See more photos in Photo Gallery
March 5, 2010
by Gennaro Faiella, as told to Christine Yeres

Editor’s note: In order to give the community a complete picture of this past weekend’s storm, its impact on New Castle and the official responses to it, NewCastleNOW.org asked Town Administrator Gennaro Faiella to share his “storm story” with our readers.

Morning Commute Cautions : Roads Still Hazardous - Drive With Care

More photos inside and in Photo Gallery
UPDATE Monday, March 1, 2010

CERT members returned the last of the shelter visitors to their homes on Sunday evening, and this morning at 1:30 a.m. New Castle police declared the last obstructed roadway—Whippoorwill Road between Whippoorwill Lake Road and Berol Close—reopened, though with some debris remaining.

• Through Nixle.com, the New Castle Police department announced on Sunday that schools will be closed today, Monday, March 1, 2010:

• Chappaqua Schools Will be Closed on Monday, March 1, 2010.

“Chappaqua School District in concurrence with Town of New Castle officials have closed schools on Monday, March 1, 2010.  Many town roads remain hazardous with electric lines down and low hanging tree branches.  School Officials and Town Officials agreed that the safety of the children riding on School Buses is the paramount concern.”

Chappaqua Board of Education President Jeffrey Mester explained, “The district, in conjunction with the town, believes that—with so many residents still without power, with many secondary roads being only one lane passable, with Con Ed, Cablevision and Verizon still needing to repair wires before town crews can clean up, with those wires posing a hazard to the buses, with snow days available—it is in the best interest of the children and community to keep schools closed for Monday.  Classes will resume on Tuesday.” 

• David Fleishman got the job. He’s Newton’s choice for school superintendent.  See local Newton news coverage HERE.

February 19, 2010
by Christine Yeres

A live receptionist who is a certified notary public will continue to answer the main number for New Castle Town Hall, 238-4771, from 8:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. But from 1:00 p.m. until town hall closes at 4:30 p.m., a recorded message directs callers to the various departments there. The robo-system – a cost-cutting measure by the town board – has been in place for close to a month.

Drivers will be issued summons for no-seat belt
November 13, 2009
by Christine Yeres

In order to encourage all motorists to buckle up, the New Castle Police Department will participate in the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee’s “Click it or Ticket” campaign from November 16 through November 29. 

March 5, 2010
by Susie Pender

The fourth installment of StoryWalk, presented by the New Castle Recreation and Parks in partnership with the Chappaqua Library, begins today in downtown Chappaqua. The walk features the popular children’s book, “Granite,” a story about an Alaska sled dog written by Susan Butcher, a four-time winner of the 1000-mile Iditarod dog sled race, and her husband, David Monson, and illustrated by Sarah Douglas.

March 5, 2010
by Chappaqua Fire Department Chief Russell Maitland 

The Chappaqua Fire Department responded to 51 storm-related emergency calls beginning Thursday, February 25, at 6:00 p.m. until Monday, March 1, at 6:00 p.m. These calls ran the gamut from wires down, trees down, trees and wires down together, trees on houses with structural damage, carbon monoxide incidents, a natural gas leak, auto accidents, smoke conditions and automatic fire alarms caused by power failures.

Various residents report robo-calls from Con Ed saying “Saturday night,” “Sunday night,” “Tuesday 11 p.m”

More photos inside and in Photo Gallery
Saturday, February 27, 2010 UPDATED: 12:00 NOON

The Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, have set up the Senior Center: “We have electrical power, heat, food, sleeping cots, a comfortable area to watch TV and friendly people to share time with,” said CERT member Deborah Weiss.  “We know many, many are still without power.  We are here for them.”  Call the Center at 238-8888 or New Castle police at 238-4422, if you need help relocating to the Center.

That 4500 households is about three-quarters of the 6,000 homes in New Castle.

LIST OF STREET CLOSURES AS OF 10:30 a.m. TODAY IN “READ MORE”...

Last night’s advisory from New Castle Police Department:

• Emergency shelter is available at the Community Center, 10 Senter Street. If you want to go to the shelter and need transportation call the New Castle Police at 238-2244.

Sign up now for Nixle.com alerts from police and town government.

More photos by John Ehrlich inside and in Photo Gallery
February 26, 2010


Staying home this Winter, think “Gedney Park” for an hour or an afternoon.  It’s so much than just baseball in the spring for the kids.  These 126 acres purchased in 1964 have five different trails totaling 3.3 miles. One of the only parks in the area with leash-free sections, it attracts hundreds of dogs every day.  We visited last week after the snow and found a winter wonderland.  The most recent storm has brought an even more dramatic winterscape.  Enjoy this Millwood treasure.

