eastchester review 11-28-2014

November 28, 2014 | Vol. 2, Number 47 | www.eastchesterreview.com

Eastchester REVIEWTHE

stories, it would’ve been OK, but not five. At five, the height is overbearing for that neigh-borhood.”

Sweeney felt the same way, saying the concern for area res-idents has always been about the height.

But Cahalin’s four col-leagues on the zoning board disagreed and granted the 11 variances that were being re-quested.

The project will now be referred back to the Planning Board for final site plan ap-proval.

Although the proposed apart-ment building will be the tallest structure in the area, according to the zoning board’s deter-mination, the five stories will only be seen on two sides of the building since it is being constructed on a hill that gives the impression the building is only four and four-and-a-half stories from the Dunwoodie Street and Montgomery Av-enue sides, respectively. There are also three-story buildings and trees in the area that will “mitigate the elevation” views, the board determined.

The proposed apartments will be age-restrictive for se-niors 55 years or older with an underground garage on the site of Ted Hermann’s Auto Body at 151 Summerfield St.

Replacing the “visual nui-sances associated with the non-conforming auto-body” with “an attractive building consis-tent with the permitted uses in the area” was a major factor in the Zoning Board’s decision.

David Steinmetz, attorney for the developer, DELV De-

Nicholson joins Town Council as newest memberBY JOHN BRANDI

Staff Writer

Theresa Nicholson has been a leader most of her life; coaching basketball, teaching religious in-struction and supervising girl scouts, so it was only natural, she said, to make it official.

“This is another way to serve my community, and I was look-ing for new and exciting oppor-tunities,” Nicholson, a Republi-can, said of her recent appoint-ment. “I love Eastchester.”

Eastchester just may love her back, as the Town Council at its Nov. 18 meeting unani-

mously approved Nicholson’s appointment to the board, much to the excitement of friends and family that were present.

Her husband, Jeffrey, and her son, Andrew, were by her side when she was sworn in. The new councilwoman also has two daughters, Novella and Gloria, who couldn’t make the event.

Supervisor Anthony Co-lavita, a Republican, said he believes the town board made the right decision appointing Nicholson and that her experi-ence with community involve-ment and in finance will really

benefit the town. “She was very qualified to

handle the position,” Colavita said. “[Nicholson] has been a lifelong resident of the town and she has professional ac-counting experience [which will] help with the budgets and business decisions. She’s exhibited a genuine concern for the betterment of our town.”

Nicholson, who just turned 52, joked on the phone with the Review that it was “time to grow up” and take on more re-sponsibility. Nicholson is fill-ing the council seat vacated by

Fred Salanitro, who stepped down from his seat to fill a town justice position earlier this month.

The newly appointed coun-cilwoman brings 30 years of accounting experience to the table, as she has worked on finances in the health-care field. She said it’s im-portant to have another set of eyes on the budget and to bring “an understanding of how money works” to resi-dents. She said there’s always improvement to be made to

NICHOLSON continued on page 8

SUMMERFIELD continued on page 5

BY CHRIS EBERHARTStaff Writer

The Summerfield Gardens proposal was approved by a 4 to 1 vote of the Eastchester Zoning Board of Appeals, and the project’s protesting neigh-bors, who have made their ob-jections heard throughout the 26-month planning process, were left fuming and mulling their next steps which could consist of legal action.

One group of residents kicked the door and stormed out of the meeting room be-fore the final two roll call votes while yelling behind them “the fix was in.” Others remained in Town Hall after the Nov. 20 special zoning board meeting and blew off steam about the “raw deal” for North Eastchester residents.

“This thing is going to be here for the next 100 years,” said Frank Sweeney, president of the North Eastchester civic Associa-tion. “One has to wonder when the Planning Department put in place the requirements for the special permit for the senior housing, was it realistic?”

“Clearly the variances be-ing sought were not even close to the results,” he said. “And the authored [resolution] of the [zoning board] members just makes this decision not very transparent to the neigh-boring community.”

Michael Cahalin, the only zoning board member to vote down the variances, said the five-story, 92-unit senior hous-ing development is too big for the three-and-four-story neighborhood.

“I just couldn’t get passed the height,” he said. “At four

ZBA approves Summerfield

Finally!A luxury apartment development project slated for Crestwood’s Columbus Avenue is finally moving forward after years of delay due to litigation between the development team. For story, see page 7. Photo/Marissa Penn

2 • THE EASTCHESTER REVIEW • November 28, 2014

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1Bronxville winter

modified sports begin BHS

MS/HS Board of Education workshop

7:30 p.m., Library

2Bronxville Fall Junior

Varsity Sports Awards 5:45 p.m.,

BHS

VOT Planning work session

7:30 p.m.

TOE Board meeting 7 p.m.,

Town Hall

3

Bronxville PTA Holiday tea

3 p.m., BHS Cafeteria

VOT Environmental

meeting 7:30 p.m.

4VOT board

work session 7 p.m.

VOT Small Claims court 7:30 p.m.

TOE Planning board meeting

7 p.m., Town Hall

TOE Environmental Committee meeting

7:30 p.m., Community Room

5THS Variety Show

7 p.m., TMS/THS Auditorium

6VOT Winterfest 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

VOT tree lighting

winterfest 6 p.m.

THS SAT Exam and

Subject Testing

7VOT Winterfest noon to 5 p.m.

8VOT Board meeting

8 p.m.

TMS winter concert rehearsal

9Bronxville PTA meeting

7 p.m., BHS

VOT court 7:30 p.m.

TMS winter concert

7 p.m., Auditorium

10VOT Zoning work session

6:30 p.m.

VOT Zoning board meeting 7:30 p.m.

11 12Bronxville Bill Green Holiday Basketball

Tourney BHS

13THS ACT Exam

14 15VOT Sign and Awning

meeting 2:30 p.m.

VOT Library Board

meeting 7 p.m.

Board of Education

meeting 7:30 p.m.

TMS/THS Library

16VOE Town Board meeting

7 p.m., Town Hall

Hanukkah begins

at sundown

17TOE Tree Committee

meeting 7:30 p.m.

18Bronxville Board of Education regular

meeting 7 p.m., BHS

19Bronxville

Early Dismissal

20

21 22Bronxville Schools

Closed

Tuckahoe Schools Closed

23 24

Hanukkah ends at sundown

25

Christmas Day

26Bronxville Schools

Closed


27

28 29

THS Registration

Deadline for January SAT Exam and Subject Exams

30 31Bronxville Schools

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VOT Court 9:30 a.m.

December 2014Planning ahead...

November 28, 2014 • THE EASTCHESTER REVIEW • 3

Astorino keeps promise of no tax increase

Total budget $1.74B

Tax levy increase 0%

Budget-to-budget increase 1% or $21M

By CHRIS EBERHARTStaff Writer

Not long after losing his bid for governor, Westchester County Executive Rob As-torino, a Republican, returned home to present his proposed spending plan for the county that features no tax levy in-creases for the fifth consecu-tive year.

Now, the Westchester Coun-ty Board of Legislators has until Dec. 27 to make chang-es, negotiate and adopt a fi-nal budget. This proposal for 2015, a $1.74 billion county budget would up spending by 1 percent over the current year, preserve a healthy $142 mil-lion unrestricted general fund balance, or “rainy day” fund, keep staffing levels the same and maintain a flat line on the county’s $548 million tax levy, a number the levy has sat at dating back to 2011.

