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CONTENTS JUNE 2022

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Editor’s letter The Sound Shore’s ‘infinite variety’ At the helm of a city on the rise Meet the mayor – and supervisor A luxe address for two- and four-legged creatures A cup of Joe (Coffee) in New Rochelle Reimagining what’s across the water Making the most for ‘the least of these’ A college in full A city unto itself gets an upgrade Keeping the powerful in check Your own private country club (Sound) Shore living

50 52 54 58 62 66 70 72 74 74 78 80 82

Woven gardens Moviegoing returns to Mamaroneck Seeing the big picture Glen Island – time and time again A sense of place – and good eats A beach and yacht club bonanza India meets Italy Spreading the word about Chilean wines A senior community blooms in New Rochelle Caring for elders – and their caregivers Expanding health care at Montefiore New Rochelle Giving teeth to your health When & Where

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BY GEORGET TE GOUVEIA

We continue our exploration of the Long Island Sound with a profile of the Fairfield County Gold Coast’s Westchester counterpart — the Sound Shore and in particular what poet James J. Montague called “the Queen City of the Sound” — New Rochelle. Peter kicks things off with a conversation with the city’s mayor, Noam Bramson, that depicts a municipality on the rise, especially where development is concerned. Justin and Edward pick up the ball. Justin weighs in with a story on RXR Realty LLC, master developer of New Rochelle, which is contributing its own projects while coordinating those of other developers in the city. He also visits the Stella, a new luxury residential tower, with Jeremy offering a companion piece on Joe’s Coffee Co., whose latest franchise will be a signature feature in the Stella.

Meanwhile, Edward considers New York Covenant Church’s foray into affordable housing with a 26-floor, 477-unit building at 500 Main St. that will have 119 affordable apartments and serve as a home for the church. The project is spearheaded by BRP Cos. and the church’s pastor, the Rev. Dr. David R. Holder, who shows us a different side of the city.

Just as impressive is New Rochelle-based Iona College, whose program of expansion and renovation embraces its Bronxville campus (the site of the now-defunct Concordia College), home of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, yet another example of a professional-collegiate partnership. Someone who knows how to navigate health services is Tony Alfano, Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital’s vice president and executive director, who updates us on the hospital’s latest features.

Someone else in the medical know is our own eldercare columnist Abbe, who takes us inside her business, Concierge

Glen Island in New Rochelle has always been a nostalgic place for me.

Photograph by Jeremy Wayne.

Healthcare Consulting, as it helps seniors and caregivers chart the rocky waters of growing older in our area. Perhaps some of her nature-loving clients will choose a senior living facility like the upcoming Monarch Coopers Corner, inspired by its location on the site of the former Cooper’s Corner Nursery. Outdoor lovers will also revel in Jeremy’s nostalgic take on Glen Island Park and the Glen Island Harbour Club, whose storied past as the Glen Island Casino conjures Big Band nights by the water under the stars.

But like the rest of us, Jeremy doesn’t confine himself to New Rochelle alone. He grabs his golf clubs, racket and paddle — along with plenty of sunscreen — as he ranges over some of the top Sound Shore beach and yacht clubs. (Or you could just lay out a cool $7 million for our House of the Month in Armonk, presented by Sotheby’s International Realty, a little country club unto itself.) Taking a break from his “clubbing,” Jeremy ventures up the Sound to The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood in Norwalk, which he says is a must for foodies and Sound lovers alike.

In that spirit of inclusivity, we offer snapshots of the Sound Shore municipalities and ask their mayors and supervisors to tell us what makes their communities special. Jaine Elkind Eney,

Mamaroneck town supervisor, and Jennifer Monachino Lapey, Pelham Manor’s mayor, took a break from what we know are busy schedules to respond.

Phil heads to Mamaroneck to check out the new, state-of-theart Mamaroneck Cinemas, on the footprint of the former Playhouse Theatre. Cinephiles will also want to note our piece on The Picture House Regional Film Center, which now includes The Picture House Bronxville as well as The Picture House Pelham. Then we head down to Pelham neighbor Co-Op City, the largest cooperative apartment complex in the world, which has renegotiated its mortgage to the tune of $621.5 million. Guiding this city within New York City through the process was general counsel Jeffrey D. Buss, a founding partner of Smith, Buss & Jacobs in Yonkers. If our own Abbe sounds like the person you’d want on your side in your twilight years, Buss sounds like the kind of lawyer you’d want helping you take on Goliath.

When I think of the Sound Shore, I think of my many felicitous experiences covering everything from the Pelham Art Center to New Rochelle’s former East Coast Arts, from Larchmont’s Kenise Barnes Fine Art and Mamaroneck’s Emelin Theatre to Rye’s Playland and Port Chester’s Life Savers headquarters, now a land-

marked condominium complex.

Indeed, I was the last reporter in the old Life Savers building before it shut its doors for its transformation. (CBS was on Main Street trying to get in while I was in the boardroom doing an interview.)

Ah, the old Life Savers. You could tell the day of the week by which flavor was in production, the smells of cherry, root beer and peppermint wafting through the village and mingling with the scent of the anisette biscotti at J.J. Cassone Bakery. But one memory in particular comes flowing back to me. In the 1980s, I covered a PBS special on the Big Band era that was taped at Glen Island with Van Johnson as the host. Johnson was the epitome of urbane 1950s movie-star glamour, and I was fortunate to have an interview with him during an evening of wining, dining and dancing to the strains of Glenn Miller.

As the tale of two Glen(n)s ebbed, I took a stroll outside, not wanted to break the spell of the night and was rewarded for my faithfulness. Slivers of moonlight danced on the water as I gazed across the Sound.

Looking back on it almost 40 years later, I realize the Sound Shore will always be for me a “Moonlight Serenade.”

A 2020 YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester Visionary Award winner and a 2018 Folio Women in Media Award Winner, Georgette Gouveia is the author of “Burying the Dead,” “Daimon: A Novel of Alexander the Great” and "Seamless Sky" (JMS Books), as well as “The Penalty for Holding,” a 2018 Lambda Literary Award finalist (JMS Books), and “Water Music” (Greenleaf Book Group). They’re part of her series of novels, “The Games Men Play,” also the name of the sports/culture blog she writes.

Last year, her short story “The Glass Door” was published by JMS and exhibited in “Together apART: Creating During COVID” at ArtsWestchester in White Plains. Her latest story, “After Hopper,” is also available from JMS Books. For more, visit thegamesmenplay.com.

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‘INFINITE VARIETY’

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

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Boats berthed amid the rippling waters and sherbet skies of Mamaroneck Harbor. Photograph by Ally Cali.

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“AGE CANNOT WITHER HER, NOR CUSTOM STALE HER INFINITE VARIETY”: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE IS TALKING ABOUT CLEOPATRA IN HIS PLAY “ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA,” BUT “INFINITE VARIETY” IS A GOOD PHRASE TO DESCRIBE THE SOUND SHORE. “It’s an incredibly diverse community, which is what makes it so vibrant,” says Laura deBuys, president and executive director of The Picture House Regional Film Center, “and it’s a very caring community, with a number of nonprofits and businesses working close together.”

For an example of this, she adds, we need look no further than the film center, which includes The Picture House Pelham, named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 (Page 54). Con Ed supports free movies for seniors at 2:30 p.m.

Tuesdays at the 101-year-old Picture House Pelham — among the cultural high points in a village whose main thoroughfare, the appropriately named Fifth Avenue, includes the lovely St. Catharine’s Roman Catholic Church and the bustling Pelham Art Center.

Technically, the town of Pelham — which includes the more commercial village of Pelham and the more residential village of Pelham Manor — isn’t part of the Sound Shore region as it isn’t on the Long Island Sound. (It’s on Pelham Bay, but according to the Town of Pelham Public Library, “a teeny tiny portion” lies on the Sound, which is good enough for us.) Nevertheless, we wanted to begin our journey there as if we were riding up the Boston Post Road (U.S. 1) in Westchester County, because the Pelhams — named not for Thomas Pell, who bought much of the area from the indigenous Siwanoy people in 1654 but after his “Pelham” manor, honoring his tutor, Pel-

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ham Burton — embody the contrast to which deBuys alludes.

The village of Pelham is home to an array of businesses.

These include Barksdale Home Care Services Corp.; Pico Electronics, “the ultra-miniature inductor and transformer resource for anything that requires power conversion,” such as military and flight applications, its website says; and Archie Comics, whose World War II-era teens have been updated and spun off into TV series and movies.

With its gracious, tree-lined Esplanade, affluent Pelham Manor is known for the New York Athletic Club — Travers Island (Page 66) and such historic homes as the 1838 Bolton Priory, overlooking Pelham Bay; the 1893 school building Edgewood House, built in the Colonial Revival style; and Pelhamdale (17501823), the commanding stone residence of Thomas Pell’s grandson Philip Pell II. Our next stop is the place poet and resident James J. Montague dubbed “the Queen City of the Sound” — New Rochelle. “New Rock City” has it all — from island and waterfront parks and sports to educational institutions that include the Ursuline and Salesian schools and Iona and Monroe colleges to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital to a variety of real estate, home design, construction, software and chemical companies.

“New Rochelle is a great city with a small-town feel,” says Tony Alfano, vice president and executive director of Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital (Page 78).

“It is wonderfully diverse, with many cultures informing and enriching our perspectives and values. We couldn’t be prouder to work in this community and have so many of our employees live here.”

Perhaps what really sets New Rochelle apart, though, is its piquant history. While much of Westchester was settled by the Dutch and English, New Rochelle derives its name and flavor from

The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester is back with a slate of boldface rock acts. Photograph by Scott Harris.

The Long Island Sound's rocky coastline as seen from Larchmont. Photograph by Ally Cali.

the Huguenots (French Protestants), who in escaping persecution in their home country settled on 6,100 acres deeded

by Thomas Pell and named their colony after La Rochelle, France.

While George Washington passed through the community in 1775 on his way to command the Army of the United Colonies in Massachusetts, New Rochelle’s Revolutionary claim to fame was as the postwar home of Thomas Paine, whose pamphlet “Common Sense” (1776) helped galvanize the colonists.

In the 20th century, New Rochelle got in on the ground floor of the burgeoning movie business, serving as the home of Thanhouser Film Corp. and Terrytoons animation studio.

That cinematic legacy survives in the entertainment complex New Roc City and in the city’s role as a location for such films as “Goodfellas” and “Catch Me if You Can.” It’s no wonder, then, that New Ro-

chelle has been home to so many luminaries, including New York Yankee legend Lou Gehrig, sculptor Frederic Remington, artist-illustrator Norman Rockwell, actor Ossie Davis, his actress wife Ruby Dee and their musician son Guy Davis and the writer E.L. Doctorow, whose New Rochelle-set novel “Ragtime,” mixing fiction and turn-of-the-20th-century figures in a story of exploding racial tensions, was made into a movie and a Broadway musical.

We next come to one of the ultimate resort communities-turned-suburbs — the village of Larchmont. Picture more than a half-dozen parks, the Larchmont Shore and Larchmont Yacht clubs, restaurants and boutiques lining Chatsworth and Palmer avenues and a public library that looks like a mini White House. Ranked preCovid by Bloomberg as the third wealthiest place in New York state and the 15th richest in the United

States, Larchmont’s moneyed air has been the subject of fiction and nonfiction alike. In “Wall Street,” Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gekko greets a fellow 1 percenter with “How’s Larchmont treating you?” In his book “Too Big to Fail,” resident Timothy Geitner, who famously became President Barack Obama’s secretary of the Treasury amid the Great Recession, considers an offer to become CEO of Citigroup Inc. while walking the village. And caustic comedian and fashion critic Joan Rivers, a self-proclaimed Larchmont resident, once told us that the way she separated the villagers from the wannabes was to ask what exit they’d use on the Hutchinson River Parkway.

If they said anything but Exit 20, Weaver Street, she knew they weren’t from Larchmont.

The village is part of the town of Mamaroneck, which includes the village of Mamaroneck. It’s where Mamaroneck

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Playland, Rye's Art Deco jewel of an amusement park, is undergoing a $135 million renovation. Photograph by Ally Cali.

Avenue which begins in White Plains, ends. (Or perhaps, if you are a Mamaroneck resident, it’s where the business-lined thoroughfare begins.) As with its Sound Shore sisters, Mamaroneck follows a similar historical pattern: Land acquired by English settlers from the Siwanoy people, brushes with Revolutionary activity and an ascendance as a 19th-century resort. Like New Rochelle, Mamaroneck got in the movie business early, with the arrival of controversial director D.W. Griffith, whose “Birth of a Nation” has been denounced for its racism. In the 1920s, Griffith’s 28-acre estate on Orienta Point — the former home of Standard Oil co-founder Henry M. Flagler, built on a piece of land known as “Satan’s Toe” — was also a magnet for stars like Mary Pickford, husband Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Charlie Chaplin, Griffith’s partners in United Artists; and a better-known Standard Oil

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co-founder, John D. Rockefeller Sr. Mamaroneck’s movie pedigree would survive in the work of film restorer Robert A. Harris, whose restoration of the 1962 Oscar winner “Lawrence of Arabia” brought its director, David Lean, to the municipality.

But Mamaroneck has always embraced a swath of businesses, many of which WAG has profiled — from Calico interior design services to Chocolations; Derecktor Shipyards; the Emelin Theatre; Glo Beauty Bar; the Morano Group LLC, a landscaping and hardscaping company; and Winged Foot Golf Club, which last hosted the U.S. Open in 2020.

And don’t forget Walter’s Hot Dogs — well worth the wait on the long lines outside its landmarked pagoda.

We’ve now arrived at the city of Rye — which is not to be confused with Rye Neck, a section of the village of Mamaroneck that lies in Rye Town, which con-

tains the villages of Rye Brook and Port Chester. Indeed, the city of Rye was once the village of Rye in the town of Rye — until it got its own charter in 1942. To complicate matters further, Rye was part of Fairfield, Connecticut, in the 1600s. At 80 years old the “youngest” city in New York state, Rye teems with history. It has two National Historic Landmark sites. The Boston Post Road Historic District includes the Jay Estate, once the home of founding father and first U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay and now run by the Jay Heritage Center; the Marshlands Conservancy, formerly part of the Jay Estate; and the events venue Whitby Castle at Rye Golf Club. The other National Historic Landmark site is Playland, the Art Deco jewel of an amusement park that figures in such movies as “Big” and Fatal Attraction.” Now undergoing a $135-million renovation, Playland reopens June 9 even as its refresh

continues into next year.

Rye also has eight sites on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Rye Town Park Bathing Complex and Oakland Beach, adjacent to Playland; the Rye African-American Cemetery; and the Square House, where George Washington slept, not once but twice, and praised the Widow Haviland, who owned the 18th-century tavern/inn, for her fine porridge. The Square House sits squarely on tony Purchase Street, where we like to browse at home goods boutiques like Pink and African-themed Sarza as well as R & M Woodrow Jewelers before having a bite at Rafele Rye or taking a side trip to Longford’s Ice Cream.

Making a left on Purchase, we head on the Post Road to our last, but never least, stop — Port Chester. This “Gateway to New England” — home of the distinctive former Life Savers candy headquarters that is now a landmarked condominium complex — tantalizes with a mix of big-box stores at the Gateway Shopping Center and The Waterfront shopping mall; artisanal business that hug Main Street and a United Nations of restaurants reflecting the dynamism that immigrants have added to the community. Among the places WAG has written about are Saltaire Oyster Bar and Fish House; Robison, a self-styled “full-service home comfort company”; Patty’s Portico Outdoor Furniture Restoration & Sales, a favorite of Martha Stewart’s, adjacent to L & M Roofing; The Kneaded Bread, where the line snakes out the door for soups, salads and lattes and where it is well worth the wait for the rich cinnamon bread; and The Capitol Theatre, the movie palace turned rock’n’roll temple that The Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia said was one of the only two theaters “set up pretty groovy all around for music.”

But then the Sound Shore is a pretty groovy place.

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AT THE OF A CITY ON THE RISE STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER KATZ

FOR NOAM BRAMSON, BEING MAYOR OF NEW ROCHELLE ISN'T JUST ABOUT POLITICS AND MANAGING AN ORGANIZATION WITH A BUDGET OF $261.5 MILLION; IT'S ABOUT CONTINUING WHAT CAN EASILY BE CHARACTERIZED AS A COMPULSION TO IMPROVE ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE IN THE CITY IN WHICH HE WAS BORN, RAISED AND CONTINUES TO LIVE WITH HIS WIFE AND TWO SONS.

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Bramson's wife, Catherine ("Catie") Stern, is a clinical pediatric neuropsychologist affiliated with Family Health Associates of White Plains and Manhattan. Sons Jeremy and Owen attend the New Rochelle public schools, as did their father. (Bramson not only went on from New Rochelle High School to Harvard University, he earned his undergraduate degree in three years and then received a master's in public policy.)

