May 16, 2011
Letter from David Bedell, EAC Chair to Mayor and Trustees --
The Douglas Park Volunteer Day was an unqualified success. It was
very well attended -- perhaps over 100 people over the course of the
day -- and accomplished a lot of good work. In attendance were the
Cub Scout Pack 22, many Webber Park families, families from other
neighborhoods in Sleepy Hollow (and even some from outside the
Village) plus Trustees Carr and Wompa, Hettie from playground design
firm Follow the Child, and other individuals. A chronological
summary of the things that happened:
(1) The Cub Scouts got a tour of the park from EAC Chair Bedell
demonstrating the different layers of a forest and how invasive
species have destroyed the forest in some places. On the tour the
scouts collected garbage.
(2) Back at the playground area, the scouts and other volunteers
built the playground's labyrinth out of stones.
(3) The Cub Scouts used a rope and muscle power to move the climbing
tree trunk to its proper position.
(4) Volunteers planted 10 grey birch trees, 10 witch hazel shrubs,
and 10 red osier dogwood shrubs around the playground. The plants
were provided free to the Village by the DEC's Trees for Tribs
program. Thanks to Margers and Baiba Pinnis for allowing us to use
their house's water supply to water the plants.
(5) The Cub Scouts and Webber Park resident Danielle (sorry -- I'm
blanking on her last name) transplanted three sugar maple trees from
the line along the main path to the playground area.
(6) Webber Park resident Sonya Munroe removed an infestation of
invasive Japanese Knotweed (as well as Garlic Mustard) from the
entrance of the park. Good to have this gone before it gets a hold.
(7) Sleepy Hollow resident Jill Liflander presented a puppet show
about nature to the children.
Thanks in particular should go to Rachel Hansen, Donna Gates, Hettie
Villanova, Anthony Giaccio, and Barbara Carr for organizing the event.
Rachel and Donna solicited donations (Rachel perhaps you can mail the
company's names so the Board and Mayor know about their help) and
arranged for tables, food, etc. The event wouldn't have happened
without them. The Cub Scouts, under troop leader Chris Moyer, were
amazing. I didn't think kids could work that hard, that long, with
such enthusiasm.
A group of residents and Trustee Carr organizing the ongoing watering
of the new plants and at some point this summer we should hold another
event focused on invasive plants.
Thank you again to all the participants. The playground is looking
great and so many people had a good time, I'm sure the event will
become a neighborhood tradition.
Webber Park Association Meeting
October 4, 2010 Monday
Sleepy Hollow Village Hall
Distributed by Diane Fiorella
Vandalism and Drug Activity in Douglas Park:
A combination of tactics will be implemented to deter the vandalism, drug and other antisocial activity that’s been taking place in Douglas Park. These measures will call for the combined efforts of the residents of Webber Park, the SHPD and the Village of Sleepy Hollow.
1. Sign Placement: The Village of SH to post visible signs e.g. “This property is under surveillance”, “Illicit drugs, destruction of public property, underage alcohol consumption are prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted” and “If you observe illegal activity, call 631-0800” (FYI, 914-631-0800 is the non-emergency number for the SH police).
2. Possible Camera placement: We may look into having a trail-camera or other surveillance device mounted discreetly at the gazebos to try to capture recorded images of perpetrators of criminal behavior.
3. Neighborhood Vigilance: Institution of Neighborhood Watch program. If you see something, say something. Anyone noticing any suspicious behavior in the park[1]should call the police immediately and report it. Therefore, anyone visiting the park should make a point of bringing along a cell phone so that you will be able to call police to report any such occurrences. (This is a prudent measure in any case when going into a woodland).
4. Neighborhood Use: Webber Park residents are encouraged to make frequent and regular use of the park. The more “eyes” unwelcome visitors find when they come to the park intending to engage in bad and/or criminal behavior, and the more often they find them, the more likely they are to find another hangout for their activities and leave our park alone.
5. Removal of the Gazebos. It is the majority opinion that the gazebos add nothing positive to the park; that they only invite would-be wrong-doers attracted by the sheltering seclusion they offer. Therefore, it has been requested by some that the gazebos be removed. Alternatively, if one gazebo could be restored to an aesthetically satisfactory condition with little expense (painting, etc.), it might be worthwhile to keep it and relocate it to a conspicuous area of the park where it will blend attractively into the landscape, but not offer the seclusion of its former location. Whichever option is less expensive is what will be done. This matter will be brought up to the Board of Trustees at next Tuesday evening’s public meeting.
