Resident Clear Cuts 66 Trees, Inundating Neighbors Below
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1988
In perhaps one of the most egregious incidents of tree destruction that we’ve seen, Mohican Trail residents removed 66 trees on a steep slope to accommodate a basketball court.
The clear cutting did more than destroy the view from the homes below. It caused significant erosion and mud slides into the yards, pools and streets.
The surprising fact is that the residents removed the trees with the approval of the Village.
That’s right. Scarsdale Village signed a permit to remove 39 Norway Maples, 22 dead or diseased deciduous trees and 5 native deciduous healthy trees to build a sports court.
Here’s the note on the property record below:
February 27, 2024
“REMOVAL OF 66 TREES CONSISITING OF 39 INVASIVE NORWAY MAPLES, 22 DEAD DISEASED NATIVE DECIDUOUS TREES, AND 5 NATIVE DECIDUOUS TREES WHICH ARE HEALTHY. (REMOVAL LIST ATTACHED) PROPERTY CONTAINS TEN TREES WHICH WERE FLAGGED BY VILLAGE ARBORIST TO BE PRESERVED AND PROTECTED. (PROTECTED LIST ATTACHED) ARBORIST REPORT PROVIDED. FIVE (5) REPLACEMENT TREES REQUIRED FROM GROUP A OR GROUP C OF VILLAGE LIST.”
About the Village Code that allows Norway Maples to be removed without a permit, the neighbor writes, “Norwegian Maples were planted widely in Westchester in the 1700’s to replace the trees that had succumbed to Duthc Elm disease. The trees were hearty, growing tall, and providing a beautiful canopy.”
The residents on Mohican Trail were supposed to plant replacements for some of the downed trees, but instead they have applied for a special use permit to build a 2,200 square foot sports court on the steep slope which a neighbor says will “exacerbate stormwater flooding, environmental degradation and “cause significant harm to the use, enjoyment and value of our property and the properties of neighbors.” The tree permit application has not been closed.
The downhill neighbors has submitted documentation, photos and videos that show water coursing down the slope, spewing mud onto her patio and into her pool. The photos of the flooding of the street are even more dramatic.
Read letters from neighbors here:
(Update) The application to build the sports court at 12 Mohican Trail was approved unanimously by the Scarsdale Zoning Board on June 11, 2025.
Richard Henry Behr: Architect, Educator, Visionary: April 23, 1942 – May 14, 2025
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Richard Henry Behr, longtime Scarsdale resident and esteemed architect, educator, and design visionary, passed away peacefully in the early morning hours of May 14th. Known to colleagues, students, and friends as Rick, he leaves behind a legacy of transformative architectural work, academic dedication, and a life deeply committed to shaping the built environment with purpose and integrity.
Prior to his retirement, Rick enjoyed more than four decades in architectural practice, culminating in the founding of his firm, Richard Henry Behr Architect, P.C., in 1984. His distinguished career included roles as Chief Architect of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, architect with the renowned firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill International, and consultant in applied physics at MIT with Bolt, Beranek, and Newman.
Rick’s design vision spanned continents and cultures. His portfolio includes such landmark projects as Jim Henson’s Muppets Studios in New York City, the Jeddah Jetport in Saudi Arabia—at the time the largest architectural project in the world—the University in Mecca, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He also designed numerous custom residential, commercial, and educational buildings throughout New York, Connecticut, Florida, and beyond.
Rick held a Master of Business Administration from New York University (1978) and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota (1965), with additional studies at MIT, Columbia, Cornell, the University of Illinois, and Illinois Institute of Technology. As an educator, he served as Adjunct Professor of Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse at the Yale Graduate School of Architecture (1971–1989) and at the Pratt School of Architecture (1971–1976). He co-authored Economics of Community Revitalization and Design for the Elderly, exploring architecture’s role in community and social wellbeing.
Rick was predeceased by his beloved wife, Suzanne Behr. He is survived by his children: Heather Panessa and her husband Joseph; Mark Behr and his wife Jennifer Borgen Behr; and Spencer Behr and his wife Karen Behr. He was a proud and devoted grandfather to Ashley Panessa, Paige Panessa, Ethan Behr, Madeline Behr, and Jackson Behr.
