Sound Shore

Hi folks. Liz here: Here is a report from Arthur Bratone, the owner of Bistro Rollin in Pelham. Take it away, Arthur:

Bistro Rollin was thrilled to host a dinner for Toni Massanés and Jaume Biarnés on Monday Feb. 6th. Ferran Adria Chef/Owner of El Bulli (which is now closed, but was said by many to be the best restaurant in the world) setup the Alicia Foundation in cooperation with the Catalan government in 2003 and they opened for business in 2007.

One of the courses:  Caramelized Nantucket Bay Scallops with Leek Fondue and Potato Duchesse.

Mr. Adria asked one his chefs from El Bulli, Jaume Biarnés, to become Director of Culinary Research at their new state-of-the-art facility outside of Barcelona, and Toni Massanés — a food writer, former chef and food historian — to be the Executive Director. Through our friend, Paul Freedman, a professor of history at Yale, food historian, writer and editor, we had the opportunity to host these gentlemen and great group of friends, writers, and chefs at a fabulous dinner created by Bistro Rollin’s executive chef, Manny Lozano.

We had a great group around the table to enjoy the evening. John Turiano, managing editor of Westchester Magazine, and  Julia Sexton, food editor, joined us. Chef Chris Eddy, executive chef from Winvian Resort, a Relais Chateaux Inn in Litchfield County was with us, as well as a writer for the Associated Press, a filmmaker (winner of the Tribeca Film Festival), an Art Historian friend from Pelham who specializes in Spanish drawings and several other fascinating and fun folks!

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Chef Lozano, assisted by our sous-chef Eric Mauro outdid themselves and put together a stunning multi-course tasting dinner based on what we do so well at Bistro Rollin. Below is a link to the night’s menu. We did not give out menus prior to dinner, Chef Lozano assisted in serving each course and gave a brief description and each course was paired with a wine from our wine list.

Dinner Menu for Toni Massanés and Jaume Biarnés

As we gathered before dinner, we all enjoyed a glass of Montaubret Brut champagne and a selection of house made canapés. Turkish apricots wrapped bacon, Cheese gougere filed with a Mornay sauce. and a sample of our Country Paté on toast. We then moved to the table that you see above. And Chef Lozano, his kitchen crew and our two senior servers brought out the first course.

Oysters with Ginger, Yuzo, Pickled Shallots, Shiso and Cilantro. From the oohs, aahs and smiles these were clearly a hit. The flavors and textures worked perfectly together for a perfect starter. This was served with a Le Craie Sancerre.

More of the exquisite dinner, after the jump.

More →

Pelham goalie Josh Borofsky, far right, grabs the puck as Suffern’s Robert Clark is taken down in front of the goal during their game at The Ice Hutch. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

See  more photos from Suffern at Pelham hockey

here’s a video of Willie Sanchez’s last-minute tying goal

Rye Brook is reporting a water main break on Talcott Road and Mohegan Lane. Customers in the area are advised:

You may be experiencing low or no water pressure or discolored water.  United Water Westchester crews are on site to make the necessary repairs.

Customers may contact United Water Westchester at 877-266-9101 or uwwccustomerservice@unitedwater.com

Not so fast, Mr. Astorino.

Responding to County Executive Rob Astorino’s announcement that his administration is well ahead of schedule on the affordablehousing settlement, Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins says the self congratulations are premature.

The board, the Yonkers Democrat noted, hasn’t seen any report that shows that the county is in the clear on the decree reached with the federal government in 2009 that has had its share of challenges.

“The Westchester County Board of Legislators has yet to see any of the documentation to support the information in the Administration’s Quarterly Housing Report regarding the number of new fair and affordable housing units that are ‘in the pipeline,’ and so it’s difficult to respond accurately to such a simple declaration,” Jenkins said in an email. “The Administration’s self-congratulatory tone in its statement (Monday) needs to be balanced against the fact that the County has been asked by a federal court to answer a set of questions concerning the Administration’s position on source of income legislation passed by the Board, which, according to the terms of the stipulations of the housing settlement, may end up nullifying the settlement and exposing the County to a judgment  of upwards of $500 million.”

In its quarterly report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the federal monitor, the Astorino administration maintains that 540, or 72 percent, of the required units are at some point in the planning pipeline.

“The county has made extraordinary progress and it is the result of our approach to work closely and cooperatively with municipalities, developers and non-profits around common goals,” Astorino said in a statement released Monday. “This will continue to be the county’s approach until we have fully met our obligations under the settlement. The numbers tell the story.”

The federal housing settlement mandates that Westchester spend $52 million to help build 750 units in mostly wealthy and white communities over seven years. It also sets benchmarks along the way, notably that 200 units have financing and 125 have building permits by the end of 2012. The county expects to meet those goals by spring.

 

Despite a continued stalemate with the federal government, County Executive Rob Astorino says Westchester remains well ahead of schedule on its affordable housing settlement.

In its quarterly report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the federal monitor that was released today, the Astorino Administration maintains that 540, or 72 percent, of the required units are at some point in the planning pipeline. Read the report here.

“The county has made extraordinary progress and it is the result of our approach to work closely and cooperatively with municipalities, developers and non-profits around common goals,” Astorino said in a statement. “This will continue to be the county’s approach until we have fully met our obligations under the settlement. The numbers tell the story.”

The federal housing settlement was reached in 2009 and mandates that Westchester spend $52 million to help build 750 units in mostly wealthy and white communities over seven years. It also sets benchmarks along the way, notably that 200 units have financing and 125 have building permits by the end of 2012; the county expects to meet those goals by Spring.

