The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Stacey Saiontz

Local Moms of Food Allergic Kids Driven to Effect Change and Promote Awareness

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Food allergies affect approximately 5 percent of children and 4 percent of adults in the U.S, according to the National Institutes of Health. Food allergies can sometimes trigger a life-threatening anaphylactic reaction marked by constriction of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. Living with this threat, especially for parents of children with food allergies, is frightening and challenging. Part of the challenge is navigating a life where many people either are blissfully unaware of or simply do not appreciate the seriousness of food allergies.

The Importance of Spreading Awareness

Armonk mom Michelle Isban, as a former teacher, knows that educating the public is the best method to ensure that her food allergic daughter can live a healthy and safe life. Michelle’s achievements include having helped promote awareness at Armonk’s two playgrounds, IBM and Lombardi parks. Signs posted at the playgrounds list common food allergens and alert park-goers that allergic reactions can happen from tactile contact so children should only eat at designated picnic areas and wash their hands before using the equipment.

“Inclusivity is the most important thing to me,” says Isban. “If my daughter goes on the monkey bars right after a child who just ate peanut butter, she can have an anaphylactic reaction. I want her to feel like she can run safely onto the playground after soccer practice.”

Isban credits the Town of North Castle Recreation Department for their swift action in installing the signs upon her suggestion. “Matt Trainor, superintendent of the rec department was really open to it, raised it at a town board meeting, and got it approved. A few weeks later, the signs were up.”

Photo of mug and playground sign courtesy of Michelle Isban

“It’s upsetting when your child is excluded,” reveals another Armonk mom. “I don’t expect another parent to bake something for my child, but I’m angry when I don’t get a head’s up about a class party or when parents show up to soccer games or practices with Dunkin Donuts or cookies. Your child has to watch empty-handed as their friends delight in their delicious treat. With just a little notice, I can easily bring a comparable treat for my child.”

Ever since Isban’s daughter was diagnosed with allergies, Isban has advocated for her daughter and for food allergic children. With the help of a lawyer, she helped get a 504 plan, the first in Byram Hills granted for food allergies. Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires public schools to offer accommodations for eligible students with disabilities. Now, other families in the district can more freely obtain this legally binding plan to address how the school will accommodate their child’s food allergies.

Isban also started an Instagram page called allergymomwithamission where she recommends new food brands without common allergens and collaborates with companies that make allergy-safe food products. Every Wednesday, she shares a food allergy hero, a young child or teen, and what they are doing in the food allergy community.

Isban uses any opportunity presented to spread awareness. She donates children’s books about food allergies to the school, she organized the Teal Pumpkin Drive in Armonk to collect non-food items for Halloween, she has co-chaired walks for the non-profit Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), and helped organize the 2019 Shoot For A Cure fundraiser at Breezemont Day Camp for the non-profit End Allergies Together (EAT) that raised over $60,000.

A teacher at heart, she will never pass up a teachable moment. Once on an airplane, hearing another passenger complain that peanuts were not being served, Isban approached the woman and explained that her daughter could have an anaphylactic reaction if a bag of peanuts was opened and the dust circulated in the air. She offered to share her own granola bar with the woman.

“I teach my daughter that food allergies don’t define you but they are part of you so it’s important to teach other people,” says Isban. “Everyone can make a difference and you don’t have to stay quiet.”

Legislation Passed That Can Save Lives

Chappaqua mom Stacey Saiontz, a former lawyer, has also committed to using her skills to advocate for legislation to make the world a safer and more inclusive place for people with food allergies. Her 13-year-old son, who has 26 food allergies, has been her driving force.

Mission Accomplished! Stacey Saiontz with family and friends following Governor Cuomo signing a bill giving bus drivers a green light to administer epinephrine in an emergency situation.

Twelve years ago, Saiontz had an idea to create a law that would require all New York State teachers to be trained to recognize a child in anaphylaxis and how to administer an epinephrine auto-injector. While at a child’s birthday party whose grandfather was a state senator, she approached the senator with her idea and he encouraged her to draft proposed legislation, which he later sponsored. Sadly, this bill has taken turns getting passed in either the senate or the assembly, but never both. Saiontz continues to push for this Teacher Training Bill (A523), which is currently being sponsored by Assembly member Linda Rosenthal.

She has since advocated, along with other Chappaqua parents, for multiple bills that have passed into law. Senate bill S7262A allows schools to stock epinephrine auto injectors and permits them to be administered in emergency situations without a prescription.

“Many kids try foods at school that they may not know they are allergic to and they can have a reaction. Previously, nurses’ hands were tied and they couldn’t use an EpiPen on a child without a prescription,” explains Saiontz. “A throat can close within seconds to minutes depending on the reaction and waiting for an ambulance could result in death.”

Another bill Saiontz helped pass into law, Assembly bill A09334B, allows students to self-carry EpiPens in schools. Thanks to this law, students could carry EpiPens in their backpacks and go to their friends’ houses and on their friends’ buses with them after school.

