As the budget vote approaches, we, the signers of this letter, are writing to urge the citizens of Hastings-on-Hudson to come together as a community, show up at Hastings High School on June 21, and vote yes on the school budget.
At the May 17 vote, the Hastings-on-Hudson 2022-23 school budget failed to pass. Since that vote, the Board of Education has received feedback from the community, in public forums and emails, regarding what they would like to see in a second budget. The administration and Board have taken th…
Rivertowns Democrats, it’s time to vote. The June primary is underway, with races for governor, lieutenant governor, and state Assembly on the ballot. There are 10 full days of in-person voting available: early voting from June 18-26, and primary election day on June 28.
SPRING Community Partners is grateful and excited to announce the success of our SPRING Fling 15th anniversary celebration. The event raised $137,000 to assist Dobbs Ferry children. The generosity of the community, our sponsors, and donors, and the support of our amazing honoree, Lisa Brady,…
The Hastings Board of Education unanimously supports a revised budget which reflects $528,163 in reductions in response to the failed budget vote on May 17. With urgency, as a previous board of education president and as a parent of two students in our schools, I encourage Hastings voters to…
A big thanks to all who played, volunteered, and put together the RiverArts Music Tour this year and all these many years. What a treasured event and especially now. The music we heard was amazing, the friends we ran into were rejuvenating, and it was a nice day in the shade and sun. Especia…
I am writing regarding Hastings residents’ second chance to vote on the school budget, a new version prepared after the first didn’t pass. As a former long-serving member of the Hastings School District’s Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, I am familiar with Hastings school budgets. While I …
“Once Upon a Musical 3: Out of the Woods,” the Friends of the Hastings Library’s third fundraiser tapping the exceptional professional talent in our own backyard, was held at the library on June 5. The event featured a cabaret of Broadway show tunes performed in a return engagement by the in…
I am a Hastings School District parent and educational leader who specializes in superintendent and principal preparedness. I'm writing in to urge Hastings residents to approve the revised budget that will be presented for a vote on Tuesday, June 21.
On June 21, Hastings-on-Hudson will vote on a revised school budget. The first budget was narrowly voted down in a short-sighted effort to shortchange our children for a negligible tax savings; a savings that would be eclipsed by the decline in the values of our property and health of our bu…
Our family moved to Hastings 11 years ago, just before our older son started kindergarten at Hillside. In September, he will be a junior at Hastings High School, and his brother will be in seventh grade at Farragut Middle School.
I appreciate the recent pitch by the Hastings School Board and PTSA to encourage people to review the revised budget and show up to vote. Like many, I hope there is a bigger turnout. I want to offer a few ideas for the future.
Being a librarian, I just had to look up the definition of “new tradition”: it is a way to connect the past while taking ownership over the future. Well, that perfectly describes the annual Friends of the Library gala. Started in 2014 to celebrate over 100 years of service to Hastings and to…
I was disappointed to learn that Congressman Mondaire Jones will no longer represent Greenburgh in the U.S. Congress. Thanks to redistricting, the congressman has decided to run for his congressional seat in a new district in New York City.
The League of Women Voters of the Rivertowns is announcing a virtual candidates forum for New York’s 92nd Assembly District Democratic primary election. Incumbent Assemblyman Thomas J. Abinanti is being challenged by Westchester County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, who represents the 12th Cou…
We were blessed with mostly great weather for the Memorial Day weekend. Apart from its significance for us, either as a society or individually, it serves as a powerful mindset separator, between our winter/spring existence and our aspirational mode, at least in theory. But, in fact, the r…
I am surprised to read letters from respected community members opposing the Hastings school budget as excessive. The proposed increase in property tax revenues presented to the voters in May was from $44.6 million to $45.9 million, an increase of 3.1 percent, which was less than the inflati…
In the spring of 2008, the Ardsley Historical Society newsletter presented Ardsley’s 26 World War II veterans, many of whom were members of Ardsley American Legion Post 458 (which has been in existence since 1921).
The Hastings-on-Hudson PTSA strives to be a resource for all our families and the surrounding community and to act as a strong advocate for the education and well-being of every child. The Hastings PTSA Executive Committee takes the responsibility of the PTSA as advocates for our children ve…
For many of us, the vote to reject the Hastings school budget is very satisfying on several levels. First, and foremost, it will force the superintendent and the school board to reduce the budget to a more reasonable level; a level that should have been originally proposed. Second, it gives …
The United States no longer qualifies as a democracy. We are now an anocracy, a “regime that mixes democratic with autocratic features.”
Westchester residents are cordially invited to join the United Nations Association (UNA-USA) of Westchester for its annual meeting at the Greenburgh Public Library (in person) and on Zoom on Sunday, May 22, from 2-3:30 p.m. This year's theme is “Impacts of International Conflicts and the Pan…
Many parents with babies are stressed because they are having a difficult time getting the formula they need for their child. I would like to help. If you are having difficulty finding a formula your child’s needs, please email me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com. I will be asking student interns…
The Friends of the Hastings Library organization is thrilled to resume the role of theatrical producer, top-notch caterer, avid promoter, and overall community cheerleader as preparations proceed for our gala fundraiser, “Once Upon a Musical III: Out of the Woods,” to be held on Sunday, June…
Tonight, when the sun falls over the Palisades and the horizon is aflame with wonder, when the dogwood flowers have suddenly emerged, take a walk through your neighborhood. Listen to the wind waving the ferns in this latest light on the latest of days; listen to the distant peel of a Wiffle …
Last week, Dobbs Ferry endured the spectacle of the removal of many of its downtown trees. Hastings should pay attention.