Those who knew Rick will remember his formidable intellect, creative vision, and heartfelt generosity, as well as his love of sailing, fly fishing, and golden retrievers. His contributions live on in the built environment, in the students he mentored, in the many communities touched by his work, and in his family—especially the five grandchildren he adored.
Proposed School Budget Preserves Academic Excellence: Vote on Tuesday May 20
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1995
(The following letter was written by Scarsdale School Board President Suzie Hahn and Board Vice President Jim Dugan)
Dear Scarsdale Community,
The Scarsdale Board of Education is pleased to present the proposed budget for the 2025-26 school year. The vote for the 2025-26 budget will be on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Scarsdale Middle School from 7 AM - 9 PM. Parking is available throughout the day at the lower circle, reached from the school driveway on Kelwynne Road.
The proposed budget is the culmination of a careful and collaborative process, led by the Board and Administration. Deliberations and decisions by the Board were guided by a focus on students and on the District’s Strategic Plan of Learning, Living and Leading, with thoughtful input from the school community. We believe this budget reflects judicious fiscal management while maintaining the educational program that reflects our community’s core values and prepares our students to succeed and thrive.
Budget Accomplishments
The proposed budget preserves our tradition of academic excellence and care for the whole child, while continuing to manage the fiscal challenges facing many school districts such as ours.
Highlights include:
● Continued prioritization of social and emotional learning support at all levels, including social worker support K-12 and Responsive Classroom training
● Sustained support for elementary math program improvement
● Expansion of our special education program for children currently in-District along the continuum of services
● Construction of a synthetic turf practice field at SHS, to be used by hundreds of students
● Initiation of an exciting elementary school playground redesign and replacement program at FM
● Strengthened Safety, Security, and Emergency Management (SSEM) measures throughout the District with the continued addition of door-ajar sensors and security cameras
● Acquisition of 3 EV buses and the associated installation of charging infrastructure as the first phase in a long-term program to fulfill the mandated zero-emissions vehicle requirements established by NY State
Our investments in teaching and learning include funding an exceptional level of instruction through small classroom sizes at the elementary level, the house and team structure at the Middle School, and a rich offering of programs of study at the High School. The proposed budget achieves efficiencies in staffing, with a net reduction of 7.5 FTEs, as well as a 10% reduction in teacher aide support.
Budget Process and Community Engagement
The Board’s budget process began, as in past years, with a public listening session in November for the community to share their budget priorities for the upcoming school year. The feedback from this session helped inform the Administration as they prepared an initial budget proposal to the Board. Multiple presentations and Budget Study Sessions afforded opportunities to take a deep dive into each aspect of the District. Members of the Board also attended Budget information sessions hosted by community groups and have received and responded to numerous questions regarding the budget from the community. Community feedback on the final proposed budget was shared during the Budget Forum on March 24th. The Board voted to approve the budget in April and has attended meetings at each school to discuss it and answer questions.
Public Vote on the Budget
The vote for the 2025-26 budget will be on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, at Scarsdale Middle School from 7AM to 9PM. The projected tax levy is 3.4%, which is within the state-defined tax cap, requiring the support of 50+1 percent of those voting in order to pass. This levy equates to a 1.77%, or $415, increase for the median assessed home in Scarsdale. For homes in Mamaroneck, the median assessed home would see a reduction of 0.23%, or $62, in their tax levy from 2024-25.
SCARSDALE BOARD OF EDUCATION
Suzie Hahn, President
James Dugan, Vice-President
Donna Pritula Passes Away at Home in Scarsdale
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Donna Rose (Balduino) Pritula, born August 28, 1956, died peacefully at her home in Scarsdale, New York surrounded by her family, on May 21, 2025 after a long and courageous fight with cancer. She was the beloved daughter of Joseph and Rose Balduino, who predeceased her.
Donna was born in the Bronx and raised in New Jersey among a loving extended family. Her immediate family and her many aunts, uncles, cousins, and second-cousins provided a constant source of joy and strength in her early years. Throughout her life she placed family above all other things in the world.
