December 18, 2014 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

PRESORTED
STANDARD
PERMIT #3036
WHITE PLAINS NY
Vol. VI, No. LI
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly
Thursday, December 18, 2014
Three Months, No Bail:
What’s Really Going On?
Page 5
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
Page 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
Thursday, DECEMBER 18, 2014
Community/GovernmentSection
Eminent Domain: But Not For RDRXR
By Peggy Godfrey
The New Rochelle
City Council discussed
a Master Development
agreement with RDRXR
in anticipation of its
approval on December 9, 2014 and made
several other noteworthy decisions. Prior
to the Council discussion on RDRXR,
Councilwoman Shari Rackman initiated
a conversation about the council action to
approve the use of eminent domain at the
City Park site for a proposed new City Yard.
Referring to the previous week’s Citizens to
be Heard, she stated that there is no MOU
(Memorandum of Agreement) on Echo
Bay and no plans to move the present city
yard. Since there is no “done deal”, the prospective site (City Park) is being evaluated to
determine if it is a worthy site for a city yard.
Councilwoman Rackman then emphasized that the downtown development
proposal of RDRXR had no connection
According to City Manager Chuck
Strome, the city administration is in
ongoing discussions with the Police
Association of New Rochelle, (PBA)
and the New Rochelle Police Superior
Officers Association (SOA) relative to the
City offering New York State Retirement
to other proposed development (e.g. Echo
Bay) and eminent domain had not been
suggested for the RDRXR proposal. The
City Council then went into a long (about
one hour) executive session that reportedly
included the proposed new City Yard site at
City Park.
After this executive session the Master
Development agreement with RDRXR
was briefly discussed. Company executives
expressed their pleasure with the process.
Councilman Barry Fertel was the first
member of Council to comment, saying
he was “very excited” with this partnership.
Councilman Jared Rice and Councilwoman
Rackman were similarly pleased.
Councilman Al Tarantino felt this firm
had been asked many questions and “unlike
other processes” of council they were able to
deal directly with this developer. However, he
did express concern that as the process went
forward there would be no “bait and switch”
tactics, especially regarding the affordable
components, (such as housing). He stressed
he did not want retail and office development “pushed aside.”
There were three representatives
from RDRXR present at the meeting:
Seth Pinsky, Executive Vice President,
Fund Manager Property Management &
Construction at RXR; Don Monti, CEO
of Renaissance Downtowns; representative and Dan Marsh of NDC (National
Development Council –the oldest national
non-profit community development organization in the U.S.) who responded to council
members questions. They claimed from day
one there was “mutual signing” of this agreement: specifically the city’s “development
team and our development team. “An overlay
zone would adjust to market changes” and both
teams mentioned are involved in the plans.
One of the principals also replied it was a
“mixed use project.”
Then Councilman Lou Trangucci
cautioned he had many questions but since
residents and the council will have control
over the process, he said it was a “good
process.” At that point Ivar Hyden said he
was “delighted” and hoped the goals of the
project can be accomplished.
Mayor Bramson added the council was
on the “cusp of feeling comfortable” but added
the “harder parts” of this project are ahead of
us.
Missing from this discussion of this
RDRXR proposal is that the expectations of
residents that have
not been addressed. The City of New
Rochelle has no updated master plan.
Residents only a few short years ago spent
many hours expressing their views to the
Department of Development staff as to
what a master plan for downtown should
include. Many meetings were held, yet no
master plan was approved. Residents still are
distressed especially because they feel their
views were ignored.
One resident, Jenny Petrucci felt: “There
is no MOU for the Echo Bay development yet
the council started the ball rolling for the eminent
domain process to move our present city yard.
Plans 375-I (p) to members of each union,
which would allow officers between the
ages of 55-62 to retire without penalty.
Offering this plan gives City employees
retirement options while offering the City
the ability to hire new officers at a significantly reduced cost to fill the subsequent
vacancies. The City will have to make a
payment to the New York State Retirment
System, in order to opt into this plan.
To offset the cost of the payment, the
Memorandum of Agreement calls for a
minimum of six members of the PBA and/
or SOA to agree to retire by December 31,
2015, as a pre-condition for the City to
opt into the plan. Additionally, both the
PBA and the SOA have agreed that any
bargaining unit member who retires under
this retirement option will have their severance pay upon retirement reduced by
one month. Both Unions are expected to
OTHER AGENDA ITEMS
Other agenda items approved by the
council included the 2015 city budget. The
Deputy Mayor for 2015 will be Councilman
Albert Tarantino.
An Inter municipal Agreement with
Mamaroneck to allow Mamaroneck to
clean some isolated streets and collect the
residents’ garbage there was approved. The
YMCA building had been purchased some
years back from the City of New Rochelle.
A provision of that sale was that $500,000 of
the city’s remuneration would be held aside
so that the boys displaced from the sale of
this city building would be able to use other
boys clubs in the city. This money for capital
improvements was to be used in other boys
clubs. This budget item was approved.
undertake a vote of their membership prior
to the Dec. 9th, 2014 Legislative Meeting
of the City Council. City Manager
Chuck Strome recommends ratifying the
Memorandum of Agreement if the unions
endorse the proposal.
Mission Statement
Table of Contents
Community/Government Section.............................................2
Community.............................................................................2
New Rochelle..........................................................................3
Urban Development................................................................3
Westchester Guardian Opinion..................................................5
Cover Story.............................................................................5
Politics......................................................................................5
Utilities....................................................................................6
Community Notes..................................................................7
Travel.......................................................................................8
Arts/Entertainment Section.....................................................10
Eye on Theatre.......................................................................10
Exhibition..............................................................................12
Cultural Perspectives.............................................................13
Retail Recon..........................................................................14
Movie Review........................................................................15
Community Notes Section.......................................................16
Calendar................................................................................15
Legal Notices.............................................................................14
Why not declare eminent domain for everyone
in New Rochelle who has property, just in case
anything come along.” Mitch Spalin, Vice
President of the East End Civic Association
said, “I don’t think we need any more high rise
apartments because we have apartments over
stores now.”
Sam Zherka, Publisher
Mary Keon, Acting Editor /Advertising
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in, and/or employed in, Westchester County. The Guardian will strive to report fairly,
and objectively, reliable information without favor or compromise. Our first duty
will be to the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, without fear or
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OF THE PRESS. The Guardian will cover news and events relevant to residents and
businesses all over Westchester County. As a weekly, rather than focusing on the
immediacy of delivery more associated with daily journals, we will instead seek to
provide the broader, more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step accounting of
events, enlightened with analysis, where appropriate.
From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where, why, and
how, the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our more abundant time,
and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and ‘damage control’ often characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach the very heart of the matter: the truth.
We will take our readers to a point of understanding and insight which cannot be
obtained elsewhere.
To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necessarily better.
And, furthermore, we will acknowledge that we cannot be all things to all readers.
We must carefully balance the presentation of relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester
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Page 3
NEW ROCHELLE
Bi-Partisan Coalition Passes 2015 Budget for Westchester County
This
week,
the
Westchester County Board
of Legislators voted by a
margin of 10-7, to pass
the $1.75 billion dollar
budget that was proposed
by County Executive Rob Astorino. For
the fifth consecutive year, there will be no
increases in county property taxes. This
budget also boasts no employee layoffs while
protecting essential services for the county’s
neediest residents. The 7 Republican
members of the board were joined by
Democrats Michael Kaplowitz, Virginia
Perez and Mary Jane Shimsky to get this
budget passed.
However, the remaining 7 Democrats,
led by majority leader Catherine Borgia
voted against the budget calling it “structurally imbalanced”. This year’s budget
remained flat and balanced by borrowing heavily. $40 million will be borrowed
from bond anticipation, $90 million will be
borrowed from tax anticipation, $15 million
from the pension fund and $6.1 million
from the E911 fund balance. While most
residents will be thrilled at receiving a flat
tax bill again this year, some say that there
is just way too much borrowing. The county
has already had their Moody’s bond rating
downgraded after last year’s budget for the
very same reason…too much borrowing.
Borrowing like this is much like using
a credit card for your shopping needs; the
plastic gives you the immediate purchase but
sooner or later the bill comes in the mail and
it must be paid. Rob Astorino, ran twice and
was elected twice on the campaign promise
of “no new taxes” and so far he has delivered
but sooner or later there will be a new county
executive and he or she will have to pay the
debt incurred by all of this borrowing. When
this occurs, you can bet there are going to be
some hefty increases to the average homeowner’s tax bill.
Much of the spending this year will
go to the Department of Social Services
where $545 million dollars will be allocated
to those who need those safety net services.
$276 million dollars will go to the capital
budget. These monies will repair bridges,
roads and other aging infrastructure projects.
Though this budget is expected to be
signed by the county executive there are
still plenty of questions on some of the line
allotments. This year, 7 out of 8 unions
have settled their respective contracts and
now contribute to their health care benefits.
While this may have created a $ 5 million
dollar savings to the county at present,
CSEA Local 9200 has still not settled their
lengthy contract dispute with the county and
this budget has not allotted any extra money
for contract negotiations.
Nonetheless, this budget is a done deal.
