NYS Supreme Court Upholds Scarsdale's Historic Preservation Law to Save 27 Woods Lane
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The Village of Scarsdale scored a victory in the NYS Supreme Court County of Westchester when the court upheld the Village’s decision to bar the demolition of a historic Colonial Revival style home at 27 Woods Lane in Edgewood.
In the fall of 2023, when neighbors learned of a plan by developers to raze the house, subdivide the property and build two in its place, they launched an impressive campaign to save it. The house is one of the original homes in the development and is set back on a sweeping lawn surrounded by tall oak and tulip trees. Unlike many Scarsdale neighborhoods, this one has been preserved and the home at 27 Woods Lane sits in the center of a picturesque subdivision.
Architectural historian Andrew Dolkart found that the home, “contributes to the most important issue in the history and development of Scarsdale, the major suburbanization of the village which largely occurred in the second and third decades of the twentieth century….. there would be no village of Scarsdale as we know it, without this important development brought about by changing cultural and economic conditions in urban America.”
The Committee for Historic Preservation voted unanimously to preserve it, and the applicants then appealed the decision to the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, who concurred.
The Scarsdale Board of Trustees decision says, “ The Board of Trustees hereby finds, as set forth herein, that there is substantial evidence in the record to establish that the home located at 27 Woods Lane meets the criteria for preservation set forth in Village Code § 182-5, specifically Village Code §§ 182-5(A)(1) and (4), and thus, the Board or Trustees denies the issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness to demolish the home located at 27 Woods Lane, Scarsdale, New York, being known and designated on the tax map of the Village of Scarsdale as Section 12; Block 08; Lot 12; You can read their decision here:
However, the applicants then appealed the decision to the NYS Supreme Court. Representing the applicants, attorneys from Cuddy and Feder argued that the respondents' decision, "was not supported by substantial record evidence, is arbitrary, capricious and constitutes an abuse of discretion ... the Historic Preservation Law (HPL) is unconstitutional on its face and as process..." applied to Petitioner as it deprives property owners in Scarsdale of due process ... " and that the Respondents violated open meetings law.”
Here are some excerpts from the decision:
To the charge that the law was arbitrary or capricious, the Supreme Court found that “a court cannot overturn an agency determination simply because it believes that a different, perhaps better outcome could have resulted.” And “Even when the presentation of evidence boils down to a battle of experts, a determination cannot be overturned simply because the experts disagree or one party disagrees with the outcome; an agency has the discretion to evaluate the evidence and testimony and determine which expert it finds to be more credible.”
On the charge that the historic preservation law is unconstitutional, the court found, “Because we are dealing with words we can never expect objective precision because there will always be room for discretionary interpretation, but using the plain meanings of the words coupled with how they are to be applied though canons of statutory construction provide sufficient guidelines for how the words are to be used; "the fact that different parties may disagree on the significance of certain statutory language does not indicate that the statue is unconstitutionally vague. “
And last, to the charge that the meeting was not held in public, the court found that the Board of Trustees was acting as a “quasi-judicial do novo appellate authority over the CHP, not in their legislative capacity so there was no requirement that the meeting be held in public.
Neighbors cheered the decision and wondered what’s next for the house, which now appears to be for rent.
The decision was a favorable one for preservationists as it upholds Scarsdale’s Village Preservation Code and should act as a deterrent in the future for others who seek to raze historic homes.
Speaking at the Village Board meeting on April 22, Village Historian Jordan Copeland thanked the Board of Trustees. He said, “The court commented how substantive the record was. There was nothing to attack. This attack on our historic preservation law was rejected.”
Merrell Clark Passes Away in Scarsdale
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Merrell Mays Clark, 90, passed away peacefully, surrounded by his beloved family in Scarsdale, NY on April 4, 2025.
Merrell Mays Clark was born in Clifton Springs, NY on Feb 8, 1935, to Rev. Arthur T. Clark and Ruthanna (Anderson) Clark. Merrell spent much of his youth in Evanston, IL, then graduated from high school in Rock Island, IL. Merrell was the youngest of three siblings. Hartley, his older brother and Joanna, his older sister were both strong influences in his life and he often expressed his love for them. Merrell was the son of a Presbyterian minister, and his spirituality was paramount to his outlook on life.
Merrell graduated from Yale in 1957 with a degree in English. He met his future wife, and love of his life, Lynne Butcher, at a conference on religion in 1956 and it was love at first sight. They got engaged 2 weeks later and were married on June 14, 1957, immediately following graduation.
