Ronni Diamondstein

Welcoming James Carroll: New Castle’s New Police Chief

August 24, 2019 by Ronni Diamondstein

Police Chief James Carroll
PHOTO BY RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN

There’s a new Chief in town, but New Castle’s new Police Chief James Carroll is hardly new to New Castle. Carroll was sworn in on June 28th upon the retirement of Chief Charles Ferry. “We chose Jim Carroll based on his experience. Chief Carroll has more than 15 years of police supervisory experience. He has been, and will continue to be, an asset to the Town,” said Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein about the Board’s decision to promote Carroll.

Carroll lived in the Bronx until he was five years old and then moved to Dutchess County where he still lives. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Marist College and worked briefly as a claims adjuster until he began his law enforcement career in April 1990 as a Dutchess County Deputy Sherriff.

In October 1993, Carroll joined the New Castle Police Department as a police officer. He trained new police officers for five years, was promoted to Sergeant in 2004, and then Lieutenant in 2016. “I didn’t know that I wanted to be Chief. I always wanted to move up in the ranks because I thought I could help shape the department. The further I got up, the further I wanted to go,” says Carroll.

Vicki Bergstrom whose family owns Lange’s Little Store has known Carroll since he started in New Castle. “It’s nice to see him rise through the ranks. He’s always been a great part of the community.”

“Service is our goal and primary function,” says Carroll. “I’d like to make this town the safest, and provide the best possible police service in the County or anywhere.” He is proud of his accomplishments to date that include increased productivity of traffic enforcement and community checks. “I want people to know that if they have a problem they should call. I tell the officers that if the phone rings I want a police officer to go speak to the caller. Sometimes it’s not a police matter, but we can talk to them and maybe steer them in the right direction, and that helps.”

Chief Carroll hosted his first “Coffee With A Cop” on Saturday, July 27, 2019 at Lange’s Little Store in Chappaqua with plans for one soon in the west end of the town. (L-R): Lt. James Dumser, Caroline Wood, Chief James Carroll, Nate Wood and Lt. Estuardo Pazmino. PHOTO BY RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN

Strengthening Relationships in the Community

Carroll is pleased with his good relationships with fellow first responders. “Jim has always brought a sense of calmness to his role as a police officer and his presence at emergency scenes is not only comforting to the residents, but the first responders as well,” says Chappaqua Fire Chief Russell Maitland. “We are very lucky to have someone like Jim at the helm of our police department.”

Carroll has also developed a strong relationship with the school district. Amy Kaiser, a Chappaqua teacher met Carroll when she was Greeley’s faculty advisor for the annual Relay for Life. “For the first time, we decided to hold the event at the Bell field, which we knew would require lots of support from our police department. Lt. Carroll was totally supportive and a true pleasure to work with. He and his officers were on-site throughout the evening, ensuring the event was safe and successful.”

A priority for Carroll is to have full-time school resource officers, one in the high school, one in each middle school, or one for both middle schools, and he’s working with the school district to get that done.

“We’re here as a resource to help and guide. We want to have a relationship with students so they feel comfortable and can go talk to an officer. If you do it with the kids when they are young, it helps with their social and emotional growth.”

As Chief, Carroll’s increased responsibilities include personnel selection, promotions and the budget. “You’re responsible for things that no one else is, and for everyone in the department from detective sergeants to the civilian staff.” He knows he will face some challenges. “Recruiting and selecting officers are more difficult these days. Fewer people are interested in going into law enforcement as a career.”

On the Horizon for the Police Department

Going forward, Carroll wants to improve their social media presence on Facebook and Twitter to give the department more transparency. “There are a lot of things we do that people don’t know about. We have a brand new police car, and we’ve reunited lost dogs with their owners.” He’d also like to build relationships with the officers and the community. “I want to do ‘Coffee with a Cop,’ ‘Coffee with the Chief,’ have an open house, and bring back the bike and motorcycle patrols.” says Carroll.

Carroll is grateful to his predecessor. “Chief Ferry has been a great mentor, co-worker, leader and friend. I wouldn’t be here now without him. It’s exciting to take over and put my own stamp on it.”

Inside the The Gordon Parks Foundation

August 24, 2019 by Ronni Diamondstein

Gordon Parks, Untitled 1941
Credit: Photograph by Gordon Parks.
Copyright: Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation.

Making a Difference in the World to Overcome Bigotry, Poverty & Hatred

Nestled on Wheeler Avenue in Pleasantville are the exhibition space and offices of The Gordon Parks Foundation with its mission to permanently preserve the work of Gordon Parks, make it available to the public through exhibitions, books, and electronic media, and support artistic and educational activities that advance what Gordon described as “the common search for a better life and a better world.” The Foundation shines a light on the remarkable career of the iconic creative talent of Gordon Parks.

Parks was an extraordinary artist with an amazing range. His portraits were diverse, from socialites like Gloria Vanderbilt, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. to sports figures like Muhammad Ali. “Gordon Parks used the power of art to make a difference in the world and to overcome bigotry, poverty and hatred,” says Peter W. Kunhardt, Jr., the Executive Director of the Foundation. As a photojournalist, Parks captured the poverty and racism that affected Black America.

Breaking Barriers

“Gordon broke barriers as the first African American photographer to work at Life Magazine and worked closely with my grandfather Phil Kunhardt who was the managing editor,” says Kunhardt.

Gordon Parks (1912-2006), a multi-talented, modern-day Renaissance man, was born into poverty and segregation in Fort Scott, Kansas. As an itinerant laborer, he worked as a brothel pianist and railcar porter among other jobs before buying a camera from a pawnshop, training himself to become a photographer. He also found success as a writer, composer and film director. “He was the first black filmmaker to direct a studio motion picture, and his first film Shaft helped create a genre. But Parks’ enduring contribution was to break down the barriers of racism in Hollywood,” writes Desa Philadelphia for the Directors Guild of America.

“At the core of The Gordon Parks Foundation’s work is the support of current and emerging leaders who carry on Parks’ legacy,” says Kunhardt who has led the foundation since 2011. During Kunhardt’s tenure the Foundation created The Gordon Parks Foundation Scholarships and Prizes program, and established The Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship, which has awarded six fellowships to photographers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians whose work addresses themes of representation and social justice. In 2019, he oversaw the launch of The Gordon Parks Arts and Social Justice Fund dedicated to supporting these educational initiatives.

Supporting the Next Generation of Artists Inspired by Parks

Each year the Foundation celebrates Gordon Parks’ legacy and honors those who continue his vision for social change at The Gordon Parks Foundation’s Annual Awards Dinner and Auction. The Gordon Parks Foundation Award is given to individuals who have enriched our lives in ways that reflect Parks’ ideas and goals by using creative means to inspire the next generation. The Patron of the Arts Award recognizes and celebrates individuals with a deep appreciation of the arts. Recipients receive this special recognition for their support and promotion of artistic creativity in the visual arts, film, literature, or performing arts.

Kunhardt sums up the impact of the Foundation’s work. “Through initiatives such as our scholarship and fellowship programs, as well as these annual awards, we continue to empower the next generation of change-makers and those who are current forces for social justice and the arts.”

The exhibitions at The Gordon Parks Foundation space feature fellowship recipients, curated selections of Gordon Parks’ work, and works by artists whose work is influenced by Parks.

The Gordon Parks Foundation Honoree Chelsea Clinton accepts award from Sarah Lewis and Alex Soros at the annual Gala at Cipriani’s in New York, June 4, 2019. PHOTO BY SEAN ZANNI FOR PMC

I don’t think there has ever been a more important time in my life to support art and artists. They help prevent us from becoming complacent or numb to the challenges we face, while urgently illuminating those challenges. They show us what is possible when love and kindness, not hate and indecency, are celebrated and empowered. And they offer us hope, pushing us toward what Gordon called “the common search for a better life and a better world.
– Chelsea Clinton

Not to Be Missed Exhibits

Two upcoming exhibitions are Guadalupe Rosales’ Must’ve been a wake-dream: September 6 through October 18, 2019 and Hank Willis Thomas’: Exodusters October 25 through December 20, 2019.

Must’ve been a wake-dream is a celebration of Rosales’ work as a 2019 Gordon Parks Foundation Fellowship recipient, which includes collaborations with Latinx and LGBTQ communities to examine the interplay between photography and community. Through her careful collecting, preservation, and presentation of vernacular photographs, letters, party flyers and ephemera representing Latinx Southern California youth culture, Rosales creates an expanding archive that brings visibility to a community that has been overlooked, misrepresented and criminalized. Also on view during Must’ve been a wake-dream will be a group of Gordon Parks’ photographs, selected by Rosales, from Parks’ celebrated Harlem Gang Leader series, made as the first African-American photographer for LIFE magazine in 1948.

Hank Willis Thomas has an ongoing vested interest in photography as a documentation of history and a universal means for people to represent their stories. Exodusters examines the representation and depiction of history, particularly during a significant moment in the pursuit for freedom and liberty during the Great Depression in Dust Bowl America. Thomas draws upon the archive of Gordon Parks’ seminal and semi-autobiographical film The Learning Tree (1969) that depicts the fictional Cherokee Flats, which is based off of Parks’ hometown in Fort Scott, Kansas, where he returned to produce the movie.

The Gordon Parks Foundation welcomes visitors to view the rotating shows of photography in their exhibition space. Hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.

For more information: gordonparksfoundation.org

It’s A Family Affair: Local Award-Winning Father & Son Filmmakers

May 31, 2019 by Ronni Diamondstein

The Kunhardts Produce Documentaries That Shape Our World and Focus on Moral Leadership

For Peter Kunhardt, a six-time Emmy and a Peabody Award winner, collaboration with family is in his DNA. As Executive Producer and Director, Peter partners with two of his sons, Teddy and George, at Kunhardt Films to produce critically acclaimed and socially relevant documentaries about the people and ideas that shape our world.

After ten years as a producer at ABC News, Peter gave up the hectic commute to New York City and founded Kunhardt Productions in Westchester in 1987. His first film project for HBO, JFK: In His Own Words, was in collaboration with his father, Philip B. Kunhardt, Jr., the longtime managing editor of Life Magazine. He had watched the toll that forty years of commuting from Chappaqua took on his father. Peter and his wife Suzy were raising their family in Chappaqua and he wanted to work closer to home.

A Family Business at Heart

“It’s definitely a family business with multiple departments,” says Peter Jr. All the Kunhardt children interned with their father. Peter Jr. worked on two Lincoln books with his father and grandfather. He is now the Executive Director of the Meserve-Kunhardt Foundation and the Gordon Parks Foundation that preserves the work of photographer Gordon Parks and educates the next generation of scholars and students on his work.

Teddy and George joined their father at Kunhardt Films in 2009. George knew as a teen that filmmaking was his future. Teddy, an artist and chef, took a slight detour and ultimately joined his father’s company. Both brought their gifts and talents.

“My skill set and interests are the creative and the technical. I’m more of the people person, in the trenches on filming and working with my crew,” says George whom his father and brother call the “peacekeeper.” “He’s the best spokesman for the company,” says Teddy.

Teddy’s skill set is the business side: deals, the budgeting and more of the legal side, dealing with the lawyers. Their father Peter is overarching, and knows everything about everything says George. “He sits back and listens and chimes in when needed when he has something appropriate or important to say.”

“I listen hugely hard to both Teddy and George. Frankly, they are taking over more and more of what I used to do, and I continue listening,” says Peter. They agree 95% of the time, but Peter will have the last word when they disagree.

While their business office is in Pleasantville near the Jacob Burns Film Center and Metro-North, which were draws for this location, most of the team is in New York at HBO.

“We are fortunate to be partners with HBO. People would be surprised to learn how long it takes to produce a film, and HBO gives us the time we need,” says Teddy. “Pleasantville is the brains, the budgeting, the pre-development side of the projects, and the heavy lifting of producing,” says George. “The HBO team is young, creative, hip and where the exciting culture of filmmaking is done.”

(L-R): George, President Bill Clinton and Teddy

(L-R): George, Hillary Clinton and Teddy

(L-R): Teddy, John McCain, George and Peter

Exploring Moral Leadership Through Film

The notion of moral leadership is always their default in selecting subjects for their films. “Years ago, we said we wanted to explore this concept of moral leadership,” says Peter. “In this day and age of what we’re experiencing now it seems to be a more and more important thing to be doing to remind people what true leadership and true moral courage look like. Fortunately, we were a little ahead of ourselves picking an important kind of theme early on. That’s why it takes us so long to pick the people.”

“And sometimes you have to wait for the hook,” says Teddy. The hook for King in the Wilderness was the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s death. He was on their list in 2009 but the film did not come into fruition until 2018. “We couldn’t have found a home ten years ago, but once the anniversary was approaching it all seemed right.”

Their very personal film in 2015, Living with Lincoln chronicles their six-generation struggle to preserve Abraham Lincoln’s image for more than a century. As a love letter to Peter’s grandmother Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt, it explores the emotional and physical connection to the president starting with William Meserve and his Civil War diary. Dorothy, a quirky Lincoln scholar, is best known as the author of the beloved interactive children’s book, Pat the Bunny. It was a glorious burden for the family. “I never planned to dedicate so much of my life to Lincoln, it just happened. I felt I owed it to my father, just as he owed it to his mother, just as she felt she owed it to her father,” says Peter.

Teddy and George enjoy working with their father. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Our communication is so strong that it has been the key to our success,” says George. One of the downsides though is that they talk about their work all the time, which is fun for them, but not so much for their wives.

“We get a lot more from people because we are a family business,” says George. “When we interviewed Joe Biden for John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls, we got a lot more access from him. He loved that Teddy and I were brothers. He took my cellphone and called my dad, and told him how much he enjoyed working with us.”

Trust is Key

“The biggest challenge we face is gaining trust,” says Peter. “Once you gain the trust of your subject you begin getting better access, content and stories.” When they filmed Becoming Warren Buffett, Buffett gave them strict restrictions in the beginning, only one interview, but they ended up filming him for fifteen hours. “Trust comes in a few ways: for one, they have to feel that we’re not out to give you a gotcha question. We’ve never been in that business, but we’re not in the business of a soft fluffy story either.”

Storytellers at the Core

They take a deep dive into the lives of their subjects. “We’re not historians, business people or news correspondents,” says Teddy. “We’re storytellers and in order to tell the story we need to get all the pieces of the puzzle.” They often look for people who have a relationship or don’t have a relationship with their parents and explore that in the film. “That’s a unique perspective to take because we’re very interested in lineage: Fathers/sons, fathers/daughters, mothers/sons, mothers/daughters,” says George. “That’s our wheelhouse. It is fun for us to do that within a film and something we look for when we do a project.”

“When you go back to someone’s childhood you learn about strengths and weaknesses and how they came to be in a way that would be hard to imagine by just focusing on the adult period of someone’s life and their success,” says Peter. “It’s fascinating to go back and see what influenced a child, what hurt a child, what helped a child. And how they were shaped by that.”

On the Horizon

Teddy and George have brought some fresh ideas to the film company. In addition to cable, there is now the film festival route. Jim: The James Foley Story premiered at Sundance and won the Audience Award, King in the Wilderness had its world premiere at Sundance and True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight For Equality will open the AFI DOCS film festival in June. George says that one of the best things that they are doing now is the establishment of the Kunhardt Film Foundation with its mission to put their high-quality educational programs, raw interviews and teaching tools into the hands of the public and schools. “This is our future where we are heading towards. We are doing more not-for-profit,” says Peter.

Their next film, True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight For Equality will have a screening at the Jacob Burns Film Center on June 25th, and debuts on HBO the following day.

Always reflecting as well as looking forward, they are proud of their high-quality work and very thoughtful filmmaking. “We are fortunate in that we can continue to infuse values into the work we do, and pick people to tell their stories that we think have lessons,” says Peter. George sums it up well: “We’re curating an interesting perspective of people and ideas that people need to be learn about. That is what I hope people enjoy about Kunhardt Films.”

A Dog to Love – Maggie Mae

October 25, 2018 by Ronni Diamondstein

I never thought I could love an animal as much as I love my Maggie Mae. She is, without a doubt, my best friend and my biggest fan. She will follow me anywhere, is totally devoted to me–even when I scold her. Maggie Mae loves me unconditionally. She’s a black and white Parti-Toy Poodle and the joy of my life.

When I first saw her, her outgoing personality attracted me, and I knew right away that she was mine. But maybe it was the other way around and she chose me. Nearly eleven years ago, when she came to live with me, she was three months old and weighed only three pounds.

I can’t imagine my life without her. She’s a wonderful companion, and she makes me laugh. She can be sound asleep, but if the phone rings and I answer, she is by my side in a minute so I will play with her. When I say to her, “You’re the best girl I know,” she always rewards me with a kiss.

They say that dogs are man’s best friend, and they’re not kidding. When a fly is buzzing around the house, she’s right there to alert me and to guard me. She alerts me when I have accidentally left the front door ajar or if there’s something in the wrong place. And then there is Maggie Mae neighborhood watchdog. She can spot a car blocks away and frequently knows who’s in it.

As a perennial single person, I have lived alone for most of my adult life, and it is easy for a single person to become self-indulgent. Having to think about the well-being and care of another were valuable changes for me. That’s one reason I’m so grateful for Maggie Mae’s presence in my life. She also keeps me healthy. No matter what the weather, I am outside with Maggie Mae at least three times a day. We take long walks that are good for both of us–and not just physically. I often get good ideas as we walk. One was her Maggie Mae Pup Reporter column that many of you read in this magazine for years. I’m also grateful because she has made my life more interesting. I learned to write from a dog’s point of view.

As many of you readers know, Maggie Mae is “personable” and well-known by merchants in town. She has high self-esteem, which shows in the way she carries herself and walks down our streets and into the shops as if she owned Chappaqua. Other people notice her, and I could not have been more proud when Sophie Mendelson included her in the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival mural in the center of town.

Maggie Mae loves to ride in the car and is a great traveling companion who’s always happy with whatever we do. Since she was a puppy, she’s been a regular guest at the Red Lion Inn and has many fans in Stockbridge and the Berkshires.

As much as Maggie Mae loves to snuggle up next to me, especially when I am doing something that doesn’t include her, she is an independent dog who often likes to be alone. She’ll go into her crate, lie on her bed or find a square of sunlight on the carpet just to chill.

My heart is bigger than I ever thought. I love Maggie Mae’s little kisses, how she curls up at my feet to give me a hug. How she puts her head under my hand so I can pet her. I love her wagging tail and how she waits for me at the door.

So little can make her happy and that is a lesson we can all learn.

And as I was writing this, she came up to me, leaned in, pushed my pad and pen away and climbed on my lap. I can’t imagine life without Maggie Mae. She’s my girl and I love her dearly.

The Emergency Shelter Partnership: Helping the Homeless

October 21, 2017 by Ronni Diamondstein

Mel Berger and ESP President Phyllis Ruppert
PHOTO BY RONNI DIAMONDSTEIN

In the winter it’s hard to imagine not coming home to a warm dinner, a cozy bed to sleep in, and a nutritious breakfast in the morning. But even in our affluent Westchester neighborhoods, that is not the case for everyone. There are homeless people right in our own backyard.

“My first awareness of homeless in our community was knowing that people lived in parked cars in different locations and in semi-abandoned buildings in the community,” says Rev. Dr. Paul Alcorn, longtime Pastor of the Bedford Presbyterian Church and member of the Northern Westchester Interfaith Clergy Association.

Mount Kisco pharmacist Melvin Berger, Chairman of The Mount Kisco Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Council often wondered what happened to the immigrants he saw in the courts. Then in 2004 he had learned that a homeless immigrant had frozen to death in the woods nearby. So through this confluence of events, Berger went to Alcorn with his concerns and the seeds for the Emergency Shelter Partnership (‘ESP’) were sown.

The two joined forces with the Northern Westchester Interfaith Clergy Association and the Town of Mount Kisco and developed a plan to launch an emergency shelter by mid-January. Berger also brought in Carola Bracco, Executive Director of Neighbors Link. “I trusted her opinions and judgments when it came to making ESP happen.” Berger values her and Neighbors Link as a resource, and relies on her knowledge of their guests and their culture.

The partnership’s simple concept consisted of houses of worship opening their doors to offer a safe place to sleep to those in need of shelter. Alcorn says that his congregation had been very involved with the homeless in New York City so ESP was a natural next step for them. On January 24, 2005 the Bedford Presbyterian Church in Bedford Village opened its doors to provide shelter for four men. Volunteers from the organizing group provided the coverage each night of that first week. The American Red Cross provided the cots and bedding for the shelter. There are now 17 participating congregations in Northern Westchester.

From November through the end of March, between 10 and 30 shelter guests are picked up by a bus at the court house in Mount Kisco. “The program runs like clockwork,” says Noah Sorkin of Chappaqua who has been the coordinator of Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester’s participation for the past ten years. Arriving around 9 p.m., they eat a buffet dinner and it is lights out by 10 p.m. A paid staffer and congregational volunteer remain with them overnight. Up around 6 a.m. for coffee and something light, they leave with a breakfast/lunch bag by 6:30 a.m.

Twice a week they shower at the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester in Mount Kisco before they arrive for their evening meal. Each congregation adds their personal touch to the experience for the shelter guests from storytelling to musical experiences. Girl Scout Troops or Little League teams sometimes serve dinner, as this is a great opportunity for community service. “The congregants put a lot of love into this. It’s a credit to our congregation that we have a lot of repeat families. It has brought the best out of our congregation,” says Sorkin.

Berger says that the majority of the shelter guests are from Guatemala. “So many come from Chiquimula that the Mount Kisco Library named their Wednesday afternoon film festival for the homeless after that city.”

There is a lot of prep work that goes into this well-oiled machine. Berger has a good relationship with law enforcement. Prior to each congregation hosting the shelter, Berger reaches out to the fire and police departments in those neighborhoods so that they are aware that the house of worship has overnight guests.

Phyllis Ruppert of Mount Kisco had been on the team providing meals at St. Francis of Assisi Parish for at least five years when a year and a half ago she was asked to join the Board of Directors and now serves as President. “ESP is a group of compassionate people who care deeply about serving people in need and who are willing to mobilize their congregations to support homeless people.”

While ESP does so much for those in need, it is also so valuable to those who support the program. “All of a sudden, over the course of a winter we have hundreds of people volunteer and get to know and interact with some of the people who are struggling to survive. Some of the stereotypes are broken down,” says Alcorn.

One of the biggest challenges for ESP is financial support. Each member congregation makes a financial commitment as well as providing shelter. “We have one grant, a couple of holiday fundraisers and a list of loyal donors,” says Ruppert. They have expanded their fundraising activities this year and held an informational and fundraising event on October 15 to commemorate World Homeless Day. The driving forces of the ESP and volunteers spoke about their different experiences at the event that took place at Saint Francis of Assisi Parish Hall in Mount Kisco.

And there are other challenges. “Severe winter weather causes us to move the hosting location to a congregation location closer to where we pick people up to minimize the need to drive,” says Ruppert who would also like to see that the accommodations are more sensitive to women’s needs, although their shelter guests are primarily and sometimes exclusively male.

The ESP has developed into more than just a traveling homeless shelter. With the educational programs they provide such as ones that teach them how to manage money, they have high hopes for their shelter guests. “My goal is to have all our shelter guests in a position to move up the ladder,” says Berger. He is very proud of what he calls his “success story.” One of their documented shelter guests got a place of his own, went back to school and now has a job as a chef.

“Our program is very successful and has been a model for other communities,” says Berger. The partnership has consulted with other towns to set up sister programs in the County.

“In the future I hope to expand the number of congregations hosting ESP and to mobilize the broader community to provide financial support,” says Ruppert. She would also like to see more unaffiliated people help this faith-based organization. “There is a lot of talent out there. We want to tap more members of the community to get involved. Everyone has some faith in something.”