January 27, 2017

RyeCity REVIEW THE

January 27, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 4 | www.ryecityreview.com

Rye Fire Department cited with 20 violations

By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer

A two-day gun show at the Westchester County Center was embroiled in further controversy after pictures of pro-Nazi books and Confederate flags surfaced. The Review was also denied access to the weekend event in White Plains.

For story, see page 6.

File photo

Corcoran named city public safety commissioner

By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Rye City Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran is set to become the city’s first commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, a position which was approved through a citywide referendum last November.

According to Rye City Manager Marcus Serrano, Corcoran, who was hired away from the West Orange County Police Department in New Jersey last February, has been selected as his choice for public safety

commissioner; his appointment was expected to be ratified by the Rye City Council at its Jan. 25 meeting, after press time.

According to Serrano, Corcoran is paid $165,000 for his position as the police commissioner; he said the new role will bump up Corcoran’s salary to $185,000.

“I am excited at what the future holds as we, collectively, transform public safety services in Rye,” Corcoran told the Review in anticipation of the promotion. “As a team, we will create the conditions that will make the city of Rye’s emergency ser-

vices a model for all to follow.”

On Election Day, voters approved the creation of Department of Public Safety for the purpose of consolidating oversight of the Police and Fire departments.

The position comes with added significance, as there have been multiple issues within the city Fire Department for some time. Of late, the department has been faced with a lack of professional staffing and a shrinking volunteer base.

According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, the city cur-

rently employs 17 paid firefighters and as little as 30 active volunteers, 12 of whom are trained to fight indoor fires, as of press time.

Additionally, Councilman Richard Mecca, a Republican and member of the city Fire Advisory Committee, said the Fire Department has been issued 20 citations, as of press time, by the New York Public Employees Safety and Health Bureau, which retains generally all of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, SAFETY continued on page 10

In the midst of petitions to the city administration from the Rye Professional Firefighters Association to address the lack of trained fire personnel, the Rye Fire Department has now been ordered to comply with a state law as a result of failing to fulfill basic municipal requirements.

If some of the violations aren’t abated by Jan. 26, after press time, the city is set to begin seeing fines of $200 per day.

On Jan. 6, the Public Employee Safety and Health Bureau, PESH, part of the New York state Department of Labor, issued a notice of violation to the city of Rye for failing to comply with 20 standards set by the Public Employee Safety and Health Act of 1980.

PESH, which covers all state and local government workplaces, including government authorities, school districts, and paid and volunteer fire departments, provides policy guidance and conducts unannounced mandatory inspections for violations of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA. The PESH act sets forth policy to establish a safe and healthy working environment for municipal employees.

The Review has learned that the city Fire Department is in obstruction of 20 procedural policy and operational standards, 19 of which are dubbed as “serious” violations.

Of the violations, several pertain to the department’s failure to provide annual required training to employees and properly inspected protective equipment, and for not implementing suitable workplace policies regarding procedures for handling emergencies. Additionally, the department failed to make available certain vaccinations to employees with occupational exposure.

According to City Manager Marcus Serrano, the city has already begun addressing a number of the violations, which were a result of a random inspection last May. He added that the city has also requested an extension for a handful of the citations, some of which are ordered to be abated by Jan. 26.

According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, the recent violations are a direct result of the lack of staffing within the Fire Department, which it has dealt with as a result of a declining volunteer base. “A lot of this comes down to staffing,” he said. “In addition to that, it also comes down to a need for a fulltime chief.”

Castelhano said he hopes that city Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran, who was recently appointed as the commissioner of the new Department of Public Safety with the task of overseeing both the Police and Fire departments, will hone in VIOLATIONS continued on page 9

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2 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 3

Common Core regulations still a concern

Westchester County lawmakers and educators have come to disapprove a new federal education regulation that is on the horizon. The new amendment to the controversial Common Core method of testing, which cuts funding to school districts with high opt-out rates, will go into effect on Jan. 30.

Photo courtesy GreatSchools.org

By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer An imminent federal education regulation, which would strip Title I funding for public schools with excessive opt-out rates of standardized testing, is set to go into effect at the end of the month.

Despite disapproval from lawmakers, parents and educators across the country, the U.S. Department of Education’s controversial amendment to the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA, which was passed

by Congress in December 2015, is set go into effect on Jan. 30.

ESSA, which reauthorized the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act, expands the federal government’s role in funding public education.

“The outcome of this type of legislation will be to punish large segments of students who are in need of federal dollars to support their education,” said Dr. Louis Wool, the superintendent of the Harrison Central School District.

“We do not have the ability nor the right to mandate that people engage in a process that they f ind to be not in the best interests of their children.”

The new amendment to ESSA could label Westchester public schools as “in need of improvement” for any school where 5 percent of students or more opt out of state Common Core testing. As a result, school districts above that threshold would lose its federal Title I funding, which is distributed to schools and school districts with a high percentage of students from low-income families.

The contended Common Core State Standards Initiative, which highlights what students should know in English language arts and mathematics at the end of

each grade from kindergarten through 12th grade, is currently authorized and optional in New York state until 2022; the law was adopted in 2010. But in 2022, Common Core will be fully implemented without the option to opt out of standardized testing.

The federal ESSA was drafted by U.S. Secretary of Education John King, the former New York state Education Department commissioner, and was signed into law on the same day as the repeal of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, on Dec. 10, 2015. ESSA retains all the stipulations of the No Child Left Behind Act, but shifts the law’s federal accountability provisions to states.

The No Child Left Behind Act previously required all public schools receiving Title I funding to administer statewide standardized testing with the stipulation that students make “adequate yearly progress.”

For example, each year’s fourth-graders must score better than the previous year’s fourthgraders, or the federal government would step in and set mandatory improvement plans.

Local school administrators and lawmakers have contested the methods of the state’s Common Core testing, insisting that it negatively impacts students’ ability to learn as it sets unrealistic educational criteria for success due to the high rate of failure on standardized tests.

According to Dr. Brian Monahan, the interim superintendent of the Rye City School District, although each community in Westchester is different, standardized testing clearly impacts all school districts. “We’re concerned about the testing methods and evaluations that accompany those standards,” he said.

Monahan added the lack of

Title I funding is not necessarily an issue because Rye receives very little of it. However, he said that what concerns parents more about Common Core is the reality that few questions and tests are released afterwards.

According to Monahan, the state does not release standardized tests and questions for public viewing.

“Parents want to see what went right and what went wrong,” Monahan said. “We’re seeing that change slowly, but we’re still going to advocate for a more responsible approach to testing.”

According to state Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat that has long been a vocal critic of the practice of standardized testing, while it’s impossible to calculate just how many ways the new regulations will impact communities, there’s hope that, under new President Donald Trump, the U.S. Department of Education will change the controversial practice for testing before it harbors any lasting impacts. “The impact of this is unpredictable, and we should always avoid the unpredictable,” Latimer said.

Latimer also told the Review that he hopes the state Legislature will consider his recent proposal to allow parents and school districts to opt children with an individualized education program, a learning document that was developed for public school children that need special education, out of Common Core standards and certain testing. “You have to give those children more flexibility,” he said.

As of press time, Latimer’s bill, which was submitted on Jan. 11, is awaiting approval of the state Senate Education Committee.

CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

4 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

What’s going on...

Rye Free Reading Room

calm throughout the entire process. A Q&A will follow, with a chance to talk one-on-one with Berman. Get your questions answered and leave with concrete next steps.

‘Trees in Trouble’ documentary screening

For more information on hours and programs, visit ryelibrary.org.

Teacher-in-the-Library On Mondays through Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Children’s Room. Rye teachers offer after-school homework help to students attending local public and private elementary schools in the Rye area. This is a free program sponsored by the Auxiliary Board of the Rye Free Reading Room, Woman’s Club of Rye/Children’s Philanthropy section, and the PTO of the Rye schools.

