Vikas Agrawal is running for Ardsley School Board. I'm writing to share my thoughts about his candidacy. Vikas has been a key leader in the successful effort to promote cricket in Greenburgh — a sport that is one of the most popular in the world. Greenburgh, thanks in large part to Vikas' le…

The League of Women Voters of the Rivertowns is announcing virtual candidates’ forums for school board elections for the Hastings-on-Hudson and Ardsley school districts. The events are to be co-sponsored by the Hastings PTSA and the Ardsley PTA. 

I have decided to run for a seat on the board of education for our district — Hastings-on-Hudson. I want to thank all those who reached out to me, encouraging me to run for the board. I promise to add value to our schools.

On behalf of the Oley family, I would like to extend thanks and gratitude to the Irvington Historical Society for the wonderful webinar "Finnish Line: A Retrospective of Peter Oley, Beloved Coach and Teacher" that was presented on Sunday, April 25. To use one of my dad's favorite words, it w…

On Sunday, May 23, at 2 p.m, the Ardsley Historical Society will present a free Zoom webinar entitled, “The American Colonization Society - A Challenge to E Pluribus Unum.” Mercy College history professor Robert Murray, a scholar of the American Colonization Society (ACS), which, in the 19th…

For the majority of my time living in Hastings, I have admired and respected the work of the board of education (BOE). I found the recent letter to the editor from former BOE members to be motivating [Enterprise, April 9]. 

After reading the Greenburgh town supervisor candidates’ comments [Enterprise, April 16], I wondered who would be best to address the problems that affect all of the town residents. My guess is that the town needs an effective and proven manager, not someone with big-city credentials.

The just-passed New York State budget has many progressive elements thanks to the lobbying by Invest in Our New York, a broad coalition of progressive groups, and the hard work of our state senator, Andrea Stewart-Cousins. The budget includes much to be proud of, such as long-promised fundin…

The invasive vine removal at Pascone Park in Ardsley next Saturday, April 17, is by pre-registration only. The site is limited and Covid restrictions strictly apply. Moreover, sign-up spots have already filled. 

While more than 100 Americans die of gun violence every day, it’s been 25 years since our federal government passed a gun safety law — 25 years of families being devastated as their loved ones were killed or wounded, 25 years of survivors and activists demanding change, and 25 years of the g…

Thanks to your feature in the Enterprise (Jan. 21), I attended the recent Hastings Public Library Dewey series. As a nursing student, I was very curious to hear the “Dewey Does Adaptation” series March event. The lecture, “A Doctor and a Lawyer Walk Into a Pandemic," presented via Zoom by th…

We, the undersigned, are a group of past school board members representing over 40 years of service to the Hastings-on-Hudson schools. We write this letter to express our concern for the well-being of our schools, our children, and our community. As citizens who have all served in elected bo…

Many voters around the country are expressing outrage because the Georgia Legislature passed a bill that would limit ballot drop boxes to locations inside voting locations. It’s a form of voter suppression designed to discourage voter participation. Same thing has been happening in Westchest…

“The Experienced”: The experienced candidate has encountered and overcome many common challenges in the position and has learned many valuable lessons that the inexperienced candidate is not familiar with. Voting for someone with the knowledge of the position cuts down the learning curve, wh…

On behalf of the St. Matthew and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Council, I would like to thank Foodtown and the Estevez Family for participating in the eScrip/Foodtown Gives Back program. The parish was able to raise $3,773.57 in 2020 by parishioners simply using their enrolled Foodtown c…

We are writing to thank all the voters in Hastings-on-Hudson who voted on March 16. Our election was uncontested, but despite that we worked hard to meet with our constituents, listen to their concerns, and discuss our positions on issues that are of importance to the community. What we hear…

The Dobbs Ferry Diversity, Social Justice, and Social Action Page on Facebook stands in solidarity with the victims of last week’s heinous shooting in Atlanta — Soon Chung Park 박순정 (age 74), Hyun Jung Grant [김]현정 (age 51), Sun Cha Kim 김순자 (age 69), Yong Ae Yue 유용애 (age 63), Delai…

The Covid-19 pandemic has been hard on all, but our immigrant community has suffered tremendously. Our undocumented neighbors with essential jobs have assisted since the beginning: growing food, cleaning business and medical facilities, making necessary deliveries. Small immigrant-owned busi…

I greatly admire my fellow Rivertowns residents who still dutifully pull up their face masks when encountering someone else on the Aqueduct or other local thoroughfares. They take this precaution, even though the chance of spreading Covid-19, outdoors, when walking past someone 10 feet away,…

The attacks against Asian Americans in recent weeks, the hate crimes against African Americans, the numerous anti-Semitic incidents in the county, incidents impacting our Muslim neighbors and the LGBT community, highlight the need for a hate crime reporting form that would enable public offi…

The Hastings Pollinator Pathway Project would like to invite everyone to join our second Seed Swap on Saturday, April 17, at the Hastings Farmers’ Market. Last month, over 50 people stopped by our table to pick up some free flower, herb, vegetable, and native seeds and talk about pollinator …

Sometimes, it takes an extraordinary event to illuminate ordinary, everyday blessings. That occurred for me on Friday, March 5, when a car struck me as I was walking my puppy in Dobbs Ferry.

