School Days Return -Seely School Celebrates 90th Anniversary

With the first day of school upon us, I thought I would look more into the history of the schools in Edgemont.
I was able to get some statistics from Barbara Buff's book "The History of Greenville/Edgemont." In 1922, the first section of the Seely school was built with eight rooms on one floor. The school's enrollment that fall was approximately sixty students. The school was officially known as the Edgemont school. Its name wasn't changed to Seely until 1954 when the present high school was built and was named Edgemont High School.

In 1925, registration for classes K-8 was ninety-four. Edgemont had 785 residents at that time. By 1929, the community had grown to 1,920 residents with 246 students attending the school and a teaching staff of fifteen. Shop and home economics classes were added that year as well as a kindergarten room, gym, and library. In 1931, the school added a second floor as well as an auditorium, and the expansion of a ninth grade curriculum. Students in 10th thru 12 grade had to choose either Bronxville, Yonkers or White Plains high school until the present high school was built.  By 1939, Edgemont had a population of about 3,500 with school enrollment of 457 with twenty six teachers on staff.

Classics on Central

Some cars make you stop and stare others may remind people of their youth.The Sunoco Gas Station at 858 Central Avenue (across from Scarsdale Ford) has been serving our community for over 20 years. It's owned by Mike Tatlian, who grew up in Edgemont and graduated the high school in 1983.

http://www.newyorkgasprices.com/Sunoco_Gas_Stations/Scarsdale/56344/index.aspx

Besides serving gas Mike specializes in repairing antique cars. Here are some photos of the 1956 Lincoln Continental and 1957 Chevy truck he has recently been working on.

The oldest car Mike has worked on is a 1932 Deuce Coup, like the car in "American Graffitti." Mike mainly works on Corvettes. The most valuable one was a 1967 Corvette Convertible, like the car from the Austin Powers movie. That one was valued over $100,000.

Support your local merchants and visit Mike's Sunoco on Central Avenue for all your car needs.

How Global Change Effects Us

If you have passed by Crane Pond on Edgemont Road recently, you've noticed the green blanket covering the water.  It's not algae as you might have thought but duckweed (a tiny plant). Duckweed is not hazardous to people or animals, but it is quite unsightly. The cause of this rapid growth of Duckweed is due to the warmer than usual temperatures this summer and past winter. The other causes are the increase in sediment level and the runoff of lawn chemicals into the pond. Duckweed also brings up the nutrient level in the pond which causes more Duckweed to grow.

According to Mike Nessler from the Greenburgh Recreational Department, the pond needs to be dredged. The last time this was done was in 1985. He estimates that three feet of sediment needs to be removed. The problem is the $75,000 cost to dredge the pond.  Recently this department  had a 7% decrease in funds and has had to layoff staff. An alternative to dredging would be to treat the pond chemically which would cost $2,700 per year. A proposal for the chemical treatment would need to be submitted to The Department of Conservation and it takes six to eight weeks to get an approval.

Two week ago, the town tried to remedy the problem by having  the Greenville Fire Department spray down the pond. By cooling the water temperature and oxygenating the water, the Greenville Fire Department was able to clear up 75% of the problem. But within two days,  the duckweed multiplied and the pond was back to it's ugly green slime.

Here's what Crane Pond looked like last fall.  Please call Town Supervisor Paul Feiner's office (914-993-1540) to express your thoughts.

Domed Stadium or Reservoir ?

There is a water reservoir on Ardsley Road between Warnke Lane and Fort Hill Road.  The playground at the elementary school I went to (Greenville School) overlooks the reservoir. The only thing is, when I was seven years old and saw this view:

I thought I lived near a domed stadium.  I guess as an adult you can tell the difference, but to a child's eye it's hard to see the difference.

A Place for Peace, and a Piece of History

If you are looking for a place to relax and get some quiet time, there is a place for you in Edgemont, just off Central Avenue at Dromore Road.

The Greenburgh Nature Center is a natural preserve with trails, ponds and gardens. The center provides a place to have interactive and educational experiences about advances in environmental literacy. They offer a host of activities that you can find on their website.

 http://greenburghnaturecenter.org/

 If you are just interested in just taking in the beauty of the thirty three acres, you can hike the many trails or just find a spot under one of the great trees and read a book.

Now for the history. You wouldn't know it by walking around the Nature Center, but there used to be a quarry on the land between the Nature Center and Edgemont High School. By the way, the Nature Center is just behind the school's tennis courts and gymnasium. 

The quarry supplied the stone that was used to pave Central Avenue back in 1906. Stone from the quarry was also shipped to New York, where it was used on the retaining walls along the Metro North tracks in the Bronx. 

"Game On" Lease Vote Tommorrow

Tomorrow, July 31, at the inconvenient time of 11 AM, there will be a vote on the approval of a 15 year lease of the former Frank's Nursery to "Game On" for an indoor/outdoor recreational facility.
The controversy centers around a number of facts. The largest problem is who will pay for the environmental clean up of the property after Frank's Nursery's abandonment of the property. Town Supervisor Paul Feiner wants the taxpayers to assume the cost of the cleanup.The town has never done an appraisal of the property.  Yet, the agreement includes only a 1% per year increase of the base rent.

The Town Board is not concerned about any of these arguments and plan to pass the lease tomorrow.

Then and Now

Here's the Scarsdale Hotel located at 30 Old Army Road.

The Hotel was also known for its restaurant. After closing down as a hotel, it served the community as a nursery school and then became a town residence.  The building was built around 1860 and here it is as it stands today.