There’s a feeling of civic empowerment that takes over you when you find the courage to speak before your local town board and offer an opinion. So kudos to everyone who turns up at Town Hall to speak up about anything (it’s a bit nerve wracking for me too), like at last night’s hearing over Chappaqua Crossing. That strip mall/shopping center is one I sincerely feel will deleteriously impact the mom and pop shops in downtown Chappaqua. To clarify the position I offered: Both as a long time resident and a long time publisher of a merchant supported magazine: With limited time, the typical suburban shopper likes to consolidate her/his efforts: So…if you are a busy person shopping at a supermarket off the Saw Mill Parkway, the odds of hitting the next “to do” item are much more likely to take place at the shopping center and much less likely to take place in town. With a strip mall so close to downtown, slowly but surely, King Street and Greeley Avenues, which have struggled long and hard enough to create a downtown community spirit, could get hit quite badly creating the dreaded “ghost town effect.” With so many other solid arguments presented last night against Chappaqua Crossing, revolving around traffic and access and perhaps an actually minimal tax revenue increase too, I hope the board votes a resounding NO to Chappaqua Crossing.
The Role of the Millwood Task Force in Creating Movie Night
By Grace Bennett
In response to an InsideChappaqua.com story by Zarah Kavarana about Movie Nights in Millwood Park this summer, Town Administrator Penny Paderewski contacted us to let us know how instrumental the Millwood Task Force was in conceiving and ultimately bringing the idea to fruition. I told her I would welcome a statement too from the Millwood Task Force. Here’s what I received from Michael Stern, co-chair of the Task Force:
“The Millwood Task Force has been seeking ways to enhance the quality of life for, and project a positive impact that the Millwood Hamlet/West End neighborhoods have on the entire Town of New Castle. Early this year Leslye Smith, an MTF member, suggested that the MTF approach the Town with an Idea to have a functionsuch as a concert or Movie Night in the Millwood Hamlet, as mostly all such events are currently held in the Chappaqua Hamlet of New Castle. It was decided that a Movie Night would be best to pursue. It could put Millwood “on the map” to those in Town unfamiliar to what our Hamlet’s Business District has to offer.
The idea was then brought to the attention of Penny Paderewski the Town Administrator who agreed that a Movie Night in Millwood was an idea that she could present to the Town Board and Supervisor. Millwood Park was presented as a site that could be able to handle such an event. we were told the Parks Department would need to facilitate such an event. Funding for the Films and equipment necessary to present them however was another issue, as the Town did not have money allocated into this years budget.
At the March MTF meeting, Movie Night was further discussed. Attending the meeting was Rob Greenstein, from the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce. He proposed the possibility that the Chamber of Commerce could attempt to get Financial Sponsors from the Business Community to fund the Movie Night(s)The MTF was notified in April that that the Chamber was able to get several Millwood Sponsors. Drug Mart, Matero’s Jewelry and others stepped up to the plate and agreed to fund the Rentals, signs and other expenses.
The event itself was Co-Sponsored by the Town of New Castle, the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce and the Millwood Task Force.
Arrangements were made with the Town to set up Four Dates in June for the Movies. (several rain dates were rescheduled for July).
The Millwood Task Force was very pleased to see it’s Vision come to fruition with the co-operation of the Town of New Castle Parks Department Staff, and the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce for the funding and promotion, embracing Leslye Smiths idea for the Millwood Movie Night.
A Special Thank you to Penny (Town Administrator), Rob (Chamber of Commerce) the Parks Department, as well as the Financial Sponsors of the Movies.
This, I believe, is an example of how local business and government can work together for the good of our Town.”
July 23 Town Meeting: Affordable Housing Plan Update
By Zarah Kavarana
Two changes at both ends of the affordable housing proposed plan on Hunt’s Lane was described last week by the architect for Conifer, Inc., Steven Schoch. Meanwhile, a public hearing on zoning and town development plan changes for grocery-retail for Chappaqua Crossing will continue tomorrow, 7 p.m. at town hall.
Explained Schoch re the Conifer proposal: The Quaker Street entrance will be well landscaped so that the property can blend seamlessly into its surroundings and have more of a greener feel instead of simply feeling like a “vast gulf.” This would help appease one of the community’s main concerns that the building will be too isolated from the rest of Chappaqua. Conifer plans to work with the board on all necessary details of the landscaping.
