Tim Foley Named CEO of the Building Realty Institute
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Tim FoleyScarsdale’s Timothy Foley has been promoted to CEO of the Building Realty Institute (BRI) after a successful first year at the helm. Foley comes from an accomplished background, having graduated from Harvard University and then working on Former President Barack Obama’s presidential campaign as a Media Director in 2008.
This change comes as the BRI steps into a new era of leadership and continues to emerge as one of the thought leaders in the building and realty industries in the Westchester and Mid-Hudson region.
“BRI has grown as an organization while staying true to our mission to advocate for the best interests of the realty industry to government and the community, and to provide knowledge and resources to our members,” BRI President Lisa DeRosa said. “The Board of Trustees believes that having our executive officer be recognized as a CEO reflects the proactive, professional, and entrepreneurial organization and culture we’re trying to build. We also strongly believe that this title change will enhance the prestige of the organization and bring us into alignment with the titles given to executive officers in the Westchester-based organizations that we regard to be our peers.”
In his position as Executive Director, Foley was instrumental in leading the organization through a period of transformation, prompted by the long-term trends for affordable housing in the region, the dizzying changes enacted by the state legislature in the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, and the unprecedented changes from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The change reflects a renewed and refocused entrepreneurial spirit to the organization during these challenging times, including a renewed focus on building alliances with the community and taking full advantage of technological innovations. During 2020, the BRI was able to hold two successful fundraising campaigns, combining to raise over $40,000 for the charitable nonprofits Feeding Westchester and Lifting Up Westchester. BRI was forced to move the entirety of its robust education, training, and programmatic offerings to an all-virtual format, with every Membership Meeting being held via Zoom.
The BRI was also instrumental in launching the Building and Allied Construction Industries of Westchester (BACI), the local Westchester chapter of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the New York State Builders Association (NYSBA). Foley was recently appointed to a one-year term on the Land Development Committee for NAHB.
Foley led his team through a year of increased productivity as the BRI continued to conduct monthly meetings and engaged members in numerous advocacy efforts at the state and county level. Paired with the consistent ratings of the organization's two radio shows on WVOX and WOR 710 AM, and the doubling of its social media presence, the BRI continues to re-invent its image all while becoming one of the thought leaders in the building and realty sectors in Westchester County and the Mid-Hudson region.
“George Frank and Albert Annunziata, my predecessors at the BRI, worked tirelessly for years to make the BRI an organization resilient enough to withstand a once-in-a-century pandemic and a furious pace of change at the state and county level,” said Foley. “I’m grateful for the trust that President De Rosa, the Trustees, and the hardworking members of the BRI have put in me to continue our path of innovation and progress and look forward to continue to advocate for the best interests of our industry, for smart growth, affordable housing, and commonsense approaches to sustaining our communities, and to experiment with new opportunities for our members to build relationships and improve their businesses.”
The Building and Realty Institute of Westchester and the Mid-Hudson Region (BRI), based in Armonk, has more than 1,800 members in 14 counties of New York State, including home builders, commercial builders, renovators, property managing agents, co-op and condo boards, and owners of multifamily apartment buildings in many communities, as well as suppliers and service providers with a special focus on real estate. The BRI’s mission is to improve the relationships.
Former Scarsdale Resident Frank Sobel Passes Away at 93
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Frank (far right) with the Sobel clan.Frank M. Sobel passed away peacefully at the age of 93 on January 11, 2021 in Delray Beach, Florida. He is predeceased by his wife, Toni and his son, Marc. He is survived by his wife Carol; his children Ralph, Nancy, Ricky and John; his daughters-in-law Alice, Debbie, Nanette and Liz; his grandchildren Chris (Ken), Kevin (Amy), David (Jackie), Michael, Steven, Alexis, Jessica and Andrew; and his great-grandchildren Ben, Jack, Lila and Adam. He was President of Canterbury Belts, Ltd. from 1955-1995, when he retired.
The Sobel family included five children, four boys and one girl. They lived on Garden Road in Scarsdale for 22 years, from 1960 to 1982. All the kids were athletes and the four boys were captains of the soccer team. The youngest brother became a professional tennis player.