Merrell then completed a Master of Arts in Religion at Yale Divinity School in 1959. He participated in numerous student groups during his time there and he remained dedicated to the Yale community throughout his life, as he served as President & Chair of the Yale Westchester Alumni Association for fifteen years, developed mentorship opportunities for other alumni, interviewed Westchester area applicants, and maintained lifelong friendships with classmates and fellow alumni of all ages.
After his studies, he pursued a career in marketing and consulting. He served as VP Management Supervisor at SSC&B Advertising for ten years, and then as Principal at Knight, Gladieux and Smith Advertising before shifting his focus to the non-profit world where he could tap into his heart of service. He served as president for the Institutes for Religion and Health, and Vice President for Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. He later served in a variety of consultant roles at various foundations.
He formed two of his own companies: The Clark Company, providing marketing and accounting services, and Elderworks, a non-profit dedicated to utilizing the gifts and talents of the elderly in the workforce and in the community at large. He later poured himself into supporting and assisting his wife Lynne, a major residential realtor in Westchester County, as accountant, marketing advisor and sales support.
Merrell was deeply invested in his Scarsdale community and served on the board of numerous local organizations, including Scarsdale Forum, Scarsdale Community Center, Scarsdale Adult School, Westchester Arts Council, United Way of Scarsdale-Edgemont, Greenacres Association, and Scarsdale Foundation.
Merrell was an extraordinary musician. He played piano by sight and by ear and took any occasion to gather people around the piano to sing. Music and song followed him everywhere and flowed from him effortlessly. He loved singing in the choir at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, NY where he was an active and devoted member for 62 years.
He served Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in many ways. He led a successful men's group for many years, he was instrumental in the building of the chapel, the columbarium, and the Memorial Wall, as well as establishing the Memorial Fund. He and his wife led the centennial celebration, and he filled the pulpit many times. He served in the leadership of the church as both Deacon and Elder.
Merrell Mays Clark is survived by his wife Lynne Clark, his daughters, Lisa Clark Jenks (Steve Jenks), Aimee Clark Peterson (Matthew Peterson) and Catherine Merrell Clark (Antonio Seda); his grandchildren, Sarah Jenks Brajtbord (Jonathan Brajtbord), William Pearson Jenks, Catherine Jenks Berro (Travis Berro), Aimee Lynne Peterson, Charles Graham Peterson, Cole Clark Peterson, Camille Rosin Seda, Eloise Merrell Seda and Oliver Clark Seda; his great grandchildren, Marshall, Annabelle & Hazel Brajtbord and Rangeley Berro.
Community Music Fund in Memory of Merrell Clark. Checks can be made directly to Hitchcock Presbyterian Church. Memo: Community Music Fund in Memory of Merrell Clark and mailed to Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, 6 Greenacres Ave. Scarsdale NY 10583.
A Dignified, Determined Doer, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, 1937 – 2025
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Hillary Clinton, Diane Greenwald and Nita LoweyNita Lowey died March 15, 2025 of breast cancer in her Harrison home at 87 surrounded by her family. A compassionate yet fierce stateswoman, she served in the US Congress for 16 terms. Lowey won her first-ever race in 1988, a 3-person Democratic primary and then the general election, defeating a Republican incumbent. When she joined the 101st Congress, she was 51 years old.
Congress was her significant second act, but she had always been a leader. Born in the Bronx, Nita Sue Melnikoff graduated from Bronx Science High School as valedictorian, and then Mount Holyoke College, with a BA in political science. After two years working for a NYC ad agency, she married Steven Lowey, a name partner of a White Plains law firm. The couple have 3 children and eight grandchildren.
A PTA president and active community member, Lowey volunteered for her neighbor, Mario Cuomo, on his 1974 campaign for lieutenant governor which eventually led her to a position in his administration, as an Assistant Secretary of State. She served in that role for thirteen years, traveling New York as the eyes and ears of the governor, and building her skills as a public servant to a diverse population. Lowey described herself for her alumnae magazine as a “person who gets things done.”
In Congress, Lowey was known for her warm smile and grandmotherly demeanor, but she was in fact a powerhouse, sponsoring over 500 pieces of legislation and co-sponsored thousands more. Over 400 became law, an impressive rate. She was the first woman to chair the DCCC, and in her final term, Lowey became the first woman to chair the important appropriations committee. And Lowey showed up. Over her tenure, she attended 18,657 of 19,168 roll call votes.
Lowey successfully navigated the impact of 3 New York redistricting plans, shifting her from NY-20 to NY-16 and her final 8 years were for NY-17. She represented parts of Westchester, some of Northern Bronx and all of Rockland County, where she was well-known and well-liked for her focus on including and meeting her constituents’ needs.
Her legacy could be summed up as, don’t underestimate older women, or, as her long-time colleague Nancy Pelosi offered, Nita was “gracious and tenacious.”
Only 441 women have served in the US Congress, a mere 3.3% of the total office holders. For 32 years, Lowey was one of these pacesetting women – and women’s issues and equity were always among her priorities. In 1993, she co-sponsored a bill to ensure women and people of color were included in NIH clinical trials, about which she said, “even the lab rats were all male.”
Two years prior, in October 1991, Lowey joined 6 other women lawmakers to march across the US Capitol building to demand the Senate allow Anita Hill to publicly defend herself during Clarence Thomas’ Supreme Court Justice confirmation hearings.
US Representatives Nita Lowey, Pat Schroeder, Patsy Mink, and Jolene Unsoeld.
Lowey sponsored or co-sponsored many other important pieces of legislation to improve life for the most vulnerable, like the International Violence Against Women Act, Protect Access to Birth Control Act, Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2014, The Heroes Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, and Further Continuing Appropriations Act. When Ms. Lowey served on the Select Committee on Homeland Security, she fought to secure over $20 million for New York’s recovery efforts after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Lowey championed the Public Broadcasting System, especially the quality educational children’s programming, like Sesame Street. She brought Burt and Ernie puppets to press conferences to make her point.
Proud of her Jewish life and roots, Lowey was a steadfast supporter of the US-Israel special relationship. With independence and integrity, she worked across the political spectrum, sure of both her love of Israel and her criticisms of the Israeli government. Her lengthy efforts toward peace were acknowledged when the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act Fund was named in her honor. It took years, but with bi-partisan support, up to $250 Million could be allocated for peace-building efforts, a significant investment in Isreal-Palestinian civil society. At the time of her death, Lowey’s peacemaker legacy is in jeopardy, as the Trump administration tries to slash civilian foreign aid and services. It is unclear how or if USAID will be restored, so that the humanitarian good works so many support (and Congress passed) can proceed.
In her last term, Nita Lowey joined in solidarity with her colleagues, wearing all white to the floor of the House for the 2019 State of the Union. Harkening the powerful suffragists who championed women’s rights a century earlier, these lawmakers stood up for policies important to women that were and remain under attack, like healthcare and equal pay.
The first woman was elected to Congress in 1919, and since 1925, the number of women elected has slowly but steadily increased. Until now. This year, for the first time in 100 years, fewer women are serving in Congress than the term before. Is our glass ceiling a mere 28.7% of the House, and only 25% of the Senate? For Nita’s sake, for all she achieved and advanced, let’s hope not.
On a personal note, I had the good fortune to know the Congresswoman. I lobbied her to support allocations for hunger eradication, I supported pro-choice women candidates with her, and I frequently saw her at the golf club where we both belonged. It was there, maybe at a mother’s day bar-b-que or a fourth of July celebration, that I observed her walk through the large dining room, graciously greeting her adoring community, but tenaciously focused on the table in the corner, where her devoted husband and lovely family gathered.
I hope all of Scarsdale will join me with heartfelt condolences to Nita’s family, as we honor her service and legacy.
Submitted by Diane Greenwald, by request of Joanne Wallenstein
Sources:
https://www.vox.com/2019/2/5/18213087/state-of-the-union-women-in-white-democrats
https://www.jns.org/late-us-rep-nita-lowey-embodied-highest-ideals-jewish-groups-say/
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/news/news-stories/nita-lowey-59-1937-2025
https://alumnae.mtholyoke.edu/blog/nita-lowey-59-on-womens-leadership-ideals-and-strength-in-a-public-service-career/
https://www.cityandstateny.com/opinion/2020/12/nita-lowey-progressive-pioneer/175349/
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/nita_lowey/400246
https://thelawmakers.org/find-representatives
https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2023/03/20/center-for-effective-lawmaking-identifies-most-successful-lawmakers-in-117th-congress/
https://www.congress.gov/member/nita-lowey/L000480?q=%7B%22subject%22%3A%22Health%22%7D
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives#:~:text=In%20total%2C%20396%20women%20have,women%2028.7%25%20of%20the%20total.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nita_Lowey
https://cawp.rutgers.edu/facts/levels-office/congress/history-women-us-congress
Huge Crowd Rallies in Mt. Kisco to Oppose Cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and Essential Services
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(Submitted by Indivisible Westchester)
On Saturday, April 5, at 10 a.m., more than one thousand community members and unionists rallied at the Mt. Kisco train station, standing in strong opposition to proposed cuts to Social Security, Medicaid, and essential services, as well as anti-union and anti-worker policies. The event, held in Rep. Mike Lawler’s district, was part of the nationwide "Hands Off" movement, which mobilized more than 350,000 people in 1,000 protests across the country to demand protections for healthcare, workers' rights, and economic security.
