In Favor of Game On 365
- Details
- Hits: 3041
Dear Scarsdale10583: I am writing as a 30 year Greenburgh resident who operates a business and has raised his family at our home on Wayside Drive, just off of Dobbs Ferry Road. My business partner and I currently own and operate the Westchester Golf Range, a facility that a large number of Greenburgh residents have enjoyed for over 60 years.
The Golf Range sits adjacent to 715 Dobbs Ferry Road, the site currently being considered for The Westchester Field House, a year-round, indoor sports facility. Like so many Greenburgh residents, I have watched the old Franks Nursery site languish for years and become a tax burden. As a neighbor, I have closely followed the development of this proposal, and after nearly two years of public deliberation I have come to strongly support it. After many public meetings, an open RFP, and a town-wide referendum overwhelmingly supported by two thirds of residents, it is clear that The Westchester Field House has the support of this community as well.
The project is a good fit for the immediate neighborhood and will maintain the recreational landscape along Dobbs Ferry Road. The proposed facility will complement Rumbrook Park, the Westchester Golf Range, Elmwood Country Club and Elmwood Day Camp, all of which help improve the quality of life for Greenburgh residents. Considering the alternatives, I cannot imagine a business better suited for that location.
Bringing The Westchester Field House to Greenburgh will also be good for local business, including the Golf Range. In a difficult economy, local businesses can finally look forward to a new, complementary business coming to our neighborhood. While most residents and business owners want to see real progress for Greenburgh, a handful of others have filed a lawsuit to stop this project for their own self-interests.
I am happy to see that the Town is looking to move this project forward and avoid expensive litigation and delays by planning to sell the Frank's Nursery site to Game On 365. The opposition, spearheaded by another local sports facility, motivated by commercial self-interest, will likely advocate to start the process over, with a new RFP for the site, or an open bidding process for the land. Either avenue will create unnecessary delays and result in the property remaining vacant for years to come. It would also raise uncertainty as to the type of development that may come to the neighborhood.
There is a public meeting at the Greenburgh Town Hall this Wednesday, January 9th, at 7:30pm, to discuss the Town's proposed action of selling 715 Dobbs Ferry Rd to Game On 365. I encourage all Greenburgh residents to support this action to help move this project forward.
As a resident, taxpayer, business owner and sports enthusiast, I encourage you to support this project and finally bring real progress to Greenburgh.
Steve Quagliano
County Taxes to Increase 6.33% for Scarsdale Residents
- Details
- Hits: 3486
The Westchester County Tax Commission released its estimate of the effect that Westchester's 2013 budget will have on individual municipalities on 12/20/12. For the third year in a row the overall county property tax levy has not increased and remains at $548 million, identical to 2012 and 2011. However, because communities assess properties at different levels of full value and property values don't go up and down uniformly from community to community, the amount owed by each municipality to the county changes from year to year. A state equalization rate is applied to each municipality so that the tax can be fairly apportioned.
The result is that 15 communities will see their portion of county taxes go down and 10 will see them go up. Scarsdale's increase is among the highest in the county, rising 6.33%, second only to the City of Rye, where taxes will go up 7.46%. Increases here are offset by decreases ranging from 7.67% in Mount Vernon to 0.45 percent in New Castle.
According to County Executive Rob Astorino, "The county has done its job to hold the line on our county property tax,"... "However, every year the county tax levy affects local governments differently."
County property taxes account for about 15 to 20 percent of a property owner's tax bill. School taxes account for about 60 percent and village government taxes for the remaining 20 percent. Therefore, to estimate how much your county taxes will go up in 2013, take 20% of your real estate tax bill, and increase that by 6.33%.
Here's the estimated percentage change in tax levy by municipality for 2013:
City of Mount Vernon (7.67)
City of New Rochelle (2.53)
City of Peekskill (2.63)
City of Rye 7.46
City of White Plains (6.07)
City of Yonkers (3.19)
Town of Bedford 2.51
Town of Cortlandt 1.60
Town of Eastchester (0.98)
Town of Greenburgh 2.10
Town of Harrison 5.73
Town of Lewisboro (5.56)
Town of Mamaroneck 5.16
Town of Mount Kisco (1.54)
Town of Mount Pleasant 1.22
Town of New Castle (0.45)
Town of North Castle 3.25
Town of North Salem 0.90
Town of Ossining (5.00)
Town of Pelham (2.52)
Town of Pound Ridge 0.83
Town of Rye (3.74)
Town of Scarsdale 6.33
Town of Somers (3.18)
Town of Yorktown (2.17)
Scarsdale Board of Trustees Demands Answers from Con Edison
- Details
- Hits: 3446
The Scarsdale Board of Trustees has sent a letter to Con Edison Chairman, President and CEO Kevin Burke outlining the abysmal response of the utility in Scarsdale during Hurricane Sandy. Dated December 12, the five-page letter gives a detailed account of what did and didn't happen, calling the restoration effort "fraught with frustration, confusion and anger on the part of both Village residents and Village staff." The letter charged Con Edison with lacking a plan, "critical deficiencies in staffing" and "poor communication."
For the first four days following the storm "not a single restoration crew was dispatched to Scarsdale," and when crews did arrive prioritizing work sites was a "major issue." Since there was only one Con Edison person who could deactivate lines in Scarsdale, there was a major bottleneck in clearing streets.
The letter goes on to suggest that Con Ed "train and authorize local licensed electricians to de-energize and cut lines," and "decentralize work assignments" so that there is a person with command authority at the municipal level.
The Con Ed representative assigned to Scarsdale "rarely had the facts available" needed by the Village staff, was unable to obtain crew, lacked authority and technical training.
Furthermore, the Trustees change Con Ed with poor communications with both the Village and residents. During the entire 12-day outage, the utility's only response to questions about when power would be restored was a blanket guarantee of November 9 and then November 11 – providing no sequenced work plan or timetable. Even the Con Edison online map was "rarely accurate."
The letter ends with a call for a meeting with senior Con Edison Officials and the Village Staff to address these concerns, to find out what improvements are planned and to formulate a long-range plan. Read the entire text of the letter here.
The letter is signed by the Mayor and Board of Trustees and copies are being sent to Governor Cuomo, Robert Abrams and Benjamin Lawsky of the Moreland Commission, Garry Brown, Chairman of the NY Public Service Commission, State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins, County Executive Rob Astorino, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, Congressman Eliot Engel, Village Manager Al Gatta and Linda Leavitt of the Scarsdale Inquirer.
Gun Show Planned for County Center on February 2 is Cancelled
- Details
- Hits: 3186
This just in from the office of Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino: there will be no gun and knife show at the Westchester County Center as originally scheduled. According to an email from the County Executive's Office recevied on the afternoon of 12/17, "With respect to the Sportsmen Firearm and Knife Show at the County Center, there is no signed contract for this event in 2013. The shows in past years were popular and run in a thoroughly professional manner. But at this time as the country grieves the loss of life in Newtown, a contract renewal is not appropriate."
Cancellation of the show may have been in response to an email from Greenburgh Town Supervisor Pau Feiner who called for a ban on gun shows at the Westchester County Center. (Here is the text of an email we received from Feiner this weekend:) The Westchester County Center, a county taxpayer owned building, will be the location for the next gun show on February 2 and 3 2013 --according to northeastgunshows.com. Shortly after the Columbine High School shootings--which took the lives of 14 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado former County Executive Andrew Spano banned gun shows from the County Center--calling gun shows at government buildings "inappropriate".
After County Executive Rob Astorino defeated Mr. Spano, Astorino revoked the ban and allowed the gun shows to resume at the county center. When the gun shows were reinstated admission was $11- with $1.50 going to the county. In light of the school shooting which killed 20 children and 7 adults in Sandy Hook, Connecticut on Friday - I am calling on the County Executive and Board of Legislators to ban gun and weapon shows from the County Center. Citizens have a right to bear arms and a right to purchase guns from reputable dealers. But, there is nothing in the constitution that requires governments to allow gun sales at government buildings. If northeastgunshows.com wants to have a gun show in Westchester they should contract with a private facility, not a government owned building.
Among the weapons being sold at the gun show: firearms, knives, and military style weapons. An article in the June 20, 2010 issue of the NY Daily News indicated that some vendors "sold books and magazines with Nazi names at these shows. At least two sold stickers bearing confederate flags and swastikas." Though 99% of the people who purchase guns at gun shows are honest, decent, law abiding citizens all we need is one crazy like the school gunman whose family obtains a gun legally and starts shooting innocent people."
