The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Fran Goldstein

About Fran Goldstein

Fran Goldstein is a New York City-based communications consultant.

Beyond the Field: Teen Lacrosse Player Champions Inclusivity

by

PHOTO BY SEAN ZANNI

How does a teenage lacrosse player become a passionate advocate for inclusivity, accessibility, and helping people with disabilities? For Chappaqua’s Zac Klein, it was a chance encounter with a seeing-eye dog helping its owner navigate the streets. Zac, 13 at the time, was curious. His research led him to Guiding Eyes for the Blind, and he wanted to help. Although too young for the organization’s official volunteer roles, Zac organized toy drives and fundraisers in his community.

“It was a natural next step from helping people who are visually impaired to serving the broader community of people with disabilities,” said Zac, now 17 and a Horace Greeley High School junior. He balances a busy schedule, including playing varsity and club lacrosse, and participating in clubs like SHARE (Students Have a Responsibility Everywhere), a student-run, volunteer community service group. Through SHARE, Zac has taught English to immigrant children and lacrosse skills to a Bronx team.

But what truly sparked Zac’s passion was The Runway of Dreams Foundation. For the past decade, the organization has raised awareness of the challenges people with disabilities face in wearing conventional clothing and convinced the fashion industry to create adaptive clothing with features such as easy zippers, Velcro, magnets and adjustable sleeves.

The foundation arose from New Jersey resident Mindy Scheier’s desire to help her son fit in with his friends. Like any other eight-year-old, he wanted to wear jeans to school, but they wouldn’t accommodate the leg braces he wore due to a rare form of muscular dystrophy. A professional fashion designer, Mindy adapted a pair of jeans for him. Inspired by her son’s newfound confidence, she researched ways to increase access to adaptive fashion.

Since its 2014 launch, Runway of Dreams supports initiatives to broaden the reach of mainstream adaptive clothing and promote people with disabilities in the fashion industry. It raises consumer awareness and inspires change in the industry through educational programs, campaigns for inclusion, and large-scale runway shows featuring models with various disabilities wearing adaptive clothing. Thanks to the Foundation’s work, Tommy Hilfiger pioneered adaptive clothing lines for kids, with many brands following suit, developing fashion for the disabled population.

Zac learned about Runway of Dreams from his sister, who had volunteered through her college club. To learn more, he attended the organization’s signature event – its 2023 fashion show at New York City’s Fashion Week. The experience inspired Zac. “Seeing the models’ faces light up with joy was so inspiring,” he said. “I just wanted to help. The more I learned, the more it made sense to get involved.”

Runway of Dreams had a presence on college campuses for years, with students fundraising and hosting runway events. Involving high school students in this effort was still a nascent idea, and Zac’s call to inquire about volunteering was well timed.

He began by sharing Runway of Dreams posts on his social media. “I think everyone should care, and I wanted to spread the word,” Zac explained. “Inclusion isn’t just a word. It’s about giving everyone respect and the opportunities they deserve.”

The highlight of Zac’s involvement was volunteering at the September 2024 Runway of Dreams fashion show, “Fashion Revolution,” its 10th anniversary event. Presented by Victoria’s Secret & Co., the show featured fashion designs by leading designers on more than 60 models, representing a diverse range of ages, disabilities and backgrounds.

The models are selected through a nationwide application process. Volunteers are partnered with each model to provide support throughout the long, sometimes overwhelming day, and ensure that they have a successful experience, according to Elisa Schwartz, a Runway of Dreams project manager who works with the models and trains the volunteers. “This role is not for everyone,” she said. “It requires maturity and endurance. Volunteers like Zac make all the difference, especially for young children.”

Zac was paired with eight-year-old Josiah Clark. Zac was at Josiah’s side throughout the day, playing games, taking him to the sensory room for a break from the commotion, and giving his mom some down time. “I developed a very special bond with Josiah,” Zac said. “We made up our own secret handshake and super jump, and we did both on the runway. The crowd went crazy, and Josiah’s face lit up with joy. It was amazing.”

Looking ahead, Zac hopes to plan an adaptive fashion show at Greeley’s annual Unity Day.

The aspiring business major has also launched an online marketplace selling mobility aids, home essentials, and personal care items to improve the daily lives of people with disabilities. Profits from the marketplace will go to Runway of Dreams. “I got involved because I enjoy making a difference in my community, and Runway of Dreams is literally changing lives,” Zac said.

The Power of Rotary Clubs Here and Beyond

by

Uniting Communities, Making a Difference Locally & Internationally

From providing medical supplies to war-torn Ukrainians and winter coats to Westchester homeless people to giving the polio vaccine to children in third-world countries and improving literacy locally, members of Rotary Clubs throughout Inside Press’ circulation areas and beyond have been a catalyst for positive change worldwide for more than a century.

Rotary Club, an international organization founded in 1905, has 1.5 million members in more than 46,000 clubs. Its mission is to “provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.” Among its most significant international endeavors have been supporting education, ensuring access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene, and playing a pivotal role in reducing polio cases by more than 99 percent worldwide.

At the Pleasantville Rotary Club’s 100-Year Celebration. (L-R:) Garrett Capobianco, Syed Alirahi, Nick Antonaccio and Reverend J. Loren Russell  

On a local level, Rotarians address the needs of communities through myriad service projects and initiatives, and by sponsoring events that are fun and build strong local relationships. Some of the most highly visible and popular events in the area are sponsored by Rotary Clubs.

New Castle Community Day, hosted by the Rotary Club of Chappaqua has been among the most prominent and popular events in the area for decades. “It’s something people look forward to all year,” said Holly McCall, New Castle Town Council Member and President of the Rotary Club of Chappaqua. Scheduled this year for September 14, Community Day at the Chappaqua train station is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year and features local bands, food and activities. “The timing is perfect because it’s at the beginning of the school year, which gives new residents who moved to the area over the summer an opportunity to meet their neighbors and learn about things to do in the area,” said McCall. Booths feature dozens of community groups, such as schools, camps, businesses, political and religious organizations, and town departments.

Rev. Dr. Martha Jacobs with Robin Stout at the 2023 Community Day in Chappaqua. 

This past May, Rotary Club of Chappaqua hosted another popular event – its second annual Drive-In Movie Night, a festive party featuring music, food trucks, a costume contest and a showing of Star Wars – A New Hope.

Local clubs host an array of such large-scale events, as well as smaller ones like pancake breakfasts, and book, toy and coat drives. Funds raised benefit dozens of organizations throughout Westchester, including 914 Cares, A-Home Housing, Ronald McDonald House, the Mt. Kisco Interfaith Pantry, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Ossining Food Pantry, Lifting Up Westchester and Northern Westchester Hospital. Clubs also regularly provide college scholarships to graduates of local high schools, and members get together for hands-on service projects, like filling food bags for Feeding Westchester and building benches in area parks.

For club members, there is a huge sense of satisfaction garnered from giving back to the community. “I was raised with the spirit of service, and it has become my passion,” said McCall, whose parents have been active Rotarians in Massachusetts since she was a child.

Rotary Motto: Service Above Self

One of the oldest Rotaries in the area is the Pleasantville Rotary Club, which celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and includes members who have been Rotarians for 50 years. Over the years, this club has actually helped launch several of other local clubs, including Chappaqua, Armonk and Briarcliff Manor.

“I’ve formed wonderful friendships and been able to do a lot of good for the community,” said Helen Grishman, Immediate past president of the Pleasantville Rotary Club. Grishman, a former assistant district attorney, joined Rotary when she retired 24 years ago and has served as president three times. “I believe that people sincerely see in Rotary’s motto of service above self an opportunity to give back in both small and large ways.”

Funds raised by the Pleasantville club were used to purchase medical equipment for eye surgeries in Egypt and enhance literacy in Myanmar. Last year, in just two weeks, members collected $10,000 for the Rotary Club in Kiev, Ukraine. They also worked with another local club to purchase and ship an ambulance to Afghanistan. And each year on Arbor Day, “we give trees and educate kids about their value to the planet, not just aesthetically, but by providing oxygen and shade and food,” Grishman said.

The club has also had a strong presence at the annual Pleasantville Day organized by the Village of Pleasantville. “We try to make a meaningful impact at our booth,” she said. “This year, we wanted to show children with special needs what it’s like to go into an ambulance, which can be very traumatic. So, working with the Ambulance Corp, we had an ambulance onsite that kids could explore.”

Funds for these initiatives are raised through the club’s signature event – Hudson Valley Fermented, which takes place each Spring at Pace University and is cosponsored with King’s Crown Wines and Spirits. The festive event features local breweries, vineyards, restaurants and music.

Rotary International’s global network enables it to address pressing humanitarian issues on an international scale by enabling Rotarians to partner with each other. “In the case of a major catastrophe somewhere, we can connect with the local club to get funds and materials to the right place immediately,” said Abbott Fleur a software company owner and President of the Bedford-Armonk Rotary Club. Fleur joined in Mt. Kisco and started the Bedford-Armonk Club about 12 years ago. For the past several years, this club’s signature event, co-sponsored with the Lions Club, has been a Blues and Barbecue Festival.

“Even though it’s a large organization, the local groups have complete control over what projects they work on, and members are encouraged to come up with ideas,” Fleur said. Clubs can tap into funds from the Rotary Foundation for overseas projects.

Being part of the bigger solution is exactly what convinced Jeff Cadge, an independent video producer and photographer, to join Rotary in 2019. “When you’re born in this country, you’ve won the lottery… We have so many opportunities and it’s great to be able to make the world a little more equitable. You can sit back and watch the news every night or you could try to get involved,” said Cadge, President of the Briarcliff Manor Rotary Club, whose signature fundraiser is an annual event featuring the world-famous Magic Masters basketball team.

Among the Club’s projects was an effort to stress the importance of having a visible street number to help first responders. The club also offered street number signs and guidelines for displaying them.

As part of the Rotary, Cadge is working with officials to build a local Micro Forest – a dense area of indigenous plants and trees designed to attract native insects and small animals, thus restoring biodiversity and fighting climate change.

The Briarcliff Manor Rotary Club is also contributing to The Cookstove Project, which aims to eliminate preventable deaths in developing countries that are caused by cooking with an open fire in homes – an issue that exposes nearly three billion people to dangerous pollutants. The organization helps families in Nepal and Uganda build and maintain their own clean cookstoves using locally sourced materials. “We’ve been able to show people that contributing just $10 can build one cookstove and change the life of a family on the other side of the world,” Cadge said.

Rotary’s impact transcends borders and makes a lasting difference in the lives of countless individuals. It is a testament to what can be achieved when people come together with a shared purpose: to make the world a better place.

The clubs welcome new members. Information is available on the club’s websites and social media.

Bedford-Armonk:
bedfordarmonkrotary.org

Briarcliff Manor:
portal.clubrunner.ca/7405/

Chappaqua:
rotaryofchappaqua.com

Pleasantville:
pleasantvillerotary.com

Local Doctor turns Writer … Pens Story of Father’s Escape from Nazis and Return to Germany as U.S. Spy

by

Jack (Wolf) Schwersenz, shown here with his parents and sister, in Berlin circa 1937, is the subject of Audrey Birnbaum’s book, American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy.

Audrey Birnbaum’s father, Jack Schwersenz, was determined that the story of his childhood escape from Nazi Germany be passed on to future generations. So in his 70s, he typed it all out… every single grueling detail, amounting to 350 pages. “But I couldn’t get past the first chapter,” recalled Audrey. “It was too tedious, too detailed, too cumbersome to read.” So she stored it away in the attic of the Briarcliff Manor home where she and her husband raised their three children.

When Jack died about 15 years later, she needed some details to flesh out his eulogy. Having recently broken her leg, she practically crawled up the steep attic stairs to retrieve the manuscript. “Then, as a I skimmed it with tears in my eyes, I realized just how rich it was. It was a story that had to be told. But in my dad’s form, it still seemed like nothing more than a testimony that might be of interest to a Holocaust museum,” Audrey said. “A few years later, when the Pandemic hit and I had retired from my 35-year career as a pediatric gastroenterologist, I decided to see if I could make it readable.”

And that she did…

Audrey Birnbaum

The result, American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy, is the true story of a Jewish boy’s childhood in Berlin, his riveting escape in 1941 with his parents aboard the Navemar (the Spanish freighter that carried about 1,120 European Jewish refugees to the United States in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions), the challenges the family faced as immigrants in New York City, and his return to Germany in his 20s as an intelligence officer for the U.S. Army.

Published in October 2023, the book has garnered rave reviews from readers, while Audrey has spoken at numerous local and national forums and has been interviewed on dozens of podcasts and news shows. American Wolf: From Nazi Refugee to American Spy also was named a 2023 National Jewish Book Award finalist for Holocaust Memoirs.

“By narrating this true story in the first person, Audrey Birnbaum deftly transports the reader to 1930s Berlin, and we are at once immersed in a family drama during the rise of Hitler,” wrote one reviewer. “This is a story of determination, survival and resistance that is as relevant today as at any time in the last three generations.”

Other reviewers praised Audrey’s writing style as engaging, amusing and witty, and applaud her ability to bring the characters’ stories to life. One could easily assume that she is a professional writer. In fact, this is her first book, although she did briefly consider a career in journalism while a student at Stuyvesant High School in New York City.

She and her older sister grew up in Flushing, first in the same one-bedroom apartment that her father and grandmother lived in when they moved out of Washington Heights, their port of entry when they arrived in New York City from Germany. Eventually, they “literally pushed” their furniture a half block away to a larger apartment, where her mom still resides.

As young children, she and her sister did not quite fit in with the other kids, often feeling like outcasts and becoming victims of bullying. “We ate differently, dressed differently, listened to classical music, and only watched public television. My father raised us as if we were German,” she recalled, noting that her lunchbox typically contained a liverwurst sandwich rather than PB&J. “He also developed from his war experience a pathological fear of spending money. We wrote down every penny we spent. Everything was measured – food, money, toilet paper, phone calls. If we went on a class trip, we didn’t have spending money to buy a souvenir the way other kids did.”

While her childhood was in many ways similar to that of other immigrant children, her father’s history and approach to life had a profound impact. “My sister and I were immersed in his past very early on – he loved to talk about being German and about his great escape on the last train out of Germany,” Audrey recalled. “He was obsessed with the Holocaust, and we watched documentaries about it from the time I could remember. While other kids talked about their trips to Disneyland, in a perverse way, I tried to make myself important by saying my father was a Holocaust survivor.”

Jack also passed on to his daughters a strong work ethic. After working as a CPA, he eventually started publishing out of their apartment a monthly newsletter for accountants. And since he refused to hire a staff, it became a family business, with Audrey, her sister and mother helping with typing, editing, collating and stuffing envelopes.

Since it was understood that they could not afford for the girls to go to college outside of New York, Audrey’s career path was sealed when she was accepted into the six-year Sophie Davis Biomedical Education Program/CUNY School of Medicine. She started practicing medicine at the age of 22.

“When you grow up in a house where work was valued and leisure was frowned upon, it’s very hard to be leisurely as an adult,” she said. “Even when I stopped working as a physician, somehow I was always busy. I’m always in motion,” said Audrey who enjoys singing and reading and has started writing her second book.

“I also love to fix things, which is partly what drove my determination to re-write my father’s memoirs,” she said. “I was also compelled by a sense of obligation to him.”

She dove into researching historical facts and long-lost family members to fill in gaps in her father’s manuscript. And once she started writing, she couldn’t stop – creating several drafts as she experimented with different styles and approaches.

Although Jack often shared with his daughters details about his childhood in and escape from Germany, he rarely spoke about the hardships he and his family faced once they arrived in New York City. Like so many other immigrants, his family gave up comfortable lives for the often harsh realities of starting over, such as becoming menial laborers and living in roach-infested apartments. He also didn’t divulge much about his experiences when he was drafted during the Cold War and stationed in Germany, where as a native speaker he became a valuable spy.

His memoirs reveal all this, as well as Jack’s struggle with figuring out who he was. “In Germany, he was rejected for being a Jew. When they got here, he faced both antisemitism and anti-German sentiments,” Audrey said. “He tried to fit in as an American, but that wasn’t easy. This is how the title American Wolf came about.”

Jack’s given name was Wolf, but on his first day of school in New York City, the assistant principal encouraged him to change it to avoid being teased by other children.

“This is not only a story of rejection by one country and acceptance by another, but also a parallel story about discovering one’s identity – about self rejection and self acceptance,” Audrey said. “When you are considered a lower-class citizen and told that you are worthless, you absorb all of that into your psyche – so you have to go through a process of self acceptance. The book ends when my dad married my mom… when he ultimately found love and acceptance.”

Popular Sport Takes Hold in North Castle – Thanks to The Pickleball Ladies of Armonk

by

North Castle’s (L-R): Dara Lepofsky, Wendy Ranieri and Heather Hecht
PHOTOS BY DONNA MUELLER

As a long-time competitive tennis player, Heather Hecht was hardly impressed when she first saw people playing pickleball. “I thought it was a very noisy sport that looked like a completely ridiculous made-up game,” she recalled.

“But the fact that the players were having so much fun stuck with me. So, a few years later, while vacationing in South Carolina with my family, I noticed some courts and decided to give it a shot since I’ve always been eager to play any racket sport,” said the Pleasantville resident whose kids are in the Byram Hills Central School District.

Heather instantly fell in love with the game, which is often described as a mix of tennis, racquetball, badminton, and Ping-Pong. She introduced it to her family, as well as to her close friend and Armonk resident, Dara Lepofsky. Dara, another lifelong tennis player, was also smitten and became determined to make it available to residents in her community.

Before long, the two helped pave the way for the fastest-growing sport in the United States to take root in Armonk. According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, more than 8.9 million people in the United States now play pickleball, up from 4.8 million in 2022.

Last year, Dara, who oversees the tennis program at the Windmill Club, convinced management and fellow board members to paint pickleball lines on one of the tennis courts. The catch was that a pickleball instructor had to come on board to teach and to make sure the court would be well used. Dara turned to Heather, who had previously taught tennis at a local camp. The two created a curriculum, and Heather’s classes booked immediately. Residents who had already taken up pickleball were thrilled to have a place to play and take lessons close to home. One resident created a community group on the popular Team Reach phone app so residents could communicate and coordinate playtimes. Over the past year, the club painted additional courts, offered more classes, and planned periodic social events, thus giving the sport its due alongside tennis.

“It was like if you build it, they will come,” joked Heather.

 

A Little Pipe Dream Come True

“Within two years, the little pipe dream we came up with while sitting at the beach in South Carolina has become a reality in the area, and I couldn’t be more proud,” said Dara, who is a school psychologist for the Mamaroneck School District.

For Heather, a former benefits consultant, the sport provided a new teaching career. Not long after her classes started at Windmill, the Town of North Castle Parks and Recreation Department joined the ranks of community centers around the country eager to offer facilities for the popular sport and hired Heather to teach.

The Town launched the pickleball program at Lombardi Town Park’s tennis courts last fall, and Heather’s first four introductory classes sold out. Given the interest among residents, the Town offered a winter class on an unused basketball court at the North White Plains Gym, as well as several spring classes at Lombardi, ultimately reaching about 120 residents. Pickleball lines were also painted at Winkler Park’s tennis courts, so the Town now has six public courts for the sport, and residents can play on a first-come-first serve basis. Beginner and intermediate classes are expected to be part of the Town’s recreation programs in the fall, winter and spring.

To some pickleball afficianados, the situation is not ideal since the lines are painted on existing tennis courts, sometimes causing confusion, and players have to learn how to properly adjust the tennis net. “Ultimately, I would love to see the town find space to build dedicated courts so pickleball players have their own place to play,” said Heather, noting that it’s difficult to find dedicated courts except perhaps at private clubs that have converted paddle ball or basketball courts. “But I’m thrilled that we’ve come so far,” she said.

And with public facilities now available, Armonk residents started hitting the courts for pick-up games this summer.

“At the end of Heather’s spring intermediate class, several of us wanted to continue to play,” said Wendy Ranieri, a retired physical education teacher who decided to take pickleball classes to stay active and meet new people. After Heather created a TeamReach group, Wendy took it upon herself to become the group administrator and encourage fellow players to use the phone app to schedule games.

“It’s wonderful to have a core group of people who I see regularly twice a week on the courts,” said Wendy. Ironically, she recalls playing a version of pickleball in college and then improvising in the gymnasium with her middle-school students to keep boredom at bay in the winter months. “I’ve come full circle,” she joked, “but of course the game is very different now.”

The sport has been around since 1965, but started soaring in popularity around 2018. Compared with tennis, pickleball is relatively easy to learn. The plastic, wiffle-like ball doesn’t bounce as much, and the shorter, lighter racket is easier to handle. There’s also less running required since most people play doubles games, and the court is smaller than a tennis court.

“I can’t think of another sport that you can learn well enough within an hour to actually play and feel successful,” Heather said. “You can quickly attain a level of confidence to say ‘yes’ when someone invites you to play. It also provides good exercise, but is easier on the bones and joints, and you can feel like you’re getting cardio without killing yourself.”

But perhaps its biggest appeal is simply that it is a fun social activity. Even players who play competitively can be heard laughing and enjoying themselves. While initially it was most popular with those in middle age and older, 20 and 30-year-olds across the country have discovered the sport. It also lends itself to a great family activity. Both Heather and Dara’s children – ranging in age from 12 to 17 – have been willing to join their moms on the courts.

“It’s taken on a life of its own, and I couldn’t stop it if I wanted to,” said Heather, who now teaches at several locations in the area. “As a teacher, it’s very rewarding to see people pick it up so quickly and have so much fun playing. And seeing pickleball taking off in North Castle has been beyond amazing.”

Where To Play

The list of places where you can play the country’s hottest sport is growing throughout the area. Several public parks have repurposed some of their existing tennis courts to accommodate pickleball. Here’s a roundup of just a few of the public facilities in our local communities.

Armonk – Lombardi Park

85 Cox Avenue
Two tennis courts with pickleball lines
Drop-in play based on availability

Pleasantville – Foxwood Condominiums Park

9 Foxwood Drive
Three tennis courts with pickleball lines
Drop-in play based on availability

Chappaqua – Town Hall Basketball Court

200 S Greeley Ave
One court (sign up in advance)
Sundays: 9 am -12 pm
Mondays: 9 am – 1 pm
Thursdays: 5 pm – 8 pm   

Briarcliff Manor – Chilmark Park

48 Macy Road
Six pickleball courts
Drop-in play open to residents and nonresidents based on availability.
Permits required (application available on briarcliffmanor.gov.

Bedford – Winkler Park

Off Greenwich Banksville Road
One tennis court with pickleball lines
Drop-in play based on availability

To search for additional locations, check out the USA Pickleball Association’s search function: places2play.org