Bronxville and Scarsdale region

The Eastchester Town Board meets at 8 p.m. Oct. 4 at Town Hall, 40 Mill Road.

On the agenda: appointments to the Lake Isle advisory board; resolution authorizing the supervisor to execute and deliver a parade float lease agreement between the Town of Eastchester and the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

Meetings are open to the public.

This came over from Eastchester PD e-alert:

The Village of Scarsdale’s Popham Road Bridge contractor is tentatively scheduled for a complete closure of the Popham Road Bridge to vehicular (not pedestrian) traffic from 9 a.m. on Oct. 6 to 6 a.m. Oct. 7. A detour route will be implemented to accommodate those who are unable to avoid this area during these times.

High volumes of traffic and delays are expected. Drivers are highly encouraged to use alternate routes and avoid the Popham Road, Garth Road, Harney Road and Scarsdale Avenue areas during these times.

Efforts to minimize the delays to residents and travelers in and around this area are being taken by all municipalities and agencies affected. In the event of a change in closure scheduling, additional advisories will be issued. Thank you in advance and we appreciate your cooperation and patience during this temporary inconvenience.

Eastchester PD

This came in as an e-alert from Bronxville PD:

The Police Department is investigating a crime that occurred at the HSBC branch located at 74 Pondfield Road. A skimmer and hidden camera were illegally installed at the ATM in an attempt to capture debit card numbers and personal identification numbers. The skimmer and camera were quickly detected by a customer and have been removed by the Police Department and secured as evidence. Several customers conducted transactions while the equipment was in place – all have been contacted by HSBC Security Division.

As a precaution against skimming, here are some suggestions. First, when using an ATM, before you put your card in the slot, put your hand on the slot and wiggle it. ATMs without skimmers will not wiggle at all. If there is a skimmer, the slot will seem loose. (The skimmer might even pop off into your hands.) If it does seem loose, you should alert the bank so they can check into it further.

Second, to prevent “shoulder-surfers” who might be trying to steal your PIN, always place your free hand over the hand that’s punching in the numbers. This will also prevent any camera that was installed from recording your PIN #.

Chief Christopher Satriale

SCARSDALE
Greenacres Avenue: A small safe built into a wall in a Greenacres Avenue home was extracted and stolen, village police said. A glass pane was broken on a rear door between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday to get inside the home.

Owners of the burglarized home have not yet provided Scarsdale police with details of what valuables were in the safe, Detective Lt. Thomas Altizio said today.

Here’s a glance at today’s opinion content:

PEF’s rejection: Editorial
We comment on news that the Public Employees Federation, the second largest union of state employees, rejected a package of give-backs negotiated with the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. We write:

… The rejected deal, apropos of these post-recessionary times, largely mirrored the no-layoffs pact easily ratified by the Civil Service Employees Association last month: It provided for a three-year freeze on wages, followed by 2 percent raises in the fourth and fifth years; nine days of furloughs, four of which would be repaid at the end of the contract term; and increased employee health care costs.

Broad protections against layoffs would have been in force the next two years.

(more…)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, the blunt Republican whose efforts to lessen taxpayers’ burdens have made headlines across the nation, continues to stand firm that he is not going to seek his party’s nomination for president in 2012.

Do you think he should enter the race? Do you think he’d be a good candidate? Share your thoughts with us:

The Scarsdale Woman’s club will hold its fall thrift collection and Operation Bookshelf from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 22, and from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 23, at the club, 37 Drake Road, Scarsdale.

Offerings include clothing, children’s and household goods, jewelry and, at the book sale, fiction and nonfiction, children’s books, cookbooks and best sellers.

Both are open to the public.

The JCC of Mid-Westchester, headquartered in Scarsdale, has been awarded a $50,000 challenge grant by the Corporation for National Community Service.

The grant, which will be used to fund future work, was given for the organization’s Sept. 11 Day of Chesed (kindness), Service and Remembrance on Sept. 11, 2011, which drew more than 1,200 people.

The event was hosted by the JCC in cooperation with UJA-Federation of New York.

“When we developed the concept of a Day of Chesed, we had no idea of the national Challenge Grant. We were driven solely by our desire to create a day on which we could offer opportunities for people to do acts of kindness,” said Michael Witkes, Interim Executive Director of the JCC of Mid-Westchester, in a press release announcing the grant.  “Only thereafter did we become aware of the Challenge Grant, a grant that we naturally pursued because we had already met every qualification required. Our combined acts of chesed gave us enough joy and satisfaction, to receive a national award makes our cup runneth over!”

Nearly 140 organizations competed in the grant challenge. Grants can be used over three years to implement further Sept. 11 projects that benefit their communities. Grants were awarded to organizations that had the largest number of volunteers participating.

Good morning. Here’s a look at opinion content published today in The Journal News:

Mandate relief: Editorial
We comment on news that Bedford town officials voted to create a local law to override the 2-percent property tax cap. We encourage Gov. Andrew Cuomo to get serious about mandate relief. We write:

Some towns are already signaling their 2012 budgets could surpass New York’s new 2 percent property-tax cap on local tax levies. Expect similar Hamlet-like struggles from counties and school districts as they look for ways to meet the cap and provide the services their constituents demand.

This should come as little surprise: The tax cap, by itself, is a blunt instrument. It provides a ceiling, but not the steps to get there.

New Yorkers, who struggled to lose the mantle of “most taxed in the nation” amid their sinking fortunes of the Great Recession, demanded it. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who cajoled, berated and begged the state Legislature to pass the cap, gave the people what they wanted.

Now we need the sequel: mandate reform, government consolidation and more discussion among taxpayers on what they are willing to pay for, and what they will do without. …

White Plains Road: Venera Gorvokovic, 25, of 2023 Paulding Ave. in the Bronx, was arrested at Lord and Taylor’s department store at 750 White Plains Road on a shoplifting charge, police said. Gorvokovic is accused of taking two earring sets worth $143 and putting them in her pocketbook before trying to leave the store without paying at 6:53 p.m. Sept. 26, Eastchester police said. She was stopped by store security and turned over to Eastchester police. She was charged with petty larceny, a misdemeanor.