Letter from State Senate Candidate Bob Cohen
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The following letter was submitted by Bob Cohen, a former Scarsdale resident and candidate for the NYS Senate in the 37th District: Dear Scarsdalians: Two years ago, a large plurality of you voted to elect me to the New York State Senate. That race continued until mid-December 2010, when I conceded to incumbent state senator Suzi Oppenheimer, who is retiring after her current term. The race was a wonderful experience, and I was grateful for all the support I received throughout it, including from Mayor Mike Bloomberg and The New York Times.
Running for political office was the last thing I ever expected to do. I had been semi-active in Scarsdale civic life for years -- I am still a Scarsdale volunteer firefighter -- but running for elected office was, in my estimation, something only politicians do. I am a lifelong businessman.
Property taxes and Albany dysfunction changed all that for me.
Like you, I began to see close friends moving out of Westchester, one by one, because of totally unreasonable property taxes. At the same time, I saw the children of friends moving to other states to settle down because Westchester had become unaffordable. Seniors -- people I had known for 20 years -- began packing up and leaving because their property taxes had become like second mortgages, doubling and in some cases tripling in a little more than a decade.
I saw the same politicians running for office year after year, virtually unchallenged. They had become more concerned, it seemed, with the special interests and union bosses in Albany than with their own constituents -- to wit, the insane property tax hikes and years of irresponsible pension giveaways.
Something needed to be done.
Working with like-minded fiscal reformers, I became one of Westchester’s chief advocates for a property tax cap, which in 2011 Governor Cuomo signed into law. It was a strong step forward, and it saved Westchester taxpayers more than $102 million in the first year that it’s been in effect.
Coupled with mandate relief, the Cuomo Tax Cap will bring fiscal sanity back to an area rapidly losing its middle class, which was once the backbone of this county. Governor Cuomo then bravely passed pension reform -- the Tier 6 Pension Bill -- to lower pension costs on counties like Westchester and municipalities like Scarsdale. The Cuomo bill will save taxpayers upwards of $80 billion over the next three decades!
I decided to run for state senate this year to help Governor Cuomo and other bipartisan fiscal reformers continue the tax relief agenda. I am now living across the street in New Rochelle -- Scarsdale is sadly in another district -- and running against a 20-year politician who voted against Governor Cuomo’s property tax cap, and he voted absent on the Governor’s crucial pension reform bill.
This elected official -- I’ll be polite and not name him -- has walked in lockstep with the state unions for many years, which is fine, but unaffordable. The state teacher’s union, which is going to court to try to block the Cuomo Tax Cap, is his biggest contributor, reportedly handing him hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash according to the Journal News.
Barbara and I moved to Scarsdale because of its schools. We loved Scarsdale’s teachers and are grateful for the superb education our three children received. We were willing to pay higher taxes rates for those schools, but not the type of taxes that have pillaged the budgets of Scarsdale families in recent years -- and which have made so many move away.
These crazy-high property taxes exist not from necessity but from unfunded mandates, mismanagement, and profligacy in Albany. On top of that, Scarsdale students are badly shortchanged by the state school aid formula every year. Indeed, we receive less school aid per student than any district in America. We pay these usurious tax rates to compensate for that funding shortfall.
I am sorry I will miss you at the voting booth this year, but I trust I will see you in town or by the firehouse. Barbara and I miss you all.
In the meantime, if you have friends in my senate district (SD37) that agree with me on these tax and reform issues, please feel free to send them my way! My campaign website is www.bobcohen2012.com .
All my best wishes,
Bob Cohen
The Thrilla in Westchesta
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Hey Scarsdale! You’ve been gerrymandered out of the hottest political contest in Westchester this November: the gladiator showdown between former Scarsdalian Bob Cohen and Rye Assemblyman George Latimer for the New York State Senate seat that’s open due to the Suzi Oppenheimer’s retirement. Scarsdale has two non-races for the state legislature: State Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins has no opposition -- and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, likewise faces no opposition. Your congressional race pits Riverdale’s Eliot Engel versus nobody. Remember, you lost Congresswoman Nita Lowey to the northern hinterlands. Scarsdale probably has more in common with Riverdale than Rockland anyway...
Two years ago, Bob Cohen came within a hair’s breath of defeating long-time incumbent Suzi Oppenheimer. In 2010 Cohen positioned himself as a fresh alternative to the long time incumbent and therefore symbol of Albany dysfunction that permeated the electoral landscape. Cohen ran as a moderate, nonpartisan businessman with the mission to fix Albany. That 2010 campaign came on the heels of a slew of scandals and corruption and the hijacking of the State Senate by the Gang of Four (who are now gone from the scene with some serving jail time) and on the heels of Governor Spitzer’s ignominious departure as Governor -- replaced by the hapless David Paterson. Cohen’s campaign of a fresh start resonated against the 26-year veteran Oppenheimer -- causing the result to be a nail biter at the end -- with Oppenheimer eeking out a squeaker of a win.
Since then, Bob Cohen has moved out of Scarsdale to New Rochelle -- and the GOP controlled State 
Senate re-arranged the lines of the 37th senate district to get rid of Democratic leaning Scarsdale and Ossining and replace them with Republican strongholds of East Yonkers, Tuckahoe and Eastchester (as well as to loop into a section of New Rochelle where Cohen now resides) in an effort to craft a district more hospitable to Cohen. While the registration advantage of the new district still belongs with the Democrats, most political observers view the district as a tossup.
Yet before securing the Republican nomination for the race, Cohen did first have to deal with one nuisance, a somewhat bizarre challenge from the right by Diane Roth-Didonato of Armonk and a member of the North Castle Town Board. She garnered the endorsement of the failed and wacky candidate for Governor Carl Paladino. Roth ended up being bounced from her primary challenge by the Cohen campaign for her inability to obtain enough legitimate signatures to get on the primary ballot -- but not before lodging a nutty attack on Cohen -- lambasting him for being the object of an assassination attempt in 1991.
On the Democratic side, once Oppenheimer announced her retirement, George Latimer, a popular former Rye City Councilman, County Legislator (with a stint as Chairman of the Board), and Assemblyman George Latimer stepped up to run for the seat. Latimer is viewed by many politicos as a much stronger candidate than Oppenheimer would have been. Throughout Latimer’s career he has been viewed as a bipartisan, hardworking, and thoughtful policymaker, who actually thinks about a bill’s impact on the real world before he votes.
In 2012 the Albany political landscape has changed with the ascension of Governor Andrew Cuomo -- and his perceived manhandling of the legislative process. It becomes much harder to run on an Albany-needs-fixing-platform. So with the Cohen campaign not likely to gain traction on that theme again -- they have chosen to mount a one-issue campaign: define George Latimer as a tax and spender.
And if you’re a registered voter but unaffiliated with the Democratic party in the district -- you have been deluged with 2 or 3 mailers per day for weeks -- from the Cohen campaign, from the New York Republican Campaign Committee -- and from some anonymous Teaparty/Superpac from Virginia -- all smearing Latimer as the worst, most evil, pernicious tax hiker the world has ever seen. Find out more about the mysterious originis of the PAC in the Journal News and The New York Times .
The problem with this generic dumbed down tea party line of attack -- is that while property taxes are a huge issue here-- Westchester residents are typically a little savvier and a little more sophisticated to swallow whole what the Cohen campaign is selling. Latimer has not been in a position to directly raise or lower property taxes since he left the County Board of Legislators nearly 10 years ago when he was elected to the State Assembly. The Cohen attacks have latched onto three of Latimer’s votes on which the Assemblyman actually put good policy ahead of good politics:
- 2% property tax cap: Latimer voted against the 2% tax cap -- because it was not coupled with any kind of mandate relief -- mandates that require municipalities, counties and school districts to provide programs and services but without any funding -- i.e., Albany mandates must be paid by those governmental entities that are funded predominantly by the property tax. A tax cap without mandate relief is a ticking time bomb for our schools, towns and counties. One of the most egregious unfunded mandates is requiring counties to pay for a major portion of Medicaid costs. New York is one of two states in the entire country where these costs --mandated from the State -- are pushed down to the county level for payment. On the education front, New York has a much more intensive level of mandated services for special education than is required by Federal law. And as well intentioned as these programs and requirements are -- Albany fails to provide any funding for these requirements-- further burdening the property tax payer. So George Latimer bravely voted no on the tax cap -- not because he’s for higher taxes (as the Cohen campaign has been relentlessly pushing) but due to the lack of concurrent mandate relief -- which still is not on the table in Albany yet. The result -- school districts like Port Chester had to make a decision to either end full-day kindergarten -- or an elementary school literacy program. They chose to end the literacy program.........this year. The tax cap has already adversely affected poorer school districts -- and more and wealthier school districts will get hit with layoffs, larger class sizes, and program eliminations.
