I Live Here Westchester NY

Send us Fan Mail New York has no presumption of shared parenting. When parents separate, a judge decides how much time each parent gets—and that often means one parent becomes primary while the other becomes a visitor. Andre Rainey, Chair of the National Parents Organization’s New York chapter, is pushing to change that.  In this episode:  What really happens in Westchester family court   Why shar...

Send us Fan Mail IN-PLAYER SHOW NOTES Yonkers Public Schools faces a $101 million budget gap for the 2026-27 school year. The district serves 23,000 students, has a 93% graduation rate — the highest among New York's Big Five — and is running out of reserves. The state funding formula groups Yonkers with rural counties 90 miles north instead of Westchester. The budget deadline is tomorrow. Plu...

Send us Fan Mail Antisemitic graffiti was found in the pedestrian tunnel at the Irvington Metro-North station. Within 24 hours, Chabad of the Rivertowns organized a vigil at the station. A second gathering followed at the Shames JCC in Tarrytown. This is the fifth antisemitic incident in Westchester County in recent months — part of a countywide pattern the ADL says increased 22% last year. Plus:...

Send us Fan Mail Westchester County prosecutors seized 37 ghost guns in 2023 — roughly one in seven illegal firearms recovered countywide. Statewide, NYPD ghost gun recoveries surged from 17 in 2018 to 585 in 2022. Governor Hochul's 2026 legislative package targets the entire ghost gun supply chain: the digital files, the 3D printers, and convertible pistol designs. This week's Friday In...

Send us Fan Mail Westchester County committed $50 million to install more than 750 EV charging ports at 79 sites across 24 municipalities — the largest coordinated EV infrastructure investment in the county's history. Free chargers are already live at the County Center. The bus fleet is getting $122.5 million in upgrades. As the federal government pulls back on clean energy, the county is ste...

Send us Fan Mail Neiman Marcus at The Westchester in White Plains closes in May — not because demand dried up, but because Saks Global's $2.65 billion debt load collapsed. Meanwhile, UNIQLO just opened, DeCicco's launched in Sleepy Hollow, and Cross County is building a park. The story is not that retail is dying in Westchester. It is that retail is changing. Plus: Mariachi Mexico closes...

Send us Fan Mail Mount Pleasant just settled the first lawsuit under New York's John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. Four Sleepy Hollow residents challenged the town's at-large election system, arguing it diluted Hispanic voting power. The settlement expands the Town Board from four to six, creates district elections for Sleepy Hollow and Pleasantville, and sets a precedent every municipalit...

Send us Fan Mail Northwell Health is acquiring roughly 240 physicians from Optum in Westchester County, the latest chapter in a healthcare consolidation saga that started when CareMount Medical sold to Optum in 2020. The deal centers on surgical specialties—urology, orthopedics, general surgery—and marks the third identity change in six years for patients. What does this mean for your doctor and y...

Send us Fan Mail Westchester County ranks #1 in the nation for property taxes — $12,812 per year. But county government only controls 15-18% of your bill. This week on The Friday Intel, we break down the 2026 budget: a $197.7 million deficit, 180 eliminated positions, an 8% cut across every department, and a 5.27% tax levy increase that costs the average homeowner about $60 a year. The real threat...

Send us Fan Mail Twenty-one million dollars from the Environmental Bond Act is heading to the Blind Brook corridor in Rye and Rye Brook to replace flood-bottleneck bridges and restore a buried stream. The county capital budget adds another $9 million for flood projects including Lake Isle Dam in Eastchester. Is $30 million enough? Plus: Ossining breaks ground on 108 affordable apartments, ConEd ra...

Send us Fan Mail From Ski Accident to Healthcare Entrepreneur | Brian Dombal | I Live Here Westchester In this episode of I Live Here Westchester, Jim sits down with Brian Dombal, partner of ProClinix Sports Physical Therapy & Chiropractic, to talk about the personal story that led him into healthcare—and how a life-changing injury at 14 set him on a path to building one of Westchester’s premi...

Send us Fan Mail The Supreme Court struck down $175 billion in tariffs—and the administration replaced them with a new surcharge the same day. Westchester businesses are caught between rising costs, uncertain refunds, and a county budget that was already running short. Plus: White Plains affordable housing lottery results, a major biotech campus opens in Rye, and minimum wage hits $17 in Westchest...

