Mayor Mary Marvin. Photo by A. Warner

By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

June 14, 2023: As is custom, the Board of Trustees reviews the various Village departments on a yearly basis as good government practice. Many of you are familiar with the Police Department review that is published on the PD‘s website.

Following in similar fashion is our yearly review of the Justice Department. I think you will find it extremely informative, especially in light of all the Covid pivots that courts statewide had to make. After review, we all concur that our team adjusted at a highly effective and efficient level. We are extremely fortunate to have the highest professional level of both our court staff and presiding justices and the Board of Trustees and the Justice Department, when ethically appropriate, work seamlessly.

As a refresher, the Bronxville Village Court has jurisdiction over Criminal, Landlord Tenant, Civil and Small Claims matters as well as Vehicle and Traffic and local Ordinances including parking offenses. The Court is established under the authority of the New York Constitution (Article VI Section 1(a), 17) as part of the Unified Court System. We have two village Justices, William Primps and Natasha Nordahl. Both are elected for four-year terms, which are staggered so that one judgeship election is held every two years. 

The past year has been one of great change for the Village Court, as nearly all Covid pandemic restrictions and regulations have been removed, and operations are back to normal conditions. In particular, the moratorium on evictions effected in 2020 under state law ended in 2022, and landlords became able, once again, to file with our court petitions for eviction. The plexiglass barriers erected in front of the bench have now been removed, and masks are no longer mandated. The ability to see and hear witnesses, up close and in person, has made the jobs of our justices and court reporters much easier than it was for most of 2020 through 2022! 

One matter that has not changed over the past several years has been the dedication of our Village Justices to achieve the fair administration of justice in Bronxville. In this, they have been helped enormously by our Court Clerk Kelly Glover, and our Assistant Clerk Yecenia Tovar. In 2019, the New York State Association of Magistrate’s Court Clerks recognized Kelly as New York Court Clerk of the Year. In May, Yecenia’s accomplishments were recognized by Westchester Magazine’s inclusion of her in their list of 24 “Wunderkinds,” Westchester residents under the age of 35 who are making a difference in their communities. 

We also should recognize the tireless work of our Justices, who regularly report to Village Hall after hours to conduct arraignments in criminal matters and enter Temporary Orders of Protection in domestic disputes and instances of street crimes. In the past year, Judges Primps and Nordahl have been summoned to Village Hall on over twenty occasions to preside over urgent matters involving the safety of our Village. Most recently, an after-hours arraignment was presided  over by Judge Primps, involving a fugitive from an out of state gun possession felony charge, in  which our police force apprehended, late in the night, a defendant on drug charges in  Bronxville, and discovered an outstanding warrant from Delaware. This defendant was arraigned at Village Hall and confined at the county jail overnight pending extradition on the felony charge. 

In May, Justice Nordahl presided over a jury trial, the first held in Village Hall in over 30 years. Forty residents from the Town of Eastchester were summoned to Village Hall on May 8,  and within several hours, a jury of six with two alternates was seated to hear opening arguments.  On the second day of the trial, the jury retired after being charged on the law, and found the defendant guilty of pilfering packages from an apartment lobby in the Village. 

To end on a happy note, our Justices do have the satisfaction of presiding over numerous wedding ceremonies held in Bronxville. We are pleased that so many residents of surrounding communities find our Village Hall and its grounds to be a picturesque setting for making lifetime vows. In the past 12 months, this portion of our court’s “caseload” also has come back in strength, with nearly two dozen weddings being held, either in the Village Board Room, or on the lawn outside.