Riverdale’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper! Volume XVIII • Number 10 • February 3 - 9, 2011 • FREE! Continued on Page 12 Weary Riverdalians moan, ‘No mo’ snow!’ By MIAWLING LAM Riverdale is certainly no longer a winter wonderland. A series of deplorable snow removal ef- forts, along with a record January snowfall, has wreaked havoc on local businesses and frustrated motorists and pedestrians. Vast expanses of fine white powder have now been replaced with towering mounds of dirty, brown snow. Vehicles are struggling to pass on two- way streets due to snow accumulation, pe- destrians are getting splattered with slush and motorists are resorting to parking at a 45 degree angle on some streets. According to the National Weather Service, the latest dumping—19 inches last Thursday—broke the city’s January snowfall record. Since the beginning of the year, an unprecedented 36 inches of snow have fallen in New York, trouncing the previous monthly record of 27.4 inches in 1925. And more is expected this week. The typical snowfall for an entire New York City winter is just 22 inches. The avalanche of snow was blamed for the collapse of the awning at Garden Gourmet supermarket on Broadway and West 233rd Street. Heavy snow sent the 60-foot-wide awning crashing to the ground early Thursday morning, causing the business to delay opening and lose hundreds of dollars in sales. Grocery manager George Hernandez told The Riverdale Review that when work- ers arrived to open the store, the awning was already on the ground. “There was too much snow on top and it just fell down,” he said. “I felt bad because my boss lost money. We had customers come in the morning but we couldn’t let them come in.” Riverdale resident Emilie Swanson estimates she has spent at least nine back- wrenching hours shoveling her driveway this season. Although she initially welcomed the snowfall, Swanson said she is now over winter. “This is crazy. I feel like I’ve had a shovel in my hand all winter,” she said. “It’s ridiculous, and the scary thing is, it’s only going to get worse next month.” Desperate to avoid a repeat of the now-infamous December 26 blizzard, the MTA also temporarily suspended all morning bus service last Thursday, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded. Among them was straphanger Ricardo Ramerez, who waited half an hour for a bus on West 231st Street. The grocery store assistant said his boss called him in at the last minute after his colleague couldn’t dig her car out from the snow. “I wasn’t going to say yes, but I needed the money,” he said. “I just didn’t think it would take me this long. Had I known I would be wait- ing this long, I would’ve walked. I would be there now.” New Yorkers also took to Twitter to lament about the unusual snowfall. One user, jamesrr1, said, “Pretty soon there will be no distinction between streets and sidewalks in NYC. We’ll all just glide around like amoebas.” Another user, willieln, complained about the piles of dirty snow that are fast building up. “New York grayed and besmirched by dirty snow and fjords of slush. City not wearing its finest colors.” Guy Velella, former Senator, was 66 By BRENDAN McHUGH Guy Velella, a hugely popular former Bronx state senator, died last Thursday. He was 66. Velella died at a Bronx hospice with his wife, Pat, and his children at his side. He had been suffering from inoperable lung cancer. Once a powerful figure in Albany and beloved in his district, Velella pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy seven years ago, forcing him to resign from the Senate and surrender his law license. Velella served in the Legislature for 28 years, the first 10 as an assemblyman. He represented the 34th state Senate District as the lone Republican elected official in The Bronx. His district also covered parts of Westchester County. A former Bronx Republican chair- man, he was known for his ability to push through important legislation and to acquire state aid for New York City projects. “He was very good at bringing money into his district and protecting the neigh- borhoods he represented,” Congressman Eliot Engel said. “If people wanted a facility built, he would always call and push for it and do those types of things. He wasn’t a laid back person. He was someone who made things happen. He did a lot of good for the communities he represented.” Engel knew the former state senator for 35 years and visited him a week before his death. “We had always been in different par- ties but had always been representing our districts in The Bronx and had a cordial relationship,” Engel said. Velella and Engel worked together from 1977 to 1982 in the Assembly. “I felt it was important for me to go over and give him some comfort,” Engel said. “He had mentioned to his wife that he enjoyed meeting with me.” Engel re- called that the two reminisced over the The late Guy Velella at his last public appearance last September 11th.
Transcript
Riverdale’s ONLYLocally Owned
Newspaper!
Volume XVIII • Number 10 • February 3 - 9, 2011 • FREE!
Riverdale is certainly no longer a winter wonderland.
A series of deplorable snow removal ef-forts, along with a record January snowfall, has wreaked havoc on local businesses and frustrated motorists and pedestrians.
Vast expanses of fine white powder have now been replaced with towering mounds of dirty, brown snow.
Vehicles are struggling to pass on two-way streets due to snow accumulation, pe-destrians are getting splattered with slush and motorists are resorting to parking at a 45 degree angle on some streets.
According to the National Weather Service, the latest dumping—19 inches last Thursday—broke the city’s January snowfall record.
Since the beginning of the year, an unprecedented 36 inches of snow have fallen in New York, trouncing the previous monthly record of 27.4 inches in 1925. And more is expected this week.
The typical snowfall for an entire New York City winter is just 22 inches.
The avalanche of snow was blamed for the collapse of the awning at Garden Gourmet supermarket on Broadway and West 233rd Street.
Heavy snow sent the 60-foot-wide awning crashing to the ground early Thursday morning, causing the business to delay opening and lose hundreds of dollars in sales.
Grocery manager George Hernandez told The Riverdale Review that when work-ers arrived to open the store, the awning was already on the ground.
“There was too much snow on top and it just fell down,” he said. “I felt bad because my boss lost money. We had customers come in the morning but we
couldn’t let them come in.”Riverdale resident Emilie Swanson
estimates she has spent at least nine back-wrenching hours shoveling her driveway this season.
Although she initially welcomed the snowfall, Swanson said she is now over winter.
“This is crazy. I feel like I’ve had a shovel in my hand all winter,” she said.
“It’s ridiculous, and the scary thing is, it’s only going to get worse next month.”
Desperate to avoid a repeat of the now-infamous December 26 blizzard, the MTA also temporarily suspended all morning bus service last Thursday, leaving hundreds of commuters stranded.
Among them was straphanger Ricardo Ramerez, who waited half an hour for a bus on West 231st Street.
The grocery store assistant said his boss called him in at the last minute after his colleague couldn’t dig her car out from the snow.
“I wasn’t going to say yes, but I needed the money,” he said.
“I just didn’t think it would take me this long. Had I known I would be wait-ing this long, I would’ve walked. I would be there now.”
New Yorkers also took to Twitter to lament about the unusual snowfall.
One user, jamesrr1, said, “Pretty soon there will be no distinction between streets and sidewalks in NYC. We’ll all just glide around like amoebas.”
Another user, willieln, complained about the piles of dirty snow that are fast building up.
“New York grayed and besmirched by dirty snow and fjords of slush. City not wearing its finest colors.”
Guy Velella, former Senator, was 66By BRENDAN McHUGH
Guy Velella, a hugely popular former Bronx state senator, died last Thursday. He was 66.
Velella died at a Bronx hospice with his wife, Pat, and his children at his side. He had been suffering from inoperable lung cancer.
Once a powerful figure in Albany and beloved in his district, Velella pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy seven years ago, forcing him to resign from the Senate and surrender his law license.
Velella served in the Legislature for 28 years, the first 10 as an assemblyman. He represented the 34th state Senate District as the lone Republican elected official in The Bronx. His district also covered parts of Westchester County.
A former Bronx Republican chair-man, he was known for his ability to push through important legislation and to acquire state aid for New York City projects.
“He was very good at bringing money into his district and protecting the neigh-borhoods he represented,” Congressman Eliot Engel said. “If people wanted a facility built, he would always call and push for it and do those types of things. He wasn’t a laid back person. He was someone who made things happen. He did a lot of good for the communities he represented.”
Engel knew the former state senator for 35 years and visited him a week before his death.
“We had always been in different par-ties but had always been representing our districts in The Bronx and had a cordial relationship,” Engel said. Velella and Engel worked together from 1977 to 1982 in the Assembly.
“I felt it was important for me to go over and give him some comfort,” Engel said. “He had mentioned to his wife that he enjoyed meeting with me.” Engel re-called that the two reminisced over the The late Guy Velella at his last public
appearance last September 11th.
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By PAULETTE SCHNEIDER“The Wizard of Oz” overture
set the nostalgic tone in Lehman College’s Lovinger Theatre. A large movie screen unfurled, and the Riverdale Children’s Theatre’s inaugural production opened like the 1939 MGM classic itself—complete with old-style rolling credits.
The names of the 55 cast members and production crew scrolled off the screen, and the projected image of a Kansas prai-rie farm under a sky filled with billowy clouds became the back-drop for the opening scene.
A quintessential Dorothy was portrayed by Sara Friedman, a sev-enth-grader at SAR Academy and a veteran of the Riverdale Y’s Jr. Rising Stars. Friedman was a mar-vel, uncannily Judy Garland-like, and strong musicianship infused her lovely singing. “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was fresh and earnest, delivered with infallible pitch and sensitive phrasing.
Fellow travelers on the Yellow Brick Road threw themselves into the challenging choreography of their roles—the Scarecrow by SAR Academy sixth-grader Deena Danishefsky and Fieldston School sixth-grader Noah Parnes, the Tin Man by 12-year-old Juan Virella of the In-Tech Academy and Hunter Elementary School fifth-grader Ben Rosenn, and the Cowardly Lion by SAR Academy
seventh-grader Talia Kupfer-mann and P.S. 81 fifth-grader Tim Markbreiter.
Shira Schleifer, a seventh-grader at SAR Academy, and Lily Erin Cohen, a sixth-grader at Kin-neret Day School, were soothing and reassuring as Glinda.
And Harry Gale, a seventh-grader at Scarsdale Middle School, conveyed the goodwill of the Professor and the foolishness the well-meaning Wizard himself.
Toto, played by a cheerful little curly-tailed grey canine named Lucky Dolgan, appeared on cue and exited gracefully when led discreetly offstage.
A few adults found their way into the cast. Joanie Gardiner Va-rela, a pillar of community theater, was a matronly Auntie Em. David Kazansky had not been onstage since high school but played a crusty Uncle Henry. (His daughter Ariana and son Noah, both stu-dents at P.S. 24, were in the cast as well.) Antonia Barba, a community theater actor and director, was a malevolent Miss Gulch and a fearsome Wicked Witch, with her signature bone-chilling cackle.
This musical offered plenty of casting opportunities for all levels of experience—roles for Munchkins, Winkies, Lullabye Leaguers, Lollipop Guilders, pop-pies, snowflakes, jitterbugs and various Ozians got everyone into the act with dazzling costumes
and all manner of choreography during the troupe’s six January performances.
“The Wizard of Oz,” a film based on a 1900 novel by L. Frank Baum, was the product of several directors and screenplay writers. A number of productions for musi-cal theater followed the film.
The Riverdale Children’s Theatre is directed by Becky Lilllie Woods with assistance by Elisabeth Kollas. Choreography is by Krystal Hall-Glass, musical direction is by Harrison Young, stage management is by Christina Pagán, scenic design is by Cory
Rodriguez, lighting design is by Tracy Lynn Wertheimer and tech-nical direction is by Chris Higgins. Glitzy audio and video design are by Derek Woods, who is also the group’s executive director.
RCT will stage two Disney works this spring—“The Little Mermaid Jr.” and “101 Dalma-tions Kids.” Auditions for the spring productions will take place at the Riverdale Senior Center in the Century, 2600 Netherland Avenue. Audition times are Thursday, February 10, from 4 to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Febru-ary 13, from 3 to 6 p.m. “Little
Mermaid” rehearsals will be held two or three times per week with performances at the end of May. “101 Dalmations” rehearsals will be held once per week with per-formances in mid-June.
Auditions are open to children in grades 2 through 7. Interested students should prepare a short musical theater selection and be prepared to learn a simple dance combination. RCT is particularly interested in children with dance training and experience using wheelies, but all levels of experi-ence are welcome. For more infor-mation, visit riverdaletheatre.org.
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Upcoming Health Seminars:
Wednesday, February 9Food and Salt IntakeWeiler Auditorium, 1:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Laughing is Good for the Heart!Weiler Auditorium, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Thursday, February 10PFO and Stroke: Everything You Need to KnowWeiler Auditorium, 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
To sign up for a health screening or for more information about heart month events, please call 1-800-MD-MONTEor visit www.Montefiore.org/heartmonth
A Healthy HeartStarts with YouThroughout the month of February, the Montefiore Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care will offer free educational lectures and screenings to check your blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Protect your heart from disease, and learn how to take better care of yourself.
Upcoming Health Screenings8:00 am – 1:00 pm
Tuesday, February 8Montefiore Medical Group Bronx East2300 Westchester AvenueBronx, New York 10462
Thursday, February 10Jack D. Weiler HospitalAuditorium1825 Eastchester RoadBronx, New York 10461
* For best results, fast for 12 hours prior to your appointment.
By BRENDAN McHUGHIn what can only be the result of a
backdoor deal, the four rogue Democratic state senators were named chairs of Senate committees by the Republican Confer-ence, with state Senator Jeff Klein named as chair of the formerly defunct Alcohol and Substance Abuse Committee.
Republicans are saying this is part of a new bipartisan era in the jungle that is New York’s government, but Democrats deny any bipartisan effort.
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, in a letter to Minority Leader John Sampson, noted his goal of bipartisanship, saying “I have selected three Democrats to serve as committee chairs, which is more members of the minority party than any majority leader has ever chosen to head up Senate standing committees.”
While that is true, the Democrats selected are all part of the newly formed Independent Democratic Conference. The addition of Klein’s new committee was perceived as not only a slap in the face to every member of the traditional Democratic Conference, but also to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. The Brennan Center—the group that called New York’s government the most inefficient state government in the country—wrote to Skelos, asking, among other things, to consolidate committees.
State Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz released a statement wondering why he coup members such as defeated Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate were relentlessly attacked, while Klein and his “amigos” have been given a free pass.
“Please explain this to me because I just don’t see how some were wrong and they
are right,” Diaz said. “I don’t understand why some are condemned and they are being treated like prima donnas.”
Fellow Democrat state Senator Gustavo Rivera said that Klein and his antics have no place in the people’s work. “What Senator Klein and the caucus has done has only added to the shenanigans,” he said. Rivera went on to say that he has not heard one convincing argument for the resurrection of Klein’s committee, except that it must be part of a deal with the Republicans.
