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Chappaqua

The True Meaning of Friendship: Dr. Jeff Gilbert & Artist Michael Bailey

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(L-R): Michael Bailey and Dr. Jeff Gilbert
Photo courtesy of Dr. Jeff Gilbert

A Chappaqua neighbor famously coined the phrase, “It takes a village.” When Dr. Jeff Gilbert befriended Michael Bailey, a homeless artist, he proved her words true.

Gilbert was on his way back to his home in Chappaqua after the June 22nd Yankee game when he spotted a shoeless man sitting on Babe Ruth Plaza surrounded by pictures of baseball player Aaron Judge and football player Saquon Barkley. He stopped to purchase the five-dollar Judge print, and as he boarded the train, he regretted not buying the Saquon picture. He tracked down the artist via the artist’s website – artofzebra.com – listed on the print.

The artist, 60-year-old Bailey, has been down on his luck and living on the street after a bad marriage, difficult partnership, bout of depression, and subsequent drug problem. Bailey, an architect with an MBA from the University of Chicago, opened the Zebra Gallery in 1990. In 1995, he expanded the Zebra Gallery, establishing Zebra Art, Inc., an art publishing and distribution business. “I had a million-dollar business, and I lost everything. It was going very well for a while. Then, with my divorce, and my son being taken away from me, everything went bad,” says Bailey.

Bailey grew up with his mother and his sister, Helen, in Chicago. Helen, who now lives in California, still maintains Bailey’s site. Bailey’s son, who lives in Tampa, stores some of Bailey’s original artwork. But since 2007, Bailey has lived on the streets of Chicago, New York, Dallas, Cleveland, and various other cities to which he’s traveled, trying to promote his artwork. “I’m trying to show my work,” relays Bailey.

A Friendship Forms

Gilbert became more than another person whom Bailey met in his travels. They became fast friends when Gilbert gave Bailey a copy of his children’s book, Milton’s Moment. “That was a gesture of friendship,” according to Bailey, who refused to take money for the Saquon print Gilbert wanted to purchase.

“I felt like I knew Michael from somewhere as soon as I met him,” says Gilbert, who just “knew Michael was a good person.” Overwhelmed by Bailey’s story and kind nature, Gilbert invited Bailey to dinner and then to visit him up in Westchester. “We have so many resources available up here. Things that Michael could never access on his own,” notes Gilbert.

A Supportive Community

But Gilbert couldn’t change Bailey’s life on his own. So, he reached out to his wide circle of friends and to the Chappaqua, Briarcliff, Pleasantville, and Armonk communities via FaceBook to tell Bailey’s story.

Thanks to the power of positive social media and community support, Gilbert witnessed “so many members of our community mobilizing to make a difference in this man’s life.” Helena Terilli, Co-President of the food pantry at the Methodist Church in Pleasantville, bought Michael almost $300 of new clothes. And the community has contributed almost $5,000 to the gofundme.com page that Gilbert established for Bailey.

“I meet a lot of people in different cities,” noted Bailey, “but it was Jeff who changed my life.” For the first time since 2007, Bailey is no longer sleeping on the streets. While he does not have a home yet, he is staying in hotels as he travels the country to show his work.

Thanks to Gilbert’s efforts, Bailey’s artwork is also being exposed to a significantly wider audience. In June, he was invited to show and sell his work in Pleasantville at Yogolicious and The Village Bookstore.

The opportunity to connect to more people and to show and sell his work to people who didn’t know anything about him six months ago, is deeply meaningful and life-altering for Bailey, who sees art as his spiritual calling. “Art is my gift from God. When someone buys a piece of art from me, I tell them that I am sharing this gift.” Bailey generously shares this gift with others, often giving children free prints of their favorite athletes, superheroes, or musicians.

Late this summer, Bailey spent some time in Chicago, working on a painting of the New York Yankees’ veteran pitcher, CC Sabathia. He showcased it at the table that The Rotary Club of Chappaqua donated to him for Chappaqua’s Community Day on September 14th. Gilbert also arranged for Bailey to show his art at the Chappaqua art gallery, The Art Closet.

Future Plans for Bailey

After Community Day, Bailey spent a few days selling prints outside of Yankee Stadium before he hit the road once again. He then returned to sell his prints at the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival on October 5th. In the coming months, Gilbert will continue to look for “creative ways to help Michael.” No doubt, he will continue to rely on his “village” for help.

A Need for Speed: Greeley Student’s Path to Professional Racecar Driver

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When Josh Green was five-years-old, he wrote down at school that when he grew up, he wanted to be a professional racecar driver.

Green’s love of cars and racing came from his father and two uncles whom have always been into cars, which is how it caught Green’s eye as a little kid. The family would trek to NASCAR races and cars shows; by the time Green was five, he could name every car.

“I don’t think I actually thought I could do racing, but I always loved cars and wanted to be near them,” Green said.

While not quite an adult yet, the 16-year-old Chappaqua resident is already on the fast track to realizing his dream as a racecar driver traveling throughout the country most weekends to compete against peers that started years earlier. While many young drivers start soon after they can walk, Green only began racing a few years ago, yet has excelled at a breakneck pace.

Green already has plenty of accolades to his name, including the 2017 North East Super Series Champion, the 2018 New York State Champion, the 2018 Oakland Valley Race Park Club Champion 2018 and the WKA Manufacturers Cup IAME Junior Champion. He can also call himself a top rookie of the year, according to eKartingNews.

He’s a finalist for a USA scholarship shootout hosted by Lucas Oil School of racing and Cooper Tires where he could travel overseas to compete. And through it all, he’s remained modest and hard working.

A Natural Talent

Green only started racing in summer 2015, but his rise has been precipitous. He began going to Grand Prix New York in Mount Kisco and it was apparent quite quickly he had a tremendous amount of talent and upside. For Green, going fast came naturally.

Green began outdoor racing the next year, spending the entirety of 2016 taking part in club races and learning as much as he could at Oakland Valley in upstate New York.  In 2017, he joined a new team and raced at bigger courses, including regional events like the Northeast Super Series and last year he began racing nationally

It’s been one steady step at time for Green, who has soaked up as much information as possible, all the way to his current open-wheel racing, in which the wheels are on the outside of the car’s main body with only one seat for the driver.

“Everyone wants to go race go-karts, like it’s fun, it’s just a fun pastime to do,” Green said. “But when you start taking it seriously, it’s a much different beast.”

Green, who also has a youth black belt in karate, has proven to be a quick learner. One of the most important things he’s learned in his nascent career is perseverance. “When something goes wrong, it’s important to push through it and refocus,” Green said. “Transitioning from indoor to outdoor courses can be very technical,” he added.

Currently, Green is racing with Team Pelfrey, which is an American racing team in the Indy Lights series.

Balancing Racing with Schoolwork

Off the track has been an adjustment for Green, but it’s been nothing but beneficial. As someone who struggled with school, Green has handled classwork better despite missing 30 to 50 school days a year due to extensive travelling. His teachers are generally accommodating as long as his grades remain high.

As much as Green would love to be a professional racecar driver, he’s level headed enough to know a career in engineering or another profession connected to driving could be his path, which requires education.

Green’s parents have always been supportive. They weren’t sure where his racing career was going, but people in the field continue to be impressed enough with Green that the only option was to move forward.

Father Eric Green said it’s flattering when people around the racetrack talk about his son and how they all want their kids around him as a role model.

He’s humble, Eric Green said, which is refreshing for a parent to see. “His talent speaks for itself,” he said.

Mother Lindsey Green said his focus on learning about the sport and attention to detail is unparalleled. “He’s grown up within racing,” Lindsey Green said. “If you compare him to other kids, I’d say he’s much more mature. I don’t know what he would’ve been like if he hadn’t been racing.”

Remaining humble and hungry has been a perfect combination for Green. Next season, he will likely move on to the USF 2000 series, which is another step closer to IndyCar racing.

“The ultimate goal is IndyCar,” Green said. “I think that’s 100 percent the ultimate goal and that’s sort of the trajectory I’m on.”

Editor’s Note: As we went to press, we learned that Green won a Team USA scholarship. Congratulations!

