All Entries in the "The Examiner" Category
P’ville Anti-Drug and Alcohol Coalition Prepared to Submit Grant Request
Pleasantville Strong is moving closer to submitting its proposal for a five-year grant to support anti-drug and alcohol efforts throughout the village but not all officials are supportive of the process. The coalition, which was founded last summer to take preventative steps to inform and educate Pleasantville students and parents about drug and alcohol abuse, […]
Brynwood FEIS Public Hearings Likely to Resume By Spring
North Castle officials anticipate the public hearing on Brynwood Golf & Country Club’s Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) to resume within two months once the developers address issues raised by the town’s consultants. Earlier this month, the town board accepted reports from BFJ Planning and Kellard Sessions, an Armonk engineering firm, detailing a long series […]
Love Helps Chappaqua Couple Cope With Breast Cancer
Jeanette Cueva and her husband David Krakow have always been a close couple. But even the closest relationships can be strained when a potentially life-threatening event abruptly alters plans. In September 2011, while working late one evening, Cueva was contacted by her radiologist that she had been diagnosed with Stage 1 ductal cell breast cancer. […]
Preliminary Metro-North Crash Report Void of Answers
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a preliminary report Monday on the Feb. 3 Metro-North crash that killed six people but doesn’t explain why the SUV driver moved forward into the oncoming train’s path. The two-page report highlighted the main details in the moments leading up to the 6:26 p.m. crash at the Commerce […]
Summer Camp Offers Free Full Session to Children of Metro-North Victims
Seven children were left without a father following this month’s tragic Metro-North train crash and Kiwi Country Day Camp in Carmel is trying to make life for those children a bit brighter. Adam Wallach, the owner and camp director at Kiwi Country Day Camp, reached out to New Castle Supervisor Robert Greenstein soon after the […]
Blindfold Dinner Fundraiser for Guiding Eyes Set for Via Vanti!
The services provided by Yorktown-based Guiding Eyes for the Blind have a special meaning for Carla Gambescia, the owner of Via Vanti! Restaurant & Gelateria in Mount Kisco. The restaurateur has family members who are blind, so it’s natural that she is hosting for the second year in a row a special fundraising event for […]
Gas Leak Displaces Pace Students From Dorms; Return Expected Friday
Students at Pace University were evacuated Wednesday night following a gas leak on the Pleasantville campus. According to Cara Cea, the assistant director for media relations at Pace, a corroded external gas pipe burst on Wednesday evening due to the cold weather, resulting in the leak. Heat and hot water in two dormitory buildings, as […]
North Castle Officials Weigh Taking Over Operation of Ehrman Pool
North Castle officials are exploring the possibility of the town taking over operation of the Anita Louise Ehrman Pool in Armonk through a licensing agreement and to evaluate whether it should incur the responsibility on a long-term basis. The town’s Budget and Finance Advisory Committee has been helping the town board study its options and […]
Tensions Fray as Two New Castle Coyote Plans are Presented
The New Castle Town Board will weigh recommendations submitted by two committees it appointed last year that were asked to devise plans to keep residents and their pets safe from coyotes. Last week, the Coyote Awareness and Safety Advisory Committee presented its proposal during the Feb. 10 meeting, which outlined a detailed co-existence plan to […]
No. Castle Police to Contribute to Health Insurance in New Contract
North Castle officials came to terms on a new contract last week with the town’s police union that will see officers contribute to their health insurance coverage for the first time in the municipality’s history. The agreement with the Police Benevolent Association calls for annual 2.5 percent salary increases retroactive to 2011 and continuing for […]
No Contest: Scherer, Board Candidates Unopposed in P’ville Village Election
The Pleasantville Village Board race will once again be uncontested. Mayor Peter Scherer, first elected in 2009, will be seeking his third term while Trustee Colleen Griffin-Wagner seeks a second three-year term in the March 18 election. Last month, Scherer and Griffin-Wagner cited a desire to see several projects reach completion as a key reason […]
P’ville Therapist Offers Free Group Counseling to Help Cope With Train Tragedy
When Maggie O’Connor was stuck in White Plains following last week’s Metro-North train crash, her immediate thoughts were about how she could help those affected by the tragedy. O’Connor, a therapist at Breakthrough Marriage and Family Therapy, typically takes the train from her Scarsdale office to White Plains, where she transfers to the train that […]
Officials Look to Federal Gov’t for Improvements to RR Crossings
Elected officials serving parts of the area serviced by Metro-North’s Harlem line are pressing the federal government for action to prevent a repeat of last week’s accident in Valhalla. New Castle Supervisor Robert Greenstein, whose community saw two of its residents killed, sent a letter last Friday to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand requesting federal money […]
Harckham Decides Against Running for Fifth Term on BOL
County Legislator Peter Harckham (D-North Salem) announced Tuesday morning that he will not seek another term in November representing District 2 on the Board of Legislators. Harckham, who served as Democratic Majority Leader in 2010-11, made the announcement on his Facebook page. “As I consider what is best for my family and me looking out […]
Three-Proposition Mt. Pleasant School Bond Set for March 24
For the second time in four months, Mount Pleasant School District residents will be asked to vote on a major capital projects bond. The board of education voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve a three-proposition bond that will go before district voters on March 24. Proposition 1 would permit the district to borrow up to […]