Working a mayor's sometimes long hours in City Hall has not kept him from being active in the community. Bramson is a member of the Government and Finance Working Group for the Regional Plan Association, a member of the founding board of directors of Sustainable Westchester and a past board member of the Westchester Jewish Council. He has served on the boards of the New Rochelle Campership

Fund, the now-defunct College of New Rochelle’s Castle Gallery, the Fund for Educational Excellence, the New Rochelle Council of Community Services and the United Way of New Rochelle.

Starting in 1992, Bramson, a Democrat, worked closely with then-Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

He began his own office-holding career on the New Rochelle City Council. In 2006, after Mayor Tim Idoni resigned to become Westchester County Clerk, Bramson was appointed to the job and then won a special election to fill the remaining year of Idoni's mayoral term. In 2007, he won a full fouryear term with just under 67% of the vote.

Voter confidence in him has held. In 2011, Bramson was reelected with more than 79% of the vote. Four years later, he received more than 61% of the vote and in 2019 he was reelected with just under 63% of the vote.

“We're enjoying unprecedented success,” he tells WAG about the transformation and revitalization of the city. “Thirty-two projects approved, 10 completed, 11 under construction with more that are going to begin soon. Their leasing up ahead of expectations really validates the hopes and expectations that the city had when we adopted our downtown framework in 2015 and it positions New Rochelle as a regional leader in smart, sustainable growth.”

Bramson notes that new zoning recently was approved for the Echo Bay waterfront section of the city, which he hopes will unlock the potential of that site.

“This is a point at which U.S. 1 (Boston Post Road) comes extremely close to the Long Island Sound shore and yet as long as I've been alive, it has been contaminated and completely inaccessible,” Bramson says. “We've relocated our public works operations center from that site. We've identified a developer who will work with us to create a mixeduse project with continuous public access to the Long Island Sound. That's going to be very valuable in and of itself. It will also create a synergy between the downtown and the waterfront for the first time and really strengthen both locations.”

Bramson adds that what was a pioneering concept some years ago — selecting RXR Realty as master developer for the city's downtown to create its own projects while also working with other developers to transform the cityscape — has sent a signal to the rest of the marketplace that New Rochelle is a good place to do business. (See story on Page 28).

“Transit-oriented development is absolutely critical to our future,” Bramson says. “On the one hand, it is responsive to the kind of lifestyles that the younger

“I THINK ANYONE IN PUBLIC LIFE WHO TAKES THAT RESPONSIBILITY SERIOUSLY ALWAYS NEEDS TO BE LISTENING,” SAYS NOAM BRAMSON, MAYOR OF NEW ROCHELLE. “AT THE SAME TIME, SOMETIMES LEADERSHIP INVOLVES DOING WHAT YOU BELIEVE IS RIGHT AND THEN BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE OUTCOME OF YOUR ACTIONS. SO I THINK MOST PEOPLE IN PUBLIC LIFE ESTABLISH A BALANCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO.” JUNE 2022

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THE MAYOR’S TEAM When Noam Bramson talks about the progress made in New Rochelle, he consistently shares credit with members of the city council as well as City Manager Charles B. Strome III and the rest of the staff. As mayor, Bramson is a member of the council and presides at its meetings. At present, five of the six council members are Democrats and one is a Republican. New Rochelle has a council-manager form of government, with the city manager handling day-today administration and carrying out the legislation and policies created by the city council.

Strome — who has been with the city for 33 years, including 20 as city manager — has announced that he'll be retiring at the end of the year.

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generation and future generations expect — less dependency on the car, ability to obtain goods and services nearby by walking out your door. It's also important from a global perspective, because reducing our dependency on automobile traffic, having lower energy consumption for heating and cooling, is really a vital part of any coherent, effective climate action strategy.”

It looks as if mass transit will play an increasingly important role in New Rochelle's future as Metro-North begins in earnest its Penn Access project that will allow riders on the New Haven Line serving New Rochelle to access Penn Station on Manhattan's West Side in addition to Grand Central Terminal on the East Side.

“What's particularly significant to New Rochelle is that the line between Grand Central and Penn Station splits just south of the New Rochelle station so when this is completed, we will be the closest station to Manhattan with direct service to both the East and West Side,” Bramson says. “That's a major selling point for both commuters and reverse commuters, and it will help position New Rochelle as a place with unparalleled transit access to the region.”

While acknowledging that the wide margins in his election victories can easily be interpreted as an expression of voter satisfaction with the job he and his administration have been doing, Bramson tells WAG that New Rochelle residents are not at all shy about expressing their opinions.

“Not a day goes by that I don't hear from residents with a phone call or an email or participation in a public hearing or a neighborhood meeting, and I value that input,” Bramson says. “I think anyone in public life who takes that responsibility seriously always needs to be listening, always needs to be open to the possibility of a course correction, always wants to absorb good ideas and act upon them. At the same time, sometimes leadership involves

doing what you believe is right and then being held accountable for the outcome of your actions.

So I think most people in public life establish a balance between those two.”

Bramson speaks with enthusiasm about a new approach to generating public input on proposed projects. The city has received a $1 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to develop a new app called NRVR, an augmented reality and virtual reality application that will enable people to visualize new public spaces and new developments and then provide their input on what they're seeing — their reactions, comments and suggestions.

He says the idea is to go far beyond the kind of dry meetings that are held now for public comment and turn the experience into a fun and creative exercise.

“We're looking not just to listen to the public, which is important in and of itself, but also to create new platforms and opportunities for the public to contribute in a meaningful way,” Bramson adds.

He describes downtown development as having been a “huge financial winner” for the city government and for the school district.

“The projects that have been approved, if you look at the taxes that have been generated historically and compare it with what will be generated over the next 20 years and over the next 40 years, over the next 20 years it's a $180 million increase in tax generation and over the subsequent 20 years it's a $500 million escalation in tax generation,” Bramson says. “Our fiscal bottom line, the health of taxpayers that are already here, will be greatly improved by the growth that is occurring.”

The city believes in its tag line “Ideally Yours,” Bramson says, welcoming people of all backgrounds and talents. He emphasizes the racial and economic diversity of the city as something to be preserved and has been encouraging the development of affordable housing to help do it.

The city requires that 10% of new units be set aside at below-market rates. Of the 7,000 apartments that have been approved, he adds, 1,000 are in the affordable housing category.

Open space and construction that is sensitive to the environment are other important elements in the development taking place.

“Sustainability and environmental protection have been core values for the city for quite a long time,” Bramson says. “We adopted a sustainability plan about 10 years ago, which is getting a comprehensive refresh.

And, in the context of updating our downtown zoning, we really leaned into environmental principles. We really want to make sure that the environment is not just a rhetorical rallying cry for us but that in tangible, practical ways, we're making New Rochelle a greener community.”

Bramson says that he'd like to see a future New Rochelle that has preserved the qualities that have made is special, including a talented, diverse population, neighborhoods that are charming and historic and transit assets that are second to none.

“The upside potential in New Rochelle is enormous. We're a growth stock,” Bramson says.

“You can see that because of the changes that are occurring in the downtown area. Our economy is improving, access to goods and services is improving, employment opportunities are improving. So someone who chooses either to invest in a home or invest in a business right now will be getting in at a time when, again, the upside potential is very, very high. Both in terms of the community character, which is something that's important to me growing up here, raising my own kids here, and in terms of an economic calculus, I certainly would encourage people to look at New Rochelle very seriously.”

For more, visit newrochelleny.com.

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MEET THE MAYOR – AND SUPERVISOR RECENTLY, WE ASKED OTHER SOUND SHORE MAYORS AND SUPERVISORS TO TELL US WHAT MAKES THEM AND THEIR COMMUNITIES TICK. JAINE ELKIND ENEY, SUPERVISOR OF THE TOWN OF MAMARONECK, AND JENNIFER MONACHINO LAPEY, MAYOR OF PELHAM MANOR, TOOK THE TIME TO RESPOND TO US:

Jaine Elkind Eney, supervisor of the town of Mamaroneck Tell us a bit about your background and what led you to become mayor.

“I grew up in Pelham Manor and am a third-generation Pelham resident. I graduated from Pelham Memorial High School in 1987 and was captain of the varsity tennis team. I have a B.A. in history from Smith College, where I was co-captain of the varsity tennis team, and a law degree from St. John's University. At St. John's, I worked as a notes and comments editor for the St. John's Journal of Legal Commentary. In 1996, I earned the American Jurisprudence Award for excellence in legal research and writing.

“I served as an assistant district attorney in Bronx County for several years. Upon returning to Pelham to raise my family, I became involved in not-for-profit work and served as chair of the Pelham Preservation & Garden Society, among other positions.

Through local advocacy work, I saw a need for competent leaders at the municipal level. That need motivated me to run for office. I presently serve as mayor of Pelham Manor and practice law as general counsel at a privately held company in Westchester County.”

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What makes your municipality desirable to residents, workers and business owners?

“Pelham Manor is just over one square mile and is located slightly north of New Your City. While the village is completely navigable for pedestrians, it offers great access to public transportation.

The village features a panoply of architecture as well as incredibly friendly neighbors. Pelham Manor is about balance and direct relationships with our residents, fostered by local control. We are committed to the principles that have distinguished us as a municipality over the years, such as fiscal responsibility. We do not carry debt, and Pelham Manor has been New York state tax cap compliant since the inception of that program. We provide high-level police, fire and DPW (Department of Public Works) services in a cost-effective manner. Pelham Manor is also deeply committed to the environment and has a demonstrated record of promoting sustainable and environmentally responsible initiatives. Notably, Pelham Manor has one of the highest recycling rates in Westchester County, at about 67%.”

What are your community’s challenges?

‘Some of our greatest challenges center on the cost of living. Fortunately, Pelham Manor remains reasonably accessible for renters,

as well as buyers, according to Westchester County's 2019 Housing Needs Assessment Report.

Covid-19 remains a challenge, too.

Throughout the pandemic, we have kept Village Hall open safely, and we have maintained essential services without reduction or interruption. In addition, Pelham Manor offers an industry-leading Covid-19 hub on our village website, complementing our already robust communications platform.”

How have taxes in Westchester County and New York state affected your municipality?

“Taxes are a focal point for residents. The school tax comprises the majority of the residential tax burden in our village. We do our best to provide value at the village level. While some residents relocate after their children have completed high school, we are thrilled that many seniors choose to stay in Pelham Manor.

We focus on communication and outreach to seniors, and I also remind residents about the town of Pelham's extensive programming for seniors.”

What’s ahead for your community?

“We will continue to provide exemplary municipal services and collaborate with neighboring municipalities, gaining efficiencies whenever possible. In my opinion, the sky is the limit for

Pelham Manor. I would not have returned to raise my family here if I did not believe in this exceptional village.”

For more, visit pelhammanor.org.

Jennifer Monachino Lapey, mayor of Pelham Manor Tell us a bit about your background and what led you to become supervisor.

“For over three decades, I have served the community in which I live. I feel passionately about the town offering excellent recreational opportunities, a wide variety of housing options so that we can maintain a diverse community, continuing to be on the forefront of environmental initiatives and planning for the future…. I was motivated to run for election to work on these ideals. My time as an elected official began in 2010 when I became a trustee and then deputy mayor in the village of Larchmont. Prior to being elected in the village of Larchmont, I served on the town of Mamaroneck’s Board of Assessment Review for 17 years, 14 of them as chair.

“I joined the town board in 2012 and began my position as town supervisor this past January.

I am especially proud that I was a member of the town communi-

cation committee that resulted in the monthly supervisor e-newsletters and semiannual mailed newsletters so that the town could better communicate with our residents. I am also proud that I spearheaded the project to renovate the Hommocks Park Ice Rink locker rooms, which included much-needed changing rooms for female players as well as indoor space for summer camp activities. Aside from my municipal responsibilities, I maintain a local law practice.”

What makes your municipality desirable to residents, workers and business owners?

“We have a lot to be proud of in the town of Mamaroneck. Our location along the beautiful Long Island Sound, our proximity to New York City (and easy access to get there via several highways as well as two Metro-North Railroad stations), the diversity of our residents, excellent schools, beautiful conservation trails, a great variety of recreation activities and an active business community make the town of Mamaroneck a desirable place to live and work.

Another attribute that makes the town of Mamaroneck so special is its longstanding tradition of good government. We run a transparent, responsive, progressive, inclusive and civil government.

I plan to continue that tradition, working with our professional, experienced and caring department heads and staff, who are dedicated to providing the best possible service to the residents of our community.”

What are your community’s challenges?

“I think it’s important to maintain the diverse community that we live in. A common challenge in desirable communities such as ours is continuing to provide a high level of services for our residents while keeping our community diverse and affordable for the next generation, as well as for our aging population. It is also important that people who

work for and in the town be able to live here. The availability of a wide variety of housing options is an essential element of maintaining a diverse community such as ours, affordable housing being an integral part of that. We are proud that we built the Hommocks Park Apartments, which is one example that offers both affordable and workforce housing in our community.

“Another challenge we face is that ours is a built-out community. If I could wave a magic wand, I would create more land for the town for recreation, housing and schools.”

How have taxes in Westchester County and New York state affected your municipality?

“The federal limit on the deductibility of state and local taxes (SALT) has added to the cost of living in all of the towns in our area of New York state. The town of Mamaroneck is no exception.

To try to offset some of this, we are continually working to deliver the high level of services that our residents expect at the lowest cost possible. Wherever we can, we work with our neighboring communities to share services so that we can take advantage of economies of scale.”

Jennifer Monachino Lapey, mayor of Pelham Manor. Courtesy Jennifer Monachino Lapey.

What’s ahead for your community?

“I’ll have the answer to that question in the next 12 to 18 months as the town of Mamaroneck is currently in the process of updating its comprehensive plan. Over the next several months, the town, together with input from local residents through public workshops and events, will identify goals and strategies for the future of our Mamaroneck. The plan will provide a blueprint for future growth and preservation of the town. We want to ensure that the town of Mamaroneck will remain a great place to live and work.”

For more, visit townofmamaroneckny.org.

Jaine Elkind Eney, supervisor of the town of Mamaroneck. Courtesy town of Mamaroneck.

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The Stella’s 25th floor pool offers commanding views and a relaxing community space.

Courtesy the Stella.

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A ADDRESS FOR TWO- AND FOUR-LEGGED CREATURES

BY JUSTIN MCGOWN

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PERCHED ON THE WATERFRONT WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF THE NEW ROCHELLE TRAIN STATION’S AMTRAK AND METRO-NORTH LINES AND A STONE’S THROW FROM THE ON AND OFF RAMPS FOR I-95, THE STELLA IS PROOF THAT GEOGRAPHY IS DESTINY. The 28-story luxury apartment building — a joint venture of Wilder Balter Partners Inc. in Chappaqua and L + M Development Partners in Larchmont — is perfectly positioned to provide access to New York City while maintaining a comfortable distance from it and taking advantage of all that New Rochelle, humming with new energy and possibility, has to offer.

Lucy Hudson, the leasing director for the Stella, views the development as a natural evolution for those already in New Rochelle and those who have just started considering it.

“It relates to both people that already live in New Rochelle moving up into a better, brandnew living opportunity as well as drawing people from the city,” she says.

The Stella has already enticed one Big Apple business to open a New Rochelle franchise.

“We’re really excited (that) Joe Coffee Co. is joining the Stella as our lobby café,” says Angela Ferrara of The Marketing Directors LLC, the marketing and leasing company working to fill the Stella. (See Page 26.) “It represents something significant to the residents, because after hours it will become space for the residents. They can still use the area around the café to plug in as a venue for meet and greets and

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An apartment in the Stella’s crisp Modern style.

other business functions.”

And business is a chief concern for many of the Stella’s new residents. Part of that comes from being so well-positioned next to a transit hub. “We see a lot of our residents have one person working in the city, in Manhattan, and one working locally or maybe a bit north,” Ferrara says.

“It’s become a very central location, particularly for couples or roommates that are headed to different locations.”

To fit that set of hybrid workers and infrequent commuters, Ferrara points to dedicated coworking spaces that residents are already enjoying when they want some distance between home and office even as they work from home. One resident

even went further and bought a second apartment to use strictly as his work space. With 60% of its 511 units occupied, the Stella still has a range of residencies, from studios to two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments, with rents beginning at $2,135 a month and climbing to $4,595 a month.

(According to Apartment List, the average studio in New York City begins at $3,638 a month.)

At the Stella, floor-to-ceiling windows and commanding views of the Long Island Sound are there for residents to relish on and off the clock. And that’s just the beginning of amenities that include a rooftop pool, providing residents with an oasis in the sky where they can see the city and the Sound from the 25th floor in

a stunning shared space. A fully equipped gym and resident lounges also take advantage of some of the views.

Concierge services and additional outdoor space provide the building with further appeal, particularly for pet owners. The fifth floor boasts an outdoor dog run and the building also has dedicated dog grooming facilities.

