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Published: 30 April 2011

Created: 30 April 2011

Last Updated: 30 April 2011

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On Wednesday, April 27th, the Edgemont Community Council (ECC) held its annual meeting in the Greenville School cafeteria. Over 100 people attended the "standing room only" meeting which commenced with the ECC President's welcome to the community and the Treasurer's financial report, followed by the annual elections of Officers and Directors. Long time resident Geoff Loftus was elected as president of the ECC. Geoff and his wife live on the Greenville side of Edgemont and their son is a junior at the high school. Geoff recently published his book, "Lead Like Ike" on Dwight Eisenhower's strong leadership abilities before and during the D-Day invasion.

The coveted Silver Bowl Award was presented at the meeting to Paul Solomon for distinguished community service to Edgemont. Paul has been a teacher at Greenville School for over 35 years and is the executive director of Edgemont Recreation Corporation. Over the years, Edgemont Rec has donated close to two million dollars to the school district. Currently he is the fifth grade teacher at Greenville and is well liked by parents and students alike. He is also the president of the Edgemont Teachers Association (ETA). In June, he will officially retire from Edgemont; he was one of the twelve teachers who took the early retirement incentive package from the Board of Education earlier this year.

Several audience members spoke about Paul at the meeting beginning with Nancy Taddiken, Edgemont Schools superintendent. Paul and Nancy have known each other since 1981 and Nancy spoke fondly of Paul's commitment to the Edgemont school district and to his family and friends. She commended him for making a difference in the lives of all the children he taught for the past 37 years at Greenville. Last year, Paul had the honor of speaking about Nancy when she received the Silver Bowl Award. Then fellow Greenville teacher and coach, Tom Blank, spoke about how Paul cared about every single student in the school district. Paul's fifth grade colleagues, Rose Farrell and Barbara Frascella, spoke about how much Paul has done for all his Edgemont colleagues as President of the ETA. Dr. Barry Friedman, Edgemont high school principal and former ETA president, spoke humorously about Paul and reminded Paul that although he had served for 6 years as ETA president, he had himself served for 15 years as ETA president. Barry then honored Paul by calling him "a very dedicated teacher, an advocate for all teachers, and a great friend." Finally, Greenville parent David Chao, spoke about Paul teaching his children at Greenville.

Paul received a standing ovation as he was presented the Silver Bowl Award and spoke of being inspired by his own teachers growing up. He called his teachers his role models and was grateful and blessed to have been a teacher in Edgemont for so many years. He was honored to receive the Silver Bowl Award and although he looked forward to retirement, he will miss teaching and will continue to be involved in the community. He thanked all the speakers for their kind words.

Then in addition to receiving the silver bowl, Paul was honored by Westchester County Legislator Mary Jane Shimsky who presented Paul with a declaration from the Westchester County Board of Legislature declaring April 27th, 2011 as Paul Solomon Day. She called Paul "a life-changing teacher; a 24/7, 365 days a year teacher." Paul was also presented with a similar declaration from the Town of Greenburgh proclaiming April 27th, 2011 as Paul Solomon Day in the Town of Greenburgh. This is the first time that Greenburgh has presented this award.

The meeting continued with guest speaker, former Scarsdale Mayor Carolyn Stevens, who spoke on "Municipal Government: Controlling Your Own Destiny.” She explained the structure of Scarsdale’s government which is essentially run by dedicated volunteers who have a desire to make the best possible decisions for Scarsdale. The village has an elected mayor and town board, as well as a professional manager and deputy manager. The manager and mayor have a close working relationship and consult each other on all areas including the many snow removal issues during this past winter. Mayor Stevens called the non-partisan system a collaborative approach to governing, rather than a form of government. She felt Scarsdale's system had served the village well since the 1920s because it reflects the values of the residents. She had a wonderful experience as Scarsdale's mayor and feels that the non-partisan system works well because you don't come into office with set positions; rather you come into office with an open mind on all issues.

Several audience members asked questions about last winter's severe weather which caused many Scarsdale residents to lose power for a number of days. Mayor Stevens explained how she worked hard day and night dealing with Con Edison, and found that they preferred to deal with elected officials rather than professional managers. She used internet sites such as Scarsdale10583.com to communicate with Scarsdale residents to let them know the status of the power restoration. As a result of the storm, an emergency call system to all Scarsdale residents that is now used during emergencies. She was also asked about the difference between a professional manager and a mayor. She explained that the professional manager runs the village on a daily basis, while the mayor and the village board set policies for the village. Another resident commented that she found her local Edgemont streets much better plowed this past winter than the streets she encountered when driving through Scarsdale.

