Sound Shore

Speaking of hurricanes, here’s a little historical perspective, courtesy of the National Weather Service. Who knew that empires were won and lost and Shakespeare plots forged by the whims—make that winds—of hurricanes and tropical storms? If you’re interested, follow the jump…

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New Rochelle city officials are planning for the worst from Irene. Below, a statement, in full, from City Hall:

The City of New Rochelle is actively preparing for Hurricane Irene, which is predicted to affect our area early Sunday morning. While the direct path and intensity of the storm is yet to be determined, heavy rains and high tides may result in significant flooding and high winds could knock out electricity.

Residents are urged to prepare now. In advance of and during the storm, the City will issue regular updates through the following communications channels:

Website: The City website www.newrochelleny.com will have the latest News Flash and Emergency Alerts which will also be posted on our Facebook and Twitter pages

Bulletin: NRTV Cable Channel 75 and FIOS Channel 28

Connect-CTY Emergency calls will be made as necessary

News Releases to local news outlets

Residents can subscribe to receive these emergency alerts directly through the City’s website at www.newrochelleny.com.

PREPAREDNESS

As with any disaster or emergency, residents are encouraged to Get a Kit and Make a Plan. Make a kit – specifically, a go-bag for use in an evacuation and a household disaster kit to enable a family to survive at home for several days without electricity. Have a plan – A family emergency plan should include deciding where to go in the event you have to leave your home. Don’t forget to make plans for your pets as well. A complete list of action steps can be found on the City of New Rochelle website www.newrochelleny.com/prepare ;  www.westchestergov.com and www.ready.gov.

To prepare specifically for a tropical storm or hurricane:

• Frequently listen to your radio, television or NOAA Weather Radio for official bulletins on the progress of the storm.


• Fuel and service family vehicles. Service stations may be unable to pump fuel because of flooding or loss of electrical service.


• Moor small craft or move to safe shelter.


• Check on supplies. Make sure you have flashlights and batteries on hand, as well as at least a three-day supply of water and non-perishable foods, as well as first aid and medications


• Consider the special needs of young children, disabled or elderly family members


• Secure or bring inside lawn furniture and other loose, lightweight objects, such as garbage cans and garden tools that could become a projectile in high winds.


• Homeowners with active building permits should make sure all materials secured or stored indoors. Roofing projects should secure all loose materials and scaffolding should be lowered or removed. Soil erosion control measures should also be maintained.


• Have on hand an extra supply of cash.


• Print out a list of important phone numbers and insure the safety of important documents.

MAMARONECK — With Hurricane Irene expected to pummel the Northeast this weekend, the village today said residents should begin taking precautions for heavy rains, high winds and potential flooding.

Parking restrictions have been lifted, and officials are advising residents in low-lying and flood-prone areas to move vehicles to higher ground, just don’t block driveways and fire hydrants.

“In the event that the effects of Hurricane Irene are significant enough, residents in the flood prone and coastal areas should be prepared to evacuate,” Assistant Village Manager Dan Sarnoff wrote in an email this afternoon. If an evacuation is ordered, the village will set up a temporary shelter at the Mamaroneck High School gymnasium.

In addition, residents should secure all yards items that might blow away in heavy winds; fill their cars with gas; and stock up on batteries, flash lights, water and non-perishable foods.

Other tips on how to prepare for a hurricane can be found here.

Visit the village’s website for updates.

The U.S. Court of Appeals has dismissed Port Chester’s motion to appeal the voting rights decision that led to a new trustee election system last year.

The village introduced the new cumulative voting system under a consent decree with the Department of Justice, which successfully sued Port Chester on the basis that the old at-large system was unfair to Hispanic voters. Today’s order by a three-judge panel says the village “seeks to appeal a matter that was within the scope of the parties’ consent judgment and not unequivocally reserved for appeal.”

Details to come.

Update:

Anthony Piscionere, Port Chester’s lead counsel in the voting rights case, said today:

This is a disappointment.  The procedural ruling avoids the hard look Port Chester deserved.  Cumulative Voting is far better than the district scheme the Federal Government wanted to impose in Port Chester.  Port Chester was willing to implement cumulative voting without the need for litigation.

Mayor Dennis Pilla, who had opposed the appeal and warned that it was a bad bet, said:

Now we can move on and talk about how we can fix this election system so it can work even better.

Pilla and others want to see a return to some form of staggered terms, though that would require a new agreement with the DOJ. Trustees used to be elected village-wide, two per year. Now all six trustee seats are up at once, allowing for flexibility. Each voter has six votes to cast, and may put all six toward one candidate or disperse them among several candidates in any configuration.

Public opposition over the appeal centered on the costs. For a recap, see this post and this follow-up.

He wowed them in three sold-out shows at the Westchester Sandbox Theatre last fall, so Barbra Streisand impressionist Steven Brinberg is coming back in a few weeks with a new show, “SIMPLY BARBRA: BACK TO MAMARONECK!”

No lip-syncer he, Brinberg lends his own voice to this Barbra show, which he has been perfecting over the past decade.

Performances at 8 p.m. Sept 10 and 3 p.m., Sept. 11. $28, $24 seniors. 914-630-0804. Go to the Westchester Sandbox Theatre website for details.

The Westchester Sandbox Theatre is located at 931c East Boston Post Road in Mamaroneck.

