Mary Liz Mulligan: The Most Foolish Thing I've Ever Done
By Mary Liz Mulligan, Former Administrator, Senior Citizens Council
Nov. 9, 2016: About 10 years ago in early fall, while at home, dinner in the oven, two daughters at home, and after puttering around all day putting summer "stuff" away for the winter, I had one more thing to do--bring a small fan down to our basement--which we called the catacombs for a good reason!
As I always was and still am, if warm enough, I was barefoot and in shorts, savoring the last beautiful early fall evenings. As I went into the second room of the catacombs and bent over to place the fan on the floor, to my horror, I saw, what I was convinced, were a young boy's legs, which I viewed only up to mid-thigh, since there was so much junk in the basement. I called out asking who was there. No response. I felt strongly that it was a kid…with pretty long and skinny legs…but why he didn't answer was a mystery.
I said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to harm you, I just want to help you." No response again. So I turned and ran up the staircase and locked the door.
Our daughters were in the den, and I told them I thought a kid was in our basement (someone had left the garage door open and we never lock the basement door), and when I asked them to speak, there was no response. Hmmmm.
I called the Yonkers Police Department and explained the situation. I insisted that there was no danger and please just send one officer. It's a scared kid! To my horror, about a minute and a half later, the SWAT Team, four police patrol cars, and Rin-Tin-Tin in another cruiser arrived. I wanted to crawl into a hole but wasn't allowed that luxury.
The head honcho spoke to me and asked our daughters (with our dog) to please wait outside, perhaps at neighbor's house. One daughter, I discovered later, had our largest carving knife that could be used on an elephant.
The honcho asked me to step outside because they would be conducting a "through search." Meanwhile, I'm thinking what shape is my closet in and other paranoid thoughts.
Rin-Tin-Tin’s nails could be heard on our wood floor as he (actually it was a she) headed, when unleashed, hell-bent down the basement stairs. My heart was in my throat.
After about 10 minutes--and by now there were SWAT officers all over the inside and the outside of the house--the honcho comes out to me and says the house is clear. He looks at me and asks just me to come inside. I thought I was going to get a lecture but he asked me to relive what happened as I took the fan to the basement. He followed me, and as I said, "And when I bent over to put the fan down…" to my horror, as I looked ahead to where "the kid" was, I realized it was a mirror, and it was my legs.
It gets worse; one of the officers was Bill Regan's (Bronxville village administrator at that time) brother. And a good friend of ours was a Yonkers PD detective at the time. So I was cooked before sunset. So word was out quite quickly about my "scary experience." Not by me!
By the way, the police couldn't have been nicer. I would have been happier if they had just sent one officer in one car, but at least I saw our taxes at work!
And I really did have an eye doctor's appointment the next day--skinny legs? What??
Pictured here: Mary Liz Mulligan.
Photo by A. Warner
Government & History Directory
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.
Link to Village of Bronxville One Square Mile Monthly Newsletter
Village of Bronxville Administrative Offices
337-6500
Open 9:00am - 4pm excluding holidays and weekends
Bronxville Police Department
337-0500
Open 24 hours
Bronxville Parking Violations
337-2024
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Bronxville Fire Deparment
793-6400
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