By Mary C. Marvin, Mayor, Village of Bronxville

Jul. 18, 2018:  As one can immediately tell by the availability of parking on Pondfield Road, many villagers are on vacation.

Safety While Away. Even if you are traveling for a short duration, it is important that your home look occupied. Despite stopping mail, phone books, flyers, and PennySavers in the driveway are all giveaways to a vacant house.

Our police department advises homeowners to share your schedule with a neighbor; ask them to pick up items left near your home and park a car in your driveway. In addition, if you alert our police desk to your travels, they will add your home to the “dark house” list and drive by on a daily basis.

Other safety tips from our police department include:

• Putting timers on televisions and radios as well as lights.

• Phone ringers in apartments should be lowered as a persistently audible ringing phone is a sign of an empty dwelling.

• Keep the garage doors locked and secure mowers, barbeques, and bicycles inside.

• Trim trees and shrubs to avoid creating a screen for intruders.

• Don’t leave hidden keys. Burglars tend to know all the hiding places.

• Be a good neighbor. If you notice anything unusual, call the police immediately. While you are awaiting their arrival, write down any license plate numbers or description of persons.

• Take advantage of our e-Alert system to receive phone updates on any criminal activity in the village, as well as real-time updates on critical incidents affecting the village, including power outages and weather warnings. The service is easily accessed by going to www.villageofbronxville.com.

• If you do return home and find a tampered door or window, do not enter your home. Go to a neighbor to use a landline or call from your cell phone a good distance away from your home. Do not touch anything until the police have inspected for evidence.

Summer Home Repairs.  Summer is also the ideal time for home repairs as the village is less busy in general. If you plan any major project, kindly alert all your neighbors so they can adjust their outdoor plans accordingly.

Expansive Road Repaving Program.  The village will be undertaking an expansive road repaving and curb restoration program as well. Residents will be notified in ample time to relocate cars or change outdoor plans.

Streets slated to be repaved are:

1. Pondfield Road from Cedar Street to Midland Avenue

2. Tanglewylde Avenue from Willow Road to Park Avenue

3. Elm Rock from Oriole to Masterton Road

4. Sturgis Road from Homesdale Road to Route 22

5. Forest Lane from North Road to Grove Lane

6. Middle Road from Forest Lane to Dead End

7. Kraft Avenue Parking Lot

8. Sections of Sagamore Road

9. Kensington Road from Beechtree Lane to Sagamore Road

10. Northway

11. Northwest Way

Almost $500,000 will be spent on road resurfacing this summer. The decision as to which streets are repaved is determined by our public works department. Criteria include age of the road surface, amount of traffic, state of disrepair, and village location. Even if your street is not on the repaving list, all potholes will be addressed.

Continue to call village hall if you believe your street should be on the list going forward, as we catalog all requests and inspect accordingly. Streets will be “milled” before repaving so the elevation is not affected and, with it, water flow and drainage.

Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers. Now is also the time to put away the gas-powered leaf blowers to enhance a peaceful summer. Kindly notify any gardeners, as the fine is quite expensive and our police patrol and enforce the ban. Gas-powered leaf blowers are not only 40-70% louder than their electric counterparts, they circulate particulate matter including pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides that have a direct correlation to increased asthma and cancer occurrences, particularly in children.

Yard Waste and Grass Clippings. Yard waste and grass clippings will be picked up on a regular basis throughout the summer. We do encourage residents to “grass cycle” by leaving clippings on the lawn. Gardening experts recommend this practice, as the clippings provide nutrients to the soil in a natural way. If you remove lawn or yard products, please bag for curbside pickup. The use of yard bags allows for more efficient pickup, eliminates the unsightly piles of debris, and protects the storm drains from being clogged during rain events.

Help us keep our village particularly beautiful and peaceful during the summer months and take advantage of outdoor dining, first-run movies, or a summer sale as you slide into that open parking space!

Editor's note: As a public service, MyhometownBronxville publishes articles from local institutions, officeholders, and individuals. MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements therein, and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff.