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Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Westchester

Jacob Burns Film Center Announces Expansion With Two New Theaters And Renovated Gallery

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jacob-burnsConstruction Begins in August 2014

The Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) announced today that construction has begun to add two new theaters on the third floor of its cinema complex. The new theaters will provide JBFC with 80 additional seats. The construction is contained within the existing footprint of the building and is expected to be completed by January 2015.  The JBFC Theater will remain open during construction.
In addition to the new theaters, the JBFC will reconfigure the Jane Peck Gallery into a café and community gathering space for members and the public. The final piece of this creative expansion will be to replace all of the original seats in the three existing theaters. Both of these projects are expected to be completed by fall 2015.
“The new theaters will provide a greater opportunity to present vital new films from around the world, as well as innovative programs curated by JBFC staff, international fellows, emerging artists, and partnering organizations,” said JBFC Programming Director Brian Ackerman. “We also look forward to creating a physical space that will encourage dialogue and connection.”
“We need a facility that can enable us to fully execute our mission,” said JBFC Board Chair Hugh Price. “Many people embrace this important next step, as we have already raised 60% towards our fundraising goal to meet the cost of the project. We now look to our community, as we need broad financial support to successfully complete every essential component of this campaign.”
“This is a natural evolution in the life of the JBFC and a direct response to an insatiable demand from members, filmmakers, students, and teachers,” said JBFC Executive Director Edie Demas. “It is also a shining example of a community coming together to learn, grow, and relish in the shared experience.”
Nat Hoyt, the original lead architect for the conversion of the old Rome Theater into the three-screen JBFC Theater, in 2001, will be working with the team who built the JBFC’s Media Arts Lab in 2009, KG&D Architects of Mt. Kisco. Yorke Construction Corporation of Manhattan is the building contractor.
To learn more about the campaign to expand and renovate the JBFC Theater, contact JBFC Development Director Judy Exton at jexton@burnsfilmcenter.org or 914-773-7663, ext.414.
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit cultural arts organization dedicated to: presenting the best of independent, documentary, and world cinema; promoting 21st century literacy, and making film a vibrant part of the community. Located on a 47,500 sq. foot, three-building campus in the center of Pleasantville, the JBFC is just 30 miles outside of New York City. Since the opening in 2001, over 2,000,000 people have seen over 5,400 films from more than 40 countries The campus includes the 27,000 sq. foot Media Arts Lab, the JBFC’s state-of-the-art education center, a creative and educational community for storytellers in the digital age, offering one-time workshops, intensive courses, and weekend programs for children and adults of all ages.
 

Gov. Signs Medical Marijuana Bill

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News from Gov. Cuomo’s office..

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today signed a bill to establish a medical marijuana program for New York State. The new law includes provisions to ensure medical marijuana is reserved only for patients with serious conditions and is dispensed and administered in a manner that protects public health and safety.

“This new law takes an important step toward bringing relief to patients living with extraordinary pain and illness,” Governor Cuomo said. “The legislation I am signing today strikes the right balance between our desire to give those suffering from serious diseases access to treatment, and our obligation to guard against threats to public health and safety. I applaud the lawmakers and advocates whose efforts over the past years were crucial in making medical marijuana a reality in New York State.”

Senate Co-Leader Jeffrey D. Klein said, “Today we take the historic step of offering a new level of patient care to the citizens of New York State. Under one of the safest, most tightly regulated medical marijuana programs in the country we will bring much needed relief and effective treatment to thousands of desperate patients suffering across this state each day. This is a common sense, patient-centric program that will continue to stay on the cutting-edge of care to ensure the best possible treatment for New Yorkers in need for years to come.”

Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “The Assembly Majority has been passing the Compassionate Care Act for many years, and now thanks to Governor Cuomo’s leadership we finally have a law that will deliver much-needed relief to patients in New York. Our goal now will be to get this program up and running swiftly, safely and efficiently so that they can get the treatment they need.”

Senator Diane Savino said, “From this day forward New Yorkers will now have access to the same life-changing treatment that other patients across the country have had. This is an historic victory for the countless health care professionals, physicians, advocates, families and patients who know that the safe and reliable use of medical marijuana is a sensible, compassionate course of treatment for debilitating illness and disease. I stand with the thousands of New Yorkers who now will no longer have to suffer needlessly through their courageous medical battles.”

Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried said, “This is a major victory for patients. If the patient and physician agree that a severe debilitating or life-threatening condition should be treated with medical marijuana, it is cruel for government to stand in the way. Now it’s important to work to get the law implemented as quickly as possible.”

Medical Marijuana Reserved for Patients with Serious Conditions:

To ensure medical marijuana is available only to patients with serious conditions who can most benefit from the treatment, the law establishes a certification and registry process for physicians to administer the drug.