“If you sit in our leasing office all day long, you see so many people walking back and forth with pets,” Ferrara says. “In fact, the name ‘Stella’ comes from the name of one of the (developers’) dogs.”

For more, visit rentstella. com.

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A CUP OF (COFFEE) IN NEW ROCHELLE

BY JEREMY WAYNE

IN WHAT WILL BE ITS FIRST ENTRY INTO WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND SLATED FOR A MID-JUNE OPENING, JOE COFFEE CO., THE POPULAR NEW YORK CITY-BASED COLLECTION OF AWARD-WINNING CAFÉS, IS OPENING A LOCATION AT THE STELLA, THE NEW RESIDENTIAL TOWER IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN NEW ROCHELLE (PAGE 22).

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The new franchise will be open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., offering a full menu of hot and cold beverages along with light fare. Joe Coffee’s signature house coffee, The Daily, will be available on drip, with its signature espresso, The Waverly — named for its first café in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village — serving as the base for the espresso drinks. Joe Coffee will also serve a range of other drinks such as matcha, turmeric and chai lattes.

The group operates 24 cafes in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as a successful retail and merchandising arm.

It roasts all of its coffees at its roastery in Long Island City.

With a keen focus on people and hospitality, each Joe Coffee location sets out to reflect the unique neighborhood of which it is a part.

The business was founded in in 2003 by Jonathan Rubinstein, an ex-talent manager and kids’ camp director, with practical and hands-on support from his family. In a recent phone conversation with WAG, Rubinstein said he was looking forward to

welcoming Joe Coffee to the Stella and explained why the group had chosen to branch out from its tried-and-tested home base, namely New York City, where Joe Coffee had made its name.

“We’re always looking for beautiful spaces where we might resonate and people might like us. And part of the reason this is really appealing is our most successful location of all time is in Grand Central Terminal. Over the years, many, many people have said to us, wouldn’t it be great if you had something on the train line where we could get your coffee and have the experience not just in Grand Central but at home.”

Indeed, Rubinstein continued, as a main transit hub, New Rochelle had long been on his radar. He had always wanted to try the concept outside the city and see if it had legs to work in a suburb — although he acknowledged that New Rochelle is actually a city, too. “But perhaps one with a more suburban feel,” he added. (He also mentioned that an earlier Joe Coffee outlet, in Philadelphia, now closed, didn’t work as well as he had wished. “I

think we made some mistakes there.”)

Another reason for choosing New Rochelle, he said, was that while the company knew it wanted to do something outside of the city, it wanted to be “local” enough that its district managers and trainers could jump back and forth between the sites without going “out of town.” “New Rochelle is just half an hour away, so operationally, it’s no different to, say, our Brooklyn Heights store. It takes about the same amount of time.

For all those reasons, it made sense to try New Rochelle.”

When looking specifically at the opportunity in the Stella, Rubinstein said that Joe Coffee couldn’t have dreamed of a more beautiful location. “We couldn’t have built (a site) that is beautiful, we couldn’t have afforded to and we could never have imagined that much space.” He called the site “stunning” and said that, in terms of planting a flag in another city, and doing it with a wow factor, this was just it. “It also works with our aesthetic, so from a brand perspective it also made sense.”

He always wanted Joe Coffee to be more of an all-day café, and that is very much on the cards. “We’re very busy in the morning, then the coffee break, but very few people drink caffeinated beverages after dinner.

But (the cafés) are generally such a nice place for people to meet and be social, and so we want to offer something that will bring people in at all different times of the day.”

That “something” is likely to be wine, eventually dual-purposing the coffeehouses as wine bars. “Wine,” Rubinstein said, “is a culinary-related product, perhaps along with a cheese plate, and something the staff can be excited about and with the same (Joe Coffee) atmosphere.

We’re not there yet,” he added, but we’ve wanted to do a wine program in the past and actually had one set up, with the wines selected and ready to go, the week before Covid hit.

More on that in the future, but for now, elaborating on his perfect site aesthetic, Rubinstein said each location needed to be representative of the neighborhood and stand on its own — not look like part of a chain. “We look for really good frontage, good seating areas, good flow, natural light through the windows and how we can put our own brand-stamp into space.

That might be with color, or the signage, or the way we display food, so that it’s appealing in the way we like to present things.

“While the New Rochelle site does feel a little bit more upscale than most of our other locations,” he added, “still if you walked in, especially when the branding is in place, you would absolutely believe that it was designed and custom-built by us.

“It just feels like Joe,” he said.

For more, visit joecoffeecompany.com.

A rendering of Joe Coffee Co. in the lobby of the Stella in New Rochelle. Courtesy the Stella.

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REIMAGINING WHAT’S ACROSS THE

BY JUSTIN MCGOWN

One Clinton Park exterior rendering.

Photographs courtesy RXR Realty LLC. 28 JUNE 2022 WAGMAG.COM

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WHEN JOSEPH GRAZIOSE WAS A CHILD GROWING UP IN GLEN COVE ON LONG ISLAND’S NORTH SHORE, HE WOULD GAZE ACROSS THE WATER. “When you walked the beach, you’d always look across the Long Island Sound. You can see the Bronx and to the right of that you see a location that had a handful of buildings. And I always said to myself, ‘I wonder what’s over there,’” Graziose recalls.

He went to college in Boston so he got a closer look while passing by on I-95, but he still didn’t really know what was there. The signs said, “New Rochelle,” but it didn’t mean anything in particular to him.

Eventually a friend studying at Fordham University took Graziose to New Roc City for a night out.

“And I said, ‘All right, well, New Rochelle is a place that has a bowling alley and a movie theater,’” he says.

Graziose, now the senior vice president of residential development for RXR Realty LLC, has a different understanding of the city since his firm took on the job of developing a new master plan for it. That means not only creating its own projects — like One Clinton Park, a silver-metal and blue-glass multiuse property at 55 Clinton St. — but coordinating those of other developers.

“We’re here to create community and we’re here to create place,” he says. “There’s a lot going on. Now there are also a lot of people thinking really hard about what it could be and we started to make that happen. It’s really great for a guy like me, who’s spent so much time looking across the water at this place to really play a vital role in creating what’s happening there.”

And there is a lot happening in New Rochelle these days. Under the direction of RXR, Graziose says, there’s an increased emphasis on walkability and upgraded infrastructure that will make New Rochelle’s downtown more appealing than ever, particularly at street level. In the short term, it does mean a spike in roadwork as water mains

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Clockwise from top left - 360 Huguenot, the view from it; One Clinton Park; and Joseph Graziose, vice president of development of RXR Reality LLC (inset).

and sewage systems are updated.

But those are the roots from which a strong city and market will grow, he adds.

RXR began working on responding to the city’s request for a proposal to become master developer in 2014 and has been reshaping New Rochelle since being selected for that role a year later. “We’ve been lucky to be the master developers, and I think we’ve been a great partner for the city ever since,” Graziose says. “We’re going through the process of rezoning and developing a form-based zoning code for the city.”

Graziose describes one of the key aspects of the master plan being the efforts to increase density, particularly residential density. He points to RXR projects that have provided hundreds of new units that are already seeing leasing rates of up to 98% and have attracted other developers to the area. 360 Huguenot, a 28-story apartment building named not only for its location on Huguenot Street but for its 360-degree views of the Long Island Sound, Westchester County and the Manhattan skyline, is a point of particular pride. A tenth of its 280 units are affordable housing.

“It’s been interesting to watch,” Graziose says, “They’re sort of putting in new retail landscaping in downtown New Rochelle. It’s really exciting the level of activity especially over the last six to nine months of new retailers coming into downtown looking for either first-generation new spaces or second-generation existing spaces and really seeing the resurgence.”

The result Graziose is looking for though is not “rebuilding” the city but regenerating it.

“New Rochelle is certainly its own distinct entity,” he says. “It’s got its own DNA, and it’s DNA it should be proud of. Our philosophy is that we are doing good when the communities we are operating in are successful as well. We never thought we would come into New Rochelle, build a building and leave.

We wanted to make sure that we brought our DNA to New Rochelle and we embraced what was there and at the same time also became part of the community.”

For more, visit rxrrealty.com.

MAKING THE FOR ‘THE LEAST OF THESE’

BY EDWARD ARRIAZA

AT 500 MAIN ST. IN NEW ROCHELLE, THERE WILL SOON BE A 26-FLOOR, HIGH-RISE COMPOSED OF 477 APARTMENT UNITS, WITH 119 SET ASIDE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING. THE BUILDING HAS A PROJECTED COMPLETION DATE OF FALL 2024 AND WILL ALSO BE HOME TO A LARGE AUDITORIUM THAT WILL SERVE AS A SMALL THEATER OR HOST BASKETBALL GAMES – AS WELL AS CHURCH SERVICES.

An architectural depiction of the new 500 Main St. building in New Rochelle, set to be completed in the fall of 2024.

Photographs courtesy New York Covenant Church.

BRP Cos. is handling development of the site, with construction beginning in February of this year. However, the project is the culmination of the yearslong ambition of Rev. Dr. David R. Holder and the New York Covenant Church (NYCC). That a relatively modest church could spearhead such a big project may surprise those not familiar with Holder, the NYCC and their ethos. The NYCC believes in aiding its community economically as well as spiritually. As such, the construction of the building — with a sizable portion dedicated to affordable housing and much of it serving as a venue for educational services and extracurricular activities for youths, fits the NYCC’s wider vision for the downtown community.

Holder was born to a family with a history of pastoral work, he himself now being a “fourth-generation pastor.” He initially distanced himself from this legacy, saying, “I was actu-

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ally quite cynical about that. So I said, ‘I’m not doing that. I’ll be a good church member at large somewhere.’”

During his formative years, Holder would try to find where his skillset and interest ultimately lay and for a time figured it was business. “I got a job at a management training program at Aetna in Middletown, Connecticut, and I realized I was actually pretty good at most things business and … went over to (the University of California at Los Angeles), and went to business school for two years,” he recalls.

However, during his time at UCLA, Holder concluded that his true calling after all was pastoring. “It really all came together, realizing that I was supposed to be using everything that I’ve experienced in my life to do this one thing. And to plant a church, to start a church from scratch, obviously that’s pretty entrepreneurial.”

This drive to start a church differentiated Holder’s pastoral goals from those of other would-be pastors. When you take over a church, you enter a preexisting culture. “I just knew I wasn’t supposed to fit into a culture,” he says. “That was part of my epiphany, that the culture would be (that) we’ll start from nothing.”

In his quest to establish a church with a new culture, Holder thought the Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC), a denomination with a handsoff approach, met his criteria.

“They’re pretty simple. They don’t lord over you as a church.

They’re not controlling. The churches are very similar to Baptist churches in the sense that they’re autonomous, but they’re connected.”

Soon the feeling would be mutual. Following the conclusion of a weeklong church planning assessment, the ECC was confident Holder could

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head one of its churches. “They would evaluate you the whole week, and you’d learn a lot, too,” he says. “I was very impressed, because it kind of felt like I was combining my MBA and my theology degrees.”

In 2004, NYCC purchased 500 Main St. as its new church home. ECC’s financial arm, National Covenant Properties, which uses its own pension plan to fund building projects across the country, was used to make the purchase. Buying a building for a church to flourish in what he saw as an economically forsaken area allowed Holder to assert his pastoral independence and help the underserved, the biblical “least of these.” It is for this reason that NYCC gave serious thought to setting up affordable housing.

“This is a downtown that has gone down over the last number of decades — typical downtown, right across America,” Holder says. In building affordable housing, the NYCC would be part of a larger revitalization effort by the city — an inevitability, Holder figured at the time. “This is going to happen, because the city’s going to be forced to do something, to say, ‘We have to revitalize downtown,’ whatever that means,” he adds. “So, we can be a part of that. That’s what I thought the very first day I saw that property.”

Unfortunately for Holder and his church, the city did not quite see them eye to eye. Though the city council did have revitalization in mind, affordable housing was not part of its vision. “I tried to build affordable housing,” Holder says. “I tried in 2006, 2007, maybe through 2011. So, for four years, we were deep in it.” The city council’s vision of New Rochelle as the “Greenwich Village of Westchester” did not resonate with Holder, who believed that New Rochelle simply needed to be the “New Rochelle of Westchester.” But he

nevertheless conceded, putting the church’s plans for affordable housing on the back burner.

Later, the city council would attempt to persuade the church to relocate. Holder had learned the city council wanted him to buy the nearby North Avenue Presbyterian Church, next to the New Rochelle Police Department, effectively moving NYCC off of Main Street. But Holder declined any offers to that effect, having concluded years ago that there is a need for churches in downtown and that NYCC would remain at 500 Main St. Though this development plan came to a seeming halt, Holder reasoned it was temporary. “We knew it was coming,” Holder recalls.

To get ahead of any future plans contrary to NYCC’s vision of spiritual and economic equity, Holder contacted BRP, a Black-owned developer, to help achieve his vision, or come close to it.

BRP’s plan was, however, a compromise Holder initially struggled to accept. BRP’s involvement would result in onefourth of the apartment units being dedicated to affordable housing, meaning the building project he helped spearhead would mostly be market rate.

However, Holder still rationalized that “if we build affordable housing, or, partly, one-fourth of apartments, that’s an opportunity for someone who couldn’t afford to live in downtown New Rochelle who was local (and from) Westchester.”

Holder was heartened by the realization that NYCC’s plans for 100% affordable housing would have included 120 apartment units. So, an extra 358 market-rate apartment units aside, NYCC’s vision of 120 apartment units did come true — almost.

In the end, 119 affordable housing units will be built, just one unit shy of the 120 goal, much to Holder’s amusement.

“God has a great sense of humor,” he says. “One-fourth of 477 is not too bad. And I think it’s good for people with different incomes to live in the same place. I think that’s what community really is.”

Beyond initiating the project, Holder contributed immensely by facilitating and brokering relationships and negotiations. In business, he says, “you have to have relationships, or you have to develop the relationship.”

Thus, when BRP required the purchase of Dollar Best, a dollar store next to the church in order to move ahead with its plans, Holder stepped in and spoke with the owner, who was uninterested in real estate and even BRP’s work next door.

Additionally, NYCC assisted in securing BRP’s purchase of the French Speaking Baptist Church of New Rochelle, also next to the old 500 Main St. building. Though of different denominations, NYCC was better at connecting with the church in a cultural way than the developer would be, Holder reasoned. However, negotiations went on for about a year, delaying the project. The purchase was nonetheless hugely important, resulting in more room for construction.

The project has progressed without incident or major delay since the beginning of 2022. In the meantime, the congregation has continued services at First Baptist Church in 407 New Rochelle Road, Bronxville. The church’s pastor, Lamont Granby, has welcomed the NYCC congregation with open arms and will allow the members to use its facilities and hold services every Sunday morning until the completion of the new building at 500 Main St. “They’ve been awesome,” Holder says, “I can’t say enough about First Baptist.”

Rev. Dr. David R. Holder. Photograph courtesy New York Covenant Church.

For more, visit newyorkcovenant.com.

A

sionals will mentor the students, many of whom will presumably have an opportunity for careers with the hospital, ranked No. 1 in New York state by U.S. News & World Report.

A BUSINESS EDGE

IN FULL

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

AT A TIME WHEN OTHER COLLEGES ARE STRUGGLING WITH ENROLLMENT, IONA COLLEGE IS WHAT PRESIDENT SEAMUS CAREY CALLS “AN ANOMALY,” WITH ENROLLMENT UP 32% OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.

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That may have something to do with the school’s central objective. Founded in New Rochelle

by Edmund Rice’s Congregation of Christian Brothers in 1940, the private, Roman Catholic, coeducational institution is committed to creating well-rounded students. It’s essential for the community, Carey says, and for the country’s democracy.

“And that is why,” he adds, “as long as I’m president of the college, the School of Arts & Science will always be the primary school.”

But Carey also knows that beyond the critical thinking and communications skills that a liberal arts education can provide for the business world and the nation’s citizenry, there are those students who are already focused on business and in particular the health-care sector, where the demand for workers is great. To meet that need, the college is creating a new home for its NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences on its second campus in Bronxville, formerly

the site of the now-defunct Concordia College.

With a $20-million gift from partner NewYork-Presbyterian, the School of Health Sciences will be located in the former Concordia library, undergoing renovation in time for the spring 2023 semester that will begin in January, Carey says.

“It will have state-of-the-art classrooms, simulation labs, a suite for occupational therapy, conference spaces and some social spaces,” Carey says of the project — designed by SLAM architects of Glastonbury, Connecticut, and realized by Consigli, a construction company based in Pleasant Valley, New York, that has done a lot of work at Iona.

It’s all in preparation for students who are receiving bachelor's degrees in nursing, social work or speech-language pathology and audiology; or master's degrees in occupational therapy, communication sciences and disorders, marriage and family therapy or mental health counseling. NewYork-Presbyterian profes-

Established in July of last year, the School of Health Sciences isn’t the only new or recent development at the college.