“As in years past, this budget establishes two goalposts—no tax levy increase and no raid-ing of the rainy day reserves—and we’ve done that,” Astorino

said. “The tax pledge of no in-creases has been kept for the fifth straight year…We’re not asking for a dime more from our taxpayers.”

As part of Astorino’s guber-natorial platform, he criticized Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was re-elected on Nov. 4, for unfunded state mandates that continue to eat away at county tax dollars.

In the proposed 2015 budget, nine unfunded state mandates total $454 million or 83 percent of the county’s tax levy.

To offset the cost, Astorino, who first took office in 2010 and was re-elected in 2013, proposed participating in the state’s pension amortization program, which allows West-chester to defer some pay-ments and pay its pension bill over time.

For 2015, the budget calls for the county to pay $76 mil-lion of the $91 million pension expense up front and defer $15 million. Additionally, the As-torino administration would borrow $8 million to pay for anticipated tax certioraris,

which are claims made against the county by property owners challenging the assessments on which their tax bills are based.

“In a perfect world, the county would never borrow and pay all its bills in cash,” Astorino said. “But in the real world, you are faced with tough decisions. A $100 mil-lion pension bill translates to a 20 percent tax increase or 1,000 layoffs. Neither of those choices is realistic, so you work with your least worse options like borrowing.”

But members of the Demo-cratic-led Board of Legislators took to publicly picking apart the county executive’s budget, criticizing Astorino’s use of borrowing along with a back-log of infrastructure repairs.

Legislator Peter Harckham, a Somers Democrat, said there is “runaway borrowing” in the county executive’s proposed budget.

“It became crystal clear to-day that the county executive is financing his zero percent budget with our children’s credit card,” Harckham said.

“This is poor fiscal manage-ment and will create a terrible financial burden for our resi-dents and business owners in the very near future.”

As for the Democrats criti-cism of Astorino’s infrastruc-ture plan, Legislator Mary Jane Shimskey, a Hastings-on-Hudson Democrat and chair of the infrastructure committee, said there’s a backlog of a little less than $1.2 billion worth of infra-structure replacement that has to be addressed.

“We’re allocating money [for capital works projects], but the work isn’t getting done,” Shimsky said. “We’ve allocated millions and only thousands were spent, which means the projects have been put on hold. We can’t be in a situation where everything falls apart at once.”

The Astorino administra-tion estimates the backlog to be only about $15 million.

Ned McCormack, a spokes-man for Astorino, said there’s

only $980 million worth of projects, of which $340 mil-lion are in the green, mean-ing they’re nearly completed or completed, $500 million worth of infrastructure work is on track to be completed and $135 million in projects are in the red, meaning there’s been no work completed. However, McCormack said, of the $135 million, $120 million have not been authorized yet by the Board of Legislators, leaving the $15 million in backlog.

Despite the philosophical differences, Michael Kaplow-itz, a Yorktown Democrat and chairman of the Board of Leg-islators, said he doesn’t envi-sion any “pitched battles” this year between county Repub-licans and Democrats, noting

the 2015 proposal is similar to last year’s process, a 2014 budget which passed 16 to 1, with the outgoing Judy Myers, a Larchmont Democrat, as the lone opposing vote.

“It’s always a positive when you control the bot-tom line number, which is the tax levy increase. And it meets the general service needs in public safety, cor-rections, transportation and health service while provid-ing wants like arts council and incentives for child care,” Kaplowitz said. “At the end of the day, I think the adopted budget will be similar to the proposed budget with a few minor alterations.”

CONTACT: [email protected]

PROPOSED 2015 COUNTY BUDGET

Follow us on Twitter @eastchesterview


What’s going on...

Marissa Penn joined the Review in late September as a staff writer with a concentration on feature writing. Penn graduated in May 2008 with a bach-elor’s degree in history and East Asian studies from Northeastern University, where she honed her writing skills. She also studied abroad in Paris. Penn went on to receive her J.D. in public

interest law from New England School of Law in 2012, but has since decided not to practice.

In her spare time, Penn writes free-lance for a travel blog, paints and writes poetry. She currently lives in Tarrytown with her dog. You can reach Penn at 653-1000 x17 or email her, [email protected].

New to the ReviewJackson Chen joined the Re-

view in September as a staff writer. Jackson graduated in May 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in jour-nalism from SUNY Purchase Col-lege, where he founded the online college news source, The Purchase

Phoenix. Previously, he worked as an intern for Newsday Westchester and studied abroad in the south of France. Chen currently resides in Brooklyn where he was raised. To reach Chen, call 653-1000 x23 or email him, [email protected].

Jackson Chen

Marissa Penn

Blood donations needed

The American Red Cross asks eligible do-nors to give something that means something this season , a lifesaving blook donation. Blood donations often decline this time of year when donors get busy with holiday festivities and travel. Severe winter weather and seasonal ill-nesses, like the flu, can also have a serious im-pact on blook donations, but the need for blood remains steady. On average, the Red Cross must collect 15,000 blood products every day for pa-tients across the cournty.

Eligible donors with all types are needed, es-pecially those with O negative, A negative and B negative. To learn more about donating blood and to schedule an apointment, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcross-blood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1800-733-2767). The next blood donation happen-ing in Westchester will take place on Dec. 13 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Mamaroneck Elk’s Lodge 1457, 417 East Post Road and in White Plains at Acadia Realty Trust, 1311 Ma-maroneck Ave. in White Plains on Dec. 15 at 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Book saleEvery Tuesday the EPL is holding a Friends

book sale from noon to 3 p.m.

Preschool Story TimePreschool Story Time Thursday session

begins at 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Storytime is designed for children who are three to four years old and can stay in the program without a caregiver.

In-person registration is required. Registra-tion has begun. In order to register you must show proof of age for child.

Limited to Eastchester and Tuckahoe li-brary cardholders only. Non-residents will be placed on a waiting list.

Japanese Mothers’ Program Japanese Mothers’ Program on Tuesdays

from 9:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. The program introduces popular English-language element ary-level books to Japanese parents and

Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Thursday at 3 p.m. Though

space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send all items to [email protected].

Eastchester Public Library features discussions in Japanese, translations of the books with an emphasis on pronuncia-tion. For more information about the program, please call 793-5055 and speak to Mariko.

Mystery Club at the library On Wednesday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., the Mystery

Club will host a special guest, mystery writer Jane K. Cleland. The meeting will launch Jane’s latest Jodie Prescott Antiques Mystery, Blood Rubies. The meeting will include a reception and a book-signing. New members are always welcome.

Bronxville Public Library

“Holiday Buying Help” Parenting consultant Joan Tananbaum,

MA, leads an interactive workshop to help parents through the hoilday season. Topics include; holiday stressors, family anxiety, gift-buying anxiety and sibling disputes. Special emphasis will be placed upon holi-day shopping and how to navigate the satu-rated field of “educational toys.” Open to parents of children ages 2 to 4. A story time and craft will be provided for your children while you are in the workshop. Please regis-ter by phone at 337-7680 ext. 34 or email at [email protected].

“Paws on Pillows” On Sunday, Dec. 14, from 10:30 a.m. to

1:30 p.m. come help bring comfort to ani-mals in Westchester shelters. Volunteer to help make beds and toys for our furry friends in need. These made-with-love beds and toys will be donated to help bring healing comfort to the dogs and cats at the Animal Shelters in Westchester. No experience necessary.

New York Dance

Holiday Vocal/Dance ConcertOn Dec. 6 at Halstead Bar and Grill in

Harrison, the New York Dance is having a Holiday Vocal and Dance concert at 3 p.m. The grill is located at 7 Purdy St. in Harrison, contact via phone at 835-8335.

Science in the Library: Westchester Children’s Museum

What could be more fun than hearing the “Wizard of Oz” story and learning how Doro-thy encountered some basic scientific prin-ciples on her journey along the yellow brick road? Hands-on activities give each student a chance to make a tornado, a rainbow and more. A Westchester Children’s Museum “Museum without Walls” STEM program. Made possible through generous finding by the Friends of the Bronxville Library.


velopment, commended the zoning board for its thorough-ness in vetting the project. The attorney said the board came to the right conclusion based on the state standard for vari-ances.

Because of the large nature of the project and the signifi-cance of the requested vari-ances, along with the potential

SUMMERFIELD from page 1 ances from the date of the final site plan approval. Dur-ing that time, the developer has to obtain a building per-mit and “complete substantial construction.”

Construction is estimated to be completed between 18 and 24 months.

Peter Borducci, chairman of the zoning board, declined comment after the meeting.

Les Maron, an attorney for the North Eastchester Civic Association, did not re-turn calls for comment as of press time.


Sept. 14, 2012 Planning Board receives application for Summerfield Gardens

Nov. 29, 2012Application is referred to ZBA for preliminary review

Jan. 2, 2013Developer submits an application to the ZBA which includes a notice of denial prepared by the town’s building inspector

Feb. 5, 2013, May 8, 2013The planning and zoning boards hold joint work sessions to review the application

Aug. 17, 2013 Three balloons are installed on-site to show height of development

April 24, 2014Planning Board adopts a negative SEQR declaration and determines there are no significant adverse impacts. Refers application to ZBA for consideration of area variances

Nov. 20, 2014ZBA grants 11 variances with a 30-month expiration date and refers project back to Planning Board for final site plan approval

This rendering, which is how the project would be seen from Summerfield Street, depicts the five-story apartment building, which neighbors say will loom over their one-to-three story neighborhood. Rendering courtesy DELV Development

for environmental impacts, the proposal drew the ire of near-by neighbors.

A collective group from the North Eastchester neighbor-hood attended every planning and zoning board meeting since the project was first in-troduced on Sept. 27, 2012. Throughout the process, the group has been active and vocal in voicing its concerns.

Board member Cahalin said

he never experienced a project drag out for as long as Sum-merfield with continued par-ticipation.

“I applaud the neighbors for the fight; it was a good one,” he said. “Unfortunately, for the neighbors, they didn’t get what they want.”

Because of the scale of the development, the board added a 30-month expiration date for the approved vari-

SUMMERFIELD TIMELINE

Town of Eastchester

Official Newspaper

Eastchester Schools


Publisher | Howard Sturmanext. 21, [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief | Christian Falconeext. 19, [email protected]

Sports Editor | Mike Smithext. 22, [email protected]

Reporter | Chris Eberhartext. 26, [email protected]

Reporter | John Brandiext. 18, [email protected]

Reporter | Marissa Pennext. 17, [email protected]

Editorial Assistant | Laura Romeroext. 25, [email protected]

Graphic Designer | Arthur Gedin

Graphic Designer | Jim Grasso

Advertising | Clark Morehouseext. 31, [email protected]

Advertising Coordinator | Marcia Schultzext. 27, [email protected]

Staff WritersJackson Chen, Alina Suriel

Staff PhotographerBobby Begun

ContributorsPeter Lane, Rich Monetti,

Christopher Petrowski

ColumnistsEmily Giove, Lissa Halen,

Mary Marvin

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EastchesterTHE

REVIEWPet adoptions up for holidays

BY MARISSA PENNStaff Writer

The winter is generally the busiest time of the year for ani-mal shelters with pet adoptions peaking during the annual hol-iday season. However, some animal shelters discourage do-ing so since oftentimes it only leads to eventual returns.

According to one humane society, pet adoptions are up as much as 20 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The excitement of the holi-day season leads to a rash in pet adoptions, particularly as gifts. But in many instances, people don’t comprehend the ramifications of adopting a pet and what it entails, translating into a high number of returns.

“The holidays in general tend to bring out a lot of good qualities in people,” said Dana Rocco, manager of the New Rochelle Humane Society. “They come out to the shelter to adopt and want to add an-other furry family member to their home.”

To that end and in the spirit of the holiday season, the New Rochelle Humane Society is running a program from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31 called “Home for the Holidays” where adop-tion fees are reduced for any pet that has been at the shel-ter for more than four months or for any pet that is seven years or older. It is the second year that the Humane Society is running the “Home for the Holidays” program, which they considered a success last year. The program offers 50 percent off the normal adop-tion fee of $90 for cats, $100 for kittens, $150 for adult dogs and $250 for puppies, which includes all of the pet’s vac-cinations and a spay or neuter.

Melissa Lore, of New Ro-chelle, participated in last year’s holiday program adopt-ing her cat Raven around Thanksgiving.

“I didn’t really know about the program, but I knew she [Raven] had been there a while and was older,” Lore said.

Raven, a five-year-old cat, was rescued with her kittens and reminded Lore a lot of her previous cat that had passed away.

“She fit in perfectly with my family, and I was glad she

had a home for the holidays,” she said.

The humane society, lo-cated at 70 Portman Road near downtown New Ro-chelle, was founded in 1911 in response to how the City of New Rochelle was handling stray animals by simply kill-ing them, also holds educa-tional tours and community outreach at schools in the lo-cal vicinity.

The humane society is cur-rently home to approximately 120 animals that are found throughout Westchester County.

But unlike the humane

Most people are not pre-pared to take care of a puppy or a kitten; they require end-less hours of time that most people just do not have, ac-cording to Frumkin. The pets that are brought back go right back to where they started which can lead to a slew of behavioral issues, Frumkin said.

Pet Rescue, a foster home-based organization, which gets its 60-something ani-mals from kill shelters as far as Florida, warns poten-tial adopters of the mistake of giving a puppy or a kit-ten as a Christmas gift and discourages it as much as they can.

The Mount Vernon Center for Animal Care and Control, located at

This is Babe, a petite, three-year-old cat who is currently up for adoption at the New Rochelle Humane Society. She was rescued last May along with 62 other cats by the humane society from a woman’s home in Westchester County.

Ella,10, is currently up for adoption at the New Rochelle Humane Society. Photos courtesy Dana Rocco

This is Queen, who is currently up for adoption at the New Rochelle Humane Society. Queen was originally brought to the shelter by her first owner, then adopted by a new family that abused her.

society, other local shelters do not hold special promo-tions during the holidays and oftentimes even discourage adopting pets as gifts.

According to Ruth Frum-kin, the clinic manager at Pet Rescue in Harrison, pets require a lot of work, money and a true commitment that not everybody is capable of providing them with.

“We definitely get more inquiries about puppies and kittens this time of year—but we also have the highest return rate this time of year,” she said.

600 Garden Ave., in downtown Mount Vernon, is another shel-ter that doesn’t recommend adopting as a gift. According to Megan Webster, the center’s assistant animal warden, they are ultra selective about who the center allows to adopt, es-pecially when it’s for a gift.

While things are picking up at the center around this time of the year, Webster makes sure to inform everybody that comes in to adopt about the major responsibilities that come with pet ownership.

