Continued on Page 5 Property values plummet here Riverdale’s ONLY Locally Owned Newspaper! Volume XVIII • Number 37 • September 8 - 14, 2011 • FREE! The Passionist Fathers of Riverdale are selling their 14-acre plot along the Hudson River to the Hebrew Home for $16.2 million. The Hebrew Home hasn’t said what they plan on doing with the land, but those familiar with the situation say it may be used for residential housing and more parking. By BRENDAN McHUGH The Passionist Fathers of Riverdale are selling their 14-acre riverfront plot to the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. According to the Daily News, the Hebrew Home is buying the adjacent property for $16.2 million, which includes a 116- year-old mansion and a large retreat house. “It wasn’t an easy decision for us to make,” said the Rev. Paul Fagan, director of the ministry since 2000, “but we’ve been clos- ing facilities throughout the east coast when we couldn’t afford to maintain the facilities.” The Passionists closed the re- treat in January due to increased expenditures, fewer retreat guests and fewer people to run the facilities. “The building and property was more than we could afford as a religious community,” Fagan said. The Hebrew Home did not return requests for comment, but the Daily News reported that court papers show a contract of sale has been drawn up, with a third party involved. Fagan said a majority of the guests that came to Riverdale were from The Bronx and Westchester County, and the next-closest retreat houses are in Jamaica, Queens, and West Hartford, Connecticut. “There was a declining num- ber of people using the retreat, and a declining community involvement to run facility,” Fagan said. The Passionists, a Catholic order founded in Italy in 1720, bought the property in 1927 from a wealthy local family. In the 1970s, around 3,000 guests came to the Riverdale re- treat house each year, according to Fagan. Last year, fewer than 2,000 used the facility, which overlooks the Palisades in New Jersey. He said the Catholic Church’s declining reputation and a change in family values are to blame for the shrinking numbers. The property sale will allow the Passionists to pay off debts totaling $191,762, according to the Daily News. The rest of the money will go to running other facilities. According to Charles Mo- erdler, Community Board 8 land use chairman, it’s not entirely clear yet what the Hebrew Home will use the land for. It appears that there have been discussions of putting in residential housing, a parking lot, or some combina- tion of the two. Any construction on the facility will need to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which gives the city and community board a chance to review, comment and vote on any projects. Residential houses—no high- rises, according to Moerdler— could draw criticism from nearby residents, who have already complained heavily of concerns By MIAWLING LAM Local property values have hit new lows, with River- dale’s median house price plunging below $580,000, new figures show. Property data compiled by Zillow reveals the local median house price fell to $579,500 in July, a 3.5 percent drop from the previous year. Record low interest rates and heavy discounting have done little to stem the real estate downturn, with Riverdale’s homes losing a third of their value since the housing bubble burst. Five years ago, the median house price was $1.5 million. The grim data also suggests a whopping 70 percent of Riverdale’s homes have depreciated in value in the past year, up from 35 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, houses in North Riverdale fared better, with median house prices rising 0.5 percent to $589,400, up $23,400 from nine months ago. Properties in the 10463 zip bucked the national trend, with nearly half of all homes recording an increase in value. However, North Riverdale’s list prices—widely con- sidered the best indicator of market conditions—were $35,000 less than their South Riverdale counterparts. Senior Associate Broker at Exclusive Properties Sothe- by’s International Realty Ellen Feld warned residents to examine the data with caution. The veteran broker explained that Zillow relied entirely on Multiple Listing Service data, a service that many local agencies do not use, and instead estimates that Riverdale’s property values have declined between 20 and 25 percent since 2009. “The total number of houses sold is dramatically down from five years ago, but there are houses that are selling,” she said. “There’s a lot of demand out there. People are out looking at houses and they want to buy, but they’re concerned, and their concerns run much bigger than the housing market—they’re global considerations.” Feld, who is the secretary of the South Riverdale Mer- chants Association, said it was also misleading to look at median prices for the whole of Riverdale. “The neighborhood is so different that you can’t compare prices in Fieldston to prices in other parts,” she said. “It just doesn’t work. There is no averaging out. “You have North Riverdale prices, you have South Riverdale prices that fall in between and then you have some estate houses that are similar to Fieldston.” According to the data, brokers have also shaved the listing prices of nearly one in 10 local properties in the past month to entice buyers. One of Riverdale’s iconic houses, located in the ex- clusive enclave of Fieldston and affectionately dubbed the “Castle in The Bronx,” is one property that has slashed its sale price. The five-bedroom home, which comes complete with fortified stone walls and a turret, is now on the market for a relative bargain—$2.995 million. Last year, its owners, Alec Diacou and Suzi Arensberg, were asking for $3.75 million. Feld said although the industry has not yet bottomed out, she believed there was a glimmer of hope. “We cannot say that it has reached the bottom. I think the outlook is good but it will be another year or two, perhaps at the end of 2012, before we see a little turnaround,” she said. “I’ve lived in Riverdale over four decades. I’ve been in real estate over three decades, and I think we’re an extraordinary community that will recover.” Large 14-acre riverfront property about to change hands
Transcript
Continued on Page 5
Property values plummet here
Riverdale’s ONLYLocally Owned
Newspaper!
Volume XVIII • Number 37 • September 8 - 14, 2011 • FREE!
The Passionist Fathers of Riverdale are selling their 14-acre plot along the Hudson River to the Hebrew Home for $16.2 million. The Hebrew Home hasn’t said what they plan on doing with the land, but those familiar with the situation say it may be used for residential housing and more parking.
By BRENDAN McHUGHThe Passionist Fathers of
Riverdale are selling their 14-acre riverfront plot to the Hebrew Home at Riverdale.
According to the Daily News, the Hebrew Home is buying the adjacent property for $16.2 million, which includes a 116-year-old mansion and a large retreat house.
“It wasn’t an easy decision for us to make,” said the Rev. Paul Fagan, director of the ministry since 2000, “but we’ve been clos-ing facilities throughout the east coast when we couldn’t afford to maintain the facilities.”
The Passionists closed the re-treat in January due to increased expenditures, fewer retreat guests and fewer people to run the facilities.
“The building and property was more than we could afford as a religious community,” Fagan said.
The Hebrew Home did not return requests for comment, but the Daily News reported that court papers show a contract of sale has been drawn up, with a third party involved.
Fagan said a majority of the guests that came to Riverdale were from The Bronx and Westchester County, and the next-closest retreat houses are
in Jamaica, Queens, and West Hartford, Connecticut.
“There was a declining num-ber of people using the retreat, and a declining community involvement to run facility,” Fagan said.
The Passionists, a Catholic order founded in Italy in 1720, bought the property in 1927 from a wealthy local family.
In the 1970s, around 3,000 guests came to the Riverdale re-treat house each year, according to Fagan. Last year, fewer than 2,000 used the facility, which overlooks the Palisades in New Jersey. He said the Catholic Church’s declining reputation and a change in family values are to blame for the shrinking numbers.
The property sale will allow the Passionists to pay off debts totaling $191,762, according to the Daily News. The rest of the money will go to running other facilities.
According to Charles Mo-erdler, Community Board 8 land use chairman, it’s not entirely clear yet what the Hebrew Home will use the land for. It appears that there have been discussions of putting in residential housing, a parking lot, or some combina-tion of the two.
Any construction on the
facility will need to go through the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure, which gives the city and community board a chance
to review, comment and vote on any projects.
Residential houses—no high-rises, according to Moerdler—
could draw criticism from nearby residents, who have already complained heavily of concerns
By MIAWLING LAMLocal property values have hit new lows, with River-
dale’s median house price plunging below $580,000, new figures show.
Property data compiled by Zillow reveals the local median house price fell to $579,500 in July, a 3.5 percent drop from the previous year.
Record low interest rates and heavy discounting have done little to stem the real estate downturn, with Riverdale’s homes losing a third of their value since the housing bubble burst.
Five years ago, the median house price was $1.5 million.
The grim data also suggests a whopping 70 percent of Riverdale’s homes have depreciated in value in the past year, up from 35 percent in 2010.
Meanwhile, houses in North Riverdale fared better, with median house prices rising 0.5 percent to $589,400, up $23,400 from nine months ago.
Properties in the 10463 zip bucked the national trend, with nearly half of all homes recording an increase in value.
However, North Riverdale’s list prices—widely con-sidered the best indicator of market conditions—were
$35,000 less than their South Riverdale counterparts.Senior Associate Broker at Exclusive Properties Sothe-
by’s International Realty Ellen Feld warned residents to examine the data with caution.
The veteran broker explained that Zillow relied entirely on Multiple Listing Service data, a service that many local agencies do not use, and instead estimates that Riverdale’s property values have declined between 20 and 25 percent since 2009.
“The total number of houses sold is dramatically down from five years ago, but there are houses that are selling,” she said.
“There’s a lot of demand out there. People are out looking at houses and they want to buy, but they’re concerned, and their concerns run much bigger than the housing market—they’re global considerations.”
Feld, who is the secretary of the South Riverdale Mer-chants Association, said it was also misleading to look at median prices for the whole of Riverdale.
“The neighborhood is so different that you can’t compare prices in Fieldston to prices in other parts,” she said. “It just doesn’t work. There is no averaging out.
“You have North Riverdale prices, you have South
Riverdale prices that fall in between and then you have some estate houses that are similar to Fieldston.”
According to the data, brokers have also shaved the listing prices of nearly one in 10 local properties in the past month to entice buyers.
One of Riverdale’s iconic houses, located in the ex-clusive enclave of Fieldston and affectionately dubbed the “Castle in The Bronx,” is one property that has slashed its sale price.
The five-bedroom home, which comes complete with fortified stone walls and a turret, is now on the market for a relative bargain—$2.995 million.
Last year, its owners, Alec Diacou and Suzi Arensberg, were asking for $3.75 million.
Feld said although the industry has not yet bottomed out, she believed there was a glimmer of hope.
“We cannot say that it has reached the bottom. I think the outlook is good but it will be another year or two, perhaps at the end of 2012, before we see a little turnaround,” she said.
“I’ve lived in Riverdale over four decades. I’ve been in real estate over three decades, and I think we’re an extraordinary community that will recover.”
Large 14-acre riverfront property about to change hands
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of Riverdale will participate in reading the names of 9/11 victims, pausing for reflec-tion at the moments when the planes struck and when the buildings collapsed.
Another September 11 Sunday morn-ing service venue is the College of Mount Saint Vincent (6301 Riverdale Avenue), where participants will join in observing 17 minutes of silence starting at 8:30 a.m. The Founders Hall bell will toll at 8:46 a.m., the moment when the first plane hit the north tower of the World Trade Center, and at 9:03 a.m., the moment of the south tower crash.
Throughout the day, the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale in partnership with the Riverdale YM-YWHA will host a community-building “Chesed Fair,” with opportunities to engage in
Continued on Page 15
9/11 remembrances throughout areaBy PAULETTE SCHNEIDER
Riverdale’s churches, synagogues, city agencies and colleges have scheduled events to honor the memory of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack on our national a decade ago.
Commemorations vary from candlelight walks and dramatic readings to philosophi-cal discussions and a clothing drive.
Manhattan College (4513 Manhattan College Parkway) will host a series of We Remember events beginning on Wednes-day, September 7. Francis Lombardi, for-mer chief engineer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will moderate a panel discussion in Smith Auditorium from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Speakers will include Manhattan College alumni from private engineering firms, a city agency and Con Ed. These professionals will explain the challenges they and the city faced and what that experience has meant to them over the past decade. For an invitation, contact Gail Conklin at 718-862-7988 or [email protected].
On Thursday, September 8, the school will present Ten Years Later: A Manhattan College Faculty Teach-In from 4 to 5 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. Faculty members from multiple disciplines will examine the impact of the tragedy on aspects of American life. This event, moderated by Dr. Daniel Collins, director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching and associate professor of English, will analyze how various authorities from poli-ticians to pundits claimed that American culture and politics would never be the same after the attack. Faculty members will discuss what has changed during the past ten years as seen through the lens of particular academic specialties. To attend, contact Daniel Collins at 718- 862-7498 or [email protected].
Rudolph W. Giuliani, a Manhattan College alumnus (’65) and mayor of New York City on September 11, 2001, will be the featured speaker at a commemorative service on Friday, September 9, in Manhat-tan College’s Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Two students will read from “The Guys,” an off-Broadway play by Anne Nelson about a writer working with a fire captain to draft eulogies for firefighters killed in the attack on the World Trade Center. The names of Manhattan College alumni who perished on that day will be read aloud at the service, and the Manhattan College Singers will perform. For an invitation, contact Gail Conklin at 718-862-7988 or [email protected].
The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (3700 Henry Hudson Parkway) will host an inter-faith service in the evening on Saturday, September 10, at 8:45 p.m. in the main sanctuary. H.I.R.’s Rabbi Avi Weiss, Father John Knapp of St. Gabriel’s Roman Catholic Church, Dr. Mehnaz Afridi of Manhattan College’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Inter-faith Education Center, and Reverend Roger Hambrick of the Green Pastures Baptist Church will lead a memorial program that culminates in a candlelight march to the monument in Bell Tower Park.
Many commemorative events are scheduled for Sunday, September 11.
The day will begin with a community memorial at Riverdale Neighborhood House (5520 Mosholu Avenue) at 8:30 a.m. Christ Church of Riverdale, St. Gabriel’s Church, the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Con-gregation Shaarei Shalom, Congregation Tehillah, Riverdale Presbyterian Church and Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel
hold a public hearing on the proposed Van Cortlandt Park ice-skating rink, but further delays by the Department of Parks and Recreation forced a cancellation of the meeting.
Those delays continue, as the parks department once again refused to give any sort of timetable for when they will announce which company will operate the rink for the next 15 years.
The skating rink has gone through a request for proposals process, which lets private companies draw up their own plans, and then the parks department chooses a winner based on their criteria. The deadline for submissions was May 23, more than three months ago. Initial esti-mates by the parks department had put an announcement at “a few weeks” away.
A parks department representative said that if no proposals were deemed good enough, the city could either scrap the project or reissue the request for proposals in the hope of drawing more submissions.
Once the city does announce a winning bid, the proposal will face scrutiny from the Franchise and Concessions Review Com-mittee, a city agency that holds monthly meetings and is the only agency to vote officially on the project’s survival.
The community board said that all they could do is continue to plan meetings, hop-ing the parks department will give them a proposal to examine. While they would prefer to take their time and analyze the project, if the parks department announces it only days before the FCRC meeting, the board doesn’t want to miss their chance
at holding a public hearing.The skating rink has garnered intense
criticism from some board members, who are upset by the lack of substantial infor-mation from the city on the project. While the community board did hold a handful of parks committee meetings to discuss the project, board members were disturbed at the lack of information available, and when a parks department representative did show up, the board members were given only four hours’ notice.
Because of the nature of RFPs, only once a winning bid is chosen are specific de-tails—such as rental fees, food options and the like—available for public review.
While some board members were ap-preciative of the efforts to hold a public hearing on the rink, they believe now that the board is back in session, the skating rink should follow the normal procedure any project goes through, which includes a committee meeting before a general board meeting. Community boards are generally on hiatus for the summer, aside for the occasional emergency hearing.
The skating rink was first announced by Mayor Bloomberg in his State of the City address at the beginning of this year, when he said by November The Bronx’s only public rink would be open. Many people have begun to express serious doubts that the rink will actually be open by that deadline. Two skating rink companies, neither of whom bid on this project, said while it is possible to build the temporary facility within a few weeks, the project will no doubt face typical construction setbacks and delays, particularly if it is the first time the builder is undertaking rink construction.
The city’s Department of Education and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum have developed a school curriculum to launch discussions on the events of September 11, 2001, Chancellor Dennis M. Walcott announced last week. The material focuses on the sacrifices made by first responders and frames the event as an attack on freedoms shared by all New Yorkers and by the entire nation. Teachers of social studies, history, English and art are encouraged to integrate the material into their plans for the school year. The lessons, written with the participation of New York City public school teachers, are divided into four categories—Historical Impact, Community and Conflict, Heroes and Service, and Memory and Memori-alization. The lessons, in keeping with Common Core State Standards, will focus on improving writing and critical thinking for students in all grades. “The tenth anniversary will be an emotional, difficult time for many New Yorkers, so it’s important that our stu-dents understand what happened that day,” Walcott said. “New York City is home to some of the best pub-lic schools in the nation, and in working with their teachers, we hope these lesson plans will not only teach children about the history of 9/11, but also about the responsibility of being an American and maintaining the very freedoms that ter-rorists sought to destroy ten years ago,” 9/11 Memorial President Joe Daniels said. These materials can now be downloaded from the 9/11 Memorial website and from the DOE’s 9/11 resource page. Schools will also have access to counseling resources, particularly for students and staff mem-bers who were directly affected either by the attacks or by the rescue and recovery efforts.
P.S. 81 A “kindergarten café” for parents of
kindergarteners will be offered in the school cafeteria on Thursday, Septem-ber 8, and Friday, September 9. While the kids are getting acquainted with their teachers and classrooms, parents can enjoy a cup of coffee, consult with parents association volunteers and sign up for committees. PA volunteers will be available to meet parents from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Weather permitting, the café will be held outdoors.
Parents are invited to meet with teach-ers during the week of September 19. Students will be scheduled for alternate activities while parents and teachers meet in the child’s classroom. Parents of third- and fifth-graders may visit the school on Wednesday, September 21; parents of second- and fourth-graders may visit on Thursday, September 22; and parents of kindergarteners and first-graders may visit on Tuesday, September 27.
Manhattan CollegeProfessor Mitchell S. Aboulafia has been
hired as chair of the college’s philosophy department. He most recently served as director of interdivisional liberal arts at The Juilliard School, where he was instru-mental in revamping the curriculum and
adding more than 25 new electives to the school catalog. He was also co-director of Juilliard’s new state-of-the-art writing and communication center. Before Juil-liard, Aboulafia spent several years as a professor of philosophy at Pennsylvania State University and nearly a decade at the University of Colorado at Denver, where he served as professor and chair of the philosophy department, director of the graduate interdisciplinary programs in humanities and social science and co-director of the Center for Ethics and Community. His most recent book, “Tran-scendence: On Self-Determination and Cosmopolitanism,” addresses the rela-tionship between individual and cultural self-determination. Aboulafia is co-editor of the journal Contemporary Pragmatism. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and his master’s and a doctoral degrees from Boston College. “After several extraor-
dinary years directing Juilliard’s liberal arts program, I heard about the opportunity to fur-ther expand Manhat-tan College’s philoso-phy department, and I couldn’t pass it up,” he said. “The college has a
compelling history, a vital mission and a great future, and I’m honored to be a member of such a community.”
Local ScholarsNew York Law School has announced
that Robert Murray, son of Carolyn and Richard Murray, and Diane Larmon-Dix-on, daughter of Elvira and Daniel Larmon, were awarded Juris Doctor degrees. They were among 560 members of the class of 2011. Newark’s Mayor Cory A. Booker delivered the commencement address and received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. New York Law School, founded in 1891, now enrolls 1,500 full-time and 430 part-time students in its J.D. program and advanced degree programs in financial services law, real estate law, tax law and mental disability law. The school is noted for its nine academic centers: Center on Business Law and Policy, Center on Finan-cial Services Law, Center for International Law, Center for New York City Law, Center for Professional Values and Practice, Cen-ter for Real Estate Studies, Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families, Institute for Information Law and Policy, and Justice Action Center.
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Talk to your primary care physician or contact us at 888-RX-LIVER (888-795-4837) for more information.
The Comprehensive Liver Disease Program at Montefiore Medical Center offers simple and effective screenings.
www.montefiore.org/transplant
By DAVID GREENEInvestigators with the NYPD’s Highway
Patrol are combing through evidence after a Mount Vernon man was found dead on the Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale.
According to the NYPD, police were called to the northbound Henry Hud-son Parkway at West 234 Street after an anonymous call at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, September 4, when they discovered the victim lying in the roadway. He was de-clared dead at the scene.
The barefoot victim was discovered lying across the right lane, surrounded by his two sneakers and a belt.
It is not yet known whether the man was walking along the highway or trying to cross it, despite two overpasses just several hundred yards away. At the spot where the man died, a three-foot concrete divider and a three-foot chain-linked fence separate the highway.
One resident of the area, after learning of the death, said, “Oh my God, you’d never expect a person on the highway.”
An employee at The Whitehall, a build-ing across the street, was puzzled by the whole thing. “Well, you have a divider there with a fence, so I definitely know that person was not playing chicken....You have a fence there. How are you going to climb over a fence? It makes no sense to cross that.”
Police would later identify the victim as Antonio Damiano Jr., 23, of Chester Street in Mount Vernon.
In one published report, an unidenti-fied investigator theorized that Damiano had fallen after climbing the chain-link fence and was struck.
According to a neighbor of Damiano’s, the young man grew up in Mount Ver-non with his brother and had recently moved away.
The neighbor stated, “He was very nice and very respectful,” adding that dozens of the young man’s friends had been paying their respects at the family home. The neighbor said the family has been “heartbroken.”
The NYPD has publicly stated that no witnesses have come forward. One source stated that police were looking for a dark-colored, four-door sedan with possible front-end damage, but that could not be confirmed.
Anyone with information on the in-cident is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS or text TIP577 to CRIMES.
Police seek driver in Riverdale hit-and-run
stemming from traffic to the Hebrew Home, SAR Academy and the Metro-North Riverdale train station.
Community Board 8 and local residents have been working for the past year to adjust parking regulations and street signs in the hope of better controlling speedy and reckless drivers.
From 1927 to 1967, a handful of Pas-sionists lived in the Victorian mansion on the land and built an annex to house a small chapel.
In 1956, Cardinal Spellman gave per-mission for the order to build a separate retreat house. It opened in 1967, welcom-ing lay Catholic adults for weekends of prayer and students from local Catholic schools during the week.
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Shaarei Shalom Religious school registration in progress
The new religious school year will begin next month and student enroll-ment at Congregation Shaarei Shalom is underway! Its Religious School offers a different approach to religious instruction as its program is customized to meet the specific learning needs of each student.
To introduce families to Congregation Shaarei Shalom’s religious school, we will hold an open house on Thursday, September 8,2011 at 6:30 P.M. at the synagogue at 5919 Riverdale Avenue, at 259th Street. The first day of classes is Thursday, October 27th.
The curriculum is designed to encom-pass the three fundamentals of Judaism: Torah - the study of texts that form our Jewish heritage; Avodah - sacred, com-munal worship; and G’milut Hasadim - acts of loving kindness.
All classes are conducted at the synagogue. Classes begin at 4:00 p.m. Students attend for only one day during the week.
Instruction is offered for grades K-12. Students in Kindergarten thru grade 3 are provided with a foundation of Jew-ish knowledge. In grades 4 thru 7 study continues with preparation for Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Grades 8 and 9 continue with preparation for Confirmation. And, grades 10 thru 12 are for advanced High School level study.
All students receive a modern Reform Jewish education utilizing recently devel-
oped grade and subject specific curricula. Interactive computer based instruction is also part of the learning experience. There are no registration fees and tuition is free for all members for the first year of instruction.
Rabbi Steven D. Burton, is the Director of Education. He and the school’s lead lay teacher will meet with parents to dis-cuss each family’s needs. Additionally, a Religious School Parent Handbook that provides more detailed information about the school’s curriculum is available.
To learn more about Congregation Shaarei Shalom’s program of study and to answer other questions you may have, please contact Rabbi Burton at (718) 796-0305. Congregation Shaarei Shalom is Riverdale’s newest Reform Jewish house of worship. For further information about the congregation and membership, please contact the congregation at [email protected] or visit its website at www.shaareishalomriverdale.org
Tinnitus Support Group monthly meetings
Tinnitus sufferers are invited to attend a free tinnitus support group on Thursday, September 8 at 6 p.m.
The meeting will be held in the confer-ence room of the Church of the Mediator on 260 West 231st Street in Kingsbridge. Guests are instructed to enter near the BX7 and BX10 bus stop,
All members of the public are welcome. Meetings usually last one hour.
For more information, please call Dr. K. Nabinet on 718-410-2301 or 917-797-9065.
St. Margaret Leisure Club announces meeting
Sept. 9th at 12:30 p.m., and every other Friday, the Leisure Club of St. Margaret of Cortona will have their first meeting of the season in the rectory room at 6000 Riverdale Avenue.
Coffee and cake is served and entertain-ment or talks are here to enjoy. Day trips are always on the program.
Membership is $15 a year and open to all. The club just celebrated its 40th year.
HIR sponsors blood drive to commemorate 9/11
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale will sponsor the 9/11 10th Anniversary Com-memorative Blood Drive on Sunday, September 11, 9:00am - 3:00pm. HIR is located at 3700 Henry Hudson Parkway in the Social Hall.
If you are healthy, 17+ (16 with NYBC parental consent form) and have ID, please join us. Walk-ins welcome. For info., to re-serve a time, or to volunteer: Contact Seryl at 718-549-8152 or [email protected].
Indian summer getaway to Newport and New Haven
The Simon Senior Center located at the Riverdale YM-YWHA is pleased to announce an Indian summer getaway to Newport, Rhode Island and New Haven from Monday, September 12th- Wednesday, September14th. This trip has something for everyone.-sightseeing, shopping, gambling, relaxation, wine tasting and much more. Enter a world of exceptional elegance and inspiration in architecture, art, interior design and landscapes. Explore 250 years of Ameri-can history at properties located on lush acres of gardens and parks. Join us for a journey back in time at America’s houses and museums including The Breakers (Vanderbilt), Marble House (Vanderbilt), and Rosecliff in Newport. Also visit the oldest physical synagogue building in the US, The Touro Synagogue. Visit the man-sions of Tour of Newport vineyards and wineries and evening fun at the Newport Grand Casino. The trip will also include a stop in New Haven at the New Haven
Museum to see the special exhibit ‘The Hill’ New Haven’s first suburban com-munity describing the different ethnic groups who settled in New Haven. The Cost: $495 doubles after August 10th $515 - $560 singles after August 10th $580 which includes accommodations at the Ramada Inn, a deluxe motor coach bus, seven kosher meals and snacks, all sightseeing and gratuities.
Bus leaves the Y at 9:15am and 9/12 returns approximately at 6:00pm. For further information please call the Y at 718-548-8200x223 or 230.
Bayit Chesed Fair at Riverdale Y
On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, the Bayit will hold a Chesed fair, featuring community volunteer opportunities, as well as services of our Riverdale commu-nity. Cafeccino will be selling food. The fair will include our semi-annual Blood Drive and Clothing Drive, Gift of Life will be collecting cheek swabs for bone marrow donation. We will also have free resume review.
If you have a service to offer, and would like a table, please contact Rabba Sara at [email protected] or James Lapin at [email protected]
They are also seeking volunteers to help us on the day of the program. Free lunch will be provided.
Walk to Cure Diabetes scheduled
Join Country Bank for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk to Cure Diabetes on Sunday, October 2.
A team of more than 50 bank em-ployees and customers will aim to raise at least $10,000 when they participate in the family-oriented event at Battery Park in Manhattan.
JDRF team captain Carolyn Murphy en-couraged people to either join the Country Bank team or make a donation to help scientists find a cure for diabetes.
She said the team would walk in memory of her brother, Chris Murphy, who passed away from Type 1 Diabetes complications in 2001.
‘Taking part on the walk is a great ex-perience. Not only will you be making a real difference in helping to find a cure that will change the lives of millions, you’ll be having fun and getting a good workout too,’ she said.
The walk, which begins at 10:00 a.m., spans five miles and covers lower Manhat-tan and the span of the Brooklyn Bridge.
At least 30,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes each year.
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MontefioreAnnounces NewDental Clinic Opening
The Department of Dentistry is opening a new clinic on Broadway, providing dental care for both adults and children. The new clinic accepts most dental insurance plans and is conveniently located for patients in the Marble Hill, Riverdale, and Kingsbridge areas of the Bronx.
The new clinic provides the very best in patient care with new digital X-ray technology for diagnostics and electronic medical records to simplify insurance filing.
To schedule your next appointment, call the clinic at 347-577-4950 or the Montefiore Dental Call Center at 1-888-700-6623.
Montefiore Dental Clinic5500 BroadwaySuite 102Bronx, New York 10463
Recognized by U.S.News & World Report as a leader in specialty and chronic care, Montefiore is the University
Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
www.montefioredental.com
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At CSAIR, you'll findmore than a seat...
Traditional and Innovative. Spiritual and Intellectual.Conservative and Egalitarian.
CSAIR offers spiritually uplifting and intellectually stimulating programs forthe High Holidays and year-round for children, 'tweens, teens, and adults.
Whether you want a traditional service, or a smaller, more intimatelay-led setting, we invite you to explore our community.
Let CSAIR welcome you!For information call Executive Director Eric Nussbaumat 718-543-8400 or visit our web site at www.csair.org.
Barry Dov Katz, RabbiElizabeth Stevens, CantorMasonVoit, Director of Education and Jewish Family Life
475West 250th Street, Bronx, NY 10471
...You will find your home.
Thursday, Sept. 8KingsbridgeTINNITUS SUPPORT GROUP6 p.m. Church of the Mediator260 West 231st Street
Tinnitus sufferers are invited to attend a free tinnitus sup-port group. All members of the public are welcome. Meetings usually last one hour. For more information, please call Dr. K. Nabinet on 718-410-2301 or 917-797-9065.
The new religious school year will begin next month and student enrollment at Congregation Shaarei Shalom is underway. Its Religious School offers a different approach to religious instruction as its program is customized to meet the specific learning needs of each student. To introduce families to Congregation Shaarei Shalom’s religious school, they will hold an open house. For more information, contact Rabbi Burton at (718) 796-0305.
Friday, Sept. 9RiverdaleLEISURE CLUB MEETING12:30 p.m. St. Margaret of Cortona6000 Riverdale Avenue
Sept. 9, and every other Friday, the Leisure Club will meet. Coffee and cake is served and entertainment or talks are here to enjoy. Membership is $15 a year and open to all.
Saturday, Sept. 10KingsbridgeFLEA MARKET9 a.m. Old St. John’s School3030 Godwin Terrace
Clothes, jewelry, accessories and bric-a-brac will be sold at bargain prices. Free parking will also be available so get there early and snare yourself a great find. For more information, please call 718-43-3003.
KingsbridgeHEALTH & WELLNESS DAY11 a.m. Church of the Mediator260 West 231st Street
Blood pressure screening, nutritional information, free massages, health information, benefit screening, prescription assistance, giveaways, entertainment and more.
RiverdaleINTERFAITH MEMORIAL PROGRAM8:45 p.m. Hebrew Institute of Riverdale3700 Henry Hudson Parkway
An interfaith memorial program in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Senior Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Father John Knapp of St. Gabriel’s Church, Dr. Mehnaz Afridi of Manhattan College’s Holocaust Resource Center, and Reverend Roger Hambrick of Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir will lead the program together. The program will conclude with a candlelight march to the Riverdale Monument. For more information please contact the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale at 718-796-4730.
Sunday, Sept. 11RiverdaleBLOOD DRIVE9 a.m. Hebrew Institute of Riverdale3700 Henry Hudson Parkway
Hebrew Institute of Riverdale will sponsor the 9/11 10th Anniversary Commemorative Blood Drive. For info., to reserve a time, or to volunteer: Contact Seryl at 718-549-8152 or [email protected].
The Y’s Early Childhood Center is hosting an Open House for new and returning families. For Elementary Aged Children and their Families: They will be offering some highlighted activities from our after-school programs. For more information, contact Charlie Schiller at (718) 548-8200, ext. 229.
The Hebrew Home at Riverdale will host the 49th annual Grandparents’ Day celebration in conjunction with a remem-
brance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. To mark the event, The Hebrew Home’s President and CEO, Daniel Reingold, will lead the attendees in a moment of silence, honoring the 10th anniversary of the tragic events. For more information, please visit www.hebrewhome.org. Follow The Hebrew Home at Riverdale on Facebook.
Tuesday, Sept. 13KingsbridgeLEARN TO DANCE4 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library291 West 231st Street
Join the Annabella Gonzalez Dance Studio as they demon-strate a variety of contemporary dance moves with Latin flair. Let the music and rhythm inspire you to move along with the performers. For ages 12 to 18 years. old. For more information, call 718-548-5656.
Thursday, Sept. 15KingsbridgeGOOFY GRAPHICS4 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library291 West 231st Street
Explore how water and oil repel each other. Make marbleized paper using the concept of repulsion to make and then capture a design. Presented by the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. For ages 5 to 12 years old. Limited to 25 participants. For more information, call 718-548-5656.
Friday, Sept. 16Spuyten DuyvilSOUTH OF THE BORDER3:30 p.m. Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library650 West 235th Street
Storytellers weave narration, music and audience interaction into this collection of folktales from Mexico, Central and South America. For ages 6 to 12 years old. For more information, call 718-796-1202.
If you are new to the neighborhood, or unaffiliated, this is an excellent opportunity to explore the Shaarei Shalom experience of contemporary and participatory Reform Jewish worship If you are looking to be part of a religious community at this holiday time, look no further than Shaarei Shalom. For more information, call (718) 798-0305, e-mail the Congregation at: [email protected] or visit its website at: www.shaareishalomriverdale.org.
Saturday, Sept. 17KingsbridgeMEDITATION2 p.m. Kingsbridge Branch Library291 West 231st Street
A meditation movement empowering New Yorkers to do more of the things they love by recharging through meditation: a practi-cal way to refresh every day. For info, call 718-548-5656.
Sunday, Sept. 18KingsbridgeJEWISH WAR VETERANS MEETING10 a.m. Kingsbridge Medical Hospital130 West Kingsbridge Road
Jewish War veterans of Post # 69 Newman-Goldman will hold their monthly meeting. Members of other posts, veterans and any interested parties are welcome. Attendees do not need to be registered at the hospital. For more info, please call Mel Saks on 914-337-0277 or Herb Barret on 718-548-6832.
Riverdale Children’s Theatre will be holding auditions for their winter productions of Annie and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. All levels of experience are welcome. For info about RCT and their programs, log on to www.riverdaletheare.org
Create wearable art! Transfer your sketch onto a bandana and then paint it in! Show it off with pride, or make it a present. All materials will be provided. For ages 12 to 18 years. old. For more information, call 718-543-5150.
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Walton HS Class 1961 to hold 50-year reunion
Walton High School Class of 1961 is planning a 50-year reunion and is looking for missing classmates.
Nearly 800 students were in the gradu-ating class and because all were girls, the reunion committee has the formidable task of tracking down their peers.
However, through letters, emails, phone calls and perseverance, reunion coordinator Roberta Seidner said many graduates have been located and many
still live in the Bronx/Riverdale area.The cohort’s most famous graduate is
Penny Marshall, who starred in the televi-sion show ‘Laverne and Shirley.”
If you were an alumni of the Class of 1961 or would like more informa-tion, please contact Roberta Soloff at [email protected] or Ilene Steckler Cohen on 914-245-3129.
Open House at the Y’s Early Childhood Center
The Y’s Early Childhood Center is
hosting an Open House for new and re-turning families from 10:00 am- 12 noon. If you are registered for Nursery School this year, the morning will begin with a fun-filled jamboree in the main gym where youngsters will romp around on the trampoline and climb and roll over our inflatable castle. At 11:00 am parents and children will gather upstairs for an entertainment-filled hour of meet and greet with teachers, light refreshment and some child-appropriate entertain-ment. Please join us for this fun-filled morning. If you are interested in our early childhood programs, but are not yet registered (there are spaces available in many classes), contact Wendy Pollock at [email protected]
For Elementary Aged Children and their Families: They will be offering some highlighted activities from our after-school
programs. The afternoon’s events, which will run from 1:15 - 3:00 pm, will include Karate, Sports, Art & Crafts and Magic! These are just a small taste of the fun and educational courses that we offer at the Riverdale Y. We hope that you enjoy each activity and choose to continue attending our programs throughout the school year! If you would like more information about after school programs please contact Char-lie Schiller at (718) 548-8200, ext. 229.
Health & Wellness Day at Church of the Mediator
Council Member Oliver Koppell and the Church of the Mediator will sponsor Health and Wellness Day on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Blood pressure screening, nutritional in-formation, free massages, health information, benefit screening, prescription assistance, giveaways, entertainment and more.
Church of the Mediator is located at 260 West 231st Street and Kingsbridge Avenue
This event is cosponsored with Visit-ing Nurse Service of New York, Medicare Rights Center, and Big Apple Rx.
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The Riverdale Review - our community newspaperour community newspaperour
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By BRENDAN McHUGHGreystone Avenue has been looking
bleak for too long, according to nearby residents.
From West 236th Street to Riverdale Avenue, Greystone Avenue was a beacon for trash and a danger to pedestrians. After a local resident complained to City Councilman G. Oliver Koppell about the unsightly three-and four-foot weeds growing along the street, the council-man immediately sought the owner of the property.
Once it was determined that that Na-than Hale Gardens, 3411 Irwin Avenue, directly down the hill from the area in question, owned the property, Koppell’s office was successful in having the Sanita-tion Department issue violations to the building for lack of maintenance.
Shortly thereafter, working under the supervision of the city’s Department of Sanitation, Nathan Hale employees were observed with lawnmowers and clippers busily removing the weeds and overgrowth, much to the delight of one resident who said, “I don’t think we would have seen Sanitation and Nathan Hale workers out there today had it not been for Mr. Koppell’s office. This is how government should and can work well for the public.”
Koppell’s office is on Waldo Avenue, only a block from the haphazard area. Local residents were so fed up with the lack of maintenance in the area, they put up black garbage bags along the fence in the hope that people would stop litter-ing. The area has also had a reputation as a place where cars can get broken into at night.
Koppell has also requested that the
Department of Transportation repair the broken and defective sidewalk adjacent to the Nathan Hale property because of its dangerous condition.
“I am pleased that my office was suc-cessful in getting Nathan Hale Gardens to do the long-overdue maintenance that vastly improved this section of Greystone Avenue, and we will continue to monitor the area for any future signs of neglect,” Koppell said.
Part of the brush is a mapped street, an extension of West 236th Street that would connect Waldo Avenue with Irwin Avenue. One Koppell staffer said he’d like to see the Department of Parks and Recreation do something with the land, but parks has said in the past that they do not have enough money to maintain new parkland and that the land might be too steep for a park. Another idea would be to create a crooked bike path, similar to the famous crooked streets in San Francisco.
Koppell spurs clean up on Greystone Avenue
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By MIAWLING LAMMembers of Community Board 8 will
draw up a wish list and sit at the negotiat-ing table as the city resurrects its plans for the 230th Street shopping plaza.
The community’s attempts to shape the agenda for the delay-prone mall were raised at last Thursday’s CB8’s economic development committee meeting.
Committee chair Sergio Villaverde said a four-member working group would be formed to ensure locals had a say over how the decade-long project blossomed.
The New York City Economic Develop-ment Corporation reissued a request for proposals for the approximately 80,000-square-foot site two weeks ago.
“What would be my intention is to set up a small group to have direct contact with the city to try and get our input at the beginning stages of the project,” he said.
“We weren’t that successful doing that last time around, so now there’s a new RFP, we can do that.”
The CB8 volunteer group, comprised of Sergio Villaverde, Ari Adam Spett, Steven Balicer and Julie M. Reyes, will examine the newly issued RFP and the site’s checkered history before devising a clear and succinct plan.
Villaverde said the group would also draw up a wish list of retailers and busi-nesses they want to invite to the neighbor-hood and submit their vision in time for the site meeting on September 20.
“As the RFP’s come in, [we will] try and influence it, so the RFP that’s most in line with our wishes is the successful bidder,” Villaverde said.
“If we don’t have a plan, we’ve planned to fail. We need to have some clarity. We
need to know what it is that we want.”Residents have previously suggested
the center should boast a movie theater and a host of big-box stores such as Kohl’s.
Development of the city-owned site, which is currently a parking lot located on West 230th Street between the Major Deegan Expressway and Broadway, has been plagued by delays since 2001.
After spending years negotiating with the city over the price, Ceruzzi Holdings signed a contract to purchase the land for $6.7 million in February, with construc-tion due to start by the end of 2012.
However, because the developer failed to close on the property by the June 30 deadline, they were forced to forfeit their contract with EDC and lost a $1 million purchasing price.
CB8 Vice Chair Maria Khury said be-cause the community has previously been shut out of the consultation process, they now relished the chance to have a seat at the negotiation table.
‘We are very excited that we are now at a level where we are allowed to be on the conversation level,” she said.
“The chair made sure that this time around, they understood that we wanted to make sure that we were at the table.”
Khury invited committee members to submit their suggestions for the sprawl-ing site and noted the possibilities were endless.
She also hoped the project would propel Kingsbridge as a shopping des-tination—just as similar major devel-opments have revitalized Washington Heights—but was wary of upsetting existing businesses.
“We want to attract new people. We
want a mix of different things, but we have to also be sensitive to the fact that it is an area where we do have a diverse group of businesses that have been there for many, many years,” she said.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. also agreed the site, which is one of the
last significantly sized, primarily vacant lots along the Broadway retail corridor, would benefit locals.
“This site has great potential, and its development will give a major boost to not only Kingsbridge, but to the neighboring communities of Riverdale and Marble Hill as well as the entire Bronx.”
EDC is accepting new proposals for the site until Monday, October 24.
By BRENDAN McHUGHThe trails in Van Cortlandt Park have built
up runners’ persistence and stamina, and the runners are now using these traits in their fight over the city’s plan for the Putnam Trail.
In February, trail users learned the De-partment of Parks and Recreation planned to pave over the existing dirt trail with asphalt, leaving only three feet on each side for dirt, which will be slightly tilted to accommodate a water runoff.
Since then, a new group, Save the Putnam Trail, has reached out to runners throughout the city and Westchester County with the hope of gaining enough support to stop the change.
At the Labor Day marathon in Van Cort-landt Park, the group collected hundreds of signatures and encouraged participants to send letters to Mayor Bloomberg and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr.
“I feel that the eight-foot-wide stone dust trail best meets the needs of all users while having the most minimal impact on the environment and also the lowest cost,” the standard letter states. “Please don’t let the Putnam Trail become ‘Putnam Road’!”
The current plan is to create a 10-foot-wide path of pavement with a three-foot dirt buffer on each side, making a 16-foot-wide path. The parks department said they want to accommodate cyclists better and connect the trail to others in
Westchester and in the rest of New York.But the runners say creating an as-
phalt path will allow the cyclists to go too fast, creating dangerous situations for pedestrians.
At the Community Board 8 parks com-mittee meeting in February, the Van Cort-landt Track Club said that because there are more runners than cyclists, the trail should be at least half unpaved. But the parks de-partment replied that the mandate attached to its federal funding requires paving and determines the width of the paving.
The track club was also upset that the three-foot buffers on each side are not only banked, which can cause serious body damage, but also that they are simply not wide enough to accommodate running side-by-side with someone.
On the group’s page, they refute the city’s claim that the federal funding—about $2.3 million—mandates the trail be paved with asphalt. The group would be willing to find a compromise with some softer, more forgiving paving material, such as that used on an existing stone dust trail at the Parade Grounds.
The Putnam Trail is now about 1.5 miles long. The city hopes to extend the trail southbound next to the Major Deegan Expressway to West 230th Street, but there is no funding for that project.
Our Junior Choir will lead us in song, and Dr. Mehnaz M. Afridi,
Director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center of Manhattan College
(and mother of a Riverdale Temple Nursery School student) will speak to us about hope and healing through dialogue among the diverse faiths in our community (in a
manner that her daughter and the rest of our children can understand).
Rabbi Stephen Franklin will offer a moment of memorial tribute, and our observance will conclude with the planting of a memorial garden in front of the synagogue.
I look forward to greeting you on this solemn yet hope-filled day.
-- Rabbi Judith S. Lewis
acts of kindness (“chesed”) through volunteer-ing, donating clothing and donating blood. Gift of Life will be collecting cheek swabs to screen potential bone marrow donors. Career coach Lavie Margolin will offer free resume reviews for job seekers. Others who have a service to donate are invited to secure a table at the fair—contact Rabba Sara Hurwitz ([email protected]) or James Lapin ([email protected]) to make ar-rangements. Caffecino Bakery will be on hand with lunch items for sale. The clothing drive is scheduled from 9:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.; the blood drive, from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. Other volunteer services at the fair will be open for business at 11:30 a.m.
The Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale will organize a cleanup and planting event at Hackett Park (West 254th Street between Riverdale Avenue and the Henry Hudson Parkway) from noon through 1:30 p.m.
The Hebrew Home at Riverdale (5901 Palisade Avenue) will include a 9/11 re-membrance at its annual Grandparents’ Day starting at noon. CEO Daniel Rein-gold will address attendees and call for a moment of silence. For more information, contact Laverne Murdock at 718-581-1223 or [email protected].
In the evening on Sunday, September 11, the College of Mount Saint Vincent will hold its Sunday evening liturgy at 7 p.m. in the Main Chapel, featuring a special 9/11 remembrance. All are welcome.
Manhattan College invites the com-munity to a memorial Mass at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel of De La Salle and His Brothers College Parkway. The celebrant is college chaplain Reverend George Hill.
On Monday, September 12, the College of Mount Saint Vincent invites the com-munity to a service at 4:30 p.m. in Alum-nae Quad with a reception afterward.
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. and the Supreme Court of Bronx County, in partnership with the Bronx Tourism Council, invite the community to gather at Lou Gehrig Plaza (161st Street between the Grand Concourse and Walton Avenue) on Thursday, September 15, from noon to 2 p.m. to honor those who perished on 9/11. Event sponsors are Kramer Dillof Livingston and Moore, Esqs., John C. Dearie, Esq., Louis Rose, M.D., Trolman Glaser and Lichtman, Esqs., and the Plumbers and Gasfitters Local Union No. 1. Those planning to attend are asked to call 718-590-3522.
Finally, on Monday, September 26, Man-hattan College will host a panel discussion from 4 to 6 p.m. Hope and Healing Post-9/11: An Interfaith Dialogue from a Woman’s Per-spective will take place in the Alumni Room of O’Malley Library. Dr. Mehnaz Afridi, assistant professor of religious studies and director of Manhattan College’s Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center, will moderate the discussion. Panelists are Dr. Elena Procario-Foley, the Driscoll Profes-sor of Jewish-Catholic Studies at Iona College in New Rochelle; Rori Picker Neiss, a student at Yeshivat Maharat, a yeshiva that trains women to become authorities in Jewish law and spiritual leaders in the Orthodox tradition; and Daisy Khan, executive di-rector of the American Society for Muslim Advancement, a nonprofit dedicated to developing an American Muslim identity and to building bridges between the Muslim community and the general public through dialogues in faith, identity, culture, and arts. For more information, contact Martha Frazer at [email protected] or Barbara Reynolds at [email protected].
9/11 remembrancesContinued from Page 2
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By BRENDAN McHUGHIt’s time to go out and show
some pride, Riverdale.The Bronx Community Pride
Center, an LGBT organization, is bringing the popular Out Astoria program to the northwest Bronx.
Out Riverdale is an attempt to socialize the lesbian, gay, bisex-ual and transgender community by hosting monthly dinners and giving them a chance to mingle in their own neighborhood.
The first Out event will be held Tuesday, September 20, from 7 to 10 p.m. at An Beal Bocht and will be hosted by the Pride Center.
“We’re basing it on the highly successful Out Astoria,” said Dirk McCall, executive director of the Bronx Community Pride Center.
“This is the first in The Bronx. I ran Out Astoria,” he said. “We started with seven people, and now it’s up to a 2,000-person mailing list.” McCall co-founded Out Astoria in 2006 with Bret Gallenberger.
Out Astoria typically has three events a month. They range from mixers and dinners to book discussions, museum visits or movie nights. The group has found substantial support from the community, which would benefit Bronx businesses if they follow suit.
“OA identifies LGBT-owned and LGBT-friendly businesses in our neighborhoods and forges
partnerships with their owners to plan events for the gay and lesbian community,” Out Astoria wrote on their website. “Simply put, we sup-port those who support us.”
Out Astoria, one of the biggest LGBT organizations in Queens, has become not only an organi-zation for those looking to meet people with similar interests, but also a political force by using its voting bloc and volunteering powers.
Miranda McKee, a new resi-dent of Astoria, said that while she’s not LGBT, she immediately saw their presence in the com-munity.
“I come from a smaller town upstate, so it was a kind of a shock to see the people and that com-munity interact so flawlessly,” she said. “I wish it was like that everywhere.”
McCall added that Out din-ners in Astoria have gotten doz-ens of people, and bigger mixers can have hundreds. He sees the same potential in The Bronx.
He wanted to organize an Out event in Riverdale because he believes there is a substantial LGBT population here, but “they tend to do most of their socializ-ing in Manhattan.” There is also potential at Riverdale events for Westchester’s LGBT community, since they, too, tend to socialize in Manhattan.
Out events are not much dif-ferent from typical nights at a
bar or restaurant.“People simply sit next to each
other and talk,” McCall said. “It’s a chance for them to meet each other.” They order from the menu and treat the night like a
typical night out. McCall created a Facebook
page for the event, titled OUT Riverdale Dinner, where he wrote, “We hope this will lead to connections being formed and
discussions about LGBT issues in The Bronx.”
He said the event is not only for the LGBT, but for any and all friends of the community as well.
Local LGBT organization plans monthly get-together
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Friday, Sept. 9ValhallaPHOTOGRAPHY OPEN HOUSE8 p.m. Westchester Community CollegeTech Bldg., East Gate
Westchester Photographic Society Open House. Welcome to New Members and interested photographers at all levels. Presentation by Warren Rosenberg, “Shooting Sports.” Re-freshments and a fun evening of photography. Free. For more information, visit WPSPhoto.org or call 914-271-5542.
Saturday, Sept. 10Mt. VernonHISTORY LECTURE1 p.m. St. Paul’s Church897 S. Columbus Avenue
Archaeologist Dr. Eugene Boesch uncovers the physical and human history of the area, and considers where the bold Puritan rebel Anne Hutchinson lived in the 1640s, helping to explore the site’s feature exhibition, “A Clash of Cultures: Anne Hutchinson’s Brief life near St. Paul’s Church.” The talk is presented through the New York Council for the Humanities speakers program. There’s also a 3 PM tour of the historic church and Bell Tower, as well as the cemetery, one of the nation’s oldest burial yards. For info call David Osborn at 914-667-4116
Sunday, Sept. 11HartsdaleBLESSING OF ANIMALS1 p.m. Hartsdale Pet Cemetery75 North Central Park Avenue
The Hartsdale Pet Cemetery will host a blessing of the ani-mals ceremony. All well-behaved pets of all species are invited to attend. All pets that are present will be individually blessed by Rev. David James and receive a personalized certificate. For additional information about Hartsdale Pet Cemetery call 914-949-2583, or visit the website at www.petcem.com.
The Garrison Institute marks the ten-year anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001 with a showing of the docu-mentary Rebirth and a discussion with the author of the companion book. The film follows the lives of nine people coping with 9/11 over the past decade, and is both a remembrance of the lives lost and a tribute to the resilience of the human spirit. A light reception will follow the film, including a book-signing by Dr. Robin Stern, co-author of the book Project Rebirth: Survival and the Strength of the Human Spirit from 9/11 Survivors. Learn more at www.garrisoninstitute.org/rebirth or www.projectrebirth.org.
Friday, Sept. 16ValhallaPHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION8 p.m. Westchester Community CollegeTech Bldg., East Gate
Westchester Photographic Society presents Members’ Competition. The public is invited for an exciting and inspir-ing evening of photography. Free. For more information, visit WPSPhoto.org or call 914-271-5542.
Saturday, Sept. 17White PlainsHEALTH LECTURE8:45 a.m. White Plains Hospital CenterDavis Avenue at East Post Road
Dr. Cheng Gonjon, a geriatrician, will be guest speaker. Program also includes a panel from the Latino Alzheimer’s Association from New York City who will discuss their personal experiences as caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s. Early registration is advised as space is limited. To sign up, call Corina DeLeon at (914) 813-6393.
OssiningHOOK MOUNTAIN MIGRATION9:30 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation1600 Spring Valley Road
Hike with a naturalist to the top of Hook Mountain for a bird’s eye view of Haverstraw Bay , the Tappan Zee and points south. Bring binoculars to spot hawks, ospreys and falcons as they migrate. Car pooling to the trailhead may be necessary. For info, contact Mary Haley at 914-762-2912 ext. 110 or visit www.teatown.org.
Sunday, Sept. 18YonkersUNEARTHING THE BIBLE10 a.m. Congregation Sons of Israel
155 Elliott AvenueDr. David Oestreicher, an independent scholar, consultant and
curator, will explore how the techniques of deciphering ancient archeological scripts enhances our appreciation of the biblical text in a talk, “Unearthing the Bible.” A light brunch will be served; suggested donation is $10. Free on-site parking is available. To RSVP and for info, email info@ soisrael.org or call 914-751-5246.
OssiningFAIRIES & GNOMES1 p.m. Teatown Lake Reservation1600 Spring Valley Road
Use your imagination and natural materials (no picking please!) to create a home for woodland critters real or imagined! Free for members; $5pp for nonmembers. Call 914-762-2912 ext. 110 to make a reservation.
Charity Golf and Tennis Outing with Tennis Star James Blake: Westchester Children’s Museum is hosting its annual golf outing at the beautiful and challenging Quaker Ridge Golf Club, counted among the nation’s top 40 golf courses. Not a golfer? Come hit the courts with tennis star James Blake. Proceeds will support the museum’s educational programs. A limited number of VIP tickets are available. Ticket prices begin at $500. Quaker Ridge Golf Club. Scarsdale, N.Y. Call 914-421-5050 or visit http://www.discoverwcm.org for more information.
Thursday, Sept. 22Mt. VernonMEDICARE BASICS10 a.m. Westchester County Office Building9 S. First Ave., 8th floor
Case workers will provide information about Medicare parts A, B, C and D and how to use Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) for even greater savings. EPIC is a New York State-sponsored plan that helps eligible seniors pay prescription drug costs. They will also discuss Medigap insurance, cost-sharing and preventive benefits. To register, call DSPS’ Medicare Information Line at (914) 813-6100.
Friday, Sept. 23OssiningHAWK MIGRATION9 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation1600 Spring Valley Road
The view from Teatown Hill encompasses the Hudson River flyway and a chance to see migrating hawks, vultures and maybe even a falcon or eagle. FREE. Call 914-762-2912 ext. 110 to make a reservation. Please note this program is for adults only. For more information, call 914-762-2912 ext. 110.
KatonahFALL FESTIVAL GALA6:30 p.m. Caramoor Center for Music & Arts149 Girdle Ridge Road
The opening of the 3rd annual Fall Festival will be kicked off with a stellar Gala event - come celebrate the New York Philharmonic’s return to Caramoor! Guests will enjoy seasonal pre-concert cocktails and priority seating at the concert in the venetian Theater. Dine and dance the night away, with the artists, after the performance. Event Co-chairs: Patricia and Edward Falkenberg. For info, call (914) 232-1492 or visit www.caramoor.org.
ValhallaPHOTOGRAPHY PRESENTATION8 p.m. Westchester Community CollegeTech Bldg., East Gate
Westchester Photographic Society presents Larry Becker, “Image Processing. The public is invited for an exciting and inspiring evening of photography. Free. For more information, visit WPSPhoto.org or call 914-271-5542.
Saturday, Sept. 24OssiningTeatown Kitchawan Trail10 a.m. Teatown Lake Reservation1600 Spring Valley Road
Enjoy the first colors of fall as we ramble the TK Trail starting at Kitchawan Preserve. This hike meanders through old farm fields and reclaimed woods, follows a road along the reservoir before climbing a steep hill with open views to the Croton Reservoir. Wear hiking boots, bring water and lunch. Free for members; $5pp for nonmembers. Call 914-762-2912 ext. 110 to make a reservation. Please note this program is for adults only.
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Flea market at St. John’s Church
St. John’s Church will host a flea market on Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The sale will be held at the Old St. John’s School located at 3030 Godwin Terrace in the Bronx.
Clothes, jewelry, accessories and bric-a-brac will be sold at bargain prices.
Free parking will also be available so get there early and snare yourself a great find. For more information, please call 718-43-3003.
Pre-9/11 Interfaith Memorial Program
On Saturday evening September 10th, at 8:45 pm the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale (3700 Henry Hudson Parkway, Bronx, NY) will host an interfaith memorial program in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of September 11th. Rabbi Avi Weiss, Senior Rabbi of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Father John Knapp of St. Gabriel’s Church, Dr. Mehnaz Afridi of Manhattan College’s Holocaust Resource Center, and Reverend Roger Hambrick of Green Pastures Baptist Church Choir will lead the program together. The program will conclude with a candlelight march to the Riverdale Monument.
Rabbi Avi Weiss, Senior Rabbi at the He-brew Institute says: ‘As we prepare for this
difficult day of remembrance we must gather across faith communities and denominations to remember those who lost their lives and gave their lives for democracy and freedom. This is an evening for all Americans.’
For more information please contact the He-brew Institute of Riverdale at 718-796-4730.
Hebrew Home to pay tribute to 9/11 anniversary
The Hebrew Home at Riverdale will host the 49th annual Grandparents’ Day celebra-tion in conjunction with a remembrance of the 10th anniversary of 9/11. To mark the event, The Hebrew Home’s President and CEO, Daniel Reingold, will lead the attendees in a moment of silence, honoring the 10th anniversary of the tragic events.
Grandparents’ Day, a national holiday to honor and appreciate grandparents, originated at the Hebrew Home under the leadership of the late Jacob Reingold. He was inspired by the idea of designating one day each year to celebrate grandparents-an idea he put into effect by creating Grandparents’ Day in 1961 at the Home.
The event will also feature the 13th annual Rhythm on the River Concert with special performances by The TomCats Jazz Aces Swing Band featuring String of Pearls and David Belt. It will be held on September 11, 2011 - 12:00-4:00 PM,
at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, 5901 Palisades Avenue, Riverdale, NY 10471
For more information, please visit http://www.hebrewhome.org. Follow The Hebrew Home at Riverdale on Facebook.
Jewish Education ‘Community Garden’ at the Riverdale Y
The Riverdale Y has created a ‘com-munity garden’ for Jewish education in Riverdale - synagogues will each tend their own ‘garden plot’ and nourish the community’s intellectual and spiritual growth. Join in some or all of the learning and exploring that will be offered at the Y this coming year by many of our Riverdale synagogues. There is no charge for these programs. Check our website for details and additional programming (Riverdale Jewish Center and Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel are working on their offerings). Here’s a taste of what’s to come:
Riverdale TempleA Taste of Judaism by Rabbi Judith
LewisWednesday, September 14, 7:30 pm:
Modern Jewish HistoryOctober 26, 7:30 pm: Modern Jewish
ResponsesCongregation Tehillah
Sunday September 18, 4:00- 5:30 pm‘The Choosing: A Rabbi’s Journey from
Silent Nights to Holy Nights’ Book discus-sion with author Rabbi Andrea Myers
“Our Mothers, Ourselves: Seeing Our Foremothers through Modern Eyes”
Co-taught by Rabbi Shriner-Cahn and Dr. Diane Sharon
Fall course dates with Rabbi Shri-ner-Cahn: September 20, October 18, November 15
Fall course dates with Dr. Sharon - No-vember 29 and December 6.
Riverdale Y is located at 5625 Arling-ton Avenue. For more information, call 718-548-8200.
Jewish War veterans to meetJewish War veterans of Post # 69 Newman-
Goldman will hold their monthly meeting on Sunday September 18 at 10 a.m.
The event will be held in Room 3D22 on the third floor of the Kingsbridge Medical Hos-pital on 130 West Kingsbridge Road. Guests are instructed to enter via Webb Avenue.
The group is the only active JWV post in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area.
Members of other posts, veterans and any interested parties are welcome. At-tendees do not need to be registered at the hospital.
For more information, please call Mel Saks on 914-337-0277 or Herb Barret on 718-548-6832.
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JOEL PAL CECILIA McNALLY Production Manager Office Manager
ROBERT NILVA MIAWLING LAM Marketing Director Associate EditorNote 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
The truth about the Palestinian myth
Lessons of 9/11/2001It is hard to believe that ten years have passed since the attack
on New York and Washington by a cabal of jihadist murderers. Over the next week we will see all sorts of commemorations, those that
remember the heroes and those recalling the innocents who lost their lives simply because they came to work that day. We will also see plenty of staged “Kumbaya” moments, seeking to create a unity of purpose from the reality of the horror. There is nothing good to celebrate here.
Those that attacked us took full advantage of our weaknesses: our meaningless borders and our weak will to enforce our own laws.
There are many lessons we can learn. There has not been a suc-cessful attack of this scope since, and several bumbling plots have been thwarted. But who among us would now swear that we are immune from another vicious, senseless attack? In essence, we de-pend on the incompetence of our enemies to guarantee our safety, a slender thread indeed.
The security we have put in place is more of a self-punishment for the laxity we practiced before 9/11/2001. Our political correctness makes the airline security put in place since then into an expensive burden for the innocent.
The most vulnerable country in the world, the noble State of Israel, the only democracy in the totalitarian sea that is the Middle East, never required airline passengers to take off their shoes, or carry little baggies filled with cosmetics. Their legendary security, the most effective and respected in the world, used more sophisticated methods. Their security personnel relied on their own two eyes and solid judgment to screen passengers bound for their nation. Eye contact is at the center of their program. It works. Because safety comes before political correctness.
The security checkpoints, the silly rules and the smart ones – things that we take for granted – all came out of the events of ten years ago. Imagine if you will the cost of all this, the metal detectors, x-rays and the army of personnel running this security establishment. Call it the bin Laden tax.
The events of that black day began with the cold-blooded slitting of the throats of airline personnel on the four hijacked flights. Does anyone doubt for a second that the nineteen hijackers would have happily obliterated all of Manhattan with a nuclear weapon if they had the opportunity? And can anyone have any confidence in the security of nuclear technology in countries such as Pakistan and Iran, or the stability of their leadership as we move into an uncertain future?
In the days following the attack, as smoke still billowed from the ruins of the World Trade Center, and the hopes of finding any more survivors waned, there were those, in fact other newspapers in our own neighborhoods, that cautioned against a vigorous American response to the attack.
Whatever mistakes we may have made since then in Afghanistan and Iraq, our nation’s message, supported by this newspaper, was clear: Americans could never tolerate an attack such as this, and the response must be swift and devastating.
Also clear to us is that we must stand with our ally Israel in the coming weeks as the pressure from the international community mounts to recognize a Palestinian state, an entity that will surely emerge as a launch pad for terrorism, as Gaza is today. Certainly terror will be directed against the Israelis, but who will guarantee that it won’t be against the United States as well, just as distant Afghanistan became the staging ground for the 9/11 attack?
Finally, as we reflect on that attack, there were bright moments of pride: the bravery of our first responders, the quick cleanup of the World Trade Center site, the rebuilding of the damaged Pentagon and the long search for and execution of Osama bin Laden.
But since then we have seen nothing but delay and indecision. Governors Pataki, Spitzer and Paterson failed to assume needed lead-ership for the restoration of Ground Zero, while Mayor Bloomberg, always quick to micro-manage our diets or personal habits, has only seemed to be able to micro-manage commemorative events (poorly) while the reconstruction has proceeded at a snail’s pace, an embar-rassment to our nation and to those who lost their lives.
So excuse us if we don’t join in, link arms, and sing Kumbaya. That is certainly the wrong lesson of 9/11/2001.
To The Editor:When discussing Israel’s
international standing David Kornbluh said “ To avoid this onus, what is urgently needed is serious negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government to establish two states living in peace and with security.”
Since the Oslo accords were signed in 1993, one Israeli Prime Minister after another has en-gaged in negotiations with the stated goal of creating a 22nd Arab State. In 2000, Ehud Barak offered Arafat 97% of Judea and Samaria and part of Jerusalem. For good measure President Clinton offered 30 billion dol-lars of aid to the Arabs. What was the Arab response to this unprecedented offer? It was a wave of murder and mayhem that left over 1,000 Israelis murdered and several thousand more wounded, maimed and disfigured. It would appear that one party has been committed to a peaceful settlement while the other party has not.
Kornbluh then states “The
PLO, under Mahmoud Abbas has accepted Israel’s right to exist, renounced violence and agreed to abide by past agreements.”
Nabil Shaath, who is the head of Foreign Relations for Fatah said the following in a July 13, 2011 interview on ANB TV:
“At the end of the day, we want to exert pressure on Israel, in order to force it to recognize us and to leave our country. This is our long term goal.” As if this does not make their inten-tions clear enough he follows up with this statement during the same interview: “ They can describe Israel itself as a state for two peoples, but we will be a state for one people. The story of “two states for two peoples” means that there will be a Jewish people over there and a Palestin-ian people here. We will never accept this.”
The television station of the Palestinian Authority is directly under the control of Mahmoud Abbas. In an August 29th broad-cast, PA TV honored Dalal Mughrabi. She led a group of terrorists in a 1978 attack which
resulted in the murder of 37 Is-raelis, including seven children. This remains the single worst terrorist incident in the history of Israel. In the three months preceding this broadcast, videos honoring Mughrabi were shown twice each week on PA TV.
Kornbluh says “It has been said that the pre-1967 lines are ‘not defensible.’ Not defensible against what?” Israel, pre-June 1967 was nine miles wide. The famous Israeli diplomat, Abba Eban, called these “Auschwitz borders.” Even with Judea and Samaria, Israel is only 50 miles wide.
He then goes on to say “The danger to Israel is not external.” Does he think that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is joking when he repeatedly threatens to wipe Israel off the map and that Iran’s nuclear program is entirely dedi-cated to peaceful purposes? What about the fact that Lebanon has ceased to exist as an independent country and is now run by Hez-bollah which is an Iranian proxy? By some estimates, there are now between 40,000 to 50,000 missiles pointed at Israel from Lebanon. There are also several thousand missiles in Gaza that are now aimed at Israel.
There are also growing calls in Egypt which has the fourth larg-est army in the world, to cancel their peace treaty with Israel. How can he say that the danger to Israel is not external?
As far as J-Street is concerned, calling them Pro-Israel is the
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The Hebrew Home at RiverdaleThe Great Lawn, 5901 Palisade Avenue, Riverdale
cordially invites you and your family to our
49th AnnualGrandparents’
Day Join us for an afternoon of celebration,
service and remembrance
Sunday, September 11, 201112 – 4 p.m. (rain or shine)
13th Annual Rhythm on the River ConcertSpecial Performances by: The TomCats Jazz Aces Swing Band
featuring String of Pearls and David Belt
For security reasons, backpacks, knapsacks, coolers, shopping bags, or other large bags, food and pets are not permitted on the premises.
Live Music ���Food ���Games ���Rides
equivalent of hiring a pyromaniac to run the local Fire Department. Michael Oren, the current Israeli Ambassador to the US, said the following in January of this year: “They claim they’re pro-Israel, they are calling for Israel to be condemned in the Security Council for the settlements and they are condemning some of our best friends on the Hill. So they can call themselves what they like.”
Israel’s deputy foreign minister, Danny Ayalon, said the following about J-Street in February of 2010: “The thing that troubles me is that they don’t present themselves as to what they really are. They should not call themselves pro-Israeli.”
Perhaps the worst statement in his let-ter is: “What we must do is stop killing and oppressing one another.” Kornbluh is equating Arab murder with Israeli self defense. This type of moral equivalence is truly disgusting. As someone once said, “If the Arabs put down their guns, there will be no more war, if the Israelis put down their guns, there will be no more Israel.”
If the Israelis are oppressing the Arabs so badly, how come the “right of return” to Israel is so important to them? If they are being treated so badly they should be leaving Israel in droves to live in any one of the 21 Arab countries in the Middle East. In addition to equal rights, the Arabs in Israel have a higher standard of living than the vast majority of their brethren in the surrounding countries. This does not sound like oppression to me.
He closes his letter with “We early Zionists saw Israel as a ‘light unto the nations.’ Let that vision be restored with peace and justice.”
If one looks at the deeds and words of the Israelis and the Arabs, it would appear that the vision of the Israelis is just fine while the Arabs and their apologists are the ones in need of glasses.
David Frankel
To The Editor:We attended the mass today in memory
of Eleanor Gsell, in the beautiful cathedral-like church of St. John on Kingsbridge Ave. Some 25 attendants, beautiful flowers, beautiful music. A soprano with a great voice superbly sang Schubert’s Ave Maria: “ Hail Mary, full of grace. The lord is with you. Blessed are you among all women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Oh Holy One, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death. Amen”. In Latin, it sounds even better. Very power-ful prayer, very comforting words, deeply inbedded in the heart of any Catholic since childhood.
Andrew Sandler, Director of Com-munity affairs from Mr. Koppell of-fice, was also in attendance, to show solidarity.
But...there was no coffin there. I asked Elaine Carinci, the organizer of the funeral, if Eleanor’s body was still in the morgue. “It will be released today,” she said. “The funerary will take it directly from the morgue to the cemetery.” “Then” - I asked, “did they discover a plot?” She nodded. “Which cemetery is she being taken to?” No answer, she didn’t know, only the fu-nerary knows.
After the mass, an old lady and her daughter came to us to scold us and bit-terly complained to my husband about
the letter to the editor that he had sent. “I am ashamed of you,” she said, “ you insulted all of us”. The mother insisted we write to the editor again to apologise and to confess that what we had said was not true.
Well, I personally apologized to both of them, mother and daughter, asked for their forgiveness about having upset them. But I insisted that my criticism was about the lack of information and incommunicativeness typical of our Co-op, and was not intended to blame any of them, sweet old ladies and their daughters whom we meet in the lobby now and then.
But for us, the mystery continues: why was Eleanor so desperate? How
could an intelligent and well educated lady, receving $2000 a month in ben-efits, have fallen so destitute that she couldn’t even afford ELECTRICITY in her apartment? And, since she was about to receive a big settlement from the Transit Authority, why was she so impatient to depart from this world? Obviously, somebody was taking all of Eleanor’s pension, and had persuaded her to sign away all the rest of her money. Who? We
don’t know, and nobody has revealed to us the results of the investigation, if there was any.
This case illustrates the problems that old folks face at end of life, solitary seniors, who fall prey to the exploitation of the elderly, which is a huge industry in our country, very professional and well organized as all mafias are.
Jerry Grosof & Carmen Bejarano
Questions raised by suspicious events
To The Editor:I’m tired of sharing the pain. As a
person with breathing problems, I feel betrayed by President Obama when he stated he would block new standards for smog pollution.
Not only does this affect suffering
from pollution but the economy as well. The jobs that could be made for the benefit for all will be pushed away.
Instead of sharing the pain, I would like to share the ‘gain.’
