July 28, 2017 by The Rye City Review

RyeCity REVIEW THE

July 28, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 30 | www.ryecityreview.com

Possible Crown Castle settlement reaches impasse By JAMES PERO Staff Writer

Making a difference

Charlotte Ference plays the ukulele with a boy in Fandani, the village in South Africa where she taught English for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Jack Parker

Human Rights Commission planning strategy for future By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer Armed with a full roster, Rye’s local Human Rights Commission is now aiming to get started on several initiatives by the end of summer. On July 12, Mayor Joe Sack, a Republican, appointed six residents to the committee after officially resurrecting it back in January. Emily Dorin, Kelly Grayer, Judith Secon, Robert Marrow, Alison Relyea and Adrienne Mecca, who is the wife of Councilman Richard Mecca, a Republican, will join Democratic Councilwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein, the committee chairwoman, and Marion Anderson, who has been a commissioner since the committee was re-established. “I’m very excited about having

people to work with in an official capacity,” Tagger-Epstein said. “It’s going to take some time to get started since we’re starting from scratch, but we’ll see what the next few months brings.” The first initiative the commission will move forward on involves establishing a committee website, which Tagger-Epstein said is crucial in such a technologically driven era. “The idea is to answer the call for those who are in need and for those who would like to report a [discrimination] complaint either anonymously or on the record,” she said. In addition to that, the councilwoman said the Human Rights Commission will also seek to collaborate with city Public Safety Commissioner Michael Corcoran for education initiatives throughout the city. Most recently, the two com-

mission members and the public safety commissioner collaborated on a proposal to establish a policy on immigration enforcement for the city Police Department. The policy was approved unanimously by the Rye City Council on July 12. Relyea told the Review the commission will also be discussing an event for Unity Day, a signature event of National Bullying Prevention Month that has been recognized in the U.S. since 2011. “This is a really good time to be focusing on human rights, especially at the local level,” she said. “The commission will serve to protect and foster the diversity we have in our community.” The committee was established earlier this year after a 13-year hiatus, in which Rye relied solely on the much broader

county-centric commission. Over the last two decades, a number of municipalities in Westchester County have eliminated their local human rights commissions to support the county’s committee. However, that changed in Rye after a perceived uptick in racially motivated vandalism throughout the county, including instances of anti-Semitism involving graffiti and swastikas being drawn in public places. Before reviving the local city commission, its last meeting took place in 2004. According to minutes of that meeting, commissioners spoke about diversity, affordable housing and racism in television programming. Sack and Corcoran could not be reached for comment, as of press time. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

Settlement talks between the city of Rye and Crown Castle— the telecom contractor behind a controversial proposal to install wireless infrastructure citywide—stalled after a conference between the two parties ended in a stalemate. “After several hours conferencing with the judge, it was determined a second conference would not be fruitful,” Rye City Attorney Kristen Wilson told the Review. As a result, the city will now wait for a federal judge to render a decision on Rye’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Crown Castle in May, as well as a preliminary injunction filed by Crown Castle that seeks to prevent the city from terminating an agreement with the company. Wilson said a decision on those two motions will likely happen with the next two months. According to Wilson, pending amendments to state law and Federal Communications Commission, FCC, rule changes being pushed by telecommunications companies across the country, however, continue to cast a shadow of uncertainty over the pair of upcoming decisions. A petition by Mobilite, the largest privately owned telecom company in the U.S., will prompt the FCC—the primary agency governing the country’s telecommunications laws—to mull a rollback of regulations that increase barriers to wireless deployments in localities nationwide. According to Wilson, that decision could drastically im-

pact the city’s standing when it comes to its ongoing dispute with Crown Castle, whose senior vice president, Ken Simon, currently serves as chairman of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, the committee mulling the rollback. Meanwhile, before the New York state Legislature are amendments to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, SEQR, that include exemptions for applicants looking to install wireless infrastructure, according to Wilson. Rye is currently reviewing Crown Castle’s application— which would install more than 70 additional wireless locations across the city—after giving the proposal a positive determination under SEQR and forcing the plan to undergo an environmental review. Deliberations over Crown Castle’s proposal have dragged on for more than a year after vehement public backlash and scrutiny from city officials derailed the project. Crown Castle, which has been contracted by Verizon Wireless, claims the infrastructure installations—in the form of wireless nodes—is meant to bolster the city’s wireless capacity. Many of the proposed nodes in Crown Castle’s plan are slated to be installed on telephone poles adjacent to residences. In the interim, the city will continue a revamp of its local telecommunications code in an effort to help tighten restrictions on Crown Castle’s proposal and those like it in the future, despite the impact of potential SEQR amendments that may ultimately affect the code revisions. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

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RTP estimates $750K cost for ADA improvements Wiggle Bots help fifth-graders with STEM project Fifth-grade students at F.E. Bellows Elementary School celebrated their final science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, project with a Wiggle Bot Fair. Each student, who received a motor and instructions

The Rye Town Park Commission will apply for a grant from the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to make two Oakland Beach entrances compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Photo courtesy Easton Architects

