Contractor Found Dead in Scarsdale Basement
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On the morning of August 29 Scarsdale Police got a call from a worried relative of a contractor who had been working in Scarsdale the previous day. The man failed to return home that night.
Police went to the Birchall Road home where the man was working to investigate and found the deceased contractor in a narrow crawl space of the basement where he had been working on the electrical lines. When his body was found, he was still holding an electrical wire. It appeared that the cause of death was electrocution.
The victim was identified as Michael Macol, age 47 of Bethel CT. In order to remove the body from the house, the electricity had to be disconnected and a temporary generator brought in to light up the crawl space. The Scarsdale Fire Department and a Technical Rescue Team from the White Plains Fire Department removed Macol’s body from the home.
Macol had been working at the house with the general contractor on Tuesday and the contractor finished his work and left the job first. When the residents returned home at 8 pm Tuesday night, they found the electrician’s van in their driveway but did not know why it was still there. Presumably, they went to sleep uaware that Macol's body lay in their basement.
The Scarsdale Police Department Investigations Section and the Westchester County Medical Examiner’s Office are investigating the death, and a final determination of the cause is pending.
Henry Clifford of COPIP Responds to Article on Scarsdale10583
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We received the following comment from Henry Clifford, Chair of the Committee for Peace in Israel/Palestine about an article on billboards the group sponsored that are now posted at Westchester Metro North train stations. According to their website, COPIP advocates a two-state solution to the conflict in the Middle East ― a complete withdrawal by Israel from the Occupied Territories, an autonomous and contiguous state for the Palestinians, an end to violence on both sides, and mutually recognized, secure borders for both countries.
Here are Mr. Clifford’s comments on the article:
As the sponsor of the MTA posters that introduced the discussion (wars) and Chairman of COPIP I ask to comment on your coverage of 8/14/12 which has just come to my attention.
- You describe our committee as "an anti-Israel group." Your charge is baseless and false. The founding members of our committee were one half Christian and one half Jewish.
- You state that "the posters contended that Israel had taken Palestinian land . . ." We contend nothing, we present the historical and geographical fact which can be obtained from UN, Israeli, and Palestinian documentation.
- The newer posters "contend" 19,250 deadly Islamic attacks with no source or proof provided which contention you evidently accept without question. Regardless of any other consideration or red herring the fact remains that the Palestinians have lost most of their homeland. There is no spin that can obviate that fact.
Removing Stop Signs Can Have Serious Consequences
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This letter was sent to Scarsdale10583 by Harry Reynolds of Scarsdale, in response to a series of pranks involving stop signs: To the fools who several times between July 27th and July 30th removed stop signs at Carman, Nelson, and Edgewood Roads, thereby endangering the very lives of men, women, and children, take this warning:
Do not think that the maximum risk entailed by the removal of a stop sign will be a police visit to your homes. Putting aside the minor issue of theft, should deaths occur in consequence of your removal of a stop sign, your conduct may constitute at least the felony of criminally negligent homicide or the greater felony of recklessly committed manslaughter in the second degree, to say nothing of lesser but serious crimes should injuries occur. In the language of the street, “If you do the crime, be prepared to do the time.”
In 1996, three friends in their early 20's removed a Florida stop sign as a prank. It caused the deaths of three teen-agers who drove into the path of an eight-ton truck. The three friends were each sentenced in 1997 to 15 years in prison where they remained until 2001 when their manslaughter convictions were reversed, and a new trial ordered, because of prejudicial statements by the prosecutor in summation. State v. Miller and Cole, 782 So.2d 426; State v. Baillie, 782 So.2d 435.
Rely on it. When you are tried in Westchester County, great care will be taken to avoid any error in your conviction.
Harry Reynolds
Billboard Wars Continue at Westchester Train Stations
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The billboard wars continue at Metro North train stations where now a third group has launched a campaign. The controversy began in July when an anti-Israel group named the Committee for Peace in Israel and Palestine (COPIP) posted anti-Israel billboards at Westchester train stations. The posters contended that Israel had taken Palestinian land and turned the Palestinians into refugees -- and some called them “grossly distorted” and “misleading.” To counter the COPIP campaign, Stand With Us launched their own campaign, defending Israel and pointing the finger at the Palestinians for refusing to accept compromises for peace.
Now the American Freedom Defense Initiative has entered the fray and inflamed those on both sides of the conflict. The new billboard, which is posted at the Scarsdale Train Station, reads, “*19,250 Deadly Islamic Attacks Since 9/11/01 *and counting. Not Islamophobia, It’s Islamorealism.”