After attending Bergenfield High School, Donna matriculated at Princeton University, where she majored in English. She was a universally upbeat and socially engaging classmate and friend to all she encountered during college.
Following her college graduation, Donna returned to New Jersey to assist in the care of her ill father, while also commuting to Greenwich, Connecticut to begin her career in corporate communications. After a decade of successful corporate work and after marrying Michael Pritula, Donna left the professional world to raise her children in Scarsdale, which would become her home for the last 40 years of her life, and where she became an active member of the community.
Donna loved to travel with family and friends while pursuing her hobby of photography, and did so with a sense of wonder and awe about the places she experienced. Her warmth, kindness, humor, and smile were infectious. She cared deeply for others. As a result, she was a loyal, lifelong friend to many from different phases of her life. She collected friends easily.
Donna was predeceased by her loving brother William. She is survived by her children, Michael and his partner Jessica Currier, Andrew, and Christine, who were her pride and joy, her brother Michael and his wife Lynne, her sister-in-law Cathy Balduino, her twelve nieces and nephews and their spouses, her grandnieces and nephews, who she adored, and her cousins, who were her oldest and best friends.
A wake will be held from 4pm to 8pm on Tuesday May 27 at the Edwin Bennett Funeral Home (824 Scarsdale Avenue, Scarsdale), and a funeral service will be held at 10am on Wednesday May 28 at St. Pius X Church (91 Secor Rd, Scarsdale).
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that any donations be made in Donna’s name to The Guiding Eyes for the Blind (www.guidingeyes.org).
Does Scarsdale Village Want To Be Associated With Flock Safety?
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- Written by Mayra Kirkendall-Rodriguez
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(The following was submitted by Mayra Kirdendall-Rodriguez)
Without alerting Scarsdale residents, on April 8 the Scarsdale Village Board voted on a contract with Flock Safety to buy its surveillance products and services. Neither the Board nor Village personnel sought any feedback from Scarsdale residents, Scarsdale School District administrators or the Board of Education, local civic groups or Scarsdale’s fifteen neighborhood associations, While I have inquired whether Village officials or personnel conducted any due diligence on Flock Safety, three weeks later, I am still waiting for a response.
Whether Scarsdale Village residents want surveillance technology, or not, is something that could have been discussed if Scarsdale Mayor Justin Arest and the Village Board had simply placed a notice in the Village Agenda inviting residents to opine on this important matter. For several years, numerous towns across America have been holding public forums to discuss surveillance technology. Why not in Scarsdale?
Even after a few residents and I wrote the Village Mayor, Board of Trustees, and Village Manager posing questions about the exclusion of resident input, whether any technology experts tested Flock’s technology, and lack of granular, annual data on crime in Scarsdale, Mayor Arest did not answer our questions and signed a contract with Flock Safety on April 29.
Also troubling is that the contract was signed without Scarsdale Village having any written policies on:
• what type of oversight will exist over Flock Safety, such as background checks of Flock employees working in Scarsdale,
• data collection, use and safekeeping,
• penalties if data is misused,
• cybersecurity and hacking measures to protect residents,
• residents’ privacy,
• sharing of data with federal government or other types of organizations,
• independent testing to verify accuracy of Flock’s technology and its success rates,
• and whether facial recognition technology or any other products will be added later without residents being informed.
Lack of Due Diligence and Written Processes
Were any Village officials or personnel aware of the fact that Flock Safety has had significant legal and regulatory challenges due to unauthorized installations and licensing issues in multiple states? Flock’s surveillance practices have raised constitutional concerns regarding privacy rights.
Flock Safety likes to brag that it has grown quickly and raised a lot of money. As someone who has spent decades working with banks, insurance, and energy companies, I have always found that significant growth is all too often a red flag for potential risks, which will show up sooner or later, such as weak processes for data collection and safekeeping, poor employee training, and even fraud. Just by virtue of being human beings, when companies are growing quickly, numerous risk management issues are often accidentally, or intentionally, overlooked.