Lifelong Learning Through Chappaqua’s Continuing Education Program

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For more than 40 years, Chappaqua Continuing Education has created a unique community for ongoing learning. As one of the only community-sponsored, school district run programs in Westchester County, Chappaqua’s Continuing Education program invites Chappaqua residents to come together and take enriching classes on the campus of Horace Greeley High School.

Every year, about 1,200 people take classes through the Chappaqua Continuing Education program, which is a nonprofit organization run in conjunction with the Chappaqua Central School District. “Originally, the program was designed to be a give back to the community and a thank you to empty nesters for sticking around. Their children graduated, but they still lived here, and we wanted to keep them involved in the community,” states the Director of Continuing Education, Maura Marcon. The program evolved into a community-oriented opportunity that spans all ages and crosses over to people in nearby communities who do not have access to this type of programming.

An Array of Options

“The Chappaqua program is unique because it’s community based and supportive, providing a wide range of classes for just about everything,” notes Katie Goldberg who has taught art and Mahjong classes through Chappaqua Continuing Education for the past 25 years. Goldberg is right about the range of classes. This fall, Chappaqua Continuing Education will offer 90 classes in everything from art, cooking, and dance to gardening, exercise classes, finance, and foreign languages.

According to Marcon, the 10-week Spanish, French, and Italian language classes are extremely well-attended. Many people who take Spanish joined the class as beginners and have taken all four levels of Spanish together, developing friendships with one another and with the instructors. “They even socialize outside the class, going out for drinks or dinner with the instructor.”

The most social classes, the games classes, which include Canasta and Mahjong, often bring groups of friends together who want to learn something new. And the finance classes, covering topics from retirement planning and Medicare to understanding estate taxes and financial planning for women, are particularly popular with empty-nesters.

Empty-nesters and people in their late 50’s and 60’s are the most frequent participants in the program. Senior citizens from Chappaqua can receive up to a 50 percent discount on certain classes, and Chappaqua Continuing Education even offers some free classes. The single session, 90-minute classes are favorites of many 30- and 40-something residents, who take advantage of these $30 classes as a plan for an entertaining, educational night out.

Artist and art teacher Quincy Egginton isn’t only a teacher in Chappaqua’s Continuing Education program, she is a 35-year resident who raised her two daughters here. “It feels like home when I go to Greeley to teach,” says Egginton, who enjoys running into her daughters’ teachers and credits the Greeley custodial staff with supporting the work of the program.

Egginton, whose favorite class to teach is watercolor painting, is one of several local residents who teaches in this program. Even the Chappaqua Volunteer Ambulance Corps runs a class on American Heart Association Family and Friends CPR. Marcon encourages any interested residents to submit proposals for classes, as she encourages the community to get involved in any way possible and is always open to new ideas and creative classes.

Making Lifelong Learning Accessible and Fun

“I love the positive feedback that I get from people about our teachers, classes and wide array of class offerings,” says Marcon, who loves her creative, people-oriented position. Goldberg and Egginton agree that their students are extremely positive about their experiences. “Many of my students have told me that I’ve made complicated, intimidating subjects easy and fun by breaking things down into enjoyable ‘bite-sized nuggets,’” said Goldberg.

Chappaqua Continuing Education offers classes from September through December, January through February, and March through June. Classes meet Monday through Thursday evenings for one to two hours. For more information about Chappaqua Continuing Education, visit their website, ccsd.ws/district/departments/chappaqua-continuing-education, or check out one of the seasonal catalogs that are regularly distributed throughout Chappaqua, Millwood, Armonk, Bedford, Briarcliff, Mount Kisco, and Pleasantville.

Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Students Build Storage Shed As Thank You Gift for Community

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A 10 foot by 12 foot shed built by hand from this year’s Chappaqua Summer Scholarship Program (CSSP) students will soon be used to help with storage needs at Horace Greeley High School as construction continues at the high school. The shed was built as a way to give thanks to the Chappaqua community for supporting the program, now in its 51st year. Each summer Chappaqua invites 22-24 promising students from under resourced schools in the Bronx to join the community. The program is made possible because Chappaqua families open their homes up to host these students.

