Letter to the Editor: Susan Burkat and John Torres on Plans to Privatize Scout Field
To the Editor:
Sep. 12, 2018: Labor Day Weekend marked exactly one year since the inception of Save Scout Field, a grassroots effort whose goal is to prevent Westchester County politicians from taking over this venerable parkland and making it a limited-use, fenced-in soccer field exclusively for the use of Eastchester youth sports teams.
This bald-faced effort on the part of Eastchester politicians to steal a county park for a narrow, special-interest use threatens to ruin an irreplaceable public resource for all the residents of lower Westchester County.
On Saturday, September 8, Save Scout Field held a demonstration to further remind the public about the great concerns had over the proposed plan to privatize this field.
This plan, conceived by the previous Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and others currently still in their elected positions, has been a bone of contention with hundreds of regular parkgoers. It is our understandable fear that razing the field, cutting down trees, erecting a fence and/or retaining wall, adding a small, penned-in dog run and expanding the parking lot will disrupt the field's natural beauty and tranquility and spoil the enjoyment of hundreds who have enjoyed this place.
For more than a century, Scout Field has been a haven for families, birdwatchers, children doing horticulture and science project research, lacrosse, soccer and volleyball players, dog walkers, and those who book the adjoining Boy Scout Cabin for private parties.
There are growing concerns that the use of the proposed soccer field by residents of Eastchester will generate additional traffic congestion on Midland Avenue and substantially add to continued trash around Upper Scout Field and in the adjacent Bronx River.
On August 27, current Westchester County executive George Latimer, accompanied by Kenneth Jenkins, deputy county executive, Mike Breen, Yonkers Council member, 5th district, Victor Mallison, county governmental relations representative, and Eamonn O'Brien, legislative aide for David Tubiolo, 14th district legislator, visited Scout Field and were given a complete walking tour of both Upper and Lower Scout Fields and then met with a group of more than 40 regular parkgoers. Mr. Latimer took and answered questions and heard the impassioned remarks of his constituents, who urged him to leave this field in its natural state. We were asked by Mr. Latimer to give him a month's time to assess everything, after which he'd make a decision.
County Executive Latimer has heard our concerns and is still reviewing both the legality of the soccer field project and how it can be worked out to preserve full public use of, and access to, the field.
Anyone interested in learning more about and joining Save Scout Field is invited to view our website, http://www.savescoutfield.com, and to contact County Executive George Latimer, as well as their local legislators to urge them not to let this plan become a reality.
Susan Burkat and John Torres
Members, Save Scout Field
Editor's note: MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.
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Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.
While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.
Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.
The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.
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