Letter to the Editor: Why Cancel the Benefit of Trees by Vacuuming Leaves
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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(This letter was written by Cynthia Roberts of Autenreith Road)
Mayor and Board of Trustees
Village of Scarsdale, NY
July 24, 2022
Dear Mayor Veron and Members of the Board of Trustees,
I was disappointed to see that you will continue to burden our community with the health impacts, environmental harms, and noise of leaf vacuuming this fall. Our community enjoys the many benefits of our trees. Why cancel out the benefits they provide by using tax-payer funds for five guys to drive around in a noisy, exhaust-spewing truck, vacuuming up the leaves only to have them trucked upstate?
While some members of the board may recognize and support the environmental and health benefits of leaf mulch-mowing such as providing free fertilizer for our lawns, makes lawns more resistant to drought, and minimizing the need for noxious leaf blowers, the hitch appears to be some ill-founded fear that the appearance of the lawns may suffer and that there may be significant added expense to homeowners. In light of the current Village policy promoting leaf mulch-mowing, I challenge each of you to pledge to mulch-mow your leaves this fall. You will gain first-hand experience so that after this fall, you will each be equipped to re-evaluate the viability and value of mulch-mowing.
In the meantime, at a minimum, Scarsdale should require registration with the Village of all lawn contracting companies such that educational information about greener and more healthful landscape practices can be disseminated inexpensively.
Your efforts and the time you spend as volunteers are always much appreciated.
Respectfully,
Cynthia Roberts
Autenreith Road
Julia Deschamps and Aaron Mark: 2022 Celebration of their 2021 Wedding
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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On July 9, 2022 Julia Mark (nee Deschamps) and Aaron Mark celebrated their marriage of 2021 at The Mount in Lenox, MA. Cantor Amanda Kleinman of Westchester Reform Temple blessed the happy couple under the chuppah in the beautiful French garden of The Mount.
Julia and Aaron met at The Dakota Bar in Manhattan in 2015 and have been together ever since. They had originally planned a substantial wedding celebration for 2019, but their plans were upset by COVID pandemic public health concerns. They were married on June 12, 2021 in the backyard of Aaron’s parents’ home in Scarsdale in front of a small group of family and friends. On July 9th of this year, they finally got to celebrate their marriage in grand style surrounded by their family and friends.
Ms. Mark, 29, is a social worker at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. She graduated from Temple University with a B.S.W and from Hunter College with an M.S.W. She is the daughter of Peter Deschamps of North Bethesda, Maryland and Ann Deschamps of Reston, Virginia. Peter Deschamps is a Certified Financial Planner currently providing financial counseling to military service members and their families. He is married to Sandra Birnbaum, a physical therapist practicing in Germantown, Maryland. Ann Deschamps is Vice President of Trans Cen Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting meaningful work and community inclusion for people with disabilities.
Mr. Mark, 31, is a Digital Strategy Lead Executive at Google in New York City and is pursuing an M.B.A at NYU’s Stern School of Business. He has a B.A. in English and philosophy from Boston University where he graduated Cum Laude, and an M.A. in English from Fordham University. 
He is the son of B. Kathleen (BK) Munguía and Jonathan I. Mark of Scarsdale, New York. His father retired in 2017 from the law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP where he was a partner for 35 years. Both parents are active members of the Scarsdale community. Jonathan Mark served as the Mayor of Scarsdale, New York from April 2015 to April 2017 and BK Munguia is an active volunteer in several not-for-profit organizations as well as the alumni associations of Yale University and Columbia University Law School.
Greenacres Neighborhood Association Celebrates July 4th
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Fun was had by all at the Greenacres Neighborhood Association’s Fourth of July festivities.
Over 200 people attended the celebration, enjoying breakfast and watermelon, games for all ages, a patriotic program and more. The festivities were capped off with the Scarsdale Fire Department’s rainbow producing water display.
