By Mary C. Marvin, Mayor, Village of Bronxville

May 1, 2019:  After a winter of concentrating on the new underground infrastructure, the trustees and I are now focusing on our visible environs. How particularly beautiful they are thanks to the collaborations with our Bronxville Beautification Committee and the Boulder Ledge Garden Club.

Con Edison also came through with the new boxwoods on Midland Avenue and, based on residents’ requests for increased visibility, we bricked the turning areas with sourced yellow bricks that didn’t quite work on the yellow brick road project--again one funded by another wonderful village partner, the Bronxville Historical Conservancy.

As I write, our public-private partners are all assisting us in landscaping the Kennedy monument, refurbishing Bicentennial Park, and upgrading planters throughout the business district.

The village’s Green Committee also continues to partner with government to effectuate needed focus on energy savings, sustainability, and responsible stewardship of village resources.

Coming up on June 8 is the annual spring take-back day, when the committee schedules the county document shredder, takes electronics and computers and disposes them in the eco-correct way, and offers ancillary other recycling product opportunities.

The Green Committee’s impetus galvanized the village to purchase new trash and recycling receptacles for downtown and install a charging station in the new village-owned Parkway Road parking lot.

On the committee’s front burner now is researching the logistics of instituting a composting program already under way in our neighboring communities of Scarsdale and Larchmont.

We have also partnered with Sustainable Westchester to make a version of our sanitation and recycling schedule available online (coming this spring) and will also be making a new village parking map available online that will identify all our lots and meter times.

So much of what we are doing is now available for review on our much-improved new website, so ably refurbished by village resident Nicki Piercy Coddington. Recognizing that times have changed and so many residents are not in the village during village staff hours, almost every village need, permit, and payment can now be accomplished at any hour. We so hope it makes civic life a little easier and we welcome your feedback.

The major infrastructure redesign of our public works garage, which has not been upgraded significantly since 1942, continues on schedule with preliminary design, final design, and bid assistance all expected to be completed by late August. 

This phase will allow for the relocation of the salt storage shed so we can demolish the existing structure next to the firehouse and install a new parking lot. This will allow for the relocation of the DPW fleet and PD and DPW employee parking in advance of Phase II – construction of the storage and maintenance facility.

In the same vein, our new building department head, Paul Taft, has initiated the village’s First Annual Safety Day on Saturday, May 11, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm behind village hall. Participants include the Bronxville Police Department, the Eastchester Fire Department, EVAC, Con Edison, the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, and NewYork-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital. The goal is to make residents of all ages aware of building safety and the reasons for certain codes and requirements.

Now that our village operating budget has been established, we are looking to prioritize capital programs that should be addressed in the coming fiscal years.

The trustees have compiled a “to-do” list, which includes dozens of items including body cameras for our police, street and curb restorations, renovation of the small part of the railroad underpass that is village-owned, HVAC repairs to the library, teardrop lighting on the west side near the train station, and upgrades to Sagamore Park and the tennis courts.

Since our comprehensive plan is under way with village survey participation in numbers the consultant has never witnessed before, we have decided to wait until the public information is tabulated to ensure the trustees are aligned with the wants and needs of the citizenry.

I close with a wonderful story that defines why Bronxville is so much more than the sum of its parts – be they beautiful parks, a field of tulips, or new equipment. It is the special people who choose to make the village home.

Last week, our mailman in the co-op area where I live near the hospital, John Lorentoni, had his last day on the job. Residents in the Stoneleigh complex organized a farewell that attracted dozens of residents. (I teased John that more folks came out to wish him well than voted for mayor!!) The spirit of small-town community, warmth, and appreciation was palpable. I know that everyone, including myself, walked away feeling that all was right with the world, at least for a brief moment in time on a Thursday afternoon.

Editor's note: As a public service, MyhometownBronxville publishes articles from local institutions, officeholders, and individuals. MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements therein, and any opinions expressed therein do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff.