Pleasantville Pedestrian Requests, Higher Pool Fees, Immigration Protections

Protecting Pedestrians on Village Streets

Pedestrian safety has always been a key concern for Pleasantville – a community  that prides itself on being a walking village. 

On Monday, the Pleasantville Pedestrian Committee presented its quarterly report citing two problem areas that pose potential safety risks for pedestrians. 

Pedestrian Committee co-chairs Terri Conway and Andrea Putnam spoke about the dangers when walking along Nannahagan Rd. and Ashland Ave. and of the parking violations on Grandview Ave. and Manville Rd. 

“We’ve been working with neighbors from both areas for quite a while now to discuss their concerns,” Conway told the board. 

Ashland resident Lauren Lowder spoke about speeding cars entering and exiting the Pleasantville Country Club, jeopardizing pedestrian safety, especially for families with small children walking with strollers on a street without sidewalks. Residents claim cars exceed the 15 mph speed limit for the school zoned street. A request was made for more traffic enforcement. 

Manville Rd. residents Mark Pawlowski and Robert Jablow told of cars violating no parking zones by parking up to the curb and the intersection of Grandview Ave. and Manville Rd., blocking the sight lines for oncoming traffic. Drivers parking there seem to be those picking up their children from the Bedford Road School. 

Requests by the committee were made for more enforcement in both areas. The committee is planning to form a focus group of property owners for both areas and include the Pleasantville Police department when the groups meet. 

In another related traffic story, Pleasantville Mayor Peter Scherer mentioned how the walk light signal pole across the Saw Mill Parkway by the Grant Street intersection got knocked down a few days ago by an Amazon truck. 

Known for its many safety issues, the incident made the already unsafe passage across the parkway even more dangerous. 

Since the parkway is a state road, the DOT (Dept. of Transportation) was called and responded by replacing the pole a few days later. 

Efforts to install a red-light camera by state representatives are ongoing. 

Pool Rates Increase

The board voted unanimously to authorize new rates for the village pool. The new $6 million pool is under construction, targeted to open Memorial Day. Scherer said the cost of the new pool required raising the rates.

The most significant changes are higher rates for residents who live outside the village but within the school district, who have always paid the same pool rates as village taxpayers despite not paying village taxes.

Scherer explained how the significant capital expense for the new pool will hit every taxpayer over the next couple of decades. 

“And if you’re not a village taxpayer and not contributing to the capital cause your rates are somewhat higher,” he said. “Folks who do not contribute to Pleasantville village taxes and who have paid the same pool membership fee as folks who do has become an untenable arrangement. We’ve compared these (new) rates to other communities and find they remain very favorable.”

Scherer said the increased rates were discussed many times.

“We are in the midst of a complete rebuild of the Pleasantville pool and our contractors are doing great work and are on schedule,” he added. 

The new rates are as follows: 

Early Bird Village residents

Family $600, Individual $300, Senior $100

Village Rates

Family $650, Individual $325, Senior $125

Non Village/School District Residents

Family $875, Individual $405, Senior $145

Guest Fees

$10 

Guest 10 pack- $90

Caregiver membership

$125 for Village residents

$175 Non Village/School District Residents

10 Pack Day Passes

$250 Village Residents

$330 Non Village/School District

(Not available for non-residents)

 

Immigration and Local Law

 

Two weeks ago federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up in Pleasantville looking for a person who allegedly had a criminal record. The Pleasantville Police Department was notified that ICE agents would be in the area. 

ICE raids have been taking place locally. Agents were in Sleepy Hollow on Jan. 28 where they were unable to locate two individuals they wanted to arrest. ICE agents have also been in other area communities recently, such as Ossining and Peekskill. Local police departments have emphasized they are independent of the federal agency. 

After his quarterly report at the village board meeting, Pleasantville Police Chief Erik Grutzner told of a recent webinar that he and village Trustee Paul Alvarez held to specifically address the presence of ICE. 

Alvarez said the goal of the webinar was to appeal to the immigrant community and the community at large. 

“We wanted to communicate how things worked and what the Pleasantville Police Department was doing,” he said. “We received a lot of positive feedback from local clergy and residents after the webinar.” 

Alvarez noted that trusting the local police was crucial. 

“We don’t want to create a situation where people are afraid to go to the police because they are afraid of what’s going to happen,” he remarked.

Grutzner said his department will continue to enforce the law but he reiterated that officers don’t ask anyone about their immigration status in the standard course of local police work.

“It’s not something that we incorporate into our operations,” he said. “We really wanted to send that message that was delivered personally and directly. The fact is if you have people who can’t feel comfortable reporting a crime you just basically created a whole new group of victims. We really need the input of people actively participating in the criminal justice system for the well-being (of) the entire community.” 

Grutzner said his department has the utmost respect for federal law enforcement.

“Although these are uncertain times, the rules for everybody haven’t changed so much,” he said. “If we have the legal responsibility to hold somebody then we will hold somebody. If we don’t have a legal responsibility to hold them then we don’t.”