By Carol P. Bartold

Jun. 15 2016:  At the June 13 Bronxville Village Board of Trustees meeting, Mayor Mary Marvin and Village Administrator Jim Palmer updated the community on several key projects in progress in the village. Marvin noted that several projects, many years in the making, have "come to fruition" at the same time. 

Upgrading of Village Business District Lighting:  In a progress report on the business district lighting project, Marvin said that the upgrade, which is in the process of being installed and adjusted to direct the maximum light to the street, represents the culmination of more than five years of research and consultations with village residents who have historical understanding of lighting fixtures in the village, along with experts in the lighting field. 

Marvin stated that, with the change in the mix of downtown businesses toward more restaurants, cafes, and fitness venues, many business owners and residents have expressed concerns that business district streets are not adequately illuminated. 

"We kept holding off because we were convinced that the LED technology was getting exponentially better every year," Marvin said. "We also researched whether there was any way we could reconfigure our existing globe lights." Not only can the globe lights not be reconfigured, Marvin said, but the stanchions for them are no longer manufactured. 

"In the very busy areas of the village where people have felt the light was inadequate, you'll see the new bronze poles," Marvin said. The new fixtures will have a lamp housing that directs the illumination down toward the street. 

FEMA Project:  Jim Palmer reported that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Midland Valley Drainage Project is well under way with the installation of the 48-inch main pipes, which, during a hundred-year storm event, will divert the storm water away from the school campus and surrounding neighborhoods for discharge into Laurel Brook. 

Storm water will be collected in a hydraulic tank and pump system to be installed underground at Hayes Field at The Bronxville School and will travel through the pipes beneath Midland Avenue to the Bronxville Public Library campus, then beneath Pondfield Road to the Bronxville Village Hall property, where the pipes will make an almost 90-degree turn at Palumbo Place. This last leg of underground pipes will carry the water underneath Palumbo Place to its discharge point at Laurel Brook. Palmer stated that the pipes have already been installed on the village hall property. 

Palmer advises motorists that Palumbo Place will be closed to traffic for the next six to eight weeks. He also advised that, through the project's excavation phase, Pondfield Road could be subject to lane closures and the temporary elimination of street parking in front of village hall. 

"FEMA recognized the importance of this project," Palmer said, "and the devastation the community has seen at the school campus and along Meadow [Avenue] and Willow [Road] from some of these terrible events." 

Reconstruction of Village Hall's Front Sidewalk and Steps:  Also in progress at village hall, and expected to reach completion in approximately four weeks, is the reconstruction of the building's front sidewalk and steps. "The existing brick," Palmer said, "was in an unsafe condition." He added that village officials wanted to put together a design for the project that is "in keeping with the historic nature of this building while providing a functional walk."

Pictured here: Mayor Mary Marvin and Deputy Mayor Bob Underhill.

Photo by Carol P. Bartold