For now the taxpayers can rejoice over a flat
bill in 2015 and will laud this administration as their financial saviors. While some
members of the legislature protected subsidized childcare and made sure that a few
non-profits continued to receive funding for
needed quality of life programs, this budget
lacks any cushioning should the county
suffer a catastrophic event.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Westchester’s Evolving Urban Landscape
By Steve Mayo
Residents continue to
marvel at the cost of living
in Westchester, reputed to
be the most heavily taxed
jurisdiction
(counting
municipal, county, state and federal taxes) in
the U.S. That one of the oldest counties in
the country, immediately bordering one of
the richest real estate markets, has among the
highest costs of living is no surprise. What
really perplexes many observers however, is
the fact that despite the traditionally high
cost of maintaining such a standard of living,
the quality of many traditional governmental
services does not seem to justify their recordsetting cost.
This may not be on the minds of people
inhabiting the tonier precincts of the county
like Bronxville, Chappaqua or Katonah,
but if you speak to residents, taxpayers and
business people on the streets of our three
largest cities of New Rochelle, White Plains
and Mount Vernon it is a constant refrain. It has become a cliché that in order
to judge the humanity of a society, you
must consider how it treats its weakest
citizens; children, the elderly and the handicapped. Perhaps a corollary for the modern
dweller of our metropolitan areas is; to judge
the true quality of life you must study the
overall prosperity and access to customary
municipal services of the greatest number of
citizens. In this and in future issues, The
Westchester Guardian will review the
structural soundness and ease of use of the
operational components of our local urban
centers.
Today we consider White Plains, the
seat of county government and for many
years a commercial hub. It has a population
of almost 58,000 living largely in suburban
and older city housing stock around a central
business district that might absorb an additional 192,000 professionals and office staff
on work days. In this manner, it is different
from New Rochelle and Mount Vernon and
other American cities with smaller inflows
of employees and a greater variety of jobs in
assembly, factory and warehouse work.
A tour of the city shows great stretches
of older retail, dominated by a growing
skyline of mixed-use residential, hotel and
office towers. The high-rises are the boldlooking, but somewhat controversial result
of aggressive renewal policies by the former
Republican and present Democratic city
leadership in concert with well-heeled,
increasingly global developers.
Several new projects compel attention:
a four-story rental apartment building called
La Giana marketed as “Vibe Living”includes
a contained parking garage at 10 DeKalb
Avenue and Maple Avenue – in fact, a 50s
reminiscent example of clean, streamlined
construction design in natural hues of green
and tan; “Lyon Place,” a renovated, formerly
dilapidated parking structure at Waller and
Lyon and a more traditional red-brick luxury
rental complex, tabbed The Dylan, also
marketed as “Vibe Living” is growing daily
at Waller and Maple Avenues in what must
be a record-setting example of fast, tasteful
modular building erection. Other additions / improvements to the White Plains
streetscape include; the Dickstein Cancer
treatment Center expansion of White Plains
hospital at Longview Avenue and East
Post Road; the reconstruction of Brookfield
Commons, entitled “Prelude” at South
Lexington Avenue and Quarropas Street –
affordable housing and other “mixed uses” in
ten stories, courtesy of scads of federal and
state money.
From an esthetic standpoint, there is
little to object to in these developments,
especially considering what preceded at the
sites for decades under a variety of political and bureaucratic leadership. On the
Continued on page 4
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Page 4
DeKalb
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The 10
Doyle
at Waller
Ave Plains
& Maple St. , White Plains
The Prelude at
Old Brookfield Commons
The Doy
& Maple
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Continued from page 3
streets however, residents and workers were
equivocal about the eruption of construction; concerns about chronic White Plains
economic conditions and local government practices abounded. “It doesn’t affect
us. Business is slow. The recession has not
ended for small businesses,” claimed Juan,
the manager at Splendid Coffee Shop on
Mamaroneck Avenue.
At another eatery, retail, professional
and administrative workers were overwrought at the treatment of employees at
existing companies. “It’s all very well and
good to build new housing and stores, but
what about us; the traditional retail owners
and workers?” complained Doug, a paralegal.
“The mayor and city council say they want to
help commerce, but all we get is more regulation, more fines and ‘hair trigger’ prosecution
of parking laws and parking meter rules.”
A storeowner, who wouldn’t give his
name out of fear of “retribution from the politicians,” said the city should handle smaller,
family run, non-chain enterprises with
greater care. “Our store has been here almost
seven decades. We’ve been here through
recessions and downturns, and when the
downtown was a slum. We didn’t ask for
anything: tax breaks, Pilot Programs or ‘relocation assistance.’ But we still get ticketed for
littering by passersby. The walk-in trade, the
‘bread and butter’ of our business is dwindling because of petty and chicken**** traffic
and parking enforcement.”
Stuart Levine, the proprietor of a fresh
Vacant Reataurant Space
on East Post Road
10 DeKalb Ave, White Plains
The Dickstein Cancer Center at Longview and East Post Road
Vacant Reataurant Space on East Post Road
and spanking new-looking wine shop, do; it would also show a little apprecianew plan to raze and rebuild the emptied
“Vino 100” offered another view. “Everyone tion for the walk-in customer’s place in the Westchester Pavilion mini-mall for prounderstands the need for parking rule local economy.” Levine, a long time White moting mixed uses of real estate that would
enforcement, but the rules should be applied Plains resident and a proud director of its encourage extended customer stays instead
reasonably. Sometimes it seems as if the
Business Improvement District applauded of the one-stop forays that the present strict
agents are lying in wait to catch lawbreakers, recent land development proposals for their policing seems to require.
Continued on page 5
when some practical understanding would “imagination and vision.” He supports a
Renovated
GarageCancer
at Lyon
The Dickstein
Center
Place andand
Waller
at Longview
East Post Road
The Prelude at Old Brookfield Commons
Vacant Reataurant Space
on East Post Road
The Doyle at Waller Ave & Maple St. , White Plains
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Page 5
The world has changed - people have
more choices in other towns, malls and the
Internet. They do not want to be coerced and
treated like criminals for having visited more
than one store and then daring to stop and
have a chat with a friend he bumps into on
the street!”
The general consensus to this visitor
was that market-rate ownership and rental
re-development is welcomed across a broad
range of White Plains stakeholders, but that
city hall’s reliance on punitive regulatory
policies is a burden on consumers that could
imperil the city’s fiscal health.
Phone calls and emails to the mayor’s
office, city council and the planning
department for comment were not returned
prior to the Guardian publication deadline.
Three Months, No Bail: What’s Really Going On?
Given the types of individuals who
routinely make bail, it is clear that there is
a political agenda at work to keep our publisher behind bars. He is after all, a most
inconvenient person: a newspaper publisher
who has printed many stories over the past
8 years painting various politicians in an
unfavorable light and now his enemies are
playing hardball to keep him behind bars for
as long as possible. This isn’t about the law;
this is personal.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT
A regular customer of the wine shop,
Matt, chimed in that the city should stop
using parking fines and fees as a substitute
for legitimate sales tax revenue. “Instead of
picking on the customers, regular and those
visiting from New Rochelle, Scarsdale and
out-of-town who used to be the lifeblood
of White Plains commerce, the mayor and
council should encourage pedestrian traffic.
Stephen I. Mayo is an attorney, owner of Mayo
Linoleum Works, LLC and host of “The Steve
Mayo Show” on WVOX radio, 1460 AM. Visit
www.thestevemayoshow.com
WestchesterGuardianOpinion
EDITORIAL
December 18th marks 3 months since
our publisher, Sam Zherka was arrested for
a garden-variety of white-collar crimes –
false statements and tax issues are alleged.
Following his arrest, Mr. Zherka spent a
few days at the county detention center in
Valhalla before being transferred, not to Club
Fed, but to the Manhattan Correctional
Center (pictured on our front cover), where
he has been held without bail since Sept
25th. Funny enough, our publisher learned
that preparations for his stay at Valhalla had
been made several days in advance of his
arrest, and one wonders how this is possible
if his case for bail was heard with an “open
mind.”
Mr. Zherka poses no danger to the
public. In the appeal for denial of bail filed
with the Second Circuit, attorney Fred
Hafetz cites several cases that highlight
our judicial system’s affirmative bias toward
bail: “The presumption in favor of bail still
applies even where the defendant is found
to be a risk of flight.” Berrios-Berrios, 791
F.2d at 251. The court further stated that
bail may only be denied in a “rare case of
extreme and unusual circumstances.” United
States v Berrios-Berrios, 791 F2d 246, 251
(2d Cir. 1986) Justice Kennedy, as a Ninth
Circuit judge stated very clearly that: “doubts
regarding release are resolved in favor of
the defendant.” United States v. Motamedi,
767, F. 2d 1403, 1405 (9th Circuit. 1985)
(Kennedy, J.).
Mr. Zherka has been punished with
three months of incarceration although he
has not been convicted of any crime. How
is he to be compensated for this loss of
time spent behind bars, the damage to his
reputation and his business relationships?
Most people do not understand that Grand
Juries only evaluate one side of the story and
the selected evidence that the prosecutors
present to them and the prosecution will
do everything in their power to skew their
Grand Jury presentation in their favor. The
Grand Jury does not get to hear a defense
attorney question the assumptions made
or the evidence presented and they do not
have the opportunity to present witnesses
for the defense. Mr. Zherka’s continued
incarceration makes it difficult for him to
assist his attorneys in preparing for trial, an
unfair handicap in a system where one is
supposedly innocent until proven guilty and
it prejudices his case to the prospective jury
pool. No doubt, the prosecution is counting
on this.
The prosecution turned over the first set
of discovery papers to his attorneys with no
restrictions. In his most recent court appearance, Nov. 13th, government prosecutors
requested and received a temporary protective order which bars Mr. Zherka from using
testimony and discovery in this proceeding
from use in future proceedings, although the
judge is willing to re-evaluate this decision, if
presented with specific requests for an exception. One wonders what the government
attorneys are afraid will be revealed in these
new papers, that may have relevance to Mr.