By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer The Rye Town Park Commission is aiming to secure state funding for handicap accessibility improvements to two of Oakland Beach’s entrances. According to Rye Town Supervisor Gary Zuckerman, a Democrat and president of the park commission, the commission is finalizing a grant application due on July 28, after press time, to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for upgrades required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability. The improvements are estimated to cost as much as $750,000, as of press time. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed the law requiring establishments to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled people with both mental and physical conditions. “The goal of the commission is to make our facilities as accessible as possible to all

residents of the town and city [of Rye] and to others who use the park,” Zuckerman said. “We think we have a very good case [for a grant].” The town of Rye, which has a higher percentage of individuals with a disability than the county overall—16.4 percent of the town’s population is disabled compared to a countywide total of 8.9 percent—has at least 7,464 elderly and disabled residents. At least 29 percent of the town’s veteran population and its over60 residents have at minimum one disability. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town of Rye’s population last year was estimated at 46,881. If awarded a grant from the state, the park would join several other Sound Shore beaches that have already made accessibility improvements, including New Rochelle’s Glen Island Park; Harbor Island Park, located off of Boston Post Road in the village of Mamaroneck; and Playland Beach, which is also located in Rye. The state grant would

cover half of the cost—roughly $300,000—for the park’s ADA improvements. Additionally, Zuckerman told the Review the park commission is expecting to discuss other accessibility improvements to the park in August, after receiving a recommendation from Easton Architects, which has been tasked with coming up with several proposals for construction of the park’s facilities. One recommendation will involve ADA improvements to the park’s bathrooms and administrative building. The park, which overlooks Oakland Beach and the Long Island Sound, is located off of Forest Avenue in the city of Rye. The 62-acre green space and beachfront offers seasonal swimming and year-round use for passive and semi-active events. Rye City Councilwoman Julia Killian, a Republican and member of the park commission, could not be reached for comment, as of press time. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

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on how to construct his or her own Wiggle Bot, programmed the motorized contraptions to scribble, make circles or wiggle on a large piece of paper. “The students were excited to share their Wiggle Bots and

were also able to view the innovations of other students,” said fifth-grade teacher Susan Combs. “Engineering skills and creativity were displayed amongst all students. It was a wonderful way to end the school year.” (Submitted)

F.E. Bellows Elementary School fifth-graders construct their own Wiggle Bots as their final science, technology, engineering and mathematics project. Photo courtesy Rye Neck school district

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What’s going on... Rye Free Reading Room

On Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Meeting Room. For children entering grades K–5 in September. Design and build a car at this event, to use for the library’s Drive-In Movie Series that will start on Tuesday, Aug. 8. Space is limited for this event and pre-registration is required. Visit ryelibray. org, go to “Programs & Events,” “Kids,” the event date, and then “Register.”

invited to join the librarians every Friday in the new “S.T.E.A.M. LAB,” where literacy meets S.T.E.A.M. Each month, participants will read a book together. Then, taking inspiration from the story, kids will be taught how to think with their hands and minds. It’s inquiry-based learning combined with a hands-on activity in the fields of science, technology, engineering, art, or mathematics. Aug. 4’s book is “If I built a Car” by Chris Van Dusen. Children do not have to pre-read the book. The STEAM activity will have participants designing and building a small-scale model car out of paper towel rolls and other recycled supplies. Pre-registration is required online. Visit ryelibray.org, go to “Programs & Events,” “Kids,” the event date, and then “Register.”

Graham Clarke’s Musical Summer Fridays

Summer STEAM workshop with ArchForKids

On Fridays from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Meeting Room. For ages 12 months and up. Families are welcome. Rock out at the Rye Free Reading Room this summer when popular children’s musician Graham Clarke returns for a special summer series. Kids love Graham’s silly humor and fun songs and will move and groove to the beat with this energetic performer. Please arrive early; doors will be closed 10 minutes after the show begins and no one will be admitted after that. This event is sponsored by the Auxiliary Board of the Rye Free Reading Room.

On Friday, Aug. 4 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Meeting Room. For grades 3–5 only. Join the global movement of green skyscraper design by constructing your own model eco-tower. Space is limited for this event and pre-registration is required. Visit ryelibray.org, go to “Programs & Events,” “Kids,” the event date, and then “Register.” This event is sponsored by TD Bank.

kittens from cat rescue FURRR 911 practice their people skills. Yoga postures will be followed by a short meditation for two- and maybe even fourlegged participants. Please register online as space is limited, and bring your own mat if you have one.

Family Fun Night: Design & Build a Car Out Of a Cardboard Box For more information on hours and programs, visit ryelibrary.org.

Spanish Musical Storytime On Saturdays in July from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. in the Children’s Room. Stop by the library for a blast of culture, music, and stories in Spanish. Have fun learning songs and rhymes en español with Marilyn Castillo and her amazing guitar. Entertaining for all members of the family.

Getting Ready for the Solar Eclipse On Saturday, July 29 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Meeting Room. On Aug. 21, there will be a solar eclipse that will be visible across the United States. Join local astronomer Paul Alimena as he shares information about what causes a solar eclipse, and steps that you can take to view this celestial event. And if you can’t make it, the next eclipse will be April 8, 2024.

Kitty Yoga: Unwind and Cuddle Kittens On Saturday, July 29 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Meeting Room. Yoga instructor and animal lover Angela Brandt leads Rye library’s first ever Kitty Yoga class. Practice your yoga skills while curious

Ryebrary Summer S.T.E.A.M.ers On Friday, Aug. 4 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. All Ryebrary S.T.E.A.M.ers who are entering kindergarten through second grade in September are

Rye Town Park Summer Storytimes At Rye Town Park On Tuesdays from 9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. at Rye Town Park. Recommended for infants through preschoolers. Enjoy sunshine, stories and engaging activities by the seaside with the Rye Free Reading Room’s talented librarians. Rye Town Park will charge a reduced parking fee of $2 for attendees.

Season permits The Rye Town Park Commission is encouraging residents to buy season permits and take full advantage of the beautiful park and Oakland Beach. It is offering “high tide” benefits for a “low tide” cost. And, they’ve held the line on prices—no increases for residents. Beach access is free for all permit holders. For a family of two adults and all children under age 18 a season permit is only $150. That’s good from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. Individual adult permits are only $110. Parking for permit holders is deeply discounted, compared to those without permits. These discounts include the daytime beach season from Memorial Day to Labor Day weekends, as well as the pre- and postseason periods. Senior permits (ages 62+) are $20 and include free parking. Platinum family ($300) permits also include free parking. Parking only permits are $150. Seniors who have passes dated on and before 2010 DO NOT have to renew their passes. Credit card payments will be accepted for season permits. The park accepts MasterCard, Visa and Discover. They also accept checks or money orders payable to Rye Town Park. People have two options in paying for their permits: mail the completed forms back, with payment by check or providing credit card information; or bring them to the park permit office, which will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. New permit holders will have to provide a proof of residence (driver’s license, utility bill, etc.).

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Note: Non-residents can also purchase discounted season permits: $60 for seniors; $250 for singles; and $350 for family rates. For further information and details, call the park starting 967-0965. More information is available at ryetownpark.org.

Rye Youth Soccer Fall 2017 registration Online registration is open at ryeyouthsoccer.org for fall intramural soccer for boys and girls grades K–5. The season will begin Saturday, Sept. 16 and end Saturday, Nov. 4, with no games on Sept. 30. Complete details on dates and times of the program can be found on the website. Questions? Contact Patti Adimari, registrar, at pattirys@optonline.net or 967-5273. Scholarships are available upon request. Please note: coaches should also register to coach in their online account.

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.

Summer Musical Theater Workshop From Monday, July 31 through Friday, Aug. 4 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For ages 8 to 12. This week of the Musical Theater Workshop will focus on “The Wiz.” In these weeklong workshops, students will learn shortened versions of scenes, songs, and simple choreography—all from some of the greatest Broadway and Disney productions. Students will get a chance to experience the world of theater by exploring their talent through acting, singing, and dancing. All students are asked to bring a voice recording device. An informal presentation is held each Friday evening for family. Daily attendance is required in order to make each presentation successful. Fee: $395; members receive discount. For more information and to register, visit ryeartscenter.org.

‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ The Rye Arts Center is partnering with LawnChair Theatre to bring you seven local outdoor performances of this modern day twist to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Lovers, fairies, and an amateur troupe of performers cross paths on a midsummer night in the woods outside of Athens, where mischievous spirits, mistaken identities, and magic potions make for mystery and merriment. This production is set in modern day Athens, where face-to-face connection has been replaced by screen-to-screen communication. Lovers, politicians, and workman—all are so busy perfecting their profiles that they fail to see the mystical world unfolding before them. The show will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 28 and Saturday, July 29 at Rye Town Park. Bring your lawn chair or a blanket. There is a suggested donation of $20; students, children under age 12 and seniors, $10. Light refreshments will be on sale. For more information, visit lawnchairtheatre.org. 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.

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July 28, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 5

Letters to the Editor

On Disbrow Park and the Thruway property

Medicaid and mental illness

To the Editor, I am extremely disappointed and concerned about the recent series of unprovoked attacks by our Mayor Joe Sack, and some City Council members on both our state Assemblyman Steve Otis, the Rye City Democratic chair, and, it seems, anyone who questions their handling of both a potential renovation of Disbrow Park and sale of a property currently owned by the Thruway Authority. However, I do not want to focus on what was said on social media and our city’s Listserv, or the unfortunate behavior of some City Council members at the July 12 meeting. I want to address the proposed actions and timelines put forth by the council in regard to these two matters. I do want to directly address council member Terrence McCartney’s apparent confusion about “why people think that we are rushing this.” I ask McCartney to consider the following: At the June 7 council meeting, the topic of Thruway property/Department of Public Works redesign was introduced as part of Item 13, a discussion of a possible referendum ballot on these measures in November 2017. For this to occur, final language would be required by Sept. 8, before the September council meeting; leaving only a single meeting in July for further discussion. Council member Kirstin Bucci dismissed concerns about the condensed timeline, stating that the council could come up with a plan and final language by September, and recommending that people who have questions or want to see data send her an email! She also recommended a special August meeting, if necessary, because the opportunity is “too huge.” Bucci’s comments take place approximately 24 minutes into the discussion of Item 13. It is hard to read this timeline as anything but the Republican council majority trying to finalize a huge decision with little public debate, and on an extremely accelerated timeline. As to the public swell of support for a complete reconfiguration of the park, and need to move the DPW, trumpeted by some council members, and described approximately 15 minutes into the discussion by McCartney, the numbers presented in the June 27 presentation, named the Disbrow Park & Facilities Master Plan, simply do not bear this out. In fact, if you review the Stantec presentation online at ryeny.gov, under City News on the homepage, Options A and B (no DPW move) each have a much higher percentage of respondents picking them as a first or second favorite, with a staggering 56 percent of respondents noting Option C (DPW move) as a least favorite. Now both the mayor and some City Council members are directly tying the Thruway property sale to the Disbrow Park reconfiguration. However, Rye Country Day School, Louden Woods and Rye Park neighborhood representatives all spoke at the June 7 meeting, describing likely strong neighborhood opposition to any move of the DPW to the Thruway location. This makes it unlikely that, even if the DPW was moved, the city would use the Thruway location. So why try to block a potential sale to Rye Country Day? Note: Otis’ proposed legislation does not require a sale to the RCDS; it just allows it. And, the city of Rye has veto power if we don’t agree with the land use. So the legislation would keep our options open, rather than narrowing them, as suggested by Mayor Sack. See the actual legislation by visiting nyassembly.gov/leg/?bn=A08183. Delay in the sale of the Thruway property could lead to an auction to the highest bidder. The longterm goal of Rye City for this property has been to ensure this doesn’t happen. Why risk it now, when we are so close to resolution? I have another question for the members of the council pushing for a DPW move: If the council is not solely focused on the Thruway property, what other locations are being considered? Finally, with a sale of the Thruway property to RCDS, we might get a field that the city can use for $0, versus an estimated cost of $39 million for a DPW move, before cleanup or the purchase of property. With those costs factored in, the total could easily be northward of $50 million, and even more than $100 million. How is this fiscally responsible? Given the proposed time frame by the council, the lack of strong public support, for a DPW move and likely opposition to the proposed location, it is not “scare tactics” to suggest this is an expensive and ill thought-out proposal.

To the Editor, As one who suffers from chronic illness and receives Medicaid, I have little faith in those who make the laws and are out of touch with the problems of their citizens. I am both an employee and patient at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Harrison. (Yes, I have a mental illness, and be damned the stigma that comes with the many disorders that are mental illness.) There are so many that have so little in everything—monetary resources, caring families, quality housing (if any), true friends, proper general health care, etc., and even faith. I very lucky and very scared. Very scared of a relapse, the next trigger, that bad day most people could, would just shrug off, bringing upon the onset of any of my four diagnoses. I am very scared for my fellow patients, my fellow sufferers who barely live a full, quality life and for those we may never know, barely surviving the innumerable torments these inflictions bring. Without quality Medicaid coverage, the stress and pain this would bring upon the individual, the family, is immeasurable. How many families can emotionally survive such stress and not fall apart? How many children will suffer directly as their care degrades, or indirectly as marriages may fail, as they see parents’ struggle, fighting unwinnable battles. There is no cure for mental illness, only management of many of these disorders. How will we/they manage with less resources? How many will lose homes? How many will be forced to lower-grade housing? Pain that is preventable—now! The moral and ethical issues here, applying to the great American culture, will affect generations. All our neighbors and brothers. There is so much more I would or could say. But arrogance in our capital rules, and our words and prayers will be dust in the wind, falling on the deaf ears of those living in a separate world. Having our own country fighting against us is deplorable.

Shari Punyon, Rye

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Publisher | Howard Sturman ext. 21, publisher@hometwn.com Christian Falcone Associate Publisher | Editor-in-Chief ext. 19, chris@hometwn.com Sports Editor | Mike Smith ext. 22, sports@hometwn.com Assistant Editor | Sibylla Chipaziwa ext. 25, sibylla@hometwn.com Reporter | James Pero ext. 20, james@hometwn.com Reporter | Franco Fino ext. 18, franco@hometwn.com General Assignment | Taylor Brown ext. 30, taylor@hometwn.com Graphic Designer | Arthur Gedin Graphic Designer | Jim Grasso Advertising | Lindsay Sturman ext. 14, lsturman@hometwn.com Advertising Coordinator | Sibylla Chipaziwa ext. 27, ads@hometwn.com Staff Writer Corey Stockton

PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER discusses teaching in South Africa By TAYLOR BROWN General Assignment Reporter As her junior year of college came to a close, Charlotte Ference decided that after school, she wanted to do something to help give back to those in need, prompting her to join the Peace Corps. She explained that she first heard about the Peace Corps when she was 12 years old through a family friend, who described his time in the Peace Corps as when his life begun. “He was always really on board with when you are done with school, and when you need

to know what you’re going to do next, you should join the Peace Corps,” Ference told the Review. After she graduated in May 2015 from Iona College, where she majored in English and psychology and minored in religious studies, she decided to commit two years of her life to volunteering for the Peace Corps as an English teacher. Ference said that she had told herself, “I’m going to join the Peace Corps, [then] I’m going to go back, get a job, and have a career.” At the age of just 22, she left for Fandani, a village in South Africa.

Staff Photographers Andrew Dapolite, Jen Parente Columnists John Carey, Rye City Council, Lenore Skenazy, Joe Murphy Letters The community’s opinion matters. If you have a view to express, write a letter to the editor by email to chris@hometwn.com. Please include a phone number and name for verification purposes. Community Events If you have an event you would like to share with the community, send it to news@hometwn.com. Delivery For home delivery or to subsribe, call (914) 653-1000 x27. Classifieds & Legals To post your notices or listings, call (914) 653-1000 x27. Postmaster Send address changes to: The Rye City Review c/o HomeTown Media Group, 170 Hamilton Ave., Suite 203 White Plains, N.Y. 10601

From left, Thomas Ference, Vho Mujaji, Charlotte Ference and Brendan Ference. Photo courtesy Brendan Ference

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Charlotte Ference was assigned a host family, which included her host grandmother and two host sisters.

