The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

New Castle News

Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce Compiling List of Merchant Response to COVID-19

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By Grace Bennett

With the Governor’s order to close area restaurants in effect, restaurants and other shops and service professionals impacted are looking for ideas and help on how to best ride out this period.

  Here in New Castle, those impacted found immediate support with an offer by the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce “to maintain and continuously update a list of new offers and services created by local merchants and businesses to help move our community forward; to make our lives here at this time just a little bit easier and less complicated and to bring us all together in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.”

“This is a uniquely uncertain time for all of us; one where we can find comfort, assurance and security in knowing that we are all in this as one community and able to come closer (albeit six feet apart!) to your friends, family and neighbors,” explained Dawn Danker-Rosen, president of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce. “Every little bit of help and every act of kindness and compassion can make a difference for each of us individually to look ahead and see light and to find some sense of normalcy in this new and chaotic world.”

Rosen indicated that a list of the ways local merchants and businesses are here to help can be found at http://www.chappaquamillwood.org and that it will be regularly updated and distributed by email as well.

Grace Bennett is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Inside Press, now in its 17th year.

Local Restaurants Close to Patrons, Offer Takeout and Delivery During Pandemic

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March 17, 2020–As the governors of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey work in tandem to try to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus, restaurant businesses, in particular, were asked yesterday to act fast to implement changes.

Restaurants in all three states were asked to close 8 p.m. yesterday, and until further instruction, will be limited to providing food for pickup and delivery.

During this time, restaurants and bars will be allowed to sell alcohol for off-premises consumption. It is hoped that this measure will provide much-needed revenue to those establishments.

According to New Castle’s web site, Meals on Wheels will continue.

We reached several restaurant owners who moved quickly to make changes in light of all the new concerns regarding COVID-19 transmission.

Ignatio Blanco, owner of Ibiza Kitchen, located on King Street in Chappaqua, said he and his staff were working all day yesterday to transition to offering pickup and delivery options only.

“The prices will be cut in half,” Blanco said. “People are having a tough time right now.”

Bistrol 146 owner Marcello Torres said. “We’re going to do takeout, curbside pickup and I may have delivery,” he said, explaining that he’s in discussions with a current employee to see if he can start delivering food.

A couple employees had already left Bistro 146 before the new rules went into effect, Torres said. They have to care for their children who are now home from school, explained. Other staff members may be laid off.

“I don’t know what to do,” Torres said. “It’s sad for all of them.”

Bistro 146 will also suffer the loss of a lot of food that won’t be used up or last until the doors open to patrons again, Torres said. “I hope everyone knows what to do, and does it. Perhaps then we’ll be able to re-open in two weeks – I just don’t know.”

There is not yet a date for these establishments to re-open. In the meantime, Governor Andrew Cuomo has urged New Yorkers to stay home as much as they can, and when out to try to maintain a 6-foot distance from other people to halt the spread of the virus.

“It seems like it’s going to be for a while,” Blanco said.

At Winston in Mount Kisco, Manager Jimmy Branigan commented: “Well, like the rest of the nation, we are digesting something new that’s never happened to us before and doing the best we can. We want to take the proper steps to ensure our staff and guests stay healthy. We hope to get through it as quickly as possible but we understand that this is a pandemic our generation has never seen before.”

Winston is offering takeout and a promotion–a 15% discount with a purchase of $100 more for a gift card.

Large chains might be able to weather the pandemic more easily, closing to patrons for an indefinite period of time may be extremely difficult for local restaurants with individual or few locations.

Also closing: gyms and movie theaters, as well as casinos. Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville already announced closure some days ago, through March 31. They will be issuing refunds to patrons who pre-purchased tickets, the web site said.

The National Small Business Association released a new poll today that shows 3 out of 4 small business owners are “very concerned” about the impact of the coronavirus on their businesses, and 49 percent have experienced decreased customer demand.

Various media outlets such as Forbes and Eater have suggested the purchase of restaurant gift cards as a way to support local restaurants during this time.

It’s also a good time to order t-shirts and other merchandise some local restaurants sell.

Blanco said he does sell gift cards, by phone or on his restaurant’s website. Torres said local residents can also purchase Bistro 146 gift cards.

As for how community members can support his business, Blanco said “Any way is a good way.”

“I hope everything comes to a good end,” Torres said.

Publisher/Editor’s Note: We will be updating this article as time permits too. 

Northwell Labs Begins Manual Testing of COVID-19 Samples

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One of nation’s largest, health system-run diagnostic labs

receives approval to perform COVID-19 testing

LAKE SUCCESS, NY – After a visit to its sophisticated, 100,000-square-foot diagnostic facility by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Northwell Health Labs today received state and federal authorization to begin manual testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Utilizing a testing process developed and approved by the New York State Department of Health (DOH), Northwell’s Lab expects to manually test 90 potential COVID-19 samples within the first full day, said Dwayne Breining, MD, executive director of the Northwell Labs. With one of North America’s largest automated testing lines, the facility processes about 20 million tests annually. Beyond the manual testing authorized today, Northwell Labs is seeking the US Food & Drug Administration’s approval to use semi-automated testing within the next week. This would give the laboratory the capability to process hundreds of tests daily, with a plan to ramp up to thousands daily in the near future.