Frank loved playing tennis, traveling, "Dirty Harry" movies, ice cream, and most of all, his family. He was quick-witted, with a deep moral compass and a strong sense of loyalty. A private service took place on Friday, January 15, 2021 at Mt. Nebo Funeral Home in Kendall, FL. Contributions may be made in Frank's memory to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
Greenacres Man Pleads for Village to Stop the Construction of Tall Retaining Walls on Kingston Road
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An aerial perspective of the proposed project.What do you do when you find out that a developer is planning to build two rows of 130 linear feet of six foot high retaining walls on the hill in your backyard?
A. Ask the Village Engineering Department for help.
B. Appeal to the Board of Architectural Review.
C. Launch a petition to gather support from neighbors.
D. Retain counsel, an engineer, an urban planner and an architect.
Brite Avenue resident and realtor Mark Nadler took all these steps and still has no answers as to why the Village would permit a developer to build an 8,000 square foot house on a steep hill and extend the backyard through the use of tall retaining walls, which would loom above the Nadler’s backyard.
The developer is not even required to submit a rendering of how the property and walls would look from the bottom of the hill where Nadler’s home sits.
The property in question is at 4 Kingston Road, where the developer has applied to “to construct 2 or 3 retaining walls spanning approximately 130’ to maximize the size of the yard and house to accommodate a 44 x 20 in-ground pool with a complex of patios, spa, BBQ, bars and gas fire-pit surrounded by .65 acres of landscaped gardens and lush lawns,” on a property to be listed for $3.795 million.
Nadler contends that the project will require the “removal of over 30 large, medium and small trees and all foliage and will create a tall wall that will be a permanent visual eyesore in the neighborhood.”
Nadler’s queries go unanswered with the Board of Architectural Review saying they don’t get involved with the engineering department and the engineering department saying they don’t look at aesthetics.
The project will be resubmitted to the Board of Architectural Review at their January 11 meeting and the Zoning Board of Appeals will review the application for the pool at their meeting on January 13. At the June 2020 meeting of the BAR, when the plans were first presented, the applicants submitted two sets of drawings, one with two rows of retaining walls and another with three. No one noticed until Nadler’s lawyer reviewed the project after the meeting.
Nadler is appealing to neighbors to do the following:
A. Sign the petition he has created against the destruction of the hill and construction of massive retaining walls here:
B. Request that all Board of Architectural Review (BAR) members and the Mayor and Trustees walk the property before the meeting in order to see the steepness of the property and that the site is not suitable for this project. There were no pictures submitted by the developer.
C. Consider attending the zoom meetings and speaking up against the destruction of the hill and construction of massive retaining walls during the proposed renovation of 4 Kingston Road.
The meeting to approve the project is the Zoom BAR meeting on 1/11/21, and the meeting to approve the pool (pending approval at the BAR meeting) at the Zoning Board of Appeals is on 1/13/2021.
Nadler asks that you forward the petition to neighbors in Greenacres and Scarsdale for their support to stop the destruction of the hill.
Here are the links to see what the developer has submitted to the Board of Architectural Review:
And here are the documents for the Zoning Board of Appeals:
Below is a letter from Nadler:
Nadler's yard on Brite Avenue
Dear Mayor, Trustees, BAR members, Zoning Board of Appeals members,
I am sending this email with the urgent request that 4 Kingston Road, Scarsdale be given your attention for an additional few moments. Please forward this to the BAR and ZOA members if needed.
As the downhill neighbor of this proposed renovation, expansion and in-ground pool project, the system has not worked properly to give this the appropriate review it must have.
As a result, I have been forced hire an attorney, engineer, urban planner and a firm to represent me (and my neighborhood) and create simulations of the proposed development at significant expense to me to make sure my objections are heard.
I am emailing you now with several requests:
1. Please walk the property prior to the meeting on Monday to see the steep, unsuitable property where the developer wants to expand the yard over the hill and erect several retaining walls. The developer has not submitted a single picture, or rendering of the hill in the entire time this project has been submitted. You are welcome to physically walk in my backyard so you understand the significant loss of value to my property if this project proceeds as presented.
2. Please make sure I am allowed to have my experts present at the BAR meeting. They will have visuals and reports to present and must be allowed to be heard and NOT just under public comments. The June zoom BAR meeting was not a forum where this could be done or people were allowed to raise issues.
3. Please attend the BAR and ZBA meetings (if necessary) to make sure you see what is presented as I need you to be informed as this will negatively impact the neighborhood.
