Anyone have thoughts on Ardsley? (New York, Union: realty, property taxes, apartment)

[jtam2]

I currently live in Manhattan with my wife and 2 kids but have now outgrown my apartment. I am looking for a close Westchester suburb for an easy commute to the city and great elementary schools. These are the two most important criteria. Does anyone have an opinion on Ardsley? Thanks!

Also -- I have heard that alot of the train stations have waiting lists for parking. What do people do if they can't park at the station?

[sallyg]

Ardsley has a great school system- one of the main reasons many choose to move there. There is not a train station in Ardsley- I believe most may use hartsdale, scarsdale, irvington??? Most stations have long waiting lists for parking- some 5 years. There is metered parking- if you can nab those early enough. I believe Hartsdale does not have waiting list- so thats a possibilty. It is not the most esthetically pleasing village- homes are very 70's and not much of a village area, but people seem to love it there- especially the schools!

[rubygreta]

There is only one reason to move there - the schools. So because you have parents who move to Ardsley that value education, and because there are no low-income residents and few renters, the district has good test scores.

Of course you sacrifice. The commute by rail to Manhattan stinks because there is no Ardsley train station, and the parking situation at the nearest train stations (Dobbs Ferry, Hartsdale or Scarsdale) is iffy. The downtown is non-descript, many of the houses are dull 1950's ranches, there is no public outdoor pool facility, property taxes are outrageous, and the traffic at the main downtown intersection (9A and Ashford) is horrendous.

But at least the schools are good!

[linda silvestre]

Any of the following rivertowns are comparable for its great schools and proximity to nyc. Hastings,(citylike), Dobbs Ferry,(variety), Ardsley (greenburgh pools) and Irvington (beautiful). You should look for the house and feel of the town you like best. they are all 5 minutes from each other.

[rubygreta]

The above poster is incorrect. If you live in the Village of Ardsely, you CANNOT use the Greenburgh pool. A small area located outside of the Village of Ardsley that is located in the Ardsley School District can use the Greenburgh pool, which is a very nice amentiy.

[brooklyn-mom]

I grew up in Westchester and now live in Brookly -- also looking to move to burbs in near future.

What I've read a lot about Ardsley Schools is that they are supposed to have a good program for Autism Spectrum kids. I don't know any details about this -- what exactly the structure of that program is.

I agree with the "not aesthetically pleasing" thing, because when I've been reading about Ardsley's good schools, I haven't been able to get my head around accepting Ardsley because I've always seen it as more of a road that I often take and less as a town -- it's non-descript and architechture unattractive. But seems woodsy I guess. There is no cute littl town really, just a few dated little strip malls (I believe).

I didn't realize that all of Ardsley is not elegible to go to Greenburgh pool. But, even so -- I've heard Greenburg pool was a good facility, but as a kid, I witnessed behaviors of Greenburg kids and it wasn't so great. The Greenburg school district the percentage of kids at NYS standards is 2% -- from my NYC experience inappropriate behavior that I wouldn't want to expose my kid to usually goes hand in hand with those kinds of scores. So I suspect the Greenburg kids are still pretty much what they were like when I lived in Westchester. I have a feeling that the Greenburg pool would be chaotic and not a good place to take my family because of it. This is my concern, but I still hear people say that it's so great in blogs, so I'm not at all sure what to excpect with that. It deters me from looking at Edgemont as well, even though Edgemont is beautiful with great schools. What's the REAL story with that Greenburgh pool facility?

[lvnny3]

Ardsley is a great town. there are many great towns in Westchester. There is a great magazine you might want to start to subscribe to called Westchester Magazine. Every year, actually several times a year it seems they list the best schools in Westchester, things to do here, places to eat, all different articles. Great mag!

[jyyanks]

I live in Ardsley and they have an excellent special ed program and an amazing program for autistic kids. I don't know the details first hand but have several friends who moved here from other towns because of that program. Additionally, one of my childhood friends happens to be a school psychologist in the district and she is very familiar with the program. If you need more info, PM me.

