Scarsdale Business Alliance Appeals to the Village of Scarsdale for Funding
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What role should Village government play in ensuring the vitality of the retail community in Scarsdale Village? Who should fund the efforts of the Scarsdale Business Alliance (SBA) to bring foot traffic to the Village, beautify the Village Center and make it an appealing place for retailers to locate their businesses?
That was the question on the minds of the Scarsdale Board of Trustees when the Scarsdale Business Alliance made an appeal to the Village Board to help them fund their efforts at a work session on February 6, 2024. Specifically, the group would like to replace volunteer efforts by retaining an Executive Director to run the SBA and serve as a development officer.
At a work session of the Village Board on February 6, 2024, former Mayor Jane Veron and SBA President Marcy Berman-Goldstein outlined their multi-year effort to bring back a defunct Chamber of Commerce. As a part of their work they grew the membership ranks from Village businesses, hosted events like Light the Dale, the Farmer's Market and the Scarsdale Music Festival and funded the large Dine the Dale tent on Spencer Place, giving the community an outdoor venue for gatherings.
They pointed out that these efforts strengthened community building, made Scarsdale more walkable and helped to fill empty storefronts. Though they will not continue to erect the Dining Tent, they do hope to continue their efforts by working with the county on a program called “Destination Scarsdale,” which would attract county wide traffic to the Village, especially on Bicycle Sundays when Scarsdale is a mid-point along the Bronx River Parkway bike route.
However, the revenue from membership dues at $30,000 falls short of what the group requires to hire the Executive Director at a salary of $80,000. They hope to hire a professional to build relationships with business owners, run events and sell sponsorships for SBA initiatives. Sponsorships of the Dine the Dale tent brought in almost $60,000 in revenue and without that the group will run a deficit. Also, the work has been fueled by Marcy Berman-Goldstein and other volunteers who are asking for help.
In a discussion about the request the Trustees asked questions about the SBA budget, and also wanted to know if this was a one-time request or if the expectation would be that the Village would fund the SBA year over year.
The trustees said they will continue to discuss this request in their upcoming budget sessions.
Candidates Sought for Associate Village Justice
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The Judicial Qualifications Advisory Committee is seeking individuals interested in serving as Scarsdale’s Associate Village Justice.
The Committee welcomes all qualified applicants who live in the Village of Scarsdale and are members in good standing of the New York State Bar with courtroom experience.
The Associate Village Justice serves in the absence or incapacity of the Village Justice. The Committee screens candidates for this position and reports their assessment of the candidate’s qualifications to the Mayor. The Mayor then makes the appointment with confirmation by the Village Board of Trustees. The position is open as Associate Village Justice Michael Curti was appointed to fill the term of the retired Village Justice. The term of the Associate Village Justice is one year, beginning April 01, 2024. The Associate Justice may be reappointed for additional one-year periods, each commencing on the first Monday in April of the year in question.
Interested persons should send a letter of interest and resume to Stephen Sage by email to personnel@scarsdale.com or by United States Postal Mail to 1001 Post Road, Scarsdale, New York 10583. The deadline for receipt of materials is February 16, 2024. If the Committee wishes to interview a candidate, they will contact the candidate directly after the deadline for submissions has passed.
11 Elected to School Board Nominating Committee
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11 candidates have been elected to join the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee for 2024. The following candidates were elected:
Edgewood – Shivi S. Bansal, Owen Elliott, Mimi Robinson
Fox Meadow – Adam Hellegers
Greenacres – Amadally Hosseinbukus, Lisa Purcell, Kristen Zakierski Heathcote – Ken Meyerson, Saum Shetty
Quaker Ridge – Alissa Baum, Kamala Vittal
A total of 188 votes were cast in the election: 147 in person, 42 by mail-in ballot. Vote totals by neighborhood were as follows:
Edgewood: 70 Fox Meadow: 10 Greenacres: 54 Heathcote: 32 Quaker Ridge: 22
This year’s new SBNC members will join the continuing members of the committee, each serving a three-year term on the SBNC followed by a 2-year term as part of the SBNC Administrative Committee.
The SBNC will have its first meeting on January 21, 2024, and by the end of March it will nominate 2 candidates for the Scarsdale Board of Education to fill the seats currently held by James Dugan and Jessica Resnick-Ault whose terms expire at the end of this school year.
All Scarsdale residents are welcome to propose Board of Education candidates to the SBNC chair at sbncchair@gmail.com. The SBNC Board of Education candidates, along with any other candidates who may choose to run, will stand for public election Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at the same time as the school budget vote.
High School Students Invited to Apply for Students Inside Albany
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Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference: Sunday, May 19, 2024, through Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Albany
Deadline for Application: Monday, February 5. 2024
LWVS SIA 2024 Application and Instructions
Students may open and copy the application to edit and then submit via email to LWVSyouthprograms@gmail.com.
LWVS invites high school students to submit applications to attend the Students Inside Albany (SIA) Conference. Any 10th grade, 11th grade, or 12th grade student who attends Scarsdale High School or who resides in the school district is eligible to apply.
This year, the New York State LWV Education Foundation and LWV of Scarsdale will fund the expenses for at least one highly qualified Scarsdale student, selected from an outstanding pool of applicants. The conference will continue to be free for students to attend.
The program is designed to immerse students in the process by which public policy is proposed, enacted and changed in New York State and educate them as to how they can influence and affect this process. Traditionally, the conference brings approximately 60 students from across the state to Albany to get a first-hand education about their state government. The highlight for most students is the opportunity to shadow their state representatives, with many students getting the opportunity to attend a session on the chamber floor. Follow this link to the LWVNYS pamphlet for additional information.
Scarsdale students who attended this program in the past were unanimous in their enthusiasm about the program. Follow this link to read an article about SIA written by Scarsdale’s two student representatives who attended the in-person conference held in 2019.
For more information, view LWVNYS’s recap of the conference held in 2023 and LWVNYS’s SIA 2023 brochure.
Please contact LWVSyouthprograms@gmail.com for more information.
Playgrounds, Courts and Parks to be Upgraded in Scarsdale
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How do Scarsdale’s playgrounds rate in popularity and which ones are in the best and worst conditions? Which ones needs to be upgraded or replaced all together?
How are the tennis courts faring and when was the last time they were resurfaced?
How much will it cost to replace the bathrooms at Crossway?
These are just a few of the questions answered in an inventory of Scarsdale’s recreational facilities presented by Recreation Supervisor Brian Gray to the Board of Trustees at a budget work session on Tuesday night January 16, 2024.
The in-depth analysis of all the facilities run by the Recreation Department provides a look at the wide range of resources available to Scarsdale resident as well as the cost of maintaining and upgrading them. In preparation for the 2024-25 Village budget, trustees asked Gray to let them know the state of the facilities and to provide estimates for any prospective work to be done.
First, on the playgrounds, the Village manages ten playgrounds ranging in size from 2,300 square feet at Wynmor Park to 11,950 at Hyatt Park. The most popular of these are Hyatt and Davis Park, and the least used are Wynmor and Colonial Acres Park.
Which ones are most in need of replacement? Of the ten playgrounds, Greenacres is in the worst shape – along with Willow Playground. In best condition are Wynmor and Hyatt Park.
Slated for a total replacement in 2022/23 was Greenacres at a cost of $100,00 - $110,000. That project has not moved forward as yet, but residents are hopeful that the work on the 3,744 square foot playground, built between 1996-99, will be done in the coming year.
Also in poor condition are the playgrounds at the pool and the one at Aspen Park, which is rated “aging and outdated.” The Village’s newest playground at Wynmor Park is only 2,300 square feet but is in good condition with a play structure and working swings.
Take a look at the state of your playground in the presentation here:
The Village’s tennis courts at Crossway, the high school, the middle school, Brite Avenue, and Wymor Park are evaluated in the inventory too. At Crossway the Village plans to spend $85,900 to repair linear cracks, depressions and resurface the courts in 2024/25.
At the high school, crack repair and resurfacing are needed and planned for the 2025/26 fiscal year at a cost of $73,900. At the middle school, $55,900 has been allocated this year to address, cracks, dips and resurfacing.
No maintenance has been done at the courts at Brite Avenue since 2002, but the har tru courts appear to be in usable condition.
The Platform tennis courts at the high school and Brite Avenue require annual maintenance including painting, tightening the screens and repairs at a cost of $13,000 per year.
Beyond the recreational facilities themselves, Gray reviews work needed on retaining walls, storage containers and the comfort station at Crossway which is need of a total replacement at a cost of $250,000.
Also included is a review of both the revenues and expenses for the Weinberg Nature Center. Programming revenue brought in $166,474 in 2022-23 with expenses at $184,078, so the center is operating at a deficit, but not a big one.
Following this holistic review, the Board ask Gray to set priorities and return with a list of what he thinks should be address in the coming year and beyond.
Take a look at the state of our recreational facilities here.
