November 4, 2016

Harrison REVIEW THE

November 4, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 45 | www.harrisonreview.com

Council interviews 3 for police chief position

By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer

FACE-OFF IN THE FINAL STRETCH of an already contentious campaign for the 37th District’s state Senate seat, Sen. George Latimer and Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian spared some time to sit down separately with the Review staff for a candid Q&A session. For those interviews, please see page 6.

Photos/Andrew Dapolite

New Halstead Avenue gun store draws residents’ attention

By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer A new gun store planning to open on Halstead Avenue is generating concern among Harrison residents.

As of press time, more than 3,000 residents of the town/village of Harrison and nearby communities have signed an online petition on Change.org protesting the location of L&L Sports, at 261 Halstead Ave., a gun store which is scheduled to open within the next few weeks.

The shop is located less than 1,000 feet from Parsons Memorial Elementary School and is also near St. Gregory the Great’s Church.

The petition alleges that the location of the shop undermines

the Gun-Free School Zones Act, a federal law which regulates the possession of guns on school grounds or within 1,000 feet of a school. However, gun stores are specifically exempt from that law.

The law requires that firearms are unloaded and placed in a locked container when traveling within a 1,000-foot perimeter of any school.

Petitioners have focused their attention on members of the Town Council, asking them to take additional efforts to prevent the store from opening, and asking them if they explored other options—including town ordinances which could have put tighter restrictions on the GunFree Schools Zone Act—before permitting the store. But Mayor

Ron Belmont, a Republican, said there is little the town can do to regulate what kind of store opens in any storefront. The council did not have to review the site because there was no change of use; the storefront was formerly used for retail purposes. And, as of press time, the store has received all its necessary permits from the town Building Department, according to town officials. “My primary concern as the supervisor is the safety and welfare of all residents,” Belmont said. “But I also have a responsibility to make sure everyone’s rights are upheld.”

Store owner Louis Zacchio, a retired Harrison paramedic and 17-year resident of the town, said opening the store is within his legal rights, adding that he

has followed all state and federal guidelines to protect his inventory from the possibility of theft.

The store’s website has tabs designated for handguns, rifles, shotguns, accessories, optics and training, although there are no items listed for sale.

“He meets the state and federal guidelines,” Belmont told the Review, “that’s where these things are regulated.”

The petitioners are also inquiring what kind of safeguards the town has or will put in place.

“We’re relying on customers coming from outside areas to know the federal law, [which says] that they may not traverse this area unless the guns are unloaded and put inside a locked GUN continued on page 7

The Harrison Town Council has interviewed at least three candidates to fill the police chief position with no plans to look outside the department, the Review has learned.

On Oct. 27, the council held a special Police Commissioners meeting and immediately went into executive session, during which it spent at least two and a half hours interviewing three active lieutenants in the Police Department.

According to a source, the candidates for the chief position include Lts. Douglas Buschel, Vito Castellano and Michael Olsey, who is currently serving as acting chief in place of the former police chief, Anthony Marraccini.

Marraccini resigned on Oct. 6 while under investigation on two fronts: a federal probe in connection with his contracting business, Costal Construction Development, and an internal town investigation related to his time sheets which resulted in his suspension on Sept. 15.

The Town Council, which also serves as the Board of Police Commissioners for the town, accepted Marraccini’s resignation with no public comment or explanation except to thank him for his 32 years of service.

Olsey confirmed to the Review that he and his colleagues were interviewed during the Police Commissioners’ executive session.

For Buschel, this marks the second time he has thrown his hat in the ring for police chief.

He was one of three candidates

who interviewed for the position in 2010 after then-Chief David Hall retired. Coincidentally, Buschel lost out on the promotion to then-Captain Anthony Marraccini, who served in that capacity for six years before resigning.

Town officials have not yet released a timeline of when they plan to make a decision on a new police chief. Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, would only tell the Review that the council was doing its due diligence to choose the right candidate in a timely fashion.

However, Belmont declined to comment on the interviews held on Oct. 27, and only said that the executive session was related to “personnel matters.”

Last month, the Review reported that Marraccini’s attorney, John D. Pappalardo, was considering legal action against the town for allegedly forcing the former chief to resign. Marraccini received an $185,000 salary plus a $12,000 yearly stipend for keeping vacant the police captain position from which he had been promoted. That position will likely stay vacant through at least the remainder of the fiscal year because it has not been budgeted for. Lieutenants in Harrison earn a salary of $135,563.

It is unclear if the Town Council would look to promote a new lieutenant if one of the current lieutenants were appointed to chief. Currently, the department employs 63 police officers.

Town Attorney Frank Allegretti and Pappalardo could not be reached for comment as of press time.

CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com

Follow us on Twitter @harrisonreview Like us on facebook.com/harrisonreview

2 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

Spillenger exhibit comes to Neuberger In 2014, noted curator and art historian Theodore E. Stebbins Jr. received a call from the son of artist Ray Spillenger, who had discovered hundreds of paintings and drawings in the late artist’s rent-controlled apartment on New York City’s Lower East Side. When Stebbins arrived, he found stack upon stack of the works, in no apparent order, and most in need of a good cleaning. Yet what he saw intrigued him. “I thought, he’s a very good painter; these paintings deserve to be seen,” Stebbins said.

After some research, Stebbins, curator of American Art, emeritus at the Harvard Art Museums, discovered that the artist had studied with Willem de Kooning and Joseph Albers at Black Mountain College in Asheville, North Carolina, and worked prolifically during the 1950s and ‘60s, experimenting masterfully with abstract expressionism. At the time, Spillenger attracted the attention of his peers, one of whom, Pat Passlof, also an abstract expressionist, later described him as “the most brilliant unknown painter

of his generation.”

Why, then, was Spillenger quickly forgotten? “The artist was a very private individual, not given to self-promotion and probably not very friendly, and his greatest body of work was produced when pop art was on the rise and the New York galleries were turning their attention away from abstract expressionism,” Stebbins explains. “But lack of notoriety makes him no less worthy of our attention.”

The Neuberger Museum of Art agrees. Through Dec. 23, the museum will display more than 40 paintings and drawings by the artist, dating from his Black Mountain College days to the late 1960s in “Ray Spillenger: Rediscovery of a Black Mountain Painter,” an exhibition which reveals his deep commitment to abstraction and passionate love of color. This is the first exhibition to examine the artist’s unseen body of work and to assess his contribution to the history of mid-20th century American art. The exhibition is organized by Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Cen-

ter where it was on view earlier this year, and curated by Stebbins. A full color catalogue accompanies the exhibition. Support is provided by the Friends of the Neuberger Museum of Art and the Purchase College Foundation.

When Spillenger died in 2013 at the age of 89, he was described as “the last of the ‘downtown painters”—the group of artists living and working in and around 10th Street in New York City, who, in the postwar years, developed the style later called “action painting” or abstract expressionism. Among the best known of these artists were Jackson Pollock, de Kooning, Hans Hofman, Josef Albers and Franz Kline, who Stebbins explains in his catalogue essay were the “first generation” abstractionists. Spillenger studied with and befriended many of them. In the 1950s, after a stint in Rome, Spillenger joined the de Kooning-founded artist’s association, The Club, on 10th Street.

“Abstract expressionism was strictly an American style invented on 10th Street, and Spil-

lenger was right there when it was being invented,” writes Stebbins. “Spillenger experimented and developed his own non-representational style that featured broad areas of color.”

He began making small paintings with broad sweeping brush strokes that blend, rather than dominate, and featuring colors that came from a narrow tonal range. “They evidence a keen interest in how colors work with one another—undoubtedly a legacy of his studies with Albers,” says Stebbins. Spillenger turned to larger canvases in the late 1950s, at a time he began to receive recognition. He also began to experiment with black and white drawings to work out his approach, as encouraged

by Kline. The drawings, first figurative, became more abstract, with the later ones almost calligraphic.

Then, seemingly abruptly, pop art took hold. It rejected the abstract expressionist aesthetic and reflected a popular culture sensibility. Spillenger eventually stopped painting, putting down his brushes for 15 years.

He resumed with new vigor in the 1990s. Works by Spillenger can be found in the collections

Ray Spillenger, “Untitled (Composition: Gray and White),” circa 1951-54, enamel with casein on canvas, 39 inches by 25 inches.

Photo courtesy Estate of Raymond Spillenger

of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, District of Columbia.

Stebbins sums up Spillenger’s legacy: “Ray Spillenger forged his own style from an array of diverse influences. He was on one hand an heir to the abstract expressionist tradition as established by Kline and de Kooning.

But he was equally a colorist, one who had learned from Albers and Hofmann. His paintings have the appearance of spon-

taneity, but in the end it is his control of difficult, muted colors that one remembers. Spillenger was a quiet man who made quiet works, often of modest size, where color and form interact seamlessly. His engaging, often moving paintings require another look, and they deserve a new audience.”

The Neuberger Museum is located at 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase. For more information, call 251-6100 or visit neuberger.org. (Submitted)

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 3

2 Bee-Line routes could see significant cuts in stops

By JAMES PERO Staff Writer A plan aiming to cut commute times by eliminating stops on two Bee-Line bus routes in Westchester County by 25 percent has drawn concern from legislators.

Legislators worry the cuts to the two routes in question, route 7—which runs east and west from Yonkers to New Rochelle—and route 13—running mostly north and south from Ossining to Port Chester— could have significant effects on residents in their districts.

“There’s a bigger issue here than cutting seven minutes on a two-hour line from beginning to end,” said county Legislator Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat, regarding the 7 line that runs through New Rochelle.

“The bigger question is about how we can effectively meet the needs of Westchester County residents.”

Parker, whose district encompasses parts of both lines under scrutiny, said part of her

concern falls on the cuts’ effects on senior citizens and young professionals; two of the main demographics taking the train.

“Millennials are far less interested in car ownership and more likely to look for public transport,” Parker said. “We need to be encouraging millennials to come into our communities.”

According to a 2013 comprehensive study from the county, one-third of Bee-Line riders are under the age of 30.

County Legislator Alfreda Williams, a Greenburgh Democrat, whose district would also be affected by the proposed cuts, said she acknowledges the goal of the plan, but worries about its implementations.

“The average trip takes about two hours…. It shouldn’t take someone two hours to get to work in the morning,” Williams said. “We need to make sure [the plan is] advantageous for the rider and consolidated in a way that’s easy to get to.”

Though the county administration recently held a public

hearing on Oct. 25, at the Westchester County Center to explain changes and accept feedback, the forum was poorly attended.

Parker worries that lack of notice about the informational session may have factored in.

“I only heard about the meeting from [a] press release,” she said. “Two days’ notice was not really adequate.”

The proposed alterations to the two bus routes come out of a study initiated by the county in 2015, and a comprehensive analysis of how to optimize the county’s bus system by the county Department of Transportation is projected to be complete by 2017.

According to Williams, the changes to the route stops likely wouldn’t go into effect until late spring 2017.

While the alterations would not require county Board of Legislators’ approval, the final product is still subject to change as residents will have additional opportunities to voice their concerns during public hearings re-

Potential cuts of up to 25 percent to two Bee-Line bus routes have some Westchester County legislators worried about adverse effects to their districts. Photo courtesy Westchestergov.com

garding the change. So far, two have been held and according to Williams another will take place at a date yet to be determined.

In the meantime, residents

can submit feedback about the changes online at surveymonkey.com/r/BeeLine7 or survey monkey.com/r/BeeLine13.

Daniel Branda, a spokesman

for County Executive Rob Astorino, could not be reached for comment as of press time.

CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

4 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

What’s going on...

Harrison Public Library

Visit harrisonpl.org for more information on programs and library hours.

West Harrison branch temporary closing The West Harrison branch, at 2 Madison St., will be temporarily closed for carpet replacement and other repairs. A reopening date will be announced when possible. All books must be returned to other Westchester Library System locations. Holds will be available for pickup at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building, at 2 Bruce Ave.

Storytime and Craft On Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. Come by for a family storytime and a fun craft for all ages.

sion to learn how to create animation and games in the MIT-developed Scratch programming language, a simple and colorful system aimed at computer users of all ages.

Space is limited; please sign up online, by phone at 835-0324, or in-person at the Reference Desk. Kids under age 10 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Patrons who wish to attend the intermediate or advanced classes must attend the previous sessions, including the intro class.

Parents and guardians can visit scratch.mit.edu/ scratch2download to help their kids download the Scratch 2 Offline Editor for Windows or Mac.

Sing Along Sundays with Chloe On Sundays from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. Come together as a community to celebrate early childhood through music and movement. In this class, participants will sing, shake and move. Children and parents are sure to love the captivating songs, live accordion music, and activities designed with specific cognitive milestones in mind. This class will feature a variety of child-sized instruments and props, and a wealth of both traditional and original songs to add to your singalong repertoire.

Get ready for a fun, creative and engaging experience. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

Create Your Own Games in Scratch

BOCES English and Citizenship Classes

On Saturday, Nov. 5 from 11 a.m. to noon at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. Bring your laptop computer for this children’s program ses-

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. For adults age 18 and up. Southern Westchester BOCES

is offering free English and citizenship classes at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. The class meets twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings through Nov. 29. Registration for each class is required online or by calling 835-0324.

Native American life in Harrison & Rye On Thursday, Nov. 10 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building.

Learn about Native American life in the Harrison and Rye areas. The discussion covers natural materials that were used in everyday life by the Eastern Woodland Native Americans around the time of European contact, including archaeological projectile points, tanning, medicine, food preservation and more. Presented by Taro Ietaka of the Rye Nature Center. Refreshments sponsored by the Friends of the Harrison Public Library. Registration is required online or by calling 835-0324.

Mommy and Me Yoga On Fridays from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. Bring your own mat for a relaxing yoga class with the littlest ones. For non-walkers and their caregivers.

Chloe’s Sign & Play On Fridays from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. Give your child the gift of language. This is a fun class where families can learn to communicate with their preverbal children using real signs from American Sign Language. Based on the award-winning Baby Signing Time series, this class will give parents a window into the hearts and minds of their little ones. Through fun songs, stories and games, parents and children will learn many useful signs for everyday communication. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

Yoga with Angela On Fridays from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building. For grades 2–5.

Bring your own mat and water to this lovely, mind and body relaxing yoga experience with Harrison resident Angela Brandt, a registered and certified yoga instructor. This is an opportunity to create self-esteem, physical coordination, breath relaxation and strength.

AARP Driver Safety Course On Saturday, Nov. 12 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Richard Halperin Memorial Building.

Drivers of all ages can take the AARP Smart Driver Course. By taking the course, you earn points which may help lower automobile insurance costs.

Payment to AARP: $20 for AARP members, $25 for non-members. Registration is required online or by calling 835-0324.

Harrison Recreation Please be aware that parents must have a current 2016 ID card to register children for all programs.

Please be prepared to show proof of residency with a current utility bill and driver’s license. A school report card or progress report is required for a child ID card. Visit harrison-ny.gov/recreation for more information on programs and the Recreation Department.

Youth Basketball League This is recreational basketball and all players are welcome. Open to boys and girls from third grade through high school. Games will be played on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Registration is ongoing with a deadline of Thursday, Nov. 10.

All applications received after that date will be put on a wait list and there will be a $15 late fee applied. Fee: $65 made payable to Town/Village of Harrison.

The Feeley Fund Make the Difference The Eugene J. Feeley Harrison High School Student Aid Fund Inc. has awarded grants to four Harrison High School 2016 graduates. The Faculty Selection Committee chooses students who are accepted at accredited colleges and are financially eligible.

Lola Geiger, executive director of the Feeley Fund who was ably assisted by Mary Riguzzi, thanks all Harrison residents, parents and faculty for providing the financial assistance for these worthy young people.

Contributions may be sent to The Feeley Fund, Harrison High School, 255 Union Ave., Harrison, NY 10528.

The Class of 2017 may obtain information about the Feeley Fund from the Guidance Department of the Harrison High School.

Manhattanville College Fall Open House On Thursday, Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Reid Castle, located at 2900 Purchase St. in Purchase.

Manhattanville College School of Business’ Fall Open House provides a great opportunity to learn about all its graduate, adult undergraduate, dual bachelor’s/master’s and professional program options. Meet with faculty, staff and hear firsthand from the student panel. All programs will be represented. Bring family and colleagues for an inspirational evening of information. Give your career a boost this year. All attendees will receive an application fee waiver valued at $75.

To RSVP or for more information, visit mville. edu/business.

Election Day Casting your vote Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Apply for absentee ballot in person by Monday, Nov. 7 at the county Board of Elections, BOE, located at 25 Quarropas St. in White Plains. Phone number: 995-5700.

Apply for absentee ballot by mail, postmarked

by Tuesday, Nov. 1 at the BOE. Deliver ballot in person by Tuesday, Nov. 8 at the BOE. Deliver ballot by mail, postmarked by Monday, Nov. 7 and received by Saturday, Nov. 12 by the BOE. Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Thursday at noon. Though space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send all items to news@hometwn.com.

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 5

NHL’s Rangers to host charitable race at Playland The New York Rangers will host its first RangersTown 5K Run at Rye Playland and Rye Town Park to support two health care-based charity organizations.

On Saturday, Nov. 19, the Rangers will host the event in

conjunction with its marketing partners, the Northwell Health Foundation and the Garden of Dreams Foundation, a nonprofit organization that was established in 2006 that works with the MSG Network and the Mad-

ison Square Garden Company, to raise money for charitable programs.

The race was approved by the Rye Town Park Commission on Sept. 20 and the Rye City Council on Oct. 5.

“This event is great for our community,” said Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman, a Democrat. “It further solidifies our town and [Westchester] county ties with the Rangers, and it’s another indication of the wonderful uses that can be accommodated by Rye Town Park.”

The 5K race will begin in the parking lot at Playland and will extend along the boardwalk into Rye Town Park along the beach path to Dearborn Avenue. The

route follows a 3.1-mile course with varying terrain throughout the park, and will finish in the northwestern section of the amusement park’s parking lot.

According to Ryan Watson, the vice president of communications at the Madison Square Garden Company, five former Rangers will be participating in the 5K race, including Adam Graves, Stephane Matteau, Ron Duguay, Rod Gilbert and Ron Greschner.

Registration for the event is

limited to 1,200 people. Online registration ends on Wednesday, Nov. 16, and costs $50; kids ages 8 to 12 can run for free. On the day of the event, registrants will receive a RangersTown 5K t-shirt and a Rangers-branded drawstring bag for participating in the race.

Setup is expected to begin at 6 a.m. in the Playland parking lot, and the race will begin at 10 a.m.

The race is estimated to conclude at 1 p.m., as of press time.

-Reporting by Franco Fino

P U B LI S H ES

Harrison REVIEW REVIEW Mamaroneck THE

Eastchester CityREVIEW NewRochelle REVIEW THE

On Saturday, Nov. 19, the New York Rangers will help support the Garden of Dreams and Northwell Health charity foundations by hosting its first RangersTown 5K Run at Rye Town Park and Playland. File photo

THE

INSIDE

THE

INSIDE WESTCHESTER COUNTY

www.hometwn.com | 170 Hamilton Ave., Suite 203, White Plains N.Y. 10601 | (914) 653-1000

6 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

2016

Harrison REVIEW

THE

170 Hamilton Ave., Suite 203 White Plains, N.Y. 10601 Tel: (914) 653-1000 Fax: (914) 653-5000

State Senate 37th District candidates

Publisher | Howard Sturman ext. 21, publisher@hometwn.com Christian Falcone Associate Publisher | Editor-in-Chief ext. 19, chris@hometwn.com Executive Vice President | Ira Ellenthal ext. 31, irathal@hometwn.com Sports Editor | Mike Smith ext. 22, sports@hometwn.com Assistant Editor | Sibylla Chipaziwa ext. 25, sibylla@hometwn.com Reporter | Corey Stockton ext. 16, corey@hometwn.com Reporter | Franco Fino ext. 18, franco@hometwn.com Graphic Designer | Arthur Gedin Graphic Designer | Jim Grasso Advertising | Lindsay Sturman ext. 14, lsturman@hometwn.com Advertising Coordinator | Sibylla Chipaziwa ext. 27, ads@hometwn.com Staff Writer James Pero Staff Photographers Bobby Begun, Andrew Dapolite

Photo/Andrew Dapolite

Rye City Councilwoman Julie Killian AGE: 56 STATUS: Challenger RESIDENCE: City of Rye POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Registered Republican ENDORSEMENTS: Republican, Independence, Conservative and Reform lines, and The New York Post NAME ONE THING THE AVERAGE VOTER DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I’m a Red Sox fan, and I actually run a Red Sox fan club in New York that my father started almost 50 years ago.

Columnists Ron Belmont, Lenore Skenazy Letters

The community’s opinion matters.

If you have a view to express, write a letter to the editor by email to chris@hometwn.com. Please include a phone number and name for verification purposes.

Community Events

If you have an event you would like to share with the community, send it to news@hometwn.com.

Delivery

For home delivery or to subsribe, call (914) 653-1000 x27.

Classifieds & Legals

To post your notices or listings, call (914) 653-1000 x27.

Postmaster

Send address changes to: The Harrison Review c/o HomeTown Media Group, 170 Hamilton Ave., Suite 203 White Plains, N.Y. 10601

Visit us online www.harrisonreview.com Follow us on Twitter, @harrisonview Like us on Facebook, facebook.com/harrisonreview The Harrison Review (permit #106661) is published by Home Town Media Group weekly for an annual subscription of $32.

Application to mail at the peridcals postage rate is approved at Port Chester, N.Y., 10573.

Periodicals postage paid at Port Chester and additional mailing offices.

Photo/Andrew Dapolite

State Sen. George Latimer AGE: 62 STATUS: Incumbent RESIDENCE: City of Rye POLITICAL AFFILIATION: Registered Democrat ENDORSEMENTS: Democratic, Working Families and Woman’s Equality lines, and The Journal News NAME ONE THING THE AVERAGE VOTER DOESN’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I’m an absolutely rabid sports fan. People often think I only want to talk about politics, but often it’s the last thing I want to talk about. I’d much rather talk about sports.

Q. If elected to the New York state Senate, what are the top three priorities of your first term?

A. I would say getting a vote on term limits. It’s not something that’s going to happen right away, but getting a vote for term limits on the floor is a big thing. Secondly, changing the regional cost index for Westchester which is now artificially low. Third is getting a statewide digital campaign about the dangers of drugs, gearing it towards our kids for their phones and their computers.

uating teachers, then all of a sudden the state came down and said, “No, you have to do this different thing.”

Something like that we should decide on a local level what works for us. The problem is there are some districts where they don’t have a good system and they’re not putting one in, does the state push them more in that direction? Maybe so.

I’m not an advocate of getting rid of all testing because you need a general idea of where the kids are, but I believe some of that testing should be part of a teacher evaluation.

Q. The implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards has been met with widespread criticism as a measure implemented in schools statewide; you have been a critic of Common Core which places more of an emphasis on standardized testing. If it were your decision solely, what would you do differently in managing the education system in New York?

A. The state needs to provide a framework for the schools, but I believe there should be much more local control at the school level. In Rye, we had a good system for eval-

Q. Ms. Killian, you’ve expressed support for the New York state cap on property taxes, a measure known as the tax cap; but as a local elected official on the Rye City Council, how can you support something that officials in your own community say has strangled their ability to budget, plan long term, provide services and is unsustainable going forward?

A. I like the tax cap for a bunch of reasons; but first and foremost, it makes every municipality and every school district responsible for what they’re spending and really look at

Q. If re-elected to the New York state Senate, what are the top three priorities of your next term?

A. From an issues standpoint, education, property taxation and reduction, and the environment are the three policy issues that resonate within the district.

The overlay issue is that of reform, in the sense that reform permeates every other issue.

You are not able to effectively govern if you are operating under a cloud. Former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, and Tom Libous, who is now deceased, have both been convicted of crimes.

That’s the overarching reality of the state Senate. What we do to change the climate of Albany is critical.

changes rather than the topdown changes. Every school district is different in some way….

Tuckahoe and Bronxville are not exactly the same. Harrison’s is not exactly like Port Chester’s.

I’d rather see the New York State Board of Regents develop higher standards, but let them be New York standards. Don’t let them be consistent with what Utah, Mississippi or Idaho is doing.

My experience in business is that when you implement change, you need the buy-in of the people to execute change. None of that was done with Common Core. I think there is too much of an emphasis on mandatory testing.

Q. The implementation of the Common Core Learning Standards has been met with widespread criticism as a measure implemented in schools statewide; you have been a critic of Common Core which places more of an emphasis on standardized testing. If it were your decision solely, what would you do differently in managing the education system in New York?

A. We need to have a system that starts with the bottom-up

Q. Potentially at stake in this year’s election is the state Senate’s Republican control; if Democrats were to wrestle that control from the GOP on Nov. 8, why should we expect a Democrat-run Senate to be any different?

A. What I would see happening: Andrea Stewart-Cousins is the leader of our Democratic conference. I believe she is in a position to create a different kind of coalition going forward that will involve Democrats,

everything. And you can override a tax cap. So the idea that it doesn’t allow you to spend what you want to spend is really wrong. That being said, it’s incredibly difficult to stay under the tax cap if you have rising enrollment [in schools] and you need more teachers. I would like to look at an enrollment exemption for the tax cap. But I am in complete favor of the tax cap. I think it’s kept taxes going up at a lower rate.

Q. The city of Rye has lost several of its young residents to drug-related deaths, as have other communities along the Sound Shore. In 2011, you helped form a local anti-drug coalition. Can you name, specifically, what that group has done since then to address the drug problem in your community? What do you think needs to be done on the state level to combat this growing drug epidemic?

A. The Rye-ACT, itself, doesn’t have specific programs. Everything we do is working with one of our coalition partners. One of the things that I’m proudest of KILLIAN continued on page 8

independent Democrats, and is broad enough to include Republicans that are willing be involved. Right now, what you have is a rock-solid Republican control, which, for 77 of the last 80 years, has shut out anybody that is not part of their control.

My opponent will say, “Albany is in terrible shape, but I want to be part of that ruling coalition.”

[Democrats] are not committed to doing things a certain partisan way. We will be prepared to break those barriers.

Q. Sen. Latimer, you have been in some form of elected office for 29 years dating back to 1987 and your first term on the Rye City Council. You have served on the Westchester County Board of Legislators, and in the New York state Assembly. You are now a state senator who is seeking his third term in that house; yet you often take issue to any reference as a career politician. Is that not the record of a career politician?

A. No. My term on the Rye City Council was an unpaid position. For the first six years of my tenure on the [Westchester] County Board of LATIMER continued on page 9

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 7

Fox drunk driving case adjourned to Nov. 15

Emma Fox was due to appear in White Plains City Court on Nov.1, but the case was adjourned to Nov. 15. Photo courtesy White Plains police

GUN from page 1

container,” said Joe Liberti, whose child attends Parsons. “So [the store’s location] really does threaten the maintenance of this federal law.”

According to a report released by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, 74 percent of guns used to commit violent crimes in New York between 2010 and 2015 were purchased out of state. In West-

Emma Fox, of Rye, who struck and killed a 21-year-old Manhattanville College student in October, is due to reappear in White Plains City Court on Nov. 15 after her Nov. 1 court date was adjourned.On Oct. 9, Fox, 24, struck and killed Robby Schartner, of Fishkill, while he was walking along Westchester Avenue in White Plains in the early morning hours on his way back to the college after a night out on Mamaroneck Avenue in downtown White Plains. Fox has been charged with an aggravated DWI and first-degree vehicular man-

slaughter. Police reported that Fox had been intoxicated at the time of the incident with a blood alcohol content of 0.21; the legal limit in New York state is 0.08.

White Plains police reported Fox had been travelling eastbound on Westchester Avenue at about 5 a.m. when she fatally struck Schartner with her car, a 2012 Nissan Sentra.

Stephen Lewis, Fox’s attorney, and White Plains police Lt. Eric Fischer could not be reached for comment, as of press time.

chester County, that percentage was higher. Pistols accounted for nearly 90 percent of guns used in all violent crimes in the county.

According to state law, shoppers must have a handgun permit to even hold a handgun in the state, and cannot walk out of the store with a pistol until all paperwork is complete, which can take as much as several weeks.

The Town Council has scheduled an informational meeting to discuss the store with residents at

the Veteran’s Building on Nov. 2, after press time. The Change.org petition has also called residents to attend the regularly scheduled council meeting on Nov. 3, after press time. Zacchio announced on the store’s Facebook page that he would not be attending that meeting.

Louis Wool, superintendent of Harrison schools, could not be reached for comment.

-Reporting by Franco Fino

CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com

L&L Sports, a gun store planned for the Harrison Mall on Halstead Avenue, could open this month. Harrison residents, however, are protesting the shop’s proximity to Parsons Memorial Elementary School.

Photo/Franco Fino

8 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

2016

The JCC food drive and holiday schedules HARRISON HAPPENINGS Mayor Ron Belmont

Recently, the Jewish Community Center of Harrison organized their annual food drive. During Yom Kippur, the JCC collected more than 500 bags of food for donation to the Harrison Food Pantry, and Nina Marraccini, Harrison’s director of Community Services, received the donated food on behalf of the pantry. The JCC’s rabbi, Eytan Hammerman, urged the congregation that as they skip meals on Yom Kippur, they should think of those who are hungry and most in need.

The food drive was designed to provide, through donations, what the congregation might have consumed during the 25-hour fast day of Yom Kippur. For many families, a serious decline in financial stability can mean hunger. All towns have members who struggle during hard times, and the good will of the JCC will help curb hunger in our community. Its contribution will provide the basic sustenance that some of our senior citizens, children and working families require. I would like to thank Rabbi Hammerman and the JCC of Harrison for this very

significant contribution. For more information on our Food Pantry, please contact Nina Marraccini at 670-3025.

The Westchester Joint Water Works recently sent letters to a number of West Harrison residents concerning the need to replace their water meters with meters that can be read by a vehicle-based system. To replace the meter, a WJWW representative must enter the resident’s property. If you have received this notice, and have not yet scheduled an appointment, please call WJWW at 698-3500 ext. 647 or email at waterinfo@wjww.com at your earliest convenience.

The town/village of Harrison is currently in the process of developing a tree ordinance. The law is designed to encourage the preservation of the town’s forestry and to regulate planting, maintenance and removal of all trees within the town. As we continue to develop this ordinance, we are taking suggestions from residents. Please feel free to offer comments and opinions and they will be taken under advisement.

Town/village offices will be closed for Election Day, Veterans Day and Thanksgiving Day. During the week of each holiday, the Sanitation

Department will be working on a holiday schedule.

The week of Nov. 7 (Election Day and Veterans Day): Garbage and recycling normally collected on Tuesday, Nov. 8 will be collected on Wednesday, Nov. 9.

Only recycling that is normally collected on Thursday, Nov. 10 and Friday, Nov. 11 will be collected on Nov. 10. Please note: During the week of Nov. 7, garbage collection for the Black Zone (normally Tuesday and Friday) will be collected on Nov. 9 only. There will be no bulk trash collected on Nov. 9.

The week of Nov. 21 (Thanksgiving): Garbage and recycling normally collected on Thursday, Nov. 24 will be collected on Wednesday, Nov. 23. There will be no bulk trash collected on Nov. 23.

In closing, daylight saving time ends on Sunday, Nov. 6 at 2 a.m., so be sure to set your clocks back one hour.

The next Lunch with the Mayor is on Friday, Nov. 4 and I will be at Silver Lake Cafe, located at 17 Taylor Square in West Harrison. I will be at this location from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and look forward to meeting with residents and talking about issues facing our community.

KILLIAN from page 6

is working with our new police commissioner. I met with him four months before he started and he was on board right away.

He has restructured the whole [Rye] Police Department to really focus on this issue. He identified eight of his officers that would be more involved with the kids in the community.

St. Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison is also part of our coalition and they worked with Commissioner Corcoran in creating a program for drug education when kids were picked up who had been drinking or smoking pot that were under age. [Those] kids and their parents go on a Saturday to a joint drug education course, which to me is a big step. We have a judge in Rye who is also very focused on this issue. He is trying to work with the state courts in trying to do that for the older kids because in New York, one of the things that people are already working on that I feel strongly about is the Raise the Age [law]. Kids in New York are considered adults at 16. I have raised two boys who are 17 and 18, and boys and girls can do crazy stuff. I don’t think of them as adults now, but in the eyes of the law they are.

Q. Ms. Killian, you have attacked your opponent, Sen. Latimer, for not taking a stand against sexual abuse in the Capitol.

You’ve highlighted that with a television ad that takes the senator’s past comments out of context. How do you respond to critics who say you’re simply playing the gender card?

A. The comments actually weren’t taken out of context.

Shelly Silver’s chief counsel drugged and raped a woman, and then Silver covered it up with taxpayer dollars. Various other things have gone on in Albany, luckily not all that severe, but still sexual harassment and sexual assault. A lot of this came out in 2012. It didn’t come out when it was happening. My opponent did not speak out, nor did many other people in Albany and I have called out many of them, also. The specific comment that we referred to [in the ad], he was specifically asked, “Why did you not call out Shelly Silver?” so those comments were not taken out of context. To me, it’s uncomfortable what goes on in Albany… and that women are not supported there.

Q. Residents and business owners continue to leave for other locations due to New York becoming increasingly financially unsustainable; what needs to be done to address the financial disparity facing many in this state?

A. We need to look at the things that will help our property taxes.

The regional cost index for school aid takes money directly out of our pockets and sends it to New York City and Long Island. There are certain rules that we have that make being in New York more expensive. I am most focused on the Scaffold Law, which is related to elevation related injuries on construction sites. They estimate that just the existence of this law costs New Yorkers $1.4 billion a year. And it’s estimated that every project costs 20 to 30 percent more because of the Wicks Law, which says that you have to have separate contracts for all of your subcontractors. Another thing is medical malpractice reform. To be a neurosurgeon in New York costs $300,000. In California, it costs $100,000. And if you don’t think that cost is increasing everyone’s health insurance, it certainly is.

Q. Ms. Killian, you have campaigned on the need for term limits in state politics, yet you’ve aligned yourself with some state Republicans that have exceeded what you believe is a reasonable amount of time in office, most notably Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, who has been in some form of state office for 29 years. How do you reconcile the two?

A. When I went up there to speak with them, I was very clear on the things that were important to me. The need for term limits was first and foremost. Sen. Flanagan, in particular, doesn’t agree with that and many of the elected officials don’t agree with that. We’re not going to agree on everything, but part of my campaign is that people don’t speak out in Albany. And I’m going to do that when I get there.

Q. How do you plan to bring change to Albany as a Republican when the GOP has already been in the Senate leadership for most of the last 80 years?

A. I intend to get things done by speaking out about them.

Term limits are definitely something that people want. And if we have to march on Albany, we’ll march on Albany. I just think being out there and letting people know the consequences of the decisions your legisla-

tors in Albany are making, and I think people are becoming more aware. But they look at what’s happening in Washington, D.C., and what’s happening locally and then in between; it’s like this black hole.

Q. Why did you decide to run for state office; and, in particular, why as a Republican would you run in a presidential year when historically GOP candidates struggle against a high Democratic voter turnout?

If you were to lose this election, would you consider running again in 2018?

A. I decided to run on the day Shelly Silver was arrested. I couldn’t take it anymore. He was arrested and then soon thereafter Dean Skelos [was arrested].

Thirty-nine legislators since 2000 [have been arrested]. To me, that’s kind of unconscionable that we as New Yorkers take that from our legislators. They’re certainly not all corrupt up there, but Preet Bharara has said there are the corrupt ones and then there are the people that stand by and watch them and don’t do anything, so I decided to do something.

I feel confident that my message is resonating with [the voters]. They want change; I’m the reform candidate. Yes, [I would run again in 2018]. I’m permanently passionate about these issues.

Q. Name one of your opponent’s initiatives or efforts that you would credit him for.

A. I think he is really good about getting around to everybody in the district. It’s difficult as an elected official; you’re asked to go a lot of places and it takes time away from your family.

Q. Do you plan to vote for Republican Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election?

A. I’m not happy with any of the choices. I don’t think either of them has earned my vote. I think I’m one of a large majority of people that doesn’t know what I’m going to do. I’ve called out both sides. I’m not happy with the rhetoric at the national level. They’re not talking about the issues, and we have some really serious issues.

- Reporting by Corey Stockton and James Pero

To watch our entire interview with Julie Killian, visit bit.ly/2eNyqFp.

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 9

2016

LATIMER from page 6

Legislators, I was a full-time employee of the corporation that I worked for. I didn’t claim full-time credit so I’m not in the pension system for the years I served on the county Legislature. The word “politician” is meant to be a pejorative. I was elected by the public; I didn’t seize power like a military junta. I went before the voters just like I’m doing now and said to them, “It’s me or someone else; who do you think will do the best job for the next two years?”

Q. Critics argue that you do not have any tangible accomplishments as a state representative. Please name three legislative bills you have either sponsored or cosponsored as a senator that you feel have had a lasting impact.

A. The first thing you have to look at is a combination of bills, which I authored, that bring revenue into various communities by levying a hotel occupancy tax. That revenue stream offsets property taxes. Early in my career in Albany, I authored a bill and passed it to allow for FOIL [Freedom of Information Law] requests to be asked for and received electronically. Right now, you have a major parking issue in the village [and the town] of Mamaroneck. We were able to pass legislation that gives them residential parking programs. I took the decision out of Albany and put it in the village and town halls.

Q. The city of Rye—your hometown— has lost several of its young residents to drug-related deaths, as have other communities along the Sound Shore. What do you think needs to be done on the state level to combat this growing drug epidemic?

A. This is one of the issues where we have had bipartisan support. The governor proposed a budget to us with a certain amount of money to deal with the opioid crisis. The total amount is $190 million. It’s a growing crisis and we will fight for more money. You approach this with education, treatment, recovery, and enforcement. Not every community [has] a vibrant

education program. There’s a role for the state to play in using its resources to fund additional programs.

Q. Sen. Latimer, you have criticized your opponent for being beholden to big money donors; yet, according to the most recent campaign filings, you have accepted more contributions from PACs and state committees than Ms. Killian has.

Does that not contradict your criticism of your opponent?

A. The criticism that I have is not how she has raised her money, because the single biggest source of her money is her own personal wealth, which is legal and appropriate. What I’ve criticized is her call for no public financing of elections. If you don’t have some version of public financing, then you will have special interest [groups] running the Legislature because campaigns have become so expensive year after year. If you want the cleanest possible government, you want a candidate that’s able to raise money from a broad group of people not beholden to any special interest.

Q. Residents and business owners continue to leave for other locations due to New York’s financial unsustainability; what needs to be done to address the financial disparity facing many in this state?

A. I don’t think New York is financially unstable. We’ve been gaining population dramatically. The business climate of Westchester is so robust. People aren’t leaving; they’re investing more heavily in New York, but just in particular communities.

The economic decline that exists is in upstate New York. New York isn’t failing. That’s a bogus argument meant to create this perception of, if you are in, you have failed and have to go.

Q. Sen. Latimer, you have been in some form of state office for 11 years; given the level of corruption that has plagued the New York state Legislature—it has also been labeled the most dysfunctional Legislature in the country—in your opinion, have you been able to distance yourself from it? What measures do you think need to be taken to ensure ethics are a focal point in Albany and how much

responsibility does Gov. Cuomo hold for the current state of affairs?

A. I don’t have to distance myself from bad behavior. I just have to function myself in an honest and ethical way, and I think I’ve done that. There is no financial gain that I have made.

I have actually lost money by being in public office in years where I should have been in the private sector making more money. My opponent has talked about term limits as the central need of Albany. I would vote and support term limits. The real problem is that there is too much concentrated power in too few hands. Public money and campaign money that flows to those leaders is, for the greater extent, undetectable.

Q. Name one of your opponent’s initiatives or efforts that you would credit her for.

A. I think the work that she did with Nancy Pasquale on the Rye-ACT program is admirable.

[Julie Killian] has five children.

It’s hard to have a public career when you have children at home, and I credit her for that.

Q. In light of recent news that the FBI will reopen its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails, do you plan to vote for the former secretary of state in this year’s presidential election?

A. I do. We have a choice between two individuals, and when I look at them both side by side, they both have baggage that is quite difficult to accept.

Both have said and/or done things that are objectionable to me, so I plan ahead. I wipe out the baggage and say to myself, “On Day 1 of a presidency, who is best able to deal with the complexity of this job?”

I’m not here to insult Donald Trump, but he is not credible in my mind. I have some problems with Secretary Clinton, too.

The most recent thing that has come out; I don’t know where that leads to.

- Reporting by Franco Fino and Sibylla Chipaziwa

To watch our entire interview with George Latimer, visit bit.ly/2eREr3K.

Follow us on Twitter @ harrisonreview

10 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 11

Halstead construction to be completed by December Ongoing construction on Halstead Avenue that was supposed to be completed by Thanksgiving has been met with minimal disappointment from residents and merchants, according to the mayor. On Aug. 8, Con Edison, in conjunction with the Westchester County Department of Public Works, DPW, began a construction project on Halstead Avenue between Haviland Street and West Street, on the

Mamaroneck border. At the time, Con Edison began performing the replacement of an existing gas main under Halstead Avenue.

In August, the Review reported that all construction on Halstead Avenue, including the resurfacing of the road by the county DPW, was expected to be complete by Thanksgiving, and that the gas main replacement was to be completed by midOctober.

Construction of Halstead Avenue is now set to be complete by Dec. 1, despite its original timeline of Thanksgiving. Photos/Franco Fino

However, according to Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican, the construction is now set to be complete by Dec. 1, as it appears that Con Edison crews are still ripping up the road surface along Halstead Avenue and Broadway.

While there has not been much outrage from members of the community, Andy Jung, the owner of Harrison Cleaners, located at 271 Halstead Ave., said the roadwork has significantly impacted his business. “I feel like they’re doing construction in the same spot every year,” he said.

Despite the inconvenience incurred to merchants and residents travelling down Halstead Avenue, Belmont said that residents realistically have to continue being patient. “I’m just happy the roadwork is getting done,” he said. “Everyone wants a nice, new road, and it’s painstaking; but you can’t just wave a magic wand and expect it to get done right away.”

Despite not being worried about the road conditions, Belmont said that the town has faced issues with traffic and parking. According to the may-

Construction is currently operating Monday through Friday during the daytime, but is expected to soon be conducted during night hours. However, town officials do not have a time frame of when that will begin.

or, the Harrison Police Department began directing traffic in order to ease congestion. Con Edison also placed metal plates on the roadway to try to alleviate

roadway conditions as well.

Belmont said the roadwork, which is currently being conducted Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., will

instead soon begin during night hours. There is currently no time frame for when nighttime construction will begin.

-Reporting by Franco Fino

12 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

The Classifieds • Advertising that gets results OUR RATES:

UP TO 4 LINES $42.50 for 2 weeks minimum. Each Additional Line $2.00

HOW TO REACH US:

(914) 653-1000 x27 Fax: 653-5000 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: 170 Hamilton Ave., Suite 203, White Plains N.Y. 10601

ADOPTION

WANTED TO BUY

ADOPTION: Unplanned Pregnancy? Need help? FREE assistance: caring staff, counseling and financial help. You choose the loving, pre-approved adoptive parents. Joy 1-866-9223678 www.ForeverFamiliesThroughAdoption. org. Hablamos Espanıl.

CASH FOR DIABETIC TEST STRIPS Up to $40 Box! Sealed & Unexpired. Payment Made SAME DAY. Highest Prices Paid!! Call Kerri Today! 800-413-3479 www.CashForYourTestStrips.com

ADOPT: Caring married couple looking to adopt. Stable employment and a loving and happy home awaits your child. Please call Blair and John at 1-888-753-9328

AUTO DONATIONS Donate your car to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 914-468-4999 Today!

Donate your car to Wheels For Wishes, benefiting Make-A-Wish. We offer free towing and your donation is 100% tax deductible. Call 315-400-0797 Today!

CAREER TRAINING CDLA Tractor Trailer Training Classes Forming.

Financial Aid, Pell Grants, Post 911 GI Bill®, Job Placement Assistance and Housing if qualified.

National Tractor Trailer School† Liverpool and Buffalo (Branch) 1-800-243-9300 www.ntts. edu - Consumer information: http://ntts.edu/ Programs/Disclosures

COLLECTABLES TO P C A S H PA I D I N S TA N T LY F O R COLLECTIBLES! -WE BUY Baseball Cards, Autographs, Records, Silver Coins, Golf Items, Art, Jewelry, Comics Etc., Call Joe Today @ 914-310-5153

HEALTH

DEADLINE:

Placement, correction or cancellation of an ad may be phoned in any time before noon on Monday for publication

LEGAL NOTICES Notice of Formation of Realmline Publishing, LLC. Arts of Org. filed with NY Secy of State (SSNY) on 06/27/16. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 11 Broadway suite 615 New York. NY 10004. Purpose: any lawful activity.

PUBLIC NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the fiscal affairs of the Harrison Central School District, Harrison, NY for the period beginning on July 1, 2015 and ending on June 30, 2016, have been examined by O’Connor Davies, LLP, an independent public accountant and that the report and management letter prepared in conjunction with the external audit by O’Connor Davies, LLP has been filed in my office where it is available as a public record for inspection by all interested persons. Pursuant to §35 of the General Municipal Law, the Board of Education of the Harrison Central School District may, in its discretion, prepare a written response to the report of the external audit or management letter by O’Connor Davies, LLP and file any such response in my office as a public record for inspection by all interested persons not later than December 30, 2016.

Christine Beitler: District Clerk Dated: November 1, 2016

nycourts.crtr - Page 1 - Composite

Learn about Judicial Candidates in NY State Go to: nycourts.gov/vote a non-partisan website, to learn about the judicial candidates in your area We make homeownership a dream come true!

I F YOU USE D TH E B LOOD TH I N N E R XARELTO and suffered internal bleeding, hemorrhaging, required hospitalization or a loved one died while taking Xarelto between 2011 and the present time, you may be entitled to compensation. Call Attorney Charles H. Johnson 1-800-535-5727

MISCELLANEOUS SAWMILLS from only $4397.00- MAKE & SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill- Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship!

FREE Info/DVD:† www.NorwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363 Ext.300N

REAL ESTATE

The State of New York Mortgage Agency offers:

WATERFRONT LAND! 5 acres -$99,900 Unspoiled lake, next to State Land, just 3 hrs NY City! Private wooded setting! Build, camp or invest! EZ terms. 888-905-8847 NewYorkLandandLakes.com

• Competitive, fixed-rate mortgages for first-time homebuyers • Downpayment assistance available up to $15,000 • Special program for veterans, active-duty military, National Guard and reservists • Funds available for renovation

REAL ESTATE AUCTIONS A U C T I O N R E A L P R O P E R T Y TA X FORECLOSURES ESSEX COUNTY. Selling properties November 16 @ 11AM. Held at Best Western Inn, Ticonderoga. 800-243-0061 AAR, Inc. Free brochure: www.NYSAuctions.com

SERVICES Original illustration art done for magazine, book, pulp, paperback and comic covers and interiors, ads, calendars, posters, pinups, sci fi, westerns, etc. Also antique paper: maps, posters collections of photos, postcards, autographs, etc. Finder’s fees paid. Mwi0729@aol.com, 914-588-9359.

1-800-382-HOME(4663)

www.sonyma.org

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 13

What happens when the robots take over?

RHYMES WITH CRAZY Lenore Skenazy

We don’t kill off our retirees just because they’re not working anymore, so don’t worry about our future robot overlords killing off us humans when we’re no longer working, either—which we won’t be, since the robots will be doing everything faster and better than us, the way machines have been taking over human jobs since the dawn of the industrial era.

And in fact, in that future, robot-ruled time, we might have the choice to actually become one of the super-bots by donating our brain (thereby “dying”), but then coming back (sort of) as the brain of a computer that’s just like us, down to our likes, dislikes, sense of humor—and maybe even our looks.

That, my friends, was just part of the trippy argument going on downtown a week or so ago at a monthly event called the Soho Forum. This is a free, open-to-thepublic debate with the goal of examining issues of particular interest to Libertarians. I’m not quite sure how robots and Libertarians find common cause, but in any event the topic to resolve yea or nay was: “Robots will eventually dominate the world and eliminate human abilities to earn wages.”

Robin Hanson, an associate professor of economics at George Mason University and author of “The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life when Robots Rule the Earth,” briskly insisted that in the future, we will see the ascendance of “Ems”— remarkably human robots that emulate us, because they’re modeled on our own brains. Or

at least they’re modeled on the people who would make the very best worker-robots.

That’s not who will choose, said the “Robots will NOT take over” debater, Bryan Caplan, also an author and econ professor at George Mason. When and if we do get around to creating worker robots from human brain scans, he said, we will scan only the most docile, efficient workers to create docile, non-humankilling “Ems.” And this is where it started getting weird(er). Hanson believes that if and when we do make Ems, CEOs will still want to hire the most brilliant workers, which means they’ll end up cloning (or replicating, or whatever the word is) jerks.

“We expect the highest productivity workers will be chosen,” said Hanson. In other words, the Ems will be clones of the people most of us hate—the cutthroats.

And, being cutthroats, eventually they’ll cut ours. “Although it may well be that the first five generations of robots will keep humans around because they feel some vestigial warmth toward our species,” Hanson said.

How comforting.

Caplan was having none of it.

Why on earth would we clone the cutthroats who want to kill us, he asked. Over the eons, we’ve already had quite a lot of experience breeding new beings to do our bidding: Our pets and farm animals. We’ll do the same with humans—if that’s the route we go—cloning the absolutely sweetest ones who also have a fierce work ethic. “We’ve got 7 billion people to choose from,” Caplan pointed out. “A normal employer has five.”

The moderator, Gene Epstein, economics editor at Barron’s

magazine, tried to make peace.

“You’ll tweak it,” he nodded to both.

Caplan was not convinced that the day of the Ems will ever come, because who would volunteer to become one? “First thing, you’re actually dead. They have to slice your brain in pieces. Very few people would want their biological death in order to have a computer simulation,” he said.

“Today we can’t conceive of it,” agreed Hanson. But humans in the future, “Once they see a bunch of people do it,” and they see that the Ems talk like “real” people, and look like them and act like them—except they never die—then the prospect might become attractive. Hanson made it sound as normal as wearing glasses, another biological enhancement people eons ago could not have conceived of.

And that was Hanson’s big point: Of course this stuff sounds bizarre to us. But think back a thousand years to the subsistence farmers. If you’d told them that someday we’d be able to talk to someone an ocean away and see them, too, there’s no way they would have understood, much less believed you.

And that’s the world we’re living in today.

Would the Ems own property? Would they eventually fight?

Or would the earth become a paradise with Ems doing all our work? Those issues were not resolved. In fact, nothing really was. A before-and-after poll of the audience found that the exact same number had changed their minds from negative to positive, and vice versa.

It was the least strange moment in a very strange night.

CONTACT: lskenazy@yahoo.com

Single, petite, silky black kitten seeking fun, affectionate family and forever home. I enjoy nap time, belly rubs, being brushed and exploring my home. My favorite things are feathers, hunting a mouse on a string, watching activity out the window and general kitten things. I get along with other cats, but welcome your undivided attention and being the princess of the house.

Oh, and my nickname is MaryAnn the cuddle bug.

Born approximately May 7, 2016. I am also spayed, in excellent health and up-todate with all vaccinations.

My adoption donation is $100, which includes microchipping. To meet me, call Pet Rescue at 835-3332or 835-4133 or visit NY-PetRescue.org.

(Submitted)

14 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016

SPORTS

November 4, 2016 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 15

Hyped for Sectional Saturday LIVE MIKE Mike Smith

I have to be honest; I can’t wait until Saturday.

This weekend marks the culmination of the Section I football season, as teams from Class AA to Class D will vie for the sectional crown up at Mahopac High School.

While several of the teams whose championship hopes are still alive are no strangers to competing in the title game— schools like Haldane, Tuckahoe and New Rochelle—there are a few newcomers to the mix this year, most notably my alma mater, Scarsdale High School.

On Nov. 5, Scarsdale will be competing in the Class AA finals for the first time since the state playoff system was introduced in 1993, which is no small feat in my hometown, as evidenced by the bombardment of alumni email blasts I received just mo-

ments after the Raiders clinched their berth with a 41-7 win over Arlington in the semifinals last Saturday night.

Over the last few years, Scarsdale has had a resurgence on the gridiron, but this is truly uncharted territory for the Raiders.

Guys I played with—and people who played before me—are understandably amped about the possibility of Scarsdale hoisting the Section I plaque on Saturday afternoon, if only because this sort of thing just doesn’t happen at a school like Scarsdale, which is more known for sports like soccer or tennis.

But for all my former teammates that have been hitting me up recently asking about Scarsdale’s chances this week, I can’t say I have much hope.

I don’t think this is the Raiders’ year.

Sure, Scarsdale has been playing well over the last few weeks. But their signature win— the trouncing of Arlington—saw them beat an Admirals’ team

missing its star quarterback.

The last time I saw them on the field, in a 6-0 rain-soaked slop fest against Mamaroneck, they didn’t seem to have the swagger one would expect from a championship contender.

And as for their title game opponent? It’s a juggernaut New Rochelle team that beat them 34-0 when the two teams met in September and hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown in the postseason.

I feel like I’ve got to side with the favorites on this one.

None of this is to say, definitively, that the Raiders can’t win, or won’t. I’m just saying that if they can keep the game respectable, Scarsdale fans should probably count their blessings.

After all, it’s November and the Raiders are still in the title hunt.

It hasn’t been that way for a long, long time.

Follow Mike on Twitter @LiveMike_Sports

Scarsdale tight end Robert Keith—whose father was Sports Editor Mike Smith’s high school football coach—is getting ready to lead his team onto the field in Scarsdale’s first-ever appearance in the Class AA championship game this Saturday. But Scarsdale is in for a tough time against a battle-tested New Rochelle squad. Photo/Mike Smith

TO COVER LOCAL SPORTS, YOU NEED A

LIVE MIKE! Follow Mike Smith @LiveMike_Sports stats • recaps • commentary Follow Mike Smith @harrisonreview for Mike’s live, in-game action updates

16 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • November 4, 2016