Assemblyman David Buchwald’s Fight Against Corruption ... · plains the value of downtime, too,...

June 2016

www.theinsidepress.com

Eric Gelber’s “Just a Mile to Go”

for Multiple Myeloma Research Rememberingthe “Larger than Life”

Gerry Golub

Our Kids’ STEM Fest Discoveries

Assemblyman David Buchwald’s FightAgainst Corruption & for Westchester

Happy Father’s Day!

Habitats for Humanity:Catch the Bug!

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September/October 2014

THE MAGAZINE FOR NEW CASTLE AND BEYONDwww.theinsidepress.com

June 2016 Features

www.theinsidepress.comJune • Volume 13, Number 3

Publisher & Editor, Grace BennettGraphic Designer

Dina SpalvieriPublisher Associate

Caroline RosengardenGuest Editor

Andrew VitelliWeb Design

Ryan Smith, Rick WatersAccounts/Billing

Ilene AmielGeneral Counsel

Brian HandMailing address: Inside Chappaqua PO Box 643, Millwood, NY 10546 © 2016.

All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Reproduction of any portion is prohibited without permission from the publisher.

Phone Number: 914-238-2600Inside Chappaqua is not responsible for and does not endorse any advertisers, products or resources refer-

enced in advertisements appearing in this publication. The Inside Press shall not be liable to any party as a result of any information, services or resources made available through this publication. The Inside Press is published in good faith and cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies in advertising that appears in this publication.

The views of advertisers and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher’s.For Story Ideas or Press Release submissions, please email: [email protected]

For Advertising Inquires, please email: [email protected] more information, rates and advertising calendar, go to www.theinsidepress.com.

Assemblyman David Buchwald talks about corruption in Albany, raising the minimum wage, and being a father in Westchester. By Andrew Vitelli

COVER STORY:

Page 12

DepartmentsJust Between Us4. Adventures in New Castle

By Grace Bennett

5. Culinary Icon Ruth Reichl’s VisitBy Grace Bennett

Inside Thoughts8. The Bond In an open letter, Chappaqua School Superintendent Lyn McKay urges a vote of YES.

Single and Smart28. Tips for Women Traveling SoloMiriam Longobardi has logged many miles to many foreign lands travelling alone. Here, savvy tips for adventurous women (handy for guys too).

Etcetera32. The Adventurous Spirit By Jodi BaretzAdvertorial23. The Mid-Year Review By Scott Kahan, Financial Asset Management Corp.

COVERState Assemblyman David Buchwald

By Todd Shaperawww.toddshapera.com

6. A STEM Fest SelectionWe feature five super projects the kids graciously explain. Courtesy of the Chappaqua PTAPlus: A peek at the popular Regeneron exhibit. Courtesy of Lori Gowen Morton

10. Running for Myeloma Research Eric Gelber’s aims for crossing a 200th mile in his extraordinary journey raising funds for Myeloma research. By Matt Smith 18. Habititis HappensEileen Gallagher explains why time and money spent on behalf of Habitats for Humanity is a bug worth catching.

20. An All Star TeamA lot goes into making a set of cabinets, as we find out from All*Star Woodworking’s partners

Peter Cuneo and Jim Doherty. By Matt Smith

22. The Serenity of ToddAward winning photojournalist Todd Shapera ex-plains the value of downtime, too, in produc-ing picture magic. By Matt Smith

24. Swimmin’ SeasonNothing helps you escape the summer heat like a swimming pool in your backyard, and no one builds and maintains pools like Chris Carthy of Pools of Perfection. By Stacey Pfeffer

26. Remembering Gerry GolubHis surviving spouse Bonnie Golub describes Gerry’s “larger than life” legacy as a key

and generous contributor to the town. By Deborah Raider Notis

30. When an SAT Tutor Turns Test TakerA ‘Ready, Set, Go’ review by Alan Sheptin.

Man in Albany

Our


J U S T B E T W E E N U S

Adventures in New Castle

New Castle 10k/5k: A Family AffairThe Church of St. John and St. Mary’s Spring Festival & Craft Fair!

A single weekend in May might be enough to convince any visitor that “the adventurous spirit” (our issue’s theme) is alive and well in New Castle. The weekend of May 14th and

15th, as we headed into our print close, had no fewer than five major events rocking our town! First, the weekend kicked off on the 13th to offer three days of great old fashioned fun (featur-ing games, bouncy castles and karaoke too!) via a Spring Festival and Craft Fair at the Church of St. John and St. Mary Church on Poillon Avenue. Saturday morning, the vendors of the Chappaqua Farmer’s Market were outside of Chap-paqua Station with all their glorious, healthful offerings. At the Market too: an educational presentation about the

causes of pollution provided by Gree-ley’s S.T.O.P committee. Visit theinsi-depress.com/s-t-o-p-polluting-your-air to find Greeley Sophomore Emily Westle’s essay that we ran before the 14th to inspire visitors.

At the Bell School, the district’s an-nual STEM Fest had started too; more about the PTA’s amazing undertaking on page 6. And while that was under-way, the Chappaqua-Millwood Cham-ber of Commerce members held “It’s a Beautiful Day” to entice families into town, and meet with First Responders from the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambu-lance Corps., Fire Departments, Police Department, or to tour Town Hall, the historic Greeley House or the Chappa-qua Library, all participating organiza-tions. “Chamber members who spon-sored the events offered coupons and

gifts too,” noted Dawn Dankner Rosen, president of the Chamber. The Chap-paqua Garden Club was also on hand to introduce residents to their beautifica-tion efforts for the town.

And finally, on Sunday, the 15th, the annual beloved New Castle 10k race took off, with a new 5k option added, widely opening participation!

And there’s the rest of May unfolding soon–a Chappaqua Orchestra concert, a fundraiser for the Chappaqua Chil-dren’s Book Festival (featuring Rose-mary Wells!), Greeley’s truly inspiring Relay for Life, Art Under the Bridge and the always spectacular Memorial Day parade. It is enough to make any diligent hyperlocal editor’s head spin, but there’s no denying the high energy individuals here who encourage us to partake in all New Castle has to offer!

It’s June now as you read this; dads rule, so please do enjoy our focus on fathers in this edition. I’m proud of so much in it including Andrew Vi-telli’s cover story on Assemblyman David Buchwald who so courageously fights political corruption. Don’t miss Matt Smith’s profile of Todd Shapera, a globetrotting photo journalist and award winning events photographer, who we asked to photograph Buchwald, in fact. I hope all our adventurous and spirited dad stories inspire you this Father’s Day! Happy Graduation too, to all our departing seniors. You will be missed.

Brian Hand and his daughter, Gillian, shortly before running five miles in the New Castle race on May 15

Parker Goodwin had a wonderful time picking up prizes at this first time event.

Kimber Sanseverino (right) and Georgia Frasch at the Chappaqua Farmer’s Market on May 14. They were selling MacKenzie-Childs raffles, House Tour tickets and invites to the New Castle Historical Society’s “Clambake in Greeley’s Garden” on June 11. Visit www.newcastlehs.org for more info.

The Greeley S.T.O.P exhibit: 200 pinwheels, each representing 1000 people in the U.S. that die each year prematurely due to air pollution, as well as a table for kids to decorate their pots and plant seeds.

Olivia Sackler with Steve Sack-ler, her most dedicated dad

The Greenstein family all ran the 5k route. (L-R): Jessie, Cindy, Robert and Daniel. Jessie won 1st place in her age group , and 2nd place among females!

The New Castle 10k/5k is one of the most anticipated events in town each year thanks in large part to the hard work of the town’s Recreation & Parks Department. Many families have more than one member participating, too.

Runners/walkers were blessed this year to wake up to clear skies, the sun poking through and mild temperatures before embarking on a five or ten mile course. For a full list of the race winners this year,

please visit: http://georesults.racemine.com/Town-of-New-Castle/events/2016/New-Castle-10K5K/results

June 2016 Inside Chappaqua 518 Inside Armonk June 2016

The Charming, Colorful Ruth ReichlBy Grace Bennett

Ruth Reichl generously shared her adventures, insights and wisdom about dining out–and about life, in general–with an audience hungry to learn as much about Reichl and her career as possible during a sold out, early May event at the North Castle Public Library.

The celebrated restaurant critic, former Gourmet magazine Editor-in-Chief, Food Network host, restau-rant owner, and of course, best-sell-ing author regaled the audience with an array of anecdotes–particularly those surrounding her legendary disguises/characters as ‘beautiful Chloe,’ or “wild Brenda” or “Stella, the raunchy blonde who wore too tight clothes.” The goal, of course, was to never be detected as a critic and to capture the restaurant experi-ence honestly–the good, the bad, and the ugly.

“I liked to take her (Stella) out to the fancy Upper East Side restau-rants,” Reichl related, conveying her elf-like mischief but also her basic mission to serve the reader, not the restaurant–two key elements of a signature style over decades as a restaurant critic.

“Is it wild or is it boned,” Stella asked the (snooty) waiter about the salmon that arrived.

“It’s wild,” he answered her. “It

comes from about where you come from: Coney Island.”

The waiter’s remarks ended up in her review.

“There’s an unwrit-ten contract between the restaurant and the dining customer,” Reichl explained. “You agree to pay for a meal and they agree to give you great food and make you feel like a special, privileged person–regardless of where you are from.”

By her talk’s end, and in answers to audience questions after, Reichl continued to depict a remarkable career now

in full blossom with her newest title, 136 Recipes that Saved my Life. Reichl was also introduced by Nori Fromm, board member of the Friends of the North Castle Pub-lic Library, as “the most important woman in the world of food in the last 50 years.” To which she immediately offered: “My 25-year-old self would have laughed hysterically at that. My

husband and I lived on a com-mune in Berkeley,” she related, eliciting just the first round of hearty laughter in the filled-to-capacity library auditorium.

Her first break was with San Francisco’s New West maga-zine, whose editor she had both cooked and written for. He told her, “You are a much better writer than you are a cook, but you know food.” He asked her to try her first restaurant review. “My first thought was: free food!” said Reichl. “The idea that they’d give me money for a meal was real exciting.”

Ruth went on her first assignment accompanied by several members of her commune. “I quickly learned that as a critic the worst thing that can happen is to have your friends trying to help you,” she giggled, poking fun (kindly) at some of the absurd comments friends make. She played around with the experi-ence, however, and described an ‘epiphany’ which led her to

write the review as a kind of ‘film noire script.’ “It was not a restaurant review in the classic sense,” Reichl said.

After she handed it in, she said she panicked. “I went into a tailspin, and called the editor to tell him to disregard it and that the real review was coming. There was silence on the phone. ‘I already read it, Ruth,’ he told me, ‘and it’s fantastic. You have the job–but I want you to continue to stretch the form.’”

And truly, that’s just what Ruth has been doing ever since with her unique wit and with what would strike anyone familiar with her writing as undeniable confidence.

The lesson she shared: “When in doubt, take a chance.” Her fans are glad she did.

Grace Bennett is the Publisher and Editor of Inside Armonk and Inside Chappaqua who remembers thoroughly enjoying Ruth Reichl reviews over the years. For Reichl’s full bio, visit ruthreichl.com

Following Reichl’s talk, an audience question and answer period was moderated by Chef Eric Gabrynowicz of Restaurant North.


STEM Fest Kids Describe their Projects

Editor’s Note: STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Before this year’s STEM Fest day, held May 14th at the Bell Middle School, the following students volun-teered to explain their projects to In-side Chappaqua! Here’s just a sampling of hundreds of projects and experi-ments the kids have been engaged in. For more information about STEM Fest, visit chappaquaptastem.com

Arnav RoyProject: Knock Lock

This circuit is a small locking mecha-nism that opens or locks a box with a specific ‘knock.’ My circuit has a sound sensor called ‘piezo,’ which can sense vibrations as well as sounds. I wanted to build something that I could attach to my room door, so that only I have access to my bedroom. The best part was making the circuits itself, as I en-joy experimenting with circuits. In this project I soldered wires for the first time and that was fun. The hardest part was to get the right knock inten-sity to fall in an acceptable range of the code. For my future project, I want to work on an app for my Knock Lock.

Gigi WheelerProject: Parabolas

I saw a film at the San Francisco Exploratorium about parabolas and got the idea for this project. A pendulum makes a parabola shape. There are all kinds of examples of pa-rabolas in nature. I’m taking pictures of the ones I see and writing about them. I like taking the pictures. When this is over, I might want to study matter, or how dragonflies fly, or what infinity is.

Neel RoyProject: Coding

I coded a few different programs us-ing ‘Python.’ Every Sunday, I take Py-thon classes at my friend’s house. The best part about this project was creat-ing new programs and playing with all the games that I made. The hardest part about this project was making the game, because if the coding was not right I would get a syntax error. Then I would have to go back again and find the code that was incorrect. In the future, I want to create a really big complicated game using code.

Tessa WheelerProject: Testing for Lead

I had been hearing about the problem with water con-tamination in Flint, Michi-gan. My grandmother works in Flint at The University of Michigan's Flint campus. So she collected some water and sent it to in the mail. It was hard to get it here safely. I then talked with my aunt's boyfriend who works at the National Science Foundation about the best ways to test for lead. He said that using test strips is a fine indica-tor for lead presence, so I used that. I tested the water from Flint, Michigan, and thankfully it was negative for lead. I then decided to test some toys for lead. I started by researching what toys had been recalled. I found that one of our toys was recalled for lead. And a toy my sister recently received for her birthday even has a notice on it that it contains lead! I want to make sure kids are not getting toys with lead. For my next project, I want to do a study on the immune system or dwarfism.

Henry LePage and William HollisterProject: A Small Scale Hovercraft

We thought it would be interesting to build transportation that has no fric-tion, because it floats on a cushion of air, and goes really fast. We got the idea for the hovercraft from a book called “How Things Work.” There was a cut away section of the inner workings of a hovercraft, and we decided to figure out how to build a working model based on the picture in the book. The best part of collaborating on this project was working together and using power tools. Truthfully, nothing worked at first. We needed to adjust the weight of the craft and the skirt didn’t seal properly. Then we had to change the height of the fan and make a cage for the fan since we realized the blade could cut off our fingers. The hardest part, by far, was getting the weight down. After the STEM Fest, Henry is planning on building a full scale wooden boat that will broaden his woodworking and CAD skills. William will attend a technology camp this summer, and he has plans to land the first Lego mini figure on the Moon with a model rocket.

Understanding how Enzymes Work

At the Regeneron Exhibit, student Nicole Weyne made and measured glucose (using a glucose test strip) for milk by adding the enzyme lactase. About 200 kids stopped by the hands-on exhibit run by Regeneron volunteers, who are also New Castle residents.

Lori Gowen Morton Photo


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DE Inside Chappaqua June 2016_Layout 1 5/9/16 9:54 AM Page 1


An Open Letter to the Chappaqua Central School District Community

For some time now, the Chappaqua Central School District has been on a journey of creating active learning environments for teaching and learning–environments where 21st century students can apply the content they learn to authentic projects, build new knowledge, and work together to design new thinking. We want students to explore their passions and solve relevant, complex problems both individually and collaboratively by using varied approaches, provid-ing accurate feedback to each other, and by setting their own learning goals.

To assist us in achieving our learn-ing goals for students, we are seeking to provide larger, purposefully de-signed, more flexible learning spaces that serve the needs of all students as they participate in multi-disciplinary projects. Traditional classroom spaces are confining and include less flexibil-ity for teaching and learning.

Recently, the Board of Educa-tion passed a resolution calling for a $42.5M capital projects bond referen-dum on Tuesday, June 14, 2016. This project is considered a “no marginal increase project.” That is, the tax levy will not increase as a result of this bond.

If the bond referendum is approved, the monies would be expended to improve our infrastructure, upgrade our fields, build flexible, research-supported, intentionally-designed learning environments, and improve the Chappaqua Public Library.

Our Children and Our SchoolsBuildings and resources have a natu-

ral lifespan, and most of our buildings are more than 40 years old. This bond will enable us to address aging infra-structure and bring our buildings in compliance with the governmental codes. There are numerous infrastruc-ture projects that will help preserve the basic integrity of our buildings and create safer school environments through various health and safety upgrades and improvements.

We also will renovate and upgrade present space with:

• Global learning centers at each el-ementary school and the high school, which are 21st century libraries with work spaces intentionally designed to address how students learn and col-laborate in today’s world.

• STEAM learning centers at each middle school and the high school (the STEAM center at Greeley is the only new construction). STEAM centers typically include a design studio and labs for fabrication, robotics, and 3D modeling and printing. Students across grade levels will participate in project-based learning and bring ideas from conception through design to production leading to a deeper under-standing of academic content.

• Instructional centers at Horace Greeley High School, which are de-liberately designed learning environ-ments that promote the development of critical skills. These new, larger flexible environments contain class-room spaces and common areas that are designed to allow for multi-disci-plinary project-based learning across all subjects, from the humanities to the sciences.

Our CommunityThe Chappaqua Central School

District is one of a few districts in New York State that is responsible for the operation and maintenance of a public library. The Chappaqua Public Library site opened in 1978 and not much has changed structurally since. This bond will support the community’s public

library and its Master Plan by providing an adult quiet area, expanded children’s area, meeting/study rooms, enclosed teen zone, café, more instructional space, and family bathrooms.

There are 18 fields throughout the District that are used extensively by our schools and our Chappaqua community. This bond will allow us to make upgrades and improvements such as installing sprinklers at Seven Bridges, improving drainage and replacing sod at Gree-

ley’s Field C, installing an environmen-tally-friendly modern turf field with lights and a walking path at Bell, and installing an environmentally-friendly modern turf field with lights, along with track renovations and the addi-tion of bathrooms, at Greeley’s Com-petition Field. The modern turf fields will exponentially increase playing and practice time and increase their avail-ability for use by the community.

Voting on this bond referendum will take place on Tuesday, June 14th between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. at Horace Greeley High School. Until then, I invite you to visit the bond referendum webpage we have created at www.ccsd.ws/bond. There you will find much more detailed information including presentations and videos, a list of proposed projects, concep-tual drawings, videos of students and teachers discussing the benefits of larger, flexible, learning spaces equipped with advanced technology, a list of resources, answers to frequently asked questions, time lines, and an online form that you can use to submit questions and comments. Please remember to check this page often as new items will be posted as they be-come available, and please remember to vote on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.

Regards,Lyn McKay

Superintendent of Chappaqua Schools

I N S I D E T H O U G H T S


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By Matt Smith

You know how the saying goes: “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” While these words are no doubt sage advice for anyone wish-ing to achieve any goal, you can bet they’re especially pertinent to Chap-paqua resident Eric Gelber, who will take his third stab at running 200 miles on September 16th through New York City’s Central Park to sup-port and raise funds for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

Gelber began running independently for the cause in 2007, to raise money in support of a friend who had been di-agnosed with the disease, an incurable blood cancer that has one of the lowest five-year relative survival rates of all cancers. “It started out with a mara-thon in New York City,” he explains, “and over the years…sort of built up and [I] started running longer races.”

The idea for the Central Park event arose in 2011, when “I did a solo run through the Catskills,” which he completed in 45 hours, beginning in Oneonta and ending 175 miles later at his parents’ home in Suffern. “It wasn’t a [official] race, though,” he explains. “It was just [of] my own [accord] to raise money…and attract some more attention [to the cause].” However, “when I got there [to the finish line], there were 50-60 people–I could hear them cheering from down the road as we finished and I just knew right then that we were doing something that was making a difference.”

And he capitalized on that feeling. The following year, he ran the Badwa-ter Ultra-marathon in Death Valley, CA, “but the plan was to come back in 2013 and do something in New York City.” And, that September, as planned, the epic Central Park chal-lenge was born.

Gelber initially pledged a goal of 200 miles, which he would achieve by running continuous 6.1 mile loops around Central Park. Though he hasn’t made it quite yet (his previous at-tempts in 2013 and 2014 covered 164 and 176 miles respectively), after a year off in 2015, during which he returned to Badwater–and raised a whopping $140,000 for the MMRF–he’s excited to be back in New York City for another shot at the 200-mile goal. “8 a.m. [on] September 16th, I’ll be out there,” he says, proudly, noting he’ll begin up at Engineer’s Gate on

the East end of the park, “and I’ll [aim to] finish sometime on the 18th.”

If you’re inclined to support Gelber in person, “we’re really easy to find out there,” he says, noting the “big orange MMRF tent” at which he and his team will be situated. “We also have a [Face-book] page called ‘Just a Mile to Go,’” he adds, “where we will post informa-tion on how you can actually register and sign up to come run a loop with me, [or] make a donation, or set up your own fundraising page.”

If you can’t yet decide how you’d like to contribute, you can always simply show up at the event and take it from there, which Gelber notes “a lot of people do.” (They’ll also live stream the run straight from the Facebook page as well.).

Whichever way you support, Gelber hopes you do take note of the cause,

To Support Multiple Myeloma Research:

Eric Gelber Aims to Go the

Extra (200th!) Mile

Gelber running in the Mojave Desert as part of his 135 miles in the Badwater Ultra-Marathon, Death Valley, CA, 2015.


as it’s near and dear to his heart. To that end, though his friend, Anita Sorrell, unfortunately lost her battle in 2012, his involvement with the MMRF has allowed him and his wife to engage and connect with others who have been affected both directly and indirectly by the cancer. “Some-times when you lose the person you’re fighting for, your

first reac-tion–which certainly was mine–is ‘What’s the point?’” Gelber ex-plains. “But after taking a step back and think-ing about where we were on this journey,

my wife and I thought it was important to keep fighting for everybody who’s still with us. So, we do it for them.”

And while it isn’t always easy waking up to a daily

4:30 a.m. alarm and training intensely before heading off to a full-time job, Gelber acknowledges that the strides made in collecting donations and funding further research make it all well worth the effort, stating: “I know that what I am doing is making a real difference in the lives of [multi-ple myeloma] patients.”

But that’s not to say he does it all solo. Wholly recogniz-ing “there’s no way I could do this on my own,” he wishes to extend sincere thanks to the entire staff at the MMRF for all their help and assistance, as well as his many close friends and family, both here in Chappaqua and in other neighbor-ing towns. Above all, however, he thanks his wife, Tani, and three children, Jared, Kyle, and Isla. “Their support is unwa-vering,” he says, with a smile. “It’s been amazing.”

In closing, Gelber, who describes himself in three words as “determined [and] mentally tough,” offers a few encour-aging words to those “adventurers”–men, yes, but also peo-ple of all ages and gender–who might be looking to pursue a similar goal. “I think you just gotta commit,” he says, “and not just to the end goal, but to the process of getting there.”

Citing the multiple myeloma patients and their “incred-ible mental focus, commitment, and [the fact that they’re] willing to fight,” he reminds the dreamers: “Don’t let any-thing stand in your way. You gotta follow through, make promises to yourself and keep those promises. I remind myself of the promises I make to myself each night, and I get up and do it. Take one step at a time, and you’ll reach your goal eventually.” And hopefully, if you’re anything like the tenacious Gelber, when you do, the world will be better for it.

For more information on the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, including how to join Gelber in his efforts and/or donate to the cause, please visit www.themmrf.org.

(L-R) Kyle, Tani, Isla, Eric and Jared Gelber

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Assemblyman Buchwald on Albany, the Minimum Wage and

Raising a Family in Westchester By Andrew Vitelli

The man who repre-sents New York’s 93rd Assembly District en-tered politics in 2009, with the economy at rock bottom and Americans’ trust in government in a dive that lasts until today. Assemblyman David Buchwald, a Democrat whose district spans from Harrison in the south to Westchester’s border with Putnam in the north and includes both North Castle and New Castle, has found that people’s faith in government to accom-plish even the simplest task is close to zero.

“Unfortunately today, a lot of folks have such low expectations for government that even to get a phone call or email returned either surprises them or pleases them,” Buch-wald, elected to the Assembly in 2012, said in an interview with the Inside Press at his Mount Kisco office. “My goal is not just to be responsive but also to help address the underlying issues that folks are contacting me about.”

Part of restoring trust, Buchwald says, is just being responsive to citizens’ concerns. He points to an Ar-monk woman who was having trouble with her Medicaid due to a computer glitch and a Harrison man who wanted more attention paid to the POW flag.

“There’s no better feeling in the world than to take a problem that a constituent felt was intractable before they contacted me and to use the au-thority of my office to solve that prob-lem,” he says. “I truly take to heart the mantra, which I repeat all the time at my office, that I have 133,000 bosses.”

But Buchwald, a White Plains resident, understands restoring trust in government will require more than just constituent services. In recent years, New York State has been plagued by corruption, with many of Albany’s most powerful figures of yesteryear going to the big house for violating the public’s trust. Five years ago, Senator Vincent Leibell, whose district overlapped with parts of Buch-wald’s current district, was convicted of felony corruption charges. Most re-cently, former Assembly Speaker Shel-don Silver was sentenced to 12 years in prison for corruption. Since his first year in office, Buchwald has been push-ing for a constitutional amendment to strip government officials of their pen-sions if they are convicted of a felony relating to their role in government.

A previous bill, which was passed in 2011, achieved this only for officials who took office after that point.

“There, unfortunate-ly, are a handful of folks who over time haven’t lived up to their end of the oath of office that they took,” Buchwald explains. “And my view is that those corrupt officials should not be automatically entitled to their taxpayer-fund-ed pension.”

Changing the state’s constitution is a tall task–it must pass both the Assembly and the Senate twice, in consecutive terms, before going before the voters. So far the two chambers have been unable to agree on the language. There’s been some opposition to the bill from organized labor out of fear that any changes to pen-sion rules could set a dangerous precedent. “My view is the exact

opposite,” Buchwald asserts. “My view is that as long as New Yorkers continue to read articles about corrupt officials sitting in jail collecting their state pen-sions, that is what erodes support for public pensions.”

Now in his fourth year in office Buchwald, one of Albany’s youngest lawmakers at 37 years old, holds a joint degree in law and public policy. Buchwald would seem ill-suited for today’s anger and braggadocio-filled politics; he often appears more com-fortable explaining the nuance of his position than delivering soundbites, and even his criticism of his legisla-tions’ opponents is measured and at times sympathetic. If there’s one thing he seems to disdain, it’s empty rheto-ric and those who employ it.

Todd Shapera Photo


Buchwald’s Road to Politics

Buchwald, who grew up in Larchmont, recalls being Mamaroneck High School’s senior class senator in 1996, the year he graduated. It would be nearly another decade and a half before he’d make another run at elected office, but Buch-wald says his interest in public policy dates back to his childhood.

“I just thoroughly enjoyed reading the newspaper and observ-ing the world around me,” Buchwald remem-bers. “And growing up in a family where your professional life is made most meaningful when you are serving the public at large or those in need of support. That’s something I took to heart from a young age.”

Buchwald comes from a family of legal minds; his mother, Naomi Reice Buchwald, is a federal judge in the Southern District of New York while his father, Don, is a former assistant United States attorney. David went to Yale as a physics major but by sopho-more year knew a career in physics wasn’t in his future.

“I never found a particular branch of physics that I was interested in devot-ing my life to,” Buchwald says. “And that’s really what you need to do in order to go on to graduate school.”

Buchwald began actively moving towards public policy, first working for NERA, an economic consulting firm in White Plains, before returning to school. He studied public policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Govern-ment, earning an MA and a law degree from Harvard Law School in a joint four-year program with the goal of becoming a practicing lawyer.

Buchwald came out of law school as a tax attorney, practicing at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Buchwald said it was after graduate school that he began getting involved in area non-profits and going to local Democratic Party meetings, campaign-ing on behalf of other candidates. Up to this point, Buchwald had not envi-sioned himself running for office, but warmed quickly to the idea when the

opportunity arose. “It was very natural when some folks in White Plains ap-proached me to run for our city’s Com-mon Council,” Buchwald says. “I very gladly took up that challenge.”

Tumultuous Times in White PlainsBuchwald was one of three candi-

dates, all Democrats, elected to the council in 2009, beating two Republi-cans in a city with more than twice as many Democrats as Republicans. His first year turned out to be a tumultu-ous one for the city. Adam Bradley, the mayor at the time, was arrested on domestic violence charges in Febru-ary 2010, fewer than two months after Buchwald had been sworn in. Bradley resigned a year later, though he was eventually exonerated in court. Buchwald said the city government was “left in limbo” in the year between Bradley’s arrest and his conviction (which was later overturned).

“I thought it was very important that White Plains turn the page,” Bu-chwald said. Tom Roach was appointed to fill the vacancy and remains the mayor today. While the fallout from Bradley’s arrest was, in Buchwald’s words, “not a challenge one could have expected from the outset of my tenure,” the city was also one of many dealing with the fallout of the global financial crisis.

“The challenge that every local government had at that time as we were going through the Great Reces-sion was how to preserve high-quality services while not undermining the long-term fiscal health of the city,”

Buchwald says. He also noted that the city increased the hours of the library during the heart of the recession after learning that library usage was up. Bike lanes were installed on many city streets. Perhaps most sig-nificantly, the city rezoned several of its office properties to allow mixed-use de-velopment and draw in a wider range of businesses.

“I always found [Buchwald] to be somebody that you could work together with on something

and come out with a good outcome. I appreciate that kind of person,” Mayor Roach told Inside Armonk. “When you’re talking to somebody who is intelligent, who cares, who does the work, it’s always a pleasure, and David very much fits into all those categories.”

In 2012, Buchwald announced his run for the assembly. The 93rd As-sembly District, with newly drawn borders, leaned strongly though not overwhelmingly Democratic. Buchwald was taking on incumbent Republican Robert Castelli, a former New York State Police Officer who had won a special election after the seat was vacated by Adam Bradley (who left the position for his ill-fated stint as White Plains mayor). Castelli was the first Republican in a generation to hold the seat in Albany and was re-elected in November 2010.

“I felt, on a number of levels, that there was a need for change in the district,” Buchwald recalls. “My pre-decessor, though a good man, was out of step with Westchester values and I thought I had a skill set that might appeal to voters.”

Castelli had been well-liked across the district, but Buchwald criticized the Republican for his vote against legalizing gay marriage and for vot-ing against gun control legislation. Spurred in part by the increased turnout of a presidential election in a county where President Obama beat Mitt Romney by more than 20 points, Buchwald won with 53 percent of the

Ann Styles Brochstein/Hillary NOW Photo

At the Grafflin School on New York Primary Day: David Buchwald with Hillary Clinton


vote in one of Westchester’s most closely-watched elections. “Between it being a redistricting year and a presi-dential year, both put me at a disad-vantage,” Castelli told Inside Armonk, looking back at the election. “Had it been an off year, not a presidential year, and had it not been gerryman-dered, I’m pretty that sure I would have won it.”

Buchwald ran unopposed for re-election in 2014, and announced last month that he will seek a third term. While the Republicans hadn’t settled on a candidate to oppose Buchwald as this edition went to press, Westchester GOP Chair Doug Colety said he was in the process of interviewing candidates and that the Republicans would defi-nitely have an opponent for Buchwald this election.

Conventional thinking holds that, with Chappaqua resident Hillary Clin-ton leading the ticket as the Demo-cratic presidential candidate (which looked almost certain as we went to press), any Republican running in the district will have an uphill battle. Colety, however, believes that with the right candidate and enough resources, anything is possible.

“Nobody knows what turnout is going to be,” Colety explains. “I think everything is in play.”

In the Assembly Buchwald said he ran for the assem-

bly in large part because the position, unlike the White Plains Common Council, allowed him to serve full-time in elected office. “The state assembly job is one that I thoroughly enjoy, and that’s both because of the work that I get to do as a legislator up in Albany but all the more because of the work I get to do here in the district,” says Buchwald. “At the heart of that is solv-ing constituent issues.”

But while helping a constituent ac-cess Medicaid, or even cracking down on corrupt officials, may be seen as a clear positive, lawmaking is filled also with difficult votes. The state’s budget, passed this spring and signed by Governor Cuomo, included a gradual minimum wage hike to $15 an hour. Buchwald, who ran in part on raising the minimum wage from its rate at the time of $7.25 an hour (it’s now $9), supported the minimum wage hike, saying it will be a great help to many lower-income families.

“I think that, overall, it will be a net positive and most of all it will help many hard-working residents of New York State that should be encouraged based on the value of their labor,” Bu-chwald explains. “On some level, it will stimulate spending, because now more families will have more resources. But there’s also the argument that it could inhibit job growth.”

Among those making that argument is the Business Council of Westchester, which put out a press release detailing uneasiness within the county’s busi-ness community over the debated $15 wage floor. According to the council, nearly two-thirds of businesses sur-veyed oppose the plan, with 37 percent saying it would cause layoffs and 15 percent saying they’d be forced to shut their doors.

“When you say, ‘increase the mini-mum wage,’ it sounds great, but you have to look at the consequences,” said John Ravitz, the council’s Executive Vice President and COO. “It’s going to have a direct effect on businesses throughout the state.”

Buchwald said he had heard from opponents of the hike, but that the majority of his constituents supported it. He noted that the minimum wage jump would take place over six years in Westchester, and that budget officials will analyze the effects and can sus-pend scheduled hikes if need be.

“I’d say the feedback I’ve gotten has overall been quite positive,” Buch-wald said. “Overall, it has yet to be seen what the net effect is going to be, though I believe it’s going to be positive because there will be more de-mand for goods and services produced by businesses in Westchester.”

Ravitz, for his part, said the Busi-ness Council has a strong relation-ship with the assemblyman and that Buchwald was also receptive to the group’s concerns.

“We’re not always going to agree,”

Ravitz said. “We made sure that Assemblyman Buchwald and all the members of the assembly from Westchester knew our position on the minimum wage.”

Raising a Family in WestchesterOn March 1, 2014, Buchwald mar-

ried Lara Samet, a litigation attorney who had clerked for Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, David’s mother. “Lara and I hit it off right from the start,” Buchwald recalls. “She knew a lot more about me early on because she had essentially had lunch with my mom every day for a year. The more I learned about Lara, the more fasci-nated I was.”

A year later, David and Lara wel-comed their daughter, Anna, who just celebrated her first birthday. Buch-wald said he is motivated by having a daughter who will eventually attend public school in New York State.

“The fact that the state has stepped up and righted some of the past prac-tices that shortchanged Westchester’s public schools I think is a tremendous accomplishment,” Buchwald said. He pointed specifically to increases in state aid to the Chappaqua and Byram

The Buchwalds at Home


Hills School Districts dur-ing the time he has spent in office. “For all of our children, we have to make sure that we have the best education possible in New York State.”

Though Buchwald is a White Plains resident, he says he loves visiting both Armonk and Chappaqua. He points to state fund-ing used to repave Route 117 and Route 133 in Chappaqua, and to a new pedestrian crosswalk in Armonk. He has attended events in both communi-ties, including the Armonk Lions Club Fol-De-Rol Ceremony and Frosty Day and the Chappaqua Rotary’s Commu-nity Day and Memorial Day Parade.

“Both Armonk and Chappaqua are little slices of Americana, and getting to be supportive of both communities is very, very easy, because the peo-ple in both places are down to earth and want to see what’s best for their neighbors,” he says. “My job is to help further that vision.”

Chappaqua and Armonk are both located near the middle of Buchwald’s 93rd Assembly District (his district office is just north of the hamlets, in Mount Kisco). While the territory he represents is diverse, the assemblyman believes that what his constituents have in common out-weighs their differences.

“This is a fantastic slice of New York State to represent. I go from 40-story skyscrapers in White Plains to horse farms in Bedford and North Salem,” Buchwald says.

“Each community has its unique characteristics that make it special, but overall we have a shared vision of the need for investments in education, in our transportation infrastructure and in keeping taxes under control so that people and businesses can thrive here in Westchester.”

Andrew Vitelli is the editor of Inside Armonk magazine.

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David Buchwald with a group of constituents including mem-bers of “Chappaqua Friends of Hill”

Recently in White Plains: David Buchwald–with his wife and daughter beside him–announcing a third-term run for the Assembly.


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“HABITITIS” – An “Itis” that Should be Spread!

By Eileen Gallagher

Take a look at the old Orthodox Friends’ Meeting House as you drive up the hill on King Street. 300 King Street, a landmarked building which many residents remember as the Village Nursery School, is now buzzing with the sweet sounds of hammers, saws, drills, and even a newly purchased jackhammer. Who is doing all of this buzz-ing? Not surprisingly, the busy workers are often members of our very own community, in conjunction with Habitat for Humanity.

Jim Killoran, the Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity, Westchester, is the tireless source of inspiration and perspiration as he works toward ensuring that everyone in Westches-ter has a home in which to live. Bill and Keiko Spade–resident architects who have dedicated countless hours advocating for safe and responsible af-fordable housing here in town–joined with Killoran in the genesis of the first Habitat project in New Castle.

Many residents have fond memories of the nursery school, but might be surprised to learn that the “Queen Ann style” building which features an elevated porch with decorative scroll-work was actually constructed in the late 1800’s as the Quaker meeting house. The reconstruction will restore the building to its original “Stick Victorian” styling from 1885, while also maintaining the original post and beam framing. Per Spade, “This will enhance the quality of the surround-ing neighborhood, which has other fine examples of architecture from this same period.”

Teaming up with Habitat was a no-brainer for the Spades. They’ve been “green” in their building techniques for years, attending Passive House trainings to save precious energy and utilities while saving families money as well. Having worked with Killoran on a

number of homes, they were aware of the green homes built by Habitat.

For 300 King, the Passive House features will include a thickened exterior “envelope” with up to three times the insulation value, sophisti-cated moisture and air barrier layers, highly insulated doors and windows, and an Energy Recovery Ventilation unit which circulates fresh air while recovering energy. Solar panels are be-ing considered, as well as rain barrels, which save water runoff and usage. Spade added, “We look forward to sharing the process of building these Passive Homes with the community, to educate the broader community about the importance of energy-efficient construction.”

Per Spade, New Castle has been very supportive of the project, which will add two units of affordable housing to-ward meeting the county settlement of 2009. The units will be condominiums owned by families, something that Killoran is very proud of.

“Ownership creates the bank for each family. As ownership happens, studies show that education goes up and wealth of families goes up.” Kil-loran also pointed out that the former property of the Lutheran church will now be back on the town’s tax roles. It is expected that construction, depend-ing on the availability of funding and volunteers, will take between nine

months to a year, with a target occupancy date of early 2017.

In the meantime, three or four days a week the active site is under the watchful eyes of Habitat site supervisors and volunteers as the deconstruction phase winds down in prepara-tion for the rebuilding phase. Killoran speaks of “habititis,” where people of all ages are drawn into helping with everything from building, fund-raising, and providing snacks for workers.

“Habititis is moving throughout Chappaqua

and Northern Westchester. Every-one is a philanthropist and volunteer and all can help,” he urges. Killoran’s catch-phrase is “The excitement is building!” Habitat has built through-out the county in addition to helping more than 1800 homeowners affected by Hurricane Sandy, delivering gen-erators as well as working on homes. First building in Larchmont in 1988, Habitat continues to build, help rehab homes, and is currently designing “aging in place” opportunities to help create an intergenerational New York “so all generations can continue to live in Westchester and New York, and not have to leave.”

Indeed, the excitement is build-ing, pun intended. Many groups have already helped in this effort, including West Point cadets (all fed by the gen-erosity of Lange’s Little Store), several groups from high schools and colleges, families both in town and from other parts of the county, faith communi-ties, offices, and local merchants. The trend has been to “bring a friend” or several friends, and spend a few hours working diligently in the company of kindred spirits. There are “regulars” (including this author) who enjoy see-ing the building as it progresses, while fostering new friendships.

Not sure if you have the know-how to build? Killoran’s staff are more than happy to help. From the proper

Eileen Gallagher Photos

Smiles all around after heavy-duty digging and sign-building. (L-R): Chappaqua resi-dents Michael and Eileen Gallagher, Greg Simon, and Warren Gottlieb.


way to measure and cut to using building equipment such as circular saws and jackhammers, you will be in good hands. Skills learned at Habitat are also quite handy for use in your own homes as well.

In addition to this loca-tion, work has begun on the latest town project at 437 Saw Mill Road in Millwood.Each unit can cost $250,000 to rehab and make beautiful for families, and Killoran asks that each volunteer

give a dollar, or ten, one hundred, one thousand, or more. “Whatever they can give, so we can continue to build strong into the future.”

To help with all the ongoing efforts, [email protected] and donate: habitatwc.org

Visit: Facebook (Chappaqua Habitat), Instagram and Twitter (HabitatWC)

Eileen Gallagher is a freelance writer and 13-year resident of Chappaqua. Married with two sons, she has a full-blown case of Habititis along with her husband Michael. They can often be seen wearing hardhats and goggles working and laughing at 300 King Street. 170 Hunts Lane · Chappaqua · NY www.worldcupschools.com170 Hunts Lane · Chappaqua · NY www.worldcupschools.com

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All*Star Woodworking Nails Customer Service and Quality Work

By Matt Smith If you’re like most people in the

county or beyond, what you presum-ably look for most in a business is quality customer service: the ability of an employee to be attentive to your needs, and to get the job done in the best way possible. Luckily, for your woodworking needs, “customer support is unequaled” at All*Star Woodworking, according to Jim Doherty, its Design and Sales As-sociate. “There’s never any question about anything [here],” he continues. “If something needs attention, they do it. And that’s just the way Peter built the company.”

Owned by Peter Cuneo since 1986,

All*Star Woodworking operates out of a 12,000-square-foot factory in Thorn-wood. Offering customers a variety of different wood, color and style options, Doherty stresses that the company, which specializes in cabinetry, is truly custom in every sense of the word. “We don’t sell a line of cabinetry,” he ex-plains. “We make custom cabinets from design and manufacture to delivery and installation.”

The process begins with a free con-

sultation, either in the client’s home or at the All*Star Showroom, during which the client and designer jointly develop a proposal. These consultations may vary in terms of length depend-ing on the requirements of a specific project, or an individual customer’s needs or requests. (“Some even bring architectural plans,” notes Cuneo). Once a proposal is accepted, “We create CAD [computer-aided design] drawings,” says Doherty, “which are reviewed and ap-proved by the customer before we start production.” The drawings are then put into a state-of-the-art CNC wood router, which will accurately cut the wood pieces to 1/1000 of an inch, and “produce many of the parts that will be assembled to form a cabinet.”

But only after the finished drawing

gets final approval from the customer–that’s the All*Star guarantee. “No job is designed, manufactured or installed without customer approval at each step,” Doherty reiterates.

Additionally, unlike many com-

petitors, “We do not sub jobs out,” he continues. “Every aspect of the job is

done by All*Star employees, who live, work, and shop locally.” Lead times for jobs take only eight to ten weeks to manufacture and install, as opposed to the standard 12-plus week lead time of most stock cabinetry competitors. In addition, All*Star cabinetry comes with a 10-year warranty to repair or replace any defective materials.

Naturally, the quality of the final product is unmatched. Doherty points to a drawer box for a current project as an example, noting how the joinery is intricate and smooth, reflecting expert craftsmanship. He says, too, that each job is unique, and to that end, Cuneo will even travel as far North as Mas-sachusetts to find the proper wood for a job to then strip it down himself in house to create the necessary pieces, all with no questions asked.

It’s qualities like these which have allowed the company to stay in business and successfully grow for the better part of three decades. “We don’t do a lot of advertising,” Doherty adds, on the subject. “We follow Peter’s philoso-phy: treat each job as a showcase for future business and gain referrals from satisfied customers. [We get business] mostly by word of mouth.”

Still, it doesn’t hurt that the company is active within the community, making appearances at local home shows, both at the County Center and Pace Univer-sity, as well as the annual Pleasantville Music Festival. “We have completed projects for schools, public libraries and local hospitals,” Doherty adds, including the Children’s Rehabilitation Center in White Plains, for which they recently completed a job at a reduced price.

Both community involvement and the word of mouth approach seem to

be working out well for the com-pany, as customers are flock-ing in not only from Westch-ester, but from Southern Connecti-cut and

New York City as well. “And, we have multi-generations of customers com-

ing back,” notes Doherty. “People tell us, ‘You built a kitchen for my parents. Now, I’ve moved back into the area, and I want you to build my kitchen.’”

In addition to kitchens–and with Father’s Day on the horizon–All*Star can also build you a bar, entertainment unit, or home office. With so many options to choose from, it’s clear, as Cuneo has often said, “There’s a lot of hard work involved in this business.” But, he continues, “the results are often very special for both us and for our cli-ents.” “We’re not just selling cabinets,” Doherty adds. “We’re asking, ‘What is your vision?’ That’s what we start with. [We say], ‘Tell us what you’re hoping to accomplish,’ and we go from there.”

Indeed, since opening in 1978, All*Star has been Westchester’s premier cabinetmaker and refacing contractor, and continues to remain as such. But Cuneo is quick to note he doesn’t let the praise and adulation go to his head, stating, “At the end of the day, we are simply committed to quality and perfec-tion.” He continues, “No high-pressure sales tactics, or gimmicky financing schemes…just quality workmanship from a company with over 30 years’ worth of knowledge and experience.” And that’s the truth. You don’t even have to knock on wood.

All*Star Woodworking is located at 401

Claremont Avenue, Thornwood, behind the Safe Guard Self Storage Facility, opposite ShopRite on Broadway. For more informa-tion, call (914) 769-9161 or visit www.allstarwoodworking.com.

Matt Smith–a writer and proud gradu-ate of Skidmore College–is a regular con-tributor to the Inside Press.

Jim Doherty


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By Matt Smith

If you’ve ever explored the bucolic trails of Rockefeller State Park Preserve on a breezy Spring morning, chances are you may have crossed paths with Todd Shapera. You prob-ably wouldn’t know it though, as the “sensitive and worldly” photographer, who walks with his rescue dogs Ruby and Rico, is often sans camera during these peaceful strolls. “When I’m there, I don’t photograph,” Shapera explains. “It’s about time in nature…finding bal-ance…feeling grounded. The Preserve is my sanctuary.”

It’s a pretty regular habit for the Pocantico Hills resident, and “very much a part of the rhythm of my life.” He notes that on a given day, these moments of tranquility–both on the trail and on his deck, which overlooks a horse farm in the heart of the park–help to center him and allow for better focus on that day’s work. And if he says it enhances his work, the more power to him as his photography is downright gor-geous–and critics, from both the local community and the professional world, can’t get enough.

It’s nothing short of exciting, espe-cially for Shapera himself, considering the photographer, who has shot in

57 countries to date, actually got his start as a reporter and writer, producing news stories for NPR. That job evolved into speech writing “for a politician in NYC and Albany” (Governor Cuomo’s wife) which, in turn, evolved into freelancing for several global publications. One such paper was The Finan-cial Times of London, where his assignments eventually set him on the path toward his destiny.

“[The paper] would send me to explore distant places, like Patagonia, the Yukon riv-ers near the Arctic Circle and the Yangtze River in China,” he explains. “I would write features for their weekend magazine, How to Spend It. At the time, I took a camera with me, and I took a few [shots]. Soon, the editor began featur-ing my landscape photos with my stories.”

He didn’t think much of his photog-raphy at the time–“it was one camera, one lens”–but his editors were cer-tainly impressed. States Shapera: “They liked that I could come back with both elements, a story and photos, for them to publish.” As his portfolio continued to grow and develop, so did his passion for the art form. And as they say, the rest is history.

Today, Shapera works on both a local and global scale, photographing for leading global agencies and foun-

dations throughout Africa, Central America, and Asia, as well as several prestigious Westchester venues, in-cluding Abigail Kirsch at Tappan Hill, Tarrytown House, Trump National, and the American Yacht Club in Rye.

His local work has also included a six-year stint for the Rockefeller Broth-ers Fund (RBF) at their Pocantico Hills estate, Kykuit, where he documents performances in the garden by New York City dance companies and jazz artists. Last year, RBF President Ste-phen B. Heintz even invited Shapera to document their private 100th birthday dinner for David Rockefeller, held in Kykuit’s ornate dining room.

With all this activity, it’s not hard to see why he’s racked up his fair share of accolades–both nationally and glob-ally. Shapera recently received Wed-dingWire’s prestigious Couples’ Choice Award* for the third year in a row. He has also received the international WedAward** in January, February and April of this year. Additionally, his

work document-ing a wedding at the Sleepy Hol-low Country Club was featured in the Vows section of The New York Times. As diverse as weddings can be, Todd attrib-utes his success photographing them to singular skill. “I come to each wedding with fresh eyes,” he says.

Among his global honors for social documen-

tary photography, he was awarded a

photographers’ fellowship from Man-agement Sciences for Health (MSH) to document healthcare reform in Rwanda two decades after the geno-cide. The panel chose Shapera among 250 global applicants, citing the way his prior work in Africa “captured the inner beauty and the dignity of people in their everyday lives.”

*The WeddingWire Couples’ Choice award is given to the top five percent of photographers in their national network based on client reviews.

**The Wedaward is given to just three percent of monthly submissions from around the globe.

Tarrytown House Wedding, Bride Awaiting The First Look With Her Groom, on the stairs of Biddle Mansion. Wedaward, February, 2016

Todd Shapera:The Man

and his Passion Behind the Lens

Shapera with his dogs, Ruby and Rico, on Pocantico Lake.

Elisabeth Bauer Photo


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A MID-YEAR REVIEW CAN PAY OFF AT YEAR ENDBy Scott Kahan

Today, many people find themselves inundated by a constant stream of financial news. Yet, does all this “information age” data really help you manage your finances any better than in the past? The truth often is that the “old-fashioned” practices, such as periodic financial reviews, lead to greater success in the long run. As the year reaches its midpoint, why not spend a few hours reviewing your finances? The changes you make today could yield positive results in increased savings. Here are some important items to cover:

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“For me, it begins with beautiful lighting,” he continues, on the subject. “I try to paint with light.” He points to a photo he took in Kenya for the NGO, Hatua Likoni in which both light and dignity are a major focus.

This technique is not limited to his work aboard; he approaches his local event photography in the same way. To illustrate this point, he next pulls out a photo from a wedding at the New York Botanical Garden, in which the newly-weds are positioned under an August supermoon–utilizing dramatic lighting for enhanced effect.

In working so intimately with his cli-ents, he values their trust, and prides himself on his ability to develop long-

standing re-lationships with many of them. “I photo-graphed a Chappaqua girl’s Bat Mitzvah twelve years ago,” he shares. “[Then,]

I did her sister’s [Bat

Mitzvah] two years later, and now, in September, I’m doing her wedding [photography] in Tarrytown. It’s a Jewish-Hindu wedding. The groom’s going to come in on a horse. It’s go-ing to be unbelievable.” Additionally, Shapera donates his time and craft to several local charitable organizations,

including Chappaqua’s Making Head-way Foundation, which helps to raise money and awareness for children with brain and spinal cord tumors, and their families. “Todd is a such a wonderful man, and a great, great photogra-

pher,” says Maya Manley, who founded Making Headway with her husband, Edward. “He knows how to talk to kids, and approach parents, and he can build bridges with both [groups] so easily. He’s so gentle and kind.”

But despite the positive en-dorsement, Shapera insists on staying out of the spotlight, seek-ing to be unobtrusive in his work. “When I go to an event, it’s never about me,” he shares. “It’s about the story I’m capturing.”

To that end, he adds that “after an event, it’s not unusual for a client to tell me they didn’t even know I was there, but [at the same time, they] knew I was every-where.” That’s definitely the Shap-

era touch. And while many con-tinue to praise him for his efforts,

ever humble, he recedes, stating: “I just love storytell-ing.” But, as Professional Photographer Magazine noted in a recent profile piece, he’s a storyteller who is art-fully “linking disparate worlds through photogra-phy.” With that, it’s clear he’s making a difference that’s gone anything but

unnoticed. And, to think, it all began with “one camera, one lens.”

For more info: www.toddshapera.com.

A fan of all photography, Matt Smith–a proud graduate of Skidmore College– is a regular contributor to the Inside Press, Inc.

A pre-Bat Mitzvah portrait shot by Todd at the Katonah Museum.

A tobacco farmer and his wife outside Vinales, Cuba, two and a half hours west of Havana. Shapera rented a bike from a local craft seller and cycled for three days along a three kilom-eter country road at the base of mountains, spending time with tobacco farmers and their families along the way.

New York Botanical Garden Wedding Under An August Supermoon, Wedaward, January 2016


Keeping Your Pool in Tip-Top Shape: Advice from Pools of Perfection

By Stacey Pfeffer

Taking a dip on a hot summer day in your backyard pool is the ulti-mate suburban luxury. Whether you wish to maintain, renovate or build a pool, Christopher Carthy and his Armonk-based business Pools of Perfection can help ensure that your pool is admired by all the neighbors this summer and beyond.

Carthy and his wife, orthodon-tist Dr. Laura Cannistraci Carthy, who practices in Mount Kisco and their three children, Theresa, Terence, and Camille, have spent many sum-mer days relaxing in their Sarles Street backyard pool with friends and family. As befitting of a pool company busi-ness owner, Carthy describes his own pool as “all jazzed up. Every year I do something new to my pool.”

After working on Wall Street as a fi-nancial analyst for many years, Carthy decided to take a leap into the pool business. He had worked in the pool industry during college summer breaks and always loved it. Carthy originally started Pools of Perfection on Long Island in Roslyn and commuted from his home in New Rochelle. The busi-ness was so successful that he decided to open a second business on Main Street in Armonk after building a new home in town. In 2006, Carthy decided to make a lifestyle change to avoid the long commute to Long Island from Westchester and sold his Roslyn-based business. “I’m now 1.9 miles from my office and immersed in the local com-munity,” Carthy says with a smile.

Carthy is truly dedicated to the town and serves as Vice President on the Armonk Chamber of Commerce. “My greatest focus from a service point of view is Armonk and Chappaqua. I live and work with my customers and I love that.”

Having worked in the pool industry for 30 years, Carthy knows a lot about how people utilize their pools and says swimming is actually not the primary reason why people build a pool. “Most people have a pool as a beauti-ful landscape feature or focal point on

their property. Many like to recreate in it and a few actually swim laps in it.” Carthy and his wife are like most of his customers. After a long day of work, they enjoy relaxing in their pool at night.

While Memorial Day signifies sum-mer and the start of the pool season, Carthy finds that many of his custom-ers are in fact opening up their pools in April and keeping them open until October. “In Westchester, everyone has a heated pool so a six-month sea-son is not atypical. Many people have a spa attached to their pool and/or an auto-cover so while customers may not be swimming in their pool yet, they are enjoying the vista.”

Unlike most of his competitors, which bill customers piecemeal for the opening, the weekly maintenance, the service, the chemicals and the clos-ing of their pool, Carthy’s company operates differently. “All our custom-ers are on a comprehensive fixed price maintenance program so people who come on this year are paying the exact same price as someone who has used our company for ten years. It includes the opening, the closing, the initial vacuuming and water treatment, all chemicals and 15 weeks of main-tenance. People can buy additional weeks if they’d like to extend their season.” Residents of the Byram Hills School District and the Chappaqua School District both receive a discount on the company’s comprehensive maintenance program.

Carthy’s company has won national design awards and also been recog-nized for outstanding engineering and

technical achievement by the As-sociation of Pool and Spa Profes-sionals and the Northeast Spa and Pool Association. He likes to refer to his company as a “soup to nuts” shop where customers can rely on Pools of Perfection to design a pool, obtain permits, construct the pool and build additional features such as cabanas, outdoor kitchens and firepits. Once your pool is built, his company can maintain it for you to enjoy this summer and for years to come.

Stacey Pfeffer is an avid swimmer who lives in Chappaqua with her husband and three young children. She has written for NY Family, Westchester Parent, Kvel-ler.com and Inside Chappaqua.

Designed by Pools of Perfection

Thinking of Building a Pool?Tips from Christopher Carthy •Work with a company that uses 3D

CAD design so that you can envision what the project will look like upon completion.

•Develop a site plan and be aware of what is needed for your mu-nicipality to approve construction.

•Hire a company that knows which applications are needed to approve the project (e.g., zoning, architecture, wetlands preservation) and can repre-sent you before various boards. Pools of Perfection has a perfect record of permit procurement.

•Design what you want. Sometimes customers want to minimize permit costs and the design can be tweaked to do that. Carthy notes though on the flipside that “sometimes it is worth it to embrace permit costs because the pool’s placement will ultimately add value to the home.”

•Consider timing. Carthy suggests that the ideal time to build a pool is fall and then use spring to plant and finish any other features and roll out the pool the next season.


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Gerry GolubLarger than Life

By Deborah Raider Notis

When Gerry Golub and his family moved to Chappaqua from New Jersey in 1971, they wanted a bigger house, a great school district, and a bucolic sub-urban town not too far from Golub’s job as an accountant in Manhattan. Golub never imagined that he would become such an integral part of the town he chose to call home.

Golub, who passed away on the 9th of October in 2015, was a fixture in Chappaqua. “After he died, I received so many letters, thanking him for eve-rything he did for people,” says Bonnie Golub, the love of his life and his wife of more than 54 years. He was an ac-tive volunteer who served as Fire Com-missioner between 2009 and 2014, as a member of the town’s Zoning Board of

Appeals, and as a pollster for the Board of Elections. More significantly, he was known throughout town by his friends and loved ones as a class act with a great sense of humor.

Golub grew up on Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, attending Yeshiva of Flat-bush and Stuyvesant High School. He came from a family of modest means and was always determined to achieve financial security. He graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in

accounting and worked as a CPA for 50 years. He started his own firm, Goldstein Golub Kessler & Co, and became Managing Partner of the firm. When he sold his firm to American Express in 1998, the first transaction for the sale of an ac-counting firm into a large corpora-tion, Golub served as Chaiman of American Express Tax and Business Services. From 1994 through 2000, and then again in 2003, Golub was on the elite list of Accounting Today’s “100 Most Influential People in the Accounting Profession.”

While he was an innovative and dedicated businessman, Golub’s true passion was his family, starting with his wife Bonnie, whom he met at a school fair at Brooklyn College. Golub and Bonnie were engaged nine months

after their first date, married seven months later, and graduated from college as a married couple. They have three children, Kenny, Laurie, and Alli. Yet, he was most proud of his six grandchildren, upon whom he doted endlessly. “He always said that grand-children are the best part of having kids,” muses his wife. “He was larger than life,” notes Bonnie. She says that Golub did everything to excess and had a great sense of style and was a genuine “clothes horse” with a tie

collection of more than 450 ties with matching hankies.

“Gerry had a separate wardrobe for every outing, a golf wardrobe, a dressy wardrobe, an everyday wardrobe,” says Bonnie. But he was most proud of his Harley wardrobe, which he acquired over the past 15 years when he bought his beloved Road King. “After forbid-ding his kids to ever ride a motorcycle, he went out and bought a Harley,” laughs Bonnie.

According to his wife, Golub had a great interest in machines and any-thing that moved. He was extremely interested in cars, and he was always up on the latest information about them. If you wanted to buy a car, he was happy to negotiate the deal and always knew the ins and outs of every purchase.

Bonnie, who clearly misses her husband every day, says that he was passionate about life and constantly looking toward new and exciting expe-riences. “I was surprised that he never took flying lessons.” It is clear that he was exceptionally happy on the ground in Chappaqua surrounded by his close-knit community and loving family.

Deborah Raider Notis is a freelance writer and co-owner of gamechanger, LLC gamechangernow.com, a free referral service connecting Westchester families to highly qualified, competitively priced academic, athletic, music, and art in-structors. In addition to writing multiple articles for the Inside Press, Deborah’s writing can also be found on suburbanmisfitmom.com.

Gerry Golub with his wife Bonnie (second from left) and their family

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Tips for Women Traveling SoloBy Miriam Longobardi

Have you ever wanted to get on a plane and leave the country to have an adventure by yourself? If the idea feels simul-taneously appealing yet overwhelming, allow me to break it down into a manageable plan. I have taken several, three-week solo journeys overseas ex-ploring new countries and, while it takes considerable planning, the freedom is exhilarating!

Research and plan. Pre-paring for my trips builds excitement and anticipa-tion. I enjoy reading travel books about my destina-tions. Rick Steves’ books cover many European destinations and his tips are very helpful and practical, but I read across many sources to find a consensus about neighborhoods, local customs and hot spots, and the best times to visit certain attractions. Steves has podcasts and interactive maps you can download for walking tours and the audio guide to many museums which saves money and time waiting on lines to rent headsets. Simply load up your phone and get right to sightseeing. Most tourist at-tractions offer online ticket purchases and some allow you to choose your entry time. Consult maps: Streetwise makes easy-to-read large, laminated maps of many cities and will give you a sense of where to stay based on your plans. Consider your activities both day and night. Do you want to be on the beach and take cabs to town or in town and take a cab to the beach? Do you want to be able to walk to most places or stay off the beaten path? Maximize your time by familiarizing yourself with the city in advance.

Read reviews. As a woman trave-ling alone I like a specific destination. TripAdvisor, Booking.com, Airbnb and VRBO are all reputable sites I have used to book accommodations abroad. I cannot stress enough the importance of thoroughly reading several reviews because people are generally honest.

Weigh the disgruntled traveler’s poor experience against the others. I chose a hotel in Spain because the manager personally responded to every review which showed customer service is a priority. If you’re staying several days or a week in one city, consider rent-ing an apartment or home on VRBO or Airbnb. I have rented lovely apart-ments on VRBO when I had my young daughters in tow at significantly lower cost than a hotel and had a kitchen and washing machine.

Another good option traveling solo is a bed and breakfast because the proprietors are usually on site and can be an excellent resource. After reading reviews about a B&B in Italy, I stayed there because all reviewers mentioned how fun and friendly the couple who ran it were, and they turned out to be really terrific company!

Be safe. The moment has arrived: you’ve checked into your hotel, you’ve got your map (keep it with you at all times!) and you’re ready to go explor-ing. Lock your passport and money in a safe at your hotel and carry a se-curely zipped purse across your body, holding tightly at all times, especially when snapping photos or admiring views. Carry just enough cash and one credit card, and alert your banks that you’ll be out of the country.

When it comes to unwelcome atten-tion from men, err on the side of being rude –they’ll get over it. Men from certain cultures flirt nearly compulsively, and certain cul-tures have a general lack of respect for unescorted women. Don’t take it person-ally and avoid iso-lated parts of town.

Solo socializing. Some find socializ-ing alone daunting, especially if you’re not a 20-something backpacker toward which much night-

life is geared. Quieter venues for a more mature crowd tend to attract couples, so where to go? My biggest challenge is finding casual but lively bars for people close(ish) to my age. I ask hotel staff, salespeople and bartenders for ideas. A group tour can help connect you with potential com-panions, or simply strike up a conver-sation with people around you. I asked locals in Venice where good nightlife is and they took me all around, show-ing me the town. When a cab driver in Croatia asked me where to, I said, “Surprise me,” and he dropped me at a beach concert which was a blast! He even arranged to pick me up afterward knowing I was alone and cabs would be scarce!

If solo travel is something you’ve considered, give it a try. For a first time, you may want to pick an English-speaking country or even just a U.S. or Canadian city to get your feet wet. Traveling at your own pace is incred-ibly liberating and you’ll meet and in-teract with far more people than with a friend or group. Start planning, and get out there! The world beckons.

Miriam is a single mother of two daughters living in Westchester. She is currently planning her boldest solo jour-ney yet-three weeks in Thailand, Singa-pore, and Hong Kong this summer.

Miriam (second from left) on a cliff in Morocco with new friends met on a guided tour.


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Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHCIntegrative PsychotherapistNutrition and Health CoachMindfulness Teacher & Speaker

[email protected]

4 Smith Avenue, 2nd floorMount Kisco, NY 10549

JodiBaretz.com Center4Healing.net

Holistic Health and Learning

THE CENTER FORHEALTH ANDHEALING

SAT Tutor Turns Test Taker! By Alan Sheptin

“Why?” was the most common question. Col-lege Board made headlines with the news that it was revamping the SAT. No guessing penalties! No Choice E! No vocabulary lists! As a test practitioner, I had to try this test. Here’s my journey:

Ready,I looked at some test prep

books, but was not confi-dent of their trustworthi-ness. So I used the exams that the College Board published.

Set,Registration on col-

legeboard.com was easy: I uploaded my photo, filled out info, paid, and chose a test site where I would not see any of my students. All set!

Go!I woke up at 6:30 that

dreary Saturday morning, and did what I told my students to do: eat a healthy breakfast, and have all your materials in order. Off I went.

Carded!After I signed in at the

designated location, the site supervisor called me over:“Why are you taking this test?” “Because I want to try it.” And off I went!

In!I was relieved to see that

I was in a classroom with regular sized desks and a clock. The proctor seemed kind and competent: an auspicious beginning.

Reading: Section 1I was glad to get it done

with first. I convinced myself that each of the five passages was interesting. My mindset helped. The questions were straightfor-

ward, and the vocabulary reasonable. The 65 minutes flew by and I was exhausted. A ten-minute break was surely needed.

Writing: Section 2I used the skills my mate-

rials recommend, and used my ear to hear any cacoph-ony in the sentences. This strategy really helped.

Section 3: Math, no calculator

This is unsettling to many students, as they rely heavily on the calculator. I answered every question confidently. When I checked all the answers, I noticed a careless error. Yikes!

Section 4: Math, calculator

There were a few very wordy questions that made me think. One Geometry question was a brain-teaser. There were no trigonom-etry questions or complex Algebra II-style problems. Not terrible.

Section 5: Surprise!I was ready to leave when

we were told that there was still another section (not in the published tests!). I was happy to have another Math section to try. There was one interesting radical question, but nothing too complicated.

VerdictI liked the

test and will recommend it once the Col-lege Board releases

additional materials. And, I liked the test site. Contact me and I’ll divulge that (and my scores!)…

Alan Sheptin is the owner of Sheptin Tutoring Group in Chappaqua. Visit sheptin.com to learn more about his tutoring group.

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E T C E T E R A

The Adventurous SpiritBy Jodi Baretz

Endings are natu-rally sad and begin-nings are naturally scary. The end of the school year is bitter-sweet. June is full of graduations, whether it be from high school or simply moving up to the next school or grade. Wrapping up the year comes with many feelings, some of accomplishment, pride and excitement, and some of sadness for it’s the end of an era. It simply can have many meanings to different people based on their experience and where they are in life.

Moving up and moving out for our seniors can be an adventurous time. What will the next year be like? Will they make friends? Will they be hap-py? Will they survive? There is plenty to be nervous about. While there is plenty of uncertainty and unanswered questions, going into the unknown with a spirit of adventure can defi-nitely allay some fears. Embracing this time of life, and being confident that all the preparation they have done has gotten them ready for this next phase is key. They are warriors and will pre-vail. While it’s all a new adventure, be prepared for the ups and downs. Be accepting of the fact that it’s ok if all doesn’t go perfectly.

When we learn and grow, there may be some obstacles along the way, but that is what makes it all the better when we succeed. When we hold on too tightly to the notion of perfection, we fear the house of cards will fall at any time, so we can’t relax and enjoy the journey. Believe that you will be able to han-dle whatever comes, and so will they.

There is nothing in life so far that you couldn’t handle. We get through it all, and the fears and stories we tell our-selves are so much worse than reality.

My oldest son will be a senior at Greeley next year, and there are so many emotions that go along with that. There are many ways to look at this, and based on the way I think about it, will determine how I handle this transitional period in our lives. I know that it will be time for him to go, and he will be ready for his adven-ture. However, every time I think of him moving on, I become an emotional wreck. I keep reminding myself that this isn’t about me, and he is ready. We can’t freeze time. On the other hand, I am ready for my next adventure.

While I thoroughly enjoyed raising my kids, (for the most part), now it’s time for me. It’s time to travel, dive into my career, and do things that I am passionate about. So many of us tend

to lose ourselves when we are tending to our kids. I see this often in my prac-tice, and it’s so important for us to have our own ad-ventures, desires and time for ourselves, even while the kids are still home. Making time for yourself is not selfish, we become better parents and people when we have things in our life that have meaning besides our kids.

When my children were younger, my husband told me that I always seemed to be “searching” for something. I needed my adventure, and to

find something I felt good about doing.

I got out there and tried many things until I found what I loved to do. I talk a lot about how fear holds us back, especially a fear of failure. Yes, you may fail. I have many times, and each time brought me to my next step in my journey. Failure just means you had the courage to get out there and do something.

Begin AgainSo whether it’s you or your kids, we

all have adventurous spirits inside of us, and need to get out there and do what we love to do. Beginnings are scary for everyone, and things may not always be perfect, and that is ok. Per-fectionism is way overrated, and living and embracing all that live has to offer is way more important. Congratula-tions to all the graduating seniors and empty nesters that have successfully raised their children. You will both be off on your own adventures…be that warrior, take your spear, and don’t fear the peaks and valleys.

Jodi Baretz, LCSW, CHHC is a psy-chotherapist and holistic health coach at The Center for Health and Healing in Mt. Kisco. She specializes in helping busy men and women reduce stress and anxiety using mindfulness and medita-tion. Jodi runs a Mindfulness Bootcamp group called “Mindful is the New Skinny,” and speaks to various groups, schools and organizations on the topic. Please visit www.jodibaretz.com.

Jodi Baretz at the Grand Opening of the Center for Health and Healing in Mount Kiscowhere she is a practitioner

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously,

that you might as well not have lived at all; in which case,

you’ve failed by default.”–J.K. Rowling to Harvard in 2008

“Always remember, it’s simply not an adventure

worth telling if there aren’t any dragons.”

–Sarah Ban Breathnach

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New Castle Physical Therapy & Personal Training is dedicated to providing quality healthcare in a professional and compassionate manner. We schedule one client per hour to ensure superior service and optimal results. The clinic has a welcoming atmosphere with state of the art equipment. Our experienced and knowledgeable staff is committed to helping you achieve your rehabilitation and fi tness goals.

www.newcastlept.netParticipating Member of theHospital for Special SurgeryRehabilitation Network

16 Schuman RoadMillwood, NY 10546914.488.5440

Angela Matos PT, DPT, LMT

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We schedule one client per hour to ensure superior service and optimal results

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