The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Happenings

A Family Life Immersed in and Sharing the Arts

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Dr. Judith S. Schwartz   Photo and Story Courtesy of ArtsWestchester
Professor, curator, critic, author, lecturer, artist and collector, Dr. Judith S. Schwartz lives and breathes the arts–the ceramic arts that is. Her love of ceramic sculpture and studio pottery began as a ceramics student at Ohio State University where she first started collecting ceramic artwork from artist colleagues.

Her support of ceramic artists, and artists in general has never wavered. With thousands of pieces in her collection, including work by Howard Kottler, Viola Frey, Peter Voulkos and Robert Arneson, Dr. Schwartz has always had a collector’s eye and a soft spot in her heart for artists. As an educator, Dr. Schwartz served as Professor in the Department of Art and Art Professions at New York University, where she taught studio classes and mentored Doctoral Students. She pioneered research on the use of satire in ceramic work and turned it into a book Confrontational Ceramics, a study of the history of the use of clay as a tool for social commentary.

The book so inspired ArtsWestchester, where Dr. Schwartz is a board member, that the organization mounted an exhibition, of the same name curated by Dr. Schwartz. Her leadership in the arts has enriched the many boards on which she has serves from the Clay Art Center in Port Chester to the International Academy of Ceramics in Geneva. Dr. Schwartz initiated a project for the International Academy of Ceramics, called “Ceramic World Destinations,” a searchable online resource for ceramic lovers around the world. When not travelling to China, Japan, Korea and places near and far, she and her husband Marty open their Armonk home to arts groups who enjoy their hospitality and their stellar art collection.

Brothers from Princeton and Armonk Open Up about Late Father’s Oral Testimony Recorded by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

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As the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum prepares to lead America’s annual national commemoration of the Holocaust during the Days of Remembrance from April 4-11, the Museum continues its race against time to collect and record oral history testimonies before the last generation of Holocaust survivors is no longer with us.

While the Museum’s doors have been closed to visitors during the coronavirus pandemic, the Jeff and Toby Herr Oral History Archive, one of the largest and most diverse collections of Holocaust testimonies in the world, experienced one of its most productive years in 2020, conducting 181 remote interviews in Europe and the United States with survivors and witnesses to the Holocaust. In 2019, 148 interviews were conducted. The increase in interviews last year is attributed to expanded reach through virtual platforms, whereas previously most interviews were conducted in-person.

Lubcher Family in Vienna

One of the oral testimonies that the Museum recorded in 2018 was that of Frederick Lubcher, who passed away two years later on November 29, 2020. Lubcher was an attorney and retired partner and chair of the Trust and Estates department of Fried, Frank, Harris Shriver & Jacobson, LLP in New York – and he was also a child Holocaust survivor who went nearly his entire life without talking about his Holocaust experience – until he recorded his oral testimony with the Museum at the age of 87.

“He hardly spoke about what happened to him in the Holocaust – we never really knew until the Museum recorded his oral testimony,” said his son Jeremy Lubcher, who resides in Princeton, N.J., with his wife Amy. “I am so grateful my father recorded his experience because we not only learned so much that we would have never known, but we now have a living memorial of him and when I need my dad, I watch it.”

Jeremy, his brother Howard Lubcher, and their spouses and children are grateful to have their father’s and grandfather’s Holocaust survival story, and the specific details of how he escaped Nazism in Poland and Austria, forever preserved by the Museum and accessible on the Museum’s website as an educational resource, and evidence of Holocaust history.

Howard and his wife Mari Lubcher, of Armonk, N.Y., stated, “We are so incredibly proud of who our father was, and thankful to the Museum for preserving the memory of his struggles and accomplishments. We hope that in some way these oral testimonies will help keep the memories of the survivors, and the histories of their endurance and perseverance, alive.”

A private foundation just made a $250,000 gift to the Museum’s oral history archive to honor the memory of Lubcher, who was a longstanding trustee of the foundation, and Shirley Lubcher, his wife of beloved memory, who passed away two months after Frederick.

“I think it’s great that the foundation is making a gift in honor of my father and the oral testimony archives, which mean so much to me,” said Jeremy Lubcher. “If people start seeing these oral testimonies, they will have a better understanding of the Holocaust.”

To date, the Museum’s oral history archive contains more than 25,000 interviews produced and acquired from individuals, institutions and organizations.

“We know there are many others who can relate to the Lubcher family’s experience, and we hope that the Lubchers’ meaningful story will encourage others to contact the Museum to record their oral testimonies with the profound understanding of how precious time is,” said Andi Barchas, director of the Museum’s Northeast Regional Offic

About the Museum

A living memorial to the Holocaust, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum inspires citizens and leaders worldwide to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity. Its far-reaching educational programs and global impact are made possible by generous donors. For more information, visit www.ushmm.org.

 

News Courtesy of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

 

Nation’s Largest Health Care Union Announces March 18 a ‘Day of Action’ in Events Across NYS

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1199SEIU Healthcare Worker East members, the nation’s largest healthcare union, has announced that thousands of its members, who comprise the nation’s largest healthcare union, will participate in a Day of Action at over 200 nursing homes across New York State. Per a news release, they are calling on Governor Cuomo and the State Legislature “to work together to pass real nursing home reform that ensures nursing homes invest in resident care rather than profits. “More than 200 actions will take place across the state (see map,  https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1cc4nXC4W7W4pr6ZLw2hHfMoeiKABtx1g&usp=sharing) with more than 15 taking place in Westchester County.

The union released the following additional  information to New York media and have invited coverage at Cortlandt Manor Nursing Home from 2-4 p.m.:  “Nursing home workers all over New York have been standing up and taking action in the name of change for their residents, their co-workers, and themselves,” said Milly Silva, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU’s Nursing Home Division.

“They have dealt with so much over the last year, and they are standing together to demand the reforms that could have saved the lives of their residents and even their own colleagues. They are united and they are ready to keep up the fight until the industry makes the changes needed to prioritize resident care and the well-being of workers over profits.”

A Demand for Legislative Action

The widespread Day of Action is the latest in the union’s Invest in Quality Care campaign, launched last month to urge legislative action to reform New York’s nursing home system and ensure residents get the quality care they deserve. Ads are running across New York featuring workers and families of nursing home residents calling on the state to act now.

 

 “Most days there are not enough CNAs to meet the needs of the 40 residents I care for,” said Debbie Ciavarra, an LPN for more than 30 years at Cortlandt Healthcare. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times–nurses cannot do our jobs without CNAs. They are essential to the care program. Residents depend on their CNAs.  It has been devastating for a year now, since the pandemic meant that families could not visit. And yet there is frequent turnover and a constant shortage of nursing assistants because to put it bluntly, their work is not valued by the owners.  Ironic, since the “nursing” home could not operate without nurses and nurse assistants.”  I’m telling Albany lawmakers that this needs to be fixed now!”

 

“Leaders in Albany have heard 1199SEIU workers’ call for reforms and have begun the process of passing key policies that would improve transparency and accountability, and ensure nursing home operators are making the investments necessary to provide the most vulnerable in New York with the quality care they deserve. With their action, nursing home caregivers are pressing to ensure that any reform enacted will actually improve conditions in the homes, by forcing operators to spend more on resident care and provide sufficient hours of hands-on care.

 

“Last week, the State Assembly passed a series of bills focused on improving transparency and accountability in nursing homes, including one requiring that operators invest a minimum of 70% of their overall revenue on resident care, including 40% on staffing, and another preventing owners with poor track records from purchasing additional homes. The State Senate has advanced similar legislation, and Governor Cuomo included nursing home reform policies in his 2021 budget proposal. 1199SEIU members across New York are calling on the Governor and Legislature to come together and finalize these urgently-needed reforms–including minimum hours of care for residents–as part of the State budget process.”

 

Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center Presents: Memory Keepers Story Hour

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March and April Dates for the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) Spring 2021 Memory Keepers Story Hour Featuring GenerationsForward Speakers

These events are offered on a virtual online platform, and feature HHREC Holocaust Survivors, Liberators, and GenerationsForward speakers – a second and third generation group that includes children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.

The event series started in January with Hannah Deutch, a Holocaust Survivor from the HHREC  Speakers Bureau, as she shared intimate details about her extraordinary experience as witness to Kristallnacht, her transport on the Kindertransport, internment on the Isle of Man, and her career as a nurse.

