[see Pages H1-H8] 3 » Bridge Contest Continues 11-13 » Heads of the Class 17 » Farmers Market Returns Your Most Trusted Source for Local News and Events June 2017 Serving Tarrytown, Sleepy Hollow, Irvington, Scarborough-on-Hudson and Ardsley-on-Hudson Vol. XII No. 6 As Completion of the New Bridge Nears, Teen Drinking Changes Are Coming Along Roadways Parties Put in the Rivertowns Parents at by Barrett Seaman Risk Te trend is clear: biking and walking are in; driving—especially at high speed—is frowned upon in the rivertowns. Encouraged by state transportation authorities in anticipation of the by Krista Madsen major changes in trafc patterns that will come with the opening of the new bridge, local mu- nicipalities are making plans to encourage the former and crack down on the latter. As the school year ends and summer par- Meetings scheduled for June in Hastings and Tarrytown will invite public opinion on the plans ties fourish, so too does underage drink- to create a seamless bike route down Broadway, from Sleepy Hollow to Hastings. Separately, Sleepy ing. Local police anticipate being busy Hollow’s Environmental Advisory Committee is planning an “Inner Village Walkability Workshop” issuing summonses to teens, but the under- on Saturday, June 10. lying problem, according to experts, is with In Irvington, the Trafc Calming Committee (pioneer of the Slowdown Rivertowns campaign) some parents. has invited 6th to 12th graders to produce short Public Service videos (60 seconds max) on “Cross- “I see this shift in parenting where they walk Safety – Stop, Look, Wave” or “Nighttime Visibility”. Te deadline for submissions will be want to be friends, and they give their kids June 5, and the winner (of a cash prize, no less) will be announced on Celebrate Irvington Day, June so much freedom that they frankly can’t 18, and aired alongside one produced by the police department on the village’s government access handle,” said Irvington-based therapist channel. Amber DaSilva LCSW, who works with As for those who continue to rely on combustible engines to get around, all the village police a number of area families in her private departments have been stepping up speeding enforcement. As of April 3, Irvington assigned one of practice and hears many extreme stories its own to concentrate on trafc enforcement. Since then, Ofcer Patrick Crisci has issued 198 cita- she fnds shocking. She believes parents tions—about triple the number typically issued in that time frame. take pride in their child being popular and Creating a well-defned, continuous bike lane from the area around Phelps Hospital all the way “cool,” allowing drinking parties to occur, down Route 9 to the Yonkers border (see map, right) presents because, they assume it’s “safer” under their both logistical and, at least historically, jurisdictional challenges. own roof. Te timing may be auspicious, however, given the interest shown But this perception of one teen’s safety by the New York State Department of Transportation and the doesn’t account for all the other teens pres- New York Bridge Authority in keeping Continued on page 2 ent who have to get home eventually, walk- PAID ing or driving drunk. And for all the risks PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE U.S. PERMIT NO. 971 PERMIT NO. at play in the home itself. WHITE PLAINS, NY WHITE PLAINS, Lowey Presents Overdue Medals to DaSilva noted that teens simply don’t have the mental capacity yet to manage Tarrytown WWII Veteran this level of responsibility. “Te adolescent brain is not developed and the pre-frontal by Morey Storck cortex, which is responsible for executive functioning and making good decisions, Tarrytown resident Leon Gutherz was award- is not fully up and running – at all,” she ed fve medals, due to a neighbor’s interest and explained, “so teens make really poor de- initiative, albeit 70 years late. It was during an cisions, specifcally around drugs, alcohol outside gab session one afternoon that Gutherz and sex, which is then an issue when they happened to mention his war record to one of are taking drugs and alcohol, since they are the group. She immediately picked up on it, felt much more likely to have sex.” he defnitely deserved recognition, copied his Tere’s also the risk of addiction, if not discharge papers, put the request in writing, and now then later. DaSilva said the younger sent the package to Congresswoman Nita Lowey. youths start consuming drugs and alcohol On May 12 in her White Plains ofce, the con- the more likely they are to become addicts gresswoman presented fve awards to Gutherz, Tarrytown resident Leon Gutherz, 91, enjoys in the future. “It primes the developing