YONKERS FINEST AND BRAVEST SAVE A LIFE!

This fellow apparently drove around a barricade to get on the "closed" Bronx River Parkway. Kudos to the Yonkers and County PD and Yonkers Fire Department for a daring and dangerous rescue.

MAYOR TO HOLD BUDGET FORUMS

The Mayor will hold two town hall budget forums. Monday March 29 at the Will Library and Monday April 5 at the Riverfront. Both forums are from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.

APRIL IS "EARTH MONTH"

2010 Yonkers Earth Month Events
Presented by the Green Policy Task Force

Week-Long Spring Break Program
March 29, 30, 31, April 1, 2
10 am-4 pm
Fishing the Hudson Eco-Week! Kids ages 10- 14 can spend spring break on the Hudson aboard a 50' fishing vessel with Beczak's educators and Captain Chris of Island Current Charters. Be on the water each day rod-fishing; trawling; learning about the region's rich history and ecology; sailing to the Alpine Boat Basin; hiking the Palisades Park, and learning boat safety and nautical terms. $300 for 5-day program. Call 914-377-1900 ext. 12. Beczak Environmental Education Center, 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers, NY 10701.

Monday, March 29 - Friday, April 2
1-3:30 pm
Hudson River Museum: School's Out, Stars Are In. Creative activities and planetarium shows for students on school break. Tour the environmental gallery, Hudson Riverama, with Junior Docents. Learn about more than 200 species of fish in the Hudson. Craft: Decorate a Japanese windsock.Star show: River Through Time and Ocean of Air, Ocean of Space. Call for details, 914-963-4550.

Wednesday, March 31
9:30 -10:30 am
Yonkers Joint Waste Water Treatment Plant Tour
Ever wonder where it all goes? See how waste water is cleaned and processed. One Fernbrook St., Yonkers, 914-231-2847 (let it ring!) All ages. Call in advance to get directions even if you have GPS.

Thursday, April 1
10 -11:30 am
Lenoir Nature Preserve. See how animals, from insects to deer, use color and camouflage to survive in the wild. Ages 5 and up. Lenoir Preserve, 19 Dudley St., Yonkers. 914-968-5851.

Monday, April 5
9:30-10:30 am
Ever wonder what happens to your recycled garbage? Tour the Westchester County Material Recovery Facility (the MRF) across from Stew Leonard's - Exit 6A off NY Thruway I-87. All ages. 914-813-5441.

Saturday, April 10
9-10 am
Lawn care and maintenance: conventional and organic. Free garden advice. Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, 914-375-4700.

Saturday, April 10
7 pm
Lecture: Did you know that a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day but are rapidly disappearing from the Hudson River? Learn how vital they are to the ecological well-being of the Hudson River and what is being done to bring them back from the coordinator of 100+ oyster gardens in the Hudson, including one at Beczak. $5. 914-377-1900 ext. 13. Beczak Environmental Education Center, 35 Alexander St., Yonkers.

Sunday, April 11 (Rain Date: Sunday, April 18)
9:30 am - 12:30 pm
Team up with Groundwork Hudson Valley to commit vineocide by murdering invasive vines on the South County Trailway off exit 13 on the Saw Mill River Parkway North at Farragut Ave. (Make an immediate right off the parkway and into the parking lot.) Tools and snacks provided. Call 914-375-2151.

Sunday, April 11
1-1:45 pm
Hudson River Museum Gallery Tour: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day at Yonkers Hudson River Museum. Tour Hudson Riverama, the Museum's environmental gallery, with Museum educator Deborah Yasinsky. See history, geology, and plant and animal life of the river. 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers. 914-963-4550.

Sunday, April 11
2-3 pm
Hudson River Museum: Performance: Fish Tales by Deborah Weiss Dance Company Culture of the Hudson River through dance, narration, colorful costumes and music. 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers. Call 914-963-4550.

Saturday, April 17
9-10 am
Free organic soil, composts, and mulching class at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, 914-375-4700.

