The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Cover Stories

Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester Names its 2023 Youth of the Year

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All six of the BGCNW 2023 Youth of the Year Candidates take a group photo before interviews and presentations, before the judges. L-R: Valentina C., Roselyn C., Brandiel D., Zayaan H., Xio N., and Kimberly C.

On March 2, 2023, the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester (BGCNW) held their annual Youth of the Year event at Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua. The Youth of the Year event honors youth in the Club who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership and service within the Club and local community.

After a delightful period of mingling, everyone’s attention was called to the front and center of the room, where BGCNW’s CEO Alyzza Ozer gave an impassioned speech calling attention to the importance of BGCNW’s work–especially ensuring children receive proper meals, academic, fitness, leadership, and mental health supports. She shared that the Club’s key differentiator is civic advocacy and leadership and that 87% of Club members who regularly attend programing will consistently give back to their community as adults.

Several people in attendance at the event were recognized for being influential in supporting the Club’s recent work, including state assemblyman Chris Burdick, County Legislator Erika Pierce, Dr. DaMia Harris Madden ED of The Westchester County Youth Bureau, and Michael Orth, Commissioner at the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health. Ozer emphasized that the Club’s impact is proof that school districts, governments, community-based organizations, business leaders, and volunteers can effectively work together to strengthen communities.

Other BGCNW staff members spoke eloquently about the youth programming that the Club offers, queuing up to an explanation of the Youth of the Year program and an introduction of this year’s finalists.

Afterward, three of the five youth finalists gave speeches–sharing their stories, including personal struggles and positive, life-affirming experiences with the Club. The first, Valentina Cabrera, a junior at Brewster High School, spoke of how a speech impediment she was born with hindered her self-confidence growing up, and how she was able to overcome it with the help of the Club, saying, “thanks to the Boys and Girls Club, I have gained the confidence and strength for moments like these”.

Valentina also spoke about the integral role that the Club has played in her life, including offering her many leadership opportunities and remaining a constant in her life through many changes.

Next, Xio Nieves, a junior at Fox Lane High School, said the Club has offered him opportunities such as working with younger kids, noting that “what surprised me most about working with the preschoolers was how much they liked me!”, a remark eliciting some laughter from the audience. Xio also described how the Club helped him become more comfortable with his identity, and ended, saying, “Right now, I am proud to say, I am Xio Nieves, and I am a Club kid”.

Lastly, Zayaan Hussain, a junior at Horace Greeley High School, spoke about the roles that the loss of his aunt and his participation in the Club’s programs have had on his personal growth. Additionally, Zayaan revealed how despite being born with cerebral palsy, he learned to walk and swim, and said that “nothing should ever be considered impossible. I was told it would be impossible for me to walk, and yet, here I am.”

Those three youth finalists were then presented special awards from the Club. Xio was awarded the Wilfred E. Jennings Award, Zayan was awarded the Chris Cutri Memorial Award, and finally, Valentina received the Youth of the Year award, presented by Jane Solnick, Director of Corporate Affairs from Con Edison, the evening’s main sponsor.

As the evening’s events concluded, the room was once again bustling as people filled their plates with dinner provided by Kittle staff.

Congratulations to all the finalists!

Please save the date, June 2, 2023, for the Club’s annual Spring Gala and Storytelling Event. Visit bgcnw.com for more information and tickets.

What Everyday People Did To Make a Clean Sweep for Mother Nature

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Clean-up By Water’s Edge at Scenic Hudson Park
Photo by Morgan Balkin

Inside Press is pleased to shine a spotlight once again on Sweep–Riverkeeper.org’s annual mega trash-collection May event. Each year, eager volunteers from all over Westchester County gathered at designated spots to help clean the Hudson River and its tributaries.

“I’m so grateful to and impressed by the more than 1,200 people who showed up in what may have been the worst Sweep-day weather we’ve ever had,” said Katie Leung, the new Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator for Sweep.

Volunteers could select the area they wanted to work in and were responsible for their own transportation. The actual sites varied. Volunteers worked along the shorelines, in nearby parks, along roads or used kayaks, whether on a lake, a tributary or the Hudson River.

“Projects lasted for two to three hours…. Most started in the morning and extended into the afternoon,” said Leung. If a volunteer signed up for a “shoreline project,” only a low tide offered safety and the promise of “more trash pick-up.”

Loading Bagged Trash at Annsville Creek Park
Photo by Leah Rae

Gearing Up

On this most recent Sweep Saturday, protective rain gear was a necessity. “Sturdy shoes, long pants, and a hat were also most recommended,” said Leung.

With Covid-19 still a serious concern, it was important to minimize the sharing of such tools as shovels. “If any tools were to be shared,” explained Leung, “volunteers had to wear gloves or disinfect them [tools] between uses.”

Of course, other Covid-19 protocols were put into effect, and volunteers also needed to bring their own masks, hand sanitizer, and a filled, reusable water bottle. Riverkeeper provided additional masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, if needed.

The romanticism of doing something good for the environment aside, Sweep day is not for the faint hearted. Leung said, “Volunteers also had to be aware of slippery rocks, poison ivy, and ticks,” plus there was “the potential for trash to include hazards, such as discarded needles. Hazards needed to be reported to the leader.”

Volunteers cheering a great cleanup at Pocantico Lake Trail Photo by Monica Dietrich

Quite A Haul

This most recent group of volunteers managed to gather an astonishing 19 tons of trash from the Hudson River watershed, which includes New York City and the entire Hudson Valley.

As might be expected, the most common types of trash were: plastic bottles and bottle caps, followed by food wrappers, other types of beverage containers, cigarette butts, straws, and pieces of plastic and Styrofoam. Tires constituted around two out of the nineteen tons.

Croton Point site leaders Lisa Amberger and Chris Grieco, who have participated in Sweep every year since the first event eleven years ago, said, “There always seems to be new junk washing up on the shoreline.” Their most memorable “catch” was a gigantic stuffed teddy bear.

When Leung was asked about the most unusual items gathered this past event, the list was borderline humorous, but also sobering: “… a box of 2011 SpongeBob SquarePants ornaments, a bucket of tar, a sleeper couch, a cornhole board, smart tablet, a washing machine, a heating system, and a message in a bottle. Some of the larger items included scrap metal, car and boat parts, Styrofoam blocks, bed frames, mattresses, 50-gallon barrels, and propane tanks.”

The real question is “How were those 19 tons of trash disposed of?” Site leaders made the decision whether to “contact local municipalities to schedule trash hauling” or to have dumpsters brought into inaccessible areas and later removed. Either way, the collecting and disposing of such a prodigious amount of trash is truly noteworthy. To encourage potential volunteers, Amberger and Grieco said: “We take everyone’s safety very seriously, and one person can make a big difference in cleaning up the river.”

Sweep 2023 was held Saturday, May 6. riverkeeper.org/sweep. For more info about the event or to be a site leader next year, contact Katie Leung at kleung@riverkeeper.org.

Suzie Ross, co-organizer of the very first Sweep and a member of the Westchester County Climate Task Force, perhaps said it best:

“Sweep has become more than a fun community clean-up day. It’s grown into an opportunity for education, and to inspire advocacy and lifestyle changes. Participating in Sweep can become a starting point for individuals to think more deeply about their impacts on their community and waterways.”

Westchester Youth Alliance: Fostering Connection Among Youth & the Community

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Building bridges. Creating diverse communities. The youth in Westchester are coming together to learn about themselves while creating the world they want to live in. “We’re looking to help kids as they graduate high school to have a bigger world view when they enter college or the workforce, so when they move into a community and meet someone from a different background they can have a positive knowledge base to draw on and interact in a respectful and compassionate manner,” said Nisa Geller, Executive Director of the Westchester Youth Alliance (WYA).

Established in 2012, WYA connects high school students from diverse communities of faith, race, and identity and engages them in conversation, mobilizes them in community service, and empowers them to create a better, culturally informed world. “We feel it’s important for teenagers to have civil conversations with people who are different from them – different towns, different socio-economic backgrounds, different racial and religious backgrounds – and to have empathy and compassion for them,” said Geller. “This allows students to make friendships outside of their community. We facilitate the conversations using ice breakers and a curriculum that’s designed to break down stereotypes and stigma.”

For Monday Lerner, a sophomore at Scarsdale High School, spending time with the WYA is the best part of the week. “The community and social justice work we do inspires me to be a better person and think more about my community every day,” said Lerner. “The community of people I’ve met in WYA has been a lifeboat in the rough sea of high school and I’m grateful for their support.”

WYA’s THREE PILLARS

WYA has served 425 teens from 28 Westchester high schools and over 25 religious institutions and is growing in Southern Westchester. WYA’s curriculum of programming includes community service, educational opportunities, social justice activities, and recreational events, all based on three pillars: Nurturing Voice (active listening and respectful disagreement); Building Community (designing a better future); and Taking Action (working collaboratively to be agents of change). “We also teach these pillars so when students leave they feel they know who they are, how to get along with other people, and they’re a clear communicator in getting their message across in a civil and respectful way,” explained Geller.

The teens learn with and from each other through productive dialogue and engaging events and activities that include service projects, art projects, and regular gatherings to connect, reflect, and plan. Also, WYA organizes a variety of large-scale events, focused experiences, and guided discussions based on themes determined by teen members. Events are open to all teens at no cost. Recent issues of importance include mental health, food insecurity, gun violence, and climate change.

Emiliana Knauer, a senior at The Harvey School in Katonah, describes her time at WYA as a phenomenal experience. “While I may have initially joined the group as someone very hesitant to assume leadership positions due to lack of self-confidence, I’ll be leaving with the experiences of displaying a photography project at the Bedford Playhouse, working a booth at the Yorktown Pride Festival, speaking at a fundraising event, and even starting my school’s first feminist club,” she said. “I have so many fun and meaningful memories associated with WYA, and I’m incredibly grateful I had the chance to be part of the organization.”

WYA partners with a variety of not-for-profit organizations to offer hands-on community-service events. Students have cooked meals to feed the homeless, sorted toys for Toys for Tots, harvested vegetables at Hanover Hilltop Farm, and built affordable housing for low-income families. Throughout summer, members attend local events to share the WYA mission.

“We want students to be agents of change in their community,” said Geller. “We want them to realize they see a problem in their community they can take action on it, or if they see a need in their community, they can help make things better.”

Michelle Jones, a senior at White Plains High School, shares how the nonprofit has provided her with opportunities to collaborate with her peers and help the community. “I’ve learned to manage my time better and assume more responsibilities,” said Jones. “My first encounter with WYA was at a gardening event. I was quickly accepted into the group and felt like I belonged. WYA is a great place to find friends all the while bettering your community.”

That’s the goal of WYA. “We want to expand the students’ possibilities and network of people,” said Geller. “It’s very exciting for the teens and for the organizations that we help as well.”

Upcoming Events at the WYO

May 7 – Planting day at Hilltop Hanover Farm, Yorktown Heights

Students will be helping the farmers in the fields, weeding, picking (and sampling) fresh produce, making signage, pruning, and more. Experienced kids, passionate about plant care, will help care for more delicate plants.

June 11 – Yorktown For Justice: Pride 2023 Festival

All students welcome! Gather for the march and from 3-6 p.m. enjoy performances, speakers, vendors, food trucks, and activities.

June 18 – 12th annual Juneteenth Celebration at Depew Park, Peekskill

Juneteenth Tabling with the City of Peekskill’s Youth Bureau Celebrate the day as local performers are joined by youth groups who will will proudly strut their talents throughout the afternoon.

TBA – September – Bonfire Open House kick-off for the 2024 season at Pound Ridge Reservation

Register at westchesteryouthalliance.org

A Look Inside Understandable Economics

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Armonk resident Howard Yaruss released his book Understandable Economics in September 2022, a time in which poll results indicated that the economy was the top voting issue for Americans heading to the polls for the midterms. As such, Yaruss’s work, which aims to provide a better understanding of our economy without the use of jargon, formulas, graphs, or other technical material, was particularly timely. His book seeks to break down the economic system in a manner that is straightforward and accessible to readers, making use of analogies, real-world observations, and entertaining anecdotes. Find an exclusive excerpt below!  – Illeana Baquero

Excerpt from Understandable Economics by Howard Yaruss:

“Although many economists may be reluctant to admit it, economics is not a scientific discipline which requires expert knowledge and specialized tools to gain understanding. It’s not like biology, where you need to know organic chemistry and have access to a microscope and other equipment to know what’s going on in living cells. It’s not like astrophysics, where you need to know the relationships among the forces in the universe and have access to powerful telescopes to figure out the properties of a black hole.

Like psychology, economics is a social science, an attempt to understand human interactions and how they affect the world around us. It focuses on those relationships as they relate to money as well as the goods, services and resources money buys. In order to tease out some precision regarding those relationships, professional economists use data and mathematical tools. But the fundamental relationships themselves can become apparent if you’re willing to observe the world carefully and apply your own common sense. The goal of Understandable Economics is to help you do that.

I’m not going to tell you what or how to think–there is no shortage of authors, pundits, influencers, and Twitter celebrities happy to do that. My aim is to demystify our economy by engaging with it in a direct, practical and (I hope) entertaining manner. I want you to be able to think through these issues for yourself and draw your own conclusions.

The need for this understanding is more important now than ever. The belief that our economic system is failing is at a record high. There has been a wide range of reactions from Occupy Wall Street to the election of Donald Trump. What is the one thing all of these reactions have in common? They have not resulted in any significant positive change in the lives of most Americans.

Understandable Economics seeks to change that. I believe that if more of us were armed with a better understanding of how our economy works, more constructive solutions for the problems we face would get implemented and we would finally see the economy improve for the average person.”

Don’t Resist JUST DESSERTS at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center April 28-30

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Just Between Us: Dessert comes first, the playful among us like to say!  And now, an irresistibly delicious new Broadway-style musical, Just Desserts is coming to the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center! The whole family is invited to enjoy what its producers are calling “a charming, professionally performed musical (performers are Actor’s Equity Association artists) about a baking contest, and six strangers coming together, and after much mystery and drama, becoming friends and supporting each other!”

 Oh, and this: 100 percent of Just Desserts proceeds are being earmarked toward the wonderful San Miguel Academy in Newburgh!

As a collaboration between two area music powerhouses–Frank Shiner, producer and Brad Ross, composer–Just Desserts bills itself as “a charming show about a baking contest and the interaction between the contestants. “The music has a traditional Broadway sound, and it is VERY family friendly!” relays Shiner.  Read on for more, direct from Shiner, below.   — Grace

JUST DESSERTS: A Musical Bake-Off

Book and Lyrics by Barbara Campbell

Music by Brad Ross

Directed by Tom Wallace

It’s sweet. It’s savory. It’s five strangers putting their hearts, reputations, and baking skills on the line to become the crème de la crème of bakers at a county fair. The heat is on to create three different types of desserts during the finals. A determined young woman dreaming of opening her own bakery. A sexy nail technician who wants to fit in. A shy school nurse who doesn’t want to be there at all. A mysterious man from Brooklyn who arouses suspicion about his past.  And the reigning champion who is confident she’ll garner yet another victory this year. They’ll all get their just desserts at the Jefferson County Bake-Off! There’s a little mystery, a little romance, some potential cheating, and some back-stabbing – exactly what you expect when the competition is fierce – and the results are deliciously satisfying!

100% of your ticket purchase goes to San Miguel Academy of Newburgh… helping to break the cycle of poverty. Anyone attending can buy tickets and / or sponsor tickets so that those less fortunate can attend. “I would like to the children from the school and their families be able to attend,” noted Shiner, who explained that the San Miguel Academy takes Children from abject poverty and puts them through a 12-year, tuition free program. “This is truly a miracle in our own backyard… These kids had no chance in life, and they are becoming business leaders, working in politics, teachers, and wonderful family people. As of last year, it is a coed program.

The cast of Just Desserts will perform on Friday April 28Th, (7:30 p.m.) Saturday April 29th (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday April 30 (3 p.m. matinee)

A Frank Shiner music production, tickets can be reserved here: https://frankshiner.com/