The meeting ended with all the previous Silver Bowl winners gathered together with Paul Solomon for a group picture to commemorate the special occasion.

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Published: 27 April 2011

Created: 27 April 2011

Last Updated: 27 April 2011

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Surprised Brite Avenue and Brewster Road residents both reported seeing a wild turkey on their properties this weekend. The gobbler was spotted in the backyard of a Brite Avenue home on Saturday night and then flew up to the roof. On Sunday morning, the turkey made a racket on the roof – gobbling, rustling its feathers and shaking the entire house. When the homeowner climbed onto the roof wearing sunglasses, a hooded sweatshirt and gloves --ready to catch the bird -- it was already gone.

However at 7 am on Easter morning, a Brewster Road woman found a similar bird on her front lawn and sent in this photo.

Perhaps the turkey confused the holidays and thought it was Thanksgiving rather than Easter?

Photo courtesy of Leslie Rainer

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Published: 27 April 2011

Created: 27 April 2011

Last Updated: 27 April 2011

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It was business as usual at the second Scarsdale Board of Trustees meeting under the leadership of Mayor Miriam Flisser on April 26, 2011. The Mayor and Trustees addressed residents’ concerns, formally adopted the 2011-12 budget, licensed a Five Corners developer to use parking spaces at Supply Field and accepted an award for exemplary recycling from Westchester County.

Flooding: In response to complaints about continued flooding around George Field Park, Mayor Flisser gave an update on where the Village stands with the stormwater management program that is being designed to alleviate the problem. She reported that the Village has a grant from Westchester County to fund 50% of the $2.4 million project and that the Village has already approved the issuance of a bond to fund the balance of the work. Engineers are seeking to design a system to collect water on the east side of Post Road and the project may require the Village to purchase private land.

The current schedule calls for construction to start at the end of 2011 and proceed for 18 months. She called the process “lengthy and challenging” and assured residents that the “project is a priority for the village.”

Power Lines: On behalf of the Overhill Neighborhood Association, Kristen Friedman read a letter drafted by David Buchen calling for the Village to bury cable boxes and power lines. As Con Edison is trimming back trees that surround the lines, the Association says that streets are becoming “unsightly” and called for the Village, with the help of the private companies to bury the cables in sealed vaults underground. They requested that the Municipal Services Committee be asked to study the issue.

Revaluation and Potholes: Robert Berg asked for clarification on the schedule for the RFP for the Village wide revaluation. From Jon Marks report at the previous meeting Berg understood that the RFP for the revaluation would not be issued until September, 2011. However, Village Manager Al Gatta responded and said that the Village expects to have selected a company to do the work by September, 2011, and therefore the RFP would be issued in the interim. Berg also called for the Village to do more to repair potholes as residents are bearing the expense of repairing many flat tires and bent rims.

Meter Fees: Mark Walfish of Sycamore Road complained that the village had raised the fees at the long term parking meters by 40% this year. He believed it had been done inadvertently and asked the Village to take another look at the pricing. However, the Trustees advised that Walfish would be better off parking in the Freightway Garage where the annual fee would be $840 rather than $2,125 for meter parking.

In other Village business:

• The Trustees formally adopted their 2011-2012 Village Budget of $47 million.
• Trustees voted to have the Planning Board review changes to the Freshwater Wetlands Map and clarifications of the definitions of Freshwater Wetlands and Freshwater Wetlands Controlled Areas in the Village Code.
• The Trustees granted a revocable license to the developer of 1 Palmer Avenue for the employees of the complex to use 10 parking spaces at Supply Field at a cost of $840 per spot per year. Trustees determined that this would not impact parking for recreational events and it would free up parking spaces for customers across the street.
• Trustee Brodsky announced that Scarsdale was honored as one of Westchester County's top three municipalities in recycling at the April 17 Westchester County Earth Day celebration. The national recycling standard is 25%; overall, recycling in Westchester is 50%, and in Scarsdale, recycling is a very impressive 68%. According to Brodsky, “the award is an acknowledgement of a cooperative effort on the part of all residents and a tribute to the outstanding Public Works Department headed by Superintendent Benedict Salanitro.”
• In an update on the potential sale of Village-owned land at 2-4 Weaver Street, Trustee Jonathan Mark said that the Committee is waiting for a new rendering of the building and the site, including the village owned land. Once the committee has the drawings, they can appraise how the additional land would affect the building design and continue discussions about the land sale.

