Sunday, March 31, 2019

PHOTO ALBUM, TROOP 28 CHILI COOK-OFF 2019...AND THE WINNER WAS......

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools, our houses of worship--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

On  March 30th, Holy Name of Mary's Croton Troop 28 held their annual chili cook-off fundraiser at The Croton Yacht Club.  Among the assorted entries were Mike's Smokey Mountain Chili, Liz's Vegan Bean and Quinoa Chili, Pat's Fabulous Chili, and more....but in the end, there could be ONLY one....and the winner was...John Sarcone....click on the photo....see more from the event here. 

ALL PHOTOS, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.....Want to know more about scouting? Visit crotontroop28.org

LOWE'S YORKTOWN HAS OPENED

We're all for supporting our small businesses when possible but let's be honest, sooner or later everyone needs a Home Depot...or a Lowe's.

Speaking of which, the long awaited Lowe's has opened in Yorktown. This place is HUGE---with just about everything---an outstanding parking lot, lots of very helpful and eager staff, novelty garden items too, a wide variety of appliances, power tools by just about every maker, etc.   More info here.

FYI MAY UPDATE  
--Work planned to ease traffic, congestion near the new Lowe's https://www.theexaminernews.com/work-planned-to-ease-congestion-on-202-near-lowes/

CROTON POINT AVE. MILLION DOLLAR BIKE LANE, "IMPROVEMENTS", WHERE IT STANDS AS OF 3/31/19, BIDS IN

On 3/18, the project was a Board of Trustees meeting agenda item.  Village Engineer Dan O'Connor gave a brief presentation, short on details:

--Six residents spoke in favor of the project: One was former Democratic trustee Ian Murtaugh; two were the spouses of former Democratic trustees; three were from the Bicycle Pedestrian Committee
--Affected area business owners were in attendance but did not speak.

--The bids for this project were due on 3/30.

Although the bids had not yet been received, a public meeting to discuss what residents/commuters could expect during the project was set for early April. It was cancelled when the bids came in on 3/30

Two bids were received, far in excess--once again--of repeated predictions:

--Reportedly Billotta Bros. bid $2.9 million and Monsanto Bros. bid $4.2 million.

--The bids are going to be rejected by a resolution of the Croton Board of Trustees on Monday night 4/1/19

(Note: The bids are an indication of the current status, but it is common for there to be change orders once the project starts, and the ultimate cost may be significantly higher than the initial contract award.)

ADDITIONALLY:

--Note that Croton has already spent $600,000 on CPA. Therefore the cost using the 2 bids would be in the range of $3.5 million to $4.8 million. The Board of Trustees said this could be done for a fraction of that amount, but people not connected to the village always said this project would cost $3 to $5 million (and some higher)....Just as with Gouveia Park and other democrat-led projects throughout the years....


--Going forward, the Village intends to analyze its various options and potentially rebid the project for a spring 2020 start time.

--It is unknown if--when--the village will have to return the $600,000--if the project does not proceed--at this time. 

UPDATED, APRIL 2019

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FROM THE GAZETTE--THE LATEST ON THE CROTON POINT AVENUE "IMPROVEMENTS"/BIKE LANE PROJECT DEBACLE:
****TIME TO RE-THINK THE CROTON POINT AVENUE PROJECT, an important letter from Paul Steinberg; MORE HERE
****LET'S STOP THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD, an important letter from Rob Armanini; MORE HERE

PHOTOS, 2019 CROTON CARING COMMITTEE FOOD DRIVE, CROTON LIONS, DONN GERELLI ASSOCIATES

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

PHOTOS, 2019 CROTON CARING COMMITTEE FOOD DRIVE, sponsored by the CROTON LIONS and with a further drop-off assist from DONN GERELLI ASSOCIATES.

Bright skies, lots of enthusiasm and the spirit of generosity were in abundance at today's very successful Easter Food Drive for the Croton Caring Committee thanks to the  Croton Lions Club at Croton's own SHOPRITE. Click on the photos below, all rights reserved.  Thank you to all who volunteered.


DONN GERELLI ASSOCIATES will have a drop off at their office until 4/16/19. 

Saturday, March 30, 2019

ANOTHER MUST-READ: MORE ON THE URBANIZATION OF CROTON

The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

ANOTHER MUST-READ: MORE ON THE URBANIZATION OF CROTON

To the editor:
The new vision for Croton unveiled last week by Mayor Brian Pugh and Village Manager Janine King is a bold step forward for our village. For some time the North Riverside Neighborhood Zoning Working Group has been hard at work developing plans for an urban city of the future, with input from Village Manager King and Village Engineer O’Connor.

Trustee Ann Gallelli led resident appointees Paul Doyle, Ted Brumleve, and Bruce Kauderer in this major revision to carry Croton forward into the next century. The plan calls for development of 2-3 story buildings from the Croton Colonial Diner, looping up to include the area now occupied by the Post Office, across to the Katz property, and all the way north on Riverside past the firehouse.

