Mount Kisco is dealing with impact of bridge closure

Grafitti scars the underside of the long-closed Preston Way Bridge. THANE GRAUEL PHOTO

By MARTIN WILBUR

Anxious residents and business owners called on village government and the Mount Kisco Chamber of Commerce last week to take more aggressive steps to alleviate negative impacts caused by the stalled Preston Way bridge approval process.

The chamber and the municipality’s Economic Development Council held a community forum Sept. 25 at the Mount Kisco Public Library to update the public and strategize how to move traffic through the downtown congestion more effectively and help merchants, some of whom are losing large chunks of business due to the bridge closure. As of early this week, the village continues to wait for the New York State Department of Transportation to sign off on a redesign of the bridge’s abutments for the proposed rebuilt span.

Village officials remain hopeful the approval is imminent so bid documents could be released. But the green light from DOT remains elusive.

“The biggest questions that all of us have in the room is when is it going to start and when is it going to end, right, and these are things that no one has an answer to yet,” said village Trustee Heather Bryant, who led the forum. “These are the biggest questions for everybody and not even the DOT can tell us.”

The latest issue for the agency, according to Bryant, was whether the village would be able to find a manufacturer to supply the right parts to build the abutment due to acute angles. Village Manager Ed Brancati said this week that companies that have been contacted reported that would not be an obstacle.

Meanwhile, in the 10 months since the bridge was suddenly shut down on Dec. 3, merchants have found it increasingly difficult to remain afloat. Nick Bueti, owner of Mount Kisco Wines & Spirits on North Bedford Road, said sales are down 25% since the closure. He called the situation “a colossal failure of government.”

“I’ve been in business 30 years, I’ve never seen a climate like this, and I’m sure there are other businesses here and in the town that are feeling it,” Bueti said. “This can’t go on more than another year or we won’t have businesses in this town.”

Once DOT gives its approval, Brancati will quickly send out the documents to invite contractors after the Village Board gave him the authorization earlier this year to do that. Brancati said the bid documents will be out for six weeks, followed by a brief period where the lowest responsible bidder’s plans are examined by its consulting engineers. Once that is done, the Village Board can approve the bid.

Brancati said the frustration of waiting for the DOT has mounted, especially since the department has had the plans for five years and returned with an eleventh-hour redesign request in the spring. Between Sept. 8 and Sept. 24, there have been 14 documented conversations between the village and the DOT. All requested documents were submitted more than a month ago, Brancati said.

“I don’t think there’s anything left,” he said. “Anytime they have asked for something, we have turned it around, we have submitted the answers to them.” 

Bryant said as soon as site work begins with the demolition of the existing bridge, construction is expected to last 12 to 18 months.

Oscar de la Puente, managing partner of Mount Kisco Chevrolet located on the North Bedford Road side of the bridge, estimated sales are off as much as 40% at the dealership, although not all of that is due to the bridge. He called on the chamber and other merchants to retain an attorney to learn what legal remedies could be available as sales continue to drop.

“I ask myself what can we do as a member to ensure that the village responds, and I think legal counsel is necessary before we can do anything,” de la Puente said.

Several people also floated the idea of a temporary bridge to help move traffic through Preston Way instead of diverting vehicles around Main Street and onto North Bedford Road. 

With the help of audience comments, the Economic Development Council and chamber leaders compiled a multi-step action plan to explore ways to ease problems. The two entities plan to work with the village to help reduce the traffic bottleneck in the downtown caused by the detour; explore the possibility of erecting a temporary bridge; pressure DOT, particularly Mount Kisco’s corporate businesses; and investigate retaining legal counsel to determine if any recourse is available.

The chamber and some of those in attendance urged merchants to document their business losses in case future litigation against the state is feasible.

“You’ve all suffered. I don’t think there’s a business in town that said, ‘Wow, this is a benefit to me.’ That doesn’t happen,” said chamber Co-executive Director Beth Vetare-Civitello. “So, everybody’s got their records, and to close (the bridge) in December was the biggest, most egregious error that has been made.”

Vetare-Civitello said the chamber is also planning to use much of its SeptemberFest proceeds to pay for advertisements and other publicity in hopes of promoting the village and its businesses through the holiday shopping season. 

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said there is a growing likelihood that a new bridge won’t open before 2028.

“The Mount Kisco economy is suffering and we’re looking at the possibility of going through not only the 2026 holiday season but possibly the 2027 holiday season,” he said.

Resident and former village trustee Theresa Flora said she has been irked by the fact that Mount Kisco has had to take on the responsibility of gathering money and submitting the design for a new bridge while the state and Metropolitan Transportation Authority do little to help.

Bryant said that Yonkers had been in a similar situation to replace one of its spans. However, Bryant explained that because Preston Way is a village road, it is responsible for the two bridge approaches and what is above the surface on the span. The MTA is responsible for what’s underneath the bridge, she said.

Because the rail line had been owned by New York Central Railroad, Amtrak and Conrail over the years, the MTA, which took over in 1983, has been able to avoid taking on half the cost that a railroad operator is typically required to pay, Bryant said. The state and the municipality would share the remaining half.

There has been a commitment of up to $1.5 million from the MTA to pay for workers to stop the trains and other tasks as part of the force labor agreement, Bryant said.

“Now that is not a small sum. It’s a decent amount of money, but that’s it, and that’s where they stop,” Bryant said.

Mount Kisco has received a $5 million state grant and has borrowed $3.6 million to pay for the project. The state has also informed the village there will be more money but that figure has not been disclosed.

However, the $8.6 million estimate given nearly three years ago for the project is virtually certain to be more expensive once bids are returned.