By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Oct. 2, 2024: As summer comes to an official end, the Trustees and I would like to thank our community partners from the Bronxville Beautification Council who made the Village so beautiful this summer by nurturing flowers in more than a dozen locations throughout the Village. Their efforts were in coordination with our small but mighty Public Works Department who are unsung heroes.

Department of Public Works

The Department of Public Works consists of two divisions - Sanitation and Highway. The total team has six employees dedicated to sanitation – not an easy task indeed, leaving the remaining seven gentlemen to maintain all of our streets, parks and their infrastructure. This includes the grounds at Village Hall, the Library, the recently restored Maltby Park, Sagamore Park, Dogwood Park at the tennis courts and almost a dozen islands throughout the Village.

Working Gardeners to Restore Dogwood Park

And as I write, the Working Gardeners are making plans to restore Dogwood Park to fittingly deserve its name by planting six dogwoods along the walkway to the tennis hut. This is another 50/50 landscape partnership with the Village which is proving essential to keeping taxes at bay. We have the same incredible relationship with our two other garden clubs; Boulder Ledge and the Bronxville Beautification Council who work collaboratively on every beautiful thing you see in the downtown area.

Bronxville Historical Conservancy & Restoration of Hilltop Pillars

As icing on the cake, thanks to our enduring partnership with the Bronxville Historical Conservancy, the three pairs of historic pillars at the entryway to Lawrence Park received a much needed restoration and just nearby, the Hilltop Association purchased personalized and lighted trash receptacles at heavily traveled locations throughout the Hilltop that are now maintained by our DPW team.

Junior League Collecting Thanksgiving Sides

Again, in another enduring partnership, the Village and the Junior League are collecting “Thanksgiving Sides” from November 6^th to November 13^th at Village Hall. The items will be delivered to Beulah Church in Mount Vernon for distribution with the annual turkey distribution in conjunction with Feeding Westchester. Needed items for donation include instant mashed potatoes, canned sweet potatoes, stuffing mix and juice in non-glass containers.

Paving, Curbing and Sewers

In other more routine initiatives throughout the Village, the DPW has been working on paving/curbing modifications throughout the Village to keep water along the edge of roadways and redirected to storm drains.

In addition to these modifications, the Village began a project in late summer that continues into the fall of lining our sanitary sewers and rehabilitating old manholes to reduce the likelihood of stormwater entering the sanitary sewer systems, thus eliminating sewage backups.

Municipal Lights Converted to LED

Over the summer months, our outdoor municipal lights have been converted to LEDs and additional lighting conversions are currently happening at the Library and Village Hall. Not only does this save us thousands of dollars, but it helps the Village to continue in a state program which will qualify us for reimbursement for many of our Eco goals, which result in savings to our taxpayers.

Bronxville Recognized For Passing Climate Action Plan and an Energy Audit

The Hudson Valley Regional Council of the Department of Environmental Conservation awarded Bronxville a Momentum Award for achieving notable milestones in a remarkably brief timeframe. Specifically, Bronxville was recognized for passing a Climate Action Plan for Municipal Operations and an Energy Audit of our municipal buildings.

Thanks goes to our hardworking Climate Smart Communities Task Force: Assistant Village Administrator Stephen Shallo, Trustee Helen Knapp, Ellen Edwards, Chair of the Green Committee and Carole Upshur who wrote the Climate Action Plan for Municipal Operations and has made invaluable contributions in all areas of our green work.

New Website and New Vendor for Email Notification

The Village is launching a new website and switching to a new vendor for more efficient mass email notification in January as well as a complimentary outlay for the upgrade of our existing cable system.

Leaf Removal Costs and Drain Cleaning

Our leaf collecting begins mid-month continuing until early December.  Almost incredulous, our annual leaf removal costs regularly top $100k per season and this does not include the additional cost of repairing clogged drains as rainstorms routinely send the leaves directly into our storm sewer system. Drains clogged with leaves also vastly increase the risk of localized flooding. To help the Village, both on the financial and ecological fronts, we ask that you either bag your leaves or if not possible, keep them on your property and off the Village streets and right of way.

Based on our extensive drain-cleaning program undertaken over the summer, it was quite clear that drain capacity was inhibited by a proliferation of leaves that went directly into our system. Not only do the leaves affect our water conveyance but as they begin to decay on the streets, harmful phosphates and nitrates are released eventually ending up in the Bronx River, further polluting those waters. The same leaf piles are also a significant traffic hazard as they are often placed on narrow roadways creating slippery road surfaces.

Village-wide Speed Limit is 25 mph

The fall also signals the return of all the children to our Village for school and play.  In order to increase the safety of all those now walking about the Village, our Village-wide speed limit is 25 mph, the lowest allowed by New York State.   The only exemption is the 20 mph permitted in marked school zones.

Any further speed reduction requires New York State legislation which must be predicated on documented evidence of accident rates, speeding data and traffic volume, something the Village cannot demonstrate.

Despite repeated requests from residents, the Village cannot install “Children at Play” or “Slow Children” signs because State and Federal standards reject their use as they openly suggest that playing in the street is acceptable and give children a false sense of security.

Eastchester Fire District Budget Hearing

Finally, our Eastchester Fire District Budget Hearing is scheduled for 6pm on October 16^th at Fire Headquarters at 255 Main Street, Eastchester. The proposed 2025 budget of $23,872,423 is a 14.41% raise over the 2024 budget of $20,866,263. To review in depth, go to Eastchester Fire District 2025 Budget Hearing