The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Pfeffer

Human Rights Conference Teaches Middle Schoolers: How to Become an Upstander

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Students from the Paideia School 15 in Yonkers with Sheila Arnold PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIELLE MCCAFFREY
Students from the Paideia School 15 in Yonkers with Sheila Arnold PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIELLE MCCAFFREY

“Betsy Costner” sings a spiritual hymn about freedom as she walks out into the audience of seventh grade students from all corners of Westchester in the auditorium of the Yonkers Riverfront Public Library. Dressed in slave garb, Sheila Arnold who plays “Betsy Costner” a slave from Gastonia, North Carolina, recounts her story working on tobacco and cotton plantations.

Although her story is full of heartbreaking pain, she is able to capture the audience’s attention immediately and relate it to discrimination or struggles that these students might be facing today. Her story kicks off the Second Annual Human Rights Institute for Middle School Student Leaders, which students from 19 public and private middle school students attended earlier this month.

The conference is organized by the White Plains-based Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC). The conference’s central themes are respecting the individual and how to be an upstander.
humanrights_2The conference for middle school students was conceptualized after the HHREC noticed that their high school conferences were very well-received, and they felt there was a need to target a younger population. In its inaugural year in 2015, the conference was attended by ten middle schools and 100 students. This year the conference had more than doubled to 200 students participating.

In an election year when racial tensions were at an all time high, a conference like this seems like it should be a mandatory requirement for all students. Millie Jasper, the Executive Director of the HHREC explains the genesis of the conference:

“Why run a day of human rights workshops for middle school students? We feel that students imitate prejudiced and bigoted behavior, and often do not recognize this behavior in themselves. If they see an injustice, they often don’t want to speak up. The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center wants to lay the foundation for encouraging students to be upstanders rather than bystanders.”

Steve Goldberg, HHREC Co-Director of Education and the Social Studies Chairman in the New Rochelle School District, helped tailor the program to a younger audience; he hopes the conference will help students be “catalysts in their school buildings,” and learn to be upstanders when they see injustice rather than passive bystanders.

After the presentation by Arnold, students broke out into small-group workshops which were designed to open conversation regarding the themes, “Respecting the Individual and How to Be an Upstander.” The workshops are facilitated by middle school teachers and high school juniors and seniors who were past participants in the HHREC Human Rights Institute for High School Leaders. The conference for the high school leaders is now in its 15th year.

Sami Davidson, a facilitator who is a junior at Somers High School felt it was an honor to be chosen as a facilitator by HHREC. Davidson attended a day-long training session at HHREC and worked on a lesson plan for her workshop which focused on civil rights with a social studies teacher. Davidson “hopes to show kids that there is more than one side to each story and that they need to think of things in a historical context.” At the conference’s conclusion, the students regroup and develop action plans to address injustices.  For example, some schools have started Amnesty International chapters or created anti-bullying programs.

Students at Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua also got to see Arnold perform at their school earlier. Arnold has been performing in Chappaqua schools for the past five years and will be at Bell this spring. She said she considers herself a “hors d’oeuvres” that helps to get kids interested in history and humanize it for them.“If I’ve done my job right, there are kids that will leave my performances and start talking and want more information. They will never be able to look at a textbook the same way again because they are now seeing history through a person’s perspective.”  For more information about the HHREC and membership, please visit www.hhrecyny.org

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Westchester Parent, Westchester Family Magazine, Kveller.com and Inside Armonk.

Plastic Surgeon & Chappaqua Native Dr. Elan Singer Heals Soldiers and Helps Beautify New Yorkers

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dr_s_headshotListening to Dr. Elan Singer reminisce about his childhood growing up in Chappaqua, it is easy to appreciate how idyllic this town is. There were soccer games, bike rides into town to visit his mother’s store ICD Contemporary Jewelry and practices with the Greeley ski team. But more than anything he credits his time volunteering during his teenage years with the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps (CVAC) as setting him on his chosen career path as a preeminent plastic surgeon with an office in Manhattan and a recently opened practice at Radiance MedSpa on North Bedford Road in Mount Kisco.

Dr. Singer, a 1990 Greeley graduate joined CVAC as part of the youth corps when he was 16 and became an EMT when he was 17. “I carried a beeper around high school and my experience at CVAC was integral in helping me choose medicine as a career.”