A coalition of labor unions, community organizations, and elected officials led the demonstration, reaffirming their commitment to defending vital public programs and standing against harmful cuts and layoffs. Many attendees planned to travel to Bryant Park in New York City later that day for the larger "Hands Off" march.
Union and Community Leaders Speak Out
Kevin Sheil, President of CWA Local 1103, condemned recent attacks on collective bargaining and union rights:
"Protecting collective bargaining rights for workers shouldn’t be a partisan issue in America. So, when Trump signs an executive order stripping collective bargaining and union rights from over one million workers across the federal government, we should all be outraged. The labor movement will stand up and fight against this vindictive effort at union busting."
Dylan Valle, 32BJ SEIU Hudson Valley District Leader, warned against attempts to divide working people:
"We are standing up and fighting back alongside the labor movement and allies to defend our region and state from attacks by the Trump Administration and unelected billionaires in Washington. They are trying to defund our institutions and divide us by race, immigration status, and gender. New Yorkers will not be divided! They are attacking working peoples’ rights and proposing cuts to healthcare benefits for millions of children, low-income people, and seniors. We won’t have that!"
Madison Norwich, Manager of Advocacy and Student Programs at Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic, emphasized the urgency of the moment:
"This is a critical moment for our country. Health care and our rights are on the line. Now more than ever, we must stand together and fight for a safer and healthier future for all."
Casandra Chen, Healthcare Advocate at the Healthcare Education Project for 1199 SEIU, highlighted the direct impact of Medicaid cuts:
"In NY-17, there are 245,828 Medicaid recipients—real people: seniors, those with disabilities, children, and pregnant individuals," Chen emphasized. "Washington keeps assuring us that Medicaid won’t be cut, but the real question is: what will our elected officials do to Medicaid?"
Ed Berry, Political Director of Sierra Club Lower Hudson Valley, linked the fight to environmental justice:
"Trump and his corporate polluters want to sell our air, water, and public lands for their own profits. It’s time to show them our environment and our future are not for sale."
A Unified Message: Hands Off Our Essential Services
The rally remained peaceful, with organizers emphasizing nonviolence and civic engagement. Supporters from across the region stood in solidarity, sending a clear message: Hands off our essential services.
For more details, a full list of sponsors, and upcoming events, visit Hands Off.
Ass't Superintendent Says That Scarsdale Schools Use a Range of Materials to Teach Reading
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Once considered a literacy guru, over the last few years, Lucy Calkins, who developed the “Units of Study For Teaching Reading,” has become the recipient of some harsh criticism. Despite the curriculum’s aim “to prepare students for any reading and writing task they will face and to turn kids into life-long, confident readers and writers who display agency and independence,” critics say the curriculum underplayed the importance of using phonics to teach students to read and write and blame the use of it in classrooms for low standardized tests scores.
After a podcast aired in the fall of 2022 which denounced Lucy Calkins’ work, other media outlets began to cover the issue reigniting a long history of “reading wars” which debate the best approach to teaching students to read. While critics of Units of Study say that a focus on phonics is the most effective path to early reading success, proponents of Calkins’ theory (which emphasizes student choice, context and comprehension over phonics but maintains phonics should be taught) believe in order to create life-long readers with a love of reading, that beyond word decoding, it is important to immerse children in meaningful reading experiences and give them opportunities to deepen comprehension through rich conversations, exposure to a range of nonfiction and literature, and time to read voluminously books of their choosing.
Even though Units of Study included some focus on phonics, it seems its vulnerability was not centering phonics or "balancing enough" in that direction. In recent years, it appears that Calkins’ Units of Study has evolved to include more phonics instruction.