Zherka’s advantage, in other proceedings?
POLITICS
Pragmatism for Dummies
By Luke Hamilton
Of late, I have noticed
a disturbing trend. It
seems more and more
conservatives are pushing
pragmatism; the idea that
the truth and worth of a concept or position
depends on how practical it is. I began to
notice this trend during the recent election
cycle. Candidates who should have been run
out of town, leaving a trail of tar and feathers,
instead gained support from conservative
voters simply because it was deemed they
“could win”. Honestly, I was reminded of
the mantra we heard during the past two
presidential elections where we were assured
that Mitt was a good candidate because he’s
“electable” and could win. Guess what? He
had the opportunity to get elected twice, and
he lost, twice.
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I thought at first that this push for
pragmatism would disappear once the successful election results were tallied, but
it hasn’t. Clearly, the GOP leadership in
Washington plans to make it a daily staple
of their reign, if recent legislative trends are
any indication. Recently, I’ve seen threads
and columns bemoaning the stodgyness of
conservatives, in particular people of faith.
One conservative author was even puzzled
as to why some Christians tend to shy
away from compromise, specifically in the
political arena. Apparently these believers
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Page 6
POLITICS
Pragmatism for Dummies
are under the false impression that God
would not approve of their compromise,
as he stated it. He then brought up the
example of William Wilberforce and questioned whether he would even be accepted
by these compromophobic believers, were he
alive and active today. This is a disingenuous
point, since Wilberforce is famous for his
unrelenting commitment to abolish slavery
in the English empire. If Wilberforce were
truly a pragmatist, as this author is seeming
to suggest, he never would have held his
ground and fought that fight for 20 years,
given all the opportunities he had to compromise in order to achieve his goal through
less decorous means. Honestly, he could’ve
staged a trap and caught key MPs in compromising positions, giving him the leverage
he needed to force an abolition bill through
Parliament, if he was truly a compromising
pragmatist. He didn’t because he wasn’t.
To be honest, I view this development
much like the “crunchy conservatism” of the
early 2000s. This was a doctrine developed
by a progressive Christian, taken mainstream
by a pragmatic political advisor, and still
bearing fruit today. Crunchy conservatism
takes conservative principles and injects
them with mild progressivism in order to
appeal to a maximum amount of people. So
instead of fiscal conservatism leading directly
to the rising tide which lifts all boats, we got
a supposedly-conservative President who
created the largest expansion of entitlement
programs in more than 50 years, increasing
the federal budget by 53%. In 2008, there
were 1,816 subsidy programs in the federal
budget. Yes, President Bush accomplished
some wonderful things. He kept this nation
safe after one of our darkest hours. He
provided Africa the means to fight their
AIDS epidemic. He also spent taxpayer
money more liberally than Clinton, Carter,
or LBJ. This is the crux of the problem.
So-called crunchy conservatism isn’t conservative. It is progressivism wearing a
conservative mask. It is contradictory and
hypocritical, not to mention self-defeating.
This is why it was repudiated so soundly
in 2008 when Americans grew tired of the
crony capitalism and faux conservatism
which plagued the Bush administration, and
elected someone who at least was honest
about his progressive predilections.
The problems which plague crunchy
conservatism are also inherent in conservative/Christian pragmatism. Christian
pragmatism isn’t Christian or pragmatic. The
reason why there has historically been such
an easy alliance between the Judeo-Christian
belief system and conservative principles is
because they have common touch-points.
They are both founded on belief in objective, absolute truths: one the Word of God,
the other the Laws of Economics. They
also share a universality. Both are applicable
to people everywhere, in any situation. And
they are both uncompromising, not because
they demand rigidity, but because they claim
to be objectively true and that requires exclusivity. Both conservatives and people of the
Book must hold fast to their founding principles or risk invalidating the truth on which
they claim to stand.
There is a reason why Christianity is
so compelling. It bends when the world
expects strength and stands firm when the
world allows weakness. Christ submitted to
the point of death when he had every right
(and means) to defend Himself. He refused
to capitulate in the face of His own death,
when given a way out by the Roman prefect.
It would have been universally-understood if
He had disavowed His divinity and bowed
the knee to Rome, in order to preserve His
own life. There is nothing less practical than
a religion which teaches that the last will be
first and the first will be last. Similarly, but to
a lesser degree, the strength of conservative
principle is the fact that it is not subject to the
passing whim of a generation. Conservatism
acknowledges that emotions have a place in
our society, but also holds that their inclusion in objective, economic laws and theories
is irrelevant and often dangerous. The Law
of Supply and Demand doesn’t benefit
from production quotas or price caps, even
if they are enforced with noble, emotional
justifications.
Instead of looking for ways in which
Christianity (or conservatism) can compromise with worldly culture and politics,
we should be holding fast to principles
which have been proven true so many times
throughout history.
Now is not the time to bend and meld,
but to hunker over our line in the sand and
nock the arrows of truth.
© Luke Hamilton 2014
UTILITIES
United Water Accepting Applications for Annual Corporate Scholarships
United Water Foundation to award paid internships in STEM related fields of study
WEST NYACK, NY, December 12,
2014 – United Water announced that it
has begun accepting applications for its 6th
annual Corporate Scholars program. The
Scholars program provides a paid internship
to selected candidates at a United Water
facility. The United Negro College Fund
(UNCF) and the United Water Foundation
will provide a $5,000 scholarship for the successful completion of a summer internship.
“To lead a resourceful future for water
and to enable waste to take on a new and
useful life, we must actively develop future
leaders in science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM),” said Bertrand Camus,
CEO of United Water. “We aim to cultivate
a workplace of innovation and diversity to
bring about solutions to the pressing challenges of resource management.”
Applicants should be sophomores who
have maintained at least a 3.0 grade point
average and have declared at least one of
15 majors listed on the online application
form. Applications will be accepted until
December 31, 2014.
The internships will be offered at
various locations including but not limited
to: Harrington Park, NJ; Harrisburg, PA;
Wilmington, DE; Jackson, MS; Pontiac, MI
and Indianapolis, IN. Each candidate must
go through United Water’s hiring process
and will be expected to present to company
leaders a final report on their internship
experience.
Selected candidates will have the
opportunity to work alongside employees of United Water who will expose the
students to various careers in the utility
industry. Students will learn the culture of
the company and meet various leaders who
have made a career in the water and wastewater industry.
The candidates selected for the 2015
class will join the rank of 20 students who
have successfully completed the program
since its inception.
ABOUT UNITED WATER
United Water provides water service
to about 500,000 people in Rockland,
Westchester, Tioga and Orange counties. Its
ADVERTISE YOUR DISPLAY HELP WANTED ADS IN
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN!
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parent company, United Water, is one of the
nation’s leading environmental companies,
providing water and wastewater services
to approximately 5.5 million people in the
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United Water operates 90 municipal and
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through innovative public-private partnerships and contract agreements. Founded in
1869, United Water is a subsidiary of SUEZ
ENVIRONNEMENT.
Page 7
she blew me away – when I sent members
of the committee to hear her, they came back
with the same response.”
Sallie Sypher, former Town Supervisor
of the neighboring Putnam Valley, NY and
a parish member for over 40 years told me
“Mother Claire is the best thing that ever
happed to St. Mary’s” and another long-time
parishioner, who recently moved to Florida,
Kathy Munroe said “I was St Mary’s for 38
years. As much as I love so much of what
Mother Claire has done and continues to
do for St. Mary’s, I am so impressed with
her moving the church out into the community where it belongs- where we all belong.
You cannot be a church and remain behind
closed doors. She has truly practiced what she
preaches! And her work organizing the other
local denominations and the public schools
to work together in raising awareness of the
dangers of suicide and how to intervene was
unmatched in our area!”
When I asked Mother Claire for a
quote of the occasion of her 25th anniversary,
she paused and then said, “A Mother’s work
is never done.”
(Note -- On September 29, 2013,
Mother Claire was the guest on the second
show in the on-going“Weekly johnmac Radio
Show” series. The entire hour-long interview
may be heard at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rapidtalk/2013/09/29/
the-johnmac-show)
Comments on this column to
[email protected]
COMMUNITY NOTES
From My Easy Chair
Mother Claire Woodley – 25 Years A Priest
By John F. McMullen
A large crowd gathered
on Sunday morning at
9:30 AM, December 7th
at St. Mary’s Episcopal
Church in Mohegan Lake,
NY
(https://www.facebook.com/
st.marys.rector) to celebrate the rector,
Mother Claire Woodley’s 25th anniversary of
her ordination as a priest.
Claire Woodley grew up in
impact that Mother Claire had had on his
life and the joy that she brings to all she does.
I first felt that joy when Mother Claire spoke
at various interfaith activities at the local
Roman Catholic parish, St. Elizabeth Ann
Seton. At the first of these that I attended,
she stressed the inclusiveness of St. Mary’s
– an inclusiveness not found in many other
dominations. Since that meeting over ten
years ago, I have seen the joy, dedication, and
inclusiveness many times first hand, and I
have come to realize that this woman is a true
districts of Mohegan Lake each year to bring
the Christmas message to the retail storeowners (Mother Claire once, unknowingly,
even wandered into a “house of ill repute” –
probably staffed through sex trafficking. The
local police have since closed the store).
