February 5, 2016

Eastchester REVIEW THE

February 5, 2016 | Vol. 4, Number 6 | www.eastchesterreview.com

A sketch-in-time One of many detailed drawings made by architect William Bates in small leather-bound sketchbooks that were recently donated by his family to the Bronxville History Center. The sketch, unlike most in the books, bears Bates’ signature.

For more, see page 10.

2 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 3

Auto repair shop in town zoning dispute John Casale has run his auto repair shop for more than three decades. But in August last year, the town of Eastchester’s building department notified him that his business did not have the proper permits to operate and he could be forced to shut down.

JC Auto Repairs, located at 164-166 Summerfield St. in Scarsdale, received a notice of violation from Eastchester Building Inspector James King last summer. The notice said portions of the repair shop did not have the proper approvals and permits to operate. The notice required the business owner to seek a use variance for the location or discontinue use of the building.

Casale told the Review that the notice doesn’t make sense, adding that the building has existed for the past 70 years, and has always had

the same purpose.

Casale purchased the property 1982, and has been using the property for his business since 1976, when he first rented the property from the previous owner, AB Wolle, which was also a vehicle repair shop, according to the minutes of the Nov. 10, 2015 zoning board meeting.

Casale added that he wishes he knew why he received the violation.

“I was told that there was a complaint. [The building department] was looking into the complaint, and that’s how this whole thing started,” he said.

“The violation is what the town interprets, I can’t change that.

It’s unfortunate, but it is what it is.”

Since receiving the notice last summer, Casale says he has been trying to comply.

When he appeared before the

zoning board on Nov. 10, he argued that his business did not need a use variance because the building’s use has not changed. “[The board] didn’t see it that way,” he said. “So I need to see if I can get a use variance at the next meeting.”

The next meeting of the Eastchester Zoning Board of Appeals is Tuesday, Feb. 9.

Although still open, Casale said that the notice has put a damper on his business. “It does impede on how much work I can get out of my place,” he added.

“I’m trying to deal with this the best way possible. I’m waiting for this due process. We’re a small business. We’re just trying to make a living and pay taxes.”

The building inspector declined comment while the matter is going through the legal process.

-Reporting by Sibylla Chipaziwa

JC Auto Repairs, located at 164-166 Summerfield St. in Scarsdale, is dealing with a notice of violation issued by the town of Eastchester’s Building and Planning Department. The business has recently learned that it has been operating without the proper permits. Photo/Andrew Dapolite

Town of Eastchester

Official Newspaper Eastchester Schools

4 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

What’s going on...

Eastchester Public Library

email him at jheifetz@wlsmail.org.

Make your own body oils for Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day Craft On Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Online registration starts Tuesday, Feb. 2. Come and make two awesome Valentine’s Day crafts to warm your sweetheartheart. For ages 3 to 5.

Book chat and advisory group This program held on Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m., is aimed at avid readers, and will be in book talk format. The librarian will start the program by highlighting a book that he has enjoyed, and participants can bring in one or two books of their own to share. Time will be set aside at the end of the program for an advisory session when participants can offer their feedback about what types of books they think the library should have more of. Refreshments will be served. Space is limited so registration for this program is suggested. For more information or to register for this program, call Jonathan Heifetz at 721-8105 or

On Saturday, Feb. 13 from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Online registration is required, as space is limited.

For grades six and up. Come to the library to make your own Valentine’s Day-scented body oils.

This is a great gift for a friend or family member.

Also learn the importance of knowing what you are putting on your body. Each teen will get three different oils to make and take home, complete with their own designed laminated label and bag.

Contact Elizabeth Portillo at 793-5055 or eportillo@wlsmail.org for more information.

Bronxville Public Library Book donation drop-off The library will be holding a book donation drop-off on Saturday, Feb. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon.

Anyone is welcome to bring their gently-used books to the library to be sold at the next book sale. All proceeds will benefit the Friends of the Library.

Tween Science Day On Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.

For ages 9 to 12. Do you have what it takes to construct an amazing structure out of marshmallows and other items? Will it last through a wind storm?

An earthquake? Take your chances and find out.

Chinese New Year craft Celebrate the coming of the Year of the Monkey on Monday, Feb. 8 from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. with a drawing and pasting craft for children ages 3 and up. This program is free and open to the public.

Registration is not required.

Tots of Fun Dance Party A dance party for toddlers age 2 will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Children are welcome to follow the instructor’s dance moves or make up their own. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Dawny Dew concert This fun singalong filled with music and puppets will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 1:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. This program is appropriate for children ages 1 and up. This program is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Fighting fragility Join nutrition and wellness specialist Alice Kaufman on Wednesday, Feb. 10 from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. as she teaches audience members which foods deplete muscles and bones and which foods nurture and help build strength. This workshop will cover both nutrition and strength-building and stress-relieving exercises. Registration is not required for this program.

Bronxville Women’s Club Poetry Tea The Literature Section of the Bronxville Women’s Club, located at 135 Midland Ave. in Bronxville, will hold its annual Poetry Tea event on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 1:30 p.m. This program is open to the public and participants are welcome to share a favorite poem and enjoy afternoon tea.

Carole Michaels is the chairperson for the day.

Admission is $10 per person and reservations close on Tuesday, Feb. 9. For more information or to register for this event, call 337-3252 or visit bronxvillewomensclub.org.

Midland Music Concert Series The next concert on the Midland Music Concert Series will take place on Saturday, Feb. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Bronxville Women’s Club. The concert, called “Slavic Discoveries,” will feature soprano Hana Golodinskii and pianist Oxana Mikhailoff.

Advanced tickets are $15 for members, $20 for non-members, $18 for seniors and $5 for students. Tickets at the door are $18 for members, $25 for non-mebers, $20 for seniors and $5 for students. For an additional price, audience members can enjoy a catered dinner at the Bronxville Women’s Club at 6 p.m. Dinner reservations close on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Dinner prices are $25 for members, $30 for adult non-members and $10 for

children under 12 years old. For more information or to register for this event, call 337-3252 or visit bronxvillewomensclub.org.

Snow Angels program Volunteers needed The Snow Angels program needs volunteers to aid the elderly and disabled with snow removal.

All requests from volunteers are matched up with a request from someone who lives near them and who has requested help with snow/ice removal.

Volunteers will receive community service hours from the program coordinator. Those who are interested should contact Sheila Marcotte at tuckahoesnowangels@yahoo.com, and parents can contact her at 309-6947. Marcotte will then contact the program coordinator directly.

Eastchester Recreation Department Programs for the disabled The town of Eastchester welcomes the participation of all residents and recognizes the importance of providing recreational programs in the most integrated setting. If special accommodations are needed to assist in the meaningful participation and inclusion of a disabled participant, please call Sally Veltidi, Eastchester recreation superintendent, at 771-3311. The Recreation Department—serving Eastchester, Bronxville and Tuckahoe—is part of the South East Consortium for Special Services, a nonprofit organization which provides year-round therapeutic recreational programs for persons with disabilities.

The organization offers a variety of weekly programs for disabled persons ages 5 and up. For further information, visit secrec.org or contact Jerry Peters at the South East Consortium, 740 W. Boston Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543; by calling 698-5232 or emailing info@secrec.org.

Winter vacation camp registration This mini day camp is open to Eastchester, Tuckahoe and Bronxville residents in grades K-6.

Activities will include arts and crafts, circle games, entertainment, trips and a lunch party. The camp will run from Tuesday, Feb. 16 to Friday, Feb. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with an extended day option ending at 5 p.m. The camp location will be Haindl Field House, 3 Gabriel Rescigno Drive in Scarsdale. Space is limited, so sign up early. The deadline is Friday, Feb. 12. For sessions ending at 3 p.m., the fee is $175, and for sessions ending at 5 p.m., the fee is $240. Make checks payable to the Town of Eastchester. Visit eastchester.org/ departments/recreation/ for more information and to download a registration form.

Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Thursday at noon. Though space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send all items to news@hometwn.com.

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 5

Bronxville students design school playground Bronxville Elementary School students designed models for their school playground as part of a fifth-grade social studies project that aimed to develop their understanding of responsible development and apply it to a relatable, real-life situation. The students had a $100,000 budget for the project and used construction materials such as tin foil, straws, cardboard, pipe cleaners and yarn.

“The students learned what it really means to work together,” fifth-grade teacher Lauren Geremia said. “They were motivated and driven to come up with ideas that the Bronxville community would be inspired by. They were hoping to see some of their ideas come to life.”

The students were first asked to identify some of the ways the Bronxville playground could be improved. Then, they observed how their classmates played and conducted online research about other playgrounds around the world and the different types of equipment available. They also surveyed their peers in the

younger grades to gain a perspective on what equipment they were using. Geremia said the students collaborated in small groups to design a playground that took into consideration the feedback and collected data.

“The goal was to use the students’ understanding of responsible development to redesign a school playground that is innovative and addresses the needs of the community, environment and economy,” said fifth-grade teacher Stephanie Kennedy. “It was exciting to watch students grapple with a real-life problemsolving activity in which they applied critical thinking skills, engaged citizenship and innovation. Students were clearly invested and engaged throughout the process of the project.”

Once the students submitted their project proposals to their teachers, they began construction. Some of the models the students came up with included a vegetable garden and new wheelchair-accessible swing sets. One group suggested they sell some of the current play-

ground equipment in order to upgrade the new playground with the proceeds.

“They were very motivated to improve the playground space,” Kennedy said. “They had to focus on the needs and opinions of other people.”

Fifth-grader Nicolas Park, whose group created a playground that included a big climbing set, an additional swing set and a basketball hoop, said they had a substantial budget to work with in order to create a playground.

“It was fun to see all the different things we could do with our playground,” he said. “I learned that if you take the time to do something, you can accomplish a lot. We got to be creative by building structures out of straws and tin foil and slides out of cardboard.”

Fellow fifth-grader Cecillia Wilson said her group wanted to incorporate a variety of equipment that children of all ages could enjoy. She said she enjoyed conducting the research for her project and building a

Bronxville Elementary School students design models for their school playground as part of a fifth-grade social studies project that aims to develop their understanding of responsible development and apply it to a relatable, real-life situation. Photo courtesy Bronxville school district

playground model.

“The students worked hard to be collaborative, innovative members of their groups,” fifth-grade teacher Vanessa Jan-

ec said. “They learned how to navigate differences in opinion, as well as overcome challenges that arose during the project. This project was unique in

that it was very real for the students. The students felt invested in the activity because it was something they could relate to.”

(Submitted)

6 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

East Eastch Ea stch st chester cheste ester RE EW REVI THE

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wine red Painting the town

By sUZY BerKOwiTZ Editorial Assistant

Georgina Meduri, balancing a paintbrush in one hand and a wine glass in the other, puts

the finishing touches on her winter landscape and smiles.

It’s a recent Wednesday night and a small group has gathered in White Plains’ Muse Paintbar.

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Muse Paintbar, located on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains, has been open for five months. The chain currently has 14 businesses running in five different states. Photo/Suzy Berkowitz

“Years ago, doing ceramics was the fad,” Meduri said comparing that to the recent paint-drink craze. “I’ve probably been here about 10 times since this place has opened up.

It’s just something creative, fun and different to do.”

Although Muse has only been up and running in White Plains for five months, the chain has expanded to 14 businesses across New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Massachusetts since opening its first location in Manchester, New Hampshire, in late 2012.

The manager of the White Plains location, Miesha, said working at Muse has made her professional life the happiest it’s ever been.

“I just love seeing people get excited over what they’ve created,” she said. “I think people like coming here because it brings balance to their everyday lives, which are usually spent at a desk.”

The paint-and-sip industry began a little more than 10 years ago when the first studio, Sips n Strokes, opened in Alabama in 2004. The craze has gained rapid momentum since then, as an estimated 1,000 different paint bars have opened throughout the United States and Canada. Paint bar

Pinot’s Palette, a new paintbar in Tuckahoe, celebrated its grand opening last December. Photos/Bobby Begun

clients can either rent a party room for a private event or register to paint during public classes offered throughout the week.

One such studio franchise, Pinot’s Palette, recently opened in Tuckahoe, making that location its 90th in the country, and its first in Westchester County.

Although the company is new to Tuckahoe—it has only been open since December 2015—it has grown exponentially since getting its start in Houston in 2009, and now has locations in 37 states and one in Toronto.

Pat Cipollone, owner of Pinot’s Palette studio in Tuckahoe, said the appeal of paint

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The paint-and-sip industry began in 2004, and has since expanded to 1,000 paint bars across the United States and Canada.

Studio franchises Muse Paintbar and Pinot’s Palette recently moved into Westchester County.

bars comes from people’s desire to have an alternative night out and create their own artwork.

“In the end, you’ve created something that’s genuinely yours,” Cipollone said. “Paint bars open the door for people to appreciate art, and it relaxes them in a way.”

Cipollone said the popularity of paint bars makes publicizing his new location a challenge; he mainly depends on word of mouth to draw a crowd. He said his instructors do their best to keep the night light and fun for everyone, but in the end, it’s up to the client to make the best of it.

Julie Alfonso, an instructor and assistant at Muse Paintbar, said one challenging aspect of the job is encouraging adult clientele not to take themselves or their work too seriously. She said there’s always an opportunity to come back and try it again.

“We do our best to make everybody feel comfortable and not hold themselves to an unrealistic standard,” Alfonso said. “This gives people a chance to come out and do something new; to feel like a kid again.” cONTacT: suzy@hometwn.com

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 7

BHS freshmen utilize digital portfolios Bronxville High School freshmen have the opportunity to track their accomplishments throughout their high school careers and choose how the world perceives them by developing digital portfolios.

Initiated by the counseling department, ninth-graders are the first students to take on this innovative and creative approach at the high school.

Counseling department Director Anne Abbatecola said the idea behind the project was to guide students’ awareness of the Bronxville Promise and development in each of the four dispositions: leadership, critical thinking, innovation and engaged citizenship. Since each student’s portfolio will be expanded upon over the years, students will be able to identify how they’ve improved and progressed.

“We’re growing together and helping students identify their development in the dispositions in all areas of their lives, including academics, athletics and extracurricular activities,”

said Abbatecola, who added that counselors will periodically check in with students throughout the semester.

The digital portfolio project was launched on Jan. 12, when the students began working on their “about me” sections.

They’ll also be able to enhance their portfolios by adding pictures, videos and projects they complete during their high school years. By the end of this year, the ninth-graders are expected to upload one to two works that show their progress within the dispositions of the Bronxville Promise.

English teachers Genevieve Jaffe and Franco D’Alessandro, who are involved with the introduction of the project, will guide students in the selection of their first portfolio submissions. Director of technology Jennifer Forsberg and instructional technology specialist Brad Ashley have also been involved with the launch of the project. They collaborated with the counseling department to build a template and show stu-

dents how to edit and make entries into their portfolio.

Ninth-grader Lindsey Cruikshank said she has the leadership skills to set a good example to her peers as someone who is respectful and responsible. She said the project would help her track her progress over time and further develop her leadership skills.

“It will be interesting because it will be authentic,” ninth-grader Viena Pentikainen said about the portfolio project.

“It will be a good tool, especially for college applications.”

Kirsten Ircha, also a ninthgrader, saw the project as an opportunity to set new goals for herself. As a multifaceted student already—she runs track, plays the viola and hand bells, sings in choir, does Ukrainian dancing and volunteers at a church that helps formerly imprisoned women assimilate into society—Ircha said the project will be a good reflection of how she grows and what she achieves over the next four years.

Rye drug coalition to conduct online survey A new Rye drug and alcohol coalition launched an online survey on Feb. 1 aimed at collecting data on parental attitudes and knowledge of their childrens’ drug and alcohol habits.

Beyond gathering data, one of the main goals of the survey is to start a communitywide conversation about drug and alcohol use, according Nancy Pasquale, a co-founder of the Adults and Children Together, ACT, anti-drug coalition and member of the Rye City Board of Education.

Those behind the survey hope it will engage as many members of the community across as many coalition member groups as possible, Pasquale said. The coalition will use data from the survey

to pinpoint problems and then align the coalition groups best suited to address them.

Rye Councilwoman Julie Killian, also a co-founder of ACT, echoed how important these types of conversations are.

The coalition grew out of parental conversations about drug and alcohol concerns.

“We had the feeling that this was something that we might need in our community,” Killian said.

The city lags behind several neighboring communities including Larchmont and Mamaroneck that have longstanding coalitions in their communities.

In Larchmont, the Responsible Action: Drug and Alcohol Resource, RADAR, coalition has existed for more than 20 years.

“We are very early in this process, as a community,” Pasquale said.

Formed in October 2015, ACT includes representatives from organizations including the city of Rye Police Department, City Council, school district, Rye Youth Council, local clergy and St. Vincent’s Hospital Westchester in Harrison.

During its one-year grant period, ACT will operate under the tutelage of the Westchester Community Coalition, a group that oversees and mentors drug and alcohol prevention groups throughout the county. The Westchester Community Coalition will provide mentoring services to Rye-ACT and act as a fiscal agent for the Rye startup.

-Reporting by Sarah Varney

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@ eastchesterview

Bronxville High School freshmen develop digital portfolios to identify how they’ve improved and progressed during their high school careers. Photo courtesy Bronxville school district

“Students will be asked to reflect on each portfolio entry as they grow as students and individuals in the Bronxville School and will make connec-

tions between school and life beyond Bronxville,” Abbatecola said. “We hope that they will proudly share their portfolios with family and friends. This is

only the beginning of a process of gathering evidence of their individual growth and accomplishments throughout high school.” (Submitted)

8 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

Interfaith initiative feeds hungry on MLK Day More than 135 volunteers spent a cold Martin Luther King Jr. Day in service by making sandwiches and soup starters, and packing food bags for distribution to the hungry in the local area. Young volunteers decorated cards and bags to present the donations and pay tribute to King’s legacy.

“Much of what Martin Luther King Jr. believed about doing your part in making the world a better place can be summed up by the Jewish expression tikkun olam, repairing the world.

According to Jewish tradition, it’s our responsibility to care for those in need,” said Juliana Reiner, of New Rochelle, who served as teen chair along with Julia Mendelsohn, of Purchase, and Maxine and Sydney Moses, of Larchmont. “When it comes to alleviating hunger, our teachings go way, way back.”

The event, which took place at the Sally & Anthony Mann Center in Hawthorne, was one of five taking place throughout the Greater New York area as part of Feeding Our Neighbors: An Interfaith Response. The initiative, for which UJA-Federation of New York joins Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York and Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, works to tackle hunger across New York City, Westchester County, and Long Island.

“Feeding Our Neighbors’ goal is pretty amazing: to collectively donate one million meals to hungry New Yorkers,” said Abbey Moses, of Larchmont, who served as chair with Abby Mendelsohn, of Purchase. “Thanks for being a part of that impressive goal and for taking time out

From left, Sydney and Maxine Moses, of Larchmont, and Juliana Reiner, of New Rochelle, from Feeding Our Neighbors, an interfaith initiative to feed the hungry. Photo courtesy UJA-Federation of New York

of your day to work with us. We rely on volunteers like you.”

These volunteers included clients at the Mann Center who participate in intensive milieu therapy; individual, family, and group psychotherapy; pharmacotherapy; and special education and vocational training. Despite their often traumatic histories, many of these clients, who range in age from 12 to 21, are resilient, showing extreme strength in their commitment to their treatment and to bettering their lives and their futures. The center is run by the Jewish Board, an agency that receives UJAFederation funding.

One in seven New Yorkers struggles with hunger. To help those who might otherwise go without nourishment during the bitter winter months, the packages will be distributed to clients of the Bronx Jewish Community Council, BJCC, another

UJA-Federation beneficiary agency. BJCC’s food pantry, which serves anyone in need, provides more than 3,700 meals per month with demand increasing each year.

“BJCC’s food pantry is the largest in the East Bronx, serving more than 3,000 people each month, especially seniors and especially those aging in place,” Julia Mendelsohn said.

“For many of the council’s clients, our donations mean the difference between a meal or going without.”

The volunteer service was followed by a poetry performance by residents of the Mann Center.

Participants tweeted #FeedingNY throughout the event to raise awareness about hunger and share their thoughts on Dr. King’s legacy.

For nearly 100 years, UJAFederation has inspired New Yorkers to act on their values and invest in our community for the biggest impact. Through UJAFederation, more than 50,000 donors address issues that matter most to them, pooling their resources to care for New Yorkers of all backgrounds and Jews everywhere, to connect people to their Jewish communities and to respond to crises close to home and around the globe. Working with nearly 100 beneficiary agencies, synagogues and other Jewish organizations, UJAFederation is the world’s largest local philanthropy; spanning from New York to Israel to more than 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit ujafedny.org. (Submitted)

Voter turnout in America is at a record low BRONXVILLE TODAY Mayor Mary Marvin

By the time this column is published, the much-ballyhooed Iowa primary will be over and the talk will turn to New Hampshire.

The saturation of the airwaves analyzing demographic voting for each candidate got me thinking about all aspects of the way we vote—or don’t vote— as Americans.

As a nation, we have a dreadful voting record. We rank 31st out of 34 compared to the other most highly developed countries.

A presidential election brings out the most voters, yet only 53 percent of those eligible cast a vote for President Obama or Gov. Romney in 2012.

By contrast, recent national elections in Belgium, Turkey and Sweden brought out more than 80 percent of the voting public.

To be fair, Belgium and Turkey are two of the 28 nations where voting is compulsory. Though not at all strictly enforced, with many excuses accepted, the law does have a dramatic effect on participation. Chile switched to voluntary voting and the percentage of voters plummeted in one year from 87 percent participation to 42 percent. High voter turnout in Germany and Sweden is credited to automatic registration by the government when a citizen reaches voting age. Here, only 65 percent of people able to vote actually register.

The date of voting seems to have a great correlation with participation as well. In Australia, Brazil and Belgium, where voting is always on a weekend or national holiday, participation is more than 80 percent.

Our Tuesday voting is anachronistic, dating to a congressional decision back in 1845. As a predominantly agrarian society with

travel by horse and buggy, voters needed a day to reach the county seat; a day to make their voting selections; and then a day to travel back home, all without interfering with the three days of the week dedicated to religious worship. That left only Tuesday and Wednesday, and since Wednesday was the traditional Market Day, Tuesday was chosen.

Since every survey points to inconvenience as the reason Americans do not vote, and Congress has managed to move Columbus Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and carve out a Presidents Day, the precedent is there, if not the inclination to move from Tuesday voting.

Midterm elections and local elections bring out far less than the 50 percent-plus presidential participation. In the recent congressional elections, only 36 percent of eligible voters turned out, marking the lowest percentage since World War II. In 2010, despite contests for every statewide office in New York for the first time in decades, New York ranked last in voter participation at below 40 percent, close to our other nonvoting colleagues in Utah and Texas. Gov. Cuomo won his recent re-election with just 32 percent of eligible voters casting ballots. When Mayor DiBlasio was elected, a record low 24 percent of eligible city dwellers participated.

On the hyperlocal level, with the exception of this past December when residents came out to vote, our fire district commissioners often get elected with less than 4 percent of the eligible town voters participating, despite their hugely important role of overseeing a $16 million-plus budget.

According to national surveys, Americans don’t vote because it is inconvenient. Following closely behind are reasons ranging from lack of interest, busyness, work, the thought that their vote has

SCHOOL NEWS?

ContaCt oUR EDUCatIon REpoRtER

no impact, illness, dislike of the candidates, being out of town or simply forgetting.

The data reveals that if someone is young, a minority, less affluent and less educated, they vote in record low numbers.

Financial security in particular is strongly correlated with nearly every measure of political engagement. Citizens earning more than $100,000 vote in double the numbers of those with incomes below that.

Correlating with education, 44 percent of eligible voters without a high school diploma voted in the 2012 presidential election, versus a 77 percent turnout rate by those with a college degree.

The surveys uniformly confirm that young people do care about politics; sadly, a majority of them dislike it. Less than a third of eligible voters aged 18 to 30 think running for office is a “honorable thing to do,” and 75 percent of them didn’t even vote in the most recent presidential election.

The time-consuming caucus system, as practiced in Iowa, brings out substantially less voters than even the low numbers when voting machines and absentee ballots are used in primaries.

Furthermore, voters in the Iowa caucuses can change party affiliation the night of the caucuses and Democratic caucus voters have no secret ballot. In Iowa, someone goes into different rooms of a house based on candidate preference. It had to put a damper on free choice if one saw his boss or shop steward heading into a different room, yet the media will attach great significance to the final tallies.

As the voting season continues, the timeless words of Daniel Webster certainly ring true: “Impress upon children the truth that the elective franchise is a social duty of as solemn a nature as man can be called to perform.”

sarah varney

sarah@hometwn.com

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 9

City of Rye discusses new drone legislation

By JaMes PerO Staff Writer As the use of recreational and commercial drones expands, cutting-edge technology is facing cutting-edge regulation. Through an increasing array of federal and municipal laws, how and when people can use drones is being defined across the country, including in the city of Rye. During a Jan. 27 City Council meeting, councilmembers and City Attorney Kristen Wilson discussed the beginning of the city’s framework on how drones and their pilots can operate within city boundaries.

Among the major facets guiding the proposed legislation over drone usage are privacy and safety, according to City Manager Marcus Serrano.

“We have a lot of public parks… We want to make sure people are protected,” Serrano said.

Equipped with cameras, modern drones—many of which are now affordable to the average consumer—are capable of deftly flying through the air and capturing bird’s eye view photos and video footage in high definition.

According to Wilson, there are at least a few other municipalities in the region with laws regulating the usage of drones, including one in Rockland County.

The Federal Aviation Administration, FAA, has already begun regulating drone usage by implementing nationwide guidelines that require registration and strictly limiting how and where they can be flown.

The penalties for failing to register a drone with the FAA—which will kick in on Feb. 19—are punishable up to $27,000 according to the agency’s website.

Additionally, both New York state and New York City have begun looking at their own legal models for just how and where drones can be operated.

Wilson said that while developing their local law, Rye may want to proceed with caution, as the FAA is in the midst of developing more guidelines that may overlap.

“The FAA is going to preempt some of this,” she said.

“They’re looking at it closely, too.”

Interest in using drones, however, isn’t just limited to recreational users. According

to Wilson, the Rye City Police Department and Rye TV have shown an affinity for the application of drone technology.

New Rye Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran told the Review that, though he hasn’t officially considered the use of drones in Rye, they could have a valuable application in public surveillance.

“You cannot use them too look into private homes. People have a right to privacy,” he said, adding that police work could still benefit from their usage.

“It would be somewhat useful in the public eye, a lot like a surveillance camera.”

Corcoran, whose first day on the job was Feb. 1, also acknowledged that the usage of drones for police purposes also brings up its own sticky set of legality regarding search warrants.

“That’s something we’d want to explore very closely,” he said.

Representatives from the FAA could not be reached for comment as of press time. cONTacT: james@hometwn.com

A similar drone photo of Rye City Hall ran on the front page of the Sept. 25 issue of The Rye City Review.

The Rye City Council will begin to discuss what will become the framework for local legislation regarding the usage of drones in the city. Photos/Andrew Dapolite

10 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

Architect’s drawings return to Bronxville

William Bates’ four grandnieces deliver the architect’s early 20th century sketchbooks to the Bronxville History Center. From left, Sarah Wells Macias, Marianne Wells, Bronxville Historian Eloise L. Morgan, Katherine Wells Power and Nancy Wells Warder. Bates was Bronxville’s leading architect between 1890 and 1922. Photos courtesy Eloise L. Morgan

After 65 years in Texas, dozens of small sketches by William Bates, Bronxville’s most prolific turn-of-the-20th-century architect, have been donated to the village archives by the Bates family, who decided that after decades in a drawer, his sketches needed to be in Bronxville.

William Augustus Bates was the dominant architectural figure in the early years of Bronxville and its Lawrence Park section, which is now a National Register Historic District.

“These amazing sketchbooks are the only original Bates material our archives has,” said Bronxville Village Historian Eloise L. Morgan. “When Bates died, his office records were left to his partner, an architect who seems to have left no trace in history other than his work with

Bates. Sketchbooks filled with Bates’ drawings are a wonderful contribution to Bronxville’s history, and we can’t thank his family enough for their generosity.”

Bates moved to New York City around 1872, where he was an architect with Herter Brothers and McKim, Mead & White. In 1890, when William Lawrence began developing Lawrence Park, Bates, who had grown up in Lawrence’s hometown of Monroe, Michigan, found himself with a patron who would keep him busy for the rest of his life. Bates designed most of the early houses in Lawrence Park and was eventually responsible (after 1910 with partner Kenneth G. How) for designing more than 50 private homes, seven townhouse groups and nine large apartment buildings that still ex-

ist in Bronxville. He also helped design several of Bronxville’s earliest significant, but now demolished, structures, such as the Hotel Gramatan, the first public school and the original Village Hall.

Bates died in 1922, leaving his personal possessions, including his sketchbooks, to his brother.

Sketching appears to have been a lifelong passion of Bates.

In the 1880s, he helped found the Architectural Sketch Club in Manhattan where young architects would meet to do sketching exercises over a meal. His leather bound notebooks now in the Bronxville History Center, each measuring 4” x 7” or smaller, are “field sketchbooks” filled with detailed drawings of buildings and interior and

From left, Sarah Macias, Kathy Power and Marianne Wells review records at the Bronxville History Center about their great uncle, architect William Bates, and their mother, Frances Bates Wells. The women, along with fourth sister Nancy Warder, not pictured, visited the center in January to donate William Bates’ sketchbooks to the village.

A sketch by architect William Bates included in a notebook recently donated by his family to the Bronxville History Center located at the Bronxville Public Library.

exterior architectural elements, none of which represent any Bronxville structure.

The Bronxville History Center, located at the Bronxville Public Library, has a collection of published information about

William Augustus Bates, including photographs and floor plans of many of his designs that showcased his work in leading architectural periodicals in the 1890s-1920s. The center also holds an assortment of archi-

tectural reference books from Bates’ personal library.

The History Center is usually open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment on Thursdays. For more information, call 779-9391.

(Submitted)

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 11

Village of Larchmont considers bike lanes The Larchmont Traffic Commission has a presentation and proposal ready for the village Board of Trustees to create bike lanes.

According to Carol Miller, co-chair of the Traffic Commission, the idea was formed in either 2007 or 2008, and the commission started working with the Rye YMCA to come up with ideas on how to incorporate bike lanes into the wide village streets. After the project was tabled for a while, Carolyn Lee, chairwoman of the Recreation Committee, approached the mayor about it to pick up where the Traffic Commission left off. They were able to dig up a report that the Rye YMCA completed with the help of New York University Wagner, the graduate school for public service.

In the report, which included the city of Rye, the town of Mamaroneck and the villages of Larchmont and Mamaroneck, the NYU Wagner team describes types of bike lanes, including sharrows—painted markings on the roadway, indicating that the road is a shared space for both motorists and recreational users—dedicated bike lanes—space for bicyclists along roadways, at least 5 feet in width and in the same direction as prevailing traffic—and two-way bike lanes—the same as a dedicated bike lane, but doubled in width, allowing for two directions of bike traffic.

The study recommends two different sections of roadway in the village of Larchmont: for Chatsworth Avenue (from Palmer Avenue south to Boston Post Road) and Larchmont

Avenue (from Palmer Avenue south to Magnolia Avenue).

Lee, who told the Review that she is an avid biker, feels strongly that residents should be biking and walking more.

“My kids bike to school or walk to school every day, and they’re not the norm,” she said.

Lee, however, realizes that many parents make the choice to drive their children places simply for safety reasons.

The implementation of these lanes would be fairly simple, according to Miller.

“It requires some careful measuring and painting, and possibly labeling,” she said, adding that it would be costeffective. “There’s no construction, nothing has to be widened, and no traffic patterns have to change.”

-Reporting by Kiley Stevens

Kitchen face transplant update

By PaUl BOOKBiNder Contributor More akin to science fiction than fact, several people have received face transplants in the last couple of years. Now relegated to only the most horrific accidents, like most medical miracles, as the techniques are perfected, this type of operation will eventually become much more commonplace. Once that happens, it’s only a matter of time until the procedure will become available as an elective surgery for those who are not pleased with their existing faces, or maybe just want a new look. After all, who wants to go around their whole lives with the same old face? Wouldn’t it be nice to reface for your 25th high school reunion? And then again for your 30th?

Fortunately, great strides have also been made in face transplants for your kitchen (and other) cabinetry. As materials and techniques have been perfected, refacing your kitchen can now be done on an elective, economical basis, and when it’s done right, it can be indistinguishable from a new kitchen, beautifying all those unsightly spots that have embarrassed you for years.

In the not-so-distant past, a few brave practitioners risked their reputations using early refacing techniques. You could choose from a catalog of about three different styles and colors

for refacing, and most of those were brittle laminate doors that had no detail. To make matters worse, the material was adhered to the face of the cabinets with contact cement, a terribly toxic, highly flammable adhesive that had a life expectancy of 10 to 15 years. Not very enticing.

So the scientists at Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing, 3M, got to work and created a new adhesive that is non-toxic, nonflammable, odorless and gets stronger as it ages. It doesn’t get any better than that. Then someone (I’m not sure exactly who) created a material called RigidThermofoil, RTF. This new wonder product is a vinyl-like material fused onto furniture-grade composition board.

Using computer-controlled heat and pressure to create the finished product, RTF is flexible, much more resilient than the old laminates of yesteryear, and can be formed into different shaped doors enabling the manufacturers to create hundreds of exciting styles. But they didn’t stop there.

New photographic techniques were developed to duplicate the beauty of real wood. This year, they even came out with an RTF product that looks just like stainless steel, creating a very attractive, contemporary look for your cabinets.

In 1951, Raymond Lowey, the famous industrial designer (and one of my personal heroes) wrote a book entitled “Never

Leave Well Enough Alone.” Apparently, the manufacturers who make wood doors for refacing recently discovered this book because they decided to introduce replacement doors in new shapes and wood species. No longer are you relegated to just oak, maple and cherry. Now you can reface in eco-friendly bamboo, walnut, mahogany and sapele to name just a few. Then the guys at 3M got together with the manufacturers who crafted wood veneer and it was a marriage made in heaven.

So if some unforeseen disaster has caused all your cabinetry to deteriorate, this is a great time to investigate refacing. As the procedure became more popular, the cost associated with the process has lowered considerably, just like people refacing will after it also becomes more routine.

Modern science has taken giant steps forward in refacing people as well as kitchens. To quote the Wicked Witch of the West, as her face deteriorated, “What a world, what a world!”

(Unfortunately her face, along with the rest of her, melted to the point that a transplant would not be recommended.) But she could have had a beautiful kitchen.

Paul Bookbinder is president of DreamWork Kitchens Inc., located in Mamaroneck.

He can be reached for questions at 777-0437 or dreamworkkitchens.com.

The Larchmont Traffic Commission is proposing to implement bike lanes within the village, a plan that has been in the works for several years. Photo/Andrew Dapolite

Matt is a handsome boy who may be a Carolina dog mix. He is about a year old and weighs 41 pounds. One of his eyes is part blue. Matt is very sweet but on the shy side, so it’s best he go to a home with another dog. He has fun in his foster home and loves running around the yard with his foster siblings. Matt is housebroken if kept on a schedule and sleeps through the night on his foster mom’s bed. He is neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, heartwormtested and microchipped. Why not donate $300 to Larchmont Pet Rescue and make Matt part of your home? To learn more, call 8346955 or visit NY-PetRescue.org. (Submitted)

12 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

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February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 13

Digging in with The Diet Detective RHYMEs WITH CRAZY Lenore Skenazy

It’s a cruel joke that the Super Bowl comes just a little over a month after we have resolved to forsake all wings, chips, dip, pizza, soda, beer, cheese sticks, Cheez-Its, Cheetos and anything else that is bright orange and vaguely food-like.

Ha. That’s why every year around this time, the press turns its hungry eyes to Charles Platkin— a.k.a. The Diet Detective, a.k.a.

Hunter College’s distinguished lecturer—for some of his trademark “equivalencies.”

For instance: Working off the calories of a footlong Italian subsandwich would require you to walk the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge—14 times.

That’s a Dr. Platkin equivalency.

So are these: Four swigs of Bud Light = eight minutes of playing pro football.

One handful of pita chips with artichoke dip = running 141 football fields.

Working off one measly Cheeto—one! = chanting and waving around a foam hand for two minutes.

And God forbid you scarf down four Domino’s Stuffed Cheesy Bacon Jalapeno Breadsticks. That requires 193 touchdown dances.

So how did Platkin, a lawyer, publisher, technologist, real estate guy and bestselling author, become obsessed with translating calories into everyday activities? It all started when he was young—and tubby.

“I remember my doctor saying, ‘You’re not going to have a good social life because you’re fat,’” Platkin said. “And I was like, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’ But the truth was, I was ostracized as a child.”