To be prescribed medical marijuana, a patient must receive a certification from a licensed practitioner who must register with the Department of Health and be qualified to treat the serious condition for which the patient is seeking treatment. The serious conditions for which medical marijuana can be prescribed are cancer, HIV/AIDS, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), Parkinson’s Disease, multiple sclerosis, damage to the nervous tissue of the spinal cord with objective neurological indication on intractable spasticity, epilepsy, inflammatory bowel disease, neuropathies, Huntington’s Disease, or as added by the DOH commissioner.

To ensure medical marijuana is in the hands of only individuals in need and their health care provider, Registry Identification Cards will be issued by DOH to certified patients. The card will contain any recommendation or limitation on form or dosage imposed by the practitioner as well as other information. The Department will be able to suspend or revoke the card of a patient who willfully violates any provision of the new law.

Health insurers will not be required to provide coverage for medical marijuana.

Administering Medical Marijuana Safely:

Any form of medical marijuana not approved by the Department of Health is prohibited, and under no circumstances will smoking be allowed. DOH will issue guidelines regulating the allowed dosage amounts, and patients will not be allowed to possess an amount of medical marijuana in excess of a 30 day supply. Additionally, the patient will be required to keep the medical marijuana in the original packaging in which it was dispensed.

The law puts in place a process for patients to obtain, and manufacturers to dispense medical marijuana. Organizations seeking to manufacture or distribute medical marijuana must be registered with DOH and conform to a specific list of requirements. Registration will be valid for two years at a time, renewable, and subject to revocation. Registered organizations will be required to comply with strict security and record keeping requirements. The law allows for five registered organizations that can each operate up to four dispensaries statewide. Registration identifications and registrations for organizations will be issued no later than 18 months after the effective date of the bill, unless DOH or the Superintendent of State Police certifies that the new program could not be implemented in accordance with public health and safety interests.

Registered organizations will be able to dispense medical marijuana to individuals who present a registry identification card. The organization will not be able to dispense an amount greater than a thirty day supply to a patient. The medical marijuana will be dispensed in a sealed and properly labeled package with a safety insert included. All manufacturing and dispensing of medical marijuana by registered organizations will take place in New York and registered organizations will contract with an independent laboratory to test the medical marijuana.

Tough Penalties for Individuals and Physicians Who Abuse Medical Marijuana Program

The law makes it a Class E felony for a practitioner to certify an individual as eligible to facilitate the possession of medical marijuana if he or she knows or reasonably should know the person who is asking for it has no need for it. The law also makes it a misdemeanor for recipients of medical marijuana to sell or trade the medical marijuana, or retain beyond what is needed for treatment the marijuana for their own use or the use of others.

Distribution of Tax Revenue from Medical Marijuana

The law puts in place a 7 percent excise tax on every sale of medical marijuana by a registered organization to a certified patient or designated caregiver. Proceeds from the excise tax will be allocated as follows: 22.5% to the county in New York state in which the medical marijuana was manufactured; 22.5% to the county in New York state in which the medical marijuana was dispensed; 5% to the State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services to be used for additional drug abuse prevention, counseling and treatment services; and 5% to the Division of Criminal Justice Services to support law enforcement measures related to this law.

The law grants DOH the authority to issue any necessary regulations to implement the state’s medical marijuana program, as well as set a price. The Governor will also be allowed to suspend or terminate any provisions of the program based on the recommendations of the Commissioner or Superintendent.

The bill will take effect immediately and sunset in seven years.

Escape to LIGHTSCAPES on a Weekend Eve

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butterflyLIGHTSCAPES, a brand new immersive experience featuring sculpture, light, sound, and special effects, launches on Friday, May 2, and will run for 11 weekend evenings at historic Van Cortlandt Manor in Croton-on-Hudson, NY.

Ideal for all ages, LIGHTSCAPES is a walk-through, land-art experience. Visitors will enter through a rainbow and emerge from a bubbly haze into a dreamland of curiosities spread throughout a historic landscape. Recycled elements serve as eco-friendly building blocks for intergalactic flora and friendly woodland creatures. Otherworldly mushrooms, floating fairies, and beautiful butterflies are among the thousands of creations onsite. Path elements include an enormous walk-through caterpillar and a meandering butterfly maze. Larger-than-life elements like a massive praying mantis, a super-size birdhouse, and a dino-sized egg join thousands of smaller sculptures — more than 7,500 in all — to create the tableau.

State-of-the-art illumination will highlight these works of art and showcase Van Cortlandt Manor’s natural landscape and specimen trees.

In the clear-top, decorated LIGHTSCAPES hospitality tent, visitors can enjoy spring-themed sweets including organic sorbet from Blue Pig of Croton and homemade candy and baked goods (plus savories!) from Geordane’s of Irvington.

LIGHTSCAPES takes place Friday and Saturday evenings in May and the Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend: May 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 23-25, 30-31. The first entry is 8pm (8:30pm the final two weekends).