“The bottom line is we do not recommend adopting for another person as a gift,” she said. All parties have to be present when the process takes place, so it cannot be a surprise gift.

But Webster also acknowl-edged how happy it makes her to see animals find their “for-ever homes” no matter what time of the year it is.

“A few years ago, I had a girl adopt a Jack Russell that had been sitting around for months, and I was really afraid she wasn’t going to find a home, but on Christmas Eve she got adopted. I cried,” Web-ster said.

CONTACT [email protected]


Crestwood apartment project in progress

CRESTWOOD PROJECT TIMELINE

By MARISSA PENN and CHRIS EBERHART

Staff Writers

After years of litigation, a new loft-style, luxury apart-ment building is being con-structed across from the Crest-wood train station.

The development, located at 300-308 Columbus Ave., where a Getty Service Station was once located, is expected to be finished by June of 2015. It’s a mixed residential and commercial development of 49 dwelling units, four of which

will be one-bedroom units and the remainder consisting of studio apartments, with 3,600 feet of commercial area.

“The developer was of the mindset that by making it all studio apartments, a certain client base—young couples—was targeted. It’s an entry way into the American dream,” said Tuckahoe Mayor Steven Eck-lond, a Republican.

Plans were first introduced by Crestwood Station Plaza, LLC during a September 2010 Tuckahoe Board of Trustees meeting. During the meeting,

the trustees voted 3 to 2 in fa-vor of rezoning the Crestwood Getty Service Station to allow residential units.

But the approval was met with opposition.

Concerns centered on store-fronts at the site, increased traffic in the vicinity due to a higher number of people ac-cessing the immediate area and an unsustainable spike in attendance at the Eastchester school district, the district of the Crestwood area.

On July 1, 2011, Crestwood Station Plaza, LLC, entered

into a contract of sale with Street-Works, LLC for $3.2 million. Street-Works spent nearly $1 million on consul-tants and approvals from the Tuckahoe planning and zon-ing boards, finally receiving the green light from the zon-ing board in Feb. 2012 and fi-nal site plan approval from the Planning Board in July 2012.

While the approval process was unfolding, the three entities that worked on the project—Street Works, John Richman, essentially the face of the proj-ect, and Croft Loft Partners, the project’s sponsor —were squab-bling amongst each other.

Street Works and Richman formed an oral partnership in spring 2011 called Street-Works/Richman and Street Works later formed a second partnership with Croft Loft Partners.

A falling out between street-works and Richman ultimately led to a federal lawsuit in Feb-ruary 2013 against Richman for “wrongfully continue[ing] to represent himself as part of the project.”

According to the lawsuit, Richman improperly contacted Cigna Affiliates Realty Invest-ment Group, LLC, which sent a letter of intent to invest $4.8 million in Street-Works’ plan, saying he was part of the proj-ect and he had a right to review and approve financial agree-ments. After learning Richman was no longer involved, Cigna wanted Street-Works to obtain a full release from Richman. When Richman refused, Cigna backed out of the project.

The friction among the partners led to the lawsuit

against Richman and pro-longed the closing date on the property for roughly two years. Through that time, Croft Loft Partners continued to default on payments toward the prop-erty and ultimately was never able to close the deal.

This came to a head in a sec-ond lawsuit, filed on May 31, 2013, when Croft Loft Partners sued Crestwood Station Plaza for breach of contract after Crestwood Station Plaza’s own-er Giulio Monaco canceled the transaction in February, accord-ing to the lawsuit.

In Monaco’s affidavit, he said, the lawsuit with Richman proved Street-Works didn’t have the money, so he sent the letter canceling the transaction.

Ultimately, Crestwood Sta-tion Plaza and Croft Loft Part-ners settled in February of this year with Crestwood Station Plaza paying $1.15 million to Croft Loft Partners and Croft Loft Partners paying $500,000 to Crestwood Station Plaza.

Through the legal saga, the project remained in limbo but with the litigation now resolved there are definitive plans to get the development completed.

Ecklond said the structure of the building is nearly in place, and the developer will begin bringing in the modules on Dec. 8 and expects the project to be completed in the middle of next year.

Due to Crestwood’s proxim-ity to New York City, it attracts a lot of young commuters and “these apartments are perfect for that,” said Village Adminis-trator David Burke.

According to Trustee Ste-phen Quigley, a Democrat, the

people moving in to the new facility upon completion are go-ing to be young, working pro-fessionals without families.

“At most, there will be an additional five to ten kids in our school district,” Quigley said.

“It’s a “win, win situation,” Ron Gallo, the zoning board chairman, said. “The apartment complex is going to attract people to the community that may eventually want to buy homes here and is going to help boost the local economy.”

The new loft-style apart-ment building will “keep shops busier than ever,” Burke said. The already busy Crestwood downtown area, which consists of many eateries and shops, will benefit greatly from the new apartment complex.

In addition to increasing foot traffic, centralizing the de-velopment close to the Crest-wood Metro-North station al-lows for tenants to minimize car use, reducing pollution and helping Tuckahoe become more environmentally sustain-able, according to Quigley.

The new apartment build-ing is modular, meaning that it was built elsewhere and is transported on tractor trailers in pieces to the site but is be-ing delivered and assembled in Crestwood.

By mid-December the buildings should be up and then it will be a matter of connecting all of the sections and putting up the outside façade. The rental units will be on the mar-ket by June of 2015.

CONTACT: [email protected]; [email protected]

300-308 Columbus Ave., is the site of a brand new loft-style luxury apartment building, which is currently being built across from the Crestwood train station and should be done by spring. Photo/Marissa Penn

September 2010Tuckahoe Board of Trustees votes 3-2 to rezone Crestwood Getty Service Station; allow for residential units and Crestwood Station Plaza proposal

Spring 2011Street-Works and John Richman reach oral agreement to create Street-Works/RichmanStreet-Works secures investment dollars from Crestwood Loft Partners, LLC

July 1, 2011Street-Works and Crestwood Station Plaza, LLC agree to sell property for $3.2M. Rights assigned to Crestwood Loft Partners

Aug. 12, 2011First default

Dec. 13, 2011Second default

Feb. 8, 2012Tuckahoe ZBA approves variances for Street-Works’ project

April 16, 2012Third default

Summer 2012Richman chooses to not become a member of Street-Works/Crestwood Loft Partners team; tries to formalize a relationship to avoid fee advances

June 22, 2012Fourth defaultRights assigned from Crestwood Loft Partners to Street-Works

July 9, 2012Tuckahoe Planning Board gives Street-Works’ project final site plan approval

July 2012Street-Works receives letter of intent from Cigna Affiliates Investment Group, LLC to provide $4.85M to partner

August 2012Street-Works obtains term sheet from Principal Global Investors to provide $10.44M loan Aug. 15, 2012Fifth default

Sept. 15, 2012Street-Works terminates relationship with Richman, but Richman continues to represent himself as part of project

Oct. 3, 2012Street-Works sends letter to Richman to stop representing himself as part of the project

Oct. 5, 2012Richman falsely represents himself to Cigna and Principal. Cigna tells Street-Works will not close deal with Richman falsely representing himself. Cigna backs out; Croft expends $862K on project

Oct. 9, 2012Current developer, Giulio Monaco, Jr. purchases all membership interests and is sole owner of Crestwood Station Plaza

Feb. 4, 2013Street-Works and Crestwood Croft sue Richman

Feb. 8, 2013Sixth default

Feb. 14, 2013Monaco sends letter to Street-Works, Crestwood Loft Partners terminating sale

Feb. 15, 2013Both parties fail to close on property

March 6, 2013Monaco sends letter saying Crestwood Loft Partners breached contract

April 2, 2013Crestwood Loft Partners answers, accuses Monaco of breaching contract

April 10, 2013Street-works withdraws from project; owes $29K in outstanding bills, unpaid taxes

May 31, 2013Crestwood Loft Partners sues Crestwood Station Plaza for $1.15M

Dec. 11, 2013Judge rules Crestwood Station pay $1.15M to Crestwood Croft; Crestwood Croft pays $500K to Crestwood Station Spring 2014Construction begins


Another flood project update

Last week’s column on the FEMA flood mitigation proj-ect quite naturally generated additional inquiries, so the fol-lowing is FEMA Part II.

