Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees Roundup - 8/10/2010

Here's a recap of what happened at Tuesday's Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees work session:

Village to Host Area Runners

During the mayor's announcements, Ken Wray stated that the village will host two races in the coming months.

The first run will be a 10k on October 23, 2010 and will likely begin on Beekman Avenue.

"It will be in the morning, it should be a good time for people who run, and it should be a really great course," Wray said.

The village will also host a half marathon in March 2011. The event is being timed three weeks before the Boston Marathon.

"We have a lot of world class runners who run through the Aqueduct and the Rockefeller Preserve," Wray said. "I expect it will be a really exciting event." 

Rivertown Runners is sponsoring both events and will be working with the village on further logistics. A portion of the 10k race's proceeds will go toward the Morse Park renovation.

Ecuadorian Community Upset Over Park Rules

Members of the Ecuadorian Society of Westchester vented their frustration last night over a decision not to allow amplification of music in Kingsland Point Park. 

The group had filled out a permit back in March to hold an event at the park on August 22 in celebration of the Ecuadorian national holiday. However, the group was informed they would not be allowed to have any amplified musical performances, even though the event was billed as a cultural festival. 

"We don't want to ruin it by cancelling because there is no music allowed," said Yomarys Valencia, a liaison with the Ecuadorian society. She also noted that musicians were being flown in specifically for the event. 

Members were hoping that the festival would be allowed to proceed, possibly at another venue such as Barnhart Park, but Wray denied that option. 

"Barnhart is in the middle of the neighborhood," Wray said. "We've applied the rules after a lot of thought, and we probably will discuss them even more tonight."

Members of the society said they would likely have to cancel their event.

Concern Raised Over Haunted House

Ken Torosian of Philipse Manor is scared of a haunted house – specifically a new October feature at the Philipsburg Manor Restoration that is being promoted as "not suitable for small children and it is not suitable for adults who are claustrophobic, have heart or respiratory conditions, are prone to seizures, or have other chronic health conditions" – according to the Historic Hudson Valley website.

Torosian said he was first alerted to the issue when he noticed temporary tents erected in the restoration that are apparently staging areas for the haunted manor attraction that will run for eight days in October. 

"Nothing like this has ever happened, they are planning something markedly different than in the past," Torosian said. "It is somewhat antithetical to the image the village has portrayed to being youth-friendly... My personal view is that Halloween is a kid's holiday."

Torosian went on to say he thought the event would attract the wrong type of crowd and that there would probably be noise that would upset nearby residents.

However, trustees noted that the restoration is a private property and that they are entitled to do what they want with it. 

"We don't have any control over what they do," Trustee Bruce Campbell said.

Campbell went on to say that the Historic Hudson Valley's plans are in tune with the village's overall approach to Halloween this year – going all out.

"I hope they attract a lot of people," Campbell said. "But I hope what you say about the content isn't really true. I hope it's a little over the top... that that was a marketing device."

Other trustees felt some concern about the proximity of the haunted village to residents in the manor, and said they would follow up on the issue

"This is the first I have heard of it," Trustee David Schroedel said. "I want them to succeed, but I am actually surprised the Historic Hudson Valley didn't come to the board with this."

Water Tests Happening in Sleepy Hollow Manor 

Trustees noted that various water testing and leak detection services are being conducted in the manors and at Phelps Memorial Hospital. 

There may be some ground water, employees conducting these tests will not need to enter private residences. 

Inner-Village Road Milling on August 12

The village will begin milling roads on Clinton Street and expand out into the inner village for eventual repaving. All repaving is expected to be completed by August 23.

Trustees Give Praise to the Yankees

Trustees gave special thanks to the New York Yankees organization for supporting recently-retired, ailing Sleepy Hollow police detective Bobby Checchi. We reported on Checchi's personal one-on-one time with Joe Girardi last week. 

Trustees also mentioned that Checchi got to meet a number of other Yankees stars before the game, and that Checchi even called Alex Rodriguez's 600th home run, which occurred on the night he watched the game at Yankee Stadium. 

Overcrowding in Kingsland Could Have Been Dangerous

On August 1, Kingsland Point Park was overrun by bus loads of tourists resulting in a dangerous overcrowding situation where more than 1,000 people saturated the park.

"I was there, it was really out of control," Trustee Evelyn Stupel said.

Other members said it wasn't too crazy because the large groups were not drinking or being aggressive. One of the groups was apparently a church organization that fibbed on their application and held some sort of sporting event at the park. 

"It resulted in cars down Palmer Avenue and a lot of noise and complaints from residents," Trustee Bruce Campbell said.

As a result, Campbell proposed new rules for the park to curb crowds through higher permit fees, police patrols and banning bus traffic. 

Trustee David Schroedel also brought up the point that the park was likely in violation of health codes on August 1, because Kingsland has only one restroom facility. He said the board should find out what the maximum occupancy for the park should be based on the facilities it has.

"My feeling is we dodged a bullet," Schroedel said. 

New Rules for Kingsland

As a result of the overcrowding that occurred at Kingsland Point Park, trustees approved two new rules for the park. 

The first is that no buses would be allowed in the park, unless a special request is granted; the second would prohibit the use of PA systems and portable generators.

Trustees noted there was a loophole in their previous law which banned the amplification of music in the park, not the amplification of noise in general.

Writers' Center to Close Riverside Drive

A portion of Riverside Drive between Palmer Avenue and Kelbourne Avenue will be closed on October 2 and 3 for an event at the Hudson Valley Writers' Center.