Bronxville business owners will need to trim window signs and remove neon displays as the Village reinstates design rules that were relaxed during the pandemic.

Mayor Mary Marvin outlined the enforcement shift in a Tuesday, July 14 letter, the second part of her summer update on Village projects. The approach, she wrote, prioritizes cooperation over fines.

"We do not want to resort to punitive measures," Marvin wrote, adding that the Village is working with the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce to encourage voluntary compliance.

During COVID-19, the Village suspended signage and design rules to ease pressure on struggling shops. It also raised nearly $750,000 to offer what Marvin called essentially interest-free loans to merchants. She said a record number of those loan recipients are still in business.

But the relaxed rules led to clutter. Marvin said many businesses now have "far too many signs in their windows," and that many of those signs never went before the Design Review Committee or Planning Board as required, making them illegal under Village code. Neon signs, which are completely prohibited, are also visible downtown.

The Village is working with Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Leslie Corcoran, a Bronxville resident, to reach merchants before any enforcement action begins. The Chamber represents more than 250 local businesses.

The signage push is part of a broader downtown cleanup. Village crews are power washing sidewalks and trash bins, refinishing benches, and using a device called the "Gumbuster" to strip chewing gum stains from pavement.

The Bronxville Beautification Council has added plantings to the traffic-calming bump-outs along the business district. The Village is also negotiating with Metro North to plant on the New York City-bound side of the train station, though Marvin described that process as moving "glacially."

One area she called off-limits for Village spending: the Metro North underpass, which she described as "nothing short of shameful." The Village will not invest there until Metro North addresses rust and drainage problems, she said.

Marvin welcomed Gelateria Sorella, which she described as a new gelato shop at the far end of the business district, noting it has drawn lines around the corner and created a new hub of foot traffic in a previously quiet stretch.

The Village is also adding police officers to increase bike patrol in the business district, targeting drivers who cross the double yellow line on Pondfield Road. That violation carries three points and a $150 fine plus surcharges under New York's Vehicle and Traffic Law.

Phase two of the Village's iconic street sign replacement is underway in partnership with the Bronxville Historical Conservancy. New signs at Midland and Masterton have been installed, with plans to expand to all neighborhoods through the summer. The Design Review Committee's next scheduled meetings are Wednesday, August 5 and Wednesday, September 2.