Send us Fan Mail A 2.3 magnitude earthquake struck Sleepy Hollow on March 10th—one of only twenty quakes that size or larger in this area since 1950. Twelve hundred people reported feeling it. The epicenter sits on the Dobbs Ferry Fault, connected to the Ramapo system, and seven miles from the Indian Point nuclear plant. Plus: ConEd rate hikes are now in effect, New York's first inflation ref...

Send us Fan Mail Rep. Lawler and Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced a plan to rebuild and reopen Indian Point at a cost of ten billion dollars. But a legal agreement requires unanimous local consent—and at least two of the five required parties are firmly opposed. Is this a real proposal or a political play? Plus: a rabid coyote attacks in Eastchester, a new clean transit pilot for Peekskill,...

Send us Fan Mail Tuesday's magnitude 2.3 earthquake in Sleepy Hollow was small. But the seismic data underneath Westchester County tells a much bigger story — about a 185-mile fault system, a previously unknown seismic zone discovered less than a mile from Indian Point, and buildings that were never designed to handle what the geology says is coming. In This Episode: (0:00) Cold Open — Your h...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Westchester Brief: Westchester County just launched its own podcast — and we have thoughts. The county government is betting on audio to connect with residents, but is it a real transparency play or just another PR channel? We break down what it means for local media, accountability, and whether government-produced content can actually serve the public. In This Episod...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Westchester Brief: Westchester's dining scene is booming. From a James Beard-nominated chef opening in Bronxville to a high-end sushi concept landing in Larchmont, the county is becoming a serious food destination. We break down the openings, the trends, and why Westchester is pulling diners who used to head into the city. In This Episode: 0:00 - Introduction 0:3...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Westchester Brief: A proposed 175-home development in Mount Pleasant is raising serious environmental and community concerns. The Fieldwood project would disturb 158 acres of land once owned by the Rockefeller family — and residents are pushing back hard. We dig into the SEQRA review, the zoning conflicts, and what it means for Westchester's development future. I...

Send us Fan Mail Today on The Westchester Brief: Cross County Center in Yonkers just broke ground on a 58,000 square foot expansion and a brand-new 4-acre park — while malls across America are closing their doors. Marx Realty is betting big on experiential retail. We break down what it means for Westchester's retail landscape. In This Episode: 0:00 - Introduction 0:30 - Deep Dive: Cross Count...

Send us Fan Mail The Rockefeller estate at Kykuit is closing indefinitely. Historic Hudson Valley says the 87-acre Pocantico Hills landmark needs millions in infrastructure repairs—and there's no timeline for reopening. It's not just a tourist attraction going dark. It's a signal about the future of Westchester's historic preservation. IN THIS EPISODE: (0:00) Cold Open: The hil...

Send us Fan Mail DA Susan Cacace and State Police launch D.A.S.H.—the District Attorney's Safer Highways initiative—targeting the Sprain Brook Parkway and I-684. DWI arrests are up 41% since 2020. Crashes are up 10% over five years. Two senior prosecutors are now reviewing highway stops in real time for criminal escalation. IN THIS EPISODE: (0:00) Cold Open: Prosecutors ride along with state...

Send us Fan Mail Westchester County activates Operation Safeguard, a dedicated security operation protecting every house of worship in Westchester and Putnam counties through Easter. Counter-Terrorism Zone 3 is coordinating increased patrols at mosques, synagogues, and churches as Ramadan, Lent, Passover, and Easter overlap in a six-week window. IN THIS EPISODE: (0:00) Cold Open: Four major religi...

Send us Fan Mail After five hundred teenagers stormed the Mall at Bay Plaza in the Bronx on Presidents' Day, social media posts named Westchester locations as the next targets. Cross County Center in Yonkers, Mount Vernon, and New Rochelle all appeared in viral posts. The county activated its Real Time Crime Intelligence Center, and police departments across the region went on high alert. IN...

Send us Fan Mail Rep. Mike Lawler introduces three housing bills—including the Superfund Area Facts and Exposure Act targeting homes near contaminated sites like the Amawalk Reservoir. IN THIS EPISODE: 0:00 Cold Open: Lawler's housing agenda 0:20 H.R. 7597, 7596, 7595 explained 2:15 PFAS contamination & Granite Pointe development 4:00 Political context & June primary 4:45 Essential Pl...

Send us Fan Mail Justice Linda S. Jamieson just certified a class action against Houlihan Lawrence Inc. covering roughly 10,000 dual-agency transactions from 2011 to 2018. Plaintiffs allege systematic undisclosed dual agency, bonus incentives for in-house deals, and forged disclosure forms. The firm controlled 80% of all $2M+ transactions in Bronxville. Houlihan Lawrence is owned by HomeServices o...