harrison review 2-13-2015

February 13, 2015 | Vol. 3, Number 6 | www.harrisonreview.com

Harrison REVIEWTHE

By AlinA SurielStaff Writer

After receiving bids far greater than what the town was anticipating spending, Harrison police may not get an emergency operations cen-ter after all.

The lowest bid received for the project was close to $1 million and accord-ing to town officials, a sec-ond bid proposal came in within the same range; of-ficials wouldn’t disclose the amount of the runner-up bid. The town sent out its original request for proposals of an emergency operations center on Nov. 5, 2014; bids were accepted until Dec. 10.

The Harrison Town Coun-cil was expected to reject the bids and discuss how to move forward at its Feb. 12 meeting after press time.

The bids came in sig-nificantly higher than the $700,000 cost originally esti-mated by the town.

A Freedom of Information Law request was submitted for the two bids received for the project.

And sources say that the town board is not sure how to proceed, as of press time, since the high bids were un-expected.

Mayor Ron Belmont, a Re-publican, told the Review that he, too, was caught off guard by the news.

“I’m very disappoint-ed that the numbers didn’t come out as we thought they would,” Belmont said.

Harrison Police Chief An-thony Marraccini said he

Emergency center hits snag

emergency continued on page 8

Harrison train station. The law was designed to prevent non-residents from parking in the boundary, or obtaining a per-mit themselves.

The streets within the boundary were previously de-termined by New York State in the mid-1990s, and, according to the town board, that can’t be changed unless it receives state approval.

According to a draft of the proposed parking law, the resi-dential streets identified have been inundated with non-res-ident vehicles. Town officials claim the vehicles have led to concerns over an increase in traffic, congestion and noise

for the residential neighbor-hoods.

Police Chief Anthony Mar-raccini presented to the Town Council a parking study, con-ducted for six days, roughly two weeks after the first pub-lic hearing was held on the proposal back in December, that found non-residents were parking in high numbers on the streets—Ellsworth Av-enue, Fremont Street, Nelson Avenue, Hyatt Avenue, Hol-land Street and Webster Ave-nue—included in the system’s boundary.

Ellsworth saw 47 non-resi-dent vehicles parked over the six-day span, Fremont had 53,

Nelson, 31 and Webster, 27 vehicles. For short term relief, and on the chief’s recommen-dation, Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, implemented a four-hour parking restriction for all residents, for three of the highest offenders: Ells-worth, Nelson and Webster. Though Brown Place is not in the parking permit district, the chief’s recommendation was to include this street as well.

Though some streets in the town already have a two-hour limit, Belmont said there’s a plan to make parking limits uniform throughout Harrison.

Proposed parking permit law prompts study

pArking continued on page 5

By JOHn BrAnDiStaff Writer

Harrison officials have re-mained firm, through certain criticisms from residents, that a residential parking permit sys-tem is just what the town needs to eliminate roadway head-aches, even conducting a traffic study to support their case.

The Harrison Town Coun-cil has held two public hear-ings in regard to the proposed system, and a third one is planned for March, which would require residents to ob-tain parking permits to park on residential streets that bisect both sides of the Metro-North

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would advocate abandoning the project altogether if the town could not build the facil-ity at a lower cost. He said the bids were more than double what he anticipated, and that he is not prepared to make such a large expenditure.

“The estimates to build it are, in my opinion, way out of line,” the chief said. “As-tronomical.”

Marraccini believes the high cost of the project is a byproduct of state labor laws which mandate certain work-ing conditions for contractors on public projects. These in-clude wage rates and union regulations for workers, as well as working schedules which cannot legally exceed a certain daily limit without overtime pay.

The town’s emergency operations center was de-signed by Port Chester de-sign firm Sarrazin Archi-tecture. The proposed two- story, 932-square-foot struc-ture was meant to be used as a headquarters to coordinate efforts between emergency responders such as police, fire and public works depart-ments as well as Con Edison in the event of a natural di-saster or critical event such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012 or the recent nor’easter snow-storms.

The facility would have in-cluded an unfinished parking garage on its first floor, and a work space on the second level with conference rooms, office spaces, a kitchenette and recreation space. It was

Harrison Town Judge Marc Lust’s criminal case has been adjourned to next month, according to a repre-sentative of the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.

On Dec. 19, Lust, 63, was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, driving while his ability was impaired and leaving the scene of an ac-cident, both violations. The judge was leaving a Christ-mas party when he alleg-edly hit another vehicle along 10th Avenue, between 34th and 35th streets, and knocked off the other driv-er’s rear bumper.

When police arrived, they said the judge had a pale face, slurred speech and the odor of an alcoholic bever-age on his breath. The ar-resting officer also said that Lust couldn’t get his bear-ings and was “swaying on his feet.”

Lust then tried to get off

Outcome pending in town judge DWI case

the hook by reminding au-thorities that he was a judge.

“I’ll take care of this,” Lust allegedly told police.

“I’ll take care of it. We don’t have to do anything about this. I was at a Christ-mas party. I only had three drinks.”

Lust’s next court date, according to the district at-torney’s office, is March 11 and that’s when the judge will issue a decision.

Lust can continue to serve as judge in Harrison. Only a felony conviction would be grounds for removal, ac-cording to the New York State Commission on Judi-cial Conduct.

Lust, one of Harrison’s two part-time justices, was first elected in 1999 and is currently serving his fourth term. He ran on the Re-publican and Democratic lines in 2011 and is up for re-election this year. It is unclear if Lust plans to seek re-election. A part-time justice in Harrison makes $62,072.

-Reporting by John Brandi

The outcome in Town Judge Marc Lust’s alleged drunk driving incident in December has been tabled until March.

2 • The harrison review • February 13, 2015

February 13, 2015 • THe HArriSOn review • 3

Harrison Superintendent of Schools Louis Wool has offered alternatives to what’s being proposed on the state level in terms of education reform. Photo courtesy superintendentswork conference.com.


Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined educational reform as a top priority in his State of the State ad-dress on Jan. 21, which has since been denounced by both current and former Har-rison Central School District officials.

Though Superintendent of Schools Louis Wool said both the Harrison Board of Educa-tion and school administration will abide by whatever law is enacted by the state Legislature and Cuomo, he said both orga-nizations will still remain a “vo-cal agent in effecting change” to improve teacher practice. Wool said he still believes that the current mechanism at the state level is the wrong set of tools, warning of a short-term fix that relied on short-term data.

The superintendent said he’s made some recommendations for the governor to bring to-gether superintendents, research practitioners and those who

Schools supt. rebukes Cuomo reforms

study psychometrics to evaluate test scores over time.

“I think if you gather more ev-idence over time, [you’re] much more likely to make an informed decision and the focus is on a more robust model,” Wool said.

Though no such meetings have taken place or been an-nounced, the governor, first of-fered in his State of the State address, is proposing stricter

levels of teacher evaluations, extending the period of time to earn tenure and expand-ing charter schools and boost-ing state oversight of failing schools, very much in line with the goals of another edu-cational reform measure, the federally-designed Race to the Top program.

Race to the Top was a pro-gram devised to spur reform in kindergarten through grade 12 on a statewide level. The Har-rison Board of Education has maintained that initiative was “hastily written” into law and was essentially shoved down its throat to qualify for a portion of grant money—$700 million out of $4.35 billion—if New York as a whole agreed to cer-tain terms.

For example, adopt Com-mon Core, submit to annual professional reviews on teach-ers and create data systems for those reviews, all of which have been heavily criticized by school districts and administra-tors since its inception in 2010.

Under Cuomo’s new system,

50 percent of teacher evalua-tions would be tied up to how well their students perform on state standardized exams, up from the current 20 percent. The other half would come from classroom observations by school officials and an inde-pendent educator. Any instruc-tor that receives an unsatisfac-tory mark based on test scores or those observations would be barred from receiving an over-all rating of effective, meaning it would be all or nothing.

“Every study says the qual-ity of the teacher makes a dif-ference in the school,” Cuomo said. “We must start treating teaching like the profession that it actually is.”

On tenure, Cuomo recom-mended that instructors are required to receive five years of consecutive effective rat-ings, up from the current three. Those teachers that do manage to be rated “highly effective” would be eligible for $20,000 in bonuses.

Included in the proposal is also the idea to expand charter schools both throughout the state and in New York City, which has special restrictions in

place, and new rules on teach-ers that have been accused of sexual or physical abuse.

However, Wool said before state and federal intervention in terms of teacher evaluation, Harrison’s model was recog-nized as “exemplary.”

David Singer, a former Har-rison school board member, said during his time with the Harrison schools, beginning around 2002, the evaluation model was “robust and compre-hensive,” and was much more portfolio-based.

“You could really peel the onion,” said Singer, who stepped down from the school board in June of 2014.

Singer took issue with Cuo-mo’s new percentage for how teacher’s will be evaluated and said this portion of the gover-nor’s proposed reforms repre-sent the “most egregious.” He said the notion of raising the requirement of teacher evalua-tion based on test scores “is the fastest way to suck the life out of education.”

Harrison is not alone, as teacher unions gear up for a fight with the governor over these proposals.

“I’m hearing an old song,” said Michael Mulgrew, presi-dent of the United Federation of Teachers. “Let’s attack the teachers and blame them for what’s wrong with education.”

Meanwhile, on the same night as Cuomo’s speech, the Harrison BOE unanimously ap-proved a resolution denouncing the current New York State An-nual Professional Performance Review, APPR, and claims it has led to system redundancies, the over-testing of students and limited the school district’s ability to fire ineffective teach-ers. The APPR was adopted as part of Race to the Top.

The Harrison school board is asking the state Legislature to review and redesign the APPR system. Wool said this was not in direct response to Cuomo’s proposal, but a consistent at-tempt, since it began in 2010, to call attention to a system that wasn’t effective.

State Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat and member of the Senate Education Commit-tee, could not be reached as of press time.

cOnTAcT: [email protected]


What’s going on...

Children’s programs will continue at the Jew-ish Community Center of Harrison, 130 Union Ave.

Mondays-9:30 a.m. Rockin’ Tots for ages one to three.

10:30 a.m. Parachute Play Time for ages two to five.

Tuesdays-9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. Wiggle and Giggle with Dawny Dew for ages one to five. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

West Harrison LibraryTwo sessions of the Potty Party

Making potty training fun, learn potty train-ing signs, learn potty training songs, includes a book as well as an activity. Program devised by the originators of Baby Signs.

Dates: March 10 and 17, at 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Harrison library events The West Harrison Library is located at 2 Madison St., in West Harrison. Contact via phone at 948-2092 or go online at harrisonpl.org.

Sign, Say and Play Interactive workshops where parent/caregiv-

er and child learn baby sign language through activity, song and story. Communicate before your child can speak, perfect for babies from 6 months to toddler.

Each week focuses on an everyday activity like mealtime, the program devised by the orig-inators of Baby Signs will take place on Feb. 17, 24 and March 3 from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at the West Harrison Library, 2 Madison St., West Harrison.

Neuberger Museum of Art

“Becoming Disfarmer”Showing until March 22.“Becoming Disfarmer” is a critical evalu-

ation of Mike Disfarmer’s vernacular photo-graphs, including approximately 50 examples of his skillful portraits on postcard-sized pa-per. The exhibition will be the first museum survey to consider the vintage prints alongside the enlargements and also the ways in which

Disfarmer’s images have been revalued and recast. Neuberger Museum visitors parking is at the Purchase College Parking lot W1.

A $6 per car, campus parking fee applies all days, for all visitors.

Please stop at the Park-2-Fly booth, pay the attendant in advance of your visit and place your ticket on your dashboard before walking to the museum. The museum is located at Pur-chase College State University, 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase.

Westchester Jewish Adult EducationWarm your mind in the cold winter months,

by joining Westchester Jewish Adult Education for one or more of these exciting classes:

“History of Judaism in America”Five Thursday mornings beginning on Feb.

26, at the Temple Israel Center in White Plains.

The Book of Ruth and Song of Songs

Two Wednesday evenings beginning March 18, at 800 Westchester Ave., 5th floor boardroom in Rye Brook.

Rye Recreation“February Vacation Golf Camp”

Grades K through 5Tuesday and Thursday, Feb. 17 through 19,

9:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.Program site: Osborn GymFee: $190 residents; $215 non-residentsTGA Premier Junior Golf is bringing the golf

course to you. Children will play games while learning fundamentals, advanced techniques, rules, etiquette and gain an understanding of all parts of the golf course. Tee it up with TGA and see how much fun playing golf can be. All equipment supplied. Returning students will ad-vance to upper level skills.

“Bugs and Beasts”Grades K through 4Wed, Feb. 18, 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.Program site: Damiano Recreation CenterFee: $55 resident; $60 non-residentExplore the world of creepy, crawly creatures

and the animal kingdom. Learn about habitats, anatomy and life cycles. Investigate the fascinating behavior of spiders, ants, bats and owls.

Rye Historical Society

“Happy Birthday George Washington”Children ages 7 to 11 are invited to the

Square House Museum on Wednesday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to noon for a special celebration honoring the 283rd birthday of our first presi-dent, George Washington.

Fun activities include presidential games, trivia, crafts and even a birthday cake. The cost for this special program is $15 per child which includes all craft materials and snacks. Reservations are suggested as space is limited

and can be made by calling the Rye Historical Society at 967-7588.

The Square House Museum is located at 1 Purchase St. in Rye and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, please call 967-7588 or visit our website ryehistory.org.

Blood supplies low

Since the beginning of the year, dozens of American Red Cross blood drives were can-celed due to inclement weather in parts of the country. In addition, widespread flu has kept some regular blood donors from donating. The Red Cross asks that healthy individuals help ensure a sufficient and diverse blood supply by giving blood.

Upcoming blood donation opportunities:

Rye:Feb. 28, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Rye YMCA,

21 Locust Ave.

Harrison:Feb. 26, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Harrison High

School, 255 Union Ave.

Westchester Sandbox Theatre

The Westchester Sandbox Theatre is proud to present “Miss Nelson Is Missing,” a musi-cal based on the terrific and wacky children’s book, as part of its Theatre for Young Audiences program. Starring Artistic Director Jason Summers as the prim Miss Nelson and her nas-ty alter ego Viola Swamp as well as a host of talented local children,

“Miss Nelson Is Missing” is the perfect entertainment for the entire family. Tickets are $15. Performances: Saturday Feb. 14 at 12 p.m. and 5 p.m., and Sunday Feb. 15 at noon. Call 630-0804 or visit our website at wstshows.com for tickets. The Westchester Sandbox Theatre is located at 931 E. Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck.

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].


The mayor said this difference in restriction was done at dif-ferent times and took into con-sideration what were on those streets with one example being a flower shop.

The initial confusion sur-rounding the proposed law arose when the original draft had fee language in it, although the town board said no fee would be charged to obtain a parking permit. However, this language is still in a draft accessible to res-idents on the town website and no changes have been made to it, as of press time.

The town board maintains that the law is in the best inter-est of residents, and Council-man Stephen Malfitano, a Re-publican, said the system was worth a trial run, with some minor modification.

“There’s a willingness to try this and see how it goes,” Malfitano said. “People under-stand it’s to their benefit and [to] make the quality of life

better for folks. No one is be-ing disenfranchised.”

Councilman Joseph Can-nella, a Republican, echoed Malfitano’s sentiment and said that the law isn’t going to be unlike anything residents have seen before in terms of park-ing restrictions.

“It’s not to make it differ-ent from any townwide law we have now,” Cannella said.

Though the Town Council feels residents are more educat-ed on this matter since the ini-tial public hearing, and there-fore can now “see the benefit of the parking system,” residents wanted to make sure their sug-gestions were still being con-sidered for a new draft, like a color-coded permit system to differentiate between worker, visitor and homeowner.

Village Attorney Jonathan Kraut said such a request wasn’t possible based on state law. The village attorney said there’s only so much leeway the state provides.

Though the town board

and the chief maintain there’s a need for this law, where they do disagree is how far it should reach.

The town board would like to see the effects of it in Har-rison first, and then petition the state for a boundary in West Harrison; however, the chief thinks only a select area, such as the shared border with White Plains, should see the permit system enacted.

White Plains currently does not allow for overnight park-ing on any of its streets, and Marraccini said that reality causes White Plains residents’ to park in West Harrison and clog up its residential streets.

The chief said parking is an “issue that surrounds Metro-North rail” and commuters, and just wouldn’t make sense it some areas.

The public hearing on the proposed parking system will continue at the Town Coun-cil’s March 5 meeting.


pArking from page 1

Public hearings concerning a proposed residential parking permit system will continue into March. File photo

Town/Village of Harrison

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Harrison Schools


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HarrisonTHE

REVIEW


If you got beer on the brain, two friends with a love for craft brew are creating a space where locals are invited to ride the wave of craft expansion into Westchester County.

Doug Cedrone and Bren-dan Carroll, both 27, said goodbye to their office jobs to open a craft beer place on Kraft Avenue in Bronxville called Beer Noggin. Cedrone said the name of the location, which once was home to a fro-zen yogurt shop, is a blend of two concepts: a derivation of an old English word meaning a four-ounce cup of beer and the idea that the two owners want customers to “use their noggin” when it comes to un-covering the vast flavors of craft creations.

“There’s a beer out there for everyone,” Cedrone said. “Beer can be sour; it can be sweet; it can be roasted like coffee. We’re so fortunate we found a really wonderful location and we’re in love with it. We wel-come people with open arms.”

Cedrone, a New Jersey na-tive, said he grew up in a simi-lar suburban environment to

craft duo taps Bronxville market

the Village of Bronxville. He said it makes for the ideal lo-cation because you get to re-ally know your customer base.

“I enjoy this type of village, the atmosphere and communi-ty it fosters,” he said. “Every-body knows everybody else and [it has a] ‘we’re in this to-gether’ type of energy.”

Beer Noggin is also in great company with the county al-ready home to other quality breweries like Peekskill Brew-ery. Cedrone said that even in-cludes chains like White Plains-based The Brazen Fox, which recently opened up a second location on the Lower East Side in Manhattan, and Yard House in Yonkers’ Ridge Hill.

For Cedrone, his love for craft beers came while in col-lege, on a study abroad se-mester in Belgium. He said he started to see what beer could be, beyond the staples that were being passed around the college parties back home.

“It’s developing a love for craft beer as a culinary type of experience in terms of flavor and ingredient,” he said.

That’s not to say those tra-ditional beers won’t be in-corporated into the inventory of Beer Noggin. Cedrone

said, however, there will be a “heavier focus” on local beers. The idea is to first try the tradi-tional beer, like a Pilsner that’s been brewed for 1,000 years, and then branch out to alter-natives to have that anchor of something to compare the two.

The locale’s collection will also include imported domes-tic and foreign brews. Accord-ing to Cedrone, there will be a keg rotation when one is tapped out and seasonal vari-ety, but the beer spot will still feature “repeat beers” and a consistent selection of bottle brands.

“I would like for the cus-tomer to come in and first experience a comfortable and welcoming environment,” he said. “[The] craft beer industry, some people might be turned off to it because it might seem inaccessible or intimidating for the sheer choice. Ask ques-tions, learn what you like, and don’t like and why.”

Part of this learning curve will include events Beer Nog-gin looks to launch when they officially open in mid-April. Possible events, Cedrone said, will include a brewery tap takeover and brewery talks where patrons can learn more

about what they’re drinking. As part of the liquor li-

cense agreement, the craft beer spot will also serve “light snack fare.” Residents may be tempted to try the artisanal spiced nuts and hot pretzels, pickles and meat and cheese plates.

Still, as Bronxville’s com-mercial and retail vacancies dwindle in its business dis-trict, from seven vacancies to five in a matter of two months, it seems the village is open for business. The empty store fronts don’t scare Cedrone, who said it presents an ex-

citing opportunity for new neighbors, specifically other local businesses, to enter the streetscape.

