgemont High School and was a student at Westchester Community College at the time of his death. He had a troubled past. In December 2010 McCarthy was charged with burglary in the break-in of a home on Andrea Lane where a computer and electronics were stolen. At that time, McCarthy was also on probation for an attempted robbery conviction in Eastchester in 2008.
Ardsley Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact the Detective Division at 914-693-1700.
(Pictured above, Charles A McCarthy)
Take A Survey to Tell Us What You Would Like To See Downtown
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Downtown Scarsdale has seen its ups and downs in the past few years. Just this week, Imagine Candy is opening on Harwood Court, right across the street from the former site of Rhodadendron, a moderately priced clothing and accessories store that never gained a foothold in town. And on Christie Place the new Patisserie Salzburg is selling cake but the Christie Place Bakery has closed.
With several empty sites in town, the Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce wants to hear your opinions about what kinds of businesses, stores and restaurants you’d like to see in Scarsdale Village. Participate in our short survey and we’ll tabulate the results and make sure your voices are heard.
Rhodadendron on Harwood Court has closed
The Christie Place Bakery is also history
Update from Assemblywoman Amy Paulin
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Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D-88) reports that the 2011 legislative session was for her, one of the most successful. Working in a bipartisan manner, Paulin was able to get many of her bill’s passed and she ranked fourth out of 150 in the number of her bills that passed both the State Assembly and State Senate. To date, Governor Cuomo has signed thirteen of her bills into law.
As a result, Paulin was named Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Children and Families. Paulin’s 2011 bills reflect her new leadership role and her advocacy for students, seniors, and vulnerable populations. Some of Paulin’s bills that were signed into law this session include:
Adult Protective Services Record Sharing
The death earlier this year of 23-year old Laura Cummings, a mentally disabled woman who was held captive, tortured and brutalized by her own mother and half-brother, brought to light the tragic consequences that can occur when one state agency lacks access to critical information possessed by another state agency. Paulin’s law (Ch. 440 of 2011) will give adult protective services access to child protective services records to better enable them to determine whether a person is in need of adult protective services.
SUNY Purchase
Legislation was passed to allow SUNY Purchase to lease unused land on its campus to create a senior learning community. As many as 385 units may be constructed and 20% of the units will be designated affordable housing. Westchester County residents will be given priority for half of those units. 75% of the revenues generated by the lease will fund financial aid to qualified students while the remaining 25% will support the addition of full-time faculty positions at the university.
Early Intervention
Paulin’s bill gives counties a measure of critically needed mandate relief. Although state law requires commercial health insurers to contribute to the cost of early intervention services provided to children covered under their policies, private insurers pay only 2% of costs of the $654 million early intervention program. The failure by insurers to pay their share of the costs of early intervention services has placed an increasingly undue burden on municipalities. With this new law, municipalities will be better equipped to improve efficiencies in seeking reimbursement from insurers.
Immunizations
Paulin wrote a new law (Ch. 316 of 2011) that extends the law she authored that allows licensed pharmacists to administer flu and pneumonia shots to adults. Without this extension, adults would not be able to obtain flu and pneumonia shots in pharmacies or at other community facilities. Prior to the law, between 5,000 and 7,500 New Yorkers died annually from these diseases, and more than 75,000 treated in hospitals for flu-like symptoms. With the law, more than one million shots were administered in the past year. By allowing pharmacists to administer these vaccinations, the State will make healthcare more accessible to all New Yorkers and be better able to respond to a future flu pandemic.
Constituents can keep up with news and announcements on Paulin’s official Facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/assemblywomanpaulin and follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/amypaulin .
