Friday, May 03rd

City Fest 2010, closes downtown White Plains Sunday 7/25 on Mamaroneck Avenue between Post Road and Maple Avenue. Celebrate the greatest, hottest, beer summer ever with live entertainment from The Benjamins, Tim Lovelace and J. Antonette. Live Disc Jockey Sparts is spinning the vinyl at 12 noon to 8 P.M. There is food, games, and rides. No swimming in the fountain though!

A woman called police on 7/12 to ask them to check on her 80 year-old mothers, after she was unable to reach her for several days. Police knocked on the door of the Popham Road apartment at the address provided by the daughter but there was no answer. They asked the landlord to help them open the door, and when they did they found that they could only open it about six inches, because debris was blocking the door.

The scantily dressed resident did appear and said that she did not hear the knocking due to the air conditioner. The entire apartment was overtaken with debris, almost piled up to the ceiling in some spots and three feet deep in others. There was little room to navigate. The apartment was very hot but the woman claimed to be fine and said she was eating and drinking.

Police left the apartment and called back the daughter who said she was aware of her mother’s hoarding issue. Police gave the daughter the number of Scarsdale and Edgemont Family Counseling and advised the daughter that the apartment needed to be cleaned up. Police will do a follow-up visit in two weeks and have notified the Fire Department.

In a similar incident on 7/12, police were called to check on a Bradford Road woman when her daughter could not reach her by phone. No one answered the door at the home and police could not see the woman through the windows. The Fire Department arrived and forced their way in via the patio where they damaged a glass pane on the patio door. The woman was not home and subsequently drove up in her car and appeared to be fine.

Thefts: A Carthage Road woman, whose home is for sale, reported that jewelry, valued at $2000 had been taken from her home sometime between May 27 and July 16. A rear basement door was found to be pried open and the knob was removed. Though house had not been tossed but the woman’s jewelry bags had been opened and emptied.

A Tewkesbury Road woman donated 200 books to the Scarsdale Library on July 5th. On July 8th, she realized that one of the books that she had given away was actually a fake book that she used to store and conceal her jewelry. She went back to the library and reported what had happened, but got word from the library on July 9th that the book was found empty. Missing, was over $10,000 in jewelry, including a diamond wedding band and pearls.

A woman had her purse including ids, cash a credit card and keys stolen from IHM on July 15th. She had placed her bag under a chair in the adoration chapel and when she returned it was gone.

Cohawney Road residents awoke on the morning of July 12th and found that their 2010 red Lexus was missing from the driveway. Also gone, were cd’s, a gift card, sunglasses, umbrellas and an Apple iTouch that had been stored in the car. The car was locked and the owner has both sets of keys and did not hear anything unusual during the night.

Lost and found: Two young children were found unattended on Palmer Avenue on the afternoon of July 15th. Police learned that they lived on Mamaroneck Avenue and found their father searching for the children. They had been playing in a fenced in yard, but decided to leave a note to say they were leaving home. When the father found the note he dialed 911 but was reunited with his kids.

A blue Pacific bicycle was found in the yard of Post Road home on the night of July 15. The bike is being stored by the Scarsdale police.

Harassed: A Harvest Drive woman received some disturbing phone calls on the night of July 12th. When she picked up the phone she heard young adults imitating babies, and the caller knew both the woman and her son’s names.

Brooklyn resident Jessica Wisloski and a passenger were travelling on Heathcote Road on the afternoon of 7/13 when they were followed and honked at by a man in a gray Toyota. When they stopped at an intersection, the man got out of his car and yelled, “what are you doing, you guys can get arrested.” The complainants only wished to document the event.

A driver got stuck in the parking lot under CVS on Popham Road on 7/13 when the traffic arm got stuck. When police arrived, the arm had been fixed.

On 7/15 a Carthage Road man found tree branches resting on a power line on his property. A tree had been cut down but branches were left on the lines. Police contacted Con Edison who said that they were working in the area the previous day and may have cut the tree in an attempt to fix a power outage. Con Ed did not plan to return and remove the branches and advised the resident that it was his responsibility to do so.

Scammers contacted an Edgewood woman on 7/14 and claimed that she owed 800 Euros on her MasterCard. The woman did not have a MasterCard and thought the callers may have been attempting to get her personal information.

Water was reported to be seeping from a crack in the road in front of a Tunstall Road home on July 14th. The steady stream of water was reported to the Highway Department and cones were placed in the area as a precaution.

