By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Oct. 1, 2025: Fall is here and with it our annual leaf collection program.

Pick up will begin mid-month and continue until early December. Almost incredulous, our annual leaf removal cost regularly tops $100,000 per season and this does not include the additional cost of repairing clogged drains as rainstorms routinely send the leaves directly into our storm sewer system. Drains clogged with leaves vastly increase the risk of localized flooding.

Please Bag Your Leaves or Keep Them Off Village Streets

To help us both on the financial and ecological front, we ask that you bag your leaves, or if not possible, keep them on your property and off the village streets and out of the right of way.

Based on our extensive drain cleaning program undertaken over the summer, it was quite clear that drain capacity was inhibited by a proliferation of leaves that went directly into our system. Not only do the leaves affect our water conveyance but as they begin to decay, harmful phosphates and nitrates are released eventually ending up in the Bronx River further polluting this water. The same leaf piles are also a significant traffic hazard when they are placed in narrow roadways creating slippery surfaces.

Consider Mulching in Place

To save the Village money while helping the environment, we ask you to consider embracing the "love 'em and leave 'em" program, which is so popular in neighboring communities, of mulching leaves in place.

Mulching in place provides a whole range of benefits. It is a low-cost way to naturally fertilize lawns and landscape beds, and mulched leaves actually increase the water retention capacity of soil and add nutrients as well as beneficial organisms.

Natural mulch is also so much safer than any commercial product as most commercial mulch is actually a byproduct of dead trees which have often died from disease.

Most all of the gardening companies that work in the village now own mulching blades and even current residential grade mowers now routinely come with this attachment.

Mulching in place also greatly eliminates the need for the dreaded leaf blowers which, as a result of our more stringent regulations, are now only allowed from October 15 to December 15.

Not only do gas blowers create significant noise, but the incredibly powerful engines systemically remove layers of soil, leaving yards pristine but completely unhealthy. According to the EPA, a gas powered leaf blower produces as much air pollution in one hour of operation as 11 cars driven for one hour each.

If Don't Mulch in Place, Leaves Must Remain at Curb's Edge on Private Property for Vacuum Truck

If you choose not to participate in the mulch in place initiative, leaves must remain at curb’s edge but on private property so our vacuum truck can easily collect them. Yard waste such as branches and shrub trimmings cannot be comingled with the leaves as they will clog the leaf truck. They should be placed curbside in biodegradable bags.

Now is the time to discuss your landscape plans in general so those who you may hire have the capability with some lead time to order the proper materials.

As an important a side note, many of the lawn chemicals used by landscapers were first popularized in the 1960s as byproducts of chemicals used in war and stockpiled and only now are being tested for their true toxicity and duration of potency. Also pesticides remain on lawns long after the little yellow flags are removed. Those signs are simply a legislative compromise among state legislatures, regulatory agencies and the chemical companies, and the toxic period is not based on any scientific studies of the life of the particular chemicals.

Please Plant Native Species

Also, please think about planting native species and look into the water absorption quality of trees as they vary greatly and your choice could positively affect mitigation of flooding problems in the village. As you can see, just small tweaks in your normal plans can really make a difference.

Sidewalk Maintenance is Responsibility of Abutting Home

Now that school is back in full swing, the issue of walkability is paramount. As background, the Village owns a certain number of feet of right of way on each street which varies greatly from neighborhood to neighborhood based on the topography.

To construct sidewalks where they currently do not exist may require the Village in many cases to just reclaiming Village property, resulting in the removal of lawns and shrubbery and even retaining walls as many properties are landscaped on Village land. Without the cooperation and partnership with the homeowner, this is something that we are obviously very reluctant to do.

However, once a sidewalk is in front of a property, even if constructed by the Village, the ownership reverts to the homeowner and with it all maintenance responsibility and any consequential liability.

We ask that while the weather is still above freezing to please repair any sidewalks abutting your home and trim the shrubbery so that the sidewalk is 100% passible so pedestrians do not have to step in the roadway.

Foliage must be trimmed for visibility reasons as well and properties on corners need to be especially vigilant to maintain sight lines.

With modest modifications on both the part of the Village and homeowners, we can increase walkability, one of our most precious assets.