Longtime Greenacres Neighborhood Association President Andrew Sereysky with incoming President Kristen ZakierskiGames included sack, spoon and three-legged races; a dash; foul shots and a candy hunt. Results are available below.
Scarsdale Mayor Jane Veron, Congressman Jamaal Bowman, state senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Shelley Mayer, Westchester County Executive George Latimer, and Assemblymember Amy Paulin joined Greenacres neighbors to celebrate.
"Neighbors new and old came together to show that Greenacres is still the place to be," said incoming Greenacres Neighborhood Association President Kristen Zakierski. "We are immensely grateful to all our volunteers and members. The Fourth of July may traditionally be about red, white and blue, but today it was also about green."
The Greenacres Neighborhood Association plans events throughout the year. For more information, and to join the GNA, visit www.greenacres10583.com.
See below for the names of the contest winners.
Jamaal Bowman, George Latimer, Jane Veron, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Michelle Lichtenberg, Amy Paulin and Andrew SereyskyContest and Race Winners
A Lively Fireworks Show at the Scarsdale Pool
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- Written by: Adam Katcher
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Every year, during July 4th’s Independence Day Celebrations, Scarsdale sets up a remarkable firework show for the community to enjoy. With the fireworks set for 9:15 pm at the Scarsdale Pool on Thursday June 30th, pool members arrived well before the 8 pm deadline. After that, all members of the town, even if a member of the Scarsdale Pool, had to pay a five-dollar fee to enter – a price worth the experience.
After walking through the pool’s main entrance, with the sun low, the bugs humming, and the moon on the rise, the symphony of noise from the thousands of Scarsdalians flocking to the area, as well as the Westchester Band, was impossible to avoid. The event may have even amassed the turnout of the recent Scarsdale High School Graduation ceremony, and it seemed as if the entire town was there. All the lifeguards were on duty: Scarsdale Village Ambulance Corps offered free water to anyone who wanted it: returning college students swung by and residents of neighboring town attended as well.
The banks of the pool complex were filled to the brim with people accompanied by chairs, picnic blankets, umbrellas, refreshments, and their loved ones. All four pools had their perimeters surrounded by eager onlookers. Any green patch of grass that could be found was a hot commodity in the moments leading up to the start of the show. The on-site food vendors only saw lines cool off once the firework show began.
After giving directions on exiting the premises over the loudspeaker, the show commenced. With the fireworks launched from Saxon Woods Golf Course, a few people had to change their seats to get a better view due to trees blocking their view. But with the exception of that one, rather insignificant issue, the performance was flawless. The “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from excited children rung out, while parents and grandparents watched on in a more contemplative, yet excited and intrigued, fashion.
The majority of the firework show was released from one platform on the golf course. The finale, however, came from a different portion of the golf course, providing a surprise encore to what was already an enjoyable community event.
This firework show proved that this town tradition will not be shaken away. Regardless of the two year hiatus to the tradition from COVID-19, families coming and going and the pool’s uncertain future the July 4th fireworks celebration is one that will always remain a fond favorite in the hearts of Scarsdalians. This year provided more evidence for just why that is.
Keeping New York Sane in Insane Times
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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(This is the opinion of Scarsdale10583 founder Joanne Wallenstein)
Looking at the polarized political national landscape I used to console myself with the thought that I live in New York, a state that has strong gun control laws and offers legalized abortion. In the face of school shootings in Florida, limitations on abortion in Texas and states run by legislators with far-right agendas based on evangelical beliefs, I found comfort knowing that I chose to live in a state led by smart sensible legislators intent on protecting my rights and the safety of my family and friends.
But in one stunning week, two Supreme Court decisions have rocked all my assumptions. First, on Thursday the Supreme Court overturned the NYS ban on carry concealed weapons in public places. Then on Friday, we got another kick in the teeth when we learned that the Court had overturned Roe vs. Wade, denying women everywhere the right to choose whether or not to have a baby.