Additionally,
Seton
parishioners have become the second largest
individual contributors to St. Mary’s
Community Food Pantry (https://www.
facebook.com/CommunityFood
PantryMoheganLake), which with
contributions from St. Mary’s parishioners,
WalMart and other chains and food purchased from the Westchester Food Bank,
provides food every Saturday morning
throughout the year to needy families – on
John F. McMullen is a writer, poet, college professor and radio host. Links to other writings,
Podcasts, & Radio Broadcasts at www.
johnmac13.com, his books are available on
Amazon, and he blogs at http://open.salon.com/
blog/johnmac13.
© 2014 John F. McMullen
New Year’s Eve
Beatlemania Again! - LIVE.
With members of the original Broadway cast!
Reverend Mother Claire Woodley Aitchison and her sons, Adam, Left, Lucas, R.
Minnetonka, Minnesota, graduated from the
University of Minnesota, and came to New
York to pursue a career as an actress / standup
comedienne. After following the muse for
a while and playing “the New York Game,”
Claire felt God’s hand on her shoulder and
came to realize that she had another calling.
Although brought up as a Roman Catholic,
Claire realized that she could not serve as a
priest in that domination so she entered into
study to be an Episcopal priest and was ordinated 25 years ago.
John Duffy, First Warden of St. Mary’s
speaking at the service, stressed both the
and faithful messenger of God.
Her faith helped her deal with one of
the worst things a parent can ever face – the
loss of a son in a motor vehicle accident. After
taking time to heal, Mother Claire returned
to St. Mary’s with the same spirit and dedication that she had exhibited previous to the
tragedy.
Mother Claire forged a strong relationship with all of the religious leaders in the
Yorktown area, perhaps the strongest with
Monsignor Thomas Sandi, former pastor
of St. Elizabeth Seton. In addition to the
various interfaith services and panels, Mother
Claire and Msgr. Sandi traveled the business
the Saturday before Thanksgiving, food,
including turkeys, were given to 294 families.
St. Mary’s also makes sandwiches for distribution on a monthly “Midnight Run”
– the most recent run provided food to 244
persons.
Mother Claire has been the rector of St.
Mary’s since September 1, 2001. Her second
homily was delivered immediately after 9/11
and is still remembered by those in attendance as comforting and forward thinking.
Walt Decker, chairman of the Search
Committee that brought Mother Clair to
Saint Mary’s, said at this morning’s ceremonies that “The first time I heard her preach,
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Page 8
TRAVEL
The Delights of Budapest’s Thermal Bath Spas
By Author Rozsa Gaston
Come linger with me
this week in the bubbling
warm thermal waters
of Budapest. Drop the
shopping list you’re holding
and spend the next few minutes immersing
yourself in thermal bath spa culture right
here, right now. You need this break. I know.
Budapest in the off season? Why go?
Budapest’s thermal bath spas are reason
enough. Over one hundred thermal springs
located under Hungary’s capital city feed
waters rich in calcium, magnesium, sulfate,
bicarbonate and lesser amounts of fluoride
and metaboric acid to its numerous thermal
bath spas.
Foremost among them is the Széchenyi
Baths, Europe’s largest thermal spa. With
three outdoor and fifteen indoor pools, the
Széchenyi Baths is Budapest’s largest public
bathhouse and it’s least expensive. Usually
“best” and “least expensive” do not travel in
the same company. In the case of the magnificent Széchenyi Baths, they do: safe for a
tourist to visit alone and very clean too.
A few years ago I traveled to Budapest
at the end of November to settle my late
father’s estate. I checked into a thermal spa
hotel and discovered the delights of soaking
in Budapest’s thermal pools. The gloom
and doom of off-season Budapest melted
away the instant my body hit the warm,
mineralized waters. With ten days to while
away while finalizing paperwork, I made
the acquaintance of a fellow female traveler
taking the waters at my hotel. Ready for safe
adventure but not encouraged by the cold,
gray weather to walk around; we decided
to visit thermal bath spas all over Budapest.
Here are my findings:
The Széchenyi Baths is queen amongst
queens of Budapest’s top four thermal bath
spas; The Gellért Baths, Rudas Baths, and
Király Baths are the other three. The latter
two were built in the 16th century by the
Ottoman Turks and are worth visiting for
the architecture alone.
But it was the Széchenyi Baths, located
in Budapest’s City Park that took my breath
away. Designed in 1913 by Győző Czigler,
the neo-Baroque building features the pale
yellow shade that typifies Austro-Hungarian
architecture. Its front façade with a rooftop
border of magnificent sculptured figures
staring down at me made my senses sing as
I climbed the stairs to its entrance. Was this
Versailles or a public bathhouse?
Once inside, the splendor continues.
The ceiling of the front entryway rotunda is
breathtaking.
Széchenyi Baths Hallway
Széchenyi Baths, Budapest
Cover Art Budapest Romance by Rozsa Gaston
The grandeur of the hallways leading the agenda, but massage treatments strenuto the ladies’ and mens’ locker rooms is deliously rendered by experienced masseuses
cately balanced by the soaring grace of the
help to smoothly distribute whatever agreevaulted ceilings, an ineffable refinement that
able amounts of fat might be on the body.
leads some of us to wonder what those 9th For more information on this see Budapest
century Magyar horsemen from the Asian
Romance, chapter six (details at end.)
steppes were really like.
Budapest’s wintertime outdoor thermal
(See photo of Budapest’s Heroes
pool scene is as resplendent as its summer
Square sculptures of attractive 9th century one, due to the magical effect of steam rising
Magyar warriors.)
from the thermally heated water to create
a fairytale-like ambience. Most of us over
Once inside the locker room we quickly
changed, noticing the absence of cellulite on the age of twelve—and not at a ski resort—
are less than delighted at the thought of
the bodies of the Hungarian ladies. They
snowfall. But imagine yourself soaking in
are mostly fit, but not overly slim. What’s
their secret? My guess is an excellent diet, 104 degree waters outdoors as snowflakes
tickle your nose, linger awhile, and then melt
composed of local produce and meat largely
untreated with pesticides or antibiotics. into your glowing skin. In a word, bliss.
Secondly, a relaxed lifestyle which includes
Budapest’s spa scene enjoys some unfrequent trips to thermal bath spas where American style idiosyncrasies, all of which
not only soaking in medicinal waters is on
Continued on page 9
Széchenyi Baths Mosaic Ceiling
Page 9
indoors and outdoors in the event that one is
not already feeling hydrated enough.
Hungarians are not Puritans. Nor are
they the opposite. They are a people who
know how to enjoy pleasure. Budapest in
particular is known for its good food, fine
wines and gorgeous architecture, but I know
what I’m going back there for—its thermal
bath spas.
Time spent in the thermal baths of
Budapest inspired Budapest Romance,
author Rosza Gaston’s most recent book,
which was published Dec. 1, 2014 and is
available in paperback or ebook editions
on amazon.com or in audiobook format
narrated by actress Romy Nordlinger of
All My Children and One Life to Live at
www.audible.com/BudapestRomance. This
contemporary romance is about two foreigners finding each other in the thermal
bath spas of Budapest. The novel is 266pages and a great stocking stuffer. The book
cover features a decorated arch in the Gellért
Baths, Gellért Hotel, Budapest.
May your holiday season be as effervescent as the warm thermal baths of Budapest!
More Information on Budapest’s
Thermal Baths
• h ttp://www.bathsbudapest.com/
szechenyi-bath
• http://visitbudapest.travel/activities/
budapest-baths/
• h ttp://www.budapest.com/recreation_wellness/budapest_thermal_baths.
en.html
• http://www.spasbudapest.com/
TRAVEL
The Delights of Budapest’s Thermal Bath Spas
charmed me. Some of the men play chess
while soaking in the waters. Couples in
their sunset years casually embrace, splash
each other and horse around in the thermal
waters, a sight warming not only to the body
but also to the soul. Liberal libation is served
About the Author - Rozsa Gaston writes playful
books on serious matters; women getting what
they want out of life is one of them. She lives
in Bronxville, NY with her family, Other
books include Paris Adieu, Black is Not a Color,
Running from Love, Dog Sitters and Lyric.
Her upcoming novel is Sense of Touch, a fictionalized story of Anne of Brittany and Queen of
France. Visit her at www.rozsagaston.com to
learn more.
Széchenyi Baths-Gaston, Front Façade, Budapest
Thermal Baths, Budapest
Széchenyi Baths-Gaston, Front Façade, Budapest
Heroes Square: Magyar Horsemen, Budapest
Page 10
Arts/EntertainmentSection
Sweet and Sour
By John Simon
A Christmas
Memory
Believe it or not,
Critics are human too, and
as humans, we find giving a poor review
to people we like by no means painless.
However, in the case of The Irish Repertory
Theatre’s “A Christmas Memory,” it is
unavoidable.
I am not sure whether I have or haven’t
read Truman Capote’s story on which this
show is based. If I have read it, I am just as
glad to have forgotten it, as, I deduce from
the seemingly honest adaptation, it must be
sentimental claptrap. I wonder what, except
for the coming holiday—which I consider
insufficient reason—could have induced the
worthy IRT to produce it. All the more so
since there is about it nothing whatsoever
Silvano Spagnuolo and Tony Award winner Alice Ripley, with Ashley Robinson (in the
background) PHOTO: Carol Rosegg
Irish, which I take the IRT’s mandate to 1955 to the Alabama burg where, as Young
be, unless the Alabama Christmas fruit- Buddy in the story, he spent much of his
cake, which figures prominently and must
boyhood. Although the book by Duane
contain whisky, hard to come by during the
Poole expressly denies it, this writer is clearly
Prohibition, is connection enough.
based on Capote, who must have made such
a sentimental return visit, and who, as Poole
We have here Adult Buddy returning in
has it, becomes the narrator both living in
that present, and reliving a 1933 Christmas.