I would like to give a shout-out to the Village of Dobbs Ferry’s senior advocate, Abby Connett. I know I had an appointment to get the vaccine on March 6. They were going to call me to tell me the time. On March 5, my son-in-law put a message on Facebook asking if others were having the same…

After reading your story (Enterprise, Jan. 21) about the Friends of the Hastings Library’s four-part series, “Dewey Does Adaptation: A Covid Sampler,” I was eager to attend the second installment, on Feb. 21, featuring the Hastings-based Angelica Women’s Chamber Choir. As a former choral sin…

We are writing to correct a mischaracterization regarding our priorities and our process for endorsing candidates for the Board of Trustees (BOT), in a letter that ran in last week’s issue. We agree with the content of the letter — that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity is onl…

Hastings has lost a powerful advocate and friend — Ron Cascone. We, current and former members of the Hastings Conservation Commission and Energy Working Group, write together to note his passing and acknowledge his many contributions. Ron was a member of the Conservation Commission for clos…

As a parent of children in the Dobbs schools, I have a say in how my kids’ education is administered by voting for representatives to the Board of Education (BOE), on the school budget, or even running for the Board. Not all parents of Dobbs students have these rights. Indeed, residents of D…

Amidst all the chaos and uncertainty surrounding the pandemic, we were delighted to find the well-organized, very friendly vaccination center run by the Dobbs Ferry Recreation Department at the Embassy Community Center this past weekend. A big thank-you to all the employees and volunteers wh…

Last week’s Enterprise reported on the Dobbs Ferry Democratic Committee’s annual convention to make its endorsements for this year’s village elections. In announcing its all-white slate of endorsements and characterizing the non-white candidates as unprepared to serve, the Democratic leaders…

It’s sad that the superintendent, assistant superintendent, and middle school principal have chosen to “ban” the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.” When I learned this, I, and many others rushed to read it. 

As a 50-plus year resident of Hastings — having had three children go through the school system — and as a retired professor at two universities, it is disheartening to watch the board of education and the superintendent of schools fail to understand the purpose of education. It is not to hi…

Among the paramount pleasures of the Rivertowns are the majestic landscapes, renowned worldwide for their particular beauty within the already regarded Hudson Valley region. The idyllic, sylvan paths have increasingly been a refuge during the pandemic.

What lesson do you think children of school age will draw from the following facts? A more profound question: What should thinking adults do about this?

On Feb. 22, at the virtual Hastings Board of Education meeting, I observed an eighth-grade Farragut Middle School teacher attempt to read her letter to the community. She never was allowed to complete this because of the rule regarding “matters of personnel.” Two days later, on Feb. 24, the …

We would like to graciously thank the entire Hastings community for rallying around neighbors in need by contributing the most funds that have ever been collected in a single year by the Friends of the Hastings Youth Council. Because the Hastings Youth Council is an essential safety net for …

The New York State budget is in big trouble, stemming largely from the Covid pandemic and the accompanying collapse of the economy. Without significant inputs of new revenue sources, an austerity budget with crippling cuts in funding for essential public services may be our fate. While many …

I was disappointed to read that the fact that Children’s Village staff housing residents cannot vote in school board elections is being viewed as racist. There are far too many actual racist actions to go looking where they don’t exist. 

In contrast to Robert K. Elliot’s view [Letters to the Editor, Feb. 12], I see the water tower as a tribute to Hastings’ vanishing working class. 

It was interesting to read that Congressman Mondaire Jones said, “We’re going repeal the SALT cap and put money back into the pockets of working people in our district.”

I’d like to express my support for the decision to discontinue the discussion of the Sherman Alexie book. I think many people are missing the central issue here, which is real harm was caused to a child due to mistakes in the discussion of the material. The student and family were courageous…

About 180 volunteers have signed up to become Covid Angels — helping seniors obtain Covid-19 vaccination appointments. We already have reached hundreds of seniors in the villages and in unincorporated Greenburgh, but need to make thousands of additional calls. Have had many successes so far.…

The vexatious litigation over the petition by residents of the Edgemont section of the Town of Greenburgh whether they will be able to vote on becoming the seventh incorporated village in the Town demonstrates how deformed our one-party local government has become.

We’d like to introduce ourselves as Democratic candidates for Hastings village offices. We are Mary Lambert and Tom Drake, running for trustees, and Niki Armacost, running for mayor. 

“Plan B in the works to move waterfront water tower” (Rivertowns Enterprise, Dec. 18, 2020) discuses the cost and difficulty of saving the Hastings water tower left over from the factory days of Anaconda and its predecessors.

I just got off what seems like the 100th “last and final call” to extend the warranty on my car. Of course, I haven't owned this car for many years.

We needed to call the Fairview Fire Department because of a smell in our basement. Within 10 minutes, Deputy Fire Chief Eryk Simmons and Fire Capt. David Primerano, with four other firefighters carrying more than 100 pounds of equipment, rolled into our basement. They were all as nice as can…

The Hastings-on-Hudson Democratic Committee would like to extend a big thank you to all who attended our Democratic Committee Caucus on Jan. 21. What seemed on the surface a fairly simple Zoom meeting was actually a complex event to arrange, and I am grateful to all who worked behind the sce…

I want to use this space to highlight the years of support we’ve received from Woodlands Community Temple in Greenburgh. Through Rabbi Billy Dreskin, the temple has been a friend to South Presbyterian Church for years and years. When the Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry started in 2011, the members o…

I want to thank Gary Rappaport for his letter on Jan. 29 regarding the actions by the educational leadership in Hastings. No one wants to see any harm come to any child and we want to protect their well-being in all respects. The Central Office made its decision.

This is a rather scattershot letter responding to a variety of articles on starkly unrelated matters in recent issues of The Rivertowns Enterprise, but here goes.