Village of Ardsley
507 Ashford Avenue
Ardsley, NY 10502
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A MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
Jay Leon
It is one of my great honors and pleasures to serve as the Mayor of Ardsley, one of the great small communities of New York State, and I thank you for visiting our site and taking the time to read why our village is so special.
Ardsley is located in southwestern Westchester County, only a half hour's drive while obeying the speed limits from midtown Manhattan (add some time for rush hours, of course). We are nestled between Dobbs Ferry to our west, Yonkers and Hastings to our south and Scarsdale and Greenburgh to our east and north.
Many of our residents moved to Ardsley from New York City because the price of homes, while by no means inexpensive, is much lower here than in nearby villages such as Chappaqua, Scarsdale and Bronxville, yet the school district is one of the best in Westchester County.
Municipalities in New York State generally fall into the categories of either a city, a town, a village or a hamlet. Every village must be a part of a town. Hamlets do not have any local government, but are small sections of larger villages or towns. Ardsley is a village, and it is one of six villages that are located within the Town of Greenburgh.
It is interesting to note that the area known as Ardsley-on-Hudson is a neighborhood located in the nearby villages of Dobbs Ferry and Irvington, and it is not to be confused with our village. Please don't make the common mistake of exiting a Metro-North Hudson line train at the Ardsley-on-Hudson station looking for our fair village, only to find yourself in Irvington (a fine place in its own right, but a different location none-the-less).
With that said, here, in my humble yet extremely biased opinion, are the top ten reasons for living in Ardsley (with my sincere apologies to David Letterman and the Late Show writers):
1) EXCELLENT SCHOOL SYSTEM - The Ardsley School System, which services parts of unincorporated Greenburgh and Dobbs Ferry as well as all of Ardsley, is without a doubt one of the finest in the state.
The educational program provides for excellence in ways unique to each school. At the K-4 Concord Road School, a series of innovative programs have been adopted. These include Investigations in Number, Data and Space, a program designed by the Technical Education Research Center to enhance problem-solving skills in mathematics and Columbia University's Teachers College Reading and Writing Project. Ardsley Middle School is organized into grade level teams that offer departmentalized, interdisciplinary instruction. The team schedule provides time for team planning and conferencing with students, parents, and/or support staff.
The curriculum at Ardsley High School is comprehensive; while predominantly an academic high school with an emphasis on college preparatory subjects, the offerings are designed to serve a wide range of interests and abilities. The program includes honors and advanced placement courses, occupational education through BOCES and a Work Study/Externship that affords students the opportunity to gain job and volunteer experiences. Throughout the District, special education students participate in regular classes. Special Education teachers work closely with grade level and subject area teachers as part of a collaborative/integrated special education program. Specialists in music, art, library, physical education, technology, home and careers and computers enrich the curriculum.
At Ardsley Middle School, the literary magazine, Apogee, recently won the Bronze Award from the Merlyn's Pen Corporation and the Math League team earned first place in the statewide competition. At Ardsley High School, the Class of 2003 had two National Merit Scholarship winners and six National Merit Commended students.
Each of the schools contains a state-of-the-art library media center complete with computer work stations, Internet access and software that complements and enhances classroom learning and research activities. A District resident recently commented, "When I saw the elementary school library, it seemed like a temple of learning."
Recently, the District earned two prestigious awards from the United States Department of Education. Ardsley Middle School was recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence and the Concord Road Elementary School received the National Award for Model Professional Development. These awards signify our commitment to excellence.
2) GREAT LOCATION - As aforementioned, Ardsley is located only 20 miles north of mid-town Manhattan. There is easy access to the New York State Thruway and the Saw Mill River Parkway. We are within short driving distance of major shopping malls in Yonkers and White Plains, and the Palisades Mall is only a 20 minute drive over the Tappan Zee Bridge.
3) SAFE ENVIRONS - The Ardsley Police Department is comprised of 19 dedicated members who are available for assistance 24/7 on a moments notice. Having such a professional staff in such a small locality has tremendous benefits. There are many anecdotes of our Police Officers arriving in less than two minutes to emergencies called in by our residents - a response time that cannot be surpassed anywhere. Our crime rate is low, and when trouble on very rare occasions take place, the cases are usually resolved quickly and accurately.
The Ardsley Fire Department is possibly the best volunteer units in Westchester County. The AFD serves parts of Greenburgh as well as Ardsley, but their response times are as impressive as the Police Department's. They provide a tremendous service to the community, and we are extremely grateful for their hard work and sacrifice for the greater good.
The Ardsley-Secor Volunteer Ambulance Corps is equally competent and vital to our community. ASVAC generally covers the area encompassing the Ardsley School District, and between the wider geographic area and the addition two years ago of the Woodlands Senior Assisted Living Facility to our village, this hard-working group of volunteers are now answering about 400 calls per year. ASVAC makes an exceptional contribution to the high quality of life we enjoy in Ardsley, and we hold them in the same high esteem as we hold our Police and Fire Departments.
4) MUNICIPAL SERVICES - Being that I live in beautiful heights of Ardsley's southern side, visitors frequently remark how difficult it must be to drive up and down the local hills in the snow. Locals know better though. The Ardsley Highway Department does a fantastic job of clearing the snow - so good that during most snowstorms you can actually see on the roads where the village's borders start and stop by where our snowplows, the fastest in the area, ceased to continue into the bordering municipalities.
Of course, the Highway department's good work is not limited to snow removal. The sanitation and recycling collection is clean and reliable, and they do a great job maintaining the streets, parks and public buildings.
Our other municipal workers do a fantastic job servicing the community each and every day. Stop by Village Hall on any work day and see what I mean - they're a conscientious and pleasant bunch of people that are eager to assist you.
