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Chappaqua NY

Cardinal Dolan Enjoys Event-Filled Visit To Westchester | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan commended Archbishop Stepinac High School for its upstanding students and technological innovation during his visit on Wednesday.

Dolan, the Archbishop of New York who was identified as a close contender during the last papal conclave in March, visited the school to say Mass, meet students and faculty, answer questions and tour the new technology center.

“Our board and the entire Stepinac community appreciate not only his visit, but the opportunity to show the Cardinal firsthand how Stepinac has transitioned to a 21st century education model while retaining our deep commitment to our faith,” William F. Plunkett Jr., chairman of the Stepinac Board of Trustees, said.

Some of Westchester’s dignitaries were also present, including County Executive Rob Astorino, Deputy County Executive Kevin J. Plunkett and White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach.

In his homily, Dolan told the 700 students, faculty and staff the story of Cardinal Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, a Croatian cardinal who maintained his Catholic faith in the face of the Nazi and Communist regimes.

He praised the school for continuing Stepinac’s legacy with its commitment to service and religious lifestyle.

As part of the mass, he blessed over 700 rosaries for each member of the Stepinac community. Later, he answered questions from students about his religious journey and duties as Archbishop.

Dolan concluded his visit by touring the school’s tech center, which has helped make Stepinac the first high school in the United States with a complete online textbook library.

“It sends a message to the community that although Stepinac has a time-honored tradition,” Mayor Roach said of Dolan’s visit. “It is committed to moving forward every day.”

The school presented Dolan with several gifts, including a painting to hang in the school in his honor, a Stepinac hat and sweatshirt, and a memorial tree planted in his honor.

Dolan returned the favor by saying he would grant the students a day off in the near future, which elicited a loud round of applause.

 

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/cardinal-dolan-enjoys-event-filled-visit-stepinac

New Castle approves 28 apartments to count under Westchester fair housing settlement | Chappaqua Homes

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The New Castle Town Board voted 3-2 Tuesday to grant a special permit to allow the construction of 28 affordable apartments on Hunts Lane in Chappaqua that will help Westchester County meet its goal under the 2009 fair housing settlement.

The developer, Conifer Realty, originally proposed 36 units but the project was downsized after criticism about the height and bulk of the building on a small lot.

“The town had wanted this site developed for years and Conifer stepped forward,” said Al DelBello, the attorney for Conifer.

DelBello said the board members took into account the town’s obligation to provide affordable housing.

“They did talk about how important it was to provide people of lesser means with the opportunities that Chappaqua has to offer,” he said.

As of June 30, the county counted 122 units completed and occupied, 192 units with building permits and 394 with financing. The county must facilitate the construction of 750 affordable units under the settlement.

 

 

New Castle approves 28 apartments to count under Westchester fair housing settlement – Northern Westchester.

NAR survey reveals stark differences in tech use by firm size | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Most Realtor-affiliated real estate brokerages have a single office, are independent, and use fewer technology tools than their larger brethren, according to a report released today by the National Association of Realtors. The report, NAR’s 2013 Profile of Real Estate Firms, includes the results of an online survey fielded in August with 6,671 responses from Realtor executives at real estate firms nationwide.

Results were broken down by whether a firm specialized in residential or commercial brokerage and by the size of the firm: one, two, three, or four or more offices. Eight out of 10 real estate brokerages surveyed operated out of just one office — employing a median of two full-time licensees.

Only 8 percent of brokerages had four or more offices. In terms of technology, the largest firms reported that 20 percent of their customer inquiries or business leads and an equivalent share of the firm’s sales volume were generated from the firm’s website, and that 5 percent of leads and sales volume came from social media.

By contrast, single-office firms reported 10 percent of their leads and sales volume came from the firm’s website and that less than 1 percent of both came from social media.

While more than 90 percent of all firms reported using a multiple listing service website to market their firm’s listings, single-office firms were less likely than the largest firms to use any other websites for marketing. This includes NAR’s official website, realtor.com, which is used by 90 percent of the largest firms but only 78 percent of the smallest firms.

 

read more…

http://www.inman.com/2013/09/10/nar-survey-reveals-stark-differences-in-tech-use-by-firm-size/#sthash.dOm0ob4B.dpuf

Work Begins at New Millwood Firehouse | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Work is underway at the long awaited Millwood Firehouse.

The fire department announced on its Facebook page that it had received a permit from the New Castle Building Department on Aug. 27.