While in South Africa, Charlotte Ference taught English to elementary and middle school students. Photos courtesy Charlotte Ference

Charlotte Ference was placed in Fandani, a village in South Africa, where she lived for nearly two years.

Charlotte Ference volunteered with the Peace Corps for two years as an English teacher.

Charlotte Ference takes a hike with her three-yearold neighbor, Ontakula.

Ference said that by living in Fandani, she felt like she learned how to become an adult. “Iona gave me all the skills, but it’s such a sheltered community, you rarely need to do something alone,” she said. “Fandani taught me how to be confident in my independence.” During her time in Fandani, Ference lived in a rondeval, a round hut made of mud with a thatched roof that didn’t have access to running water, or reliable electricity and cell phone service. “Sometimes [my house] made me feel like ‘Oh, how exciting and exotic,’ and on a bad day I was like ‘My house is made of cow s---, of course this is going to go wrong,’” she said. During the first few months of her stay, Ference said, “My goal [was] to just meet people and hang out with these children that I have to teach.” Ference lived next to her host family, which included her two host sisters and host grandmother. Ference spoke fondly of her host grandmother, who helped show her the ropes and worked with her to understand the Tshivenda, the language of Venda, the providence of South Africa that Fandani is located in. “[My host grandmother] dealt with so much of my nonsense,” she said. Ference explained her technique for learning the language consisted of following around her host grandmother with a dictio-

nary to help her translate. The knowledge of the local language helped Ference when the school year began in January 2016, where she taught English to elementary and middle school students. She explained that typically, schools with 100 children are only given three teachers. On top of this, schools located in more rural villages lacked enough textbooks and writing utensils, making it difficult for students to learn. “The teachers know how to teach, they know what to do, [and] they want to teach, and the resources aren’t there,” she said. “If you’re in a super rural area, your kids are going to fail no matter how much the teachers love teaching.” Eventually, the struggles Ference was facing with the school became too much, and she requested to leave her volunteer assignment just 22 months in. Although she was met with these obstacles, other volunteers she worked with agree that she made an impact during her time in Fandani. Michelle Dolinar, a Peace Corps volunteer in Masisi, a village in South Africa, said that her friendship with Ference was one of the best things that came out of her time volunteering. “Volunteers and Peace Corps staff could turn to [Ference] for advice and support, and know that her response was genuine,”

said Dolinar, who also worked as an English teacher. Although Ference was more than 7,000 miles from her home in Smallwood, New York, she was able to keep up with family, friends and professors. Dr. Kim Paffenroth, a professor of religious studies at Iona College, said it was important for him to keep up with Ference. “In her faraway land, it seemed right to go to some extra effort to buy cards and warm socks and send them along,” Paffenroth said. Just as she kept up with her loved ones in the U.S., Ference said the distance from her friends and host family back in Fandani hasn’t got in the way of continuing on with those relationships. “I talk to someone from Fandani at least every other day,” she said. Ference, now 24, said that reintegrating into American culture has been difficult and that she’s still trying to figure out who she is. “Every part of me fell in love with that village,” she said. Despite this, she already has plans to begin studying for her master’s in social work at Hunter College in August, and her master’s in health advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College in January. As for Fandani, Ference said she already has plans to visit again in 2019. CONTACT: taylor@hometwn.com

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On Aug. 15, volunteers for Helping Hands for the Homeless & Hungry, a nonprofit that helps collect donations for families in need, will create assembly lines to fill backpacks for students.

Mission Backpack’s goal is to fill more than 2,000 backpacks with school supplies for children in need. Photos courtesy Helpinghandsrye.org

Helping Hands

to hold annual backpack event By TAYLOR BROWN General Assignment Reporter Helping Hands for the Homeless & Hungry is holding its 29th annual Mission Backpack, which will work to provide fully stocked student backpacks for the 20172018 school year. This year, Helping Hands, a nonprofit organization that helps residents in Westchester County with food, clothing and supplies donations, has a goal of raising $50,000 for supplies to fill 2,050 backpacks for children in kindergarten through 12th grade. Susan Salice, co-president of Helping Hands and project leader of Mission Backpack, said that

the nonprofit is able to create each backpack for $26. “It’s going to cost $50,000 to run [Mission Backpack], so we continue to fundraise and apply for grants and supplement our fundraising from other projects,” Salice said. As of press time, Mission Backpack has raised more than $18,000. “Each backpack comes with 18 age-appropriate school supplies,” Salice told the Review. She explained that each backpack is chosen with the student in mind. One of the styles are backpacks for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Girls will receive bright colored backpacks, while boys will receive ones in

grey and blue. Students in sixth through 12th grade are given black and gray backpacks. “They’re as nondescript as possible,” said Brigitte Sarnoff, co president of Helping Hands. For the younger students, Salice said that their backpacks will include arts and crafts supplies like paper, crayons and colored pencils. The older students receive supplies that include scientific calculators. Sarnoff said they want

to emphasize “the importance of having the correct school supplies to start the year, and what a difference it makes in a student’s life.” Helping Hands works with 18 organizations in the county who help distribute the backpacks. “We work through vendors and we buy basically [all] the same product,” Salice said. “That helps level the playing field so there isn’t comparisons when the backpacks are distributed.” The backpack event lasts for two days. Beginning on Aug. 14,

