Post on 19-Jul-2018
Newsletter of The Armour Villa Neighborhood Association www.armourvilla.org July/August 2017
The Villa Voice Wins its Second Award!
On June 3rd, just hours before the
Armour Villa Picnic, Villa Voice
editor Katherine Sutton attended
the annual meeting of the
Westchester Historical Society at
The Jay Heritage Center in Rye to accept the
2017 Sy Schulman History Award. This award
is given annually to “an individual or
organization that has demonstrated a strong
commitment to historical research, historic preservation, and/or the teaching
of local history, and has, as a result, elevated the public’s appreciation of the
history of Westchester County.” Katherine was one of three recipients. The
other two were Bronxville historian Eloise Morgan, who is retiring, and
historian Roland Reisley, who lives in and chronicles the Frank Lloyd Wright
“Usonian” community in Pleasantville.
While the bi-monthly Villa Voice was honored, special praise was
given to its Collector’s Edition. Katherine received a clock embedded in an
engraved block of Simon Pearce glass as well as a citation from Representative
Nita Lowey.
Katherine and The Villa Voice were previously awarded a city
Proclamation from Mayor Nick Spano in October of 2015.
2
Steve Wagner
Letter from the President
City of Yonkers partners with American Water Resources to provide water and sewer line protection for homeowners:
Dear Neighbors,
Back in May 2014, The Villa Voice alerted us to the City of Yonkers’ plan to
install new electronic water meters in our homes to replace the old mechanical ones.
We soon started getting concerned calls from some of our members with older homes
who ran into trouble when the technicians came to install the new meters. Some were
told they had frozen water shut-off valves that needed to be closed but could not be
closed, so the new meters could not be installed without the homeowner incurring
hundreds or thousands of dollars of additional expense. In some cases, the problem
extended to corroded water lines coming into the house or even street connections.
Many of us learned for the first time that we, as the homeowners, are responsible for
line repairs from the street connection all the way through the inside of the house lines.
This can result in thousands of dollars in labor and parts. The same is true of your sewer
lines. Moreover, this expense is normally not covered under most existing homeowners
insurance policies.
So, I looked into how other municipalities handled this type of issue and
discovered that a number of other communities around the country, including New York
City, have entered into agreements with companies offering warranties or some form of
protection to cover sewer and water line related repairs.
After hearing from my fellow community leaders, the City of Yonkers did their
own research and has just announced it has entered into an agreement with a company
called American Water Resources. For an annual payment or monthly installments, a
homeowner can be covered for water and sewer line repairs that would normally not be
covered by homeowners insurance. Another positive feature of this plan is that the
company places no dollar limit on the amount they will pay for covered repairs. There
are some exclusions that you, the homeowner, should be aware of and you are also
required to use one of their contractors. The completed work is under warranty for one
year. It is important you read the “Terms of Use” portion of American Water Resources
Agreement so you know exactly what is and what is not covered. You should also check
with your homeowners insurance broker to let them know as well.
If you have not already received information on this program in your mail from
the city, you will shortly receive details on how to sign up for the program. I commend
the administration for moving forward promptly to offer this program that will provide
homeowners peace of mind at a reasonable cost. We would recommend that our
members take advantage of the offer for both sewer and water line protection. It's a
whole lot cheaper than paying thousands of dollars in unexpected repairs.
We are pleased that our association played its part in bringing about this very
needed change in order to protect our members’ investment in their homes.
3
Membership Form
Name Date Address Telephone e-mail address
Please check:
Basic Membership - $35
Supporter - $50
Friends of Armour Villa - $100
Conservators - $250
Architects - $500
Master Builders - $750 (Includes Lifetime Association membership)
Enclosed is my payment for . These are: NEW DUES RENEWAL DUES SPECIAL 2017 DONATION.
Make check payable to “Armour Villa” and remit to: Steve Wagner, 14 Gard Avenue, Bronxville, NY 10708
pay quickly and easily on your digital device by clicking pay quickly and easily on your digital device by clicking the icon “Join Us” (if a new member) or the icon “Join Us” (if a new member) or
“Dues and Events” (if renewing or donating) “Dues and Events” (if renewing or donating) on www.armourvilla.org and sign in as a “GUEST.”on www.armourvilla.org and sign in as a “GUEST.”
Join, Renew or donate!
OR...
San Pietro Wines
Nature’s Cradle
Iona Prep Grassy Sprain
Pharmacy
NY Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital
With the support of our eight Platinum sponsors plus our local advertisers, The Villa Voice and Armour Villa are going strong!
Houlihan & O’Malley San Pietro WInes
McLaughlin & Zerafa LLP
Gino’s
Thank You!
4
Snapshots
Photos by Kathleen Donaghy, Beall Circle
and Amanda Pendleton, Gard Avenue
Armour Villa 2017 Picnic
We consumed…
60 lbs of ribs
25 lbs of chicken
120 burgers
150 hot dogs
3 trays of sausage
$20 worth of cheese
$40 worth of chips
$50 worth of corn
$102 worth of rolls
5
“My kids ate snow cones
and danced like there was
no tomorrow.”
6
“It was a great evening of delicious food, meeting neighbors, & lovely weather.
Thanks to the hard work of all those on the committee for making this possible.”
7
8
9
www.ginospizzas.comwww.ginospizzas.com
Platinum Sponsor
10
Platinum Sponsor
11
Platinum Sponsor
12
Judith Waite
One for the Road
Growing up in the nurturing, small Midwestern town of Waukesha, Wisconsin, provided a strong building block for Judith Waite’s future. “It was a good place,” she recalls. “It was a cozy town where people knew each other. The ethnic mix included people of English, German, Greek, and Italian heritage. There were also Mexican families as the town was on the northern end of the farm migrant route.” Her family’s home was located in a woods at the edge of town, so Judith was exposed to all sorts of wildlife. Her father brought home orphaned raccoon or opossums that he nurtured back to health and then released. She naturally became a member of the local 4H club. When she was six, her father gave her a horse, named Heidi. But neither Judith nor her new horse had any training. “Heidi naturally reared up, so I held on for dear life and soon learned to conquer my fear.” It was a life lesson that would serve Judith well for years to come. When Judith was in high school, she eagerly joined a group of students from the neighboring town of Oconomowoc who were heading west to the Seattle World’s Fair. She recalls, “It was an eye-popping adventure that took me through The Badlands, Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks and The Grand Tetons.” After graduating from The University of Wisconsin with a degree in comparative literature, Judith was eager to explore a new world beyond Waukesha. Because of her 4-H background, she was accepted into the Peace Corps and sent to Benin, West Africa, as one of the first woman volunteers to start rural clubs for those girls whose families could not afford to send them to the state schools. Judith persuaded the Peace Corps to let her create and teach a home economics program to 6th grade girls in eight surrounding schools. She learned tropical gardening at the Swiss experimental farm, where she taught the girls nutrition and early infant health care. Eventually, the curriculum was incorporated into a national high school
program for home economics. “That experience allowed me to live with people who are still attached to their origins,” she says. “Almost every night I fell asleep to the sound of drums, because a ceremony was happening somewhere in a nearby village.” After that venture, Judith moved to Paris to care for children as an au pair and take classes at the Sorbonne in the Program for Foreign Students. After Paris came a year in New York working as a recruiter of new Peace Corps volunteers, but she soon headed back to Africa with Church World Service, managing their Niger office during the last years of the drought that afflicted the region in the 1970s. There she saw how the
devastating effect of climate changes affects people who live on margins of the inhabitable world. “Once the rains came, it was thrilling to see caravans of more than a 100 camels crossing the dessert.” Back in New York, Judith worked for Crossroads Africa on a program that applied U.S. government grants to bring mid-level professionals from Africa to the U.S. The program facilitated both cultural and career exchanges on subjects as diverse as oral history, African film, cooperative development, and rural healthy delivery systems. Judith enjoyed doing this work for about eight years, until one day she realized that she’d need to earn more money. She was accepted into the training program of the Chase Manhattan Bank. Instead of being sponsored by the Africa Area lending group (the price for petroleum had recently tanked), she was offered a stint in the bank’s credit audit group, which meant two years of traveling around the world making sure the loans made by Chase branches complied with Chase loan criteria. She traveled
to Brazil, France, Switzerland, Thailand, the Philippines, Jordan, and even Westchester. She finally landed in the Utilities Group of Chase Bank’s Corporate Bank and began to learn how electricity turns on our lights. But utilities are at the end of a building cycle—and, therefore, a bank’s lending cycle—so Judith moved to the utilities group of a rating agency, Standard & Poor’s. There she monitored the credit strength of the loans already made to build the existing power plants. Shortly after her arrival at S&P, one of those companies declared bankruptcy. She considered it her baptism by fire. In 1993, Judith adopted Oliver, a beautiful brown-eyed, brown-skinned baby born in Atlanta. Now 24, Oliver is a graduate of Fieldston Lower School in Riverdale, The Windward School in White Plains, Rye High School, and Drew University in New Jersey. He is currently headed into the world of music, sorting out where he wants to be and how he plans to get there. “I have been enthralled by every one of the adventures of my life, but Oliver, of course, is the biggest adventure of them all!” Recently retired, Judith is still going full tilt. Having moved here in 1996, she finds Armour Villa a great place to grow older. She serves on the board of the Yonkers Historical Society as their treasurer and archivist for the Sherwood House inventory, working with Yonkers High School students who photograph and research the items donated to Sherwood House. She has also become a reading mentor to Lincoln Elementary School first grade readers and Yonkers High School students for whom English is a new language. It’s a good thing Judith’s father sat her on the back of Heidi, the untamed horse, when she was a little girl. Willing to try new things and conquer fear by hanging on to that rearing horse was a lesson that paid off for Judith. For all of her adult life she has explored new ventures and undertaken new challenges with gusto.
“I am grateful to have
been open to new
adventures.”
13
Growing up in Waukesha surrounded by the rural outdoors and animals.
Gardening in Benin, at the Swiss experimental farm, where she learned tropical gardening techniques, which essentially provide shade for young shoots so they don’t fry in the sun.
Posing in formal African dress with a neighbor, Mrs. Ali, and her son, Gibril, in front of Judith’s house in Benin.
Traveling in Jordan: on a camel (above) and meeting with Chase bankers (below).
With Oliver: then and now.
14
Mr. Peabody was my favorite cartoon as a kid, He was in my favorite program, Rocky and His Friends. The notion of travelling back in time to a desired period was fasci-nating. The fact that a talking dog with a human son had invented a time machine was an easily accepted plot device at the time. Sherman would simply set The Wayback and off they’d go to a well-known historic event where Mr. Peabody invariably had to straighten out the course of history. I grew up with a love of history encouraged by my father, who had to stop at nearly every old cemetery and historic marker we encountered on the road. Schooled in Yonkers to the age of 18, I had a pretty good grasp on the history of the area. After moving back to the briar patch some 20 years ago, I picked up where I left off. Trained as an architect, the vari-ous building styles in the immediate neighborhoods especially interested me and I began to investigate how the areas developed over time. By the latter part of the 19th century, the economy of our area was changing from agriculture to industry, and real estate developers were buying up the old farms. Yonkers was uniquely served by three rail lines, the Hudson, the Harlem, and the Putnam divisions of the New York Central and had a fairly well developed trolley network, making the city an ideal location for subdivisions for commuters. Armour Villa Park, Lawrence Park West, Ce-dar Knolls, and Park Hill were all contemporary1890s ventures. The investors of the Armour Villa Park Association, incorporated in 1889, pur-chased the farm owned by Cornelius Smith in 1890. Smith’s son was named H. Armour Smith and there is specu-lation that there’s a family tie to the meatpacking Armours – the probable source of the neighbor-hood’s name. It’s hard to im-agine a decent farm here, given the hilly topography of Armour Villa, but it clearly determined the layout of our streets, most running north-south along the line of the ridge. Only Howe Place makes any sort of earnest east-west effort, ending with an intimidating run of steps down to level ground. Gard Avenue and Beall Circle were named after known investors An-ston Gard and Charles Beall. Smith Place is likely named for the previous property owner, Cornelius Smith, but because of the land’s slope, the street never made it down off the hill. Neither did Perry nor Miller (contrary to early maps). Beall Circle is also shown making it down to Gard, but again was stymied by geography. The little group of streets between Parkview Avenue and the Parkway (Lenox, St. Nicholas, and Amsterdam) was known as “Little Harlem” and, according to legend, the location of summer homes of city dwellers. The erstwhile Madison and Lexington Avenues east of Lenox were lost to the Bronx River Park-way’s construction. Other street names like Witherell, Deshon, Cassilis, Bogert, Wilbur, McIntyre, and the phantom McCorkle are surely surnames, possibly those of original inves-tors or their pals. One oddity in the neighborhood is Boyd Place, the cardio-workout-dogleg connect-ing Pondfield West (next to Parkway Deli) and Bronxville Road. It exists on maps as early as 1867. Boyd, a nearby property owner, accounts for the name, but putting a street there is puzzling because of the terrain and because Bronxville Road and Pondfield Road West, originally Indian trails, were already main thoroughfares. Perhaps it started out as a drive-way, but ultimately provided a convenient outlet for Cassilis. The construction of The DiChiaro School (P.S. 8) in 1893 no doubt led to the opening of Chatfield Road behind the building and the formation of the resulting block from Clark Place to Bayberry Street. The block appears on a map surveyed in 1888 and reissued in 1900, making it at least that old. And finally there’s Brassie Lane, named for the No. 2 wood golf club (having a brass sole) as a tip of the hat to the Grassy Sprain Golf Club that once existed where Bar-rington Road and The Will Library are today.
by Richard Mangini, Chatfield Roadby Richard Mangini, Chatfield Road
15
Platinum Sponsor
Welcome to the website of McLaughlin & Zerafa, LLP, a law firm that was established with the
goal of providing each client with quality legal advice and a high degree of personal service.
Our attorneys offer legal advice and legal representation in several areas of law including:
Our law firm is located in the heart of White Plains,
within walking distance of the Courts and the Metro
North train station. Our firm is a short drive to and from
all of Westchester County’s major roads and highways.
McLaughlin & Zerafa, LLP offers high quality representation and the personal service that only
a small firm can provide. Contact our law office for a free initial consultation and let our
knowledgeable and experienced attorneys advocate for you.
1 North Lexington Avenue, 11th Floor White Plains, New York 10601
Tel: (914) 358-6700 • Fax: (914) 831-1266
Estate Planning
Probate and Estate Administration
Estate Litigation
Trust Litigation
Guardianships
Elder Law / Medicaid Planning
Residential Real Estate
Business / Entity Formation
State and Federal Tax Audits
Business Succession Planning
16
I had dinner with an old friend last week. I hadn’t seen her in about twenty years. We worked together in publishing back in the day. We both married and had children, but she continued her career and I stayed home to raise my boys, and our lives took different directions. She was recently between jobs and had set goals for herself during her time off. One of them was to reconnect with old friends. I was one of them. I don’t like going out. I’m a real homebody and not a big drinker, so I’m most comfortable at home on the couch, surrounded by my family. Going out, especially into the city, is something I must work myself into doing, but this friend is someone I care about and I did want to see her, so I drove into Manhattan and met her at a boisterous Mexican restaurant downtown. When she walked into the restaurant we embraced and almost immediately picked up where we left off 20 years ago. It was as if nothing had changed. We talked and laughed and reminisced. After about half an hour I was remembering funny stories from the 90s and names of people I had forgotten existed. I found myself relaxing and having a great night. It was good to get out of my comfort zone and push myself a little bit. That’s how I feel about writing for The Villa Voice. I started writing these essays about one year ago because my neighbor thought my Facebook posts were funny and recommended that I write for this newsletter. I felt nervous about it at first, but I pushed myself and found that I really enjoyed writing and sharing some of my funny anecdotes with my neighbors. Now, a year later, I find myself wanting and needing a little time to just sit back, relax on my couch and be with my family, so I won’t be writing for The Villa Voice for a while, but I am so happy and grateful for the opportunity.
And…I may be back, but until then, I’ll see you as I speed by you in the
HOEKVAN on my way to the train, a school, a football field or to get myself a big
sundae at Haagen Dazs.
SPECIAL OFFER!! First class is free and add 2 classes
to any 10 pack!
The Comfort Zone by Eileen van Hoek, Bronxville Road
17
We load and take it away! We do all the hard work for you!
Household Items Furniture
Basement/Garage Cleanouts Construction/Concrete Removal
Local business. Trustworthy Pete (914) 403-1010 ● CartAway914@gmail.com
18
Platinum Sponsor
19
101 Pondfield Road West 337-3829 email: westcenterucc@verizon.net website: www.westcenterchurch.org
You are invited!
West Center
Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
SU
MM
ER
Worship & Church School:
Sunday Mornings at 11:00 am
Since taking over as president of the Armour Villa Neighborhood Association in 2010, I have witnessed how challenging it is to manage a major urban city of approximately 200,000 people where a significant segment of the city’s residents are working at or close to the poverty line. The rest are mostly two-income families working hard to build a decent life. Yonkers consistently gets short-changed in funding from federal and state governments so our communities compete for very limited dollars. Our property and income taxes are maxed out. Reasonable older people ask, “How much longer do we stay before we move to a less expensive area?” while younger families wonder, “Maybe it’s time to move where we can send our kids to a local public school instead of paying private tuition?” For that reason, I have spent most of my time reminding our city officials that safety and quality of life issues matter a great deal to Armour Villa and its neighbors. Therefore, it is time I share my thoughts about how things get done and give credit where credit is due. I start with Mayor Mike Spano. I have found him to be a hardworking mayor, a reasonable and honorable man who is always willing to meet with us to help solve problems. His administration works hard to meet some very daunting challenges. City council president Liam McLaughlin has a very tough job but he understands the responsibility of leadership on critical issues. He has also demonstrated his commitment to tackling the issues that impact communities like Armour Villa. Councilman Mike Breen and his chief of staff, Armour Villa’s own Dan Crowley, are always responsive to my inquiries and, where they can, they insure we get the services we need. Our two state representatives in Albany, Senator George Latimer and Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, are two of the smartest and hardest working public servants I have ever encountered. We have done some good things together, and will hopefully accomplish more in the future. We also have an important relationship with Westchester County Legislator Gordon Burrows and newly elected David Tubiolo who both recognize the importance of Armour Villa. Nothing is more important than our feeling safe. We are lucky to live in a relatively low crime area, but that should not be an excuse to lower our vigilance. We have built a strong relationship with all levels of law enforcement including 1st precinct commander Captain Edward Leahy and his executive officer, Lieutenant Dan Medlar. My mantra has always been deterrence, so we continue to push for a dedicated sector car, especially during overnight hours. Things can and need to be improved. Our roads are not in good shape, we need access to quality local public schools, and we need to receive our share of city services in a timely manner. We must continue to reach out to our neighboring associations with whom we share common issues and purpose. My thanks go out to community leaders such as Terry Lucadamo of Colonial Heights, and Warren Murphy of Mohegan Heights, from whom I have learned a great deal, as well as other community leaders like Tim Hurley from Cedar Knolls, Kathy Graves from Longvale, and Ann Kohler from Lawrence Park West, and Larry Wilson of the Hyatt Association. These good folks are my counterparts and deserve credit for dedicating their time and effort to making all of our neighborhoods inviting places to live and raise a family. Finally, thanks to all of our valued community partners who have supported our efforts over these years and to my board of directors who keep me focused. Thanks to all of my neighbors who remind me that what we do matters and must continue. Don’t hesitate to do your part when and where you can.
Credit Where Credit is Due
by Steve Wagner
July 2 - September 17 ►We worship in air-conditioned Bodge Lounge.
July 2 - 30 Pastor John Barrett, preaching
Richard Binder, pianist/soloist
August 6 - September 3 Guest Preachers
Arnold Ostlund, pianist/ guest soloists
20
How do you cope with the heat of
summer?
Our Man in the Street Asks:
I stick my head in the refrigerator!
Anne Wagner, Gard Avenue
I cope with summer heat by enjoying our home central AC,
or going to the Westchester Mall or a movie and praying for rain in
hopes that it will cool down.
Claudia Wald Deshon Avenue
Because we were both teachers and had a long vacation in the summer, we went
to the mountains in the north to keep cool. There were summers when one of us stayed in Yonkers with one kid who
had a summer job while the other enjoyed the mountains with the kid
without a summer job. Sometimes we changed in the middle of the summer. We have owned our summer house at Babcock Lake for more than 40 years.
Arline Wood, Millbrook
I like to beat the heat by going for a nice swim!
Susie Reisinger Wiltshire Street
We love to go to the pool in the summer, where we try every kind of popsicle they offer,
and then we often come home and watch a movie.
Toni Dereska Gard Avenue
Summer heat: Aperol Spritzes on our terrace, soaking in Claudia's
glorious garden.
Joe Wald, Deshon Avenue
To stay cool we head to the Lake Isle pool or chill out back in the shade on the hammock
or summer reading in the gazebo.
Diane Graziosa, Wilbur Place
Coping with the summer heat – I add ice to my martini.
Lori Minovich Bronxville Road
21
Platinum Sponsor
22
The latest news from DiChiaro
by Leanne Pantoliano,
Bronxville Road
End of the Year Celebrations!
The Ice Cream Social
Kindergarten Stepping Up ceremony
8th Grade Graduation
Luncheon party
23
In Good Taste
Lily Heaney, Gina Callozzo, BXVeats.com
Computer Classes
Chuck Gray, of Gard Avenue, who is our local web designer and software developer, will be
offering group classes for introduction to Microsoft Access and Excel. Group classes will be offered at
the discounted price of $45 for a live two hour class to Armour Villa residents, family and
friends. No need to leave the comfort of your home. All you need is a computer connected to
the Internet and a phone. Classes will begin in late July. If you're interested or you know someone
interested please contact him at cgray@4gsnetwork.com and ask to be placed on
the list. Classes will be limited to five at a time and will be scheduled based on interest.
Welcome Toni!
Antoinette (Toni) Dereska, of Gard Avenue, has joined the
Armour Villa Board of Directors. She grew up in Somerville, New Jersey,
where her father owned an auto body shop and her
mother worked at a day care center. Toni says, “At 19 I left for NYC to become an actress (much to my parents
horror). Five years later I realized I might need health insurance one day so I went to college. I
graduated Magna Cum Laude from Hunter College with a B.A in English. I have worked at several
investment banks and now I work at a small family office in Manhattan as the office manager.
My husband, Mark, and I will be celebrating 17 years of marriage this September. Although acting is still on my mind, I am now busy with my two beautiful and precocious children, Wyatt, 7, and Riley, 5.
They both attend The Chapel School where I volunteer quite often. My passions are cooking,
gardening and reading. I love living in Armour Villa. I love our beautiful house, my garden and, most of all, the neighbors and the community. I am very excited to join the board and to welcome new
neighbors to our community!”
Meet Our Newes
t
Board Member
5 ears of sweet corn (husked and cleaned) 2 red peppers or 1 small jar of roasted red peppers (diced) 1 small red onion, chopped 1 cup black beans (cooked) ½ cup crumbled cotija Mexican cheese (reserve half) 3 small jalapenos (seeds removed and chopped)
1 ripe avocado (leave whole until last step) ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (reserve half for garnish) 2 large limes, juiced 3 tbsp oil ¼ stick of butter ½ teaspoon chili powder salt & pepper
● Coat ears of corn in softened butter seasoned with salt and pepper. We recommend using your grill to roast the corn for extra flavor but you can use your oven. Preheat your grill to medium high and roast the corn, turning a few times during cooking. (At this point you can also roast your peppers if you're not using pre-roasted.) You are looking for a nice brown color and tender kernels. This should take approximately 15 minutes. Set aside and let cool for half an
hour. Trim one end of the corn cob so that it will stand upright, hold the top of the corn firmly and use a knife to carefully slice from top to bottom removing the kernels. ● In a large mixing bowl combine all remaining ingredients and gently stir (except for the avocado and reserved cotija
cheese and cilantro for toppings). ● Now you can slice the avocado to put on top. Add remaining cheese and garnish with cilantro. Check your seasoning. Enjoy!
This corn salad is bursting with flavor and color. It is simple, light and healthy. You can serve this as a side salad. Add some grilled chicken or shrimp and turn it into a main course.
24
Blast From Armour Villa’s Past
What was happening 10 years ago in our neighborhood? Take a look back at
The Villa Voice from July/August 2007
Our cover story was an article about the city’s newly passed summer restriction on gas-powered leaf blowers. Armour Villa led the effort to get this legislation passed. It took years of work but it was worth it. Electric blowers are still allowed.
Our Snapshots covered six pages of photos from the annual picnic. In 2007 in was held on Witherell Street. Fifty-five families attended, the weather was great, we
raised $1,500, and the conga line went on forever!
Our Spotlight focused on British-born entrepreneur Nigel Walker,
of Parkview Avenue.
“Be a Good Neighbor” urged Armour Villians to “Keep Talking” to their
neighbors to solve a dispute if a conflict arises rather than writing anonymous letters of complaint to The Villa Voice or leaving nasty phone messages.
Artist Kate Chodor, of Gard Avenue, responded
to "A Call to Artists" for a public art event in
downtown Catskill. Kate decorated a 36” sculpture of a cat with shards of pottery
to create a feline mosaic.
25
Plus…
Ophthalmologist Alan Brown, of McIntyre Street, wrote an article about his volunteer work in the Dominican Republic.
Franz Baumann sent in a photo of his daughter, Hannah, enjoying their sabbatical life in Vienna.
Moms’ Corner recommended good places to get take-out for the family.
The gardening page explained the benefits of organic landscaping and how to include those practices in your own yard.
We ran an article called “Easements Get Easier,” about how the U.S. government and New York State have enacted new laws that lower your income tax if you put a conservation easement on your land. A conservation tax credit officially entered the state tax code.
We urged residents to stay in touch through the Armour Villa email system. (We are still doing that! See page 35.)
MJ Territo was president of the association. Dues were $25.
The Villa Voice was 24 pages. We had 25 business card- size advertisers but still published in the red.
Graduated Emma Fursland, 23 Wiltshire Place, graduated from the Hackley School.
Stephanie Bruno, 432 Bronxville Road, graduated from Fordham University with a Bachelor of Science.
Claire Crowley, 49 Cassilis Avenue, graduated from School of the Holy Child.
Tyler Pendleton, 45 Gard Avenue, graduated from Bronxville High School.
Good News Dan & Marianne Porter, of McIntyre Street, who lost their dog, Jake, in the devastating fire on March 14th, welcomed a new dog, Jackson, from the Elmsford Animal Shelter.
Born Eric & Judy Guhring, 40 Wiltshire Street, welcomed a baby boy, Robert James.
Died Thomas Bozek, 83, 10 Perry Place Marjorie Cummings, 64 Cassilis Avenue Angelo Mitrione, 76, 160 Chatfield Road
Married Robert Castro, son of Linda & Bob Castro, 63 Cassilis Avenue, to Santa Portino.
Deirdre Hoare & Gus Rylander, of 16 Cross Street.
The
Villa
People
2007
The Home Front featured a nest of baby robins that had been born in a wreath on Mary McDermott’s front door on Smith Place.
What were the neighbors up to in the summer of 2007?
Garden Design
Katherine Day Sutton
(347) 782-1607
26
106 Main Street
Tuckahoe (914) 337-0311
The Quarry Restaurant
www.thequarryoftuckahoe.com
Our volunteers offer rides, in-home assistance and other helpful services. Gramatan Village is
experiencing a growing demand for volunteer
drivers who can offer our members rides to and from local errands and appointments. Most rides take less than hour.
No set schedule required! Join our volunteer team and make a difference by
giving back to the community! Call 914-337-1338
Email: info@gramatanvillage.org ●
85 Pondfield Road, Bronxville, New York 10708
(914) 337-1338 fax (914) 337-1339 Website: www.gramatanvillage.org
Your home Your community
Coming this fall!
Healthy Living, Smart Choices,
and Good Planning: The Secrets to Minimizing
Stress and Anxiety
A free seminar and luncheon at The Olde Stone Mill in Tuckahoe.
Panelists will include representatives from Gramatan Village,
Houlihan O’Malley Real Estate, New York Presbyterian Hospital,
Jansen Hospice, Grassy Sprain Pharmacy,
the law firm of McLaughlin & Zerafa, and Seriatim Organizational Planners.
Dominic Cesarini
Proprietor
27
Bookworm Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Review by MJ Territo, Wiltshire Place
In need of a Jane Austen fix, I decided, instead of re-
reading one of the originals for the umpteenth time, to give The
Austen Project a try. The Austen Project commissions
bestselling contemporary authors to retell one of Austen’s six
complete works. In “Eligible,” the fourth in the series, Curtis
Sittenfeld brings Liz Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy, of “Pride
and Prejudice,” to modern-day Cincinnati.
Liz, a journalist for a woman’s magazine in New York, along with her sister
Jane, a yoga teacher, return to their hometown after their father suffers a heart attack.
Their sisters, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia, still living at home and unemployed, are of
little use in the situation, as is their mother, a shopaholic unable to accept either the
reality of her husband’s post-op frailty or the financial straits the family is in. It falls
largely to Liz to try to sort things out, not that her family is always grateful for her
efforts.
Cincinnati being a small town, Liz and Jane are thrown together socially with
Darcy, an independently wealthy neurosurgeon, and his colleague Chip Bingley, an
emergency room doctor who has just finished a stint on Eligible, a reality TV dating
show, which he left without being able to settle on any of the contestants. Chip falls
hard for Jane, but there are complications. (My lips are sealed.) Liz, weaning herself
off a long-running affair with a perpetually unavailable fellow journalist, finds Darcy
an insufferable arrogant snob, but inevitably an intelligent, insightful, and irresistibly
attractive one.
“Eligible” manages to simultaneously pay homage to Austen’s original and to
successfully update both the story and characters. Like the original, it is a delightfully
funny, believable and engaging comedy of manners. The challenges confronting the
modern-day Bennett clan are up-to-the-minute situations that countless American
families are wrestling with every day. The characters face their trials with varying
degrees of grace and determination, but in the end, lives are reconfigured,
compromises struck, and the business of living happily ever after has begun.
167 Scarsdale Road Tuckahoe, NY 10707 (914) 779-3722 asburyumc167@gmail.com Sunday Worship & Child Care at 10:00 am
Asbury Nursery School: Registration for 2017-18 plus
Places for July 2017 Summer Sessions (2-5 year olds) still AVAILABLE!
Contact Director Therese Gurian email: asburyschool@aol.com
www.asburynurseryschool.com Phone: (914) 779-3762
28
(914) 450-0415
Who says a penny won’t buy you anything anymore? Well, maybe not a penny but 100 of them will buy you a mini-cone at Penny Lick, an ice cream company located in Hastings-on-Hudson. I discovered this ice cream parlor strolling around this river town one recent evening. After spotting a line out the door, I was tempted to explore what I hoped to be a hidden treasure. After waiting in the queue I was greeted by Griffen, the assistant manager. As she asked me for my order, she happily sang along with Julie Andrews to the soundtrack of Mary Poppins on the radio. I mean Mary Poppins AND Ice cream? Can it get any better?
I ordered the Ethiopian macchiato after being told they use real coffee in their recipe. Those who love dark chocolate are urged to sample this heavenly flavor. The creamy taste of Penny Lick’s ice cream sets it apart from the big name ice cream shops you'll find around town. No need for a "spoonful of sugar.” Penny Lick serves just the right amount of sweetness. Their ice cream is custard-based and made with all natural ingredients, as many as possible sourced from the Hudson Valley. . The best part: chocolate and rainbow sprinkles are free on all of their options! They also sell push-up pops, which are great alternative for kids (and some of us adults) who tend to get a bit messy with our cones. Ice cream sandwiches, milk
shakes, and pints round out the menu. In the spirit of the evening, I dare say my experience was “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
Man
About
Town
By Todd Brovetto
Penny LickPenny Lick
580 Warburton Avenue 580 Warburton Avenue
HastingsHastings--onon--Hudson.Hudson.
(914) 525(914) 525--15801580
SunSun--Thurs 12Thurs 12--9 9
FriFri--Sat 12Sat 12--1010
EDITOR’S NOTE: The phrase “penny lick” comes from a small glass serving dish for ice cream, used in the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth century by street vendors who sold a small scoop for a
mere penny. The dish was usually made with a thick glass base with a shallow depression on top for the ice cream. This made the serving seem larger than it actually was. The customer would lick clean the glass and return it to the vendor, who would reuse it. The penny lick was banned in London in 1899 due to concerns about the spread of disease, particularly tuberculosis, as the glass was not washed between customers. The solution was to serve ice
cream in a pastry cup, which paved the way for the invention in New York of the waffle cone! [Google]
29
Police Commissioner
Charles Gardner
The
Commissioner’s Corner
In an emergency, call 911. To report a major crime: call 377-7900 To report a minor disturbance: call Lt. Dan Medlar at (914) 377-7477 or 7476 ►Be sure to let Steve Wagner know you’ve made a call!
►The First Precinct Community Council meets at 7:30 on the second
Wednesday of every month at 730 East Grassy Sprain Road. Meetings
are listed in the calendar on our
website: www.armourvilla.org.
Greetings from the YPD! Hope everyone is enjoying the start to the summer. With air conditioning units starting to work overtime, now is a good time to remind everyone not to overload your electrical circuits or plug too many devices or high wattage devices into extension cords. A lot of extension cords are not rated for the loads some AC units can place on them, so be careful and contact a licensed electrician if you need help to keep everything running. Also, window AC units can make a convenient point of entry for bad guys, so consider extra security measures if possible, like outside lighting or moving the unit to a second floor.
SAVE THE DATE – Tuesday, August 1st: We have two major events planned: 1) National Night Out, where cops and the community come together to hang out and have a good time, an opportunity to meet your local officers and build stronger bonds together. The 1st Precinct will be holding our Night Out at Andrus Park off Central Park Avenue at Arlington Road. Please contact the Precinct Community Council for more information, or attend one of the meetings (information at top right of this page). 2) Recruitment! Become one of Yonkers Finest! The Yonkers Police Officer exam is scheduled for December 2, 2017. Filing opens 8/1 and closes 10/2. Starting salary over 72K! Go to joinYPD.com for more information, applications will be available at National Night Out! We would like to remind residents to be on alert for two types of scams that have occurred in our community: Mailbox Fishing and Delivery Package Theft. Some USPS mailboxes have been discovered with glue smeared about the drop door – this is evidence of possible Mailbox Fishing, where thieves utilizing weighted glue traps on strings (or similar measures) attempt to pull mail out of mailboxes in order to steal checks and identity information. If you come across glue in a mailbox, don’t use it and report it immediately to the Yonkers Police and Post Office. Fortunately, the USPS is in the process of converting the older style mailboxes to new ones with drop slots instead of doors to defeat this criminal behavior. And as more people order online and utilize package delivery services, we want out residents to protect themselves from package delivery theft – see the images on our website for more details (yonkersny.gov/live/public-safety/police-department.
Enjoying the summer means longer hours outside – barbeques, backyard sports, music and dancing! When throwing a party, please be considerate of your neighbors and residents in the community.
Even though the laws were updated in 2015, fireworks, including sparklers and sparking devices, are still illegal in Westchester County!
The Yonkers Police Department has joined Nextdoor.com, a neighborhood based social media platform.
Starting July 14th, the Yonkers Police Department will be conducting a Public Opinion Survey! After that date, please go to yonkerspolicesurvey.com and rate us! Once again, many thanks to The Villa Voice for giving us, your Police Department, the opportunity to
speak directly to the wonderful members of the Armour Villa community! You can also visit us on social media at our Facebook @YonkersPD, Twitter @YonkersPD, and Instagram @yonkers_police pages! Take care and be safe!
▲ To read the details of this
and other important
police flyers, go to our website:
armourvilla.org
30
Platinum Sponsor
31
Green Thumb by Lynne Richy, Nature’s Cradle
Armour Villa Gardening for
July/August
Consider planting from seed some cool season veggies in early August, for a fall crop of your very own organic salad fixings. Lettuces, kales, peas, spinach,
swiss chard, peas, beets are all great choices. Raised beds, pots, even veggie “bags” make it easier than ever.
Random Thoughts in the Summer
Garden...
All evergreen pruning should be
completed by mid-August. This
reduces the chance of
winterburn on new, vulnerable growth. Trimming
shrubs now, such as euonymus, taxus and boxwoods, will neaten
up a slightly wilding garden. In the case of hollies, you can trim back
to expose berries that will enhance your winter garden.
We all know how mulch retains moisture in garden beds as well as reducing
weeds, but why not plant more densely and use more ground cover plants to help achieve the same effect ?
Having trouble getting to some parts of your garden beds? Stepping stones are just the thing! They limit soil
compaction and add an element of interest when well placed (just where does that pathway lead, one may wonder?) They can be as simple as bricks, bluestone pieces, or any other items you find or buy. A great creative summer project with children and grandchildren is to make your own stepping stones (Google “handmade stepping stones” for lots of fun ideas). Then add a few “steppable” ground cover plants (or seeds) to complete the project.
Summertime foliage and flowers do bring out the best in our yards. Why not use your camera or cellphone to record your favorite garden views? The pictures will be a happy bit of nostalgia to look back on, while also helping you make decisions for planting next spring. In addition, they might serve as a sales incentive if you are thinking of selling your house anytime soon.
32
Fire
DiC
hiaro
2017 Grads
Congratulations to Lucas Gray, of Gard Avenue, the fourth child of Laurie & Chuck to graduate with honors from The Masters School in Dobbs Ferry. Luke will be attending SUNY Purchase in the Fall.
John Bastable Parker, of Wiltshire Place, graduated Magna Cum Laude from Manhattan College in May.
The Schmidt family, of Cassilis Avenue, sends us this note:
“It is with great pride, love and joy to share that our daughter (and sister),
Chrissy Schmidt, graduated from Manhattan College. Chrissy earned
a Bachelors degree in Biochemistry with honorary memberships in Phi Beta
Kappa, Epsilon Sigma Pi, Sigma Xi and Gamma Sigma Epsilon. She also received a medal from the American
Chemical Society that is given to a student who excels in chemistry. ‘Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined.’ Love always, Mom, Dad, and Rick”
Max Clark, son of Christian Clark & Mita Hosali of Howe Place, graduated from Bronxville High School and will be going to McGill University to study political science at his father's alma mater in Montreal.
Coming and Going
Anne & Ward Bortz have moved into 58 Gard Avenue.
Rich & Ann Rodrigue have moved from 455 Bronxville Road. Board member Kristen Kilkenny’s daughter, Kayla,
will be moving in with her new husband, Joseph Weiburg.
Amy & Joe Haggenmiller have moved from 62 Gard Avenue to Edgemont with their
three children, Henry, Zoe, & Gina. Karen & David Fowler will be moving in.
Joe was a former Armour Villa board member and Amy was a regular contributor to The Villa Voice. We will miss their presence
immensely.
Maria Spinella & Laird Kreuch have moved from 54 Wiltshire Street to Dobbs Ferry.
In Memoriam
Bill Sharp, 65, of Deshon Avenue, on March 26th. His wife, Ginny, writes:
“Bill should be remembered as a man with a big heart, who used that heart to make a difference for those he worked
with, those who were less fortunate than he was and who would probably never get a chance to turn things around. He
not only worked at the Trinity Homeless Shelter in lower Manhattan but he was always the first
one out in a snowstorm to help shovel out any neighbor entrenched in snow. He was someone who knew how to roll with the punches and make the most out of what he
had, coupled with the ability to enjoy the simple things this life has to offer. He loved golf, he loved helping people, he
loved working with his hands and most of all he loved his family, friends and neighbors. He will be sorely missed.”
In addition to Ginny, Bill is survived by his daughter, Tracy, and his stepson, Arthur.
Charlotte Wong, 94, formerly of Wiltshire Place. The Villa Voice featured Charlotte and her husband, Norman, in a Spotlight interview back in May 2005. They were lifelong friends who were married to other people, but when they found themselves widowed at the same time, they married each other!
George Ormond, 82, formerly of Bronxville
Road. He was a patrolman and detective with the Westchester County Parkway
Police and an original member of the Bomb Squad. During his 32-year career he
received numerous awards and citations for his outstanding police work.
33
Born
Giulia (pronounced Julia) Fiorella was born on June 13th to parents Christina & Sal Grasso and big brother George, of Parkview Avenue. Her mother says,
“Giulia is very healthy and hungry at 8 lbs 4 oz and will be seen strolling
up and down Parkview Avenue all summer.”
Blake Bielen, was born on May 4th to new neighbors Lara & Colin Krug, of McIntyre Street. Lara writes: “We are over the moon and enjoying every moment with her. Colin and I are thrilled.”
Anniversary
West Center Church, host to many Armour Villa meetings and seminars for decades,
is celebrating the 90th Anniversary of its incorporation and the building of the Community House, which
currently houses the Montessori School.
Le Bon Goût
Alan Brown, of McIntyre Street, sends us this photo of his wife,
Marion, at the open air market in Chalon sur Saône in the Burgundy
region of France. The Browns are congregating in France with their children and
grandchildren before heading off to Ireland with their family.
Special Honor
Brendan Heaney, 12, of Chatfield Road, won the
Excellence in Advocacy Award for his work on behalf
of the children in Yonkers schools. Brendan is shown
at the ceremony with Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Quezada. His proud parents are Tom and board member Lily Heaney.
On the Road Again
Ben, Charlene & Peter Gross, of Cassilis Avenue, have recently returned from a 10-day trip to Germany and Liechtenstein. They explored Munich, the Alps, and
Berlin. They visited the sites for the 1982 Munich Olympic Games Stadium, 1936 Berlin Olympic Stadium, and the
Nazi concentration camp in Dachau.
While the Cat’s Away...
Gabby Graziosa, of Wilbur Place, left for Spain for an 11-day tour. After she returns, her mother, Diane, will
travel to Stockbridge, Massachusetts, for an eight day in-depth study at the Kripalu Center for Mood Management
with author and yoga therapist, Amy Weintraub. The guys (father Scott and son, Gio) will “man” (no pun attended) the home front while the women are away.
Working Girls
Colleen Crowley, daughter of Rita & Dan Crowley, of Cassilis Avenue, graduated in May from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, where she
received a Masters of Education in Literacy. She lives in El Segundo and has been teaching first grade at Holy
Innocents Elementary School in Long Beach, California, for the past two years and will continue this coming
August. Her sister, Claire, is a nurse at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital in Manhattan. She got engaged last November to John Clancy of Fairfield, Connecticut.
The couple will be getting married in December.
Wedding Tina & Kevin Finnegan,
of Gard Avenue, announce the marriage of their son, Shaun, to
Veronica Goin on May 20th. The ceremony took place in
Montrose, New York.
Hostess with the Mostest
In May, Patty Medaglia, of Gard Avenue, went into Manhattan with her friend to see The Late Show
with Stephen Colbert. After the show, Patty and other audience members were invited up to take photos of
themselves on the set. Patty is seated behind the host’s desk.
34
Back in September 2014, Peter Costanzo opened a little exchange library in front of his home on Gard Avenue. Since then, the library has been quite a success with people stopping by daily to either drop off or pick up something to read. The inventory changes all the time. Suddenly this summer two notes appeared behind the small sliding glass door. One read “Hi & Happy July 4. Love the library! Borrowed Charles Kuralt’s book ‘America.’ Enjoying a great read. Robert (A DUBLIN IRELAND man on vacation Bronxville!)” The other was from a young girl who said, “Thanks for leaving this fantastic books here. I am a 11 year old girl from Spain. With this books I will improve my English. THANKS! ♥ ”
Votes of Thanks
2014
35
► To contact President
Steve Wagner directly: spwagner@earthlink.net or call (914) 482-1895
Armour Villa Board of Directors 2016-17
Steve Wagner, President Peter Stone, Executive Vice President
Katherine Sutton, Vice-President & Villa Voice Editor Jacqueline Birnbaum, Secretary
Toni Dereska Rob McQuade MJ Territo
Barbara Gibson Leanne Pantoliano Susan Weisfeld
Lily Heaney Bill Reinking Arline Wood, Emeritus
Kristen Kilkenny Kelly Reynolds
Armour Villa Corps of Volunteers:
Marty Apuzzo, Robert Berger, Carol Dowd, Kathleen Donaghy, Philomena Freed, Barbara Gibson,
Chuck Gray, Amber Krystallis, Nancy Little, Rose Macom, Richard Mangini, Cathy Moyik, Margaret Murtagh,
Amanda Pendleton, Susie Reisinger, Deirdre Rylander, Pat Stanton, and Jim Sutton.
Helping Hands People and websites that improve
your life... recommended by
satisfied Armour Villa customers ► We always recommend that you inquire
up front about any and all fees before hiring anyone.
The Villa Voice: Katherine Sutton Steve Wagner
Leanne Pantoliano Kelly Reynolds
Have a great summer!
email: armourvilla@optimum.net Parking in NYC ● nyc.bestparking.com
“This site is an amazing find if you want to park in Manhattan. Really incredible rates and it gives you access to every company's parking garage. The best thing (for me) is that you can reserve and pre-pay so you are assured of a spot when you get there. This is so great when going to the theatre or any event in midtown where garages are always full. You put in the times you want and your destination address, and voila! You have a plethora of choices and really good rates. We love it and highly recommend!!”
Electrician ● Bob Wallace, 914-494-2325 bob@bobselectricco.com
228 Columbus Avenue, West Harrison 10604 www.bobselectricco.com
“I just used Bob (and son). I had quite a few little electrical jobs I needed to do, and everything was fixed, including a new line for my hallway. The service was great and he charged reasonably.”
Fun Facts from Yonkers
History
Mar-a-Lago, the Mediterranean-style villa built for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in the 1920s, was designed by noted scenic artist, architect, and Yonkers resident Joseph Urban (1872 - 1933). Austrian-born Urban moved to Hudson Terrace in 1916 and was internationally known for his theatrical designs for the Ziegfeld productions and the Metropolitan Opera Company, as well as movie sets for William Randolph Hearst's film company. He also designed the New School for Social Research, the original Hearst building, and the Ziegfeld Theater, all in New York City.
► Thanks to The Yonkers Historical Society for this fun tidbit.
The Last Word
36
Platinum Sponsor
8AM - 8:30PM
8AM - 7PM
9AM - 5:30PM