Note: You can read the village's "One Square Mile" newsletter here.

By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Jan. 15, 2025

Personnel Updates

Our incredible Court Clerk Kelly Glover has retired from the Village after 12 years of exceptional service having been named the finest court clerk in all of New York State. These are extremely hard shoes to fill but after a very extensive search by both Village staff and our two Village Justices, we think we have found the right person in Shirley Benavides who comes to us from the Village of Sleepy Hollow, where she has been serving as Deputy Court Clerk since 2019. Shirley is also bilingual which adds to her extraordinary skill set and resume.

Also leaving us is our Deputy Village Administrator Stephen Shallo, who was recruited by Scarsdale to fill a similar role as I like to think the Village hires extraordinary people who are wanted by many of our peer communities.

We have just begun what will be a comprehensive search for Stephen’s replacement as Stephen played pivotal roles in our green initiatives, recreational programs and parking administration. Again, some very difficult shoes to fill, but we wish our beloved colleagues all the best in their new life chapters.

Initiatives to Enhance Walkability

I am sure you have experienced the detours/temporary upheaval in the business district, but all for an incredibly good result of increased walkability.

We are adding sidewalks, medians, handicap ramps, permeable surface and greenery and tightening up the road achieving what they call now in walkability parlance “road diets” to make it even safer for Villagers to enjoy some of the more congested areas of our neighborhoods.

The work at Pondfield Road and Valley Road is complete with the exception of some crosswalk striping which will be completed when weather permits.

Photo by N. Bower

Work at Kraft Avenue and Park Place is ongoing and upon completion, the same contractor will head to the west side near the traffic circle. The final piece of the improvement plan will be paving on both Pondfield Road and Kraft Avenue slated now for the spring along with all crosswalk demarcations.

Drainage Mitigation Initiatives

As to the progress of our drainage mitigation initiatives, we have projects in various degrees of development on many fronts.

Our neighbors in the Hamilton/Sussex area have been notified that drainage work is slated to start early in the New Year and mark outs and test pits are scheduled for the upcoming week.

In the Crawford Drainage Basin, a scheduled meeting with Siwanoy governance had to be rescheduled due to a conflict for our Eastchester officials. We did receive good news that the County Department of Health has approved our proposed sanitary sewer line improvements and replacement and we have contractor estimates for some initial drainage improvements including catch basins for the end of Dusenberry Road - a parallel project while our larger project continues under review.

Our Paxton Avenue/Maltby improvement project is slowly working its way through a review by FEMA staff. A change in project management at FEMA slowed the process but we received news that our review is back on the table.

Library Projects

Looking right across the street, we have several projects at our iconic library that remain under review.

We have received one estimate and expecting a second one this week to have a new brick walkway added to make the outdoor improvements even more pedestrian and handicap friendly.

With the boiler in need of replacement, we have retained an engineering firm to design and bid the project. A $100,000 grant from our State Senator Shelly Mayer will help offset what will most probably be a $250,000 outlay. 

Library staff office refurbishment, which have not been updated/reconfigured in decades has a bid and design work currently out for award. This will be a project in the $150,000 range and being partially funded via a New York State construction grant, remaining monies from an existing library fund balance as well as monies from the Village’s unassigned fund balance.

Projects at Village Hall, DPW and Lower Milburn Avenue

OLA engineers has provided those of us at Village Hall with a proposal to design and prepare construction and bid documents for our boiler conversion to natural gas.

They have also provided a proposal to design and bid the construction of our proposed solar installation for the Department of Public Works roof, a roof we designed in anticipation of using as a solar facility.

Some of you may have noticed and/or been inconvenienced by the closure of the stairs along the higher retaining wall on lower Milburn Avenue behind the former Avalon complex.

Our structural engineer recommends replacement of the entire wall with an estimated replacement cost in the neighborhood of $350,000. Work on this project is in the early stages but I will keep you apprised as this is a significant outlay of Village funds.

Stormwater Management Policy

At a recent Village Board meeting, the Trustees unanimously approved a change in our erosion and sediment control and stormwater management policy as it affects individual home improvements. Though the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has determined that uncontrolled runoff and drainage associated with land development impacts the health, safety and welfare of New York communities, an erosion and sediment control requirement was not triggered  unless a project resulted in over 1 acre of land disturbance.

Similarly, stormwater drainage practices to mitigate runoff are not currently state required unless a project results in over 5 acres of land disturbance.

In consideration of the need for strengthened stormwater mitigation measures in the Village, the Trustees adopted a stormwater management policy which is more stringent than the Department of Environmental Conservation requires.

The mitigation measures, which are available in their entirety on the Village website, will apply to all applications going forward for building permits or Planning Board approval or any other Village permit approvals involving land development activities which result in clearing, grading, excavation, soil disturbance and/or replacement of fill that could result in soil erosion and/or changes to storm water runoff.

Before you begin any home projects, I encourage you to check the new regulations on the Village website.

Reflective Vests for Food Delivery Personnel

Many of you have contacted me, my fellow Trustees and the Chamber of Commerce governance board regarding the difficulty in spotting food delivery personnel due to the combination of evening darkness, dark-colored bikes, and winter jackets.

In an effort to keep everyone safe and avoid potential accidents, the Chamber of Commerce in combination with the Trustees and private donations, have purchased reflective vests which we distributed to the food merchants who avail themselves of the delivery services asking them to require the drivers they employ to wear the protective gear.

Wishing you all a happy New Year and please reach out with any thoughts to improve our beloved hometown.