Options for College On Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. in the Meeting Room. Speaker Keith Berman, founder and president of Options for College, will speak about what counts in the college admissions process. The topics covered will be: finding the right match; how colleges admit students; what students have done in the past to get in and get the most out of college; and how to stay

On Thursday, Feb. 2 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Meeting Room. Please join the Rye Sustainability Committee, Rye Garden Club and experts from Bartlett Tree for an informative program about the threats to trees of Rye and what we can do to protect them. The 30-minute documentary film, “Trees in Trouble: A Documentary Film About America’s Urban Forests,” will be shown followed by a discussion with certified arborist Frazer Pehmoeller, who has been caring for Westchester’s trees for the past 27 years. He will discuss the specific threats he sees in Rye and will speak further on the actions suggested in the film which Rye as a community can take.

Family Story Time and Craft On Saturday, Feb. 4 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Children’s Room. For ages 3 1/2 and up and their grown-ups. This activity takes place on the first and third Saturday of each month. Children will listen to age-appropriate stories and participate in fun games, rhymes and other activities to develop pre-literacy skills and an interest in books and reading. Felt boards and other props are sometimes used to enhance stories and model future classroom experiences. A fun craft project is designed

New to the Review Taylor Brown joined the Review earlier this month as a general assignment reporter. Brown graduated from Iona College in 2014, where she received her B.A. in Mass Communication with a concentration in journalism. While attending Iona, Brown served as the features editor of Iona College’s only student newspaper, The Ionian. Brown also worked as

Taylor Brown

a freelance writer for New Rochelle Patch, and as an intern and freelance writer for iConcept Media Group with a focus on fashion, beauty, technology and business.

Brown currently resides in Wharton, New Jersey, and has a dog, two cats and a ball python snake.

You can reach Brown at 653-1000 ext. 30 or taylor@ hometwn.com.

around the story theme or a seasonal topic. Parents and caregivers are asked to assist younger children using scissors, glue and other art materials.

Wainwright House Volunteer opportunities Wainwright House invites those interested in volunteering to join its volunteer enrichment program. Opportunities are available to train as docents, who would conduct tours of the beautiful mansion, and discuss the history of the house with visitors. Volunteers also help with special events throughout the year in various capacities.

Wainwright House is a learning center situated on 5 acres of lawns and gardens, overlooking Milton Harbor on Long Island Sound at 260 Stuyvesant Ave. in Rye. For more information, call Mary de Barros or Angela Sculti at 967-6080 or visit wainwright.org.

Rye Historical Society Tastes of Winter Children ages 6 and up are invited to the Square House Museum in Rye on Saturday, Jan. 28 from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to celebrate the season by preparing and enjoying old-fashioned treats and learning about popular winter flavorings such as chocolate, ginger and peppermint and their importance in American history. Participants will also create their own unique spiced hot chocolate mix to be enjoyed at home or given as a gift.

The cost for this fun and creative program, including the necessary supplies, is $10 per child.

Reservations are suggested as space is limited and can be made by calling the Rye Historical Society at 967-7588.

The Square House Museum, located at 1 Purchase St. in Rye, is open Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, visit ryehistory.org or call 967-7588.

Rye Arts Center The Rye Arts Center is located at 51 Milton Road in Rye. For more information or to register for a program, call 967-0700 or visit ryeartscenter.org.

Loosen Up and Paint: A BYOB Night Out On Thursday, Feb. 2 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. With Laura Anechiarico. For ages 21 and up. BYOB and join the Rye Arts Center for an evening of self-expression through paint. No paint-by-numbers, no pressure to be perfect. The workshop will start with a simple still life and progress from there. Participants will be encouraged to work at their own pace, and in their own style. No experience necessary; if you’ve never picked up a paintbrush, make this the first time. All supplies included. (Remember, BYOB!) Fee: $65; members receive a discount.

Gallery exhibit “Nenne Sanguineti Poggi: An Artist Without Borders” will be on display through Saturday, March 4. There will be a reception on Jan. 21 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Explore the works of painter, mosaicist, writer, and journalist Nenne Sanguineti Poggi, whose life and career brought her from

Northern Italy to East Africa. There, she spent 30 years working on large-scale public projects, while absorbing African cultures, allowing it to permeate her work. Her paintings spanned from figurative post-impressionism to pure abstraction, drawing from countless influences.

Rye YMCA Program registration Program registration is ongoing for members and non-members. Programs start Monday, Jan. 30. Dozens of programs are available for all ages.

Visit ryeymca.org to view program guide and to view registration details.

Summer Camp registration Summer Camp registration has started for all campers. The Rye Y offers camps for ages 3 to 14.

New this year: early bird rates. Visit ryecamp.org to view the brochure and to register.

Rye Y Weight Watchers Join the Rye Y Weight Watchers—all are welcome. On Thursdays from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. For more information, call Diana Vita at 967-6363 ext.

211.

First Family Friday On Friday, Feb. 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

A fun evening with themed activities and crafts.

Members: free; non-members: $20 per person.

Registration required at ryeymca.org.

Rye Y’s LOL Benefit Get your tickets now for the Rye Y’s LOL Benefit, to be held on Friday, Feb. 3 from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at Shenorock Shore Club, located at 475 Stuyvesant Ave. in Rye. The benefit will feature entertainer Tom Cotter, a finalist from “America’s Got Talent.” For more information, visit ryeymca.org.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester Adult Fans of LEGO Night Adult fans of LEGO Night at LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester: Have you wanted to visit LEGOLAND, but don’t have any little ones in your life? Is the little kid in you looking for a fun night out? Do you need a night away from the kids, but want something different to do? Check out Adult Fans of LEGO Night for games, prizes, fun and more, on Thursday, Feb. 2. Build and share ideas with the Master Model Builder, LUG members and other adult fans of LEGO. Experience the center’s rides, 4-D theater and endless amounts of LEGO bricks. Must be 18 years or over to attend. Cost: $15.

Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.; no entry after 8 p.m.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center Westchester is located at 39 Fitzgerald St. in Yonkers. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 866243-0770 or visit legolanddiscoverycenter.com/ westchester.

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.

January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 5

New brewery may be coming to Mamaroneck

By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Half Time Beverage, a beer distributor in Mamaroneck, is cooking up something new; or more accurately, brewing.

The 20,000-square-foot beverage mart, located on Hoyt Avenue, is looking to repurpose part of its existing storefront to accommodate both a brew pub where patrons could have a drink as well as a micro-brewery where they would be able to brew their own beer, according to Village Manager Richard Slingerland.

If the proposal receives the necessary approvals from the village, Half Time would join a growing wave of craft breweries—brewers that produce under a certain threshold of distribution—across the country; a trend that has exploded in volume in recent years.

According to the Brewers Association, a nonprofit trade organization which consists of 3,500

brewers from throughout the U.S., the number of regional craft breweries rose from 97 to 178, a nearly 32 percent increase, between 2012 to 2015 alone.

Further, breweries overall saw an uptick of 15 percent nationwide over the same time period.

For Alan Daniels, co-owner of Half Time, which also operates a store in Poughkeepsie, the addition would mark a logical step for its successful Mamaroneck outlet.

“Customers ask us all the time why don’t we brew our own beer,” he said. “The village of Mamaroneck deserves their own brewery.”

Currently, Daniels added, though the current proposal wouldn’t feature food, the prospect of offering small bites to eat may also be in the store’s future.

If seen to fruition, Half Time’s brewing venture wouldn’t be the village’s first taste of locally sourced craft alcohol, however.

Last year, residents of the

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village saw the introduction of Good Shepherd distillery—run

by Vincent and Carly Miata, a local husband and wife team— which offers a selection of small-batch brandy, vodka, and soon, whiskey.

According to Andrew Spatz, chairman of the village Industrial Area Committee, which is tasked with revitalizing a defunct manufacturing district adjacent to Mamaroneck’s Washingtonville neighborhood, Half Time’s plan would act as another puzzle piece in transforming the village economy for the future.

“I welcome something of this nature to the industrial area, and the peripheral areas,” said Spatz, regarding the potential brewery, which would fall just outside the geographic scope of the industrial area. “It only opens the door to further possibilities for economic longevity.”

CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

Half Time Beverage distributors, located in the village of Mamaroneck, will look to expand its operations to include a micro-brewery and its own brew pub where patrons can sample the store’s wide variety of beers.

Photo courtesy Half Time Beverage

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6 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

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County Dems look to override

in wake of veto

By JAMES PERO Staff Writer In the wake of County Executive Rob Astorino’s veto of legislation banning gun shows held at county-owned facilities, the Board of Legislators’ Democratic contingent will continue to work toward swaying Republican votes necessary for an override.

While Democrats’ criticism of the show had previously centered on the expo’s potential to facilitate potentially illicit sales of guns—a claim which has not been supported by the county’s commissioner of public safety—recent concerns have gravitated around vendors’ distribution of books pertaining to Adolf Hitler and Nazism in World War II. According to a statement released by the Democratic Caucus earlier this week, which included pictures allegedly taken at the show, copies of “Mein Kampf”—the autobiographical book by Hitler—and Confederate flags were among the items distributed by vendors.

“These symbols are symbols of hate and have no place in our county, let alone for sale in our facilities,” said Legislator Ken Jenkins, a Yonkers Democrat, who helped pen the legislation banning gun shows. Jenkins has already announced that he plans to seek the Democratic

nomination for county executive later this year.

The Review requested press credentials and authorization to take its own photos at the show but was denied by a representative from Westchester Collectors, the organization which hosts the event.

The impetus behind Democrats’ push to ban gun shows has centered primarily on the gun show held at the Westchester County Center on Jan. 21 and 22.

The show—which would have taken place regardless of a passed ban, due to contractual

Among those railing against Astorino’s veto at the hearing, which was held at the County Center, was White Plains resident Valerie Daniele, who has, throughout the last several months, galvanized hundreds of residents under the moniker Westchester Women of Conscience to speak in favor of the gun show ban.

“We reject the notion that there are no facts that support a continued ban and remind the county executive that the very facts that motivated him to cancel gun shows in the

Despite a veto blocking a ban on gun shows held at county-owned facilities, Democratic lawmakers are working to shore up votes for an override. File photo

The latest gun show at the convention center marks the first time such an event has taken place there since 2010.

A gun show scheduled to take place in 2012 was cancelled following shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Photo courtesy pixabay.com

obligations—featured vendors from across the state selling and displaying a range of pistols, rifles and various styles of knives, and marked the first time that such a show has taken place at the convention center since 2010.

Echoing Democratic sentiments, dozens of Westchester County residents came out on Jan. 24 to voice concerns over the rejection of a gun ban during a public hearing in White Plains on a separate piece of Republican legislation regarding the topic.

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Democratic lawmakers have criticized the latest gun show, held at the County Center on Jan. 21 and 22, for distributing literature pertaining to Nazism as well as Confederate flags. Photo courtesy Democratic Caucus

wake of Sandy Hook exist today, four years and zero lawsuits later,” Daniele said.

On the other side of the aisle, Scott Sommavilla, president of the Westchester Firearms Association, who also attended the public hearing, said that cracking down on the distribution of items like Confederate flags could lead the county down an undesirable path.

“Would we rather [Nazi books] not be there? Yeah,” Sommavilla said. “But it is a First Amendment right. It’s a slippery slope; where does it stop and where does it start?”

The veto of the proposed gun show ban, which came a little more than a week after the legislation’s passage by all nine Democratic lawmakers, was an expected move by Astorino, a Republican, who, in tandem with Republican lawmakers, has condemned the law from its inception.

In response, according to Board of Legislators Chairman Michael Kaplowitz, a Yorktown Democrat, Democrats will keep

the prospect of overriding Astorino’s veto an open item.

“I will leave the option of overriding the county executive’s veto on the table for the remainder of the legislative term in hopes that a sufficient number of my colleagues will choose to join the majority who voted to ban the gun shows,” Kaplowitz said.

As it stands, Democrats— nine of which voted in favor of passing the ban earlier this month—would need to win over three Republican votes for a supermajority of 12 legislators in order to override the county executive’s veto. Board Democrats have a year to vote on an override, according to a spokesperson for the board’s Democratic Caucus.

A previously scheduled gun

show was cancelled in 2012 after the school shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 26 people, 20 of them children.

The ratification of a ban on gun shows held at countyowned facilities would have revived a previous embargo that lapsed in 2010 when Astorino took the helm as county executive, ending a ban instituted by his predecessor, Andrew Spano, a Democrat, after the Columbine High School shootings.

Board Republicans have shown no signs of obliging Democrats in their push to institute a ban, but have instead introduced alternative legislation that would adopt various rules outlined in New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s Model Gun Show legislation.

Many of the laws would pertain to proper signage and diligence on background checks, many of which are already mandated through the New York state Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act of 2013.

Some Democrats, including Kaplowitz, have already expressed that they may vote in favor of those guidelines when the law makes its way to the legislative floor.

CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 7

‘Me Prometheus: Caveman Love Story’ preview For one night only, the Rye community has an opportunity for an exclusive preview of “Me Prometheus,” prior to a fullystaged production at the 2017 New York Theater Festival.

Written and produced by Simon Riker—a Rye native—and Emerson Sieverts, “Me Prometheus” is an outrageous prehistoric romp about the discovery of fire. Riker and Sieverts will be joined by original cast members

to perform several numbers from the show. Also featured: The Garby Group, a new barbershop ensemble founded by Riker and Sieverts.

The benefit recital will be performed at Christ’s Church, located at 2 Rectory St. in Rye, on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will be $15, with the money raised going towards staging “Me Prometheus” at the New York Theatre Festival and for scholar-

ships for Christ’s Church Choir’s 2018 residency at Truro Cathedral in England. The event will be followed by a light reception.

For more information about the writers, the show, and to find out how to contribute to their fundraising efforts, visit meprometheus.com. You can listen to some songs from the show at soundcloud.com/me-prometheus/sets/me-prometheus.

(Submitted)

Myles is a 5-year-old handsome tuxedo and Pansy is a 2 1/2 year-old adorable black/white charmer. Amazingly these two found each other at our Kitty Cottage and have come to absolutely adore each other. They kiss, they cuddle and are happiest when together. Myles is sweet and friendly, but a wee bit shy. Pansy has a lively, impish personality and can be a mischief maker.

Knowing how much these two care for each other, it is preferred they be adopted together, but they can be adopted separately. Both are microchipped, in excellent health, and up-to-date with all vaccinations. The adoption fee for each is $100. To meet Myles and Pansy, please call 8353332 or visit NY-PetRescue.org. (Submitted)

Rye to resurrect Human Rights Commission

By JAMES PERO Staff Writer A perceived uptick in racially motivated vandalism and rhetoric has left some members of the Rye City Council calling for the revival of a local Human Rights Commission; a long defunct arm of the broader county organization.

City Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein, a Democrat, who was approached by Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican, about reviving the committee, has been tasked with leading its charge.

“Danielle stood out naturally as a leader in the area, especially given her focus on condemning hate crimes,” Sack said. “My charge to her is to use her imagination and skill to resurrect this committee and to reclaim its goal in addressing human rights issues.”

