When Will a Food Market Open in Scarsdale?
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 2743
An aerial view of the plan for the new Piccolino market in Scarsdale.Another Thanksgiving is here, and there’s still no market in Scarsdale. The original DeCicco’s closed its doors just over a year ago, and the new DeCicco’s (same name, different owners) said they planned to open the new market, called Piccolino, by the end of 2025.
However, things were looking quiet so we stopped by DeCicco’s Eastchester location to get an update.
It turns out that a complete gut renovation of the site is underway – from the basement up. It’s taking longer than planned – and DeCicco’s is also in the process of constructing a store in Glenville – so that could be further slowing progress here in Scarsdale.
Joe DeCicco said they have concerns about the limited size of the parking lot in Scarsdale and hope to arrange additional parking for customers in the Village. They will also make it possible to order and pick up or use Instacart to speed the process in the store.
The question remains – when will we be able to buy a dozen eggs in Scarsdale instead of driving to White Plains, Eastchester or Central Avenue? As of now, they are targeting May, 2026.
Boys Volleyball Team Onto the State Playoffs
- Details
- Written by: Dave Taber
- Hits: 437
Junior Griffin Lee (2) and Senior Jacob Kashanian (21) rise together for a block attempt.The Scarsdale High School Boys Volleyball Team faced Clarkstown South in the Division 1, Section 1 Championship on Thursday, November 13, at the Westchester County Center. The Raiders battled throughout the match — especially in the third set, where they held two set points — but the Vikings ultimately prevailed, winning 3–0 to claim the Section 1 title.
The good news for Scarsdale is that the team received an at-large bid to the state playoffs, keeping their state title hopes alive. The Raiders next play on Saturday, November 22, at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, NY.
Photos by Dave Taber of Shots of the Game
To see more game photos and/or download photos, please visit https://www.shotsofthegame.com/
Ian DiLorenzo (22) focuses on his dig as Noah Kent (12) backs him up.
Junior Ian DiLorenzo (22) drives a spike across the court.
Senior Noah Kent (12) drops low for a clean dig.
Jacob Kashanian (21) celebrates after winning a big point.
Griffin Lee (2) sends the ball back over the net to keep the rally alive.
Ian DiLorenzo (22) focuses on his dig as Noah Kent (12) backs him up.
Senior Tristan Fourgoux (9) gets the ball back over to extend the play.
Noah Kent (12) elevates for a sharp spike to win the point.
Ian DiLorenzo (22), Tristan Fourgoux (9), and Ryosuke Shindo (15) celebrate a big Scarsdale point.
Tristan Fourgoux (9) attacks with a strong spike.
Junior Ryosuke Shindo (15) sets the ball.
Cooking with Affection at Bistro de Ville
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1866
There’s a little corner of Paris on Summerfield Street in Scarsdale. Opened by Scarsdale residents in September 2023, Bistro de Ville was an instant hit with locals who liked the warm atmosphere, the delicious French fare and greetings from an owner who knows your name.
We wondered what it takes to open a successful new restaurant in Westchester and spoke to Carol Napadensky about her background and what it takes to host a bistro with style. Here is what she shared:
What was the genesis for opening a French bistro in Scarsdale? How did you choose the location and concept?
We are Francophiles at Heart! Kevin, my husband is a Classically Trained French Chef and we have always dreamed of bringing traditional French Bistro to our own neighborhood. When this opportunity on Summerfield Street was presented to us with a fully operational restaurant already in place we felt it was a sign. We set out to create a place where community, food, and friendship come together close to home, but with the Heart of Paris. That’s how Bistro de Ville was born!
Tell us about yourselves—is this your first restaurant? Are you local residents?
We have lived in Scarsdale for 15 years while raising our two children. When we first moved to Scarsdale, my sister and I ran a small Personal Catering Company in which we provided great experiences and dinners to local residents. For the last 10 years-- and still now -- I am a real estate agent with Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s Realty. These experiences have given me the opportunity to meet and befriend so many of the wonderful people of Scarsdale, who over the years have always encouraged us to follow our dream.
Before starting a family, I got my start as a cook under Bobby Flay at Mesa Grill. After that I moved on to the world of pastry and desserts in New York City at two iconic French restaurants, La Côte Basque and La Grenouille. Those restaurants unfortunately have been lost in time, but our guests are always fascinated by the stories of those “extinct” culinary roots.
Food has always been at the center of our lives both professionally and at home so opening Bistro de Ville felt like a natural extension of who we are.
