Northern Westchester

After years of review of a condo and townhouse project at the former Reader’s Digest property, the New Castle Town Board Tuesday came out with a list of changes it is demanding in the development plans. The issues include parking, the height of residential buildings, the number of affordable units and the amount of land to be rezoned from commercial to residential.

A spokesman for the developers said the demands came out of the blue when they thought they were near the end of the environmental review and only had a few minor issues to resolve.

“It was a total ambush and a back-stabbing,” said Geoffrey Thompson, a spokesman for Summit Development and Greenfield Partners. He said they will be “considering all of our options.”

But Supervisor Barbara Gerrard said all the questions have been raised before.

“They kept basically ignoring or pushing it,” she said. “Well, they don’t get to decide that.”

The board discussed the list of issues at a work session Tuesday morning.

The sentencing date for Former North Salem Supervisor Paul Greenwood, who pleaded guilty over the summer to securities fraud and other charges in connection with WG Trading and other businesses, has been postponed.

Sentencing was originally scheduled for Dec. 1. A new date has not yet been set.

Greenwood admitted to taking millions out of businesses he owned with Stephen Walsh for his personal use and to misleading investors about losses. Walsh has pleaded not guilty.

Armonk Players’ production of “It Happened One Christmas Eve” — opening this week for a two-weekend run — is a musical of plenty.

There are plenty of accents: English, Irish, Boston, Brooklyn and Romanian.

There are plenty of story lines among a house full of interesting characters — an Irish cook, an English spinster, a Brooklyn showgirl who dreams of stardom, a proud Boston poetess and two Romanian brothers who might remind some of Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin’s wild and crazy guys from classic ‘70s “Saturday Night Live.”

Check out a video interview with Armonk Players director Pia Haas as she talks about the upcoming “It Happened One Christmas Eve”

And for a LoHud.com PHOTO GALLERY from the Armonk Players, click the link.

Pound Ridge residents can weigh in on the town’s $7.1 million preliminary budget at a public hearing on Thursday, Dec. 2.

The tax rate for the general and highway funds would be 3.4 higher in 2011 under the budget proposal.

Spending would decrease by $146,003, under the plan. But Steve Conti, the town’s finance director, noted in a recent story in The Journal News that while spending would go down under the budget, Pound Ridge officials are also planning to lower the amount of surplus it uses to pay for the budget.

The town set aside $850,000 in surplus in 2010 to help pay for the budget, but in 2011 only $500,000 of fund balance would be used to help pay for town operations.

The Dec. 2 hearing will start at 8 p.m. at the Town House, 179 Westchester Ave.

BRIARCLIFF MANOR — The Briarcliff Manor Police Benevolent Association announces that it will be holding a holiday toy drive to bring joy and fun to patients at the Children’s Hospital at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

The drive begins Wednesday and runs through Dec. 21.  New and unwrapped toys, mostly for infants and teens, are requested.  Toys can be dropped off at police headquarters, 1111 Pleasantville Road anytime through Dec. 21.

The Bedford Presbyterian Church is opening its annual Mistletoe Mart on Saturday, Dec. 4.

Hand-crafted gifts such as wooden furniture, jewelry, pottery and yule logs will be sold at the event, organizers said in a written announcement. They also said that a hand-made quilt made by the Bedford Quilters with shades of blue and green will be raffled at the event. Raffle tickets will be sold the day of the event, which runs from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m.

There will also be a Treasure Trove room where “gently-used treasures” will be on sale, organizers said.

The event will include a chowder and chili lunch as well as a bake sale.

If there is snowy weather on Dec. 4, then the event will be held a week later on Dec. 11.

The church is located on the Village Green in Bedford Village.

For more information, call the church at 914-234-3672 or go to the church website at www.bedfordpreschurch.org.

SUBMITTED PHOTO: This photo shows the “Mistletoe Mart Crafters.” From left to right they are Jean Palmer, Charlotte Spiers, Gloria Hughart, Jeanne Morrison, Harriette Scott, Jan Hershey and Janet Morris (Photo by Holly Conetta)

The South Salem-based Wolf Conservation Center is holding is holding a fundraiser on Thursday, Dec. 2.

The event, which will be held at the Carriage House at the Waccabuc Country Club, will include a silent auction as well as wine and food tasting, according to the South Salem-based center.

The event will raise money that will go towards paying for accommodations for two new “ambassador wolf” pups the center expects to receive in the spring from another facility, said Deborah Heineman, the wolf center’s executive director.

The center’s ambassador wolves are shown to visitors as part of the center’s educational programs.

The center plans to create a playground enclosure for the pups and to have a trailer outfitted for their needs, Heineman said.

It costs $75 to attend the fundraiser. People can get more information on the event by going to the Wolf Center’s website. Space is limited and Heineman noted this week that the event is virtually sold out.

The fundraiser will be held from 7-10 p.m. at The Carriage House, located at 90 Mead St. in Waccabuc.

FILE PHOTO: Students from the Pound Ridge Elementary School get to see Atka, one of the Wolf Conservation Center’s ambassador wolves on Jan. 20, 2010. (Frank Becerra, Jr./The Journal News)

A show of oil paintings by Dianne Aronian will open at 121 Restaurant/Gallery on Dec. 5. RSVP is appreciated. Here’s the info:

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino is coming to St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on Monday, Nov. 29 to discuss his 2011 budget plan.

The event will start at 6:30 p.m in the Fellowship Hall at St. Matthews. The church is located at 382 Cantitoe St. in Bedford. The talk is being hosted by the Bedford/Armonk Rotary Club.

In a written announcement, organizers urged people to arrive early to the event since space will be limited.

FILE PHOTO: Rob Astorino discusses his 2011 budget at a Nov. 9 news conference in White Plains. (Matthew Brown/The Journal News)