How often will the pumps be tested?

During the first 12 months following installation, test-ing will be performed on a monthly basis. Each pump will be started and run for 10 to 15 minutes once per month, time to be determined by the school. After the first year of installation and an established record of testing and perfor-mance, the frequency of test-ing will decrease to once every three months depending on ac-tual operational demand.

How will the fuel for the pumps be stored?

The fuel storage system is designed to meet/comply with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, NYSDEC, and the Westches-ter County Petroleum Storage safety provisions desired to prevent spillage. In addition, corrosion resistant materials, tank gauges, fuel filters and air emissions equipment will also be components of the storage system.

Fuel transfer is only expect-ed to be done in a semi-annual or annual basis.

Why is diesel fuel being used to operate the pumps instead of gas?

Because of the required vol-umetric pumping rate, engines of a certain size are required and engines of the required size are not available for op-eration with gas.

What is the noise level generated by the pumps?

Since they will be extreme-ly well insulated per the de-sign requirements, the noise level at a distance of 100 feet is expected to be 60 to 65 decibels. The nearest point of the school building is ap-proximately 125 feet from the

pump station with a similar distance to the nearest resi-dences. By way of compari-son, the noise from a typical lawn mower measured at 100 feet is 80 decibels.

How much backfill soil will the network of pipes displace?

Based on the results of on-site testing of the soil to be re-moved, which constitutes 2.5 percent of the total soil volume on the field, it consists primar-ily of fine sands and organic silts which typically exhibit poor drainage characteristics and are unsuitable as structural backfill material.

How will An underground piping network be main-tained under a school field?

The proposed piping net-work has been designed with several access man-ways to allow for periodic inspection and maintenance per a design approved by current New York State Stormwater standards.

How does storm runoff relate to the type of field surface?

The proposed flood miti-gation system, including the storage piping network, is a closed system that will not di-rectly receive runoff from the fields regardless of field type, be it natural or synthetic.

When is this system actu-ally operational and how will it affect the levels of the Bronx River?

The flood mitigation sys-tem will only be operation-al during significant storm events similar to those in 2007 and 2011. An impact analysis predicated the potential effect of the flood mitigation plan on the Bronx River using the ac-tual rainfall and Bronx River flow data from both major storms.

These events were logically chosen since each resulted in the specific type of flooding that the grant proposes to mit-igate and each was extreme-ly significant in magnitude. Based on the completed im-pact analysis, the historic rate of peak river flow will remain unchanged as a result of the mitigation project.

Is there a plan to mitigate the ancillary effects of the ongoing construction?

The project is highly regu-lated as it should be.

A scheduling/phasing and safety construction manage-ment plan is a required compo-nent of the project including:

Specific plans to minimize disruption to pedestrian and vehicular traffic

The isolation of the con-struction area via a fully clos-ing chain link fence

Constricted hours of opera-tion for debris and excavated material removal

Protocol for dust suppressionAs to dust, the heavier dust

producing work will be com-pleted in the colder months when the children do not play outdoors. Concurrently imple-mented will be dust suppres-sion procedures, including covering any stockpiled soil, watering down soil during day periods and sweeping/washing of all blacktop and imperme-able surfaces.

Will trees have to be removed?

Yes, but all parties are seek-ing ways to minimize the num-ber and scope of trees removed, and the proposed landscaping plan will at a minimum replace the number of trees removed as well as additional screening of the pump facility.

Check valves:Each of the two existing

stormwater conveyance lines that deliver runoff to the Bronx River have steel plates at its discharge point which allows water to flow out of the pipes but does not allow water to flow into the pipes, in the event that the river water is higher than the dis-charge point. These valves, which operate like a flap with a hinge at the top, are functioning and tested regu-larly, both were checked as recently as last week. The smaller, shorter convey-ance line has an additional check valve located near the intersection of Midland and Pondfield. This valve was also just inspected and cleaned and will be evaluated for possible replacement.

increase efficiency and cost ef-fectiveness. Nicholson pointed to her work on the town’s Envi-ronmental Committee, which brought LED lights to East-chester streets.

Nicholson said, as a coun-cilwoman, a pressing issue she’d like to address is pe-destrian safety. As a Town Council-appointed liaison to the Highway Department, she may get the chance to address what she considers a problem in town, speeding.

“We need to really change the culture here and the way people drive,” she said. “Peo-ple are too anxious and speed, [but there’s] more people here than 50 years ago.”

She suggested the police get tough on speeders and more speed bumps should be installed around high volume pedestrian areas. However, she said the option of adding bike lanes was studied but was im-

practical because the streets can’t be made wider.

Nicholson will also serve as an in-between on issues as a liaison for disability, informa-tion technology, special events and the courts.

To prepare for her first for-ay into elected office, she said she’s “never missed a beat” by attending events that are signif-icant to town residents, such as summer concert series and his-torical society events—which were especially important, as 2014 marked Eastchester’s 350th birthday.

Nicholson self-described herself as a “people person” with a lot of connections to civic organizations, like Girl Scout Troop 2493, co-ed bas-ketball leagues and once serv-ing on the now defunct East-chester Community That Cares group, that brought parents and school officials together to dis-cuss pressing issues.

Even though that dissolved, she said she is open to the idea of similar town hall-type meet-ings, and the councilwoman said she has had nearly 40 peo-ple in her home at one time in this type of setting.

Meanwhile, the councilwoman has plans to run for her own term in a special election next November. Nicholson said hopefully residents see her serve, and will be inspired to follow suit to support their town.

Still, she’s inspired to run for her own term because of the girl scouts.

“To be a leader [for] the girls to look up to me, I know this is something I want to do,” Nicholson said.

Eastchester Town Coun-cil members serve four-year terms and receive a salary of $15,831 annually.