Formerly a rendering, a rectangular deck will be built on the opposite side of the building. It will be furnished appropriately for the recreational use of residents in order to become an integrated part of the whole structure. Conifer will additionally add more details to the building with columns, stone walls, and landscaping around the entire property.
In response to the changes, board member Robin Stout brought up a point that had not yet been mentioned about the eventual growth of the landscaping.
He said, “The bridge is going to look better over the years because there’s a lot of landscaping on the bridge that hasn’t yet matured. And so as I understand it, this connection to the bridge on the south side would be matching the bridge. It’ll grow with the screening on the bridge, and it will blend together – not quite as one piece – but visually it will read uniformly.”
Town Supervisor Susan Carpenter read out a letter received last week from Sean Fitzgerald, Assistant Commissioner for the New York State Division Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) to Tim Fournier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Conifer Realty, regarding funding requirements for the project’s apartment count.
It acknowledged Conifer’s great attempts to make the project suitable to residents of New Castle. The letter declared HCR’s approval to reduce the number of units from 36 to 28, and said that it will not approve of any further reductions. Building affordable housing in Chappaqua is too important to HCR’s mission for there to be less units. Any further reductions could jeopardize HCR’s funding for the project.
The Conditional Negative Declaration has been made public since Monday, July 22. Stout wanted to clarify that it has not been drafted by the applicant, but instead by the Town Planner.
Board member Elise Kessler Mottel questioned the applicant about the fence proposed to be built on the Quaker Bridge. The board had requested for there to be a fence due to safety reasons, but it had notably been stricken from the applicant’s draft.
Schoch stated that the fence would be subject for approval by the Department of Transportation (DOT). He made note that there would be no need for a fence on both sides of the bridge. The fence would be put in to prevent people who are exiting the building to run out into the roadway, but a fence on the other side would not serve a purpose. Mottel responded by saying that a fence on both sides of the bridge would be good for consistency purposes.
Stout pointed out to members of the public that the fence would not ruin the aesthetics of the bridge: In fact, there is already a fence present over the train tracks to prevent garbage and thrown objects from falling. The concept for the new fence is similar to the one existing in terms of style and lack of visibility, but it would be between the sidewalk and the road instead so that people cannot make pick-ups and drop-offs on the bridge, he said.
There was vote to close the public hearing on the applicant’s Zoning Text Amendment with four members in favor and one opposed. The following items were also authorized by the board:
- Enter into a contract with Mind Mixer in order to provide web-based public education and outreach in connection with the master plan update for a cost of $299 per month
- Use of the Chappaqua Train Station on Friday, December 6 and Saturday, December 7, 2013 by the Chappaqua Garden Club for the annual Wreath and Greens Sale
- Use of the Pocket Park by the New Castle Democratic Committee on Saturday, July 27, 2013
- Purchase of the 2014 Tri-axel Chassey Truck with a roll off hoist and power trapper at the price of $170,300
- Promotions of three Police Officers to the rank of Sargent.
- Award storm water RFP for consulting services to assist with review of certain applicant submissions for the proposed re-zoning of Chappaqua Crossing to AKRF
- Monthly reports from Building and Engineering
“Taste of Chappaqua” Starts at Noon
By Zarah Kavarana
The annual Chappaqua Sidewalk Sale continues today through 6 p.m. with a second annual “Taste of Chappaqua” too. The sale began on Thursday, July 25. The Sidewalk Sale, sponsored by the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, is a well known Chappaqua tradition that features town-wide specials, games, and live music for shoppers and their families. Most stores have sales of up to 50 percent off, and some have even larger markdowns.
In addition to being a “shopper’s paradise,” the Sidewalk Sale will be the destination for the 2nd annual Taste of Chappaqua today from noon to 2:00 P.M. Over 15 local eateries will participate to provide samples of customer favorites. The samples are part of multiple contests, where passers-by will be the judges.
Many merchants have found the Sidewalk Sale to be beneficial for both their businesses and customers.
Barry Mishkin, owner of Family Britches said, “It’s to fill a void in retail during the doldrums of the summer. It brings people out, allows the merchants to make friends, and gives people some value that they ordinarily might not find.”