6. Reducing Access: The pedestrian entrance gate will be locked from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
7. Periodic Police Patrols: The Webber Park Neighborhood will expect the SHPD to make regular periodic sweeps through Douglas Park to and including both gazebos at times when the perpetrators in question have been known to descend on our park and carry out their misdeeds. While the PD has limited resources in the way of available manpower during the crucial hours surrounding the let-out of school, there will have to be a meeting of the minds on the issue of reasonable police attention to the problem in our own neighborhood (Perhaps the PD could utilize additional auxiliary personnel in ways that would free one police patrol officer to attend to our park at those times). It should be noted that, although it was announced at the Trustees meeting on 9/28 that Police Chief John Kapica would be attending the meeting on Monday night to address the problem of vandalism and drug activity in Webber Park, and although Police Chief John Kapica verified that he would be attending the meeting, he was not present at Monday’s meeting. The Lieutenant that was found and summoned to the meeting in Chief Kapica’s absence did not, in the estimation of some in attendance, seem to be aware that a vandalism and drug activity problem at Douglas Park existed. Further, some of us felt that he seemed to focus primarily on citizen action without also offering a serious commitment from the PD that they would work out some viable strategy for effectively-timed action on their part. It should also be noted that, during this discussion at the meeting, a matter of possible questionable conduct on the part of some employees of the DPW taking place in Douglas Park was raised by a member of the neighborhood -- with no response by either the police lieutenant or by the Trustees in attendance. Do we know what Village service entities are actually doing and not doing while they’re being paid Village dollars to get work done? It cannot be overstressed that the Webber Park community needs the support of its residents in order to be effective in any efforts to protect our neighborhood and ensure that our interests as taxpayers are being met. That means being present[2]to discuss issues such as these when a neighborhood meeting is scheduled for the purpose of doing so.
Establishing a Webber Park Neighborhood Association: In the absence of an official Webber Park Neighborhood Association, there is presently a tiny, unofficial group consisting of, at any given time, 3 to 6 neighbors who have spontaneously come together to get needed things done in Webber Park. This small, unorganized few have been working hard to get the ball rolling on a number of neighborhood issues that need addressing. It is this tiny group and its persistence that is responsible for getting a desperately needed new playground, at long last, for Douglas Park. This small group is working to re-establish a Webber Park Neighborhood Association to organize neighborhood events, such as picnics, children’s outings, neighborhood tag sales, holiday parties, etc., to create awareness of what is happening in our neighborhood – the vandalism and drug problem, for instance -- and to generally maintain the strength and position of our neighborhood in the Village of Sleepy Hollow. We need to be organized as an official Webber Park Neighborhood Association in order to empower our community with the influence it needs to present issues on behalf of our neighborhood to Village authorities when the need arises and have them settled successfully. With that in mind, if anyone is interested in either being on the WPNA organizational board or chairing the WPNA, please let your interest be made known to any of the following: visit the Volunteer Page to submit your information.
Letter from David Bedell, EAC Chair to Mayor and Trustees --
The Douglas Park Volunteer Day was an unqualified success. It was
very well attended -- perhaps over 100 people over the course of the
day -- and accomplished a lot of good work. In attendance were the
Cub Scout Pack 22, many Webber Park families, families from other
neighborhoods in Sleepy Hollow (and even some from outside the
Village) plus Trustees Carr and Wompa, Hettie from playground design
firm Follow the Child, and other individuals. A chronological
summary of the things that happened:
(1) The Cub Scouts got a tour of the park from EAC Chair Bedell
demonstrating the different layers of a forest and how invasive
species have destroyed the forest in some places. On the tour the
scouts collected garbage.
(2) Back at the playground area, the scouts and other volunteers
built the playground's labyrinth out of stones.
(3) The Cub Scouts used a rope and muscle power to move the climbing
tree trunk to its proper position.
(4) Volunteers planted 10 grey birch trees, 10 witch hazel shrubs,
and 10 red osier dogwood shrubs around the playground. The plants
were provided free to the Village by the DEC's Trees for Tribs
program. Thanks to Margers and Baiba Pinnis for allowing us to use
their house's water supply to water the plants.
(5) The Cub Scouts and Webber Park resident Danielle (sorry -- I'm
blanking on her last name) transplanted three sugar maple trees from
the line along the main path to the playground area.
(6) Webber Park resident Sonya Munroe removed an infestation of
invasive Japanese Knotweed (as well as Garlic Mustard) from the
entrance of the park. Good to have this gone before it gets a hold.
(7) Sleepy Hollow resident Jill Liflander presented a puppet show
about nature to the children.
Thanks in particular should go to Rachel Hansen, Donna Gates, Hettie
Villanova, Anthony Giaccio, and Barbara Carr for organizing the event.
Rachel and Donna solicited donations (Rachel perhaps you can mail the
company's names so the Board and Mayor know about their help) and
arranged for tables, food, etc. The event wouldn't have happened
without them. The Cub Scouts, under troop leader Chris Moyer, were
amazing. I didn't think kids could work that hard, that long, with
such enthusiasm.
A group of residents and Trustee Carr organizing the ongoing watering
of the new plants and at some point this summer we should hold another
event focused on invasive plants.
Thank you again to all the participants. The playground is looking
great and so many people had a good time, I'm sure the event will
become a neighborhood tradition.