He was still overweight in early adulthood when he decided to write a book on how to truly change your life. This was after he’d gotten the law degree, but still was floundering—and single. “I was confused. I was thinking about changing behavior. I was overweight and had terrible relationships,” he said.

So, for three years, he researched how real behavioral change happens.

He was finally ready to hand in his manuscript when he realized something. “I hadn’t changed one behavior of my own!” So he decided to actually follow his own advice and, at last, he started losing weight.

He also realized that the underlying cause of ending up “with difficult and strange kinds of women” was him.

Changing required that word we hear so often lately: mindfulness. He had to pay attention to what he ate, and when. And who he dated, and why. He also had to stop feeling too embarrassed to ask for things like a plain grilled chicken breast when he went out to eat. In other words, he had to stop being ashamed to admit he knew he was fat and wanted to lose weight.

He folded his stories into the book and it became the bestseller “Breaking the Pattern.”

The great thing about mindfulness, Platkin says, is that you don’t have to be mindful for-

ever. He said if you had to use Google Maps every day to figure out what floor your office is on, that would be painful. (And you would need some other kind of help.) But after a short while, of course, you know the drill.

It’s the same with figuring out what your food patterns are. And once you notice that every night, right before bed, you eat a bowl of Ben & Jerry’s, well then, all you have to do is start figuring out a “food swap”—an alternative. For Platkin, he started making swaps just like the ones you can make on Super Bowl Sunday: Toasted pita points instead of chips. Pizza without the mozzarella—add your own parmesan. Slow-churned Breyers instead of Ben & Jerry’s.

The idea is to concentrate not on what you can’t have, but on what you can. And since we gobble down many foods without realizing just how fattening they are, he popularized the “equivalencies.” FYI: One bowl of chili = over an hour of cheerleading.

Platkin is now married and has a daughter. One day, a couple years ago, he was walking her to school and saw her holding her tummy in. He asked why.

Well, of course she was practicing looking skinny.

“I just want you to know that you don’t ever have to worry about dieting or any of these things,” he told his daughter.

Life is not about forsaking.

It’s about embracing who you are and what you love.

So long as it’s not Domino’s Stuffed Cheesy Bacon Jalapeno Breadsticks. cONTacT: lskenazy@yahoo.com

Escape from winter with the art of flamenco

By Mara rUPNers Contributor Have you had enough of winter? Then let’s get out of here, and head on a journey to someplace warm. How about, for example, the rocky, sun-baked region on Spain’s southern coast known as Andalucía?

Andalucía is a place that embodies all of our stereotypes of Spain: spirited and passionate, a fiesta-loving land of guitarwielding troubadours, reckless bullfighters, feisty operatic heroines. This simplistic portrait is no doubt a bit outdated and overly romantic, but it does carry an element of truth, and nowhere is this truth more evident than in the age-old art form of flamenco.

Flamenco is part folk tradition, part high art. It mixes the gypsy music of the Romani people with the rhythms of North Africa, brought to Andalucía by the Moors—a rich blend that

makes flamenco a unique form of artistic expression, full of irrepressible, complex rhythms and anguished melodies. It includes cante (singing), toque (guitar-playing), baile (dance), jaleo (vocalizations), palmas (hand-clapping) and pitos (finger-snapping).

This is no social dance you can pick up in a lesson or two; it is performance art at its finest and its technical demands are arduous. Mastery requires years of training and dedication, and the intensity of emotion generated during a professional performance is truly something unforgettable.

Escape from winter and experience this unique art form for yourself on Friday, Feb. 26, when the NYC-based Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana brings “Poema de Andalucía,” a choreographic journey through the Andalusian provinces, to the Concert Hall at The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College.

The performance begins at 8 p.m., tickets are $35 to $45, and good seats are still available.

Also at The Perfoming Arts Center this month: The Monterey Jazz Festival on tour on Feb. 13; a National Theatre Live screening of “Jane Eyre” on Feb. 14; the Martha Graham Dance Company on Feb. 20; chamber music ensemble Decoda on Feb. 21; live-action graphic novel “Intergalactic Nemesis” on Feb. 27; and cellist Zuill Bailey in recital on Feb. 28. Visit The Center’s website for event details and tickets.

Mara Rupners is the director of marketing at The Performing Arts Center.

The Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, N.Y. 10577 Box Office: 251-6200 Hours: Tuesday-Friday, noon to 6 p.m. and on weekends before performances Website: artscenter.org

County announces new drop boxes for unused meds Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino recently announced that 12 additional drop boxes for unused prescription drugs have been brought to the county, thanks to an $8,000 state grant secured by Sen. Terrence Murphy, a Yorktown Republican.

The proper disposal of unused prescription medication is critical so they do not get into our water systems or into the hands of people who can misuse them. Both men spoke of the local heroin epidemic that can often start with prescription drug abuse.

“Prescription medication can be a lifesaver when properly used, but when not properly disposed of they can be a real health and safety issue,” Astorino said.

“Thanks to Sen. Murphy’s efforts, we have delivered 12 more of these receptacles, where residents can take their unused medications for proper disposal. Don’t throw them in the trash, don’t flush them down the toilet and don’t just leave them lying around the house. Go to your nearest drop box and dispose of them properly.”

“I am proud to partner with County Executive Rob Astorino and to be able to deliver the needed grant money to make this project a reality,” Murphy said. “Hav-

From left, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, Legislator Francis Corcoran, of Bedford, and State Sen. Terrence Murphy, of Yorktown. Astorino announced that more drop boxes for unused prescription drugs will be available countywide, thanks to a $8,000 grant secured by Murphy. Photo courtesy Westchester County

ing hosted a number of medication take-back programs, at which we averaged nearly 200 pounds of discarded medications, it became clear more disposal options were needed for our residents.”

Westchester County is a pioneer in the Med Return effort, having started the practice back in 2008. The Astorino administration has dramatically increased the number of municipalities

equipped with them, and after Jan. 27’s announcement, the total number of drop boxes within the county stands at 38.

Astorino and Murphy were joined at a press conference unveiling a new drop box at the North Salem Police Department

by Legislator Francis Corcoran, a Bedford Republican, and North Salem Supervisor Warren Lucas. (Submitted)

SPORTS

14 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016

Super Bowl? Super boring LIVE MIKE Mike Smith

I can’t really explain it, but here we are, just days from the biggest sporting event of the calendar year, and I’m having trouble getting “super” excited.

