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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.

In a letter dated January 10, 2010 to the Mount Kisco Village Board, then-Chief Al Bueti of the Mount Kisco Fire Department introduced the idea of the construction of a 9/11 memorial in Mount Kisco before the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Mount Kisco Fire Department would raise funds through a 9/11 Memorial Committee and the memorial would be built at no cost to the Village, other than the necessary logistical and planning support. The Mount Kisco Fire Department would also obtain an artifact from the World Trade Center site for the memorial. The letter called for building the memorial between Village Hall and the library, where the water fountain is currently located.

The Village Board voted to authorize the Mount Kisco Fire Department to construct plans and renderings. Over the last six months, the Mount Kisco Fire Department has invested time and money into the project to create a set of plans. The Village should now do whatever is necessary to get this project moving and completed before the tenth anniversary in 2011.

While the Mount Kisco Fire Department requested to place the memorial in front of Village Hall, the area in front of Village Hall is congested and there may be better locations. One location is the near the Mount Kisco Justice Court. This location, however, does not get much foot traffic and the memorial may not get the attention it deserves. Another location is the north end of Kirby Plaza where the memorial would stand apart and augment the landscaping and clock tower in Kirby Plaza. That location may not have the electrical and water service needed for the memorial. Whatever location is decided, the decision should be made quickly to let the Mount Kisco Fire Department proceed. Comments on this article are welcomed and would help with the planning by the Village.

Elm Street and Locust Street are two streets that connect the commercial Lexington Avenue with the residential West Street. Elm Street and Locust Street both have commercial and residential zones. They are narrow streets with hills that create blind spots for drivers. For safety purposes, parking is banned on both streets. Both streets, however, have zoning issues and safety problems caused by the land owners.

On Elm Street, there are numerous trucks parked in front of garages. It is unknown if this truck storage is part of the property’s site plan. The problem is worse on Locust Street where landowners have created parking lots on what may be the Village’s right-of-way.

There are three properties on the north side of Locust Avenue. These properties are 325 Lexington, 15 Locust Street and 112 West Street. All three properties have oversized parking areas that, in some form, existed before the Village of Mount Kisco passed zoning laws on December 18, 1989 restricting the size and location of driveways. Hereafter, this article will refer to these as the “1989 Zoning Laws.”

112 West Street has a driveway over 35 feet wide (nearly twice the size allowed). This non-conforming driveway was documented by the Village of Mount Kisco before the 1989 Zoning Laws.

15 Locust Street has a 33 foot parking area that is larger than the 1989 Zoning Laws allow and 6 feet wider than documented in Village records for the property before the 1989 Zoning Laws. 15 Locust Street also has a driveway that is not allowed under the 1989 Zoning Laws and not documented by the Village before the 1989 Zoning Laws. The current residents, as documented by the picture below are trying to expand the driveway by driving on and parking on previously unpaved surfaces.

325 Lexington has a recently repaved 44 foot wide parking area that is wider than currently allowed and approximately 6 feet bigger than Village records before the 1989 Zoning Laws and appears bigger than a recent picture on Google Maps. 325 Lexington is reported to have at least six dwelling units.

These oversized driveways / parking lots, which may be squarely on the Village’s right of way, allows landlords to rent their apartments to more residents than the property can handle. It is reported that 325 Lexington Avenue and 15 Locust Street are owned by entities that are managed and affiliated with Planning Board Chairman Joseph Cosentino.

At a recent Village Board meeting, Deputy Mayor Pete DiChiara suggested that the Village should make the landlords eliminate these parking areas if the cars are parking on the Village’s right of way on Locust Avenue and, at a minimum, require the landlords to eliminate the extra parking and driveways not documented by the Village’s current records. This will be an effective way to manage an overcrowded street that can not support the current number of residents. Unfortunately, the suggestion was not enthusiastically supported by the other Village Board members and it is unlikely that Mount Kisco’s Building Inspector will take the initiative on this matter.

From Sunday July 25, there were 100 days to election day on November 2, 2010.  The following are legislative races that Mount Kisco residents should learn about for November.  Some of these races will require a primary election which shall take place on September 14. 

US Congress - John Hall (Incumbent)

Democratic Nominee: John Hall recently announced that he is seeking re-election at the opening of the regional state Democratic Party office in Mount Kisco. Congressma Hall was first elected in 2006 and has generally voted with the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives.  He supported the health care legislation that was passed by Congress.   Congressman Hall said Congress has been working to pull the economy out of the “economic ditch that was driven in by the last administration.”

Republican Candidates: There will be a Republican primary between Nan Hayworth, an ophthalmologist who lives just outside of the Village of Mount Kisco, and Neil DiCarlo, a securities compliance officer from Brewster.  Nan Hayworth is the favorite to win the nomination and has lent her campaign $500,000.  She opposes the health care legislation passed by Congress.

State Senate (Vincent Leibell - Incumbent Not Running for Re-election)

Democratic Nominee: Michael Kaplowitz, a Westchester County legislator is the Democratic nominee.  Mr. Kaplowitz describes himself as  fiscal conservative and is proposing pension reform for public employees by eliminating the use of overtime to calculate an employee’s pension.  If that was instituted years ago, it would have saved Mount Kisco thousands of dollars.  Michael Kaplowitz is well known in Mount Kisco and has attended many local events.

Republican Candidates: There will be a Republican primary between Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy and State Assemblyman Greg Ball.  This primary will be hotly contested.  Mr. Ball, a lightning rod, will be campaigning furiously against Ms. Murphy who has the support of many Republican committees.

State Assembly (Robert Castelli - Incumbent)

Democratic Candidates: There will be a Democratic primary between Thomas Roach and Mark Jaffe.  Thomas Roach is currently president of the White Plains Common Council.  Mark Jaffe is President and CEO of the Greater NY Chamber of Commerce; a non for profit group that works with business and civic leaders.  Thomas Roach was endorsed by the Mount Kisco Democratic Committee. 

Republican Nominee: Robert Castelli, from Lewisboro, has been representing the district since February 2009 when he won a special election for the seat.  Since he has a short track record, it is difficult to judge if he has made a difference in Albany.

In a total team effort, Mount Kisco defeated Pleasantville 259-235 in Mount Kisco’s final dual meet of 2010.  While this week’s defeat of Yorktown was paced by the diving of Connor Farrell and the swimming of Matt Karle, Pleasantville however, did not have a dive team and Matt Karle could not attend the meet. Nevertheless, Mount Kisco prevailed.

After falling behind Pleasantville in the first two strokes, the backstroke and the breast stroke, Mount Kisco rallied in the butterfly and free style to win the meet.  The Mount Kisco team cheered each other on and encouraged each other to a victory over a strong opponent.

Thank you to the swim and dive team coaches. The swim team coaches were Kim Holden with assistants Chris Cerutti, Jenn DiChiara, Matt Karle, Ian Kleinsmith, Breeda Mannion, Luke Salvatore, Katie Tipa and Maria Trujillo. The dive team coaches were Ben Ash with assistants Connor Farrell and Tommy Wolkwitz.

Below are pictures from the meet.

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”-Morrie Schwartz

In order to serve its mission to provide news, information and links for those living, working or interested in Mount Kisco, mountkisconews.com has added links to restaurant websites as an added feature.  The list, on the lower right side of the screen, excludes national chain restaurants (to support our local business owners).  Of course the list is also not inclusive because many Mount Kisco favoritesm such as the Mount Kisco Coach Diner and Mardino’s do not have websites.

Please leave a comment for any restaurants that I missed or send an email to mountkisconews@gmail.com,  More importantly, if you would like to send in a restaurant review, please send it to the above email address.

Mount Kisco has lost a few restaurants over the last few years because downtown landlords, including Friedland Properties, have made rents unaffordable or not been willing to lease to restaurants or businesses that are not national chains.  That is why Kisco Kosher is in White Plains and perhaps why Mount Kisco Japanese Cuisine is in Closter, New Jersey.

The Village of Mount Kisco government has little control over these landlords and what they decide to do with their properties.  If these landlords decide not to rent their properties to local businesses, Mount Kisco will have empty storefronts and lost revenues.

The Mount Kisco Memorial Swim and Dive Team defeated Yorktown in a close meet by a score of 274-264. The meet came down to the last relays and Mount Kisco hung on for a difficult victory in Division I of the Northern Westchester Swimming Conference. As written earler, Mount Kisco is in the top division of the 27-team swim conference.

While it was a team effort, Mount Kisco Memorial, coached by swim coach Kim Holden and dive coach Ben Ash, was led by points earned by two Fox Lane High School students, swimmer Matthew Karle and diver Connor Farrell.

The swim team is a fun part of the summer for so many Mount Kisco youths. While this meet was an “A” meet for the best swimmers, there are also “B” meets where all of the team members compete. Special thanks from the community need to go to Mount Kisco Memorial Pool Director Carolyn Johnson. As can be seen from the pictures, the pool was in excellent shape for the meet.

The Mount Kisco Republican and Democratic committees have nominated four individuals to run for Trustee of the Village of Mount Kisco.

The Republicans nominated Theodore Strauss and Peter Giner.  Theodore Strauss, 78, lives on Moore Avenue and is an architect for Theodore Laurence Strauss Architechts.  Peter Giner, also 78, lives in Diplomat Towers and is a retired businessman who worked at Tano, a store formerly located in the village.

The Democrats nominated Joseph Morreale and Jean Farber.  Joseph Morreale, 65, lives on Rolling Ridge Court and is a member of the Planning Board in Mount Kisco.  Jean Farber, 61, lives on Glassbury Court and has been a resident of Mount Kisco for only four years.  She is not a member of any of the Village of Mount Kisco’s volunteer committees but neither Farber, Strauss or Giner volunteer for any of the village’s committees.

There are two open seats on the Village Board.  Current Trustee Peter Grunthal is retiring to pursue other opportunities. Deputy Mayor Pete DiChiara did not seek and, as a result, did not receive a nomination from the Mount Kisco Democratic committee. 

Pete DiChiara may run as an independent candidate.  In Mount Kisco, however, it is difficult for anyone not nominated by the Democratic committee to win an election as over 40 percent of the registered voters are registered as Democrats.

The Mt Kisco Athletic Club, better known as MAC, is preparing its move from Kisco Avenue to 333 North Bedford Road (the old Grand Union Distribution Center). The move, which has been before the Mount Kisco Planning Board for months, will occur after approximately six months of construction with a projected grand opening of January 1, 2011.

The plans, displayed below, will include:

* a large group exercise room with an instructor stage
* two 25 yard pools with three lap lanes
* a cardio room with a movie cinema
* state of the art spinning studio and a yoga studio
* three squash courts and a basketball court.

For MAC members, the new space will replace the current club which needs repair and better parking. Hopefully, the club will stay reasonably affordable and less expensive than its sister club, the Saw Mill Club.

For more details of the plan, click here