Webber Park Association Meeting
October 4, 2010 Monday
Sleepy Hollow Village Hall
Distributed by Diane Fiorella
Vandalism and Drug Activity in Douglas Park:
A combination of tactics will be implemented to deter the vandalism, drug and other antisocial activity that’s been taking place in Douglas Park. These measures will call for the combined efforts of the residents of Webber Park, the SHPD and the Village of Sleepy Hollow.
1. Sign Placement: The Village of SH to post visible signs e.g. “This property is under surveillance”, “Illicit drugs, destruction of public property, underage alcohol consumption are prohibited. Violators will be prosecuted” and “If you observe illegal activity, call 631-0800” (FYI, 914-631-0800 is the non-emergency number for the SH police).
2. Possible Camera placement: We may look into having a trail-camera or other surveillance device mounted discreetly at the gazebos to try to capture recorded images of perpetrators of criminal behavior.
3. Neighborhood Vigilance: Institution of Neighborhood Watch program. If you see something, say something. Anyone noticing any suspicious behavior in the park[1]should call the police immediately and report it. Therefore, anyone visiting the park should make a point of bringing along a cell phone so that you will be able to call police to report any such occurrences. (This is a prudent measure in any case when going into a woodland).
4. Neighborhood Use: Webber Park residents are encouraged to make frequent and regular use of the park. The more “eyes” unwelcome visitors find when they come to the park intending to engage in bad and/or criminal behavior, and the more often they find them, the more likely they are to find another hangout for their activities and leave our park alone.
5. Removal of the Gazebos. It is the majority opinion that the gazebos add nothing positive to the park; that they only invite would-be wrong-doers attracted by the sheltering seclusion they offer. Therefore, it has been requested by some that the gazebos be removed. Alternatively, if one gazebo could be restored to an aesthetically satisfactory condition with little expense (painting, etc.), it might be worthwhile to keep it and relocate it to a conspicuous area of the park where it will blend attractively into the landscape, but not offer the seclusion of its former location. Whichever option is less expensive is what will be done. This matter will be brought up to the Board of Trustees at next Tuesday evening’s public meeting.
6. Reducing Access: The pedestrian entrance gate will be locked from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m.
7. Periodic Police Patrols: The Webber Park Neighborhood will expect the SHPD to make regular periodic sweeps through Douglas Park to and including both gazebos at times when the perpetrators in question have been known to descend on our park and carry out their misdeeds. While the PD has limited resources in the way of available manpower during the crucial hours surrounding the let-out of school, there will have to be a meeting of the minds on the issue of reasonable police attention to the problem in our own neighborhood (Perhaps the PD could utilize additional auxiliary personnel in ways that would free one police patrol officer to attend to our park at those times). It should be noted that, although it was announced at the Trustees meeting on 9/28 that Police Chief John Kapica would be attending the meeting on Monday night to address the problem of vandalism and drug activity in Webber Park, and although Police Chief John Kapica verified that he would be attending the meeting, he was not present at Monday’s meeting. The Lieutenant that was found and summoned to the meeting in Chief Kapica’s absence did not, in the estimation of some in attendance, seem to be aware that a vandalism and drug activity problem at Douglas Park existed. Further, some of us felt that he seemed to focus primarily on citizen action without also offering a serious commitment from the PD that they would work out some viable strategy for effectively-timed action on their part. It should also be noted that, during this discussion at the meeting, a matter of possible questionable conduct on the part of some employees of the DPW taking place in Douglas Park was raised by a member of the neighborhood -- with no response by either the police lieutenant or by the Trustees in attendance. Do we know what Village service entities are actually doing and not doing while they’re being paid Village dollars to get work done? It cannot be overstressed that the Webber Park community needs the support of its residents in order to be effective in any efforts to protect our neighborhood and ensure that our interests as taxpayers are being met. That means being present[2]to discuss issues such as these when a neighborhood meeting is scheduled for the purpose of doing so.
Establishing a Webber Park Neighborhood Association: In the absence of an official Webber Park Neighborhood Association, there is presently a tiny, unofficial group consisting of, at any given time, 3 to 6 neighbors who have spontaneously come together to get needed things done in Webber Park. This small, unorganized few have been working hard to get the ball rolling on a number of neighborhood issues that need addressing. It is this tiny group and its persistence that is responsible for getting a desperately needed new playground, at long last, for Douglas Park. This small group is working to re-establish a Webber Park Neighborhood Association to organize neighborhood events, such as picnics, children’s outings, neighborhood tag sales, holiday parties, etc., to create awareness of what is happening in our neighborhood – the vandalism and drug problem, for instance -- and to generally maintain the strength and position of our neighborhood in the Village of Sleepy Hollow. We need to be organized as an official Webber Park Neighborhood Association in order to empower our community with the influence it needs to present issues on behalf of our neighborhood to Village authorities when the need arises and have them settled successfully. With that in mind, if anyone is interested in either being on the WPNA organizational board or chairing the WPNA, please let your interest be made known to any of the following: visit the Volunteer Page to submit your information.