Announcing the Winners of the 2014 Window Painting Contest
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There's no end of talent in Scarsdale, as demonstrated at the 63rd annual Halloween Window Painting Contest. This year's Grand Prize went to Mary Cecil for her masterpiece, Ghoul with the Pearl Earring, now on display at LF in the Village. The contest began in 1952 and the Recreation Department believes that Scarsdale was the first Village to run such a contest.
There were a total of 149 individual entries, 117 team entries and 106 parent/child entries for a total of 595 participants. It was fun and challenging for parents and children who quickly learned that there's even an art to painting the window background. Awards and honorable mentions were given out by a team of volunteers judges including current and former Scarsdale residents, many who were former window painters themselves.
An official awards ceremony will take place on Thursday November 6th at 7:30 pm in the auditorium at the Quaker Ridge School. Congrats to all the painters:
Here's the list of winners and a photo gallery of young painters in town by local photographer Trudy Zohn:
Group # 1
1ST Harley Koch I-30 La Renaissance
2ND Anna Henry I-23 Parkway Coffee Shop
3RD William Gettinger I-27 Scarsdale Eye Care Center
MOST COMICAL Raymond Donovan I-47 DeCicco's
Honorable Mentions:
Taylor Mann I-4 Lange's Deli
Zachary Kristol I-5 Lange's Deli
Danielle Barro I-11 Great Stuff
Fiona Kantor I-33 Trapp Opticians
Samantha Loeser I-43 Sam Lehr
Group #2
1ST Liu, Olivia II-39 Remax
2ND Cavalier, Andrew II-13 Scarsdale Hardware Company
3RD Litofsky, Camryn II-37 Remax
MOST COMICAL Fujii, Miho II-11 Henry's Barber Shop
Honorable Mentions:
Hyman, Benjamin II-4 Coldwell Banker
Nova, Henry II-12 Scarsdale Hardware Company
Fischman, Miles II-24 Authentic Pilates
Kolodner, Emily II-30 Authentic Pilates
Group #3
1ST Wise, Chloe III-25 Kumon
2ND Schwarz, Jordan III-1 Big Top
3RD Kantor, Jolie III-5 Big Top
MOST COMICAL Perl, Alexandra III-9 Big Top
Honorable Mentions:
Knispel, Matthew III-3 Big Top
Breakstone, Leah III-17 Jade Spoon
Stefanou, Anastasia III-26 Kumon
Rechtschaffen, Nathaniel III-35 Amore Pizza
Group #4
1ST Du, Lucy IV-14 Gingerbread Kidz
2ND Glik, Amanda IV-7 Prudential
3RD Cecil, Jack IV-10 Gingerbread Kidz
MOST COMICAL Bailey, Madeleine IV-6 Pamela Robbins
Honorable Mentions:
Segale, Carla IV-1 Wilson & Sons
Mahoney, Lynne IV-3 Wilson & Sons
Cecil, Lucy IV-9 Gingerbread Kidz
Kantor, Margaret IV-13 Gingerbread Kidz
Group #5
1ST Enders, Clara V-3 LF Stores
2ND Bochner, Amy V-1 Danielle Trissi
3RD Cooper, Emma V-2 LF Stores
Group # 6
1ST Griffin Miller Jake Lippmann VI-14 Chef's Table
2ND Luciana Serrano Jade Kraut VI-18 Neil's
3RD Drew Frank Billie Eichel VI-7 Platinum Drive Realty
MOST COMICAL Lana Weiser Maya Regenstreif VI-16 Eye Q Optometrist
Honorable Mentions:
Claire Matula-Osterman, Deanna Matula-Osterman VI-1 Bagel Power
Drew Siegel Abby Etra VI-3 Bagel Power
Group #7
Ellie Bowen Sophie Brenner VII-5 Chase Bank
Madeline Stein Isabelle GoldbanVII-2 Chase Bank
Anna Feldstein Carly GellesVII-18 Vintology Wine & Spirits
Ashley Katzenberg Sydney Seslowe VII-27 Chase Bank
Honorable Mentions:
Eshan Agarwal Jackson Fielding VII-7 Chase Bank
Dani Scheiner Chelsea Berson VII-20 Vintology Wine & Spirits
Group #8
1ST Jeffrey Morse Jayden Bharara VIII-14 Chase Bank
2ND Samantha Kefer Sophia Sipe VIII-20 Chase Bank
3RD Danielle Kohn Emily Messerle VIII-16 Chase Bank
MOST COMICAL Justine Karp Anna Forest VIII-46 Houlihan Lawrence
Honorable Mentions:
Deven Mehta Jonah Rosenstein VIII-1 Heathcote Tailors
Julian Glantz Will Reed VIII-5 La Dentelliere
Sydney Frank Marin Yearley VIII-9 Zachy's Liquor Store
Avery Bensche Nozomi Akita VIII-15 Chase Bank
Emily Simons Blake Goodman VIII-18 Chase Bank
Madison Rosenberg Riley Zachem VIII-19 Chase Bank
Jane Schmelkin Emma Hochberg VIII-22 Chase Bank
Jordan Cascade Ethan Weismer VIII-24 Dunkin' Donuts
Juliette Silk Emily Shawn VIII-28 Little Thai Kitchen
Samantha Menell Ava Thomas VIII-44 Part II Salon
Jonah Miller Zachary Loeser VIII-45 Merle Norman Cosmetics
Group #9
1ST Anika Agarwal Adina Mistry IX-4 Bank of America
2ND Caroline Goldstein Sanjana Bhatnagar IX-13 Embassy Cleaners
3RD Alison Rothberg Sara Frankenthaler IX-12 Embassy Cleaners
MOST COMICAL Rachel Meiselman Jocelyn Lewis IX-1 Bank of America
Honorable Mentions:
Jordana Love Jessica Solodar IX-2 Bank of America
Jennifer Farfel Evan Shire IX-10 Bank of America
Molly Grand Olivia Boccia IX-17 Embassy Cleaners
Sophie Grand Isabella Lelis IX-18 Embassy Cleaners
Group #10
1ST Abigail Rosenstein, Ariel Stonberg X-1 Rothman's
Village Board Gives Greenlight to Demolish Greenacres Home, Awards Medal for Heroism and Appoints Architect to Oversee Construction at 2-4 Weaver Street
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Heroism, historic preservation, lights and building issues were all on the agenda at a busy meeting of the Scarsdale Village Board meeting on Tuesday night October 14.
Police Officer Patricia Arcesi was awarded an Exceptional Duty Medal for her work in the arrest of an armed man who was fleeing a burglary on Walworth Avenue in July 2013. Arcesi came upon a white SUV with North Carolina stopped on Mamaroneck Road at 10:35 pm blocking traffic. She approached the driver and while she was speaking to him she received a hotline message from the city of White Plains which said they were looking for a car that matched the SUV's description in connection with an interrupted burglary on Walworth Avenue.
As she listened to the dispatch she saw the driver of the car become anxious and agitated and move his hands around the car despite the fact that she told him to keep his hands on the steering wheel. For her own safety she drew her weapon on the driver until back-up arrived. When police got the man out of the car they found what appeared to be a black semi automatic handgun which was later determined to be a pellet gun replica in the driver's side door of the car. The suspect also had a Rye PBA surgeon badge, and Eastchester EMS Medical Director badge and other police paraphernalia along with a vanity license plate that said New York Police.
Arcesi was recognized for remaining "alert, calm and in control in the face of a volatile situation that could have resulted in the use of extreme force." The suspect was arrested for criminal possession of a weapon 4th degree and unlicensed operation of a vehicle.
In the public comments portion of the meeting, Adrienne Price of Herkimer Road took her troubles directly to the Board on Tuesday night, explaining that the developer of a house next door to her house had changed the topography of the site. According to Price, the Board of Architectural Review approved plans for the new home that provided that the level of the backyard remain the same. However, Price reports that the builder added four feet to the height of the backyard, making a visual impact on her property. Despite repeated calls and meetings with the Village Engineer she said nothing had been done. In a rather heated exchange, Village Manager Al Gatta defended the Building Department and Village Engineer saying that the Village has asked the developer for a new storm drainage plan and that the site can't be "brought into compliance while it is under construction." He assured her that the C of O would not be granted until the site was in compliance with the plans.
In other land use news, the Board of Trustees announced their findings following a special meeting on September 22 to consider the fate of 22 Montrose Road (pictured above). The Committee for Historic Preservation had barred the demolition of the home after their May 20, 2014 meeting where they found it had significant historical importance. The owner appealed the decision to the BAR who voted in favor of permitting the demolition by a vote of 3-2. However since that was not a majority vote since others were absent this vote resulted in a default denial.
