Food Scrap Recycling News: Credit Cards and Stronger Compostable Bags
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdale Food Scrap Recycling Participants - here’s some great news! First, the Scarsdale Recycling Center now accepts credit cards! You can still use a check, but all credit cards and debit cards are now accepted as well. Second, Scarsdale has switched to a stronger compostable liner bag. They are available at the Scarsdale Recycling Center office (110 Secor Road, open Mon-Sat, 8am-3pm) and at the same pricing. Now it’s easier and neater than ever to be a food scrap recycler!
Since the food scrap recycling program began in January 2017 over 700,000 pounds of food scraps have been collected and turned into useful compost! If you would like to participate in the food scrap recycling program, or have any questions about it, please email [email protected].
Scarsdale Quiz Bowl Team Takes Second Place in Chicago Tournament
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The Scarsdale Quiz Bowl team, aside from a delayed and bumpy return to NY, had a very successful trip to the National Academic Challenge Tournament in Chicago June 8 through June 10. The team came in 2nd place, losing to University of Detroit Jesuit High School in the championship by a score of 345-295. Most importantly the students had an amazing time and hope to be back even stronger next year as the entire "starting lineup" were juniors. Although the flight was delayed over 2 hours and they flew back through thunderstorms, the team returned home on Monday night with a trophy in hand. The trophy will be displayed in the case adjacent to room 377 within the next few days. Above is a picture of the team after the finals. The team was comprised of, in the photo going from left to right, Coach Michael Egan, Tarif Sabur '20, George Primoff '20, Captain Andrew Morin '20, Samuel Nichols '20, Wolf Cukier '20, and Spencer Martin '20.
As far as the questions go, this is how Coach Michael Egan explained the competition:
"The questions ranged from listening to clips of classical music and needing to identify the composer, balancing chemical equations, to listing the official languages of countries. A notable question that won us a tiebreaker was 'The French won six Davis Cups under the Four Musketeers, which composed of Jean Borotra, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet, and which other player, nicknamed the Crocodile?' Answer: Rene Lacoste."
Who Selects Art for Public Places? Meet Scarsdale Resident Emily Blumenfeld
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Not everyone in Scarsdale is a doctor or a lawyer. The longer I live in town the more I realize that my neighbors have pursued myriad career paths and are often experts in unusual fields. I recently attended a tour of the art on the walls of the new Second Avenue subway line, run by Edelhaus Modern Art Salon and was pleased to meet Public Art Consultant Emily Blumenfeld who lives in Scarsdale.
After we looked at large mosaics done by Chuck Close, Vik Muniz and Sarah Sze hidden under Second Avenue, Blumenfeld agreed to an interview for Scarsdale10583 and here is what she shared:
Tell our readers what you do.
I am a co-founder and partner of Via Partnership, LLP, a consulting group based in St. Louis and New York that develops comprehensive public art strategies and facilitates public art projects.
Working with public agencies, developers, cultural organizations and community groups, Via plans, curates and produces public art throughout the United States and Canada.
How did you forge a career path in public art?
I have a master’s degree in Art History and have always been fascinated by patronage and how art gets commissioned. In college, I interned at the Connecticut Commission on the Arts and soon after grad school I ran a carousel (not relevant, but you do what you do) and curated exhibitions in a history park. I was able to transition into a position with Arts in Transit, the public art division at Metro in St. Louis. While there, I created a public poetry program for ad spaces in buses and trains, commissioned temporary artwork and invited artists to paint buses. While at AIT, a colleague and I decided to start Via.
How do you seek out the artists that you commission for public art - is it difficult to find talent that works on such a large scale?
Looking at art is always fun and for me it doubles as research. Typically, our clients ask us to run a public selection process which is equivalent to bid solicitations. Most often, we host invitational competitions for artists that we think would be appropriate for the site we need to commission artwork for. We share a scope of work with the artists on our list and ask them to share their qualifications for review by the client. Once selected, we work with the selected artist as a member of the design team to create a site specific proposal for their work.
Please share the names of a few upcoming artists who have created public art for our readers to get to know.
Currently, I am working with a group of five artists on an amazing project in Coral Springs and Parkland, FL, called The Power of Art: Inspiring Community Healing After Gun Violence. The project is one of five that was selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies for their 2018 Public Art Challenge. As a consultant to the cities, we have commissioned the five artists to work closely with the community to create temporary public artworks that are designed to help with the long healing process. The artists are David Best, The Ladd Brothers, Carl Juste, Kate Gilmore, and Roberto Behar with Rosario Marquardt.
The largest project I have commissioned is Wonderland by Jaume Plensa in Calgary, AB.
