Village Board Receives Feedback on Proposed $62.6 mm Budget
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Village Trustees are in the process of receiving commentary on the proposed 2022-23 village budget.
The tentative operating budget is $62.6 million and would mean a 3.70% tax increase, translating to a $216 increase for the average homeowner. The increase is greater than last year as the trustees opted to reinvest in the Village’s aging infrastructure and address needs that have been deferred from year to year. The 3.7% increase falls below the NYS tax cap of 4.7%.
The budget letter from the Mayor explains, “This budget recognizes the deleterious effects of long-term deferral of investment needs in order to achieve an artificially low increase in the annual levy; it endeavors to refocus on achieving a state of good repair for our critical assets. Our expenditures must increasingly keep pace with the need to renovate, upgrade, or replace our equipment and infrastructure, as emergency repairs are extraordinarily expensive and service delivery interruptions are not acceptable. Furthermore, using deferral of expenses as a means to balance the budget merely shifts the burden to future budget cycles, fueling the increased likelihood of sharp tax increases once deferral is no longer an option. While staying within the tax cap, we must honor our fiscal stewardship responsibilities and appropriately fund our needs.”
Some of the items funded in the budget are outlined in the graphic below.
Namely, trustees agreed to hire four full time Village employees, including:
-A code enforcement officer to monitor construction noise, leaf blowers and other code violations.
-A full time naturalist at the Weinberg Nature Center to support additional programing.
-A maintenance mechanic for the Scarsdale Pool.
-Tree trimmer for Village wide tree maintenance.
Also in the budget is over $5mm to replace the Village’s fleet including vehicles for the Department of Public Works, anti-icing equipment and police cars.
For those concerned about our roadways, pathways, curbs, sanitary sewers and storm drainage, there is $3.7 million in the budget for road resurfacing, curbing, sewer improvements, storm drainage, culverts and catch basin cleaning.
Funds from the Village’s Parkland Trust will be used to construct eight pickleball courts ($410,000) in response to the growing popularity of the game as well for the replacement of the playground equipment in Greenacres ($40,000).
Part of the plan is to take advantage of current bond rates to issue more bonds to fund capital improvement projects. These include the pool renovations ($15 mm+), vehicle replacement ($1.79mm), transportation and mobility improvements in the Village center ($1 mm) and work at library pond ($235,000).
The Village has created a Citizen’s Budget Brief to explain what you’ll find in this year’s budget. Take a look at it here:
Village managers and trustees spent many hours crafting this budget and designed a new process to create it. According to the Mayor, the budget “strikes a reasonable and fiscally responsible balance between minimizing the tax burden and funding our most urgent priorities.”
However, the Fiscal Affairs Committee of the Scarsdale Forum, which is traditionally a conservative group, issued their report on the proposed budget on March 28, 2022 and was critical of several elements of the plan.
Specifically they objected to the hiring of new full time employees, the increase in capital spending, the use of fund balance to close the gap between expenses and revenues and expansion of debt. They chide Trustees for declining to accept the Forum’s recommendation to eliminate leaf collection, which they contend would have been a cost savings to the Village.
About the new employees, the Forum Committee reports argues that since the Village is unable to control the cost of employees and retirees they should only hire new employees if they eliminate other positions.
The Forum report also raises concerns about the extensive list of capital projects and the funding plan. The Village plans to issue $19.2mm in bonds to pay to rehabilitate the Scarsdale Pool ($15.2mm), improve pedestrian safety in the Village ($1 mm) purchase vehicles ($1.8mm), improve drainage on Catherine Road ($1 mm) and rehabilitate Library Pond ($235,000).
About the list of capital projects, the Forum report says, “The number of projects and the amount of capital spending in the Tentative Budget ($24.9 million) is unprecedented. It seems precipitous to spend so much cash (including the entire ARPA windfall and half the parkland reserve, as well as fund balance) and also plan to double Village debt in what is only the first year of transforming the Village government. Is staff looking for grants to fund some of these projects?”
They oppose increasing taxes to fund debt service “on projects that may or may not happen,”” such as the rehabilitation of the pool and the Placemaking Plan for the Village Center. Both of these projects have been studied but not yet approved. The Forum believes that the pool should continue to be funded by an Enterprise Fund and any work should be paid for by pool revenues. They state that it may not economically viable to rebuild the pool complex and the village should wait until community outreach and a marketing study is complete before borrowing the funds to renovate the pool complex.
Additional input on the budget is expected from the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale and a statutory public hearing on the budget will be held on Tuesday April 5 at 8 pm. Unlike the School Budget, the adoption of the Village Budget is not subject to a community wide vote, however trustees will vote on the adoption of the budget on April 26, 2022, prior to the deadline of May 1, 2022.