In January 2020, Iona opened its $38 million LaPenta School of Business on the 45-acre New Rochelle campus, doubling the building's academic space to more than 68,000 square feet that feature modern classrooms and an expanded LaPenta-Lynch Trading Floor with 27 desktop computers, 16 Bloomberg Terminals and a live, wraparound stock ticker.

Carey’s related initiatives include the Gaels Go Further Mentoring Program — the Gaels being the name of the school’s athletic teams and the nickname of the student body — which draws on a network of more than 50,000 alumni across a wide range of industries to create a mixture of long-term mentorships and “flash mentoring” sessions.

Among those alumni whom the students have drawn inspiration from, Carey says, are Maggie Timoney, CEO of Heineken USA, who offered insights into being the first woman to serve as the CEO of a major beer company; and Alfred F. Kelly Jr., chairman and CEO of Visa Inc., who has been working with Presidents Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky on the war in Ukraine.

Also on the New Rochelle campus is the college’s Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, selected by Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF)

Seamus Carey, Ph.D., president of Iona College.

Photograph by Ben Hider.

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A rendering of the future home of the NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences in Bronxville. Photographs courtesy Iona College.

to support its Community Navigator Pilot Program, funded by a $5 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). As we reported in our January article on the program, Iona received more than $350,000 in funding to work with the IVMF in fostering veteran entrepreneurship locally and nationally.

BEYOND BIZ

Back on the 28-acre Bronxville campus, the “classic architecture” that overlooks Route 22 (White Plains Post Road) will be used for offices for the founding dean of the School of Health Sciences, Kavita R. Dhanwada, Ph.D., as well as some other administrators and faculty. (With an operating budget of more than $110 million, Iona has 750 employees and 3,600 students, 600 of whom are

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graduate students.)

The former Concordia performing arts building will be used for Iona’s burgeoning performing arts offerings, which include the addition of an Irish dance team — all under the supervision of Kelly McKenna Beyrer, director of performing arts, a new position. The Bronxville campus will also be home to some of the activities in the college’s Club Sports program, launched last year for those who want to stay active, even if they don’t have National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 dreams.

Speaking of Division 1, Carey made news, and waves, when he hired controversial Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, whose storied career has been marred by sex

and bribery scandals. Before a packed house at Iona’s Hynes Athletics Center on Jan. 30, Pitino achieved his 800th collegiate career win and is looking to take the Iona men’s team further into the NCAA tournament known as “March Madness.”

It was basketball, not the thought of a career in education, that led the Bronx-born Carey, then a first-generation college student, to Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.

“I was an athlete,” he recalls.

“Vassar recruited me to be on the basketball team.”

If you had told Carey back then that he would become a teacher, much less a college president, he wouldn’t have believed you, he says. But he had “an amazing experience with philosophy educators.”

And that led him to a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in philosophy from Fordham University in his hometown and a nine-year stint teaching the subject at Manhattan College, where he chaired the department. He went on to become dean of arts and sciences at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield for four years and then spent five years transforming Kentucky’s Transylvania University, increasing its commitment to diversity and developing a mentorship program for students with the business community.

Since July 1, 2019, he’s brought the same entrepreneurial approach to Iona, which U.S. News & World Report places among its “Top 20 Innovative Schools.”

For more, visit iona.edu.

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Plan your summer at Caramoor! Before the concert, explore our Sound Art, tour the historic Rosen House, or pack a picnic to enjoy with friends in our gardens. k a t o2022 n a h tWAGMAG.COM r a i n s t a t i o n39 L O C A T E D i n K a t o n a h , N Y / f r e e s h u t t l e f r o m t h e JUNE

A ONTO ITSELF GETS AN UPGRADE STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETER KATZ

THE REFINANCING OF CO-OP CITY – THE LARGEST COOPERATIVE APARTMENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE WORLD – WAS SO SIGNIFICANT THAT IT WAS ANNOUNCED JOINTLY ON APRIL 28 BY NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL, U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER, CONGRESSMAN JAMAL BOWMAN AND U.S. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD) SECRETARY MARCIA FUDGE.

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Even without the fanfare from Albany and Washington, D.C., the dollar value of the deal was enough to make people sit up and take notice -- $621.5 million. In addition, this was the second time Jeffrey D. Buss, founding member of the Yonkers-based law firm Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP, put together a $621.5 million financing package for the property, in the Baychester section of the Bronx, not far from the Sound Shore communities.

(See Buss profile on Page 42.) Topping it off , the refinancing makes it possible to spend $124 million on repairs and upgrades for a residential property so iconic that it’s an easy landmark for flights in and out of LaGuardia Airport — to say nothing of drivers on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Interstate 95.

Co-Op City has 15,372 residential units housing more than 45,000 people in 35 high-rise buildings and 472 townhouses.

The tallest buildings have 33 stories with 384 apartments. Eight ga-

rages provide 10,790 parking spaces and city buses provide regular service along the roadways that wind through the property.

Shoppers who reside in Co-Op City and come in from elsewhere take advantage of three large shopping centers that include numerous restaurants and the AMC Bay Plaza Cinema 13. Commercial offices are located on high-rise ground floors and a variety of recreational and community facilities are available along with a plethora of flowering trees, plantings and green lawns among the buildings.

Co-Op City opened on Dec. 11, 1968. The Riverbay Corp., its legal entity, was formed in accordance with Title II of the federal government's Private Housing Finance Law, also known as the Mitchell-Lama program, aimed at providing affordable housing for middle-income people. When it opened, almost all of the units had been presold. Today, there's a sizable waiting list to get in. Currently, a one-bedroom unit would cost $13,500 with a monthly maintenance of $579. A three-bedroom townhouse would be $31,500 with a monthly maintenance of $1,351.

“We did this exact same transaction nine years ago in 2012 and at that time it was the first co-perative refinancing that had taken place with HUD in this type of a loan and we had to develop and create a number of procedures and things that didn't previously exist,” Buss told WAG. “At that time we got New York state and New York City to also join in guaranteeing a portion of the debt and so I assumed, incorrectly, that refinancing what I thought was the same loan nine years later would be easier. It actually was just as challenging.”

Buss explains that under the financing arrangement, HUD guarantees or insures the payment by Riverbay of the mortgage, but New York state and New York City join for a portion of that guarantee.

Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) bonds were issued. Between the bonds and the government's insurance, Riverbay gets a lower interest rate, basically 3%, for 35 years. It's a self-amortizing loan and at the end of 35 years would be completely paid.

Because of the self-amortizing feature of the loan from nine years ago, Riverbay built up $124 million it now is able to pull out and use for capital projects, including upgrades to heating and air conditioning, maintenance of electrical systems and improvements to facades.

“We brought in a third-party engineering firm and they did a complete evaluation of the property and we then negotiated with

If it weren’t part of New York City, Co-Op City would be the 10th largest city in New York state.

the bank, Wells Fargo, HUD, New York state and used our own input to figure out what repairs needed to be done and then we put them on a schedule and that's what we can spend the money on,” Buss said.

A key difference this time: There was a virtual closing compared with the first refinancing when all of the parties has representatives gathered in a room.

“With Covid, the practice of law has changed significantly,” Buss said. “Between emails and Zoom and Webex conferences, lawyers can work from various locations very efficiently at the same time.” Not that there will be a lack of paper, he added: “This was an extraordinarily complex undertaking with lots and lots of

documents. Eventually, we'll print it up and bind it in books. The one from 2012 is three binders, each of which is about 8-inches thick and some of the inclusions were computer discs that had a thousand pages on them.”

Buss said that as part of getting everything ready to close on the new financing, he and his team had to confirm the condition of the property and provide documentation showing that violations were either nonexistent or corrected or agreements were in place to have certain things done.

With 26 lawyers in his firm representing 424 co-op and condominium associations, he said he believes this is the largest number represented by one law firm in New York state.

“Co-Op City by itself is bigger than the other 423 put together and it presents a lot of challenges but is extraordinarily interesting,” Buss said. “It's akin to being corporation counsel for a town.”

A town in need of a nip and tuck: “We don't receive federal or state subsidies,” he added. “Ninety-eight percent of our income is derived from shareholders who pay maintenance. Income comes from commercial tenants and also from our power plant where we not only generate all of our own electricity and heat and air conditioning, but we sell surplus electricity to Con Ed. Last year we made $5 million doing that.”

The power plant can generate up to 40 megawatts of electricity, with a megawatt being one million

watts, enough to light about 9,000 standard 100-watt bulbs on a 110volt system. Two of the generators are powered by natural gas and a third is powered by steam that the plant generates. The Co-Op City power plant first serves the needs of the property, then sends additional power via high voltage feeder cables directly to Con Ed's Parkchester substation.

In the announcement, participants lauded the landmark deal.

“This transformative injection of capital funding will allow us to modernize Co-Op City,” Hochl said, “and ensure long-term affordability for its 45,000 residents.”

Sen. Schumer, who said that he had worked to push for the refinancing, added that he believes CoOp City will help provide affordable housing for generations to come.

“Co-Op City is a prime example of what cooperative housing can look like across this nation,” Rep. Bowman said.

And HUD Secretary Fudge said, “From supporting larger loans in major metropolitan areas to smaller loans in rural communities and suburbs, HUD is proud to be a partner in creating and preserving affordable housing across the country.”

Although income qualification levels vary according to household size, families with incomes of up to $58,826 generally would qualify to purchase a one-bedroom unit while the maximum income for a three-bedroom unit would be $140,760.

“We have massive waiting lists for people to purchase and move in,” he said. “Townhouses have at the moment a six-year waiting list and two- and three-bedrooms have on average two-and-a-half to threeyear waiting lists.”

The more than 1,000 employees, including 107 armed peace officers, means that someone is available to make repairs or otherwise help residents around the clock.

As the Gershwin song would say, “who could ask for anything more?”

For more, visit coopcitynyc. com.

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KEEPING THE IN CHECK

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

ASK JEFFREY D. BUSS, FOUNDING PARTNER OF YONKERS-BASED SMITH, BUSS & JACOBS LLP, WHY HE BECAME A LAWYER AND HE’LL TELL YOU, “I LIKE TO HELP PEOPLE. I FIND WHEN YOU HELP PEOPLE, YOU BECOME A BULLY BEATER. YOU TAKE ON SOMEONE WHO HAS POWER OVER SOMEONE ELSE. I LIKE TO BRING THAT PERSON DOWN TO EARTH. THE LAW LETS YOU DO THIS.”

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Buss’ high-profile clients have included a Jordanian hotelier, who filed claims against the U.S. government for violating his due process rights under the Afghan Constitution when American plans to have him build a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, fell through; Rhona Silver, who claimed her real estate developer-boyfriend bilked her out of proceeds from the sale of her Huntington Town House catering business on Long Island; and graduates of the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, Pennsylvania, who sued the Hershey Trust Co. for its alleged failure to meet its obligations to the charitable institution.

In and out of court — and most cases, Buss says, don’t go to trial — before juries or judges alone and on appeal, he has taken on the complexities not only of business fraud, First Amendment and constitutional law, the governance of religious corporations, commercial bankrupt-

cy, civil rights and public health but also environmental and real estate law. As general counsel for the Riverbay Corp. — as CoOp City on the Pelham Bay side of the Bronx is formally known — he has once again helped refinance the middle-income housing development’s mortgage to the tune of $621.5 million. (See story on Page 40.)

“Buildings, like people, age,” he says. “Co-Op City is (54) years old. It looks good for its age. But the buildings’ (infrastructure) needs an upgrade.”

With its own zip code, 10475, Co-Op City has 15,372 units housing some 45,000 residents, whose average income, Buss says, is about $54,000 a year. It has three shopping centers, 150 businesses, 107 armed peace officers and its own sanitation and energy facilities. At a time when cities like New York are under the microscope for high crime, higher rents and racial tensions, Co-Op City — the largest coopera-

tive housing development in the world — is a racially diverse community with the lowest crime rate in the Bronx except for the area of the New York Botanical Garden and the Bronx Zoo near Arthur Avenue, he adds.

While most of the money to run Co-Op City comes from shareholders paying mortgages, the refinancing will give it $124 million for such capital improvements as façade maintenance and upgrades to the heating, ventilation, electrical and air conditioning systems.

Such energy concerns are near to Buss’ heart. He’s guided the legal aspects of Co-Op City’s construction and operation of an on-campus co-generation facility that supplies all of its energy while selling excess power to Con Ed. He is also the founding CEO of Energy for the Future Inc., a start-up that is developing 12 utility-scale solar farms in the Northeast. The first of EFFI’s projects, a 20- megawatt solar farm in Greene County in upstate New York, has been recognized by the governor’s office and awarded renewable energy credits by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

“They’re separate,” he says of his legal career and energy venture, “and I try to keep them from overlapping. To date, they never have.”

Growing up in western Pennsylvania, the first in his family to go to college (New York University before earning his Juris Doctor at Brooklyn Law School), Buss says the law was “something I was always drawn to,” with the public interest being a particular passion.

He began his career as a Reginald Heber Smith Community Lawyer Fellow, working with the disadvantaged, and as staff counsel for the Public Utility

Law Project (PULP). Under Hugh Carey and Mario Cuomo, Buss served as the governor’s appointee and chair of the New York State Low Income Energy Assistance Block Grant Advisory Committee, the New York State Weatherization Assistance Program Advisory Council and the Social Security Act Title XX Block Grant Advisory Council.

A member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel, Buss has also served as general counsel for several public and private boards, including the Yonkers City Council; the city of Mount Vernon; the Mount Vernon Industrial Development Agency; TaherInvest, a multinational development corporation; and Silo5 Energy.

In 1991, he helped found Smith, Buss & Jacobs, which also has offices in Manhattan and Garden City, Long Island.

Buss is a northern Westchester resident, a husband and the father of a radiation oncologist working with a Nobel Prize winner. Talking about his accomplished daughter could fill another story, he says with a laugh and more than a little pride.

For this story, he adds that he has found the pandemic era’s need for working remotely to be a transformative ally in the legal profession. Thanks to Zoom, he can appear in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware one moment and the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Brooklyn the next, as he did recently. But Zoom helps in other ways.

“You can see faces more clearly and read the emotional responses to the statements being made, which is important in representing your clients.”

For more, visit sbjlaw.com.

Jeffery D. Buss.

Courtesy Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLC. JUNE 2022

WAGMAG.COM 43

YOUR OWN PRIVATE COUNTRY CLUB PRESENTED BY SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY

HERE’S A RARE OPPORTUNITY TO OWN A FAMILY COMPOUND NESTLED IN THE PRIVATE, GATED COMMUNITY OF CONYER'S FARM — HOME OF THE GREENWICH POLO CLUB — WITH 24-HOUR SECURITY. ADDING TO THE PRIVACY OF THIS 21.69 ACRE ESTATE — MATURE TREES IN A PARKLIKE SETTING, SHOWCASING THE COLLABORATION BETWEEN ARCHITECT JAMES SCHETTINO AND BUILDER BOURKE AND MATTHEWS INC. 44 JUNE 2022

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Enter the 7,185-square-foot Shingle Style residence and step into the double-height great room with a fireplace and French doors that open onto a flagstone terrace. A gracious formal dining room, a wood-paneled library/office with a fireplace, an open kitchen/ family room with a fireplace and a luxurious main floor primary suite finish the main level. The four spacious bedrooms on the second floor are all en-suite.

(There are a total of seven bedrooms and bathrooms — five full and two half-baths — on the compound.) A large walk-out lower-level media/game room makes entertaining a breeze.

Step outside to find the two-bedroom, Shingle Style guesthouse, a two-level car barn, and a tennis court. Make your way to the club-like pool with cabana and embrace this tranquil retreat as your own private country club.

The estate at 10 Cowdray Park Drive in Armonk lists for $6,995,000. For more, call Krissy Blake at 203-536-2743 or 203-869-4343.

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WAGMAG.COM 47

(SOUND) SHORE LIVING

BY CAMI WEINSTEIN

BEFORE THE DAYS TURN REALLY HOT ON THE LONG ISLAND SOUND, REFRESH YOUR HOME FOR SUMMER. OPEN ALL THE WINDOWS AND LET THE COOL, MORNING AIR IN AND, WHILE YOU ARE AT IT, WASH YOUR WINDOWS TO LET THE SPARKLING SUNSHINE THROUGH. NOW IS THE TIME TO MAKE ANY REPAIRS THAT NEED TO BE DONE BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE YOUR HOME. SPRUCE UP YOUR DECK, TERRACE OR PATIO. FRESHEN ROOMS THAT MAY NEED IT WITH A NEW PAINT COLOR OR PERHAPS JUST SOME TOUCH-UPS. CONSIDER GETTING SOME PIECES UPDATED WITH NEW UPHOLSTERY OR PUT UP SOME NEW, LIGHTER WINDOW TREATMENTS. ONE QUICK, EASY FIX IS TO ADD SOME NEW PILLOWS IN PASTELS, FLORALS OR EVEN JEWEL TONES TO BRIGHTEN YOUR ROOMS. Years ago, it was quite common to summer-ize your home by adding slipcovers to your furniture, especially in warmer, southern climates. The slipcovers, made of cotton and linen, are lighter than heavier velvet fabrics and give rooms an airier feel.