Site work began on Aug. 30, according to the Facebook page. Currently, a path is being carved out and vegetation is being cleared.

The 9-acre 18,000 square foot site is located at 100 Millwood Road. Millwood’s current firehouse at 60 Millwood Road was built in the 1920s.

Millwood Fire District voters approved a bond referendum in 2011 for up to $13.95 million in spending for the new firehouse.

The commissioners board said the fire department expects to move to its new home on the fire company’s original firehouse’s 90th anniversary.

Construction is expected to be completed by late fall 2014.

 

 

 

http://chappaqua.dailyvoice.com/news/work-begins-new-millwood-firehouse

How Much Does it Cost to Install Windows? | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Windows can bring light and warmth, provide views, beautify inside and out and add tremendous value to your home. They also can let in the elements and intruders that put your home at risk. That’s why windows – quality windows – must be considered an important investment. The cost of windows will depend on the type, dimensions, materials used, security features, the complexity of the installation, and, of course, the number of windows needed.
Number of Windows

Generally, the more windows you need to install, the more expensive the installation price. But installation professionals will charge less per window if you install several at the same time. So if you’re thinking about only replacing a couple of windows, it might make sense for you to talk to your pro about the cost of installing multiple windows at one time. It may save you money in the long run.  Continue Reading

Window Sizes

According to Window Replacement DC – Hyattsville, windows tend toward different dimensions depending on where they’re needed. Living rooms typically have larger picture windows hung in multiples ranging from 3×4′ to 6×6′. Standard bathroom windows are quite a bit smaller, ranging from 2×1.5′ to 2×3′. Major window manufacturers can customize windows to any dimensions, but be aware that you may pay more for odd sizes.

Window Sash Materials

Vinyl windows are inexpensive and require little or no maintenance. They’re also extremely durable; changes in humidity don’t cause them to swell or shrink. Most vinyl window manufacturers stand behind their products with strong warranties. Their greatest drawback is that they’re not as sturdy or attractive as wood. Wood frames, on the other hand, cost more and require much more maintenance. Fail to repaint and finish wooden window frames and they become susceptible to the elements. But all that work and money can be worth it for the classic, authentic architectural appeal of wood. That’s why some historical neighborhoods have covenants requiring that windows be framed with wood. New composite windows attempt to capture the best of both worlds by mixing PVC polymers with wood fiber to create a stronger, more attractive synthetic window frame.

Window Panes

New windows can save you considerable money on your utility bills and make your home more comfortable. Windows are rated by the U-factor. The lower the U-factor, the more energy efficient and higher the initial cost. You’ll pay more for double-pane windows, but they will pay for themselves over time. Experts say double-pane windows can save up to 24 percent in cold climates during the winter and up to 18 percent in hot climates during the summer. More about double-pane options.

Other Window Cost Factors

Replacing existing windows is, of course, usually cheaper than cutting walls for new ones. You might consider talking to both your contractor and a security firm about how to make your windows safe from burglars. Also, be aware that windows above the first floor may be more expensive to install because of access issues.

Is a 20% downpayment a life saver, a curse or just an arbitrary number? | Chappaqua Real Estate

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Former Congressman Barney Frank is now well-retired from the U.S. House, but his aggressive legislative personality lives on, with fights still erupting over Dodd-Frank—the signature piece of mortgage finance legislation that Frank helped draft to reform the housing market and the entire U.S. economy.

One of the standards drafted — the qualified residential mortgage rule – received a facelift in August when new proposals hit the market, suggesting Dodd-Frank’s 20% downpayment requirement for lenders who want to obtain an exemption from risk-retention requirements is simply too high.

As a result, the August proposal, which is largely endorsed by the mortgage finance space, suggested that a loan already considered a qualified mortgage under theConsumer Financial Protection Agency’s definition can escape risk-retention scrutiny, which essentially tramples over the 20% downpayment requirement Dodd-Frank originally envisioned.

But the debate continues, with writers for The Washington Post unleashing a fury by publishing an editorial that accuses financial regulators of capitulating to the will of bankers. The writers attack the proposed QRM rule change, saying:

Two years ago, federal banking regulators proposed to require a 20 percent down payment as one of the criteria of qualified loans. This was consistent with the intent of Dodd-Frank, and with the economic literature, much of which identifies low equity as a reliable predictor of homeowner default. But the requirement was quite inconsistent with the interests of a wide range of lobbies — from real estate agents to low-income-housing advocates — which protested that the rule would unduly limit access to credit and kill the housing recovery. The groups swarmed the regulators; hundreds of members of Congress from both parties wrote in support of them. And so, in the dog days of August this year, the regulators backed down, offering a revised rule that requires no down payment at all.   