Planning Board Considers Lights at Crossway Field
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A committee from the Scarsdale Little League who is proposing to build and finance lights on one of the baseball diamonds at Crossway Field is now facing opposition from an ad hoc group of neighbors.
Led by Gerry Antell and Alan Garfunkel from Quaker Ridge, the group has gathered 96 signatures from Scarsdale residents on a petition opposing the installation of the lights. In addition to the petition, the group held a virtual zoom meeting on Monday night March 21. They said the overwhelming consensus of the group was opposition to the proposal.
At the meeting of the Village Board on Tuesday March 22, the Scarsdale Board of Trustees approved a resolution to refer the matter to the Planning Board for study and a recommendation. Both Antell and Garfunkel spoke at the Village Board meeting. Garfunkel relayed some history and said that in 2005 he was part of a negotiation with the Little League for construction of the baseball field at Crossway 3. Garfunkel said that the original agreement with the West Quaker Ridge Neighborhood Association for the construction of the field specified, “no lighting or sound systems of any kind, nor night games shall be permitted at any athletic facilities at Crossway Fields.” He said he presented the history to the Village Manager.
Garfunkel added, over the years, “Periodically there were applications for lights and they were rejected due to the previous agreement.”
Why does the group oppose the lights?
They say that the neighborhood is already overburdened with traffic, noise and sports activity on the lacrosse/football fields, tennis courts, baseball fields, Kids Base, Boulder Brook Equestrian Center, the pool and Saxon Woods Golf Course. The petition reads, “The proposal adversely impacts all of the surrounding neighbors with more traffic, noise, sports events, field maintenance, trash collection and police activity. “
They oppose what is estimated to be 88 nights per year of light usage and say that the proposed pole lights and car lights will be highly visible from at least 65 properties in the immediate area.” In addition, “ the proposal places 70 and 80 foot lighting poles on Mamaroneck Avenue which will be visible from our backyards and Mamaroneck Road. They say, “This will give the neighborhood a permanent undesirable, industrial appearance.
In a letter to the Board of Trustees dated March 21, 2022, Garfunkel outlined his objections along with documentation from 2005 of the original agreement with the Little League. He points out that the Little League proposal includes no provision for screening or landscaping to shield the neighborhood from the lights and says that the Village has not maintained the evergreens that were originally installed when the field was built.
According to Garfunkel, who lives on Lincoln Road and backs onto Crossway, the comfort station at Crossway is already a gathering point for young people at night and he contends that lighting the area would further exacerbate the problem.
The view from Garfunkel's yard at night.
He contends that since Crossway was used as a dumping ground before it was converted to playing fields, the area is elevated 20 to 25 feet above his property line. If the lights were installed in the parking lot they would be 50 feet from his property line and 50 feet above it.
Concluding his comments at the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, Garfunkel threw in a curve ball saying, “Another committee has been set up about the pickle ball proposal,” referring to the Village plan to construct four or eight pickle ball courts at Crossway as well.
(Updated 3-24-22)
At the March 23, 2022 meeting of the Planning Board, the Board heard hours of testimony from those for an against the lights. Speaking for the proposal on behalf of the Scarsdale Little League were Steve Pass along with David Kulis from MUSCO Lights. MUSCO installed the lights at Butler Field and explained how they minimize light pollution. Both Pass and Kulis sought to answer objections about the lights, noise and traffic posed by neighbors.
Questions were posed from members of the Planning Board and Village Engineer Dave Goessl.
Residents who were for and against the lights called in on Zoom to express their views. Supporters emphasized the need for additional fields, the minimal impact of the lights at the high school, and the overall benefit of giving more children the opportunity to play. Neighbors expressed concerns about additional light pollution, noise from the field, safety concerns about balls flying into spectators, pedestrians and passing cars and kids tracking down foul balls in the streets.
Comments lasted until 11:45 pm, and then the Planning Board’s deliberations began.
The Village Board of Trustees had charged them with reviewing the following questions. They were not asked to make a recommendation. Their responses are expected this week.
Here are the questions on which they will comment:
1) the location of all proposed lights to be installed;
2) details related to the type of lights proposed;
3) the direction of light and potential spillage;
4) the potential impacts on adjacent land uses, including but not limited to potential increase in noise and traffic created by athletic events, including practices and contests conducted after sundown; and
5) all other information and considerations deemed appropriate by the Planning Board in their review of the proposed installation.
The Scarsdale Little League sent us this comment following the meeting of the Planning Board: "We are pleased with how the planning board meeting went last night regarding our proposal to install lights on the Crossway 1 baseball field. The committee members asked excellent questions and we were encouraged that they seem receptive to our proposal. We are fortunate to have broad community support that is growing by the day as more residents hear about this exciting project. In fact, many residents spoke at the meeting to express their support for the project and how it will positively impact the wider Scarsdale community. We are sensitive to the needs and concerns of our Crossway neighbors and look forward to working productively with them and the Village as the proposal process moves forward. Our proposed gift to the Village will increase access to fields, help to enhance the town’s athletic facilities and create more opportunities for hundreds of Scarsdale children, of all ages, to enjoy our fields and public spaces."