Though there are advocates that fall staunchly in one camp or another, there are many educators who believe in taking a more holistic approach to teaching reading and writing which includes both a focus on phonics and whole language instruction. This more comprehensive literacy method for reading instruction looks to be the approach that the Scarsdale School District has long implemented in elementary classrooms.
After a recent Board of Education meeting where a parent expressed concern about the District’s announcement that it will pilot a new program “The Reading & Writing Project at Mossflower” (founded by Lucy Calkins), we reached out to Dr. Edgar McIntosh Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment for clarification. Dr. McIntosh shared the following response:
“Thank you for inviting me to address the parent's concerns regarding the district's literacy instruction tools. Some parents are worried about our continued use of the Units of Study in Reading from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) developed during Lucy Calkins' leadership. Her early materials were criticized for lacking sufficient word decoding instruction, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, and sight word recognition, potentially failing to meet all students' needs. As educators, we recognized validity in these criticisms.
The units promote critical thinking, verbal reasoning, student choice, and are reinforced by the TCRWP scholarship, positive aspects overlooked by media coverage of Lucy Calkins. Scarsdale teachers have always had a practice of supplementing units with decoding resources.
Over the past few years, Scarsdale has focused on enhancing reading instruction by emphasizing cohesive word decoding and implementing data-driven support structures for all students. That has led us to pilot (or “try-out” in multiple classrooms before adopting) several literacy tools from various publishers and companies. The result has been our integration of a range of word recognition resources across our schools, while also maintaining the Units of Study language comprehension focus.
It should be noted that the new Units of Study have been updated to integrate word recognition more seamlessly, align fully with the NY State teaching standards, and reflect Scardale’s core values of student choice, inclusivity, and agency. We appreciate that the Units are not a scripted curriculum, allowing us to adapt the materials, use them flexibly to match our students' needs, and innovatively infuse STEM and social studies content when appropriate.
The primary reading assessments we've incorporated for early readers measure both language comprehension and word recognition. Educators use these assessment results to pair student skills and needs with the instruction and texts that will work best. This expands the Fountas & Pinnell (F&P) assessments, traditionally used to evaluate a child’s reading level based on comprehension, by adding phonemic awareness (the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words) and phonics inventories (assessments of a child's ability to decode words using letter-sound relationships). These additions ensure a more balanced evaluation of both word recognition and language comprehension.
The March 3 Board Meeting featured a curriculum Cabinet Update that included the attached slides. Some community members became concerned when they saw Lucy Calkins' name on the teacher newsletter- inviting teachers to try out recent updates to the units through her new organization, Mossflower.
Those who had followed the negative media coverage wondered why we would further explore materials associated with Lucy Calkins. This led to false speculation that we had a contract with Mossflower, were compelled to use her materials, and - because the newsletter was aimed at and accessible only to teachers - that we were not being transparent about our practices.
Our district is not compelled to only use one resource, publisher, or set of materials. Our decisions to use materials for instruction happen after a process involving the exploration of resources, collaboration, experimentation, and consensus building amongst our educators. We engage outside experts, consult neighboring districts, and invest time and energy into internal research. That said, we will continue to examine resources from Mossflower and other organizations as part of our exploration process.
Dropping the Units of Study and switching to a scripted program would undermine a thoughtful and iterative process by which we have arrived at a place of alignment of reading instruction that makes use of multiple tools supporting word recognition and language comprehension. Such a drastic move would be educationally, ethically, and financially irresponsible.
In my March 3 Cabinet Report, I highlighted the importance of tenacity and humility in curriculum change. We must be tenacious in adhering to the science of student learning, regardless of the latest podcast, headline, or social media post. Maren Aukerman, a Werklund Research Professor at the University of Calgary, offers a compelling analysis of bias in literacy reporting I've linked here.
The role of humility is essential, too. Recently raised concerns teach me that we need to communicate more clearly and more frequently about the process we use to improve curriculum and the rationale for our changes. We have made updates to the ELA portion of the district website and will look for more opportunities to invite and answer questions from parents.
Our research-based exploration of materials from a range of sources will continue and our priority is to always measure using a lens that is critically aimed towards what will work best for all our students.
What’s more Dr. Sue Luft, one of the District’s ELA Coordinators who facilitates the review of materials, adds, "Of all the recently published materials we have previewed, the Units of Study closely embrace the Lifelong Practices of a Reader which cultivate the habits, mindsets, and behaviors that turn students into real readers for life."
