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Due to the weather forecast, the Armonk Car Show will be held Friday, July 19, in downtown Armonk starting at 5pm. Tomorrow’s concert, 1 Stop Pony Band, will still be on Thursday, July 18, but will be held at the North Castle Library’s Whippoorwill Hall.
SCHEDULE
Housed within three nondescript white clapboard buildings resembling an old country church at the end of a long driveway at 16 Bedford Banksville Road is a magnificent collection of vintage cars at the Malcolm Pray Achievement Center. This is more than a car museum and serves a greater purpose that was both envisioned and executed by its entrepreneurial founder Malcolm Pray. It is both a celebration of success and an opportunity to visualize oneself reaching one’s dreams.
The Malcolm Pray Achievement Center is a non-profit organization that offers programs that inspire visitors towards success through a tour of an impressive automobile collection and the story of Malcolm Pray.
Malcolm Pray was an entrepreneur in automotive sales. He started as a car salesman in 1955 in Greenwich, Connecticut and eventually bought his own dealership and grew the business to six dealerships. After an amazing career, he sold his business in 1999 and conceptualized a place to showcase his collection to motivate kids to work hard just as he was motivated as a child when he first saw his dream car at the 1939 World’s Fair, a 1937 Delahaye, a car he later purchased. He passed away in 2013. The Pray Family Foundation continues running the center.
Inside the main building, besides the 1960 MG Model A Roadster just beyond the entryway, it feels as if you have stepped into someone’s grand living room. There are couches, a fireplace, a library off to the right, console tables and walls adorned with civic and humanitarian honors, “Best in Class” awards from car shows such as Concours d’Elegance, photos of Mr. Pray with ex-US presidents and well-known politicians, and framed family photos.
Over seven thousand visitors have come to the center and each is personally greeted at the door with a handshake. As a former car salesman, Mr. Pray recognized the importance of a welcoming handshake and this was his first lesson to his guests. He taught them to own their handshake so that they would be treated seriously.
After visitors are welcomed into the center, they watch a two-minute video about Mr. Pray that talks about his passion for cars, his imperfect school record, and about his road to success after serving in the Air Force.
“My message is clear,” he says in the video, “There is nothing in life that you cannot achieve. No matter what you do you will be in the people business…and never forget–your reputation is the greatest asset that you have.”
That message is just one of the different steps to success that Mr. Pray hoped to teach his visitors. Some other steps include consider a career, educate yourself, respect your body, learn the value of money, and be organized.
The circumstances of his life lend special weight to his tips for success. A child of the Great Depression, he struggled in school and had a mild dyslexia, undiagnosed in his youth. Most tragically, he lost one of his four children, his 17-year old son, in a car accident in 1986. Achieving success despite these challenges makes an impression on young visitors, particularly those with their own struggles.
Executive Director Marikay Satryano tells visiting teens that have trouble relating to Mr. Pray’s ultimate success and wealth that his life only appears to look linear if you look at him working his way up from being a car salesman. “What you don’t see between those milestones are tough decisions, hard work, personal tragedy, and struggles. Not every path is linear. You have to make the moment and take that first step,” she says.
While Mr. Pray’s original intent was to inspire youngsters, his achievement center has hosted families, senior citizens and veterans. The life principles offered are relevant to anyone going through transition. Seniors grappling with what they will do in retirement, veterans trying to find their way after active duty, and adults seeking good advice to pass on to their children can benefit from a visit here.
After spending time in the main building, watching the video and discussing the steps to success, guests are led into the first garage where they experience their “aha” moment. In that first garage, they are met with some of the most significant American, British and German cars ever built. Ms. Satryano takes visitors through a fascinating twentieth century history lesson intertwined with a history of cars. Her props just happen to be rare world class automobiles.
Visits to the Malcolm Pray Achievement Center are free and by appointment only. “It’s a resource,” says Ms. Satryano, “and we want the community to know that we are here for them.”
Jared Rosenberg is only 14-years-old and already making an impact.
On Saturday morning, April 28th, this Armonk ninth grader held a fundraiser called The Hypercar Circle at Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation.
Car enthusiasts gathered to admire exotic cars including an Aston Martin Zagato, a Ferrari 275 GTB, Lamborghinis, Porsches, McLarens, a Lotus, and one of Jared’s favorites, the Gemballa Mirage GT.
“When I was younger I went to Cars and Coffees around the country and became really interested in supercars and hypercars. I decided to combine my passion for cars with a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s,” said Jared. Jared’s grandfather passed from the disease ten years ago.
Jared started an Instagram account of car photos which grew to over 10,000 followers. Networking through social media and other car shows, Jared promoted his event, invited proud car owners to come and display their cars and secured sponsorship for his event by duPont Registry. The event raised $2,000.
“It excites me to see 14-year-olds just digging in and loving cars. They will be the caretakers for these exotic cars that will one day be vintage,” said attendee Lilly Pray of the Malcolm Pray Achievement Center in Bedford which showcases classic cars and organizes educational programs to help youth see what they can achieve in life when they put their mind to it.
Alzheimer’s affects an estimated 5.5 million people in the United States. To learn more or donate, go to www.alzdiscovery.org
If you have had difficulty finding a parking spot in Armonk or Chappaqua, you are not alone. As both towns have grown, so too have parking problems. Add in the popularity of larger vehicles and SUVs, and parking space is at a premium.
With new businesses coming into the towns and ongoing construction (such as on lower King Street in Chappaqua), finding a spot can be tricky. This is especially true by the train station and in merchant spacing in Chappaqua and on Main Street and at the DeCicco’s lot in Armonk.
The parking limitations make it necessary for the towns to be vigilant about enforcing parking regulations. Community Service Worker Manny Antoniou, who is in charge of parking and traffic in Chappaqua, says the primary reason he issues tickets is for being in a spot too long. He is often stopped by people searching for a spot and suggests that they try the back of the commuter lot where you can pay by plate. He knows that adding more spaces would be the obvious solution but recognized that improving the parking situation needed to be done by “research and survey,” a process which could take a while.
Other parking violations for which he tickets include parking in two spaces, parking too far from the curb, or in a handicapped spot or fire zone. When asked about whether people who park in two spaces do purposely or not, Antoniou responded that, “Sometimes the offender is simply in a rush but sometimes they do it intentionally to protect a new car from dings.” Antoniou said he can “usually tell” the intentions a parking spot hog has and uses his discretion to ticket. He also urged people to stay off their phones and to “not ignore officers when they are directing traffic.”
In Armonk, the parking situation is not much better. During the midday hours, you may find yourself circling the DeCicco’s lot or scanning Main Street as you drive by in hopes of finding a vacant spot. One store owner in town, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The biggest problem we have in Armonk is employees parking on Main Street. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed.” If you are willing to walk a bit to your destination (especially now that the weather has finally improved), there are often spots available in the CVS lot or the library parking lot.
There is some good news on the horizon though; the town is in the process of adding approximately 80 spots behind and next to the Hergenhan Recreation Center, which should help alleviate the parking situation.
Sergeant Huffnagle of the Town of North Castle Police Department said that although parking is definitely a concern, he has found that most people in town are respectful of the handicapped spots. He also noted that with all the restaurants in town, Armonk has become a “culinary hub” and that means more cars parked for longer periods of time.
The North Castle officer in charge of parking marks tires on Main Street, which has a one-hour time limit during the hours between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. The parking officer is also the animal control officer, so if he has to leave Main Street to deal with a situation with a coyote, raccoon, deer or other animal, you may get lucky and avoid a ticket if you are in a spot for more than an hour. (It is not recommended that you count on him being away, however.)
There are things you can do to help the parking situation. As a resident of Armonk for 20 years and a self-proclaimed parking lot maven, below are some helpful tips:
Pull out of your spot in a timely fashion. We all have the urge to check our phones and I know I am not alone in having replied to a text or two while sitting in my car. However, when I have to respond to a text (like when my son asks me to pick him up at school), I try to keep it brief. Composing a 2,000-word e-mail, flat ironing your hair, putting on make-up, or reading a book while someone is waiting for your spot is not cool and will not earn you the Citizen of the Year award.
Leave enough space between your car and the car next to you. Not being as thin as I used to be, when someone parks too close to my car I have had to slither in to the driver’s seat, as well as enter my car through the passenger side, which requires a level of flexibility I do not really possess.
Give cars spaces to parallel park. You can make fun of how badly someone parallel parks, but only after you give them enough room to get into a spot.
To avoid accidents Sergeant Huffnagle wants to remind citizens to “use their signals” when they are planning to park so other drivers are aware of their intentions.
Allow pedestrians to cross the street. We are small friendly towns; Armonk is Frosty the Snowman’s birthplace, for goodness sake. You won’t melt in the ten seconds it takes for someone to cross from the Post Office to Hickory & Tweed.
Huffnagle stated that he thinks people typically do not intend to be discourteous and that most problems arise because, “People are in their own little world and can be oblivious to other peoples’ concerns and time constraints.” I agree and believe that we can each do our part to make the parking and traffic situations in our towns much better.