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Published: 11 July 2012

Created: 11 July 2012

Last Updated: 11 July 2012

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Here are comments from Mayor Miriam Flisser given at the Scarsdale Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday night July 10 concerning tree removal at Cooper Green and George Field: In reply to residents and press concerns about the damage to trees caused by the Fox Meadow Stormwater project and other Village construction, expressed this week, I was surprised since the run up to this project has included many public meetings, including one in September with at least 100 residents attending. The project was a response to resident demand for storm water relief.

I also note that the area behind the new Public Safety building received meticulous attention to preservation of trees, with mature trees being moved and salvaged during the construction at the insistence of the Trustees. Residents are invited to look at the landscaping and rain gardens, which include best practices that Scarsdale has been lauded for in NY State publications. Anne Jaffe Holmes, of the Greenburgh Nature Center, expressed appreciation of this, in detail, in February, at a well-attended meeting of the Scarsdale Forum. In addition, I gave public presentations of the project, at the State of the Village Report on October 8; at the Greenacres Town Meeting held in the spring, for 2 years in a row, and at numerous Neighborhood Association meetings, as well as at SNAP.

Concerning the South Fox Meadow drainage project, one of the largest wetlands areas in Westchester County will be created in the area around George Field Park. Wetlands will be rehabilitated, invasive plantings will be removed and replaced with native species. 40,000 square feet of wetlands will be included, with a dry pond capable of holding one to three feet of water on seven acres. The dry pond drains about 48 - 72 hours after a storm event. These wetlands will include a walkway, and a grassy swale to direct water. A 2,900 square foot detention pond and rain garden, including a walking path with a pervious surface, will be installed at Cooper Green, where drainage from Cambridge Road will flow through newly functional catch basins and positive drains.

Besides reducing flash flooding, the project introduces controlled wetlands, removes invasive species, adds extensive rain gardens, and improves water quality. Its $3.1 Million cost is funded by a County grant and Village funds.

When it comes to tree preservation, natural environment, use of pesticides and herbicides; and ecologically sensitive planting, Scarsdale, supported by dedicated and vigilant resident volunteers; educated and responsive professional staff, and committed elected representatives, is a leader in the field.

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Published: 12 July 2012

Created: 12 July 2012

Last Updated: 12 July 2012

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Tempers flared during a hot week in Greenburgh. Here’s the report from the police: Ex-husband Assaults Ex-wife: Around noon on Thursday, July 5th a 33-year-old Manhattan woman was assaulted by her ex-husband, Manuel Gomez of the Bronx, during a personal dispute in a car on Hartsdale Avenue. Police reported that Gomez, a 52-year-old lawyer, grabbed the woman’s hair, punched her in the left side of the face, and pushed her into the driver’s side door. Gomez was charged with assault and held for arraignment.

Busted at McDonalds: On July 6th at 10:00 am, Alim Epps, an unemployed Yonkers man, age 31, was searched after being reported for refusing to leave the McDonalds at 407 North Central Avenue. When police arrived on the scene Epps did not provide proper ID and kept changing his story about who he was and where he was going. After finding a bag of marijuana in Epps’ pocket during a weapons pat down, police searched his bags and found 40 Ziploc bags of marijuana, 24.3 grams of powder cocaine, 16 caffeine pills, and other plastic bags used for packaging narcotics. Epps was carrying the drugs in a brown paper bag, inside a black plastic bag, with an A&P bag as the outer bag. He was charged with criminal possession of marijuana and narcotics.

Drunk Driver Drives Into Pole: At 11:30 pm on July 4th police responded to a report of an accident at the intersection of Ridge Hill Road and Hillcrest Road in Hartsdale. They arrived to find a 2004 Nissan that had been driven into a telephone pole. The driver appeared to be drunk and admitted to drinking beer. He also said he hadn’t slept all night. The driver, who was identified as Josue Franco of Hartsdale, had a BAC level of .08. Besides Franco, there were five other passengers in the car. Two of the passengers were sent to the hospital, two reported no injuries, and the other refused transportation to the hospital. Franco was arrested for DWI and released on bail at Greenburgh headquarters this morning.