The call to reignite the commission, which has been inactive since 2004, also comes in the wake of a rash of racially motivated vandalism countywide, including multiple instances of swastikas being scrawled on county property; an issue which Tagger-Epstein points out has taken hold nationally.

“If you have one day when 16 or 20 [Jewish community centers] are getting bomb threats; we have a problem,” said Tagger-Epstein, referring to a recent slew of reported threats to Jewish centers across the country.

Even within Rye’s own borders, according to an email sent out by county Legislator Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat and former member of the Rye City Council, since late November, racial tensions have boiled over.

Specifically, the letter detailed a Latino woman being taunted at the Westchester Children’s Museum on the Playland boardwalk and told to “go back to her own country.”

Sack’s proposal would mark a return to a local commission format which, throughout the course of the last two decades, has been phased out by municipalities across the county in favor of a broader county-centric commission.

The absence of the local body has not served the city well, according to Tagger-Epstein.

“We should really be ad-

Rye Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein, a Democrat, will lead the charge in reviving the city Human Rights Commission following what she described as “an uptick” in racial intolerance. File photo

dressing [issues] on our own,” she said. “To put it on the county is a cop-out.”

According to Tagger-Epstein, a local commission would play a more active role in bringing together city institutions—including schools, the Police Department and government—in public forums meant to address issues of inequality or bigotry.

Ideally, she said, the commission would also play a role in helping track issues of intolerance or hate crimes by aggregating potential complaints and responding when necessary.

In the past, Tagger-Epstein said, the city Human Rights Commission had been successful in responding to issues of inequality in its own community; namely during the late 1970s when women launched a discrimination complaint regarding a policy of preferential tee times for men at the cityowned Rye Golf Club.

According to Rye resident Linda Lefkowitz, who was a part of the original complaint leveled more than 40 years ago, access to the Human Rights Commission turned out to be a linchpin for policy changes at the club.

According to minutes from

the committee’s last meeting, in January 2004, nine members of the group, in addition to outside guests, discussed a range of topics relating to diversity, including affordable housing, coordination of diversity workshops, and even television programming focused on potential racism in comedy. The meeting lasted approximately one hour.

Since the 2016 presidential election, issues regarding racist rhetoric and bigotry have fallen into the both national and regional spotlight, fueled locally by vandalism depicting swastikas on a walkway adjacent to the Bronx River Parkway, school buildings at Purchase College, and punctuated by a speech from Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, condemning such acts of hate.

While discussions around hate crimes and racial tensions have centered on the current political climate, for TaggerEpstein, tamping down inequality transcends the political arena.

“This has nothing to do with the political spectrum,” TaggerEpstein said. “This is a human issue.”

CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

8 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

Happenings from RyeACT and beyond THE COUNCIL CORNER Councilwoman Julie Killian

This week was National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week. I am not going to throw a lot of facts at you, but here is an update on what RyeACT has been doing since we received our Drug Free Communities, DFC, grant this past September of $125,000 per year for five years, with a five-year renewal. In addition to training coalition members in all aspects of DFC’s Strategic Prevention Framework, the core mission of the DFC grant is to develop the capacity of the community to sustain ongoing prevention work well beyond the time of the grant.

In September, we began working on our website with a graphic designer who has created many drug and alcohol coalition sites.

Additionally, we worked with a company to create a public service announcement, PSA, from last spring’s winning posters from the RHS Marijuana Messaging Poster Contest. The PSA was shown for four weeks on Cablevision, around Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was also shown at Loews Cinema in Port Chester during movie previews from October through December.

In October, RyeACT and three Rye Police Department officers attended the Putnam Prevention Conference for Law Enforcement and Public Health Partnerships. RyeACT was grateful to be the beneficiary of the ART IN RYE art show and open house sponsored by the Northern Westchester Artists Guild and Douglas Elliman Real Estate. RyeACT continued meetings with Action Teams from all schools to talk about how parents, schools and RyeACT can work together to promote prevention.

In November, coalition members and community leaders, including the Rye City Council and school board, Rye YMCA and Youth Council, parent organization reps, health care professionals and clergy members,

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had a day of training from the Center for Health & Safety Culture from Montana State University using their Positive Culture Framework, PCF, model.

This program was specifically selected to support RyeACT’s strategic priorities around shifting cultural norms and reducing the social acceptability of drugs and alcohol. The PCF goal is to improve health and safety in our communities through improving leadership, integration and communication skills, and using positive norms to promote positive behaviors.

RHS and RMS students took a survey on alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and prescription drug use and attitudes. Those results will be presented at our next town hall. Rye Presbyterian hosted a panel discussion with local author Anita Devlin, who with her son wrote “SOBER,” a compelling story of addiction.

“SOBER” was also on the RHS book list this year.

In December, a group of 10 students from RHS went to the Westchester Coalition Youth to Youth conference. We are encouraged about how much the students learned from it and look forward to working with them to support their studentled initiatives. RyeACT attended DFC new grantee training in Washington, D.C., and began working with local coalition partners in Port Chester and Rye Brook for a joint initiative during prom and graduation season about reducing access to alcohol for underage students.

RyeACT promoted a Drug Take Back Day with the Rye Police Department. That Saturday, 48 pounds of expired medication was collected. By the end of the holidays, an additional 75 pounds had been collected versus a previous average of 15 pounds per month. There is a container available for your expired or unneeded medication in the reception area at RPD open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In January, we began to plan our annual town hall meeting, which this year will have a Parent University format.

We anticipate it will be in May just before National Prevention Week, May 14–20, when communities and organizations across the country raise awareness about substance use prevention and positive mental health.

We are working with the Healing Arts Collective which hosted a Mindfulness Evening for Parents, and continue to work on a variety of initiatives with our Healthcare Action Team comprised of Rye moms who are professionals in the health care and mental health sectors.

RHS teachers attended training by Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youth on their “Hiding in Plain Sight” Initiative. This impactful program shows the not so obvious signs of possible substance use by helping identify alcohol and marijuana related apparel and paraphernalia in a child’s room.

Check it out in the Parent Tool Kit on powertotheparent.org.

RMS teachers will get this training in March. We are also involved with the upcoming RMS EXPO Day which has a youthoriented speaker and breakout groups on the challenges of excellence in arts and athletics.

In February, we will be attending the Community AntiDrug Coalitions of America, CADCA, 27th annual National Leadership Forum. The CADCA forum is the nation’s premier training event for more than 3,000 community prevention leaders, treatment professionals and researchers. RyeACT is honored to have been chosen to present at the forum about how to create a town hall to galvanize your community.

There are also numerous initiatives being worked on by the Rye Youth Council, Rye YMCA, Rye schools—public and private, Rye Police Department, St Vincent’s and many other community organizations.

Be on the lookout for communitywide and school activities over the next few months. Thanks to all of our coalition partners and the entire community for your tremendous support.

CONTACT: jkillian@ryeny.gov

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Lawmakers ask ATF to audit Harrison gun store A gun store in Harrison, which has drawn the attention of thousands of residents since it opened in November, now also has the attention of two Westchester County lawmakers.

Legislators Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat, and Ben Boykin, a White Plains Democrat, whose districts each entail a portion of Harrison, wrote a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF, in December requesting an audit of the license to sell firearms issued to Leesie & Lou Lou Inc., a corporation owned by Louis Zacchio, who owns the gun store on Halstead Avenue, L&L Sports.

“We just asked them to make sure that they were looking at the application and making sure that

everything was done properly,” Parker told the Review.

The letter was sent to the ATF on Dec. 12, 2016. Boykin and Parker said they had not yet received a response from the agency as of press time.

Some Harrison residents are likely to rejoice over news that county representatives have involved themselves in the saga.

