overnight work on popham road bridge preventing sleep...greenburgh library foundation fundraiser...$1000 raised for japan victims

I received some calls/complaints from residents of Overton and Lynwood Roads in Edgemont. Residents can’t sleep because contractors are working during evening hours on the Popham Road bridge replacement project. All night work could take place sporadically for months. I am requesting a meeting with Metro North officials, village of Scarsdale officials and the contractor to discuss the following suggestions.
Some suggestions: Residents of Overton and Lynwood should be provided with advance notice before late night work takes place.
Residents should be offered free hotel stays if the work will be an all nighter. The town was able to arrange this with a private shopping plaza when overnight work took place in a parking lot area.
Work should not be allowed to take place all night.
Every resident of our community should be provided with the opportunity to have a good nights sleep. The following is an e mail I received earlier today from the deputy Scarsdale Village Manager who responded to complaints I forwarded to him.

From: Steve Pappalardo [mailto:spappalardo@scarsdale.com]
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2011 1:40 PM
To: Paul Feiner
Subject: RE: Popham Road construction project

Paul,

I apologize for the inconvenience and I am sympathetic with the effected neighbors. We received a number of complaints from Scarsdale residents as well. Unfortunately the work that is being done at night is per Metro North’s direction. The Popham Road Bridge Replacement Project is a Village project but because the bridge spans Metro North Railroad tracks they dictate when certain construction activities are to take place. Any time there is a potential for a piece of equipment or building material to fall onto the tracks, Metro North requires the work to be performed at night when they can get track outages and trains are no longer running or running infrequently. Currently the bridge contractor is driving steel piles along the entire south side of the bridge from Garth Rd. to Scarsdale Ave. in support of the excavation work for the south abutment and the retaining wall adjacent to the Freightway Open Lot. The work is inherently noisy and commenced last night and will continue tonight and Friday evening.

Night work for the project will be sporadic until the project is completed in the spring of next year. Some nights the noise will be greater than other nights, although this pile driving work is the loudest part of the planned construction. We have and will continue to talk with the contractor and ask him, when possible, to perform the louder work earlier in the night. The Village appreciates the level of cooperation received to date and will continue to do the best we can to minimize inconvenience during construction.

Regards,

Steve

The Greenburgh Public Library Foundation’s fundraiser Books & Cooks – A Literary Feast, is just weeks away. On May 23rd from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Library, restaurants, authors and many library supporters will join in this very unique event. I hope you will come in support of the Foundation.

Peter Kelly from Xaviars is the honorary restaurant chair and X2O leads the list of exceptional restaurants and beverage supplies which include:

Arrosto; Bistro Z; Caffe Azzurri; Captain Lawrence Brewing Company; Coffee Labs Roasters; The Cookery, 42 the Restaurant; Good-Life Gourmet; The Great American BBQ Company; Lighthouse Ice Cream Kompanies; Morton's, The Steakhouse; Mughal Palace; Prospero Winery; Ruth’s Chris Steak House; SB&G Grill; and The SoNo Baking Company & Cafe.

The event will feature local authors who will be on hand to sign and discuss their books. They will be led by Honorary Author Chair Ben Cheever. He will be joined by Ira Berkowitz; Kate Buford; David Hajdu; Caitlin Kelly; Jenny Rosenstrach; and author/illustrator Eric Velasquez.

Join me in support of this event which will help provide enhancements for the library. Tickets are now on sale for $125.00 per person and may be purchased through the Greenburgh Public Library Foundation on their website at www.greenburghlibraryfoundation.org or by calling 914-747-0519. TheFoundation is getting ready to make a purchase of major technology for the multipurpose room so that it can be fully utilized for the many purposes that will benefit the community at large

Yesterday’s fundraiser for the victims of the Japan earthquake raised about $1,000, according to Greenburgh Town Clerk Judith Beville –who organized the concert in the lobby of Town Hall. The funds will go to the Japan Society.