Letter to Editor: Helen Levitz on Hayes Turf Field and Tax Impact
To the Editor:
Another school vote approaches. I look around and note that almost every family of our children's school friends has vanished from the village, most immediately after the youngest child graduated. Why? They tell us: it's the out-of-control school taxes.
Meanwhile, the school relentlessly pushes a revote for the nonessential Hayes synthetic turf field. Just the installation price tag is at least $1.8 million. This is unspent tax dollars time-shifted from other years--tax levy money that could have been returned to the taxpayers as tax reductions or, at the very least, retained for true emergencies. Moreover, this novel budget method has become a habit, used for years according to the school's business manager (March 25, 2015, MHTB issue).
At the same time, the village, which has taken on enormous responsibility for the FEMA flood mitigation plan mostly to benefit the school (securing funding, administering the project, handling the complex state environmental review) goes begging. The village struggles to repair the Parkway Road bridge and other aging infrastructure, such as the storm water drainage system, which the Hayes Field project will burden significantly. In addition, the impact of the Hayes Field project on the FEMA flood mitigation project has not yet been determined by relevant governmental agencies.
NYS law may have set the school on its own parallel, independent building and budgeting path, but the school does not exist in its own parallel universe. The school takes 82-86% of every village property tax dollar. This is an astounding amount by the standard of any other affluent municipality in the county.
It is time for serious self-examination at the BOE. Every dream project proposed is not essential to running an excellent academic institution. Perhaps the school should successfully complete its current $10 million omnibus capital project before returning to the beleaguered taxpayers for another multi-million dollar capital project.
As for the revote on the Hayes proposition rejected by voters a few months ago, the BOE should take a page from the school children's lesson book: Sometimes "no" really means "no" and it is the right decision.
Helen Levitz
Bronxville, New York
May 13, 2015
Editor's note: MyhometownBronxville does not fact-check statements in letters to the editor, and the opinions do not necessarily reflect the thinking of its staff. Its objective in publishing letters to the editor is to give air to diverse thoughts and opinions of residents in the community.
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Bronxville is a quaint village (one square mile) located just 16 miles north of midtown Manhattan (roughly 30 minutes on the train) and has a population of approximately 6,500. It is known as a premier community with an excellent public school (K-12) and easy access to Manhattan. Bronxville offers many amenities including an attractive business district, a hospital (Lawrence Hospital), public paddle and tennis courts, fine dining at local restaurants, two private country clubs and a community library.
While the earliest settlers of Bronxville date back to the first half of the 18th century, the history of the modern suburb of Bronxville began in 1890 when William Van Duzer Lawrence purchased a farm and commissioned the architect, William A. Bates, to design a planned community of houses for well-known artists and professionals that became a thriving art colony. This community, now called Lawrence Park, is listed on the National register of Historic Places and many of the homes still have artists’ studios. A neighborhood association within Lawrence Park called “The Hilltop Association” keeps this heritage alive with art shows and other events for neighbors.
Bronxville offers many charming neighborhoods as well as a variety of living options for residents including single family homes, town houses, cooperatives and condominiums. One of the chief benefits of living in “the village” is that your children can attend the Bronxville School.
The Bronxville postal zone (10708, known as “Bronxville PO”) includes the village of Bronxville as well as the Chester Heights section of Eastchester, parts of Tuckahoe and the Lawrence Park West, Cedar Knolls, Armour Villa and Longvale sections of Yonkers. Many of these areas have their own distinct character. For instance, the Armour Villa section has many historic homes and even has its own newsletter called “The Villa Voice” which reports on neighborhood news.
Village of Bronxville Administrative Offices
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