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.

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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.

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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!

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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

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“My kids ate snow cones

and danced like there was

no tomorrow.”

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“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.”

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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.”

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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Platinum Sponsor

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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]

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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

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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!

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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

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