Compiled by Carol P. Bartold

Dec. 31, 2013:  MyhometownBronxville welcomes the new year by taking a look back at some of the most significant stories of 2013. The year brought some welcome changes, some that proved challenging, and others that will be ongoing in what we hope is a happy and prosperous 2014.

The following are excerpts from ten of the most popular stories of 2013. Click on the headlines for links to the full stories. Next week's issue will have an article about the major sports stories of 2013.
 

Bronxville Seniors to Attend Array of Outstanding Colleges

Jun. 26, 2013:  Members of the Bronxville High School Class of 2013 will be attending an impressive array of outstanding colleges next fall.

After many long months of visiting colleges, completing applications, and tense waiting, they have made their decisions and have sent their acceptances to colleges and universities throughout the country.

The list of colleges includes the very best of all types of schools from large universities to small liberal arts colleges from over 20 states in every area of the country. 

The article contains a list of the names of the students and the colleges they will be attending; click on the headline above for the article, which contains the full list. Below is a summary.

Among the Ivy League colleges students will be attending are Brown (4), Dartmouth (1), Columbia (1), Cornell (2), Harvard (2), University of Pennsylvania (2), and Yale (2).

Fourteen students will study locally at Barnard College, Fordham University (3), Manhattan College, Mercy College, New York University, Pace University, Sarah Lawrence College, SUNY Purchase, and Westchester Community College (4). 

Other Bronxville graduates will travel to all corners of the country and even to the United Kingdom to enroll at Bates College (2), Bowdoin College, Bucknell University (3), Buffalo College, Case Western Reserve University, Catholic University of America, Connecticut College, Curry College, Davidson College, Denison University, Dickinson College (2), Duke University, Elon University, Franklin & Marshall College (2), Georgetown University (3), Gettysburg College (4), Haverford College (2), Ithaca College, Johns Hopkins University (2), Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Loyola University Maryland, Marquette University, Mount Holyoke College, Providence College, Quinnipiac University, Roanoke College (2), Scripps College, Skidmore College (2), Southern Methodist College, Southern Methodist University (2), The George Washington University, The University of Texas at Austin, Trinity College, Tufts University, Union College (2), University of California at Berkeley, University of Chicago (2), University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Delaware, University of Florida, University of Kentucky (2), University of Miami (2), University of Michigan, University of Notre Dame, University of Richmond (2), University of St. Andrews, University of Vermont, University of Virginia (2), University of West Virginia, Vanderbilt University, Villanova University, and Washington & Lee University.

Short Supply of Playing Fields for Student Sports Is Issue According to Committee to Support Bronxville Student Athletes

Written by Carol P. Bartold

Aug. 14, 2013:  According to Molly Hendrick and other members of the Committee to Support Bronxville Student Athletes, space for student athletic programs is in short supply at The Bronxville School due to new sports programs and more team levels. Permanent, but controlled, lighting is needed on Chambers Field to provide additional, badly needed space to run student sports programs.

The Committee to Support Bronxville Student Athletes sees permanent lighting on Chambers Field as a means to provide more space, by gaining more time, to create reliable practice and game schedules for the student athletes. Members of the committee have spoken with many village residents and researched lighting situations in other towns. They suggest that guidelines designed to maintain quality of life be included in any plan to install permanent lighting on Chambers Field.

Committee Mobilizes to Oppose Permanent Night Lighting on School Athletic Field

Written by Carol P. Bartold

Jul. 24, 2013:  The Committee to Oppose Lights is planning to circulate a petition in opposition not only to the installation of permanent lights, but also to the lighting feasibility study approved by the Bronxville Board of Education at its July 9 reorganization meeting.

Opposition to the planned feasibility study centers on quality of life issues in the neighborhoods surrounding the school and the intention of the village code as it addresses lighting.

Maureen Hackett, Willow Road resident and committee member, estimates that there are 300 homes within 500 yards of Chambers Field, with at least 12 homes within 20 feet of the field's perimeter, making for a dense residential area. She pointed out that, with townhouses and single-family homes on three sides of the field, "it's not in a location where it's appropriate for that type of lighting for night play."
 

Bronxville's Mary Cain Decides to Go Pro

Written by S. Quinn DeJoy and J. Murrer

Nov. 20, 2013:  While most Bronxville seniors have been agonizing over the college process this fall, Mary Cain has had much more on her mind. Cain, who joined the Bronxville track team five years ago, has established herself as an elite runner and was struggling with the decision whether to continue as an amateur in college or join the ranks of the pros. Last Friday, at the World Athletics Gala in Monaco, Cain announced her decision to turn pro.

During the fall, Cain was looking at a few schools and had narrowed her choice down to University of Oregon, but in the end, she decided to join the Oregon Project in Portland. Cain, a straight-A student at Bronxville High School, will likely attend the University of Portland.

Cain will continue to train under Alberto Salazar at the Oregon Project, a group formed by Nike in Portland to promote American long-distance runners. It is expected that she will sign a contract with Nike.

80-Year-Old Woman Crashes into Three Parked Cars on Pondfield Road and Hits 60-Year-Old Man

Aug. 14, 2013:  On Friday, August 8, an 80-year-old woman from Yonkers struck three parked cars and two parking meters on Pondfield Road and then continued onto the sidewalk striking a 60-year-old man from Hastings-on-Hudson.

Her car, a 2006 Buick LaCrosse, finally stopped after careening into the building at 71 Pondfield Road (Barhite & Holzinger).

The 60-year-old man was pinned underneath the Buick and also a 2011 Jeep Cherokee that was forced onto the sidewalk by the collision.

The man was freed after emergency personnel were called and able to lift the vehicles allowing him to get free. He was transported to Westchester Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.

Editor's note:  The accident victim, Evgeny Ber, a United Nations translator, died on August 20 from the injuries.


Local Therapist Mark Bernardini Arrested, Again, for Sex Abuse

Jul. 10, 2013:  For the second time in less than two months, Mark P. Bernardini, a therapist with offices in Bronxville and North Salem, was charged with sex abuse--this time for sodomizing a 12-year-old Yonkers boy during a therapy session in his Bronxville office at 27 Milburn Street.  

According to Bronxville Police Chief Christopher Satriale, on Tuesday, July 2, the 12-year-old-boy told his mother at 6:30 pm after a therapy session with Bernardini that he had been sodomized by him. The parents called the Bronxville police at 8:27 pm that evening and asked police officers to meet with them outside Bernardini's office at 27 Milburn Street, which they did. The young boy, his parents, and Bernardini later met together at the Bronxville police station, where they were interviewed by police officers. 

Bernardini was arrested on Wednesday, July 3, and charged with a "first-degree criminal sexual act," a felony. He was sent to the Westchester County jail in Valhalla on $150,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in Bronxville Village Court on July 17.

He faces a maximum of 25 years in state prison on the felony charge.


Four Bronxville Youths Assigned 15 Hours of Community Service for Speeding and Attempt to Evade Police Officer

Written by Bronxville Police Department

Mar. 13, 2013:  Four male juvenile Bronxville residents were directed to perform 15 hours of community service after an investigation by the Bronxville police of an incident that took place on March 3, 2013, at approximately 2:55 pm.

The incident occurred when a black Acura occupied by four young males drove by a marked police car on White Plains Road at a high rate of speed.

When the officer attempted to stop the vehicle, the unlicensed 15-year-old juvenile driver failed to comply and evaded the officer by speeding onto a side street and then slowing down just enough for the three juvenile passengers, ages 14, 15, and 15, to jump out of the moving vehicle.

The driver then continued to speed away. One juvenile was taken into custody at the scene and later released to his parents. The vehicle and the other three juveniles were identified later as a result of the police investigation.
 

In New Twist, Randy Cutler Blames Brother in Court Documents for November 1, 2012, Incident

Aug. 7, 2013:  Bronxville residents are scratching their heads over the new twist in the Randall (Randy) Cutler case concerning an incident that occurred in Bronxville on November 1, 2012, between him and his brother, Jeffrey (Jeff) Cutler, over the use of a gas generator during the weekend of Hurricane Sandy.

According to the original police report filed by the Bronxville police at the time of the incident, Jeff Cutler said in a phone call to the police that his brother, Randy, was pointing a gun at him. The police were dispatched immediately and found a small arsenal of weapons in Randy's bedroom.

The discovery resulted in the arrest of Randy on one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the third degree, a class D felony, and six counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, class A misdemeanors.

Randy Cutler pleaded not guilty in May of 2013 to all the charges.


Evidence of Construction Arises at Lawrence Hospital Center Despite No Court Decision on Article 78 Petition

Written by Carol P. Bartold

Sep. 4, 2013:  Evidence of impending construction activity at Lawrence Hospital has raised concern among the hospital's closest residential neighbors. Construction fences along Pondfield Road West and Parkway Road, the presence of a construction trailer, the removal of at least one pedestrian crosswalk, and yellow tape tied around several trees on the proposed construction site all indicate that work could be imminent.

An Article 78 petition, filed by several Alger Court residents in January of 2013 against the Village of Bronxville, the Bronxville Planning Board, and Lawrence Hospital Center, is still being reviewed within the Westchester County court system. The petition seeks nullification of the planning board's approval of the hospital's proposed expansion on its northeast corner.

Among the issues cited in the Article 78 petition is the decision to remove a three-quarter acre green space adjacent to the Bronx River and replace it with impervious material that would not alleviate flooding.

Alger Court petitioners also cited the hospital’s infrastructure design for the proposed construction, which would be built to support six stories rather than the three stories approved by the planning board.


Super Scrambles Paddle Tournament Called Off After Organizing Committee Resigns

Written by Carol P. Bartold

Nov. 13, 2013:  For the first time in 40 years, to the surprise and confusion of paddle tennis players in Bronxville, there was no Super Scrambles to kick off the new paddle tennis season.

All five members of the long-standing volunteer paddle tennis committee resigned after its president, Kevin Dillon, received a letter from the village expressing concern over revenues generated by the program, the proper monitoring of permits, and the low number of village residents who use the courts. The letter also called for trustee approval of the roster of committee members.

Trustee Guy Longobardo explained that, since the paddle tennis facility is a village asset, officials are accountable to the state for identifying individuals who allocate the courts and hold tournaments there.

"Never once was working together to solve the problems brought out," Dillon noted. He added that, when he asked officials about the village's vision for the paddle tennis courts, they didn't seem to have one.

"Ideally, we'd like to see resident usage increase," Longobardo said. "If we have a facility that's not being used by many residents, should the village continue to subsidize it the way it does now?"

Pictured here: Graduation ceremonies in front of The Bronxville School for the Class of 2013.

Photo by Rick Rugani