A medical officer in the Navy Reserves, Dr. Singer spends one weekend a month at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, which is the largest American military hospital in the world. It treats all branches of the US military. “My reserve unit is actually very special because we are the only unit that does surgeries at Walter Reed on the weekends there.” During the month, Dr. Singer communicates with the active duty surgeons at Walter Reed about cases and when he goes down there, Dr. Singer helps offload some of the backload of cases that the active duty plastic surgeons aren’t able to get to.  “It’s mostly elective surgeries now, so breast reduction or reconstruction but in years past, we had a lot of wounded warriors.”

All reservists are eligible to be mobilized to war-torn areas such as Iraq or Afghanistan. Most are mobilized for eight months. Some of his medical colleagues in the Reserves have been mobilized but Dr. Singer notes that other specialties such as orthopedics, anesthesia and neurosurgery are in higher demand overseas. “In plastic surgery, most of the work we do is highly specialized and needs a lot of infrastructure so that tends to take place here in the United States. We are dealing a lot with reconstruction so we see the same patients repeatedly for multiple surgeries.”

Dr. Singer likes the large complex surgeries that he performs on Reserve duty. But he’s equally skilled at performing elective cosmetic surgeries such as liposuction, skin rejuvenation services, facelifts and body contouring procedures on his patients in Manhattan and Westchester. He enjoys the diversity of surgeries that he gets to perform at Walter Reed and in his private practice.

Dr. Singer with his wife Dana and son Yonatan at Fleet Week
Dr. Singer with his wife Dana and son Yonatan at Fleet Week

As a Reservist, Dr. Singer is required to spend two weeks a year performing plastic surgery as part of his commitment. His last two weeks of service was on the USNS Mercy, a large naval ship that went on a humanitarian mission to Asia in July where he performed several surgeries on Vietnamese civilians. He’s also served as a physician on the ships that station in NY Harbor during Fleet Week as part of his two-week commitment on Reserve duty.

In addition to the humanitarian mission that he did with the Reserves, Dr. Singer has also gone on civilian humanitarian missions to Haiti after the earthquake to perform pro-bono plastic surgery. As a chief resident at Mount Sinai Medical Center, he flew to Southern Nigeria to work on burn reconstruction patients.  “Each one of these humanitarian medical missions “was unique and very eye-opening to me as a young surgeon.”

Dr. Elan Singer on a Humanitarian Medical Mission in Vietnam Pictured in the “N” Cap
Dr. Elan Singer on a Humanitarian Medical Mission in Vietnam Pictured in the “N” Cap

Dr. Singer’s family connection to the military is quite extensive. His father was in the Navy as a doctor in the submarine service in the late 1960s. His mother was in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) as a spokeswoman for the IDF to the foreign press, providing them with details at media briefings during the Six Day War.  His grandfather was a physician in the army in France during WWII and landed six days after D-Day. “So I’m actually the third generation in the US Military as a physician in my family.”

Dr. Singer is looking forward to building his new practice in Mount Kisco. Although he currently resides in Manhattan with his wife and three young children, he enjoys coming up to his hometown to spend time with his parents and his children enjoy spending time outdoors in their grandparent’s backyard just as he did as a young boy.

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Westchester Parent, Westchester Family Magazine, Kveller.com and Inside Armonk.

Nine Ways Chappaqua Might Change as a Two-President Town

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After casting their vote at Grafflin during New York’s primary day in April. Grace Bennett Photo
After casting their vote at Grafflin during New York’s primary day in April. Grace Bennett Photo

The excitement in Chappaqua has been building for months ever since one of our most famous residents, Hillary Rodham Clinton, announced her candidacy for President. No matter how you cast your vote this November, it is undeniable that our small town’s larger than life profile throughout the U.S. and beyond will simply continue to expand. Although it is impossible to predict the election’s exact impact on our town, here are an array of predictions of what may be in store should Chappaqua become a two-president town:

1. An even higher profile for our town–as if that were even possible. “The Clintons helped put Chappaqua on the national map when they moved here in 1999,“ said State Assemblyman David Buchwald (D-Mount Kisco), and a member of Hillary for New York Leadership Council. Echoing Assemblyman Buchwald’s sentiments, Grace Bennett, publisher/editor of Inside Chappaqua noted that “in truth, Chappaqua has been on the world stage for many years now; I’ve tried to convey a sense of their influence here since launching Inside Chappaqua in 2003, shortly after the Clintons arrived. The powerful presence of this world famous couple has become part and parcel of our town’s identity, and I think that phenomenon will only be enhanced and solidified if Hillary Clinton becomes the nation’s first woman president.”

2. Cultivating a culture of concerned citizens in Chappaqua across all generations. Hometown advocacy groups for Hillary were established even prior to her official announcement to run for President. These Hillary supporters from groups such as Chappaqua Friends of Hill (and Tim) have local members that span across all age groups and are involved in activities such as canvassing and voter registration near and far. Many of these supporters have never been involved before in political advocacy but felt inspired by her. Chappaqua 4 Clinton/Kaine NOW offers a steady stream of campaign news on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Increased media presence. Last month, when Hillary Clinton abruptly left a September 11th ceremony, it was later announced that she had pneumonia. For several days, several TV crews were camped outside Walgreen’s on King Street and her Old House Lane residence hoping to catch a glimpse of her.  There’s no doubt the media will be back in town on Election Day to secure footage of her and former President Bill Clinton voting at their polling place, Grafflin Elementary School. The good news is that most likely the media presence will be short-lived and will only be palpable when she is in town.

4. Enhanced notice of our downtown merchants. There’s a definite “up side” to all the media exposure. “Seeing Chappaqua’s store fronts on a national TV newscast or in a top daily newspaper is not only thrilling for all of us who live and work here, but it serves as a very effective means for promoting our town and its businesses,” noted Dawn Dankner Rosen, president of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce.

“I can say that this continuous media interest and focus on the Clintons in our town’s shops and restaurants couldn’t be better for our branding and for creating awareness of Chappaqua as a destination town for shopping and dining. These  opportunities for national (and global!) exposure can only increase exponentially once we become–historically and uniquely–home to two U.S. Presidents! That’s an extremely special identification for any town/community to have!”

5. Warm welcomes from the community when they are back at home. “When Hillary becomes president, I’m sure the duties of her office will keep her in Washington and abroad even more than before. And when the Clintons find themselves back in Chappaqua, they will be warmly welcomed, as they are now,” said Robert Greenstein, Town Supervisor.

Gray Williams the town historian agreed, noting that “the Presidency is an ephemeral thing” lasting eight years at most and that the couple’s White House duties will keep them traveling a lot.

But there’s little doubt that the Clintons will continue to visit and keep annual traditions such as marching in the town’s Memorial Day parade or shopping in town.  “Since moving here both Bill and Hillary Clinton have been wonderful, loyal supporters of our business community and frequent shoppers and diners in town,” added Dankner Rosen. “No matter how many sightings or selfies we’ve all taken, their unexpected shopping trips are always met with unprecedented enthusiasm and excitement throughout the community.”

With Varda Singer, owner, ICD Contemporary Jewelry, during an impromptu party at Crabtree’s Kittle House to celebrate Hillary Clinton’s historic nomination.
With Varda Singer, owner, ICD Contemporary Jewelry, during an impromptu party at Crabtree’s Kittle House to celebrate Hillary Clinton’s historic nomination.

6. Occasional traffic issues/road closures. When Bill Clinton was President, he occasionally used the Westchester Airport. As a security measure, the roads were closed so that his motorcade could pass through.   Chief Ferry of the New Castle Police noted hat the department would help with “traffic flow” and residents can expect that from time to time Hillary may also use the airport.

The police department has put additional funding in the budget for additional officers for next year to help assist with this and Ferry noted that when Bill was President much of this funding was actually reimbursed by the Federal Government. Additionally the police department recently changed Old House Lane and neighboring Green Lane to “local traffic only” streets as a security precaution.

7. A huge impression on our younger residents. The cover story essays in this very edition offer a sense of how Hillary’s “first woman nominee” status has impacted the imagination of younger residents, especially girls,” noted Bennett. “Her influences on all our childrens’ futures is absolutely phenomenal to consider, too. You can never underestimate the ripple effects of a broken glass ceiling!

The Clintons have helped build awareness about national and international issues right in our backyard, among young and old alike. Hillary, in her campaign, is inspiring activism both on her behalf and on a multitude of issues. We might otherwise just be a sleepy suburb in northern Westchester!”

8. A sense of permanence. The recent purchase of the house next door to the Clinton’s current property is ample evidence of a commitment to Chappaqua from the Clintons for the foreseeable future.

News outlets have already speculated that the property will be used as a weekend retreat by Chelsea Clinton and her family.

Memorial Day Parade 2015, Grace Bennett Photo
Memorial Day Parade 2015
Grace Bennett Photo

9. Creating a legacy in our town for years to come. Williams noted that Chappaqua may well be the only town in the US that boasts two Presidents and a third Presidential candidate (Greeley).  Although it is impossible to tell if the Clinton’s home will one day be a museum or if a statue of Hillary will be erected in downtown, “the bottom line for me is that, every bit as much as Horace Greeley became the signature historical hero of our town, I believe the Clintons are forever part of our past, present and future folklore, too. And in the best possible way, summed up Bennett.

Commenting on the possibility of a statue of Hillary, Director of the Chappaqua Library Pamela Thornton said, “I don’t think they  [The Clintons] are the kind who want a statue. I think they’d rather see a community center or teen center named after them as their legacy.”

Williams agreed stating with a chuckle, “I don’t expect a ten-foot statue of Hillary.  I’m not sure exactly where we’d put it.”

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Kveller.com, Westchester Parents and Inside Armonk.

Remember the Partisans

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Chappaqua Resident Meryl Lefkowitz with her great uncle Michael Stoll, a Bielski partisan
Chappaqua Resident Meryl Lefkowitz with her great uncle Michael Stoll, a Bielski partisan

A packed audience recently gathered at the Dewitt Wallace auditorium at Chappaqua Crossing to watch The Bielski Brothers: Jerusalem in the Woods, a documentary film based on the lives of the Bielski partisans during the Holocaust. The event was sponsored by UJA-Federation of New York’s Westchester Women chapter in an effort to raise awareness about the remarkable story of the Bielski brothers who were Jewish partisans that survived in the Belorussian forest during World War II. The four Bielski brothers managed to rescue 1,200 Jews in the neighboring Jewish ghettos of Lida and Nowogrodek, the largest rescue effort by Jews for Jews in World War II.

Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining survivor of the Bielski brothers, was in attendance at the event along with several other Bielski partisans.

Chappaqua resident and one of the event chair’s Meryl Lefkowitz has many relatives who were saved by the Bielski brothers. “My father’s family including my grandmother, her parents, brother, sister and cousin were all Holocaust survivors and Bielski partisans. “The Bielskis were close to my family and saved them as well as countless others by creating their community in the woods,” said Lefkowitz. “My grandmother and her brother and sister and cousin are all still alive and to this day they keep the memories and stories alive. We are here (a family of more than 50 of their descendants) because of their determination to survive.” The number of Bielski descendants is approximately 20,000, according to historians.

Laura Kleinhandler of Rye Brook, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Chair; Aron Bell; Michele Gregson of Chappaqua, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Vice Chair; and Alan Bell Photo courtesy of UJA-Federation of NY
Laura Kleinhandler of Rye Brook, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Chair; Aron Bell; Michele Gregson of Chappaqua, UJA-Federation’s Westchester Women Vice Chair; and Alan Bell Photo courtesy of UJA-Federation of NY

Lefkowitz’s great uncle Michael Stoll attended the event. His story is featured in the documentary. He was on a cattle car about to be transported to the Majdanek concentration camp from the Lida ghetto and jumped from the train along with his sister, Lefkowitz’s paternal grandmother and her paternal great grandfather. Remarkably they reunited with their mother and other sister in the woods who had already joined the Bielski brigade. “I am proud of who I am and where I have come from. These are amazing people with an unwavering will to live and prosper and an unbelievable story to tell,” commented Lefkowitz.

The story of the Bielski partisans was popularized in the 2008 Hollywood film Defiance starring Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber. The documentary film featured at the event follows the story of the Bielski brothers a Jewish farming family in the town of Stankiewicze. After the Nazis invaded their town and forced all Jews into the ghettos of Lida and Nowogrodek, three of the Bielski brothers escaped to the nearby forest. At first the brothers focused on just saving their immediate family members but eventually took it as their mission to save as many Jews as they could. With the brother’s farming background and intimate knowledge of the forest, they were able to ultimately evade the Germans and Belorussian collaborators.

Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining Bielski Brother with his wife Henryka Bell
Aron (Bielski) Bell, the last remaining Bielski Brother with his wife Henryka Bell

Eventually with the help of some non-Jewish Belorusian friends they acquired guns and were soon able to obtain captured German and Soviet weapons and equipment supplied by Soviet partisans. The Bielski partisans actively scouted the Jewish ghettoes and helped several Jews escape. They constantly moved throughout the forest to avoid detection by the Nazis.

By 1943, the number of partisans in the Bielski brigade had increased to 700 Jews, and the Bielski brothers were fearful of the Nazis discovering their base so they relocated to a more remote part of the Naliboki Forest where they remained until their liberation. The partisans formed a Jewish community in this location dubbed “Jerusalem in the woods.” The refugees were organized by skill and they had cobblers, tailors, carpenters, leather workers, and blacksmiths all contributing to the overall well-being of the community. In addition, they even had a laundry, synagogue, infirmary and schoolhouse.

“This story is extraordinary in that the best of human qualities emerged in the darkest moments of history. The unanswered question surrounding the story of the four Bielski brothers whose efforts saved more than 1,200 Jews is how did they create a caring community in the midst of the Holocaust? Millie Jasper, Executive Director of the White Plains-based Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, said: “It’s remarkable that the Bielski brothers created an environment where each member of the group chose not their personal survival, but the survival of the group.”

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Kveller.com, Westchester Parents and Inside Armonk. Both of her maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors.

Westchester County Airport: A Hidden Jewel For Air Travelers In The Region

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Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino; Lt Col Joseph Wooley, Civil Air Patrol; Peter Scherrer, Westchester County Airport at a rededication ceremony this past July for the Lockheed T-33 jet, known as the “T-Bird” after the WWII plane was restored for a year. Photos Courtesy of the Office of the Westchester County Executive
Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino; Lt Col Joseph Wooley, Civil Air Patrol; Peter Scherrer, Westchester County Airport at a rededication ceremony this past July for the Lockheed T-33 jet, known as the “T-Bird” after the WWII plane was restored for a year. Photos Courtesy of the Office of the Westchester County Executive.

It’s another busy morning at Westchester County Airport. On the runway, a JetBlue flight is about to take off to Orlando with several young Westchester families en route to Disney. Another runway has a handful of business travelers coming in on a United flight from Chicago. Meanwhile a Westchester-based CEO is boarding his corporate jet for a meeting in Rochester.   

Opened in 1945, Westchester County Airport operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and currently has six airlines offering flights, serving approximately 1.75 million passengers a year. The airport’s code, HPN, actually stands for Harrison, Purchase and North Castle, not White Plains Airport, as many people mistakenly believe, because the airport’s footprint is owned by all three towns. The airport employs 1,300 workers full-time and brings in an estimated $735 million to the region, according to a 2010 analysis.

The main terminal at Westchester County Airport.
The main terminal at Westchester County Airport.

The airport first began commercial flights in 1948 and the National Guard maintained a base at the airport from 1952 to 1983. In 2005, the airport began to offer discount flights to several key destinations for the first time.   

With residential properties surrounding the airport, the county works hard at limiting noise and other environmental hazards.

A Westchester County Airport Advisory Board meets monthly and the board discusses topics such as noise/odor complaints with meetings open to the public.  The board consists of eleven members appointed by the County Executive with representatives from the surrounding areas and aviation specialists. Residents can track flights and complain about any noise issues via www.airport.westchester.gov under the flight tracking tab. The County and Board have also been instrumental in capping terminal use to 480 passengers per hour to limit the impact on surrounding communities.

“The Westchester County Airport serves a very important purpose for the residents and businesses not only in North Castle but in the surrounding region,” notes Michael Schiliro, the Town Supervisor of North Castle. “In April, the North Castle Town Board adopted a Resolution requesting that North Castle be considered an Interested Agency for the proposed legislation modifying the Terminal Use Agreement. It is important to strike a balance between sustaining the level of service expected by the users of the airport while addressing the environmental, traffic, and noise impacts of North Castle residents. We intend to be an active participant in the process.”

“I think when people hear the words development or expansion they confuse construction with that,” notes Richard Conrad, an Advisory Board member from North Castle who is also the CEO and Owner of GP Aviation, a company that operates and sells business jets. For example, the airport recently built a separate building on the right hand side of the terminal for baggage screening to make it safer and efficient for all passengers. “The airport really is a jewel of Westchester, offering accessibility, ease of entry/egress from the airport and civilized travel with fewer crowds than other nearby airports. The county and [County Executive Rob] Astorino are huge proponents of it and are constantly looking for ways to improve the airport experience for everybody.”

Samantha Shinnick, an Armonk resident, uses the airport frequently and likes that “it’s a small airport with pretty good service (except when it snows). They run the operations smoothly based on security lines, etc.” However, she wishes there were more reasonable taxi services available and would like Uber to be allowed on-site.

There are several fixed-base operators (FBOs) at the airport such as Million Air and Signature Flight Support and these operators offer the convenience of driving right up to your plane and having staff handle your baggage. “It’s just another level of civilized travel,” comments Conrad.

In addition, Conrad notes that the airport is a “mecca for business aviation,” bringing in millions of dollars to the area.

Stacey Pfeffer lives with her husband and three young children in Chappaqua. She has written for New York Family Magazine, Kveller.com, Westchester Parents and Inside Chappaqua. She has flown to Florida several times via Westchester County Airport.