“It’s expansion potential for Bronxville,” he said, “to spark up local commerce and the en-vironment. I’m excited to see what comes.”

And perhaps one day, Kraft Avenue will be known for its craft selection.

“We’re here to help im-prove peoples’ understanding of a really wonderful product,” Cedrone said.


A new beer destination will preimere this April on Kraft Avenue in Bronxville. Photo courtesy beernoggin.com

At 102 Kraft Ave., customers will soon experience unique brews on tap with the opening of Beer Noggin. Photo courtesy citysearch.com

A new craft beer place in the village will feature a variety of local, domestic and international brews. Photo courtesy Doug Cedrone

The name “Beer Noggin” blends beer and the thought behind choosing the perfect brew. Photo courtesy fuzebranding.com


Trader Joe’s supplier of pita bread is recalling select lots of pita bread products due to the possibility of them containing “undeclared” soy.

Middle East Bakery, Inc., of Lawrence, Mass., recalled on Feb. 4 Trader Joe’s brand pita bread products because they may contain trace amounts of soy, an allergy threat to those with soy allergies or sensitiv-ity. People that have an aller-gy or severe sensitivity to soy run the risk of serious or life-threating allergic reaction if they consume these products, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Locally, the recall affects Trader Joe’s chains in East-chester, Larchmont and Harts-dale. The recall also affects stores in locations throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

According to a Larchmont Trader Joe’s store manag-er, who declined to give his name, signs are posted in all of the Trader Joe’s stores detail-ing the recall and alerting cus-

tomers as to the contaminated products. The tainted products have also been removed from store shelves, the manager said.

“If you bring the products back to the store, you will get a complete refund,” the man-ager said.

The soy-contaminated prod-ucts include eight types of pock-et, mini, roll-up and Aprocry-phal pita bread products with sell-by dates ranging from Feb. 3 to Feb. 5.

There have been no illness-es reported thus far.

The recall was initiated af-ter a temporary breakdown in the company’s production and packaging processes.

Consumers with soy aller-gies should discard the prod-ucts or return them to their local Trader Joe’s store, ac-cording to the Food and Drug Administration.

A Middle East Bakery, Inc., representative declined com-ment as of press time.

Consumers with questions should contact Middle East Bakery at 978-688-2221. -Reporting by Marissa Penn

At Trader Joe’s stores, pita bread products are being recalled due to an undeclared soy contamination. Photo/traderjoes.com

Trader Joe’s recalls pita bread

It appears that this winter season may bring repeated snowstorms with significant accumulations. I would like to bring your attention to a gen-eral description of how our Department of Public Works removes snow from our mu-nicipal roadways. Winter weather can be challenging for everyone. Our goal is to main-tain safety for motorists and residents. DPW crews work diligently to keep essential traffic moving while returning all streets to safe and passable conditions.

When snowfall begins, crews are deployed to salt the main roads. This enables traf-fic to keep moving and pre-vents the snow from sticking to the roadway. Plowing begins when accumulations reach ap-proximately two inches. DPW attempts to plow curb to curb during each storm. Once snow fall begins to diminish, crews begin post-storm salt appli-cation. Please remember that home owners or occupants are responsible for keeping side-walks, in front of or adjacent to their building, free from snow and ice. It’s hazardous for pedestrians to walk into the street in an effort to avoid a snow covered sidewalk. For that reason, your cooperation

How the town battles the snowis essential in keeping pedes-trians safe as they use public walkways.

As you can imagine, plow-ing and salting our local streets can be a challenge. It involves coordinating crews and route supervisors who oversee plowing activities and support personnel. These tasks often take a significant amount of time to execute and are per-formed during severe weather conditions. Please do your best to remove your car from the street, shovel your side-walk, avoid shoveling snow into the roadway and clear fire hydrants. Your patience and cooperation is critical and is greatly appreciated.

As a reminder, please note the following February sani-tation schedule change: Mon-day, Feb. 16, is a holiday. Gar-bage and/or recycling normal-ly collected on Monday, Feb. 16, will be collected on Tues-day, Feb. 17. Garbage and/or recycling normally collected on Tuesday, Feb. 17, will be collected on Wednesday, Feb. 18. There will be no bulk trash collection on Wednesday, Feb.18. Bulk trash collection will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

It’s time, once again, for the Town/Village of Harrison’s an-nual “Art of the Young Child” exhibit. This is the 35th year that Harrison’s Council of the Arts has sponsored this pro-

gram which features artwork from our community’s public and private school students. The opening reception will be held on Sunday, March 1, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Town Hall.

My office has recently been notified by Yellowbook that they will be delivering their phone book to Westchester res-idents beginning in April. Res-idents, who no longer want to receive the directory, can opt-out by visiting yellowpagesop-tout.com. Should you need any additional information, please call 1-800-929-3556.

I would like to take this time to recognize the Harrison High School Boy’s and Girl’s Varity Basketball teams. Both teams participated in the Dapper Mc-Donald Basketball Classic last weekend. Congratulations to the girls team for their second place finish and to the boys team for their first place finish. You should all be very proud of this impressive achievement.

In closing, the next “Lunch with the Mayor” is on Friday, Feb. 13 and I will be at Har-rison Pizza located at 248 Halstead Ave., in downtown Harrison. On Friday, Feb. 20 I will be at Aria located at 385 Halstead Ave, in downtown Harrison. I will be at these locations from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and look forward to meeting with residents and talking about issues facing our community.


planned to be constructed be-hind the police station on what is currently a driveway.

Marraccini cited police ef-forts during the recent snow-

emeregency from page 1 storms as an instance in which an emergency operations cen-ter would have been useful.

“When we had those storms, we had police officers working round the clock,” Marraccini said. “There were

no facilities for them to rest or make a cup of coffee.”

Town Councilman Joe Can-nella, a Republican, declined comment.


The driveway, pictured, behind the Harrison Police Department was proposed to be the site of a new emergency operations center. The plan, which came in significantly over estimate, would have seen a two story, 932-square-foot structure built. Photo courtesy Town of Harrison

Collected at Town of Harrison Police Headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 11. at 11 a.m.

Jan. 14A Yonkers resident was stopped by police on Westchester Avenue at 1:31 p.m., over a suspended registration. The male was released with a summons to appear in Harrison Town Court later that month. The driver’s license plates were taken by police.

A female driver was stopped on Westchester Avenue at 5:53 p.m. for what police observed was the driver talking on her cell phone. Upon further inspection, it was found that the driver had a suspended license and an arrest warrant issued by the Town of Greenburgh. The driver was taken into custody and turned over to the Greenburgh Police Department. The car was released to the registered owner.

A male driver was stopped by police on Underhill Avenue at 9:45 p.m. for what police say was a failure to observe a yield sign. The officer detected an odor of burnt marijuana coming from the driver’s black Honda Accord. The driver then produced a plastic baggie of marijuana which he gave to the officer. The driver was charged with unlawful possession, issued a sum-mons and was released on the scene.

Jan. 17A Bronx resident was transported to Harrison Police Station under a warrant that was issued on April 22, 2014. The male was processed at 12:09 a.m. and released on $50 bail. The male was scheduled to appear in Town Court later that month.

Police responded to a male driver on Anderson Hill Road at 4:57 p.m. that had a suspended registration. Police also learned that the driver did not have a license. The driver was issued two sum-mons and was ordered to appear in Town Court in February. The blue Nissan Murano was impounded and the license plates were taken into police custody. Jan. 20A driver of a grey Nissan Maxima was pulled over by police on Underhill Avenue at 12:30 p.m. for what police observed was the man using his cell phone while driving. Police discovered an odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. Upon further investigation, authorities found six vials of human growth hormone, a glass pipe containing marijuana residue and three clear plastic Ziploc bags containing marijuana inside a North Face backpack. The driver said he did not have a prescrip-tion for the growth hormone. The driver was charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance in the 7th degree. The vehicle was towed and the driver was released on $500 bail and expected to return to town court earlier this month.

Jan. 21A Mamaroneck resident was pulled over by police on Purchase Street at 12:07 p.m. for what police say was a failure to stop at a stop sign. Police discovered that the driver’s license was suspended for several summons that were issued in Harrison. The male was placed under arrest and his vehicle was towed. The driver was released on $250 bail and was expected to appear in court in February.

Jan. 24Police observed a car with a fractured windshield and dark tinted windows on Underhill Avenue at 7:45 p.m. The officer initiated a traffic stop and discovered two males inside and an odor of burnt marijuana. Police observed the passenger attempting to conceal an unknown item underneath his seat; the officer claimed the passenger was shaking and reluctant to speak. The operator then gave officers a clear plastic Ziploc bag of marijuana and a metal grinder containing marijuana to the officer. The driver was placed under arrest and charged with unlawful possession of marijuana, and while that was happening, the officer witnessed the passenger exit the vehicle and flee the scene near I-287. The passenger was later apprehended by White Plains police. The red Dodge was impounded and searched and more mari-juana items were discovered inside.

Jan. 29Police responded to a car crash on Mamaroneck Avenue at 9:44 p.m. between two drivers. Upon observation, both drivers of each vehicle said they had no injuries. The officer then focused on the driver of the vehicle where the airbag did not deploy. The officer noticed that the man was having trouble retrieving his license and registration from his wallet. The officer also noticed an odor of an alcoholic beverage on the driver’s breath. He told the officer that he was coming from a party in the Bronx. The man was asked to perform three field sobriety tests and the man failed each one. The driver was placed under arrest and charged with driving while intoxicated without incident. He was scheduled to appear in court earlier this month.

Jan. 31A male driver on North Street was pulled over by police at 4:25 p.m. Upon further inspection, the vehicle’s insurance had expired. The driver was issued a summons and his license plates were confiscated by police. The driver is expected in Town Court later this month.


Rye Town dissolution on the table again

The Village of Mamaroneck voted to revisit the possibility of dissolving the government of the Town of Rye. In November, Rye Town moved its administrative office from this building on Port Chester’s Pearl Street to Port Chester Village Hall on Grace Church Street. Photo/Alina Suriel

By AlinA SurielStaff Writer

Months after a standstill in the debate, the dissolution of the Town of Rye is back on the table for the Village of Mama-roneck after board members voted to re-enter talks to plan out the logistics of a new gov-ernment structure for commu-nities in the village and other affected areas.

The accepted resolution states the village’s intention to proceed with previously pro-posed plans to dissolve the Town of Rye. In doing so, of-ficials aim to create a more cost effective system of providing services to residents of the area and eliminate an unnecessary layer of government.

The Town of Rye is a gov-erning body which encompass-es the villages of Port Chester and Rye Brook, as well as the Rye Neck section of the Vil-lage of Mamaroneck. The area of Mamaroneck Village not within the Town of Rye is part of the tax base of the Town of Mamaroneck.

The Town of Rye offers a very limited amount of day-to-day functions to residents as police, fire, and public works services are all covered by the incorporated villages, and a 2012 report on alternatives to services managed by Rye Town shows that the size of its government is much small-er as a result. Rye Town has a

full-time workforce of only 17 employees.

The Town of Rye only boasts property assessment, tax collection, license issu-ing and its own court system. Therefore, several consolida-tion alternatives which would see it eliminated have been discussed.

The first option was a shift which would have seen all three villages become cotermi-nous town/villages.

According to Republican Rye Town Supervisor Joe Carvin, a vote to attain coter-minous status for Mamaroneck Village would be unlikely to gain the voting support of Ma-maroneck Town residents, who receive a portion of their tax base from village residents to pay for municipal services.

The option currently being explored would result in Port Chester and Rye Brook remain-ing villages independent of an overarching town government as well as the part of Rye Neck located in Mamaroneck Village. This possibility was opened up in late spring of 2014 by state

Assemblyman Steve Otis, a Rye Democrat, who changed the discussion when he said he believed state law can be read to allow villages to exist without being within the boundaries of a town.

Otis has recently told the Re-view that he received confirma-tion of this at a Feb 9 meeting of the New York Conference of Mayors. According to Otis, he spoke on the issue during the meeting and received support, and he also received verifica-tion from legal experts in Alba-ny to strengthen his belief that there is no legal impediment to moving forward.

“People having trouble em-bracing this fact is like pro-claiming the earth is flat, when it is round,” Otis said.

Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, has charged that he does not agree with Otis’ in-terpretation that villages are not legally required to be within a town, and says consequently Rye Neck residents will be un-derserved if not under a town government. The debate sur-rounding the issue fizzled out without coming to a vote in mid-2014 after it seemed that

there would not be enough sup-port from the Village of Mama-roneck Board of Trustees for Otis’ plan to dissolve Rye Town and leave the remaining villag-es without a town government.

Sources within the village government said that it is one of several topics being revisited in hopes of a different outcome since the election of a new Democratic village board ma-jority last November. The res-olution to dissolve Rye Town was drafted by Democrat Leon Potok, who was re-elected in November along with Ilissa Miller and joined on the board by newcomer David Finch.

Rosenblum had doubts about Potok’s interests in the matter, as the trustee does not himself reside in the commu-nity of Rye Neck.

“Why is Trustee Potok push-ing this?” the mayor said. “It appears he doesn’t give a damn about the residents of Rye Neck and the taxpayers.”

Potok has countered that the mayor could not possibly know if Rye Neck will be more vul-nerable until the terms of the dissolution are settled.

“He’s trying to decide for them what the terms will be,”

Potok said. “He hasn’t identi-fied what the vulnerabilities will be.”

Although Potok did re-open the discussion on the possibil-ity of Rye Town’s dissolution, the idea was initially proposed back in 2009 after a state grant was offered to municipalities to study ways to consolidate lo-cal government services. The Town of Rye and the villages of Rye Brook, Port Chester and Mamaroneck jointly ap-plied for, and were subsequent-ly awarded a $50,000 grant to conduct a feasibility study into the dissolution of Rye Town.

In order for the dissolution bill to pass under state law, res-idents from each affected mu-nicipality must support it in a public referendum.

According to a timeline, the village will likely vote in May on whether to move forward and put the issue of dissolu-tion before its constituents. If the resolution receives enough support within the Board of Trustees, it could lead to a vote as soon as November 2015.

Carvin could not be reached for comment as of press time.



Westchester unemployment dropsBy AlinA Suriel

Staff Writer

Preliminary unemployment rates on all New York counties from the last month of 2014 re-veals that Westchester is bounc-ing back from post-recession era job slump in a big way, ac-cording to reports released by the state labor department.

Only nine out of the total 62 counties in New York have similar or lower unemploy-ment rates than Westchester, which saw 4.6 percent of its current population jobless in December 2014. The last time that number was that low was in 2006, when Westchester unemployment rates were 3.3 percent. In 2013, Westches-ter’s unemployment rate was 5.2 percent.

Johny Nelson, a labor mar-ket analyst in the Hudson Val-ley branch of the state labor department, said that, while Westchester typically does en-joy low unemployment rates, the latest numbers are signifi-cant because of recent eco-nomic hardship.

“Historically our region has done well in terms of having low unemployment rates, but we weren’t immune to the re-cession,” Nelson said.

According to Jim Brown, a labor department represen-tative, Westchester’s low un-employment is due to its high education rate. Brown said the population in Westchester is relatively more educated than the rest of New York and this statistic largely explains the lower unemployment rate. Nearly half of Westchester adults over the age 25, 45.4 percent, have a bachelor’s de-gree while only 33.2 percent of the population in the rest of the state has such a degree.

Westchester’s central lo-cation also contributes to its low unemployment rate. Its close proximity to New York City and other tri-state cen-ters of commerce allow resi-dents to easily commute to job opportunities.

The highest unemploy-ment rate ever measured in Westchester County was 8.1 percent, in January 2010, which took place slightly more than a year after the recession that struck in late 2008, according to Nelson. The unemployment rate in

the county dropped steadily in surveys taken in the years following, but rates remained as high as 6.8 percent in De-cember 2012.

Nelson cites growth in cer-tain industries in the Hudson Valley area as a major cause of the improvement.

“We can tie it up into the job picture around here,” Nel-son said. “We’re seeing decent job growth in the three-county lower Hudson valley of Put-nam Valley, Westchester and Rockland.”

Data from the Division of Research and Statistics at the Department of Labor points to education and health ser-vices as industries which grew over the course of last year. In this category a combined total of 2,400 jobs were cre-ated in 2014, for a growth of two percent. In the leisure and hospitality category, there was an even larger growth of 5.6 percent, or 2,600 jobs, over the last year.

The increase in job avail-ability locally has not gone unnoticed.

Wendy Morosoff, director of the Career Development Center at Purchase College, told the Review that, since January 2014 there has been a steady increase in employ-

ment opportunities posted to the school’s online search en-gine. According to information from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a nonprofit which links college career services professionals with employers of new gradu-ates, employers plan to hire 8.6 percent more college graduates than they hired in 2013.

Despite the influx, Morosoff said those in pursuit of work still need to put in extra effort to ensure the best chances of be-ing hired.

“Although we may see an uptick in opportunities, this never means that one should be complacent and expect job op-portunities to come knocking on one’s door,” she said.

Morosoff suggested using social media as an effective way to network for employ-ment, as well as attending social and educational events related to a desired career.According to the Purchase College career development webpage, approximately 60 percent of job seekers find jobs through their network of contacts.

The Business Council of Westchester could not be reached as of press time.


Westchester County is one of only 12 counties in New York with an unemployment rate of less than five percent. Map courtesy New York State Department of Labor

By cHriS eBerHArTStaff Writer

A year’s worth of federal funding from HUD that was lost by Westchester County has been retrieved by a joint agreement between the gover-nor and area congresswoman.

The caveat for county ad-ministration officials is they are now being completely re-moved from the distribution of funds, as per the agreement.

On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, and U.S. Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a Democrat, announced a deal that will establish an approxi-mately $5 million community development block grant for 2015 after the federal Depart-ment of Housing and Urban De-velopment, HUD, withheld ap-proximately $23 million worth of grant money from 2011 to 2014 from the county for not being in compliance with a 2009 affordable housing set-tlement. The federal commu-nity development block grants go toward funding afford-able housing and revitalizing neighborhoods.

As part of the agreement be-tween Cuomo, Lowey and the federal government, the grant money will be funded by HUD but funneled through state pro-grams, rather than the county, and disbursed to qualifying Westchester municipalities and nonprofits that were part of the 2009 housing settlement.

Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman M- ike Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat, said “this recapture of the community development block grant monies has been a goal of all the legislators.”

The New York State Homes and Community Renewal pro-gram will distribute approxi-mately $3.3 million to fund housing improvements and rehabilitation, structure im-provements of public facilities that will serve special-needs populations and infrastructural improvements to public works such as sidewalks and streets. More than $600,000 will be available from Emergency Shelter Grants, which can be used to fund the renovation of buildings used as emergency shelters or transitional hous-ing for homeless families. And more than $900,000 will be available for the HOME

Cuomo, Lowey restore 2015 HUD funding

Investment Partnerships Pro-gram, which funds a wide range of activities including building, buying, and/or reha-bilitating affordable housing for rent or homeownership.

Kaplowitz said this money has been “lock-boxed” for the eligible Westchester entities to ensure the funding doesn’t go to other counties in the state.

Cuomo said in a statement, “This funding is an important resource for local governments and non-profit organizations in Westchester County that pro-vide everything from afford-able housing to public works improvements for their com-munities. Our administration is proud to be joining with Con-gresswoman Lowey to make this funding available once again to the groups that need it most.”

The 2011 to 2014 grant money was originally lost because of a disagreement between Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Re-publican, and HUD.

The affordable housing set-tlement, reached under former County Executive Andy Spa-no, a Democrat, and HUD, re-quired the county to build 750 units of affordable housing in Westchester over a seven-year period; complete source of in-come legislation—which bans discrimination against poten-tial renters and homebuyers based on their source of in-come—and complete an anal-ysis of impediments, which is a review of the barriers affect-ing the development of afford-able housing.