The decision was then appealed to the Board of Trustees that has different criteria for preservation. After consideration of their four criteria the board found that the house should not be preserved because it "represents the face of the neighborhood," and granted permission to owner Seymour Wald and the prospective buyer Steven Silberstein to tear it down.
Turning to the development of a 14 unit residential building at the site of the Heathcote Tavern and parking lot, the Board approved a resolution allocating $39,000 to retain architect David A Barbuti to review the building plans and inspect for compliance with the plans during construction. The independent monitor will advise the Village on the consistency of the construction documents with the approved plans to ensure that both the interior and exterior are built to match what was approved by the various Village boards.
Road closure: Fenimore Road will be closed from Fox Meadow Road to Oak Way on Monday October 20 and Tuesday October 21 from 9:30 am to 3 pm. The closure will allow for an excavation to measure a water main so that the Village can purchase a line stop. The Village needs an exact measurement to replace a critical valve at the intersection. Therefore, Fenimore Road will be closed for almost six hours a day on Monday and Tuesday
Village Election: The Board authorized the General Village election for March 18, 2015.
Portable Lights for Youth Football: The Board approved a resolution to permit the use of temporary lights at Supply Field for Youth Recreational Football from October 15 through November 21 for three days a week until 7:30 pm. Use of the portable lights has been donated by a Scarsdale resident and those same light will also be utilized by the Scarsdale Teen Center for their haunted house event for nine nights in October.
Peter C. Alderman Foundation: The board received a letter of thanks from the Peter C. Alderman Foundation for the use of village streets and the Fox Meadow School to hold its annual fundraising walk to celebrate Peter's life. Peter died 13 years ago on 9/11 and the even raises fund for the foundation's mission which is to heal the emotional wounds of war-affected societies around the world.
Fire Chief Thomas Cain sent us the photo below of the swearing in of firefighter Michael Owens on October 15, 2014. Owens transferred from the Town of Mamaroneck Fire Department where he has been employed since 2013. While with Mamaroneck Owens completed an intensive seventeen-week training program at the Westchester County Career Fire Academy at the County Fire Training Center in Valhalla, NY and is already a Nationally Certified Level II firefighter. Owens is from Valhalla and is single. Several on-duty Scarsdale firefighters attended the ceremony as well.
Opt-In to Receive Information from the Scarsdale Schools
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Even if you're an empty nester in Scarsdale, you can still be informed about what's going on at the schools and keep up on issues that may affect you. The Board of Education and Superintendent now send out updates to the community following each Board of Education meeting. You don't need to have a child in the Scarsdale Schools to receive these emails. Everyone is welcome to opt-in by clicking here:
Below is the most recent email that was sent out, recapping the September 22nd meeting of the Board of Education:
Dear Parents and Community Members,
The Board of Education appreciates all the parents and community members who take time out of their busy lives to attend Board meetings and provide valuable feedback. We also recognize that work and life schedules prohibit others from attending, but hope that live streaming and cable versions make the meetings accessible to everyone.
The Board has been working with Superintendent Hagerman to implement changes in practices and procedures for Board meetings. One of the underlying goals has been to continue to improve transparency with respect to the Board's decision-making process. For example, we have adopted a two-week waiting period between the discussion of information about items and Board action on those items. This allows the board additional time to discuss and consider items and, also, to listen to the community's thoughts, which are welcomed and appreciated.
The issues that were discussed at this meeting included the following:
Projects proposed for the bond referendum - Vice President Maude explained the process that led to the September 8 Board approval of Superintendent Hagerman's recommendations for a $16.7 million bond to address long-needed repairs and improvements of school buildings, update the technology infrastructure in all the schools, and to renovate parts of the High School. The High School renovations will resolve the current overcrowding in the cafeteria, while creating flexible learning spaces that will enable large and small groups of students to collaborate creatively, while using state-of-the-art technology.
