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Meet Londiaz Agency I’ve gotten to know many local families as an Allstate agent in Norwalk. I enjoy being a part of the community, and building local relationships is one of the best parts of my job. I know what life is like here in Norwalk – that you choose your car and your home to fit your lifestyle and your budget. I also know how important it is to do the same when it comes to insurance. I look forward to getting to know you and helping you to find the solutions that meet your needs. Part of what I like best about my job is that I can offer customers options for a wide variety of coverage and services. You can depend on me to help you look at the big picture. I’m committed to helping Norwalk residents assess their immediate and long-term needs and choose options that will help them achieve their goals. When you want to explore options for protecting your home, personal property, or financial future, I’m available to answer your questions. If you’re already a customer, I’m ready to review your coverage so that you can make any necessary adjustments to fit your changing needs. Call me today.
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CONTENTS AUGUS T 202 2
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Editor’s letter Jean-Georges’ ‘Monkey’ business Super Mario: Wall Street wizard Gabelli on today’s economy ‘Insuring’ clients have what they need Mercy College – beyond the bachelor’s degree A biz about more than the bottom line The designer who calls Martha Stewart ‘fairy godmother’ Staging a home to get the most out of it A young designer spreads her wings Traditional charm plus modern amenities equal Riverside enchantment Preparing the next generation
52 54 58 62 66 66 68 72 74 76 80
The pandemic brings changes to the home At auction, what’s old is new again We’ll always have Paris (hotels) Some local escapes that are worth the drive (and gas prices) Honest wines from Landmark Vineyards Choosing senior living options Betsey McCaughey wants to ‘RID’ hospitals of infections A physical therapist’s antidote to anxiety Taking the fight to Alzheimer’s When & where At bat for baseball Jean-George. Photograph by Bob Rozycki.
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Dream Kitchens and Baths CRAFT-MAID ■ BIRCHCRAFT ■ HOLIDAY ■ CABICO ■ STONE ■ QUARTZ ■ CORIAN ■ DECORATIVE HARDWARE
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Dan Viteri
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CRAFT-MAID ■ BIRCHCRAFT ■ HOLIDAY ■ CABICO ■ STONE ■ QUARTZ ■ CORIAN ■ DECORATIVE HARDWARE
EDITORIAL Georgette Gouveia EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ggouveia@westfairinc.com
FA M I LY
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ART
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KITCHEN & BATH, LTD.
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v 164 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, ting o ebra10507 CelNY 914.241.3046 | www.euphoriakitchens.com
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Alexandra Cali DIGITAL MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER acali@westfairinc.com
years!
PHOTOGRAPHY Alexandra Cali, John Rizzo
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164 Harris Road, Bedford Hills, NY 10507 914.241.3046 | www.euphoriakitchens.com H O U R S : T U E S - F R I 10 : 3 0 A M - 5 P M S AT 11 A M - 4 P M
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WHAT IS WAG?
Some readers think WAG stands for “Westchester and Greenwich.” We certainly cover both. But mostly, a WAG is a wit and that’s how we think of ourselves, serving up piquant stories and photos to set your own tongues wagging.
HEADQUARTERS A division of Westfair Communications Inc., 4 Smith Ave. Mount Kisco, NY 10549 Telephone: 914-694-3600 | Facsimile: 914-694-3699 Website: wagmag.com | Email: ggouveia@westfairinc.com All news, comments, opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations in WAG are those of the authors and do not constitute opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations of the publication, its publisher and its editorial staff. No portion of WAG may be reproduced without permission.WAG is distributed at select locations, mailed directly and is available at $24 a year for home or office delivery. To subscribe, call 914-694-3600, ext. 3020. All advertising inquiries should be directed to Anne Jordan at 914-694-3600, ext. 3032 or email anne@westfairinc.com. Advertisements are subject to review by the publisher and acceptance for WAG does not constitute an endorsement of the product or service. WAG (Issn: 1931-6364) is published monthly and is owned and published by Westfair Communications Inc. Dee DelBello, CEO, dee@westfairinc.com
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Oops! It was Fiorello LaGuardia, the great mayor of New York City during the Depression and World War II, who said that “I don’t make a mistake often, but when I do it’s a beaut.” So it was in Jeremy Wayne’s story about the Wylder Windham hotel in July WAG, in which we mistook everything about Henning’s local, a 10-year-old restaurant in Cocheton Center in the Western Catskills’ Sullivan County. Chef Henning Nordinger and partner Julia Joern will be opening Julia’s Local in Cairo, about 15 minutes from Windham, which is the Great Northern Catskills and Greene County, later this year. Apologies to the restaurateurs and to foodies everywhere.
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EDITOR’S LETTER BY GEORGET TE GOUVEIA
Our August issue finds WAG morphing — and moving. Beginning in September, WAG will become integrated into the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals. Now instead of waiting every month for WAG, you’ll have new features about businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs weekly, as well as a complement of columns on home, travel, food and wellness. The shift reflects our readers’ and advertisers’ interests along with magazine trends, which find publications leaping from print to digital. But before we make the big move, we’re transitioning in style with an issue that is in the serendipitous way that has always characterized WAG all about new ventures and second acts. We begin with Jeremy’s piece on Happy Monkey in Greenwich, the latest offering by chef-restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, the cover subject of WAG’s October 2011 issue — bringing us nicely full circle. August also features a Jean-Georges friend, fashion designer Andrew Yu, who’s left the hustle and bustle of Seventh Avenue to concentrate on capsule collections; food; mentorship; life in Katonah with his partner, Evan Goldstein, D.O., and their twin boys; and entertaining pals like neighbor and “fairy godmother” Martha Stewart. You would think that it’s “summertime and the living is easy” for our subjects, but no, they’re all about big challenges. Elena Rivera-Cheek — who started Copy & Art advertising in the basement of a small house in the historic Battle Hill section of White Plains 11 years ago — has a sleek, new 7,000-square-foot office in downtown White Plains that Justin discovers is designed to be her staff’s home away from home. Alexandra DelBello, publisher Dee’s granddaughter, tells Ed she’s
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All my children: With my 2020 YWCA Visionary Award and WAG covers at our former White Plains office.
taking her interior/carpet design business in a new direction with the launch of her allybello.com website and a collaboration with Fayette Studio in Greenwich. (Alex is one of two interior designers profiled here, the other being Ridgefield’s Anne Nowak, who started out in the spa business.) Mario J. Gabelli — who recently received a Horatio Alger Award, given to leaders who have overcome adversity in achieving professional and personal success — talks with Phil about his trajectory from a Bronx boy who caddied for Westchester’s elite to chairman and CEO of Rye-headquartered GAMCO Investors Inc. and considers what lies ahead for our troubled economy. Former New York state Lt. Gov. Betsy McCaughey (pronounced “McCoy”), now a health policy advocate and New York Post columnist, recently spoke at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in Athens about helping hospitals and nursing homes “RID” themselves of infections — the mission of her nonprofit Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID). And Brian Amkraut has returned to New York from Cleveland to become vice president and general manager of Mercy College’s new Division of Workforce Credentialing and Community Impact, whose CERTIFi offers certificate
programs and nondegree courses online and at Mercy in the Bronx and Manhattan as well as on its main campus in Dobbs Ferry. Amkraut is both a New York and Cleveland sports fan, and sports and exercise offer a subtheme in this issue. Armonk-based sports psychologist Rick Wolff — the Cleveland Indians’ (now Guardians’) first roving sports psychology coach and host of the weekly “Rick Wolff’s Sports Edge” on WFAN — has joined the advisory board of Save the Game, a movement to stem declining participation and viewership in what was once our national pastime. Physical therapist Nick Rolnick offers his workout approach to anxiety. And WAG wellness columnist Gio weighs in with an important column on the mental and physical changes we can make to mitigate dementia. Change: We would be lying if we didn’t acknowledge a certain wistfulness in our “relocation.” WAG — which Dee had the genius to relaunch in February 2011 as a thematic, cultural magazine, has been a helluva ride, one that has taken us everywhere from princes (Harry at Greenwich Polo Club) to nonprofits. We liked to joke that there wasn’t a disease or a cause that we didn’t cover in our Watch (people) section. In these years, we were judged best or one of the best publications by the New York
Press Association six times. But it’s more than that. As Katie, our collectibles columnist from Skinner (now Bonhams Skinner) notes in her column on books by Johann Wier, a 16th-century advocate for the mentally ill, and 19th-century author, orator and abolitionist Frederick Douglass, “despite such treasures, print has struggled in the digital age, when even vintage works can be accessed online. Still, there’s a unique appeal in the look and feel of a book. It may be the allure of a fine binding or the patina of long use.” Or maybe just the escapist comfort of a copy of our beautifully appointed magazine as you while away a summer day. That’s about to be lost. But as Cami exhorts in her column on the shifts the pandemic has brought to the home, we need to “embrace the changes” that are happening in our world. So we look forward to you joining us in our new venture and second act as we remember, in the words of onetime U.S. Treasurer Ivy Baker Priest, that “The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning.” 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. In September, JMS Books will publish her new historical thriller, “Riddle Me This.” For more, visit thegamesmenplay.com.
LIFE-SAVING CARDIAC SURGERY. NOW IN THE HEART OF WESTCHESTER.
WHITE PLAINS HOSPITAL
Advanced Cardiac Care at White Plains Hospital. Your heart is in the Hudson Valley. So how you care for your heart should be too. That’s why internationally-renowned surgeons from Montefiore Einstein are now performing open-heart surgery at White Plains Hospital. This makes us one of the only hospitals in the county providing this advanced level of cardiac care. Visit wphospital.org/cardiacsurgery to learn more about our award-winning care.
MONTEFIORE-EINSTEIN
e g s r ’ o e G n a Je key’ business n o ‘M BY JEREMY WAYNE
Jean-Georges Vongerichten at The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-George, 2011. Photograph by Bob Rozycki. 10 AUGUST 2022
WAGMAG.COM
Happy Monkey interior. Photographs courtesy Happy Monkey.
A new restaurant with a pedigree always causes a flutter of excitement on Greenwich Avenue, but a new restaurant from Jean-Georges Vongerichten — one of the world’s great restaurateurs, with more than 40 restaurants to his name, spread across five continents — causes something of a tidal wave of interest. Say hello, then, to Greenwich’s newest watering hole and one surely destined for greatness — Happy Monkey.
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Cocktail at Happy Monkey.
Already established locally with the highly-regarded Inn at Pound Ridge, Vongerichten has long eyed Greenwich as a prospective location. That should hardly be a surprise. While New York City’s West Village is where the globe-trotting chef calls home, weekends when not on the road are spent relaxing at his country place in Waccabuc, with canoeing on nearby Whatmore’s Lake a favorite way for him to enjoy what precious downtime he has. If for reasons of geography alone, Greenwich has long made total sense. The new, Latin-flavored restaurant itself offers a variety of seating areas, including green velvet banquettes, booths, a communal table and regular tables with exceedingly comfortable
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wicker chairs, simultaneously giving the large room a certain expanse but also a coziness. And at the long bar, where the cool kids sit, the encouraging sound of cocktails being shaken only adds to the mellow soundtrack. As for the lighting, it is so soft, so sympathetic, it can make the well-put-together crowd appear even better looking than it already is. A casual atmosphere prevails. This, of course, is typical of a Vongerichten restaurant. The Alsatian-born chef has always done “dress down” as stylishly as he has
approached “dressed up.” It also makes Happy Monkey as suitable for a sophisticated evening à deux as it is for a laid-back family dinner. “Happy Monkey’s elevated yet approachable feel makes it a go-to destination for any occasion,” says Vongerichten, whose passion for food began in his native Alsace, France, where his mother and grandmother would cook for the almost 50 employees of their family-owned business. (From there, Vongerichten would apprentice at Auberge d’Ill and work with Paul Bocuse before heading to Asia and ultimately the United States.)
As for Happy Monkey’s menu, the emphasis is on the freshest, locally sourced seasonal produce, featuring Latin influences across shareable snacks, small and large plates, crudos, salads, tacos and more. Yes, we are on familiar ground with some of the dishes, like arroz con pollo and grilled maitake mushroom, old friends from ABC Cocina in Manhattan. But new dishes — including smoked ham and manchego cheese fritters and shrimp tacos topped with spicy citrus peanut slaw — demonstrate that brand Vongerichten is doing more than resting on its laurels or rehashing tried and tested favorites. Essentially, this is a smallplates concept restaurant with “sharing” at its core, as our server explained a little pedantical-
Culinary delights at The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean-Georges, 2011. Photographs by Bob Rozycki.
ly. (We’ve been “sharing” plates “family-style” for more than 15 years, after all.) Some standouts on a first and subsequent visits included fluke crudo with puffed rice and yellowfin tuna tartar, sizzling shrimp with garlic and the trusty arroz con pollo. Crispy fish taco, smothered in chipotle mayo with vinegary pickled cabbage, had lost its crispness, though, and was a less successful dish. Of the five desserts, the two chocolatey ones — churros with chocolate sauce and a rich cocoa “tres leches” cake, drew plaudits. If there isn’t already an expression in Spanish to the effect that with a plate of spirally churros in front of you, all is right in the world, then there should be. Like the food menu, the cocktail list is succinct, with the jolly inclusion of sangria and a discreet margarita menu that reflects the seasons. (So insidious was the effect of a de-
licious mezcal lavender negroni, I could have downed a bucketful, danced on all the tables and gone home sloshed but happier than any monkey, to face a hangover next morning.) The wine list runs the gamut although sold as a Latin restaurant, a few more Spanish, Argentinian and Chilean names would not look out of place on this heavily France/California-leaning list. Nonalcoholic options include house-made sodas, juices and kombucha (a fermented tea). But while there may be a few service glitches to iron out and perhaps a couple of menu tweaks still to make, no one could seriously doubt that Happy Monkey is going to be a smash hit, what with its strik-
ing Frida Kahlo mural — along with her pet spider monkey, a nod to the restaurant’s name — its blackand-white marble floors, its rattan shades and lush hanging plants. Actually, it already is a smash hit. And while monkeys generally may be getting a bad rap elsewhere right now, let’s not forget how wonderful these creatures are — friendly, intuitive, a little
mischievous and with enormous charm — all attributes that can be applied to this Simian newbie. A very Happy Monkey indeed. Happy Monkey is currently open only for dinner, Wednesdays through Sundays. For reservations, visit happymonkeygreenwich.com.
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Mario J. Gabelli, chairman and CEO of Rye-headquartered GAMCO Investors Inc., sees a potential recession as less worrisome than unresolved socioeconomic issues that will hurt those struggling to make ends meet and thus the broader market. Photograph courtesy Mario J. Gabelli.
BY PHIL HALL
In April, Mario J. Gabelli received a Horatio Alger Award – presented by the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Inc., an educational nonprofit, to salute leaders who have overcome adversity in achieving professional and personal success. As the chairman and CEO of Rye-headquartered GAMCO Investors Inc. (formerly Gabelli Asset Management Co.), Gabelli is one of the most prominent analysts and investors in today’s financial services industry. And in a life story worthy of Horatio Alger’s celebrated tales, he rose to prominence from humble origins as the child of Italian immigrants living in the working-class Bathgate Avenue section of the Bronx. Starting at the age of 12, Gabelli would travel from the Bronx to work as a caddy at exclusive
e ll i Gab my
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country clubs in Westchester County — sometimes going by bus, at other times hitchhiking. But rather than return home after the golfers completed their game, he would hang around and listen to the adults discuss the stock market. “These guys came up from Wall Street and were specialists,” he recalls, noting that he recognized the value of investing from the country club conversations. “I got into the stock market at the age of 13.” Gabelli attended Fordham University, graduating summa cum laude in 1965, and then went on to receive his Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia Business School in Manhattan. When he was out of school, he took a security analyst’s jobs at Loeb, Rhoades & Co. After nearly 10 years, he felt he was ready to start his own brokerage, which he dubbed Gabelli & Co.
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“I had 10 years of really intense focus and knowledge of all the money managers in the country,” he says. “And I thought I could raise some money to start the firm. But nobody would join me, because they wanted salary.” Gabelli made $5,000 in his first year of business, noting this was by selling “research on industry specifics to institutional clients for commissions. The environment at that time had significantly higher interest rates and President (Gerald R.) Ford brought in the notion of ‘Whip Inflation Now,’ and we had significant surges in labor costs while interest rates were rising dramatically.” In today’s economy, inflation is running at a level not seen in decades, and Gabelli views the situation as a case of economic déjà vu. “The degree that the Federal Reserve miscalculated the impact on the super amount of money that was put into the system reminds me of the late ’40s when we had individuals working their a — off during the Second World War but couldn't buy anything,” he says. “And then what happened is when the war ended, the conversion to consumer goods was taking place and prices surged for goods, housing and so on. After two or three years, that cooled off and inflation was OK — not great but was contained.”
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“FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, IF IT'S A RECESSION, IT IS WHAT IT IS,” HE SAYS. “IT'S NOT WHAT I WORRY ABOUT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF INVESTING. I WORRY ABOUT IT FROM THE SOCIAL IMPACTS. AND THE QUESTION THEN IS, HOW BAD IS BAD? HOW LONG WILL IT BE? AND THEN WHEN IT RECOVERS, HOW GOOD IT WILL BE AND WHICH SECTORS OF THE STOCK MARKET WILL BENEFIT? MY COMMENTS TAKE IN SOME SOCIAL CONSIDERATIONS, BUT THEY'RE REALLY DRIVEN BY THE ECONOMIC IMPACT ON PUBLIC MARKETS.”
He then noted that the 1970s were complicated by the energy crisis that further exacerbated a stagnant economy. “I had to wait in line to get gas and prices surged,” he says. “But the real concern at the time was price cost driven by wage price inflation.” In today’s economy, Gabelli is worried that wage growth is trailing increased prices on consumer goods, fuel and utilities and that lower-income households will be particularly affected if the economy frays further. In his view, the possibility of a recession is less important than a lack of resolution for the underlying socioeconomic problems that quietly metastasized during the boom years. “From my point of view, if it's a recession, it is what it is,” he says. “It's not what I worry about from the point of view of investing. I worry about it from the social impacts. And the question then is, how bad is bad? How long will it be? And then when it recovers, how good it will be and which
sectors of the stock market will benefit? My comments take in some social considerations, but they're really driven by the economic impact on public markets.” Looking across today’s economy, Gabelli is gung-ho on the defense and aerospace industries, and he warns that the Pentagon needs to be more cognizant of the existential threats surrounding the nation. “When you have the Chinese and the North Koreans and the Russians pointing hypersonic missiles, the Minuteman defense system that we have set up about X number of years ago reminds me of the Maginot Line, which the French set up before the Second World War,” he says. “We are so far behind on hypersonics” — missiles traveling more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5 and above. Gabelli is also intrigued by the potential of blockchain technology but is less enthusiastic about the cryptocurrencies supported by this digital system.
“I like blockchain,” he says. “When I sell a stock today, a client doesn’t get the money for two days. So the notion of being able to do real-time settlements is accelerating. And as far as cryptocurrency is concerned, we always monitor it. We bought some at $500 and sold it at $525, just to have it. I think people basically don't understand the tax implications. I don't think anybody explained it to them.” Gabelli adds that he is troubled by the online trading that many neophyte investors in their 20s embraced too eagerly over the past few years. “If I’m 22 years old or 24 years old, that means I started on Pac-Man,” he says. “They are so knowledgeable about electronic games. But Robinhood came along and offered free trading to those who were sitting at home. They never trained them, and they allowed individuals to buy and sell securities without education.” Financial literacy, he says, “should be taught in grammar school and in high school.” While he is encouraged that an increasing level of young people “understand a little bit more about an allocation of capital in the free market system,” he acknowledges “the bad news is they need more training.” For more, visit gabelli.com.
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s t n h e a i l v c e ’ g n i r d e e n u y s the t a h BY PETER KATZ
In a monologue at the end of his 1975 movie “Love and Death,” Woody Allen reminds the audience, “After all, you know, there are worse things in life than death. I mean, if you’ve ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman, you know exactly what I mean.” Most certainly, that wasn’t the first time the insurance business was the butt of a joke. Neither was Nov. 30, 1939, when comedienne Fanny Brice of “Funny Girl” fame, portraying her iconic Baby Snooks character on NBC radio, asked her daddy (actor Hanley Stafford),“What’s insurance?” Daddy replied, “Insurance is a form of saving. As long as I live, I pay money to the company and, if anything happens to me, the company gives the money to my beneficiary.” Snooks asked again, “What’s insurance?” The reply: “I told you it’s protection against trouble. I have a wife and children so I must be protected against trouble.” Snooks asked, “When did you get in trouble, Daddy?” “When I got a wife and children,” was the response, eliciting gales of laughter from the studio audience. While some people enjoy skits, monologues and one-liners about the subject, others such as Benjamin Palancia realize that insurance is no laughing matter. What it can do to protect people
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and companies is a matter of the utmost seriousness. Palancia knows insurance: He’s the principal at the Albert Palancia Agency in Mamaroneck, whose roots can be traced back to when his grandfather, Albert, began in the business. “Albert Palancia Agency was started officially in 1978 by my grandfather and my uncle,” Palancia says. “But my grandfather had been in the insurance business since 1954, and in 1978 they established this corporation in Mamaroneck. We’ve actually been in the same building here since 1978. We have a mixture of small, medium-size and big businesses as clients. We have companies we insure internationally and all over the country in almost every state.” Palancia estimated the agency has 10,000 clients in all, requiring a variety of insurance lines such as construction, workers’ compensation, general and professional, liability, builder’s risk, restaurant, real estate, commer-
cial auto and errors and omissions. “I wasn’t planning to be in the insurance business at all actually, but my family was in it and I gave it a shot and then we just took it to another level and started doing very well very quickly and never looked back,” says Palancia, who lives in Somers with his wife and their three children and is active in Westchester County. (He is a past president of the Rotary Club of Mount Kisco, president of the board of directors of the Country Childrens Center in Bedford Hills and a member of the executive board of the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester’s board of directors. He coaches two American Youth Soccer Organization soccer teams and a Somers Youth Sports Organization football team.) But back to insurance. “Auto and home are like vanilla and chocolate,” he says. “Commercial is like all the flavors of the rainbow…. Each business is so different we tailor coverage to each individual need. There are some base coverages that every business should have. The hot button issues nowadays are cyber liability and employment practices liability that everyone should have regardless of the type of business that they’re in.” Palancia adds that companies should be protected if their information about their clients is hacked and, perhaps, publicly released. He can also cover ransomware attacks, in which cybercriminals lock up a company’s computer system and force payment of a ransom in order to restore service. “Insurance (companies) will
pay to restore systems,” he adds. “They’ll help in negotiations with whoever is holding a system hostage. Some people have data breach coverage. Some have basic cyber liability coverage that’s just attached to their business owner’s policy if they have one. If your policy hasn’t been rewritten in a number of years, it probably doesn’t have it. The ransomware coverage is a relatively new thing and you want to be sure you’re with a cyber liability company that’s able to support that and give you that coverage. If you have a breach, you want to be able to access your server. You want to be able to access your financial data. You want to be able to access everything in your system and, if it’s held hostage, then you want to work. You’ve got to be able to
Benjamin Palancia, the principal at the Albert Palancia Agency in Mamaroneck. Photograph by Alexandra Cali.
get that back.” One issue he hears a lot about, given his office’s location in a Sound Shore community is flooding and flood insurance. The local Mamaroneck and Sheldrake rivers have been notorious for flooding during severe storms to the extent that numerous businesses in the community have been decimated. “We’ve had clients with claims here in Mamaroneck and elsewhere,” Palancia says. “It’s a very difficult coverage to get and a
very difficult overage to get paid on, but we do it.” Palancia says that not all insurance companies are created equal when it comes to writing coverage and their approach to paying claims. “You definitely don’t want to have an insurance company not pay out on a claim when you have an issue. You have to fight for your clients,” Palancia says. “When a claim happens, you want to be sure that the person handling your insurance is there
to protect you and can walk you through the process. I bring in my own experts if I can’t handle it. You have a claim, you have a fire, you have a flood. You want to be back open for business again and as fast as possible.” Like most businesses, his was affected by Covid. “We have employees now who work remotely,” Palancia says. “The pandemic has forced me to be more flexible, allowing employees to take time off or work from wherever they might be. One of my employees moved to Florida permanently and she works well from there. A lot of my employees have to take days off to take care of children or take care of elderly family members, and we allow them to do that and
work remotely when they can.” Another change: Insurance premiums are climbing amid the aftermath of the pandemic and the effects of inflation. “Renewal figures are going up at an alarming percentage, and if businesses aren’t looking at their policies every year they should be,” Palancia says. “I’m an independent agent, which pretty much means I write with almost every insurance carrier out there. Every year we remarket all of our clients’ buildings, their properties, their businesses no matter what it is for commercial liability, workers’ compensation, cyber liability. We remarket it every year to all of the carriers. Not every agent does that. Not every agent is independent and can write with every carrier.” He says that he is able to place coverage for specialty areas that most other agents are unable to touch and, as a result, other agents work with him when they need specialty coverage for their clients. When new clients come in and he and his team do reviews of their existing coverage, they often find that the coverage a business has is inadequate. “We try to educate our clients. Some come educated. Some have never had an agent explain things to them the way we do,” Palancia says. “There are different options. Some people forgo coverage as a matter of dealing with expenses and others don’t want to have a potential issue in the future. They’d rather insure against it. Everyone is different in their level of wanting to be insured.” For more, visit palanciainsurance.com.
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l l e o g C e y – c r e M ond the bac y h e elo b r BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
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technology to health — almost any endeavor that can benefit from certification in business today,” Amkraut says. The offerings include cannabis education (job training and professional certificates); executive education (customer experience and women in leadership programs); finance (banking today); food truck entrepreneurship, what Amkraut calls a “niche area"; insurance sales accelerator; nonprofit and small-business management; and bootcamps for software development and design as well as web development. However, the far-thinking Amkraut adds, “I envision something that is not only about certifications but that can lead to a business degree.” He also imagines partnering with businesses in programs that might serve as sources of future employees. To that end he has reached out to the local business and educational communities, including BOCES (Boards of Cooperative Educational Services), The Busi-
e egre
The latest school to reflect this is Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry. In November, Mercy announced the appointment of Brian Amkraut, Ph.D. — then executive director of the Laura and Alvin Siegal Lifelong Learning Program at Case Western Reserve University — to serve as vice president and general manager of Mercy’s new Division of Workforce Credentialing and Community Impact. Recently, the division launched CERTIFi, offering certificate programs and nondegree courses online and at Mercy’s campuses in the Bronx and Manhattan as well as in Dobbs Ferry. “They run the gamut from
’s d
There is perhaps no hotter trend in higher education than the certification program that can jumpstart a career, a transition or even lead to those still coveted but not always necessary bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Brian Amkraut, Ph.D., vice president and general manager of Mercy’s new Division of Workforce Credentialing and Community Impact. Courtesy Brian Amkraut.
ness Council of Westchester and the Westchester County Association — all of whom he praises as “great, helpful organizations.” And Amkraut adds that the division is working with White Plains Hospital on a course for certified nursing assistants. CERTIFi is also looking to make financial aid available for qualified individuals to “learn while they earn.” It’s a feature that dovetails with his own commitment to social justice. As he said in the spring issue of Maverick, Mercy College’s magazine, “…for too many years, higher education has been al-
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most exclusively focused on putting high-schoolers into degree programs. And while that is admirable, it excludes much of our population, especially in the immediate areas surrounding our campuses, where life has gotten in the way of an immediate post-secondary college experience. “I believe that you are never too old to learn and that it is incumbent upon us to create pathways for everyone — pathways which can empower people through skills and knowledge and thereby help close some of our gaps in wealth, income and social equity.”
Though he came to Mercy from Siegel Lifelong Learning at Case Western, Amkraut is actually a New Yorker who did his undergraduate work at Columbia University, majoring in chemistry, and his Ph.D. in history and Jewish studies at New York University, both in Manhattan. He was on the path to what he calls “traditional professorship” and indeed he was professor of Judaic studies, as well as provost, at the Laura and Alvin Siegal College of Judaic Studies in Cleveland. But teaching teachers there “changed my view of what higher education can be.” When the college invited him to do administrative work, Amkraut says he “caught the academic administrative bug.” (In 2012, Siegal
closed as a college and Case Western combined their adult learning programs into Siegal Lifelong Learning.) Amkraut now makes his home in Riverdale, where he has rediscovered his rooting interests in the New York Yankees and Knicks, although he’s still a Cleveland Browns’ fan. Mercy’s Dobbs Ferry campus, overlooking the Hudson River, has given him a chance to get acquainted with the New York he didn’t know. “When I left New York, I was a real Manhattanite,” he told Maverick magazine. “I’m very much enjoying the richness of the rest of the region.” For more, visit mercy.certifi. edu.
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Elena Rivera-Cheek recalls starting Copy & Art in the basement of a small house in the historic Battle Hill section of White Plains – site of the Battle of White Plains during the American Revolution (Oct. 28, 1776).
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BY JUSTIN MCGOWN
Eleven years later, it has become a top advertising agency in Westchester County, offering a quality of service comparable to any of the larger agencies in New York City but on a smaller scale that is more agile and responsive to client and employee needs. Recently, Rivera-Cheek has taken steps to underscore her place in the advertising world with offices that are a far cry from a Battle Hill basement. “We recently moved into a custom-built, 7,000-squarefoot office in the heart of White Plains,” she says. “We really tried to build an office that people would actually be energized to go into, which is a hard thing considering nobody wants to go into an office at all right now.” Copy & Art’s offices feature an open floor plan, modern furnishings and walls adorned with splashes of color and inspiring phrases and quotes.
“I would say what we brought with us was a little bit of that cool,” Rivera-Cheek says, “that New York City vibe. When people walk in, they’re like ‘Ooh, this is a New York City-caliber experience.’ It’s cool, there’s no other way to put it. It’s not an accounting firm. It’s clearly a sharp, creative space.” Rivera-Cheek carries a fair bit of New York cool herself. Born in the Bronx, she went to college at the State University of Stony Brook on Long Island, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in English. (She also holds an M.B.A. in media management from Metropolitan College of New York and studied digital business strategy at MIT Sloan School of Management.) After meeting her husband, they moved to Westchester County. For many years, she worked in
“We spend a lot of time at work,” says Elena Rivera-Cheek, founding CEO of Copy & Art, which has a sleek new home in downtown White Plains. “You should love what you do and how you do it.” Photographs courtesy Copy & Art.
the kinds of advertising firms she now competes with and, in the process, had an epiphany. “Clients hate how budgets get inflated at big agencies,” Rivera-Cheek says. “Let’s say you’re running an ad with an agency and you want to make a three-word change? That might take you $15,000 and two weeks if not more, and that’s a low-ball.” Filtering requests through multiple people who all add to the billable hours even if their input is minimal bloats the budget and extends deadlines without necessarily improving quality, she adds. That is why at her agency she has focused on developing a streamlined process that provides multilayered collaboration among depart-
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“WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME AT WORK,” RIVERA-CHEEK SAYS. “YOU SHOULD LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND HOW YOU DO IT.”
ments but doesn’t encourage hemming and hawing before delivering results. Inefficiency, Rivera-Cheek concludes, is the thing that clients hate most about working with ad agencies. She concentrated on eliminating that at Copy & Paper but also realized that to build the strongest possible agency of her own, she also had to eliminate what workers hated most about ad agencies. “What they love is that creative feel,” she says. “What they love is a little bit of the flash that
comes with being at an agency. What they hate is being deprioritized, not mattering as much as the bottom line.” At most agencies, she says, that feeling is exactly how the agency works. “They’re not concerned with the culture, and that’s a big word now as an employer. We’re getting a lot of play for our culture, because I have intentionally made sure how my people are treated is second to none. I will do anything and everything to make sure that they have the best.”
The new, employee-friendly Copy & Art office.
“We spend a lot of time at work,” Rivera-Cheek says. “You should love what you do and how you do it.” Of course, creating the ideal work experience for her employees has other benefits. Rivera-Cheeks says her people enjoy the amenities like a Peloton in the gym or a coffee bar. But it’s particularly useful for letting clients know the ethos of the agency they will work with. Teamed with a highly vetted group of diverse and motivated workers from across demographics, Rivera-Cheeks says they can ensure that there are no flat ideas, only work that moves the needle. For more, visit copyandartny.com.
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For 30 years, Andrew Yu built a $50 million fashion business with a blend of sleek cashmere designs, an eye for sustainability and a knack for QVC marketing, among other things. But his real gift may be for connecting people and connecting with people.
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BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
’
The de Marth sign a St
s l l a c o h y g r i o a d w f moth ‘ t re ar e w r e “If you can connect people and help them, that’s what I enjoy,” he says. No sooner did he and his longtime partner — Evan Goldstein, D.O., founding CEO of Bespoke Surgical in Manhattan — move to Katonah from New York City and East Hampton with their twin boys in 2020, than they found a neighbor at the door with a bottle of wine, Martha Stewart. The lifestyle goddess, who stayed for dinner, has become Yu’s “fairy godmother.” “We just enjoy each other’s company,” says Yu, whose own company is immediately intimate and inviting. Another dear friend is music mogul Clive Davis, whose efforts to help transform the Bedford Playhouse into an arts center were chronicled in July WAG. Yu says he loves that Stewart and Davis never rest on their laurels: “I enjoy that they don’t stop.” Neither does Yu. Like Stewart, he loves to garden, cook and entertain, hosting a sur-
prise birthday party for her and Goldstein, with 100 friends last month. (WAG was honored to be invited.) Another soirée might feature an Indian prince, chef Daniel Boulud, Richard Gere and Yu’s gardener for an evening that delves into Chinese food and music. “Money can’t buy creativity,” Yu says. What he looks to do at his gatherings — and in life — is to reflect a mix of people and cultural interests. Culture in the broadest sense of the word has been a passion of Yu’s ever since he was a child in Taiwan. His family were foodies who traveled the globe in search of a good meal. At 19, Yu came to the United States to study fine art and fashion at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. An internship in New York City during his senior year led to a full-time job in the fashion industry. At 21, he had a taste of owning his own business. But that, he says, would re-
Fashion designer Andrew Yu and longtime partner Evan Goldstein, D.O., with Martha Stewart. Photographs courtesy Andrew Yu.
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ally come later. For years, he worked for different companies, including the luxe women’s knitwear and sportswear brand Magaschoni, which is headquartered in Manhattan and is featured at department stores like Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, as well as in specialty shops. Magaschoni also produced clothing for J. Crew and Michael Kors for 20 years. In 2012, Yu founded his own company, 49 Andrew Yu, after the number of a new address and thus a new beginning. “I felt the timing was right, and the money was there. I had always been a junior partner, so I decided to start my own company” — one in which he could
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implement his own design philosophy. “My aesthetic is very modern, very clean,” he says of his preference for neutral colors — black, white, beige and nifty shades of gray. (When we first met him on the opening night of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts’ summer music festival in June, he was wearing black and cream with a creamy sash that evoked beauty and royalty.) From QVC, where he launched his Andrew Yu label in France, Italy and the United Kingdom, he learned to accommodate women of all ages, sizes and body types. (He also manufactured clothing for Bebe, Chico’s, White House Black Market and Saks Fifth Avenue’s own private
Andrew Yu is always set for a feature occasion.
menswear labels.) Moving to Katonah, he was inspired by the gray stones of the terrain to create his fall/winter 2021 Bedford Collection of women’s clothing, made of 40% recycled cashmere. (Using recycled cashmere and less dye cuts down on pollution, he says.) At the Pound Ridge Partnership’s “Eco-Chic Evening” fundraiser for green initiatives last year, the demand for Yu’s designs was such that he has started his Shmere Collection of sustainable cashmere bomber jackets, two pieces, hoodies and joggers for men.
Yu says he’s retiring. But it certainly sounds as if he isn’t. Like his friends Stewart and Davis, he wants to keep going — just in a slightly different direction. “I have a new life and a new outlook in Bedford. I still have my capsule collections, art, food and entertaining. And I’ve become an investor in new talents to support future generations.” Andrew Yu’s designs are featured in trunk shows in Bedford, Greenwich and New York City. For more, follow him on Instagram @ 49 Andrew Yu and on his website, 49andrewyu.com.
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Anne Nowak, the Ridgefield-based interior designer and home stager. Photographs by Ann Charles Photography. 32 AUGUST 2022
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h o a m g e n i g sta the most o t u e t g of i o t BY JEREMY WAYNE
t
Casually elegant in a white summer dress with a rope belt, rope handbag and espadrilles, Anna Nowak, the Ridgefield-based interior designer and home stager, seems as effortlessly put together as one of her stunning interiors. Raised in Fairfield County, Nowak cannot remember a time when she was not interested in decorating. Growing up with a mother who was in poor health, she and her sister were given free rein to arrange the family home — where close family, good food and sit-down dinners were the norm — just as they pleased. “From the earliest age, I was always moving furniture, making rooms bright, letting in the daylight, just being aware of my immediate surroundings,” she says. She was also musical, playing the violin and singing in a local chorus, with time left over to enjoy sports, including tennis, field hockey and softball. But despite her natural aptitude for sports, the arts and interior design, Nowak’s first commercial enterprise, with her own name on the shingle (along with her sister’s), was not a design stu-
dio, as might have been expected, but a spa. Located in Brookfield, the business thrived for 10 years before she was ready to move on. “I designed the flooring, the lighting, the window treatments, the front desk area — everything,” she reminisces of where her real talents lay. Still, she was not yet ready to take the plunge into full-time interior design. Instead, she embarked on a period of design education, pursuing undergraduate studies at Western State University in Connecticut, evening courses at Fairfield University and supplemental classes at the Parsons School of Design in New York. By then she was married with a young son and, as she puts it, “life came along.” But working at Kismet Art Co., a Westport gallery, she became acquainted with the feng shui master who rented space above
the gallery, and what she learned became a key component in her trajectory to becoming a fulltime interior designer. She left Kismet and opened Lionspaw, her first studio, in Fairfield, naming it Lionspaw for a favorite antiques and accessories store in Nantucket. Always favoring handmade objects over the mass-produced, she encouraged clients to give prominence to pieces that really spoke to them, offering beautiful jewelry, objets d’art and furniture for sale in addition to works by the artists she represented. Simultaneously taking on numerous commissions for both decorating and staging — the all-important art of preparing a property for sale so that it achieves its full potential in the marketplace — she was also building her specialist consultancy, until Covid hit. Suddenly, Nowak recalls, there was nobody on the street and no footfall for the brick-and-mortar studio, although ironically the onset of the pandemic was when people began spending extended periods of time at home, both needing
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These Pound Ridge projects display Anne Nowak’s holistic approach to home design and staging.
and wanting their homes to be comfortable and look their best. Letting go of her studio, Nowak now decided to start from scratch. After some serious thought, she took on a part-time job as a design consultant with Safavieh, the rugs and home furnishings store whose metro-area locations include Hartsdale, Norwalk and Stamford. (The staffers, she says, are “lovely people to work with.) At the same time, she set up an office in her home in Ridgefield. The new enterprise, which goes by the name of Lionspaw & Co. — Anna Nowak Interiors and Staging, operates within a roughly 30-mile radius of Ridgefield, although Nowak says with a smile that she “will hop on a plane for a project if it’s juicy.” Business is already booming, with new clients eager for Nowak’s expertise and her eye. For staging, Nowak typically follows up an initial inquiry with an in-home, walk-through consultation, in which she carefully observes and makes notes,
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coming up with a checklist of what the potential client should do and must do in order to sell at the highest price. The basics, I ask her? “Sympathetic lighting, clean rugs and carpets, polished hardwood floors, clean and sparkling windows, are all essential. Nothing can look bad,” Nowak says. She goes on, “People don’t think they need a stager, but they do.” She reiterates that a wellstaged home eliminates work for the homeowner and emphasizes that nearly everybody (despite what home improvement TV shows are ever-eager to suggest) wants “move-in ready.” Buyers, she points out, are also generally younger than sellers, which is something the savvy seller will keep in mind. Staged homes, she says, are more appealing and sell faster. And if your home has curb appeal, good landscaping, a beautiful front porch and a well-lit walkway, then you, the client, are “more likely to walk away with your asking price or full market value.”
Although hardly a minimalist, she is also a great believer in decluttering, whether she is staging a home or decorating one. “Old stuff is old energy,” she says. “It can actually make a person ill.” Is she strict with her clients, I ask her, as our meeting draws to a close? She takes a moment to ponder. “No, not strict, just fair.” While she tends to talk more about the staging side of the business, the two disciplines are complementary and Lionspaw takes on a similar number of pure design and decorating projects throughout the year. She works closely with all her clients, quietly but persuasively getting across her personal philosophy, that a home is “a sacred place, a
quiet place, a place for self-reflection.” Beyond the design itself, she believes that good lighting, pure water and fresh flowers and plants all contribute to the home, resulting in a wholesome environment made for good living. While original design, excellent grasp of space and an aesthete’s eye may be a given for any great interior designer, it’s this holistic approach that seems to single Nowak out from many of her peers. A final thought? “A home is not just a place to crash,” she says. “It’s somewhere you should be inspired.” For more, visit lionspawcoandstaging.com.
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i g s n e e d r g n u o A y her wings s d ea
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BY EDWARD ARRIAZA
Alexandra DelBello has always been passionate about interior design. “I’ve just always loved making a space feel homey,” says the former WAG contributor, granddaughter of publisher Dee DelBello. “Even when I was a kid, I couldn’t do my homework unless the room felt nice enough to do it, and I’m still like that. My parents let me repaint my room whenever I wanted or move things around.” For DelBello, interior design and, more broadly the world of art, led her to the Parsons School of Design — The New School in Manhattan, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2020. “I was worried about pursuing art,” she says. “I guess there’s always that kind of cliché of starving artists. But I transferred from a different school into Parsons, just finally realizing no, this is what I have to do.” And while she did not necessarily study interi-
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or design during class, her time at Parsons allowed her to develop her own style. Outside of class, DelBello immersed herself in the world of interior design at Interiors/ EDB Design Studio, helping to create murals. It was through her time at EDB (2018-20) that DelBello connected with Lawson Taylor of Lawson Taylor Interiors, also located in New York City. Over the last two years, DelBello worked with that studio, first as a design assistant and later as a project manager. These experiences allowed her to learn “all the ins and outs of the industry. I learned as much as I could and became super fluent in all of what interior design entails,” DelBello says. Now DelBello has gone out on her own with the goal of building her clientele. Her most recent project involved interior design for Chicken & The Egg, a chicken restaurant and speakeasy
The “Reflections” design is one of three designs Alexandra DelBello (left) created in collaboration with Fayette Studio in Greenwich. Photographs by Jonathan Pasquarella.
Alexandra DelBello’s “Leaf” rug in sage. AUGUST 2022
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in Manhattan. For the speakeasy portion, DelBello says, “the theme here was classic, chic speakeasy, the way you’d imagine it, but throwing on (graffiti artist Jean-Michel) Basquiat influences. So adding Basquiat in there is essentially saying ‘eff you’ to these fancy, exclusive speakeasies that no one can get into. We want to be inclusive and fun.” The project reflects DelBello’s desire to experiment while also keeping clients satisfied with the results, leading to good word of mouth. In addition, she produces handmade rugs through her Queens-based business, allybello, whose website has recently launched. Her creations include “Dewdrop,” which is made of Peruvian highland wool and comes in either moss or blossom patterns. The rug is “inspired by the reflections of sunshine created on a wet spring morning.” DelBello is also seeking to boost her brand by designing for Fayette Studio, a custom rug company in Greenwich, which will sell her rugs under her name. Through Fayette, her designs “can be produced in any size, either wool or silk or any fiber and also any color,” she says. “That’s really exciting because it’s kind of like my design can be customized by other designers and used in whatever way they want to.” In time, DelBello hopes to offer custom furniture and lighting. The market has seen a shift toward custom furniture, she says, partly a result of massive delays in deliveries of premade furniture in the early days of the pandemic, which persist. Prices have also made clients reconsider how they approach furniture. “Ironically, it’s not even that much more expensive to go custom,” DelBello says of bespoke furniture in today’s market. “Now it’s almost comparable, because so many of these companies have increased their pricing for readymade stuff. So it’s almost not even worth it.” For more, visit allybello.com.
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“Dewdrop,” “Pond” and “Leaf” rugs.
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Who says tradition and modernity don’t mix? This enchanting 1926 fieldstone manor with deeded water access was deftly transformed by the current owners into an 8,903-square-foot property with all the amenities of contemporary life, including a full-house generator and central air conditioning. As you approach the 1.58-acre site, on Dawn Harbor Lane in Greenwich’s Riverside community, you’re greeted by a gated stone courtyard flanked by flowering trees. Inside, the handsome interiors exude traditional charm. A formal living room adjoins a paneled billiards room with fireplace. The bay-windowed sunroom with fireplace takes in Long Island Sound views, as does the luxurious owner's suite. (There are seven bedrooms and seven full bathrooms, along with two partial baths.) The kitchen with breakfast room connects to the formal dining room via a butler's pantry, while a separate one-bedroom guest suite has its own kitchenette. The enclosed backyard with outdoor fireplace, barbecue and dining areas overlooks a pool with a spa. The pool house features a stone fireplace, wet bar and full bath. A gym above the three-car garage completes a home that offers you everything your heart could desire. The house lists for $12,950,000. For more, contact Joseph Barbieri at 203-9402025 and 203-618-3112.
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WAG COUNTRY'S PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS PREPARING THE NE X T GENER ATION
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PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
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ARCHBISHOP STEPINAC HIGH SCHOOL 950 Mamaroneck Ave. White Plains, New York 10605 914-946-4800 // stepinac.org Top administrator: Thomas Collins, president Open house date: Virtual Open house registration: stepinac.org/virtualopenhouse/
CHRISTIAN HERITAGE SCHOOL 575 White Plains Road Trumbull, Connecticut 06611 203-261-6230 // kingsmen.org Top administrator: Dr. Michael Dube Open house date: Oct. 22 Open house registration: kingsmen.org/admissions/ visit.cfm
EAGLE HILL SCHOOL 45 Glenville Road Greenwich, Connecticut 06831 203-622-9240 // eaglehillschool.org Top administrator: Marjorie E. Castro Open house date: Multiple dates Sept-May Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
BRUNSWICK SCHOOL 100 Maher Ave. Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-625-5800 // brunswickschool.org Top administrator: Thomas Philip Open house date: Nov. 7 Open house registration: admissions.brunswickschool. org/about/admission-reception/
CUSHING ACADEMY 39 School St. Ashburnham, Massachusetts 01430 978-827-7000 // cushing.org Top administrator: Randy R. Bertin Open house date: Oct. 10 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
FAIRFIELD COLLEGE PREPARATORY SCHOOL 1073 N. Benson Road Fairfield, Connecticut 06824 203-254-4200 // fairfieldprep.com Top administrator: Rev. Thomas M. Simisky Open house date: Oct. 2, Nov. 19 Open house registration: fairfieldprep.schooladminonline.com
THE CHAPEL SCHOOL
172 White Plains Road Bronxville, New York 10708 914-337-3202 // thechapelschool.org Top administrator: Michael Schultz Open house date: Preschool; Oct. 11, 7 p.m. K-8 Oct.16, 1 p.m. Open house registration: Call 914-337-3202 x1005
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DARROW SCHOOL
110 Darrow Road New Lebanon, New York 12125 518-704-2760 // darrowschool.org Top administrator: Simon Holzapfel Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
FORDHAM PREPARATORY SCHOOL 441 E. Fordham Road Bronx, New York 10458 718-367-7500 // fordhamprep.org Top administrator: Mr. Brian Carney Open house date: Oct. 13, Oct. 29 Open house registration: Opens in September
A HACKLEY EDUCATION IS ABOUT GOING ALL-IN. Our students are empowered to challenge and support one another, learn from varying perspectives, offer unreserved effort, grow in character and intellect, and explore beyond boundaries.
LEARN MORE AT WWW.HACKLEYSCHOOL.ORG
Join us for on-campus tours and virtual events throughout Fall 2022! Scan the QR code, email admissions@hackleyschool.org, or visit us at www.hackleyschool.org/admissions to sign up.
Scan Code
Upper School Open House: October 29 | Lower and Middle School Open House: November 5
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PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
FORMAN SCHOOL 12 Norfolk Road Litchfield, Connecticut 06759 860-567-8712 // formanschool.org Top administrator: Adam K. Man Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date FRENCH-AMERICAN SCHOOL OF NEW YORK Preschool and Elementary School 111 Larchmont Ave. Larchmont, New York 10538 914-250-0469 Middle and High School 145 New St. Mamaroneck, New York 10543 914-250-0451 fasny.org Top administrator: Francis Gianni Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: fasny.org/admissions/ inquiries-and-upcoming-events
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
FUSION ACADEMY
Fusion Westchester Campus 1 N. Broadway, Suite 120 White Plains, New York 10601 914-285-9036 // fusionAcademy.com Fusion Fairfield Campus 777 Commerce Drive Fairfield, Connecticut 06824 475-888-9256 Fusion Greenwich Campus 66 Gatehouse Road Stamford, Connecticut 06902 203-323-2191 Top administrator: Margaret Gregory, Area Head of School Open house date: Virtual, Sept. 13 Open house registration: fusionacademy.com/admissions/national-events/ GERMAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL NEW YORK 50 Partridge Road White Plains, New York 10605 914-948-6513 // gisny.org Top administrator: Katja Simmons Open house date: Sept. 29 Open house registration: gisny.org/admissions/admissions-events-registration
GERMAN SCHOOL OF CONNECTICUT Campus located at Rippowam Middle School 381 High Ridge Road Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-548-0438 // germanschoolct.org Top administrator: Michela Bunn Open house date: Sept. 3 Open house registration: None GREEN MEADOW WALDORF SCHOOL 307 Hungry Hollow Road Chestnut Ridge, New York 10977 845-356-2514 // gmws.org Top administrator: Susanne Madden Open house date: Nov. 2, Nov. 30, Jan. 19, 2023 Open house registration: gmws.org/admissionseventschedule GREENS FARMS ACADEMY 35 Beachside Ave. Greens Farms, Connecticut 06838 203-256-0717 // gfacademy.org Top administrator: Bob Whelan Open house date: Virtual tour available Open house registration: gfacademy.org/admission/ visit-gfa
FusionAcademy.com
Fusion Fairfield 475.888.9256 Fusion Greenwich 203.323.2191 Fusion Westchester 914.285.9036
Fusion Academy is an accredited private middle and high school where all classes are one-to-one: one student and one teacher per classroom. This allows teachers to personalize curriculum for each student’s strengths, interests, and learning style. Students can attend Fusion Academy full-time for middle or high school, take a class for credit, or utilize our tutoring services any time of the year.
Full-Time Accredited Academy | Classes for Credit | Tutoring |
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College Counseling
PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
GREENWICH ACADEMY 200 N. Maple Ave. Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-625-8900 // greenwichacademy.org Top administrator: Molly H. King Open house date: Dec. 4 Open house registration: greenwichacademy.org/ openhouse
THE GREENWICH SPANISH SCHOOL The O’Connor Center St Agnes Parish, 247 Stanwich Road, Greenwich, 06830 203-698-1500 // greenwichspanish.org Top administrator: Rosario Brooks, director Open house date: Oct. 28 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
GREENWICH CATHOLIC SCHOOL 41 North St. Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-869-4000 // gcsct.org Top administrator: Rebecca Steck Open house date: Oct. 2 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
THE GUNNERY- NOW FREDERICK GUNN SCHOOL 99 Green Hill Road, Washington, Connecticut, 06793 860-868-7334 // frederickgunn.org/ Top administrator: Peter W. E. Becker Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
THE GREENWICH COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 401 Old Church Road Greenwich, Connecticut, 06830 203-865-5600 // gcds.net Top administrator: Adam Rohdie Open house date: Oct. 23 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
HACKLEY SCHOOL
293 Benedict Ave. Tarrytown, New York 10591 914-366-2600 // hackleyschool.org Top administrator: Michael C. Wirtz Open house date: Upper School: Oct. 29, Lower and Middle Schools: Nov. 5 Open house registration: hackleyschool.org/admissions/getting-to-know-hackley
THE HARVEY SCHOOL 260 Jay Street, Katonah, New York 10536 914-232-3161 // harveyschool.org Top administrator: Bill Knauer Open house date: Oct. 22 Open house registration: harveyschool.org/admissions/upcoming-events/2022openhouse
IONA PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Lower School, grades PK-4 to 8 173 Stratton Road New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-633-7744 Upper School, grades 9-12 255 Wilmot Road New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-632-0714 // ionaprep.org Top administrator: Brother Thomas R. Leto, Ed.D. Open house date: Oct. 16, 12-3pm or Oct. 20, 6-8pm (Grades 9-12); Oct. 19, 5-7pm (PK-4 to 8) Open house registration: ionaprep.org/openhouse
Is Your Son #IonaPrepared? OPEN HOUSES
Schedule your visit today! GRADES 9 -12 Sat, Oct. 16, 12 – 3 pm Thu, Oct. 20, 6 – 8 pm GRADES 6-7 Wed, Oct. 19, 5 pm – 7 pm PK-4 – Grade 5 Wed, Oct. 19, 5 pm – 7 pm Gael‑for‑a‑Day visits start in October.
IonaPrep.org/OpenHouse For more information, please email Admissions@IonaPrep.org
Iona Preparatory Upper School 255 Wilmot Road New Rochelle, NY 10804 (914) 600-6154 @IonaPrep
Iona Preparatory Lower School 173 Stratton Road New Rochelle, NY 10804 (914) 633-7744
in/IonaPrep IonaPreparatory
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PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
JOHN F. KENNEDY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 54 Route 138 Somers, New York 10589 914-232-5061 // kennedycatholic.org Top administrator: Father Mark G. Vaillancourt Open house date: Oct. 16 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
MARIA REGINA HIGH SCHOOL 500 W. Hartsdale Ave. Hartsdale, New York 10530 914-761-3300 // mariaregina.org Top administrator: Anna Parra Open house date: Oct. 22 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
KING SCHOOL 1450 Newfield Ave. Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-322-2496 // kingschoolct.org Top administrator: Carol Maoz Open house date: Oct. 23 Open house registration: kingschoolct.org/admission/ inquiry
NEW CANAAN COUNTRY SCHOOL 635 Frogtown Road New Canaan, Connecticut 06840 203-972-0771 // countryschool.net Top administrator: Robert P. Macrae Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
THE MASTERS SCHOOL 49 Clinton Ave. Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522 914-479-6400 // mastersny.org Top administrator: Laura Danforth Open house date: Oct. 25 Open house registration: Check in September
NOTRE DAME CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 220 Jefferson Street Fairfield, Connecticut 06825 203-372-6521 // notredame.org Top administrator: Christopher Cipriano Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Sept. 1st releases
MAPLEBROOK SCHOOL 5142 Route 22 Amenia, New York 12501 845-373-8191 // maplebrookschool.org Top administrator: Donna Konkolics Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
MILLBROOK SCHOOL 131 Millbrook School Road Millbrook, New York 12545 845-677-8261 // millbrook.org Top administrator: Drew Casertano Open house date: Oct. 15 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
OAKWOOD FRIENDS SCHOOL 22 Spackenhill Road Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 845-242-2340 // oakwoodfriends.org Top administrator: Chad Cianfrani Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
BE A LEADER. BE A PERFORMER. BE AN ARTIST.
BE A SCHOLAR. BE AN ATHLETE. BE A VOLUNTEER.
be a gryphon!
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A GRYPHON AND CALL THE ADMISSION OFFICE TODAY! AN ALL-GIRLS, CATHOLIC, INDEPENDENT, COLLEGE-PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR GRADES 5-12 2225 WESTCHESTER AVENUE, RYE, NY 10580 | (914) 967-5622 | HOLYCHILDRYE.ORG/ADMISSION
SCAN ME FOR MORE INFO!
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PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
POUGHKEEPSIE DAY SCHOOL
260 Boardman Road Poughkeepsie, New York 12603 845-462-7600// poughkeepsieday.org/ Top administrator: Barbara Wood Open house date:Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date RIDGEFIELD ACADEMY 223 W. Mountain Road Ridgefield, Connecticut 6877 203-894-1800 // ridgefieldacademy.org Top administrator: James P. Heus Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: ridgefieldacademy.org/ open-house
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
RIPPOWAM CISQUA Lower School 325 W. Patent Road Mount Kisco, New York 10549 914-244-1200 Upper School 439 Cantitoe St. Bedford, New York 10506 914-244-12500 // rcsny.org Top administrator: Colm MacMahon Open house date: Oct. 17, Oct. 26 Open house registration: rcsny.org/open-house-tours RYE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 3 Cedar St. Rye, New York 10580 914-967-1417 // ryecountryday.org Top administrator: Scott A. Nelson Open house date: Oct. 30 Open house registration: ryecountryday.org/admissions/upcoming-events
SACRED HEART GREENWICH 1177 King St. Greenwich, Connecticut 06831 203-531-6500 // shgreenwich.org Top administrator: Margaret Frazier Open house date: Oct. 29 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date SAINT BARNABAS HIGH SCHOOL 425 E. 240 St. Bronx, New York 10470 718-325-8800 // stbarnabashigh.com Top administrator: Theresa Napoli Open house date: Oct. 19, Oct. 28 Open house registration: stbarnabashigh.com SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL 2320 Huntington Turnpike Trumbull, Connecticut 06611 203-378-9378 // sjcadets.org Top administrator: William Fitzgerald Open house date: Oct. 23 Open house registration: Released Aug. 3
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PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
SAINT LUKE’S SCHOOL 377 N. Wilton Road New Canaan, Connecticut 06840 203-966-5612 // stlukesct.org Top administrator: Mark Davis Open house date: Online Open house registration: info.stlukesct.org/usopenhouse2021 info.stlukesct.org/msopenhouse2021 SALESIAN HIGH SCHOOL 148 E. Main St. New Rochelle, New York 10801 914-632-0248 // salesianhigh.org Top administrator: John Serio Open house date: Oct. 22 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
SCHOOL OF THE HOLY CHILD
2225 Westchester Ave. Rye, New York 10580 914-967-5622 // holychildrye.org Top administrator: Colleen Pettus Open house date: Saturday, Oct. 16 Open house registration: accounts.veracross.com/ holychildrye/admissions?form=PreApplication
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
SOLOMON SCHECHTER SCHOOL OF WESTCHESTER- THE LEFFELL SCHOOL Upper School, 6-12 555 W. Hartsdale Ave. Hartsdale, New York 10530 914-948-8333 schechterwestchester.org Top administrator: Michael Kay Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
THE STORM KING SCHOOL 314 Mountain Road Cornwall-On-Hudson, New York 12520 845-534-7893 // sks.org Top administrator: Jonathan W. R. Lamb Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available
THE STANWICH SCHOOL 275 Stanwich Road Greenwich, Connecticut 06830 203-542-0000 // stanwichschool.org Top administrator: Charles Sachs Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
100 Overlook Circle New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-632-8836 // td.edu Top administrator: Douglas E. Fleming Jr. Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
as of press date
THORNTON-DONOVAN SCHOOL
Thornton-Donovan School Now Enrolling
F
or the 2022-23 academic year Thornton-Donovan School, located in the Beechmont and overlooking the lake of the same name. is focusing on Blue Gold. Blue Gold is the school’s academic theme. While the world continues to fret over barrels of oil, the Blue Gold Campaign will embrace the new oil – Blue Gold – “water” and fret over buckets not barrels. Incorporated within its classical college prep curriculum are over 20 courses just about water. T-D is also teaching six world languages (Spanish, French, Latin, Greek, Russian, Japanese) as well as teaching to the highest levels in English, math, science, social studies, art, architecture, music, the humanities, and AL, all at the
same time. T-D’s half century travel-study program continues in 2023. Last year T-D students and families made Malta, Sicily, Arezzo, and Milano their travel-study destinations. The Blue Gold effort beginning in February ’23 will be to Rome. Later in May T-D will be in Israel and early in June in Jordan. In all three destinations T-D will focus on water. Some of T-D’s Blue Gold courses are listed below for the reader: Droughts and Floods Humans and Climate The Law of the Sea Mars – Searching for water and life Etymology – water words Water in the Christian, Jewish,
and Muslim World Water Desalination Marine Biology Aqua Parks Water as a Weapon Water Diplomacy Water, Water Everywhere but … Lifeguarding Water
www.td.edu | 914-632-8836 | New Rochelle
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Water in Mythology Water and Anatomy Just add water – Cooking Just add water – watercolor painting T-D opens year 122 on September 8th. Good Tidings await everyone from grades K – 12.
PRIVATE & BOARDING SCHOOLS
P R E PA R I N G T H E N E X T G E N E R AT I O N
TRINITY CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL 926 Newfield Ave. Stamford, Connecticut 06905 203-322-3401 // trinitycatholic.org Top administrator: Dave Williams Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
THE URSULINE SCHOOL
TRINITY-PAWLING 700 Route 22 Pawling, New York 12564 845-855-3100 // trinitypawling.org Top administrator: William W. Taylor Director of admission: JP Burlington Open house date: Oct. 29 Open house registration: trinitypawling.org/admissions/events
THE WINDWARD SCHOOL Middle School 40 W. Red Oak Lane White Plains, New York 10604 Top administrator: John J. Russell Open house date: Information not available as of press date Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
1354 North Ave. New Rochelle, New York 10804 914-636-3950 // ursulinenewrochelle.org Top administrator: Colleen Melnyk Open house date: High School: Oct.25; All School Open House: Oct.29; Middle School Info Night: Nov. 9 Open house registration: Information not available as of press date
WINSTON PREPARATORY SCHOOL 57 W. Rocks Road Norwalk, Connecticut 06851 203-229-0465 // winstonprep.edu Top administrator: Beth Sugerman Open house date: No specific date Open house registration: winstonprep.schooladminonline.com/portal/new_inquiry WOOSTER SCHOOL 91 Miry Brook Road Danbury, Connecticut 06810 203-830-3916 // woosterschool.org Top administrator: Matt Byrnes Open house date: Open house registration: woosterschool.org
Developing curious, intelligent, condent women of tomorrow.
OPEN HOUSES High School Tue. Oct 25, 6:30pm All School Sat. Oct. 29, 11am-2pm Middle School Info Night Wed. Nov. 9, 6:30 pm
“Maker Space Thursdays”
ursulinenewrochelle.org
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The pandemic brings changes to the home BY CAMI WEINSTEIN
The pandemic has fueled so many changes in our lives. How we work, live, purchase and socialize have been upended with a lot of movement still happening. During the pandemic, many of us looked around and decided we had too much space or not enough space. In many instances, the space was not conducive to the new lifestyles we were living and working in. This caused us to reevaluate how we were living and how we wanted to live, resulting in a tremendous shift in many industries. Indeed, the interior design industry has been turned on its head. We tend to be creatures of habit and procrastination. Suddenly staying “home” gave us the chance to look around and see that the furniture was worn out, the house needed painting and the mail and magazines were piled up and not put away. We wanted to make our spaces fresh, personalized and comfortable. Personalization has been the key word in my work since the inception of my interior design studio many years ago. Personalization has taken on new meaning for my clients now, too. They’re looking for styles and colors that reflect their personalities. I am so welcoming this change. Current features most clients are looking for in their home design are delineated spaces. Open concept is taking a back seat to more traditionally laid-out rooms. Clients are also looking for spaces that can be used in more than one way. An example
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of this would be a New York City apartment that has a second bedroom. This space is now often used as an office, guest bedroom and/ or dining room. How do you achieve getting all of that in one room? A desk, pull-out sofa and dining table can often make this room into a multiuse room. Another example would be to take over an entry foyer. Some foyers in an apartment are large enough for a small center table that can double as a dining table. Or line the foyer with built-in bookshelves for a mini library. Add a desk and then the area becomes a home office that can give you a quiet area of your home to work in. In larger homes, take the built-in desk out of the kitchen and create a home office in an extra bedroom. Putting a desk in a guest room is wonderful for
“In larger homes, take the built-in desk out of the kitchen and create a home office in an extra bedroom,” writes WAG interior design columnist Cami Weinstein.
visitors who may need to work while they are staying with you. The downside would be needing to work in that space while you have guests staying with you. Carefully considering where you would put your own workspace within your home is important if you are using that space several times a week. I would also make this space personal with color, wallpaper and a less commercial-looking desk. Working from home is great, but it doesn’t need to be sterile. After all, you are spending a large portion of your day in that space. A good task chair is always important, especially if you are sitting at your desk for long periods of time. Smart, well-thought-out storage solutions are a must no matter how small or large your space is. Having your living area without distracting piles of clutter is calming. In this often-chaotic world, a calm home and working environment is essential to our well-being. Embrace the changes that are happening in your world. Refreshing or moving to a new space can give you the chance to live a new lifestyle in a new environment. Design your space to please where you are in your life journey and remember the most important rule when decorating your home is to surround yourself with pieces, colors and the style you love, not necessarily what is on trend. Your home is your refuge, so don’t be afraid to decorate and design it for yourself and your family. Cami Weinstein Designs LLC is at 8 Main St. in East Hampton. For more, call 914447-6904 or email info@ camidesigns.com.
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At auction, what’s old is new again BY KATIE BANSER-WHITTLE
It’s only natural: When we want to learn more about hot topics, we automatically turn to the latest sources of information to educate ourselves. A search engine like Google is our first go-to, and most often directs us to recent articles, this week’s news stories and up-to-the-minute websites. But not all wisdom is current. Old books, sometimes even very old and obscure books, can make important contributions to a better understanding of today’s issues. Mental illness and racial justice are two important topics right now that call for us to become better educated. There are many sources of information. Isn’t this the so-called “information age"? Certainly, these sources include books published hundreds of years ago, offering insights that are relevant today. John Dorfman, director of books and manuscripts at Skinner — which was acquired by Bonhams in March — points to two outstanding examples that will be featured in an upcoming online auction, Aug. 15 through 23. The first is a volume published in 1583, which includes several works by Johannes Wier advocating humane treatment of the mentally ill. Throughout history and in every culture, people have sought explanations for disturbed thinking and disturbing behavior. Even today, some still believe that these symptoms are the result of possession by demons and caused by witchcraft. One of the earliest tests to
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identify mental illness and not demonic possession as the root of such problems dates from the mid-16th century. In that spirit, Johannes Wier, a Dutch physician, authored several treatises, arguing that people accused of witchcraft were actually mentally ill and should be treated rather than punished. Another “old” book that sheds more light on one of today’s most controversial issues is Frederick Douglass’ “My Bondage and My Freedom” (1855). A self-educated social reformer, speaker and writer, Douglass escaped slavery in 1838. His gifted oratory and best-selling works soon made him a prominent leader of the abolitionist movement. Douglass’ books and articles, with their eloquent accounts of his experiences as a slave and later as a political activist and statesman, were widely read here and abroad. They were not only powerful arguments for the abolition of slavery; they also underscored the importance of education and literacy towards achieving that goal. As Douglass himself wrote, "knowledge is the pathway from slavery to freedom." Despite such treasures, print has struggled in the digital age,
when even vintage works can be accessed online. Still, there’s a unique appeal in the look and feel of a book. It may be the allure of a fine binding or the patina of long use. Or even the sense of holding history in your hands. Bonham Skinner’s department of books and paper, including documents, letters, maps and natural history prints, is a leading resource for
both buyers and sellers. If you want to enrich your personal library, or you have items to consider for consignment, contact books@bonhamsskinner.com. And for more, contact Katie at katie.whittle@bonhamsskinner.com or 212-787-1114.
YOUR MOMENTS MADE MEMORABLE N Y
H O S P I T A L I T Y
G R O U P
W W W. N Y H G R O U P. C O M
C O N T A C T
(914) 949-3543
U S
(914) 949-3543
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(914) 686-2277 AUGUST 2022
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We ’l P
e v a h s y a w ) s l l e t o a l ris (h a
Café de la Paix, Paris. Photograph by Jérome Galland. And (right) InterContinental Paris Le Grand Junior Suite with a view of the Paris Opera. Photograph by Eric Cuvillier.
BY JEREMY WAYNE
There can be few hotels as grand as InterContinental Paris Le Grand, one of the most historic hotels in the world, which is celebrating its 160th birthday this year. Inaugurated in 1862 by the charismatic wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie de Montijo, the hotel has hosted kings, emperors, shahs and maharajahs, along with their significant others. Their significant entourages, too: Once upon a time an entire floor of the original four-story, 800 room-hotel was given over to guests’ personal staffs, valets and ladies’ maids. In more recent times, American presidents along with stars of space and screen — Harry Truman, Buzz Aldrin and John Travolta among them — have enjoyed Le Grand’s hospitality.
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Kimpton St. Honoré Paris, rooftop view. Courtesy IHG.
The hotel sits at right-angles to Palais Garnier — better known as the Paris Opera — and with its lashings of gilt, marble, stone and lavish statuary, Le Grand can seem hardly less grand than the opulent opera house itself. Take its Opera Ballroom for instance, with its 40-foot ceilings, monumental chandelier and hall of mirrors. “You can rent the room for a gala reception for 450 people, a cocktail reception for 1,200 — or, if you please, dinner for two,” Diane-Laure Dudoué, the hotel’s charming public relations director, informed me on a recent tour of the property. The hotel boasts a vast number of room categories and styles, as well as junior, full and presidential suites, including one dedicated to Sarah Bernhardt. From the balcony of my thirdfloor junior suite, I could almost touch Charles Gumery’s celebrat-
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ed gilded sculptures that adorn the roof of the opera house, and it gave me a thrill to imagine Charles Leroux’s Phantom of the Opera, from his 1910 novel of the same name, stalking the catacombs below. But you don’t stay at Le Grand just for history, although history is palpably all around you. You come for the enduring beauty of the place, the centrality of the location and the overall experience of a fabulous big city hotel. Almost a city in itself, despite its great age, Le Grand is no dinosaur — far from it. It boasts the most luxurious creature comforts, the latest technology and all the excitement of a marvelously well-oiled enterprise. At street level is Café de la Paix, one of the great dining rooms of Paris. It has been stunningly restored so that it looks exactly as it did when the hotel first opened.
At lunch, teatime or at dinner, Café de la Paix takes you back to an age of almost unimaginable refinement. The menu is bang up to date, even if the service can be a little patchy at times, when the line for tables extends along the Place de l’Opéra sidewalk. Then, there’s La Verrière, or the winter garden — the original entrance of the hotel, before carriages gave way to cars — with its magnificent glass conservatory roof. And you’ll swoon at the lobby with its vast marble columns, it’s polka-dot marble floor and flower arrangements the height of small mountains. There is nowhere quite like Le Grand. Then again, there are alternatives. Across the street from InterContinental Paris Le Grand — in the former La Samaritaine department store, which dates from 1917 — InterContinental Hotel Group has recently launched
Kimpton St. Honoré Paris the Kimpton brand having been bought by IHG back in 2015. While Le Grand is all about, well, grandeur, Kimpton is all about contemporary style and lightness of touch. Of course, like grandeur, “lightness” must be designed and made to shine, but it is more exposed with nowhere to hide the seams. The elevator, a literal gilded cage operated with an elaborate maze of pulleys, no longer runs, at least not for guests every day. Yet it sits there in the lobby, the gate wide open, reminding present-day guests that aesthetic beauty and supreme functionality need not be mutually exclusive. Paying homage to Kimpton’s Californian heritage — the hotel group was founded in San Francisco — is the bright, informal Montecito Café, which overlooks the courtyard garden, with its
superb “living walls.” While there is no shortage of chia seeds, kale and avocado toast on the on-trend menu, there is also scrumptious fried chicken and a hamburger made from the finest Aubrac beef. The French fries, as you have every right to expect, are excellent. Bedrooms are light and airy. I upgraded to a small suite, with a beautiful, cream fabric, semicircular sofa and two deep armchairs sitting on the pale wood floor. A gleaming red Nespresso coffee machine practically called out to me to make coffee, (whether I drank it or not) and there were drinks and goodies galore to enjoy, like Negronis and ginger Cosmos, artisanal chips, sea salt chocolate and chocolate truffles. Gin and vodka along with other spirits come in decent-sized bottles, a good accompaniment no doubt to the contents of a box tantalizingly labeled “Pleasure Game.” In the hotel’s basement, a lovely pool is heated between 80 and 84 degrees, and both male and female massage therapists are available to pummel you in the on-site hammam. For yet another wonderful Kimpton experience, head up to the 10th floor (this hotel is tall for Paris), where the almost wraparound view extends from the Palais Garnier all the way to the Eiffel Tower and beyond. It’s a glorious cityscape and, to add to the fun, a seasonal bar is open late for drinks and cocktails. With the Church of the Madeleine down the block, Cartier directly across the street and the Opéra Metro stop a mere 50 yards away, it’s hard to think of a single, solitary box that this enchanting new Paris hotel doesn’t tick. For more, visit parislegrand. intercontinental.com and kimptonshonoreparis.com. Kimpton St. Honoré Paris, lift. Courtesy IHG. AUGUST 2022
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BY JEREMY WAYNE
Pool at The J House Greenwich. Courtesy The J House Greenwich. 60 AUGUST 2022
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e ) ces
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At a party once, I sat next to a girl, named Autumn Sunshine — you don’t easily forget a name like that — who was telling me about her new Alfa Romeo, a car of intense coolness back in the day.
I was impressed. I was 16 and just learning to drive and Autumn didn’t seem much older. “Oh,” I asked (for want of anything better to say,) “do you drive?” To which Autumn witheringly replied, “No, I just have a car and push it.” This was an ace one-liner, a spontaneous piece of sarcasm as witty as it was cruel, and it has stayed long in my memory. I thought about it again only the other day when filling up my car at the pump and paying roughly 30% more for gas than I would have paid a year ago. Brava, Autumn. I am now thinking quite seriously about just having a car and pushing it myself. I’d lose weight and simultaneously save a fortune. All of which rather mitigates against this month’s travel column, which is where I’m going to recommend some wonderful Connecticut hotels and inns — all drivable, no matter where
Marina at Saybrook Point Resort & Marina. Courtesy Saybrook Point Resort & Marina.
in WAG country you’re located. With Covid and its myriad variants once again on the rise, Monkey Pox causing consternation, especially in New York City, and the current staffing crisis spawning chaos at airports across the globe, vacations closer to home that you can reach by car are once again an appealing option.
THE DELAMAR HOTELS, GREENWICH HARBOR, SOUTHPORT AND WEST HARTFORD
Owned and operated by Greenwich Hospitality Group, the Delamar trio is known for its great food, soothing spa treatments and luxurious rooms and amenities in picturesque, maritime settings. (And let me pause here to say do visit L’escale, the independent restaurant at the Delamar
Greenwich Harbor, before it closes Dec. 2. It will reopen with the same staff, which will continue to be helmed by executive chef Frederic Kieffer, and the same Mediterranean menu and look but with a refresh and expanded services, under the hospitality group’s umbrella.) But here I want to concentrate on the farthest Delamar, West Hartford, where in true Delamar fashion all the guest rooms and public spaces feature original art by local artists, most of it for sale. (Just choose your pic and the staff will wrap it up for you to take home at the end of your stay.) And if you hadn’t thought of taking a vacay in West Hartford, think again, because this hotel has lots to offer, including Bulgari bathroom products, an excellent small spa and a terrific restaurant, Artisan, also overseen by Kieffer, where as much of the produce as possible is locally sourced,
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or comes from the hotel’s own kitchen garden. And if it’s more science and culture you’re after, then this refreshing hotel is also the perfect base for visiting such neighboring Hartford sites as the Connecticut Science Center, The Mark Twain House & Museum and the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. delamar.com
THE J HOUSE, OLD GREENWICH
One look at the white canvas cabanas around the swimming pool at The J House Greenwich and you could be forgiven for thinking you had landed slapbang in the middle of Beverly Hills, or even the South of France. With its post-modern design and curated collection of Modern and Pop art, it’s as visually arresting on the outside as it is indoors and its dreamy, vine-covered terrace is just made for summer evenings. Even locals who simply need a break from routine have been known to shut their own front door and head over to The J House for a couple of nights of decompression and pampering. Tony’s is the well-known onsite Italian steakhouse and bar. jhousegreenwich.com
MADISON BEACH HOTEL, MADISON
Summertime and the livin’ is — or should be — easy. If it’s a few uncomplicated, relaxing days by the water you fancy, without crowds and without glitz, then you want to grab a bucket and spade and type “Madison Beach Hotel” into your Google app and head out to the shore, pronto. Located right on the Long Island Sound between New Haven and Old Lyme, this attractive, well-established and well-maintained resort boasts three bars, a charming restaurant for great
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Library at The White Hart Inn. Photograph by Allegra Anderson.
New England dining and a highend spa. It’s pet-friendly, too. hilton.com
THE ROGER SHERMAN INN, NEW CANAAN
Completely renovated three years ago, this 250-year-old inn boasts polished hardwood floors, zingy soft furnishings and gleaming white linens. The 15 guest rooms are the last word in understated luxury, but luxe as they are, the inn’s real draw is its restaurant, where chef Christophe Cadou wears the whites and offers a superb cuisine of American classics with a French or Provençal accent. Indeed, more of a European-style “restaurant with rooms” than a resort hotel, the Roger Sherman is the perfect spot for a romantic or culinary getaway or simply a quick overnight “battery recharge.” rogershermaninn. com
SAYBROOK POINT RESORT & MARINA, SAYBROOK
Far removed from most folks’ day-to-day reality, Saybrook Point Resort & Marina is the sort of place you arrive at and say, “I can’t believe we live so close.” Between the Sound and the Connecticut River, Saybrook Point combines New England and maritime history with contemporary small-town charm. Honestly, it’s magic. Accommodations run the gamut, 82 rooms in total, from simple doubles to spacious suites in the main house, with two handsome, historic adjoining guesthouses, just the place to play at being your very own sea captain (or pirate). The resort restaurant, Fresh Salt, takes its name from the sea, offering dishes like squeaky fresh oysters and baked stuffed clams. And like the Madison above, the resort’s small spa punches way above its weight. saybrook.com
THE WHITE HART INN, SALISBURY
Here’s another New England inn with a past, but happily also a present and a vibrant one at that. Located close to the Massachusetts state line and handy for the Appalachian Trail, the atmospheric inn was built in 1806. (Fun fact: It’s where John Harney launched Harney & Sons teas in the basement.) Despite its historic antecedents, the inn offers all manner of 21st creature comforts. There are king-size four-poster beds and Carrara-marble bathrooms, but perhaps even more interesting is the inn’s artwork, with works by the likes of Terry Winters, Frank Stella and British artist Hugo Guinness. Another British talent, the celebrated chef (and partner in the inn) Annie Wayte, runs the kitchen, where her modern European menu continues to draw plaudits. whitehartinn.com
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Honest wines from Landmark Vineyards BY DOUG PAULDING
I just returned from a luncheon with winemaker Greg Stach of Landmark Vineyards at The Palm Midtown restaurant on West 50th Street, Manhattan. I have tasted Landmark wines before, but I knew little of the winery and nothing of the winemaker. We met at the table and he quickly opened a bottle of his 2020 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay. He watched me swirl, sniff and taste and looked at me expectantly. I told him, “Very nice. A clean, fresh, unmanipulated Chardonnay with piercing and present fruit, not unbalanced or overwhelmed by oak. An honest wine.” Delighted, Greg told me, “In this wine are grapes from 42 different winery plots from many top Sonoma County vineyards. We spend much time in the vineyards and let them know when the grapes are ready for harvest. We then ferment, vinify and oak-age each plot into a standalone Chardonnay. After 10 months in French oak, we pull together a small tasting team and assemble the finished wine from specific percentages of all the plots. It gives us very specific control on our final product.” We then tasted his 2019 Landmark Overlook Pinot Noir. Again, the subtle use of oak added mouthfeel and a presence to the wine without dominating the fruit. The grapes were sourced from Sonoma, Monterey and Santa Barbara counties, all hand-harvested, destemmed, fermented, oak-aged for 10 months and then bottled. Fresh red cherry and strawberry f lavors, with a pleasant
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acidic backbone, emerged. Then subtle hints of vanilla, red licorice and fine black pepper joined the fun. Another winning, honest wine. As a young man, Greg Stach worked in restaurants and developed a love and a passion for wine. He decided to enter California State University, Fresno, which claimed to have the nation’s first oenology program on a college campus, to pursue grape growing and winemak-
ing. But the required sciences overwhelmed him and he migrated into the journalism program. He graduated with his journalism degree and became a journalist, supplementing his income and interests with restaurant sommelier jobs. But he just couldn’t shake that winemaker dream, and a few years later he reenrolled in his alma mater. I asked him how he conquered the required science courses. “It’s amazing how much more focus and drive you have to succeed when you’re paying for the education. I finished the program in three more years of college in 2001 and quickly found job opportunities.” Landmark Vineyards was founded in 1974 by Damaris Deere Ford, the great-great-granddaughter of John Deere of tractor fame. She and a team bought some land and planted Chardonnay. Slowly Ford bought out other principals until she was the sole proprietor. In 1989, she moved the operation to Sonoma County with stun-
Greg Stach of Landmark Vineyards, sipping and seeing. Two of the vintages that WAG wine columnist Doug Paulding tried recently with him were the 2019 Landmark Overlook Pinot Noir and the 2020 Landmark Overlook Chardonnay. Courtesy Landmark Vineyards.
ning and expansive views of the Mayacamas Mountains. In 1993, Landmark convinced winemaker and consultant Helen Turley to help it hone its craft. Turley encouraged the vineyard to use native yeasts and French oak aging for the Chardonnay, among other things. In 1995, Landmark decided to venture into Pinot Noir with a wine called Grand Detour, its first red vintage, still made today. In 2016, Landmark purchased the Hop Kiln Estate in Sonoma County, which gave it an additional consumer contact area with another tasting facility, a restaurant, elegant rooms for overnight stays and inside and outside event spaces. Since 1997, Landmark’s Overlook Chardonnay has been on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wine List eight times. Landmark’s wine labels have a simple elegance that prepares you for the experience. The calligraphic script, written in gold against a deep purple background for the Pinot and a forest green one for the Chardonnay, are minimalist, clear and honest. Each of these Landmark Overlook wines we tasted can be found in a store or on the website, landmarkwine.com, for under $30. Landmark has a variety of other Chards and Pinots available ranging from $25 to $85. These wines will enhance any occasion and any food. Any guest will be impressed, honestly. Write me at doug@dougpaulding.com.
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Cho s
g living n i os nior ns e ptio o BY ABBE UDOCHI
“This will be my third and final move with my husband,” Pat Mulvey, 73, a social worker, explained as she laid out the plans to move to a continuing care retirement community (CCRC) set to open in the fall of 2023. “I figure we are pretty damn lucky,” she said with excitement and gusto. Pat and husband Michael Cornman, 87, an intellectual property attorney still working with a firm based in Stamford, are looking forward to their move to the nonprofit Broadview Senior Living at Purchase College. They raised Michael’s two children from a previous marriage (he was a widower) in the Irvington house he thought he’d stay in for the rest of his life. Over time, both encountered health issues and saw the wisdom of downsizing to a smaller nearby house. Now it’s time to transition to a community that offers increasing levels of care if needed. While they are moving into an independent living apartment at Broadview, “the ability to move into assisted living if needs increase is good for us,” said Pat. As a CCRC, Broadview will also offer assisted living and memory care to residents as well as personal care services such as dining, laundry and other daily housekeeping chores. Broadview is a university-based retirement community on a vibrant college campus that is attracting a diverse group of residents interested in lifelong learning. As charter members of this community, they can enroll in classes now, an option Pat is considering. Moving at any stage of your
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life becomes more inviting and less stressful when it is thought of in terms of benefits, not losses and sacrifices. Social interaction, prepared meals and even taking classes can make a difference. Social care options Many elderly couples, those aging on their own and children or other relatives of seniors, often come to a juncture where they wonder if aging in place is best or if they should explore supportive living arrangements. Fortunately, senior living options abound in this area. According to seniorliving.org, 610 assisted living and 440 independent living facilities call New York home. Connecticut counts 276 assisted living and 148 independent living communities, reports seniorhomes.com. For continuing care communities, Connecticut has 27, New York has 12. To judge the best candidates for each housing type, consider what each provides: • Independent living is for adults who do not require personal assistance or medical care but want access if needed. Meals, laundry and dining are provided by the community as well as transportation to appointments and errands, activities and socialization.
• Assisted living is for adults who need support with activities of daily living like medication management, bathing, dressing, some medical services, meals and transportation to appointments, errands, activities and socialization. Most move into assisted living between the ages of 75 and 84, according to whereyoulivematters. org. • Memory care is specialized assisted living for adults with cognitive impairment, dementia and high-care needs. • Continuing care residential communities are for adults who want the full spectrum of care available. The substantial cost allows access to all levels of care from independent living to memory care. Milliman, an actuarial firm, reports “over the past decade, the average age at move-in has increased, with many facilities reporting that their residents are 80 to 85 years old.” Residents must be capable of living independently upon move-in. Medical care option For elderly people who require a medical model of care 24 hours a day, including assistance with three or more activities of daily living such as ambulation, using the bathroom, bathing, dressing, eating and medical management, skilled nursing facilities traditionally called nursing homes may be the best choice. Financing senior living Affordability is always paramount in any plan. It’s best to meet with a financial planner or a trust and estates attorney early in the process to understand the financing options available. Initiate a plan before a crisis strikes if at all possible. Relatives caring for loved ones, couples and solo agers should consider how best to use income, savings, real estate,
insurance and resources from social security, Veterans Administration, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, stocks and bonds and long-term care insurance to fund the best housing possible. Medicaid can fund assisted living and nursing home care. It provides health coverage to 7.4 million New Yorkers (New York State Department of Health) and close to one million Connecticut residents (Connecticut Department of Social Services), including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities. Range of Costs The cost of care in the metro area, is as wide-ranging as the options. The average monthly costs in Westchester County are $4,729 for independent living; $5,500 to $16,000 for assisted living; and $14,000 for a nursing home. In Fairfield County, the average monthly costs are $4,763 for independent living; $7,838 for assisted living; and $14, 113 for a nursing home. Moving forward Pat Mulvey sagely advised: “Why wait until something happens? Why wait until you fall down the stairs? Why wait until a pipe bursts and you can’t reach the plumber and you don’t know what to do? My husband used to say he will wait until he is carried out feet first. But what is the point in that?” Giving yourself time to consider the various options, costs and financing vehicles clearly makes the decision and the transition smoother. However, if you find yourself in a crisis situation, don’t despair. It’s not uncommon for health issues to occur without warning at any age and certainly more often with seniors. There are always options. Even more important than planning is never to be afraid to seek help in decision-making, whatever the stage of life or the circumstances. For more, visit concierge-care.com.
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Should you be visiting a hospital patient any time soon, Betsy McCaughey has a few words of advice for you: Forget the flowers and ditch the chocolates.
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BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
s
Bets yM ‘RI
t s n t a o w y e h g o s f u l i a n t fect i a p Cc hos i on ’D Instead, bring bleach wipes, hand wipes and sanitary gloves. McCaughey (pronounced “McCoy”), who served as lieutenant governor of New York state during George Pataki’s first term (1995 to ’98), is the founding chair of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) — an educational organization that seeks to mitigate hospital and nursing home infections, state by state. Since its creation in 2005, RID has advocated successfully for reporting on infection rates in 37 states, including New York and Connecticut, along with Washington, D.C. And, McCaughey adds, “Medicare is now rating hospitals and nursing homes on infections.” A passionate woman who tempers her forthrightness with humor, McCaughey tells WAG that it was her time spent as lieutenant governor — “a long time ago, before the Civil War” — that led to the establishment of RID. “People came to me with their health concerns,” she says, add-
ing that increasingly, these were variations on the same theme — an infection that developed during or after a hospital or nursing home stay. “Almost all were preventable.” As she elaborated in a recent address to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in Athens: “The evidence is compelling that the single biggest predictor of which patients contract a health care infection is not their age or even the diagnosis that brought them to the hospital. The biggest predictor of which patients contract infections is actually what room or bed they’re assigned to. “If a patient is placed in a room or bed where a previous patient, even weeks before, had (the bacterial infections) MRSA or VRE or C. diff, for example, the incoming patient’s risk goes way up. Why? Because of inadequate terminal cleaning.” It’s not just that you clean but what, how, when and where you clean as well, as RID’s tips
Betsy McCaughey, former lieutenant governor of New York state and founding chair of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (RID). Courtesy RID.
Be hospital healthy for infection-free hospital and nursing home stays suggest. (See sidebar.) Toilet seats understandably get a lot of attention. Bed rails, call buttons and side tables — not so much. And if you use sanitary gloves but don’t wash your hands properly before putting them on, you’re only contaminating the gloves. In a nursing home in particular — where you might find yourself in the role of patient advocate — there are numerous questions to ask, including what is being done there to prevent bed sores? Is the patient receiving daily oral care, a lack of which can lead to life-threatening pneumonia? Born in Pittsburgh, McCaughey was raised in Fairfield County before “crossing state lines,” as she puts it, to attend Vassar College on a scholarship and then earn her Ph.D. in constitutional history at Columbia University. “I thought I’d be a college professor,” says the metro area resident. And indeed, she taught at both institutions and wrote two books on constitutional history as well as studies for the conservative think tanks the Manhattan Institute and the Hudson Institute, which was founded in Croton-on-Hudson. But she was always interested in health and health policy. Among her more than 100 scholarly and popular articles on the subject is a 1994 critique of the Clinton health plan for The New Republic that won a National Magazine Award for best article on public policy. When she was drafted to run for lieutenant governor, she focused on health issues. Now as a weekly syndicated columnist for the New York Post, her conservative views have a broader scope. But in the spirit of nonpartisanship, we ask her to assess health care over-
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The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths’ (RID) website has 15 steps for mitigating infections in nursing homes and 10 for avoiding hospital infections. We’ve conflated the lists to offer five salient points: 1. Before visiting anyone in a hospital or nursing home, check your own health. Leave small children attended at home as RID says they are “germ machines.” 2. Forgo gifts and instead bring the patient bleach wipes, premoistened wipes and sanitary gloves. Wash your hands before donning the gloves. Use the bleach wipes to disinfect the room, especially such neglected areas as guardrails, side tables, call buttons and TV remotes. Give the patient a hand wipe before s/he eats, keeping all food and utensils on the plate. 3. Be a patient advocate. Ask the pertinent questions: Do attendants wash their hands before touching the patient? Does s/he need a special bed and foam padding to avoid bed sores and, if so, does s/he get turned every two hours? Has the patient been vaccinated against the flu and Covid? Is s/he tested regularly for MRSA and other infections? Does the patient require an antibiotic before surgery? 4. Understand catheterization and IVs. Avoid a urinary tract catheter if possible or prolonged use of it. If you need a central-line catheter, ask for one that is antibiotic- impregnated or coated in silver-chlorhexidine. Make sure IVs are cleanly inserted and changed every three to four days. 5. Don’t neglect oral care. Keep the patient’s mouth and teeth clean to avoid bacteria from being aspirated into the lungs, causing pneumonia. (Keeping the patient’s head elevated and having him/her do deep breathing exercises will also help stave off pneumonia.) For more, visit hospitalinfection.org.
all, regardless of who sits in the White House. Not surprisingly, she finds our health-care system too hospital focused, whether it’s the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which she says is “more involved with hospitals than with patients,” or physicians themselves. “It used to be that you’d go and pick a doctor and the doctor would listen to what you had to say,” McCaughey observes. “Now they’re glued to a screen. Electronic reporting started out as a good thing, but it’s turning doctors into robots. They’re like travel agents,” she adds with a laugh. “Very few doctors are in private practice,” she continues. “They work for hospitals. So what we are witnessing is the demise of the independent physician.” While technology may have created another layer of challenges for the medical profession, McCaughey told the audience at the Niarchos Foundation — which included special guest, architect Renzo Piano — that technology can be an ally in the fight against hospital and nursing home infections: “Fortunately, a new generation of automatic disinfection techniques is coming into play that can be used 24/7 with no danger to staff or patients, including diluted hydrogen peroxide systems installed in the HVAC systems and Far-UV lights. Reduce Infection Deaths (RID) is encouraging hospitals and public agencies to investigate these alternatives. The human and financial costs of hospital infections are so high, (as much as $94,000 for a central-line bloodstream infection), that investing in technologies to provide patients with a disinfected environment makes economic sense.”
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A physical therapist’s antidote to anxiety BY NICK ROLNICK
Make no mistake about it: As a society, Americans today have a collective wrecked psyche. For two-plus years, we have been ravaged not only by Covid-19 but perhaps more so by the stress caused by lockdowns and surge scares and our neglect of overall health. Combine that with the uncertainty of today’s world-from economic challenges to Supreme Court rulings to mass murders, and you have the recipe for mental health disorders. The most common of these is anxiety, affecting 40 million adult Americans alone. As The Human Performance Mechanic, my “antidote to anxiety” is my two-word, lifetime mantra — work out. Exercise has been shown to be as effective as medication in treating anxiety disorders by promoting healthy brain function, improving mood and reducing stress. When you exercise, your body releases a cocktail of chemicals that offers a host of benefits. Endorphins act as natural painkillers to help improve your mood. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood as well, promoting feelings of well-being and happiness. Both types of exercise, aerobic and anaerobic, produce these chemicals of optimism. Aerobic exercise is any activity that gets your heart rate up and makes you breathe harder. This includes walking, running, biking, swimming and dancing, shown to be especially effective in reducing anxiety symptoms. Anaerobic exercise involves quick bursts of energy and is performed at maximum effort for a short time. Examples include jumping, sprinting, heavy weight lifting and resistance training. Your respiration and heart rate
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differ in aerobic activities versus anaerobic ones. Oxygen is your main energy source during aerobic workouts as you breathe faster and deeper than when your heart rate is at rest. You’re maximizing the amount of oxygen in the blood. Your heart rate goes up, increasing blood flow to the muscles and back to the lungs. During anaerobic exercise, your body requires immediate energy and relies on stored energy sources rather than oxygen to fuel itself. Your fitness goals should determine whether you should participate in aerobic or anaerobic exercise. If you’re new to exercise, you should probably start with aerobic exercises (walking, running, biking) to build up endurance to support future resistance training sessions. Plus, you don’t need a health club. I am partial to building muscle mass and strength, because when we build muscle, we are also providing additional benefits to our mind and body. For those with injuries who cannot get into heavy lifting, there is a technique called Blood Flow Restriction training, which simply gives you the same benefits of lifting heavy weights
Nick Rolnick, seen here with Colette Levy, is the founding owner of The Human Performance Mechanic, based in Manhattan. Courtesy The Human Performance Mechanic.
with lighter weights. BFR allows you to ‘tap the pump’ without joint stress. It’s not if, it’s when you’ll need Blood Flow Restriction. In the past decade, we’ve discovered that muscles are much more than aesthetically pleasing additions to our appearance. Research has found that the addition of aerobic and/or resistance training enhances the body’s ability to combat some of the processes thought to contribute to the symptoms of anxiety, including inflammation. Now, it’s time to take the leap of faith and, if you were a health-club buff, get back to the gym. Or if not, take to the pavement. As hard as it might be to begin the journey of exercise, especially when you’re feeling down, here’s one simple piece of advice that has served my clients well: Start small. Many fail to make changes because the initial decision itself can be overwhelming. But in the words of either the Irish statesman Edmund Burke or the English cleric Sydney Smith, “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing, because he could do only a little.” So if you drive to places you could walk to, then walk. If you must drive, then park in the farthest spot possible to get in some extra steps. On the surface it may seem silly
or unproductive, but beginning a routine with small, beneficial lifestyle choices can provide a solid foundation for when you are ready to make those larger changes. Physical therapist Nick Rolnick is the founding owner of The Human Performance Mechanic, specializing in McKenzie Therapy (mechanical diagnosis and therapy) and Blood Flow Restriction training. A graduate of Scarsdale High School, he has had an interest in sports and performance from his days as captain of the baseball team at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he achieved all-conference honors, to his more recent pursuits as a men’s physique competitor. Since graduating with a Master of Science degree in health promotion management from American University in Washington, D.C., he has earned a doctorate in physical therapy with honors at Columbia University in Manhattan. Rolnick taught kinesiology in the Master of Science Applied Exercise Science program at Concordia University in Chicago and undergraduate kinesiology at Lehman College in the Bronx. For more, visit thehpmny.com and bfrtraining.com.
How Can I Protect My Home with Minimal Impact on My Life? By: Anthony J. Enea, Esq.
F
or more than three (3) decades I have alerted seniors of the need to be proactive in taking steps to protect their home from the cost of long-term care. Amazingly, and in spite of all that has been written about Elder Law, Medicaid eligibility and asset protection planning over the last three decades, there are still tens of thousands of at-risk seniors in New York who have not taken any steps to protect their life savings, and specifically, their home. Of all the differing assets one owns, the home is perhaps the easiest to protect with minimal impact on one’s life and finances. For example, one’s home (single or multi-family primary residence, vacation home, condo and if the Co-op Board permits, a cooperative apartment) can be transferred to an Irrevocable Medicaid Asset Protection Trust (MAPT). When doing so the owners of the home creating the MAPT retain the right to the use and possession of the home (transferred to the MAPT) during their lifetime. The Trustee(s) (presumably their children or other loved ones) cannot sell or rent the home without their permission. The creators of the MAPT can retain the power to remove and replace the Trustee(s) and to change their mind as to whom will receive the trust assets upon their demise. The transfer of the property to the MAPT will create a five
(5) year lookback (ineligibility period) for Medicaid nursing home and soon it is anticipated to create a thirty (30) month lookback for Medicaid homecare in New York (once COVID emergency is lifted). If properly drafted, the MAPT can be structured so that the creators of the MAPT are deemed the owners of the home and trust assets, for income tax purposes. Thus, retaining the ability to utilize the personal residence exclusion for capital gains taxes ($250,000 if single, $500,000 if married), in the event the house is sold by the MAPT during the life of the MAPT creator(s). Additionally, the creator(s) retains any STAR, Senior Citizens, Veterans and other tax exemption they may be entitled to. If the house is sold after it is transferred to the MAPT and before the creator(s) passes, the proceeds of sale can be used to purchase another home in the name of the MAPT. Thus, once the lookback period has expired the newly purchased home and any remaining proceeds of sale will be protected and not impact eligibility for Medicaid. Thus, as stated above, transferring one’s home to a MAPT presents little or no inconvenience to the homeowners. They continue to maintain the home and pay all of the expense of the home as if they and not the MAPT owns it. The only
bill that changes is the property and casualty insurance for the home, which needs to name the Trust as the primary insured. In conclusion, using a MAPT to protect one’s home(s) from the cost of long-term care is minimally intrusive to one’s lifestyle and finances, while providing the eventual benefit that one’s equity in the home is sheltered.
Anthony J. Enea is a member of Enea, Scanlan and Sirignano, LLP of White Plains, New York. He focuses his practice on Wills, Trusts and Estates and Elder Law. Mr. Enea is the Past Chair of Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), and is the past Chair of the 50+ Section of the NYSBA. Mr. Enea is a Past President and Founding member of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). Mr. Enea is the Immediate Past President of the Westchester County Bar Foundation and a Past President of the Westchester County Bar Association. Mr. Enea can be reached at (914) 948-1500 or at a.enea@esslawfirm.com. 245 Main St Suite 500, White Plains, NY 10601 www.esslawfirm.com
Taking the fight to Alzheimer’s BY GIOVANNI ROSELLI “Though those with Alzheimer’s might forget us, we as a society must remember them.” — Scott Kirschenbaum, filmmaker Alzheimer’s disease is a debilitating neurological condition that was identified by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 when he analyzed the brain of the late Auguste Deter, a patient at an asylum in Frankfurt, Germany, who had experienced signs of memory loss and problems with language and behavior. (Some critics later concluded she might’ve been suffering from something else, including vascular dementia, caused by issues with blood flow to the brain, such as in mini strokes, or metachromatic leukodystrophy, an enzyme deficiency.) Dementia — the umbrella term for a group of disorders resulting from disease, injury and/or genetics and characterized by devastating cognitive impairment — is a major cause of dependence, disability and mortality. Current estimates suggest that 44 million people live with dementia worldwide. This is predicted to more than triple by 2050 as the population ages, when the annual cost of dementia in the United States alone may exceed $600 billion. (The cost to caregivers, many of whom receive little in the way of financial or psychological support, is incalculable.) Low- and middle-income populations look to be most at risk for the largest increases as they have higher patterns of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases such as high blood pressure, which affect certain kinds of dementia. Alzheimer's disease, which can only be truly diagnosed through an autopsy, is now the most common type of dementia in the United States — accounting for 50% to 60% of all cases, again with a disproportionate effect on minority populations. Alzheimer’s is characterized by certain changes in the brain, specifically — amyloid plaque deposition and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) of hyperphosphorylated tau. Interestingly, Alzheimer’s begins deep in the brain so that these pathophysiological hallmarks may start to appear as early as 10 to 20 years prior to the
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onset of symptoms and then gradually spread to other parts of the brain. The main symptoms of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia include an incremental increase in memory loss, a shortening of the attention span, personality changes, being uncomfortable in new situations and having difficulty organizing thoughts, learning new things, writing, reading, using numbers and even speaking. An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Today, someone in the country develops Alzheimer's disease every 66 seconds. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, by 2050, one new case of Alzheimer's is expected to develop in half that time, resulting in nearly 1 million new cases per year or 13.8 million, fueled in large part by the aging baby boom generation.
TREATMENT
Unfortunately, there are still no disease-modifying treatments. With this being said, the best intervention strategies are those that catch dementia early. Epidemiological evidence suggests education and physical exercise may protect against certain kinds of dementia, whereas mid-life hypertension and diabetes influence the risk of something like vascular dementia. Low-cost lifestyle measures that promote brain health, stop ongoing degeneration, repair neuronal damage and prevent cognitive disability are at the forefront of the discussion of dementia prevention. Many interventional studies are moving their focus to cognitively healthy individuals at risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia (before substantial irreversible neuronal network dysfunction and loss, associated with overt clinical symptoms, have occurred) as the best strategy to reduce the disorder’s incidence and prevalence.
From a nutrition standpoint, the Mediterranean and DASH (Dietary Approach to Systolic Hypertension) diets have been shown to slow cognitive decline. The MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) and DASH) are known for recommending a high consumption of leafy green vegetables as well as nuts, berries, beans, seafood and poultry, among other foods.
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
The author before the statue of New York Mets’ ace Tom Seaver at Citi Field in Queens. A cultured, sophisticated man – knowledgeable about art and later a California vintner – Seaver died of complications from Lewy body dementia and Covid-19 on Aug. 31, 2020 at age 75. Courtesy Roselli Fitness.
If our society really wants to face this issue head on, then we need to meet it at the beginning stages and even well into its pre-stages. Making healthy lifestyle choices — eating nutritious foods and exercising more — at an early age is a start. What complicates things is that as individuals age, they may put less effort into healthy behaviors, such as exercise, due to pain, discomfort or suboptimal beliefs. But this is not merely a question of eating and moving well, particularly in our digital age of anxiety. Stress may play a factor. (See Page 68.) The biggest challenge, however, might lie with a technology that seemingly does everything for us, skewing our brain patterns and attention span in the process. According to a recent New York Times interview with Richard Restak, M.D., a neurologist and clinical professor at George Washington Hospital University School of Medicine and Health and author of “The Complete Guide to Memory: The Science of Strengthening Your Mind,” lack of retention — the memory loss that is the attribute most associated with dementia — is in part lack of attention. And paying attention is hard for those who want everything at once in short internet bursts. (He also recommends doing something fewer people do anymore — read books, particularly novels, which force you to concentrate and remember timelines.) The most efficient strategy that we can employ is to move from treatment to prevention. Even if the onset of dementia can be delayed for only a few years, this would affect our society and its health greatly. Exploring how lifestyle choices influence risk is more important than ever. Reach Giovanni at giovanniroselli.com.
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WHEN & WHERE
Aug. 7: The Bar Car Band performs in the Weston Historical Society’s Music at the Barn Outdoor Concert Series.
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FTC’s The Warehouse presents the David Bromberg Quintet. The godfather of Americana, a decorated multi-instrumentalist and singersongwriter, Bromberg continues to mash-up country and western, low-down blues, bluegrass and sea shanties with rock ’n’ roll guitar licks. 8 p.m. 70 Sanford St., Fairfield; 203-2591036, fairfieldtheatre.org
The Bar Car Band performs in the Weston Historical Society’s Music at the Barn Outdoor Concert Series to celebrate American rock ’n’ roll and the release of its second EP, “High on the Sunshine.” 5:30 to 7 p.m., 104 Weston Road; 203-226-1804, westonhistoricalsociety.org
The Charles Ives Music Festival (CIMF) Summer 2022 series presents “The Unanswered Question,” a concert that showcases works that contemplate existence. CIMF artistfaculty will perform selections by Ives, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Han Lash, Jon Cziner and Will Stackpole. 7 p.m. First Congregational Church of Ridgefield, 103 Main St.; 203-8948786, wctyo.org
AUG. 6 Westchester Collaborative Theater’s Music in the Box series presents a concert by trumpet player Ingrid Jensen and her band. Jensen’s performances as a leader and featured soloist have taken her around the world, and she can be heard with the Christine Jensen Orchestra and her own quartet and quintet, as well as with a number of New York bands. 7:30 to 10 p.m., 27a Main St, Ossining; wctheater.org
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AUG. 9 ArtsWestchester showcases the Wuza Wuza African Music and Dance Ensemble. The Ghanaian dance and drum group is known for its representations of Ghana’s many ethnic traditions. 6:30 to 8 p.m., Mount Vernon City Hall Plaza, 1 Roosevelt Square N.; artsw.org
AUG. 11 THROUGH 13 MoCA Westport hosts the Heida Hermanns International Piano Competition, featuring four rising young stars from around the globe, selected by the judges. Times vary. 19 Newtown Turnpike; 203-222-7070, mocawestport.org
AUG. 13 Lucinda Williams And Her Band perform at Wall Street Theater. This Grammy Award- and Americana Music Honors-winning country bluegrass artist brings her musical flair to the Norwalk stage. 8 p.m. 71 Wall St.; 203-831-5004, ext. 1, wallstreettheater.org
AUG. 13 Bedford Playhouse offers the “Katonah Classic Stage Film Festival.” This is an outdoor showcase of short films from all over the world. 8 to 10 p.m., 633 Old Post Road; bedfordplayhouse.org
AUG. 13 AND 14 Wainwright House and Ballet des Amériques present “Dancing Caravan,” in which the company will give outdoor performances at Wainwright House. Times vary, 260 Stuyvesant Ave., Rye; wainwright.org
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WHEN & WHERE
Aug. 26 and 27: Cindy Wagner is part of the Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ Ninth Annual “Art Walk.”
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The Ridgefield Playhouse brings Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the stage. Designated by Nelson Mandela as “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” this group has been warming hearts with its vocal harmonies, signature dance moves and onstage banter for 60 years and counting. The group catapulted to fame after lending vocals to Paul Simon’s “Graceland” album in 1987. Since then, it has garnered 19 Grammy nominations. 8 to 10 p.m. 80 E. Ridge Road; 203-438-5795, ridgefieldplayhouse.org
Studio Theater in Exile stages “Forever Yours, Olive Thomas.” This is a new play by John Arco, directed by Mara Mills and starring Dakota Martin. 7 to 9 p.m., 1701 Main St., Peekskill; studiotheaterinexile.com
AUG. 17 Emelin Theatre presents rock band Hollis Brown, which will perform songs from its album-long tribute to The Rolling Stones’ fourth album, “Aftermath.” 7 p.m., Harbor Island Park, Mamaroneck; emelin.org
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AUG. 23 THROUGH SEPT. 2 It’s opening night at Westport Country Playhouse for its production of Amy Herzog’s “4000 Miles,” a story of unlikely roommates – a 21 year old and his 91-year-old grandmother – who infuriate, bewilder and ultimately find each other. This play was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 7 p.m. 25 Powers Court; boxoffice@ westportplayhouse.org
AUG. 24 AND 29 Avon Theatre and the Jewish Historical Society of Fairfield County present “Remembering the Family Store,
Downtown Stamford, Circa 19401966.” There’s a panel discussion after both screenings of this documentary. 7:30 to 9:30 p.m., 272 Bedford St.; 203-967-3660, lgreene@ avontheatre.org
AUG. 26 AND 27 The Ridgefield Guild of Artists’ Ninth Annual “Art Walk” kicks off on Aug. 26 from 5 to 8 p.m. with artist “meet and greets” outside the stores and continues Saturday, Aug. 27, noon to 4 p.m., with artist demonstrations along Main Street. Artwork remains in storefronts through Sept. 11. 34 Halpin Lane; 203-438-8863, rgoa.org
AUG. 28 Bedford Playhouse presents “Broadway in Bedford: Golden Age of Broadway.” The outdoor program will include works from Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein,
Jerome Kern, Leonard Bernstein, Jerry Herman and more. 5 to 6:15 p.m., 633 Old Post Road; bedfordplayhouse.org
AUG. 29 BackCountry Jazz presents the Greenwich Jazz Festival 2022, featuring nine concerts in casual, open-air settings through September, with Bill Frisell, guitar; Bennie Wallace, tenor saxophone; Mark Helias, bass; and Nasheet Waits, drums. 6 to 8 p.m., Foundation House, 124 Old Mill Road; 203-561-3111, Jeanette@ backcountryjazz.org, backcountryjazz. org
Presented by ArtsWestchester (artswestchester.org) and the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (culturalalliancefc.org).
FROM WAG’S EDITOR COMES A TRUE STORY OF A YOUNG WOMAN COMING OF AGE AND FINDING LOVE AND LOSS IN WARTIME NEW YORK. THEGAMESMENPLAY.COM AUGUST 2022
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PROFITS & PASSIONS
At bat for baseball BY GEORGETTE GOUVEIA
ARMONK-BASED SPORTS PSYCHOLOGIST RICK WOLFF — HOST OF THE WEEKLY “RICK WOLFF’S SPORTS EDGE” ON WFAN — WENT KEVIN COSTNER ONE BETTER. Like Costner’s Crash Davis in the rowdy 1988 baseball film “Bull Durham,” Wolff was a sharp, talented minor league infielder. Only Wolff was even smarter than Crash. After all, he graduated from Harvard University, where he studied psychology. And though neither ever made it as a player to “the Show” — as the major leagues have been called — Crash only wonders if he could coach in the big leagues at the end of the movie. Whereas Wolff actually did make it to the Show — as the first roving sports psychology coach for the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) — from 1989 to ’94. “The 1994 season ended abruptly in August that year due to a players' strike,” he recalls. “After that season I left the Indians. But the following year, Cleveland won the American League pennant, and the front office awarded me an American League Championship ring, fully engraved with my name, in deep appreciation of my efforts with the players and coaches over the previous five years. (Most of the top players on that 1995 championship team I had worked with extensively during their time in the Indians' minor leagues.)” So when it comes to discussing sports performance and mental health — an issue increasingly in the national spotlight — Wolff has the bases covered, so to speak. “The field of sports psychology is a relatively new one,” says Wolff, who grew up in the Edgemont section of Greenburgh — the son of National Baseball Hall of Fame
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Rick Wolff behind the WFAN radio microphone hosting “Rick Wolff’s Sports Edge” from 8 to 9 a.m. Sundays. Courtesy Rick Wolff.
Rick Wolff was the Cleveland Indians’ (now Guardians’) first roving sports psychology coach. Courtesy askcoachwolff.com.
and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame sportscaster Bob Wolff — and attended Edgemont High School, where he starred in baseball and football. “When I was in college in the 1970s, I had hopes and dreams to be a professional ballplayer. I was lucky to be drafted by the Detroit Tigers,” he adds of playing second base for its minor-league organization in 1974 and ’75 before realizing his big-league playing dreams would never materialize. Back then, he says, “not only did teams not have sports psychologists, but it was looked down upon.” Indeed, books like “Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story,” a memoir of the Boston Red Sox outfielder’s emotional struggles that was made into a 1957 movie, stand out partly because they were so unusual at that time. Indeed, it wasn’t until Wolff had been an assistant baseball coach at Pace University in Pleasantville in 1977 and then head baseball coach at Mercy College in Dobbs
Ferry from 1978 to ’85, that Harvey A. Dorfman, a pioneer in the field of sports psychology coaching with the Oakland Athletics, scouted him for the majors. “I was thrilled and excited to get the call,” Wolff says of their conversation in 1989. Within a few days, six different teams were courting him. He went with the Guardians. By then, Wolff had a master’s degree in psychology from Long Island University; a wife, Trish Wolff, who taught English at the Robert E. Bell School in Chappaqua; and three children with whom he played sports. It was perhaps inevitable that “Sports Illustrated” should approach him to write a series of articles about sports parenting, a subject that he has also addressed in numerous books as well as on his WFAN program. Today, sports psychologists are part of the team landscape as the world becomes increasingly aware of mental health challenges, particularly for young people in the age of Covid. These have been underscored by some high-profile competition withdrawals ( Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, U.S. gymnast Simone Biles), meltdowns (Russian figure skaters Alexandra Trusova and Kamila Valieva) and controversies (trans swimmer Lia Thomas competing on the University of Pennsylvania’s women’s team). Wolff says that there are two main reasons for the psychological pressures young athletes face. The first is financial as parents see the possibility of athletic scholarships to cover the cost of higher education. But Wolff notes that according to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), less than 4% of high school varsity athletes are good enough to make their colleges’ teams. The other pressure stems from parental and societal expectations as parents and even fans see the young athlete as an extension of themselves and perhaps their own frustrated ambitions
for success on and off the field. This frustration manifests itself as early as Little League, Wolff adds, with parents’ desire to see their children play and excel spilling over into verbal abuse and even violence. It’s not surprising then that he only works with collegiate and professional athletes, including players from the National Football League and the National Hockey League as well as Major League Baseball, who are mature enough to make their own choices and set realistic goals. One goal Wolff has set for himself is to help the Save the Game movement, joining its advisory board. Founded by two former Westchester County college baseball standouts — Kevin Gallagher (Pace University) and Pat Geoghegan (Mercy College) — and former Boston Red Sox infielder Jeff Frye, Save the Game aspires to reverse baseball’s declining viewership and youth participation. According to its website, there has been a 26.1% decline in playing the game among children ages 6 through 12 since 2008. Meanwhile, World Series attendance has declined from 36.3 million in 1986 to 9.78 million in 2020. Too much emphasis on hitting home runs and not enough on contact hitting, Wolff says, punctuated by many commercials, is slowing the game and making it boring. Save the Game aims to collect one million signatures on a digital petition to make everyone from MLB officials to parents aware of inspiring a new generation to savor what was once our national pastime through participation and attendance. Says Wolff: “I believe in the movement and what it’s doing.” Catch “Rick Wolff’s Sports Edge” from 8 to 9 a.m. Sundays on WFAN. For more, visit askcoachwolff.com and savethegameus.com. If you are experiencing issues with mental health, call the new national hotline at 988.
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