Manager of Chappaqua Paints and Hardware, Wilson Morocho, added, “I like seeing new faces and bringing in people who have never been here before. I want the community to know that we’re here for them, as much as they are for us.”
A HerculeAnn Performance
By Grace Bennett
Before I get to Ann Richards– and Holland Taylor’s rollickin’ fun but also quite illuminating portrayal of the former governor of Texas–I would like to slip in how absolutely great it was to simply partake in a Lincoln Center summer evening at the spacious and famous Vivian Beaumont Theater. The last time I visited there, I’m almost embarrassed to admit, was some 20 or more years ago when I saw a wonderful production of the beloved Fiddler on the Roof. Well, many, many sunrises and sunsets later, I experienced a very different kind of, but still terrific, Broadway treat.
Ann, statuesque and striking in her all white, glittery gold buttoned suit and stand up white poufy hair, opens the production on a serious note…speaking to a college audience, a commencement speech I gathered, where she laments the shift from the industrial age to the information age… “computer controls which run the world, sweat on brow not required.” Her childhood in Waco, Texas, she tells us a tad forlorn, “was as simple as a crayon drawing.” It’s when she gets to talkin’ ‘bout her folks that Ann’s profoundly smart and sophisticated but altogether friendly wit bursts forth…a sense of humor, I pondered, that may have first formed as a coping mechanism growing up with an emotionally withholding mother…Trust me, I know that this is rather common. : -) “Mama was as hard as the nails that held that house together…”When I began to understand that I would never please my mother, that’s when it all began to get funny.” It was daddy who took her on fishing trips and instilled storytelling skills, confidence and maybe even a raunchy streak in his naturally curious daughter. “He had a knack for dirty jokes.” Still, Ann admits at the outset, she was “hardly groomed for greatness.”
She reminisces fondly of David Richards, her brilliant civil rights lawyer husband—their song was “Blue Velvet”—and his pivotal role in eventually encouraging and helping to launch her political career despite the early, more traditional years of thinking that “taking care of husband and child was my profession.” (They did eventually divorce.) She is transparent about her penchant for drinking quite heavily in those young mother years …describing herself wryly as “a poster child for functioning alcoholics everywhere.” At this point, I will refrain from sharing several of Taylor’s very best lines in the show, and the funny deadpanning too, both of which revolve around the alcoholism and her vivid description of how she knew she had crossed the line.
Soon enough, and for nearly the rest of the production, the setting shifts to the 1993 Texas Governor’s office and her desk where we observe a (pre social media!) classic working mom juggling act…as Ann hilariously works the telephone and a barrage of intercom messages between herself and her beleaguered, but healthfully assertive assistant “Nancy.” She is doing everything from trying to organize a family fishing trip weekend–who’s bringing or cooking or baking what–to ragging on her speechwriter “Suzanne” or taking a call from Bill Clinton, gushing over her favorite granddaughter Lilly to meeting the demands of her office including a painful decision over whether or not to grant a stay to a young man on death row (“even Mother Theresa leaned on me”)…or dealing with nuclear waste and the provisions in a treaty with New Mexico to protect the Rio Grande River. A dizzying “day in the life” of Ann Richards is successfully portrayed.
Ann’s struggle is clear too–an uphill battle lassoing in naysayers within a macho state to deal with daunting issues. It’s her charm and humor plus a hefty dose of her mom’s “hard as nails” legacy that the audience might correctly surmise get her through. All the while, she is effortlessly voicing her astute observations about political life and the role of government. “I had known life is not fair, but government should be,” that it “takes one person to run and quite another to actually govern” and for good measure, “that no matter what side you are on, the forces are always gathering to undo what you’ve done.”
And then it’s back to front stage and a more somber note with Ann describing her cancer struggle, her being as “strong as mustard gas,” the attention, memorial and love she received, including yet another call from Bill Clinton. “You just can’t get enough of me can you?” she asks our President neighbor.
By the production’s end, I marveled at how this marvelous 70-year-old actress managed to memorize two hours worth of script while also being in full command of the nuances of body language. It was positively HeculeAnn. Taylor, in the meantime, seemed as enamored of the standing ovation for her performance as Ann Richards was with serving the state of Texas. “You haven’t lived ‘till you’ve been Governor of Texas,” Taylor had noted. Well, I hadn’t “known Ann” till I watched Ms. Taylor capture her sassy self and spirit so divinely.