Dear Residents

The Village would like to wish everyone a Safe and Happy Thanksgiving Holiday!

In Dobbs Ferry we are especially thankful to all of the dedicated village staff working so hard to make the village a better place to live, and to the many residents who volunteer and give back their time to serve the community. Because of you, we are reminded how special Dobbs Ferry is.

Here are a few quick updates on proposals and projects in the village:

Update Road Repaving Projects

A lot of roadway has been re-paved through-out the village and there are still a few streets left to be completed for the 2011 schedule. These are Constance Avenue, Atilda Avenue, Fairlawn Avenue, Eldridge, and the portion of Livingston Avenue covering approximately 150 feet north of the new intersection project at Broadway. Weather permitting; these streets will be milled on Monday November 28th, with paving to be done Monday afternoon through Tuesday November 29th.  Due to the shared-service contract arranged between the 6 villages (VOC), Dobbs Ferry was able to pave more miles of roadway using the same amount of expenditures as the prior year.

Regarding the Ashford Avenue re-paving project: As previously reported, this work is being done separate from the village’s own local paving projects as it specifically relates to the Legacy Agreement executed with the County of Westchester for funding of the upland improvements for Dobbs Ferry’s Waterfront Stabilization and Revitalization Project (stabilization portion currently in progress). Under the Agreement, the County will be providing $2,000,000 in funding for the waterfront project; in return, the village will assume maintenance of Ashford Avenue. In addition, the County will provide $350,000 to fully cover the costs of repaving the roadway and cleaning/replacing all of the catch-basins in need. In this way the village gets an upgraded and new street.

Ashford is a busy regional thru-way, so this has been a big and challenging job; it is not hard to imagine the logistical issues (including whatever can go wrong will go wrong) the DPW, Highway, and Police Departments have had to deal with over the past few weeks; they have done an excellent job in a difficult situation. Regarding the quality of the work done by the Contractor specifically on Ashford Avenue, the village’s DPW, Highway, Engineering, and Administrator are not satisfied. If you are driving on the re-surfaced Ashford Avenue roadway between Bellewood Avenue up to the Ardsley Bridge, we have reports that you might notice a ‘washboard’ effect (it is more pronounced at higher speed). While the roadway is safe, this is not acceptable nor within the standards under the shared contract. The Village’s Department Heads and Engineers are discussing all possible steps and solutions to correct this situation with the Contractor. We will keep residents and all surrounding municipalities updated on this issue.

Gould Park Field Upgrade Project

As previously reported, the work on the upgrade to the Gould Park field is in progress. There is a large amount of leveling and filling and crowning to be done using new clean topsoil; the contractor will be using fairly sophisticated laser technology to determine fill amounts and locations which will produce a level field when done (One interesting fact learned: there is almost a difference of 6 feet between the rectangular ends of the current field). Ultimately, by Spring time the community will be able to look forward to a more beautiful, safer, and functional athletic resource, which we can all be more proud of. It is also great to report the village and the school district will be working together on this project to share the costs. Using an estimated budget of $25,000, the district and the village have agreed to share the costs 60/40, respectively (school district portion up to $15,000 / village portion up to $10,000). The village had made this appeal with the strong belief that more things can be accomplished by working together, and which ultimately is of benefit to the kids and the community at large. We want to recognize and thank the President of the Board of Education (Lynne Black), all the members of the BOE, and Superintendent Lisa Brady for their support and willingness to work with the village on this project. It is a very positive step forward, and the BOT looks forward to continuing an excellent dialogue and working relationship with the school district on future projects and initiatives.

Rivertowns Square Proposal

At the November 22nd Regular Meeting, the BOT approved (unanimously, 7-0) the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (“DEIS”) as “complete’ under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”).  This means that the BOT has determined the applicant has answered all the questions presented in the Scoping Document, and the Draft EIS is now ready to be distributed to the public for review and comment. It does not mean the village agrees with all the answers, or all the methodologies used, or that all the answers are complete, or that new issues might not need to be looked at or considered in the future. That will all be done in the substantive review process as dictated by SEQRA. The village has and will continue to conduct a very careful, prudent and transparent review of this proposal going forward, which will involve full participation of the residents. The village has scheduled an initial Public Hearing on the review of the DEIS for Monday December 19th at 6:30Pm in Village Hall. The board anticipates scheduling additional Public Hearings on the Rivertowns Square DEIS review in January, which will be communicated and noticed to residents. The public is encouraged to attend these hearings to learn more about the proposal, and to provide their own comments and input. The DEIS can be found (and downloaded) from the village’s website www.dobbsferry.com in the Rivertowns Square section; DVDs will be available at Village Hall (for a cost of $5.00); The actual DEIS document is also available for reviewed at Village Hall and the Dobbs Ferry Public Library (it is a very thick document).

Walgreens Proposal

At the November 22nd Regular Meeting, the BOT approved (unanimously, 7-0) the Site Plan for the Walgreens application at 11-17 Ashford Avenue. This application will be before the Architectural & Historical Review Board on Monday, November 28th at 8:00 PM in Village Hall in regards to some building design issues remaining. Land Use issues are usually the most difficult ones within any community; they can be emotional, and contentious; a battle between our desires to hold to the past versus the realties of a new world, which can sometimes put residents at odds with each other. In Dobbs Ferry this is particularly true. In making the decision, each trustee thought hard about all the aspects and issues presented with this application. The loss of local businesses we all grew up with, supported and cherished; the presence of a national retail chain, potential traffic impacts (studied), and the potential competitive impact on current local businesses.  It included the realities of property-owner rights under law, and the design in relation to the village’s Zoning Code, and the Dobbs Ferry Master Vision Plan; the property’s re-development impact on taxes, assessment valuation, economic growth and local job creation; and how would it contribute (or detract) from the standpoint of being a new neighbor in the community and a transformation of the village’s main Business Gateway. In looking at all the issues, all the input, the plusses and minuses, all the qualitative and quantitative factors, and hearing and feeling the strong emotional levels on all sides … the BOT determined that the approval of the Walgreens application was in the best short and long-term interests of the village, and a benefit to the majority of residents. It was also noted that the most important thing any of us can do as residents is to support our local businesses. If residents don’t support these businesses, then we only have ourselves to blame when they go away.

Gleason and Florence Avenue area Residential Development Project

This is the area overlooking Southfield Avenue, which has been a frustrating development project for the neighborhood and the village, for quite some time. It is nice to see that the residential buildings are now taking shape – which you can get a good view of when travelling into Dobbs Ferry over the Ardsley Bridge (the view is more open as the leaves are falling off the trees). The village is looking forward to this project – which has moved very slowly over the years – to now moving ahead with better speed; which will be of benefit to the local neighborhood.

That is it for now. As always, please let us know if you have any concerns or issues, or want to get involved. The Trustee’s e-mail addresses are on the village’s website. We want to hear from you. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

And …


To the Dobbs Ferry Eagles Varsity Football Team
… Syracuse Bound

Congratulations on a tremendous season!

We wish all the Players, Coaches, Cheerleaders, and water boys!

Best of Luck!

New YorkState Class C Championship Game

We are all so very proud of you

(Game details: Sunday, November 27th, 12:00 PM, Carrier Dome, Syracuse University)



Mayor Connett

November 23, 2011