Along with flowers, signs for board of education candidates are beginning to pop up on the lawns around Dobbs Ferry. I can now attest to the odd sensation of seeing your own name on a sign while driving home, of hearing your children in the back seat call out, “Dad, I see another one!”
A half marathon away (or 13.1 miles) from Ardsley, on the former University Heights campus of New York University, sits a bronze bust of Thomas Paine. Although Paine has been marginalized among America’s revolutionary founders, his anti-British pamphlet, “Common Sense,” published in January …
When residents across our community go to the polls on May 17, we will be doing more than voting on school budgets and board members. We will be participating in a great American tradition of democratic governance of public schools that stretches back over 200 years. Over time, and especiall…
It was nice to see the article on “Out and About,” the indie movie I and several other Hastings folks made, in the April 15 edition of the Enterprise. While the story mentioned some key people involved, other Hastings residents and village employees also helped tremendously, including our ta…
I'd like to thank Gary Rappaport (Letter to the Editor, April 22) for the solution to skyrocketing school taxes... sell my home and rent, or relocate (Florida seems popular these days), or "downsize" (sell my home and move to a less expensive home).
The Dobbs Ferry Beautification Committee would like to send a big shout-out to all of those who came out on Saturday, April 23, to participate in a community-wide cleanup of Dobbs Ferry. More than 40 people showed up and collected over 20 bags of garbage from the Aqueduct and other public ar…
For the sake of expanding voter access and participation, and to simplify our election process, I believe the voters of Hastings-on-Hudson would be well served by moving our March village election to the November general election calendar. To this end, I’ve begun circulating a petition by wh…
I want to reply to the two recent Letters to the Editor on tax burden and tax funding. Although they send very different messages, I appreciated both. I think most people respect the need and responsibility to pay our taxes and certainly some feel the burden and hardship of the ever-increasi…
Greenburgh has the second-largest Ukrainian population in Westchester. If readers know of refugees from Ukraine who need medical care, they should reach out to the Greenburgh Neighborhood Health Center, which has started to help refugees. I have already referred a few refugees from Ukraine t…
The League of Women Voters of the Rivertowns is announcing virtual candidates forums for school board elections in the Ardsley, Irvington, and Dobbs Ferry school districts. The events are to be co-sponsored by the Ardsley PTA, and the Irvington and Dobbs Ferry PTSAs.
I share the concern about school taxes that Maryann Manchester McArthur expressed in her letter published on April 8. In general, property taxes are the most regressive type of tax, and they are a heavy burden for people on limited incomes. I know a couple in their 70s who have lived in Hast…
Residents in the Hastings and Ardsley school districts stated in a recent Rivertowns' Enterprise that they should be excused from paying school taxes because their children are no longer enrolled. This view is not only incorrect, but it is also harmful to the public interest.
The owner of the former Elmwood Country Club, Ridgewood Elmwood Preserve, has submitted five proposals for the redevelopment of this 106.4-acre property: one for multifamily condos, two for multifamily townhouses with fee simple ownership (100 percent assessment) and two for single-family re…
We want to thank everyone in Hastings-on-Hudson who voted on March 15. While our election was uncontested, we were hotly challenged going into the January caucus. We have worked hard to meet with residents, listen to all concerns, and discuss our positions on issues important to the communit…
Friday, April 22 is Earth Day. In the spirit of that event, Dobbs Ferry will be sponsoring a Village Clean-Up on Saturday, April 23. Watch for further information from the Village. There are several unsightly areas in the village where trash needs to be removed as a citizen effort in the spi…
I welcome this opportunity to thank the Irvington Board of Education for approving the resolution in support of the veterans tax exemption. I appreciate their due diligence when deliberating this benefit for our deserving veterans who have so proudly served their country. Although the financ…
Later this month the members of the Greenburgh Town Board will cast a vote that will determine how the Elmwood Country Club [which went out of business] will be redeveloped. This property is located on Dobbs Ferry Road.
On behalf of the veterans living in Irvington, I would like to thank Schools Superintendent Kristopher Harrison, Assistant Superintendent for Business Carol Stein, school board president Brian Friedman, first vice president David Graeber, second vice president Beth Propper, and the rest of t…
We are residents of a street that borders the Elmwood property. It is a quiet, calm place to live, and we are very happy to call it home. We feel that the best development choice would be the single-family homes with extra space for community recreation (alternative “H”). This option will ad…
The Irvington School Board recently became the third of four Rivertowns to approve the veterans’ alternative property tax exemption which will benefit 100 qualified veterans at an approximate annual average cost of only $17 to the non-veteran homeowner.
I'd like to thank Steven Goldfinger for bringing the Hastings school budget increase to everyone's attention (Letters to the Editor, April 1). Yes, “Yikes!” Does anyone else feel the effects of inflation? Has anyone noticed the prices at the pumps? How about your Con Ed bill? Do you want to …
F.I.S.H. (Friends in Service Helping) is a Hastings community organization that offers rides to a doctor or dentist for persons with no other means of available transportation. Both drivers and those who are driven enjoy this contact with a friendly neighbor. Unfortunately, some of our devot…
Residents of Greenburgh received their town/county/fire district tax bills this week. These taxes are due by the end of April. Although the town and county tax rates did not increase this year, as I had indicated (the town’s tax rate decreased slightly), some residents received tax bills ind…
I appreciate the Hastings Board of Education for presenting the proposed 2022-23 budget. I hope that everyone who votes in the community will review it. What is concerning and alarming is the increase, budget to budget, at 6.64 percent. It will rise from about $52.8 million to $56.3 million,…
Most people move to Greenburgh because of our excellent schools and the fantastic educational opportunities offered to students. Although the Town is independent of the school districts, we have tried over the years to complement the work the school districts offer students. Town Clerk Judit…
