My Rye

Real Estate, 9-11, Noise, the Post Road Diet and Sewage all on Agenda for City Council May 7, 2008

City council will go retro this Wednesday night by holding its meeting at Rye's historic Square House. Now a museum, the Square House hosted American Presidents George Washington and John Adams back when the building functioned as an inn and tavern.

We are not expecting council members to be drinking any ale or spending the night (although their meetings do run fairly late). We do expect council to discuss the following items that appear on the agenda for May 7, 2008:

• a real estate matter in closed session
• receive an update on the planned Rye September 11th memorial
• construction noise. There will be a continuation of a public hearing.
• the Boston Post Road diet (a continuing discussion)
• an application for U.S. EPA Grant for Sewer Pump Station Repairs

Traffic Safety the Focus as City Clerk Dawn Nodarse Pens First City Council Minutes

Stepping into her new role as City Clerk, Dawn Nodarse submitted her first Rye city council minutes from the March 19th meeting. It was baptism by fire for Nodarse who penned and eleven page report during a busy council meeting that included a focus on traffic safety in the wake of a recent accident when a student was stuck by a car while walking to school.

To the highlights:

• A number of parents spoke about traffic safety and their concerns including Kate and Lloyd Emanuel, the parents of Jamie Emanuel, the student who sustained a broken leg after being stuck by a car on March 10th and Jim Amico, whose son Jarrid died in April 2006 after being stuck by a car on Midland Avenue.
• The mayor and the council discussed a variety of initiatives around traffic safety including the Rye YMCA's Activate America program, studies looking at improvements to school campuses, the Temporary Trails and Traffic Safety Committee an the Safe Routes the School program.
• A resolution passed by council resolved: "that the projects submitted for funding will enable our community to move forward in achieving the goals of providing safe roadways for school children, promoting a healthier environment through decreased traffic, and to encourage walking and biking as alternatives to driving."
• Former Councilwoman Carolyn Cunningham came to council to report Rye is the location of not one, but two IBAs -- important bird areas -- Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary and the Marshlands Conservancy. A group of presenters including Jeff Main, former Curator at the Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary and currently Senior Curator in the Conservation Division of the Westchester County Department of Parks and Recreation, Jason Klein, current Curator of the Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Jillian Liner, Director of Bird Conservation of Audubon New York, Allison Beale, of the Marshlands Conservancy and Beth Herr, of Ward Pound Ridge Reservation reported a Long Island Sound Stewardship Working Group is working with RTV on a program that will introduce their plan for conservation programs by identifying priorities, threats and recommendations for the two areas.

Old computers, Blasting, Flood Stories on the City Council Agenda for April 16, 2008

Think of it as a highlights reel.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 16th at 8pm, the city council has twenty items on the agenda including a “Recap of completed and ongoing efforts related to the April 15, 2007 flood.”

We expect this recap to be a slightly more formal presentation than the impromptu update Rye Mayor Steve Otis delivered at the February 13th council meeting when Indian Village residents showed up and started asking questions.

(PHOTO: Hey, Can We Get Rid of this Thing?) City council passed a seasonal leaf blower ban at the last meeting, but they are still after noise scofflaws. Agenda items seven and nine are about noise – looks like a discussion of rock chipping and blasting. There are some appointments and some positions to fill at the Rec department and the venerable Rye TV - the folks that bring the city council live into your homes on channel 75.

There is also a "bid rejection" for a tree mounted trimmer that is sure to please. Maybe the thing made too much noise. Imagine the guy's friends... "Did you see Bernie's bid get rejected live on channel 75?"

And the favorite is item 13: "Request by the Police Department to dispose of obsolete and inoperable computer equipment". They need permission to ditch the broken printer?  Something is wrong here. Even worse, they just missed Household Recycling Day at Playland where they could have safely disposed of those old computers. Sorry, they will have to go in a garage for another year.

Otis Provides Flood Update After "Open Mic" Night

Rye Mayor Steve Otis provided a flood mitigation update after a handful of Indian Village residents appeared in front of city council as part of an unscheduled agenda on February 13th. Sometimes the most informative part of a city council meeting are the unscheduled issues that come up during "Open Mic" AKA is council parlance "Residents may be heard who have matters to discuss that do not appear on the agenda."

Otis informed Rye citizens (update from city council minutes):

• As of November 9th the City’s application to SEMO (State Emergency Management Office) for the sluice gate at the Bowman Avenue Dam has been submitted. The city expects a final answer in March which would make a summer installation possible. The gate is partially designed and almost ready to be put out to bid so the progress should be quick.
• Maximizing/resizing the upper pond (Bowman Avenue). The next stage is to develop the geological study. The cost will be about $350,000. The city will be submitting a FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation Grant by February 29, 2008 as the next step.
• Dredging is a massive next step. The city is keeping the Army Corps of Engineers in the loop for this massive project.
• Lower Pond – The City is working on alternatives and we expect a full report in early March showing options (for example, increasing gravity). We have also submitted some of these ideas to Congresswoman Nita Lowey’s office.
• County Initiatives – The Mayor sits on the Flood Action Committee which meets 2-3 times a month and is moving on many fronts. The Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to study seven watersheds including ours. The city has already done the studies so the Corps will use our data as a baseline and the fact that we done the studies puts us at the head of the line (we hope) for big dollars.
• Rye Brook is helping with the Sells report.
• Harrison is concentrating on cooperation with Beaver Swamp Brook.
• On the County level, the goal is to have all communities increase their retention plans.
• Full funding has been received for the Elm Place project. Bids will go out in March and we anticipate a bid award in June. After that we can begin to work on moving utility lines.
• Federal Highway funds have also been received for Central Avenue Bridge, requiring matching funds from the City.
• The Mayor reminded residents that the City of Rye had, just in the last several years, purchased three parcels of land (Rye Nursery, Friends Meeting House, and the Anderson property) to enhance flood mitigation, but said it is not so easy to stop development upstream.

STOP Sign Policy (Finally) Gets Green Light

It all started on July 8, 2006, almost two years ago. On March 5th, after a sudden unscheduled addition to the city council agenda, the council unanimously adopted a STOP sign policy for Rye City.

Back in 2006, Bradford Park residents clamored and fought for a 4-way STOP sign at the intersection of Bradford and Florence Avenues after citing safety concerns and risks for neighborhood children. The eight month ordeal, widely reported on this web site, pointed to the need for a published policy and procedure for all Rye resident STOP sign requests. There is still a backlog of STOP sign requests that will now need to be processed by the City.

The final policy, which was drafted by Commissioner Connors in February 2007 and finally passed by council at their March 5, 2008 meeting, puts reasonable burdens on residents and the city. Some but not all of the Bradford Park policy recommendations were incorporated into the policy.

Most hopefully in the policy is the promise of transparency of the process and the current status of any requests.

"The City will make available the status of pending stop sign requests on the City website or through other means and in a form determined by the City Manager."

A final copy of the approved STOP sign policy is here (this was provided to MyRye.com by Assistant City Manager Scott Pickup and is the final approved version although it does say "draft" on the document).

We hope this ushers in a new faster and transparent process for STOP sign requests.

Fat Roads and Noise for City Council Agenda - April 2, 2008

(Photo: Rye might get a leaf blower ban. Some people think they sound this big.) The city council agenda for tomorrow night, April 2, 2008 is out and it is all about fat roads and noise.

A consultant will present on the Boston Post Road "diet" - the plan to narrow the road between the Mamaroneck town line and the intersection with the Old Post Road. Details can be found in our write-up of the January 16th minutes.

Then a public hearing will continue on leaf blowers and noise control. Council is gunning for a season ban on these noisy monsters that kick up all sorts of nasty things including pesticides and fecal matter. Yuck!

