Biff Folberth Takes a Sunday Stroll on Pondfield Road
By Biff Folberth, Longtime Resident of Bronxville
Apr. 20, 2016: We've lived in the village zip code for 42 years, and I realize that my weekly Sunday morning walk to and from church is one of the most rewarding times of the week. We live on Sturgis Road, by the Field Club, so my route is out Locust Lane and left on Pondfield Road through our town to Christ Church. And back.
A little more than two miles roundtrip, I figure the exercise may postpone the time I reach the Pearly Gates, and the religious service may help me get through any long "security line equivalents" more quickly.
As I walked on Easter morning this year, I remembered that it's a pretty well-documented fact that Irving Berlin's song "Easter Parade" ("I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet …") was written about New Yorkers leaving churches such as St. Thomas Church and going up Fifth Avenue to places such as The Plaza for lunch on Easter Day.
I thought to myself that Pondfield Road is the Fifth Avenue of Bronxville; how lucky I am to be able to walk it in its Sunday morning splendor twice a day.
On the way down to town, taking in the architectural splendor of our village hall on the left, our library on the right. Crossing Midland Avenue, our school on the right and The Reformed Church on the left. I often find my walk is in time to see David and Cheryne McBride stopped at the traffic light in their car on the way to The Reformed Church.
I complete my two errands: I mail letters at our historic mail station (now with green grass in front) and turn left to deposit our week's plastic bags in the recycle bin at the supermarket. A wonderful view of St. Joseph's Church, usually with church bells ringing a familiar hymn on the way either to or fro. I see Nancy Petty from time to time entering or leaving.
Continuing on, I deposit checks or withdraw cash from Citibank on Pondfield and then on to the service at Christ Church, these days monitoring the extension of our village's residential footprint in the new Kensington Road complex rising over the railroad tracks.
The service seems better after walking a mile in a time when our autos dominate so much of our lives. There are 6,000 residents in our village; I wonder why more don't take an extra 15 minutes each way to enjoy the architectural and visual flora and fauna splendor of our village.
After a religious experience, with a cup of coffee in one hand and half a bagel in the other, I head back east home. I often see Rooney and Jack Kennedy driving west to their residence from The Reformed Church service.
I stop at Topps Bakery for a weekly doughnut and take a few minutes to visit the bricks of our two grown children, Liza '94 and Will '97, at our school's alumni walk. Each week confirms that purchasing their bricks when they were graduates was money well spent.
In a few more reflective minutes, I look at the names on the bricks in their two rows, assigned randomly, to the best of my knowledge. Matt Harriss '97 (just traded by the New York Giants to the Detroit Lions) and brother Chris Harriss, Esq., and somewhere father L. Gordon Harriss '64; former school board member Harry Tether '63 and daughter Elizabeth '97 and Jeb Tether; Leah and Becky Gogel '97; and on the latest Forbes 400 list, Rupert Johnson '58, his brick right next to our daughter's--I tell her she's in good company!
I've found the walk to be just as rewarding in the face of a winter gale, all bundled up with gloves and hats (and sometime a ski face mask), as in the dead of summer, chapeau on my head to fend off the sun.
A few ecumenical/lifestyle thoughts on the splendor of Sunday mornings in our village.
Pictured here: Biff Folberth walking on Pondfield Road.
Photo by N. Bower
Government & History Directory
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
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