LIGHTSCAPES takes place rain or shine and admission is by timed ticket only. Time slots and dates will sell out, so Historic Hudson Valley strongly recommends buying in advance online, where ticket prices are $16 for adults, $12 for children 3-17 and free for children under 3 and Historic Hudson Valley members. Those prices are $2 more on site and over the phone. Visitors who purchase tickets online before April 11 receive an additional $2 per ticket discount. Van Cortlandt Manor is at 525 South Riverside Ave. in Croton-on-Hudson, NY, just off Route 9. Tickets and info: 914-366-6900, www.hudsonvalley.org.

LIGHTSCAPES is the latest large-scale public event from Historic Hudson Valley, the Tarrytown-based private, non-profit educational organization which owns and operates Van Cortlandt Manor and other historic sites, and all proceeds support the organization’s education programs. The same team creates the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze, which has gained national recognition and had a 2013 audience of more than 100,000 visitors.

 

ADL Trains NYC Educators on Tackling Bullying

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In recognition of “Respect for All Week” taking place in New York City public schools from February 10th to 14th, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) hosted a professional development session for local educators titled “Becoming an Ally: Interrupting Name-calling and Bullying.”

The session, which took place on Tuesday, February 11th at the ADL National Headquarters in Manhattan, equipped participants with resources and strategies to effectively tackle bullying in schools, while adhering to specific training requirements prescribed by New York State’s Dignity for All Students Act.

“Too many students are faced with the stress of bullying in schools,” said Evan Bernstein, ADL New York Regional Director. “Initiatives like those of A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute are vital to ensure that young people know how to act when they are being bullied, and we rely on our educators to spread this information and help stamp out hate among youth.”

Participants represented a variety of schools throughout the five boroughs and New Jersey, including Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, Brooklyn Jesuit Prep, Brooklyn Technical High School, High School of Computers and Technology in the Bronx, P.S. 4 The Duke Ellington School in Manhattan, P.S./M.S. 279 in the Bronx, and Freehold Township School District in New Jersey.

Since 2006, ADL’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute has been a lead partner in the New York City Department of Education’s “Respect for All” initiative. This program is one of many available to schools throughout New York State and Northern New Jersey.

“I usually get overwhelmed around the topic of bullying,” said one participant. “You helped me realize there are things I can do to support my students that can make a difference. Thank you for that.”

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world’s leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry. Follow us on Twitter: @ADL_News

3rd Graders Give Back During Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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John F. Kenney Magnet School 3rd Graders Give Back During Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

3rdgradersJanuary 22, 2014, Port Chester, NY: John F Kennedy Magnet School 3rd graders give back during a Martin Luther King JR Day of Service at Clay Art Center of Port Chester NY. Over 35 students and parents visited Clay Art Center on January 18th to create unique, hand-painted clay tiles as part of a service event in partnership with the Volunteer Center of the United Way.

Students of 3rd grade teacher Krista DiBernardo learned about Martin Luther King Jr during school and brainstormed ideas to include in their tiles that would embody Mr. King’s goals of unity, equality and non-violence. Parents and siblings joined in to celebrate the memory of the social activist and to leave their own expressive piece of artwork behind. The decorated tiles will be permanently installed at Clay art Center to beautify the classroom spaces. “When I read that the Clay Arts Center was holding a community event, I knew I needed my students to participate.  The Center has been such an important part of our JFK community and the community of Port Chester since its opening.  This was a perfect way to honor MLK and teach my students that his legacy lives on through us and how we care for our community.” Said JFK Magnet School 3rd grade teacher Krista DiBernardo.

The event is part of The Volunteer Center of United Way’s annual MLK Day of Service.  Offered each winter as a way to mobilize volunteers and offer community service activities the MLK Day of Service empowers individuals, strengthens communities, bridges barriers, creates solutions to social problems, and moves us closer to Dr. King’s vision of a beloved community.

About Clay Art Center:

clay-logoClay Art Center is a not-for-profit ceramic art organization offering exhibitions, clay classes for adults and children, studio spaces for clay artists and outreach programs in the community.  It is located in the heart of Port Chester at 40 Beech Street, Port Chester, NY 10573.   Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10am-4pm or by appointment.  For more information or images, please contact Ariel Edwards at communityarts@clayartcenter.org or 914-937-2047.

About The Volunteer Center of United Way:

Recently awarded a Top-Rated Nonprofit designation, The Volunteer Center is a one-stop resource devoted to increasing volunteerism in Westchester and our surrounding communities.  We encourage adults to serve, youth to build character, families to bond, young professionals to lead, mature adults to share their wisdom and businesses to support our community.  Through organized volunteer projects, as well as by connecting individuals to nonprofit organizations, The Volunteer Center helps people take action to strengthen the quality of life in their community. Over 254,000 hours of service were devoted last year to 500 nonprofits at a value of over $7.7 million. In September 2011, The Volunteer Center was designated one of ten Regional Volunteer Centers in the State of New York, covering the Mid-Hudson Valley.  For more information, visit www.volunteer-center.org.