Message from the Mayor: James Street, Deer Program, Lives saved, Upcoming concerts
Posted on: August 5, 2018 - 10:50pm
Fellow Residents;
In these quieter summer weeks, there’s a chance to recharge the batteries, get out and enjoy the sun, take a vacation if you are lucky, and otherwise unwind. The heavy rains have prevented the usual scalded lawns of August: everything is brilliant green, with plant life spilling out of control in almost tropical splendor. I was up at Sugar Pond at a solitary moment, and there were a number of good-sized turtles swimming about, lots of carp, tadpoles and full-on frogs. It was a lovely slice out of time.
James Street next steps
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The Transportation Working Group has examined a range of issues and made recommendations to the Board. One of these is now up for implementation. James Street has faced significantly increasing traffic volumes, especially during rush hours, in recent years. (One hypothesis is that various online apps like Google Maps or Waze send traffic down James when the Saw Mill River Parkway backs up.) Traffic backs up on this narrow road, and arguments ensue as traffic cannot pass. (Videos taken by James Street residents are distressing to watch.)
After examining a range of options, we are looking to prohibiting left turns onto James, Hudson and Warren Streets from High Street during rush hour in the morning, and prohibiting left turn from Tompkins onto Jordan or James in the evening rush hour. The Board will schedule a public hearing at our August 21st meeting (originally, the scheduling of the public meeting was set for the upcoming meeting this Tuesday, August 7th) to review the proposed law for the September 4th Board Meeting. This sort of signage requires a local law to be passed, and passing a local law require public hearings. Baring no revelations, we expect to implement the new signage by early October.
In the interest of establishing a current baseline for traffic volumes (the last traffic count was made in 2016), we intend to do an updated traffic count between September 24 and October 7 on James and High Streets. (These dates were chosen to be during regular school season, and avoid summer holidays and religious observances that can depress counts.) The counts will likely be carried out by those devices you periodically encounter that involve what looks like a black tube or tubes stretched across the road. In a few months after the expected early October implementation of the signage (and concurrent police enforcement), we will do another traffic count to verify the extent of the impact on traffic volumes on local streets. The resulting data can help determine next steps.
Deer Program
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We are in the fifth year of our deer immunocontraception experiment and this is the first year where all inoculated female deer (does) should not be fertile. (At least nine does that were captured and immunized have since died due to hunting, collisions with cars and other accidents, leaving up to 60 immunized does in or near the Village, which is estimated to be around 75% of all adult does.) Anecdotally, there are far, far fewer fawns which you typically see at this time of the summer – I can’t say I have seen a single one, and typically they are all over the place (and often twins and even triplets). Not all does have been inoculated, so there are undoubtedly fawns out there, but certainly way fewer than normal. Anecdotes do not make for real science, so we will be seeking a count shortly. However, common sense would tell you that if a population is not reproducing at replacement rates, the overall numbers will drop. We believe that is happening. This is hardly surprising – immunocontraception has worked wherever it is tried. However, what remains the big variable here is the rate of immigration of new deer into our village from the north and south and whether that will overwhelm the suppressed local numbers. With that said, deer generally do not stray far from their home ranges – only a handful have been spotted significantly outside their Hastings home range. So, while some level of immigration is a given, the question is whether we can keep our local numbers lower over time.
The experiment will continue for at least another year, and data collection and review should be very interesting. Annually, Dr, Rutberg, the Tufts University scientist working with the Humane Society and who is responsible for this experiment, submits a required report to the DEC. It can be found here. The Village produces its own report as well, here.
Lives Saved
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Our Police and Fire Department are periodically called on to save lives, and this can also happen in other situations. I don’t highlight every one of these moments, but this week we had two that I wanted to mention. Last weekend, Marissa Minozzi, a lifeguard at Chemka Pool, was responsible for rescuing a young swimmer in distress. That was, apparently, the fourth save for the summer (way more than the typical one or two we might see) and a testament to the training and alertness of our vigilant guards. Yesterday, we had another life saved when one of our police officers, Officer Jessie Ferreira Cavallo, driving north-bound on the Saw Mill River Parkway while off-duty, saw a boy running up the parkway against traffic, and then jumping over the railing at an overpass, where he fell thirty feet. She promptly pulled her car over and swung into action, grabbing a first aid kit and jumping after the boy. Working with another good Samaritan, they stabilized the seriously injured boy before he was transported to Westchester Medical. You can read more here .
As I have quoted before, both the Jewish and Islamic faiths have a saying that to save a life is to save a world – and by that count, two worlds were saved this week by well-trained Hastingsites who acted quickly when it was needed. We (and the parents) are forever grateful.
Ongoing Concert Series
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Finally, a reminder. Our fourth in a series of six waterfront concerts is this Tuesday, at 7PM, as Dead Sage takes the stage (“Black Capsule” is the opener). This Grateful Dead tribute band always puts on a great show. Two more concerts will follow on August 14th and 21st. You park in the commuter parking lot and either take a shuttle over or walk to Maceachron Park. Pack a picnic or purchase food and drink there. Free, and glorious.
Sincerely,
Mayor Peter Swiderski
mayor@hastinsgov.org
mayor@hastinsgov.org