The Board and Superintendent Hagerman engaged in a wide-ranging discussion of design elements, scope and potential size of the bond referendum. During the discussion, the Board reaffirmed its decision to approve Superintendent Hagerman's recommendations. In addition, because interest rates are currently very low, the Board requested that other unfunded repair projects in the District be reviewed for possible inclusion in the bond issue. The Board placed a limit of $1.3 million on these other projects. It was agreed that Superintendent Hagerman will follow up with the High School building level committee and administrators, as well as Mrs. Linda Purvis, Assistant Superintendent for Business. In addition, the District-Wide Facilities Steering Committee will be requested to meet next week to discuss this issue.
The Board will take action on a proposed bond referendum at its meeting on October 6.
Proposed Policy Revisions - The Board considered revisions to the Gift Policy and a new policy on Hiring, Evaluation and Supervision Procedures. The revisions under discussion have incorporated recommendations made by community and Board members. After the discussion, the Board decided to table consideration of adopting the policies until the October 6 meeting. This will allow time for additional community input on the policies.
Written Communications to the Board of Education - Understanding the need to be flexible, step back, evaluate effects and, as necessary, readjust changes, the Board changed the current practice of publicly reporting written communications in their entirety. The new practice will be to report the topic and the date of the written communication, unless the writer requests that his/her email or letter be published. The Board will not accept, nor will it report anonymous communications that it may receive.
The Board of Education continues to be committed to thoughtful governance, proactive communication, and transparency, and welcome feedback about both District work we are engaged in, and how we, as a Board, can continue to better serve the Scarsdale community.
Scarsdale Board of Education
Do You Know Someone Who Deserves the Scarsdale Bowl?
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The 2015 Scarsdale Bowl Committee will begin its work in early December to select the 2015 recipient of the Scarsdale Bowl and is seeking recommendations from the community for a possible honoree. The Scarsdale Bowl, under the sponsorship of the Scarsdale Foundation, has been awarded annually since 1943 to an individual, or in rare instances, to a husband and wife, who has given "unselfishly of his/her time, energy and effort to the civic welfare of the community." The founding donors of the Bowl believed that "many who serve generously and voluntarily, without office, honor or publicity, are those deserving of having their names permanently inscribed on the Scarsdale Bowl."
Jon Mark is serving as chair of this year's Scarsdale Bowl Committee. The members of the committee serve staggered two-year terms. The newly appointed Class of 2016 includes Felicia Block, Kay Eisenman, Susan Hochvert, Anne Lyons, Michael Pollack and Jay Musoff. The continuing Class of 2014 includes Nan Berke, Marc Greenwald, Michelle Lichtenberg, Lisa Messinger, Tom Souther, Geetha Subbakrishna and Richard Wingate. Jane Veron, Scarsdale Foundation trustee, will serve on the committee as the liaison, and Robert Jeremiah is serving as secretary/treasurer. Evelyn Stock, president of the Scarsdale Foundation, is an ex-officio, non-voting member.
The Scarsdale Bowl will be awarded at a dinner on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at The Fountainhead in New Rochelle. The ceremony will pay tribute to the 2015 honoree and to the spirit of volunteerism, central to the civic life of the Scarsdale community.
The Bowl Committee enthusiastically welcomes community input. It will hold its first meeting December 7, 2014, and requests that residents contact any member of the committee with suggestions of potential recipients. It would be most helpful to the Committee if suggestions from the community were made by November 10, 2014, although suggestions can be made after that date and prior to the Committee's meeting in December. Suggestions should be emailed to the Committee at: scarbowl@gmail.com. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Mark at 914.472.4053.
LWVS Asks Scarsdale Board of Ed to Allow More Time For Discussion of Gift Policy
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The Scarsdale Board of Education is now considering proposed changes to their gift policy, which can be reviewed here. At their meeting on September 22, League of Women Voters President Susie Rush read the statement below, posing questions about the new policy and asking the Board of Education to allow for more time for public comment.
Here is the League's statement:
The following statement is made on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale, prepared in connection with the draft revised gift policy presented to the public at the Board of Education meeting on September 8 (referred to herein as the September 8 draft). Before that statement is read, however, the League notes a few things.