Similarly, heavy wool rugs can be rolled up and more casual sisal rugs used instead in summer months. Now is also a good time

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to wash and put away the spring bedding and dress the bed with a floral summer throw.

The kitchen and the daily menu are other areas in which you can lighten up. We barbecue more, create summer salads and entertain with lighter dinners and refreshments. We tend to eat out on the patio more and add refreshing pitchers of iced tea and lemonade.

When entertaining outside, I treat

our outside dining table as if were an indoor one, only with more casual plates and glasses. If part of your entertaining includes days at the beach or lake, pack a picnic to include nice serving pieces and utensils. These add a certain chic to the festivities.

Beach days include coolers full of food and drinks. Decorate your beach party area with decorative umbrellas for shade, large towels or even an old kilim rug as a “floor.” Add plenty of large pillows for lounging, too. As the day lengthens, it’s time for sweatshirts and jeans and perhaps a small bonfire. Most beaches have restrictions on bonfires as well as picnics. It’s always wise to consider and care for the environment and follow all beach rules when enjoying beach days and nights.

S’mores on the beach complete the evening before heading home for game night. Adding all the extra décor to your beach party takes time to set up and break down, but it’s worth the effort to

create a truly magical time never to be forgotten.

Days along the shore also include biking and visiting farmers markets for fresh produce and flowers. I keep a basket on my bicycle to fill with all my market finds. Summer highlights feature garage sales and antique fairs as well. It’s great to browse through antique shows.

I always come home with some must-have treasures. Arts and craft fairs also pop up throughout the summer months and prove to be great sources of beautiful, handmade products for your homes. Quilts, throws, tablecloths, napkins and pottery are just a few of the many pieces I have found at fairs.

Take some time to enjoy the summer with family and friends.

You’ll be glad you did.

For more on Cami Weinstein Designs LLC, email cami@ camidesigns.com or call 914447-6904.

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WAGMAG.COM 49

WOVEN GARDENS

BY KATIE BANSER-WHITTLE

PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS TREASURED THE IDEA AND REALITY OF GARDENS. THEY ARE AMONG THE MOST BELOVED AND UNIVERSAL MOTIFS IN ART AND LITERATURE — THE GARDEN OF EDEN; THE HANGING GARDENS OF BABYLON; THE GARDEN OF PARADISE IN THE KORAN; THE GARDEN OF HESPERIDES, NAMED FOR THE NYMPHS WHO TENDED ITS GOLDEN APPLES IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY. WHETHER REAL OR SYMBOLIC, GARDENS LIFT OUR SPIRITS WITH IMAGES OF BEAUTY, GROWTH AND RENEWAL. Real-life gardens blossom, fade and die. But fortunately there are gardens that are always in bloom — the glorious flowers and foliage that have brightened Oriental carpets and other textiles for hundreds of years. Skinner Inc.’s recent sale of Jim Dixon’s legendary collection — the first in a series of Skinner auctions representing the collection — proves the perennial appeal of these magic carpets.

Dixon was a landscape de-

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signer by profession, a scholar of classical studies and a lifelong collector of rugs of historical and aesthetic importance. His collection was notably broad and deep. Benjamin Mini, Skinner’s director of rugs and carpets, notes that “Dixon sought out the rarest examples, pieces which pushed boundaries and are often difficult to classify. The collection is also remarkable for the artistry of its pieces. Dixon chose beautiful pieces to collect, not merely rare ones.”

His encyclopedic botanical knowledge informed his love of artistic representations of plants and flowers in textiles.

Blossoms, vines and trees, often in highly stylized form, are constant features in both Middle Eastern and Chinese rugs. Motifs like roses, daisies, palmettes and lotuses are represented in rich variety in Dixon’s extensive collection.

Dixon was not only a textile connoisseur; he was a carpet sleuth, fascinated with “mystery rugs” of unknown or uncertain origin. He also emphasized age, focusing on rugs made before 1860 and therefore pieces that employed natural dye stuffs rather than the synthetics that have predominated since the later-19th century.

Another distinctive aspect of Dixon’s collecting philosophy was his confident acquisition

A Ming Imperial Dragon Carpet, China, (circa 1600), from Jim Dixon’s collection of Oriental carpets. Sold for $324,500 by Skinner Inc.

of worn and tattered examples that might be overlooked by less knowledgeable buyers. More than one visitor to his self-designed California home and gallery expressed mystification — and disdain — at some of the battered pieces on prominent display. But beauty, artistry and rarity always trumped condition as far as Dixon was concerned.

A newspaper article referred to him as “probably the most accomplished fragment collector ever.” Many of Dixon’s remnants were unique and uniquely valuable to scholars. Some of his prized pieces date from the 16th century. Naturally the great age of many of the textiles Dixon collected — rugs were, after all, items in daily use underfoot — meant that they are sometimes

in poor or partial condition.

For most collectors, the acquisition of their particular objects of desire starts out as a hobby, a casual interest. For a few, collecting becomes a passion, a pursuit that involves ever-increasing knowledge and the determination to acquire the best of the best. Dixon was such a collector, largely self-taught and endlessly curious. He was always willing to share his knowledge. The Skinner sale of the Hesperides collection now allows the sharing of the textile treasures he accumulated in a half-century of searching for the rarest and most beautiful woven gardens.

For more, contact Katie at kwhittle@skinnerinc.com or 212-787-1114.

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THE RETURN TO MAMARONECK

BY PHIL HALL

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NEIGHBORHOOD MOVIE THEATERS — THOSE DISTINCTIVELY INDIVIDUAL VENUES LOCATED IN THE HEART OF A COMMUNITY’S BUSINESS DISTRICT — BEGAN DISAPPEARING IN THE 1980S AS FILM EXHIBITION TRENDS SHIFTED AWAY FROM THE COMFY CONFINES OF SMALLER MAIN STREET ENVIRONMENTS INTO THE LARGER MULTIPLEXES THAT WERE OFTEN PLACED IN SHOPPING MALLS.

The Mamaroneck Cinemas’ Dolby Atmos Auditorium, seen here under construction, is the largest of the theaters.

Courtesy Mamaroneck Cinemas.

Mamaroneck’s Playhouse Theatre was one of the last of the great Westchester County neighborhood theaters. Located in the heart of Mamaroneck Avenue, one of the town’s main thoroughfares, it opened on Dec. 5, 1925, when it doubled as a vaudeville house and a silent movie showcase. The vaudeville aspect of the theater faded during the Great Depression, but the stage and dressing rooms used by the live performers of yesteryear remained.

Movies became the preoccupation of the theater, with the playhouse remaining as a single-screen site until 1980 when its then-owner, United Artists, divided the theater into quarters with two downstairs auditoriums and two upstairs in what had been the balcony.

The playhouse changed hands several times and was closed when Bow Tie Cinemas, which acquired the theater in 2013 from Clearview Cinemas, closed it on April 17, 2014.

Occasional plans would be floated to revive or reimagine the space, but these came to naught — until now.

The new Mamaroneck Cine-

mas is part of a family of independently run establishments that has revived the neighborhood movie theater concept in New York City. The Cobble Hill Cinemas and Williamsburg Cinemas in Brooklyn and the Kew Gardens Cinemas in Queens are part of this minichain.

Noah Elgart, general manager of the Mamaroneck Cinemas, says the new theaters are ready for the summer movie season.

“We're going to show all the top hits,” Elgart says, noting the theater will be open seven days a week. The programming will also be shaped with audience input.

“We’re going to be dynamic in our approach and listen to our customers and our guests and see how they respond in order to give the neighborhood exactly what they want,” Elgart adds.

For him, the movies are an integral part of the American experience and the absence of a theater unique to the heart of Mamaroneck was a mistake that required correction.

“Cinema is important. It's an incredible art form,” he says.

“The neighborhood is underserved, and it’ll be my pleasure to host (moviegoing’s) return.”

The newly restored theater has eight auditoriums, each featuring luxury reclining loungers, state-of-the-art laser projection and Dolby Digital 7.1 sound. The largest venue — the one that once hosted the vaudeville shows — has been dubbed the Dolby Atmos Auditorium and features 4K laser projection and Dolby Atmos sound for 360 degrees of total immersive sound.

“It's the most incredible experience when it comes to cinemagoing,” Elgart says. “I can't believe that sound and picture.

It is beautiful, truly state of the art. As for the seats, we’ll have

luxury recliners that have double armrests, which offer a true appreciation of cinema.”

Because the Covid-19 pandemic devastated the film exhibition industry for most of 2020 and into 2021, Elgart is not taking any chances on a reprise. The Mamaroneck Cinemas has specially filtered air conditions to remove particles that contribute to communicable viruses. However, he says there will not be a mask mandate except if “the government imposes one.”

The Covid pandemic saw a new spike in audience interest in streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max. But for Elgart, watching a film at home — no matter how big the TV screen — is never as emotionally encompassing as the moviegoing experience.

“This will be a great addition to the neighborhood,” he said.

“It’s not only for kids to go after school, but first dates and weekly routines that happen in the cinema. It's also good for commerce. People go for drinks afterwards or have a sandwich. The streets are going to be just as active as the inside of the auditoriums.”

Elgart points out that two new retail locations outside of the theater will also be opening, and he plans to have art shows at the theater featuring local talent.

“I think when you put on a show, like we're going to do, people will come back. You don't have to explain it,” he says. “It's a sensation. It's a connection to your community and also a little bit into your past. A lot of us have memories there, and I think it's important to grow them and share them.”

Mamaroneck Cinemas is at 243 Mamaroneck Ave. For more, visit mamaroneckcinemas.com.

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SEEING THE PICTURE

BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA

WITH COVID-19 LINGERING AND STREAMING SERVICES STILL TRENDING – NETFLIX STOCK’S TUMBLE NOTWITHSTANDING – DO AUDIENCES STILL WANT TO GO TO THE MOVIES?

“I think absolutely,” says Laura deBuys, president and executive director of The Picture House Regional Film Center, which includes The Picture House Pelham and The Picture House Bronxville. “People just love to get together to come and see a movie.”

Statistics would seem to back her. According to the Morning Consult — which gauges consumers’ return to pre-pandemic activities — 62% of Americans recently surveyed said they’d be comfortable going to a movie theater, a new high for that activity.

Recently, 275 movie lovers came together at The Picture House Pelham for one of its Film Club screenings, deBuys says.

She knows that “the industry did get a shake-up” with the coronavirus. Still, the film center is banking on the audience’s appetite — live and virtual — for its mix of films, educational programs and community events. So much so that the center has more than doubled its screening capacity with the January lease of an historic 1920s movie theater in Bronxville owned and formerly run as a three-screen multiplex by Bow Tie Partners. (The Picture House Pelham, which recently concluded its 100th anniversary celebration, has two screens.)

“It’s one organization, two locations,” deBuys says, “and you can see different movies from place to place.”

Recently, the film center has featured “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” part of the Marvel Studios’ oeuvre of superhero films, starring the ever-hot Benedict Cumberbatch (“The Year of the Dog,” PBS “Masterpiece Mystery!’s” “Sherlock”) and grossing more than $200 million domestically.

The film center has also done well with “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the critically acclaimed existential dramedy about a struggling Chinese-American business owner (Michelle Yeoh), audited by the Internal Revenue Service, who must connect with parallel universes to save the world. Another critically acclaimed fantasy on the marquee recently was “Petite Maman,” about a girl who in grieving the loss of her maternal grandmother encounters her own mother as a child.

This month, the film center is slated to feature “Top Gun: Maverick,” with Tom Cruise returning to the titular Navy pilot role that made him a superstar; “Jurassic World Dominion,” the sixth installment in the “Jurassic Park” dinosaur extravaganza; and “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” the second movie sequel to the PBS “Masterpiece” phenomenon, which finds the Crawleys in the south of France to learn more about the mysterious villa everyone’s favorite haughty dowager countess (Maggie Smith) has inherited.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

But the film center hasn’t shied away from edgier fare. The Picture House Film Club recently screened “Happening,” about a pregnant student’s encounter with abortion in the 1960s — a film that has gained a higher profile with the U.S. Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion indicating the court would reverse Roe v. Wade. In its

Those films are a mix of arthouse and blockbuster fare, she adds: “What used to be thought of as independent movies are the majority of films now.” That’s in part because of the pandemic-produced lag time in generating the volume of commercial movies needed.

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LAYERS OF EDUCATION

"Jurassic World Dominion" is among the blockbusters slated for The Picture House Regional Film Center. Courtesy the center.

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Laura deBuys, president and executive director of The Picture House Regional Film Center, which includes The Picture House Pelham and The Picture House Bronxville.

24th season, Film Club offers subscribers a series of unannounced films and post-screening discussions with the movers and shakers beyond the pictures, six weeks at a time at The Picture House Pelham.

The club, perennially sold out, was a mainstay during the pandemic, with Marshall Fine, film critic in residence from 2014 to 2021, hosting and curating the series. Today, Film Club is hosted by Stephen J. Whitty, film critic of The Star-Ledger.

Despite the pandemic, deBuys says, “we had great access to stars and directors, because everyone was available on Zoom,” including actors Viggo Mortensen and Lance Henriksen for the 2021 family dementia drama “Falling.”

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There are also “Film Studies for Adults” classes online and the series “Hayley Atwell Selects,” in which the British actress (agent, later Capt. Peggy Carter in the Marvel universe, PBS “Masterpiece’s” “Howards End”) teams with colleagues to present movies for online discussion. Most recently, she was joined by Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo (“Harriet”) to discuss the 1997 Southern Gothic drama “Eve’s Bayou.”

With children’s film education, “it’s more about filmmaking and storytelling,” deBuys says. The Picture House offers curriculum-based programs for schools as well as a year-round film program for elementary schools.

Older students make documen-

taries about nonprofits that the organizations can then use in their marketing campaigns.

These programs have run in Pelham, New Rochelle, Port Chester, Bronxville, Mount Vernon and Yonkers. There are also after-school screenings and classes on how to make a trailer and summer camps for kindergarten through 12th grade.

With an operating budget of $2.4 million and a staff of eight (plus part-time projectionists and concession-stand workers) for both venues, deBuys says she wants to create educational spaces at The Picture House Bronxville and to present more concerts and spoken-word events as well.

“We just feel the community wants to see a variety of different things,” she says, noting that past events have ranged from a yuletide screening of the holiday chestnut “It’s a Wonderful Life” to a Westchester Women’s Agenda panel on the Ava Duverney series “When They See Us,” about the five young men falsely accused of raping and beating Trisha Meili, the woman known for years only as the Central Park Jogger.

DeBuys would seem perfectly poised to accomplish the film center’s goals. Growing up in Maryland — where she attended the Garrison Forest School in Baltimore County before heading to Northampton, Massachusetts, and Smith College — deBuys was “always interested in the theater.”

That interest led to a career on Broadway as a stage manager of shows as diverse as Michael Frayn’s riotous “Noises Off” and his more cerebral “Benefactors.”

She went on to serve as marketing director of a theater technology company before taking the helm of The Picture House Regional Film Center on Jan. 1, 2014.

“It is,” she says, “my dream job.”

For more, visit thepicturehouse.org.

Congratulations

to our own ERIC AITORO, and all the winners of the Fairfield County 40 Under 40.

401 WESTPORT AVENUE, NORWALK, CT • 203 847 2471 • AITORO.COM JUNE 2022

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GLEN TIME AND TIME AGAIN

STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEREMY WAYNE

IN 1878, U.S. CONGRESSMAN JOHN H. STARIN BOUGHT GLEN ISLAND FOR HIS SUMMER ESTATE, ALONG WITH FOUR SMALL ISLANDS NEARBY TO CREATE A SUMMER RESORT FOR CITY DWELLERS. CONNECTED BY A SERIES OF PIERS AND CAUSEWAYS, EACH ISLAND WOULD FEATURE A DIFFERENT INTERNATIONAL THEME, SO THAT WHILE THERE WERE NO ROLLERCOASTERS OR HAUNTED HOUSES, GLEN ISLAND WAS EFFECTIVELY ONE OF AMERICA’S FIRST “THEMED” PARKS.

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Its popularity was immense.

At the height of the summer season, no fewer than 12 steamboats headed up from New York City to New Rochelle daily to enjoy attractions that included a zoo; a small, natural history museum; a miniature steam railway; a pagoda; and — around the castle-like structures still standing today — a German beer garden.