NICHOLSON from page 8

Theresa Nicholson is the new appointment to the Eastchester Town Council filling the seat vacated by Councilman Fred Salanitro. Nicholson was sworn into office at the Nov. 18 council meeting by Salanitro, who left the council to become a town justice. Photo courtesy Town of Eastchester


Listings provided by the office of Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni Photos courtesy Zillow.com, Trulia.com, Hotpads.com, Spotproperty.com, Randrealty.com, Redfin.com & Maps.google.com

1 Bradley Road, Eastchester$865,000

Sale date: 10/1/14

1 Scarsdale Road, Tuckahoe$504,000

Sale date: 9/24/14

7 Fordal Road, Bronxville$2,475,000

Sale Date: 9/30/14

33 Interlaken Drive, Eastchester$1,050,000

Sale date: 9/19/14

43 Joyce Road, Eastchester$700,000

Sale date: 10/10/14

45 Sturgis Road, Eastchester$2,611,675

Sale date: 9/23/14

47 Joyce Road, Eastchester$636,000

Sale date: 9/30/14

50 Columbus Avenue, 208, Tuckahoe$437,500

Sale date: 9/10/14

50 Columbus Avenue, 1018, Tuckahoe$467,500

Sale date: 10/23/14

121 Anderson Avenue, Eastchester$735,000

Sale date: 10/28/14/14

136 Lincoln Avenue, Eastchester$540,000

Sale date: 9/22/14

148 Woodruff Avenue, Eastchester$665,000

Sale date: 10/14/14

171 Lake Avenue, Tuckahoe$630,000

Sale date: 10/7/14

172 Midland Avenue, Bronxville$1,675,000

Sale date: 7/3114

342 Columbus Avenue, Tuckahoe$345,000

Sale date: 10/24/14

361 California Road, Eastchester$574,000

Sale date: 11/6/14

Eastchester Home Sales


Are cleaning products safe around babies?

ASK CINDY Cindy Inman

In Ask Cindy’s world of all things clean, I always err on the side of caution when clean-ing around infants and tod-dlers. After all, if your sense of clean is tied to aromas of strong bleach, the surrounding air flow can be irritating and leave behind a harmful resi-due on surfaces. This cannot be good for babies to ingest, touch, and breathe in, as they explore their environments. This is easily avoidable.

As we maintain a clean house, we want to keep our children safe from harm. Well, Ask Cindy is here to solve any cleaning dilemma. Plant-based cleaning products are environmentally and biologi-cally safer than many synthet-ic/chemically based products. This makes plant-based prod-ucts an easy and effective al-ternative when considering healthy cleaning choices.

If a cleaning product has a strongly marked odor or worse, fumes or a smoke-like haze, the inhalation of these vapors can be problematic for anybody, in-cluding pets. Cleaning products with toxic warning labels re-quire that windows be opened, allowing for cross ventilation of fresh air throughout the home.

The person cleaning the home or an individual room should be wearing a protective face mask, covering mouth and nose, and have on chemically resistant rubber gloves. If this kind of deep cleaning is re-quired, you do not want chil-dren in the home during the process. Ingesting chemical odors, fumes or vapors that are diffused into the air, is not conducive to good health. When chemicals are inhaled or absorbed through the skin, this can never be a good thing. It took me some time to gain these insights. As Louis Hec-tor Berlioz once said, “time is a great teacher, but unfor-tunately it kills all [of] its pupils.”

The following insights are important for safe cleaning prac-tices.

• Carefully select non-toxic cleaning products in homes with babies and young children. This is an important cleaning requirement.

• Water, water, water—rinse washable surfaces with wa-ter after cleaning them. Dry the surface thoroughly. Water and a neutral dish soap mixed together create a safe clean-ing solution. In most cases, it works very effectively. This combination is preferred when removing sticky sub-stances like food, juicy liq-uids, and candy smudges on

highchairs and tray tables, cribs, playpens, children’s fur- niture, table and chair sets, kitchen counters, toys, car seats, uncarpeted floors, bath-room wall and floor tiles, and so much more.

• Ventilate a room with fresh air while cleaning, regardless of the product you are using. It is better to be safe than sorry.

• Never spray cleaning prod-ucts onto surfaces directly, this uncontrolled mist is suspended in the air and will land without restraint. Spraying, or better, pouring the product directly into water or onto a cleaning cloth allows you to control your household product. It goes where you place it.

• Water soluble detergents used to wash children’s cloth-ing, towels, toys, and bedding, need to be carefully weighed. The detergent needs to rinse cleanly without leaving resi-due on newly washed items. Ideally, the selected detergent is free of perfumes, dyes, and preservatives that often irritate skin.

Children are vulnerable to many body soaps, detergents and airborne cleaning prod-uct vapors. The hazards relat-ed to strong house cleaning products can negatively im-pact children’s health. Let’s make the best decisions pos-sible by being attentive, be-cause what you use matters.


Jocelyn Dillon joins Prudential Centennial Realty

Jocelyn Dillon has recently joined Prudential Centennial Realty as a licensed salesper-son. The announcement was made by President/Principal RE Broker, Prudential Centen-nial Realty Mark Nadler.

Dillon will be responsible for residential real estate sales

in Southern Westchester. Dillon’s years in the business world shapes her approach to repre-senting buyers and sellers. Dillon, known to her friends as “Joy”, climbed the corporate ladder for 18 years at a Fortune 500 industry leader. Having extensive experience in sales finance, she brings a strong business acumen and work ethic to providing customer satisfaction. Dillon offers an important quality when representing buyers and sellers.

Having earned a college degree in both in-dustrial psychology and information systems, Joy possesses great people skills and thought-ful attention to detail, to each and every one of her real estate assignments.

For the past 8 years Joy has been an active member of her Larchmont community where she and her family live. She is also an active Mom who enjoys volunteering in her children’s school’s various projects, activities, and sports.

“Joy shares Prudential Centennial Realty’s commitment to quality and customer service,” Mark Nadler, broker/owner at Prudential Cen-tennial Realty, said, “She is exactly the type of sales professional we are seeking, as we con-tinue to grow the company and increase our presence in the local community.”

“Prudential Centennial Realty’s focus on the customer and its goal to provide the best prod-ucts and services for its sales professionals are what make affiliating with Prudential Centen-nial Realty the best choice possible,” Dillon said.

Prudential Centennial Realty, which is inde-pendently owned and operated, has been a lead-er in Westchester’s residential real estate mar-ket since 1981. Dedicated to creating winning results for its clients and agents delivered with integrity, professionalism and caring, Prudential Centennial has consistently ranked among the top realtors in Westchester. The family owned firm established Global Real Estate Connec-tions, a wholly owned subsidiary in 2006.

Prudential Centennial has approximately 75 agents. For more information, call Mark Nadler at 723-5225, or go to prudentialcentennial.com.

Prudential Real Estate franchises are in-dependently owned and operated. Prudential Real Estate is a network brand of HSF Affili-ates LLC, of which Home Services of America, Inc.TM is a majority owner. HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, is the second largest, full-service residential broker-age firm and one of the largest providers of in-tegrated real estate services in the U.S. Pruden-tial, the Prudential logo and the Rock symbol are service marks of Prudential Financial, Inc. and its related entities and are used under li-cense, with no other affiliation with Prudential.

Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty welcomes Sharon Zanzano

Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Realty today announced that Sharon Zan-zano, formerly of Houlihan Lawrence, has joined the company as a sales agent and will be based in the firm’s Bronxville brokerage.

Zanzano brings 13 years of award-winning real estate professionalism and experience to the company. Having previ-ously sold homes in the Bronxville and lower Westchester area, Zanzano is well-acquainted with the region and all of its offerings.

“Sharon is an exceptional addition to our Bronxville team,” said Virginia Doetsch, man-ager of Julia B. Fee Sotheby’s International Re-alty’s Bronxville brokerage. “Her strong, pro-fessional background and track record of luxury home sales are undeniably impressive, and will certainly benefit the firm. We look forward to working with Sharon, and proudly welcome her aboard.”