Although none of the students are construction workers several donned hard hats and worked with hammers nailing together the floor, walls and roof. “Over the years, the Chappaqua Central School District has been incredibly supportive of our program. We wanted to give thanks and this shed was the perfect way to do so. Our Bronx CSSP students have had a great time building it and we are grateful four our teachers, Mike DeBellis and Chris Stasi for making this happen,” commented Ellen Adnopoz, the Executive Director of CSSP.

“This is something I would never do in the Bronx,” commented Brian Nunez, a second-year student in the program. For three consecutive years, these specially selected students like Brian attend academic classes at one of the Chappaqua schools in the mornings and participate in a range of recreational and cultural activities in the afternoon. The program which is entirely run by volunteers seeks to broaden the students’ horizons and also help prepare them for college.

The shed will remain on the HGHS campus indefinitely.

Empathy and a Moral Compass during Chappaqua’s Lights for Liberty Event

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If the speeches at a Lights for Liberty vigil on July 12 in New Castle–one of some 750 such vigils nationwide–shared any one theme, it would be encouraging empathy; and moreover, it would be the “radical empathy” that Secretary Hillary Clinton described as necessary to continue to fight. 

By Grace Bennett

 “The fact that you feel trauma means you’re still feeling, you’re still showing compassion and boy do we need that right now,” Hillary Clinton said during her surprise visit together with Bill Clinton at the Town gazebo where she joined other speakers invited by the event’s local sponsor, Left of Main Street, a Chappaqua-based, national organization which supports progressive issues, legislation and candidates. 

 “We need radical empathy right now,” said Clinton. “We need to put ourselves into other’s shoes and try to relate to that mother who encountered violence…” 

First to speak, New Castle Councilwoman Ivy Pool extolled the Chappaqua community as a tolerant and welcoming community to all. She also pointed out “the tremendous gap between the good fortune, beauty, and comfort of our lives here in Chappaqua and the inhumane and unjust conditions that children of migrant populations face. 

“Moral Compass” 

“My kids are and continue to be in all decisions that I make–my moral compass… But for an accident of birth that children here were born in Northern Westchester Hospital and not in Central America… I’d like to believe that I would do anything to protect the safety and health of my child, and have the courage to leave behind my family and friends to endure dangerous travel conditions and seek asylum for my family if we were faced with the life-threatening violence and persecution.  

“Most of us have never been so threatened,” said Pool. “We are challenged to respond with empathy, love and generosity.” 

Professor Vanessa Merton, director of the Immigration Justice Center at the Pace University School of Law, said that she “won’t dwell on the lice, the feces, the cruelty and sexual assaults and deprivation of food or decent medical care.” She did drive home the anxiety any parent feels being separated even for the shortest period.  

Professor Vanessa Merton also took questions from those gathered after speaking about immigration justice.

“Do you remember being at the shopping mall or beach, and if you became separated for even five minutes… the abject fear you felt?  These parents or guardians are experiencing that all day, every day, and with constant knowledge that their children are in fact in danger. She described the experience the children are having as ‘stunting’ and ‘soul crippling.’

She also described working with families who risked their lives, “who have given up everything they have because they are fleeing a state sponsored terror in the Honduras and in Guatemala.

 “These are not just war lords. These are transnational criminal syndicates that rule every aspect of people’s lives. Small business owners who tried to pay the taxes imposed wake up to find the body parts of their children scattered around.” 

“Vicarious Trauma” 

Dr. Jeanne Devine, a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialty in neuropsychology, said that stress hormones released during trauma results in lifelong impairment. “There’s a new generation of people that we have harmed.  This isn’t just for today. This is about people we are going to have to help find a way to take care of later on.” She also expressed concern for the mental health among those who resist. We are all experiencing “vicarious trauma,” she posited—”every time you get teary, every time your heart crunches, every time you scroll past something because can’t read one more thing.”  

A Policy “Infused with Cruelty” 

Hillary Clinton said that Lights for Liberty represented a way to come together to address what’s happening at the border, “to do whatever we can to stand up for those who are voiceless. 