He meets some of the ’33 people still around,
but the action concentrates on the past.
The most important of the ’33 persons
is distant cousin Sook Faulk, then a young
woman, who became a kind of mother to
the boy whom his parents, now living in
New York, abandoned to distant relatives to
bring up. There are other Faulks, somewhat
colorful, and other locals, more colorful;
and there is Young Buddy’s spunky chum,
Nelle Harper, a neighbor girl a year or so
older, clearly the future author of “To Kill a
Mockingbird.”
I will not bother you with plot
summary—you may guess that some of
these people are nicer than others to Young
Buddy (there is even a lovable Mailman)—
and that’s about as much as I need tell you.
There is a great good feeling of reconciliation
that hovers over the ending, even though
Young Buddy is not happy about leaving
for Military School, the prospect that awaits
him.
What Poole has written is passable,
but why expand what may work as a short
story into a self-indulgent musical? This is
not to blame the pleasant music by Larry
Grossman and decent enough lyrics by Carol
Hall, but none of it strikes me as compelling
reason enough to expand on the short story.
But now comes another problem. Its
not very generous or propitious space being
renovated, this season the IRT is in temporary quarters that manage to be even smaller
and less suitable for changes of scenery. It is
almost as if the show were performed in your
kitchen.
James Noone has come up with a
stylized tree and façade that occupy minimal
space, but in such tight quarters one sees
rather too much of actors not involved in a
scene seated along the two edges of the stage.
Somewhere in back, unseen, is the threepiece band (piano, synthesizer, percussion)
that does what it can with the songs. There
is minimal dancing by IRT’s standard choreographer, Barry McNabb, and the singing,
on the whole, is adequate, as are David
Toser’s costumes.
The cast, under Charlotte Moore’s
decent but constrained direction, is competent. However, as Sook, Alice Ripley, who is
used to bigger venues and productions, may
stick out a bit too much, vocally and histrionically, and Ashley Robinson, who strives
valiantly as Grown Buddy, could do with a
trifle more charm. Virginia Ann Woodruff
as the faithful black maid, Nancy Hess as
the smug and distant cousin to Sook, and
Samuel Cohen in three different parts, are
all apt. And, if I may quote “The Kids Are
All Right,” that description befits Silvano
Spagnuolo and Taylor Richardson.
If you have a strong craving for a
Christmas show, this one will serve, even if,
like so many of Santa’s gifts, it may not be
quite what you wanted.
Punk Rock
“Punk Rock” is a play in the spirit of
punk rock rather than actually about the
music, although the director has inserted
unscripted masked revelers and ear-splitting
music for transitions between some scenes.
It mostly takes place in a kind of common
room cum library of a secondary school
in Stockport, UK. The author is Simon
Stephens, now a major British playwright,
writer of, among many other works, the
current “Curious Incident of the Dog” etc.
Continued on page 11
(L to R): The cast of A CHRISTMAS MEMORY: Alice Ripley, Samuel Cohen, Virginia Ann Woodruff, Taylor Richardson, (above, center), Ashley
Robinson (center), Silvano Spagnuolo and Nancy Hess. PHOTO: Carol Rosegg
Pico Alexander and Colbie Minifie in a scene from Simon Stephens’ PUNK ROCK at the
MCC Theater. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
(L to R): The cast of A CHRISTMAS MEMORY: Virginia Ann Woodruff, Samuel Cohen, Alice Ripley, Taylor Richardson, Ashley Robinson,
Silvano Spagnuolo and Nancy Hess. PHOTO: Carol Rosegg
Page 11
EYE ON THEATRE
Sweet and Sour
and concerns the goings-on leading up to
a bloody high-school shooting, which is by
way of becoming one of our era’s most characteristic crimes.
Even if the program doesn’t say so (it
doesn’t even mention “Dog” in Stephens’s
bio), it would seem to be based on some
actual murders, as it names Stockport as the
locale and registers realistic street names and
specific times by the clock. Of course, the
details of the plot and the dialogue had to
be invented, and properly weird and crazy
enough they are.
We get here eight co-eds, all but one
seniors, involved in mostly extracurricular
activities, such as dating, brawls, rivalries,
attempted and actual sex. There is, first off,
William Carlisle, a fairly charismatic, selfdramatizing liar, trying to date an attractive
transfer student, Lilly Cahill, who however
carries on with Nicholas Chatman, a serious
youth trying to keep his nose clean.
Then we have Bennett Francis, the
school bully, troublemaker, mocker and
Colbie Minifie and Douglas Smith in a scene from Simon Stephens’ PUNK ROCK at the MCC Theater. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
Will Pullen and Noah Robbins in a scene from Simon Stephens’ PUNK ROCK at the MCC
Theater. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
Lilly Englert and Annie Funke in a scene from Simon Stephens’ PUNK ROCK at the MCC
Theater. (Photo Credit: Joan Marcus)
assaulter, even more foul-mouthed than the
rest. His favorite target is Chadwick Meade,
a bright but nerdy science freak, mostly
enduring the attacks.
The girls are, to begin with, pretty and
sassy Lilly, willing to be William’s platonic
pal but nothing more. Also Cissy Franks,
confused girlfriend of Bennett, hopeful of
a good college future, but much buffeted
about. Further, her best friend, overweight
Tanya Gleason, a kind of raisonneur
and commentator. Finally, Lucy Francis,
Bennett’s kid sister. In the last scene, also a
slippery psychiatrist, played by one of my
least favorite actors, David Greenspan.
As all too frequent in high school
plays, the actors are overage, and some of
their dialogue, however catchy, too adult.
It contains some opaque Britishisms, but
generally holds our attention thanks to
flip exchanges and grandiose monologues.
Age aside, the cast is persuasive under Trip
Cullman’s jazzy direction. Prominent are
Douglas Smith (William), Colby Minifie
(Lilly), Will Pullen (Benett) and Noah
Robbins (Chadwick), ably supported by Pico
Alexander, Lilly Englert, Annie Funke, and
Sophie Shapiro.
I found Mark Wendland’s set design
probably authentic, but a trifle puzzling,
with Cliff Ramos’s costumes and Japhy
Weideman’s lighting spot on. This is not a
show for all tastes, but for those savoring the
unusual and violent surely piquant enough
Editor’s Note:
Due to an editorial oversight, we inadvertently omitted the last three paragraphs of
Mr. Simon’s review, last week, of Elephant
Man. With apologies to Mr. Simon, the cast
and production team of Elephant Man, we
reprint his review in its entirety, this week:
Freaks
Bradly Cooper as John Merrick in a scene
from The Elephant Man. Photo © Joan
Marcus 2014
Few if any of nature’s jokes are as cruel
as the one it played on John Merrick, also
known as the Elephant Man. For my review
of this latest revival of Bernard Pomerance’s
“The Elephant Man,” I am partly quoting
from my lengthy piece on the subject dating
back to the play’s Broadway premiere in
1979, and reprinted in my book “John
Simon on Theater.”
The hapless fellow was born with
every conceivable deformity of head and
body, front and back, but, with nasty irony,
a perfect left arm and hand. It was the late
Victorian period, and surgery was as yet
even less equipped to handle a case that
made trained nurses run screaming from
the Whitechapel hospital room, which the
government bequeathed on him in 1886, as
permanent residence until his death in 1890
at age 27. He was also fortunate (if that is the
word for it) to have the eminent surgeon Sir
Frederick Treves look after him, much better
than Ross, who previously exhibited this
parental reject far and wide in side shows.
Thanks to Treves and Carr Gomm,
chairman of the hospital’s board, his case
received public attention and subsidy, and
he became (I quote myself) the celebrated
darling of high society whose members
visited him frequently and showered him
with (often useless) gifts. He became a
protégé of Mrs. Kendal, a leading actress,
who among other kindnesses, smuggled him
into a theater.
He was artistic enough to build with
his left hand a model of St. Philip’s Church,
which he could see from his window—
something the current revival makes very
little of. He worshiped women from afar
(his genitals were unimpaired), but I wonder
whether it is historical fact that Mrs. Kendal
bared her upper body to him, which he considered the most beautiful thing he ever saw,
and whether this elicited Treves’s strong disapproval and, from her, never repeated visits.
I quote myself, “Yet whatever she might
have done, such an act of alleged supreme
kindness might be taken, by both Merrick
and the rest of us, as a terrible piece of
sexual teasing.” Again, “Merrick is raised to
Paradise . . .for only a moment, to be hurled
back forthwith to a greater sense of deprivation than ignorance, even if it is not exactly
bliss, could ever inflict.”
Altogether, the plays suffers from a split
personality, based on simultaneously trying
both to spare and not spare the audience the
hideous details, between making us sympathetic spectators or titillated voyeurs. Also
between social criticism and commercial
melodrama. For example, “Why does Treves
want to keep Mrs. Kendal from Merick?
Is it simple jealousy or an act of wise prescience? His stated motive, muttered mostly
to himself, is ‘because I don’t want her here
when you die.’ But how can he foresee an act
that is essentially suicide? And, in any case,
why shouldn’t Mrs. Kendal be a comforting
Page 2
THURSDAy, NOVEMBER 27, 2014
Page 12
Community/GovernmentSection
COMMUNITY
EYE ON THEATRE
Westchester Community College Under Scrutiny After Fraudulent Transcripts Emerge
SweetByand
Sour
NANCY KING
Continued from pageW11e s t c h e s t e r
presence at Merrick’
s end? We
are clearly
Community
College
is the
getting out of the
realm
of creative
ambigulatest
public
institution
to
ity into that of stultifying
confusion.”
come under
scrutiny of the
Basically, “Pomerance
does not
quite
New York State
Inspector
know what
Merrick
means tothat
him,
or else
General
when
it was revealed
a former
he wantsbasketball
to make him
for too
many
assistant
coachstand
falsified
academic
things.” As and
for production
it hass
transcripts
forged anprocedure,
administrator’
always been—on
film and college
televisignature.
