Bronxville and Scarsdale region

About 175 people attended The Scarsdale Teen Center’s “Adult Night of Rock” on May 5 at Vintage in White Plains.  The $8,000 raised will help fund Scarsdale Teen Center initiatives and teen programming.

The mission of the Scarsdale Teen Center is to provide a safe, drug and alcohol free space for the teens of Scarsdale. Since 1998 the center has provided an environment where teens can interact with their peers and participate in safe, recreational, social and educational programs and activities. Here teens can explore and share their interests in a supervised, substance-free environment.

Photo: Jimmy Fink from 107.1 FM The Peak, courtesy of the Scarsdale Teen Center

A New York City high school principal has been chosen as the new head of Scarsdale High School.

Kenneth Bonamo, who is principal of Townshend Harris High School, a prestigious magnet school in Flushing, Queens, was selected from more than 75 applicants and was among 27 to be interviewed.

After two initial rounds of interviews and preliminary reference checks, Bonamo was one of the semi-finalists who came to the district for day-long interviews that involved more than 70 students, parents and teachers.

My recommendation to appoint Mr. Bonamo followed further reference checks, a visiting team journey to his school and a meeting with our Board of Education,” Superintendent Michael V. McGill  said in a statement. “According to colleagues, parents and supervisors, he’s championed an education for the new century, upheld high standards for learning and behavior, and restored a sense of leadership.”

McGill said Bonamo “will bring energy, enthusiasm, a collaborative style and thoughtful intelligence to his work in Scarsdale.  He is eager to take on his new responsibilities, and I’m fully confident that he’ll provide the High School with vision and leadership that will be consistent with the best Scarsdale tradition.”

Information about his start date was not immediately available.

The Center for Discovery, New York State’s largest provider of care for children with significant disabilities, medical frailties and autism spectrum disorders, will honor Ellen Alemany, chairman and chief executive officer of RBS Citizens Financial Group, at its annual gala on Tuesday, May 15.

“The Evening of Discovery” will take place beginning at 6 p.m. at Pier Sixty in Chelsea Piers on 23^rd Street on the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Alemany, a Scarsdale resident, has been ranked one of American Banker’s 25 Most Powerful Women in Banking for the past seven years, and listed by Forbes as one of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

The Evening of Discovery, which pays tribute to exceptional leaders dedicated to The Center’s mission, will honor Alemany, a member of The Center’s Board of Directors, for her leadership of The Center as well as her long record of community service. The event has raised more than $1 million in her honor.

Alemany’s daughter has been a resident at The Center for Discovery for a number of years.

“Ellen is a remarkable parent who balances with grace and passion a demanding career in business with her active involvement in her daughter’s life at The Center for Discovery,” said Patrick H. Dollard, President and CEO.  “As a dedicated member of the board, she has helped to shape the future of The Center to ensure its ability to serve as a resource for families and those in need.  We are honored for this opportunity to publicly acknowledge her many contributions.”

“The Center has become part of our extended family and I am honored to be a part of its continued success and growth,” Alemany said. “The staff of The Center is incredibly special. They have created a unique approach that we believe can serve as the model for serving those with disabilities in New York and around the country.”

The Center for Discovery has been treating children and adults with significant disabilities for more than 60 years. It offers educational, clinical/health, residential, and family support in addition to other programs and services.

Located in the lower Catskills on a sprawling rural campus just 90 miles outside of New York City, it is one of the nation’s premier specialty centers for the treatment of children and adults with significant disabilities, medical frailties and autism spectrum disorders. More than 171 children and 144 adults live in its 42 residences.

To attend The Evening of Discovery, please visit http://www.thecenterfordiscovery.org/committee/. For more information, or to speak with The Center for Discovery officials, please call Bruce Bobbins, Katie Hart-Brennan, or Jacob Berkman at DKC Public Relations at 212-685-4300 or email bruce_bobbins@dkcnews.com, Katie_hart-brennan@dkcnews.com , or Jacob_berkman@dkcnews.com

The Scarsdale Public Library is hosting three diverse programs this month.

