From the Mayor
Dear Larchmonters,
We’ve had some uplifting news in the past few weeks…
To start, we have the first female Vice President-Elect in our nation’s history! And no matter each person’s political position, I'm sure we can all agree that the record turnout of all voters is a great thing. The basic underpinning of our participatory democracy was upheld in our ability to hold a free and fair election during a pandemic and time of social unrest. Yay America!
Additionally, there is hopeful news on the medical front with an announcement from Pfizer about a very promising coronavirus vaccine!
On a very local note, all the creative ideas employed by the community for Halloween not only made this holiday safe, but extra special for our youngest residents. Well done!
And finally, Mother Nature has certainly given us all a gift with the amazingly mild early November weather!
Unfortunately, not all the news is good. The coronavirus pandemic is in a third surge throughout the country, with new case levels far greater than in March and April. And while the silver lining is that fatality seems to be less likely now due to increases in knowledge and treatment options, people are still getting very sick and hospitals are being overwhelmed. Here in NY we were able, through our dedication to science and the protocols regarding masks and social distancing, to prevent a second surge in summer… however, numbers are now rising locally. Port Chester has been declared a yellow precautionary zone and we currently have infections in 4 Mamaroneck district schools, requiring groups of students and staff to shift to virtual instruction.
As we move into the winter and it gets harder to live life outdoors, we could see increasingly high infection rates and illness. Infectious disease specialists warn that an outbreak this winter could very well be worse than anything we’ve seen so far. But the outcome is not pre-determined! Much of this is in our control. I know that we are fatigued – and entering the tenth month since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in our community. The emotional, social and financial repercussions are undeniable. However, we each need to dig deep and find the resolve to get ourselves and our community safely through the next 4-5 months. We cannot slack off now – we know what to do, so let’s do it!
· Wear masks in public
· Maintain social distance
· Keep your social circle tight
· Don’t travel unnecessarily
· Get a flu shot
Of course, adding to the challenge is the upcoming holiday season with college students coming home for break and families wanting to get together to celebrate. There is nothing I would like more at this point than to have my whole family gather together for a Thanksgiving meal, but we have made the difficult decision that it would be too dangerous. It is recommended that we not travel out-of-state because COVID rates are higher in most other states. We are also discouraged from gathering indoors with friends and family who have been outside our regular social group, since it seems that small indoor gatherings, like weddings and birthday parties, have been significant sources for the spread of COVID.
Governor Cuomo has instituted a procedure for all in-person-instruction SUNY students to follow before coming home for Thanksgiving. He is also recommending that private universities follow this model. It requires a negative COVID test result prior to leaving campus. I highly recommend that anyone who is having family home for the holidays consider using this method as well. Specifics can be found HERE.
Envision this letter as a sandwich with bad news filling and good news bread, because, in a community like Larchmont where people care about each other, our business owners and our environment, there is always some good news to be found to finish things up.
Planning for winter street dining is underway – all around the Village there will be various structures, from igloos and greenhouses to tents and wooden enclosures. It will be a winter wonderland! As with the original June set up, please be patient. This has been much more complicated and we expect that some things may need to be adjusted as time goes along. There are many people working behind the scenes to make our downtown as successful as possible this winter. Thanks go to Melissa Manice of One Larchmont who is an invaluable partner in the winter version of Larchmont al fresco. One Larchmont is providing igloos and greenhouses, helping arrange for a village-wide cleaning service and test-marketing some wooden barriers and platforms which may be used for al fresco going forward! Thanks also need to be given to LFD Chief Caparelli who is reviewing all street use permits and working one-on-one with businesses to find workable solutions. And finally, to Larchmont Nurseries who will be switching the greenery from summer to winter-appropriate plants.
Our Chamber of Commerce is working hard on holiday shopping events. Please commit to shopping local as much as possible during this coming holiday season! A list of downtown holiday events will come out in a separate email soon - Watch for it!
I had the pleasure of cutting the ribbon at our newest restaurant Christopher’s by Chef Joe at 2382 Boston Post Road. What lovely people! They provided a small lunch, outside, where we sampled several dishes – I highly recommend a visit! We will be cutting ribbons at several other new businesses in the coming weeks, including this Friday at Zue Zue Boutique on Larchmont Avenue.