As a result,stage,
the community
sion—to
have aitsvery2014-2015
handsome Basketball
actor play
has
canceled
Merrick,
and
showing
the
real
thing
in
season. However the story doesn’only
t stop
slide projections while the onstage actor only
there,
because many student athletes use
sometimes curves his back and distorts his
Westchester Community College as a
mouth.
springboard to play at NCAA four-year
So too now, with the very good-looking
colleges; the scandal has now spanned several
Bradley Cooper, sometimes near naked,
states and several teams.
Former Mt. Vernon High School star,
Jamell
Walker was a star player for WCC
EXHIBITION
and was at the school on a full basketball
and of fairly muffled speech, but nothing
too painful to watch. Cooper acts what is
scholarship.
Heaplayed
the award winning
in some ways
ratheron
straightforward
part,
team
was granted,
completion
of
aptly and
enough,
and, as upon
Treves,
Alessandro
what
was
thought
to
be
a
two-year
stint
with
Nivola couldn’t be more persuasive. Patricia
WCC,
a full
scholarship
to overripe
play ballforwith
Clarkson,
though
somewhat
the
nationally
ranked
Florida
A&M
University.
role, does well
by Mrs.
Kendal’
s empathy
and
Not
longandafter
his arrival
at includes
Florida A&M,
ironies,
a large
cast that
Henry
an
anonymous
tipsterHeald
informed
themanifest
college
Stram
and Anthony
lends
and
the NCAA that Walker’s scholarship at
support.
WCCThe
haddialogue
been stripped
a year prior,
after
it
is generally
skilled
and
was
revealed he only
taken R.
one Mackabee’
class at thes
unsentimental,
Timothy
simple In
setorder
makes
excellenta scholarship
use of some
college.
to maintain
at
curtains
pulled
this must
way be
andmatriculated
that, thus
the
college,
a student
allowing
for speedy
for
a full credit
load. transitions, and Philip S.
Rosenberg’
s
lighting
the rest.it There
Upon further supplies
investigation,
was
is quite athat
lot there
of legitimate
humor
make
revealed
are several
othertoformer
watching
less grim,
Ellis’s sturdy
WCC
students
whoand
areScott
also playing
basyet
inconspicuous
directorial
hand
is felt
all
ketball for Division 1 schools and that
they
too might be at a new school under less
than transparent circumstances. St John’s
University, famous for their Red Storm
team, has opened an investigation into the
December
At Lasdon Park…
COMMEMORATION
along.
My only real objection here is a surprise
eligibility of their star forward, who attended
final image I do not recall from previous
WCC
last year.
Quinnipiac
in
productions.
It doesn’
t add allUniversity
that much,
Connecticut
is
now
reviewing
the
tranbut certainly defies credibility. Whether you
scripts
their starsplayer,
accept of
Pomerance’
toilingGianni
to turnMcLean,
Merrick
who
attended
Westchester
Community
into aalso
universal
symbol
is entirely
up to you.
College. Concordia College in Bronxville
JohnSUNY
Simon has
writtenareforalso
overinvestigating
50 years on
and
Purchase
theatre,
film,
literature,
music
and
fine
arts for the
all of their current athletes who transferred
Hudson
Review,
New
Leader,
New
to their respective schools after Criterion,
allegedly
National Review, New York Magazine, Opera
attending Westchester Community College.
news, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com and
At theNews.
heart He
of this
scandal
is former
Bloomberg
reviews
books
for the
assistant
basketball
coach
Richard
Fields.
New York Times Book Review and for
The
Last
month,
Fields
admitted
that
he
Washington Post. To learn more, visit the www.
provided
false transcripts and
he also forged
JohnSimon-Uncensored.com
website.
an administrator’s signature when doing
so. Oddly enough, Fields denies any doing
anything wrong. Call me ignorant but I
thought that forgery was a criminal offense.
Nearly every state in the union has a student
athlete who is under investigation for transcript fraud!
Visit Lasdon Park, Westchester
County’s Arborteum and Veteran’s
Museum to see their exhibit of World
Wart II photos commemorating the 70th
Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge.
The holiday decorations at the main
house by
include
lights, Plains
flowers,Police
garland
death
the White
in
and
a
7
Foot
live
poinsettia
tree
setting
the early morning hours of Novembera
festive
backdrop
visits with
and
19,
2011
after hisformedical
alertSanta
bracelet
Elf
Adventure
Tractor
Rides
–
check
the
went off, in error. Chamberlain, that
website for details.
morning, shouted through his door
The Lasdon Park Train Show promises
that he needed no help and that all
to “take you on a train ride on the Metro
he
wanted
leftofalone.
What
North
Line was
fromtothebebest
NY City
up
should
havevillage
beenofaKatonah
routinewhere
wellness
to the snowy
kids
check
intoanda adults
small can
army
of
can be erupted
entertained
remiofficers
shouting
racial
slurs
at
the
nisce about their first vision of model trains
during the
Along theescalated,
way you
elderly
man.Holidays.
As the situation
will pass
the Polar
Christmas
the
elderly
man Express
becameandmore
and
Town.”agitated and as we all know now,
more
Net proceeds
purchasesshot
madeand
at
Chamberlain
was ofeventually
The Shop
at Lasdon
military
killed
by those
policebenefit
officersour
after,
they
veterans. Lasdon purchases trees fresh
alleged, he lunged at them with a knife.
from Nova Scotia and also offers poinsettia,
Shortly
after
killing,
wreaths,
greens
and the
more.
Enjoy District
a cup of
Attorney
Janet
DeFiore
impaneled
hot chocolate or hot coffee at
the outdoora
Grand
Jury you
to investigate
the killing
fire pit before
leave.
and Lasdon
of course,
the
Grand
Jury
Park is located at found
2610
the
deathRoad
of Mr.
Chamberlain
to be a
Amawalk
in Katonah,
NY 10536
The transcript scandal at Westchester
In the meantime the NCAA has issued
Community College has given sports fans the following statement: ”Student athletes
a glimpse into the ugly side of the college to must meet academic standards throughout
professional sports superhighway. One must their careers on campus to remain eligible to
wonder how many professional athletes participate in inter-collegiate sports”.That may
that we watch in the NBA or the NFL be a great statement on paper but one must
have become superstars due to fraudulent take into account how those legitimate student
beginnings. When you connect the dots, it athletes at Westchester Community College
seems as if a young person with raw talent are feeling right about now. Their basketball
is plucked from the play-yard to participate season is canceled, a legitimate scholarship
in collegiate sports at a junior college, where may be in jeopardy, and their classmates who
they then live in hope of being noticed by a are non-scholarship students are casting a very
four year college. If they are lucky enough to shady eye at them. For the rest of us who live to
be scouted and picked up by that four-year watch college ball and who can’t wait to see the
school, they and the school, must then hope talent displayed during March Madness, we’ll
Bradley
John Merrick,
Allesandro
Treves
Patricia
Clarkson
that
they Cooper
are goodasenough
to be drafted
intoNivola
alsoasbeFrederick
wondering
if theand
talented
athlete
we’re
as
Mrs.
Kendall
in
a
scene
from
The
Elephant
Man.
Photo
©
Joan
Marcus
2014
the NBA or NFL. It doesn’t matter if they watching on TV has earned a legitimate ticket
are legitimate students or not, it’s just the to the big dance.
bragging rights (do they receive cash as well?),
that these schools receive as a kickback every Nancy King is a freelance writer in Westchester
County, NY
time they can send a kid up to the pros.
Community Marks 3 Years Since the Murder of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.
By NANCY KING
On
a
frigid
November evening, a
vigil was held in front
of the White Plains Department of
Public Safety to commemorate the
third anniversary of the shooting death
of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr. The 68
year old former marine was shot to
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justifiable homicide citing the reason
that the police had to fatally shoot
him was because they themselves were
in perceived danger. The only police
officer who was terminated after the
incident was Police Officer Stephen
Hart. Hart was the officer who shouted
out the racial slur.
In the 3 years since Mr.
Chamberlain’s death, his son, Kenneth
Chamberlain Jr. has crusaded tirelessly
on behalf of innocent victims of police
shootings. He has also petitioned the
United States Department of Justice
to charge the remaining offending
officers with violating the Federal Civil
Rights of his father. That case is currently under consideration by the DOJ.
The family of Mr. Chamberlain has
also filed a $21 million dollar lawsuit
against the City of White Plains and
the White Plains Police Department.
What continues to make this
story so troubling is that death at the
hands of police officer continues to be
common. DJ Henry was shot to death,
by a Pleasantville Police Officer and
Ferguson Missouri is holding its collective breath concerning the shooting
death of Michael Brown at the hands
of the police.
Wednesday night’s vigil, organized
by the Westchester Coalition for Police
Reform included community members,
religious leaders and family members
of others who have been killed at the
hands of the police. Though it was a
frigid night, at least three dozen individuals attended the vigil. Kenneth
Chamberlain Jr. vowed to continue
on his mission to seek justice for his
father and to work tirelessly to prevent
this sort of tragedy from ever happening again. Unfortunately, shootings of
innocent people in this country are
becoming so common place that when
one hears about a fatal shooting at the
hands of the police, that the incident
gets little more than brief media
coverage. Until we end that racially
divided standoff with law enforcement, we will unfortunately be hearing
about incidents like this one for years
to come.