A chain ferry, whereby passengers were pulled across a fixed line, transported visitors from the mainland dock on Neptune Island to the other islands. A bathing beach was also available for those who wanted to enjoy a gentle paddle or dip in the Long Island Sound, although the concept of “sunbathing” as we know it was still some decades off.

Starin’s aim was to offer an environment of order and civility that contrasted with the

rough-and-tumble atmosphere of New York City, and in that he certainly succeeded. Additionally, as a direct consequence of the success and popularity of the park, New Rochelle, a onetime French-Huguenot haven that had already been established as a summer resort, began to enjoy wider popularity and develop as a year-round community, quickly becoming known as “the jewel of Westchester County,” which acquired the site in 1923 and has managed it as a public park ever since.

Another of Glen Island’s attractions — indeed for many, its main attraction, dating from its inception — was the Glen Island Casino.

With a magnificent location at the water’s edge, this pleasure palace, complete with ballroom, banqueting suites and supper club, enjoyed its heyday in the

View across Glen Island Marina, Glen Island Park in the background.

All photographs by Jeremy Wayne.

1930s — despite Prohibition, or perhaps because of it, since the casino was known as something of a speakeasy. It was certainly a springboard to success during the Big Band era, for the likes of Ozzie Nelson, Charlie Barnet, Claude Thornhill, Les Brown, Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and Glenn Miller, as well as many others. (A full recording of “The Glenn Miller Orchestra: Live at Glen Island Casino 1939,” which includes “Moonlight Serenade” and “Beer Barrel Polka,” is available online.)

After a recent $10 million-dollar renovation, the casino, still county owned and operated but now known as the Glen Island Harbour Club, is a hugely sought-after venue, especially for weddings, billing itself as “Westchester's premier banquet facility.” Executive chef Albert Duga is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and was previously at the Waldorf Astoria New York, with prior stints at the Palace Restaurant and Le Cirque, both also in the Manhattan.

The 105-acre park closed to the public at the start of Covid in March 2020, to be used as a Covid-testing station but reopened in time for the summer season in 2021. As County Executive George Latimer put it at the time of reopening: “It was here in New Rochelle that the first case of Covid-19 in Westchester was detected. At the time, the drivethrough testing was what we needed, but now what we need is for our residents to have their park back.” Happily, they do.

Speaking with WAG recently, Peter Tartaglia, first deputy commissioner of the county’s Parks, Recreation and Conservation Department, described the situation similarly. “When New Rochelle was like ground zero, with so many unknowns…we were disappointed that we couldn’t service the public (as a park). But we were happy that we were able to help understand and beat down

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Bascule Bridge, Glen Island Approach, New Rochelle.

this horrible pandemic we’re all going through.”

Although county residency is required for parking and beach access, the park is still open to all. Around 150,000 visitors annually enjoy park experiences largely unchanged in 130 years, including the lush park grounds, the castles (looking much the same as they did in Starin’s original resort) and breathtaking sunsets. Only the dramatic views of the New York skyline and bridges have changed. The park is also a wonderful place for people to picnic.

While the number of visitors may seem high, it is small compared to when the park first opened. By 1882, four years after opening, half a million visitors had already passed through the turnstiles. Six years after that, the gate exceeded a million.

However, despite the large number of visitors, Starin stressed the “well-behaved” nature of the crowds and the orderly character of the experience, governed by what he called a “middle-class code of conduct.” While Tartaglia commented with a laugh that he

“wouldn’t phrase it in quite those same terms” today, good conduct is generally a hallmark of the park, he says.

“People are generally well-behaved, we have seasonal police and we also have patrols by county police. And we have good staff,” he told WAG. “ Now do you have a little skirmish because of the amount of people from time to time? Absolutely. It happens everywhere. But, generally, we find that most people take ownership of the park. To have this undeveloped property right on Long Island Sound is just amazing.” He said there’s a sense of pride that comes from the park staff, too. Maintenance and planting are overseen by a team of four senior gardeners, with a large number of daily and hourly seasonal gardening and administrative staffers who are hired as necessary.

“It comes from our workers and the public, (which) sort of feeds into each other. And by the way,” he added, with a palpable display of civic pride, “that’s the way we run our department also.”

Looking to the future, the

county is considering applying to have the sea wall and bridge leading to the park listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also planning a complete rehab of the bridge — which is a drawbridge and the only way of accessing Glen Island — within the next few years. Tartaglia explained the twofold benefit of being on the register and why he hopes the application will be successful. “It’s a wonderful thing to preserve history but (being on the register) also helps to get grant funding. It also shows there are a lot of interested groups that will work with us, including the federal and state governments.”

The bridge itself, he pointed out, is historic and its architecture will be saved. “We have to do some modern fixes, because we’re looking at extending its lifespan by 50 years while preserving its historical character.

But don’t forget, just as there’s always been, there’s only one way in and one way out of Glen Island Park, unless you have a boat.”

For more, visit parks. wetchestergov.com.

Congratulations to the 40 Under 40 Recipients We are proud to recognize our very own Jaclyn O’Connor, MD, at Bridgeport Hospital, and Jessica Lake, Executive Director of Strategic Planning and Ambulatory Services at Greenwich Hospital for being selected as two of this year’s 40 under 40 honorees.

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A OF PLACE – AND GOOD EATS

BY JEREMY WAYNE

Ramp and river view, The Restaurant at Rowayton Seafood.

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“DO YOU WANT A BEER?” OUR SMILING IF SLIGHTLY BRISK SERVER ASKS – A LITTLE RANDOMLY IT MUST BE SAID – AS SHE PASSES THE TABLE, BARELY SECONDS AFTER WE’VE SAT DOWN. I MEAN, DO WE ESPECIALLY LOOK LIKE BEER DRINKERS? LASHINGS OF WELLCHILLED CHARDONNAY, MORE LIKE IT, TO SET OFF THE BRINY SHELLFISH WE’RE ABOUT TO CONSUME. Indeed, this gorgeous restaurant — in the picture-postcard-perfect village of Rowayton right on the water along the Five Mile River just off the Long Island Sound — is practically awash with Chardonnay. That, or Rowayton Water, the eatery’s cute name for its “house” Rosé, which hails from the Pays d’Oc region in southwest France.

In the circumstances, it would seem perverse to ask for anything else. So we order some Rowayton Water and a couple of glasses of the “Flowers” Chardonnay from Sonoma Coast and get stuck in. Off to a good start, I think.

The glorious vista, as seen through the restaurant’s windows, is an early taste of summer. Light dances on the water midday, and small craft and the hustle and bustle of boat people going about their business all add to the scene. Inside, everything is navy and white, nonchalantly nautical. From the server’s

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candy-stripe shirts to the blue and white china, everybody, everything is an iteration of seaside colors. A young couple bound in, fresh from a game of tennis — even they are wearing the compulsory colors. So is a table of ladies who lunch — in four shades of blue. Did they have to sign a color-accord at the time of booking?

Kevin Conroy opened Rowayton Seafood in 1996 as an add-on to his adjacent seafood market — both still owned by the family — and the menu is contingent on the sea. All the raw bar treats are here — clams, oysters, shrimp and crab, along with chowders, bisques, tartars, lobster rolls and salads. Entrées include salmon, yellowfin tuna and swordfish, all of which can be simply sautéed, grilled or steamed. There is a token burger or steak for the diehard carnivores and a shakshuka for vegetarians, but these dishes feel oddly like, well, fish out of water.

Come the evening, the menu alters subtly, the sandwiches combining with the appetizers, but the essence is still the sea.

Shellfish, as you would expect, is pingingly fresh, salads are crisp and abundant, the seafood platters are piled high and shrimp with grits is a doozy.

I love the look of the place, too — its handsome bar at the entrance, whitewashed wood paneling, family and fishing prints, ladder-back chairs with cut-out star motifs and chrome ceiling fans. With more than a hint of urban sophistication, there’s not a fishing net or maritime tchotchke in sight., because the view — that stupendous view — through the restaurant’s enormous windows tells you all you need to know about where you are. Talk about a sense of place.

Across the compact parking lot, meanwhile, just 20 yards from the restaurant the original Rowayton Seafood market occupies the fishing shack that was once the oldest operating lobster cooperative on Long Island Sound. It’s a cornucopia of the freshest fish and shellfish, along

Special of the day, prawn Cobb salad.

Rowayton Seafood market.

with a terrific assortment of other piscine treats, such as tinned goods, relishes and sauces.

The new dining deck is yet another draw to the Rowayton Seafood enterprise, with the more robust structure replacing the previous tent. If you sat any closer to the water, you’d be in it.

So, there you have it — my new favorite “old” restaurant. Yes, of

course it has a longtime loyal following, but even if you don’t happen to live locally, Rowayton Seafood is such a gem, that to pinch a phrase from Michelin, no matter where you start, it is definitely “worth the detour,” or even a trip.

For more, visit rowaytonseafood.com.

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Tennis courts at Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club.

Manursing Island Club, Rye. 66 JUNE 2022 WAGMAG.COM

The Davenport Club, New Rochelle.

A BEACH AND YACHT CLUB STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY JEREMY WAYNE

WHETHER YOU’RE A SERIOUS ATHLETE – OR JUST A SERIOUS SUNBATHER – THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY IN THIS SELECTION OF THE MYRIAD PRIVATE BEACH AND YACHT CLUBS THAT PROLIFERATE ALONG THE SOUND SHORE.

There is Champagne and laughter; there are languorous Saturday and Sunday barbecues. In the more conservative “buttoned up” clubs, there are dress codes. In others, members have their local Ralph Lauren store on speed dial. In short, there is a beach club for everyone. Brisk club secretaries, paneled club rooms, glass cabinets full of sporting trophies and a fistful of rules? If that’s your bag, you’ll find it. Or, are you more for firepits, kids’ camps, a laidback vibe and sand between your toes? You will find that, too.

There are “old money” clubs and newer money clubs, each with its appeal and allure.

One of the oldest established, the American Yacht Club in Rye, was founded back in 1883.

The club takes its sports seriously, with world-class sailing and exceptional swimming and top instruction in both, everything carefully regulated by a punctilious board. Members here are

sporty and outdoorsy, with a regard for tradition and adherence to the rules.

At 110-year-old Manursing Island Club, close to Playland amusement park in Rye, members are particularly strong on tennis along with competitive swimming. For nearly four decades, beginning in 1933, Manursing hosted the Eastern Inter-Scholastics, drawing as many as 100 secondary-school tennis players for the annual tournaments. Since 1961, the annual men's doubles tournament, known as the Richardson Invitational, has attracted many ranking professional and amateur players. The club also benefits from beautiful public rooms, an elegant swimming pool and a creamy beach.

With 1,000 feet of prime beach on Long Island Sound, the beach and swimming are the chief attractions, too, at neighboring Westchester Country Club’s Beach Club, on Manursing Way.

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Golf, tennis, squash and fitness come not far behind. Founded by John McEntee Bowman as a key part of his vision for the Westchester Biltmore hotel (now the country club itself), the 62-acre Beach Club opened June 10, 1922 with a grand gala that featured a 25-piece orchestra playing for a formal fashion show.

Back in the day, the Beach Club boasted an 800,000-gallon saltwater pool, numerous tennis and handball courts, a 7-acre, man-made lagoon for swimming and canoeing and parking for 700 cars. Nowadays, the Fourth of July weekend is the busiest of the year, when more than 2,000 members and guests converge on the club to eat, drink and be generally patriotic and merry.

At the entrance to Mamaroneck Harbor, the Mamaroneck Beach & Yacht Club, founded in 1885, is another club in a dreamy position, with magnificent views across the Sound and a lovely, crescent-shaped, white-sand beach. The club has been busy renovating its pool area and upgrading its private cabanas. The quality of the food and banqueting facilities is also said to set an especially high standard here, with fresh and imaginative food and beverage offerings.

The Hampshire Country Club, in the exclusive Orienta enclave of Mamaroneck, concentrates primarily on golf. Its Devereux Emmet-designed 18-hole course, seven of whose holes feature water, is the club’s raison d’être, but it takes its swimming seriously, too, with one pool for “wading and relaxation” and another, a 25-foot beauty, designed as a lap pool.

The pool area, says the club, reflects “the traditional elegance of days gone by.”

The Larchmont Shore Club started life in 1906 as La Hacienda, the private residence of Aimee Crocker, daughter of Judge E.B. Crocker, founder of the Southern Pacific Railway. Situated on seven acres in a near-perfect position on the Sound, the

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club has an impressive membership of around 500 families, who enjoy a large number of club activities, from ever-popular beach and pool swimming, to tennis, sailing, bowling, aquatics and even amateur dramatics. A children’s summer camp is another big draw for members.

The Larchmont Yacht Club, by contrast, pursues a more focused agenda, promoting and supporting yacht racing for its members and their families “in the Corinthian spirit” (signifying the highest standards of sportsmanship). With a full seasonal regatta schedule — racing several times a week through mid-October — the club also supports winter sailing, or “frostbiting” as it is known, a signature event held every Sunday (weather permitting), with some of the best sailors in the country taking part.

If yachting drives the Larchmont Yacht Club, competitive swimming is paramount at The Davenport Club in New Rochelle, where this year, the long tradition of welcoming another strong team of swimmers and divers will continue. A relative neophyte, this club came into being in 1941, when two managers and the chef of the Wykagyl Country Club joined forces to purchase the William Iselin estate — 11 acres on Davenport Neck, formerly known as “The Anchorage.” The Iselins had established several palatial homes in the area, of which the mansion of The Davenport Club is the sole survivor. Philanthropic and civic-minded, they used their wealth to create the first bank, a park and a private school in New Rochelle and to help develop some of the city’s residential areas.

Especially family-oriented, The Davenport Club adds preteen parties, costume parties, family luaus and talent-shows to its more traditional activities such as bridge and bocce.

Arriving at the end of our tour in Pelham Manor, size matters, or at least signifies, at the New

Larchmont Shore Club.

York Athletic Club — Travers Island, which is a country cousin to its Central Park South Manhattan City House. It’s located on 33 glorious acres beside the Sound, with its own yacht club, saltwater swimming pool, tennis courts, an all-weather playing field, fitness center and rowing house. Less formal, as you would expect, than its older city cousin, NYAC Travers Island is tellingly the only club in this round-up which includes “sunbathing” as one of its many activities.

But while sunbathing on the beaches we’ve presented here may sound delightfully indolent, it’s clear that there’s also

a healthy, athletic edge to the sporting and recreational activities on offer.

After all, “the breaststroke is not a Westchester stroke,” as John Cheever memorably wrote in his short story, “The Swimmer.” And that, judging by the county’s hearty beach and yacht clubs, is probably as true today as when Cheever wrote the story in 1964.

For more on the beach and yacht clubs mentioned, visit americanyc.org; manursing. com; wccclub.org; davenportcc.com; larchmontshoreclub. org; larchmontyc.org; hampshireclub.com and nyac.org/ travers-island.

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INDIA MEETS ITALY

BY RAJNI MENON

CALL IT ITALIAN PASTA WITH AN INDIAN TOUCH. ARRABIATA SAUCE IS A GREAT SAUCE FOR THOSE WHO LOVE SPICY FOOD. GROWING UP IN SOUTH INDIA, I LEARNED TO ENJOY SPICY FOOD SINCE MOST OF THE DISHES ARE MADE HOT WITH THE ADDITION OF DRIED RED CHILIES. (THEY’RE EITHER GROUND OR TEMPERED IN OIL.) HERE I’M BRINGING YOU A BLEND OF ITALY AND INDIA, WITH THOSE RED CHILIES AS THE LINK.

Masala Arrabiata Pasta.

Photograph by Aditya Menon at adimphotography.com.

MASALA ARRABIATA PASTA INGREDIENTS: 3 cups pasta of your choice 1 28-ounce can San Marzano crushed tomatoes 1/2 white onion, thinly sliced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt 1/2 teaspoon garam masala 4 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

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METHOD: 1.

Cook pasta with salted water, drain and set aside.

2. Heat a no-stick pan and add the olive oil.

3. Once the oil is hot, add the white onion. Sauté until translucent.

4. Add the garlic and all the ground spices along with the red pepper chili flakes. Sauté well.

5. Add the crushed-tomato sauce. Add ½ a cup water and simmer for about 15 minutes.

6. In a pan, add 1 to 2 cups of cooked pasta and 3 ladles of the sauce and mix well. Transfer pasta to a bowl.

Top with Parmesan cheese and red chili flakes. Garnish with wilted spinach. Serve hot.

For more, particularly information on Rajni’s cooking classes, visit creativerajni.com.

SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT CHILEAN WINES STORY AND PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG PAULDING

CHILE HAS BEEN MAKING WINES FOR CENTURIES, BUT IT’S ONLY RELATIVELY RECENTLY THAT ITS WINES HAVE COMMANDED RESPECT ON THE WORLD STAGE. BEGINNING IN THE EARLY 1980S, WINERY OWNERS AND WINEMAKERS FROM EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICA WERE LOOKING FOR THE NEXT CALIFORNIA, MADE FAMOUS BY THE 1976 “JUDGMENT OF PARIS” COMPETITION, IN WHICH TWO CALIFORNIA WINES BESTED THEIR FRENCH COUNTERPARTS. VISIONARIES AND PEDIGREED PRODUCERS SUCH AS LAFITE-ROTHSCHILD, MOUTON-ROTHSCHILD, ROBERT MONDAVI, PAUL HOBBS, MICHEL ROLLAND, GRAND MARNIER, AURELIO MONTES, MIGUEL TORRES AND MANY OTHERS WERE ALL TAKING AN EXACTING LOOK AT THE TERROIR OF CHILE AND WERE CONVINCED THAT THE SHORT STRETCH BETWEEN THE PACIFIC OCEAN AND THE ANDES MOUNTAINS, WITH OPTIMAL WEATHER AND SOIL CONDITIONS, WAS A SAFE BET FOR PREMIUM WINE PRODUCTION.

Chilean winemaker Eduardo Chadwick, president of Viña Errázuriz, and daughter Magui were in New York City recently to show a selection of their Seña wines.

Money poured into Chile and international partnerships were forged. Existing vineyards were improved and new vineyards were planted with grapes capable of showing brilliance in that environment. In just a few years, it became clear the experts were right.

There are now several Chilean wines that sell for north of $100 and many for considerably more.

Recently in New York City, I had the opportunity to meet Chilean winemaker Eduardo Chadwick, president of Viña Errázuriz, and taste six of his legendary Seña wines — which began as a collaboration with Mondavi.

In 1991, Mondavi arrived in Chile to investigate and Chadwick was asked to show him around the area. As they drove, it became clear they were on the same page — to craft a world-class wine, starting with the vineyard. They chose an amphitheater of a site with rugged terrain for the winery and the vineyards, which was even-

place, Viñedo Chadwick 2001 tied for sixth place with Château Latour and Château Margaux, Seña 2000 in fourth place, Seña 2001 in second place ahead of Château Margaux and Lafite-Rothschild and Viñedo Chadwick 2000 in first place. The results stunned everyone in the room.

In the next decade, tastings were organized in 17 major wine-consuming cities on four continents around the world. And in every tasting Chadwick’s wines performed and out-performed the established wines of the world. He continues to tour the world to show not just the beauty of his wines but also the ageability of the vintages.

Seña’s inaugural vintage was in 1995 and in New York City Chadwick and daughter Magui showed us the brilliant, balanced maturity of older vintages beside more current ones.

We tasted six wines spanning 23 years, including the James Suckling 100-point 2015. Usually at vertical tastings (different vintages/

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tually planted with six varieties originally found in Bordeaux — Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Malbec, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. (Today Viña Errázuriz, sole owner of Seña wines since 2005, has slightly more than 100 acres planted.)

Chadwick knew Chilean wines were ready to rock the international wine world and he called upon none other than Steven Spurrier — an architect of the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976 that was nicknamed the “Judgment of Paris” after the Greek myth that helped spark the Trojan War — to create another event. In May 2004, they coordinated a blind tasting with international wine experts in Berlin. Chadwick expected a respectable finish against the first growths of Bordeaux, the Super Tuscans and other noteworthy wines. By the time the tasting was finished, his wines had taken half of the top 10 spots, including Errazuriz Founder’s Reserve, 2001 in ninth

same wine), we taste from young to old. Chadwick poured the oldest first, progressing through to the youngest. The Seña 1996 had that brick-red look to it, but at 26 years old it was far from tired. Tasting of discreet blackberry, pomegranate and spice, it was simply lovely. Next we tasted the 2005, which showed pronounced dark fruit, blackberry, pepper and spice with many layers of flavor to explore. The 2009 showed dark fruit and blackberry with a rich and powerful presence. The 2015 was brilliant with black fruit, spice and cinnamon. Balanced and wonderful, it will clearly benefit with some aging time, if you can wait. The 2017 showed red fruits, raspberry and cassis and the 2019 — rich and dense, tasting of dark fruit — will benefit from a decanting.

All six of these wines are structured with finesse and elegance.

Chile has become, in just a few short years, a major producer of wines ranked ninth in the world in production by volume. But in those few years, many producers have demonstrated the excellence of the region. As Chadwick said to us, “We’ve entered the club. To convince people you have a quality wine, first you must make a quality wine and then spread the word.” He has spread the word like no other Chilean producer. Seña, Viñedo Chadwick and Don Maximiano Founder’s Reserve will turn any event into something special.

Find a few knowledgeable wine friends, open up a bottle or two and spread the word.

Write Doug at doug@dougpaulding.com.

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A SENIOR COMMUNITY BLOOMS IN NEW ROCHELLE

BY AUDREY KNOTH

THE VIOLET DINING ROOM. THE FORSYTHIA FAMILY ROOM. THE TAMARACK LARCH SALON. WHEN NEW ROCHELLE’S NEWEST SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY, MONARCH COOPERS CORNER, NAMED ITS AMENITIES, ITS LOCATION INSPIRED THE DECISIONS. FOR MORE THAN SEVEN DECADES, THE COOPER’S CORNER NURSERY STOOD AT 11 MILL ROAD, CLOSING IN 2015. MONARCH COOPERS CORNER IS SCHEDULED TO OPEN THERE THIS WINTER.

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The facility offers independent living, assisted living and memory care. Its features are tailored to the newest generation of older adults. Among them are concierge service, resident-response wearable technology and electric vehicle charging. Dining options are designed for varied tastes, from restaurant settings to a pub, café and juice bar, with locally sourced ingredients. The community is a pet-friendly environment with a dog run and available pet services.

The pet-friendly environment is just one more way that the residence reflects its mission.

“Beyond all of these features, we focus on connecting residents

to nature and its tremendous benefits as well as offering programming that brings people together in purposeful ways,” says William Crawford, Monarch Coopers Corner’s executive director. “This is why our location on the former Cooper’s Corner Nursery site is so meaningful. Besides providing the area with beautiful plants, the garden center was a place where people enjoyed the outdoors and each other.”

Following its 1942 founding

by Charlotte and Amadio Caccia, Cooper’s Corner Nursery grew into more than only a garden center. Much of this evolution stemmed from the creativity of the

Coopers Corner Nursery opened at 11 Mill Road, New Rochelle in 1942.

Courtesy Charlotte Addison.

Designed in minimalist American Craftsman style, Monarch Coopers Corner will offer independent and assisted living as well as memory care when it opens this winter on the site of the former Cooper's Corners Nursery in New Rochelle. Courtesy Monarch Coopers Corner.

Caccias’ daughter, Merilyn Pucillo, who took over the business from her parents. The nursery offered a zoo of sorts that included Shetland ponies, peacocks, chickens and rabbits.

“It became a nice attraction for the community to come and visit the animals,” says Charlotte Addison, Pucillo’s daughter and granddaughter of the founders.

“The place was abuzz with flowers every spring into summer. It was a main attraction during the holidays for Christmas trees and handmade wreaths.”

These traditions mirror guiding principles for Monarch Coopers Corner, the senior living commu-

nity. A 15,000-square-foot garden with walking paths graces the building’s exterior, encouraging outdoor enjoyment and movement. Raised garden beds invite residents to exercise their green thumbs before relaxing in rocking chairs in a covered outdoor space in front of the community. On the building’s second floor, home to memory care residents, a partially covered terrace offers the opportunity to enjoy time outdoors much of the year.

Natural light floods the building’s interior. Most apartments feature 90-inch-by-80-inch picture windows coated in a gloss that brings sunshine in while reduc-

ing glare. Light streams through other windows throughout the community, too, with the goal of lifting moods, regulating circadian rhythms and promoting healing and sleep. Wood furnishings and finishes along with a color palette of natural tones also help bring nature indoors. So do walls filled with living greenery, abundant plants and artwork of natural scenes.

“Like Cooper’s Corner Nursery, another vital aspect of our community is creating an environment promoting interaction with others, creativity and meaning,” Crawford said. “Residents’ families are encouraged to feel that our community is a kind of home to them, as well. We plan to forge strong ties with area volunteer service organizations, so our residents can contribute their talents to the benefit of the greater community around us.”

Programming will span a range of opportunities, from art, music, technology and more to fitness and wellness classes, all enabling residents to explore new interests as well as sustain lifelong pursuits.

The names Violet Dining Room, Forsythia Family Room and Tamarack Larch Salon refer to two of the favorite flowering plants of the Cooper’s Corner Nursery family

and one of the trees they loved the most. Just as personal is the name of Monarch Coopers Corner’s pub and café. It is called Papa and Omie’s, the grandchildren’s nickname for Amadio and Charlotte Caccia.

“Many friends and family in lower Westchester are touched

by Monarch's tribute to Cooper’s Corner both in its name and creating an oasis of beauty for elders and their families,” says Addison, adding that it is “a fitting evolution.

Monarch Coopers Corner is the first senior living community in Westchester County to seek WELL certification from the International WELL Building Institute, or IWBI. WELL is grounded in research into the health effects of physical spaces on people. The community’s leasing gallery is open at 11 Mill Road and accepting reservations for resident apartments.

For more, call 914-819-5370 or visit monarchcooperscorner. com.

Audrey Knoth is an award-winning broadcaster and writer. In her free time, she enjoys golf, swimming and spending time with family, friends and her rescue dog Shelton.

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FOR ELDERS – AND THEIR CAREGIVERS

BY ABBE UDOCHI

“SHE WAS FOUND ON THE FLOOR AND SAYS THAT SHE CANNOT MOVE HER ARM. WE CALLED 911 AND THEY ARE TAKING HER TO THE ER.” That was the message a nursing home manager left me at 3:48 a.m. on a Saturday morning in May, waking me from a sound sleep. A 70-year-old resident had fallen out of bed and injured her arm. The woman was a client of mine at Concierge Healthcare Consulting (CHC), the geriatric care management practice I founded in my hometown of New Rochelle.

I knew the client to be a fall risk and prone to serious injury, including to the brain. I alerted the client’s family and called the emergency room with information on her pending arrival, health history, medications and medical device implant before leaving for the ER. For three hours at the hospital, I gathered facts, talked to doctors

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and nurses about the woman’s health history and stressed the need to have all her medications on hand in case of an extended stay. I made sure that my client was comfortable and masked and waited with her for X-ray results, keeping her spirits up by sharing amusing stories about our history together. I also texted, called and emailed regular updates to her family and nursing home. Fortunately, the woman was able to return to the nursing home by 10 a.m. with her sprained arm in a sling and without any fractures or head injuries.

While 4 a.m. trips to the ER are not everyday occurrences in the life of a geriatric care manager, they are also never off the table in my role as a certified senior adviser, Aging Life Care Association (ALCA) manager and chief care manager of CHC. It’s a role I’ve embraced in my personal as well as professional life. I’ve been at the forefront of the public health insurance industry since 1996, from Albany to New York City to Wash-

ington, D.C. But I also have a lot in common with my clients. I, too, was a family caregiver — twice in my life, first for my uncle and then for my father. I know firsthand how difficult and stressful the role of caregiver can be. My goal is to make caregiving easier for my clients than it was for me.

My first client told me that knowing whom to go to and when is a strong suit of mine. And I have followed that suit in a number of ways as families of elderly loved ones or solo agers handling their

own life situations engage CHC to manage a variety of needs. We help our clients through health crises as well as develop and implement advanced plans for care.

We support families and seniors making decisions on all issues — medical, mental health, housing, finance, insurance, legal. Our service encompasses something as seemingly minor as accompanying a senior to doctor appointments — which isn’t at all routine when the patient has hearing, cognitive or mobility issues — to

THE EIGHT KNOWLEDGE AREAS OF AGING LIFE CARE

mediating disagreements among family members. Sometimes our service simply gives relatives a break or relieves a solo ager who feels overwhelmed by all the life decisions that need to be made.

A specialty that sets CHC apart is its focus on a clientele representing all races and ethnicities, people with a wide range of financial resources and family configurations. It’s a specialty that’s been reinforced by my life in culturally diverse New Rochelle, where I am active in my

Abbe Udochi, founding chief care manager of New Rochelle-based Concierge Healthcare Consulting, at a 2019 senior expo in New Rochelle with Beryl Dorsett, Ed.D., who served as assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Department of Education during the Reagan Administration.

Dorsett also founded Global Moringa, a humanitarian project, in Kumasi, Ghana. Courtesy Concierge Healthcare Consulting.

According to the Aging Life Care Association (ALCA), a national trade association of approximately 2,000 care managers, there are eight knowledge areas of Aging Life Care within the holistic, client-centered approach used by geriatric care managers, also known as Aging Life Care Professionals: • Providing advocacy for the elderly in health, personal care and community settings; • Offering crisis intervention for sudden changes in health status, accidents or unexpected hospitalizations; • Assisting communication with providers and interpreting health, long-term care and disability insurance; • Helping analyze and estimate the financial aspects of eldercare; • Sorting through senior living and housing options; • Providing information about the legal aspects of eldercare and making attorney referrals; • Navigating challenging family dynamics; and • Referring to local resources to support the elderly and their family caregivers.

church, and a supportive Girl Scout mom.

My 30-plus years of experience as a senior health-care executive and professional advocate for health care for multifaceted communities has taught me that providing the right care in the right place at the right time in a sensitive manner makes a huge difference in having a successful health outcome.

Many families of elderly people and solo agers are unaware that geriatric care management exists — until the resource is much needed. Families and individuals frequently learn about geriatric care managers (GCMs) from a friend who has had experience working with a professional or through a reference from an attorney, accountant, financial planner, home-care agency, insurance agency or even a medical practitioner.

Some approach care management while in crisis and others do so before a crisis strikes. But it is never too early or too late to engage a care manager. Over the years, I’ve helped a 93-year-old Yonkers widow relocate from a condominium that was no longer affordable to an assisted-living facility in her beloved hometown.

I aided a New Jersey woman as she helped her 81-year-old sisterin-law — suffering from aphasia, or the inability to communicate, after surgery for cancerous brain tumors — to resettle in her native Colombia. And I was the “boots on the ground” for a divorced attorney raising a teenage son in rural Alaska and trying to navigate her father’s various health challenges in Manhattan, a continent away.

Unfortunately, he died in rehab.

The end of her father’s life was “an intense and essential time,” she told me, adding that she appreciated having me in her corner for the last few months of her father’s life. “I believe he was better off for it.”

For more, visit concierge-care.com.

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EXPANDING HEALTH CARE AT MONTEFIORE NEW ROCHELLE

BY TONY ALFANO

LAST YEAR, ON AN UNSEASONABLY WARM OCTOBER DAY, I HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE OF JOINING COLLEAGUES, FRIENDS AND OUR COMMUNITY TO CUT THE RIBBON ON MONTEFIORE NEW ROCHELLE’S REVITALIZED AND EXPANDED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT, OUR RENOVATED AND UPGRADED RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT AND A NEW, MODERNIZED 25,000-SQUAREFOOT MONTEFIORE MEDICAL GROUP HEALTH CENTER. THESE UPGRADES ENABLE US TO PROVIDE A FULL RANGE OF HEALTH-CARE SERVICES. This beautiful day celebrated our commitment to bringing the best care to New Rochelle and its surrounding communities — both within the hospital and outside of our doors. As I said at the time, it was an “exemplary reflection of the New York state health department’s goals with respect to health-care accessibility.”

Funded by the New York State Capital Restructuring Financing Program, the center cutting marked only the beginning of this phase of our journey. Since the unveiling of our emergency department, volume has nearly

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doubled, and our radiology department continues to be outfitted with the latest and greatest technology has to offer. We’ve also received handwritten letters from community members talking about our renovations and how the “courteous, efficient and professional staff compliment the beauty of our new facilities.” I still have one of these letters tacked on my wall.

As I get closer to my decade at Montefiore New Rochelle (I started here in 2013), there are so many exciting new initiatives above and beyond last October’s event that are advancing care and reflect our ability to adapt to both current preferences and future population needs.

ADVANCING DIABETES AND KIDNEY CARE

In the hospital and on our campus, we are working on becoming a “one-stop shop” for diabetes and kidney disease, both of which are far too prominent in our community. Approximately 20% of the people we care for at Montefiore New Rochelle have these conditions.

Working with Fresenius, a global leader in kidney care, we are ensuring all examinations, blood work, measurements of electrolyte balances — essentially all care needs — can happen on our campus. We’re also expanding to home therapy dialysis, which we know is less traumatic to the body

and would give people in New Rochelle and the surrounding areas a better response to treatment.

Together we are improving the care and quality of life for people with kidney disease.

Should anyone need a kidney transplant, young or old, we’re fortunate that Montefiore is home to one of the best programs in the world. Our Montefiore-Einstein Center for Transplantation was founded in 1967 and, ever since, we have been at the forefront of critical developments in transplantation, offering adults and children with kidney failure a chance to be free from dialysis.

We are among the best hospitals in the country for adult and pediatric transplantation.

EXPANDING OUR TELEHEALTH CAPABILITIES

Outside the hospital, we’re leaders as well. We have more telehealth offerings than ever before. In addition to telehealth appointments with our primary-care doctors and specialty-care practices, we are also doing more screenings, which might be required prior to surgical or other major procedures, through the comfort of your personal home computer.

This year, we’ve already conducted more than 500 telehealth appointments between our Montefiore New Rochelle Faculty Practice and Montefiore Medical Group Health Center.

These numbers will continue to climb. It’s strange to say, but Covid-19 helped us quickly increase our telehealth infrastructure and capabilities. I think the pandemic also brought us closer together as a community. Nobody could have foreseen the tragedy that the pandemic would bring, but I couldn’t be prouder to have our hospital here. People saw that we were a resource and a reliable one at that.

As the pandemic progressed, I think there was also more of an appreciation of the role a hospital like ours can have as an anchor in the community. Being the epicenter of the initial wave of Covid-19, we saw

Radiology technician Saji Koshy assists a Montefiore New Rochelle patient who is about to have an MRI. Photographs courtesy Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital.

so many heroes emerge during this time. I couldn’t have been prouder to partner on many Covid-19 testing and care initiatives with our mayor, Noam Bramson, whose intelligence, heart and calmness under pressure offered a model that all leaders should follow when managing a crisis. I’m privileged to call him a friend.

Together with the city of New Rochelle, our focus is on keeping people healthy. That work must largely be done outside of our

MEETING FUTURE NEEDS

hospital. As we kick off the summer, we’re looking to have more contactless sunscreen dispensers at parks and beaches to instill healthy habits among New Rochelle’s youth. Having these dispensers is also an important resource for preventing skin cancer.

ADVANCING TOMORROW’S WORKFORCE

Investing in our workforce is equally as important in promoting health among New Rochelle

residents.

For almost a decade, Montefiore New Rochelle has been home to Project SEARCH, an incredible program that prepares young adults with developmental disabilities for the future by giving them hands-on training at the hospital, with the support of a job coach. As part of the Project SEARCH program, interns perform clerical work, assist the elderly, work in the hospital kitchen and perform other jobs, giving

these students various skills that are necessary for a bright future.

It is a real gem in our community.

The Montefiore School of Nursing is a leader in nursing education, preparing the next generation of registered professional nurses poised to improve the health and well-being of their patients. Our reputation for excellence attracts highly motivated students, who gain diverse clinical experience across Montefiore Health System.

As we plan for the next phase of Montefiore New Rochelle’s growth, we continue to engage with members of our community to best meet everyone’s current and future needs.

We feel privileged to deliver the highest-quality care for fragile newborns and ensure the safest environments for mothers and their babies. As a member of Montefiore Health System, we offer the full spectrum of maternity and newborn care. Our faculty practices provide comprehensive ob/gyn in three distinct communities — New Rochelle, Mount Vernon and the Bronx -- to offer superior access to all the communities we serve.

We also provide a wide range of primary and specialty care at our new 20 Cedar St. faculty practice office, including in internal and general medicine, gastroenterology, rheumatology, neurology, geriatrics, orthopedics and spine and vascular surgery.

At this time in our country, we need compassion to come together to support our communities, particularly groups that have been economically and socially marginalized. Over my time as executive director of Montefiore New Rochelle, I have found that when we all work together with a focus on our patients and families, everybody wins. While outpatient care is certainly much of our growing footprint and overall, the future of health care, our hospital, led by our unwavering commitment to providing the best research-based care and driven by being part of the social fabric of our community is here to stay — and there is nowhere else that I’d rather be.

Tony Alfano is vice president and executive director of Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital. For more, visit montefiorehealthsystem.org.

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CONTROLLING WHAT WE CAN

Giovanni Roselli shows off his pearly whites.

Courtesy Manticore Wrestling Academy.

GIVING TEETH TO YOUR HEALTH

BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI

“Be true to your teeth and they won’t be false to you.”

– Unknown As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I not only look to teach my clients about health and fitness, but I am just as open to learning from them through their lives and experiences. Recently, I had a conversation with a successful dentist, who is also a client, about the health of teeth. Basically, he said that your teeth can say a lot about you. More specifically, you can tell a lot about people by how healthy or unhealthy their teeth are.

HEALTHY TEETH, HEALTHY HABITS

Taking care of your teeth re-

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flects a number of habits, including: • The nutritional choices you make; • The consistency of brushing; • Flossing regularly (ensuring that you take the time for extra care); • Getting regular cleanings and checkups (preventive versus reactive care).

The choices you make dictate your future. What we do affects our lives five, 10 and 20 years from now, especially when it comes to our health and wellness. The big things. The little things. All the things.

People don't take the time to floss regularly? Not surprising if

they don't find the time for other healthy habits such as exercise and movement.

Poor nutritional choices?

These rot not only the teeth and gums but are detrimental to what goes on inside the rest of the body as well.

Neglect cleanings, checkups and care? It wouldn’t be farfetched to surmise that these individuals neglect other important health and safety markers in their lives. Or that the negligent don’t take pride in their appearances, their homes and their cars.

As one of my favorite sayings goes, “How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Do genetics play a factor? Of course, and they play a factor in everything in our lives. But there are still a ton of factors that we can indeed control. Why not control what you can control instead of simply throwing in the towel completely because you feel like you got dealt a bad genetic hand?

People who neglect these daily healthy habits eventually face the consequences. In a study published in the February issue of the Journal of Hypertension, researchers reviewing the data of nearly 53,000 hypertensive patients reported that participants who developed five or more cavities during an 11-year time frame were 37% more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.

Father Time is still undefeated and all we can do is respect our bodies the best we can to live as gracefully as possible. However, there is no rule that says teeth should be falling out when you are 60 or 70 years old. There is nothing set in stone that says you have to have teeth problems when you get older.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, there can be a big difference between health span and life span. If your life span brings you to 90, but your health span started to decline at 60 only for you to have 30 years of medications, doctor visits, poor health, cognitive decline and orthopedic issues, than that’s a really rough 30 years not only on you but the ones around you.

Maybe having simple habits as brushing your teeth at least twice a day, flossing daily, using an antiseptic mouthwash and getting regular cleanings and care can carry over to other aspects of life, such as daily movement; having good, regular sleep patterns; and consuming nutritious foods.

Maybe, just maybe, how you do anything is truly how you do everything.

Reach Giovanni at giovanniroselli.com.

How Gray Divorce adds a Wrinkle to your Estate Plan By: Lauren C. Enea, Esq.

A divorce almost always comes with emotional, personal and financial complications. However, a divorce late in life also adds a level of complexity to your estate and tax plan. Here are a few consequences to consider: 1. Division of Assets Dividing marital assets during a divorce is common, and often difficult, but for older adults, who have an assortment of financial assets and real property from varied sources and a retirement plan(s) in place, divorce can have the added negative effect of costing money at a time where future earning capacity is limited.

It is important to discuss how assets will be divided and how retirement assets will be allocated between the spouses.

Maintenance may need to be paid, or perhaps a spouse will need to remain the beneficiary on a retirement account or a life insurance policy. For example, spouses with pensions may want to financially protect themselves by ensuring that survivor benefits will extend to former partners. Additionally, couples in their 50s and 60s are more likely to have inherited property from their parents or other relatives and may have comingled these assets into marital property. This can create an issue during a divorce when the assets each individual has inherited have not been kept separate.

2. Tax Issues From an income tax perspective, transitioning from filing jointly to filing single can have an effect on your annual income tax filing, and will also impact the personal residence exclusion. The personal residence exclusion provides a tax exclusion from the sale or exchange of a principal residence of up to $250,000 for individuals filing single and $500,000 for filing jointly.

In Gray Divorce, often one of the largest assets the couple has is their home. This home may have been purchased 30 or 40 years ago at a significantly lower cost than what it is worth today. If the property is transferred to one of the spouses pursuant to the divorce, this can negatively impact the potential for a capital gains tax if the property is later sold, as the personal residence exclusion for a couple of $500,000 will be reduced to the single individual personal residency exclusion of $250,000.

Additionally, if the couple has a large estate over the New York Estate Tax Exemption (currently 5.93 Million Dollars for 2021) or over the Federal Estate Tax Exemption (currently 11.73 Million Dollars for 2021), a divorce can significantly impact the tax planning options available, as the couple would be losing the unlimited marital deduction, portability elections and the ability to utilize Disclaimer and /or Credit Shelter Trusts so as to utilize necessary estate tax exemption amounts.

3. Long Term Care Planning Typically, a couple in their 60s-70s may be engaging in long term care planning techniques that include transferring assets out of their names in order to start what is known as the “five year look back period” for nursing home Medicaid to protect assets from the cost of long term care. As such, if divorce is contemplated, it may be important to engage in long term care planning as part of the divorce settlement.

This planning may include transferring marital assets to adult children or to an Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust.

Additionally, in New York, a married spouse can execute a “Spousal Refusal” so that the other spouse can receive Medicaid benefits. If one is single, this option is no longer available.

4. Estate Planning In New York, the entry of a final judgment of divorce automatically revokes all provisions and bequests in a Last Will and Testament to a former spouse. It also revokes any

appointments of the former spouse as agent under a health care proxy or agent under a power of attorney. Because of this, it is extremely important to have new estate planning documents drawn up during the pendency of a divorce and possibly after the divorce is finalized as well. Additionally, in certain circumstances, such as an amicable divorce, the spouses may still want to act as each other’s agents, and having the law automatically revoke these documents can cause serious consequences in the event of a health emergency or incapacity of a spouse.

As Gray Divorce becomes more common place, it is more important than ever for divorce attorneys to consult with financial advisors, estate planning attorneys, elder law attorneys and other professionals to ensure their clients’ estate plan and financial future is as secure as possible.

Lauren C. Enea, Esq. is an Associate at Enea, Scanlan & Sirgnano, LLP. She concentrates her practice on Wills, Trusts and Estates, Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Planning and Probate/ Estate Administration. She believes that it is never too early or too late to start planning for your future and she enjoys working with individuals and families to ensure that their estate and long- term care plan best suits their needs.

Ms. Enea is on the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Elder Law and Special Needs Section and is also the Co-Editor of the NYSBA Elder Law and Special Needs Section Journal. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida. She can be reached at (914) 948-1500.

245 Main St Suite 500, White Plains, NY 10601 www.esslawfirm.com

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WHEN & WHERE

June 24: The Ridgefield Playhouse presents The Mavericks - “En Espanol” World Tour.

JUNE 11

“The Glass House Summer Party” at the Philip Johnson Glass House returns, celebrating its 15th anniversary. This year’s summer party has guests exploring the grounds while enjoying a locally sourced picnic lunch, cocktails, a lawn game, a curated auction and special performances by Ayodele Casel and Paul Sevigny. 199 Elm St., New Canaan; 203-594-9884, theglasshouse.org Music at MoCA Westport showcases the Sean Mason Quintet as part of its “Jazz at Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Spotlight.” You can purchase food and drinks, explore the current exhibit and enjoy a performance by a quintet, which includes Sean Mason, piano; Felix Moseholm, bass; Domo Branch, drums; Chris Lewis, tenor saxophone; and Tony

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Glausi, trumpet. 7 to 9 p.m., 19 Newtown Turnpike; 203-2227070, mocawestport.org The historic Norwalk Wall Street Theater’s inaugural gala features blues legend Buddy Guy, an open bar, small plates from local eateries, artisanal spirits tastings and live music from The Moonrise Cartel. 6:30 to 11 p.m. 71 Wall St., 203-8315004, wallstreettheater.org Vieux Farka Touré performs at FTC’s StageOne in Fairfield. The son of Malian music royalty, Ali Farka Touré, the guitarist is often referred to as “the Jimi Hendrix of the Sahara.” 7:45 p.m. to 12:00 a.m., 70 Sanford St.; 203-2591036, fairfieldtheatre.org

JUNE 12

Music at Asbury presents a free, outdoor concert of Brazilian music. Clarinetist and vocalist Kristen Mather

de Andrade and her band will perform music from her debut album, along with some classics from the repertoire. 5 to 6:15 p.m., Asbury Crestwood United Methodist Church, 167 Scarsdale Road, Tuckahoe; musicatasbury. com

JUNE 18

The Harrison Players Inc. offers a staged reading of “The Hudson Valley UFO Case,” an original play by Christopher Sheerin that explores the events surrounding multiple UFO sightings in the Hudson Valley during the 1980s. 7:30 p.m., Harrison Veterans Memorial Building, 210 Halstead Ave.; harrisonplayers.org

JUNE 18 THROUGH JUNE 20 New Rochelle Council on the Arts presents “Songs for Our Fathers,” a weeklong Juneteenth celebration that

includes arts workshops, dance and musical performances, family activities, screenings and more. Noon to 5 p.m, Locations vary; newrochellearts.org

JUNE 18 THROUGH AUG. 19

Caramoor Center for Music and the Art’s summer festival opens with cellist Yo-Yo Ma & The Knights on June 18 and continues through Aug. 19 with such headliners as opera sopranos Stephanie Blythe and Dawn Upshaw; country-blues-old time singer and instrumentalist Rhiannon Giddens with the Silkroad Ensemble; the Trinity Baroque Orchestra in Handel’s “Theodora”; and Michael Gordon presenting his new, experimental, sitespecific “Field of Vision” for 40 percussionists. As part of the larger festival, Caramoor’s annual American Roots Music Festival takes place June 25 in

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WHEN & WHERE

collaboration with City Winery.

The all-day festival, beginning 1 p.m., will feature Americana, blues, folk and bluegrass performances by diverse artists. Multi-award-winning bluegrass guitarist and banjoist Molly Tuttle will close out the program with her band, Golden Highway. 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah; caramoor.org

JUNE 19

The Emelin Theatre presents a Juneteenth celebration in music and word. The Music from Copland House ensemble will celebrate the power and resilience of the human spirit in a concert featuring texts

by Langston Hughes, Marcus Amaker and others. 4 to 6 p.m.

153 Library Lane, Mamaroneck; emelin.org

June 11: Vieux Farka Touré takes the stage at FTC’s StageOne in Fairfield.

JUNE 19

ArtsWestchester will kick off a month-long series of Juneteenth activities around Westchester and Rockland counties. The series features a keynote talk by urban anthropologist Sherrill Wilson and a reenactment of abolitionist Harriet Tubman’s life by Alvenia Smith, as well as music and dance performances by regional artists, including Baba Abishai, Selah Armstrong, Shirazette Tinnin, Minister Angel Hill Brooks and more. 6 to 7:30 p.m., Renaissance Plaza, Mamaroneck Avenue and Main Street, White Plains; artsw.org

JUNE 21 Bridgeport, Fairfield, Milford, Norwalk, Ridgefield, Stamford and Stratford will celebrate “Make Music Day” as part of an annual worldwide celebration of musicmaking on the summer solstice. Enjoy a day of live and

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virtual performances from area musicians. 4 to 9 p.m. 646-6579709, makemusicday.org

JUNE 23

It’s the first anniversary of The Norwalk Art Space, featuring cocktails and hors d’oeuvres by Marcia Selden Catering, Bill Taibe and The Art Space Café, as well as live music and student performances at ADK House. Proceeds from the event will support the mission of offering free classes for underserved students and free studios and exhibits for underrepresented artists. 6 to 9 p.m. 455 West Ave.; 203-2522840, thenorwalkartspace.org

JUNE 24 The Ridgefield Playhouse presents “The Mavericks – ‘En Espanol’ World Tour.” This eclectic rock and country

group is known for lively performances that transcend traditional musical boundaries, ranking on the Billboard charts with its first all-Spanish language album. 8 to 10 p.m. 80 E. Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org

JUNE 25

Irvington Theater will host a live performance by the Ramblin’ Dan’s Freewheelin’ Band, a New York City-based group that offers children’s music classes. The program will include outdoor activities for kids ages 3 to 18. 1:30 to 3 p.m. Main Street School Lawn; irvingtontheater.com

JUNE 26 Art/Place Gallery presents “Spanning Time, Diane Pollack and Toby Michaels,” inviting the public to an opening reception for the June 20

through July 17 exhibit of works by members Diane Pollack and Toby Michaels. 2 to 5 p.m. with an artist talk at 4 p.m. Exhibit hours are noon to 5 p.m. daily.

70 Sanford St., Fairfield; 203259-8026 “The Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens 2022 Summer Concert” series kicks off with the doo-wop band, The Barons. The concert will take place on the Great Lawn. Bring chairs or a blanket and a picnic dinner. In the event of rain, the concert will be rescheduled. 5 to 7p.m. 151 Brookdale Road, Stamford; 203-487-5264, bartlettarboretum.org

Presented by ArtsWestchester (artswestchester.org) and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (culturalalliancefc.org).

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