Scarsdale Residents Leslye Katz and Terri Simon to be Honored at My Sisters' Place Spring Benefit
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My Sisters’ Place will host its annual Spring Benefit on Thursday, June 2, at 6:30 pm outside at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase. The event will honor three long-standing Board members and Westchester residents: Leslye Katz, Barbara Raho, and Terri Simon. The event will include a seated dinner, silent auction, first-hand testimonies from members of their survivor advisory group, and insightful agency updates.
The funds raised through this event will allow My Sisters’ Place to continue providing free, life-saving services to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking throughout Westchester County while also spreading awareness of gender-based violence. The generosity of community members in support of MSP’s mission is essential.
My Sisters’ Place strives to end domestic violence and human trafficking by providing free, confidential supportive and legal services, education, and outreach throughout Westchester County. 
To learn more and purchase tickets to the My Sisters’ Place’s Spring Benefit, visit mspny.org/springbenefit.
SMS Student to Compete on Masterchef Junior
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It seems you’re never too young to learn to cook. Scarsdale Middle School student Liya Chu knows her way around the kitchen and will demonstrate her skills as a contestant on Masterchef Junior Season 8 that premiers on Thursday March 17, 2022 on FOX. She is one of a select group of 16 young chefs from across the country hoping to be named America’s next Masterchef Junior.
The show gives kids between the ages of 8 and 13 the chance to showcase their culinary abilities and passion for food through a series of delicious challenges. Judges and mentors include world renowned chef Gordon Ramsay, acclaimed chef Aarón Sánchez and wellness advocate, author and new judge Daphne Oz.
What will Liya be asked to do? In a previous episode contestants were given a mystery box. When they lifted the lid, they found varieties of corn. They were given yellow corn on the cob, fresh baby corn still in its husk, corn meal, huitlacoche (corn fungus that tastes like mushrooms), fresh masa (corn dough), heirloom popcorn kernels, corn flakes, freeze-dried corn, and corn husks.
They had sixty minutes to make a dish using the ingredients. A shrimp and corn dish won. In the next challenge, the chef-testants had one hour to work in teams of two to create a tapas platter. Their platters featured beef empanadas, grilled bread with crushed tomatoes, shrimp with chorizo in a spicy sauce, cheese croquettes, octopus with Romanesco sauce, and churros with chocolate.
In the upcoming episode, to air on Thursday March 17 at 8 pm on FOX, Chu will again confront a box of mystery ingredients.
Liya told us that she first started cooking at age 7 and learned about Master Chef from a friend who encouraged her to compete. She said, “During the previous challenges, I was very nervous and uncomfortable with this huge, fancy, and crowded kitchen. Cameras and staff were everywhere. But once I got to meet everyone and used to the kitchen, I felt more comfortable. All the jitters disappeared.”
We asked her how she prepares for the competitions, and she said, “Actually, I didn’t do much. The only thing that I told myself is to have fun and enjoy it while I’m in the competition. I feel that the more relaxed you are, the better you are at everything.”
And what are her signature dishes? She said, “Pork dumplings, pineapple shrimpballs, pasta with meat sauce, rice meat balls, and lion head meatball soup.” Hopefully she will share her recipes.
We also asked her for her view on the latest trends in cuisine. Liya said, “Due to the pandemic, many people choose to stay home and cook their own meals. I think comfort food cooking which uses more vegetables is the latest trends in cuisine. Since more people cook at home, they try to reuse things and use less oil while cooking.
And what are some of the trendiest ingredients? She said, “broccoli stems, daikon/carrot tops, cauliflower and potato peels and good oil such as avocado oil and coconut oil will be the new ingredients. Since people think the low-carb eating is healthier for their bodies, they will use it to replace rice or flour-based recipes. “
Good luck Liya!
In Support of Gans and Whitestone for Village Trustee
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The following are letters to the editor written in support of candidates Jeremy Gans and Randy Whitestone for Village Trustee.
To the Editor -
We write in strong support of Jeremy Gans for Village Trustee. We have known Jeremy as an active community volunteer, an engaged parent and a good friend for over a decade. He is a bright, analytical, and empathetic person who is committed to making this Village a better place for all of its residents.
Jeremy and his wife Lisa moved here when their oldest was just a toddler, and we met them a short time later. Jeremy, a young parent with a demanding career in private equity, still found time for civic involvement from the very beginning. Jeremy first engaged with the Village when the Trustees were debating whether gravel driveways were impervious surfaces for building size calculation. Despite the surprising rancor the topic was generating at Village Hall, Jeremy approached the issue calmly and advocated for a reasonable outcome, which was adopted by the Trustees seemingly to the satisfaction of all stakeholders. This led the Trustees to appoint Jeremy to the Zoning Board of Appeals, where he has served since 2017.