As justification for the first decision, we were told that gun control cannot be dictated by state government, and in the second, the Federal government said abortion policy was up to each state leaving many states to outlaw abortion immediately.
That’s a stunner. You don’t have to be a legal scholar to see the hypocrisy.
Beyond the legal policy, there are practical implications to these decisions. Both add a new level of uncertainty and anxiety to our lives. Can we enjoy movies, concerts and theater knowing that all it takes is one individual with a gun to end it all? How can parents leave their children at school every day, knowing the district can never spend enough to guarantee their safety? And for women everywhere, how can they live their lives the way they choose, knowing that they have lost the right to determine their own future?
I certainly did not vote for the Senators who voted in the Supreme Court justices who adopted these decisions. Some of the senators who did vote for them in are now complaining that they believed deceptive testimony during their confirmation hearings. Though Kavanaugh, Coney Barret and Gorsuch all pledged to respect precedent, when cloaked in their robes and protected by closed doors, they changed their minds. Now we’ve all become victims of crazy decisions based in precedent from the 18th and 19th century, when women did not even have the right to vote.
I asked some experts what, if anything, I could do to change this, and they all said one thing. Vote for the right people this year, and support elections in other states to elect Democrats.
In the meantime, I will continue to support our own State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. In response to the Supreme Court decision on guns, she is introducing more gun control legislation to control the sale and possession of guns.
See below for what she plans to do to secure our safety in New York State.
(From Amy Paulin)
Instead of upholding New York’s laws which help combat gun violence, the U.S. Supreme Court has now overturned a 1913 New York statute which limits permits to carry firearms only to individuals who can demonstrate “proper cause” or the need to carry a firearm due to their employment.
This disastrous decision will result in exponentially more New Yorkers carrying a gun in public and will put all New Yorkers in harm’s way every day. It will also imperil the safety of law enforcement, paramedics, fire personnel and all those who work in the public safety sphere.
Our country experiences gun deaths on a daily basis. Most recently we had horrific mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, and even in the few weeks since then we have had several more. Given the seriousness of what we continue to face, the Court’s decision is beyond reckless – it is deadly.
Despite the Court’s profoundly disheartening decision, I will not be deterred from fighting to keep our communities safe. I plan to continue advancing the most stringent gun legislation possible to protects New Yorkers, and along with Senator Brian Kavanagh, I have just introduced several additional bills in light of the Court’s decision.
We now need to ensure that guns are prohibited from mass transit, entertainment venues, religious institutions, and bars and restaurants where alcohol is served, just to name a few. I have introduced a bill that will make it a crime to possess guns at these “sensitive places.”
I’ve also introduced a bill requiring a license to possess shot guns and rifles. This is common sense and should already be in place – there is no more time to wait to enact this law.
The third bill requires all firearm permit holders to have an evaluation from a mental health professional rather than merely stating that they are mentally fit which is what the current law requires.
Another bill requires completion of a training course in order to obtain a license for a firearm under New York State law, and an advanced training course which includes time on the firing range for those seeking a license to carry a weapon in public. Requiring thorough training for all permit holders will help increase public safety as more guns are now likely to be carried out onto New York’s streets.
Finally, I’ve introduced a bill which requires background checks prior to the renewal of a license to carry or possess a pistol or revolver. This will lead to license holders being screened every 5 years to ensure that they have no prior conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence, have not been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility pursuant to NYS mental hygiene, criminal procedure, and correction laws, and have not been reported by a medical health professional to likely engage in conduct that would result in serious harm to themselves or others. Reexamining all license holders’ eligibility to possess a firearm license every five years is an essential safeguard to help ensure the safety of all New Yorkers.
The Court has now made the utterly irresponsible and deadly decision to loosen gun laws in our country rather than tighten them. In New York we are going to fight this decision, and I’m committed, along with Senator Brian Kavanagh to doing so in the New York State Legislature by passing laws which restrict gun access and presence, and increase gun safety.