Neighborhood feud: There seems to be no end to the feud between neighbors Michael Marom and Audrey Pierot on South Healy and Elizabeth Street in Scarsdale. This week Marom called police at 7 am on July 2nd to complain about the placement of his neighbor’s garbage can, with Pierot claiming that the can is actually on her own property. She countered by saying that Marom had placed orange construction barriers in their shared driveway that prevent here from getting in and out of her property.

An hour later, at 7:52 am, Pierot called police to say that Marom was spray-painting their shared driveway, and complained that he was spraying her portion of the driveway. Police took photos of the paint job to give to the Building Department. Police don’t know the location of the property line and the Greenburgh Building Department is looking into it.

Drinking bareback: Just before midnight on July 4th police found a man lying down on the pavement in the parking lot of 80 East Hartsdale Avenue dressed in only his underwear. He appeared to be drunk and had a cut on his knee. The 27-year-old man from Boats Landing, NY said that he was staying with his sister at 100 East Hartsdale Avenue but could not provide an apartment number. He became aggressive and combative and was handcuffed and taken to WP Hospital. Police later found that the door to 100 East Hartsdale Avenue had been pulled off the track and also found a pair of flowered shorts and raybans in the vestibule which were returned to the man at the hospital.

Tomato Attack: At 9:40 pm on Friday, July 6th, a 42-year-old Scarsdale male living on Central Ave reported several tomatoes thrown at his front porch. The victim reported that he has an ongoing dispute with his upstairs neighbor and believes he may be responsible for the tossed tomatoes.

Scratched at Trader Joes: A Florida woman parked her cars outside Trader Joes on Central Avenue on the afternoon of July 2nd and came back out to find a large scratch on the passenger-side front and rear doors of her 2011 Nissan. The scratch appeared to be made by a sharp object and was estimated at $400.00.

Car Hit: A Yonkers woman who works at Hurricane Wings on Central Avenue reported that her car was hit by a SYSCO food truck making a delivery to the restaurant on the afternoon of 7/2. Her 2007 Eclipse was hit by the 18-wheeler but the driver did not report the accident initially but later claimed that he tried to notify the manager but couldn’t find him.

July 4th Shopping Mistake: A White Plains woman went to Klaff’s on Central Avenue to shop on the afternoon of July 4th. She opened the front door of the store, the alarm went off and she realized that there was no one inside. The store was closed but the door had been left unlocked.

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Published: 05 July 2012

Created: 05 July 2012

Last Updated: 05 July 2012

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What do Scarsdale’s Property Tax Revaluation, Woodstock and NASA’s voyage to the moon all have in common? Give up? They all last occurred in 1969. Yes you read it right; it’s been almost half a century since Scarsdale residents have had their property taxes revalued. Most towns re-assess the value of homes every few years in order to maintain an equitable property tax partition. But Scarsdale has refrained from doing so, and as a result, has created a colossal tax inequity amongst residents. Now after 44 years, the Village believes it’s finally time for a re-assessment.

It stands to reason that the market value of homes has fallen out of alignment with assessed values of 1969. Forty-four years of underreported renovations, market volatility and a real estate market that is inherently illiquid with uneven turnover (only upon new construction, sale of a house or renovation has a re-assessment taken place) have resulted in relative value disparity among comparable homes in the village of Scarsdale. This has essentially created a system of “winners” and “losers” amongst Scarsdale residents. And in order to shift the burden from those paying too much to those paying too little, a re-assessment is necessary.

Throughout the next six months, tax assessors from Tyler Technologies (the same company that revalued Bronxville’s property taxes) will be knocking on every Scarsdale resident’s door to evaluate on 19 specific criteria, after which they will determine a new assessed value for your home. I’m sure many of you are a little confused as to what actually happens, so I’ll provide a brief rundown of how the process goes. The assessor will try a total of four times to contact you. First, the assessor will attempt to come to your house on two separate occasions. If you are either unavailable or choose not to allow the assessor in to your home on both of those occasions, you will receive up to two letters attempting to schedule a date and time for your re-assessment. If you choose not to reply to those letters, the assessors will merely measure the outside of your house and make certain assumptions about the inside (such as a finished basement and overall excellent house condition) that add value to your home. That being said, it’s clearly in everyone’s best interest to let the assessor in, as those who don’t will have their house overvalued and thus end up potentially paying higher property taxes. Besides, it defeats the purpose of a revaluation if a meaningful portion of homes declines to allow the assessor in, as the data for the whole village will be skewed.

It is estimated that approximately one third of households will be assessed at a higher value, one third will remain the same, and one third will be assessed at a lower value. By re-assessing all homes based on current fair market value, the playing field will be more level for Scarsdale residents.

The assessors started their procedure last week, and so far things are running smoothly, except for one minor blip. Some people were not notified ahead of time that the assessor was visiting because it’s difficult for the assessors to gauge just how many houses they will get through each day. If the assessor finishes the ten houses he was assigned for that day but still has some extra time, he may try to squeeze in a few more houses. Naturally, residents of those extra houses were not expecting an assessment, and were displeased when the assessor showed up without warning. When speaking to Scarsdale Village Trustee David Lee about this issue, he assured me that from here on, the village staff will give notice to all residents ahead of time before an assessor arrives.

In about six months the revaluations will be complete and by January 2013 residents will receive a form that breaks down the home’s data (ex. number of bathrooms) and provides a new assessment equal to current fair market value. An important clarification to those whose assessments have increased: The combined village and school budget is approximately 200 million dollars per year, meaning the village must raise this much money each year through property taxes. Because the total amount needed to be collected is the same, a higher assessment for one’s homes will not necessarily yield higher taxes. What determines any change in your taxes is how much the value of your home increases or decreases relative to other homes. So if all the homes in Scarsdale were re-assessed and increased an identical percentile amount, no resident’s taxes would increase. However, residents won’t know how their taxes have been effect until January of 2014, when the new tax roll is released.

So why after 44 years, has Scarsdale decided that it is time for a re-assessment? What are the incentives for having a village wide revaluation of homes? Village Board Member and Scarsdale Resident David Lee believes the issue boils down to fairness. Having some residents overpay in property taxes to subsidize those underpaying is purely unfair. Lee believes that “If people think that their neighbors aren’t contributing what they should be, it undermines confidence in the village.” Further speaking with Lee on the subject, he stated that another reason for re-assessment is to combat the sheer amount of Certiorari Procedures brought against the village. Throughout the past 44 years, many companies realized the potential profitability of Scarsdale due to its considerable number of over-assessed homes. These firms contact residents and essentially say, “I am a professional challenger of assessed values on houses and I can help you to fight it and bring it down.” Those who believe their house has been over-assessed will hire the firm to bring a Certiorari proceeding to the Scarsdale Village Court in hopes of having their assessment decreased. If the firm wins the case, the resident’s real estate tax decreases, and he/she would pay a portion of the decrease, perhaps half, to the firm over the next few years. These court proceedings are expensive (Mamaroneck spent over $600,000 fighting Certiorari Procedures) and have become an unnecessary drain on the village’s limited budget. Hopes of mitigating these costly disputes has prompted the village to re-assess homes.

Although the revaluation will be expensive (the total nearing one million dollars), this procedure is necessary and will ultimately save money when considering its mitigating effect on certiorari procedures. The cost will be repaid over a five-year period. Once the initial revaluation is done, it can be updated inexpensively as the systems, processes and baseline data will be in place already. In other words, the village won’t have to wait another 44 years for a revaluation and Scarsdale’s property tax distribution will remain relatively equitable from here on out.

David Candell graduated from Scarsdale High School in 2011 and recently completed his freshman year at Boston University.