That deal may be to help the Republicans pass key legislation, such as the recent rules changes the GOP put forth. The only Demo-cratic votes in favor of the rules changes came from the Independent Democratic Conference. Rules that were changed in-clude taking away the ability of the lieuten-ant governor to cast a deciding vote if the Senate is equally divided in a vote.
In 2009, during the coup with former Sen. Pedro Espada, when there was no lieutenant governor and the Senate was split 31-31, the Senate failed to move forward for the entire month of the coup due to the lack of a tiebreaking vote.
Now that Republicans and the four Democratic senators have taken the power away from the lieutenant governor, and in essence a Democratic vote (the lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy, is a Democrat), Skelos and the Republican Party have little reason to work with the Democratic Conference on legislation.
State Senator Adriano Espaillat is request-ing that Attorney General Eric Schneider-man’s office examine the constitutionality of the rule change, saying that to strip the power of the lieutenant governor “is not simply wrong and disingenuous, it is a
blatant violation of our constitution.”In the New York State Constitution,
Article IV, Section 6, states, “The lieuten-ant governor shall be the president of the Senate but shall only have a casting vote therein.”
The rogue Democrats—Sens. Klein, Diane Savino, David Valesky and David Carlucci—continue to say they are for a more transparent, bipartisan government, but their vote for the rules changes with-out any Democratic input was attacked as a step in the opposite direction. Three amendments, including one allocating equal resources to majority and minority members, were proposed at Monday’s session by Democrats. All were ignored by Republican lawmakers.
The other two Riverdale senators, Rivera and Espaillat, have called out the Republican Party to change their ways.
“There are a lot of things we needed to do, and we did not go far enough last year,” Rivera said. “The Republicans could have out-reformed us, one-upped us, and they did not do that.”
Espaillat, in a statement released last week, attacked the rules changes sup-ported by the Republicans. “They did so for purely political purposes and without any public input whatsoever,” he said. “I urge Republicans to put the interests of the public ahead of their partisan power plays and take up the bipartisan, common-sense reforms offered by Democrats.”
The Republicans did not listen to Espaillat’s plea. With Klein and three other Democrats voting with Republicans, they never have to listen.
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Continued on Page 18
P.S. 24Fifth-grader Nuha Dolby has composed
an orchestral work, “Voices of Darkness,” to be performed by the New York Phil-harmonic this Friday, February 4, as part of its School Day Concert series. Dolby is one of only six “Very Young Compos-ers” selected citywide who will have their compositions performed. The piece is a result of Dolby’s work in a twelve-week intensive afterschool program that brings teaching artists from the Philharmonic to work with selected students at partnering schools. P.S. 24 has par-ticipated in the program for four years.
P.S. 81A parent networking meeting is
scheduled for Monday, February 7, at 9 a.m. in the school lunchroom. This is a venue where parents can connect and share ideas and information on possible business opportunities.
Saint Gabriel SchoolGrades K through 8 began their cel-
ebration of Catholic Schools Week with a 9 a.m. Mass on Monday morning. On Wednesday, grades 6 through 8 made a field trip to Avery Fisher Hall for a New York Philharmonic School Day Concert. Spirit Day is on Thursday for grades 5 through 8 and on Friday for grades 1 through 4. On Spirit Days, students engage in games of friendly competition in the school gym. Spirit Day events are hosted by the Home School Association.
Parents considering Saint Gabriel’s for their child are invited to an open house on Monday, February 14, from 9 to 11 a.m. The event will offer a tour of the facility, information on application and registration procedures and an oppor-tunity to speak with the principal. The school is at 590 West 235th Street, between Arlington and Netherland avenues. For more information, call the school office at 718-548-0444.
St. Margaret’s SchoolIn celebration of Catholic Schools
Week, students and teachers participated in many events to mark and rejoice in the long tradition of Catholic education in Riverdale. On Monday, eighth-grad-ers “took over” the school, assuming the roles of teachers, secretaries, the nurse,
the custodial staff, the librarian and even the principal. Student Council President Frank Nugent took the job of principal and led the school in both the morning prayers and the Pledge of Allegiance. He also con-ducted the morning briefing with “his” secretary, visited classrooms and made announcements. Tuesday was Pajama Day for the entire school. Students and teachers wore their favorite sleepwear and
enjoyed an afternoon nap while listening to stories read by Princi-pal Hugh Keenan, who had by then resumed his post. The students and teachers created a Culture Day—each class chose a country
and researched its customs, economies, education systems and traditions. Throughout the day, each grade “traveled” to a different country and even had their passports stamped by “customs officials.” Thursday is the Student Talent Show. On Friday, the week of celebration will cul-minate in a special laser light assembly provided by the Home School Association and Prismatic Magic. Second graders will receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at a lovely ceremony in the church led by the pastor, Fr. Brian McCarthy.
Horace Mann SchoolThis Saturday, February 5, Manhattan
College will host HM’s Twelfth Annual Coaches vs. Cancer High School Basket-ball Classic for boys. Seven schools from various leagues will participate. HM will get an early start, playing against Loyola at 10:30 a.m. Coaches vs. Cancer, a col-laboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches, enables local com-munities to make a difference in the fight against cancer. Last year’s event raised more than $25,000.
The Sixth Annual Coaches vs. Cancer High School Basketball Classic for girls will be held at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School on Sunday, February 13. There, HM will take on Loyola at 2:50 p.m.
Kinneret Day School Grades 7 and 8 held their science fair last
week. Eighth-grade projects reflected the earth science curriculum. Michelle Mullen used models to show the differences be-tween the three types of volcanoes, Spencer Balsan proved that global warming is rais-ing water levels and Michael Steinberg used
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By PAULETTE SCHNEIDERA Riverdalian will have her musical
composition performed by the New York Philharmonic this Friday, February 4, in Avery Fisher Hall.
Nuha Dolby, the composer, may not yet be a household name—she’s still a fifth-grader at P.S. 24. She’s one of only six “Very Young Composers” selected from the city schools now participating in a program of afterschool partnerships with the orchestra’s education staff.
Friday’s event is part of the Philhar-monic’s School Day Concert series. New York Philharmonic Director of Education Theodore Wiprud will host the program, and Music Director Alan Gilbert will con-duct. This year it will introduce students to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, called the “Pastoral” symphony, by discussing the work in terms of humanity’s relationship with the natural world. It will also premier works by the six Very Young Composers.
Dolby’s work is entitled “Voices of Darkness. P.S. 24 students in grades 3 through 5 will be in the audience to hear the work of their classmate. The school community will occupy more than 500 seats in the concert hall, according Joan Schwartz, 24’s arts liaison.
Schwartz initiated the school’s partner-ship with the New York Philharmonic four years ago. The arrangement involves a 12-session weekly commitment from 2:30 to 4 p.m., when the school gets a visit from Jon Deak, the now-retired associate principal bass player, and James Blachly, a teaching artist from the orchestra.
The visits involve intensive instruc-tion in music appreciation for 12 selected
students from each participating school. Schwartz, who retired as a music teacher after 26 years, is still involved as co-teacher in the afterschool program.