Nancy King is a freelance writer in
Westchester County, NY
Page 13
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
The Best of the JCC* Documentaries
By Sherif Awad
Amongst the films
shown at the official documentary competition in
the twenty-fifth edition of
Carthage Film Festival is
Walls and People, a Moroccan film by Dalila
Ennadre. Walls and People premiered
at the opening of the 5th Annual Agadir
Documentary Festival last April, where it
received the festival’s Grand Prize as well as
the Audience Award.
In the film, Ennadre imagines that
Casablanca, the capital of Morocco, is personified as an older woman who appeals
from the heart to her beloved citizens, to
share their stories while roaming the city
that has turned into stifling, narrow alleys a
metaphor for their lack of economic opportunity. The ninety-minute film chronicles
Casablancan men and women of various
ages who share the same marginalized status,
living with a mixture of anger and joy in
the dilapidated winding, narrow streets. It
appears that they have opened their hearts
to director Dalila Ennadre because she was
born in these neighborhoods, in 1966, and
later moved to Paris. After filming several
documentaries focusing on women’s issues
and their daily lives, Ennadre decided to
return to her home city in order to rediscover
it.
Although there are many Africanthemed film festivals in Maghreb, Arabs
still demonstrate a lack of knowledge about
the customs and traditions of Africa, especially sub-Saharan African countries and
the African islands whether it is old or contemporary culture. Ady Gasy or The Malagasy
Way sheds light on this island country in the
Indian Ocean where director Nantenaina
Lova captures the people of Madagascar as
they deal with very difficult living conditions,
extreme poverty and unemployment by
recycling waste materials like metal, rubber
and wood, creating sandals, native musical
instruments and oil lamps. Their happiness and satisfaction with such industry is
illustrated through traditional and modern
expressions such as: “The Chinese can make
everything but we can fix anything.” A large
part of the movie is interspersed with native
music played in the streets on Malagasy
traditional instruments giving the whole
viewing experience a dynamic rhythm. The
film’s director left Magagascar in 1999 to
study sociology in France, then returned to
Madagascar to work as writer between 2003
and 2005.The following year, he entered film
One of the Interviewees in Walls and People
Scene from Malagasy Way
Malagasy Way Director Nantanaina Lova
Poster: A Leaf in The Wind
school in Toulouse, becoming one of the new
generation of independent filmmakers in
Madagascar.
Leaf in the Wind is a Cameroonian
documentary with a runtime of less than
sixty minutes but it managed to be accepted
in the long documentary competition. In
2004, a chance encounter between director
Jean-Marie Teno and Ernestine Ouandié
inspired him to create this documentary
about her father, Ernest Ouandié, who led
an armed struggle for the independence of
Cameroon from the late 50s through the
60’s until he was sentenced to death by the
Cameroonian authorities. Ernestine tells
her version of the dramatic story: how she
survived the lost of her father and the truth
about the assassination of her father in 1971
by the Cameroonian government. JeanMarie Teno completed this film as part of his
ongoing inquiry into the effects of colonialism on his people’s public and private lives.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad is a film /
video critic and curator. He is the film editor of
Egypt Today Magazine (www.EgyptToday.
com), and the artistic director for both the
Alexandria Film Festival, in Egypt, and the
Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The Netherlands.
He also contributes to Variety, in the United
States, and is the film critic of Variety Arabia
(http://varietyarabia.com/), in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), the Al-Masry Al-Youm
Website (http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/
node/198132) and The Westchester Guardian
(www.WestchesterGuardian.com).
* JCC is an abreviation for the French
Journées Cinématographiques de Carthage
(Cinematographic Days of Carthage)
Page 14
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LAUGHTEROLOGY, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY
Sec. of State (SSNY) 11/10/14. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom
process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of
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Rd Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
774 POST ROAD, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec.
of State (SSNY) 9/24/14. Office in Westchester Co.
SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process
may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process
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Plaza 99 Washington Ave Ste. 805-A Albany, NY
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Plaza 99 Washington Ave Ste. 805-A Albany, NY
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SUMMONS INDEX NO. 53326/2014 SUPREME
COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER Date Filed: 03/06/2014
Plaintiff designates Westchester County as the
place of trial. Venue is based upon the County
in which the mortgaged premises is situated.
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., s/b/m to Wells Fargo
Home Mortgage, s/b/m to Wells Fargo Home
Mortgage, Inc, s/b/m to Norwest Mortgage,
Inc., Plaintiff, -against- Ogedi Ohajekwe a/k/a
Ogedi A. Ohajekwe, Chinwe Ohajekwe a/k/a
Chinwe F. Ohajekwe, JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A., Medical Management Corp of America,
John H. Kaufman, Eric G. Cheng, Yvonne Choi,
Samuel Yakubu dba Sky Brokerage LLC and
“JOHN DOE #1” through “JOHN DOE #10”, the
last ten names being fictitious and unknown to
the plaintiff, the person or parties intended being
the persons or parties, if any, having or claiming
an interest in or lien upon the mortgaged premises described in the Complaint,, Defendants. TO
THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S): YOU ARE
HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint
in this action and to serve a copy of your Answer or, if the Complaint is not served with this
Summons, to serve a Notice of Appearance on
the attorneys for the plaintiff within twenty (20)
days after service of this Summons, exclusive
of the day of service; or within thirty (30) days
after service is complete if this Summons is
not personally delivered to you within the State
of New York; or within sixty (60) days if it is the
United States of America. In case of your failure
to appear or answer, judgment will be taken
against you by default for the relief demanded in
the Complaint. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION
AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above
captioned action is to foreclosure a Mortgage to
secure $189,000.00 and interest, recorded in the
Office of the Clerk of the County of Westchester
on October 1, 1992, in Liber 16507, Page 269, covering premises known as 542 South 5th Avenue,
Mount Vernon, NY 10550. The relief sought in
the within action is a final judgment directing the
sale of the premises described above to satisfy
the debt secured by the Mortgage described
above. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this
summons and complaint by serving a copy of
the answer on the attorney for the mortgage
company who filed this foreclosure proceeding
against you and filing the answer with the court,
a default judgment may be entered and you can
lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to
the court where your case is pending for further
information on how to answer the summons and
protect your property. Sending a payment to your
mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure
action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A
COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR
THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND
FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. DATED:
Williamsville, New York: January 23, 2014 BY:
Ashley Schaub. Frenkel, Lambert, Weiss, Weisman & Gordon, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff 53
Gibson Street Bay Shore, New York 11706 (631)
969-3100 Our File No.: 01-068744-F00
SHOPPING
Retail Recon:
By Mary Keon
OK Shoppers, we are in the home
stretch, it is seven days till Christmas and
it is time to up our game. I still have more
shopping to do and I decided I need more
help so I called Santa at the North Pole to
see if he could send a few elves my way and
he just laughed. In between the Ho Ho Hos,
he told me to do what he does: get FedEx,
UPS and the United States Postal service to
HELP WANTED
send those Christmas presents on the double.
Fortunately, I have a bookish family
which means that I can accomplish quite a
lot in an hour at Barnes and Nobles: $250
and 8 cookbooks later, I have knocked quite
a bit off my shopping list. I love to give cookbooks as presents – people have them forever
and I am well fed whenever I visit! Take out
the membership at Barnes and Nobles – for
$25 you get free shipping and in-store discounts. Write a short note to your giftee and
the sales staff will send it out with the next
shipping pickup, which means you don’t have
to stand in line at the Post Office, UPS or
FedEx!
ELECTRO-OPTICAL
ENGINEER
ISP OPTICS is seeking an electro-optical engineer for its location at 50 South Buckhout Street,
Irvington, NY 10533. Candidates
must have a master’s degree (or
equivalent) in electrical, electronic
or industrial engineering and 5+
years of experience in field of Electro-Optical, Electrical, Electronic
and/or Industrial Engineering.
Proficiency in computer assisted
engineering design software, CNC
optical manufacturing equipment
and optical metrology tools including, MTF, Zygo and Talysurf is
required. Duties include engineering/design/development of manufacturing processes for optical,
opto-mechanical and opto-electronic systems; developing technological processes for manufacturing custom infrared optical and
optical-electronic systems, including material selections, definition
of the technological capabilities
of production, measurement and
quality control; assembling/alignment of optical systems according to customer requirements;
preparing technical drawings/
specifications; creating technological structures of the production
process to comply with technical
specifications. We offer a starting
annual salary of $112,200.00 and
competitive benefits. Applicants
should contact us at
[email protected]
(Please include resume)
While you are in the bookstore, why not
support the home team! For the runner in
your life, Running from Love by Rozsa Gaston
is a story about overcoming downhill running
and relationship fears. A contemporary
romance, Running from Love features two
runners, one from Greenwich, one from the
Bronx, meeting and misunderstanding each
other until true love prevails: available on
amazon.com and on audible.com at www.
audible.com/RunningfromLove. Five-time
Billboard Magazine Award winner and
former radio host of New York’s 106.7 LITE
FM Valerie Smaldone narrates.
