Harrison REVIEW THE
November 3, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 44 | www.harrisonreview.com
County announces drug takeback program
Prime location?
Westchester County is in the running to be the second home of Amazon’s corporate headquarters. Amazon has said that its new second headquarters will be equal to its first headquarters in Seattle, Washington, pictured. For story see page 6. Photo courtesy Amazon
Low-cost financing announced for SUNY Purchase County Executive Rob Astorino has announced that the Westchester Local Development Corporation, LDC, has approved $36.4 million in low-cost financing for SUNY Purchase College to construct a new residence hall on its campus. The money will be used build a four-story, 80,000-square-foot residence hall, consisting of 300 beds in a suite-style configuration with student common areas and resident advisor accommodations. The building, which will be designed and constructed to meet LEED Silver or better standards, will be located on a four-acre parcel of land near the college’s
other residence halls and educational facilities. SUNY Purchase said the new residence hall is necessary to meet the growing demand for housing on the campus, noting that occupancy of the existing student housing is typically 98 percent full during the fall semester. SUNY Purchase currently has approximately 2,200 beds. Construction is expected to start in spring 2018 with occupancy in fall 2019. The project will create approximately 350 construction jobs. “We are very pleased that our LDC can help assist Purchase College, one of the county’s great
academic institutions,” Astorino said. “This low-cost financing will help the college provide attractive, new student housing and at the same time create jobs and boost the local economy.” The action taken by the LDC at its Oct. 19 meeting grants taxfree status to the bonds that will be issued for construction, which provides thousands in savings to the college from lower interest costs. The financing carries no cost or obligation to the LDC or the county. “Purchase College-SUNY is very excited about moving ahead with the new dorm,” said college spokesperson Betsy Aldredge. “As the demographics
have shifted from a primarily commuter campus to a campus where the majority of students reside on campus, it has been an ongoing challenge to provide housing for all who wish to live here.” “This new 300-bed dorm, which will consist of junior suites, will allow us to move students from triples to doubles, therefore improving their residence experience. At the same time, the new dorm will give us flexibility to convert spaces now used as living quarters into academic spaces, and to renovate some of our older housing stock,” she continued. (Submitted)
As part of National Prescription Take Back Day, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is making it easier for residents to safely dispose of their old and excess drugs and medications. On Nov. 4, Westchester County will open its Household Material Recovery Facility, H-MRF at 15 Woods Road in Valhalla from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m for the second Saturday in a row. The goal of Prescription Take Back Day is to provide safe, convenient, and responsible ways of disposing potentially lethal and addictive prescription drugs, while simultaneously educating the public about the potential for abuse and medications. “People often ask, ‘what can I do in this opioid crisis?’” Astorino said. “The best way to keep these prescriptions drugs out of reach is to get rid of them and to properly dispose of them. All too often, addiction starts with the medicine cabinet and ends in tragedy.” For people who cannot make Saturday drop-offs, the facility will be open on Nov. 14 and the first Tuesday of every month thereafter. The added drop-off days coincide with a national movement highlighting the dangers of prescription drugs and opioids. Additionally, residents can drop off medications at select local police departments at any time, or at two pharmacies that currently have lockboxes: CircleRx Pharmacy on Gramatan Avenue in Mount Vernon and Walgreens Pharmacy on Nepperhan Avenue in Yonkers. “I provide this service as a way of helping people,” said Mark Rauchwerger, president and pharmacist at CircleRx
Pharmacy. “It’s quick, easy and safe. If I can prevent even one person from overdosing on opioids, it’s well worth the effort.” Dr. Sherlita Amler, commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Health, noted that it’s important that people properly dispose of their mixed medications, and that medications should never be thrown in the trash, flushed down the toilet or washed down the sink because they could taint ground and surface waters and harm those ecosystems. “We must attack this national health crisis from every front,” Amler said, “and opening up the county’s recovery facility is a safe, easy and inexpensive way to properly dispose of unused and expired medications.” When it began in 2008, Westchester’s medication take back program was the first of its kind in New York State. It has since grown, and been replicated, and continues to be available at the Household Material Recovery Facility, by appointment and select days. When delivering medications to the H-MRF, keep all items in the original container or, if unavailable, put them in a sealable plastic bag. Liquid medications should be in their containers in sealable plastic bags. County staff will be on hand to accept expired and unused medications for disposal. For more information or to learn how to drop off medications at your local police department, refer to the Safe Medication Disposal brochure or call the Recycling HelpLine at 813-5425. (Submitted)
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