The article views the proposed changes as retro and a step backwards. It also raises one of the oldest questions in the industry: does the 20% downpayment requirement really keep a borrower performing or is it something else? At a time when few can save 20% down, the industry fears a virtual freeze-out of many potential homebuyers with such onerous requirements.

 

 

Is a 20% downpayment a life saver, a curse or just an arbitrary number? | REwired.

How Google Authorship Will Impact Search and Content Marketing | Chappaqua Real Estate

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In the summer of 2011,  Google announced the support of authorship markup as a way for authors to verify  content they’ve created and become authorities on specific topics. Early  adopters quickly realized the benefits of the new tag and implementation has  continued to grow since its release. Google says authorship is here to  help searchers find great content which will improve the searcher  experience.

Recently, Google  officially announced updating its algorithm to look at signals including  authorship markup to help it provide searchers with in-depth articles in their  results.

To listen to what Matt Cutts has to say regarding how Google will evaluate  the use of authorship markup moving forward you can watch this YouTube Video.

#1. Improving Search Quality

In the Webmaster Help Video, Matt said that while he continues to support  anonymity, “if we know who the real world people are who are actually writing  content, that could be really useful as well and might be able to improve search  quality.“

Matt’s comments lead us to the question….”should we use a pen name to  anonymously represent an author, and how could this decision affect authorship  as a signal? ” Insights into Google Authorship and Search

#2. Content Marketing: Anonymity & Authorship

Modern online marketing campaigns continue to recognize and adopt content  marketing as an integral part of an online marketing strategy which has  increased the amount of content created and published every day. For some, this  is a confirmation of long-held theories – for others, it’s a new starting  point.

According to 2013 research study by the Content Marketing Institute, 86% of B2C  marketers use content marketing and on average, 55% of consumer marketers  plan to increase their content marketing spend. This upward trend also applies  to B2B marketers, which on average are spending 33% of their marketing budgets  on content marketing – up from 26% last year.

Moreover, the majority (54%) say they will increase  their content marketing spending in the next 12 months.

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/05/how-google-authorship-will-impact-search-and-content-marketing/#AEZWs9XO3CQrjGzu.99

Latest Teatown Lake Reservation News | Chappaqua NY Realtor

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September 5, 2013
Click here for more of Teatown’s upcoming programs
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On Time and Place: Celebrating Scenic Hudson’s 50 Years  

Mt. Beacon Reflection, NY(2009), Robert Rodriguez Jr.

All programs require pre-registration. To register, call 914-762-2912 x110.
A Night in the Woods
Sept. 22, 5:00pm
To purchase tickets to the event click here
A Night in the Woods
Auction Sneak Preview
to see more click here
 

Fighter Pilots for a Day

$2,800 value

 

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Suit up with Air Combat USA to learn the tactical maneuvers needed in air-to-air combat. After a briefing, guest pilots are secured into the aircraft alongside their instructor for the hands-on portion of the program. Although the instructor will perform the take-off and the landing, guest pilots will fly the aircraft 90% of the time, while they practice maneuvers and engage in dogfights. Register a hit during a dogfight and smoke will trail from the other aircraft! The whole experience will be recorded by four onboard cockpit cameras and will be yours to keep.

 

Generously donated by Marcia Saunders and Air Combat USA.

~~OR~~
A Fabulous Dinner Party for 8
              $2,000 value

 

 

Plan to invite your best friends for an elegant evening of fine dining, hosted

by Teatown board members,

at a private mansion featuring local fare masterfully prepared by Tastefully Yours Catering of Briarcliff Manor and a selection of fine wines from Gerry Cramer.

Watch the sun set over the Hudson River as you enjoy cockails at Beechwood mansion, one of Westchester’s finest architectural treasures and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Beechwood gained national notoriety in 1905 when it was purchased by financier Frank Vanderlip, President of National City Bank, and his wife, Narcissa Cox, the co-founder of the League of Women Voters. The home features 16-foot ceilings, a walk in fireplace and exquisite wood paneling.

