Letter to the Editor: Give Residents More Say In What’s Being Built Next Door
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Driving through the streets of Scarsdale you can’t help but notice the construction boom. Older homes are vanishing overnight to be replaced with one, or sometimes two oversized homes that crowd and dwarf neighborhood homes.
Distressed neighbors come to Village Hall to object, only to be told that they have come before the wrong land use board. The frustrating process ultimately leads to the developer winning approval to build homes that are out of scale with the neighborhoods and too close to other homes.
What to do? Jack Miller, who recently served on the Planning Board has this to say:
Dear Mayor Arest and Village Trustees Ahuja, Brew, Gans, Gruenberg and Mazar,
As I look at the agenda for this month’s Committee for Historic Preservation (CHP) meeting there are a few homes that I will miss seeing, but none of them that are worth preserving. Truth is, there are only a handful of structures in town that are “above the wrecking ball” and the beast that is our tax base almost relies on these turnovers to keep our fine town moving. The CHP’s guidelines are a bit subjective, especially when determining the status of a “Master Architect” but sometimes an average architect can create a masterpiece, like the equivalent of music’s one-hit-wonders.
As someone who has sat on multiple land-use boards over the past several decades I would be remiss if I didn’t take a moment to say that our town’s biggest problem isn’t tear-downs but rather the out of scale homes that often replace them and even worse, multi-home subdivisions seemingly crammed into the fabric of a neighborhood. The following may prove unpopular to my developer friends, but I have seen too many defeated neighbors leave board meetings crestfallen and feeling that they had little to no agency in the development of their neighborhoods. Here are a few ideas that I will throw out to whoever may listen.
When a home comes before the Committee for Historic Preservation the only item being discussed is the home itself. In other communities, when a home is up for demolition, the owner / developer must share a comprehensive plan for what is replacing it. If we adopted this, it would help neighbors better understand what is to come.
The process is too segmented.
For instance, the way that the current system works is a home will be presented to the CHP for demolition and if it does not fall into one of the categories for preservation then the demo is granted. If not, there may be a need for additional meetings or further discussion. If demo is approved, and the owner / developer intends to subdivide the property, they must then present it to the Scarsdale Planning Board. This may take at least an additional two meetings where the board primarily reviews the new site plans, with the actual design of the future home(s) not part of the purview of the board. Then, if the subdivision is approved, the proposed new home(s) are reviewed by the Board of Architectural Review, where it is almost certain to have at least two meetings. Chances are at least one of the proposed homes will need a swimming pool, so there is yet another board to review that, the Zoning Board of Appeals. This all means that if you are merely a neighbor who wants to be part of the process you are attending a minimum of six meetings, six.
Additionally, when a subdivision is approved the proposed new homes fall into the same zoning category as the current neighborhood, this almost guarantees the appearance of homes that are too close and too out of scale. Believe it or not, most of the subdivisions that have been approved over the past few years are legal and required no variance. A very simple solution for this would be to create a zoning overlay for subdivided lots. Some thoughts on these overlays could be as simple as reduced floor-area-ratios (F.A.R), greater side yard setbacks especially towards neighboring existing homes, or reduced height, although our current definition of ‘height’ in the building code is confusing.
The way the existing submittal and review procedures work, we as residents in our community have very little power in preventing much of this growth as most of these applications are completely as of right. In the future it may also be helpful to explore F.A.R credits for homes that are being preserved, renovated, or added on to, or even tax credits for newly constructed homes that aren’t maxed out F.A.R and lot coverage-wise.
Respectfully,
Jack Miller
Finally Some Good Retail News
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Perhaps there is a turn around in the retail market going on? Driving around town we noticed some new openings which could be a harbinger of good things to come.
We were excited to see a big sign in Hartsdale for Barnes and Noble at the former site of Mrs. Greens Natural Market next to the cosmetics store ULTA. It looks like work is in progress on a large new store for booklovers. According to Paul Feiner the new bookstore will be 12,490 square feet. We’ll let you know if we learn more about when it will open and what will be inside.
And next door to Barnes and Noble, there's a sign that says, "Paris Baguette" coming soon. It looks like we'll have a new place for bread, croissants, sandwiches, donuts, cakes, pastries and more very soon! Check out their website here. https://www.parisbaguette.com/?gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw6eWnBhAKEiwADpnw9ru4IWtoi7153aSlQW6VcjRy7zyJzRjxNF2md_9IDtw3r7xBGCTtaBoCQfkQAvD_BwE
In Eastchester across from the former Lord and Taylor site, Calico Corners has opened at 747 White Plains Road. The design store has moved to this new location from its former site on Mamaroneck Road in Mamaroneck. The sparkling new store is attractively designed to showcase beautiful fabrics, window shades and even wallpaper. They sell custom designed new furniture or will pick up your own pieces and reupholster them. There’s a sale on for the month of September so check them out sooner than later.
Have you noticed new stores and restaurants opening? Please share the news in the comments section below.