saying, “I am so proud to be a citizen of the moment with Congresswoman Nita Lowey. brain to crave that substance,” she said. United States of America and present these med- A deeper exploration of this condoned- als to a person who has served with distinction so that we can live in liberty here.” drinking issue was prompted by a con- Gutherz, 91, joined the Army right after his high school graduation. During his senior year he was cerned mother of a Tarrytown teen who approached by a U.S. Army recruiter. He was ofered the opportunity Continued on page 2 Continued on page 10 www.thehudsonindependent.com Traffc Tappan Zee replacement project. safer for pedestrians. Te addition of the ends of the village, he has been prowling up Continued from page 1 Te public is invited to attend a June 15 bike lane will squeeze an already busy trafc and down Harriman Road, Station Road, session on the bikeway concept at the Hast- corridor; those old four-lane stretches may and, at rush hour, on Main Street, where the the communities near the upgraded Tappan ings Community Center, 44 Main Street in well be a thing of the past. new limit is a snail-paced 15 miles per hour. Zee Bridge happy. Under the watchful eye that village, from 7 to 9 p.m. A second ses- With the similar intent of promoting Areas of enforcement will vary according to of Governor Cuomo, the DOT has indicat- sion is scheduled between 1 and 3 p.m. the more and safer foot trafc, the Sleepy Hol- the results of electronic monitoring. “Tis ed a willingness to streamline the approval following Saturday, June 17, at Tarrytown’s low workshop on June 10 from 10 a.m. will defnitely be data-driven,” said Police processes and cut down on red tape. “Te Warner Library. to 12:30 p.m. will ofer a brief orientation Chief Michael Cerone. bikeway,” observed Irvington Trustee Mark Under the rubric of the “Route 9 Active session at Village Hall, to be followed by a Because the village employs diagonal Gilliland, “is one such nod to address im- Transportation Conceptual Design Plan,” walking tour, with stops at key intersections parking, Irvington pedestrians are at par- pacts on quality of life.” these meetings aim to bring together resi- along Valley St, Cortlandt Street and Beek- ticularly high risk when attempting to cross In 2015, Sustainable Westchester applied dents, merchants and government ofcials, man Avenue. Participants will be invited to Main Street. Te Stop, Look and Wave for and won a $150,000 grant from the along with transportation professionals to ofer ideas at a granular level on how to en- public service campaign aims to encourage state to pursue the bikeway idea. Tat com- look at ways to provide a continuous bike courage walking. pedestrians tempted to dart out from be- mitment, said Andrew Ratzkin, who chairs lane that will make it safe and fun to get Irvington’s department is the latest along tween cars to stick to the crosswalks, make the steering committee organizing the June to shops and schools as well as to the cross- the river to dedicate an ofcer to trafc en- eye contact with approaching drivers and forums, “is an indicator that the state is not Hudson bike path that will be part of the forcement. In his new role, Crisci has wid- exchange waves so that both parties know out of the box opposed to this.” Altogeth- new Tappan Zee Bridge. Public input is also ened his hunting ground for speeders and their intent to cross. “You have the right of er, some $1.5 million in grants have been requested on ways to improve sidewalks, stop sign avoiders. In addition to the four- way as a pedestrian,” acknowledged Cerone, awarded to communities afected by the crosswalks and intersections to make things lane speedways along Broadway on both “but do you want to be dead right?” WWII Medals to become a paratrooper. “Hey, what did I Out’, never leaving the scene of combat un- combined American and Philippine forces Continued from page 1 know? I was just a little Jewish kid from the til all are safe. who were battling to subdue the remaining Bronx, so I said okay.” Te division was held in reserve in the Japanese resistance on the island. of a college education and, in return, would He left college and entered infantry train- United States for the frst half of 1944. In General MacArthur had made plans to be required to join the Army, much like the ing. With that completed, Gutherz was June, the division was transferred to the Pa- use the 11th Airborne Division in the inva- ROTC program today. “I just had to take transferred to Ft. Benning, Georgia, and cifc Teater of Operations. Te division’s sion of Japan, but after the detonation of an exam and they’d put me into college.