Here’s a look at today’s opinion content:

The earthquake and Hurricane Irene: Editorial
We comment on the weird week in tectonics and meteorolgy. Tuesday’s earthquake, which did cause some damage in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, was not really comparable to the major earthquakes our friends in California experience. Hurricane Irene, however, may present some challenges to our area. We write:

… Tuesday’s quake activity was “slightly” out of the ordinary, in terms of magnitude and location. USA Today, which has allegiance to both coasts, quoted experts who called the activity “significant, but not unprecedented.” They explained: “A quake the size of Tuesday’s last struck Virginia in 1897. Similar quakes have struck the wider region, most recently a magnitude-6.0 quake in Quebec on Nov. 25, 1986.” The Virginia quake was described as “somewhat surprising” because South Carolina and the New Madrid fault region near Memphis “are seen as the hot spots for quakes in the eastern United States.”

That’s all interesting perspective on the day after. New Yorkers, however, have doubtless already put the earthquake behind them and started to train their attention on the next bout with nature. Hurricane Irene, ominously pointed in this direction, is up next. From a breathless Weather Channel report Wednesday afternoon: “The potential is real for the strongest hurricane hit on the Northeast in at least a couple decades this weekend!”

MAMARONECK — This flood-prone village is taking some early precautions as Hurricane Irene, now a major Category 3 storm, heads toward the East Coast.

In an email sent at 5 p.m. today, Assistant Village Manager Dan Sarnoff said the storm could make landfall here late Saturday or early Sunday — and may produce heavy rains, high winds, a storm surge and possible coastal flooding.

In 2007, the village was one of several Sound Shore communities hard hit by flooding after a nor’easter dumped 7.5 inches of water in two days, overwhelming drainage and sewer systems.

In preparation for Irene, Sarnoff wrote today, “we have been working with the Town of Mamaroneck to lower the Sheldrake Reservoir to provide additional storage capacity in the case of heavy rains.

“Village (Department of Public Works) crews are cleaning catch basins grate and removing debris from the rivers to prevent blockages.

“Arrangements have been made to open a temporary shelter at the Mamaroneck High School gymnasium in case an evacuation is required.

“The Village will also be testing its emergency operations center this evening to ensure that everything is in proper working order in the event that it needs to be activated.”

The village will post further updates on its website as information becomes available.

Businesses, synagogues and churches will be accepting donations of new and gently used children’s clothing next month as part of The Sharing Shelf’s “Back-to-School in Style” campaign.

The New Rochelle-based volunteer group is seeking donations of long- and short-sleeved shirts, jeans, pants, sweats, sweaters, sweatshirts, fall jackets and winter coats, as well as new and lightly used basic fall and winter shoes, including sneakers, rain boots and snow boots.

“There is an acute demand for clothing in sizes 5T through youth XL (14) as well as a need for boys’ jeans in all sizes,” said Deborah Blatt, director of The Sharing Shelf.

The group is also seeking donations of new underwear, new socks and diapers.

Businesses participating as drop-off locations are:

• Kidville, 777 Post Rd., Scarsdale, Sept. 1 – 30

• Healthy Fit for women, 1000 E. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck, Sept. 1 – 30

• PM Pediatrics, 620 E. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck, Sept. 9 – 11

• Vision of Tomorrow, 132 Larchmont Ave., Larchmont, Sept. 9 – 11

• One2one Bodyscapes, 516 W. Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck, Sept. 9 – 11

• Sound Shore Indoor Tennis 303 Boston Post Rd., Port Chester, Sept. 20 – 27

Clothing is also being collected at:

• Temple Israel of New Rochelle, 1000 Pinebrook Blvd., New Rochelle, Sept. 1 – 14

• Huguenot Memorial Church, 901 Pelhamdale Ave., Pelham Manor, Sept. 6 – 30

• Larchmont Avenue Church, 60 Forest Park Ave., Larchmont, Sept.  9 – 11

• Larchmont Temple, 75 Larchmont Ave., Larchmont, Sept. 12 – 24

To learn more about the clothing drive, call (914) 937-2320 ext. 148 or email thesharingshelf@fsw.org.

LARCHMONT — New York Times journalist Jacques Steinberg will talk about his new book — “You Are An Ironman: How Six Weekend Warriors Chased Their Dream of Finishing the World’s Toughest Triathlon” — from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 17 at Anderson’s Book Shop, 96 Chatsworth Ave.

The book, due to hit shelves Sept. 15, tells the story of six people training to complete the Ford Ironman Arizona triathlon, a race with a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run — in 17 hours or less.

These “weekend warriors” include: a businessman on the verge of a heart attack; a schoolteacher eager to set a good example for his daughters; the director of a fitness center at an Air Force base who survived a bout of cancer; a woman inspired by the tenacity of her husband, a triathlete himself who was the recipient of a rare double-lung transplant; and two California mothers, one who had dreamed of becoming a runner since she was an overweight young girl and the other who signs up for the Ironman on a dare.

Steinberg is the author of “The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College,” a New York Times-best seller. He is currently a national education correspondent for the Times and moderates its The Choice college admissions blog, which he created.

“Saving Seatown: The Underwater Musical,” a locally produced tale of undersea superheroism had its overseas debut earlier this month.

(Photo provided)

The show, written by New Rochelle High School ‘06 graduates Paul Rigano and Katie Weiller and performed last spring by the high school theater department, earned itself a spot at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in Scotland. The high school cast made their way across the Atlantic and pulled off a remarkable, outdoor performance, as the photo makes clear. Congratulations.