Emmy and Golden Globe Awardwinning Actor Stanley Tucci has followed
up the Tucci Cookbook with the tucci table,
featuring recipes selected together with his
wife, Felicity Blunt, reflecting their respective culinary heritages. Though Mr. Tucci
is clearly an extremely accomplished cook,
most of these recipes are very accessible to
those of us of more average abilities, relying
upon fresh ingredients and a little time spent
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Page 15
shop in the southern Lexington Ave. exit;
Toto and Tumi offer beautiful quality bags.
Take the time to browse through the Craft
Fair at Vanderbuilt Hall for one of a kind
presents that will surprise and delight the
recipient. Sadly, Posman Books will close on
Dec. 31st, having been unable to find new
space at the terminal following the expiration of their lease in September. I will miss
their curated selections and helpful staff. I
bought my niece a vest at Little MisMatch
for her birthday and she just loves it.The staff
at Kidding Around is incredibly helpful and
has an entire store stocked with toys games
and books, sorted by age group. They have
great suggestions and will mail presents for
you (there is a shipping charge), again, saving
you the trouble of mailing it yourself and
you have more important things to do than
stand in line – if you are like me, you still have
Christmas Cards to write!
SHOPPING
Retail Recon:
preparing them: hearty soups, paella, shepherd’s pie, orecchiette with broccoli rabe
and anchovies, and friend Tony Shalhoub’s
stuffed grape leaves. The beautifully photographed book is published by Gallery Books
and will inspire your family dinners all year
long.
When browsing the cookbook section,
be sure to pick up Martha Stewart’s most
recent book, From The Kitchens Of Martha
Stewart Living- ONE POT – 120+ easy
meals from your skillet, slow cooker, stockpot
and more. Since the thing I do best in this
world is dishes, I am a huge fan of One Pot
meals and this book does not disappoint,
with recipes that include Braised Chicken
and Parsnips, Sausage, Chicken and White
Bean Gratin and Spinach Pie, Rustic Apple
tart and Peach Crumble. Martha makes
everything look so easy and with her recipes,
they actually are! This is another great present
and the perfect book to be snowed in with.
If you travel through Grand Central
Terminal, take some time to explore the
shops—Hermes has scarves that are magnificent! Jacques Torres has opened a chocolate
woman her mother raised her to
be –a stark contrast to the promiscuous, IV drug-using woman
we meet in the early parts of the
film. Laura Dern plays Cheryl’s mother
(Bobbi), a sunny bubbly person, devoted
to Cheryl and her brother Leif (Keene
McRae). Thomas Sadawski plays Cheryl’s
long- suffering ex-husband.
Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl
and also co-produced the film, along
with Bruna Papandrea and Bill Polhad.
Witherspoon does the character justice,
Cheryl starts out on the trek looking
longingly and seriously back at the
highway to civilization before committing
to the path ahead, all the while muttering
to herself: What T F_______ did I do…?
What T F_______did I do? And yet,
somehow, she finds the inner toughness
and commitment to turn to the unknown
trail before her, putting one foot in front
of the other and starts her journey of a
thousand miles. Before long Cheryl has
cuts, abrasions from her backpack and
sore feet from boots that are too small.
There is an every girl quality
that Witherspoon brings to
the film, as she struggles with
her mini gas heater and water
purifier; journaling in the
warm cocoon of her pup tent
at night, which seems to offer
little protection against the
wilds of nature.
Throughout the trek,
Cheryl meets other hikers,
many of whom are trying to come to
terms with issues in their own lives. A sign
in book is kept in a box at key milestones
where hikers record their thoughts, leaving
MOVIE REVIEW
Wild
Movie Review By Mary Keon
Wild, based upon the biography by
Cheryl Strayed, is a journey story told
through flashbacks by Cheryl, the main
character, who embarks upon a hike of
more than a thousand miles through the
Pacific Crest Trail in an effort to make
sense of her life, following the death of her
mother and the breakup of her marriage.
Wild is a troubled, self-destructive
young woman who struggles to become
the woman her mother thinks she is; the
sans makeup and sporting a hefty
backpack) that seems to way as much as
she does; a far cry from the carefully coifed
and manicured character she often plays.
a quote and their name before they head
out again. The movie accurately depicts the
cordial camaraderie of fellow travelers on
the same journey, content to hike at their
own pace and reconnect at meet-ups.
Jean-Marc Valle directed the film
and Nick Hornsby wrote the script. There
is currently no MPAA rating; I would
recommend this film for mature audiences due to themes domestic abuse and
abortion, along with scenes that depict
graphic sex and IV drug abuse. If you are
a hiker you will appreciate the travails of
a hike along the Pacific Crest. If you are
not a hiker, this will either inspire you to
become one or offer you a virtual hiking
experience of the Pacific Crest forest from
the comfort of a movie theatre, with wonderful Cinematography by Yves Bélanger.
Diana O’Neill
Holistic Health Services
I will journey with you during challenging times such as
grieving the loss of a loved one or recovering from a negative relationship.
Counseling • Energy Healing • Hypnotism • Spiritual & Psychic Healing
By Appointment, Only.
Free consultation given on first visit.
914.630.1928
Holistic Health Services • 212 North Ave. Suite 204 A, New Rochelle, NY 10801
• 914.630.1928
Page 16
CALENDAR
News and Notes From Northern Westchester
By Mark Jeffers
Just had my annual
physical and I’m in decent
shape for the shape I’m in.
It’s a good thing I didn’t
step on the scale during
this joyous holiday season, or I might have
been put on a strict diet and then I would
end up writing a “cranky” edition of “News
& Notes.”
Our friends at the Westchester
Broadway Theatre present “Another Night
Before Christmas,” on December 20th. This
show is especially for kids, so you know I will
like it…’Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house... everyone was
scrambling to get the Ice Queen to the
North Pole before she melts. Two siblings
call on Santa Claus to save the day when
chaos erupts on “Another Night Before
Christmas!” Join them for a funny and lively
one hour family musical filled with lovable
elves and holiday magic.
A congratulatory shout out to
Rosemary Roche as she becomes the new
children’s room library assistant at the Pound
Ridge Library.
Smile, you may soon be on a MetroNorth camera. The MTA is installing
cameras in over 2,000 cars and locomotives
in the very near future.
Ring in the Christmas season with
“The Colonial Nutcracker,” an annual
holiday favorite, presented by Dance Theater
in Westchester. This full-length production,
choreographed by Rose-Marie Menes, is set
in Colonial Yorktown and is a narrated ballet
that is sure to delight all ages. Dance Theatre
in Westchester is the dance company affiliated with the Westchester Ballet Center
for the Performing Arts and is directed by
Rose-Marie Menes. Dance Theatre in
Westchester’s dancers have delighted audiences of all ages with professional ballet
performances that include the well-known
holiday favorite, “The Colonial Nutcracker.”
Don’t miss your chance to see this classic
holiday gem at the Paramount Hudson
Valley in Peekskill on Saturday December
20th.
Beginning at 1:00pm on Sunday,
December 21st, Chabad of the Rivertowns
is proud to present the Tri-State area’s
first-ever Chanukah Village. Main Street
in Irvington will be transformed into a
magical holiday experience for the whole
family. Families are invited to stroll up and
down Main Street, visiting stores that will
offer special Chanukah-themed activities.
Chanukah concerts and other entertainment will be held to add a flourish to the
afternoon. The day will be capped off with a
community-wide menorah lighting.
Are you still looking for that perfect
Christmas tree, then stop by the Bedford
Hills Memorial Park, all proceeds benefit
Rotary charities.
Westchester Philharmonic conductor Ted Sperling will lead this year’s annual
Winter Pops concert, “Anywhere, Wander:
Frank Loesser Songbook” on December 21st
at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase
College.
The Church of the Holy Spirit in
Cortlandt Manor will hold its winter blood
drive in the Parish Activity Center on
December 30th. Walk-ins are welcome. For
more information, please call 914-737-2316.
Registration is now open for the
Westchester County Coed Volleyball
Tournament, to be held Tuesday and
Wednesday, January 6th and 7th, 7 to 11pm
each night, at the Westchester County
Center in White Plains. The tournament
is open to men and women, 18 years of age
and older. The tournament will be played
in Round Robin format on Tuesday to
determine the ranking of each team, with
a double-elimination tournament for the
championship round on Wednesday. The
tournament will be played in two levels of
competition: recreation and power recreation. Awards will be given to the winning
teams and runners-up in each division.
We have lots of old puzzles, so we can
“connect” to this event…create your own
puzzle people by recycling old puzzles, for
children in grades 4 to 6 at the White Plains
Library on January 7th.
We would like to thank everyone who
came out and donated food and money to
our annual radio food drive “The Clubhouse
Christmas Spectacular”. All proceeds
go to support the wonderful work done
by the Community Center of Northern
Westchester. We raised $1,450 dollars and
896 pounds of food for those less fortunate.
It really was a great night at Grand Prix NY
with lots of laughs and many local folks and
businesses stopping by.
With all the holiday hustle and bustle,
don’t forget to go out and support all the
local area sports teams as they start their
winter season’s…see you next week.
Open 10AM - 8PM Mon-Sat.
Juice Bar • Smoothies • Salads
Paninis • Rice Bowls
Dine In -Take-Out • Dobbs Ferry Delivery
914.479.5555
MIXONMAINNY.com
63 MAIN ST., DOBBS FERRY, NY
Nat Mundy, VP at GPNY talking with “Clubhouse” gang Rob Adams, Mark Jeffers and Brian Crowell during the “Clubhouse Christmas
Spectacular” radio broadcast on WGCH 1490 benefitting the Community Center of Northern Westchester’s annual food drive at Grand Prix NY in
Mount Kisco.
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM

December 18, 2014 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

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