- MTA Tax: While Latimer has sponsored bill to eliminate the MTA payroll tax -- he felt compelled to vote for the its implementation when the MTA was on the brink of insolvency in 2009 -- and the only option on the table for Latimer was to vote for the MTA payroll tax -- or watch commuter fares more than quadruple. That was the Hobson’s Choice that Latimer faced -- and seeing the need to maintain a viable mass transit system in the New York metropolitan area -- held his nose and voted for the tax -- and ever since has been working for repeal and a viable long range plan for the MTA’s sustainability.
- Tier Six Pension Plan -- in the arcane world of public sector pension policy (or lack thereof), a proposed Tier 6 was proposed which would lessen the pension benefits of public employees hired in the future. This was buried in an avalanche of bills at the very end of the legislative session earlier this year-- and seeing that there was no immediate or even near-term relief from skyrocketing pension costs and how the bill was delivered to legislators -- with no time to read it and/or amend it -- Latimer -- acting on sound policy principles (and again, perhaps unsound politics) -- abstained on the measure.
So basically, these three votes -- taken on principle -- not politics -- is being used by the well-funded Cohen campaign as a cudgel against Latimer -- with a mail drop volume and Cable TV buy that has never been seen for a state legislative race in Westchester.
With alot less in the bank than Cohen, Latimer is now pushing back -- stating that he has a real record of lowering taxes and has the experience and clout to fight for Westchester residents. In addition, the Latimer campaign has recycled an attack Oppenheimer used in 2010 -- labeling Cohen a slumlord. Cohen’s business is owning and operating apartment buildings in predominantly lower income areas of Manhattan. In fact the Daily News just ran a piece on Cohen’s real estate business this past week.
A Sienna College poll released two weeks ago had Latimer ahead of Cohen by about 3 points -- well within the margin of error. So all eyes are on this race -- and all expect the fur and mud to fly. A series of debates are slated to be held over the next couple of weeks. These should be interesting.
Folks in Scarsdale will have to just be passive observers in this slugfest.
David A. Singer is a former political consultant/campaign professional and political junkie currently toiling as a lawyer in Westchester and managing real estate and media investments.
Worth the Trip: Hunting for Pumpkins on the Vine in Westchester and Long Island; and Where to Pick Really Good Lavender
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Starting in October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps all across Scarsdale and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated by candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating jack-o’-lanterns (the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack) originated in Ireland, where large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to the US, home of the pumpkin, and the lowly pumpkin became an integral part of Halloween festivities. In Colonial times, women sliced off pumpkin tips, removed the seeds and filled the inside with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of pumpkin pie. While you can certainly go to Stew’s and get a pumpkin there, there is something to be said for piling the kids in the car, going out to a pumpkin patch and getting one straight off the vine. While there are great pumpkin patches in Westchester think about taking the family to Long Island, where in about three hours you can pick some pumpkins (and visit a vineyard) and picnic on the beach if the weather is good. Last, one of Long Island’s hidden secrets is its lavender fields. I’ve included information on one worth visiting if you’re out East.
Long Island
Elwood Pumpkin Farm
1500 E Jericho Turnpike, Huntington
(631) 368–8626
http://elwoodpumpkinfarm.com/
Pick your own pumpkins on the vine; hay rides; small corn maze. This working farm is the closest pumpkin field to New York City.
Finks Country Farm
6242 Middle Country Rd, Wading River
(631) 886-2272
http://finksfarm.com/
Pumpkin patch; corn maze; pumpkin catapult; pig races, calf roping, corn box (like a sandbox but with corn).
The Milk Pail
1346 Montauk Highway
Water Mill
(631) 537-2565
http://milk-pail.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-milk-pail-water-mill
This 13-generation family farm and apple orchard offers a huge variety of really interesting pumpkins for sale at their farm stand, including bumpy green ones and ghostly white ones. Pumpkins range in size from half pound to 150 pounds.
Hank's Pumpkintown with a side trip to Duckwalk Vineyards
240 Montauk Highway,
Water Mill
(631) 726-4667
http://hankspumpkintown.com/farm/
On-the-vine pumpkins; corn maze park; hay rides, calf roping, cow milking, giant maze mountain slide, pedal cart race track, corn table, corn swing. Located very close to Duckwalk Vineyards (http://duckwalk.com; http://www.yelp.com/biz/duck-walk-vineyards-southold#query:duckwalk%20vineyard), which is worth a stop.
Stakeys Pumpkin Farm
270 West Lane, Aquebogue (631) 722-3467
http://stakeyspumpkinfarm.com/
Stakeys is a fun and friendly destination for over 18 different varieties of pumpkins that you can pick off the vine. If you are strong and have long arms you can pay $25 for all the pumpkins you can carry.
Lavender By The Bay
7540 Main Rd, East Marion (631) 477-1019
lavenderbythebay.com
http://www.yelp.com/biz/lavender-by-the-bay-east-marion
Located in East Marion, Lavender By The Bay is New York’s premier lavender farm and one of the largest in the US. Lavender By The Bay offers seasonal fresh cut bunches, dried lavender, lavender plants, lavender sachets, honey from its own beehives and other crafts.
Westchester County
Stuart's Fruit Farm
62 Granite Springs Road, Granite Springs (914) 245-2784
http://stuartsfarm.com/
The pumpkins here are actually on the vine, not trucked in from elsewhere and dumped on the ground. This authentic, family-run farm also offers apple picking.
Wilkens Fruit and Fir Farm
1335 White Hill Road, Yorktown Heights (914) 245-5111
Apple picking, as well as a good-sized pumpkin patch. The grounds are a bit hilly, so free hayrides are offered. Be warned: this place gets very crowded!
Rockland County
The Orchards of Concklin
2 South Mountain Road, Pomona (845) 354-0369
You can pick your own pumpkins at this 300-year old apple orchard on the weekends of October 13-14 and 20-21. Additional attractions include a bouncy haunted house, an inflatable slide, delicious cider doughnuts and fresh apple cider.
Scarsdale Leaders Gather at the Forum for Important Business
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On Thursday evening, October 4, at the Scott Room of Scarsdale Library nearly 100 leaders of Scarsdale gathered to honor the members of the Procedure Committee, to hear the Mayor’s address on the State of Scarsdale, and to review important proposed changes in the Non-Partisan Resolution.
Scarsdale Forum President Dan Hochvert (pictured at left) convened the General Membership Meeting of the Scarsdale Forum to which Forum members and the public were invited. At 8 PM, he drew attention from the convivial chatter during the earlier celebration of Procedure Committee members with refreshments and photos.
First orders of business included a reminder of the unique traditions of Scarsdale, a Secretary’s Minutes (Robert Berg) of the previous meeting (voted) and a Treasurer’s Report (Robert Tucker) of a sound financial condition (voted).
President Hochvert invited reverence for and memories of Scarsdale leaders who had died within the last year after contributing greatly to the welfare of Scarsdale. He read the tribute drafted by Carol Stix for David Norr and invited Merrell Clark to read his tribute regarding Charles Cunningham. Both Norr and Cunningham had been outstanding leaders within Scarsdale Forum (and predecessor organizations) and many other organizations related to Scarsdale and to Westchester.
Mayor Miriam Levitt Flisser was invited to the podium to address the State of Scarsdale. Her powerpoint
The budget $48,445,129 (+3.17% over prior budget) resolves elements that include a 2% New York tax cap, small growth in non-tax revenue, and a tax rate of $238.42/$1,000 (reflecting cap exemptions for such items as growth and pensions).