The goal of the plan is to bring hundreds of apartments to Croton, starting with construction on the village-owned Katz property. It is not known how many new residents this will bring: the current plan calls for a retail mall strip running on the ground floor with either one or two floors of apartments above. When ultimately complete, the plan will allow Croton to welcome well over a thousand new residents and remake the image of Croton into a medium density suburban town. READ MORE AT http://www.crotonunited.org/news-views/2019/3/30/the-urbanization-of-croton

A MUST-READ: REDEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR CROTON

A must read for every village resident who came here for what makes Croton, Croton.

REDEVELOPMENT PLANNED FOR CROTON--The following letter was published in this week’s issue of the Gazette.

To the Editor:


At last week’s “Zoning Update Workshop” residents were given a first look at a vision of development of the Municipal Place Gateway and the North Riverside neighborhood presented by a consultant hired by, and working with, the Board of Trustees.

Residents were told that the presentation, which suggested among other things, development of a veritable wall of two- to three-story apartment buildings along the highway on North Riverside was “neither a proposal nor a recommendation.” Yet the members of the public present seemed to feel . . . that real plans were in the works that had the potential to change the character of the village, and not for the better.   READ MORE AT http://www.crotonunited.org/news-views/2019/3/30/redevelopment-planned-for-croton

CLOSING OUT MARCH 2019 IN THE HUDSON VALLEY

Welcome to Everything Croton, a collection of all things Croton--our history, our homes, our issues, our businesses, our schools--in short, EVERYTHING CROTON.

When you're lucky enough to live in the Hudson Valley, even lazy, half-gray days can be marked with small but wonderful adventures....as always, your editor and an Everything Croton elve set out with cameras in hand....click on the photos and links.

And so, fortified with an Everything Bagel and a "shmear" from Bagels on Hudson, we were off for Turco's in Yorktown in search of Italian Milk Chocolate Easter Eggs by Bellino....our go-to place for such things ever since LaMonica's closed some years ago....

But first we just had to stop to photograph a very willing wild male turkey in full mating strut and colors, out to impress a small flock of females on the hillside beside Van Cortlandt Manor. Additional males and hens were also inside the gated area beside Shoprite where the Blaze is held annually.

Read all about wild turkeys here.

For those who have been wondering about the status of SNOWBALL the Snow Goose--that's the official name among the local bird watchers--she/he is still here among the Canadian Geese and mallards.

As mentioned last year, Snow Geese aren't exactly common in these parts and this one is quite young but changing fast, gaining height, weight and new colors--although still much smaller than the Canadians.

Snowball is also getting quite vocal...

For more about SNOW GEESE, CLICK HERE.

We also had to stop at the Verplanck Nature Preserve where these two rather skittish male merganser ducks have been spotted in recent weeks.  The females were too far away for a photo.

Known as the Common Merganser, the males sport bright red-orange beaks that really stand out even from a  distance.  

Read more about them here.

With that we headed off to Turco's where--just as we expected--the Bellino Milk Chocolate Eggs had arrived.
 
p.s. They also had the giant Baci Perugina large dark chocolate eggs, the "Give Collection" of chocolate eggs from Vigneri, and mid-size Easter Bunnies from THE CHOCOLATE CHALET in Briarcliff.

All and all, not a bad way to spend a morning in the Hudson Valley.

Note: All content on this blog is Copyright (c) by Maria Cudequest and by the posters who have contributed specific content. All material is for your personal use only. No content or photos may be republished or sold, without prior written from your editor and the individual who contributed the content in question. For permissions or questions about this policy, please contact the editor.  

Friday, March 29, 2019

UPDATED CROTON POINT AVE. PROJECT, THE BIDS

AS YOU KNOW, ONLY TWO BIDS CAME IN for this project...read more about that here.....an update follows below:

--Reportedly Billotta Bros. bid $2.9 million and Monsanto Bros. bid $4.2 million.

--The bids are going to be rejected by a resolution of the Croton Board of Trustees on Monday night.

--The bids are an indication of the current status, but it is common for there to be change orders once the project starts, and the ultimate cost may be significantly higher than the initial contract award.

ADDITIONALLY:

--Note that Croton has already spent $600,000 on CPA. Therefore the cost using the 2 bids would be in the range of $3.5 million to $4.8 million. The Board of Trustees said this could be done for a fraction of that amount, but people not connected to the village always said this project would cost $3 to $5 million (and some higher). Just as with Gouveia Park and other projects throughout the years, another vanity project of the Croton Democrats that results in more debt for village taxpayers.

CROTON PT AVE. PROJECT/BIKE LANE/"ENHANCEMENTS" MEETING CANCELLED

A MESSAGE FROM THE VILLAGE: Croton Point Avenue Improvement Project Meeting - CANCELLED

The public meeting regarding the Croton Point Avenue Improvement Project scheduled for Tuesday, April 2nd, at 7:30 p.m. has been cancelled. At the bid opening on Friday, March 29th, the Village received two bids for the project.

The Village believes that for a project of this size and complexity, it is important to receive more than two bids. Going forward, the Village intends to analyze its various options and potentially rebid the project for a spring 2020 start time.  https://www.crotononhudson-ny.gov/home/news/croton-point-avenue-improvement-project-meeting-cancelled 


EDITOR'S NOTE--UPDATED https://everythingcroton.blogspot.com/2019/03/updated-croton-point-ave-project-bids.html