Saturday, April 17
1 pm
Join Yonkers' Groundwork Hudson Valley Director of River Programs, Ann-Marie Mitroff, at the Irvington Public Library for her information-packed lecture on rain gardening as part of a day-long series of environmental talks. No RSVP required. 12 South Astor St., Irvington, 914-375-2151.

Saturday, April 17
3 pm
Race/Fun Run to Save Whales Bring your family and friends to support the on-going protection of whales and dolphins at this 1K fun run for kids (or adults) or 5 K race, starting at Beczak Center and routing along the waterfront and Yonkers historic district. $5 donation goes to Earth Island Institute and www.savejapandolphins.org. Prizes and medals! Vendors welcome! Entrants can pre-register on line at www.ny4whales.org or call 914-793-9186. In person registration starts at 2 pm. Beczak Environmental Education Center, 35 Alexander St., Yonkers.

Tuesday, April 20
6-9 pm
Attention students and school personnel: Learn about sustainable developments in green business and industry at a sustainability expo hosted by the Children's Environmental Literacy Fund (CELF) in partnership with the Green Schools Coalition of Westchester at PACE University. Information booths, including those of Yonkers' Groundwork Hudson Valley and Yonkers Science Barge will promote inspiring, positive, real-world solutions to global environmental issues. For more information, call 914- 375-2151.

Earth Day: Thursday, April 22
7:30 am sharp
Native American tribal chief and other spiritual leaders gather for the annual Blessing of the Hudson River at Beczak Center's beach. 35 Alexander Street, Yonkers. Call 914-377-1900 ext. 13.

Earth Day: Thursday, April 22
10am-4pm
Riverside High School Earth Day Celebration at Yonkers Riverside High School. Join students, faculty and the Yonkers Green Policy Task Force celebrate Earth Month with environmental PSA's, commercials and podcasts; biology and earth science students planting flowers outside; Synergy Lab students displaying their recycled paper; Auto Cad students projecting their solar paneled building designs; Groundwork Hudson Valley doing vine cutting on Kennedy Blvd. with Riverside students; and more. 565 Warburton Ave., Yonkers. 914-376-8425.

Earth Day: Thursday, April 22
12:54 pm
Watch Groundwork Hudson Valley's Science Barge Director Bob Walters adjust the barge's solar panels to face solar south for maximum energy efficiency in celebration of spring and Earth Day. Timing is exact. Barge is open at Noon. Refreshments provided. Yonkers Pier. Call 914-375- 2151or e-mail bob@groundworkhudsonvalley.org

Friday, April 23
7 -10 pm
Greenies Awards Join us for stroll down the "green" carpet as the Yonkers Green Policy Task Force honors everyday Yonkers citizens who have gone "green" in their daily lives. Fantastic, fun event with hundreds in attendance. Cash bar. Hors D'oeuvres. Park Hill Racquet Club, 2 Glenbrook Ave., Yonkers. 914-377- 6064.

Saturday, April 24
9-10 am
Free pruning class at Stew Leonard's in Yonkers, call 914-375-4700.

Saturday, April 24
9-11 am
Meet at Tibbetts Park in front of the swimming pool bathhouse for a spring migration bird walk with Hudson River Audubon Society President Michael Bochnik. BYOB (Bring your own binoculars.) Wear comfortable shoes. Rain or shine. Ages six to 99. Call 914-237-9331 for directions.

Saturday, April 24
10 am-Noon
Don't let invasive vines kill our trees. Meet the Yonkers Land Conservancy at Rumsey Rd. and Cross County Pkwy. to clip invasive vines with provided shears. Email mommylooloo@hotmail.com

Saturday, April 24
10 am-2 pm
Earth Day at Beczak Center. Join staff and friends in giving back to the earth by caring for Beczak's marsh, beach, and lawn. Snacks and gloves provided. Live music by local bluegrass band "Greetings from Anywhere" at 11am. 35 Alexander St., Yonkers. 914- 377-1900 ext. 13.

