Park Hill

I ran this the other day, but I’m running it again, especially as it looks like we’re going to have some nice weather for the event.

The PHRA says:

Eat Pancakes, Pay Less

Our first Pancake Breakfast & Plant Sale is on Sunday, May 22nd,9:00 am – 11:30 am at The Racquet Club! Rain or Shine

Buy advance tickets now and save $2 off each breakfast:
Adults, $10 at the door, $8 in advance
Kids, $7 at the door, $5 in advance

Send your check to PHRA, P.O. Box 59, Yonkers, NY 10705.
Indicate your name, number of adults and number of children. Your name will be at the door when you arrive. We must receive your check by Friday, May 20th to receive advance sale prices!

So bring your appetite, and your green thumb and green cash for the plants.

Proceeds will benefit beautification projects in Park Hill. See you there.

Volunteers are needed for the breakfast and the plant sale. If you can help, contact Kathryn Buckley at 375-5125 or email BuckleyJim[@]msn[.]com.

I’ll be with the wife in the Old Country, so someone please have a stack of blueberry pancakes, some link sausages and a couple of bloody mary’s for me, ok?

The Racquet Club will hold another Martini Night at the bar this Friday, May 20th, at 7:00.

Everyone told me I had a good time at the last one, so come on out. And, once again, keep in mind that there is no such thing as a vodka martini, you cretins (and I mean that in a nice way…)

Well, the title says it all: Martinis and Margaritas at the Club tonight. Come, and bring your liver.

And remember: there is no such thing as a “vodka martini”

The PHRA says:

Eat Pancakes, Pay Less

Our first Pancake Breakfast & Plant Sale is on Sunday, May 22nd,
9:00 am – 11:30 am at The Racquet Club!
Rain or Shine

Buy advance tickets now and save $2 off each breakfast:
Adults, $10 at the door, $8 in advance
Kids, $7 at the door, $5 in advance

Send your check to PHRA, P.O. Box 59, Yonkers, NY 10705.
Indicate your name, number of adults and number of children.
Your name will be at the door when you arrive.
We must receive your check by Friday, May 20th to receive advance sale prices!

So bring your appetite, and your green thumb and green cash for the plants.

Proceeds will benefit beautification projects in Park Hill. See you there.

Volunteers are needed for the breakfast and the plant sale. If you can help, contact Kathryn Buckley at 375-5125 or email BuckleyJim[@]msn[.]com.

So come on out and eat plant some pancakes, or, em, eat some plants or whatever.

A concerned Park Hillian (how, exactly do we refer to ourselves? Park Hill Residents seems so cumbersome…) sent me the following, lifted mostly from a Westchester Board letter to Amicone:

The new Yonkers Budget proposes an increase in the Real Estate Transfer Tax from 1% to 3%. If approved by the City Council it would probably go into effect on July 1, 2005.

If this tax increase is approved, when you sell your home you will pay 3% of the sale price to the City of Yonkers at the closing. Not only is this an expensive burden to homesellers but it will inevitably make Yonkers homes less desirable (and less valuable) to buyers who will recognize this as a “hostage tax”; one that they in turn will pay when they sell.

According to the Westchester Board of Realtors: The median asking price of a house in Yonkers is $529,000. At that price sellers would pay $15,870. plus a state transfer tax of $2116. This places the Yonkers property at a $15,870 disadvantage when compared to other communities (most of them) that do not have a transfer tax. Furthermore, Yonkers buyers are burdened by the City’s local mortgage recording tax of $5 per $1,000 of filed mortgage. These combined taxes are capable of doing real damage to local home values and present a substantial disincentive to purchase a home in Yonkers.

If you are concerned about this unfair tax you may e-mail council members at the addresses below.
Richard.Martinelli@CityofYonkers.com
Patricia.McDow@CityofYonkers.com.
Sandy.Annabi@CityofYonkers.com
Dennis.Robertson@CityofYonkers.com
Liam.McLaughlin@CityofYonkers.com
John.Murtagh@CityofYonkers.com
Dee.Barbato@CityofYonkers.com

Public Hearings on the proposed budget are currently scheduled:
Tuesday, May 10 at 7:00 PM - Council Chambers, City Hall
Tuesday, May 17 at 7:00 PM - Crestwood Branch of the Yonkers Public Library, 70 Thompson St

This is a bad idea folks. Let’s let them know just how bad an idea it is.

Innovative Stages will perform four one act plays at the Racquet Club this coming Friday night, May 6th, at 7:30. Suggested donation is $5.00. Here’s the link to the flyer with details of the plays.

Mark Miller Tuning his Bouzouki

Musicians Anonymous held their first Open Mic nite at the Park Hill Racquet Club Saturday night. Around 40 adults showed up to enjoy the cakes, gourmet coffee and music accompanied by uncountable numbers of small children (they appeared to be moving close to the speed of light.) The event also drew a few folks from neighboring Riverdale.

Dina Miller, daughter of event organizer Mark, opened the night with a charming set of traditional songs. Beth Kaufman then took the mic and covered several modern songs and an Irish traditional. Mark Miller and Kieran Michael closed out the night with two sets of originals and covers, and the audience brought Beth back for an encore.

From the children dancing in the hallway to the neighbors chatting at the bar over drinks, the evening had a festive air with one audience member commenting that the music enlivened the club, transforming it into a bohemian coffee house for a night. Watch this space for news of the next Open Mic Nite.

Tom Socol, Kieran Michael, Beth Kaufman and Mark Miller