By Susan Miele

Jan. 17, 2018:  In recent months, several vacant storefronts in Bronxville have been reoccupied, ushering in a new wave of businesses downtown: Found Herbal Apothecary, Love My Shoes, and One Love.

Jessica Mullins at Found Herbal Apothecary

Taking over the space formerly occupied by Pure Mountain Olive Oils and Vinegars is Found Herbal Apothecary, owned by Jessica Mullins, a clinical herbalist with training in traditional Chinese medicine, Western herbalism, and Reiki energy healing. Jessica not only runs the store but also manufactures its products. Custom products and herbal consultation are available as well.

Beyond retail merchandise, Mullins has several in-store events planned for this month: Aromatherapy + Scrub-Making for Kids, which took place on January 14; Meditation and Slow Flow Yoga, to be led by a guest instructor, on January 19; and Spirit Circle with Psychic Medium Carla Baha on January 21. Capping off the month will be Winter Wellness & Traditional Fire Cider, a hands-on opportunity to work with herbs that support the immune system and make fire cider infusion on January 28. Birthday parties are also offered.

The store was previously located in Chappaqua, but Mullins chose Bronxville for her new location, having developed a strong following as a vendor at the Bronxville Farmers’ Market. The opening of her new store now allows for daily, year-round shopping—well, almost daily. “I need a day to produce,” Mullins says. The shop is open Monday through Saturday, but its proprietor never quits.

Love My Shoes

Love My Shoes is another retailer that relocated within Westchester to Bronxville. The store was previously based in Larchmont, but a fire forced its closing.

The 2,000-square-foot store currently carries shoes for both women and men, as well as women’s handbags. Children’s shoes, a staple of the Larchmont location, will soon be added to the inventory, allowing a one-stop shop for the whole family.

Products emphasize high-quality brands that focus on style and comfort. Designers include UGG, Marc Fisher, Dolce Vita, Sam Edelman, Steve Madden, and more.

One Love Foundation

The One Love Foundation has maintained a second-floor office in Bronxville for years but has now expanded to occupy storefront space with heightened visibility and greater interactivity with the community. Founded in 2010 following the violent death of college student Yeardley Love, the organization is committed to ending relationship abuse by educating young people about healthy and unhealthy relationship behaviors and to empowering them to carry forth the message.

One Love’s retail space is meant to be a place where our community can gather, learn about healthy relationships, and connect face to face. Branded merchandise is available for purchase. 

“It’s quite common to have whole groups of kids come by after school, check things out, or just sit in our chairs, read the quotes on our walls, and chat with each other,” said One Love’s Susan Hook.

Found Herbal Apothecary
118 Kraft Avenue, Bronxville
914-793-1000
www.foundherbal.com

Love My Shoes
65 Pondfield Road, Bronxville
914-630-7444
www.lovemyshoesco.com 

One Love
46 Pondfield Road, Bronxville
917-733-4275
www.joinonelove.org

Pictured at top: Bronxville business district.

Photos by A. Warner

By Carol P. Bartold, Senior Reporter     

Dec. 13, 2017: The recent wave of thefts at businesses in the Bronxville downtown business district, package thefts in the village’s residential neighborhoods, and a variety of scams aimed at residents and business owners alike show a new level of sophistication, according to Mayor Mary Marvin.

Since October, when the Verizon Store on Pondfield Avenue experienced an armed robbery, several downtown merchants, including J. McLaughlin, Soccer and Rugby Imports, Bronxville Running Company, and Value Drugs, have been victims of shoplifting and thefts of merchandise ranging in value from a few hundred dollars to over $1,000.

Thieves have fled the scene in Uber vehicles and rental cars and by attempting to board a train at the Bronxville station. Bronxville Police Department officers have apprehended several of the perpetrators and are continuing to investigate other incidents.

Police are also investigating a phone scammer who posed as a Consolidated Edison employee and demanded $1,500 in Green Dot prepaid debit cards, the equivalent of cash, from a business owner in lieu of shutting off power to the premises.

“Merchants are concerned,” said Nicole Tuck, executive director of the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce. At a pre-Thanksgiving meeting with Chamber members, Police Chief Christopher Satriale urged business owners to trust their intuitions and, if anyone looks or acts suspicious, to call the police right away.

The police department has assigned officers to walk the business district as a deterrent. Tuck noted that parking enforcement officers are also serving as first-line observers of activity.

“From the Chamber’s perspective, we’re trying to keep an open line of communication between the police department and the merchants,” Tuck stated. “We’re encouraging merchants to report incidents to us as well as to the police so we can give people a heads-up.” Tuck added that the Chamber of Commerce plans to facilitate more meetings with Chief Satriale to help merchants learn more about keeping themselves, their establishments, and shoppers safe.

A call to the Bronxville Police Department seeking information on investigations was not returned.

“Sadly,” said Mayor Mary Marvin, “it’s that time of year for thefts in the business district. But we’re also seeing an uptick in sophisticated package thefts from residences.” She attributed this to an increase in online shopping.

The Bronxville Police Department apprehended a suspect in November, dressed in a FedEx delivery uniform, as he attempted to steal a package from a residence on Hamilton Avenue. On December 7, officers arrested three persons who were stealing packages on Courseview Road and recovered several new items that could have been stolen during previous package thefts. Such thefts often involve the use of stolen credit card numbers to purchase items and have them delivered to random addresses. Thieves then visit the addresses to retrieve the packages.

Mayor Marvin urged residents not to engage with anyone dressed in a delivery uniform who comes to the door to retrieve a “wrongly delivered” package. “If someone comes to your home in a uniform, it’s a scam,” she said.

Marvin added that this year, scammers are very clever. “People can do little things to be more alert to the fact that these tricks are sophisticated,” she said.

Photo by A. Warner