Sound Shore

From Mamaroneck:

GAR Associates, the consulting firm which is administering the Town of Mamaroneck’s property revaluation project, has constructed a website dedicated exclusively to the revaluation process. The GAR website can be accessed directly at http://www.mamaroneckreassessment.com  or through the Property Revaluation Portal on the opening page of the Town’s website at www.townofmamaroneck.org.

Several local people who have worked hard to raise money for cancer support and research will be honored at the upcoming gala to benefit southern Westchester cancer patients and their families.

The benefit, set for 6 p.m. April 19 at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, is titled “A Season of Hope.” Funds will benefit the non-profit Cancer Support Team. Tickets start at $300 per person.

Josh Glantz of Scarsdale will receive The Wald-Lee Vision Award for his volunteer efforts on behalf of Swim Across America and as one of the founders of the Long Island Sound Swim 20 years ago.  Along with his twin brother Jeremy, Josh started the swim as a fundraiser for cancer research in memory of Larchmont resident, Kathy Webers.

“When I started the swim, Kathy Webers was probably the first person I knew well who had to fight against cancer,” he said.  “Now I hear about new battles all too often.  Cancer Support Team is so unique in how it puts patients and their families at ease so they can focus on their individual fight.  That’s why I continue to swim and will continue to raise money for this cause.”

Jack Wheaton of Fairfield, Conn., Mildred Wheaton of Jupiter, Fla., and Christie Philbrick-Wheaton and Dede Philbrick-Wheaton, both of Larchmont, will receive The Barbara Melamed Memorial Award for their ongoing support of CST’s nursing services.

In 2008, the Wheaton family established the Barbara Philbrick Memorial Fund at CST in memory of Jack Wheaton’s wife, Barbara Philbrick, who died that year from cancer. The Fund supports CST’s program of in-home nursing assistance.

“We understand what an emotional toll it takes on a family when a loved one is battling cancer,” Jack Wheaton said. “Through our support of Cancer Support Team, we not only honor Barbara, but also help those families who on their own may not be able to obtain proper care and counseling.”

The Benefit Co-chairs are Lisa Edmiston and Christina Staudt of Bronxville and Mark Rice of Rye. Honorary Co-Chairs are Sherry and Robert Wiener of Mamaroneck.

In addition to the benefit gala, CST receives financial support from individual donors and grants, Swim Across America, The Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester and Tuckahoe and other foundations and community groups.

The non-profit Cancer Support Team, fully licensed by the New York State Department of Health, provides services to southern Westchester cancer patients at any stage of disease, free of charge and without regard to insurance coverage. Services include nursing care management, social work counseling, education, advocacy, information about community resources, transportation and financial assistance.

 For more information about Cancer Support Team’s services, the 2012 Benefit, volunteering or providing financial support, go to www.cancersupportteam.org or call 914-777-2777.

Earlier this week, the Mamaroneck school board voted to put a capital bond before voters in May. Today, Superintendent Richard Shaps released a YouTube video about the bond. You can watch it below:

The Mamaroneck School District is considering switching the transportation for six private and parochial schools from district busing to public transportation; a meeting on this will be held tomorrow night.

Below is the announcement sent out by the superintendent, Robert Shaps:

Dear Parents, On Tuesday, March 6 th , at 7:30 p.m. in the MHS Tiered-Classroom, the administration will present the Board of Education with an updated report on District Transportation Services. The purpose of our public discussion will be to further consider potential cost saving measures that would result from shifting private and parochial bus routes to public transportation services and fully outsourcing transportation services.

It is important to note that during the December 6 th Board of Education transportation services discussion, the Board identified criteria that would be used as guidelines to determine which private and parochial bus routes would be considered for public bus routes. Criteria includes:

• Routes for students in grades 6 -12
• Access to safe travel (e.g., walking routes, sidewalk accessibility, and distance)

• Maximum two-hour travel time each way (including walking distance, bus stop and seat time).

