New Castle Releases

Northern Westchester Hospital has announced that Victor Khabie, MD, FAAOS, FACS, Co-Chief of Orthopedic Surgery and Director of Sports Medicine at the Orthopedic and Spine Institute, performed the first NAVIO robot-assisted partial knee replacement in New York State at NWH. This leading-edge technology incorporates image-guided navigation with the precision of robotics, enabling surgeons to see and treat only the damaged portion of the knee and leaving the healthy bone in place. A highly accomplished team of surgeons at NWH have been trained to perform this procedure, including Evan H. Karas, MD, FAAOS; Victor Khabie, MD, FAAOS, FACS; Eric L. Grossman, MD, FAAOS; Stuart T. Styles, MD, FAAOS; David J. Yasgur, MD, FAAOS; Jeffrey H. Yormak, M.D., F.A.A.O.S.

Unlike a total knee replacement, this muscle and ligament sparing approach utilizes an incision that is one-third the size, which saves healthy bone, ligaments and tissues. The result is a surgery that is less painful, enables patients to recover faster as compared to a complete knee replacement, and return to a more active lifestyle.

A partial knee replacement also fills a gap in treatment options for patients with knee pain.  When knee pain begins, patients often self-treat with over-the-counter medications. When this no longer works, physical therapy, pain management injections, and even synovial fluid replacement are all used.  Unfortunately, when these treatments become ineffective, the only other option available has been a total knee replacement.

“A partial knee replacement provides a very promising option for patients. Total knee replacements are incredibly invasive procedures, removing bone, tissue, and severing muscle to create room for the implant. With a partial knee replacement, the incisions are much smaller and much less traumatic for patients. The procedure takes less time, is less painful, and provides patients with a shorter recovery time. Within only a few weeks of surgery, many patients are back to skiing, swimming, golfing, and even playing tennis,” stated Dr. Khabie.

The partial knee implant can provide patients, suffering with advanced pain from arthritis, another 10 or 15 years of an active lifestyle. As time and use wear on, any of the implanted pieces could be replaced, therefore increasing the life of the partial knee replacement.

The hand-held robotics and built-in image guidance navigation provide the surgeons with a level of precision previously unavailable. The Navio surgical system features proprietary robot-assisted technology that integrates handheld intelligent instruments with an intuitive CT-free registration and patient-specific planning process. The Navio unicondylar and patellofemoral knee replacement software guide the surgeon in creating implant plans that localize components and balance soft-tissue. The technology translates that information into a virtual surgical plan that removes the need for standard mechanical cutting guides and jigs. The handheld instrumentation uses multiple control modes to help the surgeon very precisely prepare the bone for implantation.

Release from New Castle Town Hall

On May 5, 2015, officials from the Town of New Castle – including Rob Greenstein, New Castle Town Supervisor, Jill Shapiro, New Castle Town Administrator, Gerry Moerschell, New Castle Commissioner of Public Works, Charlie Bergstrom, New Castle Highway Foreman along with John Chow, Assistant Superintendent for Chappaqua Central School District – met with representatives of New York State Department of Transportation and officials from Metro-North Railroad to finalize improvements at the railroad crossing on Roaring Brook Road.

Both sides of Metro-North tracks will be milled and repaved. There will be improved pavement markings, as well as expanded new signage.

To make the necessary upgrades, Roaring Brook Road will be need to be closed at the railroad crossing in both directions. Accordingly, starting at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 29th till late afternoon on Sunday, May 31st, Roaring Brook Road will be need to be closed at the railroad crossing in both directions. Portable message boards have already been provided and are currently being utilized. Necessary detour signing for the road closure will also be implemented.

New Castle Supervisor Rob Greenstein stated “the coordination on behalf of the Town of New Castle, NYS DOT & Metro-North has been impressive. We thank NYS DOT & Metro-North for their collaboration on this critical short term safety improvement, and for moving ahead in such an efficient and expedited manner. We will continue to explore long term solutions to eliminate the grade crossing at Roaring Brook Road.”

Via release from Town of New Castle

Summit Greenfield has announced that it plans to submit a formal application to the Town Board for using the iconic cupola building at Chappaqua Crossing for residential purposes. The application will propose relocating previously approved affordable housing units at Chappaqua Crossing to the upper floors of the cupola building, which has been vacant since 2010..

Summit Greenfield has been exploring the feasibility of adaptively reusing the cupola building for residential purposes for the past several months and now expects to submit its formal application to the Town Board within the next 60 days. At a public work session on May 12, 2015, Summit Greenfield told the Town Board that utilizing the cupola building will better integrate the approved residential and retail uses on the site, and will allow them to build affordable housing units at the property sooner than otherwise possible. Westchester County planning officials have expressed support for Summit Greenfield’s initiative.

The proposal expected from Summit Greenfield in the coming weeks will not increase previously approved residential density at Chappaqua Crossing. The total bedroom count for all residential development would remain the same as approved by the Town Board in 2011. With the reuse of the cupola building, Summit Greenfield intends to drop its plans to construct two new, multi-family residential buildings on the site, and instead to develop the remaining residential units as fee simple townhouses. Currently, only 60 of the 91 previously approved market rate residential units are required to be taxed on a fee simple basis.

New Castle Town Supervisor Rob Greenstein stated “I am excited about this proposal and look forward to learning more about it. Reusing the cupola building appears to be an excellent approach and presents an opportunity to facilitate the construction of affordable housing in our community that we all can be proud of.”