In Remembrance of Former Village Engineer, a Bench is Dedicated in Mamaroneck

Before the scheduled Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees meeting, around 30 people—including village officials and employees past and present—gathered outside the courtroom to dedicate a sturdy forest green bench adorned with a tasteful plaque in honor of former village engineer who died last year at age 48.

Furey left a big impression on others and remained active in his Rockland County community as a swimming coach at Clarkstown High School, in the Boy Scouts and in other volunteer pursuits. Those who gathered clearly missed him.

“Every time you asked him how he was doing [during his battle with cancer], he’d say ‘fine,’” said friend and colleague George Mgrditchian, who donated the bench and plans to also plant a tree. “He was bright and cheerful and a lot of people inside and outside the village respected him.”

As rain began to trickle down, the gathering moved into the courtroom-boardroom for a convivial reception.

Plastic Bag Ban

During the meeting, the board held the final public hearing dedicated to the plastic bag ban. The only resident to speak, Marianne Ybarra, added a bit of theatricality to the proceedings by holding up an array of plastic and paper bags, asking which were still permitted to be sold.

She also posed a potential downside to the proposed law, where if a senior citizen went to the grocery store and brought home their goods in a paper bag during a rainstorm, the bag might break, an occurrence that would not happen with one of the soon-to-be-banned bags.

Not only that, she said, but a recent study suggested that reusable cloth bags can be breeding grounds for salmonella and should be washed weekly.

Responding to her concerns, the board said the goal is to promote the use and washing of reusable bags through educational outreach.

Taking into consideration Mayor Norman Rosenblum’s not-for-profit groups from the ban, the ordinance has been rewritten to forbid such organizations from dispensing plastic retail grocery bags with handles, although clear produce bags and plastic garbage bags are still allowed.

Trustee Toni Ryan reported that the Committee on the Environment had studied the issue for many months and was “eager to see it passed.” The board will likely vote on the ban at its next scheduled meeting.

Harbor Island Conservancy 

Members of the Harbor Island Conservancy made a presentation showing their plans to spruce up the area adjacent to the intersection of Orienta Avenue and Boston Post Road. The group has raised $50,000 from around 400 private donors to remake the walkway, repair some of the masonry and add shrubbery, flower beds and lighting

Wireless Towers

The board also voted unanimously to approve an extension of a special use permit for a wireless cell tower, located near the intersection of Fenimore Road and I-95.  A company called Wireless Edge received a five-year permit in 2006 and let their paperwork lag, but the board voted to retroactively allow for the permit’s extension until 2016. Four carriers use the tower, which generates income for the village and includes antennae for four wireless carriers.

Dog Law Extended

The board also voted to extend the law allowing dogs in the parks during the between 6-8 a.m. for another year. The board sought input from the Harbor Master and the Police Department. The Harbor Master weighed in favorably on the issue while the police did not respond. The measure passed by a 4 to 1 vote, opposed only by Trustee Sid Albert, who had gone on record complaining about the amount of dog waste in the park due to inconsiderate dog owners.