Wonderland, by Jame Plensa
What were a few of your most challenging projects?
It’s interesting working with civic clients as there is always an unexpected twist. However, my current work in Coral Springs and Parkland has been the most challenging and the most rewarding. We are working so closely with a strong, yet fragile community and it has been incredible to see the immediate impact.
Where can New Yorkers see the work of Via Partnership?
This summer I will be co-hosting an artist residency called Works on Water on Governors Island in Nolan Park, House 5B. Please come by any Saturday or Sunday from 11-5. In 2022, you will be able to an installation along the East Midtown Greenway Esplanade in the East River between 53rd and 61st by artist, Stacy Levy.
Do you think art is given a high enough priority in the planning of public places? How is it usually financed?
I would probably build city budgets differently than others, placing a higher priority on arts and culture, but there are more than 300 cities across the U.S. that have Percent for Art programs. With public art funding being tied to capital building projects, there have been some great years and some lean years. We are continuously looking for new funding models including bonusing programs and making good use of hotel/motel taxes. Creating art at a large scale may be expensive but cities are compelled to create a unique image or engage artists to help create better public spaces.
How long have you lived in Scarsdale - and why did you decide to move here?
We have been in Scarsdale since 2012. My husband grew up in Greenacres and its great to be back.
What do you like about living here?
I love the people and all of the green space.
(Pictured at top: Emily Blumenfeld with David Best, the Temple of Time artist in Coral Springs, FL.)
Fighting Robocalls: Congressman Engel Co-Sponsors Legislation to Combat Phone Harassment
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Those annoying robocalls are no longer just a daytime occurrence. In the past week we have been awakened at 3 am and 4 am by scam calls from Togo and the Cote D’Ivoire. The annoyance shows no signs of abating and there appears little we can do to stop it, short of canceling our phone service.
However, our Congressman Eliot L. Engel has stepped up his battle against unwanted robocalls by cosponsoring new legislation, H.R. 2355, the Regulatory Oversight Barring Obnoxious (ROBO) Calls and Texts Act, introduced by Rep. Anna Eshoo.
The ROBO Calls and Texts Act would create a new division within the Enforcement Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to ensure consumer protection and compliance with federal laws relating to public safety and robocalls. It would serve as a line of communication between the federal government and the communications industry to coordinate efforts to combat robocalls and would compel carriers to adopt technological standards to prevent robocalls.
“Robocalls on our cell phones are out of control, and I’m committed to giving federal agencies the authority and tools they need to rein in the problem,” Engel said. “I’m determined to help make life more pleasant for my constituents and for all Americans, and to protect the most vulnerable among us from abusive robocalls and robocall scams.”
Engel has worked for years to stop abusive phone practices. He has introduced legislation to combat swatting—the act of falsifying caller ID information to mislead law enforcement—and is an original cosponsor of H.R. 946, Rep. Frank Pallone’s Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which would direct the Federal Communications Commission to enact strong consumer protections for authorized calls and to empower the FCC with strong enforcement tools to curtail robocallers. H.R. 946 would ensure that consumers have the ability to stop calls they’d previously authorized and require incoming calls to have authentic caller identification information before they are delivered to customers.
Engel is also an original cosponsor of Rep. Jackie Speier’s Repeated Objectionable Bothering of Consumers on Phones (ROBOCOP) Act, which would require phone companies to provide customers with free tools to block robocalls.
Americans reportedly received an astounding 48 billion robocalls last year, and this number is expected to increase to as high as 75 billion this year. Robocalls are one of the most complained-about issues in the United States. The FCC receives roughly 200,000 complaints each year about robocalls.
White Plains Hospital Breaks Ground for New Facility
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White Plains Hospital celebrated the groundbreaking on a new 252,000 square foot center for advanced medicine and surgery on April 22nd. The nine-story facility, at the corner of Maple and Longview Avenues, will consolidate many of the Hospital's growing ambulatory services into one sophisticated and spacious location, equipped with the latest technology and comfortable treatment and waiting areas for patients and families. Some of the services that will be provided include advanced imaging, ambulatory surgery, endoscopy, high risk maternal-fetal medicine, orthopedics and spine care, heart and vascular medicine, surgical services, and hyperbaric wound care. The building will connect to the main Hospital and the Center for Cancer Care, providing a seamless coordination of care for patients who need other services.
Scarsdale residents at the groundbreaking included Larry Smith, Chairman of the Board of White Plains Hospital (seventh from left) and Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (sixth from right).
Below is a video that highlights the groundbreaking and key services and physicians who will be in the new center.
Rendering of the new center for advanced medicine and surgery at White Plains Hospital.
