All posts published in December 2024
By Rick Pezzullo— Before heading to Washington D.C. Friday to be sworn in as representative of New York’s 16th Congressional District, Westchester County Executive George Latimer bid adieu Monday to the place he has led for the last seven years. Surrounded by ... More »
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE GNOME: In your garden or abroad By Krista Madsen I interrupt my plan to dig into Yellowjacket’s cannibalistic tendencies, no joke, to try to get into the mood of the season, refrain from eating any people, and share some holiday cheer alr... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Property owners in the villages in the Town of Greenburgh will see no increase in their town taxes in 2025. In the $104 million budget approved by the Greenburgh Town Board on Dec. 16, for homes where assessments remain unchanged, town taxes ... More »
By Barrett Seaman– The year 2025 will be the last for Larry Schopfer as a public servant. After 17 years as Village Administrator in Irvington, following more than a decade as the village’s clerk/treasurer—plus years working in the Comptroller’s office for the... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— During its last voting meeting of 2024, the Tarrytown Board of Trustees appointed a replacement for outgoing Village Justice Kyle McGovern. McGovern, who has presided in village court for 21 years, is taking his gavel to the New York State Su... More »
By Susan Treiman— It took an ordinary birdfeeder, a camera, and weeks of COVID isolation to bring rivertowns’ winged wildlife to Grand Central Terminal, thanks to local photographer Rory Mulligan. The 40-Year-old Hastings-on Hudson printmaker and arts professo... More »
PLANCHETTE: Communing with the living and the dead By Krista Madsen I’ve never felt like I could achieve fluency in a second language when—especially as a writer—I could spend my life trying to master the first. There are so many words left to learn! Case in p... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— It took nearly two years to finalize, but the Greenburgh Nature Center has signed a new 25-year contract with the Town of Greenburgh. The non-profit educational organization, which will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, was seek... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Members of the Irvington Police Department were involved in several community events this week to spread cheer during the holiday season. On December 17, officers joined numerous Westchester and Putnam agencies for “Operation Blue Santa” at t... More »
By Jeff Wilson— The Irvington Police station needs better accommodations for female staff. The Fire Department lacks a detox room so firefighters can decontaminate themselves after fires. And the Department of Public Works, an eyesore currently located in a f... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— The New York Community Trust- Westchester has announced more than $1.3 million in new grants to 25 nonprofits working to meet Westchester County’s pressing needs, from addressing food insecurity to increasing access to culturally sensitive me... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— A production company will be filming in the Crest neighborhood of Tarrytown for two days this week. Filming of Poker Face, a drama on the Peacock network, is scheduled to take place on Tues., Dec 17 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Wed., Dec 18 f... More »
Irvington Middle School sixth through eighth grade students engaged in a fun competition that tested their physical and mental strength during their school’s second annual IMS Bulldog Challenge on Dec. 6. In a friendly competition, the students competed agains... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Hundreds of adults and youngsters braved frigid temperatures in the mid-20s Sunday morning to participate in the 12th Annual Dobbs Ferry Holiday Hustle 5K & Kids Reindeer Fun Run 1K. Almost 760 runners and walkers were in the holiday spirit, ... More »
EXQUISITE CORPSE(S): The Uncanny Art of Animal Assemblage By Krista Madsen One spring day about a year ago when everyone emerges to do yardwork, my next door neighbor in my country outpost in the Catskills, an elderly man who is there even less than I am, came... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— An Irvington resident will be representing the rivertowns in the upcoming 2025 Miss NY for America Strong Pageant. Jaclyn Fine, 31, will be hoping to be bring the crown to Westchester in the pageant, which was created in 2019 as part of the M... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— State Assemblywoman MaryJane Shimsky (D/Greenburgh) was among a slew of elected officials and union leaders who called for increased funding in the 2025 state budget for needed road improvements. The lawmakers are seeking an additional $800 m... More »
The Westchester County Department of Public Safety is accepting applications for seasonal park rangers to patrol County parks next summer. Applications are due by February 23 and are available online at the Department of Public Safety’s web pages: http://publi... More »
By Rick Pezzullo— Elizabeth Theiler Martin, a local landscape designer and active environmentalist, died Nov. 19. She was 85. She grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, the only child of Lillian Graham and Max Theiler, a medical researcher who won the Nobel Prize for ... More »
WEREMOTHER: Nightbitch & Yellowjacket By Krista Madsen Give me a long four-day weekend (Thanksgiving) and I’m most likely—as my former Home|body title here once alluded—to avoid extra-housal socialization, and shower as seldom as humanly allowable. I keep my h... More »
