As readers of the Inside Press know, summer marks the longest break between issues of both Inside Armonk and Inside Chappaqua, making this our first issue since June.
The theme of the issue is “fun,” and most of our stories go along with this theme. The cover story is on the Armonk Outdoor Art Show, describing how a village of art will arise in the hamlet later this September.
We also feature a preview of the Cider and Donuts Festival, another exciting local event to which we can look forward. For nature lovers, we have a feature on where Armonk residents can go to see the leaves change colors, and we’ll also take a look back at some of the fun Armonk had in the summer that just passed, including the Summer Concert Series.
Along with these event previews and look backs, we give readers a look at the North Castle Public Library, a dynamic institution of which every Armonk resident should take advantage. And we feature Armonk Dance, one of the many local businesses that make the hamlet unique.
Finally, I take a look at how a housing settlement signed between the county and the federal government is impacting North Castle as well as neighboring New Castle. Admittedly, this doesn’t really go along with the whole “fun” theme for the issue.
As both a reporter in and resident of Westchester, I’ve covered and followed the county’s battles over the housing settlement for years. After learning this spring that North Castle faced the threat of litigation under the settlement, I began thinking about how I could tell the story of the settlement from a local perspective.
It’s impossible to tell the full story of the settlement in one magazine article–it would probably be impossible to tell it in a book. My hope for this article is that it will give readers a look beyond some of the slogans coming from those for or against the settlement and a sense of what the settlement has meant for them and their neighbors.