“Having been involved in the Bronxville real estate market for many years, I have come to realize the unparalleled advantage of the Sothe-by’s International Realty brand, and how much its international reach offers my valued clients and business,” Zanzano said. “My experience and expertise in the lower Westchester market has been the key to my success. I always strive to provide my clients with the utmost in profes-sional yet personal service, and will continue to do so as I begin this new chapter.”

Zanzano currently resides in Yonkers with her husband and two children. She contributes to her local Westchester community as the Pa-rishioner of Saint Ann’s Church in Yonkers, and is a sponsor of the local Yonkers recreational league known as the Bryn Mawr Boys’ and Girls’ Club.

For more information, visit the website at williampitt.com. Sotheby’s International Re-alty’s worldwide network includes more than 15,000 sales associates located in 720 offic-es throughout the United States and 52 other countries and territories.

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic benefit honors local supporters

The Widmanns were lauded for their unwav-ering leadership and support for more than 25 years, including Widmann’s years as a PPHP volunteer and Board Member. In her accep-tance remarks, Widmann emphasized the ongo-ing need for Planned Parenthood’s reproductive health services through changing times from when she was in college decades ago to today.

PPHP operates health centers in Brewster, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Spring Valley, White Plains, Yonkers, Huntington, Patchogue, Riverhead, Smithtown and West Islip.

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic (PPHP) is the 20th largest affiliate of Planned Parent-hood Federation of America, and operates 11 health centers in Suffolk, Westchester, Rock-land and Putnam counties. PPHP has served the community for 80 years, and is dedicated to educating and empowering individuals to make responsible choices regarding their sexuality and sexual health. For more information about PPHP’s services and programs, visit pphp.org.

WESTMED launches NeoGraft Hair Restoration Service

WESTMED Medical Group’s Department of Plastic Surgery announces the availability to the community of a new hair restoration service called NeoGraft. A highly skilled WESTMED surgeon replaces the patient’s own hairs one by one from the back of the scalp to the balding areas in the front.

Business Briefs

Planned Parenthood Hudson Peconic hon-ored Larchmont residents Judith and Roger Widmann at the Oct. 23 Empower Luncheon at the Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison N.Y. The event was co-chaired by Larchmont resident and PPHP Board Member Joan Rosen, and helped raise $275 for the organization’s quality, affordable and non-judgmental health care and vital education programs in Westches-ter, Rockland, Putnam, and Suffolk counties.

The minimally invasive technique, known as follicular unit extraction, or FUE, is performed by Dr. Adora Fou, a WESTMED surgeon who is board certified by the American Board of Surgery. She is one of the only female doctors in the coun-try doing hair transplant restoration, specializing in this treatment for both men and women.

“This advancement in hair restoration sur-gery has made a positive impact on men and women seeking a permanent and completely natural treatment for hair loss,” says Dr. Mi-chael Suzman, WESTMED’s plastic surgeon. “The NeoGraft machine offers faster recovery and technological advances that can reduce the time and cost of transplants.”

For more information, call 848-8880 and go to westmedgroup.com/plasticsurgery/hair_res-toration.aspx

The next Business Briefs section will run in December. Please send any submission for our December edition to [email protected]. Each

submission may include one picture. If you have any questions, email Editorial Assitant Laura

Romero at [email protected].


Westchester launches crime tips programBy MARISSA PENN

Staff Writer

With times changing and text messaging becoming the norm over traditional phone calls, Westchester County law enforcement officials have launched a new smartphone-based web application pro-gram, which allows people to text message police officers anonymously.

The program, tip411, was launched on Nov. 13 through-out Westchester County. The app allows anyone with a smartphone, tablet, standard cell phone or a computer to text in an anonymous tip to their local police department to report crimes.

In Westchester, the vast ma-jority of police agencies, 38 of 42, will be participating in the tip411 program. White Plains, which is not participating, has its own web program that would not mesh with this one, according to Lucian Chalfen, spokesman for the Westches-ter County District Attorney’s office. In addition to White Plains, Lewisboro, Somers and North Salem are also not participating because they are considered part-time police departments and share patrols with New York state police, according to Chalfen.

“All of the other major de-partments are participating,” he said.

Westchester County law enforcement has enrolled in a five-year contract with Citizen Observer, a St. Paul, Minn., company that provides web-based alerting tools to local state and federal law enforce-

ment and public safety agen-cies in over 40 states.

The app is available for free to the user on both An-droid and iPhone devices–just search WC CrimeTips. There is also a Facebook page that is up and running where more in-formation is available.

The app, which the user installs on their device, es-sentially enables him or her to send anonymous tips by text message to police. The po-lice are able to respond back, creating a two-way “chat.” In addition to texting with police officers, users can send photos or videos.

The technology removes all identifying information before the police department sees it so there’s no way to identify the sender. It allows the public to text information about drug activity, other suspicious or criminal activity, people with outstanding warrants and cold cases, according to Chalfen.

“Texting now is a form of communication, that virtually all young people and older people do now in lieu of phone calls, so it makes sense that you are able to text your police department if you have con-cerns,” Chalfen said.

Some residents agreed there needs to be a new technology to contact the police in order to report criminal activity.

“Yes, I would use [crime tips] because you see some sketchy things going on these days and if the person is right next to you, then texting is a great option,” said Brenda Brooks, of Yonkers.

In Rye City, Police Com-missioner William Pease, Jr.

said they are in the very be-ginning stages of signing up for the program, but it is not something they would miss out on.

“It will give people an ex-cellent opportunity to contact us,” Pease said. “Some people who might be afraid to talk to the police can use it.”

According Rye Police Lt. Scott Craig, the police depart-ment has been in touch with the vendor and the district at-torney’s office, which is be-hind it, and is waiting to get licensing.

One concern for Rye police was over people possibly us-ing the app to pull pranks, but Craig said, “You have to deal with that as it happens.”

The app is not a substitute to 911, but is encouraging in a very simple way for the com-munity to become involved ac-cording to Chalfen.

“Simply send a text if you see something awry—it takes 30 seconds,” he said.


What tip411 does:Protects the anonymity

of the sender

Messages can be responded to in real time

It allows you to text photos and/or video

If it’s an active case, the tip is treated as one piece of

informationWhat tip411 doesn’t do:

It doesn’t track the identity of the tipster

It is not a substitute for calling 911

It does not retain data

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Merchandising Sales Specialist Bonide Products, Inc., a nationally-recognized manufacturer of Lawn & Garden and Animal Health products, is seeking a qualified candidate for a Merchandising Sales Specialist position.

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Responsibilities include: - Plan, implement, and increase shelf space with retail outlets - Setup end caps and displays including point-of-purchase materials - Present programs and write orders at retail outlets - Work with the Bonide sales team to increase market share in key accounts

The successful candidate will possess: - A high school diploma - Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint & Outlook) - The ability to work from a home-based office and travel 3-4 nights per week - The ability to lift fifty (50) pounds to display products at retail store locations - A reliable car, valid driver’s license, and proof of insurance

Bonide Products, Inc. offers a competitive benefits package, which includes: Health, Dental, Life and Long-term disability insurance. Along with our 401(k) plan, Bonide also offers our employees a company-paid Pension Plan. The Mer-chandising Sales Specialist position offers a salary commensurate with experi-ence, bonus potential, car allowance and reimbursement for business-related expenses. Bonide offers the opportunity for advancement.