Those same residents have protested to the Harrison Town Council the location of L&L Sports since it announced it would be opening in November. Much of their concern is due to the shop’s proximity to an elementary school 500 feet away. As of press time, an online petition has garnered almost 3,500 signatures decrying the store’s location.

In the letter from county lawmakers, specific questions and concerns related to Zacchio’s license to sell firearms were raised, and whether some of his practices invalidate that license.

The legislators referenced a license administered to Leesie & Lou Lou Inc., listing the premise of license as Zacchio’s home address on Orchard Place. The letter asks if Zacchio’s license had since been modified to allow him to operate at the Halstead Avenue storefront.

Boykin and Parker have also questioned Zacchio’s compliance with a local law in Harrison which requires those who sell used goods—including guns— to obtain a permit to do so from the town.

-Reporting by Corey Stockton

Two Westchester County lawmakers have sent a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, asking the agency to audit the license to sell firearms issued to L&L Sports, a Harrison gun store which has drawn the attention of thousands of residents since it opened in November. File photo

January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 9

In state address, Cuomo proposes legislative reform

One day after his Westchester County State of the State address, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo discussed his plan to reform the state’s legislative houses by imposing term limits and turning Senate and Assembly positions into full-time jobs. Photo/Andrew Dapolite

By COREY STOCKTON Staff Writer Concluding a recent three-day tour across New York state to deliver State of the State addresses, Gov. Andrew Cuomo—while speaking in the state’s capital region—announced plans for ethics reforms which included aspirations to impose term limits on state lawmakers.

Foregoing the traditional approach, Cuomo gave six regional addresses in three days instead of one large address in front of both houses of the Legislature.

Each speech catered to regionally specific topics.

In his final stop on the State of the State address trail at SUNY University at Albany, Cuomo hit some of the same points he had spoken of during earlier addresses that week; but specific to his presentation on Jan. 11 was a 10-point ethics reform plan aimed partially at state lawmakers.

“Unfortunately, in Albany, there have been a series of breaches of the trust,” Cuomo said. “It has happened in the Legislature, both houses; it has happened in the state comptroller’s office; it has happened in my own office.”

Most notably, the state Capitol has been in the shadow of recent corruption scandals of former Speaker of the House Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, who both were convicted in 2016 of accepting bribes disguised as outside income.

In response, Cuomo’s proposals would seek to entirely

restructure the offices of the state’s senators and assembly members by making those positions full-time jobs and limiting outside income, restructuring legislative term lengths from two years to four years, and putting two-term limits on all such elected officials.

In order to amend the state constitution to extend term lengths and impose term limits, the Legislature would have to vote on it twice: once this year and again in 2019. If approved, the decision would then go the public in a statewide referendum.

State Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat who discussed term limits during his recent reelection campaign, told the Review, “The governor’s plan is the beginning of a discussion, and now we discuss all the different elements of it.”

Latimer said he favored 12year limits on all lawmakers in the state, including the governor. He added that extending term lengths was taking the trust of New Yorkers for granted. “As much as the two-year term drives me crazy, I think that people want to know that you’re accountable for them on a shorter term than once every four years,” he said.

But any ethics reform discussion may be handcuffed to conversations about salary increases for lawmakers.

In 2015, Cuomo appointed a commission to discuss raising the base salary for legislators, which has not changed from $79,500 since that rate was set in 1999. But in November

2016, the commission blocked the raises, and said it would be willing to readdress the discussion before 2017 if the Legislature called a special session to address ethics reform, including term limits. The special session never occurred.

The state Legislature will now have to wait until 2019 or later to see a salary increase.

“When you are in public service, the reward you get is not in a paycheck,” Cuomo said during his address. “You can make a lot more money outside of public service. The reward is you believe that you are doing a good thing and you believe you are making a difference.”

Latimer has said he would oppose pay increases. “I don’t think we’ve earned it,” he said.

“We have to produce results significant enough to justify an increase in compensation.”

Assemblyman David Buchwald, a White Plains Democrat, said he was not prepared to vote in favor of raises. “For any pay increase to go forward, you actually have to convince New Yorkers that that’s the right thing to do,” he said.

“I don’t think that argument has been made.”

Latimer and Buchwald both said that they do not earn any outside income and are, in essence, already full-time elected officials.

This year marks the halfway point of Cuomo’s third term as governor. There is no term limit on the governor’s office in New York state.

CONTACT: corey@hometwn.com

VILOATIONS from page 1

The Rye City Fire Department has been issued a notice of violation for failing to comply with the state’s Public Employee Safety and Health Act. File photo

on the lack of staffing. “We feel like we’re not being consulted, and hopefully [Corcoran] will help us with staffing,” he said.

As of press time, the Fire Department is managed by a volunteer staff, which consists of one chief and two assistant chiefs.

While the department currently employs just 17 paid firefighters and as little as 30 active volunteers, 12 of whom are trained to fight indoor fires, Castelhano said the department is currently wrestling with keeping up with the industry’s standards, which calls for 15 trained firefighters responding to an emergency.

Further, the city Fire Department also struggles to comply with OSHA’s “two-in, two-out” rule, which mandates that if two

professional firefighters enter a burning building, there must be two other stationed outside observing in case a rescue is necessary.

Despite the recent complications, Castelhano told the Review that the city could apply for a Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response, SAFER, grant through FEMA to address the lack of staffing.

SAFER is designed to assist local fire departments with staffing and deployment capabilities.

As of press time, the application period will close on Feb. 10, and according to Castelhano, the city currently has no plan to apply.

Barry Nechis, a captain of the New Rochelle Fire Department who has written several SAFER grant applications, said the Rye

Fire Department would justifiably be a candidate for grant funding. He added that New Rochelle’s Fire Department was able to add eight firefighters in 2011 as a result of SAFER funding. “Rye is in much worse shape than we are and could fit the criteria for their funding,” he said.

According to Councilman Richard Mecca, a Republican and member of the Fire Advisory Committee, while there is no concrete solution at the moment, the city would definitely entertain an outside funding method. “I wouldn’t disagree with [Castelhano’s] point of view,” Mecca said. “We’re open to funding opportunities.”

CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

10 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

Proposed Mamaroneck gun ban may lead to lawsuit

SAFETY from page 1

Legislation to ban firearms on municipal-owned and leased property in the town of Mamaroneck is making waves amongst local gun rights activists, who say that a lawsuit could be imminent if the proposal passes.

Photo courtesy Flickr.com

Rye City Police Commissioner Michael Corcoran will be formally appointed as the commissioner of the new city Department of Public Safety on Jan. 25, after press time. Photo/Andrew Dapolite

OSHA, standards.

The department also often violates an OSHA regulation dubbed the two-in, two-out rule, which mandates that if two professional firefighters enter a burning building, there must be two others stationed outside for observation.

Currently, Rye joins the city

of White Plains and the county as the only municipalities in Westchester with public safety departments.

Rye City Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican, confirmed to the Review that the City Council plans to ratify the selection of Corcoran. “We will be expecting big things from him,” Sack

said. “He has impressed everyone with his ability to lead the [Police] Department and to address all types of issues.”

Serrano declined to comment about the number of candidates that were interviewed for the position.

CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

She’s not crazy, her name just rhymes with it. Read Lenore Skenazy’s column every week in the Review.

A past contributor to the Daily News and the New York Sun, Skenazy has also appeared on “The Daily Show,” been profiled in the New Yorker and even had her own reality TV show, “World’s Worst Mom.”

With the Mamaroneck Town Council mulling a ban on firearm possession on any town property, local gun rights activists are ready to pull the trigger on a lawsuit.

According to Scott Sommavilla, the president of the Westchester Firearms Association, who attended a public hearing on Jan. 18 regarding the proposed local law, his organization will be watching the council’s decision closely.

“The [council] doesn’t have legal authority,” he told the Review. “We’re lawyered up.”

