Planning Board Recommends Changes to Village Code Regarding Gravel Surfaces
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The Scarsdale Planning Board considered proposed changes to the village code regarding gravel driveways and "impervious surfaces" as well as applications to divert a brook, merge two lots, make changes to the new condo building at 2-4 Weaver Street at their meeting on May 27th.
Gravel Surfaces and Lot Coverage:
The Planning Board considered new village code that would require gravel surfaces to be counted in the lot coverage calculation. There is currently a six month moratorium in place that requires gravel surfaces to be treated as impervious surfaces while the new code is studied. A consultant presented two drafts of a change to the village code. One change would update the use of the phrase "impervious surfaces", which at the moment does not include gravel to the allotment of ground coverage on a property. The other draft would remove the wording "impervious surfaces" from the code, and replace it with another term, which has yet to be determined. This change would also add gravel to the allotment of ground coverage allowed on a lot. The main difference between these two drafts is that the second draft would lead to "explanatory issues." In both cases, current homes that would be over the allotment of ground coverage due to the addition of gravel surfaces as impervious would be grandfathered, but any future changes to a property would count gravel surfaces as impervious.
Currently, code states that based on lot size, a homeowner has an allotment of ground coverage, some of which is designated to the house and any auxiliary buildings like a free standing garage. The balance of surfaces or structures that count in the ground coverage calculation could include a tennis court, a pool, patios, walkways, terraces, and of course, driveways. To create the proposed changes to Village code, the consultant reviewed properties with gravel driveways, currently about 10% of existing homes but 25% of future applications. The applications reviewed call for maximum allotment of ground coverage, which is why this is such a pertinent issue. The draft itself is a trivial matter, as either version will deem gravel to be an "impervious surface" or some complimentary term, into law. The Board made a recommendation to the Village consultant on the matter and appeared to favor the inclusion of gravel surfaces in lot coverage calculations.
This could have a far-reaching impact on future home development in Scarsdale, as including the gravel surface in the lot coverage calculation will limit the size of potential homes.
31 Paddington LLC:
The first item on the agenda was the creation of a culvert at 31 Paddington Road to divert the brook that currently runs through the property. The culvert would be 40 feet long and would be covered by grass. The Board, as well as residents in the area, had some concerns about the safety of the culvert, asking questions about the visibility into the culvert if children or other people climb in, and raising concerns about the flooding that routinely occurs on the property, and on adjacent properties. The Board asked if any safety measures could be taken to improve safety whereupon the idea of a "Trash Rack" on each end of the culvert was discussed. Again, concerns about safety arose, in the event that a person got through or under the trash rack at one end, and ended up inside the culvert. These concerns were also addressed, and the Board decided to hold over the final decision on this matter.
Lot Merger
Two Scarsdale residents applied to merge two lots at 257 Fox Meadow Road. The back lot does not have road access, and so the lots would be merged for tax purposes, and an additional building would not be permitted on the lot. The Board decided to allow the lot merger.
2 -4 Weaver Street
Stephen Oder T.I.C. proposed plans to add an auxiliary stairway at the southwest corner of the property, as the proposed renovations to the building would create a four-story building, and so would require this exit. The Board had been concerned about the safety procedures in the front story building, but the proposal seems to eradicate these concerns. The Board was, however, curious about the historical preservation of the building, as the property was originally the Tavern Building, but referrals to the Historical Preservation agreement drawn up by the former owners in the past certified that the proposed building on the property would comply with the agreement. The Board voted to approve the proposal.
Residents Petition Board to save Greenacres Field
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Greenacres residents are so passionate about preventing the construction of a new school on the grounds of the field across the street, that a petition to the Board of Education has garnered more than 600 signatures, and an original poem was written about this issue.
Written by Deborah Skolnik the poem appeared on her Facebook Page, Gentle Scarsdale Satire, and she attended the school board meeting on May 18 to recite her poem aloud:
GREEN ACHERS, FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!
When my kids were younger, I thought it was cool
that they went to a beautiful, old-fashioned school.
So I'm shaken and angry to hear that our town
is thinking of tearing that grand old school down.
Just as disturbing, I'm hearing reports
that the new school would sit on our sole field for sports.
You don't have to be a huge genius to see
how these changes would injure our 'hood's quality!
I feel like, of late, Scarsdale's been on a tear,
demolishing charming old homes everywhere.
Families can make those poor choices alone...
but Greenacres school is a school we ALL own!
I'm not trying to protect some nice view from my deck,
or get out of writing a new-school tax check.
My opinions don't come from self-service or mystery—
I just want to preserve our great buildings and history!
Let's vote to keep Greenacres gorgeous and sweet.
Let's vote with our voices. Let's vote with our feet!
Tonight's the big meeting. You know what to do:
See you at 8 at the High School – room 172. **
The Board meeting was crowded with residents from Greenacres who attended to speak against the idea of demolishing the existing Greenacres School building and reconstructing the elementary school on the field across the street. KG&D Architects, who were commissioned last year to assess options to address crowding and infrastructure problems in the Greenacres School building, made a presentation at an April 20, 2015 study session. At that meeting, they proposed several options summarized as follows:
1) Repair the building's mechanical issues only.
2) Option A – Do extensive renovations without adding any square footage to the building. This Option would likely require redistricting.
3) Option B – Renovate the current building and do an addition on the Putnam Road side
4) Option C – Build a new Greenacres School on the playground and field across the street and convert the site of the existing building to playing fields, parking and other uses.
For more background on this meeting, review our coverage here: 
In anticipation of what was to come, Board President Mary Beth Gose opened the meeting by stating that any ideas about the future of the Greenacres school building were in the very early discussion phases. She also reminded the audience there is a building committee comprised of a wide range of interested constituents, including neighborhood residents, providing input to the discussions. Further, a bond that would require a public vote would finance any major work that would be conducted on the building such as an addition or an entire new building. In other words, it would be impossible to pass a bond to finance a building that the public did not support. She expressed her thanks to everyone who came to the meeting and welcomed all remarks.
During the comments period, one Greenacres resident after another spoke passionately about the importance of the existing field and blacktop surface as open space for the neighborhood, as a play area for children of all ages, as ball fields for all of Scarsdale and as a gathering space to meet and bond with neighbors and celebrate holidays such as July 4th as a community. Residents expressed in no uncertain terms that "Option C" should be removed from consideration.
Prior to the meeting, a petition was circulated and signed by 640 residents representing 385 households in Greenacres. At the meeting, the petition was introduced by Meredith Gantcher of Brewster Road, recited by Madeline Hauptman of Brewster Road, and concluded with remarks from Jon Singer of Montrose Road who expressed that the signers of the petition are eager to work with the Board and building committee to develop a plan that works for everyone. Many Greenacres residents used their time at the microphone to read verbatim comments from signers on why they opposed "Option C". Examples are:
The field is too critical to the aesthetic of the neighborhood. Open space is rare, and this particular field represents a unique gathering space for all the community. Build up, not out!!!
I signed for all the points made in the petition. I particularly deplore the idea of destroying the green space, currently used for so many Greenacres community functions, and the installation of an immense gym in the heart of our neighborhood to serve the entire community of Scarsdale. What a bad set of ideas!
I absolutely love Greenacres Elementary School. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in all of Scarsdale, and if any building should be preserved -- it is this one. Regardless of the cost. Tearing down the school will rip out the soul of the neighborhood.
I signed because, having lived in Greenacres since 1977 and as the father of 2 daughters who spent many happy years at Greenacres School, I recognize Greenacres School as being important to the Greenacres community and as being a structure of substantial historic importance.
I strongly object to the proposal which eliminates the current green space/playing fields. From the plans, it appears that there would be no baseball fields, and the elimination of those fields would detrimentally impact children not only who live in Greenacres but also who live throughout Scarsdale. The proposal ruins the only open space in Greenacres.
There were many more examples read iterating the importance of the field to the Greenacres residents.
For information about the petition, click here.
Several speakers mentioned the historic value and beauty of the school building, which will be 100 years old soon, and expressed dismay that throughout Scarsdale historic homes of character are torn down and replaced.
Some speakers expressed general disapproval of the report issued by the architects. Jamie Kayam of Gorham Court stated he carefully reviewed the report and was "unimpressed". He was critical of the preliminary designs for a new building and after perusing KG&D's website described their work as "cookie cutter". He stated concern about the make-up of the building committee and questioned whether or not there was enough construction experience available among committee members. He also asked if the building committee meetings would be made public. Some comments also displayed a distrust of the information about the true condition of the school, the real need for a new building or possible re-districting. Peter Gelfman of Brite Avenue thought the fact that re-districting was on the table as part of "Option A" called the credibility of the report into question since such an action would be the "counter" to the long held Scarsdale value of "neighborhood schools". He expressed that a "minor" increase in enrollment projections coupled with "persistent water issues" should not be the "catalyst for a plan to destroy the heart of Greenacres." Xue Su of Kingston Road asked custodians at Greenacres School to show her where the water entered the school. She reported that she was told that water has not been an issue for two years since a redirection of a downspout after a flood.