Another Bobcat Sighted in Scarsdale
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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When we saw that someone reported sighting a bobcat in their yard a few weeks ago, we assumed they were mistaken. But now we know that the report was probably true.
Jeremy Gans spotted this bobcat in his yard in Quaker Ridge and caught him on his camera. Gans said, “We had one in our backyard about a month ago. It was definitely a bobcat and it had apparently gone hunting in the yard." Gans called police who said it is not unusual to see a bobcat in Westchester but they are usually nocturnal. He was told that as long as the bobcat was healthy it should not bother people, but pets would be at risk.
This one looks like he has a rabbit in his mouth!
DEC Wildlife Biologist Mandy Watson said bobcat attacks on humans are very rare, however it is still important to exercise caution. If you see a bobcat, do not approach it and make sure to supervise small pets, especially at night. Always walk dogs on a leash and anyone who has poultry or other livestock should make sure they are in a secured, predator-resistant area.
Here’s what the NYS Department Environmental Conservation says about bobcats:
Bobcats are about twice the size of a domestic cat and usually smaller than the Canada lynx. Their fur is dense, short, and soft-is generally shorter and more reddish in the summer but longer and more gray in the winter. Spotting occurs in some bobcats and is faded in others. The face has notable long hairs along the cheeks and black tufts at the tops of each ear. Males are, on average, one-third larger than females. Both sexes can be greater than 30 pounds; however, averages for males and females are 21 and 14 pounds, respectively. Body length for males is 34 inches and 30 inches for females. Tail length is usually between 5 and 6 inches for both sexes.
You can scare away a bobcat by yelling or making other loud noises. These tips will also help prevent conflicts with coyotes.
Bobcats are solitary animals and may be active at any time, day or night. Males have larger home ranges than females, and they travel greater distances on a daily basis. The average home range of a male in the Adirondacks is 136 square miles. The average female home range is 33 square miles. In the Catskills, the average male home range is 14 square miles, while the female average is 12 square miles. Home ranges are smaller in areas of good habitat than in areas of poor habitat. Scent marking using feces, urine, and scrapes of fluid from their anal glands have all been documented as ways they mark territory, and are commonly found on the underside of leaning trees, logs, shelter rocks, or stumps.
Bobcats will use multiple strategies while hunting. They may approach stealthily, using any form of cover available between them and their prey, attempting to get close enough to pounce and strike. They may also use an ambush technique where they will sit and wait for prey to pass by, to strike undetected. Smaller prey items such as mice and birds are consumed whole. Larger animals taken and stored are eaten in the position they lay, and can be identified as a bobcat cache (food stored for future use) if the upper parts were consumed, while the portion of the cache in contact with the ground may be untouched.
Police Identify Victim of Hit and Run on East Hartsdale Avenue
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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(Updated 8-27-23 at 8:40 PM) Police have released the name of the woman killed by a hit and run driver in Hartsdale on August 26, 2023. Stephanie Kavourias, age 65 of 45 East Hartsdale Avenue was identified as the victim. Kavourias formerly served as the Manager of the Harstdale Parking district, as the leader of her co-op in Hartsdale and was a former member of the Greenburgh Planning Board.
Police have charged Antonio Robles Sanchez, age 42 of 1313 West 6th Street in Brooklyn with vehicular manslaughter in the second degree, criminal possessesion of a controlled substance, leaving the scene of an accident resutling in death, operating a motor vehicle impaired by drugs and driving while intoxicated.
Kavourias died as the result of a hit and run on East Hartsdale Avenue on Saturday August 26, 2023.
According to police, at about 11:14 am on Saturday, a female pedestrian was hit by a motor vehicle in the area of 177 East Hartsdale Avenue. First responders attempted to assist her at the pedestrian on the scene of the accident. She was taken to White Plains Hospital and pronounced dead due to her injuries.
The car and driver were later located by the police and the driver was apprehended.
Similar accidents involving pedestrians on East Hartsdale Avenue occured in December 2014, December 2019 and February 2020.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said, “Members of the Town Board are devastated by this tragedy. We will work with the police to review the causes of this accident and what action steps could be taken in the future to make our community safer for pedestrians.”
Critic Says "Limousine Liberals" Bar Less Fortunate From a Quality Education
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- Written by Diane Greenwald
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This week Scarsdale is in the news again. And the Village is not cast in a flattering light. Writing in The Atlantic, Richard D. Kahlenberg contends that restrictive zoning codes in well-to-do suburbs have deepened the divide between rich and poor and denied children from lower income communities the opportunity for the quality education offered in more affluent neighboring towns. He contrasts Scarsdale with Port Chester to analyze what underlies the inequalities.
Commenting on Kahlenberg's piece and Governor's Hochul's housing plan, State Assemblymember Amy Paulin said. “The Governor proposed a one size fits all plan that wouldn't work. That's why I opposed it then, and I oppose it now. The article unfairly demonizes Scarsdale residents for having the same opinion as most of Westchester and Long Island. It's a cheap shot, pure and simple.