Saturday, April 24
12-5 pm
How to Grow the Best Tomato. Come learn what makes tomatoes grow and flourish aboard Groundwork Hudson Valley's Science Barge in Yonkers. Free Brandywine Heirloom tomato plants while supplies last. Also learn how solar, wind, and bioenergies can be integrated together to produce food. Yonkers downtown waterfront. 914-375- 2151.

Sunday, April 25
11 am-1 pm
Join the Yonkers Bike Club, Westchester County Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins and Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick in cleaning parts of the South County Trailway Bike Path at Tuckahoe Road in preparation for spring walking and biking. Gloves and garbage bags supplied. Then ride the bike path ride to Elmsford. Meet in parking lot at 75 Tuckahoe Rd. in between I-87 and the Saw Mill Pkwy. Email yonkersbikeclub@gmail.com

Sunday, April 25
12-5 pm
Rocket Launches, Telescopic Sky Observations, Star Shows, and Astronomy Activity Labs at Yonkers' Hudson River Museum. 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers. 914-963-4550.

Sunday, April 25
4:15 pm Concert under the direction of Taffy Williams, music director
5:00 pm Mass to Save the Earth Annunciation Church, 470 Westchester Ave., Yonkers. 914-779-7345.

Wednesday, April 28
6:45 pm
Come to the penthouse at 66 Main Street to enjoy wine and snacks in this mega-hip, geothermally- heated luxury loft apartment building in Downtown Yonkers for a private screening of the Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature, Food, Inc., an expose on America's industrialized food system. 914- 377-6067.

Friday, April 30
6:45-8:45 pm
Don't miss this acclaimed Oscar winning docuthriller, The Cove, where Flipper meets the Bourne Identity. Winner of Best Documentary in 2009. Come to Sarah Lawrence College's Heimbold Visual Arts Center, 1 Mead Way, Bronxville. Join Yonkers whale and dolphin advocate Taffy Williams for a wine and cheese Q&A and to learn how you can help protect our underwater world. 914-377-6067.

* Arbor Day Tree Plantings will be going on throughout the city all month*

DO AS WE SAY, NOT AS WE DO!

This past Wednesday the four Democratic members of the City Council sent a letter to the Mayor complaining that they had not received copies of the budget submissions each Department is supposed to make by January 15. On Thursday it was revealed that neither the Council President nor the Council under the Majority Leader had made there own submissions in January in the first place. Oops!

Council calls for consolidating city services

The City Council voted 7-0 last night to support a Resolution put up by the Mayor calling for the consolidation of duplicative departments,services and personnel in City Hall, the School Board and the Library System. Council President Lesnick proposed watering down the Resolution to say we only supported "exploring" consolidation but the proposed amendment was defeated when I objected and the Council is now on record as calling for shrinking City government. The School and Library Trustees now need to do the right thing, pass the same resolution and let us move forward to save the taxpayer's money!

Congrats to Yonkers' Charter School for Education Excellence

The Yonkers Charter School for Educational Excellence announced last week that it was one of three finalists for the International Reading Association's "Exemplary Reading Program Award". The IRA award recognizes outstanding reading and language programs at the elementary. middle and high school levels.

The Charter School for Educational Excellence is the first public charter school in Yonkers.Located at 260 Warburton Avenue, it is free and open to all children by lottery. Opened in 2005 it serves 350 students in grades K through 6.

Congratulations to the administration, faculty, staff and most of all the students!

MARCH 2, 2010 Real Estate Committee Meeting

Please be advised that a Real Estate Committee Meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the Council Chambers, Yonkers City Hall, 4th Floor.

The following items will be on the Agenda:

1. Affordable Housing Work Session.

2. Resolution – to issue a determination of significance pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQRA) relating to the proposed encroachment in the right-of-way of Beech Hill Road.

3. Special Ordinance – authorizing an encroachment in the right-of-way on Beech Hill Road subject to certain terms and conditions.

4. Any additional items that may properly come before this Committee.