Trustee Tom Murphy, a Democrat who said that the entire Town Council, a board which is fully Democratic, is behind the ban, said the law is being put forward in an attempt to make Mamaroneck safer.

“We realize that the law will not stop every mad man with a gun,” Murphy said. “But the idea is that the less guns in a public area, from people who aren’t authorized, will make everyone safer.”

Even despite the threat of litigation, Town Supervisor Nancy Seligson, a Democrat, said the council is undeterred.

“We haven’t really discussed [the possibility of a lawsuit],” Seligson said. “We feel like we’re crafting a law within our given rights.”

The ban would amend an existing provision in the town code and impose a ban on both town property as well as townleased property.

Under the proposed amendment, only police officers and “persons in the service of the United States” would be exempt from any such ban.

The penalty for violating the potential ban, as enumerated in a draft currently on the town’s website, would be a court-imposed fine between $500 to $1,000.

-Reporting by James Pero

Cuomo touts transparency law expansion As part of an ethics reform overhaul, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced that he would look to increase transparency in the state Legislature during his State of the State tour earlier this month.

The governor’s initiative seeks to make state lawmakers—as well as the state’s ethics commission—subject to the Freedom of Information Law, FOIL. “It protects the public,” Cuomo said, “and it protects the government official from anyone saying he or she did anything wrong.”

State FOIL laws allow the public to request access to documents and statistics kept by government agencies, with certain exceptions such as classified documents.

Currently, the general New York state FOIL laws apply only to state agencies, which do not include the Legislature or the courts. A specific section of the law applies to state lawmakers; but that section does not require that lawmakers make documents such as emails available to the public.

Assemblyman David Buchwald, a White Plains Democrat who has championed the FOIL laws, questioned Cuomo’s assertion that FOIL laws don’t apply to state lawmakers. “FOIL does apply to the state Legislature,” he said. “It just applies in a somewhat different way because most of our actions are already made available to the public.”

Buchwald added that he was open to any laws that would in-

crease transparency.

In November, the governor signed an amendment to the FOIL law sponsored by Buchwald which he had shot down the previous year, shortening the appeals process.

State Sen. George Latimer, a Rye Democrat who has also pushed for transparency laws, said he would welcome an expansion of FOIL to encompass state lawmakers, and reflected on his previous experience as an elected official on the Rye City Council and the Westchester County Board of Legislators. “I was under the rules of FOIL in those days and I never felt that that was a problem,” Latimer said. “We’re not at the level of dealing with national secrets.”

-Reporting by Corey Stockton

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11 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

Business Briefs Irwin joins Larchmont Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Realtor Timothy Irwin has joined the Larchmont office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Westchester Properties. The announcement was made

by Mark Nadler, office leader.

In a statement Nadler said, “By making an industry leap to real estate from working at Gertex for nine years, Irwin sold his first home within five days of it being on the market. When looking to buy or sell a home in Westchester County, he will bring you as much experience, knowledge, and accountability there is.”

As a licensed realtor in Westchester County, Irwin provides strategic marketing and transaction management services to his clients. His business is built on dedication, communication, determination, and trust, while embodying the ability to cater and adapt to all of his client’s real estate needs.

A Larchmont native when he was younger, who went through the Mamaroneck school system, is now living with his wife just a block over from where he grew up with four sisters and a brother. Irwin enjoys the summers boating and fishing on the Long Island Sound, and he enjoys playing platform tennis in the Westchester league during the winter months.

Contact Irwin today for all of your buying and selling needs. Call 414-588-3510 or email TimothyIrvin@bhhswestchester.com.

Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England and Westchester Properties is a leading real estate brokerage firm with more than 1,800 realtors in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Westchester County. Selectively chosen by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and HomeServices of America, the global reach, financial strength and fresh brand make Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England and Westchester Properties the premiere real estate firm in the Northeast. Whether it be residential, commercial, corporate relocation, equestrian or waterfront living, the company and its realtors are local market experts committed to providing exceptional service to our clients. For more information, visit bhhsNEproperties.com.

Weichert, Realtors’ Larchmont office, associate win regional awards Nicholas Germak, regional vice president of Weichert, Realtors, announced that the Larchmont office was recognized for outstanding performance in November. The office led its Weichert sales region, which is comprised of offices throughout Orange, Dutchess, Westchester and Rockland counties in New York, and Fairfield County in Connecticut, for resale dollar volume.

In addition, sales associate Geubert Oliveira was individually recognized for his success during the month. As a top producer, Oliveira led the region for resale listings. Invite this talented neighborhood specialist in to learn about the real estate services that Weichert, Realtors has to offer. Oliveira can be reached at Weichert’s Larchmont office located at 2090 Boston Post Road, or call 833-0800 for more information.

Since 1969, Weichert, Realtors has grown from a single office into one of the nation’s leading providers of homeownership services by putting its customers first. A family of full-service real estate and financial services companies, Weichert helps

customers buy and sell both residential and commercial real estate, and streamlines the delivery of mortgages and home and title insurance. Weichert leverages its customer website, weichert.com, one of the most visited real estate websites in the nation, to help families and individuals realize the dream of homeownership through quick and easy access to listing information and the services of its real estate professionals nationwide. For more information, Weichert’s customer service center can be reached at 1-800-USA-SOLD (872-7653).

Food Bank for Westchester names new CEO, president; elects new board member Food Bank for Westchester, the leading organization providing programs for the 200,000 county residents who are food insecure, recently announced the appointment of Leslie B. Gordon as its new president and CEO effective Jan. 17.

Gordon, who has extensive experience at City Harvest developing initiatives to serve the hungry in New York City, succeeds Ellen Lynch who announced in September that she was stepping down.

“Leslie Gordon brings to Food Bank for Westchester a wealth of leadership experience and expertise to help us in our ongoing efforts to eradicate hunger in the county. Leslie has a proven record of success at City Harvest where she developed and implemented innovative programs to help feed people who face hunger. We are thrilled to have her on board as our new president and CEO,” said Maria Bronzi, board chair of Food Bank for Westchester.

“I am truly honored to have the opportunity to lead one of the region’s most admired organizations fighting hunger. I look forward to working with everyone on the Food Bank team—from our outstanding board and dedicated staff and volunteers, to our community agencies and donors—to continue the mission of creating a hunger-free environment in Westchester,” Gordon said.

As senior director of Program Strategy & Operations for City Harvest, Gordon served as a key executive leading its “Healthy Neighborhoods” plan to improve food access and nutritional behaviors for a 500,000 low-income residents and pioneering a new strategy that doubled the food distributed annually from 30 to 60 million pounds in five years. City Harvest collects nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste and delivers it free of charge to soup kitchens, food pantries and other community food programs across the five boroughs.

Prior to joining City Harvest in 2007, Gordon was under Anthony Kennedy Shriver, the state director of Best Buddies Pennsylvania, an organization that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Prior to that, she served as founding director of Made in Hudson Valley, which promoted products manufactured in the Hudson Valley, and served under Gen. Colin Powell as national director of America’s Promise-The Alliance for Youth, a foundation dedicated to improving the lives of children and youth from all socioeconomic sectors.

A lifetime Westchester and fourth-generation resident of Tarrytown, Gordon is a graduate of SUNY New Paltz where she majored in sociology. She is a frequent guest speaker at various

organizations addressing issues of hunger, including the National Conference on Emergency Feeding and the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine on Seniors & Hunger. She is also a guest lecturer of Fordham University’s Non-Profit Leadership Graduate Program.

Food Bank for Westchester has also announced the election of Michael Cassidy to its board of directors. Cassidy is currently a partner at Team JMC, a firm recently launched to develop new businesses and acquire established companies.

Cassidy has significant experience in corporate branding, positioning and sales team development.

