By John A. Corry

Feb. 17, 2016:  Possible Sales Tax Increase.  A frustrated group of village and school officials returned from Albany after apparently failing to persuade assembly leaders to support a recently passed senate bill that would have increased state sales taxes from 5.75 percent to 7.25 percent. The increase would have helped replace revenues lost as a result of the governor's proposed cuts in school aid. Mayor Stein called the trip "an act of futility. . . . They pat you on the back and tell you they've heard your concerns. But I don't feel we've got very far."

Robber Apprehended.  At 4:30 pm, a man was arrested after robbing the Haagen-Dazs ice cream store at 28 Park Place. He had been followed by the Bronxville police as a suspect in a series of robberies. They pursued him to the taxi stand, where they nabbed him. He was charged with committing a second degree felony.

Parking Places.  As anticipated, the parking commission adopted and sent to the village trustees a new plan that would move only half the Kraft Avenue parking spaces to the new lot on Kensington Avenue. The compromise seemed to meet with wider approval than the old one, but commuters were still upset. As one complained, merchants would be more "comfortable" parking at their expense. It was estimated that shoppers would have access to as many as 88 new spots.

Burglar Alarm Fines.  Police Chief Steinmuller announced that the village was considering fining homeowners for false alarms. The previous year, out of approximately 500 calls, most from private residences, ninety-nine percent turned out to be false. Normally, because of concern for what they might find, two cruisers answer each call. All this overburdens the police. Scarsdale and Tuckahoe had fine systems.

New Parking Meters.  Village officials announced that they were considering installing new parking meters where collections "would not be touched by human hands." The proposal was stimulated after a former five-year employee was discovered with $463 in change in a tool box in his car. Ninety percent of other Westchester municipalities apparently used and were pleased with such a system.

Hospital Board.  At its annual dinner at Siwanoy Country Club, Lawrence Hospital paid tribute to four outgoing members and announced their successors. The retiring trustees were Doris Blair, Jane Elliott, Gary Penisten, and Nicholas Pepe. Replacing them were Barbara Eustis, Donald Gray, Art Nagle, and Mary Watson.

Track Teams.  Twenty-seven Bronxville athletes--twenty girls and seven boys--were named to the All-League team. The girls' team won its eleventh title in twelve years.

The Tap.  After nearly sixty years in business, this restaurant at 12 Palmer Road announced that it would be closing. It did not give its reasons for doing so, but observers speculated that it may have been because of high rent, lack of parking, or the economic recession--or a combination of the three. The Tap had opened as a restaurant, but once Prohibition was repealed in 1933, it became a bar and grill and in 1940, a full-service restaurant.