Storm water projects include South Fox Meadow Drainage Improvements (4 Segments, $2.28 million, considering added segment for Harcourt Woods); South Fox Meadow Drainage Improvements (50% Westchester County grant, 50% bonds subsidized by NYS Environmental Facilities Corp) to be concluded in December with spring 2013 landscaping. Other projects include Sheldrake River Drainage Basin Improvements, now in plans and exploring financial alternatives.
Reassessment of Village property is underway at a projected cost of $1.1 million. New assessments are expected for assessment rolls in 2014 tax year.
The Popham Road Bridge replacement project, at a cost of $17.2 million, is to be completed in December with punch list completion by March of 2013 (construction delayed fourteen months for unanticipated site complications). The Crane Road Bridge, involving two bridges at Bronx River Parkway over Metro North tracks and the Bronx River, are Westchester County’s responsibility. Village officials and Scarsdale Chamber of Commerce are working with Westchester County to orchestrate Scarsdale traffic changes needed over two years and beyond.
The Reeves Newsome pump station will be modernized for $4.1 million with money from water rate, while the recently modernized Ardsley pump station does its work.
Historic preservation work is moving forward, including a comprehensive survey of Scarsdale properties and plans for professional training of volunteers and professional staff who deal with historic property constraints.
Leaf mulching, voted by Village Trustees in 2011, included July training for landscape personnel; tests will proceed this fall in parks while encouraging mulching by all homeowners.
Further comments were received from Eli Mattioli, Vice Chair of the Procedure Committee and Beverley Sved, Chair of the Scarsdale Forum Non-Partisan Procedure Committee. Beverley Sved’s concluding report of her committee’s work included agreement with the first two proposed changes and discussed several alternatives to the third proposed change.
Additional comments were received in a discussion period, notably by the League of Women Voters, and by other Members. President Hochvert called for a vote on the Report of the Non-Partisan Procedure Committee that had been distributed previously (voted). He then adjourned at 9:30 PM to a convivial afterglow reception.
Other Scarsdale leaders and all residents may review proceedings by viewing Scarsdale’s cable Channel 75 on Friday to Sunday, October 12-14, at 4 PM and at 9 PM.
Contributor Merrell Clark has been a participating member of Scarsdale Forum for approximately 40 years, where he now works primarily on sustainability drives. In other Scarsdale organizations, he has served as a Director at Scarsdale Foundation, United Way, Scarsdale Adult School and Greenacres Association.
Get Rid of Dated Prescription Drugs this Saturday
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Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol encourages your participation in the National Take-Back Initiative this Saturday, September 29th. How many of us have prescription drugs in our medicine cabinets that are expired or simply no longer needed? Prescription drugs are an important safety hazard for young children, and household availability of prescription medication, especially narcotics and stimulants, contributes to high levels of adolescent prescription drugs abuse. According to 2011 data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, non-medical use of prescription drugs is second only to marijuana as the most common category of illicit drug use among youth and young adults ages 12-25. It is also estimated that more than 1/3 of those who begin misusing prescription drugs are under age 18 when they start.
To help combat the abuse of prescription medication, the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol encourages all households to participate in the National Take-Back Initiative on September 29, 2012. The initiative, spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration in partnership with state and local organizations and law enforcement agencies, urges people to dispose of unwanted or unused prescription drugs in a safe manner.
This Saturday from 10- 2am, you can visit one of the several disposal sites in our neighboring communities including Larchmont, Bronxville, and Ardsley. At the last Take-Back event on April 28th, the Drug Enforcement Administration reported collection of 552,161 pounds (276 tons) of unwanted or expired medications that were safely disposed of at the 5,659 take-back sites throughout the country. They are hoping to surpass these efforts on Saturday.
Please note that disposal of medication through a take-back program is the safest means of disposal from a health and environmental standpoint although the FDA has published disposal guidelines in the event a take-back program is not available.
For more information and addresses for participating sites, visit the National Takeback Initiative website .