“Over the past week, we’ve been developing the test for COVID-19, thanks to the assistance we‘ve received from New York State’s DOH Laboratory,” said Dr. Breining. “Now that the accuracy of our testing process has been validated, we can begin notifying providers and patients of their lab results and start gearing up for an automated testing process that would enable us to significantly expand the number of samples we can process.”

While the expanded ability to test patients for COVID-19 will greatly enhance Northwell’s ability to manage patients with potential infection, testing will continue to be reserved for those at risk for severe disease and who have had confirmed close contact with an infected individual.

“Only people who meet that criteria will be tested – and that testing is currently being performed at hospital emergency departments and urgent care centers,” said John D’Angelo, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Northwell, which operates 18 emergency departments throughout New York City, Long Island and Westchester County. “Even as our testing capacity increases, we will continue to screen people judiciously so we can focus our attention on those most at risk for severe COVID-19 infection who require more-immediate and intensive medical attention. All others who are concerned about exposure but who have mild or no symptoms should recuperate at home.”

Built at a cost of $60 million and opened in 2019, Northwell’s Core Lab within the health system’s Center for Advanced Medicine in Lake Success performs testing for Northwell’s 23 hospitals and 800 outpatient facilities, as well as thousands of physician offices and dozens of other hospitals, including NYC Health+Hospitals.


From left: New York State Commissioner of Health Howard Zucker, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Dr. Dwayne Breining and Northwell President and CEO Michael Dowling tour Northwell Health Labs. Credit Northwell Health.

At a news conference Sunday morning, Governor Cuomo called on the federal government to speed up its authorization process to allow more clinical laboratories to begin testing for COVID-19.  “This is one of the most technologically advanced labs in the state of New York, and one of the most sophisticated labs in the United States of America. This lab can do high-throughput automated testing, which expands exponentially the number of tests that can be done,” Governor Cuomo said.  “Let’s increase as quickly as possible our testing capacity so we identify the positive people, so we can isolate them and be successful in our containment.”

Several hours after the Governor’s news conference, Northwell received approval to move forward with the manual testing.

Northwell Health President & CEO Michael Dowling praised the Governor and state Department of Health for their leadership in responding to the coronavirus epidemic. “I thank the Governor for not only giving us the support we need to begin testing for COVID-19, but also in declaring a state of emergency that will help expedite the procurement of emergency provisions, such as testing kits and cleaning supplies,” said Mr. Dowling

To prepare its lab to begin COVID-19 testing, Northwell has invested over $2 million in recent weeks for lab supplies and equipment, part of an overall outlay of more than $5 million the health system has spent over the past seven weeks on coronavirus preparation.

Click here to see video and photos of Northwell Labs’ testing process.  

 

This news is courtesy of Northwell Health.

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About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 23 hospitals, about 750 outpatient facilities and more than 13,600 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 70,000 employees – 16,000-plus nurses and 4,000 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The Harlem Wizards are Coming to Town!

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Chappaqua’s favorite day of hoops and alley oops is back on Sunday, January 26that 1:30 pm. Come watch the beloved teachers of the Chappaqua Challengers as they take on the Harlem Wizards! This annual highly anticipated event, hosted by the Chappaqua School Foundation, is the definition of local family fun. Not only an opportunity to support your schools, it’s guaranteed laughs as the tables are turned and the kids cheer on their teachers.

Make this event even more memorable by purchasing the coveted Benchwarmer or Courtside Plus VIP seats! Both include premier seating, a meet & greet with the Wizards, a souvenir lanyard, team poster and discount on team jerseys.  The newly introduced Benchwarmer seats, however, is the only way to watch the action straight from the Wizards bench and includes a half-court photo opp.

Don’t miss out on the fun and purchase tickets today.

Courtesy of the Chappaqua School Foundation

Special High Holy Days Invite to Caramoor from Temple Shaaray Tefila

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Temple Shaaray Tefila welcomes residents of the local community, joining us for the first time, to purchase tickets for High Holiday services at Caramoor. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the holiest days on the Jewish calendar, a time when Jews throughout the world pause to reflect on the year gone by and prepare spiritually for the one ahead.

 The Temple’s High Holy Day celebrations will take place at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, formerly the estate of Walter and Lucie Rosen. Caramoor provides a beautiful and spacious setting for services, including traditional services in the Venetian Theater, Family Services in its own dedicated tent, separate services for children and teens, and an Alternative Service for those seeking something a little bit more contemporary. Child care is available on site for parents who want their own meaningful adult worship experiences. Please click here for the High Holiday schedule: https://files.constantcontact.com/30c4ef08001/df565776-7894-4d9b-be4c-0028ea66ad35.pdf

Tickets and photo identification will be required for all adults for admittance.

 For High Holiday tickets please visit www.shaaraytefila.org. For additional information and inquiries, please contact Temple Shaaray Tefila at 914-666-3133. Located in Bedford Corners in Northern Westchester, Temple Shaaray Tefila is a Reform synagogue with a traditional spirit and has a thriving Early Childhood Center and K-12 Religious School. Temple Shaaray Tefila serves more than 650 families in Bedford, Mount Kisco, Katonah, Chappaqua, Somers, Armonk and surrounding communities.