Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
November 18, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 47 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Village deer study to take flight Dec. 31 By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
Day of
Rememberance After a divisive election year, Veterans Day unites village of Mamaroneck residents and Americans nationwide under a common cause. For coverage, see page 6. Photo/James Pero
Mrs. Green’s shuts down 5 stores citing new strategy By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer Mrs. Green’s Neighborhood Market announced on Nov. 15 that it would be closing multiple stores in New York and Connecticut to shift focus to five of its “core” Westchester stores as part of a new strategy. Amid customer complaints of supply shortages in some of its Westchester locations, the Irvington-based company released plans to close its Rye and Tarrytown stores, as well as two locations in western Connecticut and a location in the West Village in
Manhattan. According to David Kiser, a Mrs. Green’s manager, the Rye location will close its doors on Nov. 18 or Nov. 19, depending on how much inventory is left over following a close-out sale which featured 50 percent off on all items. A spokesperson for the company said that the store’s locations in Tarrytown and Fairfield, Connecticut, launched the same sale, and would also be closed by the end of the week based on the same criteria. The Stamford, Connecticut, and West Village locations were closed
immediately. On Wednesday morning, shoppers perused the almost vacant isles at the Rye store. “It wasn’t my No. 1 store that I visited frequently, but if I ever need milk or fruit, I would try and stop in as often as I could,” said Colleen Scott, a Rye resident who was sifting through the remainder of the store’s sparse merchandise. “It always had nice alternatives, like green home products. It’s definitely sad for the town for sure. I wished it worked out.” In a released statement, Mrs. Green’s said that it planned to
shift attention to its five flagship locations within the county: Eastchester, Yorktown, Briarcliff, Mount Kisco and Larchmont. “While the closure of any location is difficult—especially because our customers and communities have supported us—they are also necessary as we focus on our core, profitable stores,” the company said. In 2014, the company announced plans to expand from 18 locations to 40 by the end of that year, and planned to have 100 stores open within the next GREEN’S continued on page 5
Efforts to accurately assess deer populations in the village of Mamaroneck will take a major step forward as a hired consultant gears up to survey large swaths of village land using a drone. According to Village Manager Richard Slingerland, it has been confirmed that the study will start on Dec. 31, and will survey several areas particularly affected by the presence of deer such as Shore Acres, Orienta, Green Haven and Harbor Heights. The study, Slingerland said, will take approximately three days and will cost $3,220. According to Taffy Williams, the village consultant hired to conduct the survey, the drone will use thermal and visible light imaging to provide the village with a sampling of various locations. These images, Williams— who is a wildlife rehabilitator with the state DEC and an FAA-licensed drone operator—said will be sourced over at least three different excursions that could take as long as three hours each, and will then be analyzed for several weeks after they’re collected. According to Williams, while there are other methods used to track deer, the use of drones will give the village the most accurate picture. “There really is no other way to accurately assess numbers of deer,” she said. “Some people would swear by the pellet method, but it’s been widely discredited.”
A pellet based method of tracking deer—which counts the number of deer pellets within a given area and then extrapolates that data—presents too many variables, according to Williams. “One deer can produce a wealth of pellets,” she said. “Or there could be [an] opposite, if a deer is malnourished, they may put out just a few droppings.” A study to track the deer was spawned in March from an Ad Hoc Deer Committee that was formed by the Board of Trustees in November 2015 after residents complained of an overabundant deer population exacerbating deer-related auto accidents, damage to landscaping, and the potential of contracting Lyme’s disease. After Westchester County rejected pleas from both the city of Rye and the village last year for help culling their deer population, the village will now foot the bill for its own survey. Ideally, Slingerland said, the study will give the village all of the necessary information on how best to deal with its problem. How swiftly the study will be completed, Williams said, will depend on other outside factors such as weather, and how easily the deer are found and monitored. According to Assistant Village Manger Daniel Sarnoff, after the study is completed, the deer committee will make recommendations to the Board of Trustees—who will make the final decision—on how best to handle the population. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com