Email resume to: [email protected]

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November 28, 2014 • THE EASTCHESTER REVIEW • 15SPORTS

It’s no secret that the world of professional boxing has its share of characters. In fact, one of my chief inspirations for breaking into the world of sports writing came from read-ing stories by great boxing scribes of yesteryear, writers like A.J. Liebling, whose nar-ratives wove a veritable tapes-try of colorful individuals tied together by their passion for the sweet science.

On Nov. 21, covering local phenom Pee Wee Cruz’s latest bout in Queens, I got the full “fight” experience. My biggest takeaway from the night, how-ever, was the fact that, despite the action in the ring, some of the most intriguing stories in the boxing world take place outside of it.

Sitting in the press section for a prizefight is unlike any-thing else I’ve done during my

Keeping the beattenure here at the Review. The majority of my work at the pa-per is done covering high school athletics. Over time, I’ve gotten used to that routine; setting up shop on the sidelines, taking copious notes about yardage or assists, maybe a brief conver-sation with a colleague from another publication to inquire about a certain team’s defensive schemes—all pretty basic stuff.

But sitting in press row on Friday night? That was, well, different.

For starters, the term “press” was applied liberally. Our three rows of foldout seats on the stage next to the ring were filled, sure, but not by your usual press types. Ex-fighters, like Iran Barkley and Junior Jones, friends and family of the promoters, and even a few current fighters had a home in the “press box”—a nice place to watch a fight, I must say.

But the writers? It was the writers who stood out.

Given boxing’s dip in mainstream popularity, most

newspapers no longer have someone on the “boxing beat.” Of all the New York rags, the Daily News—with its sponsorship of the New York Golden Gloves, is probably one of the last few vestiges of fight reportage in the print media. So essentially, this re-sponsibility to report on, and promote, the fight game, has fallen to the online journal-ists, and it’s a duty they take on with aplomb.

One gentleman, a dead ringer for Stacy Keach with a feathered cowboy hat, an-nounced his arrival to the press area by joyfully toss-ing fists of Bazooka bubble gum to the fans gathered at ringside, went, perhaps unsur-prisingly, by the moniker “Ba-zooka.” Another middle-aged writer, donning a Navy cap-tain’s hat and with no fewer than eight gaudy boxing glove necklaces hanging outside his sport coat, was similarly cheered by in-the-know fight fans in attendance as he took

Sports Editor Mike Smith, center, chats with Port Chester’s Pee Wee Cruz and trainer Ryan O’Leary in May of 2014. Although Smith enjoys attending fights, he’d like to tip his cap to the boxing writers who are on the beat full time. Photo/Bobby Begun

his spot on the stage.These two guys knew

everyone, from the referees to the promoters, to the ex-fighter luminaries and seemed to be minor celebrities them-selves in this odd, small cor-ner of the sports writing uni-verse. Everyone had a scoop for these guys, be it about an upcoming fight or a po-tential ring return of a long- faded veteran.

Now, while the idea of say, wearing a tri-cornered hat and handing out Snickers bars at a Harrison football game might seem odd for a boring, traditional sportswriter like myself, I can’t help but real-ize what these guys are doing serves a valuable purpose in the boxing world.

They’re reporters, sure, but they’re also fans. They are doing their best to drum up

publicity for a sport that has seen its fan base erode steadi-ly over the last 50 years.

If that means making the occasionally odd sar-torial choice, so be it. It’s good to know that some-one out there is still on the boxing beat.

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16 • THE EASTCHESTER REVIEW • November 28, 2014 SPORTS

Cruz wins UBF titleBY MIKE SMITH

Sports Editor

Bryant “Pee Wee” Cruz got a taste of gold on Nov. 21 when he nabbed his first professional title with a second round TKO over Engelberto Valenzuela at Resorts World Casino in Queens. After 13 straight wins to begin his pro career, Cruz is hoping that his latest vic-tory will vault him into the upper-echelon of fighters in the lightweight division.

Fighting for the UBF All America’s Lightweight title on Friday night, Cruz didn’t take too long to get started, peppering Valenzuela, 9-4, with power shots in the first round. The referee called a half to the action just 44 sec-onds into the second round after Cruz’s speed, strength and accuracy proved too much for his opponent to handle.

“Our game plan was just to apply pressure because we didn’t think he could handle the combinations,” said Cruz.

“I knew that he was slowing down [to start the second] but I didn’t really know when the ref was going to step in to stop it.”

According to Cruz’s train-er, Ryan O’Leary, it didn’t take long to see that his charge would be able to score a deci-sive victory against the Mexi-can ring veteran.

“We were telling Pee Wee to fire his jab in there early on,” O’Leary said. “The other guy was firing back, but it was clear he didn’t have anything on his punches, so [Pee Wee] just went for it.”

Valenzuela came into the fight well over the 135-pound lightweight limit, but O’Leary said that backing out of the fight was never an option for his fighter. In fact, he said, the un-defeated Cruz used the weigh-in as extra motivation for the fight.

“I’d say it fired him up, that this guy didn’t even both-er to try and make weight,” O’Leary said. “Pee Wee just wanted to fight, so we took it.”

With the win, Cruz becomes

a belt holder for the first time in his pro career. Although the belt might not carry the pres-tige of a world title, Cruz said he is honored to have the strap around his waist.

“It still hasn’t really hit me yet, but I’m proud that I was able to accomplish this little goal for myself,” said Cruz. “I just need to stay in the gym, work hard, and hopefully sometime in 2015, I can get a big fight.”

Cruz’s latest win is just an-other stepping stone to bigger fights, according to O’Leary. As Cruz keeps winning bouts against more experienced op-position, the trainer said, he will be impossible to ignore within the lightweight ranks.

“He’s doing what he’s supposed to do, he was sup-posed to get a knockout and he got it,” O’Leary said. “Now I think we’re more comfortable on this level and hopefully this win will help open some doors.”

CONTACT: [email protected] “Pee Wee” Cruz dons the UBF All America’s Lightweight belt on Nov. 21 in Queens, N.Y. Cruz won the title with a second round stoppage of Mexico’s Engelberto Valenzuela. Photo/Mike Smith

Local Knicks win first game

The Westchester Knicks, 1-2, defeated the Grand Rapids Drive, 0-3, on Nov. 21 to clinch the first regular season win in franchise history. The victory is also the first-ever win for head coach Kevin Whitted.

The Westchester Knicks came out hot, leading the Drive 12-2 after less than four min-utes on the clock. At the end of the first half, Westchester led 21-8 and never looked back, not once giving up the lead to Grand Rapids. The Knicks’ biggest lead came in the fourth

quarter with 22 points off a three-point jumper from Tha-nasis Antetokounmpo.

Coming off the bench at the end of the first quarter, Todd Mayo had an exception-al game, leading the team in scoring with 20 points in just 23 minutes. Thanasis Antetok-ounmpo continued to show-case his athleticism, securing 11 points, eight rebounds, and two assists, most impressive-ly recording six blocks. Five Knicks recorded double digit scoring on the night, includ-

ing Andre Barrett who scored 10 points in the first half, ac-cumulating 13 points overall. Ben Strong added 12 points in-cluding a couple of impressive dunks, also contributing six re-bounds, two assists and a steal.

Adonis Thomas led the Grand Rapids Drive with 20 points and five rebounds. Lorenzo Brown added 18 points, four rebounds, and four steals, but the lines were not enough to hold off the power-ing Westchester Knicks. (Submitted)

The Westchester Knicks celebrate after the franchise’s first ever win on Nov. 21. Contributed Photo

eastchester review 11-28-2014

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