Good morning subscribers. ☕ This is your Wednesday, September 4, Rye Record newsletter, curating some of the latest headlines across the city of Rye.

To listen to an audio version click here

Stepping into a new world. Across Rye schools there wasn’t the typical quiet that comes with summer recess. In its place was a steady din of construction as schools officials embarked on a makeover to modernize the city’s district campuses.

The student body returned this week to halls resembling tech-driven, modern work spaces — not the rigid classrooms of a largely bygone era.

Superintendent of Schools Eric Byrne said the classrooms will look a lot more like “a Google space.”

The high school has an “iLab” now equipped with the most advanced technology to foster creativity and connection.

Remnants of an old $80 million school bond from 2019 as well as the voter-backed $110.5 million school budget in May paved the way for the work.

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-This newsletter is curated by Christian Falcone

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IN OTHER NEWS

The other football. The Rye High School girls soccer team, fresh off a storybook state championship run, is gearing up for another stellar season. But coach Jared Small has bigger plans than just wins. -Camille Botello

Rats! Rye police are warning residents about a spate of recent thefts where the swindlers use glue traps to steal envelopes out of mailboxes across the city.

New to the crew. The Rye Fire Department welcomed new firefighter Tyler Conway at a ceremony in Rye City Hall. Conway, a graduate of Rye High School, served in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Afghanistan.

AROUND TOWN

-Rye Rec is hosting its Food Truck Festival on Saturday, September 7, from noon to 4 p.m. The festival will offer a variety of food options and activities for kids.

-The Capitol Theatre has just announced The Temptations and The Four Tops will be performing their classics in December. Tickets go on sale this Friday, September 6 at 10 a.m.

Off the record: A group of teens in a SUV were caught driving around Rye and Port Chester over the weekend blasting pedestrians with what police are calling “gel pellets.”

Annual parking permits for the Rye train station lot, and resident-only commuter lots on Highland Road and Cedar Street, are set to increase to $1,100. The rate goes into effect January 1.

WEATHER

Today’s Weather Channel local forecast calls a high of 78 degrees with a UV Index of 7. ☀️ Check out the forecast for the rest of the week here.

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BUSINESS

Five New Businesses Reshape Rye’s Downtown Shopping District

Rye’s downtown is bucking predictions that brick-and-mortar retail is in a death spiral.

At 4 Purchase St., a large window sign urges passersby to get ready for the opening of The Vital Stretch, an assisted stretching studio offering preventative treatments.

The addition effectively creates a health and wellness corridor at the southern end of town with IV infusions offered at The DRIPBaR Rye at 20 Purchase St. and training and nutrition coaching available at Trinity Nutrition & Fitness at 22 Purchase St.

-by David Hessekiel

SPORTS

Rye Coach Dino Garr Talks High Expectations for State Champion Football Squad

Rye High School varsity football coach Dino Garr has a few lofty goals for this season, and beating rival Harrison and making it to the postseason are just a few of them.   

“The Rye community and coaching staff always has high expectations, the players know that,” Garr told The Record.

Garr and the varsity football squad are coming off a Class B state championship last year — the first for the team since 2008 — and a 12-2 winning record in the regular season.

-by Camille Botello

COLUMN

For the Spotted Lanternfly — Squish, Crush, Smash PDQ

The spotted lanternfly was first discovered in the U.S. in 2014 in Pennsylvania.

It is a destructive insect, originally from Asia, that feeds on many different crops, landscapes, and fruit trees. It is currently found in 14 states and is spreading quickly.                           

But there are options for spotted lanternfly management.

-by Chris Cohan

COMMUNITY

Voris Archeological Dig Unearths Treasures on Milton Road

William Voris, one of Westchester County’s first Black entrepreneurs, ran an inn and tavern and a homemade ice cream shop in two locations in Rye, becoming prosperous and influential at a time when enslaving Black people was still common practice in half of the U.S.

From July 22 to Aug. 2 volunteers and two archaeologists gathered on Milton Road to participate in the third and final phase of an archeological dig on the site of Voris’ homestead.

The dig sought to uncover more about this fascinating man.

-by Elliot Walker