  In response to the Board’s feedback, the administration plans to discuss public transportation services for private/parochial school travel routes associated with six schools:
  French American School
  German School
  Holy Child
  Iona Prep
  Rye Country Day
  Ursuline School

  Transportation services for students attending all other private/parochial schools not listed above will continue to be supported by school bus transportation services . On the issue of outsourcing, the Board will look at moving towards full outsourcing, versus our current level of outsourcing, which includes the majority of our out-of-district students as well as some in-district students. In doing this, the Board will keep the safety of our children and the quality of our transportation services the top priority. To this end, under a full outsourcing model, the District will continue to identify/design bus routes, coordinate/monitor transportation services, evaluate driver performance records, and serve as the direct contact for all transportation issues. We look forward to our conversation with the community next week and hope that you will join us if you have interest in this topic. As always, public comment is welcome.

  Regards, Dr. Robert I. Shaps
  Superintendent of Schools

The first ever “Green Screen” environmentally-oriented film festival is under way in Mamaroneck and Larchmont. It features eight environment-themed movies, including Gasland, Josh Fox’s critically-acclaimed documentary on fracking, and The Lorax, a first run children’s movie based on the book by Dr. Seuss.

Each screening will be followed by a question and answer session with an expert speaker. The showings are free.

Here’s the remaining schedule for the films:

No Impact Man
Monday, March 5, 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Mamaroneck Town Center
Speaker: Director and cinematographer Justin Schein

Extreme Ice
Saturday, March 10, 12 p.m.
Venue: Mamaroneck Library

Flow: For the Love of Water
Saturday, March 10, 2 p.m.
Venue: Mamaroneck Library
Speaker: Elizabeth Royte, author of Bottlemania: How Water Went on Sale and How We Bought It

Gasland
Sunday, March 11, 2 p.m.
Venue: Larchmont Village Center
Speaker: Paul Gallay, Executive Director of the Riverkeeper environmental group.

Carbon Nation
Monday, March 12 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Mamaroneck Town Center (Conference Room C)
Speaker: George Klein, Chair of the Sierra Club, Lower Hudson Valley

The Berklee College of Music’s 44th Annual High School Jazz Festival in Boston this Saturday will feature competitors from Mamaroneck High School, seeking students to compete for the $175,000 in available scholarships. The event is the largest of its kind in the US and will showcase over 3,000 students and 200 bands and vocal ensembles from California to Canada to New England. Last year, Mamaroneck won 2nd Place in the Large Ensemble Div. (Class 2).

The entire event is free and open to the public, and will take place on Saturday at the Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston Street, from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Scholarship and award winners will be announced at 6:00 p.m., followed by a winners showcase concert at 7:30 p.m.

The 18th Annual Larchmont Antique and Collectibles Show will take place this coming Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at Mamaroneck High School. The show features over 40 dealers. Admission is $6 and benefits the Mamaroneck Schools Foundation. Food will also be for sale.

The New York Times posted an interactive graphic last year showing how Manhattan’s street grid grew – street openings by year.

I came across it recently and started wondering when the streets were created in Mamaroneck village, where I live. So, I took a look at some old maps and put together interactive Google maps showing which streets existed by 1867, 1881, 1910, 1929 and those added since 1930.

Take a look at the maps below to see the pattern of development. Click on a street for more information about it. You can also zoom in for a closer look.

First, take a look at today’s streets that were around in one form or another in 1867, in red:
Mamaroneck and Rye Neck streets, 1867

