Bronxville Twenty-Five Years Ago: April 1990
By John A. Corry
Apr. 8, 2015: Kensington Road Property: Seemingly out of the blue, on behalf of Penn Central, a developer floated an entirely new proposal. It involved constructing a three-and-a-half-story residential development over the Metro-North tracks adjacent to the village-owned property and building a two-level parking garage on the property. As explained by the developer's legal counsel, Peter Bertine, it would obtain the right to build commercial space over Gramatan Garage and the new parking garage. The entire project would cost $12,000,000. Mayor Stein announced that because of other matters, the planning board would be unable to consider the matter until after June.
School Board Candidates: The Non-Partisan Committee announced its candidates for school board trustees. Olivia ("Vicki") Ford, who was serving as board clerk, was picked to run for a second term. The committee's other candidate is Keitha Murray, a member of the faculty at Iona College. She was PTA president during the 1987-1988 academic year.
School News: The board of education announced that in the fall the school would be adding classes for students with learning disabilities. They would include alternative-level courses for ninth and tenth grades in English, social science, and science. (Concern had been expressed that second-level classes would lower the affected students' self-esteem.)
Village Taxes: Administrator John Galloway announced that in the next fiscal year village taxes would increase by 3.8 percent, less than 4.9 percent as predicted. The owner of a residence valued at $50,000 would pay annual taxes of $1,875.
Meadow Avenue Parking: The planning board approved the proposal by former Mayor Bill Murphy, on behalf of school board president John Hill, that it would agree to cede a strip of Meadow Avenue to the school for parking. Parking on Meadow had been restricted to students and staff, but a court ruled that street parking couldn't be limited to special-interest groups. Apparently it was thought that ceding parking space to the school would resolve the problem. At the same time, Meadow would become a one-way street.
Earth Day: Eastchester celebrated it with a parade that included a fife and drum corps and children dressed as endangered species. In her remarks, Bronxville Mayor Stein stated that "every day is Earth Day." In Bronxville, nursery school children wheeled bottles and newspapers to the village recycling center on Palumbo Place.
Seniors Needs Survey: A detailed questionnaire survey was being mailed to all village residents to determine their current and future needs for services. It focused on the needs of seniors. The survey, which was partially funded by Bill Murphy and the Bronxville League for Service, was prepared under the direction of the Bronxville Senior Citizens Council and the League of Women Voters. The results were to be furnished to the village trustees in June.
Sports Awards: The Bronxville/Tuckahoe girls' track coach, Jim Mitchell, was named Westchester Coach of the Year by Gannett Papers. Six members of the team were named All-County.
Deceased Pediatrician Honored: Dr. Henry Kaessler, who had treated the ailments of three generations of Bronxville children (including my daughter) was honored by the Bronxville Rotary Club, which he had helped found nearly forty years previously. The club presented two plaques, one to rest atop a stone at the corner of Kensington and Sagamore Roads and the other on the elementary school playground.
Pictured here: John A. Corry.
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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