Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
August 11, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 32 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
MBYC takes step toward sewer upgrade By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
fit as a fiddle Sophia Gigante has battled through physical ailments, including multiple surgeries, at a young age to become a certified personal trainer. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Facebook.com/PTSophia
Ralph’s injunction dismissed by state judge By JAMES PERO Staff Writer A lawsuit stemming from the forced closure of Ralph’s Italian Ices & Ice Cream in Mamaroneck was thrown out by a judge on Aug. 9, after the court ruled the owner had no grounds for a suit. Owner Scott Rosenberg’s law-
suit, filed on Aug. 3, which sought an injunction on a zoning board decision to revoke his certificate of occupancy, and $75,000 in damages, was found meritless by a judge who deemed the request too “drastic” and lacking basis. When reached by phone on Tuesday, Rosenberg was unaware of the ruling and declined a re-
quest for comment. Last month Ralph’s, located on 946 E. Boston Post Road, was forced to close after the village of Mamaroneck’s zoning board determined the business was unsuited for the location and was the root of exacerbated traffic, safety, and noise conditions in the surrounding neighborhood.
The business was also found to be operating without a Westchester County Department of Health permit for several months and has yet to renew the documentation, which lapsed in April. Village Trustee Keith Waitt, a Democrat, lauded the court’s RALPH’S continued on page 9
With a Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, submitted, a plan to transform the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club into a new hub for waterfront housing takes another step forward. The statement, which was submitted on July 12, comes more than a year after a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and will allow the village of Mamaroneck Planning Board to move forward on reviewing the construction and renovation of a sewer line on the club’s property which abuts the Long Island Sound after a major sewer main break. The impetus for the sewer system upgrades sprung up in 2013 when a sewer main break caught the eye of village residents and land use boards. Subsequently, the club was forced to assess sewer systems in its immediate vicinity before pursuing its redevelopment project that plans to add 18 seasonal residences to the property. After the sewer main break, the environmental advocacy group Save the Sound, which is suing the village of Mamaroneck and 10 other municipalities in the county for violations of the EPA’s Clean Water Act, found fecal coliform levels 300 times higher than the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s water quality threshold.
Amidst progress on the sewer project, however, some local homeowners are unsatisfied with how the proposed renovations have unfolded. Dan Natchez, together with other members of the Shore Acres Property Owners Association, have adamantly opposed plans to build an entirely separate bridge that would reroute a sewer line and bypass Otter Creek, claiming it would have adverse impacts on the environment. That plan would replace an alternate suggestion to run the line through the preexisting South Barry Avenue bridge. Natchez said that despite urging from residents and the planning board, the club has yet to introduce a proposal that would see the line rerouted over the South Barry Avenue Bridge. In particular, Natchez said he worries that building an entirely separate bridge to reroute the sewer line would result in a greater impact on the environment, particularly the encompassing wetlands. Since the vision for expanding the club to include housing was first introduced in 2004, the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, MBYC, has often battled with residents over the plan. In 2010, after the club brought a lawsuit against the village, the Westchester County Supreme Court ruled that MBYC had the right to construct housing units MBYC continued on page 11