He believes in the importance of implementing a cohesive corporate culture and organized employee communications, always setting them as a top priority in his leadership roles.

“We are pleased to welcome Michael to our board and know he will be an asset in helping us achieve our goals for the Food Bank for Westchester,” board chair of Food Bank for Westchester. “His skills and insight will add great expertise to our already diverse committee of leaders.”

Prior to JMC, Cassidy founded and served as CEO and chairman of Undertone, a digital advertising technology company. Under his leadership, Undertone grew to more than $150 million in revenue and more than 300 employees before being acquired by Perion (PERI) in 2015. During his time there, the company was recognized numerous times as one of the Best Companies to Sell For. Cassidy was the recipient of the 2011 Ernest & Young NY Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

He currently serves as board vice president for Friends of Karen, a Westchester-based nonprofit supporting children and families with life-threatening illness.

A native of Mahopac, Cassidy received a bachelor’s degree in communications from Oswego State University, where he is a former member of the alumni board. He then became a resident of Manhattan for 10 years before moving to his current home in Rye with his wife, Jennifer, and three children.

For more than 27 years, the Food Bank for Westchester, FB4W, has led the fight against hunger in Westchester County, serving 330 frontline programs that provide food directly to the 200,000 county residents who are hungry or food insecure.

FB4W supplies 95 percent of all food distributed annually across the region’s food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and day care and residential programs—delivering more than 8.4 million pounds of food and 7 million meals to people. FB4W’s collaboration with major retailers and corporations, and its expertise in food procurement, storage, and distribution, turns every monetary donation into fresh food provided for communities.

For more information about the Food Bank for Westchester, visit fb4w.org.

The next Business Briefs section will run in February. Please send any submission for our February edition to news@hometwn.com, with “Business” in the subject line of your email.

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12 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017

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January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 13

Where have all the singers gone?

The shower is where America does it—in private, with no one judging, just because it feels good.

I’m talking about singing, of course, that once universal pastime that uplifts the soul, reboots the body, and doesn’t demand a monthly fee. So why aren’t we singing all the time?

In “La La Land,” the hit movie that may sweep the Oscars, everyone on screen bursts into song. Yes, that’s what a musical is: an embarrassing admission that we’re all a-tingle with music, just waiting for the chance to explode. But aside from Disney, most moviemakers have not been pumping out songand-dance movies for, oh, about half a century. There’s a reason more Americans knew Carrie Fisher than her mom, Debbie Reynolds, star of “Singin’ in the Rain.” Musicals were once the most American of movies. Now, action movies are. But with the success of “La La Land,” that may be about to change—and maybe we’ll change, too.

Singing is so basic to human happiness, some scientists believe it might have evolved even before language. It was the way stories were passed down before writing, because it’s a lot easier to remember a song than a paragraph. And that’s why kids still sing their ABCs—our brains are built to embed music.

What’s more, when actual language eludes us—for instance, after a stroke—sometimes mu-

are in eighth grade, only a third are getting music. What’s more, there doesn’t seem to be much agreement on which songs to teach. So even though my kids went to public school, K–12, they don’t know “My Country ‘Tis of Thee,” or even “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.” You can argue that we have a wider world now, but sharing at least a few songs is an easy way for people to connect.

2. Stop trying to sing like Mariah. Nowadays when we sing, we think we have to sound like the professionals. (See: Karaoke.) But that’s like saying that anyone who wants to play basketball shouldn’t bother unless he’s got the word “Jordan” in his name. Singing is actually a skill that almost everyone gets better at the more they do it. (Not GREAT at. Just BETTER.) 3. Around the country, people are starting informal groups where people get together and sing. This sounds so fun that I’m thinking of starting one myself... provided everyone sings better than I do.

4. Meantime, find a place— church, community center, synagogue—where people are already singing and join in. In turn, whoever’s in charge should remember to promote the kind of songs the average person likes to sing—not too complex, not too soprano. There’s a reason folk songs lasted through the centuries. They’re written for the folks, not opera stars.

5. Start singing! Do it while waiting for the bus. And if I happen to be standing next to you, I just may join in.

We all know that the biggest star at the “Big Game” football party is the food. The American Heart Association, AHA, doesn’t want you to sack everyone’s healthy New Year’s resolutions with a party spread filled with fried, fattening, salty or sugary foods. Keep plenty of heart-healthy options in the starting lineup to give everyone healthy options while celebrating the big game.

“Offering healthy food choices can help people maintain a healthy weight, even at big parties. You can easily swap out unhealthy ingredients for healthier ones and adding more fruits and vegetables is a big game strategy that’s sure to score a touchdown for health,” said Carolyn Torella, AHA spokeswoman. “February is American Heart Month, and this is a great opportunity to kick off the month with healthier meals.”

First Half Strategy – First down: Start the game with salad and veggies. Fill up on the healthier foods first, then add in a few treats on your plate. Go with healthier appetizers like cut veggies and hummus, fat-free yogurt dips or guacamole made with avocados. According to research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, eating one avocado a day as part of a heart-healthy, cholesterol-lowering, moderate-fat diet can help improve bad cholesterol levels in overweight and obese individuals. Use baked, not fried and whole grain versions of your favorite chips and crackers. Try low-fat cheeses with whole grain crackers or toasts, and choose

assorted low-sodium or unsalted nuts, which are high in good fats and protein.

Halftime Rally – When planning your halftime buffet, throw the penalty flag on the worst party foods like fried Buffalo wings (up to 35 grams of fat per serving), takeout personal pepperoni pan pizza (more than 60 percent of sodium daily allowance), and nachos with cheese (30 percent of your daily fat). Opt for baked, not fried Buffalo tenders, whole wheat pizza with veggies, and chicken or beans and low-fat cheese burritos in a whole wheat wrap. With healthy foods, you’ll still have energy for that halftime touch football game. Try turkey or chicken and bean chili with lots of veggies cooked in, and low-fat cheese and low-fat sour cream on the side.

Second Half Plan – Offer seltzer and no sugar-added fruit juice beverages as “mockcocktail” alternatives to alcohol-based drinks. Alcohol can raise blood pressure and is full of empty calories. Make portion control part of your game plan.

Smaller plates and calorie counting apps can help you keep track of the foods you are consuming so you don’t go overboard.

Know your portions. For example, a serving of chicken breast (3 ounces) is about the size of a deck of cards, and an ounce of cheese is about the size of your index finger. A cup of pasta is the size of a fist, and half a cup of rice is a cupcake wrapper-full.

For more portion tips, check out heart.org/PortionDistortion.

The American Heart Association recommends a diet rich

in fruits, vegetables, wholegrain, high-fiber foods, and fatfree and low-fat dairy products.

Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils most often. Use naturally occurring, un-hydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil most often.

Why offer healthier options?

More than 149 million Americans, or 67 percent of adults age 20 and older, are overweight or obese. By 2015, experts projected that 75 percent of adults will be overweight, with 41 percent being obese. Nearly one-third of U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or obese and at higher risk for heart disease and stroke. Making small changes to diet and lifestyle can help prevent heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 and No. 5 killers nationwide.

The American Heart Association has partnered with the Walmart Foundation to offer Simple Cooking with Heart, a nationwide program aimed at changing the way people think about food. Try these healthy variations of classic party recipes and get more cooking tips and instructional videos from the American Heart Association at heart.org/simplecooking, including game day favorites chicken and ham jambalaya, baked flautas with mango salsa, spicy Asian salad cups, barbeque-glazed chicken tenders and oven fries, and tailgate chili.

(Submitted)

CONTACT: lskenazy@yahoo.com

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RHYMES WITH CRAZY Lenore Skenazy

sic doesn’t, since it is processed in another area of the brain. After my mom had lost almost all her memory, I could sing a few songs from her childhood and she could, out of the fog, join in.