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Published: 25 April 2011

Created: 25 April 2011

Last Updated: 25 April 2011

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Attorney and Scarsdale resident David M. Brodsky is part of the No Labels organization which is seeking to conduct and encourage rational dialogue, not extremist labeling, about important issues in our country, including dealing with the deficit and debt. One of the founders and leaders of No Labels is former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker who wrote the column below that originally appeared in The Connecticut Post on Sunday April 24th, is reprinted here on Brodsky’s request with Walker’s permission.

Now that the level of federal funding for the 2011 fiscal year has been resolved, there has been an increasing amount of attention on Congress’ upcoming vote to increase the federal debt ceiling limit. The debt ceiling is the legal limit that is set, and periodically re-set, on how much public and intra-governmental (e.g. Social Security and Medicare) debt the U.S. government can incur. It is critically important for Americans to understand the facts behind this debate in order to ensure a sensible solution.

While federal law provides for the continuation of essential government operations even if the government has not decided on a budget or funding levels for a fiscal year, such a provision does not exist in connection with the debt ceiling limit. Therefore, if the federal government hits the debt ceiling limit during a time of large deficits, which is the case today, dramatic and draconian actions will have to be taken in order to ensure that additional debt is not incurred. This would likely include a suspension of payments to government contractors, delays in tax refunds, and massive furloughs of government employees. In addition, since the Social Security program is now paying out more than it takes in, it could even mean delaying payment of Social Security benefits to tens of millions of Americans.

In essence, raising the debt ceiling is simply recognizing the federal government’s past fiscally irresponsible practices. But while failure to raise the debt ceiling is not a viable option given our current fiscal state, we must take concrete steps to address the government’s lack of fiscal responsibility. We must also do so in a manner that avoids triggering a massive disruption and a possible loss of confidence by investors in the ability of the federal government to manage its own finances. Such a loss of confidence could spur a dramatic rise in interest rates that would further increase our nation's fiscal, economic, unemployment and other challenges.

The recent decision by S&P to downgrade the long-term outlook on U.S .debt is just another market signal that elected officials must begin to work together to put our federal finances in order before the markets force it to. Other recent signals have included the reduced appetite of foreign investors for longer-term U.S. debt and PIMCO's decision to divest its U.S. debt holdings. In fact, the only player with any real appetite for longer-term U.S. debt in recent months has been the Federal Reserve – and such involvement on their part essentially amounts to government self-dealing. Such self-dealing serves to help the economy in the short-term while increasing longer-term risks and potentially delaying needed fiscal reforms.

In order to begin to restore fiscal sanity, Congress should increase the debt ceiling limit in exchange for one or more specific steps designed to send a signal to the markets, and the American people, that a new day in federal finance is dawning. To be credible, any such action must go beyond short-term spending cuts for the 2012 fiscal year.

One possible step could include agreeing on a set of statutory budget controls that would come into effect in fiscal 2013. Such controls should include specific annual debt/GDP targets with automatic spending cuts and temporary revenue increases in the event the annual target is not met. In my view, a ratio of three parts spending cuts, excluding interest savings, to one part revenue would make sense.

This debt/GDP target concept, which I have been advocating both publicly and privately in recent months, gained additional momentum last week when President Obama endorsed it in his April 13 fiscal speech. It also seems to be gaining some momentum in Congress. It just may be a nonpartisan approach that can gain bipartisan support in order to help ensure that our elected officials do not play "chicken" with the nation's debt ceiling limit as they did in resolving federal funding levels for fiscal 2011. After all, playing "chicken" with the debt ceiling would be like playing with a tactical nuclear weapon. If it explodes, it would come with a huge amount of collateral damage, including harming U.S. credibility.

As we all know, both political parties bear some responsibility for our current fiscal state. As a result, Congressional leaders from both political parties and the President should work together to do what is right for America. In doing so, they should refrain from inflammatory partisan and personal attacks that could taint the water for a political compromise.

Hopefully, Congress and the President will agree on an appropriate basis for extending the debt ceiling limit before we approach the 11th hour. How they resolve this issue will likely be the most important fiscal decision they make before the 2012 elections. For the sake of our future and our families, let us hope that they choose prudence over politics.

By: Hononorable David M. Walker, No Labels Co-Founder and former U.S. Comptroller General of the United States (1998-2008)