Even if you aren’t a fan of the NFL, even if you haven’t watched a down of football all season, there’s a pretty good chance you’re going to tune in on Sunday and watch the Panthers play the Broncos in Super Bowl 50; it’s just kind of what America does.

The two best teams on the planet going at it, a tonnage of star power, all the trappings of pageantry and excess that have come to define the NFL, and here I sit, overwhelmingly ambivalent about it all.

On the surface, it doesn’t make much sense.

If you’re looking from a dramatic narrative, this Super Bowl

has it. I mean, just look at the quarterbacks. On one side, you have Peyton Manning, the most prolific passer in the history of the NFL, playing in what may be his last football game. If Peyton represents the NFL’s past, his counterpart on the Panthers, Cam Newton, is clearly its future. At just 26 years old, Newton has put together an MVP season this year and is well on his way to becoming the face of the league, like Manning—and New England’s Tom Brady— were before him.

On the surface, can you ask for a more compelling storyline?

The aging gunslinger returns to town for one final draw-down with the pistolero who grew up idolizing him; it’s the stuff of Hollywood.

Unfortunately for Manning, this story won’t likely end with him riding off triumphantly into the sunset.

Conventional wisdom has long held the Super Bowl as a game destined to be something

of a disappointment. With two weeks of hype leading into the big game, it’s not hard to see why; anything less than a game that is decided in the final minutes couldn’t possibly live up to the hoopla surrounding the event.

But we’ve gotten kind of spoiled for the last decade or so in terms of Super Bowl finishes.

Between the Giants’ wins over the Patriots in 2008 and 2012, the Steelers’ 27-23 win over the Cardinals in 2009, the epic blackout game between the 49ers and the Ravens in 2013, and last year’s game-winning interception to cement another Lombardi Trophy win for the Pats, these games have been tremendously competitive. The last real dud, so to speak, was two years ago when Seattle put a 43-8 whoopping on—you guessed it—Peyton and the Broncos.

I mean, that game was out of hand by the time the coin-flip was over.

And, like it or not, that’s how

To CoVER loCal spoRTs, you nEEd a

LIVE MIKE! Follow Mike Smith @LiveMike_Sports stats • recaps • commentary Follow @eastchesterview for Mike’s live, in-game action updates

I see Sunday’s game unfolding too. Manning was great once, but he no longer has the arm strength to make the big downfield throws. Denver’s ground game is largely ineffective, too.

Sure, the Broncos have a formidable defense, one that was able to pin its ears back two weeks ago and knock Tom Brady around, but then again, Brady isn’t a 6-foot-5, 250-pound phenom with a rocket arm and wideout speed like Newton.

Between Cam’s brilliance, a tough stable of running backs and a Carolina defense that’s every bit as talented as Denver’s, it’s tough to see a scenario in which this game turns out to be competitive.

I’m still going to be tuning in, regardless. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, after all, and crazier things have happened. Maybe Manning can turn back the clock one last time and turn in a Super Bowl performance for the ages.

Maybe the Broncos’ pass rushers can disrupt Newton’s rhythm and somehow limit the damage he can do with his legs. Maybe Panthers’ coach Ron Rivera’s risk-taking blows up in Caro-

On Feb. 7, the Broncos and the Panthers will square off in Super Bowl 50. Sports Editor Mike Smith is just hoping the game is halfway competitive. Photo courtesy NFL.com

lina’s face in a big spot and gives Denver a chance to win it late.

It’s unlikely, but the idea that we might see something unexpected is why we watch this game in the first place.

Let’s just hope the fireworks aren’t limited to the halftime show.

Follow Mike on Twitter @LiveMike_Sports

SPORTS

February 5, 2016 • The easTchesTer review • 15

Cheerleaders take mat at counties

By MiKe sMiTh Sports Editor Last week, several of the area’s top cheerleading squads traveled to the Westchester County Center in White Plains to compete in the 67th annual Westchester County Cheerleading Invitational. The two-day competition, which took place on Jan. 27 and Jan. 28, saw teams battle for local supremacy and get in some much-needed work before traveling to Orlando, Florida, for the Universal Cheerleading Association’s national championship event this week.

North Rockland nabbed the top spot in the Grand Championships for the third year in a row, but a number of local squads, including Eastchester and New Rochelle, also fared well in the event. Both the Eagles and Huguenots performed well enough in their first performances to earn a spot in the Jan. 28 Grand Championship round.

Eastchester coach Samantha Kearns said that while her team may not have been its best on Jan. 27, its performance hinted at what the team is capable of.

“They did great, but they are capable of so much more,” she said. “When they hit, they are dynamite, and we had some al-

Mamaroneck competes at the 67th annual Westchester County Cheerleading Invitational.

ternates in, we had a couple of injuries, but I think they did pretty well.”

Like the Eagles, the Huguenots fell short of their county title goal, but New Rochelle coach Chrissy Stanionis was still impressed with her team’s performance.

“The season’s been going great, we have a very difficult routine, and our scores kind of threw me for a loop,” she said.

“But the one thing we’ve talked

about as a team is fighting for everything, getting through the mistakes and relying on each other out on the mat.”

Eastchester, New Rochelle and Harrison, who also competed at the County Center, will all be heading to Florida for nationals, which will begin on Feb. 6, but the teams are also in the mix for the first-ever New York State Cheerleading Championship to be held on March 5 in Syracuse.

“Nationals has always been

Harrison cheerleaders pump up the crowd at the Westchester County Center on Jan. 28.

our big thing, so I think the girls are a little unsure of what this state championship will mean,” Kearns said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what a state championship is going to look like.”

Stanionis said that while her team is looking forward to trying to qualify for states, something

Eastchester’s cheerleading team in action at the Westchester County Center on Jan. 27. Photos/Mike Smith

New Rochelle cheerleaders compete at the 2016 Westchester County Cheerleading Invitational on Jan. 28. The Huguenots will compete at nationals in Orlando, Florida, on Feb. 6.

they will attempt to do at a Feb. 27 meet at Harrison High School, the team’s sights are firmly set on a strong showing in Orlando.

“I’m sure the school would like us to attend the state cham-

pionship in its first year, and the girls know that,” she said. “But right now, our focus is on nationals, and we will zone in on the state level when we get back.” cONTacT: sports@hometwn.com

16 • The eastchester review • February 5, 2016