The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Good Neighbors

Kisco Park: A Neighborhood Straddling Chappaqua and Mount Kisco

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Kisco Park is a much sought-after neighborhood encompassing the best of Chappaqua and Mount Kisco. It is a quiet and friendly neighborhood that is close to town and shopping, yet is also quite bucolic and close to nature as well. Kisco Park lies within the Chappaqua school district with a Mount Kisco PO.

Kisco Park is also home to the Bueti family. The family consists of Mary O’Rourke Bueti, Key Account Manager at American Regent, Sam, Director of Sales at Pepsico, Emma, age 18, college freshman, Lily, age 14 and Alex, age 12. The Bueti family has lived in Kisco Park since 2003. Sam grew up in the neighborhood and that was one of the reasons the family decided to move to the area. They enjoy being so close to family. Sam’s siblings also live in Kisco Park and the Bueti children can walk to visit their grandmother’s house.

The Bueti family really enjoy all the things their Kisco Park neighborhood has to offer. One special feature is that there are many dog owners in the area, which definitely helps with meeting new neighbors. As Mary says, “There are lots of dogs. You can get together with neighbors for dog walks. I met some of my best friends in the neighborhood.”

Kisco Park is also a hub of fun and festive community activities. They hold a wonderful Halloween parade each year that both kids and adults enjoy. There is also an annual picnic for families, held at Smith Park. A Town of New Castle park, Smith Park lies within Kisco Park and features a multi-purpose athletic field, playground and half-court basketball area.

Kisco Park has a lot of natural beauty to offer its residents including a brook that runs right behind the neighborhood. The brook separates Kisco Park from Riverwoods and Croton Avenue. As Mary says, “Many houses have a view and access to the brook.” It’s definitely a lovely, relaxing feature – one of many reasons to enjoy living in Kisco Park.

Hardscrabble Lake: A Dream Neighborhood for Families

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The Gilet Family has called the Hardscrabble Lake neighborhood home for more than six years. Anthony Gilet, a radiologist, Nikole Ostrov-Gilet, a gynecologist and children Dylan, age 9 3/4 and Briella, age 6 1/2 enjoy everything Hardscrabble Lake has to offer.

Moving from Manhattan, the family was looking for a town that was convenient to both parents jobs, safe and family oriented, had great schools and was a close-knit community where they could find friends and neighbors for all to “grow up” with. Says Nikole, “When we were looking at houses all across Westchester, it wasn’t until later in our search that we discovered Chappaqua and the second we pulled onto Hardscrabble Lake Drive, I said to Anthony ‘this is my dream neighborhood’ and it hasn’t let us down.”

The kids are able to ride their bikes in the street of their cul de sac and are always able to find other kids playing whenever they venture outside. Everyone in Hardscrabble Lake is always willing to lend a hand. “I love that if I need help getting one of my kids off the bus there is always a willing neighbor. I love that we have neighborhood text chains. I love our neighborhood Facebook page where we can ask for opinions and advice. I love that we have the greatest sledding hill in our front yard and other kids come over to enjoy it too,” says Nikole.

Living in Hardscrabble Lake gives the Gilets a real sense of community. Says Nikole, “This is a neighborhood where kids can just be kids and adults can rely on each other for advice, some eggs in a pinch, child care help, a friend to take a walk with and lifelong bonds. I still to this day get the feeling that I had when I drove in that very first time during our house search, that Hardscrabble Lake is my dream neighborhood.”

Wrights Mill: New Appeal for an Old Section of Town

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The Wrights Mill neighborhood has a storied past dating back to the American Revolution. Thomas Wright, for whom the area is named, owned property and operated a mill in North Castle. Major Andre, who worked as a spy with Benedict Arnold, was captured in Tarrytown and held in a barn at Wright’s mill. A plaque now commemorates the sites of Thomas Wright’s mill wheel and buildings.

Today, Wrights Mill is a neighborhood filled with lovely homes close to downtown Armonk as well as to Wampus Pond Park. Calling this neighborhood home is the Arany family. Dr. Karina Gritsenko, an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology at Montefiore Medical Center and Mr. Magen-David Arany, who works in finance, live here with their four sons Joshua age 14 (going on 26), Isaac age 4.5, Jacques age 2.5 and Yonatan, age 3.5 months. The family moved from New York City two years ago after 16 years of living on the Upper East Side. With a growing family, they knew they needed more space–it was just a question of where.

