Pleasantville Village Board & School Board Joint Work Session - 2025-12-09

On 2025-12-09 (the printed agenda said Monday, December 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM; this record uses the supplied timestamp of 2025-12-09 12:00:00+00:00), the Pleasantville Village Board of Trustees and the Pleasantville Union Free School District Board of Education held their annual joint work session at Village Hall, 80 Wheeler Ave. Mayor Peter Scher, village trustees, school board members, Interim Superintendent Eric Lotinsky, Police Chief Eric Grutzner, Village Administrator Eric Morsey, Assistant Superintendent for Business John Chow, and Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Mike Newman participated. The session was informational; no formal votes were taken. The agenda scheduled an 8:30 PM executive session on personnel matters.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public spoke or asked questions. Mayor Scher noted that nobody in the room was from the public and no one raised a hand in the Zoom chat.

Development Update

• Mayor Scher reported that Lenar is under a contingent contract for the former Bank of New York property behind Foxwood (144,000 square feet, zoned campus office) and the former Savin Engineering Building (about 35,000 square feet). Lenar proposes demolishing both buildings and about 400 existing paved parking spaces to build a 102-unit townhouse project under planned unit development zoning.
• Of the 102 units, 11 would be required affordable at 60% of the average median income under village code; six additional units would have a smaller footprint but be market-rate. Village officials said the units would be fee-simple ownership, partly because condos and co-ops often pay substantially lower property taxes.
• Mayor Scher said the village planning consultant, BFJ Planning, has listed required analyses, and Lenar's submissions, including school-student generation, traffic, and drainage, are expected later in December or in January. He noted the property is still zoned commercial and could be occupied as of right, so the community should compare the proposal against the possibility of commercial reuse.
• He cited the Toll Brothers/Dennis Lane project (68 townhomes, 7 affordable, 61 market-rate) as generating 39 school children, which he said undercuts speculation of 250 additional students. He also said the area is a stormwater funnel and that downstream neighborhoods experienced severe flooding during Hurricane Ida.
• A trustee asked whether Lenar's land purchase was contingent on zoning; village officials said they believe it is and that no sale had closed.
• Trustee Paul Alvarez praised the 14 affordable units at 98 Washington Avenue, renovated and managed by Lifting Up Westchester for employed workforce households. He and Mayor Scher noted that affordable housing in Westchester, often defined at 80% of the average median income, is different from the national image of affordable housing.
• The former Chase building at 444 Bedford Road has planning approval for 36 rental apartments, including four affordable units, with parking accommodated in a garage; the owner has not indicated when or if construction will begin.
• The library was discussed as a major future project: the 1963 building needs renovation, the town/village funding split is about two-thirds town and one-third village, about two-thirds of cardholders are not village residents, and cost figures mentioned were roughly in the $10-16 million range. A working group is being formed.
• Other development updates included the completed replacement of the old Girl Scout building with two two-family homes on Bedford Road and one single-family home on Great Oak, conversion of a former office building into six rental units, the renovation of the old pharmacy storefront into an IV hydration business, and the opening of the new 144-seat theater at Wheeler Avenue, whose first production sold out six performances.

Safety Initiatives

• The village received a federal SS4A (Safe Streets for All) grant and selected the engineering firm MV5 for a pedestrian-safety and complete-streets study, with community engagement to start in the new year and deliverables expected by the end of 2026.
• DTS Provident is studying Nanahigan Avenue and Hopper Street, including traffic counts and speed-hump feasibility. Stop signs were recently installed at Nanahagan and Ashland.
• Police Chief Eric Grutzner described ongoing school partnerships: daily school walkthroughs, a new detective presenting to seventh and eighth graders, AED training under Desha's Law, crossing-guard recruiting, and rotating police presence at school arrival and dismissal. He invited community input on additional locations.
• Interim Superintendent Eric Lotinsky said a student-reported concern two weeks earlier was resolved in about two hours because of established joint planning and close communication.
• Discussion highlighted concerns about parent drop-off behavior, drivers stopping with flashers, blocked driveways, and the need for adults to model respectful street behavior.

School and Village Cooperation / Capital Plans

• School district representatives outlined a proposed capital project. At BRS, the plan is to remove the artificial turf field, replace it with natural grass fields, expand playgrounds, move fencing toward Bedford Road while preserving the flagpole and memorial, and improve safety access. At the high school, the plan is to turf the upper field between the track and tennis courts, replace aging turf fields and the track, add outdoor restrooms, keep the back field as grass with new fencing, netting, a backstop, and bleachers, add barriers to reduce unauthorized bike and dirt-bike use, and install dark-sky-certified LED lights.
• School officials said temporary diesel generators now in use at the high school field do not meet National Federation of High School standards. They reviewed alternative lighting options and said LED lights were the only option meeting standards; information was posted on the district website.
• On artificial turf, school officials said new turf is manufactured without PFAS and infill is no longer crumb rubber; they also noted grass would remain at BRS and on the high school back field as a compromise.
• The demand for back-to-back varsity and JV games is increasing in boys and girls soccer and boys lacrosse, with Section 1 standard starts at 5 p.m.; second games can start at 6:30-6:45 p.m., meaning athletes may get home around 9:30 p.m., and indoor track meets at the armory can return home at midnight.
• STEM/STEAM proposals include universal classroom technology and smart boards, a BRS maker space, middle school STEAM labs, high school science and art room upgrades, flexible seating, and theater lighting and sound improvements. Science Olympiad funding was said to be addressed through budget coordination.
• Board members acknowledged a discussion about high student homework load and stress, but did not reach conclusions; they agreed it should be a conversation for another time.

Key Outcomes

• No formal board votes or resolutions were adopted at the work session.
• Lenar's development review will continue as required studies are submitted; documents are being posted on the village website under Community > Projects and Initiatives, or via search for Lenar.
• The village and school district will continue coordinating on fields and capital planning; the school board encouraged residents to review the capital project presentation on the district website.
• A village/town library working group will be convened.
• A suggestion to move Panther Club registration to the spring or reserve spots was raised and will be explored. UPK currently has 60 students enrolled against 76 available seats, so no lottery was needed this year.
• Police will continue rotating enforcement presence at schools and welcome community input on locations.
• The agenda included an 8:30 PM executive session to discuss personnel matters.