July 27, 2011:  Those sad words were written by the famed composer/lyricist team of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart for a song in the 1939 musical Too Many Girls.  They might well describe the dilemma facing Bronxville residents who find themselves without a watch and need to know the time.  Hardly any clocks are on public display in the village.

The most prominent, atop a stone pillar, stands outside the People's United Bank on Kraft Avenue, a few feet from the heavily traveled taxi stand and Metro-North railroad station.  However, the clock's hands are frozen.  Two faces read 5:42, the third and fourth, 7:58 and 11:52, respectively.  As to whether the times standing still are a.m. or p.m. the clock is silent.

The bank's manager, Stephanie Weston, reports that the clock's mechanism, located in the bank basement, is in such condition that it cannot be repaired.   No decision has been made about a replacement, she said.

But good news!  The right time is available several other places in town:   first, around the corner at the House of Botticelli, the bridal gown emporium at 40 Pondfield Road.  There, above the entrance, built into the building, are clock hands.  The manager of Botticelli, which leased the property in 1996, knows nothing of the clock's mechanism, but an official of Atlantic Real Estate, which manages the building, reports that the hands are moved twice a year to reflect daylight and standard times.  The method is traditional--a man on a ladder.

And, down the street, at 99 Pondfield Road, a full-bodied clock juts out from the Fine Arts Gallery, once the home of the First National Bank, whose name remains on the face.  Thanks to the civic-mindedness of the gallery's owners, Mr. and Mrs. George Kooluris, the clock is accurate throughout the year.  The couple, who have lived in Bronxville nearly forty years, installed a new mechanism, whose minute and hour hands are connected to an earth satellite and change automatically at the onset of daylight saving and standard times.

The building has other noteworthy attributes.  Above the entry is a frieze reflecting the building's Art Deco design.  The architect, according to Ms. Kooluris, was the prolific George F. Root III, who designed more than 50 Bronxville homes in the 1920s and 1930s.  Along the way, he was on the board of the Bronxville First Federal Savings and Loan Association, presumably the inspiration for the block.  The building also contains a remnant of the bank.  In the basement, adjoining Mr. Kooluris's work and hobby space, is a massive steel vault with a 1,200-pound door.

Given the importance of time in running a railroad, one might expect to get the time of day at Bronxville's Metro-North station (at least while it's open in the morning hours), but the only "timepiece" is a five-inch square piece of frayed cardboard advertising New York Newsday stuck in the ticket window.

One surefire place to get the time would be a jewelry store, and sure enough La Gravinese will oblige, with fine watches costing as much as $675 (an Italian Breitling), a bit more affordable than, say, a $20,000 Rolex available elsewhere.

Taxpayers seeking a solution in the halls of government will be disappointed.   Village Hall has nothing to offer except a dusty mantel clock in the boardroom donated by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1982.  When last viewed, a week ago, it was not working.

Public-spirited merchants contemplating donating an outdoor clock to the village will have to clear plans with the Design Review Committee and Planning Board.  But at least one branch of government does provide the time of day.  A citizen who treks over to Midland Avenue will find a wall clock in the Fire House.

Following ancient traditions, church bells often ring out the time, but only two in Bronxville still do.  St. Joseph's rings out Sundays at noon and 6:00 pm.  And the Village Lutheran Church on White Plains Road, 5:30 pm on Saturdays and 9:00 am and 10:45 am on Sundays.  In both cases, the bells are controlled mechanically, since the days of Quasimodo at Notre Dame are long gone.  But some Bronxville churches do sponsor handbell-ringing groups.

Pictured here:  Clock located in front of the Fine Arts Gallery at 99 Pondfield Road.

Photo by A. Warner