“We do have homework with this. They do have to compose and learn about the elements of music,” Schwartz explained. “So I speak with the classroom teacher and ask her to nominate children who can take extra homework. Then I have to personally evaluate the children to see whether they’re really going to come, because attendance is mandatory or you can’t continue. And since I’ve been the music teacher, I have an idea of children who’d be interested and then I sometimes get them to write compositions about why they would like to be part of this program. So it’s a pretty intense selection process.”
But the kids are not selected on the basis of demonstrated musical ability, according to Schwartz.
“They have interesting requirements,” she said. “They say, ‘Don’t give me your A students. Just give me the students who have a passion for music and we’ll take it from there.’ And it really works. They have to love music and have natural curiosity to learn how to compose and have some sort of excitement in their soul. It doesn’t have to be aptitude.”
But how can you discern passion for music when a child does not sing or play an instrument?
“I’ve been there forever, so I know these children,” Schwartz said. “And as a teacher, you can tell a passion for any subject.”
But it was Deaks and Blachly who selected Dolby, who does play the piano, to be P.S. 24’s featured composer for this
P.S. 24’s Nuha Dolby gets coaching from Jon Deak, a retired Philharmonic bassist.
year’s School Day Concerts.“When they picked her piece, they
worked with her for months at the Phil-harmonic to then create it for a whole or-
chestra,” said Schwartz, who also engaged in the creative process with Dolby. Blachly conferred with the youngster to notate and orchestrate the composition.
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Dr. Christopher Browning to speak on the Holocaust
Manhattan College's Holocaust Re-search Center will present a program, Ho-locaust History and Survivor Testimony: The Case of the Starachowice Factory Slave Labor Camps, next Monday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. The speaker will be Dr. Christopher R. Browning, a professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Browning's presentation will be based on his most recent book, 'Remembering Survival: Inside a Nazi Slave Labor Camp.' The book was compiled from the testimo-nies of about 300 survivors. Many of the testimonies were from Stephen Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation and some were from New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage.
One Riverdale resident, Paul Cymer-man, is one of the survivors whose Shoah Visual History Foundation testimony Browning viewed while researching his book.
Cymerman and his wife immigrated to the United States after the war. Dur-ing the mid-1970s, he began to maintain the toddler play area in a section of the Henry Hudson Park at Kappock Street and Independence Avenue. Until his death in 2004, Cymerman voluntarily oversaw the opening and closing of the playground and ensured that it remained a safe, clean place for children to play.
The playground, named Paul's Park in his honor by the Department of Parks and Recreation, features one of the city's last remaining sandboxes.
Cymerman's story inspired Browning to continue writing and speaking on what we can learn from the accounts of Holocaust survivors. Browning has served as an expert witness against Holocaust deniers in Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. His books have been translated into nine languages.
For more information, contact the center at 718- 862-7129 or [email protected].
Chabad to offer New Lecture Series
The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) brought to you by Chabad-Lubavitch of Riverdale, will present Toward a Meaningful Life: A Soul-Searching Journey for Every Jew, the institute's new six-session Winter 2011 course that will begin Feb. 8, 2011.
'The objective of this course is to teach and empower individuals of all backgrounds with new life skills based on traditional Torah thought, thereby enabling them to transform the way they view their daily lives,' said Rabbi Levi Shemtov - spiritual leader of Chabad-Lubavitch of Riverdale and director of the JLI Riverdale chapter. 'The course offers an antidote to the monotony and grind of unchanging routines. It provides newfound energy and exhilaration in tak-
ing on challenges, and it offers practical strategies for developing a deeper sense of joy and satisfaction.'
Although the course is prepared by Rabbi Simon Jacobson, head of the Mean-ingful Life Center in New York City and author of the best-selling book Toward a Meaningful Life, the sessions are free-standing and no prior familiarity with the book is assumed.
'Day after day, life can be a treadmill, as we go through the motions without asking why or seeking what really matters to us,' said Shemtov. 'This course offers recipes, tips, and techniques for not only discov-ering where your true meaning lies, but in actually making it a part of your daily existence. These sessions will help you see life as the mysterious, challenging, and satisfying wonder that it really is.'
Like all previous JLI programs, Toward a Meaningful Life is designed to appeal to people at all levels of Jewish knowledge, in-cluding those without any prior experience or background in Jewish learning. All JLI courses are open to the public, and attendees need not be affiliated with a particular synagogue, temple, or other house of worship.
Rabbi Levi Shemtov will be teaching this course at The Riverdale YM-YWHA for six Tuesdays, February 8 through March 15. Interested students may call (718) 549-1100 ext. 10 or visit www.myJLI.com for registration and other course-related information. The course cost is $100 and $20 per class, which includes a student textbook. Scholarships are available.
JLI courses are presented in Riverdale in conjunction with Chabad-Lubavitch of Riverdale.
Cooking classes offered at RCC
The Riverdale Community Center will be offering several cooking classes dur-ing our new Spring Semester. For Adults - Italian Cooking - Explore Italian cuisine from every region of Italy (Sicilian, Bo-lognese, etc.), including Arthur Avenue (Italian-American). Enjoy preparation and tasting with Chef Michael Newman Five-week course begins Tuesday evening, March 1st from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Also for Adults - French Cooking - The origins of great cooking and technique come from France. Join Chef Michael Newman as he explores classic French cuisine. This five-week course will begin Tuesday evening, April 5th from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
For Children (ages 7-12) - Cooking For Kids - Homemade cooking made simple for the young. Hands-on learning experi-ence. Children make food they can relate to such as: homemade pizza, spaghetti and meatballs, homemade brownies, etc. will be offered Saturday Mornings beginning March 5th, from 10:30 am - 12 noon.
For more information, call the RCC Of-fice at 718-796-4724, or visit our website: www.riverdalecommunitycenter.org
Joyce Dutka new curator at Riverdale Y Gallery
The new volunteer curator at the Riverdale Y will be Joyce Dutka. The gallery director will be Michael Sharkey. They are both members of the Riverdale Art Association.
Each month will have an 'Artist of the Month' exhibiting their work. February will have Ruth Hurd's watercolor paintings and March will have a group show of the Riverdale Art Association. There will be oil, acrylic, watercolor paintings, pastel, drawings and photographs.
The members have had group shows in Riverdale at Atria, Manhattan College, Mt. St. Vincent, and the libraries of Bronxville, Riverdale, Yonkers, Eastchester in January 2011 and will have another show at the Grinton I Will Library in Yonkers in April.
The group meets on the second Tues-day of the month at Atria at 7:30. Public is welcome to the lectures, demos and DVD's. New members are welcome to join. The trips to art studios, museums have an additional smallcost besides the membership dues of $30 a year.
For information call: 718-543-1568 or visit www.riverdaleartassociation.org.
Riverdale Rising Stars present 'Honk!'
The award winning Riverdale Ris-ing Stars Junior is presenting Honk! Jr. , directed by Laurie Walton. The story is based on Hans Christian Anderson's The Ugly Duckling. The performances are on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 6 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Admissions costs are Students: $10; Seniors: $15 and General admission is $18 ( if purchased in advanced); $20 at the door. Tickets are available at www.Riverdaley.org. The Y is located at 5625 Arlington Avenue. For more information call 718.548.87200 ext 200.
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Thursday, February 3Spuyten DuyvilTODDLER STORY TIME10:30 a.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library650 W. 235th Street
Toddlers from 18 months to 3 years old and their par-ents/caregivers can enjoy interactive stories, action songs, and fingerplays, and spend time with other toddlers in the neighborhood. For more information, call 718-795-1202.
Come hang out with your friends in a cool, casual environ-ment. Bring snacks to enjoy while you listen to the radio & chat with your friends. Use laptops to do your homework, watch videos, play games, & more! For info, call 718-549-1212.
Friday, February 4Spuyten DuyvilARTHRITIS LECTURE1 p.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library650 W. 235th Street
The lecture given by Stanley Scher is designed as a general education program & will present an overview of arthritis with medication, nutrition, & exercise as intervention alternatives. Handouts are included. For more information, call 718-796-1202.
Wii and Board games of all types and all skill levels. For more information, call 718-549-1212.
KingsbridgeTEEN ADVISORY GROUP4 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library280 West 231st Street
TAG meetings will be held on Friday afternoons downstairs in the Reading Room. If you are a 7th -12th grade student, you are eligible to join. For more information, call 718-548-5656.
Saturday, February 5RiverdaleLEARNING SERVICE9:30 a.m. Hebrew Institute of Riverdale3700 Henry Hudson Parkway
Shabbat Terumah. Rabba Sara Hurwitz will lead the prayer service which follows a traditional prayer structure while delving deeper into key prayers. For more info, call 718-796-4730.
KingsbridgeREADING HOUR1 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library280 West 231st Street
The Rotary Club of Riverdale invites youngers 3-12 years old to participate in the reading program. Readers will be grouped by skill level and encouraged to read, helped with pronunciation and word understanding. For more information, contact Karen Pesce at 718-549-4469.
The award winning Riverdale Rising Stars Junior is present-ing Honk! Jr. , directed by Laurie Walton. Feb. 5 and 6. Tickets are available at www.Riverdaley.org. For more information call 718.548.87200 ext 200.
Monday, February 7Spuyten DuyvilBOOK CLUB FOR ADULTS11 a.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library650 W. 235th Street
Each participant briefly describes & shares thoughts about a book recently read. Discussions & recommendations are the happy result of this sharing. For info, call 718-796-1202.
Van CortlandtLECTURE11:30 a.m. Van Cortlandt Senior Center3880 Sedgwick Avenue
A lecture on 'Ways of Saving Energy and Money' by Wilson Martinez of Beam NY. Topics to be covered include Vampire voltage, CFO light bulbs and appliances. For more information, call 718-549-4700.
KingsbridgeANIME NIGHT4 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library280 West 231st Street
Watching Dragon Ball Z Kai: Season 1. Goku, the strongest fighter on the planet, needs to defend the Earth from the evil race of warriors called the Saiyans. Will he be able to save the planet from extinction? For ages 12 to 18. For info, call 718-548-5656.
Spuyten DuyvilREADING ALOUD4 p.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library650 W. 235th Street
A librarian will share favorite picture books, providing children with the wonder of books and the joy of reading. For more information, call 718-796-1202.
RiverdaleLECTURE ON HOLOCAUST7:30 p.m. Manhattan CollegeSmith Auditorium
Manhattan College’s Holocaust Research Center will present a program, Holocaust History and Survivor Testimony: The Case of the Starachowice Factory Slave Labor Camps. The event is free and open to the public. The speaker will be Dr. Christopher R. Browning. For info, contact the center at 718- 862-7129 or [email protected].
Tuesday, February 8RiverdaleTODDLER STORY TIME11:30 a.m. Riverdale Branch Library5540 Mosholu Avenue
Toddlers from 18 months to 3 years old and their par-ents/caregivers can enjoy interactive stories, action songs, and fingerplays, and spend time with other toddlers in the neighborhood. For more information, call 718-549-1212.
RiverdaleRAA MEETING7:30 p.m. Riverdale Atria3718 Henry Hudson Parkway
The monthly meeting of the Riverdale Art Association will fea-ture artist Laura Barmack with a presentation: Using Serial Drawings in Discovery. For info, visit www.riverdaleartassociation.org
Wednesday, February 9Van CortlandtCELEBRATE PURIM3:30 p.m. Van Cortlandt Branch Library3874 Sedgwick Avenue
Discover the history and customs of the Jewish holiday of Purim. Children will decorate masks to disguise themselves. Presented by the Children's Museum of Manhattan. For ages 6 to 12. Preregistration is required. For info, call 718-543-5150.
Come and explore your options for children’s classes in the Riverdale Y’s early childhood center for 2, 3, & 4 year-olds, Universal Pre-K, and Summer Camp. Learn about the school, philosophy, scheduling options, hours for working families, and enrichment activities available to the Y’s youngest community. For more information, call 718 548-8200, ext 220.
Friday, February 11Van CortlandtHEALTH LECTURE11 a.m. Van Cortlandt Senior Center3880 Sedgwick Avenue
Lawrence Hospital will present a lecture on Joint Pain and Arthritis. For more information, call 718-549-4700.
Saturday, February 12RiverdaleCLASSIC FILM SCREENING18:30:00 Riverdale YM-YWHA5625 Arlington Avenue
Dinner at 6:30 p.m., film showing at 7:15 p.m. featuring the movie ‘On the Town’ (1949). Tickets (including dinner) are $10/$8 seniors and students. For more information, call 718-548-8200, ext. 214.
Monday, February 14Van CortlandtLECTURE11:30 a.m. Van Cortlandt Senior Center3880 Sedgwick Avenue
A lecture on 'Ways of Saving Energy and Money' by Wilson Mar-tinez of Beam NY. Topics to be covered include Vampire voltage, CFO light bulbs and appliances. For more info, call 718-549-4700.
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Support us at facebook.com/WalmartNYC
*SOURCE: “FoodWorks: A Vision to Improve NYC’s Food System”
According to the New York City Council, 3 million people lack adequate access to grocery stores.*
Here’s how special interests would solve the problem:
A Walmart store in your neighborhood wouldoffer a different solution.
Join Walmart’s Community Action Network at WalmartNYC.com or 1-855-NYC-JOBS (1-855-692-5627)
I keep my prices high and my overhead low.- CEO of NYC-based supermarket chain, (Progressive Grocer, 1986)
If you want a bargain, you get in your car and you go to the bargain. You don’t ever want to bring the bargain into the neighborhood.- A lobbyist for the grocery workers’ union, (The New York Times, 2010)
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By MIAWLING LAMA bureaucratic bungle during last year’s
state Senate election resulted in a deceased person’s name appearing on the ballot.
Riverdale resident and ophthalmologist Dr. Raphael M. Klapper died of pancreatic cancer at age 85 last May but was listed as the Conservative Party candidate during last fall’s 31st state Senate District election.
Dr. Klapper went on to collect 828 votes—1.62 per cent of all ballots cast—and was nowhere near challenging the eventual winner, Democrat Adriano Espaillat, but authorities are puzzled as to how the mix-up occurred.
It is understood the Manhattan District Attorney is currently conducting an investi-gation. The 31st state Senate District covers upper Manhattan and part of The Bronx.
As of press time, Bronx Conservative Party Chairman William Newmark had not returned calls for comment.
Newmark reportedly didn’t even know Dr. Klapper was dead until the Board of Elections called him two months before election day to inform him. He wrongly assumed Dr. Klapper would then be taken off the list.
Family members said they had no idea Dr. Klapper’s name was on the ballot and that he had never expressed interest in running for public office.
His son Jeffrey Klapper, who ran for an Assembly seat in 2008, told the New York Times the incident was perplexing.
“The whole thing is bizarre. We’re not exactly sure what happened,” he said.
State Senator Espaillat told the River-dale Review he was amazed the Board of Elections didn’t actually check the whereabouts of candidates.
“I was very surprised and somewhat
shocked that this kind of stuff still could occur,” he said.
“I’m sure the family doesn’t feel good about it. No one feels good about it, and it’s just another peek at how the Board of Elec-tions needs to get their act together.”
Espaillat said a system of checks and balances should be introduced to ensure all future candidates are capable of car-rying out their duties.
He said he would lobby authorities to implement new procedures before the next election and was hopeful that they could avoid a repeat.
“I’m going to start looking at the rules and regulations that govern the Board of Elections so we can tweak them in a way to ensure voters, whoever they’re voting for, are voting for a viable, live candidate.”
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Continued from Page 1
Guy Velella, former senator, was 66 history of Bronx politics and their time in Albany together.
Velella passed legislation that ex-tended coverage for maternity stays in hospitals from one to two days, and he sponsored a raise in the minimum wage in 2004 over the veto of Governor George Pataki.
Despite his efficiency in government, his career was marred by scandal and questionable ethics.
In 1982, he wrote a letter to a federal judge asking that a mobster be spared time for racketeering charges. In 1987, he admitted he fathered a love child with a longtime mistress.
In the 1990s, insurance companies gave his law firm hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal work while he led the committee that oversaw legislation affecting them.
In 2004, he resigned from the Senate after being indicted on charges of taking $137,000 in bribes. Velella received a one-year sentence and spent 182 days in jail on Rikers Island.
Guy John Velella was born on Sep-tember 25, 1944, in East Harlem. His family moved to The Bronx in the 1950s. After graduating from St. John’s University in 1967, Velella earned his law degree from the Suffolk University Law School in Boston.
Even with his controversies, Velella is remembered as a popular figure in The Bronx. He cemented his popularity by bring projects to his district, financing Little League teams and breast cancer
screening programs, among many other things.
“I am saddened to hear about the passing of Guy Velella, who served The Bronx for many years in both the state Senate and the state Assembly,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said. “My thoughts and prayers are with his family during their time of grief.”
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz sent the same message, saying, “I am deeply saddened by the passing of Guy Velella. He served the people of The Bronx for many years in the Legislature, and we worked on many pieces of legislation and issues together. He was a fighter for his constituents. My thoughts are with his family.”
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Friday, February 4ValhallaPHOTOGRAPHY PRESENTATION8 p.m. Westchester Community CollegeTech. Building Auditorium
Westchester Photographic Society presents Out of the Box, an evening of members' picks. Always as much fun as it is educational. For more information, call 914-271-5542.
Saturday, February 5SomersYOUNG FARMERS CAMP9 a.m. Muscoot FarmRoute 100
Registration will be held for Westchester County residents. Camp is for children entering grades 1 - 8. For information and instructions for the new lottery registration process visit www.muscootfarm.org or call (914) 864-7285.
Croton-on-HudsonHUDSON RIVER EAGLE FEST9 a.m. Croton Point Nature CenterCroton Point Avenue
See eagles on the wing. Live bird s hows, children's area, eagle exploration bus tours, a raptor identification program and m ore. More information at 914-762-9212, ext. 110 or teatown.org.
YonkersWILDLIFE OF THE HUDSON VALLEY10 a.m. Lenoir PreserveDudley Street
A slide presentation of the wild critters that call the Hudson Valley home. A walk to view wildlife will follow. For more information, call 914-968-5851.
Celebrate Groundhog Day a little late. Come join us to make a groundhog mask, paper puppet, yummy groundhog treats and other fun activities. Learn about hibernation and what it means if the groundhog sees its shadow. For more information call 914-864-7322.
Clearing Wisteria Behind the Summer Cottage. Wisteria is a problematic vine that needs to be controlled with the use of hand tools. bring work gloves. Hand tools provided. For more information, call 914-835-4466.
North White PlainsNATURALIST'S TRIVIA CHALLENGE2 p.m. Cranberry Lake PreserveOld Orchard Street
This challenge is for naturalists and nature enthusiasts only. They are asking questions that were too tough for the family trivia challenge. Questions will be about the wild kingdom and may include audio and video clips. For info, call 914-428-1005.
Sunday, February 6Mt. KiscoHISTORIC MANSION TOUR1 p.m. Merestead455 Byram Lake Road
Step back in time to the early 20th century. Learn how an elegant Georgian-style mansion influenced decoratiing and fur-nishing trends across America. For info, call 914-864-7039.
Natural History Exhibit Opening - The Way of Water: Westchester Watersheds. Come to the exhibit to learn what a watershed is, why it's important, and what each of us can do to help protect the quality of water flowing through our watersheds. Refreshments served. Included with Museum admission. For more information, call 914-723-3470.
Tuesday, February 8Yonkers
PASSPORT TO ADVENTURE2 p.m. Riverfront LibraryOne Larkin Center
A film presentation. Visit Scotland, Wales and the Isle of Man. For more information, contact Jody Maier at 914-337-1500, ext 492.
Thursday, February 10YonkersVALENTINE'S CRAFTS3:30 p.m. Riverfront LibraryOne Larkin Center
A special craft program for children ages 7 through 12. The children will be making Valentine cards. For more information, call 914-337-1500 ext. 427.
Friday, February 11ValhallaPHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION8 p.m. Westchester Community CollegeTech. Building Auditorium
Westchester Photographic Society presents members' competition. Members compete in digital, black and white, and color and B&W prints. For more information, call 914-271-5542.
Saturday, February 12Dobbs FerryGENEALOGY MEETING10 a.m. Aldersgate Methodist Church600 Broadway
The Westchester County Genealogical Society welcomes Tony Lauriano with a talk on 'Navigating Key Genealogy Web-sites.' There will be refreshments and genealogical networking starting at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call Philomena Dunn at 914-953-9173.
Mother Nature will provide some of the materials we need to make personalized gifts for loved ones. Recommended for ages 4 through 12. For more information, call 914-864-7322.
North White PlainsVALENTINE NATURE CRAFTS1 p.m. Cranberry Lake PreserveOld Orchard Street
Be loving and cheap at the same time by making gifts using supplies that nature provides. For more information, call 914-428-1005.
Help maintain Marshland's natural and historical beauty. Please bring work gloves. Hand tools provided. For more information, call 914-835-4466.
Sunday, February 13White PlainsINDOOR FARMERS MARKET10 a.m. Westchester County Center198 Central Avenue
Fresh produce, baked goods, soap, cheese, maple syrup. honey, jams, meat, wine and dairy products. For more informa-tion, call 914-995-4050.
Croton-on-HudsonMALFA OPEN HOUSE10 a.m. Croton Point Nature CenterCroton Point Avenue
Learn about the archaeology of the area with MALFA, our local archaelogical organization. For more information, call 914-862-5297.
Mt. KiscoHISTORIC MANSION TOUR1 p.m. Merestead455 Byram Lake Road
Step back in time to the early 20th century. Learn how an elegant Georgian-style mansion influenced decorating an furnishing trends across America. For more information, call 914-864-7039.
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Controversy over Cannon Pl. bldg.
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Brandeis group to host jazz and blues singer
The Riverdale Chapter of the Brandeis National Committee invites its members and their friends to its next meeting to be held on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 12:30 P.M. in The Riverdale Temple, West 246 Street and Independence Avenue.
The program will be a delightful musi-cal presentation by Sheri Wagner, whose voice and swingin' guitar will blend "Jazz and Blues Spanning 80 Years of American Standards and Swing."
Please reserve in advance by sending check for $12.00, payable to BNC, to Cecile Horwich, 5800 Arlington Avenue-10W, Riverdale, N.Y. 10471, by February 9th. Subscription at the door will be $15.00.
Bagels and light refeshments will be served and a boutique, "Jewelry, Etc. by Pearl, Carol and Jessie" will be displayed for sale.
Early Childhood Center Information Session
Come and explore your options for children's classes in the Riverdale Y's early childhood center for 2, 3, & 4 year-olds, Universal Pre-K, and Summer Camp. Learn about the school, philosophy, scheduling options, hours for working families, and enrichment activities avail-able to the Y's youngest community.
The early childhood center informa-tion session will be held on Wednesday, February 9, at 7 p.m.
All the teachers at the Y early child-hood center either have Master Degrees in early childhood education or are in graduate school for this degree. Advanced reserva-tions required. Make your reservation to meet with Wendy Pollock, Early Childhood Center Director, 718 548-8200, ext 220 or [email protected]. The Riverdale YM-YWHA is located at 5625 Arlington Ave.
RCC offers S.A.T. Preparation class
The Riverdale Community Center will be hosting an eight-week intensive S.A.T. Prep class on Saturday Mornings beginning March 5th from 9 am to 12 noon. This comprehensive course is for 11th grade students preparing to take the Scholastic Aptitude Test in May 2011. Riverdale Community Center prides itself that our preparatory classes are taught by experienced, licensed teachers who have been involved for many years in preparing students to take standardized examinations with much success. The fee for this 24-hour course is $265 (all inclusive). In-person registration will be held on Tuesday, Febru-ary 15th from 7 pm - 8:30 pm, Saturday, February 19th from 10 am - 12 noon or February 23rd from 1pm - 3 pm. You may
also register by phone with MasterCard, Visa or AMEX. For more information please call 718-796-4724 or visit our website at riverdalecommunitycenter.org.
RAA meeting to feature Laura Barmack
The monthly meeting of the Riverdale Art Association will feature artist Laura Barmack with a presentation: Using Serial Drawings in Discovery.
A presentation on the usefulness of making serial drawings as part of the dis-covery process in art by Laura Barmack. The meeting will be held on Tuesday evening, 7:30 p.m., February 8, 2011 at the Riverdale Atria, 3718-3726 Henry Hudson Parkway, Riverdale 10463.
All meetings of the Riverdale Art As-sociation are open to the public and the community is cordially invited.
For more information, visit www.riverdaleartassociation.org
Mother support group at Riverdale Y
New Mother Support Group at the Riverdale YM-YWHA is starting on Feb-ruary 2, and every Wednesday from 9:30 to 10:15 a.m.
This is a great opportunity for new mothers to share their challenges and family changes
with a newborn. Topics include sleep disrup-tions, hard to soothe babies, reactions of older children and feeding issues. Y members get a discount but the entire community is welcom to join the support group. For more information call 718-548-8200 ext 220 or go the Y's website at www.RiverdaleY.org. The Riverdale YM-YWHA is located at 5625 Arlington Avenue.
RNH elects new set of officers
The Riverdale Neighborhood House (RNH) hosted its Annual Meeting on Jan. 25, in which it elected the class of 2014 and its slate of officers for the upcoming year. Ms. Sarah Gund was reelected Board President and Ms. Jennifer Klein was voted to be the newest vice President.
Additionally, RNH presented its 'Good Neighbor' award to Mr. Robert Jonathan Kornfeld (posthumously). The Celia and David A. Stein Award for the Teen of the Year was awarded to ms. Sydlen Landaez.
Since its founding in 1872, RNH has partnered with the residents of the North-west Bronx to build and sustain a healthy and productive community. RNH, located at 5521 Mosholu Avenue, delivers first-rate educational and social services to the entire community: children, teens, seniors and families. RNH programs strengthen the so-cial fabric of our community and enhance the quality of life for our neighbors.
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JOEL PAL CECILIA McNALLY Production Manager Office Manager
ROBERT NILVA MIAWLING LAM Marketing Director Associate Editor Note our New Address:
5752 Fieldston RoadBronx, New York 10471
(718) 543-5200FAX: (718) 543-4206
STAFF: Robert Lebowitz, Brendan McHugh, Richard Reay, Paulette Schneider, Lloyd Ultan, Daniel R. Wolf
ANDREW WOLF, Editor and Publisher
Continued from Page 4
Bloomberg’s plan to destroy the teaching profession
It has become clear in recent weeks that our government budgets need to be cut. Both the state and city are broke. This has been ap-parent for several years now, maybe longer, but the day of reckon-ing was delayed by the infusion of billions in federal stimulus aid (borrowed money our children and grandchildren will be paying back for generations).
Governor Cuomo recognizes this, and has shown willingness to take the unpopular steps of cutting expenses, the services we would like the government to provide, balanced on the other end of the satis-faction equation by tax cuts or at least a halt in the growth of taxes.
As painful as this all is, it is necessary. The state, much of which is in a 1932-style depression is losing millions of upstate residents. The “affluent” New York City suburbs are teetering on bankruptcy. The state has had to intervene to take over the finances of New York’s most affluent county, Nassau.
The city, a great engine of growth, is being undermined by the sorry fiscal condition of the rest of the state, and the heavy, heavy burden on taxpayers here.
Our state will lose two more Congressional seats next year, a reflection of our declining status on the national scene and our declining population.
It is sad that school budgets will need to be cut. But if there is anything we have learned in the last eight-and-a-half years that Mayor Bloomberg has run our schools, it is that more money has not led to better outcomes.
Despite increasing education spending by some nine billion dollars annually, outcomes as expressed by test scores have now been shown to be relatively flat. We have 5,000 more teachers in New York City teaching 60,000 fewer students, yet class sizes are increasing.
Simply put, our school system is simply being mismanaged by Mayor Bloomberg. We have restructured our schools an inefficient way that gives us the least bang for the buck. Now that the bucks aren’t there, we need to do things differently.
This goes to the heart of the current controversy over which teachers are to be laid off. Suddenly in Bloomberg’s World, it is the experienced teachers who are the problem, while the inexperienced ones will save the system. Wrong. In the absence of any meaningful objective way to measure the performance of teachers – we don’t even have an accurate way to measure student performance at this point – how can we make hiring and firing decisions?