Who is the chef? Where did he work before?
My husband Kevin also trained in traditional French kitchens such as at La Côte Basque, La Grenouille, Russian Tea Room, Quatorze Bis and others. He is the current chef/partner of Bistro de Ville, Br’ers BBQ and the chef at Purdy’s Farmer & the Fish. Kevin and I develop the menu at Bistro and oversee the kitchen.
How did you design the menu?
Our cuisine starts with a foundation in classical French technique, with respect for tradition but with a modern twist shaped by our chef experiences and world travel. We cook the food we love to eat! Simple, soulful dishes all done well! We follow the seasons, work with local farms (including ours at Purdy’s) and local vendors as much as possible and always remain true to the generosity and elegance of the French bistro spirit.
What are some customer favorites?
Guests love our French onion soup, roast duck, steak frites, duck liver mousse, escargots, and our warm, fresh baguettes. Desserts like chocolate mousse, seasonal tarts, and clafoutis are very nostalgic for many people. There’s always a dish that reminds someone of Paris or a special moment in their lives.
Why do you think you’ve been so successful, especially in such a challenging industry?
This restaurant is personal. It’s not just a business, it’s our home, our friends, our community. People feel that when they walk in. We’re here every day, we know our guests by name, and we cook with real affection. I think that authenticity is what makes us different.
What are some of the newest menu items for the fall?
What’s important for us about any items on the menu is that they are fresh and in season. We change the menu many times throughout the year. While the main item on a dish like the duck will stay on the menu, we will change what we serve with it. For instance, we have had Black Misson figs on the duck through the summer into the fall and now we will change that to gooseberries and braised endive through the winter and change again in the spring. The ratatouille with 
eggplant, zucchini and gold bar squash will be replaced with honey & harissa roasted carrots. We stay true to French cuisine and only cook what is in season with the ingredients that are readily available to us. While also considering our guests dietary restrictions such as gluten, seafood and dietary choices. We have many options on our menu that are vegetarian if not vegan.
Are you planning anything special for the holidays?
Yes we have a few events planned for the end of this year. Every year on the third Thursday of November is Beaujolais Nouveau. A celebration of the season and the fall harvest. This is the first wine released from the harvest. We are presenting Beaujolais Nouveau Wine with delicious regional specialties such as Foie Gras, Bœuf Bourguignon, Jambon Persillé and poached pears.
In December We are planning a special holiday wine dinner. This will not be a traditional multi course menu paired with wine. It will be more of a social, cocktail style evening a “Tour de France” if you will. Showcasing the food and wine of France from multiple different regions.
And of course, we will offer a special Christmas Eve or “French Réveillon” & New Years Eve prix fixe menus, special for the evenings on those holidays. We continue to offer live music during Sunday brunch. We have an eclectic bench of musicians we rotate through on a weekly basis. We are always promoting the live music and all future events on our Instagram @bistrodeville
Do you host private events?
Yes we welcome private events. Intimate celebrations, birthdays, bridal showers, corporate dinners. Guests love that it feels like a Parisian salon. Warm, elegant, and intimate. Anyone interested in hosting a event, can reach out to us at [email protected].
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
I have discovered a new passion: all of the flower arrangements for the dining room and events are done by myself personally and I would like to think this new hobby/passion may grow into its own business one day. Les Fleurs du Bistro de Ville, By Carol!
Bistro de Ville has brought us exactly what we hoped for, a place where we cook for the people we care about, close to home. It’s our dream, shared with our community. “Once a Chef forever a Chef.”
Bistro de Ville
185 Summerfield Street
Scarsdale, NY 10583
(914) 574-6364
www.bistrodeville.com
The Prudent Thing to Do: Keep New Yorker's Tax Dollars in New York
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 955
(This is the opinion of Scarsdale10583 Publisher Joanne Wallenstein)
If our nation’s President was a student at Scarsdale High School he would be suspended.
Imagine your child making a video depicting feces being poured atop the high school cupola? What an image! Would the posting of the video break the law? Maybe not. But it would fly in the face of public decency. And that’s enough reason for the high school administration to take action. They don’t need a statute to know what’s indecent.
But it’s not only social norms of decent behavior that our President has violated. Beyond running roughshod over orderly government practice, the President’s administration has broken the contract between the federal government and the states to disburse funds allocated by Congress as specified in the federal budget.
In the past few months we’ve seen a vengeful President overstep his authority to withhold funds appropriated for healthcare, scientific research, education, transportation, infrastructure, the World Trade Center Health Program for 9/11 survivors and even food assistance. His latest move was to cancel funding for two important transportation projects for New Yorkers: the extension of the Second Avenue Subway and the Gateway Project, two tunnels connecting New York and New Jersey.
While New Yorkers continue to fund the federal government they are spending our hard earned dollars to build detention centers, fund the Argentinian government, purchase not one ,but two airplanes for Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and to send the National Guard into places they are not needed. None of these moves are authorized by Congress.
In 2023, the last year these numbers were reported, New York sent $89 billion more to the Feds than we got back and this year, with all of these cuts, the deficit for 2025 is sure to grow. What are we getting here for our federal tax payments, which account for 50% of my households’ tax bill?
The only evidence of the federal government that is visible here is the invasion of ICE agents, upsetting our economy and frightening the people who do the hard work to keep us afloat.
At this rate, New York will be in serious trouble in just a few months. Our coffers will be empty, unemployment will rise, our healthcare system will face challenges as will our schools.
What’s the solution? Here’s an immodest proposal:
Stop the flow of our money to a federal government that is disobeying the law. Send our federal tax dollars to Albany instead. The Governor and the State Legislature can recoup the funds that were promised to us and allocate them to all the federal programs that were cut.
Close the Federal IRS offices in the state – we don’t need them. Send our federal tax dollars to the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance instead. And if the federal government decides to sue us, bring it on. We can defy court orders just as easily as our fearless leader. He doesn’t respect the rule of law, so why should we? Keep our tax dollars in New York until this situation is resolved. It’s the prudent thing to do.
Let’s stop enabling a man with the mentality of a 12 year-old bully to divert our funds into his own pocket. Do what you would do to your own recalcitrant teen.... cut off his allowance.
Parents Urge Alternatives to Smartphones at Upcoming Device Fair
- Details
- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 905
Two parents came to the mic at Village Hall on October 14 to discuss their initiative to change technology norms in Scarsdale. As founders of IRL NY’s Scarsdale Chapter they are advocating for a tech reset.
Ariana Green explained: “When I worked as an attorney for tech companies, I learned that many Silicon Valley executives opted not to give their own kids devices, or later, social media. What they knew about what was best for their own kids – their brains and their emotions – is what the general population is finally getting to wise to now.
Lisa Berman and I started the Scarsdale chapter of IRL NY because we want to join other communities around the nation in a tech reset.
We are aligned with Scarsdale alum Jonathan Haidt’s widely popular book, The Anxious Generation, which urges parents to come together and support each other in setting new technology norms.
Haidt suggests that families agree to wait until kids are at least 16 for social media. For parents to track and communicate with kids before then, there are now an array of alternative devices designed with kid safety in mind. Most of these are only sold online, but on November 22, we are hosting Scarsdale’s first Alternative Device Fair at the Scarsdale Library, and vendors are flying from throughout the country to allow us to interact directly with the devices, understand their features and ask questions face-to-face. Brands coming include Bark, Gabb, Pinwheel, Troomi, and Lightphone, among others.
Social science research shows that when 25 to 30 percent of a community makes a change, norms can change. If enough families gift their kids alternative devices instead of smartphones, and if we urge people to slow down on iPad text groups and the like, our community can shift. We can help our kids avoid a life on addictive devices and social media for that much longer, as their brains are wiring.
We are inspired by the grassroots movements popping up in towns throughout the country and chose to join our neighbors in bringing IRL to Scarsdale. There are chapters in Rye, Larchmont, Mamaroneck, Rye Neck, and Nyack, with more on the horizon. We are part of the executive committee strategizing for our region, and we are inviting the River Towns, New Rochelle, Yonkers and beyond to join us at our device fair and to join our movement.
I have come to believe that the best thing I can do for my kids – other than trying my hardest in the day-to-day of parenting – is to ignite a local push to meaningfully change how we operate here with respect to tech.
If each of uses our own circle of influence to push for change, fewer of us will have to hear from our kids: “But everyone’s getting phones with social media in sixth grade.” Or if we do hear that line, we can soon confidently tell them: “That’s just not true.”
Lisa Berman outlined additional initiatives the two are working on with school leaders and parent organizations to spread the word. She explained, “We are encouraging families to think critically about when they are giving their kids smartphones and access to social media. Right now, many children in Scarsdale get their first smart phone or watch in elementary school or early middle school. We are interested in pushing back that norm so that more families are waiting until high school or 16 years old to give their children access to social media and smart devices.”
Learn more and sign the pledge here:
