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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 29 August 2023

Created: 29 August 2023

Last Updated: 06 September 2023

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Dear Editor: At Scarsdale Security, we value our connection with the community and our participation in Village life. This year, we are proud to be one of the sponsors of the Scarsdale Community Calendar, compiled and distributed by the Scarsdale Council of Parent-Teacher Associations. These calendars correspond with the school year (September through August) and include all school closings and events, as well as community meetings and information related to village organizations. A telephone directory for the school district, local government, village services and community organizations is also included in the calendar.

As a sponsor, Scarsdale Security has a supply of calendars available for distribution at no cost to you. If you would like a calendar, please contact our office’s outreach liaison at 722-2321.

We look forward to serving you – not only as the northeast’s premier boutique for security, fire, camera and home automation systems – but also as your neighbor. Together, we all make our community a great place to call home.

Very truly yours,
David Raizen
President, Scarsdale Security Systems, Inc.

132 Montgomery Avenue
Scarsdale, NY 10583
914-722-2323

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 21 August 2023

Created: 21 August 2023

Last Updated: 21 August 2023

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(The following letter was submitted by Deborah Porder of Lawrence Road)

Dear Trustees and Mayor Arest,

Many municipalities in Westchester have passed resolutions condemning the Holtec entities' plan to dump radioactive spent fuel from the Indian Point nuclear power plant into the Hudson River. Holtec has said that it will begin dumping as early as next month. Read this article and watch the video from Lohud about it.

The Hudson River flows into the Croton Reservoir that provides water to Westchester and New York City. The radioactive water will evaporate and rain on Scarsdale. Some of our neighbors in Westchester get their drinking water directly from the Hudson River.

The Holtec entities want to dump the toxic chemicals in the Hudson to save money. The rate payers footed the bill, paying more for electricity, for Holtec to shut down the nuclear reactor and clean up the Indian Point site. Under the plan, Holtec can keep any money it doesn't spend on the clean up. I believe that Holtec wants to dump because it's the cheapest alternative. Protecting public health costs money.

The radioactive chemical waste from Indian Point can cause bone cancer and leukemia. It is especially harmful to children and fetuses. It causes genetic defects. Holtec is planning to start dumping before it gets test results back showing what is in the spent fuel. Please watch this video that confirms that Holtec will dump before it receives test results.

The NY State Legislature passed a bi-partisan Save the Hudson bill S6893/A7208 that would ban dumping radioactive waste into the Hudson. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and by a wide margin in the Assembly. Governor Hochul hasn't signed it and time is running out.

I live in a neighborhood full of vulnerable children and families. I am ashamed that my Village, unlike many other municipalities in Westchester, has not taken a stand on this imminent threat to the health of its citizens.

Please pass a resolution against Holtec's dumping and urging Governor Hochul to sign the Save The Hudson bill.

Kind Regards,

Deborah Porder
46 Lawrence Rd
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Home: (914) 725-6393
Cell: (914) 419-1044

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 09 August 2023

Created: 09 August 2023

Last Updated: 02 November 2023

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Congressman Jamaal BowmanAt the annual meeting of the Scarsdale Democratic Committee hosted by State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin on August 1, 2023, many local leaders showed up. In addition to Paulin, State Senator Shelley Mayer, County Executive George Latimer, former Congressman Mondaire Jones along with a host of candidates for the Supreme Court were there to meet Scarsdale voters.

Noticeably absent was Jamaal Bowman, the current representative for the 16th District in US Congress. Why wasn’t he on hand to greet his constituents?

The answer may lie in his stance on Israel, which has alienated many Jewish voters in his district. What has he done to lose their support? He recently boycotted President Herzog’s visit to Washington and voted no on a bill supporting Israel and condemning antisemitism. In 2022 he failed to support bipartisan legislation strengthening and expanding the Abraham Accords and called for the US to recognize “Nakba,” the mass Palestinian exodus in 1948 and endorsing the right of Palestinians to return to Israel. He also voted against a resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of Israel’s founding.

According to an article in Jewish Insider dated July 21, 2023, AIPAC, a bi-partisan pro-Israel political action committee has been seeking a Democratic candidate to challenge Bowman’s seat. County Executive George Latimer, who’s term ends in 2024, is currently considering a run to represent the district. Well liked among Westchester voters of all faiths, Latimer may not be ready to retire and is assessing support for a run against Bowman. We asked AIPAC to comment, but got no response.

The issue is further complicated by potential redistricting that could take Jewish voters out of the district and by the erosion of support for Israel in the US due to Netanyahu’s bid to strip power from the judiciary and undermine Israel’s democracy.

Commenting on Bowman’s lack of support for Israel, Rabbi Jonathan Blake, the senior Rabbi at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale said, “From the timeRabbi Jonathan Blake of his election in 2020, and through his inaugural term in Congress, I spearheaded an effort to assist Congressman Bowman in his awareness of the complexity of issues pertaining to Israel, and also to help him understand that many voters in his district do not relate to Israel as "foreign policy" but rather through the lens of "home" and "family." Our group of 10 rabbis from across the District encouraged a trip to Israel, which Congressman Bowman took under J Street's auspices. Unfortunately, since returning from that trip, Congressman Bowman's about-face on support for Israel and its allies (including those to sign on to the Abraham Accords) has been striking and disheartening. We believe that Congressman Bowman has now emerged as one of the most caustic anti-Israel voices in Congress, whose positions on Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East do not reflect the views of a great number of his voters, nor do they reflect the will of the American people or the longstanding positions of the Democratic Party.

We continue to welcome dialogue with Congressman Bowman and urge him to reconsider his rhetoric and policy stances; in the meantime, a primary challenge would come as no surprise to any of us in the Jewish and pro-Israel community who are paying attention to the Congressman's record in office.”

The challenge to Bowman’s seat was the subject of a recent email from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is using her email list to solicit funds for Bowman’s campaign. In it she charges AIPAC with using “dark money” to target “candidates of color.”

Here is what her email says:

“We just got word: AIPAC is at it again. They’re trying to recruit an establishment executive to run against my brother in The Bronx, Jamaal Bowman.

We know what comes next. AIPAC won’t wait much longer to start funneling dark money against Jamaal and ramping up attacks against our movement.

We’ve seen the AIPAC playbook. They target progressive, working-class candidates of color. They abuse campaign finance laws to spend millions of dollars on misleading attack ads. And they’re willing to undermine democracy to slow our progressive movement — they endorsed 109 insurrectionist Republicans.

Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAIPAC has usually held off from opposing incumbent members of the Squad. Not this time.

The fact they’re trying to make a play now, as Jamaal runs for his third term in Congress, means they think they have a path to victory.

It’s up to us to make sure Jamaal has what he needs to defend his seat from AIPAC and keep our progressive movement strong. Will you please help Jamaal fight back today with a contribution?

Jamaal and I form the “Bronx delegation” in the House, and there’s no one I’d rather have by my side. Jamaal unapologetically speaks truth to power. He’s unafraid to call out the BS that holds us back from real progress. And he does all that from a place of deep compassion and radical joy. When he greets you with “peace and love,” he means it.

As a former middle-school principal, community leader, working father of three, and proud Black man, we need Jamaal’s voice in Congress — especially as MAGA Republican extremists continue to target our schools and our children.

So today, I’m asking you to take a stand against dark money and shady special interests – because when we do, we win.”

Beyond his views on the Middle East, Bowman has raised eyebrows in Scarsdale with his support of Governor Kathy Hochul’s housing proposal which would have overridden local zoning code to build multi-family housing in areas now zoned for single family homes. More recently Bowman co-sponsored legislation to ban the preferential treatment of the children of alumni in college admissions, a.k.a legacy admissions.

It’s still early to be planning for a 2024 election but this will be a race to watch. As Bowman’s views diverged from his Westchester constituents he has made little effort to retain their support. Though he scored a big victory in his election for a second term, a third term win might be harder to achieve.

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Written by: Joanne Wallenstein

Published: 03 August 2023

Created: 03 August 2023

Last Updated: 03 August 2023

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Longtime Greenacres resident and member of Scarsdale Golf Club Ed Howard passed away this week. Read this account of his life, reprinted from Legacy.com.

Edwin Brown Howard Jr. (June 24, 1941 - August 2, 2023)

Edwin Brown Howard Jr., a beloved husband, father, grandfather, and active member of the community, passed away peacefully from brain cancer on August 2, 2023 surrounded by his family. He is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Alice Robbins Howard, their children Heather Howard (Princeton, NJ), Hunter Howard (Dallas, TX), and Hilary Heieck (Pacific Grove, CA) and their grandchildren Nathaniel Weston Howard, Landry Robbins Heieck and Beckham Harding Heieck.

Born in “Little” Washington, NC to Edwin Brown Howard Sr. and Martha Weston Jones Howard, he moved to Scarsdale, NY with his parents and sister, Martha Howard Patten, but always held a special place in his heart for his North Carolina heritage and cherished summers spent with family in Belhaven and Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks. The Howards were the last Colonial owners of Ocracoke when Ed’s 7th great grandfather, William Howard, bought it in 1759 for 105 pounds sterling, after a swashbuckling career as Blackbeard’s Quartermaster.

Ed was known for his generosity, good-natured humor, loyalty, and integrity. He had the good fortune to raise his family in the same house in Scarsdale in which he grew up. As a result, for 75 years multiple generations of Howards attended and played sports for Greenacres Elementary and Scarsdale High School. He coordinated Greenacres sports for many years, and his children’s friends remember him as Coach Howard, with a clipboard at practices, a booming voice that could be heard across the field, and game strategy sessions during many carpool rides. Ed's dedication to community extended beyond coaching, as he served as a volunteer firefighter for the Village of Scarsdale and was actively involved at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church as a Deacon, Elder and Usher.

Ed had a deep love for Duke University, where he was a member of the Class of 1963. He maintained a strong affiliation with the university, interviewing prospective students and staying actively engaged with the Alumni Council and the Alumni Athletic Council. An avid Duke basketball fan and longtime season ticket holder, he was a constant presence at games in Cameron Indoor Stadium. He found tremendous joy watching his daughter Hilary captain the Duke Women’s team, which went all the way to the National Championship game in her senior season. And he even tolerated Alice rooting for her alma mater, the UNC Tar Heels. He was also a dedicated member, past president, and honoree of the North Carolina Society of New York.

Golf was another one of Ed's passions, and he formed countless cherished friendships as a lifelong member at Scarsdale Golf Club. A talented athlete and former scratch golfer, Ed won numerous championships and was shooting his age even as he turned 81.

At Scarsdale Golf Club, he served as a Board Member, Golf Chair, and Chairman of the Wilson Cup; he also chaired the Metropolitan Golf Association caddie scholarship program. He found humor, competition, and friendship on the greens and was always quick with a compliment and good-natured joke. Ed was also a member of Pinehurst Country Club and actively involved in the Westchester Senior Golf Association.

Throughout more than 50 years on Wall Street, in true steadfast, professional, and loyal Ed Howard fashion, he never left his first job. His business card changed as the companies were acquired or merged, and along the way Ed developed deep and lasting connections with his colleagues and clients, many of whom became close friends, at Kidder, Peabody, Paine Webber, UBS and across the industry. He was a consummate institutional equity salesman, who truly loved a great stock idea, and always took the time to mentor junior analysts.

Ed also loved traveling (and not just to basketball games).That wanderlust took Alice and him on epic train and boat journeys, safaris, behind the Iron Curtain, and to as many of the “Stans” as he could visit; somehow, no matter where in the world he was, he always found a Diet Coke and the International Herald Tribune. He instilled that love early in his children, and for five consecutive summers the family did “house exchanges” in Europe, exploring England and France like locals. He also loved watching animals – whether it was spotting hawks on rides in the Hudson Valley, feeding the neighborhood fox, or watching hippos at their watering hole.

Edwin Brown Howard Jr. will be remembered for his love of family, his generous nature, unwavering dedication to community, sense of humor, his cherished North Carolina roots, his passion for Duke University and golf, and his admirable integrity in both his personal and professional life. His presence will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing him.

A visitation will be held at Edwin L. Bennett Funeral Homes on Monday, August 7, 4- 7pm, and a memorial service celebrating Ed's life will be held at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale on Tuesday, August 8th at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations be made to Hitchcock Presbyterian Church or the Greenburgh Nature Center.