Below is the email I have sent to the neighbors and other Scarsdale residents. There are approximately 350 people who have signed the petition in opposition to this project since Sunday night.
Please email or call me with any questions.
Best regards,
Mark Nadler
Scarsdale's James Franklin Conlan Passes Away at 84
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James Franklin ConlanJames Franklin Conlan, 84, of Scarsdale, NY, died on December 26, 2020 following a lengthy illness.
Mr. Conlan was born at Saint Agnes Hospital in White Plains, NY on March 11, 1936, the only child of James Francis Conlan and Anne Irish Conlan. He was raised in Scarsdale and attended Scarsdale public schools, graduating from Scarsdale High School in 1954. He then attended Williams College where he earned a B.A. degree in 1958, majoring in History. After graduating from Williams, he volunteered for the draft and served in the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps, from which he was honorably discharged in 1960.
In late 1960 he joined Bankers Trust Company where he worked for 38 years, retiring in 1998 as a Vice President. He earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration from New York University in 1966. For many years, he was a guest lecturer on corporate trusts at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Department of Bank Supervision in Washington, D.C, and at various corporate trust industry events.
Mr. Conlan lived in New York City from 1960 until 1965, where he met his soulmate, Virginia Broderick, in 1961. They married in 1962, moved to Bronxville in 1965, and to Scarsdale in 1967. In Scarsdale, Mr. Conlan was active in community affairs as a member of The Town Club and its Fiscal Affairs Committee, a coach of baseball, basketball, and soccer teams in the Recreation Department's leagues, a member of the Parish Council at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish, President of the Bramlee Heights Neighborhood Association, and a District Leader for the Republican Party. He was a guest member of the Edgewood School Historical Society, the elementary school he attended in the 1940s, his four children attended in the 1970s, and four of his grandchildren attended from 2005-2017.
Mr. Conlan is survived by his wife Virginia of 58 years, four sons and their wives, James Conlan of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Patrick and Jennifer Conlan of Franklin, MA, Christopher and Kyle Conlan of Yorktown, NY, and Matthew and Kathryn Conlan of Scarsdale, NY, and by ten grandchildren, Patrick, James, Aidan, Anne, Moira, McKinley, Joseph, Seamus, James Sebastian, and Liam.
County Executive Unveils New COVID Dashboard
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At his bi-weekly Covid-19 briefing on Wednesday December 23, County Executive George Latimer displayed the new Westchester County Covid-19 Dashboard as prepared by the County’s Department of Emergency Services and Department of Information Technology. Notably by Westchester County GIS Specialist Connor Lynch and Software Architect Ilir Tota.
Latimer said: “This codifies data we receive from New York State. We are trying, and have proven over an extended period of time, that we intended to do the things we say we are going to do. When we say that we are going to try to give you information in a more transparent and accessible way - this is an example of how we deliver it." The new dashboard is designed to be accessible and user-friendly.
In addition to supplying the numbers, the dashboard allows you to fill in your address to get information on testing sites near your home.
The new Covid-19 Dashboard, which will automatically update, contains:
· County Active Case Map
· Covid-19 Test Site Map
· Total Confirmed Active Cases
· Total Confirmed New Cases
· Active, New & Cumulative Cases by Municipality
· Total Fatalities
· Total Persons Tested
· NYS Designated Hot Zones
· Positivity Rate
· Various Graphs Outlining Statistics
Latimer said that this new dashboard is in real time and utilizes data from New York State. This new map corrects the lag in reporting from the original map. As of Wednesday December 23, the map shows 88 active cases in Scarsdale, an all-time high. County wide, he reported that 7 people died last night, a disturbing number.
You can access this tracker here:
Note – the map is easier to read on a desktop computer. The mobile version is compressed and a bit hard to read.
Vaccines:
Latimer reported that as of Wednesday, 346 front line workers in Westchester have been vaccinated. As of tomorrow, Thursday December 24, vaccinations will become available for EMS workers. He said "we are grateful that the vaccinations have begun to arrive in Westchester." About vaccine safety, he said that the Pfizer vaccination is to be given in a healthcare setting in case of an adverse reaction. He said the Pfizer vaccine should not be given to those with a history of severe allergic reactions.
