Westchester Magazine's October issue features "Best Places to Live," an article ranking the county's 40 muncipalities from first to last based on weighted criteria, including (from most important to least): schools, housing costs, property taxes, proximity to New York City, safety, diversity, lively downtown, shopping, parks and recreation, nightlife and proximity to water.

Tarrytown's southbound neighbor Irvington placed first in the rankings, followed by the village directly north of Sleepy Hollow, Ossining.

However, in the overall rankings, the two villages in between fared less fortunate. Tarrytown was ranked 15th, while Sleepy Hollow was much farther down the list, clocking in at 35 — " What about that undeveloped and increasingly unsightly hunk of property left behind when General Motors shuttered its massive assembly plant there in 1996?" quipped Elsa Brenner, the article's author.

Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell was pleased the village placed high in the rankings, but said, "I'd argue that we should in fact be at the very top of the list...I think we offer a remarkable combination of natural, cultural, educational, commercial and, above all, human, resources that is unmatched virtually anywhere."

In Sleepy Hollow, Village Administrator Anthony Giaccio said he found the article's comments to be "totally inaccurate" and added "I don't feel the same and I'm sure a lot of residents don't feel the same."

While both villages received a 10/10 for safety (based on the violent crime index), the schools received only two out of 10, which came directly from the most recent average SAT scores.

"…its schools are surprisingly lackluster," Brenner wrote.

According to the magazine's High School Chart, only eight districts in the county had an average SAT score lower than the Tarrytowns' 1409; four of which are based in Yonkers.

Despite this figure, Union Free District of the Tarrytowns Superintendent Howard Smith said the measure does not accurately reflect the performance of the schools.

"As a general practice, using a single indicator to rank an entire academic program isn't a very credible approach," he said. "Whatever the SAT numbers are, it hasn't prevented our kids from getting into colleges; the best colleges even."

Smith also pointed out the Tarrytowns do not screen out students from taking the standardized test, while other districts may.

"We have looked at our SAT score averages and identified that as something we think could be higher," Smith admitted, adding all students now must participate in SAT prep courses and take practice SATs to prepare them for the question formats.

SATs aside, Smith said the Westchester Magazine article fails to recognize some of the district's greatest strengths, including its diversity.

"We are a much more diverse school district than many in the county and we see that not as a liability, but as an asset," he said, citing the fact that 89 perecent of last year's graduating class went to college, a significant accomplishment when many of the district's students have parents who did not attend college.

Both villages received an eight out of 10 in the diversity category.

Both Fixell and Giaccio said they disagreed with the Parks and Recreation rating in the villages (Tarrytown — 3, Sleepy Hollow — 6).

"We have access to the greatest park, the Rockefeller [State] Preserve," said Giaccio. "We have an incredible trail system that is so underestimated and underappreciated. It's just awesome."

Fixell responded to Brenner's statement: "[Tarrytown's] proportion of open space to its population is low," by saying she "failed to recognize that we are directly connected to hundreds of additional acres of open space in the Rockefeller Preserve and Taxter Ridge that are completely available to our residents."

Sleepy Hollow also received a low two in the Shopping category and a five for its Downtown, and Giaccio said that villages officials agrees the business district could use some development.

"I think we need more shops in the downtown," he conceded. "There are other things we need to improve, but 35 out of 40 is pretty low."