Scarsdale Planning Board Recommends Easing Noise and Setback Requirements for Home Generators
- Details
- Hits: 5989
The Scarsdale Village Planning Board's examination of Scarsdale Village Zoning Code Chapter 310-7 – "Permanent Emergency Generators" drew a large crowd to its November 28th meeting. With many Scarsdale residents out of power for as many as 11 days in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, this issue has become one of central importance here.
This Board revisited several specific issues: noise, placement, fuel source, and certification. Proposed amendments to the law had raised the decibel amount to 65 and allowed for side yard in addition to rear yard installation, but kept the 20 feet setback. Planning Board Chair Jane Veron recognized that these changes were likely insufficient, stating that the "severity and frequency of these storms have changed our assumptions about what is necessary to protect ourselves."
The debate over the code focused on noise during "exercise time," a once weekly maintenance run-through that takes about fifteen to twenty minutes. Many residents voiced their opinions to the Board.
Larry Bell, representing the West Quaker Ridge Association Generator Committee which submitted an extensive twelve-page report to the Board, summarized the Committees' recommendations, which include a process for expedited approval for rear, side and front yard above-ground, outside installations without regard to setback of generators that meet the Village's noise requirements. For front yard installations, residents would need to demonstrate impracticality or hardship. The report also called for an elimination of the five-year recertification requirement. You can download a summary of their report by clicking here.
Residents implored the Board to remember the big picture and not get bogged down in details. Russ Kopp cautioned that the Board was "closing the barn door and leaving the window wide open." Board members must remember, he urged, that if the rules on generators remain too restrictive, residents will install temporary generators, which will be louder and more dangerous than permanent generators. George Sanderson pointed out that in the aftermath of Sandy, the newspaper contained two columns of calls to the fire department from people who had improperly hooked up temporary generators. The Board also questioned expert Lewis Baldessarre from Power Performance who distributes generators. He advocated for a focus on safety rather than noise. He reminded the Board that many individuals need generators for medical reasons and to prevent pipes freezing, and of the dangers of temporary generators.
In addition to safety concerns, Philip Sanchez noted that the lower the decibel requirement, and thus the more expensive the generator, the higher the likelihood of generators becoming cost prohibitive for some families.
Several owners of smaller plots of land reminded the Board that restrictive regulations particularly impact their ability to install emergency permanent generators legally. Ms. Veron stated that the Board held over this discussion primarily because it was concerned that the law did not help small lots and it wanted to ensure that all residents, no matter lot size, can apply for a generator permit.
In response to resident comments imploring the Board to act quickly on this matter, Ms. Veron iterated that "our goal is to move as 
rapidly as possible."
Ultimately, the Board elected to recommend a noise limit of 70 decibels along with an elimination of the recertification requirement, stating that residents have the option to file a noise grievance if generators become too loud over time. It will advocate for noise to be measured according to manufacturers' specifications, as several residents suggested. In that case, decibel amount is measured at 23 feet away from the generator. Additionally, the Board will recommend replacing the 20-foot setback scale with the accessory setback scale for buildings (a graduated scale that takes lot size into account --see chart below). Due to expense, odor, and logistical concerns, the Board did not recommend adding diesel to the list of acceptable fuel sources. Finally, though several residents recommended allowing for front-yard installation, the Board ultimately decided that the current law, which allows residents to apply for a variance if they will experience "undue hardship" without front-yard installation, is sufficient.
Scarsdale Mayor Miriam Levitt-Flisser announced the Village's plan to pass this law as quickly as possible. On December 12, the Village Board Law Committee will meet to review the Planning Board's recommendations. At a public hearing the first week in January, the Village's plan is to enact the law unless residents voice significant opposition. Accordingly, the Village may pass the law as early as the first week in January.
See below for instructions on determine the zone of your house.
1. Navigate your Internet browser to www.scarsdale.com, the Scarsdale Village website;
2. About half way down the home page is the section titled "Interactive";
3. In the Interactive box, click the link to "Online Property Inquiry";
4. The next screen contains a pull down box containing street names in
the Village database. Find the street name about being inquired
about and click on that street name;
5. The next screen contains a pull down box containing numbered street
addresses for that street and the user should click on the specific address being inquired about;
6. The next screen will contain the information contained in the
Village database about this property, including what zone it is
in, assessment information, tax information and permit information back to when the house was originally built.
(This chart and instructions were compiled and supplied to Scarsdale10583 by Bill Kay)
Contributor Lindsay Dembner lives in Scarsdale. She is an English major turned lawyer currently pursuing employment in higher education and education nonprofits.