Water was also found to be spraying from a broken line on Walworth Avenue on the night of 7/17. The homeowner reported that the Village had damaged a sprinkler line when they removed a tree, and said that she would have it fixed.

An area resident called police to report a violation of the water restrictions on Ferncliff Road, where watering is permitted on Tuesdays and Fridays. Police spoke to the homeowner who was unaware of the restrictions and agreed to turn off the water.

Anyone there? Police responded to a report of a house with an open front door on Bell Road on the morning of 7/15. The door was wide open and it appeared that no one was home. Police checked the home and found a man in the basement. He told police that he works for the homeowners.

Abandoned car: The owner of the service station at 1 Palmer Avenue called police to say that a woman from Maine had left her 1998 green Ford Windstar at his station on 6/29 and failed to come back to retrieve it. The woman had the car towed to the station and agreed to have the fuel pump replaced. She later called the station and asked them to stop work on the car and said she would send a tow truck to retrieve it. On July 3rd she returned to take something out of the car but has not been back since. The station owner has been unable to reach her and police advised him that this is a civil matter.

Naptime: Police received a call to report that a woman was lying on Lyons Road at noon on 7/16. They found 90 year-old Ms. Li lying in the street on Lyons Road. She said that she got tired while out walking and decided to take a break.

A large tree branch fell off a village-owned tree and damaged an Ogden Road homeowner’s light fixture on July 17th.

An unknown car rode over Belgian block, arborvitaes and grass at a Palmer Road home and damaged the landscaping on July 13.

A loud keg party on Ogden Road was broken up at 1 am on July 12th. Police gave one boy a summons for underage drinking when he admitted that he brought the keg to the bash.

At 6:40 am on 7/18 a Tompkins Road man reported that someone in a passing car had thrown white kitchen garbage bags containing garbage and beer cans onto his front lawn. He heard the sound of a car speeding away shortly before he discovered the garbage.

Edgemont and Greenburgh:

Fox on the roof: A fox was found on the roof of a Glendale Road home at 7 pm on July 13th. Police shot a pepper ball round at the fox that jumped off the roof and ran into the woods. Police searched the area for the animal but were unable to find it.

On the afternoon of July 14th an employee of Harmon on Central Avenue reported a possible larceny. Two female customers were leaving the store with the alarm when off. The employee asked the women to stop so that she could check their bags but they left the store and got into a gray Honda and went south on Central Avenue. The employee did not know if any merchandise was missing.

Armed: An armed prison guard was caught shoplifting at Marshalls at 6 pm on July 16th. Security caught the man taking property on video and leaving the store with concealed merchandise. When the security officer asked the offender for I’d., the man said he was a federal officer with the Department of Corrections. He lifted his shirt to show a firearm in his waistband. The firearm was seized the man was taken to Greenburgh Police Headquarters for booking.

Prostitute: The Greenburgh Drug and Alcohol Task Force arrested a 44 year-old Flushing woman for prostitution at 100 North Central Avenue in Hartsdale after a short investigation. The woman agreed to engage in oral sex with an undercover police office for a fee of $100. She was arrested and taken to Greenburgh Police headquarters where she was booked, mugged, printed and released for a 7/23 court date.

A Mt. Vernon woman’s wallet was stolen from her bag while she was at the Spotlight Café on Sunday night 7/18. She lost her wallet, credit and debit cards.

Feuding Roommates: A Poe Street man reported that another resident of his Hartsdale home harassed him on July 18th.. The woman hit him in the back and stomach, shut a laptop on his hand, locked him in the bathroom and said “I hope you die.”

Neighbors on Elizabeth Street argued about a property line on July 13th. One man threw a sign that the other had posted into the woods. The man also claimed that his neighbor had thrown 10-12 foot long bamboo branches and grass clippings onto his property.

Lawyers for Quaker Ridge Golf Club and Brittany Close resident Leon Behar were back in court on Tuesday July 6th trying to iron out their differences in the ongoing conflict about errant golf balls. The lawyers met behind closed doors with Judge Murphy at the courthouse in White Plains while Quaker Ridge Club President Alan Howard, General Manager Robert Musich and Brittany Close resident Leon Behar awaited the outcome.

As reported on Scarsdale10583, Behar’s property borders the second hole of Quaker Ridge Golf course and is now in the line of fire. Behar constructed a 25-foot fence to protect his home and pool, but since the fence height exceeded Village code, Scarsdale has asked him to remove it. In turn, Behar's lawyers negotiated with Quaker Ridge Golf Club and they agreed to build a 60-foot screen of netting to shield Behar's property. However, when the application for the fence went before the Scarsdale Village Planning Board on 6/23 it met with objections from neighbors on Brittany Close who felt a 60-foot fence was higher than needed and the Planning Board held over the matter until their 8/4 meeting. The Board has requested additional information on alternatives to the 60-foot fence, including trees and a temporary fence plus scientific data on the required height of the netting to prevent balls from hitting the Behars. The Board also encouraged the neighbors to continue to work with the Behars to find an amicable solution.

Though neighbors contend that Behar caused the situation by removing trees from his property Behar claims that the trees he took down were dead and were not shielding his house from the golf course. In fact he says that the Village arborist recommended their removal.  According to Behar, in addition to the trees he removed, six or seven trees on the golf course, some as tall as 80 feet, fell in a storm in 2008 and were not replaced. The club says that these trees were actually located on Behar's property.  Behar told Scarsdale10583 that the lawsuit was “a last resort to protect my kids.” Though he empathizes with the club, he argues "that human life is more sacred than the game of golf" and would like the club to reposition the tee box for the second hole. He also believes that the village could require the club to do extensive landscaping to protect his home and hide the proposed mesh fence.

The management of Quaker Ridge argued that the golf course was built in 1918 and that repositioning the second hole would be impossible. They favor the construction of the fence and are ready to do so. The club also plans to build staff dormitories to house Quaker Ridge employees near the Brittany Close homes. The application for that project appears to be on hold until the current conflict is settled.

In the words of one longtime club member, “Assumption of risk is not the end of the inquiry. The Club owes a duty of care to adjoining homeowners. So, the compromise calls for the erection of a screen. It's now up to the Village to decide how high the screen should be.”

For now, pending an agreement on the form of protection for the Behars, use of the second hole at Quaker Ridge Golf Course remains restricted until August 22nd. The Scarsdale Planning Board will reconsider the matter on August 4th and parties will meet again in White Plains court on August 17th.

A huge fire broke out Wednesday afternoon around 3 pm on East Post Road in White Plains. Firefighters report that the fire started in the basement of the Indian restaurant Bengal Tiger at 140 East Post Road and quickly spread to the neighboring strip of stores and restaurants that includes a shoe store, a dry cleaner and a Latin American Cafe. Nearly three hours later the fire was still ablaze with thick smoke billowing above and engulfing downtown White Plains. Due to the heavy smoke, firefighters could not enter the buildings and were forced to fight the fire by spraying water from the street.

Leaping red and orange flames could be seen emerging from the site as fire trucks sprayed water on the roof and through the building facade. It is not known whether chemicals from the dry cleaner contributed to the ferocity of the fire.

Fire companies from Greenville, Fairview, New Rochelle, Harrison, Armonk Scarsdale and Hartsdale came to the assistance of White Plains firefighters in addition to the Salvation Army, volunteers from White Plains Hospital, the Red Cross and several transport crews. At least 30 firefighters were taken to White Plains Hospital for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion. All but one of the occupants of the buildings escaped unharmed.  Volunteers brought towels and water to help the firefighters. Con Edison was on the scene to cut power to the block.  According to Mayor Carolyn Stevens, a separate fire in the White Plains substation was the cause of widespread power outages in Scarsdale, not the fire on East Post Road.

Large crowds assembled to watch the spectacle and White Plains police re-routed traffic away from the scene.  As of 9:30 pm the fire was under control but East Post Road remained closed.

Bengal Tire has been an area favorite for years, well known for their Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer and Naan.  Greeted by the host in a red turban, customers would often line up at the bar and drink a Kingfisher while they waited for a table. With their restaurant now in ruins, we hope the owners are able to find a new location and reopen.

According to the Journal News, Morgan Goodman of Scarsdale was rescued from the Bronx River on Sunday evening when his car veered off the road, struck a guardrail and landed on it’s roof in the river.

Though several motorists tried to help, Morgan remained under water for 2-3 minutes before a Westchester County police officer swam into the river, opened the driver’s side door and was able to release Goodman from his seatbelt. He was carried ashore revived by emergency workers and taken to Valhalla hospital. As of Monday, he was still in critical condition. No one knows the cause of the accident.

Coincidentally, Goodman was in the news in April of this year when he removed the top of a parking meter and took it to Scarsdale Village Hall to show the Village court that it was broken. He was unhappy about receiving a parking ticket.

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