February 3, 2017 by The Eastchester Review

Eastchester REVIEW THE

February 3, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 5 | www.eastchesterreview.com

cleared for takeoff

In 1949, a bottle of champagne prepared the Convair 240 for takeoff, signifying the opening of Westchester County Airport. Four years of construction led up to this moment where the airport was opened to commercial airlines. Westchester resident Kent Patterson will soon have a book of photographs published, detailing the airport’s history. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Arcadia Publishing

Tuckahoe Dems nominate full slate for village board election By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer The Tuckahoe Democratic Committee has nominated three candidates to challenge for three seats on the village Board of Trustees that are currently held by Republicans. Anthony Fiore will run for mayor, while Nicholas Naber and Kathryn Thompson will both seek trustee seats. Fiore, 56, ran unsuccessfully for trustee in each of the last two years; but this year, he will challenge Mayor Steve Ecklond, a Republican who has not been contested in his last three campaigns. Fiore is a lifelong Tuckahoe resident, a volunteer firefighter for the Eastchester Fire

District, and a former member of Tuckahoe’s auxiliary police force. Ecklond is seeking re-election and will run alongside trustees Greg Luisi and Tom Giordano, both Republicans, who have been his running mates for each of the last three election cycles. Thompson, 35, has also received the Democratic nomination. She has lived in Tuckahoe for two years, and has worked for four years at the Wildlife Conservation Society and the New York City zoos and aquarium. She said she is an advocate for the environment, education, and human and women’s rights. Joining Fiore and Thompson on the Democratic ticket is Naber, a Tuckahoe resident of

four years who teaches seventhand eighth-grade history in the Yonkers public school district. Naber, 31, previously told the Review in announcing his candidacy for elected office that he was concerned with ensuring the village’s safety during the cleanup of a toxic property on Marbledale Road which has been approved by the New York state Department of Environmental Conservation. He also said that it was important to add more politically diverse voices on the village board, which is currently all-Republican. The board has not featured a Democrat in two years, since Stephen Quigley, a Democratic trustee, died in office in May 2015. During the Jan. 30 village

Republican Party nominating caucus, Ecklond, Giordano and Luisi received the party’s nominations to run for their fourth full terms in their current board roles. During the Eastchester Conservative Committee caucus on the same day, Conservatives chose to to cross-endorse all three Republicans. A fully contested election in the village—considered unusual in recent years—heated up even more this week when three Tuckahoe residents announced that they had created a new party called the Tuckahoe Independent Party in order to run outside of partisan parameters in the March election. That electoral DEMS continued on page 8

All-female independent slate to challenge GOP By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer Propelled by Tuckahoe’s handling of a cleanup and development project on Marbledale Road, a bipartisan all-female slate is running for village board hoping to take over majority control through a newly formed party line, the Review has learned. Melba Caliano, Sarah DeRise and Jessica Cioffoletti will run for mayor and trustees, respectively, on the Tuckahoe Independent line, a party created for the purpose of the upcoming village election. All three candidates said they were running on the same key concerns, emphasizing responsible and transparent government. “We want to lead Tuckahoe from the front and not from behind,” DeRise, a registered Democrat, told the Review, adding that she and her running mates would look to make proactive decisions geared to address the concerns of residents. Cioffoletti, a Tuckahoe native and registered Democrat, said she felt the village’s trust in its elected officials had been broken, and that she would work to restore that trust by listening to and responding to constituents’ concerns. The slate is also advocating for term limits of village elected officials and volunteer-appointed board and commission members. “If we’re not going to have opposition, maybe term limits is an approach to new ideas and fresh voices,” Caliano, a registered Republican, said, pointing to Mayor Steve Ecklond, a Republican, who has not been op-

posed in his previous three election campaigns. Members of the village board are elected to serve two-year terms. Caliano, who has served on the village Planning Board since 2005, said that land use boards could also benefit from fresh ideas and new membership that could come as a result of term limits. Caliano, 63, also ran for village board in 2014 as a Republican, but lost that race. The Independent candidates also highlighted issues of fiscal management and sensible development, saying that while they were not against development in Tuckahoe, they hope to ensure that developments are thoroughly considered in relation to the benefits of the village. DeRise, 35, is a postpartum doula and lactation specialist who has worked as an event planner in Manhattan and London. She is also a member of several organizations, including the Waverly School PTA, in which she is the co-president. DeRise said her experience has required her to manage large budgets, negotiate expenses, and integrate new technology and social media platforms into the operations of organizations. Cioffoletti, 40, has also been CHALLENGE continued on page 10