February 26, 2010
by Jill Gold

The Irish have considered the shamrock a good-luck symbol since the earliest times. Why not double the luck this year?  Purchase a beautiful glittering shamrock at the Quaker Hill Tavern in Chappaqua from now until St. Paddy’s day, March 17, and it will not only bestow luck on the you, but it will raise funds for Friends of Karen, a children’s charity that provides support for families with critically ill children, primarily with cancer. 

February 26, 2010
by Christine Yeres

On Friday, February 19, at 3:10 p.m. New Castle police officers arrested a 46-year-old Chappaqua resident for prostitution, a misdemeanor. 

February 19, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Tuesday’s storm was deceptive.  While it looked blizzardy, previous salting plus favorable ground temperatures managed to help keep snow dissolving on roadways for much of the day. By 6:00 p.m. though, temperatures dropped, and New Castle police warned residents through http://local.nixle.com/register/” title=“Nixle.com”>Nixle.com by email and blackberry of perilous black ice, advising them to proceed with extreme caution.  To register for Nixle, click http://local.nixle.com/register/” title=“HERE”>HERE.  See “Read more” for mid-winter status report on New Castle’s salt stores and overtime costs.

County must resubmit its plan by March 12, 2010
February 19, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Municipal officials across Westchester are beginning to wonder whether the federal monitor appointed to oversee the fair and affordable housing settlement is as flexible as he was portrayed by the legislators who approved the affordable housing settlement over the summer.  The terms of the settlement require 31 of the county’s municipalities to build 750 units of affordable housing and to “affirmatively further fair housing” in marketing them. 

February 19, 2010
by Christine Yeres

On February 10, 2010 Federal Monitor James E. Johnson of Debevoise & Plimpton LLC sent the county his critique of its Implementation Plan, or IP, for the fair and affordable housing settlement county legislators agreed to last summer.  That same day the Anti-Discrimination Center— or ADC, the entity that brought the original suit against the county—released a document highly critical of the county’s IP, entitled “Prescription for Failure: A Preliminary Report on Westchester’s Attempt to Ignore and Evade the Requirements of the Historic Desegregation Order Entered in U.S. ex rel. Anti-Discrimination Center v. Westchester County, a/k/a Westchester’s ‘Implementation Plan.’”

Visit slide show in Photo Gallery
February 12, 2010
by Christine Yeres

Everyone believed earlier than usual that the big snow predicted for overnight Tuesday-Wednesday would actually materialize.  Schools announced Tuesday afternoon that Wednesday would be a snow day, at Tuesday night’s town board meeting Barbara Gerrard told residents to keep their business with town hall till Thursday.  Wednesday it would be closed.  Roadways had been well covered by brine spray for the storm that didn’t materialize the weekend before. 

Great Kid, Teen and Senior Activities by the Rec Dept and Library

February 12, 2010
by Matt Nordt

Looking for something to do during February Break?  The New Castle Recreation Department has plenty to offer.  See “Read more:”

UPDATE: 4:00 p.m Wednesday, February 10, 2010

For a live eye on downtown from the webcam positioned in Nicolaysen’s second floor window, click HERE or in upper right corner of our front page.

Nixle Alert: With the snowfall intensity increasing roadways continue to be snow covered and hazardous. New Castle Police Department advises against any unnecessary travel.  To sign up for Nixle.com, a site through which New Castle PD issues warnings and alerts directly to residents’ email boxes, click HERE.

New Castle Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard has declared a Snow Emergency for the Town which will remain in effect until Thursday February 11 at 1:00 p.m. During the Snow Emergency any vehicle parked or left unattended on any New Castle roadway is subject to being towed at the owners expense.

February 5, 2010

“Life Interpretations,” an exhibition of paintings by Brazilian artist Breno Castagno, opens today, Friday, February 5, with a reception from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Martin Stankiewicz Gallery, The Village Yard, 142 King Street. The community is invited to attend.

February 5, 2010
by Elise Kessler Mottel

Editor’s note: In response to written questions from NewCastleNOW.org, Elise Mottel, deputy town supervisor and chair of the Downtown Steering Committee, submitted the following update on plans for downtown Chappaqua.

There are three main projects that the Downtown Steering Committee (DSC) would like to implement first.

January 29, 2010
by Christine Yeres

A team familiar to New Castle residents spoke in White Plains on January 14 to the Commercial and Investment Division of the Westchester-Putman Association of Realtors about the future of the Reader’s Digest site, now called Chappaqua Crossing.