Mission Backpack has more than 250 volunteers committed to assembling backpacks for the start of the school year.

trucks will come to deliver supplies which are unloaded for the event. The second day is when the backpacks are assembled. Salice reported that there are more than 250 volunteers who’ve already committed their weekend to lending a hand. “It’s a really heartwarming day,” Salice said. Sarnoff said it’s important to help make a student’s first day of school as easy as possible, and with Mission Backpack, they’re able to do that. “One of the real missions of Helping Hands is we really stress the dignity of the person receiving our services,” Sarnoff said. Sarnoff explained that running

Mission Backpack every year has been a learning process. She said they work with the agencies that receive the backpacks to find out what supplies the students need most, and each year change the contents in the backpack based on those needs. Sarnoff said that despite the efforts of Helping Hands, the need for these supplies continues to grow. “The way to make the biggest impact is to make a donation so we can provide more supplies,” Salice said. For more information on how to donate or become a volunteer, visit helpinghandsrye.org. CONTACT: taylor@hometwn.com

July 28, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 9

Closure sparks wave of pro-Ralph’s protest

Program helps first-generation students attend college

By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Despite a brief protest, Ralph’s Italian Ices & Ice Cream has officially closed its doors amidst revelations that the business had been operating without a permit from the Westchester County Department of Health. On Saturday, July 15—two days after the business was mandated to shut down by the village of Mamaroneck—Ralph’s, a popular Staten Island-based chain, officially ceased its 946 E. Boston Post Road operations with the looming threat of fines from the county health department. According to village Trustee Keith Waitt, a Democrat, Ralph’s failed to renew its temporary certificate from the health department which expired in April and had remained in operation for more than two months after its expiration. Following the closure of Ralph’s—which was denied a special permit by the village Zoning Board of Appeals to operate earlier this month following a prolonged zoning review process—pro-Ralph’s protesters rallied outside the business and at public meetings. At a village Board of Trustees meeting on July 17, Paul Rosenberg, owner of the Ralph’s Mamaroneck franchise, decried the decision to shutter his business. “It’s funny that you start with the pledge of allegiance—you know, liberty and justice for all,” said Rosenberg, whose Mamaroneck franchise was the first Ralph’s location in Westchester.

The ripple effect of a decision to deny Ralph’s Italian Ices & Ice Cream a special permit to continue its operations in the village of Mamaroneck after a year of tumult is inciting a wave of pro-Ralph’s protesters. File photo

“[You say] we’re such a friendly village, but it’s been anything but friendly to me.” According to members of the zoning board, who were tasked with reviewing the business after an appeal launched by residents last year, Ralph’s exacerbated traffic and noise conditions and as a result was determined to be unsuited for use in its encompassing C-1 zoning district. While many residents of the surrounding neighborhoods on both Keeler and Frank avenues— which sit adjacent to the formerly bustling business—decried unsafe conditions, noise and traffic spurred by Ralph’s, others have come to its defense following the rulings.

In a Change.org petition that began to circulate last week, nearly 2,000 signed on in protest of the business’ closure. Last year, Ralph’s was found to have been misclassified as a retail establishment by Building Inspector Dan Gray, allowing the business to skirt a special permitting process, site plan reviews and public notice. Later, following the appeal and retroactive review from the zoning board, Ralph’s was processed as a fast food establishment and forced to undergo a controversial and more stringent special permitting process that was ultimately denied. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

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County Executive Rob Astorino, and Shirley Acevedo Buontempo, founder of Latino U College Access.

County Executive Robert P. Astorino congratulated 25 student graduates from the Latino U College Access program. Latino U College Access works to help first-generation Hispanic students navigate the complex process of applying for state and federal financial aid for college, through helping students and their families overcome language and financial barriers. “We are a proud partner of Latino U on these vital programs for first-generation Hispanic students,” said Astorino. “With this effort, we are helping students realize the dream of graduating from college. This year’s graduates have a very bright future ahead of them.” Latino U College Access offers several programs, paired with Spanish-language Commu-

nity Information Sessions, that support Hispanic students and their families who are preparing to go to college, including: • Essay Writing Boot Camp, which guides students through the process of writing college essays • SAT/ACT preparation classes • College Coaching and Mentoring, where volunteers work one-on-one to support students with college planning and the application process • FAFSA First!, where bilingual volunteers help students complete financial aid applications, such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and the New York Tuition Assistance Program application, to help pay for college. Shirley Acevedo Buontempo, founder of Latino U College Access, said the complexity of the col-

lege application process and financial aid often deters many qualified students from applying to college. Hispanic youth, many of whom are first in their family to go to college, have to go through the application process entirely on their own without assistance at home. “Working with volunteer coaches, students receive the support they need to achieve their dreams,” said Buontempo. “Through our commitment, we are helping the Hispanic youth in Westchester County fulfill their academic potential, attain their college dreams and ensure the success of future generations.” Since 2015, Westchester County has partnered with Latino U College Access as part of the Westchester County Youth Bureau’s Invest-In-Kids program. (Submitted)

Eight of the 25 graduates and two Latino U College Access alumni meet with County Executive Rob Astorino. Contributed photos

10 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • July 28, 2017

City of Rye aims to redesign dated website

County to approve $500K for police body cameras By JAMES PERO Staff Writer

The city of Rye is anticipating the launch of a new municipal website to replace its current outdated platform. A vendor to redesign the website is likely to be selected at the end of the summer and is tentatively set to launch on Nov. 1. Photo courtesy ryeny.gov