A third bill was inspired by Saiontz’ son when he was in the 4th grade and really wanted to take the bus but bus drivers were not authorized to administer epinephrine. Saiontz included her son in the whole process, brought him to Albany, and he proposed a law allowing bus drivers to administer epinephrine. Assembly bill A7635A was passed into law.

Saiontz is currently working on restaurant legislation in New York State that would require training of restaurant personnel and adding allergens to the menu. On the federal level, Saiontz and fellow local advocates advocated for the passage of the FASTER (Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research) Act that now requires sesame to be labeled on packaged food.

Saiontz has been bringing her son with her to Albany to advocate since he was 4-years old, along with a group of fellow parents and their kids.

“I don’t want him to feel sorry for himself.

I want him to see what he can do to make life better for him and others,” emphasizes Saiontz.

Diane von Furstenberg to Emcee U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum 2020 New York Virtual Tribute Event

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Chappaqua residents Stacey Saiontz and Howard Unger will be honored by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum tomorrow evening and iconic fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg will be the master of ceremonies for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s 2020 New York Virtual Event on October 14 at 6 p.m.

She will join a lineup of passionate speakers featuring Benjamin Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor and the Museum’s partner in the Ferencz International Justice Initiative, and NBA All-Star Ray Allen.

The event will also include celebrity guests, including Jason Alexander, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Morgan Freeman, who will participate in the Museum’s pledge to Holocaust survivors–and to the future–to never forget.

Stacey Saiontz and Howard Unger at last year’s 2019 NY Tribute Event. Photo credit: Michael Priest for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.

At a time of enormous challenges, the Museum’s mission to put this memory and its lessons to work in the world has never been more crucial. Just yesterday, the the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum issued a statement on Facebook’s new decision to ban Holocaust denial and distortion.

Stacey Saiontz of Chappaqua is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivor, Jack Feldman, who was featured in the HBO documentary “The Number on Great Grandpa’s Arm” with Stacey’s son, Elliott.

Stacey has championed the cause of Holocaust education through her support of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum by serving as a member of the Museum’s Education Committee and as a founding member of the Museum’s New York Next Generation Board.

Howard Unger, Chappaqua resident and Founder of the investment firm Saw Mill Capital, grew up hearing the story of his father’s survival of the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps, which inspired him to become involved in bringing awareness to modern-day genocide. Unger serves in many roles for the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum including as: member of U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council’s Executive Committee, Chair of the Audit Committee, member of the Museum’s Committee on Conscience, Museum Benefactor and member of the Museum’s Strategic Advancement Committee.

Link to register for this free event: https://www.ushmm.org/online-calendar/event/nytrbutedinner1020

News courtesy of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Bearing Witness at the 75th Anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz

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Train tracks leading into Auschwitz – prisoners were transported in cattle cars

Elie Wiesel stated “To hear a witness is to be a witness.”  I am a witness. On January 27th 2020, I traveled to Auschwitz for the 75th Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz with 105 Auschwitz Survivors from around the world and 50 world leaders to commemorate the victims and honor the Survivors.

The memorial service took place on the grounds of the death camp where

1.1 million, mostly Jews, were murdered. We sat under a large heated tent that straddled the train tracks that had dragged prisoners into Birkenau, often to their death in the gas chambers. As Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, stated “I am here, simply, as a Jew. And, like all Jews everywhere, this place, this terrible place called Auschwitz has sadly become an inseparable part of us. Auschwitz is like a scar from a terrible trauma.  It never goes away and the pain never stops.”

Walking into the camp I quietly reflected on my grandparents stories of survival. I took in the remains of the barracks, including the barrack where my grandfather spent his youth being tortured against his will. The weather was cold but I was well bundled and couldn’t help but think about my grandfather who was forced to spend his time in Auschwitz without a warm jacket or hat or gloves.

I listened to each Survivor as they shared intimate details about their own personal stories, details that humanized the unfathomable atrocities of Auschwitz. Details that I will shout out to the world and share with future generations so they know the Holocaust happened to men and women and children with personalities and stories, like all of us, not to abstract numbers.

The Survivors all related stories about how upon their arrival at Auschwitz over 75 years ago, they were stripped of their dignity, forced to strip down to nothing in front of all, have their heads shaved, their possessions stolen and arms permanently tattooed with a number.  94- year-old Auschwitz Survivor Batsheva Dagan spoke about her arrival and subsequent assignment of being forced to sort belongings of those sent to the gas chambers.  She cried to the crowd,  “Where was everybody? Where was the world who could see that, hear that and yet did nothing to save all those thousands?”

Turning A Blind Eye on the Jewish Refugee Crisis

In his speech Lauder explained “And when European Jews begged the world for a safe harbor, someplace to go, the entire world turned its back on them. Even my own country–the beacon of freedom–turned out its light on the Jewish people when they needed it most. The US organized a conference in Evian, France in July of 1938 to discuss the Jewish refugee crisis. There were a lot of lovely speeches but the US did not let any additional Jewish refugees in and every other country in attendance followed their lead. There were 32 countries and none of them, except for the tiny Dominican Republic wanted any more Jews.  Hitler saw this. Four months later came Kristallnacht. And again, there was no world reaction. Hitler tested the world. And at every step he saw the truth–the world did not care. That’s when he knew he could build this factory of death. Evian led to Auschwitz. Kristallnacht led to Auschwitz.  World anti-Semitism led to Auschwitz.”