 

Generously donated by Mary Lynn and Fred Putney, Gerry Cramer and Tastefully Yours. 

Visit Teatown

1600 Spring Valley Road
Ossining, NY 10562
914-762-2912
Nature Center hours:
9:00am-5:00pm everyday
Trails are open 365 days a year from dawn to dusk.
  Teatown Lake Reservation’s mission is to conserve open space and to educate and involve the regional community in order to sustain the diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats for future generations.

 

 

Your donation can make an immediate impact to help conserve and protect the diversity of wildlife, plants and habitats . . . today and into the future.

On Time and Place: Celebrating Scenic Hudson’s 50 Years On exhibit in the Nature Center Gallery

September 4-30, 2013

Since 1963, Scenic Hudson has worked to preserve the Hudson Valley’s beauty. To help celebrate its 50th anniversary year in 2013, Scenic Hudson will present a curated exhibition of photographs that pay tribute to the organization’s inspiring story and the Hudson Valley’s people and communities. The diverse group of artwork includes traditional landscapes but also views of waterfronts in transformation and places bearing scars of pollution and other challenges to be addressed.
Learn more about this amazing exhibit.

Gallery hours: Daily, 9:00am-5:00pm

 

Wildflower Island Tours
Saturday, September 7, 11:00am &1:00pm
Sunday, September 8, 1:00pm
Enjoy a guided tour of Wildflower Island, Teatown’s unique two-acre sanctuary that is home to over 230 species of wildflowers and shrubs native to our area.
View the current bloom list.
Please note that access to the Island is by guided tour only. Tours are intended for guests ages 12 and over.

TOUR TIMES:

Saturday, September 7: 11:00am & 1:00pm Sunday, September 8: 1:00pm

$4pp for members; $6pp for nonmembers.
Children’s Discovery Series
Weekly Classes begin September 10th

Knee Hi Nature, 4 Year olds

Tuesdays:

1:00pm-2:30pm or

Wednesdays:

10:00am-11:30am

Boundaries disappear as children explore the natural world of bugs, rocks, habitats and more. Each session features a short hike,

story or craft and visits with animals.

Classes begin September 10th and run for 8 weeks.

Class fee: members $150; nonmembers: $175

FOCUS ON NATURE Series
Jacob Burns Film Center

September 25-October 29

OPENING NIGHT!

Symphony of the Soilnull

Wednesday, September 25, 7pm

Deborah Koons Garcia’s magnum opus on the extraordinarily complex web of life that exists in soil.

Q & A and reception: Dan Barber, who appears in the film, is executive chef and co-owner of the restaurants Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns.Writer/director Deborah Koons Garcia. Moderated by JBFC Executive Director Steve Apkon.

Click here for more details about the series.

This series is presented by Jacob Burns Film Center  in partnership with Teatown Lake Reservation and Scenic Hudson and made possible through generous support from the Hoch family and the van Hengel Family Fund.

Teatown Members may purchase tickets for any of the films in this series at the JBFC member price.
You are also be eligible to receive up to four free tickets (tickets are limited and offered on a first come first served basis) to the family film and workshop, Wing of Life, October 20,12pm.
Reap the rewards of being a Teatown Member!
Join today at teatown.org
Yoga and Hike at Teatown
Saturday,September 28, 9:00am
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Spend a lovely fall morning in the outdoors practicing yoga and taking a peaceful trail
walk at beautiful Teatown Lake Reservation. All levels of yoga welcome. Class led by a Club Fit instructor.
FREE Teatown and Club Fit members;       
$15 for nonmembers.
Call Karen Cornetz at Club Fit to register, 914-250-2762 or email kcornetz@clubfit.com.
Calling all Teatown Camp Alumni! Camp Alumni Reunion
Sunday, October 13, 3:00pm-6:00pm
Recapture your camp days and reconnect with former camp friends  at Teatown’s first camp alumni event! The event is free of charge and open to all camp alumni who have aged out (age 15 and over), counselors and their families. A pizza truck will serve food, beer and soda. Live music will add to the festivities, as well as guided hikes along the Teatown trails.

 

To RSVP, click here or call 914-762-2912 x124.
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14 Social Media Tools Used by Marketing Pros | Chappaqua Realtor

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Are you looking for social media tools to get more out of your marketing?

Are you wondering what tools marketing pros are using successfully?

We asked fourteen well-known marketers to share the latest social media tools they’ve been using.

