Committee narrows choices for Bedford Hills mural

BEDFORD HILLS, N.Y. - A committee of Bedford Hills residents is taking the necessary first steps to add a welcoming mural to their community’s downtown gateway.

Directly facing Metro-North’s commuter rail station, the mural will adorn a now-vacant side wall of the Bedford Grab & Go on Adams Street. It’s meant, Supervisor Ellen Calves says, to be art that “speaks to the spirit of Bedford Hills.”

The Town Board voted last month to spend $12,500 in state and federal funding on the project, part of an ongoing effort, Calves said, “to beautify and enliven downtown Bedford Hills.” The mural is expected to have a three-year run greeting anyone coming to the downtown area.

Eight community leaders—among them Jennifer Wege, the town’s business promoter—make up the mural-selection committee. Also serving are Anthony Becker, a local business owner; Ellen Cohen, president of the Bedford Hills Historical Museum; Rosemary Lee, a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals; David Liburdi, a member and former chief of the Bedford Hills Fire Department; Terrie Paladino, the Bedford Hills Public Library president; Lisa Spano, co-owner of Robert Spano plumbing; and Fran Tucker, who is with the Bedford Hills Women’s Club and part of the Antioch Community.

Bobbi Bittker, a Town Board member and long-term Bedford Hills resident, also serves on the committee.

The members have already winnowed almost four-dozen applications, local and global, down to a select few, Calves said last week.

Continuing their deliberations now, committee members are looking to quickly narrow the finalists to about three. At that point, the Town Board will work with the Grab & Go’s owner, Helal Saleh, to choose the winning mural.

Under terms of an agreement the Town Board voted last month, the artist creating the work will receive a stipend of $5,000 and have up to $2,500 to spend on supplies. Grab & Go will be paid $5,000 and have space incorporated into the mural’s final design for a sign identifying the business.

Wege called the mural “a very exciting project for Bedford Hills and the Town of Bedford.”

“We are going to plan events around the installation,” she said, “and anticipate increased foot traffic to the hamlet and the businesses.”