The HHREC, based in White Plains, NY, launched the Memory Keepers Story Hour series in 2020 in support of their mission – to teach the lessons of the Holocaust, to promote the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect, and to encourage speaking up and acting against all forms of hate, bigotry, and prejudice. The HHREC has been inviting guests to attend these events to hear members of their Speakers Bureau share their family’s uniquely powerful Holocaust experiences and present their testimonies to their origins. The HHREC Memory Keepers Speakers Bureau includes 26 Holocaust Survivors, 3 Honorary Holocaust Liberator Speakers, and 36 GenerationsForward Speakers who tell their stories from a “next generation” perspective, adding new meaning to the survivors’ powerful stories.

“These stories provide a unique opportunity to hear from a very special group of Survivors and next generation family members into the consequences of human hate, and help people reflect, as they realize that choices matter, that one person can make a difference” said HHREC Executive Director Millie Jasper. She added “We are eternally grateful for the contributions from these courageous men and women who share their stories of survival and personal experiences from the Holocaust. Sadly, the number of our Survivors is dwindling, and we are taking great care to recognize what they mean to all of us and preserve their memories and the impact they have had – and will continue to have – for future generations.”

The HHREC Spring 2021 Memory Keepers Story Hour speaker series began featuring GenerationsForward speaker  Debby Ziering on March 11. 

The remaining schedule this spring:

March 18 – Barbara Lewis Kaplan, GenerationsForward

April 15 – Kathy Grosz-Zaltas, GenerationsForward

April 22 – Wendy Sandler, GenerationsForward

April 29 – Michelle Gewanter, GenerationsForward

All virtual events begin at 7 p.m. To register for these events, email Millie Jasper mjasper@hhrecny.org for Zoom log-in information or call  the HHREC at 914.696.0738.

About The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center:

The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center is a not-for-profit organization based in White Plains New York that serves Westchester, Fairfield and neighboring counties. Their Mission is to enhance the teaching and learning of the lessons of the Holocaust and the right of all people to be treated with dignity and respect. We encourage students to speak up and act against all forms of bigotry and prejudice. Their work with students and teachers helps schools fulfill the New York State mandate that the Holocaust and other human rights abuses be included in their curriculum. Since 1994, they have brought the lessons of the Holocaust, genocide and human rights crimes to more than 1750 teachers, and through them to thousands of middle and high school students. Through their volunteer Educators Program Committee, the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center gives teachers the unique opportunity to develop programs for themselves and others. These programs not only enrich teachers’ knowledge about the Holocaust and related issues, but they   also provide the lens through which to view all other human rights violations. For more information call 914.696.0738 email info@hhrecny.org 

 

 

 

Plans for County’s March 3 Covid Commemoration: “One Year Later”

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 In the lobby of the Michaelian Office Building where the County’s “Ribbons of Remembrance” memorial now stands, County Executive George Latimer will host a commemoration of the County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case. To date, Westchester County has lost over 2,000 lives to the virus. The commemoration will take place on Wednesday, March 3 beginning at 11 a.m. To watch live, tune into www.facebook.com/WestchesterGov.

Latimer said: “What today is about is remembering those we have lost not as merely an integer or statistic, but as human beings and the valued members of our community that they were. While in this last year we have rallied together in so many ways,, it is imperative we also take time to grieve and heal together.”

The solemn event will begin at 11a.m. with an interfaith prayer service lead be Father Luke Hoyt from Holy Innocents Catholic Church, Rabbi Annie Tucker from Temple Israel Center and Imam Shaffieq Chace from Islamic Center of New Rochelle.

Deputy County Executive Ken Jenkins said: “Westchester residents are strong, resilient and also compassionate people.  One year later, we commemorate those we have lost and honor those who worked so hard to keep us safe.”

 

Westchester County Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said: “One year ago, all of our lives changed forever. I am proud of the work of my department, and health care workers county-wide, as we faced this crisis of unprecedented proportions.”

The prayers will be followed by remarks from Latimer and other invited guests, poems read by the County’s Poet Laureate B.K. Fischer and the County’s Youth Poet Laureate Danielle Kohn and a musical interlude from a string quartet made up of students and faculty from White Plains High School. 

Following the program at 12p.m., Latimer will lead the County in a moment of silence remembering those we have lost.

This commemoration will continue again later in the evening when Latimer will lead a County-wide applause for health care workers in recognition of the life-saving, stress-filled work they have done during these tumultuous times.

On Wednesday, March 3, Latimer will also direct flags at all County facilities to be flown at half-staff in honor of the over 2,000 Westchester residents who have died from COVID-19.

News courtesy of the Office of the Westchester County Executive