We should instead be focused on finding solutions that will work. “
Below, local resident Diane Greenwald offers her view from the ‘Dale.:
Critic Lacks Nuance on Complex Issue; Scarsdale can Lead on Fair Housing Policies and Promote School Investment Statewide, without Destruction
I read Richard D. Kahlenberg’s article in the Atlantic with great interest (Liberal Suburbs Have Their Own Border Wall, The Atlantic, July 23, 2023.) I agree with many issues he raises; about how structural inequity is baked into suburban housing opportunities and undermines access to well-funded schools. It’s hard to be the example town (again), but we should face these issues with honest reflection. At the same time, Kahlenberg’s comments lack nuance. Given the historic nature of many of the zoning regulations around here, I am not sure his “gotcha” assessment of hypocrisy among “limousine liberals” is entirely fair. This is currently a welcoming community to many, if not economically diverse.
Let’s face it, Scarsdale may have a public school system, but in many senses, it’s a private town. Entry requires the ability to pay steep taxes that support our schools and keep our housing prices high for resale. Kahlenberg’s claim that this is “inflated” value does not ring true, it is actually value. We often talk about how lucky we are to live in such an enclave, and frankly, enclaves are good places to raise kids. On the flip side, entry to leafy suburbs may not be currently (or overtly) based on race or religious, but it once was, and those historic barriers remain part of our world and should be challenged, changed. Unfortunately, we as a community have seen evidence of Kahlenberg’s harsher assessments about what can be part of holding on to barriers.
A few years ago, I was disheartened by some local views expressed during discussions of Freightway, a transit-oriented development (TOD) project proposing multi-family housing along with parking, retail and services. First, a few loud voices levied accusations of (unfounded) corruption and incompetence against our Village Trustees, probably out of a misguided political agenda. Next, those nay-sayers unwittingly (I hope) unleashed a swell of fears and distrust, that dissuaded reasonable, needed dialogue. Finally, the possibility of apartments in the Garth Road area, meant to offset the replacement cost of the decrepit Freightway parking garage, unearthed anger and bias, particularly focused on “influx” in schools. It was a shameful moment for our community, tinged with racist/classist undertones that wrongly derailed viable explorations. But it does not have to be the end of our story.
Some version of development should be discussed again; it has potential to be revitalizing and revenue building for our community and could improve economic diversity. I believe most in Scarsdale are sincerely committed to expanding opportunity for others and interested in well-considered solutions. We could embrace building affordable housing, welcome middle-income families, and improve our downtown, without damaging what is truly lovable about this town, all in partnership with the school district. Couldn’t Scarsdale become the model for fair housing policies, rather than the example of NIMBY elitism?
As many know, Governor Hochul has tried to address NYS zoning laws in efforts to combat the housing crisis. Her housing proposal was not “moderate” as Kahlenberg claims; if it had been, I would have supported it. It was a blunt instrument, an inadequate policy for the complexities of change management. Hochul should not give up and should try again, seeking broad input. Meanwhile, we in Scarsdale can lead on improvements, not be the place to defeat.
In fact, “defeating” wealthy suburbs, as Kahlenberg calls, seems a misguided, cynical goal. Yes, we need more affordable housing, and ALSO, our goal could be to better fund all schools. Kahlenberg dismisses this as a liberal, NIMBY fantasy but it’s not. Everyone cannot move into a handful of towns, (more, sure, but not everyone) but schools in every neighborhood could improve, which would do good things for other communities and their housing values. Housing policy improvements ought to be a multi-pronged effort including funding underserved schools. Yes, funding.
We know from Scarsdale and other school districts like it, that resources ensure success. Yes, I have to say that obvious truth out loud! We have been living for decades with the Reagan-crafted mantra, one based on his calculated misuse of the 1984 report, A Nation at Risk. He twisted data to “prove” a ridiculous notion, that investment into inner-city and struggling schools would not improve them, even while suburb schools are well-funded and successful. That wrong idea lives under the surface of many policies and discussions about education today, and it must be stamped out, like the lantern flies we are finding in our yards. In Scarsdale, we keep class sizes small; offer unique programs that serve small clusters of students and all sorts of needs and interests; and attract top-tier teachers with high salaries. That is why our per pupil costs are $5,500 more than Port Chester, as Kahlenberg points out, and that can and should be rectified.
I get that we here in Scarsdale are an easy target for Kahlenberg. Our expressed values and our actions are not perfectly aligned, and we can do better. But also, Kahlenberg has his own hypocrisies to contend with, as reported by the New York Times. He may have some points, but he is prone to all-or-nothing views that do not yield solutions or build on favorable existing factors and this undermines his credibility.
Scarsdale residents, a majority of whom vote Democrat, still have some positive priorities to offer. Many in Scarsdale genuinely seek to change housing policies to be fairer and prioritize schools for allocating funds not only for our own, but for others too. Many believe that this privilege is a responsibility, not an entitlement and want to build bridges, not barriers. As I think of these complex issues, I consider our school motto, non sibi, not for self alone. We can look out for our own interests and also support others on their paths, including with some sacrifices. I think (hope) Scarsdale can do that, before it is done for us.