As of the beginning of this year, Westchester is on pace to fulfill the 750 units require-ment, according to Ned Mc-Cormack, a spokesman for Astorino’s office. The source of income legislation was passed in 2013 by the Board of Legislators.

But the analysis of impedi-

ments remains the holdup. The Astorino administra-

tion submitted eight analy-ses of impediments to HUD, but each submission was rejected.

McCormack said the As-torino administration has done everything the settlement has required and remains steadfast in its position that the county is in compliance.

HUD disagreed and points to paragraph 32 of the 2009 settlement, which says the analysis of impediments “must be deemed acceptable by HUD.” Since that analysis has not been deemed acceptable, HUD said the county is not in compliance with the settlement and thus has withheld the four years of grant money.

Kaplowitz said the Cuomo/Lowey agreement will not bring back the four years of grant money that has been lost, and the funding is for 2015 only, with 2016 and beyond still shrouded in uncertainty.

McCormack said, Astorino suggested the state adminis-ter the funds rather than HUD, back in 2013, but was told by Congressman Eliot En-gel, a Democrat, that distribut-ing funds like that would be illegal.

“So it’s curious that it’s OK now, but it was illegal then,” McCormack said.

Assuming the municipali-ties receive the money, how-ever, McCormack called it a victory for the county on two levels. No. 1, the municipali-ties will receive the money that should never have been withheld and, No. 2, they can do so without changing their zoning codes and forfeiting home rule, which was some-thing HUD was pushing mu-nicipalities targeted in the settlement to do.


New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Congresswoman Nita Lowey announced a joint agreement this week that will restore community development block grant money to Westchester County that was previously withheld. File Photos


The Royal Hanneford Cir-cus is coming to town this weekend and will be celebrat-ing its 40th anniversary at the Westchester County Center.

Children in the county’s foster and homeless programs will be able to enjoy this great Westchester tradition free of charge thanks to a generous donation of tickets to the De-partment of Social Services for the third year in a row from Titan, a leader in transit me-dia and a longtime advertising partner of Westchester County.

“The Royal Hanneford Cir-cus is a cherished family tradi-tion in Westchester, and we are honored to be celebrating its 40th anniversary at the Coun-ty Center this year,” County Executive Rob Astorino said. “We are also extremely for-tunate that for a third year in a row, we will be able to give several of our foster and homeless families the chance to enjoy this great show for free. I want to again thank Ti-tan for this generous donation on behalf of our kids.”

Don Allman, president and CEO of Titan, said the com-pany was happy to continue a tradition that puts smiles on the faces of kids.

“Giving back to the com-munity has always been of utmost importance to us, and

we’re happy to continue our tradition of providing West-chester County foster and homeless families the opportu-nity to experience the magic of the Royal Hanneford Circus,” Allman said.

Kristen Vivanco and Chris-topher Sala became foster parents to Julian and Julius Vivanco, 6-year old twin boys, in March 2013. Mr. Sala was raised in foster care giving him special insight into the needs of these children. The couple is thrilled that their kids will be able to experience the cir-cus for a second year.

“We attended the circus last year and the children thought it was awesome,” Vivanco said “We are thankful to be able to share this wonderful experi-ence with them again.”

The Deleg family sought refuge through the county’s homeless program after expe-riencing financial hardship. As the couple works to secure a new home and become finan-cially stable, they are extreme-ly grateful for the ticket do-nation that will allow them to give their two young children the circus experience.

“The circus brings back memories of happiness,” Ms. Deleg said. “I remember the excitement I felt when my fa-ther took me as a child. I can’t

wait for my children to experi-ence that same excitement.”

Department of Social Ser-vices Commissioner Kevin McGuire added, “A circus ex-perience is a life-long memory for kids and families. We are so thankful to Titan and The Royal Hanneford Circus for providing some of our foster and homeless children the op-portunity to attend this won-derful event.”

The Royal Hanneford Cir-cus will perform nine shows on Feb. 14, 15 and 16. Show times are 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day. Tickets are available at the Westchester County Center Box Office located at, 198 Central Park Ave., in White Plains, or via Ticketmaster. Call the County Center at 995-4050 to pur-chase tickets today.

“We are excited for chil-dren of all ages and their families to experience this year’s special anniversary per-formance at the Westchester County Center,” Billy Martin, circus ringmaster, said. “We are proud of our 40-year affili-ation with Westchester County and are thrilled to once again partner with the Department of Social Services and Titan to provide the Hanneford Circus experience to foster and home-less children.” (Submitted)

The circus is coming to town


RadioShack files for bankruptcy

RadioShack, an electronic retailer, announced last week that it plans to file for bankruptcy and sell up to 2,400 of its stores to Standard General, which has a deal with Sprint to open up “mini-stores” in up to 1,750 RadioShack locations.

Long-running electronics company RadioShack filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 6 and plans to sell up to 2,400 of its stores while closing the re-mainder by March 31, 2015.

The once invaluable elec-tronics retail chain immedi-ately suspended trading in its company’s public stock last week, following 11 consecu-tive unprofitable quarters and its shares dropping 86 percent from last year, when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protec-tion, according to the compa-ny website.

“These steps are the culmi-nation of a thorough process intended to drive maximum value for our stakeholders,” said Joe Magnacca, chief ex-ecutive officer of RadioShack, in a statement.

Some of the planned store closings will include its Yon-kers, White Plains, Hartsdale and Mount Vernon locations, according to the company. Mamaroneck, Port Chester and New Rochelle sites are some of the 1,500 to 2,400 Ra-dioShack stores said not to be in danger of closing.

Despite filing for Chapter 11, bankruptcy, more than 1,500 of its stores will remain open.

Plans for the company’s fu-ture are in an effort to keep the RadioShack brand alive, albeit

with fewer stores and in a co-branded fashion with wireless telecom provider, Sprint.

According to a statement by RadioShack, General Wire-less, a subsidiary of Standard General, RadioShack’s larg-est shareholder, has agreed to purchase up to 2,400 of its remaining stores. Sprint has a deal in place with Standard General to open “mini-shops” in up to 1,750 stores that Standard General is purchas-ing from RadioShack. Sprint would take up about one-third of the retail space in each store.

According to a U.S. Bank-ruptcy Court filing in Dela-ware, RadioShack, represen-

tatives said the company had $1.2 billion in assets and $1.38 billion in debt as of 2015.

RadioShack also operates stores in Mexico, which were not part of the bankruptcy filing.

RadioShack was first found- ed in Boston in 1921, when it began as a mail-order retailer for amateur ham-radio opera-tors and maritime communica-tions officers.

Store managers from both the Port Chester and Mama-roneck locations declined comment.

