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?
As Labor Day has passed and school has restarted, the Mount Kisco Memorial Pool will be closed to the public until next summer (other than the upcoming dog swim on September 19). Thank you for the Mount Kisco Memorial Pool lifeguards and their supervisors for keeping everyone safe, including Superintendent of Recreation Charlie Pieragostini and Pool Director Carolyn Johnson (pictured on the left in the first picture below). The Mount Kisco Memorial Pool is one of the jewels of Mount Kisco.
With the Mount Kisco Fire Depatment planning and fundraising for a 9/11 Memorial for Mount Kisco, it is informative to look at memorials built by neighboring towns.
The Town of North Castle has constructed a memorial at Gedney Park on Route 133. The memorial is not in a downtown area but in Gedney Park, with no signs to indicate its location. Gedney Park was the second choice for the memorial’s location. The first choice was the Duck Pond, near Route 120 and entrances to the Saw Mill River Parkway.
The memorial does not have one focal point but resembles more of a remembrance garden built along a brick path. There is a plaque on a rock to remember the three Town of New Castle residents that lost their life in the attack on the World Trade Center. Next along the trail, there is also a manmade waterfall into a small pond. Finally, there is a water fountain built alongside pieces of steel from the World Trade Center.
A memorial in Mount Kisco built downtown would be different than the approach taken by the Town of New Castle, where the memorial was delayed and contested by lawsuits and petitions. This information is provided just to show another community’s reponse.
This picture, titled Willow on Branch Brook, is provided by Mount Kisco Daily Photo. Mount Kisco Daily Photo is preparing an exhibit for the Mount Kisco Public LIbrary.
Mount Kisco had many tremendous willow trees. There were quite a few taken down during the renovation of Shoppers Park’s parking area. Mount Kisco needs to look after its trees. At a recent board of trustees meeting, Deputy Mayor Peter DiChiara noted that a willow tree across from Gatto Drive was being taken over by vines. As part of the recent approval of the BMW showcase, the owner of the BMW dealership will have to provide trees equal in caliper to those that are removed.
On August 2, it was reported here that at 10 Lenox Street, a new business or the building owner was trying to expand the parking regulations to prohibit parking at all times on a public street. Legally, there is a No Parking - Loading Zone on Lenox Street that prohibits parking from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and there are signs that document this.
Someone other than the Village, however, put up a separate “No Parking” sign that banned parking and threatened to tow cars that did not comply with this private and improper ban.
After the August 2, 2010 article, the signs have been taken down and the rule of law now applies again on Lenox Street. See the before and after pictures below.
Report any local complaints to mountkisconews@gmail.com.
At the Village Board meeting at August 9, 2010, two new officers took their oaths to serve the people of Mount Kisco.
Samuel Fagin, currently in training in Mount Kisco, transferred to Mount Kisco from the New York Police Department. He is a graduate of Duke Univerity. Jeff Slotoroff, currently 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.
With these additions, the Mount Kisco Police Department has 34 members, including members that are currently not active. 34 members leaves the police department three members short of its headcount.
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It was recently announced that Mount Kisco desset store La Tulipe Desserts on Lexington Avenue was responsible for creating a gluten-free vegan wedding cake for Chelsea Clinton’s wedding. Since La Tulipe is not in the downtown area, many Mount Kisco residents drive past the store without thinking of what is inside. Well, the store makes a lot more than just gluten-free vegan desserts. As you can see from the case below, the store is stocked with ready to eat desserts and worth a trip next time you are having a party or just want a good dessert. They are located at 455 Lexington Avenue and their website is www.latulipedesserts.com. Thank you to La Tulipe for bringing attention to Mount Kisco and its quality merchants.
On Lenox Street, there is a No Parking - Loading Zone that prohibits parking from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. That traffic and parking promulgation is printed on street signs installed by the Village of Mount Kisco. Either a new business or the building owner at 10 Lenox Place, however, is trying to expand the parking regulations to prohibit parking at all times.
Either the busines or building owner put up No Parking signs informing anyone interested in parking on the public street that they will be towed away. It is unclear under what authority that towing would take place. One resident informed mountkisconews.com that the business owner told him he could not park there and he would call the police. See the pictures below.
The Mount Kisco Swim and Dive Team held their awards dinner on Saturday night. All swimmers and divers were recognized for their contributions. It was another successful season, not just because of the accomplishments in the pool, as a result of the camaraderie of the team out of the pool. Once again, thank you to all of the coaches, parents who volunteered and Carolyn Johnson, pool director, and Charles Pieragostini, Recreation Superintendent.
Below: Coaches Kim Holden and Matthew Karle present awards to swimmers.
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.
