By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

July 20, 2022: This week’s column is an addendum to last week’s message as there is so much summer information to impart before government gets back in full swing post-Labor Day.

In the coming weeks, various streets in all corners of the Village will be milled, repaved and have the curbs repaired simultaneously. Residents on the streets so designated will be notified in ample time to relocate cars or change outdoor plans.

The decision as to which streets are repaved is made by our Public Works department based on the age of the road surface, the amount of traffic, the state of disrepair and the location in the Village.

We also try to coordinate our projects with Con Edison so recently paved roads do not end up subsequently being torn up for utility work.

Even if your street did not make this year‘s list for complete resurfacing, all of the potholes will be repaired. To report a pothole that you think might have been overlooked, go to the Village website, www.villageofbronxville.com under the Public Works link and report there as well as any street light outages you have noticed.

I urge you to 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. The Village can do no work on Route 22 as it is our only state-owned road in the Village.

Summer is a good time to do some decluttering and our bulky waste pick up service is available throughout the summer season. The bulky waste pickups are always scheduled for the second day of your garbage collection schedule. As example, if you fall under the Monday /Thursday garbage schedule, your bulky waste pick up is Thursday. Conversely, if you are on the Tuesday/Friday schedule, your day will always be a Friday. There is a fee of $20 and pick up can be arranged via the Village website. This service should be requested 48 hours prior to the desired day of pick up and items must be curbside the night before. Air conditioners, refrigerators, paint and batteries cannot be collected.

If you are doing major remodeling, you do not need a Village permit for a dumpster if it is wholly on your property. However, if the dumpster is going to be partially on Village property, a permit is required. Permit applications can be obtained again by going to the Village website where the application is on file under the Public Works link.

The summer months also bring an increased amount of door-to-door solicitation. Individuals selling goods door to door are required to receive a permit from our Village Clerk though most rarely do so. Do not hesitate to call our police desk if the salesperson cannot produce the permit as quite often after investigation, our Police Department has determined that the charities purported to benefit from our purchases are non-existent.

The first amendment does protect all those “selling” an idea such as the Jehovah Witnesses or Green Peace, so they do not need Village permission to ring your bell. However, to limit this kind of solicitation, a small no solicitation sign near the front door has had proven legal effect.

Throughout the summer, Village Hall is fully staffed every weekday from 9 AM to 4 PM and Village staff have the authority to issue birth and death certificates as well as handicap parking placards with the caveat that only individuals born at New York Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital can have birth certificates processed in the Village. Many of you come to us needing birth certificates for sports leagues or passports and for the vast majority who have youngsters born in New York City hospitals, birth certificates are available online at https://www.health.ny.gov/vital-records or in person at the Office of Vital Records at 125 Worth St. in NYC.

Handicap parking permits can only be issued by the community to which one pays taxes. Sharing a common postal address does not meet the state criteria. The Village does not issue marriage licenses though weddings can be performed at Village Hall or any other location within Village boundaries by our two judges and the mayor. Licenses can be obtained in nearby Eastchester, Mount Vernon and Scarsdale.

Pet licenses are obtained via our town government by going to Eastchester Town Hall at 40 Mill Rd. We do have several notaries on Village staff to certify documents for Village business only during business hours as does the Library.

So much of this information can be accessed via a relatively new and very comprehensive monthly newsletter spearheaded by Village Trustee Mary Behrens.  To subscribe to our monthly newsletter and stay up to date with important and real time information, visit our website and subscribe to Village news.

I also want to share an update on the repair/replacement of the bridge near the “duck pond” that was destroyed by Ida.

Thanks to the incredible cooperation between village government and the office of our County Executive as well as steadfast advocating on our behalf by County Legislator James Nolan, the cost of the bridge replacement is in the 2023 Westchester County Capital budget plan which will be submitted to the body of legislators for consideration in October and voted on in December.

Though not as expeditiously repaired as desired by many of you who walk the park on a daily basis, we are grateful that our county government so stepped up as reconstruction by federal funding would have extended the time frame quite significantly.

In response to an additional Village request, the Westchester County Parks Commission is evaluating options for cleanup of the debris in the duck pond with a plan to be presented to the County Board of Legislators. As many of you have noticed and commented upon, there are now many islands in the river quite frankly filled with debris.

As a novice, I must confess I still do not understand why dredging which was an option for decades is no longer on the table.

I had the distinct privilege of attending the ceremony commemorating Iona College’s elevation into Iona University. Iona has completely bucked the trend of small local colleges throughout the Northeast by experiencing an enrollment increase of an astounding 34% in just the last three years. It is testimony to the quality of the education and leadership, and I remain so grateful that Iona chose Bronxville as their home and that we continue to have a college of distinction in our one square mile.

The Trustees and I continue to advance walkability throughout the Village and encourage the limitation of automobile use by simply making it easier to navigate the Village safely by foot or bicycle. Bronxville is so in “style” as a model TOD (transit-oriented development) community as current data clearly validates that all age groups, with a particular emphasis on millennials, want to be in walking distance to public transportation, stores, schools and medical services as the benefits are enormous both environmentally and socially. The current price of gas serves as yet another impetus to make our community as walkable as possible as we simultaneously curb costs, decrease the carbon footprint and promote a healthier interactive lifestyle.

Photo by N. Bower

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