Discover how you can use these tools to help you to get more out of your social media marketing.

#1: Mention

Todd WheatlandTodd Wheatland

Mention was developed as a user-friendly replacement for Google Alerts. They’re a textbook example of how to build a platform by doing one thing better than anyone else.

As well as being an absolute joy to use, it captures so many more, ahem, ‘mentions’ online than any other platform I’ve used that it’s become my #1 go-to social mention reference tool.

There are many clever things behind the way Mention is set up. They’ve taken the Apple approach to clean and simple UI to give you great functionality as a default and the power to modify settings to really hone in on what’s important to your circumstances.

Mention provides clean and simple functionality.

Apart from doing a fantastic job of identifying online mentions, some of my favorite features are:

  • Simple controls to turn specific sources off—but still be able to monitor them in the spam folder in case you mis-classify something.
  • Default alert emails that take you straight to source, rather than forcing an extra step by taking you to the Mention platform.

    You can see how many online mentions you have in the left-hand column.

Of course, with success, they’re quickly adding features—including an enterprise-level offering—that will make them seem increasingly like a lot of the more established players in the social tools space. So far though, they’ve done a great job of maintaining simplicity and delivering on their core offering.

Todd Wheatland, head of thought leadership at Kelly Services.

#2: Addvocate

jay baerJay Baer

My favorite new social media tool is Addvocate. I like it so much, I invested in the company and joined their board.

Addvocate solves a very common problem in social media, which is the need to decentralize your messengers. Almost always, the employees in your company have more social connections (combined) than the company does for its official social media outposts.

Thus, smart companies need to find ways to ask employees to occasionally share relevant information on their personal accounts. Amber Naslund and I wrote about this in The NOW Revolution, and recommended a “message of the day” email that is sent to all social media–active employees.

Addvocate takes that concept and makes it much, much better. Employees install a simple browser plugin that enables them to receive content recommendations from a centralized marketing team, while also enabling them to recommend content to the marketing team and to one another. The marketing team then gets detailed statistics showing which employees are sharing content on social, how many clicks and engagement actions each employee is generating, etc.

Addvocate enables you to share content with colleagues.

It’s an incredibly easy-to-use, remarkably inexpensive (just a few dollars per month) social media tool that removes the pain of teamwork and content sharing/distribution. I use it constantly to share potential topics for inclusion in our daily email newsletter.

Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert

 

 

read a lot more…

 

http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/social-media-tools-used-by-pros-today/

 

Foreclosures Distort Home-Price Measure | Chappaqua NY Homes

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The housing bust obviously depressed the real estate market, but a new study shows that a big jump in distressed sales during the worst of the downturn may have exaggerated swings in at least one key measure of house prices.

Federal Housing Finance Agency

economists William Doerner and Andrew Leventis examined markets in Miami and Tampa, Fla., to gauge the impact of bank-owned property and short sales on the FHFA’s house price index.

The findings, released in a new paper: distressed sales dragged the index down as housing bottomed out and now are boosting numbers a bit.

“The presence of distressed sales in the standard HPI had a depressing effect on measured price changes. In more recent periods, when distressed sales comprised a shrinking percentage of real estate transactions, the Working Paper reveals the opposite effect. As the ‘weight’ of distressed sales on the standard index decreased in recent periods, the depressing effect lessened over time. This meant that the price appreciation observed in the standard FHFA index was somewhat above what the distress-free measures reported.”

The FHFA’s index is one of several measures that the industry and economists use to gauge the health of the real estate market. The latest data, released July 23, showed that house prices appreciated a seasonally adjusted 0.7% in May from the prior month — the 16th consecutive increase. The report reinforced views that the housing market is rebounding.

The study by Messrs. Doerner and Leventis doesn’t change that. But it does point to some distortion in the index through boom-and-bust cycles.

In the late 1990s, for example, distressed sales in the Miami and Tampa markets tended to price about 10%-15% less than normal sales. As the housing boom accelerated, the discount shrank to 5% and 10%. But from 2007 to 2010, that figure jumped to near 30%.

“In recent quarters, with the onset of the recovery and rising home prices, such discounts have become slightly more modest. In the first quarter of 2013, for instance, the average discount was about 25%,” the authors write.

The paper cautions that the results for Miami and Tampa might not be duplicated in areas that experienced a less dramatic crash or saw fewer distressed sales.