The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

New Castle News

Charlotte’s Basket

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By Grace Bennett

In the midst of all the excitement gearing up for the Chappaqua Children’s basket for ChelseaBook Festival (CCBF), little Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky arrived in the world of course.   The day after, and on the day of the festival itself, the CCBF’s Sophie Mendelson decorated a basket with pink ribbons, and filled it to overflowing with 25 books as a gift for new parents Chelsea and Marc–and for the proud grandparents as well.

The festival’s founder and director Dawn Evans Greenberg was cleared to deliver the basket at the Chappaqua home of the Clintons, and did so.

The basket included autographed titles from popular Baby and Childrens’ book authors including Chappaqua’s Mara and Matt Van Fleet, Jerry Pinkney, Fran Manushkin, Diane DeGroat, Melissa Guion, Carin Berger, Alyssa Capucilli, Pat Schories, Irene O’Garden, Allison Formento, Carol Weston, Mary Ann Hoberman and Peter Sis.

 

Reusable Bag Art Contest Winners!

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By Kenneth Nohavicka
By Kenneth Nohavicka

By the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board

Congratulations to all the New Castle students who submitted entries to the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board (NCSAB)’s Reusable Bag Art Contest! Through their artwork they have shown a commitment to reducing litter, protecting wildlife and conserving natural resources. The Contest was held at the end of the prior school year and our winners were selected in June. To see all entries to the Contest click here

After much deliberation over many talented and creative entries, we are pleased to announce that Kenneth Nohavicka and Casey Davidson are our winners! Bags featuring their artwork are being sponsored by Ted Holmes of Douglas Elliman, and will be handed out at Community Day on Saturday, September 20th. Please join us on Community Day at 1:00 pm near the Chappaqua Train Station where Steve Wolk, chair of the New Castle Sustainability Advisory Board, will officially recognize Kenny and Casey for their excellent work and thank Ted for his donation.

The Reusable Bag Art Contest is part of the NCSAB’s Reusable Bag Initiative. Other entries may be featured on posters around New Castle as part of the NCSAB’s education and outreach campaign to inform residents about the Reusable Bag Initiative. This Initiative is designed to encourage residents to increase their use of multi-use, reusable carryout bags, and to limit the number of single-use bags used when shopping. Use of reusable bags shows a commitment to sustainability and will help preserve our environment for our children and future generations.

By Casey Davidson
By Casey Davidson

We hope you will pick up a FREE reusable bag at Community Day and enjoy using it around town!

At the 9/9 New Castle Town Hall Meeting…

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By Eileen Gallagher

The town board announced a 9/11 Memorial Ceremony Thursday evening which will take place at 6:30pm at Gedney Park. According to the town board, the program will include an invocation, musical selections, Robert Castelli as the keynote speaker, and a reading of the names of those lost on that day from New Castle.

Next, downtown is the place to be on the last two Saturdays of the month, with Community Day on September 20 and the Chappaqua Children’s Book Fair on September 27.

In other news, the research firm Penn Schoen Berland will be conducting 300 phone interviews for the Master Planning process beginning September 18. To that end, there will be a mailing to all New Castle residents with information about the survey process, which will last about two weeks.

In addition, the Millwood Task Force has a new name, the Millwood-West End Advisory Board, which is a more inclusive title for a board with members of both Millwood and the New Castle portion of Ossining. The new sanitation contract with SaniPro signed by the town is expected to save over three million dollars over seven years, and the fee for each household will likely be reduced from the current $485 annual amount.

Per Jill Shapiro, the town administrator: the Recreation Department will be rolling out a new registration program in the next couple of weeks. This will allow for online registration of the various programs offered. The paving of lower King Street and the portion of the road in front of the library is expected to be completed this week.

Teenage Drinking: Parents’ Responsibility AND Liability for “Hosting”

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romanoBy Robert Romano, Esq.

I’m hearing this more and more lately….

Some parents with older teenagers feel that if their kid(s) want to throw a “bash” with alcohol, they would prefer to have them drinking at their own home with their friends, rather than have them party elsewhere. I have had parents say many times to me words akin to ‘kids will be kids’ and ‘they are going to drink no matter what we do, so better they do it under our roof,’ in effect they feel their approach is allowing the lesser of two evils to take place.

We need to do everything in our power to not allow either of those scenarios to take place. By keeping channels of communication open, and explaining the real consequences of underage drinking to teens, they are more likely to act responsibly. They need to fully understand that drinking alcohol anywhere under the age of 21 in New York State is not just dangerous, but illegal, and not allowed…not even “a little bit.” I’m not totally naive. While this approach may be limited in its effectiveness, hopefully, it will have some impact.

One thing I would never do is to intentionally allow underage drinking to take place in my home. New York State happens to have some of the strictest social host and dram shop statutes in the country. These laws expose homeowners (and commercial establishments) to almost boundless liabilities in the event someone is injured or killed as a result of alcohol being served in their premises.

beer-cansWithout minimizing the human tragedies that all too often result from underage drinking, the financial exposure to the homeowner/host can be catastrophic as well. It’s sad that I even have to say this, but if the risk of a loss of life is not enough to make you think twice about hosting a party with underage drinking, perhaps the risk of the loss of your house, cars, and future income will.

Robert Romano, Esq., is an attorney based in Armonk whose practice focuses on restaurant/liquor license law. Having also represented clients in local courts in matters ranging from traffic infractions to misdemeanor charges, he has firsthand experience in dealing with teenage legal matters. Visit www.ArmonkLaw.com.

Honoring “Gabby” Gabriel Rosenfeld

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By Grace Bennett

Gabby with Eric and wife Louise.
Gabby with his son Eric and wife Louise.

A village turned out for a service Sunday at Chappaqua’s Temple Beth El to honor the much beloved and colorful  “Gabby” Gabriel Rosenfeld.  New Senior Rabbi Jonathan Jaffe led the service and offered a moving tribute to one of the Temple’s founding members, lamenting only that he wished he could have met Gabby. So many came to pay tribute, yes, to his legacy of military and civic service (see end of article)–but even more so to his charitable nature, inquisitiveness and, most of all, his sense of humor (since his high school days); in Gabby’s case, a true talent too.

It was something he used, his son Eric Rosenfeld noted, to effectively diffuse tension in different situations, for example, in his role on the New Castle Zoning Board for 30 years (that service gives him the distinction of being the longest serving public official in the history of New Castle).

Additional family members, including Gabby and Louise’s daughters Leslie and Alison, and daughter in law Sally, shared a variety of special memories.  Eric also read a letter honoring him from Secretary Hillary Clinton in which she recalled her privilege to have pinned him with a French Legion of Honor medal, awarded for his service in World War II.

Clinton expressed her regrets for not being able to attend and said she was writing with a “heavy heart.”  “Gabby was a remarkable man and Great American,” Sec. Clinton wrote.  “I consider myself lucky to have known him and always looked forward to our chats on Memorial Day. Gabby’s love of country, devotion to his fellow veterans and service to our country exemplifies precisely what is meant by the “Greatest Generation.”

Clinton had also called Gabby at the hospital in his last days, Eric said, and the two engaged in a warm, personal conversation.

Gabby with son Eric and daughter in law Sally at the 2012 New Castle Memorial Day parade.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey arrived to honor Gabby, and pay her respects to the family, at the outset directing her comments to Louise, saying, “Everywhere it was Gabby and Louise, Louise and Gabby.”  She spoke further with affection about a community member and an “ardent Democrat” who won’t soon be forgotten.

As portrayed in an obituary in the New York Times, Gabby’s legacy was felt in his service “on the Boards of Northern Westchester Hospital, Katonah Museum of Art, A-Home, Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, Neighbor’s Link, and the Chappaqua Women’s Shelter.”  He was “a  long time supporter of the League of Women Voters and New Castle Democrats.  Kind, funny, WWII combat vet, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, French Legion of Honor, ardent Democrat, Chappaqua, Chappaqua, Chappaqua, community service, Memorial Day Parade, motorcycle sidecar-ist, boat modeler, landscaper, Erasmus Hall, Cornell, chocolate, Adventurer’s Club, Naval Order of the United States, Cautioneer, Rotary President and two-time Paul Harris Award winner, funeral director, stockbroker, business manager of The New York Cosmos, Bahamas, Westchester Municipal Planning Federation, National Maritime Historical Society, New Castle Historical Society, Southwest Harbor, corn, great laugh, noodles, people, fried clams, dogs, family, inspiration and influence to many. ”

0 plus year Chairman of the New Castle Zoning Board of Appeals. On the Boards of Northern Westchester Hospital, Katonah Museum of Art, A-Home, Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center, Neighbor’s Link, Chappaqua Women’s Shelter. Long time supporter of the League of Women Voters and New Castle Democrats. Kind, funny, WWII combat vet, Purple Heart, Bronze Star, French Legion of Honor, ardent Democrat, Chappaqua, Chappaqua, Chappaqua, community service, Memorial Day Parade, motorcycle sidecar-ist, boat modeler, landscaper, Erasmus Hall, Cornell, chocolate, Adventurer’s Club, Naval Order of the United States, Cautioneer, Rotary President and two-time Paul Harris Award winner, funeral director, stockbroker, business manager of The New York Cosmos, Bahamas, Westchester Municipal Planning Federation, National Maritime Historical Society, New Castle Historical Society, Southwest Harbor, corn, great laugh, noodles, people, fried clams, dogs, family, inspiration and influence to many. Services will be held at 1pm on Sunday, – See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nytimes/obituary.aspx?n=gabriel-i-rosenfeld&pid=172023732#sthash.6aw6YJcr.dpuf