There is a smattering of other items including three appointments to the Board of Assessment Review and the authorization to fill two vacant spots in the police department.

Trailways and Traffic Safety Committee Presents Reco's

At the February 13th city council meeting, Doug French, Co-Chair of the Temporary Trailways and Traffic Safety Committee with Greg Howells (director of the Rye YMCA), presented the Committee’s prioritized recommendations. The committee's recommendations are certainly timely with both the Boston Post Road "diet plan" and the recent accident involving a student walking to school.

The Committee is focused on a pedestrian network that links points of destination with good signage; a need for a trailway plan (outside groups (the County for example) are designing plans to come though Rye); a need for safer routes to school; our declining infrastructure; our growing active population; and that now is the time to tap into outside grant funding, to leverage planned City capital projects and coordinate with outside initiatives.

French said the mandate to the Committee was to study and develop a plan for pedestrian safety, school pedestrian and traffic safety, and trailway development in one comprehensive plan.

The Committee’s top recommendations are as follows:

1. Implement school safety projects and apply for safe routes funding. Focus on: a) re-striping the Boston Post Road from Rye High School to Osborn Road; and b) create a sidewalk or trailway on the west side of the Boston Post road from Johnson Place to Hornridge Road.
2. Immediately redesign and repair areas with potential safety hazards (sidewalks along Oakland Beach Avenue up to Milton Road)
3. Leverage planned City Capital Projects (widen and re-stripe Forest Avenue from Martin Road to Manursing Way; improve the sidewalk along the west side of Theodore Fremd along train tracks)
4. Tie into County’s Playland Parkway and Theodore Fremd Projects (re-stripe Midland Avenue to Damiano Recreation Center; fill major gaps on west side at North Street and along Theodore Fremd)
5. Take care of some of the simpler things, such as connecting minor sidewalk gaps.

The Call to Action from the Committee to the Council is to:

1. Endorse the top 3 to 4 priorities as outlined above
2. Designate a person to take the lead in getting key stakeholders (schools, city, neighborhood groups) together for feedback, action and role clarification.
3. Begin phase 2 assessment-planning to include costs, engineering and grants (including Safe Routes to School grant due April 1, and Federal Transportation Enhancement Funds, due June 1)

Discussion followed concerning the criteria required for the Safe Routes to School Grant. Greg Howells, Director of the Rye YMCA said it should provide more benefits to more children and encompass elements of the 5E’s (Engineering, Education, Enforcement, Encouragement and Evaluation). Bob Zahm, School Board Member, said it was doubtful the schools can move fast enough to provide much help and he emphasized that getting people to walk requires a culture change over and above providing the sidewalks. Brian Dempsey said the Traffic and Transportation Committee favors re-striping the Boston Post Road with the “Diet” approach and it would be good if it could get into the grant. Helen Gates, grant writer, urged homeowner involvement and having permits already in place in order to make the application competitive.

Traffic Safety Top of Mind on Council Agenda

We'll see what we missed when the minutes are published, but the agenda at city council last week (March 19th) looked relatively light.

Council did meet in executive (closed) session for about one hour to discuss "collective negotiations pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law and a discussion of the potential purchase of real estate." No further detail and what all this is or if the real estate purchase has anything to do with Bowman Avenue.

Among other items, parents were expected to show up at the meeting to express concern about traffic safety and how students can walk to school in a safe way. This comes in the wake of the March 10th accident when a Rye eighth grader was hit by a car and her leg was broken. One of her parents was expected to address the council.

One item on the agenda was a resolution supporting "SRTS" - Safe Routes to School (note to council: you guys need to decode the acronyms for all of us common folk).

Also on the slate was a continuation of the noise control public hearing, appointments to the Board of Assessment Review and Finance Committee, a bid award for "street materials" and confirming a regular council meeting will be held at the historic Square House on May 7, 2008.