Things to note for 1867:
• Just a few local streets, mostly downtown and in Washingtonville, including Mamaroneck Avenue, then called Winfield Avenue; Halstead Avenue, then called Railroad Avenue; and Mount Pleasant Avenue. Some Washingtonville streets had different names, too, including Center Avenue, then called Clay Street, and Waverly Avenue, then called Franklin Avenue, according to the maps.
• One road each to two sections that jutted out into Mamaroneck Harbor – Orienta Avenue and Taylors Lane.
• Major roads to other towns: Boston Post Road (called Main Street in downtown Mamaroneck then), Harrison Avenue, West Street, Rockland (then Rockdale) Avenue and White Plains Road.
• The railroad depot was at the west side of Mamaroneck Avenue – at the intersection of Mamaroneck (then Winfield) Avenue and Mount Pleasant Avenue, along with a hotel and a feed store. The present railroad station house (now becoming a restaurant) east of Mamaroneck Avenue dates to 1888.
• The Depot School, a public school, was in the triangle created by the Mamaroneck-Mount Pleasant intersection in 1867. The old schoolhouse now on display in Harbor Island Park sat in that triangle from 1816 to 1855.
• Mamaroneck village wasn’t incorporated until 1895, so early maps refer to it as Mamaroneck and Rye Neck or just Rye Neck.


By 1881, the village was spreading out from the downtown along the route of the railroad, and Orienta was filling in.

Mamaroneck and Rye Neck, 1881
Red: Streets existing as of 1867.
Green: Streets added between 1868 and 1881.

By 1910, the development extended farther out from the downtown and in Harbor Heights off Mamaroneck Avenue, with most of the present-day streets in existence by then, although certainly not all built up. A bit more of the land along upper Mamaroneck filled in by 1929, then a few more streets since.

Mamaroneck village, 1910
Red: Streets existing by 1881
Blue: Streets added between 1882 and 1910.

Here’s everything in one map.

Mamaroneck village: When streets appeared
Red: Streets that appeared by 1867.
Green: Streets that appeared between 1868 and 1881.
Blue: Streets that appeared between 1882 and 1910.
Orange: Streets that appeared between 1911 and 1929.
Purple: Streets that appeared after 1930.
Click on a street for more information. Zoom in for a closer look.

If you’ve got more details on the history of particular streets, or corrections on the years, let me know and I’ll add them to the notes for that street.

You can find old maps of Mamaroneck – and other places in Westchester—online including here:

• Westchester County Archives, Atlas of Westchester County, 1929-30.

• Historic Map Works

• The David Rumsey Map Collection at Cartography Associates

• Historical photos: The Mamaroneck Public Library Collection.

Then

The Gedney Farm House (built c. 1790) on Feb. 21.

Now

The Gedney Farm House, what’s left of it, today. That’s the Bellows School in the background. 

I went by the Gedney Farm House this morning and found that it’s been reduced to a pile of rubble. The Rye Neck school district owned the building, which was vacant. Officials said would have been costly to renovate or continue to maintain. The school board awarded a contract Feb. 15 to have the 734 E. Boston Post Road structure demolished after an effort to preserve it failed.

I had the honor of meeting Tina Strobos at her apartment at The Osborn in Rye two years ago. She shared stories – as she had done with many children, teachers and others – about her efforts to save Jews in her native Amsterdam during the Holocaust as part of an underground network.

Strobos died Monday night at age 91. In honor of her life, and with the hope that her stories continue to be told, I’m posting some excerpts here of a transcript I made of our conversation. Strobos has also told her story in detail on this website.

Below is our Journal News article from October 2009, followed by more of her own words.

*

Oct. 17, 2009

RYE – When you listen to 89-year-old Dr. Tina Strobos, you begin to see the 19-year-old sorority girl who was growing up in Holland during World War II, with bravery beyond her years.

Her personal stories sketch the terror, the courage and defiance that it took to join an underground network that protected Jews from the Nazis. As a medical student, she and her classmates refused to sign a loyalty oath to Adolf Hitler. The university promptly shut down, and Strobos got to work.

Born to a well-off, intellectual family of atheists, Strobos took Jews into her Amsterdam home and led them to other hiding places on nearby farms. She stashed guns stolen from the Germans, carried babies from danger in the ghetto, kept a radio in violation of the law and doctored passports so that Jews might escape the notice of the Gestapo.

She makes clear that these scenes do not play out in her mind like some classic movie.

“Inevitably you have a lot of mixed feelings, that you didn’t behave quite the right way,” Strobos said from her home in Rye this month. “I didn’t betray anyone, but I could have done more.”