The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

The Inside Press

Assemblyman Buchwald: Elected Officials Who Betray the Public Should Lose Their Pensions

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Introduces Bill to Strip Pension Benefits From Convicted Public Officials

Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-Westchester) has announced that he introduced legislation that would take away pension benefits from any state or local public official convicted of a felony where the public’s trust has been violated (A.7173). He added that in the past seven years alone, New York State has seen 32 state-level officials caught up in corruption cases. This has led to a breakdown in public trust and millions of taxpayer dollars wasted on unethical ex-officials’ pensions.

“If you have betrayed the public’s trust, you have no right to continue benefiting from hardworking taxpayers’ money,” Assemblyman Buchwald said. “People are tired of corrupt officials taking advantage of the system. This legislation takes a step toward putting integrity and trust back into our state government.”Buchwald’s bill is an amendment to New York State’s constitution.

That means in order to become effective, the bill must be approved by the current Legislature and then be passed again in two years, by a newly elected Legislature. It would then go before the public for a vote.

By amending the constitution, Buchwald’s bill would go a step further to strengthen the current law, which only strips pension benefits of convicted officials first elected after the law was passed in 2011. Buchwald’s bill, which is more encompassing, would apply to any elected official, regardless of when he or she first held office.

“I am confident that if this constitutional change were put before the voters it would receive overwhelming support.” Assemblyman Buchwald said. “As public servants, we took an oath swearing to uphold the law and to do so faithfully and honestly. I promised Westchester families that I wouldn’t stand for this type of behavior, and now, more than ever, we need to act.”

First Time Summer Sports/Fitness Camp at THE GYM of Armonk

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the-gymFor the first time beginning this summer, THE GYM of Armonk is proud to introduce two unique summer camp experiences for community youth: a Sports & Fitness full-day Camp for kids six to nine years of age, and a Basketball Camp for kids age six to sixteen. In addition, a mini camp for three to five-year-olds will be offered in conjunction with the Sports & Fitness Day Camp, providing a fun and active environment @ THE GYM and North Castle Pool & Tennis Club. This is the first year that an outdoor camp is being offered, but both THE GYM and NCPT have many years of experience running successful indoor camps, youth programs, birthday parties and charity events. Transportation between THE GYM and North Castle Pool & Tennis Club will be provided for the various periods throughout each day.

Sports & Fitness Camp
This exciting new program will introduce campers to a dynamic lifestyle by showing them fun and creative ways to stay active. Campers will also be taught the fundamentals of sports that will help keep them motivated to continue participating in these activities for years to come. The campers will go from light fitness sessions to playing soccer to receiving professional swim technique instruction, with one of the goals to keep the kids moving and having fun – with breaks of course! – throughout the day. The hope to provide a safe environment where campers will learn something about sports and exercise, create new relationships with other campers and have experiences that allow them to look forward to coming back year after year. The Sports & Fitness Camp begins on June 10th and runs through August 2nd with one, two and three-week packages available. The full-day camp (ages 6-9) will run from 9:00am to 4:00pm daily, and the mini-camp (ages 3-5) from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

nc-poolBasketball Camp
A Basketball Camp @ THE GYM and North Castle Pool & Tennis will also be offered alongside the Sports & Fitness Day Camp for kids age six to sixteen. This program will be run by personal trainer and head basketball instructor Michael Kach, who played at the University of Pennsylvania, and his team of qualified coaches. They will focus on the fundamentals of the game, skills, knowledge building and speed and agility training. The camp will include game and tournament experiences as well as swimming and entertaining games. This program will run from August 26th to August 30th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A high energy, well qualified staff has been selected for both new summer camps, and they all have experience as camp counselors, sports class leaders and birthday party staff. They are mature adults who are looking forward to giving the children in the community a high quality day camp experience that they will remember for years to come. Matt Spallina is the Youth Program Director at THE GYM and Jon Hulbert is a Head Coach with the Condors Swim Club as well as Pool Director/Head Coach at NCPT. Working in tandem, the two facilities will provide daily activities for campers that will include sports, games, fitness-building, swimming, snack breaks and even color war!

“THE GYM of Armonk in conjunction with North Castle Pool &Tennis, have a unique camp because it is offering professional instruction to young children who wish to learn swimming techniques under actual swim coaches, along with strengthening coaches who can teach lifestyle methods to become great athletes,” said Spallina. “We are looking forward to developing young campers into all-around people who can carry the importance of an active lifestyle with them throughout life,” Hulbert further commented. “And with the younger campers, we hope to start the process of teaching them how to have fun while also learning how to become achievers in all facets of their lives.”

Parents may pack a lunch for their child or there will be food for sale at the pool.

Registration is now open! To register for the new Sports & Fitness Camp or the Basketball Camp, or for more information, please contact Matt Spallina at (914) 219-1616 or MSpallina@GetToTheGym.com. Members of THE GYM of Armonk and North Castle Pool & Tennis Club receive a 5% discount on registration fees.

About North Castle Pool & Tennis Club
North Castle Pool and Tennis is the only club in town to offer so much — a zero entry pool, dedicated lap lanes, diving well, separate and gated kiddie pool, and splash fountains along with tennis and basketball courts. Swim and dive team programs for all ages invite members to develop and perfect their sport. Located at 3 Greenway Rd., Armonk, join our pool community now for a summer full of fun – 914-694-6300 or www.northcastlepool.com.

About THE GYM of Armonk
THE GYM is a complete lifestyle and fitness center, designed to promote healthy living in a first class atmosphere. Its unique approach integrates specialized training programs with nutrition and weight management counseling for total body conditioning and optimal fitness. THE GYM is known for its superior quality equipment, expert staff and special amenities, including a clothing boutique, juice bar, spa, child play area and unique health & wellness partnership conveniences. The staff’s attentive service and the facility’s array of programs and accommodations provide guests with a state-of-the-art experience.

Please visit www.GetToTheGym.com/Armonk or call (914) 219-1601 for additional information.

LifeWorx announces Janet Hanson to be honored at 2013 Celebrated Mom Event in NYC

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janet-hansonEach year, LifeWorx honors a mother who has excelled professionally and has been an inspiration to the community while having gone through life challenges. This woman receives the “Celebrated Mom Award” and is chosen after careful consideration by an independent event committee. Past recipients include Carol Evans, the founder and CEO of Working Mother Media (2010), Hannah Storm, co-anchor of ESPN news (2011), and Ali Wing, founder and CEO of Giggle (2012). This year, LifeWorx has announced they will honor Janet Hanson, founder and CEO of 85 Broads. At the event, LifeWorx will also present a generous gift to the recipient of the “Compassionate Mom Award,” who can use some help due to difficult circumstances in her life. This invitation only event will be held on May 23rd at the Lotos Club in NYC.

Janet Hanson is known and respected as a determined entrepreneur with integrity and intellect. What sets her apart from other professionals is her ability to balance work and family life, while undergoing life challenges. She is an inspiration to women all over the world, and yet is a down to earth mother of two who has always valued spending time with her children – and has never missed one of her son’s squash games! After a successful year at Goldman Sachs, Janet founded 85 Broads, which she has continued to expand into a global community of over 30,000 trailblazing women. Through networking and programming, Janet has helped thousands of women leverage their best personal and professional relationships to create and celebrate greater success for themselves and others.

LifeWorx created the Celebrated Mom event out of a true appreciation for what mothers do every day. Bal Agrawal, founder of LifeWorx, is particularly passionate about the event. Bal faced challenges of his own, becoming a single parent balancing work and family following his wife’s struggle with cancer. Due to his first-hand experience and difficulty finding trustworthy help at home, Bal started LifeWorx with the simple intention of making people’s lives easier. The company has grown to bring solutions to busy moms and their families all over Greater New York.

About 85 Broads
http://www.85broads.com 85

Broads is a global women’s network whose mission is to generate exceptional professional and social value for its members through regional network events and online at 85Broads.com. Members invest their time, their intellect, and their financial capital in each other, across multiple generations, which is what makes 85 Broads so unique. The women in 85 Broads are entrepreneurs, investment bankers, consultants, film makers, lawyers, educators, athletes, venture capitalists, portfolio managers, political leaders, philanthropists, doctors, engineers, artists, scientists, FT parents, and students. Learn more about our exclusive network and apply for membership.

About LifeWorx
http://www.lifeworx.com
LifeWorx is a premiere home staffing company which serves Greater New York. The LifeWorx mission is to enhance the overall quality of your life by creating a less stressful home environment and taking care of day-to-day tasks for you, so that you have more time to spend with the ones you love. LifeWorx offers you services to help you seamlessly transition from every natural occurring phase in life.

The company is built on flawless customer satisfaction. Each LifeWorx expert undergoes a rigorous background check, reference calls, and in person-interview and is chosen from a selective pool of hundreds of applicants. We are the most selective in the child care and elder care industry, and will only hire professionals we would trust to take care of our own children or elder family members.
LifeWorx provides nannies, housekeepers, elder care, personal chefs, organizers, and personal assistants.

Chappaqua Crossing Debate Rages on at Hearing

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Janet Levy, addressing the board, in favor of the development. She was a rare voice in favor amidst the vast majority who came to oppose the plan.
Janet Levy, addressing the board, in favor of the development. She was a rare voice in favor amidst the vast majority who came to oppose the plan.

By Steven Bernstein

Emotions continued to run raw and high during the New Castle Town Board’s second public hearing on the proposed plan to use the 120,000 square feet at Chappaqua Crossing for largely retail use.

The reaction to the plan received overwhelmingly negative public comments among the 100 or so who showed up at Town Hall. Many residents voiced their concerns for public safety.

Resident and elder care attorney Lisa Katz maintained that that board had not voiced “one articulate and legitimate reason for this ‘monstrosity of a strip mall’ other than to reimburse Summit-Greenfield (the developer) for a horrible investment.”

“I never felt after D’Agostino’s closed that I was at a disadvantage because I didn’t have a grocery store right nearby,” said Emily Bloom, a resident of Chappaqua for the past 20 years.  Bloom also revealed her two sons, both members of the Chappaqua fire department,  “have expressed great concern about traveling to the fire house at certain times of the day, getting there in time to get on the truck. How can you fight a fire if the firefighters can’t get from their homes to the fire department?”

Hedy Simpson noted the danger to high school students just learning how to drive. “There are so many fender benders already…we can’t afford one with an 18 wheeler.”

Rob Greenstein, head of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce, noted that some 30-40 members of 166 members of the Chamber had come to Town Hall to register their displeasure.  First, however, Greenstein  read a letter on behalf of Chappaqua resident Sue Grapel. The letter told of a horrific automobile accident Grapel was in on route 117 when she was forced off the road to avoid a truck.  She ended up hitting some street signs and a telephone pole.

“Thankfully I was able to get to the hospital quickly. I cannot believe that we, as a community would choose to severely increase the traffic on our only road that goes directly to our local hospital.  Our teenagers drive this road every day and an increase in truck traffic will be very dangerous to all that need to use this road daily,” Greenstein said on Grapel’s behalf.

“Forget the Town Board,” Greenstein urged later.  “Work with the residents, sit down and form a committee with the residents.  Nobody’s accepting this project without a fight.”  Greenstein also proposed that Summit-Greenfield, the developer, consider refocusing their plans to build in downtown Chappaqua instead (in a downtown transformation plan similar to other towns in the county) and “swap” town hall and the police dept. to the Chappaqua Crossing campus. Jacques from Healthy Choice Pharmacy suggested “looking in a progressive direction. Perhaps a community garden.”

There were, however, a couple residents, in the face of all the opposition, who spoke up in defense of the proposed plan.

“I believe that contrary to what everyone says that I represent the silent majority.  I think the town desperately needs a supermarket.  This one to me makes a whole lot of sense,” said Janet Levy, a resident of Chappaqua for 23 years, who also noted that the town is “crying for an increase in the tax base. The taxes here are higher than anywhere.”

“I do see a need for something to be done with that space,” said Audrey Roberts, another resident of Chappaqua.  “I don’t look at this necessarily as a zero sum game, that if we put shopping there, it will decimate downtown.  I will go downtown, the way I still go downtown, for the stores I like. One resident, Robert Leiblich, urged that Summit-Greenfield invest in a poll of every household in New Castle for an honest answer on the level of support they have.

At 4:30, the Town Board officially closed the public hearing.  Public comment will be open until Friday, May 10th at 4:30pm.  For all those who didn’t get a chance to attend one of the public hearings, or for those who did, but still have more to say, feel free to email the board at CHAPCROSSINGSEIS@TOWN.NEW-CASTLE.NY.US.