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By Nancy King, Page 18
westchesterguardian.com
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Westchester Jokester Page 2
Spiders and Others Page 5
America’s SelfDeception Page 9
Good Night, Kids Page 10
Get a Hobby ASAP Page 11
Municipal Lighting Page 18
He Had a Dream Page 19
The Continuing War Against the Jews Page 21
Page 2
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
The Westchester Guardian
Of Significance Feature Section............................................................................2 Anatomy of Humor..................................................................2 Community Section....................................................................4 Locavesting...............................................................................4 Eye on Theatre.........................................................................5 A Higher Power........................................................................7 Books.........................................................................................8 Ed Koch Movie Reviews........................................................12 Music......................................................................................13 Northern Westechester...........................................................13 The Spoof...............................................................................14 Sports......................................................................................15 Government Section................................................................16 Politicians, Petitions and Patsies.............................................18 OpEd Section............................................................................20 Letters to the Editor...............................................................20 New York Civic.......................................................................20 Ed Koch Commentary...........................................................21 Legal Notices.............................................................................23
FeatureSection FEATURE
The Anatomy of Humor: ‘A Guy Walks Into a Bar...’ By The Westchester Jokester No one knows when the first joke beginning with the six words “A guy walks into a bar . . .” was told, or how it went. Nevertheless, an entire genre of jokes has been created revolving around that opening scenario. Here’s a sampling of some of the variants that have sprung up, many now involving animals or inanimate objects: A guy walks into a bar with a slab of asphalt under his arm and says, “A beer please, and one for the road.” An amnesiac walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “Do I come here often?” A guy with dyslexia walks into a bra. A young Texan walks into a bar and orders a drink. “Got any ID?” asks the bartender. The
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Texan replies, “About what?” A pair of battery jumper cables walk into a bar. The bartender says, “You can come in here, but you better not start anything!” A Latin scholar walks into a bar and says, “I’ll have a martinus.” The bartender asks him. “Don’t you mean martini?” The man tells the bartender, “Listen, if I wanted two or more drinks I would have asked for them.” A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, “So, why the long face?” (A variant of this joke during the 2004 presidential campaign substituted John Kerry for the horse, but the punch line remained the same.) A penguin walks into a bar and asks the bartender, “Has my father been in here?” The bartender says, “I don’t know. What does he look like?” A brain goes into a bar and says to the bartender, “I’ll have a beer, please.” The bartender says, “Sorry, I can’t serve you. You’re out of your head.” A little pig goes into a bar and orders ten drinks. He finishes them and the bartender says, “Don’t you want to know where the toilet is?” The pig says, “No, thanks, I go wee-wee-wee all the way home.” René Descartes is in a bar at closing time. The bartender asks him if he’d like another drink. Descartes says, “I think not,” and he disappears.
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Continued on page 3
RADIO
Yonkers Mayoral Candidate Carlo Calvi On the Level with Narog and Aris New Rochelle, NY -- Yonkers mayoral Candidate Carlo Calvi is co-hosts Richard Narog and Hezi Aris’ guest this Tuesday, June 14, 2011. The show is on the level, thereby its name: On the Level. The show is heard live from 10 - 11 a.m., on WVOX- 1460 AM on your radio dial and worldwide at www. WVOX.com. Ossining mayoral candidate Peter Tripodi IV is scheduled for June 21st, and Yonkers mayoral candidate Richard Martinelli is scheduled for June 28th. For those who live and breathe radio and politics, listen to Hezi Aris on Good Morning Westchester with Bob Marrone when he and host Bob Marrone discuss all things Westchester at 7: 37 a.m. Listeners and readers are invited to send a question to the co-hosts by directing email to WHYTeditor@gmail.com for possible use prior to any shows’ airing and even during the course of an interview.
The Westchester Guardian
FEATURE
The Anatomy of Humor: ‘A Guy Walks Into a Bar...’ Continued from page 2 A bear walks into a bar and says, “I’d like a beer and . . . . a package of peanuts.” The bartender says, “Why the big pause?” A kangaroo walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says, “That’ll be $10. You know, we don’t get many kangaroos coming in here.” The kangaroo says, “At $10 a beer, it’s not hard to understand.” A termite walks into a bar and asks, “Is the bar tender here?” A cheeseburger walks into a bar, and the bartender says, “Sorry, we don’t serve food in here.” A dog with his foot wrapped in a bloody bandage hobbles into a Western saloon. He sidles up to the bar and announces: “I’m lookin’ fer the man that shot my paw.” A baby seal walks into a bar. “What can I get you?” asks the bartender. “Anything but a Canadian Club,” replies the seal. A grasshopper hops into a bar. The bartender says, “You’re quite a celebrity around here. We’ve even got a drink named after you.” The grasshopper says, “You’ve got a drink named Steve?” A goldfish flops into a bar and looks up at the bartender. The bartender asks, “What can I get you?” The goldfish says, “Water.” A guy walks into a bar. A horse behind the bar is serving drinks. The guy is just staring at the horse, when the horse says, “What are you staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a horse serving drinks before?” The guy says, “Honestly, no. I never thought the parrot would sell the place.” A skeleton walks into a bar. The bartender asks, “What’ll you have?” The skeleton says, “Give me a beer, and a mop.” A polar bear, a giraffe and a penguin walk into a bar. The bartender says, “What is this, some kind of joke?” A guy walks into a bar in Cork, Ireland, and asks the barman: “What’s the quickest way to get to Dublin?” “Are you walking or driving?” asks the barman. “Driving,” says a man. “That’s the quickest way,” says the barman. A tourist goes into a bar where a dog is sitting in a chair playing poker. He asks, “Is that dog there really playing poker?” And the bartender says, “Yeah, but he’s not too smart. Whenever he has a good hand, he starts wagging his tail.” This cowboy walks into a bar and orders a beer. His hat is made of brown wrapping paper. And so are his shirt, vest,
chaps, pants, and boots. His spurs are also made of paper. Pretty soon, the sheriff arrives and arrests him for rustling. A Northerner walks into a bar in the Deep South around Christmas time. A small nativity scene is behind the bar, and the guy says, “That’s a nice nativity scene. But how come the three wise men are all wearing firemen’s hats?” And the bartender says, “Well, it says right there in the Bible--the three wise men came from afar.” A man walks into a bar, sits down, and orders a beer. As he sips the beer, he hears a voice say, “Nice tie.” Looking around, he sees that the bar is empty except for him and the bartender. A few sips later, another voice says, “Beautiful shirt.” At this, the man calls the bartender over. “Say, I must be losing my mind,” he tells him. “I keep hearing these voices say nice things about me, and there is not a soul in here but us.” “It’s the peanuts,” explains the bartender, indicating a dish on the bar. “The peanuts?” “That’s right, the peanuts-they’re complementary.” A man walks into a bar with a giraffe. He says, “A beer for me and one for my giraffe.” And they stand around drinking for hours until the giraffe passes out on the floor. The man pays the tab and gets up to leave. The bartender says, “Hey! You’re not going to leave that lyin’ on the floor, are you?” The man says, “That’s not a lion, it’s a giraffe.” A five-dollar bill walks into a bar. The bartender says, “You can’t come in here. We don’t serve your kind. This is a singles bar.” Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini. The bartender asks him, “Olive or twist?” A woman walked into a bar and asked for a double entendre. So the bartender gave her one. A man walks into a bar with a newt on his shoulder. He tells the bartender that the newt’s name is Tiny. “Why?” asks the bartender. “Because he’s my newt!” A kangaroo walks into a bar and orders a beer. The bartender says, “That’ll be $10. You know, we don’t get many kangaroos coming in here.” The kangaroo says, “At $10 a beer, it’s not hard to understand.” The Westchester Jokester mines his voluminous collection of humor each week in the pages of the Westchester Guardian.
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
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The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
CommunitySection THURSDAY, APRIL 8, 2010
LOCAVESTING
The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It By Amy Cortese “An inspiring look at what local businesses can achieve.” —JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, 2001 Nobel Laureate We buy local and eat local. So why is it so hard to invest local? The truth is, our financial markets have evolved to serve big business, a fact only underscored by the recent financial crisis and bailout. Wall Street has come roaring back, but Main Street is fighting for its life. In catering to those companies deemed “too big to fail,” we’ve created a new group that could be labeled “too small to succeed.” Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It (Wiley; 978-0-470-91138-9; June 2011) by Amy Cortese demonstrates how, by investing in locally-owned companies
that create jobs and healthy communities, we can begin to repair our tattered financial system and create a more just and inclusive form of capitalism. In Locavesting, Cortese takes us inside the local investing movement, where solutions to some of the nation’s most pressing problems are taking shape. Just as locavores eat a diet sourced in a 100 mile or so radius, locavestors attempt to invest that way. The idea is that, by investing in local businesses, rather than faceless conglomerates, investors can earn profits while building healthy, vibrant and resilient communities. In the book, Amy Cortese: Introduces you to the ideas and pioneers behind the local investing movement Profiles the people and communities who are putting their money to work in their own backyards and taking control of their destinies Explores innovative investment
Mission Statement
The Westchester Guardian is a weekly newspaper devoted to the unbiased reporting of events and developments that are newsworthy and significant to readers living in, and/or employed in, Westchester County. The Guardian will strive to report fairly, and objectively, reliable information without favor or compromise. Our first duty will be to the PEOPLE’S RIGHT TO KNOW, by the exposure of truth, without fear or hesitation, no matter where the pursuit may lead, in the finest tradition of FREEDOM OF THE PRESS. The Guardian will cover news and events relevant to residents and businesses all over Westchester County. As a weekly, rather than focusing on the immediacy of delivery more associated with daily journals, we will instead seek to provide the broader, more comprehensive, chronological step-by-step accounting of events, enlightened with analysis, where appropriate. From amongst journalism’s classic key-words: who, what, when, where, why, and how, the why and how will drive our pursuit. We will use our more abundant time, and our resources, to get past the initial ‘spin’ and ‘damage control’ often characteristic of immediate news releases, to reach the very heart of the matter: the truth. We will take our readers to a point of understanding and insight which cannot be obtained elsewhere. To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necessarily better. And, furthermore, we will acknowledge that we cannot be all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features and columns useful in daily living and employment in, and around, the county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
to ride in and save them, communities are creating their own economic stimulus. The book profiles dozens of inspiring examples, including: - How residents of Fort Greene, Brooklyn became investors in a new independent, neighborhood bookstore that turned a profit after just one year - How Organic Valley, the Wisconsinbased dairy cooperative, raised critical growth capital from individual investors who in turn receive an 6 percent annual dividend - How the Internet and social media are creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs and individuals investors to connect - How grassroots groups such as Slow Money are working to rebuild local food systems and invest in sustainable agriculture and food production strategies, from community capital and crowdfunding to local stock exchanges Provides practical information for individuals who want to start putting some of their savings to work in their own communities As Cortese demonstrates, locally owned businesses benefit communities in ways that big corporations do not – by creating jobs (rather than destroying them), paying local taxes (rather than employing sophisticated strategies to avoid them), and keeping money circulating locally (rather than being sucked out to a distant headquarters). Local businesses are also integral pillars of our communities and downtowns, promoting social bonds, civic engagement and diversity. Just as Buy Local campaigns have found that shifting as little as 10% of spending towards locally owned firms can generate outsized economic impacts for a community, so, too, can shifting some of our investment dollars. Locavesting is a call to invest once again in the innovative engines of job creation and growth: small business. Across the country, an extraordinary experiment in citizen finance is underway. Amy Cortese takes you behind the scenes and shows how, rather than waiting for the government or Corporate America
- How companies from Ben & Jerry’s to Annie’s Homegrown have sold directly shares to loyal customers, bypassing Wall Street middlemen - How communities from Lancaster, PA to Honolulu are working to bring back local stock exchanges that once again serve local companies and investors. As this clear-eyed book makes plain, local investing is not a panacea. But it can help readers begin to rebuild their nest eggs, their communities and, just perhaps, the country. Amy Cortese (New York, NY) is an award-winning journalist who has spent her career writing about business, finance, environmental issues and food, giving her a unique perspective on how these different realms are intricately linked. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Business Week, The American, Mother Jones, The Daily Beast, and many other publications. For more information about the book, visit: www.locavesting.com Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of information and understanding for 200 years,. Wiley’s global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. www.wiley.com.
The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
Page 5
THEATRE
EYEONTHEATRE—Spiders and Others By JOHN SIMON The old joke about a lavish but undistinguished musical is that you emerge humming the scenery. With Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark you can do better: you can come out humming the fantastic technology. Everyone must be aware of the show’s tribulations: malfunctions, injuries, delays, the longest previews eliciting unsolicited poor reviews but charging high prices, also quittings and firings, This last of Julie Taymor, co-author with Glen Berger and director, necessitating a long hiatus and extensive reworking with a new writer and director. The eventual cost of, I gather, some 75 million, is by far the highest ever.
What can now be said by those of us who refrained from prereviewing is that, as is not always the case, one can see where all that money went. This is surely also the most spectacular musical ever; too bad that spectacle does not equal full quality. I need not linger over the comicbook-derived story about Peter Parker, the high-school nerd in love with the class belle, Mary Jane. In the laboratory of weird Dr, Norman Osborn, he is bitten by a special spider and, with help of the spider-demigoddess Arachne, becomes the masked Spider-Man, who flies about destroying villains, chiefly those created by Osborn in his evil reincarnation as the Green Goblin, and finally the GG himself, thus earning the love of Mary Jane. There is also much about The Daily Bugle and its unprincipled, tyrannical editor, J.J. Ah, but the technology! I must cite the overwhelming scenic design of
George Tsypin, who is also a sculptor and architect (believe me, it shows); Daniel Ezralow’s, choreography, great in the air but humdrum on terra firma; the projection design of Kyle Cooper; aerial design of Scott Rogers; lighting design of Donald Holder, going from chameleon to kaleidoscope; sound design of Jonathan Deans; and costume design of Eiko Ishioka, with masks by Julie Taymor. There are others of note, but who can list them all? The trendy word “awesome’’ frequently figures; however reluctantly, I too must evoke it here. Famous buildings rise and collapse before our eyes, perspectives change precipitously, interiors and exteriors alternate or coexist rivetingly; spectacular colors and props proliferate; sound manages to justify its deafeningness; and breathtaking flying all over the theater, including aerial combat, to stun the neck-craning audience. All of these things earn their keep many times over. What doesn’t make it is the totally earthbound music by Bono and The Edge of U2. Their many up-tempo numbers match the heavy-footed dances and rigorously eschew melody; especially pathetic are their stabs at romantic ballads, which not even the gifted leads—valiant Reeve Carney and fetching Jennifer Damiano— can redeem. I pity the orchestrators and arrangers stuck with such very raw material. Continued on page 6
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THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
COMMUNITY
EYEONTHEATRE—Spiders and Others Continued from page 5
There is an especially winning performance from Patrick Page as Dr. Osborn and the Green Goblin, who also gets the few truly funny bits I must not reveal. There is altogether a not inappropriate but sporadic kidding of the cartoonish plot and characterization, at least some of it surely the contribution of Roberto AguirreSacasa, the new co-author, and Philip Wm. McKinley, the redirector, labeled Creative Consultant. I am not sure what the subtitle, Turn Off the Dark, exactly stands for, but I have no doubt that the Foxwoods Theatre, where the needlessly hyphenated Spider-Man is playing, will not go dark in any foreseeable future. Circumstances force me to give short shrift to a couple of highly deserving but less splashy and opulent shows. There is, first, One Arm, which Moises Kaufman,
who also directed, compounded from Tennessee Williams’s short story and three aborted screen adaptations. It is the tale of a handsome and successful young prizefighter who loses his right arm in an automobile accident, and ends up as a perversely much sought-after street whore, for lack of other employment. The play, not devoid of dark humor and understated pathos, ends tragically. Grippingly directed by Kaufman and austerely designed by Derek McLane, the New Group and Tectonic Theater Project production benefits greatly from the totally persuasive performance of Claybourne Elder in the lead. The supporting performers are also fine, but for Noah Bean, okay in another role, but unfortunate as the anyway awkward narrator, what with unpleasing voice and questionable delivery. It is a short play, but (dare I say it?) it delivers, even with only one arm, a terrific punch. A Little Journey enjoys the sort of
loving production the modest Mint Theater Company consistently gives their trademark worthy revivals. The author of this 1918 hit, Rachel Crothers, wrote and often directed nearly 30 Broadway plays between 1906 and 1037, including her best-known, Susan and God, previously mounted by the Mint. The charming A Little Journey concerns the rather big voyage by train from New York to the West Coast, which in 1914 took four days and nights. People who could afford it, spent the nights in their Pullman sleepers, and ate, for better or worse, in the dining car. They got involved, felicitously or not, with their fellow travelers, as do the thirteen passengers, white conductor, and black porter in this absorbing, part comic,
part dramatic story, which includes a major surprise I won’t give away. To situate a whole Pullman car in a small space, the designer Roger Hanna has come up with the ingenious idea of a carousel, rotating so that whichever area contains the moment’s main action revolves to the front. The set is altogether delightful and authentic, as are the costumes of Martha Hally and the lighting of Paul Whitaker. I am all admiration for the large supporting cast, though I lack space to name them all. I particularly enjoyed Laurie Birmingham as an arrogant plutocrat and Rosemary Prinz as a near-deaf grandmother, and the two leads. These are McCaleb Burnett, as a reformed alcoholic, altruistic and even heroic; and Samantha Soule, as an impoverished maiden in distress, especially after losing her train ticket. But everyone else did well too, portraying a lively cross section through the period’s social classes—in this case doubly compartmentalized. And a special bow to Ms. Jackson Gay, for her spirited direction. John Simon has written for over 50 years on theatre, film, literature, music and fine arts for the Hudson Review, New Leader, New Criterion, National Review,New York Magazine, Opera News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com and Bloomberg News. He reviews books for the New York Times Book Review andWashington Post. He has written profiles for Vogue, Town and Country, Departures and Connoisseur and produced 17 books of collected writings. Mr. Simon holds
a PhD from Harvard University in Comparative Literature and has taught at MIT, Harvard University, Bard College and Marymount Manhattan College. To learn more, visit the JohnSimonUncensored.com website.
The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
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A HIGHER POWER
The Great Yard Sale Conspiracy REV. JAMES L. SNYDER Most things in life are not always as they seem. For some reason one person will say one thing and the person hearing will hear something altogether different. This appears to be the case between the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage and Yours Truly. One of the most frequent comments around our residence is, “Did you hear what I just said?” Of course, that does not really bother me. What does bother me is when I answer in the affirmative, she will reply by saying, “What did I just say?” It is not that I do not hear what she says; I’m just not listening to what she says. There is a big difference between hearing and listening. I hear many things but I certainly do not pay attention to most of it. If you would listen to most of the stuff said these days, not much of it is worth listening to, at least for long. This illustrates the basic difference between a husband and wife. A husband always says what he means; but the wife always means what she says. Complication comes when the husband does not understand what she says and it is almost as if they
are using a different language or at least a code most husbands are not privy to. The problem is the most people do not say what they mean. When someone says they are having a Garage Sale they do not mean they are going to sell their garage. In fact, they do not even mean that they are going to sell things from their garage. What they do mean is they plan to jam their garage full of junk to sell to unsuspecting customers. Most of what sells at a garage sale has nothing whatsoever to do with the garage. In fact, only half of what they are selling can fit into the garage while the rest spills out into the driveway. The same thing goes with a Yard Sale. When somebody advertises they are going to have a Yard Sale they have no intention whatsoever of selling their yard. What they are going to do is pile their yard full of junk they do not want and sell to customers who will in turn put it in their yard sale next week. When it comes to Yard Sales, I think there is only a certain amount of items that keep circulating throughout the community. I once had an easy chair that I did not want anymore and set it out by the street. It was badly broken and I did not have the time
to run it over to the dump. By next morning, my chair was gone. Two nights later, it appeared out in front of the house five doors down. The next morning it was gone only to reappear five more doors down two days later. I believe that chair is still circulating through the community. If people were honest in what they were doing, they would put up a sign that says, “Junk for Sale.” I did see a sign on the thrift store once that said, “We buy junk and sell treasures.” For some reason people think that, if they buy something at a yard sale it must be a treasure. But the way I think is this, if somebody has something in his or her yard sale to sell at a greatly discounted price how good could it be? This brings me back to the hearing and listening dilemma. I got up last Friday morning, as usual, and discovered that the other resident of our house was missing. I went to the kitchen and found a little note that said, “Make your own breakfast I’m at our daughter’s yard sale.” At first, I did not quite get it. Then I remembered sometime during the week there was some mention about a yard sale on Friday. But I was not listening. After all, what in the world do I have to do with a yard sale? I had a cup of coffee and then went back to the bedroom to get dressed for the day. I went to the closet looking for one of my favorite shirts to wear for the day. I could not
find it. I then tried to find my favorite sneakers I have had for 29 years. It is taken that long just to break them into where they are comfortable to wear. As with my favorite shirt, my shoes were nowhere to be found. Some books I have had for years were missing along with some other personal items. I was beginning to think we had been robbed. What robber would steal such things? It would have to be a rather desperate person to do that kind of cherry picking during a robbery. Then a thought grabbed hold of my mind with the ferocity of a mama grizzly. If I recollect correctly, she was talking about these things in the same context as the yard sale at our daughter’s place. She wouldn’t! Later that afternoon she came home, handed me $3.78, and said, “Here’s your share of the yard sale.” Not listening to what you are hearing carries an awful price. The Bible is faithful in warning us, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Revelation 3:6 KJV). God always says what He means and means what He says. The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. He lives with his wife, Martha, in Silver Springs Shores. Call him at 352-687-4240 or e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site is www.whatafellowship.com.
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The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
BOOKS
The Retired (Try To) Strike Back—Chapter 8 - The Candidate By ALLAN LUKS The four slightly nervous couples--minus their director, Bob--wait in a donated office suite to begin today’s acting. Bob finally returns, having set up the camera in an adjacent room. He tells his friends that today he’s shooting them in cinema vérité style, no script. He wants to capture the thoughts and feelings they believe their retired characters would have as they meet someone at a community dance for seniors. “You’ll be matched with someone else’s spouse when I film today,” Bob says. “Your acting will be freer that way. Let’s start with Kenny and Mimi. Their spouses--Roz and Myron--can watch.” Mimi had been a buyer for a very modern home furnishings store before retiring. She’s six feet, about six inches taller than her husband Myron, a retired actuary. Kenny, a long-time amateur actor, has on light makeup, arguing that it covers face wrinkles which could distract viewers who’ll eventually see the finished film. His wife Roz, a former high school literature teacher, like Kenny, often teases her husband that his imagination confuses novels with life. The four and Bob enter an office that has a small round table covered with a red paper
tablecloth, two chairs, and two glasses filled with beige-colored liquid to make the room resemble an area of the community dance. Bob’s camera is at the rear of the room. Bob tells Kenny and Mimi that they’ve just sat down to talk together and they’re both wondering about an issue that’s on the minds of many retired when they first meet: Does the other person have money concerns that could affect having a relationship? “Let Mimi speak first,” says Bob. “O.K., the Money Dialogue, Scene One, Take One.” “I have to ask you,” Mimi says to Kenny, “Did you come over to sit with me because we’re probably the tallest man and woman here--?” “Hold it,” interrupts Bob. “Mimi, what are you suggesting to the retired people who hopefully buy our film? That they should first discuss their appearance to lead into the money question with someone they meet? Make sense?” “Bob, the wives didn’t want to act in the film,” defends Mimi. “You husbands pushed us. You agreed that we’d be free to think of our retired characters as ourselves if we were living alone. And women know men quickly look at our physical appearance before deciding whether to approach us. My height would be in my thoughts when I arrived at
this dance.” Bob waits. “O.K., Take Two.” “ . . . I came over to ask this tall and attractive woman,” Kenny manages, then pauses, then suddenly says--“if height would make up for age if I became a politician?” “You’re thinking of running for office?” Mimi asks. “That’s it. Yes. Voters favor young candidates for their energy. But people also see tall candidates, I believe, as strong and not bending easily to opponents. Would my height make up for my nearly sixty-sevenyear-old face if I ran?” Mimi hesitates. “I think so-- But politician have to raise a lot of money. Can you? Money’s a problem that worries most retired. Doesn’t it affect you? Bob pumps his right hand in victory. “I’d explain that a retired candidate--me-won’t solicit big contributors who have to be paid back with favors, because the retired aren’t looking to stay in office for decades. That’s one reason I’d get a good amount of contributions, even if they’re small, for a campaign.” “And I’m seeing this not-so-young, tall woman handing out leaflets. And people telling me they’d contribute after I explain your retired man’s make-it-happen-now campaign.” Mimi smiles.
“I’ve been an actor--amateur productions but they’ve given me, I know, a strong imagination that produces a lot of ideas that I often go after. Probably too often. Money doesn’t worry me. Can you understand?” Mimi waits. “You mean, since imagination doesn’t think about cost, you don’t hesitate to try new efforts? Like rich men do?” “Exactly,” says Kenny, who leans over and kisses Mimi’s cheek and holds her hand. “How about dinner tomorrow evening?” Kenny turns to the camera, “Do you like our cinema vérité so far, Bob?” “Ask your audience,” and Bob turns around to Myron and Roz, the spouses. “Cinema vérité is interesting,” Myron finally says. “Their discussions might get some of the film’s viewers to feel they’d be more satisfied meeting a stranger whose dreams they can share, than a stranger with a lot of money.” “Yes,” Roz says. “Their characters-although I guess you’d say our spouses since it is cinema vérité—show we still need dreams.” As Roz stands, her hand brushes Myron’s thigh. Allan Luks is a nationally recognized social works leader and advocate for volunteerism. He is the former head of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of New York and is currently a visiting professor at Fordham University, where he teaches several courses in nonprofit leadership. You can learn more about Allan Luks at http://allanluks.com.
COMMUNITY
Teens Excel, Create Their Own Business By ABBY LUBY It’s a yummy snack bar called Smart Treats and comes in great flavors with fun names like“Strawberry Shortcake,” “Blueberry Burst” and “Rainbow Crunch.” The idea for this healthy alternative food is the brainchild of Andrew Gomez, a senior at Port Chester High School. For his concept and marketing ideas, Gomez won first place in the highly competitive business challenge run by The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (www.nfte.com). For the past year, teens in Westchester have learned how to create and run a business through the NFTE program in their schools. NFTE, which has been part of the curricula in many Westchester high schools for over 12 years, targets students
who live in economically disadvantaged communities in towns like Greenburgh, Mount Vernon, Port Chester, Yonkers, Hartsdale and Yorktown. The program requires juniors and seniors to put in 100 hours to develop a business plan replete with research, marketing tools and a powerful sales pitch. At the end of the year, students publicly present their ideas in a preliminary competition in their schools. (L-R): 2nd place, Christal Somar; lst place; Andrew Gomez; Precious Blake wearing one of her Those who win, qualify to compete in and 3rd place Cristal Reyes. necklaces made from recyled materials. the NFTE’s Westchester County-Wide National Competition in New York City Business Plan Competition where they confident product.” in the fall. Gomez’s said his experience present their plans to judges made up of Gomez will be at Iona College next promoting his product was powerful. local entrepreneurs and business leaders. year majoring in pre-med to ultimately “Even though it’s intimidating being When Gomez won the county-wide become an orthopedic surgeon. He was able in front of a large group of people and a competition, he was awarded $1,500 in Continued on page 19 panel of six judges, I loved the fact that I seed money for Smart Treats and the have to present Smart Treats again. I have a chance vie for top recognition in NFTE’s
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
Page 9
Fatal Attraction: America’s Self-Deception about the Middle East
which has no oil. The Middle East (excluding Israel) is an economic and technological backwater. A region that for centuries was the world leader in science and mathematics is now the global laggard in knowledge and learning. In this largely stagnant area almost nothing is created in the sciences or the arts. If we take patents as an example and again exclude Israel, the per capita creation of patents in countries of the Middle East is one-fifth that of the countries of subSaharan Africa, itself a region not given to abundant inventiveness. Centuries ago the Middle East was a seat of learning and the known world’s most advanced region. Today, its principal industries are (1) conspicuous consumption by the moneyed classes, (2) wasting time sitting around in coffee houses, and (3) voicing bitter resentment against the West. Continued on page 10
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COMMUNITY
By ROBERT SCOTT the U.S. is now quite obviously engaged in nation building in Hamid Karzai’s corrupt, graft-ridden government of doubtful legitimacy. Afghanistan, a country in which we have no national interest, has quite properly been dubbed “The graveyard of armies.” The Soviet Union learned the truth of this expression in 1989, and we are on the way to reinforcing its verity. Our two ultra-long wars in the Middle East have led to public acceptance of many fallacies about this region. Here are three of them:
Fallacy No. 1: Creation of a Palestinian state will cause many of the world’s problems to disappear
Speaking realistically and at the risk of seeming callous to the loss of human life, deaths as a result of clashes between Jews and Palestinians since 1923, when Palestine was mandated to the British, total less than 100,000, or about as many as are killed in a season of unchecked slaughter in the Congo or Darfur. While it would be encouraging if the Israelis and the Palestinians could settle their differences, it will do little or nothing to resolve the other continuing conflicts in Asia, Africa, the Middle East or Indonesia. For example: It will not stop Muslim-Russian violence in Chechnya. It will not stop Muslim-Igbo (Christian) violence in Nigeria. It will not stop Muslim-animist violence in Sudan, It will not stop Muslim-Hindu violence in Kashmir. It will not stop Muslim-Buddhist violence in Thailand. It will not stop Muslim-Christian violence in Indonesia and the Philippines. Resolving Palestinian-Israeli differences will not stop long-standing inter-Muslim violence between Sunnis and Shia or between traditionalists and Islamists. Nor will it stop violence by radical Islamists against the West for real or imagined transgressions in the past and its continuing invasions in the present.
Fallacy No. 2: We have not paid enough attention to the Middle East The truth is we are much too engrossed in the affairs of the Middle East, a region about which we are abysmally ignorant. Nevertheless, it could immeasurably profit from our benign neglect. The peoples of the countries of the
Middle East constitute less than five per cent of the world’s population, and are remarkably unproductive. In fact, a high proportion of the population of the backward countries of the Middle East is not in the labor force at all. Consider Abu Dhabi, a city and an emirate overflowing with oil money and very few citizens. The majority of its population is made up of expatriates from other countries that do the actual work. Similarly, Saudi Arabia’s 27.5 million inhabitants also live off the oil revenues and do very little work, leaving that to the 5.5 million foreign technicians and laborers. Even with astronomically high oil prices, Saudi Arabia’s annual per capita income ($13,800) is only about half that of the $25,800 per capita income of Israel,
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The Middle East holds half of the world’s proven oil reserves. Its ocean waters are vital shipping lanes. It is also the locus of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Events there directly affect the U.S. economy and our national security, which is why the region is universally seen as one of paramount importance. In ancient times, it was exotic spices that caused trade with the West to flourish over caravan routes from the Middle East. By the 20th century, it was the “Black Gold” of petroleum that attracted the West’s attention. We have been engaged in two long wars--in Afghanistan for almost ten years and in Iraq for more than eight years. Writing in his classic treatise “The Art of War” in the 6th century BC, Chinese strategist Sun Tzu astutely observed that no state ever benefitted from a long war. President Bush’s fatal error was to react to the disasters of 9/11 by declaring that we were engaged in a global war on terror. A more intelligent response would have been to call the events of 9/11 what they were—crimes--and pursue the perpetrators as international criminals. During long wars overseas--and Iraq and Afghanistan are the longest wars the U.S. has ever engaged in--the population back home tends to lose interest in the conflicts. Without the draft, the volunteer military has become a group apart from the mainstream of everyday life. Repeated tours of duty for National Guard and Reserve troops have torn family life apart in many small communities. Divorces and single-parent families have become common. The region remains a puzzle whose solution has stymied every American president since Harry Truman. Unfortunately, President Bush’s misbegotten preemptive wars against Iraq and Afghanistan have forever destroyed the delicate balance that existed in the Middle East in the past. The grim statistics of our losses in these two unnecessary wars continue to rise. In Iraq, American deaths now total 4,460, while in Afghanistan, they stand at 1,613. Total deaths for the U.S. and coalition forces in both wars are 7,294. To put this number in terms Westchesterites can relate to, it is the equivalent of wiping out the entire population of the village of Pleasantville. Despite protestations to the contrary,
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COMMUNITY
Fatal Attraction: America’s Self-Deception about the Middle East Continued from page 9 If the Middle East as a region is seen today as threatening, it is not because its countries are unusually powerful or menacing, but because most of its undereducated, unemployed and illiterate young people have too much time on their hands and are engaged in a virtually hopeless battle against political repression at home and economic irrelevance abroad. The intelligent, disaffected middle-class male youths who join Islamic fundamentalist movements and who became the perpetrators of the 9/11 disasters recognize that the autocratic status quo in the Middle East does not serve a majority of its inhabitants well—but they nevertheless blame the West for this. The stagnation of the resourcerich countries of the Middle
East should come as no surprise. Countries rich in natural resources are frequently poor in everything else. According to the UN’s 2004 Arab Human Development Report, at only 63 per cent, the Middle East boasts the second lowest adult literacy rate in the world after subSaharan Africa. The region’s dependence on oil means that manufactured goods account for just 17 per cent of exports, compared to a global average of 78 per cent. Moreover, despite its oil wealth, the entire Middle East generated less than 4 per cent of global GDP in 2006.
Fallacy No. 3: Oil from the Middle East is important to our economy Anyone who says we are dependent on the Middle East because of its rich supplies of oil simply
isn’t familiar with current petroleum statistics. Today the region produces less than 30 percent of the world’s oil. Only about 17 percent of American oil imports come from the Persian Gulf. In fact, most statements about U.S. dependence on the Middle East for our oil conveniently fail to note that Canada is currently our number-one supplier of petroleum, with Mexico second. Until oil was discovered in Saudi Arabia in 1938, it was a land of Bedouin shepherds and oasis date farmers who may perhaps be forgiven for continuing their environmentallydriven backward ways and failing to catch up with the outside world. Saudi oil export revenues today account for 90–95 percent of the Saudi kingdom’s export earnings, 70–80 percent of its state revenues, and roughly 40 percent of the country’s GDP. As a result, oil producers have at least as much reason to be concerned about sustained high oil prices as do oil consumers. Once an advanced economy, Iran is an even better example of the negative effect of an abundance of petroleum. Although it exports only 2.8 million barrels of oil daily, as compared
with Saudi Arabia’s more than 10 million, oil still accounts for 80 percent of Iran’s exports because its industry and agriculture are now so unproductive. Experts on the Middle East are forever bleating about the strategic importance of the Middle East to justify our occupation of Iraq, which has vast petroleum reserves, and Afghanistan, which can offer a land route for the oil of Central Asia to a warm-water port. But despite these advantages, this undeveloped region is less relevant than ever. It would be far better for the UniteStates if we stopped meddling in the Middle East and turned our attention to working with the vibrant and creative nations of Europe and Asia—places where hard-working populations are toiling and looking toward the future, not sitting around puffing on hubbly-bubbly pipes and dreaming of long-gone glories of the past. A genuinely serious effort on our part to make the United States less dependent on petroleum for our energy needs should also be a top priority. Robert Scott is an editor, writer and former book publisher. He lives in Westchester.
in memoriam
Good Night, Kids; Good Night, Gill By ROGER WITHERSPOON
“Was there a touch of spring in the air? And did she have a pink dress on? Wasn’t your first love A very precious time? It was predictable that the accolades to the late poet and singer, Gill Scott-Heron, focused on his political commentary and searing insight to the tenor of America’s transitional era of 1960-80. His “We Almost Lost Detroit,” about the partial meltdown at the Fermi nuclear power plant was as valid then as it was prescient, 12 nuclear meltdowns later, in this year of Fukushima Daiichi. But there were two Gill Scott-Herons: the social commentator, and the romantic poet. And for a single father raising two young girls,
the overlooked romantic was an integral part of their upbringing. One of the advantages of being a poet is that no one criticizes you for lacking a singing voice. And to two young girls, the raspy, earnest, off-key, note-breaking Scott-Heron was just another Dad, but one who had a backup band. Which meant he was the perfect musician for me to join in the nightly ritual of singing them to sleep. His ballad, “A Precious Time,” from his Winter in America album was all about the wonder of first love. But Brie, my youngest, and Kir, four years her senior, were too young to know that. But they did have pretty pink dresses they pulled out for Easter, in a spring ritual that accompanied the blossoming of the dogwood and cherry trees. “And when she smiled Her shy smile
The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
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COMMUNITY
Good Night, Kids; Good Night, Gill
Could you almost Touch the warm?” A closing line which would inevitably prompt a “you like our smiles and dresses, don’t you Daddy?” “Yes Dear. You have pretty smiles. Now close your eyes.” Scott-Heron had a ballad for all occasions; something to fit the stories of Blacks in America as told by me or their elders. Their Great Grandfather, Walker Smith – or GG-Pop – gave them several books on Black Cowboys and regaled them with tales of how his grandfather, the first Walker Smith, wielded a rifle and sword, rode with the Pennsylvania Cavalry, and pretty much won the Battle of Gettysburg single handedly. So when Gill’s gunpowder-rough voice intoned: “Brother Man run to Nebraska After the Civil War was through… Rootin’ tootin’ Wild West shootin’ up Brothers! Though his-story don’t teach us none…” they would pipe up from the covers about GG-Pop’s cowboy books and how much they liked riding horses. And if it was a scorcher in August, or the holiday season after Thanksgiving, they wanted to hear me
and Gill in a duet on “Winter in America” which, to adults, dealt with the Republican push-back against civil rights but to the kids brought cheerful images of snowy days and family gatherings at Christmas. And the concerts always ended the same way, with two melodies that signified all was well: “A Lovely Day,” and “Your Daddy Loves You.” The first one said look to the bright side for all would be well, regardless of what happened during the day: “On a clear spring morning There’s not a cloud in the sky …when I see that old sun shining Makes me think that I can make it through Yes. And all I really want to say Is that the problems come and go But the sunshine seems to stay. Just look around. I think we found A lovely day. And the latter, with its refrain: “Your Daddy loves you. Your Daddy loves his girls,” simply meant all was right in the world and Daddy would fix whatever was broken. For years, if they woke up in the middle of the night shaking from a terrible nightmare, a brief concert of just those two songs would chase the looming monsters away. “A Lovely Day” would erase the shakes, and they would be asleep by the end of “Your Daddy Loves You.” The nightly concerts faded away as they became “big girls.” But growing up does not eliminate nightmares – especially the real ones. At age 15 Brie needed cancer surgery – a prospect that would scare an adult and terrified a 10th grader. Kir, then a college freshman, missed coming home for the surgery because she was in intensive care in
a California hospital, where doctors tried to reduce the swelling of her brain stem from meningitis. Brie cried that she wouldn’t live to graduate from New Jersey’s Teaneck High School. Kir cried over the phone that the pain was unbearable and she wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. A day after the surgery, Brie was in bed and Kir came home on a medical flight. As I prepared to leave their room, Kir said softly: “Daddy, would you sing to us?” So I got out the records, and began the familiar duet of Gill and Me till they were resting comfortably and I could ease out the door. A decade later, Kir is married and raising a family in Virginia while Brie is one of many civilian engineers working with the U.S. Corps of Engineers in Afghanistan. It’s after 10 P.M. on a Friday night this past February, and my wife and I are at a reception for Jeff Johnson, a sculptor in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., whose latest show opened to critical acclaim. My cell phone rang. It was from Brie, and she did not sound good. I found a quiet corner in Johnson’s wood working studio and asked what the problem was. “We’re in Code Black,” Brie said. “What’s that?”
“It’s when we have to grab our Kevlar and run for the bunker and wait till the Marines say it’s all clear.” “What happened?” I asked. “A bomb went off under my window. They were shooting at us with AK-47s as we ran. The bullets were hitting the walls and ground around us. Do you have time to chat?” She had gone to Afghanistan just before Christmas and this was an ongoing nightmare she had no control over. So I sat on the floor and we talked about stuff: Kir’s pregnancy, my writing, the antics of her three cats now ensconced in my library till she returns. Then, from a half world away: “Daddy, will you sing to me?” So I sat on floor, amidst the sawdust, leaned against the sturdy legs of Johnson’s workbench and, going without the aid of Scott-Heron’s raspy voice and tight music to keep me somewhere near tune, sang “A Lovely Day” followed by “Your Daddy Loves You.” Brie was silent for a moment. Then: “Thank you Daddy. Enjoy the party.” And with that, she was gone.
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LIFE
Get A Hobby – ASAP By ALISA SINGER It’s funny how things turn around on us. We spend the first part of our adult life envying people with great jobs, and the last part envying people with great hobbies, many of whom had the opportunity to develop the latter mainly because they lacked the former. But the time comes when what we do on weekends and evenings is more important than what we do during the day because eventually, if you’re lucky, the two will reverse and
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LIFE
Get A Hobby – ASAP Continued from page 11 a riveting hobby of some kind, you need to find one right away. Keep in mind that retirement comes in two flavors, planned and unplanned, and in either case you’ll be in for a rude shock if you don’t use the runway before you (i.e., the time between now and retirement) to plan your post-work world. But before you take up scrapbooking or sign up for lessons in Italian, take a few moments to consider some of the more creative diversions out there. There’s the exciting pastime of tornado chasing, for example. Or indulge your criminal side with “locksport,” the sport of picking locks. Baton twirling – you’ve seen it, but have you tried it? It’s tougher than it looks. And for the fan of medieval history that’s too wimpy to fence there’s “boffering” - sword fights with padded weapons. Or maybe you’d prefer to select a pursuit that complements your deeply held
principles and values. Say, for example, you’re committed to ending the global nuclear arms race. A natural choice for you would be a leisure activity which involves the launching of projectiles at high speed through the use of pneumatic pressure or the combustion of gaseous fuels. In laymen’s terms, these are spud guns, also known as a potato cannons, so named because they are used to fire off chunks of potatoes or other vegetables, or even huge ones such as pumpkins. Just think of how much safer, not to mention funnier, the world would be if countries gave up their nuclear weapons to compete in a vegetable arms race. Countries invading each other to seek out and destroy vegetables of mass destruction. One could go on and on…. Hopefully you’re beginning to realize that when it comes to hobbies, there are many fascinating options to choose from. I’ve done a bit of the research for you and have come up with this list of some of the more unusual interests people pursue: UFO hunting; hoarding; bell ringing; robot building; bee keeping; playing with toads;
“tapophilia” (the enjoyment of cemeteries); juggling; cloud watching; plane spotting; astrology; beading; belly dancing; breakdancing; body piercing; cake decorating; flamenco, graffiti, handwriting analysis; kung fu; line dancing; origami; palmistry; quilting; space exploration; sumo wrestling; duct tape fashion; spying; yodeling, and memorizing songs backwards. The website “oddee.com” is also worth checking out. There you’ll find descriptions of some of the weirder hobbies around, which include: playing dead; appearing in the background on TV; giving away money to strangers; mooing (yes, just like it sounds, only done on a competitive basis); tattooing motor vehicles; animal grooming (painting one animal to make it look like another); and knitting breasts (woolen ones that are used to help new mothers learn how to breastfeed). If you can’t settle on just one, consider combining a few. For example, pet breeding and taxidermy could be coupled with some interesting results. (I’ll let you ponder the possibilities.)
The important thing is to seize upon some hobby, any hobby really, and make sure you find a second one that can be done indoors. This is important, because if you ever find yourself shut up in your home and unable to leave the premises, you don’t want to be discovered by a team of Navy seals, pathetically primping in front of the video camera, endlessly watching home movies of yourself or, for lack of a really fun hobby, operating a global terrorist organization from a room above the garage. Alisa Singer’s humorous essays have appeared in a variety of print and online newspapers and magazines across the country and in Canada. She is the author of various gift books designed to entertain and amuse baby boomers. Her newest book, When a Girl Goes From Bobby Sox to Compression Stockings…She Gets a Little Cranky, is available at www. Lulu.com. You can learn more about her work by visiting her website: www.AlisaSinger. com or contacting her at ASingerAuthor@ gmail.com.”
Ed Koch Movie Reviews By Edward I. Koch Movie Review: “Beginners” (+)
Georgia, who knew he was gay before they married, believed she could change him. She did not. After Georgia’s death, Hal alters his lifestyle and begins a relationship with a younger man, Andy (Goran Visnjic). As a youngster Oliver knew something was not quite right about his parent’s relationship, but when he questioned his mother, she put him off with her responses.
Oliver has had several relationships, none of which were satisfactory. At a masquerade party dressed as Dr. Freud, he meets Anna (Melanie Laurent) who flops on a couch pretending to be a patient with laryngitis. Unable to speak, she writes notes, and an affair soon begins. The actors are all wonderful, including a Jack Russell terrier that understands 150 words of English and, I think, wants to marry
Movie Review: “The Tree of Life” (-)
With great loving care, scenes are set forth of a family that includes the father, Mr. O’Brien (Brad Pitt), Mrs. O’Brien ( Jessica Chastain), and their three sons: the oldest and leader of the pack, Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L. (Laramie Eppler), and Steve (Tye Sheridan). Sean Penn plays Jack as an adult, and I wouldn’t have recognized him if I hadn’t known he was in the movie. Pitt
is made up to portray an ordinary, middle-aged man from the suburbs. The best actors were McCracken and Sheridan with Penn providing the least impressive performance. The photography is wonderful and the music is majestic, as if announcing the presence of God. Everything in between, however, is inexplicable. I think we were being told that we must appreciate
After reading the reviews of this film, I had the impression it was breaking new ground. Regrettably, it did not. The story is about a family that includes the father, Hal (Christopher Plummer), his wife of 44 years, Georgia (Mary Page Keller), and their son, Oliver (Ewan McGregor). The movie opens with Oliver discarding Hal’s belongings after his death. We learn through flashbacks that when Georgia died, Hal told his son he is gay.
This picture received across-theboard rave reviews. If you read A.O. Scott’s review in The Times – the longest that I can recall his having written – one would conclude that anyone not liking this film must be a clod. When I saw it, the audience applauded at its conclusion. I wondered why they were clapping and felt like the child who cried out, “The Emperor has no clothes.”
Oliver. Bizarre, yes. It’s all very lovely and intriguing but sexually too antiseptic raising the question, “Where’s the beef?” With such a terrific cast and a cerebral review in The Times, I was expecting the theater to be crowed on opening night. It was not. Somehow the audience knew this picture was no “Brokeback Mountain.” It is worth seeing but far from a spectacular film breaking new ground.
the cosmos – maybe the Big Bang and the ultimate Rapture – a return to God. I thought the events depicting the cosmos were better suited to the Rose Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History and that the writer and director of “The Tree of Life,” Terrence Malick, had denied me an evening of entertainment or even a learning experience. You can watch Ed Koch’s movie reviews at www.mayorkoch.com.
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
The Westchester Guardian
Page 13
MUSIC
THE SOUNDS Johnnie Taylor OFBLUE “Taylored in Silk” By Bob Putignano
“Silky for Sure, but not entirely.” Dubbed the “Philosopher of Soul” during his Stax days, Johnnie Taylor is best remembered for his 1968 R&B chart-topping smash “Who’s Making Love,” but his biggest single was 76’s “Disco Lady,” the first single ever certified platinum (which at the time meant sales of over two million copies.) Eventually Taylor found a new home at Malaco Records, where he recorded for fifteen years right up till his passing in 2000. There’s some confusion about Taylor’s birth year being 1934, because he usually gave his birth year as 1938. The buttery “We’re Getting Careless With Our Love” opens this disc, it’s a bit dated with superfluous background singers and mildly overproduced strings by arranger
Wade Marcus, but Taylor’s performance is smooth and solid throughout. With similar silkiness “Starting All Over Again” follows and for me this disc definitely has that commercial odor. But Mark Rice’ “Cheaper To Keep Her” is uncluttered (no sappy strings,) a fine horn section is added with a ultra-hip walking bass line and piano vamp, in what is this albums standout track, this is one of my all time favorite lyrics. The strings return on Joe Seneca’s “Talk To Me” where it’s apparent that producer Don Davis is looking cover all bases going for a very wide audience acceptance, Davis also authors “I Believe In You (You Believe In Me,)” which a bit more gritty than the other tracks with strings. The remaining three original tracks are also pretty lightweight, and probably could have found their way to (the pretty much defunct) smooth-jazz radio formats. Six bonus tracks: “Hijackin’ Love” is
down and dirty, where Johnnie’s clearly in control with fine vocals with a strong backing (unidentified) band and a dynamite horn section. “Love In the Streets (Ain’t Good As the Love At Home)” has a gospel vibe with male background vocals, another smart horn section, and Taylor’s soulful vocals. The funky “Standing In For Jody” segues nicely from the previous tune, it’s slow building, and an eventually smoldering number. The disco riddled “Shackin’ Up” percolates pretty well mainly from Taylor’s vocal prowess and another fine backing band and a tight horn section. Taylor brings on the blues on what is easily the best bonus track: Arthur Snyder’s “Doing My Own Thing (Part 1,)” the unidentified guitarist really gets down to the Delta, Taylor wails, and the horns kick-in on this dazzling tune, which is unlike anything else on this record. Unfortunately the disc closes with a Part 2 of “Doing My Own Thing” that’s quite odd,
sort of remix, fortunately it’s about half the length of Part 1. With this “Taylored in Silk” release Concord/Stax continues on with their Stax Remasters series, including six so-called bonus tracks, all of which have been previously released. Plus fresh (2011) informative liner notes by music historian Bill Dahl are always a plus, also included are somewhat detailed track listings and notes about the original recording sessions. Bob Putignano www.SoundsofBlue.com
News & Notes from Northern Westchester By MARK JEFFERS I hope everyone has been enjoying the scorching summer heat by finding fun ways to stay cool, I personally choose to hide indoors with air-conditioning and pretend it is not 95 degrees. The summer is quick to arrive and so is another edition of “News and Notes…” As we dive into summer, our friends at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts prepare for the return of their “Dancing at Dusk” series, which will kickoff at 5pm on June 29th with Irish Music with a Global Twist. Later in the series, Greek dance will be highlighted in the performance Opa! on July 13th, different cultures will show off their expertise throughout the summer, so stop on by! If rock-n-roll is your thing, then you won’t want to miss the Pleasantville Music Continued on page 14
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THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
The Westchester Guardian
COMMUNITY
News & Notes from Northern Westchester Continued from page 13 Festival on July 9th. There will be over twenty acts rocking on 3 stages… And to prepare your body for all the “wild and crazy” dancing in northern Westchester…check out the Master Class Fundraiser, it is a Zumba Class that will be held Saturday June 18th from 2:30 to 4:30, registration will begin at 1:30pm at the Downstate Athletic Center in Peekskill. All proceeds are donated to the Cardinal McCloskey Services for the aid of Autism, for more information call 914-649-1316. A week later check out the “Home Run Derby for a Cause” sponsored by Support Connection Inc. This 2nd annual derby will be held at Peekskill Stadium on June 24th at 6pm, participants 16 and older must sign up before June 20th. This event raises awareness about breast and ovarian cancer and raises funds for Support Connection’s confidential support services for those who have been affected. Why not stop by and hit a few homeruns who knows you might get picked up by a Major League scout! Speaking of scouts, I am sure the college sports recruiters are making notes on many of Northern Westchester County athletes as they finish up their seasons and demonstrate their outstanding talents. Congrats to all those students athletes, and a special congratulations to the seniors in our area! In particular Janice Johnson won the Class A Sectional Championship in the Shot Put, Way to Go Girl! The Bedford-Armonk Rotary is sponsoring an event on July 4th at the John Jay Homestead State historic site in Katonah. The day includes a performance of patriotic music by the American Colonials Fife & Drum Band and a spirited reading
of the Declaration of Independence on the front lawn at John Jay Homestead; bring a lawn chair, blanket, or just lie out in the grass. There will also be a mini country fair, live music, food, and refreshments all day long. Proceeds will benefit the SPCA of Briarcliff, John Jay Homestead, and the Rotary Club and its community programs and organizations. If you are interested and want to volunteer to do advance work and help run the event please contact Abbott Fleur (Rotary President) at bedfordarmonkrotary@gmail.com. If you are a high school student looking to finish up any community service requirements this is a great opportunity, and you get to spend the day outside celebrating our country! Three cheers to Briarcliff ’s Cameron Young as he won the 92nd Westchester Golf Association Amateur Championship, Cameron is also believed to be the youngest winner at 14 years of age… Another great big shout-out goes to the fifth graders
of Mount Kisco Elementary who earned first place honors in a regional stock market game. The students worked in teams researching stocks and bonds, investing money, and understanding how global events affect the overall performance of the stock market. Looks like the economy has a bright future! Good News! For all those who have yet to buy their dads a gift for Father’s Day, Best Buy is giving a special offer in conjunction with the American Red Cross blood drive. Everyone who donates blood at an American Red Cross blood drive will receive a Best Buy coupon redeemable from June 15 – July 15, 2011. To schedule an appointment to donate blood visit www.redcrossblood. org. And speaking of Father’s Day, I hope all the Dad’s out there have a great day…sit back and have your wonderful children take care of you on your special day, I know my three girls can’t wait…Happy Father’s Day!
THE SPOOF
Superman Announces He’s Reinventing Himself; Lady Gaga Will Assist By GAIL FARRELLY Still wearing the same tried and true, red-and-blue outfit with a splash of yellow, the Man of Steel held a press conference in Grand Central Station yesterday and announced his plans for the future. Reminding everyone that he made his first appearance in 1938, he told the ecstatic crowd that he was ready for a change. He came to this decision, he confided, after reading a quote by leadership guru Warren G. Bennis: “People who cannot invent and reinvent themselves must be content with borrowed postures, secondhand ideas, fitting in instead of standing out.” Superman would like to star in a Broadway show next year. He said, “Spider-Man beat me to the punch, but I’m sure I’ll have a better and safer show than that nitwit.” Also, he’s hoping to have his own Internet
radio show soon. A talk show, tentatively titled: “Say It to Superman.” And with Oprah gone from network TV, he thinks his chances are good for branching out to television in the near future. And of course he plans to change his attire. He now considers the cape “kind of girlie,” the tights, “too tight for a 73-year-old,” and the boots, “cumbersome and unwieldy.” He needs something lighter and more modern as he admitted that, since his knee replacement surgery, it’s hard to leap tall buildings in a single bound. The new outfit must not only be lighter but it must also be easy to change in and out of. “There are fewer and fewer telephone booths to serve as changing facilities,” Superman said, pointing out that he’s now usually forced to do quick changes in doorways or hallways. In his reinvention project, the Man of Steel has sought assistance
from Lady Gaga. “From wearing a meat dress to the choice of a giantsized egg for transportation, she’s the queen of reinvention,” he pointed out, continuing, “This is the 21st century, y’gotta go with the flow.” For her part, Lady Gaga is currently keeping mum -- a “Poker Face,” so to speak -- about the specifics of her advice. If rumors are correct, though, any and all of the following may be in the offing for Superman’s future: tattoos, body piercings, blue-and-red hair dye, a Mohawk haircut, a live monkey, and a popemobile-type vehicle (Superman style!). The Superman Reinvention Project is moving along faster than a speeding bullet. Stay tuned for latebreaking developments. Learn more about The Farrelly Sisters Authors online.
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The Westchester Guardian
sports
Women’s Roller Derby By ALBERT CAAMANO
about the roller derby. CAAMANO: How did you get started in roller derby? FIFI FLESHWOOD: After seeing the A&E reality show, RollerGirls, many
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
Page 15
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Suburbia Roller Derby (SRD)is Westchester County’s first all-female, flat-track roller derby league. The league was founded in June 2007 by Slim Fast and Suffah Kate, two former Connecticut RollerGirls, and has since attracted
approximately 40 women from around the tri-state area, including experienced former members of other local leagues. Fifi Fleshwound, the public relations director spoke to The Westchester Guardian
years ago and only after a few years, I became an avid fan. My love of the sport transformed me from being a fan to becoming a cheerleader for the Gotham Girls Roller Derby. In time, I got my skills high enough and my cajones tough enough to try out for Suburbia Roller Derby (SRD). FATAL BOOTY: Some friends were on the league and they did a promo at the bar where I worked. I started my training in February 2008, and became a league member in May 2008. DOMESTIC VIOLET: I was playing with the Long Island Roller Rebels when SRD was started; I learned about it through word of mouth. I live in The Bronx and commuting to Long Island for practice was really difficult so I jumped ship as soon as I heard there was a Westchester league forming. ORGANIC PANIC: Before moving down to Westchester from New Continued on page 16
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The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
SPORTS
Women’s Roller Derby Continued from page 15 Hampshire, I played basketball and skated on the lakes throughout the winter. So I was looking for a sport that was very aerobic and ran year-round DEVIANT UNICORN: I had been going to roller derby bouts for about 5 years or so and became interested in derby on a global level. Of course I knew all about Suburbia! DIXIE WHISKY: I was in the Tarrytown Halloween parade with my kids’ nursery school and the ladies from Suburbia were there. I had heard about roller derby and was interested in trying out a new sport, just to see if I could do it. I ran up to them afterward and joined in November 2007. GRAVE ROBIN: I was visiting a friend in Albany a few years back and I saw a promotional postcard on her refrigerator. It was from a neighboring league and her roommate played for them. When I moved to Westchester, I found SRD; tried out, and the rest is history. CAAMANO: What kind of equipment do you use? FLESHWOOD: We all skate on quad 4 skates—the old-school kind, not inlines. People choose their skates and
wheels depending on their size, ability and need for more speed or grip on the track. We also all wear knee pads, wrist guards, elbow pads, helmets and mouth guards. CAAMANO: What type of training or practice do you have? FLESHWOOD: For regular league members of Suburbia Roller Derby, practices run for 2 hours on Monday and Wednesday nights, and Saturday mornings. For our all star travel team, Suburban Brawl, there is an additional hour of practice Monday nights, and two additional hours on Wednesdays. CAAMANO: How much travel is involved? FLESHWOOD: We have two travel teams, our all-stars, the Suburban Brawl, and our B-team, the Backyard Bullies. If a player is chosen for either team, she commits to travelling with the team to any away games. Typical travel involves going to New Jersey, Philadelphia, and/or Vermont for a bout. As part of the East Region of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, our region includes as far north as Montreal, as far west as Pittsburgh, and as far south as North Carolina CAAMANO: How many teams are in the league, how many games do you play? FLESHWOOD: Along with the
two travel teams, we have three home teams; the Country Clubbers, Indian Point Sirens, and Botoxic Avengers. The home teams have a relatively short season this year, with only three games being played this summer, with the top two moving on to our Home Championship. The Bullies’ season adds a few more games for many players, and the Brawl season is much longer. CAAMANO: Is there any compensation, if you do have jobs how does the schedule interfere with your jobs? FLESHWOOD: Nope, we pay monthly dues to help keep our league running, pay for any advertising and pay rent for our practice and bout spaces. Each skater is responsible for buying and maintaining their own equipment. Each skater pays a yearly fee for insurance from the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association, which covers us in case of injury on the track. When we travel, we get small stipends from the league to help cover costs, but that comes from the dues we pay and from fundraisers we hold. Most of the ladies on the league work full-or part-time, and many have family obligations as well. We have a small Board of Directors, made up of skaters who make decisions over league policy and basically run the league’s day-to-day conduct, and
every member of the league serves on two committees in order to make sure bouts run smoothly, CAAMANO: If a women wants to play in the league or just start playing what advice do you have for them? Suburbia Roller Derby typically holds tryouts twice a year. During tryouts, potential skaters have to demonstrate a solid ability to skate, perform basic skills and complete five laps on the track in less than 1 minute. FLESHWOOD: Most importantly, start skating! And be prepared to be challenged every day; both on the track and off. Since people outside derby don’t understand everything about it, we often spend a lot of time explaining the game. GRAVE ROBIN: Skate whenever and wherever you can. Work on your balance and crossovers. Eat good foods and take care of your body. Look for derby in your area. And if you can’t find a league, start one! ANN SANE: You have to try this! It is so much fun, and a great way to get into shape. It will probably be the hardest workout you have had in a long time, but it is so worth it. Derby is a great way to workout, makes friends, and be involved in something so empowering.
GovernmentSection Mayor Phil Amicone Designs City’s Demise By HEZI ARIS
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Neither New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, nor NYC Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, found Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone’s FY@2010-2011 Proposed Budget viable. Along with the Yonkers’ Albany Delegation, comprised of Senators Jeff Klein and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assemblymen Tom Abinanti, Mike Spano, and J.Gary Pretlow, the insinuation of a wage cap, a contractual agreement arrived at by past agreements conducted under and approved by Mayor Amicone and the respective union leadership, and a Transitional Finance Authority (TFA), among other concerns, among which are the separation of the branches of government, the lack of scrutiny of “authorities,” etc., the proposal was deemed dead on arrival. What is Plan B?
First, is there a Plan B? If there is a Plan B, what is it? How much longer must Yonkersites await an answer from those entrusted to conduct their affairs for the public good? Was the first deflection that of last Thursday’s press conference called by Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick and his side-kick Yonkers City Council Minority Leader John Murtagh who chose to side-step the total responsibility upon which the financial debacle facing Yonkers is borne, that of “strong mayor form of government” failure and lame duck Mayor Phil Amicone. What did each respectively have to do to shoulder the responsibility of his failure on their collective weak shoulders? What’s the “payoff “boys? President Lesnick asserts there is a plan but is incapable of expressing it. Likewise, Minority leader Murtagh,
The Westchester Guardian
GOVERNMENT
Mayor Phil Amicone Designs City’s Demise incapable of saying anything other than I had a plan and Albany doesn’t get it, later stormed out of the august, but now diminished Yonkers City Council Chambers, storms out in order to pout that he is not the center o the universe though he too, will not amit that he, like Lesnick, approved every budget sent to the Yonkers City Council; two hypocrites among many more. Have Lesnick and Murtagh stolen the nanosecond worth of fame by jumping into the cameras eye? If they had a plan, why did they too finger point at all others for the crisis to which they, at the behest o Yonkers’ failed mayor are responsible. It is high time Mayor Amicone’s “team” of misfits come up with a plan. Or do they not care? I believe it is the latter. They are outta here! They don’t care. They have no plan. They took what they could from Yonkers and they can now leave with their pound of flesh. Nice going. Your individual and collective facilitation that has brought Yonkers to the edge of viability, as well as your respective silence when you knew your constituents needed more
Here Come the Ladies By NANCY KING
Looking over my chart of who is running for County seats this election cycle I was amazed to see so many women who are seeking office. While politics has often been referred to as a “man’s game,” those of us in the know realize that if you want to get a job done within set budget parameters and in a timely manner, get a woman to do it. This year’s crop of candidates have stepped up to the plate. Starting at the bottom of the county in Yonkers, we have Virginia Perez, a Democrat running against Republican Carmen GomezGoldberg. Both of these ladies would like to replace incumbent José Alvarado. Virginia Perez ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Yonkers City Council two years ago losing a primary by only 8 votes in which Wilson Soto was convicted of committing election fraud. Joining Virginia in the race is Carmen Gomez-Goldberg. GomezGoldberg is a Latino Outreach worker for Mayor Bloomberg’s staff. She is also endorsed by the Conservatives and they seem to be the up and coming party with which to be affiliated. In the 15th district in Yonkers Shelley Mayer garnered the Independence Party endorsement yet she is not believed to have committed to challenge the republican incumbent. Zipping over to the sound shore, we see Judy Meyer being challenged by political newcomer
is the travesty that will haunt you until your individual demise. Such vulgarity of conduct cannot and will not go unanswered by a higher power. Mr Lesnick’s debauched performance of inferred promise, is his modus operandi, promising the world and delivering on NOTHING. Way to go Chuck. Perhaps everyone can turn their voting effort to get the vote out for you. Mr Murtagh, too, permits himself to be used to get Mayor Amicone out of hot water. Mr Murtagh has espoused little of value because when he was demanded to cast a vote for Yonkersites, he chose to cast a vote to bring more disarray. Each in their passive / aggressive style have facilitated confusion among Yonkersites. They have leant little to the understanding of the crisis before the City of Yonkers and are evidently devoid of any concepts by which CoY is to survive. That my dear friends is tantamount to not meeting their fiduciary responsibilities. So what is Yonkers next move and when do we take it?
Suzanna Keith. Keith who is 18 months into her term as a Rye Councilperson has been endorsed by the Westchester Republican party in hopes of bringing an end to the supermajority that has thwarted the Astorino administration from getting any real work done. Keith is an independent business owner who runs SKoncepts a marketing firm and is also active in a wide variety of charitable organizations. The legislative race in Ossining will prove interesting as well. Democrat Catherine Borgia who is the current Ossining Town Supervisor will square off against Republican challenger Susan Konig. Both of these ladies hope to replace Bill Burton who has decided not to run this year. While only twelve votes shy of winning last election cycle, it appears that Konig hasn’t received the blessing of the county GOP this time around. Catherine Borgia has received the backing of the Independence party this cycle. Traveling further north takes us to the Bedford area where political newcomer and former Naval Officer Lisa Douglas is seeking a seat in District 2. Running on the Hudson Valley Patriot line, Douglas hopes to garner the seat in District 2 currently held by Pete Harkham. As the election cycle winds its way through summer, we’ll no doubt be taking a closer look at these candidates. Until then, let the best woman go forth. Nancy King resides in the Town of Greenburgh, New York. She is an investigative reporter.
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
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The Westchester Guardian
MAYOR Marvin’s COLUMN
Municipal Lighting
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
GOVERNMENT lighting systems currently available. Over 90% of the power consumed is emitted as heat rather than light, making these bulbs the least expensive to purchase but the most expensive to operate. We estimate that our power bill for street lighting could be reduced by as much as 70% from the current $100,000 to $30,000 with a capital project employing any one of the newer technologies. The current $100,000 cost does not even reflect the labor required to constantly change our current bulbs. These bulbs each contain a fragile filament and one Department of Public Works employee spends a full day per week replacing bulbs destroyed by wind, rain or snow conditions, long before they have reached the end of their average life. The Trustees and I realize that we need expert help on this project because the type and color of the emitted light as well as the pole design will affect the landscape and ambiance of our Village for years to come. It is quite possible we may have to replace all of the light poles as well as the internal mechanisms. In the coming weeks, we will be interviewing lighting consultants with an expertise in municipal work. We are also in the process of reviewing all Village lighting studies undertaken in the past that remain in Village files to determine their applicability to our 2011 needs. In addition, we are reaching out to colleagues both locally and nationwide who have completed lighting upgrades to
learn from their successes and failures. As with most things, all of the new lighting technologies have pluses and minuses. Induction lighting, which is a cousin to fluorescent lighting, involves the creation of a magnetic field to excite gas which then generates a white light. The advantages of the induction system are reduced energy consumption and extremely long bulb life. An induction bulb has an average life of 100,000 hours vs. the incandescent’s 2,000. Induction lighting has a significantly reduced level of energy consumption as well as a less expensive initial cost to change fixtures as compared to the available alternative technologies. The disadvantages are that the bulbs do contain some mercury; the need for large lamps limits the available fixture choices and critics believe the quality of light is not as well dispersed as in other options. A second option is the Light Emitting Diode or LED lights which are solid state semi-conductors that convert electrical energy directly into visible light. Benefits of LEDs include a long bulb life similar to the induction system. It is the most energy efficient as well as the most environmentally friendly option due to the lack of filaments or mercury and has a very low maintenance cost once installed. Disadvantages include the lack of suitability for all lighting needs due to limitations on maximum mounting heights, the highest initial cost to install
of all the systems and a perceived glare by some users. The third viable option, the Advanced Ceramic Metal Halide light or “Cosmopolis”, is currently used throughout Europe. It is highly efficient versus the fluorescent bulb (30,000 hours of life vs 2,000), but much less efficient relative to the Induction and LED systems. Benefits include the miniature size of the bulbs which allow for improved and controllable optics and both the start up and maintenance costs are lower than the other two options. Disadvantages include the emission of a white light versus a golden tone that some users prefer and small amounts of mercury are contained in each bulb. We look to you, our residents, to share your particular expertise, knowledge/view of lighting in communities you may have visited, and a general opinion, positive or negative, on the lighting systems available. We would also appreciate any thoughts on historical accuracy or aesthetic needs as it relates to a new lighting system integrating into the character of our Village. We also anticipate installing lighting poles with the various technologies employed as samples for residents to view and comment. Lighting is a major component of the character of our Village and your input is strongly encouraged.
Politics, Petitions and Patsies
subsequent vetting process that really blows one’s mind. Mr. Smith’s tenure while serving as a board member and board president in Valhalla has been clouded in a swirl of controversy. Starting with being a custodian of that Greenburgh Westhelp money; deemed to enrich the lives of homeless children in his district. However, those children never actually showed up in the district and you know how it goes with money like that…. Use it or lose it. And so it went. With the help of Ned McCormack, Rob Astorino’s senior advisor and communications director (and Smith’s friend and neighbor) the money began to be spent. For several years, board members sanctioned the spending of that WestHelp money on what appears to be their own private interests. I doubt that the children benefitted from nights at the opera, lunches at trendy restaurants and Hudson River Cruises. Money was also
spent on administrators going away and retirement parties. If a board member’s child needed a pricey SAT review course, it came from this fund. But sooner or later this misuse of money began to be noticed by some. John Fitzgerald, a former board member and publisher of the controversial blog valhallavoice.com began to follow this board’s antics and how they spent this money. Greenburgh residents Robert Bernstein and Herbert Rosenberg noticed and took it one step farther. They sued the Town of Greenburgh to halt the flow of money to the Valhalla School District. Finally the New York State Comptrollers office got wind of the WestHelp deal , the monies and how these funds were spent. Sure enough, it was deemed illegal and the monies stopped flowing to Valhalla. Of course the Mayfair-Knollwood Neighborhood Association (McCormack Continued on page 19
By MARY C. MARVIN The purpose of this week’s column is to begin a community conversation about the municipal lighting throughout the Village, particularly in our commercial district. The Trustees and I must undertake a capital project in the very near future to upgrade lighting, most importantly because of the energy inefficiency of our current configuration as well as a desire on our part to illuminate the Village to reflect the needs of our 2011 walking and driving population. Currently, the Village is illuminated with 189 watt incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are energy inefficient. They are now outlawed in Europe and will cease to be manufactured worldwide in just two years. So the issue is not should we embark on a lighting capital plan, but rather just how we implement a new technology. Since the development of the incandescent bulb by Thomas Edison in 1879, lighting has remained one of the last technologies still encased in glass tubes, in contrast to cameras, TVs and computers which have moved to digital/solid state technology. As background, our current incandescent bulbs have a life of 2,000 hours vs. 30,000 to 100,000 hours for the modern
By NANCY KING
People often ask me if, as a political writer, I write about the “good guys”? The answer is the same every time; “there are no good guys, they’re all the same.” We can all count on one hand those who have entered the game of seeking office with the most altruistic of reasons. On that same hand I can count those who have actually been true to their vision quest of helping people. However, this election cycle, here in Westchester County sees candidates seeking office who have been thrust into the arena by those seeking to further their own platforms. This week these candidates are getting their final endorsements from the parties of choice, and meeting with their District Leaders
to get those petitions carried. Business as usual except in Legislative District 3 which will see Democrat John Nonna face off against Republican newbie Michael Smith of Valhalla. John Nonna really hasn’t done halfbad as a legislator, that is until he got tied up in the supermajority cabal and was then appointed to oversee the re-districting process. This re-districting process has turned out to be such a colossal mess that it has charted the course for this year’s election process and in turn has earned Mr. Nonna an opponent . Enter Michael Smith, a Valhalla School Board member to challenge Mr. Nonna. It’s how he got to the nominating process and the
Mary C. Marvin is the Mayor of the Village of Bronxville.
The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 2011 JUNE 16, 9, 2011
Page 19
GOVERNMENT
Politics, Petitions and Patsies Continued from page 18 and Smith) blame Paul Feiner for setting up an illegal deal as do Mssrs. Bernsteinand Rosenberg. This may be true and it is up to the courts to sort this one out but it doesn’t stop there either. As Valhalla was receiving this money their scores were circling the drain. Former board member William McGuinn questioned as to why 91% of students failed a Chemistry regents. Never one who liked to be questioned, board President Michael Smith took to his Facebook account to voice his displeasure
at McGuinn’s questioning. “McIdiot gets a shout out from the coward of the keyboard. Sort of like a pig sleeping with a porcupine. Can the end of the world be near?” Great words from an elected official in charge of a 44 million dollar school budget. But Smith did get a nod of encouragement on his Facebook wall from non other than Evelyn McCormack, wife of Rob Astorino’s senior advisor. She writes” Yikes I’m just not reading the paper anymore”. If this is the sort of behavior that Smith has entertained one has to wonder what he’s going to do if he ever gets to the eighth floor of the County Office Building.
Which leads us to the question of how he is actually getting to 148 Martine Avenue. Earlier this week Mr. Smith met with Conservative Party leaders on his home turf of Mt. Pleasant. For party unity they did indeed endorse him with the exception of one member who abstained from the vote. As we go to press, Mr. Smith has failed to meet with the Conservative leaders in the Town of North Castle. Perhaps he doesn’t realize that Armonk is his district as well. Who does he think will carry his petitions for him? This ain’t the school board baby; this is big County Government and you need all the friends you can muster up to make
it there. It is a shame that the current administration has so few viable candidates able to step up the plate in order to break the super majority ; instead they have a D listed school board member to be their patsy. In the meantime perhaps John Nonna can find his original altruistic heart and do what the electorate has charged him with… serving the people.
“The NFTE course taught us how to manage business at an early age,” said Harris, who credits Rivera with coming up with the original idea. “I have a lot of knowledge on gaming and I thought it was a pretty good idea. It can be successful in the future, it could be something big.” For Rivera, the NFTE course made
accounting come alive. “It helped me figure out my prices, my cost per unit, how much to spend on ink. It made me feel that if I opened a business I would have a lot of freedom. NFTE got me thinking about being my own boss.”
Nancy King resides in Greenburgh, New York. She is an investigative reporter.
Teens Excel, Create Their Own Business Continued from page 8 to combine his concern for eating healthy with learning the ins and outs of running a business. “It was great being in the NFTE program and learning how to network, how to talk to people.” NFTE Program Manager Tracy Mehu-Hammonds said the program is designed to counter the students’ resistance to an education based on pedagogy rather than what they can use in the real world. “Students don’t understand their role in society and how important it is to do something like create their own business. We expose kids to the reality of the economy and teach them the basics of entrepreneurship, teach them what they can do outside the box.” James Maniglia, a junior at Lincoln High School in Yonkers, came up with a gadget to combat food spoilage in refrigerators. His project “Rotate-A-Fridge,” won second place in his school. “I came up with the idea when I went to get chips and salsa out of the refrigerator and the salsa was all the way in the back. It was extremely old – that’s because you put food in the back and you forget about it.” Maniglia honed his pitch to a short 30 seconds. “I just told the judges how easy it was to work, that it was adjustable and affordable.” The experience showed him that he could be a successful business person. Money is important to the young man, not only for himself, but to help women like his mother who suffers with breast cancer. “My mom had breast cancer twice in
11 years,” he said. “Just a week ago, they found another piece of cancer and had to remove both of breasts. It was scary and it motivated me to do well in school and make my mom happy. Whether I become an entrepreneur or a business person, I definitely want to donate money to breast cancer research.” Student projects require intense work. Lincoln High School teacher Joanne Marselos, who is the Academy of Finance Director in that school’s Academy of Science program, said the course demands a big commitment. “They have to know about their market, their target group and their return on sales. Who is their competitor and how do they reach their market?” The target market for junior Precious Blake is women over 20. Blake won the NFTE contest in Woodlands High School in Hartsdale, for her business called “ReJewel”, jewelry made from recycled materials. “For the product to get out there I would hypothetically sell it at the Lyndhurst Craft show in the spring and fall,” Blake explained. “If I were to start a business it would be a lot of work but it would be enjoyable and fun.” Students like Elide Beltran came up with her own unique lip gloss. Christal Somar created a board game called “Lit2life” that was based on literature taught at school for students to use as a study guide. Marquis Harris and Jason Rivera, juniors from Lincoln High School, teamed up in a business that would create decals to personalize video gaming components called “PG Skins.”
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The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
OP EDSection
Open Letter to New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson
You may have noticed that the Westchester Guardian has been considerable upgraded and more focused by the arrival of Hezi Aris. Nothing speaks to this point more eloquently than Robert Scott’s “The Slow Death of Suburbia: A Glimpse of the Future of Westchester.” It should be required reading for you in terms of Sustainability and, even more important, in recognition of the political consequences we are facing as a nation regarding our inabilities to collaborate, focus, divest from special interests, and, I think, an unwillingness to face the fact that we need a new paradigm of governance. I have described this in some detail to those I thought would
listen, and I will spend whatever time and energy I have left to work a small corner called “building a community.” The other areas come much easier to me as many of the ideas I presented under Sustainability, Strategic Planning, and the like, point out that I have given a great deal of thought to these matters. I long for the return of Ras Aggerwhala to New York (Sustainability) where he is needed more than ever. Interestingly, Thomas Friedman has this very day authored a piece in the op ed page of The New York Times that links very well to what Robert Scott is saying. Friedman sees the turmoil and crass egocentricity and lack of critical thought and political courage in the current system. Yet, he paints an interesting portrait of “inevitability,” and I think I share that. In sum, much of what
Scott states will likely not happen until we go through our decades-old process of selfishness and lossof perspective and community. I will, as I have stated, do what I can through traditional sources that have worked in the past, to help move this process forward in New Rochelle. I would ask for your support as you have been given mine freely and without favor. My dear wife is doing something extraordinarily critical and meaningful at her place of employment with the Veterans Administration as her client. Thankfully, there is a General Shinseki who is combat tested and understands what these broken and gallant men and women need and want and does not take the relatively recent route of appealing to “sunshine patriots” and empty rhetoric. When she is ready, she or I will tell you,
and I think it would be of interest to Hezi Aris as well. Speaking of Aris, he has written an important disclosure in this issue on how the Court System in Westchester and elsewhere in New York violates Civil Service Laws. You need to read that; I know how lax the State can be on enforcing laws on its books, evidenced by the lack of support it renders on its Business Corporate Laws, but perhaps Eric Schneiderman can add value in these areas. There is little evidence that Andrew Cuomo has during his tenure. I hope you will find your way to The Westchester Guardian and see what can be done at the local level on the Court issue while taking full measure of how Mr. Scott guides us on Sustainability. Warren Gross New Rochelle , NY
NEW YORK CIVIC
He Had a Dream By HENRY J. STERN
Weiner, Spitzer, StraussKahn: How Could They Have Done It?
The next mayor of New York City stands in the shoes of the next president of France. Both highly successful political careers have been derailed by the same nemesis: inappropriate behavior toward women because of the need for immediate gratification of the man’s sexual desires. Of course, what the self-destructive trio did, in different ways, was indicative of mental disorder. Other leaders of countries and cities have been mentally ill. They continue until their disorder becomes public, usually as a result of an act so at
variance with conventional ethical standards that it would not be tolerated by the electorate. What is it that makes people who have everything to lose - and nothing to gain but transitory relief - engage time and again in conduct which results in their losing everything? We don’t know; we are not psychiatrists. But self-destructive behavior is not new. Its most direct example is suicide. People do that when the pain of living is worse for them than the fear of dying. Former Queens Borough President Donald When Manes, facing imprisonment in 1986, chose that cowardly route. In the cases of Governor Eliot Spitzer I feel safe. I am protected. and Congressman Anthony I have Life Alert®. Weiner, the suicide is profesOne touch of a button sends help quickly in the sional. They remain alive, event of a medical emergency, fall, home and are free to build new invasion, fire or carbon monoxide poisoning. New! careers. They both, at this Now we have two systems available: For a FREE brochure call: point, have loving wives. Life Alert Classic for seniors Neither man will reach Life Alert 50+ for people 50+ the heights he could have
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attained, but they will not starve. Why, oh why, do these gifted and talented people engage in such obviously ruinous behavior? How could the sitting governor believe that no one would recognize him on his repeated liaisons? How many people did the Congressman proposition on Twitter without realizing that any one of them could turn him in? It only takes a single complaint to topple the house of cards. Then others will rush in, confirming the sordid tale. Cf. Tiger Woods. I have high regard for Anthony Weiner’s better side, which I believe exists somewhere under all the lies, self-deception and cruelty to others. He has suffered from his family’s instability, his brother’s tragic death, his comic last name, and rejection by his peers before he became too important to ignore. The Sammy Glick comparison may be the most obvious literary reference, but I like to believe there was more to Anthony than that. I hope he makes the best of his new life. There are four dangers lying ahead. First is censure or expulsion from the House of Representatives, which is controlled by Republicans. What better way for the hypocrites to demonstrate their purity than by removing the offender? The second is the Democratic primary
in 2012, where he would undoubtedly be challenged. The third is the general election, in which, although it has not be noted, he received only 59 % of the vote in 2010 against a little-known Republican opponent. The fourth hurdle is redistricting. When the lines are drawn for 2012, his seat will be the first to be butchered. His downfall is a personal tragedy. It is also a loss for the city and state. There are few enough smart politicians to let one go down without an expression of sympathy, and regret over what might have been if he were well. There are government and private agencies created to help the physically challenged. It is unfortunate that, in the field of mental health, people are less forgiving and help is more difficult to secure, particularly when it involves disclosure of behavior which must be secret because of valid social norms. The immortal words of Terry Malloy come to mind in another Schulberg reference: “I coulda been a contender.” Anthony Weiner was a contender, but he could have been a champion. Henry J. Stern writes as StarQuest. Direct email to him at mailto:StarQuest@ NYCivic.org. Peruse Mr. Stern’s writing at New York Civic.
The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
Page 21
OPED
Faith Dissolves as Promises Go Unkept By HEZI ARIS The City of Yonkers (CoY) has hit the political wall at the hands of their inept elected officials. Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone is the most at fault. He has sat in the deputy myor’s chair and is now in the mayor in a “strong mayor” form of government. Everything trickles down from his ivory tower, too often validated by a Yonkers City Council membership that may speak critically yet casts a submissive vote to “get along, to get along” among an esoteric clique known as the “Family and Friends Network.” The only aberration among this duplicitous lot has proven to be the independent thinking Joan Gronowski, representing the 3rd District with the voice asked of her by her constituency. The others cling to the proposition that they were voted to promote the agenda espoused by Yonkers Mayor Amicone, even if it is detrimental to the public good. Their subservient respective record proves this to be factual. Mayor Amicone’s legacy of browbeating adversaries is well known. This year, his tactical maneuvers of demonizing others by pointing an accusatory finger of blame to deflect from his own ineptitude is failing. The difference in 2011 is that
the Albany Delegation, consisting of New York State Senators Jeff Klein and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assemblymen Thomas Abinanti, Mike Spano, and J. Gary Pretlow, battle hardened to the monotonous blame game thrown before their collective feet have returned the favor by outing Mayor Amicone for his ineptitude, rather than theirs. While Mayor Amicone segregates The People of issues that concern them by not addressing the issues, The People are riddled with concerns beyond garbage collection and road paving services. CoY’s coffers are languishing among an ever growing mountain of debt and the costs of debt service. It is with certainty that Yonkers fiscal house has been further challenged by the fiscal concerns that grip the city, state and federal governments. While Mayor Amicone would like to hide behind these financial woes, The People know full well that the lack of forward planning has exacerbated a city that claims conservative values, no matter their political affiliations. Yonkers has lived a fairy tale lifestyle where it has blamed the state for its travails yet has been the recipient of over $500,000,000 in one-shot subsidies bestowed by an empathic New York State Legislature over many years.
Yonkers has maintained its rebuke of The Albany Delegation despite their working toward serving their constituents in Yonkers. Yonkers City Council President Chuck Lesnick and Yonkers City Council Minority Leader John Murtagh have chosen to relieve Mayor Amicone his responsibility for a failed, last minute attempt to force The Albany Delegation, NYS Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, and NYS Governpor Andrew Cuomo to kowtow to Yonkers dramatic ploys. Governor Cuomo will not partake in these little-boy games, much less participate in playing chicken with Mayor Amicone. New York State Senator Jeff Klein said it best when he wrote, “No such legislation can be enacted without certification from The State Comptroller’s Office, and they made it clear that this current proposal did not pass muster. Furthermore, it is sad and unfortunate that some are willing to bring Wisconsin-style politics to Yonkers by seeking to have the State Legislature impose a unilateral wage freeze that violates collective bargaining rights. Council members need to go back to the drawing board, work with all stakeholders, and come up with a real plan that is worthy of State Comptroller approval.” The ball is now squarely in Mayor Amicone’s lap. Under Yonkers’ “strong mayor” form of government, it is Mayor Amicone’s place to propose a Plan B. At issue now is whether Mayor Amicone and
mediocre administrative staff have a Plan B? By being caught flat-footed in their lies and deceptions, as revealed by The Albany Delegation making media privy to the facts and the games played, The People will have learned the like shenanigans by which they have duped. Yonkers is at the crossroads. Our inept approach at playing Albany for collective fools will not win the day. Mayor Amicone believes he can continue to stymie The People from learning what is in the coffers of the Yonkers Board of Education (YBoE) by instructing Yonkers Inspector General Dan Schorr not to follow through on a court ruling that permits the audit be made public. Not only should the Yonkers taxpayer be made aware of these facts, Albany will not permit itself to be played because Mayor Amicone believes he has kept them ignorant on this issue among others. Mayor Amicone’s vision has been proven to be a mirage meant to dupe The People to support him unquestioningly. Had he maintained some semblance of success, he could have done The People’s work. Instead, Mayor Amicone to squandered The People’s trust of him and robbing The People of their hopes and dreams. Mayor Amicone has not conformed to the fiduciary responsibility demanded of him as the Mayor of the City of Yonkers.
the American boat will be a reported 34 passengers, says The Times, “[i]ncluding the writer, Alice Walker, and an 86-yearold [woman] whose parents died in the Holocaust.” Ms. Walker is the author of “The Color Purple.” The Times article further reports “The American passengers say they support the Palestinian people, not Hamas.” They compare themselves to the Freedom Riders who 50 years ago, rode buses to the South to challenge racial segregation then maintained by Southern states. Let’s examine these arguments and motivations. Hamas has been described by the American government, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations (the so-called “Quartet”) as a terrorist organization. It came to power in an election in Gaza where the choice
was either Hamas or Fatah. Hamas ran on its platform and charter that there would never be peace with Israel and that every Jew who entered historic Palestine Continued on page 22
ED KOCH COMMENTARY
The Continuing War Against The Jews By ED KOCH Sometime this month a flotilla of ships will once again seek to breach the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. This effort is similar to the one that took place a year ago. That last attempt to break the Gaza blockade ended with nine people on the ships being killed after they attacked and injured the Israeli soldiers who took custody of those ships. The Israeli sea blockade is intended to prevent weapons, explosives and other contraband from being shipped to terrorists in Gaza, also preventing the entry of terrorists. Last Thursday, The New York Times
reported on the new plans for breaking the blockade, and described what happened on the first attempt: “A year ago, nine people in a flotilla of six boats were killed when Israeli commandos boarded a Turkish boat in international waters off the coast of Gaza. The Israelis said their commandos were attacked and struck back in self-defense, but the Turks blamed the Israelis for using live ammunition. The raid soured relations between Israel and Turkey and intensified pressure on Israel to end the naval blockade.” The new effort will apparently include ten boats carrying American, Canadian, Spanish, Swiss and Irish protesters. On
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The Westchester Guardian
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
oped
The Continuing War Against The Jews Continued from page 21 after 1917 would be expelled. Hamas won the election against the more moderate Fatah, whose leader, Mahmoud Abbas, said at the time he favored negotiations with Israel leading to a two-state solution with Israel and a Palestinian state living sideby-side in peace. Israel and Hamas waged a short war in 2008-2009 after Hamas showered civilian targets in southern Israel with thousands of rockets. Despite a truce, Hamas still allows its adherents and other terrorist factions to attack southern Israel with rockets. The most recent attack, on April 7th , critically injured an Israeli child on a school bus. Pray tell, how does this situation compare in any way to that of the
American Freedom Riders, such as Congressman John Lewis, who in a documentary on the Freedom Riders talked of the violence visited upon him as he rode the bus? I believe the situation is analogous to World War II, where the U.S. and our allies declared and enforced a boycott against Nazi Germany. Would those same American passengers have sought to break such a boycott, saying they supported the German people, not the Nazi government, knowing the German people had voted for Hitler in a democratic election before he took office as German Chancellor in January 1933? The Times further reported, “About a quarter of the passengers are Jewish. Among the crew is a former captain in the Israeli air force who refused to fly missions in Gaza.” Hedy Epstein, the 86-yearold, according to The Times, said “The American Jewish community and Israel both say that they speak for all Jews. They don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for the Jews in this country who are going to be on the U.S. boat and the many others standing behind us.” Hedy Epstein’s parents, the Times noted, died in the Holocaust, and Hedy survived it. Nobody ever said that all Jews are rational. But Hamas has said that all Jews
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who entered historic Palestine after 1917 will be expelled. Hitler did order the arrest and death of all Jews in Germany and everywhere else the Nazis could enforce the “final solution.” Why, for heaven’s sake, aren’t these same protesters leading a flotilla to Syria’s shores, where the Syrian government has killed hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Syrian citizens who were, as reported by the media, non-violently protesting the despotic acts of their own government, demanding the ouster of their president Bashar al-Assad? The Times of June 4th reported that “On Friday, more than 30 protesters were killed in the city of Hamah, according to Rami Abdelrahaman, a human rights monitor. That report could not be immediately confirmed.” It’s possible the flotilla protesters don’t go to Syria because they know the Syrian government is capable of killing them all in cold blood. In 1982, in that same city of Hamah, at least 10,000 Syrian citizens were killed by Bashar’s father, who put down an uprising directed against his dictatorship. His son, Bashar, is now facing a worldwide revulsion to the recent killing and torturing of a 13-year-old boy attending a street protest in a Syrian town, where he was arrested by the Syrian police. According to The Times of May 31, 2011, “…the remains themselves testify all too clearly to ghastly torture. Video posted online shows his battered, purple face. His skin is scrawled with cuts, gashes, deep burns and bullet wounds that would probably have injured but not killed. His jaw and kneecaps are
shattered, according to an unidentified narrator, and his penis chopped off.” Why aren’t Hedy and the former Israeli captain on boats with 1,000 others, including writer Alice Walker, seeking to land at a Syrian port to show their support of the Syrian people and the family of this tortured and murdered child? I believe for two reasons: One, their primary goal is the ultimate destruction of the Jewish state, which I believe is the supreme act of anti-Semitism, comparable to Hitler’s final solution; Second, their fear of being killed en masse by the Syrian army and police at the direction of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. They are afraid of Bashar, but know Israel will do everything possible to avoid bloodshed, but will not flinch in protecting its borders, the right of every country. I believe it is fair to state that support for the Arab attacks upon Israel here in the U.S. and in the Western world comes overwhelmingly from the radical left. The question posed by those on the right and those in the center of political thought which no one seems able to answer is: why are there so many Jews who support the forces that would, if they could, kill them and their religious and ethnic brothers and sisters? I have no answer to that question, but they are -- to use the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s words, he referring to President Jimmy Carter -- “joining the jackals.” They are making a deadly mistake, and I do not forgive their folly. The Honorable Edward Irving Koch served New York City as its 105th Mayor from 1978 to 1989.
Lobbysists to Assist in Looming Redistricting Efforts By HEZI ARIS pending battles ahead. YONKERS, NY – One such Unites States House member, New York State will be Eliot Engel, a Democrat reprelosing two senting the Riverdale section congressional of The Bronx, and parts of seats in 2012, due to shifting Westchester County, has incorpopulation patterns, shrinking porated the lobbying skills of districts from 29 to 27. Albany former New York State Senator has spoken for and promoted Nick Spano, whose Albany its desire for an independent based firm, Empire Strategic redistricting effort but the Planning, has been engaged at concept drew few advocates. a cost of $5,000 per month, as Anticipating the free for all, some of New York’s congres- Senator Nick Spano revealed in filings made with the New York State Commission on sional delegates, unwilling to be Public Integrity. taken to the slaughterhouse, are bolstering Continued on page 23 their efforts proactively to survive the
THURSDAY, June 16, 2011
The Westchester Guardian
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oped Lobbysists to Assist in Looming Redistricting Efforts Continued from page 22 Buffalo Democrat Brian Higgins has hired Patricia Lynch Associates for $4,000 a month, while U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-Queens, has incorporated Brian R. Meara Public Relations for $2,000 a month. U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, of Westchester County, is said to intend to run for re-election no matter how district lines will be drawn. Whether she intends to hire a lobbyist is at present not known.
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Lexington Capital Associates, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/14/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY desi gn. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC P.O. Box 376 Great Neck, NY 11021. Purpose: Any lawful activity. United Trade Alliance L.L.C. Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/7/2011. Office in West1 column chester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC 9-7 Nicole Circle Ossining, NY 10562. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Registered Agent: Spiegel & Utrera, P.A., P.C. 1 Maiden LN, 5th Fl NY, NY 10038.
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Notice of formation of R. Jaundoo Realty LLC. Filed with the Secy. Of State of NY(SSNY) On 02/09/11. Office location: Westchester County. SSNYdesignated as agent of LLC upon Whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 4021 Paulding Ave Bronx NY 10466. Purpose: Any lawful activity. TMRC, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 5/24/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC C/O Rose Chin PO Box 956 Bronxville, NY 10708. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Amkai LLC Authority filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 5/10/11. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 3/26/07 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The LLC 200 Business Park DR Ste 208 Armonk, NY 10504. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange St Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of Formation Arita Advisory Services, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY 4/28/2011. Off. Loc.: Westchester Cnty. SSNY designated as agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: c/o The LLC, P.O. Box 170, Bedford, NY 10506. Purpose: all lawful activities. SC Barlow LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 12/28/2010. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to C/O Seavest Inc. 707 Westchester Avenue, Suite 401 White Plains, NY 10604. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Wellness by the Sea Retreats,LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/1/2011. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to Sandra Ramos 333 Bronx River Road #502 Yonkers, NY 10704. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
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