Jeremy didn’t just coach his children’s sports teams. He volunteered to handle league organization, eventually becoming president of the Youth Soccer Organization. Jeremy is a doer. He doesn’t complain, he steps up and gets things done. We have each served on local organizations with Jeremy – Diane at the Scarsdale Forum and Marc on the PTA Scholarship Fund. We have seen his thoughtful, consensus-driven approach to contentious issues. His legal training and his experience in finance are real assets, and he is both patient and kind. We are confident that Jeremy will take his skills and qualities and be an excellent public servant.
We are lucky here in Scarsdale to have a system which identifies active, effective volunteers and nominates them in a non-partisan manner for election as Trustee. That system worked perfectly in nominating Jeremy. Knowing Jeremy as a friend and having worked with him as a volunteer, we are confident that he will continue to be an effective listener, advocate and leader as a Trustee. We encourage all Village residents to vote for Jeremy and the rest of the CNC slate at the Scarsdale Public Library, 54 Olmsted Road, on Tuesday, March 15.
Diane and Marc Greenwald
Oak Lane
To the Editor:
My first experience with Jeremy Gans illustrated his integrity and warmth so clearly, that it’s fitting to share it as a hallmark of why he should be elected as Village Trustee. Jeremy served as president of the Scarsdale Youth Soccer Board from 2016-2019. During his tenure, he received a complaint (via email) from a resident with two young children beginning their soccer journey in Scarsdale. As anyone who has served in any position of authority knows, complaints can be plentiful and very easy to ignore, belittle or minimize. Instead, that complaining resident (me) received a phone call from Jeremy. He spent close to an hour with a stranger on the phone, listening and engaging with me, and slowly but very persuasively helping me off my negative ledge. Through that one interaction, he not only convinced me that my position was wrong, but also very effectively showed me the power of community. He was exceptionally clear in his perspective, but also so respectful, and working so hard to bridge our distance, that he not only changed my tune but motivated me to join him in his community activism, on the Soccer Board and beyond.
I share this story because I believe there is no greater qualification to represent our community as Village Trustee, as the commitment that Jeremy deeply and very genuinely holds- he cares about our community and continually pushes to improve it- with his extensive time, talents, and hard work. Working closely with him in the years that followed, I was a firsthand witness to these qualities. He was deeply motivated to improve Scarsdale Youth Soccer, tireless in his efforts, and impressively and collaboratively led the organization through very turbulent times with steadfast resolution. As one can clearly see from reading Jeremy’s bio, there are many reasons why he is highly qualified for this position. But in a town as esteemed as Scarsdale, eligibility through intellect, professional accomplishment, tenacity, and competence is shared by many. What truly sets Jeremy apart and makes him the ideal candidate is simply his genuine and sustained desire to improve our community, and his sincere belief that hard work towards a shared goal combined with authentically respectful engagement can create progress and change. Jeremy is easy-going and affable, but also determined and with steel grit. He is brilliant and accomplished, but his humility and empathy abound. He is a tough-minded, fierce competitor (former Ivy League athlete), but so desirous of a “win-win” and common ground.
As a resident of Scarsdale, I couldn’t be more thrilled to support Jeremy Gans’ candidacy for Village Trustee. He will undoubtedly knock it out of the park.
Please vote for him at the Scarsdale Public Library on March 15th.
Shilpa Spencer
Cohawney Road
To the Editor:
It is my distinct pleasure to write in support of Randy Whitestone’s nomination as Village Trustee. His devotion to the Scarsdale community has its roots in his parents’ experiences living in Scarsdale. His professional experience, not to mention his prior experience as a trustee, make him the ideal candidate for this position.
Randy and I have had several conversations on the village issues in his first term. It was during those exchanges that Randy showed a genuine desire to help the community, while also demonstrating his strengths as a community communicator. He listened attentively to our complaints with open mind and compassion and then followed up with further action that allowed us to feel heard. I have seen firsthand the effort he puts along with all other trustees into making decisions that not only respect cultural diversity, but that have also raised the quality of life for fellow Scarsdalians.
This commitment to bettering our community is a quality that we all share. I firmly believe that Randy’s performance as a trustee will serve the Village better, as it has during his first term. Most of all, I have been impressed by his intellect, his thoughtfulness and his ability to create a more inclusive community that has and will continue to positively impact us. Please come out to vote for Randy to show your support and appreciation for his willingness to continue to serve us in his second term.
Han Zhou
Lawrence Road
(Photo Credit: Mark Jessamy)