The town of Ardsley is not aesthetically pleasing. Strip malls, a handful of restaurants and some realty offices. They did open a DiCicco's which has been very convenient. I don't mind not having a town b/c I like to go to different towns to do things and there are so many in close proximity to Ardsley that lacking a nice town center doesn't bother me. In fact, today I was checking out the antique shops in Tarrytown and had dinner in Dobbs Ferry.

Ardsley "proper" as it is called is the area that does not have access to the Greenburgh pool although the pool is located in Ardsley. The people who live in Greenburgh (Scarsdale, Hartsdale, Dobbs Ferry or White Plains PO but have access to Ardsley schools) have access to the Greenburgh pool. Additionally, some areas in Ardsley who have an Ardsley PO but whose streets are serviced by the Greenburgh town services, have access to it as well. I go there often with friends and it is a very nice and clean facility.

In fact, it is very family friendly facility. Last time I went with a friend and her 2 sons (9 years old and 16years old). She has a cabana with a mini fridge, chairs, food, soda etc etc so we didn't even have to bring anything. My DD soon found 5-6 friends from school and they were having a ball. I was with DS in the kiddie pool. Many families from all parts of Greenburgh go there all summer and its a nice experience. I don't see and I haven't heard anything that could cause a concern. In fact, alot of people looking for homes want Greenburgh recreation just so they can have access to the pool. I wouldn't worry so much about kids mingling and getting poorly influenced at the pool. That can happen anywhere. However, since they are in school for most of their days, I would worry about the schools more and I don't think you can go wrong with either Ardsley or Edgemont.

For those communting into NYC, my DD parks at the Scarsdale train station and commutes to downtown every day. I used to commute by train as well but for the past couple of years have been driving to midtown every day. When we first moved in, we put our names in Scarsdale, Dobbs Ferry and Hastings for train parking (waiting list for each). We got called for each eventually but Scarsdale called first.

Hope this helps.

[brooklyn-mom]

I do need more information on the special ed in Ardsley (and all of the towns in Westchester -- I am actually leaning towards Scarsdale). I am looking right now, and I have a son who has been in a private school for high-functioning autism spectrum, aspergers, speech impaired kids here in the City. So, I would be interested to know the persepctive of a school psychologist about what is best for our situation. I am a little reluctant to leaving the private school situation, but I feel that it is a bit too sheltered and he needs to get out into the real world -- but in NYC there is no such compormise -- the system here just doesn't know how to handle special ed at all. However, what school district can still give him sufficient support? And, am I imagining that Westchester school districts know better how to handle special ed than NYC, but might just be kidding myself. Maybe I sholdn't sacrafice the private school placement for the unknown.
Thanks.

[jyyanks]

I e-mailed my friend to see if she could share some info. I don't know anything about Scarsdale's special ed program but I do know that Ardsley is known for its special ed program. In fact, Ardsley, which has been running enhanced special education classes for a # of years sees students from many other districts taking part in their special education classes. These other districts pay Ardsley $50K-$60K a year to take in some of their special needs kids.

Here's are articles that touch upon the special ed program. One is old (from 2004) but it tells you how long Ardsley's system has been in place

The New York Times > New York Region > As Autism Cases Rise, Parents Run Frenzied Race to Get Help

Ardsley: Real-life, engaging lessons push kids | lohud.com | The Journal News

A friend of mine has 2 kids with Special needs. One is severely autistic, can't speak, probably has the mental capacity of a toddler, the other has ADHD and also needs a private aide, both are doing well in the district.

I would contact the school and talk to the Director of Pupil Services. It doesn't hurt to ask as I'm sure you have a lot of questions specific to your son.

Here's a link to her information as well as a description of some of the special services Ardsley offers

Ardsley Union Free School District

Ardsley Union Free School District > Administration

Good Luck.