A representative from the RadioShack corporate office also declined comment.-Reporting by Marissa Penn

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February 13, 2015 • THe HArriSOn review • 15SPORTS

It’s officially here, people; the worst time of the year for sports fans.

I don’t mean it’s a bad time for fans of Section I athletics. If anything, with sectionals just ramping up, this may be the most exciting time of the winter.

But if you cast your gaze out beyond the local scene; there’s just not a lot going on.

In fairness, this happens ev-ery year around this time.

The immediacy of the NFL playoffs and the pomp and cir-cumstance of the Super Bowl annually gives way to the dol-drums of February as fans count down the days until pitch-ers and catchers report.

Sure the NHL and NBA are in full swing. But we are only around the midpoint of two long seasons, and forgive me if I can’t muster my full enthusiasm for a mid-February game between the

A long winterRangers and the Maple Leafs, who have about one win so far this calendar year.

As for the Knicks—who were essentially eliminated from the playoffs two days after the sea-son started—and the barely-bet-ter Nets, the less said the better.

This is the time of year when we begin to scramble for sports stories to keep the fires burning. And sure, it seems like we have quite a few going on.

Local sports pundits are eagerly prognosticating about Alex Rodriguez and the three-ring circus he’ll bring to camp when he reports to Tampa in a few weeks.

James Dolan recently took some time off from running a premier NBA franchise into the ground to hurl stinging accusa-tions at a critical 72-year-old Knick fan who had the temer-ity to question the Cablevision scion’s basketball acumen.

As far as the other local team, the newly-formed West-chester Knicks, it might be time to go see them play be-

fore their bench players get called up to play for their NBA counterparts and we’re left watching a bunch of stiffs who probably couldn’t hack it in an over-40 intramural league.

In the absence of any real sports news, I guess, we’ll just have to make do.

Fortunately, however, this won’t last too long. Once Spring Training starts up, we can finally start to talk about things that matter. March Madness is just on the horizon and with that comes my yearly chance to embarrass myself in the office bracket pool.

Soon enough, MLB’s Open-ing Day will be here, followed by the basketball and hockey playoffs that last roughly four months. Finally, we’ll be able to talk about sports again.

Unless Dolan sends another fan a nasty email, that is.

That will definitely grab the back pages.

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With snow on the ground and a dearth of sports stories in the works, the winter can be a bleak time for sports fans. Photo/Mike Smith

Zach Evans sets up the Harrison offense during an early-season game against Croton-Harmon. The Huskies enter this week’s sectional playoffs as the No. 4 seed in Class A. Photos/Mike Smith

Harrison’s girls and boys basketball teams are both preparing for their sectional openers this week, as they both were rewarded for their stellar regular seasons with first-round home games on Feb. 12. Though neither team would know their first-round opponent as of press time, big things are expected from both squads this year.

At 12-6 on the year, the girls’ squad earned a fifth-seed and will take on the winner of the Lakeland-Panas outbrack-et game, while the boys, who finished 13-5, held onto the fourth seed in Class A with a win in their regular season fi-nale against Fox Lane.

“We had been following the brackets online,” boys’ coach Gary Chiarella said. “So we knew heading into that last game that we were going to either be the four or five seed.”

Both the boys’ and girls’ teams were tested in the final days of the regular season cam-paign, with the girls tangling with teams like Tappan Zee, Rye

and Fox Lane, while the boys took down the fourth-seeded Class AA team on Feb. 7. Ac-cording to Chiarella, the 65-59 win over the Foxes has his team riding high into the first-round game, where they will either see John Jay or rival Rye.

“I’m very happy with how we’ve played,” he said. “I think that the game against Fox Lane was the best we’ve played all year.”

The girls will play at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, after press time, while the boys’ game

will follow as the nightcap. After a Monday, which saw both teams off due to weather, the two squads were back in the gym on Tuesday getting ready for the playoff push.

“We’ve just been working on conditioning and making sure we’re prepared for late-game situations,” Chiarella said. “You get into those situations, things happen fast, so we want to make sure we know what we’re go-ing to do.”-Reporting by Mike Smith

Avery LaBarbera looks for an open teammate against Rye on Feb. 1. LaBarbera and the Huskies nabbed the fifth-seed in Class A.

Basketball eyes playoffs

16 • The harrison review • February 13, 2015 SPORTS

Titans fall lateBy mike SmiTH Sports Editor

After a back-and-forth game between two local teams, it was a last-second breakaway goal that proved the difference giving New Rochelle a 5-4 win over the Rye Town/Har-rison Titans.

With just five seconds to go in the third period of a tie game on Feb. 7, Huguenot stand-out forward Kenny McLean collected a loose puck off the boards, sped past the defense and found the net to put his team on top for good.

McLean, who had been in the penalty box until 30 sec-onds left in the game, simply proved too much for the Titans to handle, said New Rochelle coach CJ Tozzo.

“When he came out of the box he had fresh legs, he was chasing the puck around,” Tozzo said. “He was just the best out there on the ice.”

It may have been a chance

for the senior to shine, but the young Huguenots, who are 6-8 on the year, have been making their own strides over the last few weeks.

On Jan. 31, they took peren-nial powerhouse Mamaroneck to the limit, falling to the Ti-gers 3-2.

On Friday, the undersized New Rochelle squad refused to back down against a deep, physical Titans team, some-thing that speaks to the prog-ress the squad has made.

“They were able to take it to us a little physically in the be-ginning,” Tozzo said. “We’ve been focusing on the details, on the little things, as the sea-son has gone on.”

The Titans ended the sec-ond period with their own last-second goal and entered the third period trailing 4-2. They surged late, putting the pressure on the Huguenots—especially with McLean in the box and knotted the score at four with a Doug Harrison goal with just 34 seconds left in regulation.

Unfortunately for the Ti-tans, it was McLean’s late game heroics that would prove the difference-maker.

“Obviously, we’re not overly thrilled with some of the goals we gave up down the stretch,” Tozzo said. “But it’s a learning experience that will pay off as this group gets older.”

With the loss, the Titans fell to 9-5-1 but should be in good

position for the playoffs which are scheduled to kick off next week. As of press time, the Titans’ record and strength of schedule should be enough to make them a sixth-seed in the Division II playoffs.


David Benko collects the puck against Rye Town/Harrison on Feb. 7. The Huguenots needed a late goal to down the Titans.

Brandon Cimino finds some open ice in the Huguenots 5-4 win over Rye Town/Harrison. Cimino and the Huguenots are currently 6-8 on the year.

Nick Ramondelli fights with Rye Town/Harrison’s William Pizzutello for the puck on Feb. 7. Photos/Bobby Begun

New Rochelle’s Arthur Liebowitz gets set to make a save against the Titans. Liebowitz made 40 saves in the 5-4 win.

harrison review 2-13-2015

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