Help Us Find the Zebra
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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A beloved Zebra who lived on the traffic island at Greenacres Avenue and Colvin Road is missing again.
The zebra has been a neighborhood favorite since Pearl Stark of 47 Greenacres Avenue donated the large ceramic sculpture of a black and white striped zebra to adorn the newly planted traffic island across the street from her home in the summer of 2011. Stark has lived on Greenacres Avenue since 1965 and left the zebra as a parting gift to the neighborhood when she moved out in 2011. She wished to thank the neighborhood gardeners for providing a lovely vista from her front porch.
The zebra was placed in a corner of the triangular island on Saturday July 23, 2011. However, just days afterwards the zebra was stolen, but ultimately recovered.
Now 12 years later, the zebra along with two Buddha statues that were also donated to the garden are gone.
Neighbors suspect the zebra was stolen in November 2022 before he usually goes into hibernation in someone’s home for the winter. Thinking the zebra was in storage, no one suspected he had been stolen at the time. But now it’s clear that the zebra is gone…. along with the two buddhas.
Do you know anything about the whereabouts of the zebra? If so, please contact Deb Pekarek at (914) 723-6171 or email Deb at dpekarek@verizon.net or email us at scarsdalecomments@gmail.com.
Help us locate this neighborhood treasure.
Spectacular Fireworks for the Fourth of July
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- Written by Vivian Zweig
- Hits: 923
A lively crowd gathered at the Scarsdale Public Pool on Thursday, June 29, in anticipation of Scarsdale’s annual fireworks spectacular. The pool complex was packed with residents armed with lawn chairs and picnic blankets, occupying every inch of the lawn. Those looking to watch the display from a more spacious environment set up camp adjacent to the pool complex on Winston Field.
Residents began arriving early in the evening to claim spots on the pool complex’s lawn. As families settled down to enjoy snacks and meals, some more youthful residents could be seen splashing around the pool and playing lawn games. At 7:30 PM, the Westchester Band, directed by Alan Hollander, began the evening with a selection of patriotic songs.
The band began by playing America the Beautiful, setting the tone for the night. Among the songs played were American Overture, the Star Spangled Spectacular, and Stars and Stripes Forever. After a brief intermission, the crowd waited for the night’s main attraction—the fireworks spectacular—to begin.
As glimmers of light danced across the sky, the display captivated and dazzled the audience. The foggy evening added a unique and mystical aspect to the show. After about half an hour and an exciting finale, residents exited the pool complex in waves—another successful spectacular.
Although the fireworks spectacular has passed, the town’s 4th of July celebrations are far from over. Residents can look forward to attending the July 4th Parade at Arthur Manor and the July 4th Celebration in Greenacres. More information on these events can be found here!
Village Condemns Neglected Home on Madison Road
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 3303
A neglected home at 136 Madison Road was condemned.The Scarsdale Building Department accompanied by the Village Attorney’s office and the Scarsdale Department of Public Works conducted a search of a neglected home at 136 Madison Road in Arthur Manor. Following the search, the property was condemned.
The two-story, 1,706 square foot home was built in 1929 and has an assessed value of $675,000.
The house sits on a one-tenth of an acre lot and there is a separate one tenth of an acre lot adjacent to it, both with the same owner.
According to Village Treasurer Anne Scaglione, taxes on both lots have been paid.
Sign Up for the Village's Emergency Notification System
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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This letter was written by Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest:
June 28, 2023
Dear Scarsdale,
Safety is the top priority for our community, and our village has taken a significant step to enhance our ability to communicate with you, particularly during emergency situations. After careful evaluation, the Village has chosen to transition to a new emergency communication platform: Everbridge.
Everbridge is a comprehensive, state-of-the-art communication system designed to provide you with important, potentially life-saving information as swiftly as possible, especially during a crisis. Everbridge rose to the top of our assessment as the most effective and reliable platform. Some of you may already be familiar with a service called Nixle, used by some of our neighboring communities. This service was acquired by Everbridge, and its functionality has been integrated into the Everbridge platform.
You can enroll right now by clicking here. We highly recommend that each member of your household sign-up for this service to ensure everyone is kept informed during an emergency. There is also an app for iOS and Android, “Everbridge Public Safety” that can be downloaded on your mobile devices. And in the coming days, all households will also receive a postcard containing instructions on how to sign up for Everbridge.
Additionally, for updates on less urgent matters, we encourage you to subscribe to Notify Me, another service designed to keep you updated with press releases from the Village as well as specific information on other topics that can be tailored to your interests. Enrollment for Notify Me is separate and can be completed here.
Please help the Village in keeping you up to date by signing up now for both Everbridge and Notify Me. Being prepared and informed is our collective responsibility and a vital part of ensuring the well-being of our community.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter. If you have any questions or need assistance with signing up, please contact the Manager’s Office at Manager@Scarsdale.com. Together, we will keep our community safe and informed. The Village of Scarsdale wishes you all a Happy Independence Day!
My best,
Justin Arest, Mayor
Mayor@Scarsdale.com
Softball Team Says That New Field Does Not Meet Regulations
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Though the Scarsdale School district touted the opening of a new softball field at Greenacres as a benefit for the SHS girls softball team, it turns out that the new field does not meet specifications and lacks essential features of a regulation field.
On Monday June 5, the district invited the softball team and others to a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new softball field at Greenacres Elementary School. The field is in the rear corner of Greenacres Field and had been closed for the entire spring while it was ostensibly being redone. The girls softball team currently plays at a Village owned field at Supply Field and had been asking for a field that was equal to the baseball field that the boys play on at Dean Field.
Unlike other facilities projects, there had been little discussion about this at school board meetings this year, and most were not aware that any work was in process.
According to parents, the new field does not have the correct dirt to grass ratio so that the outfield is in dirt rather than grass. It also lacks benches, a dugout or a scoreboard. It does little to meet the goal of an alternate facility for the girls and does not achieve equity with the boys facilities.
Sammy Fenigstein, the captain of the Girls Softball Team attended the ribbon cutting at the invitation of the district and had this to say:
"The Scarsdale softball team was never part of the process of choosing Greenacres as a new field for the team or as a practice field. We found out about its opening just a few days before. We were overjoyed to hear that Scarsdale athletics was taking a step in the direction of equality between men and women in sports, but we then saw that we are being given a field that is not playable.
For the past 20 years, we have been playing on a field at Supply with no dugouts, no scoreboard, and field conditions that are not up to par with Dean field, the boys baseball team’s field. Dean field has dugouts, a score board, batting cages, is right on the SHS campus, and so much more. We all thought that we were finally going to get a field that is somewhat close to what baseball has.
Then we went to the ribbon cutting the other day and saw that Greenacres field was still a baseball field (the dimensions were too large to be a high school girls softball field) and its condition was not even comparable to Dean field. We were then asked to do a ribbon cutting at that field. It really just felt like we were being used for a photo-op.
What upset the team the most was when the athletic department announced that we were “smiling ear to ear” when receiving our unusable field. In reality, we were appalled at the injustice now so clearly on display between men and women in Scarsdale athletics. If the school could fix the field issues at Supply, and give us a scoreboard and dugouts there, we would be content. We have been asking for equality between the baseball team and the softball team for many years. Instead we were given an unusable field and it was announced that we were all so happy about it.
As much as the team appreciates the effort put into attempting to make Greenacres a permanent field for us, there is more to be done to obtain equality between men and women in Scarsdale athletics."
Asked for a comment, Superintendent Drew Patrick said, "Skinning the field was a first step in the effort to provide more access for girls softball at all levels. We have work to do on the field to bring it up to a higher level of competition, and we are excited to work together to make these improvements in the months to come."
A field study that includes Village and school owned fields will be done next year to determine what is needed. Officials indicated that this field is only an interim step until that study can be completed and that more could come for the girls down the line.
