Written by John A. Corry

Jan. 7, 2015: Proposed Citibank Expansion: Citibank sued the village to overturn the zoning board's rejection of its request for approval of its proposal to expand its 95 Pondfield Road branch into the adjoining space previously occupied by On Consignment. The board had concluded that this would violate 1976 legislation that prohibited a new bank from opening in the business district. Citibank contended that all it would be doing was expanding existing space in order to reduce crowding for staff and existing customers; the expansion would not be used to attract new business. The lawsuit was withdrawn after the board announced that it would reconsider the matter at a public hearing

"For Sale" Signs: Local realtors, backed by the chamber of commerce, sought to make the existing prohibition of "for sale" and "for rent" signs inapplicable in the village central business district. They contended that it was making marketing more difficult. The trustees decided to defer deciding the proposal following a claim by former trustee Dorothy Brennan that planning board approval was first required. The proposed change would not apply to residential properties, for which the prohibition would continue to apply.

Village Trustee Election: Trustees Nancy Hand and Bill Staudt announced that they would run in March for two-year terms. Village Democrats were considering possible opposition candidates. Both incumbents had previously run unopposed but were planning for opposition this year, which Staudt encouraged as "a very healthy process."

Crime in Village: Police Chief Steinmuller announced that felonies in the village had declined from 81 in 1989 to 69 and misdemeanors from 294 to 208. He offered no explanation for the decrease.

"Slave Day": Bronxville School faculty members and some students were questioning the football team practice of picking a day prior to the first major game on which a senior team member would use a junior teammate to be his "slave" and perform such chores as making his breakfast, carrying his books, and doing 100 push-ups in public. Assistant Principal Michael Saltman opposed the practice as a form of public humiliation, but the student-faculty legislature narrowly ratified it. The Review-Press Reporter called it "laughable but also offensive."

Proposed West Side Development: Led by Parkway Community Association president Jack Randall, neighbors argued vigorously at a planning board meeting that the proposed west side apartment project would reduce already scarce parking space. A letter to the editor from Neil Jansen asked for more public support for the project, which "would replace once-lovely buildings that need tender loving care" with homes for persons who want to remain in Bronxville but didn't want the care of large houses.

Carter Appointment: Longtime village resident John Mack Carter was appointed to a blue ribbon committee commissioned to find ways to make overseas publication more effective. He was editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping and primarily responsible for Hearst Corporation publication development.

Bronxville School News: In a state of the school report, board president John Hill reported that it "does what the community expects it to do." Superintendent William Greenham noted that more than fifty percent of the faculty had been teaching for twenty or more years, that the school "was moving into a retirement of some magnitude," and that continuing the high quality of teachers was important.

State Financial Aid: Governor Mario Cuomo proposed major reductions in state school aid. For Bronxville, the reduction would be 27 percent. Because the proposal would affect more than 400 school districts, Superintendent Greenham predicted that there was "virtually no chance of passage" when the legislature was to meet in April.

Track Team Title: The recently merged Bronxville-Tuckahoe women's track team won its first title in a meet at Rockland Community College. Coach Jim Mitchell commented that "the Tuckahoe kids are blending nicely with our team and everyone seems to be happy."