city review-new rochelle 9-4-2015

THE NewRochelleCityREVIEWSeptember 4 & 11, 2015 | Vol. 3, Number 18 | www.cityreviewnr.com

districts combined with the four overlay districts, investors have a hard time seeing a visible path for development and assign a lot of risk with that.”

To declutter the closet, RDRXR’s recommended action plan suggested the creation of an optional Downtown Overlay Zone that would be divided into six districts, replacing the cur-rent configuration of 15 zoning districts if an existing property owner chooses to opt-in to the new zoning, with guidelines and regulations that reflect the current makeup and character of the area. Incentives for property owners to combine properties and add com-munity benefits to developments will be built into the overlay zone to entice current property owners to opt-in to the zoning. Guidelines to receive the incentives will be laid out during the creation of the zoning code, so incentives will no longer be up to the New Rochelle City Council’s discretion.

At the heart of the Down-town Overlay Zone is the Down-town Core District, which is the area around the train station hub where the highest density de-velopment and tallest buildings would be built with perpetually decreasing densities and heights for the districts farther away.

McLean said a major compo-nent of the recommended action plan is an environmental review under the New York State Envi-ronmental Quality Review Act,

SCHOOL continued on page 3

tal school item lists from Har-rison’s Louis M. Klein Middle School, which describes what a child entering kindergarten through grade 12 needs, feature 10 items or more, with the quan-tity of some items requested several times over.

For example, a child entering third grade will need eight broad-tip markers, two spiral notebooks and 12 No. 2 pencils.

According to the Huntington Bank Backpack Index, an analy-sis for exploring the costs related to school supplies, there has been a jump in price in each respec-tive grade level for basic supplies since 2007. This year alone, par-

ents can expect to spend an aver-age increase of 1, 2.5 and 9 per-cent for kids in elementary, mid-dle and high school, respectively.

“With the ongoing slow growth in wages, it is difficult for many families to meet the rising costs of sending children to school,” George Mokrzan, director of economics for Hun-tington Bank, said in a released statement. “For a family of five living at the poverty level guideline of $28,410, the cost of sending three children to school would consume as much as 10 percent of their income.”

Moreover, according to the U.S. Department of Education,

one in every five school-age child was living below the fed-eral poverty line in 2013, total-ing 10.9 million children.

In an effort to help low-in-come families combat the grow-ing costs of school supplies, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, launched Operation Backpack in 2012. The county began team-ing up with The Sharing Shelf of Family Services, a Port Ches-ter nonprofit, and other similar agencies and businesses to col-lect and distribute school sup-plies for children in need.

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dOwntOwn continued on page 8

By CHRIS EBERHARtStaff Writer

RDRXR, the master devel-oper selected by the New Ro-chelle City Council to devise a plan to redevelop the downtown section of the city, has suggested an overhaul of the zoning code that would pave the way for new commercial, retail and residential developments.

During a presentation of its recommended action plan, which is the culmination of several months of community engage-ment, Sean McLean of RDRXR said investors assign a lot of risk to development in downtown New Rochelle because of the large number of zoning districts in the area, each with its own regulations. There are 15 zoning districts with 250 regulations in total.

And the four current overlay and floating zones—which are mapped districts superimposed on existing zoning districts with their own set of guidelines subject to review by the City Council—add another level of complexity.

McLean said this isn’t abnor-mal in cities as old as New Ro-chelle because, over time, city leaders will change the zoning to meet the needs of a specific site in a specific time and place in an effort to spur growth and development.

“But the closet got very clut-tered as time went on,” McLean said of the number of zoning districts. “With the 15 zoning

RDRXR presents downtown action plan

Football players from New Rochelle and Mount Vernon square off on the field during New Rochelle’s Champions Camp on July 31. With concussions becoming a hot topic in all sports, Westchester County recently held a conference to address the growing concern.For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith

By JOHn BRAndI Staff Writer

School supply lists have con-tinued to grow for cash-strapped parents across Westchester Coun-ty, but a few organizations are trying to provide relief to help ease that burden and give kids the tools to succeed in school.

As summer comes to a close, parents with school-age chil-dren now have to shift their fo-cus to the ever-increasing cost of school supplies. Item needs, usu-ally in the form of a list provided by the child’s school, detail what should be bought for the school year ahead. The 2015-2016 digi-

Back-to-school supply costs continue to rise

2 • the city review • September 4 & 11, 2015

Planning ahead... September 2015Sunday Monday TueSday WedneSday ThurSday Friday SaTurday

1

Zoning Board meeting 7 p.m., City Hall Annex

2

Municipal Arts Commission meeting6 p.m., City Hall Annex

3 4

New Rochelle Down to Earth Farmers Market8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,

Huguenot Park

5

New Rochelle BID Farmers Market

9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Library Green

6 7Labor Day

Municipal offices and schools closed

8Opening day for teachers

City Council COW meeting3:45 p.m., City Hall

Board of Education regular meeting

7 p.m., NRHS LEK Theatre

9First day of school

Elementary half day

Historical and Landmark Review Board meeting

7:30 p.m., 90 Beaufort Place

10 11New Rochelle Down to Earth Farmers Market8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,

Huguenot Park

9/11 Memorial Service7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.,

American Legion Post 8

12New Rochelle

BID Farmers Market9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Library Green

13Third annual

New Rochelle Street Fair11 a.m. to 5 p.m.,

Main Street between North and Centre avenues

14Rosh HashanahSchools closed

15Rosh HashanahSchools closed

16Civil Service

Commission meeting3 p.m., City Hall

City Council regular legislative meeting

7 p.m., City Hall

Public hearing and citizens to be heard

7:30 p.m., City Council Chambers

17 18New Rochelle Down to Earth Farmers Market8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,

Huguenot Park

19New Rochelle


20 21 22 23Yom Kippur

Schools and municipal offices closed

24City Council regular legislative meeting

7 p.m., City Council conference room

25New Rochelle Down to Earth Farmers Market8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.,

Huguenot Park

26New Rochelle


27 28Professional

Development DayHalf day all schools

EnvisioNR public workshop

6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m., Montefiore New Rochelle

Hospital Auditorium, 29 Glover Place

29Planning Board meeting


30Corporation for

Local Development7:30 p.m.,

90 Beaufort Place

Industrial Development Agency


September 4 & 11, 2015 • tHE CIty REvIEw • 3

Irving Harper dies, sculptures to be auctionedBy CHRIS EBERHARt

Staff Writer

Legendary artist and designer Irving Harper died from renal failure in the obscurity of his Greenhaven home in the City of Rye on Aug. 4. He was 99.

He is survived today by his daughter, Elizabeth Harper Wil-liams, who characterized her fa-ther as “a good, kind, creative,

lovely man.”She paused for a moment, and

added, “I’ll miss him a lot.” Since the 1960s, Harper, a

quiet and reserved man by na-ture, created hundreds of paper sculptures of different shapes, sizes and colors in his off-the-beaten-path home—hidden be-hind trees and shrubbery in a corner of Brevoort Lane—as a way to relieve the everyday

chair and watched visitors mar-vel at his paper sculptures. In January 2015, Harper saw one of his sculptures, a coiled snake comprised of light blue and dark pink paper, auctioned off for the first time ever. Rye residents Paul and Kate Conn presented the highest bid: $21,000.

Harper told the Review after

the opening, “I didn’t want the attention, so I was reluctant [to showcase] the sculpture in an ex-hibit. But I eventually welcomed it, and it was a great feeling to be discovered.”

Harper Williams said her father’s works will be auc-tioned off by Richard Wright in Chicago.

Meg Rodriguez, executive director of the Rye Arts Center said, “No matter who has Harp-er’s [paper sculptures], it would be wonderful if Irving Harper could live on through his work being publicly shared with future generations.”

COntACt: [email protected]

stress of working as a designer in the renowned New York City of-fice of George Nelson in the late 1940s to the early 1960s.

During his time as a designer, Harper created some of the Nel-son office’s most iconic contri-butions including the 1949 Ball Clock, the Herman Miller logo and the 1965 Marshmallow Sofa.

But in his spare time over the past 55 years, Harper created pa-per sculptures that never left his home. He never wanted them to.

To Harper, these sculptures were like his friends.

Last September, the Review interviewed Harper in his home, where he was surrounded by his works. At one point, he took a break from answering questions, scanned the room and finally said, “I’m here looking at [the sculptures], and they’ve just add-ed so much to my life.”

Earlier that month, on Sept. 14, 2014, Harper’s works were showcased for the first time ever in the Rye Arts Center on Milton Road.

During the opening of the ex-hibit, Harper sat in his wheel-

Irving Harper, legendary artist and Rye resident, died of renal failure earlier this month. He was 99.

This was one of hundreds of sculptures created by Irving Harper that were scattered all over his secluded Rye home. File photos

SCHOOL from page 1

A few countywide organizations are coming together to ease the cost burden of school supplies for parents with school-age children.

“It’s wonderful to see the com-munity step forward to make such a positive difference in the lives of local children,” said Deborah Blatt, coordinator of The Sharing Shelf.

Meanwhile, Hazel Alexander-Campbell, a Tuckahoe resident, is working to provide backpacks and other school supplies to low-er-income children living in the Tuckahoe Housing Authority, THA, on Union Avenue, totaling around 67 children, up from 61 just two years ago. The demand for school supplies is still high, but luckily, Alexander-Campbell said, the donor list has grown and remains strong.

Some 30 donors on her list in-clude elected officials from Tuck-ahoe and neighboring Eastchester, businesses in the area, emergency, first-responder organizations and even people whom Alexander-Campbell has met from as far away as Englewood, N.J.

“The feedback from the com-munity at large has been positive so far, and there’s been such a big response from everyone who has donated and continues to do-nate,” Alexander-Campbell said.

Though she’s received near-ly 100 backpacks, she said her committee, The Children Work-

ing for All Children, has col-lected other school supplies as well. The committee was started by her church, Shiloh Baptist in Tuckahoe, in 2008, but fizzled out when her pastor left the state. She reignited the effort in 2011 as the committee’s new presi-dent, and set her sights on initia-tives that would assist children. For the past three years, she has been pushing to provide kids in the THA with the opportunity to have the same experiences as their higher-income peers.

“There’s an importance in children having supplies which make them have a better edu-cation,” Alexander-Campbell said. “[I want] for the children in my area to be just as success-ful, so they can go to school

feeling positive.” Jeanne Canon, a teacher in

the Eastchester School District, said there’s a school budget in place for supplies, but oftentimes the parents will provide any ad-ditional item needs. She said, however, there is a certain degree where teachers are supplementing school supplies in the interim.

“What am I going to do? Wait six months to buy markers?” Can-on said.

Pastor Ramaul Morgan, from West Harrison’s Memorial Com-munity Church and organizer of an annual backpack giveaway which serves 150 local children, could not be reached for com-ment, as of press time.



What’s going on...

Sarah Varney is the newest addition to the Review staff. Previously, Varney covered the Rye City School District for four years as a reporter for the Rye Record newspaper. With the Review, Varney will focus on educa-tion, feature writing and general assignment reporting.

Prior to that, she was an editor and reporter for publishing companies IDG, Miller-Freeman, Reed-Elsevier and tech product review giant CNET. Varney has a B.J. in journalism from the University of Missouri and lives in Rye. You can contact Varney at [email protected] or 653-1000 ext. 17.

New to the Review

Sarah Varney

Lenore Skenazy is a New York columnist whose work has appeared everywhere from The Wall Street Journal to MAD magazine. She spent many happy years at the New York Sun and New York Daily News, chronicling the strange times we live in—times that have brought us flavored water for dogs, prep classes for pre-schoolers, and pole dancing classes for grandma, and possibly grandpa.

Skenazy covers topics overlooked by most columnists, including how come there’s never any vanilla when ice cream is on sale, and why people will eat anything, including the garnishes, when you put it out for free at work. Her more serious pieces are usually about some infuriating injustice.

You’ve heard her on NPR and maybe even seen her reality show, “World’s Worst Mom,” on Discovery Life. Now she hopes you will read her column and drop a note. You can reach Skenazy at [email protected].

Lenore Skenazy

September is National Preparedness Month. Please sign up to receive alerts and messaging through email, text and calls via our NewRoAlert system. For more information, visit newrochelle-ny.com/NewRoAlert.

New Rochelle Public Library

Labor Day and fall regular hoursBoth the main library and the Huguenot Chil-

dren’s Library will be closed on Labor Day week-end, Saturday, Sept. 5 through Monday, Sept. 7. Both libraries will resume regular hours on Saturday, Sept. 12. The fall hours are:

Main library: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thurs-days, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Huguenot Children’s Library: Mondays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Tuesdays, Wednes-days, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed on Sundays.

For more information on events and programs at both libraries, visit nrpl.org.

Free lunchtime express yogaFree sessions of easy yoga to help reduce

stress and relieve tension are offered during Monday and Wednesday lunch hours at the New Rochelle Public Library, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 9. Monday sessions are held for 30 min-utes from 12:15 p.m., and Wednesday sessions are 45 minutes in length from 1 p.m. Sessions do not take place on holidays when the library is closed and there will be no session on Sept. 16.

Yoga instructor Nora LeMorin leads the gentle yet invigorating sessions, helping par-ticipants return to work with renewed ener-gy and focus. Traditional and adapted poses will be practiced either standing or seated in chairs to balance, stretch and strengthen the body while calming the mind. Participants do not need to change out of work clothes, and mats will not be needed for these sessions of breathing and meditation techniques, as well as the guided relaxation. The drop-in sessions do not require advanced registration. This program is made possible by the Friends of the New Rochelle Public Library. Donations are gratefully accepted.

Free career and educational counselingThe New Rochelle Public Library, in con-

junction with WEBS Career and Educational Counseling Service, is once again offering a free eight-week career counseling seminar for adults this winter called “Managing Your Ca-reer in Changing Times.”

The nineteen-hour workshop consists of an

Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Thursday at noon. Though space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send

all items to [email protected].

NewRoAlert orientation session on the evening of Sept. 15 or 29, eight group sessions on Tuesday evenings beginning Oct. 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and one individual session with a career counselor.

WEBS helps participants assess themselves, explore career options, obtain careers and edu-cational information, find out about the latest trends in resumes and job search, and develop a career plan. The program is geared to those who are unemployed, changing careers, re-entering the work force or returning to school. The New Rochelle Public Library is one of five public libraries in the county participating in the WEBS project.

Sponsored by the Westchester Library System, WEBS has counseled more than 40,000 adults in the Westchester area. Those who wish to at-tend the program must call WEBS at 674-3612 to register. Places will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Free needlework workshopsFree needlework workshops continue at

New Rochelle Public Library on two Satur-days each month. Expert craftswomen Rosalie Hollingsworth and Minnie Speciale volunteer their time and talent to help with crocheting, knitting, needlework and embroidery projects. Interested participants, from beginners to ex-perts, are invited to bring their own yarn and materials, although some complementary sup-plies are also available. The drop-ins will be held Saturdays Sept. 12, Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and Oct. 17, from 10:30 a.m. to noon, in the li-brary’s Community Gallery.

City of New Rochelle & Westchester Masters Swimming Association

Tour de Shore New Rochelle Waterfront 2K swim

To honor the memory of our teammate and friend Dr. Art Figur, the 2K swim will take place on Saturday, Sept. 12 at the beach at Hud-son Park in New Rochelle. This will be an “out and back” swim from the beach. All partici-pants must be 18 or older. Warm-up /check-in: 7:15 a.m. to 8 a.m. sharp. Course outline and safety talk: 8:10 a.m. Race starts at 8:30 a.m. Awards and refreshments following the swim. Fee: $60, make checks payable to WMSA, send to: 17 Leslie Lane, Katonah NY 10536. On-site entries accepted. For more information, email [email protected].

New Rochelle League of Women VotersCoffee and Conversation

On Friday, Sept. 18 at 9:30 a.m., the New Ro-chelle League of Women Voters’ first Coffee and Conversation program for the 2015-2016 series will feature Professor Jeanne Zaino, who will speak about the upcoming presidential election and how the polarization of the parties is affecting it. A Q&A session will follow Professor Zaino’s informal presentation. Complimentary coffee and light breakfast fare will be served. The public is welcome to attend the free program. In the New Rochelle library’s Meeting Room.

The Boys & Girls Club of New Rochelle

West End Fall FestThe Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle is

hosting its first annual West End Fall Fest tak-ing place on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; rain date: Sunday, Sept. 20. The festival will be held at the Columbus Elementary School playground at the corner of Washington Avenue and Seventh Street. Join us for live outdoor mu-sic, Zumba, yummy food, inflatable rides, and arts and crafts. The festival is for all ages. A $5 charge will get you an all-access ride pass. Spon-sorship opportunities are available, in addition to booth space for selling your product or service. For more information contact Lindsey Coviello at 235-3736 or email [email protected].

Pet Rescue and New Rochelle Humane Society

Dog Walk and Festival The seventh annual Dog Walk and Festival will be

happening on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Harbor Island Park on Boston Post Road in Mama-roneck rain or shine. Enjoy a leisurely one-mile walk with your dog on a path bordering the Long Island Sound, followed by a fun day at the park with ven-dor, refreshments, activities for kids, demonstrations, dog contests, photobooths and dogs and cats available

for adoption. Registration for the event begins at 10 a.m. and the walk begins at 11:30 a.m. For ques-tions about the event, email [email protected].

Westchester County Car Show

County Executive Rob Astorino invites classic-car buffs to the Westchester County Car Show on Sunday, Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Glen Island Park in New Rochelle. Registration is from 8 a.m. to noon. “Wheth-er you own a classic car or just love looking, Glen Island is the perfect backdrop for a dis-play of polished chrome,” Astorino said.

The show will feature displays of a wide va-riety of classic and collectible cars, street rods and motorcycles, all carefully restored to mint condition or modified for performance. The Westchester Street Rod Association will pres-ent more than 100 trophies to the best vehicles, classified by decades up to modified 2015.

For information on entering a car or bike, call 906-1667, 260-9274 or 203-322-5966. For information about being a vendor at the event, call Beth Bricker at 231-4645.

Admission is free for spectators. There is a parking fee of $5 per car. In case of rain, the event will be cancelled. The show is sponsored by Westchester County Parks, the Westches-ter Street Rod Association and Sassone Bros. Auto Body Repairs.


Letters to the Editor

Primary candidate Shari Rackman deserves supportTo the Editor,I have recently learned that Shari Rackman, a councilperson in New Rochelle, came under

severe criticism for voting against a planned project for Echo Bay.The residents who live in the area, mostly homeowners, are against this project. Shari

Rackman listened to these complaints and agreed with them. Shari Rackman did what a city councilperson should do and put the taxpayer first. The city council should use her as a role model. As a former soldier, I salute her. Thanks, Shari.

George Imburgia,New Rochelle

About Letters to the EditorPublication is not guaranteed. We reserve the

right to edit letters for content or space, at our discretion, without notification from the company. We reserve the right to reject submissions at our discretion without notice to the author. Sorry, but we are unable to notify authors in advance if and when a letter will be printed.

Deadline for submission is Friday before publication. The maximum length of letters that appear in our pages is 625 words, but letters are usually significantly shorter to accommodate space needs.

The letter should be signed and include the

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NewRochelleCityREVIEW

Q: Why are you interested in running for City Council?

A: I feel that New Rochelle is at a very important crossroad. We have the possibility of a very exciting development deal. And my background is in econom-ics and finance, so I think my skill set will very much add to the council. And that’s why I’m running.

Q: Since this is your first time running for political office, how uncomfortable has the divisive nature of the the primary been, if at all?

A: It hasn’t affected me at all. I campaign very positive[ly], and I’m very optimistic.

Q: Did you vote for Shari Rackman for City Council in 2011?

A: No.

Q: Explain to our readers what your plat-form is. What are you running on? What are the main issues in New Rochelle?

A: The main issue is being a re-ally good advocate for the resi-dents of District 6 and [to] im-prove communication between District 6, which is way up north

[of the city], and city govern-ment. Some feel isolated. I think part of the problem is District 6 has absolutely no identity, and walking door-to-door every night, I’m aware of that. If elect-ed, I would have meetings every fall, every spring. I would invite all residents of District 6. If they can come, fine. If not, then I’ll follow up with an email to every resident in District 6 about what issues are going on both in city government and specific to [the district] as well. In addition to that, I want to preserve the environment in District 6: the parks, the open spaces, the trees, the lakes. So the preservation of the suburban lifestyle that we all enjoy, and, at the same time, I’m very inter-ested in change downtown—de-velopment, bringing in revenues, adding jobs, housing, et cetera.

Q: What direction does the city need to go in, in terms of downtown development? Do you support the city’s agreement with the master development company RDRXR to co-create with stakeholders a redevelop-ment plan of downtown New Rochelle? Are there any concerns that you have about RDRXR’s proposal?

A: I attended the [City Council] meeting last week [on Aug. 18] in which RDRXR gave their proposal for development. I couldn’t be more in support of it. I think it is just what the city needs right now. I think it will be great not only for the downtown, but I think it’ll also be great to stabilize taxes [for] the home-owners in my district. I have no concerns. I think they’ve done a beautiful job of communicating with the resi-dents of New Rochelle and re-flecting in their proposal the things that people really want, even down to rooftop gardens and community centers. It’s just very exciting.

Q: Why should Democrats vote for you in the primary?

A: First of all, I am the candi-date of the Democratic Party. I worked very hard to get the endorsement of the party at the Democratic convention. And I’m a consensus builder, I’m an independent thinker and I bring to the table some very necessary financial background that is not,

Q: Why are you interested in running for re-election to the City Council?

A: Because I feel like I’ve done a very good job the past four years, and I enjoy what I do. I enjoy serving my community. I enjoy serving my constituents and I feel like there’s still a lot to be done.

Q: How uncomfortable has the divisive nature of the the primary been, if at all?

A: It’s not uncomfortable. I do my council work, and that’s fine. And I run my campaign, that’s fine. There’s not this division.

Q: Explain to our readers what your plat-form is. What are you running on? What are the main issues for New Rochelle?

A: Smart development where the interests of District 6 are pro-tected even if the development doesn’t occur [there]. Improving essential services. Trying to re-duce taxes. Improve public safe-ty. And trying to integrate more technology into city govern-ment. We’ve done some things in the police department by in-

stalling security cameras. Look for new ways to fix potholes, new ways to do garbage pickup. Things like that.

Q: What direction does the city need to go in, in terms of downtown development? Do you support the city’s agreement with the master development company RDRXR to co-create with stakeholders a redevelop-ment plan of downtown New Rochelle?

A: There’s no agreement on the table so there’s nothing to sup-port. Do I support the concept? Do I find the concept intrigu-ing? Yes, I do. I think RDRXR is a very solid developer. I think the two companies (Renaissance Developments and RXR Realty) have very good reputations in the field. I feel that they’re a very worthy partner for us to negoti-ate with and try to come to some understanding with. That said, I think all develop-ment has to be done carefully. We have to make sure the in-terests of the constituents in the entire city are protected and are heard. And I like the process we

are using where we are reaching out and getting community input prior to coming up with a plan. And I’m hopeful that this will be a life changer for the City of New Rochelle.

Q: Why should Democrats vote for you in the primary?

A: I’m the incumbent. I’ve done a very good job representing them. I’ve been very responsive in re-sponding to their needs. When a constituent calls me or emails me asking pretty much anything, they will get a response almost immediately and things will be taken care of as immediately as they can be as well.

Q: What is your vision of the failed Echo Bay property? What would you like to see happen at that site?

A: I’m not sure at this point. I like the Armory Barrel and feel like we should try to preserve that if we can. I would like to see some kind of community use of it,

5

Shari RackmanAGe: 51FAMiLy: Husband, six kidsSTATuS: Registered IncumbentPoLiTiCAL AFFiLiATioNS: DemocratPoLiTiCAL exPeRieNCe: Four years on the New Rochelle City Council; Democratic district leaderCoMMuNiTy AFFiLiATioNS: New Rochelle Bar Association; member of Young Israel of New RochelleyeARS iN NeW RoCHeLLe: 36oNe THiNG THe AVeRAGe VoTeR DoeSN’T KNoW ABouT you: I live on chocolate

Photo/Suzy Berkowitz

Photo/Suzy Berkowitz

RACkmAn continued on page 8

FREId continued on page 8

Democratic primary City Council District 6

Liz FreidAGe: 62FAMiLy: Two sons, Peter and JosephSTATuS: ChallengerPoLiTiCAL AFFiLiATioNS: Democrat; Working Families PoLiTiCAL exPeRieNCe: Worked as former County Legislator Judy Myers’ campaign manager for 12 yearsCoMMuNiTy AFFiLiATioNS: President of Davis School PTA; president of New Rochelle League of Women Voters; vice president of PTA Council of New Rochelle; board member of the Beechmont Neighborhood AssociationyeARS iN NeW RoCHeLLe: 30oNe THiNG THe AVeRAGe VoTeR DoeSN’T KNoW ABouT you: I’m an avid tennis player


whether it be some kind of open market, a sports center, a hotel. Anything that incorporates that architecture that’s in a historic part of New Rochelle. The problems I had with the original Echo Bay development that was voted down was not the project. It was the terms of the land disposition agreement. Things that have been discussed and negotiated with the develop-er had changed from the agree-ment to the written agreement. And I felt like, with the state it was in, I could not vote for it be-cause I felt that it didn’t properly protect the interest of the citi-zens of New Rochelle. I wasn’t necessarily against that plan, I was against the changes that were made that were not what we had discussed previously.

Q: There are some critics who question your loyalty to the Democatic Party. What would you tell those critics?

A: I’m a Democrat. I voted Dem-ocrat. I’m running on the Demo-cratic line, and I’m running in the Democratic primary. The fact that there are Republicans who have come out and said “we like Shari” tells me that I’m do-ing a good job as a councilmem-ber because I’m responding to all my constituents’ needs, not just the needs of the Democrats.

When I get a phone call from a Republican telling me the street is not plowed, I do the same thing I’d do if a Democrat called me with the same issue. I always represent the Demo-cratic ideals and ideology, not Republican. I have not sought the Republican line. I have not been asked if I want the Repub-lican line. There has been no dis-cussion of this. And the fact is two Democrats can have differ-ing opinions and still be Demo-crats. I see that Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have dif-ferent views on the Iran deal yet both are still being called Democrats. Just because you disagree with another Democrat does not mean you’re a de facto Republican.

Q: How would you describe your relation-ship with Mayor Noam Bramson and the other Democratic members of the City Council right now?

A: Professional. I have a job to do, they have a job to do. We go to work. Our job is to do what’s in the best interest of the City of New Rochelle. That’s what the five of us do, and I think we do that well. We each represent how we feel is what is in the best interest of the city. And there’s no issues with work-ing with any of them.

Q: There have been an increasing num-ber of panhandlers, especially around the

New Rochelle train station, and a rise in homelessness in the city. How big of a problem is this in your opinion, if at all? And should the city prioritize this issue? What would you want to do to address it?

A: I don’t think there’s an in-crease. I know we’ve done a number of things to address panhandling and homelessness. We started a project with Hope Community Services where they now have a day program for the homeless that are in the Oasis shelter and the homeless in the city. One problem you come up with when dealing with home-lessness is you can’t force an adult to get a home, but Hope does encourage people and try to place them in a permanent residence. In regards to panhandling, it’s not illegal. It’s your First Amendment right to sit on the side of the street with a sign that says “please give me food.” We have tried to tighten up our laws to reduce aggres-sive panhandling or people who go into moving traffic to panhandle, which is against the law. We are trying to get more enforcement and get more security presence around the train station to prevent pan-handling. I do think we have to address it, I do think we are ad-dressing it. And I think we’ve done a pretty good job. -Reporting by Chris Eberhart

RACkmAn from page 6

5

at this point, represented in city government.

Q: There are some critics who argue that you will be a rubber stamp for Mayor Noam Bramson’s agenda. How do you respond to those criticisms and how can you assure voters that you’re going to be an independent voice?

A: I would assure the voters of New Rochelle that I’m very strong, very smart, very well ed-ucated, and I have my own opin-ions. I look at everything through a lens of an economist. I’m very comfortable with numbers [and] with budgets. I’m very comfort-

able with investment. And that’s the prism at how I look at things. So my votes will be based pri-marily on what’s good for the bottom line of New Rochelle.

Q: What is your vision of the failed Echo Bay property? What would you like to see happen at that site?

A: I really don’t have a vision for Echo Bay. I’m totally focused on downtown right now. I think one development deal at a time is enough for New Rochelle. It’s an enormous undertaking.

Q: There have been an increasing num-ber of panhandlers, especially around the New Rochelle train station, and a rise in

homelessness in the city. How big of a problem is this in your opinion, if at all? And should the city prioritize this issue? What are your thoughts?

A: First of all, I do recognize that it is an issue. Being an outsider, I really can’t speak to what’s been done so far because I’m not in city government. If I do have the opportunity to serve, it’s an issue I would very much like to work on. I think that the people need a safe place to go, and I certainly would not wait until there’s a de-velopment project to deal with it. I think these people need sup-port; they need services, and I’d like to help. -Reporting by Chris Eberhart

FREId from page 6

SEQR, of the entire overlay zone in a full environmental impact statement, which is a thorough review of all impacts of sugges-tions listed in the recommended action plan on the surround-ing area. This includes impacts on the fire and police services, schools, sewage and traffic, among others.

After hearing this presentation on Aug. 18 during a special meet-ing of the City Council, New Ro-chelle Mayor Noam Bramson, a Democrat, urged his colleagues to move on this proposal.

“We have a willing, capable, highly-interested partner that has been engaged with us for a period of months; we have an economy that’s finely good enough to foster the kind of in-vestment that we are looking for and we don’t know how long that will last,” said Bramson, who is up for re-election this year. “We have a window of op-portunity that this city has not had in my lifetime, and if we miss that window, shame on us.”

At that same meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution that desig-nated the council as lead agency in the environmental review pro-cess of the RDRXR action plan. The council also issued a posi-tive declaration under SEQR for RDRXR’s proposed optional zoning district, meaning the pro-posed zoning change will have an impact on the environment. The positive declaration triggers an environmental impact state-ment that will evaluate potential impacts and propose possible mitigation for those impacts.

By pursuing an environmen-tal review as a master develop-ment strategy rather than on a site-by-site basis, individual de-velopers would be able to skip

dOwntOwn from page 1

As part of RDRXR’s recommended action plan, shown above, the highest density developments and tallest buildings would be built in the area immediately surrounding the train station with perpetually decreasing densities and heights for the developments built farther away. Photos courtesy newrochelleny.com

RDRXR proposed a change in the downtown zoning to include an optional opt-in overlay zone that would be broken into six districts, each with its own guidelines that reflect the current makeup of the area.

the environmental review stage if the development was covered by the full impact statement, which would clear potential hurdles ahead of time, keep costs low for developers and free them to build commercial and residential units that were recommended in the action plan.

Citing two different studies that analyzed commercial and residential needs in the down-town section of New Rochelle, the recommended action plan highlighted a demand for 5,500 “multi-family dwelling units” that target empty nesters and younger singles or couples.

According to the recommend-ed action plan, New Rochelle experiences significant “sales

leakage,” which is economic ac-tivity that should remain within a community’s local economy but occurs elsewhere because of the lack of places for residents to shop, dine and play. In total, New Rochelle has a total sales leakage of $2.5 billion in retail and $260 million in food and drink within a 5.25-mile radius of the train station.

The most untapped opportu-nities, according to the recom-mended action plan, include general merchandise, clothing, food and drink, furniture, build-ing materials and garden supply stores, electronics, and health and personal care.



By JOHn BRAndIStaff Writer

Two masked crusaders have come to Harrison to try and change its streetscape for the better. Along with their personalized mascots, Action Cat and Ad-venture Bug, Aw Yeah Comics has sprung up in a business dis-trict that has struggled in recent years.

And the comic book shop just may be what Harrison needs to reverse this trend.

The comic shop opened earlier this month and is carving a niche for itself in both the adult and teen demographic for those craving some action and adventure.

Co-owner Marc Hammond—one of three owners—said that Aw Yeah’s two other locations, one in Skokie, Ill., and the other in Muncie, Ind., have managed to spruce up and bring business back from the edge, much like a modern-day superhero.

“In Skokie, the street was half dead and now two-thirds of the shops are filled,” Ham-mond said. “Aw Yeah Games [a branch of Aw Yeah Comics] has increased the sales of the record

Comic shop claws its way into westchester

store right next door.” That’s the mission. Hammond wants Aw Yeah to

hitch its wagon to the recent re-vitalization efforts of Halstead Avenue in downtown Harrison and become a part of the “com-munity’s ID.”

In April, the Harrison Cham-ber of Commerce was rebooted by Holly Sharpe, its president, who has already visited the com-ic shop and has given the owners her well wishes. Sharpe is cur-

rently involved in some business initiatives to make Harrison a destination shopping experience.

Hammond said certain in-store events—including car-toon classes, gaming card tour-naments and monthly comic book discussion groups—are designed to bring people from Harrison and beyond to their store. Once traffic has picked up, Hammond said, it will spill over to other shops like neighboring Pizza 2000.

“Being a part of the commu-nity is good business and good citizenship,” Hammond said. “At the end of the day, comic book stores are the bandstand of Main Street, U.S.A. where people can escape for a bit and congregate.”

Hammond said he sees his role like that of a local bartend-er: to listen to and connect with the community at large. Apart from that, the co-owner said connecting with other business-es is just fun. The anticipated grand opening on Saturday, Oct. 3 will see the comic store collaborate with other local businesses, based on Halstead Avenue, to cater the event.

From Pizza 2000 to the But-ler Brothers deli, the food will be sourced locally. The real sweet treat will be a cake in the shape of Action Cat, from Harrison Bake Shop, just up the road.

Meanwhile, the shop’s own-ers have displayed some of the heroic qualities that characters in the graphic novels and comics they sell possess. Aw Yeah has taken part in different charity events including a project called the Hero Initiative—a fundrais-ing drive which assists comic

creators in need—Toys for Tots and donations to local food pan-tries. Hammond said that the shop would like to continue con-tributing to these efforts in Har-rison once their feet are planted.

Still, the shop seems to be in good hands with the other two award-winning, co-owners Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani. Both are responsible for the out-of-state locations and bringing the shop to Harrison, its first New York destination. Baltazar and Aureliani have been comic-cre-ating partners for nearly 20 years.

Hammond said that there are very few people who own comic book stores, who are also creators.

The store soon hopes to ex-pand its merchandise to include T-shirts, gaming cards and more graphic novels and comic books. The plan to incorporate the Harri-son landscape into its own brand of comics, featuring Action Cat, is also in the works, and perhaps the superhero feline, much like the comic shop, will also be fix-ing Harrison one block at a time.


Another character from the series is Adventure Bug who

is featured inside the shop, painted on the back wall.

Aw Yeah Comics, at 313 Halstead Ave., will have its grand opening in downtown Harrison on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Marc Hammond, co-owner of Aw Yeah Comics, which has recently opened up shop in Harrison.

Action Cat, a superhero feline created by co-owners Art Baltazar and Franco Aureliani, is Aw Yeah Comics’ mascot and part of a fictional series that will feature Harrison in upcoming issues. Photos/John Brandi


illness or injury regardless of their ability to pay. For more information on Burke Rehabilitation Center, visit burke.org.

Jones Morrison law firm welcomes new partner

Jones Morrison, LLP, a full-service law firm with offices in New York City, and Westchester and Fairfield counties, is pleased to announce that attorney Heidi E. Opinsky has joined the firm as a partner.

Working out of the firm’s Stamford, Conn. office, Opinsky will be drawing on her 30 years of experience to counsel New York and Connecticut state residents in resolving their family, divorce, alimony, child support, domes-tic violence and property law issues. She works with clients to navigate the complexities of high net worth divorces including mediation, division of assets and litigation. Her unique reputation as a negotiator and courtroom advocate, as well as her close-working relationship with profession-als such as forensic accountants, tax experts and estate planners, makes her a welcome addition to the firm.

“Jones Morrison, LLP has seasoned family law professionals, which provides me with a solid platform for my regional practice,” Opinsky said. “I see the association as a positive step forward in providing excellent legal family law services as a team to clients in an ever-changing and in-creasingly challenging legal area in the states of

Connecticut and New York.”Prior to joining Jones Morrison, LLP, Opinsky

was a family law partner at Fox Rothschild, LLP and McCarter and English, LLP in Connecticut and New York. Opinsky has practiced in Connecti-cut, New York, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Eastern and Southern District Courts of New York. She is also a co-chair of the Fairfield County Bar Association Women in Law Committee and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee.

Opinsky is on the New York State Bar Associa-tion committees on Child Custody and Children and the Law, a Connecticut Certified Guardian ad litem and serves in the Connecticut Superior Court as a special master in family law. She is a member of var-ious state and local bar associations in Connecticut, New York and the District of Columbia, a member of BNI Edge, Stamford Chapter, Global Networking and she chaired her past firm’s Women’s Initiative Steering Committee. Opinsky has been frequently quoted in Thomson Reuters, and the Connecticut Law Tribune on family issues and she is a frequent speaker at local and state bar associations.

Contact Heidi Opinsky at 203-965-7700 ext. 355 or 472-2300 ext. 355 or by email at [email protected].

The next Business Briefs section will run in October. Please send any sub-mission for our October edition to news@

hometwn.com, with “Business” in the subject line of your email. Each submission may include one picture. If you have any questions, email us

at [email protected].

Food Bank announces new board leadership for 2015-2016

The Food Bank for West-chester, the backbone of the county’s hunger relief network that serves 265 front-line pro-grams to meet the needs of the 200,000 Westchester residents who are hungry or at risk for hunger, has announced the ap-pointment of Maria Bronzi as chair of its Board of Directors.

Bronzi succeeds Rick Rakow who held the po-sition for four years and was instrumental in the growth and expansion of the Food Bank. Rakow most recently guided the merger of the Food Bank with the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless to expand reach, combine resources and eliminate redundancies to better serve people in need in the county.

Maria Bronzi is also a director of Altium Wealth Management in Purchase, a leading wealth man-agement firm with strategies based on process, not products. At Altium, Bronzi uses her expertise in high-performance team building, fostering emo-tional intelligence and building learning organiza-tions. Bronzi and the team at Altium build effec-tive strategies and solutions for individual inves-tors and corporate clients.

Prior to joining Altium, she took on leadership roles at Webster Bank in the Westchester and Fair-field markets. Her team led the bank in customer satisfaction, overall performance, increased profit-ability and community service engagement. A res-ident of White Plains, Bronzi has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Food Bank since October 2013. Bronzi is the chairperson of The Business Council of Westchester’s Rising Stars Alumni Group and was a 2014 Corporate Citizen Honoree for St. Christopher’s, Inc.

“I think it’s terrific that despite the many de-mands on her time each day, Maria has commit-ted to expand her role in the fight against hunger in Westchester County. As board chair, Maria will leverage her connections with business leaders in Westchester, as well as her experience fostering community engagement, to expand the visibility of our mission and the impact of our programs throughout the county. She has seemingly bound-less energy, and that works well for us because we have a lot to do,” said Ellen Lynch, president and CEO of the Food Bank. “Maria is directing her passion and determination at a critically important target: closing the meal gap for the 200,000 people in our county who are food insecure.”

“I’m thrilled to take on this leadership role at a critical time for our neighbors,” said Bronzi. “With so many people facing food insecurity in our coun-ty, we have an urgent mission to accomplish. I’m looking forward to raising awareness of the chal-lenges and effectively engaging individuals and partners in providing solutions.”

Joining the Executive Team of the Food Bank’s board are Vice Chairs Scott Boilen, president of AllStar Products Group and Sue Norton, vice president of Global Citizenship & Sustainability of PepsiCo. For a complete Board of Directors roster, visit foodbankforwestchester.org.

About The Food Bank for Westchester:For more than 25 years, the Food Bank for

Westchester, FB4W, has led the fight against hun-ger in Westchester County, serving 265 front-line programs that provide food directly to the 200,000 county residents who are hungry or food insecure. FB4W supplies 95 percent of all food distributed annually across the region’s food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and daycare and residential pro-grams—delivering more than 6.3 million meals to people in need just last year. FB4W’s collaboration with major retailers and corporations, and its ex-pertise in food procurement, storage and distribu-tion turns every $1 donated into $4 worth of fresh food provided for our hungry neighbors in West-chester County.

Burke Ceo is now American Hospital Association trustee

Burke Rehabilitation Center is proud to an-nounce that Dr. Mary Beth Walsh, the executive medical director and CEO of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, has been named to the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees. This prestigious national appointment is for three years and begins in January 2016.

Dr. Walsh is board-certified in internal medicine and rheumatology and has been with Burke for 36 years. She has held the position of CEO and execu-tive medical director since 1995 and was the first female CEO of a hospital in Westchester County and one of the only in New York state. She also serves as the associate dean and associate profes-sor of clinical medicine at Burke’s academic affili-ate, Weill Cornell Medical College, and is an assis-tant attending physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery, both in New York City.

Dr. Walsh received her bachelor’s degree from Wellesley College and her medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School. Along with her work at Burke, she is currently a member of the Ameri-can Hospital Association’s Committee for Process Improvement and was a delegate with the AHA’s Regional Policy Board 2.

The American Hospital Association has close to 5,000 hospitals and healthcare networks and 43,000 people among its membership, and is the premier organization for advocacy and representa-tion of the needs of healthcare facilities, patients and communities across the county.

For more on the American Hospital Associa-tion, visit aha.org.

About Burke Rehabilitation Hospital:Burke Rehabilitation Hospital is a private,

nonprofit, acute rehabilitation hospital. Founded in 1915, it is the only hospital in Westchester County dedicated solely to rehabilitation medi-cine. Burke offers both inpatient and outpatient programs for those who have experienced a dis-abling illness, traumatic injury or joint replace-ment surgery. The hospital is part of Burke Re-habilitation Center, which also includes Burke Medical Research Institute and Burke’s Outpa-tient Division. Burke’s world-renowned doctors and therapists provide state-of-the-art treatment while its research scientists explore the frontiers of neurological and rehabilitation medicine. All share the Burke mission to ensure that every pa-tient makes the fullest possible recovery from

Business Briefs

OFFICIAL 2015 PRIMARY ELECTION NOTICEPursuant to the provisions of Section 4-118 of the Election Law, notice is hereby given that the official Primary Election will be held on September 10, 2015 from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. for enrolled voters

of the Democratic, Republican, Conservative, Green and independence Parties in those political subdivisions of Westchester for which public offices are contested, as follows:

PUBLIC OFFICE – DEMOCRATIC PARTYWestchester County Surrogate Court Judge

County Legislative District – 16th DistrictCounty Legislative District – 17th District

City of Mt. Vernon – Mayor City of Mt. Vernon – City Court JudgeCity of Mt. Vernon - Councilmember

City of New Rochelle – Councilmember, Council District 6City of Yonkers – Councilmember, Council District 1

PUBLIC OFFICE – REPUBLICAN PARTYTown of Harrison – Supervisor/Mayor

Town of Harrison – Town/Village Justice Town of Lewisboro – Councilmember

City of New Rochelle – Councilmember, Council District 6REPUBLICAN PARTY – MEMBER OF COUNTY COMMITTEE

Town of Mt. Pleasant – ED 12Town of Mt. Pleasant – ED 14Town of Mt. Pleasant – ED 34

Town of Rye – ED 4Town of Rye – ED 28

PUBLIC OFFICE – CONSERVATIVE PARTY Town of Harrison – Supervisor/Mayor

Town of Harrison – Town/Village Justice PUBLIC OFFICE – GREEN PARTY

City of Yonkers – Councilmember, Council District 5PUBLIC OFFICE – INDEPENDENCE PARTY

County Legislative District – 10th DistrictTown of Harrison – Supervisor/Mayor

Town of Harrison – Councilmember/TrusteeTown of Lewisboro - Councilmember

City of New Rochelle – Councilmember, Council District 1City of New Rochelle – Councilmember, Council District 5

City of Peekskill - MayorCity of Peekskill - Councilmember

City of Yonkers – Councilmember, Council District 3

LEGAL NOTICES


mICHELLE JACOByContributor

In 1925, a trailblazer named Virginia Katharine McMath won a Charleston contest in Fort Worth at the age of 15. Three years later, “Virginia” made her Broadway debut as Ginger Rogers, quickly danc-ing her way to Hollywood and into America’s hearts with her famous partner, Fred Astaire.

“Backwards in High Heels,” playing this month at West-chester Broadway Theatre, showcases the star’s life from her toe-tapping days to her glam Hollywood life.

The show was conceived and developed by Lynette Bar-kley and Christopher McGov-ern. McGovern is the creator of the book, musical arrange-ments and original songs.

Rogers’ “never fail” atti-tude took her on an interesting road to stardom. She contin-ued to work beside her biggest fan, her mother, Lela Owens. Owens, relying on her expe-

‘Backwards in High Heels’: A reviewrience as a former performer, had different ideas about Hol-lywood than her daughter. This made for a close, yet strained relationship. The dy-namic duo is captured onstage with Darien Crago as Rogers and Erika Amato as Owens.

Crago expresses the true vitality of Rogers. Her high-spirited personality combined with her song and dance rou-tines bring the audience back to old Hollywood glam. Ama-to commands respect onstage, a natural talent with a voice to match. Their turbulent re-lationship leads them to some great song and dance num-bers, including “Fascinating Rhythm/The Orpheum Cir-cuit,” “Baby Face” and “All My Eggs in One Basket.”

Fred Astaire, played ef-fortlessly by Jeremy Benton, is brilliant onstage. His natu-ral, calm demeanor balances Rogers’ strong personality. Despite their turbulent off-screen relationship, they be-came a box office hit with 10

movies together from the mid ‘30s to late ‘40s. Benton’s talent goes beyond his sing-ing and dancing skills; he directed and choreographed this production as well. Fans will love the infamous dance scene with the black coattails and Roger’s long, feathery white gown.

There are some fun sur-prises in the show. We are re-visited by some of Hollywood greats: Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn and Ethel Merman. The talented Avital Asuleen plays all three icons, complete with attitude, mink coats and long cigarette holders.

Jacob Ben Widmar also plays several comedic roles in the number “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”

Matt Gibson plays Jack Culpepper, one of the first of Rogers’ many husbands. He is a young, romantic bud-ding star turning into a slop-py drunk and bad husband in “Domesticity.”

This small but powerfully talented cast also includes Se-bastian Goldberg, Ryan Steer and Amy Van Norstrand.

The show shares intimate details of Rogers’ extraordi-nary life. The icon eventual-ly walked away from Astaire and went on to win an Acad-emy Award in 1940 for her title role in “Kitty Foyle,” making a total of 73 movies and directing her first stage musical, “Babes in Arms” at the age of 74 at the Tarrytown Music Hall.

“Backwards in High Heels” takes its title quote from a 1982 Frank and Ernest car-toon: “Sure he [Astaire] was great, but don’t forget that Ginger Rogers did everything he did—backwards and in high heels.”

The show’s backstage tal-ent is music director Jose C. Simbulan, scenic designer by Steven Loftus, costume de-sign by Heidi Giarlo, light-ing design by Andrew Gmos-er and associate produced by Lisa Tiso.

This Bill Stutler and Bob Funking production of “Back-wards in High Heels” is play-ing at the Westchester Broad-way Theatre now through Sept. 20. For more informa-tion call 555-2222 or visit broadwaytheatre.com. Avital Asuleen, center, as Ethel Merman, and ensemble. Photos/John Vecchiolla

Darien Crago, as Ginger Rogers, and Jeremy Benton, as Fred Astaire.

Darien Crago, as Ginger Rogers, and Erika Amato, as her mother Lela Owens.


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TONIA SAySTonia Tagliaferro

ySTonia Tagliaferro

rHyMES WITH CrAZy

Lenore Skenazy

MES AZy

Lenore Skenazy

Leaving kids in the car is not always a crime

Sure it pains me to say it, but New Jersey is suddenly a light unto us all. Last week, the N.J. Supreme Court ruled that it is not automatically considered child abuse to let your kid wait in the car for a little while.

Hallelujah!We’ve been warned these past

10 years or so that kids are in danger anytime we leave them in the car. Public service announce-ments say things like, “Never leave your child in the car—not even for a minute.” Onlookers who spot a child or dog in a car go crazy with rage. One mom I know had just buckled her child into the carseat and went to return her shopping cart. When she got back maybe 30 seconds later, a woman was screaming at her, “I can’t be-lieve you left your child in the car! She could have died!”

But this is bunk. Most of us spent at least part of our child-hood waiting in the car while our moms ran errands and no one thought this constituted abuse, hardly. I had one friend who ac-tually looked forward to the car waits with her sister because they’d tilt the passenger seat all the way back and take turns play-ing dentist.

Lately, we refuse to admit that there’s a difference between wait-ing in the car for 10 minutes on a mild afternoon and waiting in the car for 10 hours in the Mojave Desert. This obtuseness explains why, back in 2009, a mom who let her 19-month-old wait in the car during a five-to-10-minute er-rand at the Dollar Tree in South

Plainfield, N.J., was found guilty of child abuse by the state’s De-partment of Children and Fami-lies. The law there states parents cannot “recklessly create a risk of severe injury.” In New York, there is no law that specifies what age a child can legally be left in a car.

But somehow it didn’t matter that it was 55 degrees that day, or that the child slept peacefully through this whole “ordeal.” It didn’t even matter that the de-partment sent an inspector to the mom’s home and found zero evi-dence of abuse or neglect, or any-thing other than a loving house-hold with four happy, healthy children.

The mere fact that this moth-er let her kid wait in the car was enough for the department to place the mom on New Jersey’s Child Abuse and Neglect Regis-try. Every state has one—it’s like the Sex Offender Registry, just not public. Once you’re officially a “child abuser,” good luck get-ting a job in teaching, day care or nursing.

This mom, known in court only as E.D.-O., asked the child protection agency for a hearing where she could try to defend her-self and get off the registry. When this was denied, she appealed, but New Jersey’s appellate court denied her, too. The three-judge panel said there was no way she deserved a hearing because what was there to hear? She’d left her kid in the car, which automati-cally made her a child abuser be-cause something bad could have happened.

That’s true, but also highly un-likely. Of the 30 to 40 kids who die in hot cars every year, 80 percent were forgotten there for

hours, or climbed in when no one was looking and couldn’t get out. They were not waiting in the car during a short errand while mom ran into a store or picked up a pizza.

What’s more, law profes-sor David Pimentel points out, “Alarmists will argue that, ‘Any-thing could happen!’ and that’s true.” But anything could also happen when the child was be-ing walked through the parking lot, he adds. In fact, more kids die in parking lots and driveways than waiting in cars.

And if you want to talk about an even bigger risk to children, it’s not waiting in the car, it’s rid-ing in one. The No. 1 way chil-dren die in America is as car pas-sengers. So if we really want to crack down on parents who put their kids in danger, we’d have to scream things like, “How dare you drive that child to her piano lesson! She could die!”

We don’t do that because we are able to keep the unlikelihood of a fatal car crash in perspective because we are not constantly warned, “Never let a child ride in a car, not even for a minute!”

So last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court agreed with the mom’s lawyer, Sean Marotta, that we cannot expect parents to ensure a zero-risk childhood. No option is ever completely, ut-terly safe. And no parent is every completely, utterly perfect.

Being imperfect is not the same as being abusive, so ruled the court by a vote of 7-0, which is why New Jersey is now a beacon of sanity in our parent-shaming and blaming country.


Being proud of one’s body and choosing colors

Dear Tonia:I am attractive with large

breasts, which I keep contained. I often see people looking at me, at times even doing a dou-ble take. Are they looking at my breasts or me?

S.F., Scarsdale

Dear S.F.:Since the average breast size

has grown from a 34B to a 36C since the 1970s and clothing styles are smaller and snugger, it’s no wonder the line between an appropriate glance and “Look at those!” has blurred. Sex sells. And like it or not, breasts are the dynamic duo that gets beer sold and burgers bought. So it’s not such a stretch to realize that your “girls” are more likely to get checked out than, say, your knees or collarbones. As such, it makes a case for doing a double take.

Women seem to understand the power of breasts in general, but they don’t understand the power of their own. Balance them with a proper-fitting bra and the styles that flatter them rather than draw more attention to them. Wear them with confi-dence and smile when you are noticed. Enjoy the attention. We don’t know what we have until it’s gone.

Dear Tonia:I have always been very thin

and never really put weight on. My doctor says there’s nothing wrong and that it’s just my body type. I hate when people ask me why I’m so skinny or tell me that I should put on weight. Can you tell your readers how inappro-priate that is? I never ask over-weight people why they are fat or tell them to lose weight. Thanks.

C.J., Rye

Dear C.J.:Unfortunately, we live in a

society that promotes obesity and being very thin is not “in” like it was when English model Twiggy became popular in the ‘60s. There’s trouble with both extremes in the message that is sent. People tend to equate be-ing extremely thin to bulimia and anorexia, both deadly epi-demics. They may also assume one is battling an illness or has a vanity issue. Many don’t real-ize that being very thin can be just as challenging, if not more, as being overweight. Either way, everyone should keep their com-ments to themselves and treat each other with respect and dig-nity. If you don’t have something nice to say to someone, then you shouldn’t say anything at all.

Dear Tonia:Some people think that I

look good in red. I think I used to when I was younger, but not

now, especially because my shape has changed. How do I choose the right colors to wear?

T.B., Harrison

Dear T.B.:Regardless of your body type,

choose the right color to flatter your skin tone. Take photos of yourself in basic tees to see what looks best. Hues that compliment most complexions are pink, blue and white; you’ll just need to change the intensity of these col-ors to suit your coloring, e.g. hot pink for darker skins, carnation for fairer skins, ivory for olive tones, etc. Remember that your skin tone may change with the seasons. Also, be sure to look at your skin tone in natural daylight and inside light, as the colors will look different. Go to a paint store and get the large sample paint chips of the colors you like in all different hues. For example, if you want to find the right shade of blue for you, pick a few dif-ferent blues, hold them to your face in a mirror and see what each tint does for you. Once you find the colors in the hues that flatter your skin tone, staple them together and use them as your color guide.

Tonia Tagliaferro is a fashion stylist. For questions and advice, you can contact

her at tonias [email protected]. And for more information,

visit artofdesign.net.

14 • the city review • September 4 & 11, 2015 SPORTS

Follow Mike Smith @LiveMike_Sports stats • recaps • commentary

Follow @cityreviewnr for Mike’s live, in-game action updates

To CoVER loCal spoRTs, you nEEd a

LIVE MIKE!

LIvE MIKEMike Smith

During the final inning of Pennsylvania’s loss to Japan, the Red Lands team was forced to bring in catcher Kaden Peifer after it ran out of pitchers. Pre-dictably, Peifer struggled, plat-ing a run on a wild pitch. When the Pennsylvania coach came out to speak with him, Peifer was in tears—understandably—as he felt his team’s chances slipping away. He kept turning, but ESPN cameras kept turning with him, making sure to highlight the emo-tion of the moment. Despite the scene playing out between the lines, the entire thing struck me as intrusive. ESPN knows what their viewers expect from LLWS cov-erage, and they weren’t going to miss their money shot.

I understand that it’s a tricky dance to cover games with young athletes—I’ve taken some heat for including reac-tion photos in some of my high school sports coverage—but for me, including photos of teams commiserating after losses was something that added flavor to my piece, not the main fo-cus of a worldwide multimedia conglomerate.

So, will I watch the Little League World Series next year,

I hope you will forgive me for the dated, early-2000s ref-erence, but I have to say it: the Little League World Series has jumped the shark.

For years, I’ve been an ardent supporter of the entire tourna-ment, including the ESPN-tele-vised portion of it, but this year certainly highlighted some of the problems the LLWS needs to address if it wants to grab my interest going forward.

First things first, they need to move the fences back at Lamade Stadium. Again.

Now, I don’t have the statis-tics in front of me, but in the 20 or so games played at La-made Stadium from Aug. 20 to Aug. 30, I’d estimate that teams hit roughly a bajillion homers. And that’s a pretty conservative guess.

They’ve moved the fences

World Series needs changeback before. In 2006, field di-mensions went from 205 feet to 225 feet all around. It’s a start, but it hasn’t nearly been enough. I understand that it’s tough to come up with appropri-ate distances for growing kids. Especially at this age-range, 11 to 13, there’s a huge discrep-ancy in the physical maturity of all the athletes. But in a tour-nament that regularly features players like Pennsylvania slug-ger Cole Wagner, a 5-foot-11, 160-pounder who could easily have piloted Red Land’s team van to Williamsport without any state troopers taking notice, maybe it’s time to think about another park expansion.

It’s not entirely my curmud-geonly anti-homer sentiment driving this argument either. I like dingers as much as the next guy. But the proliferation of round-trippers in this tour-nament brings with it a dearth of outfield play. Because most balls that cleared the infield in Williamsport have yet to return

to earth, fans were robbed of the chance to watch some of the world’s best young outfield-ers chase down liners in the gap. There’s a lot of excitement in baseball, but with the fences so far in, we only get to see half of it.

But even the home run co-nundrum pales into compari-son to what I’ve begun to think of as the biggest problem in the LLWS: the coverage. In the past, I’ve written about how the raw, unbridled emotion of these World Series games was one of my favorite parts of the event. The wild celebrations, sure, but also those unscripted moments of sorrow from the kids on the losing teams. Scenes like Sean Burroughs laying face down in the outfield back in 1992 or last year’s Providence team crying as they listened to a rousing post-game speech from their coach come to mind. But this year, for some reason, I felt that the con-stant need to find the emotional shots bordered on voyeuristic.

An Eastchester player throws a pitch during the District 20 Little League tournament in June. Sports Editor Mike Smith finds the Little League World Series to be compelling, but he does have a few issues with the final rounds. Photo/Mike Smith

even if neither of these issues is addressed? Probably. When I become a parent, would I want my son to take part in this tour-nament? Of course I would. But

there’s always room to make things better. Especially for our kids.


September 4 & 11, 2015 • tHE CIty REvIEw • 15SPORTS

Westchester hosts concussion conferenceBy mIkE SmItHSports Editor

On Aug. 20, area parents, coaches and players gathered at the Westchester County Center for the Safer Sports Conference on Concussions, a series of talks designed to raise awareness about the causes and effects of sports-related head injuries.

More than 200 people turned out to hear medical experts give their take on brain safety in sports as concussions continue to be a hot-button issue across the athletic landscape.

Five speakers were on hand to discuss various issues concern-ing brain injuries, from how to properly diagnose a traumatic head injury to setting protocols to ensure that student-athletes who suffer these types of inju-ries can bounce back, both on the field and in the classroom.

In July, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino launched a concussion task force as part of his Safer Communities initiative. According to Astorino, whose

own young children participate in sports, the topic of concus-sions has risen to the forefront of sports discussions in recent years. According to the Centers

against concussions.“The more we know about

sports concussions, the better we can manage the injury if it does happen, and the better we can mitigate any lasting effects,” Astorino said.

Although there is not current-ly any one program in place for area schools to use, local athletic departments have taken it upon themselves over the last few years to put their own protocols in place for dealing with concussion man-agement.

Dominic Zanot, who coaches football at Harrison High School, said that the response to concus-sions and the rise of concussion awareness today compared to his own playing days has been “night and day.”

“I graduated from Colgate in 2000 and I can’t remember even one protocol that was in place back then,” he said. “I don’t even know if the word ‘concussion’ ever came up. It was a completely different environment back then.”

Harrison, like several oth-er area school districts in Westchester, implemented the ImPACT concussion evaluation system in 2011. The ImPACT system utilizes baseline test-ing of student-athlete’s cogni-tive brain functions to better manage when youngsters who have suffered a brain injury can safely get back on the field. According to Zanot, systems like ImPACT and the continued efforts of Astorino’s task force are invaluable in protecting

young athletes. “There is so much more in-

formation out there and we’re just better educated on concus-sions now,” Zanot said. “It’s not just something you take a two hour class on, though. [Coaches, trainers and parents] need to be continually re-educated.”

Hopefully, said Astorino, the new task force’s findings can be another effective tool to keep our young athletes safe.

“I know [the task force] has been working very hard here in the dog days of summer,” the county executive said. “I look forward to seeing what their re-port is, and then releasing it to all the school districts.”


for Disease Control, there are roughly 4 to 5 million sports-related concussions per year, a number that has been increasing at a steady rate.

“One of the things we know how to do as parents, trainers or coaches, if a child is on the field or the court and scrapes a knee, or twists an ankle, we know what to do basically,” Astorino said. “But if a kid is dizzy, we don’t always know what to do. It’s something I have talked about with other parents in the bleach-ers and that’s one of the reasons this has all come about.”

Astorino’s task force has been charged with developing a model program that will be made avail-able to local high schools to help athletic departments and school staffers address concerns stem-ming from sports-related con-cussions, especially with respect to post-injury management. The task force is being headed by Dr. Mark Herceg who serves as the director of neurophysiology at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains as well as the coun-ty commissioner of Community Mental Health.

Thursday’s conference, Asto-rino said, was part of the process to arm parents and coaches with more knowledge in the fight

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino speaks at the Safer Sports Conference on Concussions on Aug. 20 at the Westchester County Center. Astorino hopes that his newly appointed concussion task force and last week’s conference will help keep our young athletes safer from brain injuries.

Dr. Mark Herceg, who serves as Westchester County’s commissioner of Community Mental Health, speaks at the Conference on Concussions on Aug. 20. Herceg is heading a task force that is charged with implementing a program for area schools to use in the treatment of sports-related concussions.

Football players from Eastchester and New Rochelle square off on the field during New Rochelle’s Champions Camp in July. Although concussions have become a hot topic in the football world, they affect student-athletes in all sports. Photos/Mike Smith

city review-new rochelle 9-4-2015

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