By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer The city of Rye is closer to launching a new user-friendly website to replace its current platform after narrowing its vendor pool down to five finalists. According to City Clerk Carolyn D’Andrea, a member of the project team responsible for managing the website redesign, 19 vendors responded to a request for proposals, which was issued on April 1. Amongst a pool of candidates that have experience in redesigning websites for private entities and municipal and public websites, D’Andrea said the five frontrunners have backgrounds in crafting government web pages. Two companies have already been interviewed to take on the project and a third is expected to convene with the website redesign team, which is made up of city department heads and the city manager’s office, by the end of this week. The idea for a new design

comes in response to residents complaining about not being able to properly navigate the current ryeny.gov website. “The issue right now is the current website is no longer user-friendly,” D’Andrea told the Review. “Our office fields many calls per day about how to navigate it, so we’re looking for a vendor that can guide us not only in looks, but also in improving usability.” The city’s current website was built in 2009. It provides emergency alerts, city documents and forms, offers the ability to pay taxes online, and manages Freedom of Information Law, FOIL, requests. D’Andrea said the city is aiming to construct a website that is more “neat, clean and professional,” while also managing to keep the cost as low as possible, adding that the plan is to improve functions that are already available on the current platform such as the FOIL request system. Other improvable areas include constructing a more compatible mobile design, integrating

Google Analytics—which tracks and reports website traffic—and producing a functional search engine for website content. Referring to the cost of the project, City Manager Marcus Serrano said, “We don’t want to sell ourselves short. The priority of the City Council is to upgrade the website with the best possible option.” The clerk said city officials are expecting the cost for the website revamp to be anywhere from $15,000 to $22,000, based on the top five proposals. Other proposals not in the top five ranged from $40,000 to $50,000 for a complete redesign. As of press time, the goal is to select a candidate by the end of summer. At the moment, the next scheduled City Council meeting is in September; however, the city clerk said another meeting might be scheduled in August for an official decision. The website’s tentative launch date is this upcoming Nov. 1. CONTACT: franco@hometwn.com

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An initiative to outfit the Westchester County Police Department with hundreds of body cameras will likely be approved at an approaching Board of Legislators meeting. According to county Legislator Benjamin Boykin, a White Plains Democrat and chairman of the Public Safety Committee, a $500,000 bond, which was discussed at a committee meeting for the first time on July 10, will likely be approved with unanimous support from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle. The cameras, which would be numerous enough to equip each of the county Police Department’s patrol officers—in addition to about 20 stocked as backups—are being purchased in an effort to ensure safety for police and non-police alike, according to Boykin. “If something happens, it’s usually my word against the police’s word,” Boykin said. “But now you have a visual and audio record of what takes place.” The cameras, Boykin said, can be turned on or off at the officer’s discretion and footage from them can be uploaded to a database held at police headquarters. Discussions and adoption of police body cameras have risen dramatically throughout the past several years as the public eye zeroes in on high-profile instances of alleged excessive force, some of which—like the cases of Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown— have been fatal. “They’re another tool that will protect our officers and also protect the public,” Boykin said. In addition to public emphasis, federal subsidies have also bolstered the adoption of police body cameras.

County lawmakers expect to authorize $500,000 in funding for police body cameras that they hope will help ensure safety for departments and civilians alike. Photo courtesy Flickr.com

In 2015, President Barack Obama, a Democrat, devoted $20 million to a body camera pilot program and $75 million altogether to purchase 50,000 police body cameras for police across the country. Since their adoption by many departments across the country, however, debate has sprung up over the ability of officers to turn their cameras on or off. While continuously recording cameras have been scrutinized by advocacy groups like the American Civil Liberties Union for potentially jeopardizing the anonymity of police sources and informants, in addition to victims of sexual assault or other sensitive crimes, discretionary cameras have been criticized for giving officers too much control

over what is or isn’t recorded. Boykin said, while the acquisition of body cameras has enjoyed bipartisan support in Westchester, the tools have also further stoked an ongoing debate of filling nearly a dozen police vacancies. “Some officers are wondering why we can spend $500,000 on cameras but can’t fill the vacancies,” he said. According to Joe Sgammato, spokesman for the Board of Legislators’ Democratic Caucus, despite 10 county police positions having been included in the 2017 county budget, the spots have yet to be filled and that shortfall is expected to grow to 11 with an upcoming retirement. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com

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July 28, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 11

August 2017

Planning ahead... SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY

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THURSDAY

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National Health Center Week World Breastfeeding Week begins

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Board of Architectural Review 7:30 p.m., City Hall

Senior Citizens Day

National Book Lovers Day

Rye Golf Club Commission 7 p.m.

