There is a primary on Tuesday, September 14 for many federal and state elected positions. Lawn signs are a good way for candidates to let voters know that there is an election and that they are candidates. Why, however, do political candidates think that it is acceptable to place signs on public property without permission. This is taxpayers’ property and I would like the candidates to stay off my lawn (for clarification purposes, for public property, I am excluding signs placed in the right of way with the abutting property owners consent).
For example: (1) Democratic NYS Assembly candidate Mark Jaffe thinks it is acceptable to place a sign on the right of way in front of the Mount Kisco Justice Court; (2) Republican U.S. Congressional candidate Nan Hayworth thinks it is proper to place a sign in the right of way in front of Mount Kisco’s Leonard Park; (3) Republican U.S. Congressional candidate seems to be going after the dead person vote by placing a sign in front of Mount Kisco’s Oakwood Cemetery. Where does Mr. DiCarlo think he is, Chicago?
Brookside Village is a community of 116 condominiums in Mount Kisco with an entrance and exit off of North Bedford Road (Route 117). With the development of 333 North Bedford Road and to help the residents of Brookside Village, a traffic light was installed to help the residents enter and exit their street, known as Park Drive.
As reported earlier, the light has residents waiting as long as 90 seconds for a green light, even during periods of light traffic on Sunday evenings. After a request by Deputy Mayor Peter DiChiara, James Palmer, the Mount Kisco Village Manager contacted the New York State Department of Transportation to have the timing of the light changed. The North Bedford Road corridor is used by businesses and residents. The Village of Mount Kisco should look after the residents’ concerns as well as those of the businesses.
While the traffic light needs to be adjusted, one resident on mountkisconews.com posted that, “the most dangerous aspect of the light is the numerous cars going through the northbound red on 117.” While the police department is short staffed, there are still enough officers to work on a special detail to enforce this and other traffic laws.
As anyone driving on North Bedford Road (Route 117) can see, there is a Sherwin-Williams paint store and a Floor Liquidators outlet moving in to Mount Kisco. Mount Kisco welcomes new merchants that will contribute to the community, if they are going to be a positive influence on the community (and there is a debate on whether these national chains are).
Driving by Sherwin-Williams recently, it is hard to not notice the unending expanse of blacktop in their parking lot. This brings up two questions: where is the runoff going to flow and where is the green space. One nice feature of North Bedford Road is the green barrier from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church to the end of the Mount Kisco border at CVS (even in front of Dunkin Donuts). Looking at the plans and reviewing the Mount Kisco Planning Board minutes, there was a discussion regarding plantings. Along North Bedford Road, however, they are to be planted in a small strip planted in the right-of-way and not on the Sherwin-Williams’s property.
Mount Kisco residents will have to see how this turns out. With this new addition and the Planning Board’s recently-approved office building on Barker near Valley View Terrace, traffic will be busier along the North Bedford Road corridor.
A recent entry in a Mount Kisco Police Department blotter noted that a 19-year-old Mount Kisco resident was arrested on South Moger Avenue and charged with criminal possession of a weapon (a gravity knife), criminal possession of marijuana and unlawful possesssion of marijuana.
What was not apparent from the blotter entry was that this arrest was the result of a special summer patrol that was approved by the Village Board and instituted by Police Chief Steven Anderson. While some board members of the Village Board advocated for a greater number of patrols, the Village Board did approve a limited budget for a patol with the acronym STARZ.
On July 30, an officer assigned to STARZ was on a foot patrol walking through an alleyway from South Moger Avenue towards the Shoppers Park parking lot. While on foot patrol, the officer smelled marijuana and saw several males in a group behind Cosi. One of the males began to walk and then run away from the officer. The officer was able to run to his police car and make the arrest.
Without being on foot an a special patrol, this arrest might not have been made by the Mount Kisco Police Department. More important than any single arrest, the presence of police officers walking downtown during the evenings in the summer serves as a deterrent. By giving the police department the support to be effective and deter mischievous activity, Mount Kisco residents can enjoy a better quality of life.
With the renovation of 333 North Bedford Road, it presented an opportunity to put a traffic light on North Bedford Road to help residents of Brookside Village make a left out of Park Drive during peak traffic hours. Unfortunately, with the way the light is set, Brookside Village residents wait unnecessarily at the light even when traffic is light.
The Village of Mount Kisco needs to work with New York State to change the timing of the light. After reaching the light, cars looking to exit Brookside Village can wait as long as 90 seconds to be able to make a left turn at the light. First, the waiting time should be reduced. Second, the light should be changed to a blinking red light during most periods when the traffic on North Bedford Road will easily allow it.
This may be a difficult fix since the Village of Mount Kisco does not control the traffic light. The Village, however, should expeditiously work with the New York State Department of Transportation to try to make driving easier for Brookside Village residents.
If you live in Mount Kisco and are not registered to vote or if you need an absentee ballot, use the Voter Forms links on the right side of this page to print out the necessary forms.