Left of Main Street founders Ann Styles Brochstein (right) and Cynthia Gray-Ware Metcalf with Secretary Hillary Clinton

“This is not about open borders; it’s not about saying that anyone who can come to America at any time.  Those who are trying to make it that are deliberately trying to confuse the issue. We can have secure borders and be a humane nation that treats people with dignity and compassion. That should be our goal.”

She further noted that if the administration had a “serious interest in dealing with the challenges of the border, that is what we would be doing.” 

The border situation calls out for more properly trained immigration judges “enforcing the law and not shortcutting it,” said Clinton, who also suggested that we could have a functional data system. “There are literally thousands of children who have been separated and no one in this government knows where they are… I fear greatly they will never be reunited with their families... 

“Think about never seeing your parents and family again because you were deliberately snatched away with no effort to try to track you in this system that has been set up… This is a policy that is infused with cruelty. It is a cruel, unfeeling, unfair, meanspirited policy that is not solving the problem because the problem is deeply imbedded in poorly governed, violent countries on average the most violent in the world, with the highest homicide rate–higher than in some conflict zones.” 

The response of the Trump administration, she said, has been to cut off all aid to those countries.  A better approach, Clinton suggested, would be for the U.S. to help these countries with rule of law, “and frankly to help them with their economic problems too (”a failed coffee crop, a failed banana crop”) so people wouldn’t feel compelled to leave. We do have the capacity to respond to the most complicated problems–if we choose to do so.” 

She recalled that during her time as Secretary of State, there were efforts to establish facilities and hire personnel within the capitals of those countries to try to process asylum “so people wouldn’t have to take the dangerous route north and bring their children with them. She said during one trip to Central America “there were discussions over the kind of assistance we could provide that would try to end the corruption and malfeasance of the existing governments and put into place some programs that would begin to diminish the violence.”  

“We have helped to do that in other places over the last 30 years; we could be doing that right here.” Particularly disturbing targets for deportation have been people serving in the U.S. military, Clinton noted.  “They signed up under a program that they would serve in the military and then be put on a fast track to citizenship. “They have already been deported after combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now their spouses and children being targeted. There’s no justification for this policy.” 

Clinton encouraged those gathered to keep fighting and “reclaiming the values of our country that are under so much stress and attack right now.” Striking a lighter note, she mentioned the stress causing construction on Route 120, the redevelopment project known here as Streetscapes. She joked that she chose Chappaqua’s vigil over others because it was the closest.  She advised that residents take their resilience to that into the political environment.

(L-R): Secretary Hillary Clinton, New Castle Councilwoman Ivy Pool and President Bill Clinton: Greeting Congresswoman Nita Lowey upon arrival.

Helen Harrison, a Chappaqua ESL Teacher, described how some of her students at Greeley have expressed their fears to her. Since 2016, she said she “has spent many days helping different students cope–helping them understand the rules of what their rights are should ICE come knocking…. There are many kinds of people living here (in New Castle), and they are all part of the community; together we will overcome.”  Harrison also led everyone gathered holding candles in singing We Shall Overcome.

Secretary Hillary Clinton & President Bill Clinton with Congresswoman Nita Lowey

Congresswoman Nita Lowey arrived as a final speaker: “You don’t take babies and little ones through such hardship unless you are desperate,” said Lowey who noted that she was planning a trip to the Homestead Immigration Detention Center in Miami where she aimed to be given a full tour “and not just one room.”  “Have you heard of Homestead?” she asked. “That’s where John Kelly runs quite an operation.”  Lowey lamented the situations of the men and women “undergoing so much stress to find a better life for their families and children.” She then ‘spoke’ to Trump: “I do remember, Mr. President, when we had all kinds of glorious plans to help those countries in the northern triangle because there is corruption, there is crime and there are people who can’t take care of their families.  

“When you think of what they go through to come to America and just be part of the American dream… for me as member of Congress, it’s not only painful, but an embarrassment, because we worked so hard to fund a whole range of assistance programs.”

Grace Bennett is founder, publisher and editor of the Inside Press, Inc., since 2003.