John Harris, a Scarsdale resident and Chair of the N.Y. Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League said, “It’s unfortunate that some people are trying to reduce the difficult issues in the Middle East to slogans on billboards. The latest Westchester ads by American Freedom Defense Initiative, a group headed by the anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller, are offensive and inflammatory. Being pro-Israel doesn’t mean being anti-Muslim and anti-Arab. Suspecting a “jihadist” motivation by everyone who follows Islam contributes to an atmosphere where hatred and discrimination are easily justified. Geller has a First Amendment right to spread her views, but she does Israel no service by her bigoted attacks on all Islam. The ADL hopes that our Muslim neighbors recognize that Geller’s campaign reflects the thinking of a very small minority in the Jewish community and trust that they also understand, as do we, the dangers posed by extremists in all of our faiths.”
Last year the American Freedom Defense Initiative proposed posting an ad on city buses that read, “In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man,” and then between two Stars of David had the words, “Support Israel. Defeat Jihad.”
The MTA rejected the ad on the basis that it violated its prohibition on messages that demean individuals or groups on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or other characteristics.
However, last week U.S. District Court Judge Paul Engelmayer ruled that the ad was political speech as it expressed a pro-Israel perspective, and as such was protected under the First Amendment.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) objected to the advertisement from the anti-Muslim group as “highly offensive and inflammatory,” but said it agreed with a federal judge’s finding that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority was wrong in rejecting it.
“We support the court’s conclusion that the ad is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, yet we still strongly object to both the message and the messenger,” said Ron Meier, ADL New York Regional Director. “We believe these ads are highly offensive and inflammatory. Pro-Israel doesn’t mean anti-Muslim. It is possible to support Israel without engaging in bigoted anti-Muslim and anti-Arab stereotypes.”
More information on Geller can be found here:
Neighbors Respond to Tree Removal at George Field and Cooper Green
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Many were dismayed to see trees and vegetation removed to accommodate a storm water retention basin at George Field and a rain garden at Cooper Green opposite the Scarsdale Public Safety Building on the Post Road. For some it was difficult to understand why removing established trees would alleviate flooding and others were shocked at the extent of the project.
However engineers contend that the seven-acre dry detention pond at George Field and the rain garden at Cooper Green will eliminate flooding in homes in the Grange, along Greendale,Oxford and Cambridge roads as well as Rugby Lane, Windmill, and Windmill Circle. And once the new plantings are installed, the area should again be beautiful.
Warren Breakstone, a Cambridge Road resident was a longtime advocate for the project and is pleased that it’s finally in the works. He said, “Mayor Flisser and the board of Trustees should be commended for their leadership in tackling the storm water issues in Greenacres. This has been a problem that plagued this neighborhood and many other areas Scarsdale for many years, and after much study and deliberation, a solution is finally at hand. Once this project in South Fox Meadow is completed attention should turn to the Cayuga/Middle School area, which is in dire need of a solution as well. Certainly no one likes to see trees cut down, but significant budget has been set aside for new plantings on the tail end of the project.”
Tracy Jaffe, who lives across from George Field, was a bit more skeptical. She said, “I truly hope that the end result justifies the destruction of so many trees, plants and the natural habitat for wildlife. People used George Field for impromptu games. Too bad we’ll no longer have this space for recreation.”
Eton Road resident Anna Decker was also sad to see the trees fall. She added, "We're amazed to see the goings on at George Field. It honestly makes me so sad to see all those trees come down and I miss our swamp that gave our area a woodsy feel. Still, I'm optimistic and hope that the beautiful natural plantings will actually come to fruition and having seen a flooded field after many storms, I understand the need just wish it didn't come at such a cost.Truth be told, I've cheered from the sidelines as our feisty George Field has gobbled up a couple big earthmovers and left them stuck in the mud. I feel like its our little protest! I'm also keeping my finger crossed that they won't be touching our beautiful willow tree on the Post Road side."
We asked John Goodwin in the Village Manager’s Office for an update on the project and here is what he shared:
"The South Fox Meadow Storm water Improvement Project is progressing as scheduled and workers have not encountered anything unexpected.
The initial work at George Field Park and Cooper Green involved the clearing and removal of underbrush and trees and the re-grading of the land in preparation of excavation for the dry detention basins at George Field Park, located between Post and Greendale Roads, and Cooper Green, located between Mamaroneck Road and 1162 Post Road across from the Public Safety Building. A number of these trees were dead, dying and/or considered scrub or underbrush. Although George Field Park and Cooper Green will look barren during construction, there is an extensive landscaping plan involved for both locations. At George Field Park 590 trees, plants and shrubs are being replanted and at Cooper Green, 30 new trees will be installed and over 1,000 plants and shrubs will also be planted. These plants and trees purchased by the contractors from local nurseries and will be installed during the upcoming planting season."
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