Boat Basin Commission 7 p.m., Damiano Center

Rye Senior Advocacy Committee 8:30 a.m., City Hall

Human Rights Commission 7:30 p.m., Mayor’s Conf. Room

Board of Architectural Review 7:30 p.m., City Hall

Rye Superintendent’s Conference Day

Women’s Equality Day

12 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • July 28, 2017

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14 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • July 28, 2017

SPORTS

Hugh earns a deep Freeze LIVE MIKE Mike Smith

If elite college coaches aren’t going to be paragons of virtue— and more often than not, personal piety rightfully takes a backseat to wins and losses in that world— the very least they can do is be honest about who they are. Last week, Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze resigned his post on the heels of reported NCAA violations and the discovery of a call made from his university phone to an escort service. The phone call was embarrassing, sure. The numerous violations were commonplace, especially in the world of big-time collegiate athletics. But the real kicker of the whole ordeal is that Freeze, like so many coaches who get caught with their hand in the cookie jar, had long carried himself as the sort of man who was as interested in teaching his players right from wrong as he was in teaching them the X’s

and O’s of football. When Freeze, whose public persona was built upon his outspoken evangelical Christian beliefs, took over the Ole Miss program in 2012, he was quick to distance himself from the transgressions of previous coach Houston Nutt, telling anyone who would listen that the recruiting violations that happened in Nutt’s tenure would have no place in his program. Now, it looks like those are exactly the kind of violations that happened under his watch. Go figure. I get it; if you’re running a high-profile Division I program, there’s more likely than not a certain amount of shadiness that goes on. It’s kind of the nature of the beast. But when guys like Nutt—and to a greater extent coaching icons like Joe Paterno— create these false images of themselves as being above the fray, that’s when I start to lose faith in humanity. These sorts of coaches present themselves as modern day saints, through manipulation of their ra-

bid fan bases and journalists eager for access. And when they inevitably get fingered for wrongdoing, it is always as if the public can’t believe that someone of such high moral fiber could have been brought so low. But that’s the thing; despite what they say, these coaches aren’t hired to shape the minds of young men or be pillars of the community. They’re here to win ballgames. I have a certain respect for the coaches who acknowledge this fact. University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari, who builds perennial contenders filled with players who treat their college coursework as a minor nuisance, readily admits that putting together winning basketball teams is his only goal. University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban has such a single-minded obsession with preparing his team for its next game that many wonder if he even realizes that there is, in fact, a world outside of SEC football. In today’s NCAA landscape, I find the ability to resist the temp-

Ole Miss football coach Hugh Freeze resigned his position on July 20 after allegations of wrongdoing hit the program. Freeze is just the latest arbiter of morality to be outed as a big-time hypocrite. Photo courtesy Wikipedia.org

tation of insincere piety to be downright refreshing. That isn’t to say that big-time coaches can’t be good people, can’t do good things in the community and can’t impart important life lessons to their charges.

We just need to remember at the end of the day, college athletics is a business, even if the players themselves aren’t being paid. And when push comes to shove, wins—and expediency—are always going to take a

backseat to morality. And as long as we are on the same page, we can just sit back and enjoy the show.

Follow Mike on Twitter @LiveMike_Sports

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

SPORTS

July 28, 2017 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • 15

Divers hit water at Lake Isle By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor After a second-place finish at the 2016 Westchester County Diving Championships, Pelham’s Jennifer Bell took top honors at Lake Isle Country Club this year, turning in a dominant performance on July 25 to win the 14-17 girls division at the 92nd annual iteration of the Counties. Although Bell fell just short of breaking an event scoring record that was set just last year, her performance was the highlight of the two-day diving competition that signaled the start of the biggest summer competition for local swim clubs. Bell, who competes for the Pelham Country Club, came away with a score of 231.65 on Tuesday afternoon, putting her ahead of Scarsdale Town Pool’s Maddie Setzer (215.85) and Rye Golf Club’s Katie Laverty (211.5) by a healthy margin. The score was fewer than five points behind last year’s champ, Chloe Best, who set a new county mark by posting a score of 236.65. “I had no idea I was that close, at some meets you can look up and see your scores and know exactly where you

Pelham Country Club’s Jennifer Bell soars through the air at Lake Isle Country Club on July 25. Bell won the 14-17 girls division at the 92nd annual Westchester County Dive Championships with a score of 231.65.

Lenin Hibler from the Pound Ridge Swim Team hits the board. Hibler won the 14-17 boys division. Photos/Mike Smith

Michael Ackert from the Rye Golf Club begins a dive on July 25.

are,” Bell said afterward. “Some people like to know, others just like to put their headphones in and not pay attention.” Coming into this year’s meet, Bell felt fairly confident in her ability to come away with a first-place finish. But after finishing just two points off the top spot last year, she believed it would take a tremendous effort to lead a crowded field of 19 of the area’s top divers. “I knew that I had a chance to win,” Bell said. “But there are so many really good divers here, I knew it was going to be tough.” Although Bell’s performance will count toward Pelham Country Club’s point totals as teams look forward to four days of swim events that will ultimately decide the 2017 county champs next week, it was a pair of divers from the Pound Ridge Swim Team that made the biggest impact at Lake Isle.

Brothers Lenin and August Hibler won the 14-17 and 10-13 boys divisions, posting scores of 246.55 and 205.45, respectively. Greenburgh’s Meera Katsuri won the 10-13 girls division with a solid score of 185.15. The swimming portion of the Counties will be held from July 31 to Aug. 3 at Rye Playland, and will pit the top swim clubs in the area against each other for the top prize that was won last year by the Lake Isle Swim Club. But beyond the competition, Bell said that the event serves as a great bonding experience for local competitors. “It’s definitely a lot of fun,” Bell said. “I know a lot of [the athletes] from competing year round, and it’s a good chance to see everyone.” CONTACT: sports@hometwn.com

Rye’s Katie Laverty performs a dive at Lake Isle Country Club. Laverty finished in second place on Tuesday.

16 • THE RYE CITY REVIEW • July 28, 2017