Family of SUV Driver Remembers Her Smile, Laughs and Optimism
Friends and family of Ellen Brody remembered her Friday as a perpetually optimistic and caring family person who greeted everyone with a warm smile and infectious humor. Hundreds packed the Chabad of the Rivertowns in Dobbs Ferry for a touching and tear-filled funeral service to pay their last respects to Brody, 49, of Edgemont. Her […]
Vandercar ‘Wanted to Make the World a Better Place’
Hundreds of friends, family and colleagues packed into Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Friday afternoon to say their final goodbyes to Eric Vandercar, one of six victims who died in Tuesday’s Metro-North tragedy in Valhalla. With the large gathering, many were forced to watch the service via live stream from a social hall adjacent to […]
Chappaqua Man, Two Bedford Residents Among Victims in Metro-North Crash
Westchester County released the remaining names Wednesday evening of the six people who perished in the worst accident in the history of Metro-North, which included one Chappaqua resident and two Bedford residents. Earlier in the day, multiple media outlets reported that Ellen Brody, 49, of Edgemont, who worked at ICD Contemporary Jewelry in Chappaqua, […]
Pleasantville Mourns Death of High School Senior; Cause Not Released
The Pleasantville School District is in mourning following the death of a student last weekend. Shane Howe, a 17-year-old senior at Pleasantville High School, died on Saturday, although circumstances surrounding his death are not being released. According to a representative from the Westchester County medical examiner’s office, the death certificate states that the official cause […]
Astorino Slammed for Secrecy in Mt. Pleasant Development Plan
Three Democratic county legislators last week criticized Republican County Executive Rob Astorino for a lack of transparency regarding plans to possibly develop 60 acres of public land adjacent to the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla. Majority Leader Catherine Borgia (D-Ossining), Peter Harckham (D-North Salem) and Catherine Parker (D-Rye) charged that the administration has failed to […]
Murphy Unveils Plan to Combat Heroin, Narcotics Abuse
In an effort to combat what he described as a crisis, state Sen. Terrence Murphy (R-Yorktown) last week introduced to the public a seven-point plan to fight abuse of heroin and other drugs. Murphy kicked off his series of meetings last Thursday at Mount Pleasant Town Hall. The series will continue at venues throughout the […]
Food Bank Merges With Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless
The ability to feed Westchester County’s hungry has vastly improved thanks to a merger of two organizations dedicated to the cause. The Food Bank for Westchester and the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless signed an official merger agreement Friday morning, creating the largest hunger relief organization to ever exist in the county. “Together […]
Local Baseball Foundation to Host Fundraiser With Dwight Gooden
For the last eight years, John Fitzgerald’s nonprofit organization has raised money to provide equipment and improve fields for children in Ireland who are interested in baseball. The lifelong Valhalla resident is now also looking to help youngsters who play baseball closer to home. On Saturday, Feb. 21, Fitzgerald and the organization he founded in […]
Talent on Display at West Patent Elementary Family Fun Night
Kids were screaming as the lights came up at the Mary Lou Meese Theater at Fox Lane High School last Friday night. But it wasn’t a world famous pop star performing. Students in grades K-5 were actually cheering for their classmates during the West Patent Elementary School Family Fun Night, an annual talent show sponsored […]
Mt. Kisco, Bedford to Kick Off Major Solar Power Push
The Village of Mount Kisco and the Town of Bedford are kicking off a major push this weekend to encourage businesses and homeowners to use solar power. The Bedford 2020 Environmental Summit and Solar Action Day is scheduled for this Saturday at Fox Lane High School from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The event, which […]
Local Lawmakers Give Cuomo’s Proposals a Tepid Response
Area state legislators gave Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address last week mixed reviews, generally lauding him for proposals to encourage business growth but leveling strong criticism against his education policies. Cuomo, who delivered a nearly hour-and-a-half address in Albany last Wednesday afternoon where he also unveiled a proposed $150 billion 2015-16 budget, […]
Stargiotti to Launch Bid for Pleasantville Village Board Return
The Pleasantville Village Board will say goodbye to longtime Trustee Jonathan Cunningham at the end of March, but his replacement could be another familiar face. Joseph Stargiotti, a partner at the Pleasantville law firm of Stargiotti & Beatley, is currently in the process of collecting signatures to get on the ballot for the March 18 […]
Food Bank Rolls Out New Truck to Help Feed the Hungry
A new Food Bank for Westchester truck that was unveiled last week will help the organization recover at least twice the amount of excess food from supermarkets and other commercial establishments throughout the county. Funded by a grant from Purchase-based PepsiCo, the Food Bank acquired a 16-foot refrigerated Freightliner to add to its fleet. About […]
Grunthal Appointed to Fill Mount Kisco Village Board Vacancy
Peter Grunthal was appointed last week by Mayor Michael Cindrich to the Mount Kisco Village Board replacing the late George Griffin Jr. who died on Christmas Eve. Grunthal, 71, who returned to the five-member board on Jan. 20, previously served from 2003 to 2010. Cindrich said under state law, village mayors have the power to […]
State Board Approves Variances for Chappaqua Affordable Housing Project
A state panel gave conditional approval for needed building and fire safety variances Thursday to the developer of the controversial Chappaqua affordable housing project. The Department of State’s Hudson Valley Regional Board of Review granted Conifer Realty four variances needed to build the 28-unit Chappaqua Station project on Hunts Place. The board’s decision was a […]
