By John A. Corry
Jun. 10, 2015: Parking Meter Tax: The board of trustees expressed outrage over the recent imposition of a 5.75 percent tax on revenues from village-owned parking meters. The only exception would be for meters on public streets. The cost to the village was estimated at $30,000. The tax was also imposed on meters on private facilities, including hospitals and office buildings. The board passed a resolution asking Governor Mario Cuomo (the present governor's father) to get the tax repealed. The board was especially incensed over the fact that it had become aware of the tax on May 31, only a day before its June 1 effective date. To offset the tax's cost, the parking commission announced that it was considering raising parking meter rates on Kraft Avenue and Cedar Street.
Real Estate News: Peter Seaman, the then recent purchaser of Houlihan Lawrence Real Estate, announced that it would shortly expand its business so that during the next two years it would become larger than its current 28 to 29 percent of the Westchester market. He noted the very slow market, in which, during the previous quarter, it had taken a record average 182 days to sell residential property. Perhaps as a result, several smaller firms were considering affiliating with HL. Meanwhile, Miller Management was advertising for $2.15 million a "Bronxville masterpiece," an "exquisite English Tudor sitting on a double lot with a two-and-a-half-story vaulted living room."
Enhanced Parking: The parking commission announced that 67 spaces would shortly become available on the two-lot property on Milburn Street. At the same time, the trustees adopted the recommendation by former Mayor William Murphy to make Meadow Avenue alongside the school one way from Pondfield Road to Garden Avenue, thus providing eight more parking spaces.
Cable Line Compensation: The power authority announced that it was making awards totaling $33,000 to eight Bronxville organizations as compensation for running cable lines within the village, all to be spent for a "variety of worthwhile purposes." No matching funds were required. The largest was $13,000, to the school to replace rigging equipment in its auditorium. Other major grants were to EVAC and the Senior Citizens Coordinating Council.
Citibank Expansion: At a rehearing, the zoning board reversed its earlier decision and approved the bank's application to expand its Pondfield Road office into the space previously occupied by On Consignment. Board chairman William Primps stated that the decision was based on "a copious amount of new evidence."
Memorial Day Festivities: In a letter to the editor in the Review-Press Reporter, longtime Bronxville resident Freida Riggs bemoaned the absence of the PTA picnic, which for many years had been a major event on the village's holiday "when families joined together on colorful blankets on Chambers Field to eat barbequed chicken and the works." It was "a real loss to our school's image, which had demonstrated through the years that the school was the focus and fulcrum of our village's strength, unity and esprit de corps."
Sports Results: In a highly successful season, the school tennis team set a 15-0 dual match record. The Bronxville-Tuckahoe girls' track team sent six girls to the state intersectional track and field meet in Baldwinsville, where freshman Daria Smith finished with a silver medal. The team had medalists in the 3200 meter relay. In the shot put and discus throw, Tricia Lyons qualified for the national championship matches in Fresno. The track team finished in the top five national rankings.
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.
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
Open 9:00am - 4pm excluding holidays and weekends
Bronxville Fire Deparment
793-6400