As part of the Foreign & Independent Film Festival, the Library will show Buitiful (rated “R”) starring Javier Bardem, at 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, May 9. Admission is free. Snacks and soda provided, and attendees are invited to stay after to discuss the film.

On Wednesday, May 16, Nancy’s Book Discussion Group will talk about “Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer. The group will meet at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Participants are encouraged to register in advance at the Library’s Circulation Desk.

On Wednesday, May 30, the New York Blood Center (NYBC) will host a blood drive at the library from 2:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

For more information, go to www.scarsdalelibrary.org

Scarsdale, Harrison and Putnam Valley were named  some of the best communities for music education in the United States by the NAMM Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing music and music education.

In all, 176 communities out of 237 that submitted surveys were recognized, including 166 school districts and 10 schools, according to NAMM’s website.

For the full list and more information, go to http://www.nammfoundation.org.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, the northbound travel lane on Scarsdale Avenue will be closed to traffic from Grand Boulevard to Popham Road. The  right turn lane on Scarsdale Avenue at the intersection of Popham Road will be closed during those times as well.

Con Edison will be doing underground electrical work connected to the Popham Road Bridge replacement project.

Scarsdale Avenue northbound traffic will be detoured east onto Grand Boulevard, north onto Post Road and west onto Popham Road.

Maggie Dunne (pictured, right), a 2009 Scarsdale graduate who is a junior at Colgate University, has been named among the top 10 college women in the United States by Glamour Magazine.

The magazine holds an annual contest to find female college students who are making a difference in the world. Dunne, 21, was recognized for her work with Native Americans, particularly children who live on a large South Dakota reservation.

She won the magazine’s grand prize of $20,000; the other 9 honorees were awarded $3,000 each. She and the others will be featured in the magazine’s May issue.

Photo courtesy of Glamour.com

Con Ed was repairing a surface pipe this afternoon after the fire department reported a gas line break about 11:30 a.m. in the line between 26 Scarsdale Avenue and the road in downtown Scarsdale.

Although there is construction going on at the site, Con Ed spokeswoman Sandy Miller said the break apparently did not occur because of it. The line, which appeared to be directly tied to a real estate office, was immediately shut off and capped.

People in the building were evacuated by the fire department before Con Ed arrive. No one was hurt. Once the leak was capped, the people were allowed back inside. The owner now has some interior repairs to do to get the pipes back up to current standards.

Line repairs are now under way, Miller said, and as soon as the repairs are completed and the building back up to code, the gas will be turned back on. Part of Scarsdale Avenue also was closed when the leak was discovered.

The Scarsdale Forum’s fiscal affairs committee has submitted its report on the village’s tentative budget with a recommendation to raise some fees and take other measures to lower the proposed tax rate.

In essence, the committee said the budget as proposed should be approved, but that a separate measure to take $300,000 from the reserve fund and use it to cut the proposed tax rate increase be abandoned. Members argue that reducing the fund balance could affect the village’s borrowing ability. They recommended, instead, to raise some fees and use other cost-cutting measures to lower the rate.

The state has imposed a 2 percent tax increase cap on the levy, the total amount the village needs to raise to pay its bills. The tax rate is not subject to the cap, since the tax rate is subject to, among other things, the total worth of the village’s property and how that value is divided among individual parcels.

Right now, the village is proposing a $48.9 million budget that includes a 2 percent tax levy increase and a 5.5 percent tax rate increase. A public hearing is set for 8 p.m. April 10.

Here’s a notice of an upcoming course being offered this month by the Scarsdale Adult School:

The Honorable Carole Princer Levy (ret.) joins Scarsdale Adult School this semester to lead “Trials of the Century . . . Plus One,” a three-week course beginning April 17.

The course explores the historical and social context of landmark 20th-century judicial trials including the Scopes trial, Roe v. Wade, the trial of Leo Franks, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti, and Brown v. Board of Education.

Princer will also revisit the 19th-century’s Marbury v. Madison, the first U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the court exercised the power of judicial review.

Cost of the course is $90 and it will meet from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday evenings at Scarsdale High School. Register at www.ScarsdaleAdultSchool.org.