Journey to the Center of the Earth: Rye City Council - Meeting Minutes from February 13, 2008

Venerable City Clerk Sue Morison penned her last city council minutes during the February 13, 2008 meeting. There was so much material on the 13th, Morrison way have a workers comp claim for carpel tunnel after her 12 page manifesto.

Let's get to it:

First, a little Jules Verne for all you literature fans. Mayor Otis reported attending a public hearing on the proposed Rye-Syosset tunnel and discussed one possible strategy for opposition to the tunnel project:

"...everyone owns the land below their homes all the way to the center of the earth so the Mayor suggested Rye could, if necessary, enact a law requiring a permit to excavate under our homes. He asked the Corporation Counsel to further investigate this possibility."

If you were planning to sell your air rights to Donald Trump, now you can sell your "center of the earth rights" to tunnel developer Vincent Polimeni. Given the natural curvature of the earth, we think Rye and Syosset homeowners could have competing claims once we hit 1,000 miles below the earth's surface. Start digging and plant your flag now!

Back to reality, here are the highlights from the 18 items in the last Morison minutes:

• Council spent 52 minutes in executive session discussing the Osborn  and "other" pending litigation.
• Councilwoman Parker was congratulated on the birth of her son Aiden Walker.
• Sue Morison was thanked for her seven years of service as City Clerk. (MyRye.com note: we'll miss your minutes!)
• During "open mic" (AKA "Residents may be heard who have matters to discuss that do not appear on the agenda'), a "flood" of Indian Village residents - Bernie Althoff, Greg MacKenzie and Holly Kennedy - inquired about the status of various flood mitigation projects. More on this issue will be covered in a follow-up story.
• A public hearing on noise abatement, fines and leaf blowers continued.
• Trailways and Traffic Safety Committee. We'll write-up a follow-up story on this one too, but Doug French presented the group's recommendations and ominously stated Rye needs safer routes to school just weeks before a tragic accident.
• Brian Dempsey, chair of the Traffic & Transit Committee and a traffic consultant, presented a study prepared by his firm TRC Engineers recommending the Central Avenue bridge be re-built.
• City Planner Christian Miller discussed revisions to a storm water code and said his committee (the Water Runoff Working Group composed of Serge Nivelle, Jim Nash, Carolyn Cunningham, Hugh Greechan, Larry Lehman, Lewis Nash and Richard Filippi) was recommending a number of things to reduce runoff including reducing the size of property requiring a permit from 300 tom 100 square feet and to encourage property owners to maximize on-site storm water runoff retention.
• Our men and women in blue got new duds. Council approved a bid for new police uniforms.

Want more? Read the complete Rye City Council February 13, 2008 minutes.

Spitzer Follies, From Left to Right

The following opinion piece is written by Superpolitico, an imaginary political being who speaks in the third person and actually speaks his mind.

One of the things Superpolitico likes best about the Rye Sound Shore Review is when they call up local notables--usually elected officials--and ask for a quote on an issue. Recently they asked local pols what they think about the Spitzer follies.

Most amusing and distressing is now our local pols line up on the issue from left to right. Starting from the left and working our way right, thanks to the Sound Shore Review:

George Latimer, Assemblyman and Democrat: "I wish Mr. Spitzer well." Superpolitico: "I hope the guy chokes on his breakfast cereal."

Nita Lowey, Congresswoman and Democrat: "My thoughts and prayers remain with the Spitzer family." Superpolitico: "My one thought is the guy's wife has a slam dunk divorce case."

Joseph Mondello, Chairman, New York State Republican Committee: "The stunning allegations of Governor Spitzer's personal involvement in an interstate prostitution ring are a shocking disappointment..." Superpolitico: "What's with the cynical high road? At least this did not happen in a bathroom stall in the Minneapolis airport."

Michael Long, Chairman, New York State Conservative Party: "... resign immediately. Any delay, any vacillation can only deepen public disgust..." Superpolitico" "You would be saying the same thing if this never happened and the issue at hand was campaign finance reform."