There are relatively few voters in Mount Kisco under the age of 21. It is important for all eligible voters to vote. It is the only way to have your voice heard.
There have been some questions about whether or not busineses can park commercial vehicles on residential streets in Mount Kisco. The Mount Kisco Village Code is clear that commercial vehicles may not park on residential streets.
The Village’s Vehicles and Traffic Code spells out that it is illegal to park a commercial vehicle on any street in a residential zone unless the vehicle is parked while providing service or a delivery to a resident. Further, commercial vehicles may not park on any street in the village between 1:00 am and 5:00 am unless they are providing service or making a delivery.
The law also has a broad definition of commercial vehicle which includes any truck, tractor, trailer, bus, taxicab, livery car, or any other vehicle used for commercial purposes. A vehicle shall be deemed to be used for commercial purposes if it (a) bears advertising on the vehicle, (b) carries tools or equipment attached to the outside of the vehicle or visible from the outside of the vehicle; (c) bears license plates issued for commercial or combination vehicles; (d) has been issued a municipal or governmental business license; or (e) has other indicia of commercial use or design.
Therefore, the vehicles in the pictures below, on Grove Street and Spring Street, should not be allowed to park on residential streets, especially overnight. There is no reasonable explanation why these vehicles are consistently allowed to park on a residential street overnight.
In a move out of an old play book, the Mt. Kisco Democratic Committee unsuccessfully tried to eliminate from the ballot the two Republican and Independent Party candidates for the Village Board of Trustees. This is the second year in a row that the Mt. Kisco Democratic Committee has challenged a petition to eliminate opposing candidates before an election.
Why does the Mount Kisco Democratic Committee want to disqualify the candidates and not allow Mount Kisco voters to have a choice? Do they not have confidence in their candidates Joseph Morreale and Jean Farber, a resident of Mount Kisco for only four years?
The Mt. Kisco Democratic Committee’s candidates have a tremendous advantage over their Republican opponents. First, the committee has nominated every member on the Village Board. Second, there are nearly twice as many registered Democrats in Mount Kisco as Republicans, with Democrats making up nearly 44% of the voters.
Mount Kisco is a small town and the platforms of the current candidates, the majority with little or no experience in Mount Kisco government, will probably not differ much. Candidates should be encouraged and the Mt. Kisco Democratic Committee should welcome challenge and initiative, not stamp it out.
It is poetic justice that the Mt. Kisco Democratic Committee’s challenge was denied for errors similar to the ones that they were challenging. First, only one copy of the challenging documentation was made available to the Westchester County Board of Elections. Second, the matter, when brought to the state supreme court, failed because it was not filed with a judge by the deadline.
When residents vote for Mount Kisco Village Trustee in November, voters should remember that the Mount Kisco Democratic Party once again wanted to deny them the opportunity to elect their own officials.
On Monday, August 9, the Mount Kisco Village Board will announce the hiring of two new police officers. One new officer has already started his training in Mount Kisco while a second new officer will not hit the streets until he finishes the police academy.
Samuel Fagin, the officer currently in training in Mount Kisco, transferred to Mount Kisco from the New York Police Department. Jeff Slotoroff, the officer in the police academy, is an EMT that was commended by the Mount Kisco Village Board in May for detecting smoke from a building on Maple Avenue and then entering the building several times to wake residents and help them out safely. The picture below shows Jeff Slotoroff receiving a commendation from Mayor Michael Cindrich along with Police Officer James Whalen.
The Mount Kisco Police Department still needs to hire a few additional officers but this is a good start.
Currently, Mount Kisco does not have a lot of parks, fields or open space. Besides, Leonard Park, the only other athletic field owned by the Village of Mount Kisco in Mount Kisco is the recently renovated Fox Park. Mount Kisco does use land owned by Diamond Properties at 333 North Bedford Road but does not own the land.
Mount Kisco does, however, own land that includes a soccer field in Bedford behind Shop Rite. While the park does serve a limited purpose, hosting soccer games for the adult Mount Kisco Soccer League on Sundays, it is not a neighborhood park where Mount Kisco residents can access by walking or biking. In fact, it is locked except for Sundays when it hosts games.
Mount Kisco once used the land as a source of water and had wells pumping water to residents in Mount Kisco and Bedford. The wells, unfortunately, were contaminated in 1979 by chemicals from a local business. The land sat vacant and unused for many years until Recreation Commissioner Charlie Pieragostino took the initiative to create a soccer field.
The land has become more valuable in recent years and Mount Kisco should consider selling the land and using the money to create a field and park in Mount Kisco. Diamond Properties could buy the land, or a portion thereof, for parking. In fact, Diamond Properties needed a variance from the Town of Bedford to build a CVS with a drive-up window at the shopping center with Shop Rite. With money from the sale of the land or an exchange of land, Mount Kisco can build a field that its residents can access and use.
The pictures below include pictures of the park and the entrance next to the Saw Mill Parkway and railroad tracks.
