Comings and Goings
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The capricious environment for retailers continues to be evident in the changing storefronts around town. Supermarkets seem especially volatile as giants like ShopRite, with cut-rate prices take their toll on less competitively priced grocers.
This week we noticed that Morton Williams on Central Avenue closed. Morton Williams, a branch of a Manhattan chain of markets opened its doors in 2007 in the space formerly occupied by Turcos–- but this branch of the Manhattan chain never took hold in the suburbs. Morton Williams lacked Turcos fresh green market -- and prices for shelved items were high. The store was rarely full – and once ShopRite opened further down Central Avenue and H Mart showed up next door Morton Williams faced stiff competition.
In Scarsdale Village, another big loss. the Verizon store is history, leaving two empty storefronts next to Learning 
Express. With the Good Life Gourmet gone next door, there are now two adjacent storefronts vacant in a prime stretch of Scarsdale Village. Though we are not sure why the Verizon store, someone speculated that the store owners lost their contract with Verizon. Now you'll have to go to Central Avenue to replace your phone.
On the positive side, Malvina Guretsky has opened her jewel of a couture shop, MAG Tricote, on Christies Place, next to Patisserie Salzburg featuring her custom-designed, handmade, one-of-a kind knit creations. The charming store has a lovely selection of knit dresses that can be bought off the rack or custom ordered to suit. The dresses and tops are hand knit or crocheted by artisans around the world using fine yarns. Stop in and let Malvina know you read about her on Scarsdale10583.com.
Also open on the Popham Road Bridge in Scarsdale is SkinTheraP, featuring non-invasive procedures to improve your look. The new medical cosmetic spa is run by Dr. William Greenberg who has 25 years of experience helping patients achieve their beauty goals without surgery. At their Popham Road site, they are offering “coolsculpting” to “freeze” layers of fat, “Ultherapy” a new procedure that uses ultrasound to target sagging skin. plus cosmetic injections, fillers and facials. 
Visit or call their new location at 15 Popham Road and mention Scarsdale10583 to get $100 off a “coolsculpting” treatment from now through August 31. (914-819-0409)
Down the road, on Fischer Avenue in Eastchester, stylist Piero Pirri has opened his second salon, Pirri, that features an express styling bar. In July and August, blow-dries are just $25 when you mention Scarsdale10583. Pictured here are Piero and his brother Luigi at the 
opening of Pirri at 130 Fischer Avenue in Eastchester - call (914) 395-1700 to make an appointment.
And furniture retailer West Elm opens next Thursday – June 28th next to Chase Bank in the Vernon Hills Shopping Center. Featuring affordable designs for modern living, store associates can help customers with planning and home design.
Couture Boutique to Open on Christie Place
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At long last, a new store is set to open this week on Christie Place in Scarsdale Village. The opening of MAG Tricote is scheduled for Friday, June 15 through Sunday June 17 and you are invited to come in and see MAG Tricotes’ high end and handmade collection of clothing and accessories.
The store is the creation of Malvina Guretsky who designs dresses, separates, outwerwear and accessories for all occasions. Materials include natural fabrics and yarns, hand-dyed silk, cashmere and hand-spun fibers.
Guretsky is a native of the Soviet Union who came to the U.S. at age 17 to pursue an education at NYU. Following college she took a position at Deutsche Bank, where she worked for 17 years, eventually rising to Managing Director. In this role she travelled frequently but eventually tired of the corporate world. At home she pursued her lifelong passion for knitting which evolved from a hobby into a new business venture as she developed a line of knitwear for women and babies and hired talented designers and craftswoman to create her couture. Her new line includes hand knit, hand crochet, felted pieces, and a few hand sewn silk pieces.
She invites you to see the line this weekend at MAG Tricote, a name derived from Malvina’s initials and the word “tricoter”, which
means ”to knit” in French.
MAG Tricotes
120 Christie Place
Scarsdale NY 10583
Magtricotes.com
917-951-6450
Memorial Day Photo Gallery
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Citizens of Scarsdale gathered on Memorial Day in Chase Park to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our country. The Memorial Day ceremony and parade were sponsored by Scarsdale American Legion Post 52, commanded by Thomas Adamo. Scarsdale veterans, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, Little Leaguers, the Scarsdale High School Band, their parents, friends and members of the community gathered to remember our servicemen.
On hand were Mayor Miriam Flisser, Village Trustees Bob Harrison and David Lee, Scarsdale School Board Members Elizabeth Guggenheimer and Sunil Subbakrishna, Police Chief John Brogan, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin and Scarsdale Forum members Dan Hochvert and Bruce Wells.