The issue even inspired an original poem, written and recited by Scarsdale10583 contributor Deborah Skolnick that garnered applause.
The next building committee meeting is scheduled for June 3. It is not clear at this time whether that meeting will be open to the public but it is clear that Greenacres residents want to be more involved in the process.
**This poem first appeared on Gentle Scarsdale Satire," which in just 3 months has attracted a membership of more than 550 people. All are welcome to join - simply type in "Gentle Scarsdale Satire" on the search bar on Facebook, and click the "Join" button. New humorous poems about Scarsdale, written by Skolnik, are posted most weekdays.
Robert Berg Calls for Increased Transparency at School Board Meeting
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Below are comments made by resident Bob Berg at the May 5 meeting of the Scarsdale School Board: The School Board and the Administration began this year chanting the mantra "Transparency." And, indeed, compared to years past, this year started out very transparently – with our new Superintendent and our Board placing a new and heavy emphasis on full and public disclosure and discussion.
Transparency and full disclosure were critical to the community's support of the $18.5 million facilities bond which passed overwhelmingly last December and to the proposed budget -- which hopefully will be overwhelmingly passed in two weeks.
However, I detect – and I am greatly concerned about -- significant back-sliding into the McGill "Dark Ages" recently with regard to transparency and full disclosure.
Let me give you two recent examples:
Under the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law, the School Board must make the documents scheduled to be discussed at a board meeting available to the public prior to and at the meeting during which the records will be discussed. Now, making documents available to the public means making the actual full text of the documents available, with extremely narrow exceptions. That means you may redact certain individually identifying information such as a person's name and address under certain circumstances where that information cannot be disclosed by statute. But the rest of the UNEXPURGATED document must be available for public inspection.
Let's take a concrete example. In tonight's agenda, Item 4.5 is an item requiring Board action. It is a Stipulation of Settlement involving an out-of-district placement of a special education student. Attached to the supporting memorandum from Eric Rauschenbach to Dr. Hagerman, dated April 22, 2015, are 11 pages that are completely blank except for the bold-faced designation "confidential" at the top and the agenda packet page number at the bottom of each page.
Everything else has been redacted. What is this document? Why has everything been redacted?
I assume that this document is the actual executed stipulation of settlement. the only thing that should have been redacted is the name of the student and any other information that could identify the student. Everything else must be disclosed, including the amount of the settlement and the name of the educational facility at issue.
That's what the open meetings law and the freedom of information law require, and that's what the district has done very recently – such as in the beginning of this year. Indeed, at various board meetings in January 2015, similar stipulations of settlement were presented to the board, and the full text of the stipulations, except for the student's name, was provided in the agenda packet.
Why do we have this sudden newfound lack of transparency in violation of the law?
Now for my second example, let's look at the issue of the tuition-free enrollment of approximately 100 non-resident staff children in our schools each year. this has been a very hot button issue in Scarsdale and was the subject of considerable charged discussion in 2013.
Some residents felt that staff should be charged tuition for enrolling their children in the schools. Other residents felt differently. Some residents wanted to know what the cost to taxpayers is of enrolling 100 non-resident staff children tuition-free.
Dr. McGill always maintained that there was zero cost to taxpayers. Other residents didn't believe him.
The teachers felt strongly that this perk needed to be continued and were appalled that it was being discussed.
It was such an important issue that, for the first time, a new article was added to the final collective bargaining agreement, signed on June 18, 2013. That article provided that "effective with the 2013-2014 school year, a joint committee shall be formed to study the policy and practice with regard to nonresident staff children of unit members attending the schools of the district. The committee, which shall be made up of equal numbers of designees appointed by the president of the STA and the superintendent of schools, shall issue its findings and recommendations to the parties no later than October 1, 2015. The committee shall include board of education representation."
Ever since, there had been radio silence about that issue. Then, suddenly, and without any discussion whatsoever, a very brief mention was made at the April 13, 2015 board meeting that:
"Oh! By the way, the final open contract item with the teachers has been decided – the one about nonresident staff children. and then a two paragraph joint statement between the board and the STA was read: The statement reads, in relevant part: "after thorough and careful consideration of the issue, the board and the STA agree to continue the existing tuition-free policy and practice for nonresident staff children of unit members attending district schools. The board, superintendent Dr. Thomas Hagerman, and the STA support this decision as the right one for our community."
