On June 24, the Mount Kisco Elementary School fifth grade class had their moving up ceremony. The ceremony, presided over by Principal Susan Ostrofsky, was well-staged and allowed each child to speak about their moment in time at Mount Kisco Elementary School that each will remember. Each child displayed confidence and showed that Principal Ostrofsky and her teachers and staff have prepared the fifth graders for Fox Lane Middle School.
At its June 15, 2009 meeting, the Village Board expressed its appreciation on behalf of the entire Mount Kisco community to Richard Thomason for his outstanding contribution to the welfare of Mount Kisco. Mr. Thomason has dedicated himself to Mount Kisco with 50 Years of service to the Rescue Fire Police. Mr. Thomason is the proud parent of 7 girls and 1 boy and was joined by many members of his family and his fire company family at the ceremony commemorating his service to Mount Kisco.
On the other end of the spectrum, rookie Harold Hochstein was sworn in by the mayor in front of his fellow volunteers.
On Saturday, June 13, local residents and a business were honored as the first significant donors to The Friends of Leonard Park. William and Joan Hegan, Ilene and John Boucher, the Lattanzi Family and Luppino Landscaping & Masonry LLC were awarded with certificates of appreciation at a ceremony with Mayor Michael Cindrich, Recreation Supervisor Charles Pieragostini and Leonard Park Committee Chairperson Teresa Sacchetti.
The Leonard Park Committee is a committee designed to advise the Board of Trustees and the Recreation Commission on all matters pertaining to Leonard Park and to control the use and development of Leonard Park so the recreational facilities there are used to the best advantage for community residents and free from commercialism.
Please contact any member of the Village Board, Village Manager James Palmer or Leonard Park Committee Chairperson Teresa Sacchettii f you are interested in the Leonard Park Committee.
On June 1, 2009, a major case was closed with the arrest of William Gilman, a 32-year-old resident of 25 Barker Street in Mount Kisco. The investigation was initiated by Mount Kisco Police Department’s Detective Joseph Reitter and revealed a pattern of fraudulent activity, which victimized people across the United States and included illegal money transfers overseas. Mount Kisco Detectives received assistance from the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Westchester County Police Department and other federal agencies. Mr. Gilman was charged with three counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and two other felonies. These charges, however, may be replaced with charges in Federal Court.
From the Attorney General’s website (http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/june/june4a_09.html):
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (June 4, 2009) -Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the sale of a 30-acre parcel of land by the Rene Dubos Center for Human Environments to the Village and Town of Mount Kisco, which will preserve the natural state of the land as originally intended, may go forward.
The Attorney General’s endorsement of the plan, which was required for the sale to take place, ends years of lengthy court battles and litigation over the land’s use. The property borders Byram Lake, Mount Kisco’s sole drinking water supply.
The Rene Dubos Center originally intended to sell the property to private developer Michael Cappelli. However, the Attorney General’s Office opposed the sale and successfully argued that the donors who funded the original purchase did so with the understanding that the property would be protected from development. The Attorney General’s Office helped broker a deal where the property would be sold to the Village and Town of Mount Kisco, which promised to honor the original donors’ intent to preserve the land, thereby protecting the town’s water supply.
“This outcome upholds both the preservation of our natural resources and the viability of charitable gifts,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “We must protect the spaces that are intended to be kept in their natural state and honor the wishes of those who generously donate to worthy causes.”
The Rene Dubos Center for Human Environments is an education and research non-profit named after Rene Dubos, a noted microbiologist. In 1979, it purchased the 30 acres of undeveloped land adjacent to Byram Lake with $275,000 in charitable donations provided by the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation and the DeWitt Wallace Fund. In accepting the donations, the Rene Dubos Center resolved to keep the land “entirely in its natural state … without impairing the essential natural quality of the land.”
However, after several years of incurring substantial debt, the Rene Dubos Center decided to sell the property to a private developer who planned to build several large residences on the land. The Attorney General’s Office intervened, arguing that the sale would violate the property’s intended purpose and potentially affect Mount Kisco’s sole source of drinking water. Joining the Attorney General in the opposing the sale were officials from Mount Kisco and Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano.
State Supreme Court Justice W. Denis Donovan agreed and ruled in favor of the Attorney General, paving the way for Mount Kisco to negotiate the acquisition of the 30 acre parcel of land from the Rene Dubos Center for $475,000 and promising to preserve the property forever in its natural state.
Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano said, “Attorney General Cuomo’s office is to be applauded for its successful efforts in keep this land undeveloped and preserving the original intent of the donors. Protecting this land is a vital step in ensuring that pristine natural spaces remain in Westchester County and protecting our drinking water.”
Mount Kisco Mayor Michael Cindrich said, “I commend the Attorney General’s Office for its thorough work in protecting this land. Thanks to the efforts of the Attorney General, the Village/Town of Mount Kisco will hold this property in its natural state, serving to protecting our drinking water and preserving the property for future generations to enjoy.”
The case was handled by Judith C. McCarthy, Assistant Attorney General-in-Charge of the Westchester Regional Office.
The Bedford Central School District temporarily placed its schools in lockout mode after the report of an alleged attempted armed robbery at a deli on Lexington Avenue at the foot of West Hyatt.
After the police quickly responded, it was determined that the suspect may have fled the deli by running up West Hyatt in the direction of the Mount Kisco Elementary School. There was no evidence that the suspect was close to school grounds or that the suspect had a loaded gun. Mount Kisco police informed the administrators at Mount Kisco Elementary School that it would be best to have the school children stay inside.
Police conducted a thorough search of the area and called in a police canine unit from Yorktown. There was no evidence that the suspect was in the area.
Using an abundance of caution, the Bedford Central School District, at its own discretion, placed all of its schools in a lockout mode even though there was no imminent threat.
Parents of schoolchildren were alerted by phone calls and emails.
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