Thus far, this is what I have found out about Flock Safety:
Flock is a Private Start-Up Tech Company
Flock Safety was founded in 2017. It is not publicly traded, so we do not have the company’s balance sheet or income statement information. We do not have audited information about how liquid or well-capitalized the company is. Yes, it had a recent, significant fund raising from venture capital firms. Is that enough to keep this company financially healthy so that it honors all its contractual obligations with Scarsdale?
We do not know who the company’s private sector or government clients are and do not know what their risk management policies are.
Flock Has Legal and Legislative Challenges Over Privacy Concerns and Other Issues
Public sources reveal that Flock's Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) systems are the subject of legal scrutiny concerning privacy rights. Flock Safety’s technology does more than typical ALPR technology; it captures additional details such as vehicle make, model, color, and other distinguishing characteristics such as bumper stickers.
• ACLU: In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union published a white paper on Flock Safety’s unprecedented nationwide mass surveillance goals and technological capabilities. ACLU
• California: Flock Safety hired the mayor of Moreno Valley to promote its technology. Ulises Cabrera now claims Flock wrongfully terminated him, in part, because he refused to use his position as mayor to benefit Flock, according to a lawsuit Cabrera filed against Flock in November 2024. TechCrunch
• Colorado: On Monday, May 5, 2025, the Denver City Council rejected unanimously a contract extension with Flock Safety for more than $600,000 to continue operating the more than 100 automated license plate recognition cameras throughout the city. Denver 7
• Connecticut: Residents in Colchester filed a lawsuit alleging that the use of Flock Safety’s ALPRs violated their Fourth Amendment rights by enabling warrantless tracking of their movements. Connecticut Inside Investigator
• Virginia: In Norfolk, a federal judge allowed a lawsuit to proceed against the city for using over 170 Flock ALPRs without a warrant, potentially violating the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches. Forbes and Institute for Justice. The Virginia legislature is debating a bill to limit the days that Flock Safety can keep data from 30 to 21 days. Virginia Mercury
Flock Has Unauthorized Installations and Licensing Issues
• Florida: In February 2023, Flock installed an ALPR on the John’s Pass Bridge in Treasure Island without approval from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). FDOT demanded its removal, which occurred in November 2023. A subsequent review revealed that over 800 Flock ALPRs in Florida were out of compliance with state regulations. EFF and Forbes
• North Carolina: The North Carolina Alarm Systems Licensing Board sued Flock Safety in March 2023 for installing ALPRs without the required license. A court injunction in November 2023 prohibited further installations without proper licensing. In March 2024, Flock agreed to apply for the necessary license by June 1, 2024. News Observer
• South Carolina: Between 2022 and 2024, the South Carolina Department of Transportation identified more than 200 unpermitted Flock ALPRs on public roads. In July 2023, the agency issued a moratorium on new installations and ordered a safety and compliance review of existing devices. TechDirt
• Texas: In September 2024, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued a cease-and-desist order to Flock, stating that Flock was operating as a private security business without the required license. Flock responded by initiating the certification process and anticipated obtaining the necessary license shortly thereafter. FOX 26 Houston
There are Questions about Flock’s Technology’s Accuracy
• California: Berkeley Police Department has found that Flock Technology does not work as well at night. Berkeleyside
• New York: A study by surveillance research firm IPVM revealed that the Flock LPRs misread license plates approximately 10% of the time. Additional errors included incorrect vehicle make identification and multiple readings of the same plate. These findings raised concerns among Syracuse city council members about the potential for wrongful identification and the broader implications for privacy and civil liberties. Central Current
Turning This Ship Around
Scarsdale Village officials can still turn this ship around. As over 240 residents and I are requesting, the Village should have a public forum to hear different perspectives about surveillance technology and Flock Safety. At a recent work session, a couple of Village trustees talked about having events to bring the community together. How can we be together when the Mayor and Board of Trustees do not even want to hear our views about surveillance technology?
Mayra Kirkendall-Rodríguez is a financial risk consultant and trainer and has lived in Scarsdale almost 14 years.