So far, 15 communities including Ardsley, Briarcliff Manor, Cortlandt, Hastings, Larchmont, New Castle, North Castle, North Salem, Pelham, Pleasantville, Rye Brook, Rye, Somers, and Yorktown are at various stages of approval or in construction.

One three-family house in Pelham has residents living in the units.

More than 200 site reviews have taken place across all 31 communities, according to the report. The county has also set up a $2.5 million revolving loan fund to acquire and rehabilitate foreclosures in eligible municipalities. The county expects to an additional 14 units under this program.

But progress hasn’t been easy, in part, because of disagreements with HUD and the federal monitor, James Johnson, on a range of issues, including local zoning and an income discrimination law that Astorino doesn’t support. HUD has also held back millions in community development block grant monies because of differences.

Those disagreements are now being addressed in court.

“Even though that’s going on, we’re continuing to make progress,” said Ned McCormack, Astorino’s senior advisor and director of communications. “It’s important to keep moving … The process is working.”

HUD had no immediate comment today.

 In an act of protest, the Board of Legislators today opposed County Executive Rob Astorino’s cancellation of a bus route in Rye.

Lawmakers, in a meeting that was called to address this matter, won’t back Liberty Lines application to the state to reconfigure a route that covers some stops lost with the elimination of Route 76 line.

The resolution, which passed 10-5 with one Republican supporting it an a Democrat voting against it, merely sends a message to the state Department of Transportation that the county board doesn’t agree with any route changes that don’t encompass all of the lost stops.

“It eliminates bus service to an important area in Rye,” said Legislator Judy Myers, a Democrat from Mamaroneck who represents part of Rye. “There is a great need for this (bus). This is definitely an area that needs to be served.”

Myers and other legislators don’t like that the county executive cancelled a contract with a smaller carrier operating the Route 76 line and that Liberty Lines, the operator of the county-wide system, would only cover part of the line with its changes to the Route 13 line. They were also upset that there was no public hearing.

All the legislators want is for some excluded areas, notably Milton Point, to be covered under a new route, they say.

Legislator Sheila Marcotte, R-Tuckahoe, said while she understood their concerns, this resolution may hurt riders because it could jeopardize all of the modifications. She said the wise thing to do is to talk with Liberty Lines to see if they’ll cover the entire route.

“(It’s) going to hurt the residents they’re actually trying to help,” she said.

Democrats, however, also feel snubbed that Astorino made the changes without consulting them and after they added the roughly $243,000 back into the county’s $1.8 billion budget to continue this service.

Any changes should have been discussed with them, they say.

“The law says there is a process for that and that was not followed,” said Majority Leader Peter Harckham, D-Katonah.

 

 

Pelham Road—Two tires worth $1,008 were stolen off of a 2012 Mercedes Benz that was parked on Pelham road between 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4 and 7:30 a.m. Feb. 5., New Rochelle police said.

Palmer Road—Four tires worth $2,000 were stolen off of a 2012 Hundai that was parked at 2333 Palmer Ave. between 1 p.m. Feb. 5 and 6 a.m. Feb. 6., New Rochelle police said.

Radisson Plaza—A GPS and iPod worth $320 were stolen from a 2010 Honda parked on Radisson Plaza between 6 a.m. and noon Feb. 5. The passenger side window of the car was smashed to gain entry, New Rochelle police said.

Horton Avenue—An iPod was stolen from a 1999 Isuzu that was parked on Horton Avenue between 1 p.m. Feb. 4 and 11:20 p.m. Feb. 5.

Rye police sent out an alert today about another possible use of an ATM skimmer:

The City of Rye Police Department is investigating the possible use of an ATM skimming device at Citibank located at 1040 Boston Post Road during the weekend of February 4 – 5, 2012. Customers who used the ATM at Citibank’s Rye Branch this weekend are advised to check their accounts and immediately report any unusual activity to their bank.

As a general precaution—despite the fact that ATM skimming devices have become more sophisticated with the passage of time, the best precaution is to cover the ATM keypad with your free hand while entering your PIN, so the numbers cannot be observed by cameras.

For more safety tips, see this earlier post.

UPDATE: I’ll be on the 8:43 from White Plains, due in Grand Central at 9:23. If you’re on the same train and going to the parade, let’s talk Giants!

Looks like I’ll be riding a train into NYC tomorrow morning to cover the Giants parade. If you’re among the Giants fanatics who will be doing the same, let me know what train you plan to take (I’m not sure yet whether I’ll take the Harlem or New Haven line) and where you plan to watch the parade. I’ll be looking to talk with folks from the area.

Write me at erauch@lohud.com if you’re interested in connecting. You can follow me on Twitter, too: @NPRauch.

 

Anderson’s Book Shop in Larchmont will host a book signing with author William Broad, a science journalist and senior writer at The New York Times, on Saturday, Feb. 11th between 2 and 4 p.m. Broad will be signing copies of his most recent book, The Science of Yoga.

Broad will host two other local signings the following month: March 4 at the JCC of Mid-Westchester at 1 p.m. and March 25 at the Larchmont Library at 4 p.m.

Here’s the description of the book, from the event announcement: “The Science of Yoga takes us on a riveting tour of unknown yoga that goes from old archives in Calcutta to the world capitals of medical research, from storied ashrams to spotless laboratories, from sweaty yoga studios with master teachers to the cozy offices of yoga healers. Broad unveils a burgeoning global industry that attracts not only curious scientists but true believers and charismatic hustlers. In the end, he shatters myths, lays out unexpected benefits, and offers a compelling vision of how the ancient practice can be improved.”