The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

The Corona Chronicles: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

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Creative pursuits: A lemonade stand with proceeds going to frontline healthcare workers

This past February my neighbor and I drove to the city with our kids to see National Geographic Encounter’s Ocean Odyssey. As we sped down the Saw Mill, she asked me if I’ve been following the news about a new virus called COVID-19 that originated in China and was now raging through Italy. Yes, I had heard murmurings but the illness was somewhere else not on our shores. “Buy toilet paper, Purell and plenty of wine,” she said. Thank goodness for well-informed neighbors.

Now that my kids have completed iLearning, I’ve had the time to reflect on how COVID has impacted our family. Each family has had their own struggles living in the “new normal” and this is a glimpse into ours.

The Good

Let’s start with the good. Life pre-COVID, our life was in the fast lane–running from one activity to the next from after school activities to birthday parties to playdates. COVID put that to an abrupt halt and our lives have slowed down significantly. My mom always admonishes me saying that we run ourselves ragged. “You didn’t have a million after school activities and you turned out ok.” Hmm, maybe she has a point.

Isolation forces your kids to come up with their own entertainment when they weren’t on devices. I’ve enjoyed watching my kid’s creativity blossom from making a lemonade stand to raise money for frontline healthcare workers to devising carnival day in our house, my kids have created fun options that don’t even cost a cent. Having weekends devoid of activities, we’ve had a chance to explore treasures in our backyard with hikes at Ward Pound Ridge and Pruyn Sanctuary.

We’ve had more time together and one of the best things about this has been our ability to have dinner as a family every night. With my husband’s long hours in the office and frequent business trips, we sometimes managed to only have dinner as a family once or twice a week and I’ve always wanted more of them – but be careful what you wish for. I’m up to my eyeballs in dirty dishes with everyone home 24/7.

The Bad

I am not a patient person and some of my most harrowing moments of this pandemic has been iLearning. I realize how fortunate I am – I haven’t lost loved ones or have a job that puts my life at risk during this pandemic but iLearning has tested every fabric of my being. I had to sit down with my first grader for almost every assignment, prod my fourth grader into completing assignments and then harass my sixth grader daily who at first showed the most promise with iLearning but then lost motivation after it extended beyond anyone’s wildest imaginations. The yelling, the crying, the role of being the resident nag–it was all too much. And all this fighting was going on with my husband in his home office trying to be on conference calls. “My clients are wondering why WWIII is going on in the background,” he said so many times I lost count. So I let my kids go back to playing Fortnite as default entertainment.

The lack of planning for a dinner with the grandparents or a trip to a museum in the city has filled me with sadness. It’s this lack of possibilities and planning for the future that I am mourning most during COVID which leads to the ugly section.

The Ugly

The lack of predictably with COVID and who will fall victim to it scares me. Right now with the NY infection rate hovering at 1% as we go to print, I feel like we are in a “sweet spot”. It’s only a matter of time though before it gets worse again according to epidemiologists. And so I wonder should I stock up again on canned beans and Clorox wipes?

Each morning I scan the New York Times headlines. Never before have I felt so hopeless about our future. The politicization of mask wearing, the high infection rates in the Sun Belt, the double-digit unemployment numbers and the racial disparities in how this disease is affecting our nation, it’s too much to absorb. I now shut down after reading for a half hour instead of compulsively reading like I did in the early stages of the pandemic. And each afternoon while I hash out the day’s headlines with my neighbor in my cul-de-sac during a “COVID cocktail hour”, I’m grateful she suggested in February that I stock up on wine.

When Bill Clinton Sightings & Selfies Were Part of Life, Pre-Pandemic

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Earlier this month, President Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea virtually convened top government, public health and philanthropic leaders as part of the Clinton Foundation’s 12th annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGIU) where university students from around the globe tackle the most pressing issues facing society. Obviously with COVID-19’s rampant growth as a global pandemic, the CGIU focused solely on this issue and even included President Clinton interviewing Governors Andrew Cuomo and Gavin Newsom.

At the end of the interview, in a touching moment, Governor Cuomo told Bill Clinton that he missed him.

I understand the Governor’s sentiment! I’ve missed President Clinton too, so  I was glad to hear that he had been busy preparing for this important initiative. Admittedly,  I was starting to wonder and even worry a little about what he was doing to keep himself occupied at home during COVID-19.

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Up until COVID-19 reared its ugly head, I had a pretty good idea of what he was up to thanks to the Chappaqua Moms Facebook page which has always offered a bevy of Clinton sightings and updates. But lately there was hardly any news about him besides a recent pizza delivery from the Clintons to several Westchester-based hospitals.

Pre-COVID-19, I knew that he liked to take a pre-dinner stroll up and down our many hills which can rival San Francisco’s. He had a regular route which is often documented in photos on Facebook and selfies with town residents meeting him on his walk. Everyone had a chance for a photo from merchants to eager Girl Scouts to construction workers – he believes in equal opportunity for all as long as you ask politely and chat with him. That’s what he likes best.

I know he hasn’t frequented one of his favorite local restaurants, Le Jardin du Roi, lately where he usually holds court on one of the first warm days of spring when the dining turns al fresco on their terrace as soon as it hits 70 degrees. There are tons of photos taken with other customers and wait staff anytime he goes there. He’s always willing to oblige and take photos with everyone from crying babies to garrulous bartenders and he makes it a point of taking the time to connect with each person. He’s the ultimate non-social distancer.

Perhaps he’s taking advantage of their take out menu but I do hope he sends someone else out to get it since his age makes him high-risk. I’m willing and able if he’d like. All he has to do is send me a Facebook messenger post.

He hasn’t stopped by our Starbucks lately which has its doors downtown shuttered. This is probably his number one photo backdrop in town as my Facebook feed attests. Everyone from high school athletes to septuagenarians has photos of him here. When there was a Dunkin Donuts in town, I almost wanted to abandon my loyalty to the brand just so I could get a photo of myself with him there. I even plotted my drink order- skinny hot chocolate as I wouldn’t be caught dead drinking their (in my opinion) bitter coffee.

Miracle of Miracles: My Photo Op

President Bill Clinton with Delilah, Samuel and Abigail Pfeffer

But then one day it happened. There’s a sense in my town that you know you are a true Chappaqua resident when you’ve snapped a photo with him. It was a Sunday night around 6:30 pm in May and I had bathed and fed my three young kids, bribing them with Carvel if they cooperated. It was an odd time to be driving in downtown Chappaqua which in totality is probably less than a mile but then I spotted him with his unmistakable thick white mane walking by the Citibank on my right. Excitedly I rolled down the window and with all my Queens moxie shouted, “President Clinton, I’ve lived here five years and I have been dying to take a photo with you.” He stopped in his tracks as I pulled closer to the curb and he looked closer at my car.

Unbeknownst to me there were Secret Service cars across the street but I guess my big SUV with various camp and sports team magnets looked harmless enough. “Sure, let’s do this,” he replied.

My heart was beating fast. “Well, I have three young kids with me,” I said and some were still strapped in their infant car seats. “I can take them out,” I said.

“No need for all that trouble,” he said. “I’ll just open the door and stick my head in,” he said. Dear God, he’s going to see all the Cheerios splayed out on the car floor, I thought to myself. Oh well and he swung open the door but before we took the photo, he conversed with my kids. My son was wearing a dinosaur pajama top and he asked him about his favorite dinosaurs. My daughter and him had an animated conversation about Elmo and my infant baby remained oblivious to all of the hoopla. He asked how long I had lived in town and where we were going.

I had finally gotten our selfie. I thanked him profusely and he told us all to enjoy our ice cream. We did and as I finished my cone, I posted the pic to Facebook which has been one of my most well liked photos. Once we got that first photo, my luck changed and I’ve since been able to capture photos of him and my kids  in town and at my husband’s town baseball team playoffs.

Abigail Pfeffer, President Bill Clinton and Delilah Pfeffer

After the 2016 election, Bill and Hillary took several walks on our town’s beautiful hiking trails that are normally filled with solitude. Reporters came out in full force though trying to track them down on one of their woodsy walks to see if they could get an interview or photograph. I often wonder if that’s where Bill is spending his time now that CGIU is over – walking in the woods but then I have second thoughts. He craves human connection like most of us and if he runs into someone, well a photo op or selfie just may be too tempting. Maybe now that CGIU finished, he’ll have time to binge watch “Tiger King” like the rest of us regular folks stuck at home. Or not….

Spotlight on Adina Olan-Ellick: Owner of Breathe, a Yoga and Pilates Studio in the Heart of Chappaqua

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It was a chance encounter on a cruise ship that ultimately steered Adina Olan-Ellick on a new career path. Adina, owner of the newly relocated Breathe, a yoga and Pilates studio in downtown Chappaqua was on a family vacation for a relative’s birthday and by the time she embarked on the ship all of the exercise classes were filled up. “The only thing left to sign up for was Pilates, so we did it every day,” she recalls. Adina, an almost 25-year resident of Chappaqua had always been athletic and was more of a self-proclaimed cardio addict. “I ran, did cardio kickboxing, aerobics, you name it,” she says during our interview on a chilly afternoon just steps away from her sunlight-filled studio in the heart of Chappaqua.

A Passion for Pilates

Something about Pilates and the mind/body connection coupled with the intentional movements resonated with her. Upon returning to Chappaqua she hired a private Pilates instructor to teach her at home before her three young children woke up and before her commute to her cardboard converting company in Long Island City. That private instructor, sensing Adina’s passion for the exercise encouraged her to pursue Pilates certification. She did taking weekend classes from beginner mat certification all the way through advanced system which took several years. She also trained with renowned physical therapist Dr. Abby Ellsworth in Scarsdale, author of seminal books on Pilates instruction, yoga and physical therapy. It wasn’t easy while maintaining a full-time job with young kids but Adina likes to “have a lot on her plate.”

Her job at the cardboard warehouse and in a male-dominated field entailed a lot of interaction with factory workers which was challenging. A hair-raising incident at work though convinced her that long-term her career there wasn’t sustainable and downright dangerous. “I was six months pregnant with my younger daughter and it was pay day and I had a lot of cash on me,” she recounts. Two men tried to steal her bag. Adina’s quick-thinking saved her as she hid under a truck until help arrived.

“They never got the cash,” she laughs later in the interview and I can’t help but wonder if her strength, flexibility and quick reaction time may be attributed to her Pilates practice.

Changing Careers

Flash forward a couple of years later and Adina was asked to participate in a Pilates DVD with Ellsworth. The filming took place over several days. “It was the first time that I was alone in a hotel room by myself and had time to really think.” She finally had her true a-ha moment and called her husband, an insurance and commercial lawyer and asked for his help in closing her business. She wanted to pursue Pilates instruction full-time and spend more time with her family.

She initially started teaching part-time in Scarsdale with Ellsworth but decided to ask for a job at the Pilates Center of Westchester, the former Breathe location. Adina asked the owner to give her a try. She was reluctant at first but she begged her for a Sunday morning class and then Adina ultimately asked her friends to participate.

After teaching there for many years, the former studio owner decided move to Arizona. Adina bought the studio a decade ago changing its name to Breathe, adding yoga classes following advice from her yoga-loving husband.

Knowledgeable Instructors: A Hallmark of Breathe

Adina has always prided herself on hiring highly knowledgeable instructors who have a strong sense of anatomy. “I have clients that had very low flexibility when they came here and now they can function pain-free in their daily lives. This method works.”

Both Pilates and yoga are forms of exercise with no age limits. Breathe even has a 92-year-old client. “A lot of people come to the studio after an injury or in conjunction with physical therapy,” explains Adina. Her old studio was up a flight of stairs so when the now defunct Hall of Scoops spot became available, she leased it.

The new studio features almost 40 Pilates and yoga classes a week, fitness apparel, grab-and-go food items from Rye Ridge’s Organic Pharmer plus F-factor, a fiber-based diet program.

“Sometimes a client will say they tried Pilates at their gym and got hurt. I wonder how can an instructor watch your form with 50 students in a mat class?” asks Adina. That is why she limits Pilates tower classes to seven students.

On the Horizon

And it’s that personalized attention that have earned the studio praise. “I’ve seen Chappaqua have its ups and downs,” she observes but with the new streetscape and additional retailers opening up recently, she hopes it is on an upswing. In addition to offering private yoga lessons, tower workshops and outdoor seating, Adina hopes to foster a sense of community at Breathe. Her studio also offers Pilates certification for students who want to teach there in the future. With a loyal fan base at Breathe, that future certainly looks bright.

Breathe is located at 14 South Greeley Avenue. For additional information, visit yoga-pilates-chappaqua.com.

Keeping Up with Corona

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When we first had our editorial meeting to plan the current issue, the coronavirus wasn’t even on our radar. The topic of spring break came up and our team was excited to tackle it from different perspectives–as parents of young children, soon-to-be empty nesters and college age kids.

Today as I write my column, 100,000 people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19. Active Facebook groups in our towns such as Armonk Parents and Chappaqua Moms are posting a host of questions… Should I cancel my spring break? Should I keep my child with asthma home from school? Where can I get Purell locally? What survivalist goods should I keep on hand? And the list goes on and on…

Just as the weather gets warmer, the last thing I want to be thinking about is how to protect my family from this. I want to be planning summer vacations. I want to be thinking about what concerts and sporting events I’ll attend in June. But we are all in a holding pattern it seems.

Working in the magazine world, one of the hardest things is keeping up with the news cycle. The news on this pandemic is changing rapidly and by the time you get this, schools may be closed (hopefully not), telecommuting may be the new normal and Purell will be sold on the black market.

This morning I listened to a BBC newscaster interview a therapist who was offering telemedicine sessions for patients quarantined. The mental anguish that this has placed on families quarantined (or not) is palpable. One parent said that while his house was stocked with canned and paper goods, the hardest part now was entertaining himself and his three little ones. They were out of ideas.

While reading this issue cover to cover admittedly shouldn’t take more than an hour, I hope you find it entertaining, a bit distracting and chock full of stories that are at the heart of your community. And if spring break is in your cards, take this magazine on the plane, the beach or by the pool. I promise there has to be at least something in here that will make you smile – whether it be sheep shearing events, student athletes giving it their all or neighbors sharing why they love living in Chappaqua.

Happy and safe spring,

 

Neighbors Helping Neighbors

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I’ve been thinking about Mrs. Dobrowski a lot as I work on this issue of the magazine. A widow, she lived across the street from us at my childhood home in Queens. On sunny days, she’d sit on the porch in her housedress reading the newspaper. On cloudy days, she watched TV. If I peered out through my window, I could make out the glare of the TV, bunny ear antennae perched on top. She would feed the neighborhood stray cats too and leave out a bowl of milk for them.

Later as I became a latchkey kid when my mom returned to work, my mom asked her to keep an eye out for me to make sure I was safely inside after school. She did. I could see her looking out her window as she took this duty very seriously. In return, my dad helped her shovel her walkway when it snowed or other simple home maintenance problems. In essence, she was a good neighbor and we looked out for each other. Mrs. Dobrowski walked that delicate balance of being friendly and helpful without ever being intrusive or nosy.

A central focus of this issue was what makes your neighborhood special? Our talented writer Christine Pasqueralle interviewed several families from various sections of town and the bottom line is that our neighborhoods are special because of the people who live in them who foster a sense of community. We plan on continuing this in future issues so be on the lookout for it and perhaps you’ll spot a neighbor or two.

Several area residents are also profiled in this issue. From the residents lovingly planting beautiful native gardens to increase pollination in our community to volunteers spending countless hours accompanying their therapy dogs to help out senior citizens or stressed out students, I’d be thrilled to have any of these residents as neighbors. And don’t forget to check out the story about the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund, a true community effort that assists Greeley students in paying for college. As a recipient of the scholarship said, “I thought college wasn’t even an option for me. (The fund) really gave me more than money–they gave me hope.” That’s the true essence of neighbors helping neighbors.

Warmly,

P.S. I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to local nonprofit (914) Cares for organizing the inaugural Westchester Poverty Symposium held last month that I attended. The half-day symposium put a spotlight on poverty in Westchester County and explored strategies and partnerships to disrupt the cycle of poverty that exists throughout. Again, another prime example of neighbors helping neighbors.