Photos by HL Flisser
Duck Tales
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A Scarsdale family became hosts to a family of another kind in their yard when a mother duck decided that Murray Hill was the perfect place to build her nest. With a lush lawn and a pleasant pool, the fenced-in yard seemed like a safe place to hatch her brood.
The Scarsdale family watched her sit on the nest for six weeks. To learn more about ducks they called the Greenburgh Nature Center who advised them not to make the ducks too comfortable – after all a pool is not a pond, and chlorinated water, though not harmful, is not ideal for ducks. Also if you permit the ducks to stay, the baby ducklings will return to your property each year to lay their own eggs. They also consulted a “wildlife relocator” but ultimately decided to sit tight and instructed their landscapers not to bother the nest. They enjoyed watching mom warming the eggs with periodic visits from the male father or 
Mallard.
Before long they were greeted with a joyful sight – Momma duck and her nine ducklings swimming in the pool. Some chose to float on the kickboard while another liked to ride on mom’s back. One of the wayward ducks always seemed to swim in the wrong direction.
But hot weather came to Scarsdale and the proper homeowners wanted to get back into their pool. They realized that the ducklings were not able to get out of the water as they could not fly. How to help them out? They extended a raft from the pool onto the deck, making a runway for the exit of the duck family, who readily complied.
Where they have gone is anyone’s guess – but they sure were entertaining while they were in residence.
College Admissions Officers Shed Light on the Process
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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If you’ve got questions about college admissions, and who doesn’t, you’’ll find answers from a panel of college admissions officers who visited Scarsdale High School on Thursday night May 17th. Sponsored by the SHS PTA and Guidance Department, representatives from Boston University, Columbia University, Duke University, Kenyon College, Scripps College, Siena College, SUNY Stony Brook and UMass Amherst visited Scarsdale to give high school juniors and their parents the low down on getting in.
If you missed the night, you can watch the presentation in its entirety on the Scarsdale School website here, or read below for some of the more interesting facts that emerged
In response to a question about whether it’s an advantage or a disadvantage to come from a competitive school like Scarsdale, most agreed that the admissions teams consider students’ transcripts within the context of their high school. Peter Johnson from Columbia University offered his own take on that question, saying, ““For those for whom much is provided, more is expected. We look to see how you have taken advantages of the opportunites you have been offered.”
How do schools consider grades earned in AP or AT courses versus less challenging courses? Ned Jones of Siena College recommended that students take the highest level course in which they can succeed and do their best, while Matthew Clark from U Mass Amherst revealed that the admissions department actually recalculates applicant’s cum’s and adds points for AP courses, raising those students’ GPA’s.
Discussing the essay on the application, panelists agreed that this was the student’s opportunity to speak out and tell the admissions people who they are. One cautioned against using a college consultant or parent to write the essay – as admission’s officers are looking for authentic essays in the student’s voice.
Johnson again had some wisdom to share on the essay, saying, “Some think they have to have suffered a major calamity to get the admissions officers’ interest. We call these trauma, drama essays. We appreciate healthy well-adjusted students. It’s great to read about students who like their parents and walk the family dog.”
As for letters of recommendation, Victoria Romero of Scripps College said that a red flag goes up when a students sends in too many letters, or solicit letters from people who don’t really know them. In addition, Peter Johnson advised students to get letters that support the college application. For instance, if you say you want to major in physics, ask for a recommendation from your physics teacher.
Though the admissions teams consider the applicant’s standardized test scores, all agreed that the transcript was the more important piece of information. Romero of Scripps told students not to repeat the tests in the hope of raising scores by 20 points, saying it wouldn’t make a difference. When there is a big inconsistency between test scores and schoolwork, one officer said, “we do some digging.” Do they use the score on the relatively new writing section of the SAT? Half said “yes,” and half said “no.”!
For schools that utilize the common application, the supplemental, or institution-specific questions are important. The officers advised students to look into what the school offers and to be specific in making a case for why they wanted to attend that particular school.
Applying early decision to schools that offer this option really does improve an applicant’s chance for admission. According to Sue Coon at Duke, 25% of students who applied early decision were admitted, and the committee filled 38% of the class with early decision candidates. In contrast, only 11% of candidates who applied regular decision got in.
And how about Facebook? Are admissions officers looking at student’s Facebook pages? All agreed that they do not “stalk” applicants on Facebook. However, one admission’s officer said he did check a Facebook page to look at a photo and confirm whether or not he had met the student on a recent high school visit.
The panel summed up with a comment about stress from Timothy Kelley of Boston University. He told, the group, “By the time you submit your application, most of the work is done. What you did in the classroom is finished. You are packaging yourself, so show us who you are.”