Are we to use subjective principal evaluations as a method to make these decisions? The lesson of Ocean Hill/Brownsville and the great teachers’ strike of 1968 is that whenever you allow subjective hiring and firing decisions, you will get decisions made on race, religion, age, or appearance.
And when so may principals are graduates of “instant” principal programs and often have substantially less education experience than many of the teachers they supervise, you have a formula for disaster.
Teacher tenure has become a dirty word. But tenure is the wrong word. Teachers with “tenure” merely have earned due process rights. Unless teachers have reasonable rights and recourse, they will become increasingly vulnerable as they earn more money.
This is what the current attack on tenure is really about. It is about balancing a bloated budget by replacing “expensive” veteran senior teachers with inexperienced newbies. And this is not the first assault on experience.
Mayor Bloomberg has established a “fair school funding” scheme that penalizes a school that manages to attract and retain an expe-rienced, and therefore more expensive, staff.
In the absence of real, fair and equitable methods to rate teach-ers, longevity is at the very least subjective. Remember that half of all teachers leave the profession, most voluntarily, by the time they have put six years in the classroom. We should be encourag-ing the professional commitment of the experienced teacher, not undermining it. Shame on Mayor Bloomberg and “Chancellor” Black for their shameless attack on our school system’s greatest resource, our teachers.
solar-powered children’s toys to demonstrate different aspects of the sun. Other projects described plate tectonics, tornadoes and phases in the life of a star. Sev-enth-grade projects reflected the physical science curriculum. Re-becca Johns showed how friction affects everyday items, Zachary Epps showed the differences in density between hot and cold fluids and Noah Gordon proved that it is possible to magnetize different types of metals. Other projects demonstrated the freez-ing points of liquids of differing viscosities, whether fire can burn without air and which fruits and vegetables produce electricity. The sixth-grade science fair and the fifth-grade “invention con-vention” will take place in the coming weeks.
Manhattan CollegeThe college’s Holocaust Re-
search Center will present a pro-gram, Holocaust History and Sur-vivor Testimony: The Case of the Starachowice Factory Slave Labor Camps, next Monday, February 7, at 7:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public. The speaker will be Dr.
Christopher R. Browning, a profes-sor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
SAR High SchoolOn Saturday night, January
15, a group of 35 students worked with Midnight Run, an organiza-tion that enlists volunteers from religious and school groups to distribute food, clothing, blan-kets and personal care items to homeless New Yorkers through its “Midnight Run” and “Breakfast Run” missions throughout the year. The students first assembled at the school and quickly pre-pared sandwiches, filled packets with toiletries and sorted donated clothing to be distributed that night. After loading a bus with more than ten large bags full of donated items, the team headed into Manhattan to start the “run.” They made a total of four stops in midtown to distribute coffee, hot chocolate, sandwiches, snacks, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, shavers and other toiletries. Homeless men and women were able to choose from a variety of clothing, coats, hats and scarves. The students spent some time at each stop talking to the men and women and getting to know
their stories. They headed back to Riverdale at 12:30 a.m. Ac-cording to the organization, the relief efforts create a forum for trust, sharing, understanding and affection. They hold that the human exchange, rather than the exchange of goods, is the essence of their missions. SAR participates annually in a Midnight Run. Their annual Breakfast Run will take in the spring.
Riv. Y CampsWarmth, energy, love and fun
are the emotions that can be felt as campers, staff and families ex-perience at the Y. Children enjoy the vibrancy of a community cen-ter atmosphere, coupled with the intimacy of caring, professional staff and dedicated space, indoor and outdoor activities. See our huge selection of camp offerings at [email protected]
• Early Childhood Camps- Ari Rina, Dor Chadash and Camp K'Tanim ,ages 2.5- 5years
• Camp Kehilla @ 92nd Street Y for children in K- 6th grade
• Broadway on the Hudson Performing Arts Camp for chil-dren ages 6- 14
• Specialty Camps- including Photography, New in Riverdale-Sports Camp , Young Artists week, and Soccer and sports end-of-the-summer camp for children ages 6- 14
• Travel Adventures for grades 7-10th grade
• Teen Travel Camp for grades 7-10th grade
The Y is offering a huge dis-count if you pre register by Febru-ary 28, 2011. Each child can save up to $250 off the regular fees. For more details call the Riverdale Y at 718.548.8200 ext 200.
Around Riverdale’s schools...
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Riverdale Children's Theatre will be holding auditions for their spring produc-tions, on Thursday, Feb. 10 from 4 to 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 13 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Riverdale Senior Center/The Century Building, 2600 Netherland Avenue.
This spring RCT will be casting two shows. A special pilot production of Disney's Little Mermaid Jr., which will rehearse 2 to 3 times per week with per-formances at the end of May; and Disney's 101 Dalmatians, which will meet once a week with a production in mid-June.
Prepare a short musical theatre selec-tion and be prepared to learn a simple dance combination. Especially looking for children with dance training and experience using wheelies, but all levels of experience are welcome. Auditions are open to all children in 2nd to 7th grade. For more information, go to RCT's website at www.riverdaletheatre.org.
Riverdale Children's Theatre brings togeth-er children from various religious and cultural backgrounds to learn about themselves, each other and the joy of performing.
RNH offers paid internship programs
Riverdale Neighborhood House is offering paid internship programs for teens ages 14-18.
Are you interested in exploring career fields and want to improve your job-readiness skills, build your resume, earn money while learning new information, and develop professional contracts?
RNH offers internship opportunities in the following areas: Insurance Internship, Administrative Internship, Education In-ternship, Health Internship, Community Board No. 8 Internship, Cosmetology Internship, NYC Public Library Youth Leadership Internship.
Application deadline is February 18. For applications, contact Karina Collado at 718-549-8100 ext. 112. Download an application at www.riverdaleonline.org.
Riv. Temple is adopting 50 soldiers for Purim
Riverdale Temple has announced a community wide, intergenerational Purim Project. The congregation will be sending Shalach Manot to our Jewish soldiers serv-ing in Iraq, and Afghanistan. The temple will be purchasing specific items that the Army Chaplain requested be sent. The cost of each package is $40 which includes packaging and postage. In addition we will be collecting DVD's and magazines to be included in the packages. Used DVD's and magazines are ok, but they must be recent. A bin will be provided outside the sanctuary for this purpose.
If you are able, please send check by February 23 to Riverdale Temple 4545 Independence Ave Bronx, NY 10471 put soldiers in the memo line or pay with credit card on temple web site www.riverdaletemple.org
ACT Preparation class offered at RCC
The Riverdale Community Center will be hosting a six-week intensive S.A.T. Prep class on Tuesday Evenings beginning March 1st from 7 pm to 9:30 pm. This compre-hensive course is for 11th grade students
preparing to take the ACT scheduled for April 9, 2011. Intensive instruction in English, Math, Reading and Science taught by experienced, licensed teachers who have been involved for many years in preparing students to take standardized examinations with much success. The fee for this 15-hour course is $240 (all inclusive). In-person registration will be held on Tuesday, Febru-ary 15th from 7 pm - 8:30 pm, Saturday, February 19th from 10 am - 12 noon or February 23rd from 1pm - 3 pm. You may also register by phone with MasterCard, Visa or AMEX. For more information please call 718-796-4724 or visit our website at riverdalecommunitycenter.org.