5) DOBBS FERRY COMMUNITY HOSPITAL - It is difficult for me to minimize how important it is that we have this gem of a medical facility only five minutes away in neighboring Dobbs Ferry. Visitors to the emergency room are treated courteously, professionally, and often, very quickly. The quality of care is excellent, and locals in the Rivertowns consider the Community Hospital at Dobbs Ferry to be a tremendous Godsend.
Recently a commission sponsored by the New York State legislature has threatened to close down the community hospital. If that was to happen, we would still have alternatives a bit further away such as White Plains Hospital, Westchester Medical Facility, Phelps Memorial Hospital, Lawrence Hospital and St. John's Medical Center. However, none of these facilities can take the place in the hearts and minds - and health care treatment - of local residents. We are therefore continuing to lobby our State officials to keep this vital facility open.
6) FIRST-CLASS PUBLIC LIBRARY - The Ardsley Public Library opened its doors in a storefront on Center Street nestled between a bakery and a pizzeria in 1971. By 1982, the Ardsley community acknowledged their diamond in the rough and raised the money for a new, expanded library located at its current site. The next 11 years saw an increase in the population of Ardsley, specifically new families with young children. In order to better serve this growing population, in 1993, the Ardsley Public Library expanded and added a new Children's Library which included a separate program room. Currently, the library is overdue for an expansion, and so we are currently planning for a new renovation and addition.
The Library has a full selection of popular fiction and nonfiction, a large print collection, magazines and newspapers, Books-on-CD and Books-on-Tape, Video Tapes and DVDs. The Children's Room has collections for all age groups and reading levels -board books for the tots, beginning readers, early readers, juveniles and great titles to support the school curriculum. If there is an item you can't find at the library, they can get it for you from within the county or beyond.
There are computers for public use that can access the Internet as well as provide word processing, resume help and educational games. The Library is also a wireless hot spot, so feel free to bring your own laptop to access the Internet.
All in all, the Ardsley Public Library is a star among its peers -- as recognized in 2005 when Hennen's American Public Library Ratings ranked it as one of the top ten libraries of its size in the nation. That's a fantastic accolade for what has grown to become one of the great treasures of our little village.
7) RECREATION AND PARKS - Ardsley Parks & Recreation has their "home base" at the Ardsley Community Center on Center Street, in the heart of the Village. The ACC has ping pong, a large screen television and other entertainment facilities, as well as a fully equipped kitchen. The ACC is used by Community Organizations through-out the week. The building hosts various activities sprinkled through-out the year. Saturdays and Sundays are available (and often used) for private rentals.
Our Recreation Programs continue to grow! The village holds many events, and we're planning more. They include a back to school "Movie in the Park", the Ardsley Open/Matty Hertz Tennis Tournament, 5K Race, Men's Softball League, Women's Pick-up softball, Adult Basketball, Youth Basketball, tennis clinics and skateboard clinics. We run three mini sports camps in August (baseball, volleyball & basketball). We have a fantastic Halloween Parade, the annual garage sale, the school-ending Ice Cream Social and a Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Ardsley boasts two beautiful parks and many "corner" parks. McDowell Park, located on the eastern end of Heatherdell Road, is our baseball park. It has four fields, new restrooms, a gazebo and snack bar. The Ardsley Little League has over 1100 kids that participate from tee-ball on up! At Ashford Park, located on Ashford Avenue, we have playground equipment, 4 tennis courts, a small (but awesome) skatepark, a basketball court, a softball field, and lots of open space for general "running around" which AYSO, the local soccer league uses for their games. There are picnic tables and a snack bar that is open seasonally.
Ardsley Parks & Recreation is working hard in conjunction with our Recreation Commission to bring more activities to everyone in Ardsley! If you have an idea or want to help, please call us at 693-8012.
8) GREAT RESTAURANTS - Ardsley may be a small village, but we have more than our fair share of great restaurants. We offer a choice of Italian, Chinese, Japanese (including Hibachi), Thai and American-style restaurants and they're all great. I'll get in trouble singling out any one restaurant at the expense of others, but let me say this: Pizza lovers have several terrific alternatives, and we're a great place to find first-rate sushi as well. There are two great ice cream parlors, and several delicious delis. The bagels are as good as anywhere in Westchester County. No matter what kind of food you crave, I highly recommend you come to Ardsley and check out one of our 1st-rate establishments!
Oh - and don't forget our very own Starbucks, which has become an unofficial meeting place for many in the Rivertowns area. Who says there's no place to hang out and meet friends in the suburbs?
9) FANTASTIC MERCHANTS - There's a certain level of service and friendliness you receive at a local merchant that you will never experience at a big-box store. The best case in point - the long-established Ardsley Hardware Store, in which the friendly advice and help enables the hopelessly klutzy Mayor of this village to successfully complete various projects.
We are also grateful to the addition in June 2006 of our only supermarket, DeCicco's, which offers gourmet foods at a reasonable price. This is not to take away from our various convenience stores and food marts (including the village fixture Sunnydale Farms, as well as two other smaller markets). They're all very convenient and eager to please.
I can't mention every drug store, dry cleaner, real estate office and auto repair shop, nor any of the other categories of service located in our fair village. However, we are constructing a page on this web site that mentions all of our merchants and supplies links to their sites. I wholeheartedly suggest you check them out!
10) A GREAT COMMUNITY OF PEOPLE - The residents of Ardsley and its surrounding community are among the friendliest, most helpful and welcoming that you'll find anywhere! Come shop in our stores, eat at our restaurants, visit our library, walk our streets or visit our schools and see for yourself. I look forward to seeing you soon... let's catch up at the local Starbucks for a Soy Vanilla Latte and a lot of friendly conversation!
Best regards,
Jay Leon
Mayor of Ardsley
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