As Karina puts it, she came to Westchester kicking and screaming. She and Magen-David even had a friendly competition for who could find a new home first, with Karina looking at apartments and Magen-David at houses. He eventually found one in Wrights Mill that was perfect and the family has loved living there ever since. The family truly enjoys meeting new people wherever they go and even realized soon after moving in that two of Karina’s colleagues at Montefiore are also Wrights Mill neighbors.

The Arany family love the social aspect of the neighborhood and are always happy to help out their community. Magen-David is a volunteer firefighter in town and Karina is involved with the PJ Library. As she says, “Give the busiest person something to do and they’ll do more.” Wrights Mill is a very family-oriented neighborhood with people always willing to lend a helping hand. For example, during a recent blackout, neighbors offered showers and hot meals to those who lost power.

Some of the family’s favorite outdoor spaces in town are Lombardi Park and the Montessori playground, as well as their own backyard. As Karina says, “We always look for adventures and everything in Westchester is routinely 15 minutes away.” Definitely a perk of living in a place with so much to offer.

Loving the Lake on Hidden Hollow

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Recent transplants to the New Castle area, the Kline family has lived in the Hidden Hollow section of Millwood since January 2019. Kevin, a VP of Digital Marketing at Mastercard and Janice, a Manager of Campaign Operations at salesforce.com live with their children Emerson, 5 and Fiona, 2.5 as well as with their Tibetan Terrier, Madison.

The Klines both hail from other areas–Kevin from Iowa and Janice from New Jersey. While living and working in Manhattan, they knew they needed more space for their growing family. After stints in Nyack and Thornwood, the family searched all over Northern Westchester and fell in love with their Hidden Hollow home. “We love the quiet street, the access to the lake, the proximity to DeCiccos and other stores and convenience to the Taconic,” says Janice.

There is a real sense of community in Hidden Hollow. As Janice says, “The neighbors are all wonderful and friendly, there are lots of little kids, and also high school kids who babysit.” The neighbors come together during the year for fun traditions such as the end-of-summer BBQ at the lake and an annual Halloween parade. Families gather before the parade for pizza and snacks and then go trick-or-treating together.

The lake at Hidden Hollow is a real gathering spot for the community. “The lake is so pretty and in the summer, is such a fun place to hang out,” says Janice. Many families go there to meet up and swim. There is also a lifeguard on duty six days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day weekend and there are also boats, kayaks, a volleyball net and fresh sand, which is brought in every year.

In October 2018, a tornado hit the area, damaging part of the lake and causing trees to fall. Although the Klines moved in after the tornado hit, they participated along with the rest of the community in the clean-up efforts of the lake in Spring 2019. Neighbors uniting and helping one another is what truly makes Hidden Hollow a special place to live.

Why This Multi-Generational Family Calls Chappaqua Ridge Home

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The Patel family has called Chappaqua Ridge home since 1982. The family consists of Rohit, an endodontist, Kalindi, a retired child psychologist and their children Amrita, a dentist who works with her father Rohit, Kavita, who holds a Masters in Public Health and Ved, a biomedical engineer with Topcon in New Jersey. The close-knit family originally moved to Chappaqua Ridge for its excellent school system, proximity to the city, local culture and the great outdoor spaces Chappaqua has to offer. Gedney Park, in particular is one of Amrita’s favorites, having grown up playing there with childhood friends.

Chappaqua Ridge was originally developed on land previously owned by the Haviland family, and has become an ideal neighborhood for families to raise children, enjoy close proximity to downtown and take advantage of everything Chappaqua has to offer. The neighborhood is big on holiday celebrations – neighbors put pumpkins out in front of their homes for Halloween so that trick-or-treaters know which houses to stop for candy, and many even coordinate decorations for other holidays throughout the year.

The Patels love Chappaqua Ridge because they have generations of family members in the area and everyone has continued to stay close. As Amrita says, “I’ve had friends I grew up with live here and then move away, and new families come and go, but the same warm atmosphere hasn’t changed since the community welcomed my parents here in the 80’s! I would love to stay in Chappaqua and especially in the Ridge. I want my children to grow up with that same warmth that I did.” This is truly a testament to the close, neighborly atmosphere Chappaqua Ridge offers to its residents.

As a Chappaqua native, Amrita has many favorite “hot spots” in town but one of her favorites is Lange’s, which according to her, “Makes the best egg and cheese breakfast sandwich around.” Certainly a ringing endorsement!