Sound Shore

Two different incidents, with two different descriptions of a white van approaching children, have police and the community in Rye on alert. Read Danielle DeSouza’s story here.

Call me a census nerd, but this is kind of cool. There’s a Census 2010 widget that can be downloaded to track the participation rates, on a daily basis, in any neighborhood in the country. I checked out the middle of Port Chester. Folks, you have work to do:

Countywide, Rockland and Putnam have the edge on Westchester, with their 50 percent participation to our 46 percent, as of today.

New Rochelle, here’s your downtown district:

You can check back here for updates. To track your own area, go to http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map and pick your place. Click on “local view” to see the detail. You can then click on “Track Participation Rate” in the data display circle to download a widget.

And on the eve of April 1, Happy Census Day.

Violent crime continued to drop in the City of New Rochelle last year, according to the city’s police department, which released its annual report for 2009. The department reported that violent crimes went down 15 percent, robberies went down 28 percent, and larceny dropped 19 percent compared to 2008.

One area that had an increase in incidents was burglary, which went up 12 percent. In 2009, there were 206 incidents of burglary versus 179 in 2008. (The numbers in a press release were slightly different than the report. Lt. Cosmo Costa said that was likely due to a late adjustment in numbers.) Carroll said the deparment would tackle the rise by using more unmarked units and doing more field interviews. He expected that cameras planned for the downtown area would also help. Auto theft also went up slightly, from 92 to 97.

Overall, New Rochelle was the fifth safest city in the country for its size, said Police Commissioner Patrick Carroll, citing figures from the U.S. Department of Justice.  The figures also dispel the notion that these types of crimes would rise in light of the bleak economy, Carroll said.

“The downward trend is not just particular to New Rochelle but nationwide, as police forces become more influential in their communities,” Carroll said. “Overall, policing has become more efficient, leading to more precise deployment of resources and a much safer environment for all.” Read the report here: annualreport2009

In an editorial, we assess the value of a recent “How Green is My Town?” survey conducted by Grassroots Environmental Education, a regional nonprofit dedicated to educating the public about connections between the environment and human health, and the Pace University Academy for Applied Environmental Studies. The survey, which studied and ranked 45 Westchester communities based on their environmental best practices, is “worthy of attention of communities throughout the Lower Hudson Valley,” we write. The study concluded that six communities — Bronxville, Chappaqua, Katonah, Larchmont, White Plains and Yorktown — were the county’s greenest.

The editorial grew from a Tuesday Editorial Spotlight with Patti and Doug Wood, founders of Grassroots Environmental Education. Take a look at this highlight video from yesterday’s conversation:

To watch a complete version of yesterday’s Editorial Spotlight, click here.

For more on the survey and how local communities fared, see a story in tomorrow’s Express sections of The Journal News.

Want a closer look at the operations of the New Rochelle Police Department? Here’s your chance. The department is now taking applications for its annual Citizens Police Academy. During the academy, citizens learn about law enforcement and the criminal justice system from instructors ranging from the police commissioner, to division commanders, to beat officers. Topics include forensics and myths about police work on television. Participants will also go on a police ride-along and a boat tour with the the Harbor Unit and will use a firearm simulator.  The program is designed to improve community-police relations. Classes run Tuesday nights from 6:30 to 9 p.m. starting April 20.

For more information and an application contact Lt. Cosmo Costa at (914) 654-2323. Applications must be filed and registration approved prior to the first class. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis. Also, find the application here: Application 10

Editor’s note: Guest blogger Lynda LaMonte Garmong, our recent “unofficial mayor contest” winner, sends along this picture from the field. Her caption tells it all:

“Turtle Park in Larchmont becomes Turtle Lake.”

Know anyone who needs help filling out the Census 2010 form?

Port Chester has a list of questionnaire assistance centers here on its web site.

Myself, I have no excuses. The form has been sitting in my bag, all filled out and ready to go, for about a week now.

Added: To find an assistance center near you, or to track your area’s participation rate, click here.

I’ve got a story coming out in tomorrow’s Journal News about three Mamaroneck school staffers that might get fired next year.

One of them is Jennifer Rosenzweig, a high school English teacher that over 465 people on Facebook are supporting.

The other two are former guidance counselors Elizabeth Denhoff and Haruko Hirose. The two were suspended from Hommocks Middle School in 2007 and reassigned to other jobs about a year later. Next year’s proposed school budget doesn’t name them specifically but their positions have not been included.

The two were suspended in 2007 for unspecified instances involving the harassment of co-workers. Denhoff was reassigned to working a desk job inside a district bus garage Hirose was working out of the office of student support services. Both women could not be reached for comment.

District spokeswoman Debbie Manetta confirmed Denhoff was terminated this year as the result of a discliplinary hearing against her. But she declined to comment on Hirose’s employment citing unspecified “legal reasons.” Manetta also declined to explain why she could talk about Denhoff’s employment and not Hirose’s.

Instead, she said a Freedom of Information request to find out if Hirose was still employed with the district despite being able to answer the question with a yes or no answer — something she could do for Denhoff. Freedom of Information requests are filed with the district’s clerk and most officials are off this week for spring break.

The three terminations are a part of the district’s plans to layoff 56 employees, according to it’s proposed budget for next school year.

Phones are ringing at the New Rochelle fire stations today and the sump pumps are out. Fire Commissioner Ray “Doc” Kiernan said some 40 residents had called seeking help with watery basements. “We’re getting a lot of calls for flooded basements. We’re rocking right now,” he said. Firefighters were also at the scene on Hanson Lane and Beverly Road, where wires had come down.

New Rochelle City Manager Charles Strome said there was flooding on one side of Pinebrook Boulevard and that public works crews were out cleaning catch basins and culverts and lowering lake levels where needed.

The Village of Pelham had no problems with flooding Tuesday afternoon, said Village Administrator Robert Yamuder. He said workers were continuing to clean catch basins in flood-prone areas and alert residents about the possibility of flooding as more rain was expected to fall.

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While the Blind Brook is still below its dam’s 19-foot-limit, the rain is overwhelming sanitary system pump stations, assistant city manager Scott Pickup said.

“The volume of the water in the sanitary system, if it surcharges those pumps, we’ll have a problem,” he said.

The city is getting ready to bail out pump stations on Hewlett and Peck avenues and a small portion of Kirby Lane.

Pickup said if winds grow stronger, trees in the already-soaked soil can topple.

The city sustained significant damage during the Nor’easter on March 13, including $50,000 in damage to the recreation department garage and $30,000 to Whitby Castle, the city-owned golf club restaurant.

The city was also hit with major flooding during two monster spring storms in 2007.

(Flooding at Locust Avenue and Mead Street threaten a section of Rye April 15, 2007. (Matthew Brown / The Journal News)