We understand that the Board has before it this evening a revised draft of the revised gift policy, which was made available to the public when the Board's agenda packet was posted on the district's website this past Friday, September 19 (referred to herein as the September 19 draft). Note that the public may not have had adequate notice that the September 8 draft had been revised, as the September 19 draft was discoverable only if one clicked on the information item and scrolled down to the revisions to proposed gift policy page; the agenda does not refer to a revised draft – only to a "second reading of proposed revisions" to the gift policy. While we have not had sufficient time to fully review the September 19 draft and to develop a comprehensive statement with respect to that draft, we believe that the September 19 draft still does not address the issues we raised in our statement to the Board last December. In that statement, among other things, the League asked for clarification regarding how current gift policies apply to gifts to the district by the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation, and recommended that the Board "consider developing and adopting a new policy, specific to gifts given by the SSEF to the district, in light of the new and unique relationship between the BOE and the SSEF." Accordingly, we recommend that the Board not take action this evening on the September 19 draft so that it may consider addressing in a further revised gift policy the concerns we raised regarding gifts given by the SSEF, as well as allow the community time to review and comment on the September 19 draft that has been available to it for only three days.
What now follows is our statement with respect to the September 8 draft:
We appreciate the time and effort that the Board of Education has spent in crafting a revised gift policy. However, we recommend that the Board provide the community sufficient time to reflect and comment on the proposed draft before the Board adopts it.
As you may recall, in our statement to the Board last December, among other things, the League asked
for clarification regarding how current gift policies apply to gifts to the district by the Scarsdale Schools Education Foundation, and recommended that the Board "consider developing and adopting a new policy, specific to gifts given by the SSEF to the district, in light of the new and unique relationship between the BOE and the SSEF." We thank the Board for undertaking to flesh out some of the questions we raised. The draft, however, gives rise to a number of important issues that merit thoughtful consideration by the community, such as whether, in determining if a gift will be accepted, a distinction should be made between gifts pursued by the district and unsolicited gifts, and/or whether a distinction should be made based on the dollar amount of the gift. Moreover, we believe the gift policy should provide for a mechanism for the Board to monitor the aggregate of gifts given, both those above and below the threshold allowed for Superintendent-accepted gifts, to each school.
Furthermore, the proposed revised policy's omission of certain existing policy language and the use of the conjunction "or" in item 5 may warrant further discussion and community input. For example, are these proposed modifications to the gift policy language intended to signal a change in the Board's discretion whether to accept a gift that fails to adhere to all four of the stated criteria? How will these modifications change the long-standing guidance provided to all donors, including the PTAs and booster organizations, that previously were required to consult with the principals, Superintendent or the Board before offering a gift or undertaking fundraising for one?
We believe the Board would benefit from hearing the views of, and engaging in a dialogue with, the public on the substantive issues that emerge from the proposed changes to the district current gift policy, and therefore ask the Board to defer taking action on the proposed revised gift policy until the next meeting of the Board to provide the public adequate opportunity to weigh in.
Also at the meeting Linda Doucette Ashman asked the Board of Education to form a policy subcommittee to consider policy changes and revisions. Here are her comments:
"....I just wanted to take this moment and comment generally on District Policies, their significance and their creation. The creation of Policy is one of the fundamental duties of a Board of Education. In your Board Operational Goals, it describes your actions to be policy-making, planning and appraisal and Policy 2410 lays out a process. Polices of a District reflect who we are as a community and shape our district in many ways. They state our District's goals and provide thoughtful broad outlines on how to achieve them. The creation of Policies is a very important and labor intensive effort. With this in mind, I would like to respectfully offer a suggestion to the Board and Dr. Hagerman for your consideration. This comes from my previous experience as a School Board Director in a different community as well as my participation in corporate policy committees. So, please, take this as a suggestion with the goals of continuous improvement, increased community involvement and added transparency all in mind. I would like to recommend that the Board of Education consider the creation of a Policy Subcommittee of the Board. This does not necessarily need to be a committee of the whole Board. This would enable the Board to discuss policies in a more in depth manner amongst themselves and provide for a more measured approach to Policy creation and Policy revision. It would provide for opportunities for District counsel to participate and provide thoughtful and relevant legal guidance on topics such as hiring policies, etc. It would also allow members of the public, who are so inclined, to attend, observe and participate in discussions on Policy matters that are of interest to them. It could also streamline the processes for 1st and 2nd reads of policies where non participating Board members and the public present could hear presentations regarding the proposed changes that include rationale and comments from committee deliberations so that they are more informed. It would also serve as another opportunity for Board members to identify those issues that the community cares about.
Again, Policies of a District reflect who we are as a community and shape the direction of our district. They are fundamental to a Board of Education. Please consider a new process for handling Policy creation and revision. Thank you."