The power of music is mysterious. One study of cancer patients found that an hour of singing boosted their immune proteins. It also lowers blood pressure. Even people with lung disease feel better when singing.

And of course, it’s bonding.

Sing with a group and you are one—a fact understood by anyone who has ever been in a choir, or the military, or the bus to summer camp.

But Americans (heck, humans) have been singing less and less ever since technology started to do it for us. While in the pre-Edison era most middle class families had a piano around with which to sing, the record player and radio made it easy to hear music anytime. The smartphone made it even easier.

And since the people singing on tape, TV and iTunes (but not necessarily YouTube) sing better than the rest of us, we started to believe that this is a task, like neurosurgery, best left to the professionals. So, barring the occasional “Jingle Bells,” or “Happy Birthday,” most of us sing only to ourselves if we sing at all. This is a loss of such gargantuan proportions; it’s as if we stopped walking, or dancing.

Which, come to think of it, we sort of have. Even the clergy report that congregants are singing less. What would it take for us to bring singing back into our everyday lives?

1. Make singing a regular part of school. By the time kids

Healthy snacks for the ‘Big Game’

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Home court advantage after the junior varsity game and a Huguenot player was punched LIVE MIKE on his way back to the buses. AfMike Smith ter some deliberation between the two schools, the Huguenots There were a few moments in took steps to ensure the safety of Saturday’s showdown between the players in the two teams’ secNew Rochelle and Mount Ver- ond meeting, moving the game non that should have absolutely from Friday to Saturday and barbrought the roof down. Most of ring spectators aside from famithem came when the Knights’ ly members, team personnel and 6-foot-9 big man Greg Calixte members of the media. got the ball in the low post, then The move, of course, was the rose above the Huguenots’ de- right one. When it comes to stufense to throw down a thunder- dent safety, it’s always best to err ous, rim-rocking jam. on the side of caution.

These were the types of plays It’s just unfortunate that the that—in an ordinary game be- actions of a few knuckleheads tween the two bitter rivals— made the actions taken by the would have whipped the crowd schools necessary at all. into a frenzy.

Policing the actions of fans is Last weekend, however, the a tricky thing. After postgame two teams squared off at New violence marred a Harrison/Rye Rochelle High School in a football game a few years ago, closed gym in front of a decid- the two teams began playing edly muted crowd, and that’s a their games at 11 a.m., in order real shame. to curb pregame tailgating. In When the two schools 2014, the Tappan Zee athletic squared off three weeks ago at director kicked his own student Mount Vernon, violence erupted section out of the County Center

after they launched into a chorus of vulgar chants directed at the Dutchmen’s opponent.

In terms of Section I basketball, New Rochelle versus Mount Vernon is undoubtedly the pinnacle of the winter season.

Even if the games aren’t always close—and this one wasn’t, as Mount Vernon stormed out to a 71-46 win—the atmosphere can’t be replicated. I’ve seen loads of games between the two powers, including Mount Vernon wins, New Rochelle upsets, and the biggest of all, the Huguenots’ buzzer-beater victory at the Westchester County Center in 2013, and each time I walk away from those games wondering if any other high school sporting event could possibly match the level of intensity from both fans and players.

On Saturday, the crowd, while subdued, was still larger than many other schools draw, but, even so, there was no real electricity in the gym.

Rye Athlete of the Week KATIE POPP

By ISABEL CASTRO Contributor This week’s Athlete of the Week is Katie Popp, the starting point guard for the Rye High School girls basketball team. Throughout her Garnets career, Popp has won numerous awards; she has received All-League, All-Section and All-State honors twice.

Along with these awards, as a junior, she was the Lions Club Athlete of the Month, Class A MVP, and reached the prestigious 1,000 points club.

Last year, Rye had a phenomenal run during their playoff season. With the help of Popp, they made it to the state semifinals, but unfortunately

fell to Floral Park by a final score of 72-43. Nonetheless, Popp walked away with 37 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, four steals, and a league, section and regional title.

“Katie steps on the court and shows everyone what an amazing player she is,” said teammate Sara DeGraw. “She carries our team with spectacular leadership qualities.”

Other players noted how phenomenal Popp has been and the major loss the program will face next year without her.

Popp’s hard work and dedication on and off the court has landed her an acceptance to Washington and Lee University, where she will play for the Generals next year.

Outside of the varsity

program, Popp plays AAU basketball for the WBA Lady Knicks. She volunteers at the YMCA as a counselor-in-training, the Sharing Shelf, and also tutors underclassmen at Rye High School. Popp is also a member of the National Honor Society and the Meningitis Awareness Club.

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New Rochelle’s basketball team huddles up before their Jan. 21 game against Mount Vernon. Although meetings between the two teams usually lead to packed gyms, postgame violence three weeks ago led the Huguenots to close the gym and turn fans away. Photo/Mike Smith

Ultimately, the actions of a few misguided fans robbed players from both schools of the opportunity to take the court in a one-of-a-kind environment, and that’s unfortunate.

I’m all for fans getting loud, getting rowdy, and turning their home court into a place where visitors don’t want to play. But at the end of the day, even a showdown with your bitterest rivals is

still just a game. If fans can keep that in mind, we’ll all be better off.

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Rye stumbles against Pelham boys basketball

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PELHAM 57 RYE 53 1/24/17

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Game Notes: • Rye’s Charlie Nagle led all scorers with 23 points • Pelham’s Davis Allen had 18 points and 11 rebounds • Rye has lost two in a row

By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor After getting off to a tremendous start, Rye has stumbled in the past week, dropping backto-back games for the first time all season. On Jan. 20, the Garnets fell to Byram Hills, widely considered to be one of the best teams in Section I; and on Tuesday afternoon, they faded late against Pelham, suffering a 57-53 upset loss. Although the Garnets still boast a 10-4 record as the playoffs approach, head coach John Aguilar said that the two recent setbacks have been somewhat concerning.

Pelham center Davis Allen turned in a tremendous performance against the Garnets, scoring 18 points and recording

January 27, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 15

to bounce back from two consecutive losses and head into the postseason with some positive momentum. They will be back on the court on Jan. 27 when they host John Jay at 7 p.m.

The first step toward turning things around, Aguilar said, will be seeing a more consistent effort on the floor.

“At this point of the season, I think it’s a larger issue; our guys have been outhustled and outworked the last two games,” he said. “They wanted it more than we did, and that’s on me, that’s on the coaches, and we have to get them ready.”

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Michael Carty finds some open space against a Pelham defender.

Photos/Mike Smith

11 rebounds. Seven of Allen’s points came in a fourth quarter that saw the Pelicans put the game away, but Aguilar believes that his most important contributions came on the other end of the floor, as his presence in the paint proved something of a disruptor for the Garnet offense.

“He’s tough,” the head coach said. “We’d get inside and he would just alter a lot of our shots.”

Offensively, the Garnets relied heavily on the presence of Charlie Nagle, who led all scorers with 23 points. But they couldn’t find much in the way of complementary scoring, especially late in the game. Quinn

Kelly and Matt Tepedino both added six points off the bench as Aguilar tried to mix and match in order to find the right offensive balance. The Garnets have used more of their bench over the last few weeks, but against the Pelicans, Aguilar said, he was just looking for a spark.

“It’s been ongoing, but even when we got the shots we wanted, we weren’t finishing today,” he said. “So we were just trying to do something different.”

With just five games left in the regular season, the Garnets will look

Matt Tepedino goes up for a layup against the Pelicans. Tepedino had six points off the bench.

Max Samberg dives for a loose ball.

Charlie Nagle drives to the hoop against Pelham on Jan. 24. Nagle had 23 points in the Garnets’ loss.

16 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • January 27, 2017