That's it! That's the only thing our residents have been told!
None of the questions or concerns raised in 2013 by the community has been publicly addressed.
Now, I understand that while collective bargaining is underway, the details of the collective bargaining sessions are confidential. But that's over. The contract is final.
The board and the administration need to tell our residents what "thoughtful and careful consideration" of the issue was given. the board and the administration need to tell us why they decided the way they did, and what are the relevant facts underlying their decision.
What are other peer districts doing in this regard?
What cost/benefit analysis did the district conduct in order to reach the decision to maintain the status quo?
What are the monetary and other costs (like class size and ability of residents to enroll in limited enrollment programs) of maintaining the status quo?
Personally, I don't have any information to know if I support or oppose this decision. this decision hopefully is the right one. But residents now have a right to know all the facts and the reasons behind the decision.
That's why issues like this have to be discussed openly, fully, and transparently – certainly at least now, after the fact.
Instead, I get the uneasy sense that the administration and the board have tried to slip this one under the rug. And that concerns me – we should not revert back to the dark ages.
Thank you.
Kids Can't Get Enough Gaga
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When kids from Westchester were travelling all the way to Manhattan for a birthday party at the Gaga Center, the owners realized that opening a second location would be a good idea. "With back-to-back bookings and some customers traveling from Westchester to our Manhattan space for parties and open sessions, Westchester quickly became an obvious choice for our next center," said Marcy Singer, who together with her own childhood camp friend, Alissa Schmelkin, founded The Gaga Center three years ago. "We are expanding to meet demand, and we are just getting started."
Gaga is a sport that has taken schools and summer camps by storm. The fast-paced, high-energy game is played in an octagonal pit. It combines the skills of dodging, running and jumping, while trying to touch opponents with a soft ball below the knees. This safe sport has been dubbed a 'kinder gentler form of dodgeball.'
The Gaga Center Scarsdale has three permanent gaga pits, a private party room for birthday and graduation parties, corporate parties and team building events, camp and family reunions, school and camp outings, and group playdates. Mirroring its Manhattan location, the center is filled with sun, has high ceilings, bright colors, a booming sound system and an experienced coaching staff. The 3,400 square-foot space is centrally located in the Archway Shopping Center (near California Pizza Kitchen!)
In addition to The Gaga Center's signature birthday parties, kids can sign up for weekly after school programs, as well as playtime during days off from school. Small groups can rent private pits by the hour, which include coaches to ref games. The center also offers daytime sports classes for the nursery set.
The Gaga Center is known for its high level of customer service and web capabilities. With its efficient use of technology, the company enables parents to mobilize large groups of kids with the click of a button. All the organizer has to do is pick the date and time, and send out a URL link provided by The Gaga Center. Each parent then uses The Gaga Center's extremely mobile-friendly site to register his or her child for the group playdate, graduation party, reunion, or school conference day get together.
In just two short months, The Gaga Center Scarsdale has already hosted dozens of birthday parties and loads of school and other youth group events. "Gaga the sport has expanded in popularity in recent years and The Gaga Center brand has grown with it," said Schmelkin. "Our Manhattan customers can't get enough gaga and we are so happy to be bringing the fun to Scarsdale."
The Gaga Center
365 Central Park Avenue
Scarsdale, NY 10583
(914) 368-9889
www.gagacenter.com
Change Afoot at Village Hall
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A retirement party for Al Gatta will be held on May 29
A retirement party for Gatta will be held at Mamaroneck Beat Point Club at 900 Rushmore Avenue in Mamaroneck at 6:00 pm on Friday night May 29th. The evening includes a cocktail hour and a sit down dinner and the cost is $90 per person. RSVP to RSVP@scarsdale.com or by phone at (914)722-1100 no later than Friday May 15.
At the April 28 meeting of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, Pappalardo was officially appointed as Village Manager. Due to his long tenure in Scarsdale and experience Stephen Pappalardo has been appointed Village Manager
After a search, Jon Mark announced that Robert Austin Cole has been selected for the job of Deputy Village Manager. He comes to town from Oak Park, Illinois where he as worked for 19 years and is currently the Assistant Robert Cole will be the new Deputy Village Manager
