I have a little announcement to make. After 25 years of Chappaqua living, I’m downsizing and moving this month to Pleasantville! I look forward to discovering the joy of a Mount Pleasant residency and all its treasures, to meeting new neighbors, and making new friends. I’m also viewing it as a boon to getting more fit as I’ll be just that much closer to two favorite walking destinations, the Rockefeller Preserve and Rockwood, and also to Club Fit in Briarcliff (where, note to self, I really MUST start reserving class time). I’ll also be closer to the upper West Side where my son lives, not to mention dear friends. Life is good.
It’s a demanding transition while producing magazines. In fact, it’s downright stressful! Nonetheless, I feel confident that once I get on the other side of it, a move here will have been worth all the angst.
And since I have ever more paper to shred, drawers to empty and boxes to pack, I’ll try to be brief!
In our June/Summer 2022 editions, I believe you’ll find a nod to the peace and kindness the Arts promote. The upcoming Pleasantville Music Festival is a local giant, and I’m glad we can provide an update on what’s planned in my new hometown. We are also so lucky to live a stone’s throw from some true splendor. I hope you feel enticed by our coverage to set aside time to enjoy the beautiful Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, a Katonah-based, Hudson Valley destination. In Katonah too, there is a gem of a museum to visit and revisit: The Katonah Museum of Art. And in September, it’s a short trip to the celebrated Phoenix Festival: Live Arts in Nyack; please do check out our spotlight on this intriguing festival, too.
Of course, right here at home, there’s never really any excuse to feel bored. Especially with a world class table tennis center in our backyard! So if you haven’t visited the Westchester Table Tennis Center recently, summer is a great time to grab a partner, and hone your ping pong skills. Please do say hello to owner Will Shortz if you spot him there. If he’s not too busy playing or perhaps writing a crossword puzzle, let him know you saw him on the cover of a magazine!
Of special note in Inside Armonk: During an extraordinary week of Yom Hashoah remembrance programming, the Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center, hhrecny.org, honored Jennifer Laden, Social Studies Department Chair 6-12 of Byram Hills Central School District in Armonk at the 20th annual Susan J. Goldberg Memorial Teacher Award. https://hhrecny.org/susan-j-goldberg-memorial-teacher-award/ The award, presented at the annual William H. Donat Shoah Commemoration Event at Iona College on April 27, preceded a lecture and Q&A with historian Dan McMillan, the acclaimed author of How Could This Have Happened? Explaining the Holocaust.
As the HHREC related: “… Jennifer Laden has promoted global understanding through her development and teaching AP Human Geography and AP World History courses. As one of the developers of the three-year Global Scholars program at Byram Hills, she spearheaded the design of curricular units to help students understand important human rights issues, teaching them about the Uighur Muslims in China, the Rohingya in Myanmar, and the refugee crises in Syria and Yemen. Laden has also encouraged student partnerships with the HHREC, welcoming survivors of the Holocaust to the high school to accompany students to the annual High School Human Rights Institute.
This year, three BHHS students were recognized at the Institute for their commitment to human rights, community service, and racial equity, a testament to the profound impact Jen’s work has had. Byram Hills School Superintendent Jen Lamia thanked the HHREC Board of Directors “for recognizing Jen Laden for her work teaching about human rights and the violations that perpetuate adversity….”
In your Inside Chappaqua & Millwood edition, I note there’s a timeless sense of peace & contentment one feels at a local library, so delighted to read Ronni Diamondstein’s 10 reasons the future of libraries is bright, and of creative Chappaqua Library Centennial festivities.
I am intensely proud to feature Jean Sheff’s beautiful story about Danielle Leventhal’s life and legacy, of her family’s efforts to help realize ‘Danielle’s Dreams,’ and how you can help, too.
There’s always so much ‘good stuff’ happening around town, including Frank Shiner’s and the 914 Orchestra’s rollicking ‘Swingin’ into Spring’ eve introducing “the San Miguel Miracles” at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center. All that, on the heels of the 2022 Rotary Citizen of the Year Awards to Frank and Suzanne Shiner, the Paul Harris Fellow Award to Eric Nicolaysen, and the Student of the Year Award to Kyra Chung-Olagbaiye.
In another arena, last month too, Town Supervisor Lisa Katz and the town of New Castle kindly introduced 10 food allergy awareness signs in our playgrounds. Local advocates Stacey Saiontz, Jared Saiontz and Heather Brown appeared with Katz and Council member Vicki Tipp to proudly share the news.
I also learned that the New Castle Democratic Committee extended honors to Nichelle Maynard Elliott and Zabeen Mirza, New Castle Council on Race and Equity co-chairs, and to Vedat Gashi, 4th District Legislator. Congrats!
We were well into press when Grease rehearsals kicked off, but anticipating another amazing Greeley Senior Musical. Wishing all the 2022 graduates a grand future, and all the Dads, heaps of kindness and special attention on Father’s Day! Peace out, 
PHOTO BY GRACE BENNETT
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) and Westchester Jewish Council (WJC) will host the annual Countywide Yom Hashoah Commemoration Keeping the Memory Alive on April 28th from 12 to 1 p.m. at the Garden of Remembrance on 148 Martine Avenue in White Plains, NY. The event will feature a keynote speech delivered by Alan Moskin, a U.S. Army Liberator and member of the HHREC Speakers Bureau, and there will be a procession of Westchester’s rescued Holocaust Torahs.
The Holocaust & Human Rights Education Center (HHREC) announced their board of directors elected Michael Gyory to the position of Board Chairperson. Gyory, a real estate entrepreneur, began a three-year term on January 18th, 2021. He has been serving as a board member since 2019, and succeeds Joseph Kaidanow, who served as board chairperson since 2018. Kaidanow will continue to serve as a member of the HHREC Board of Directors.
Dr. Rafael Medoff will speak at the 80th Anniversary of Kristallnacht at Manhattanville College. Dr. Medoff’s topic will be FDR, Immigration Policy, and the Jews. Dr. Medoff is an American historian and the founding director of The David Wyman Institute, which is based in Washington, D.C. The Institute focuses on issues related to America’s response to the Holocaust.