Survivor Josef Kreitenberg commented “I don’t know how I survived but I just kept on believing because that’s all you could do.”

Survivors are Dwindling

As the years pass and the eye witnesses who can say “I was in Auschwitz” dwindle in numbers, these Survivors made it their duty to return to ensure the world does not forget! Polish President Andrzej Duda vocalized “We have with us the last living Survivors, the last among those who saw the Holocaust with their own eyes. The magnitude of the crime perpetrated in this place is terrifying, but we must not look away from it and we must never forget it.”

For some of the Survivors it was their first trip back since that day 75 years ago when they were finally free from their terror. However, for most it will be their last. But to all the Survivors who returned the memories of what occurred inside the infamous gate bearing the words “Arbeit Macht Frei” (translation: work sets you free) are no less haunting today. Survivors continue to have nightmares as their memories are still fresh. However, Survivors feel the need to share these painful memories with future generations so the world will never forget, especially today when we witness the ominous growth of anti-Semitic attacks and hatred around the world.

The author with Survivor Angela (Angi) Orosz Richt. Angi was born in Auschwitz on December 21 one month prior to the camp’s liberation.

No Graves to Visit

Some of the Survivors returned to Auschwitz to memorialize their family members murdered there. These Survivors whose family members went up in flames in the gas chambers and crematorium do not have a grave to visit.  To them, Auschwitz is a cemetery. Survivor Tova Friedman said “My going back is my telling them, I remember you.”

Survivor Ben Lesser explained: “People would love to forget the hard truths and that’s why we need to keep coming back here to refresh our memories and keep the world from acquiring amnesia. Unfortunately, we can’t live forever. What happens after we are gone, I don’t know.”

  93-year-old Survivor Marian Turski declared “Auschwitz did not fall from the skies.” He urged the next generation to be vigilant.  “Do not be indifferent when you hear lies, historical lies. Do not be indifferent when you see the past is stretched to fit the current political needs. Do not be indifferent when any minority is discriminated against.”

Survivor Marian Turski

The 11th Commandment

He explained that the 11th commandment should be “Thou shall not be indifferent.”  He warned that if you “don’t heed the 11th commandment you cannot be surprised when you see (another) Auschwitz fall from the sky.” He explained that if people are indifferent when incremental steps of discrimination are implemented, then another Holocaust could happen. Turksi reminded the room that what allowed the Holocaust to happen was not just the evil of the Nazi’s but also the indifference of the world.

Lauder emphasized “We will never eradicate Anti-Semitism. It’s a deadly virus that has been with us for over 2,000 years. But we cannot look the other way and pretend it isn’t happening. That’s what people did throughout the 1930’s and that is what led to Auschwitz.”

The Nazis tried to dehumanize and obliterate all Jews of Europe. But the 75th Commemoration attended by over 200 survivors proved that Nazi’s did not win. These Survivors signify that the Jewish people won. They survived and were resilient. “There is one more part of the Auschwitz story that no one ever talks about.  When the Survivors were liberated from this Nazi nightmare, they never sought revenge.  They lost their mothers and fathers. Sisters and brothers… After everything that happened to them, these Jewish Survivors just walked out of these gates and went on to build new lives, raise new families, work hard and create,” said Lauder.

After the long day of memorializing in Auschwitz, we arrived back at the hotel for a late dinner. By 11 p.m., Auschwitz Survivor David Wisnia asked for a microphone and explained that he wrote a song while in Auschwitz–a parody about life in the death camp. On January 27, 2020, 75 years after the liberation, David Wisnia, a man full of life, sang this song proudly from his wheelchair to a room full of witnesses who will NEVER FORGET.

All the Survivors agree that they do not want their past to be their grandchildren’s future. The Survivors on this journey did not talk about anger or revenge, but rather their love for their new life and family.   I felt embraced by love on the trip by Survivors who ironically were treated with the worst type of hate, and whose lives were torn apart by hate. Through conversations with the Survivors on my journey and with my grandparents throughout my life, I have learned that the Holocaust is not just a story of hate. It is also a story of resilience, humanity, love and kindness. People who are taught to put others before themselves; people who are taught to love, those people do not hate–rather, they choose life.

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Honors Chappaqua’s Stacey Saiontz

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Jared Saiontz, Jack Feldman, Stacey Saiontz, Marc Saiontz and Elliott Saiontz

Some 500 persons attended a New York Tribute Dinner on October 28th during which Chappaqua’s Stacey Saiontz was one of two recipients of National Leadership Awards by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Saiontz is a founding member of the Museum’s Next Generation board and was recently appointed to its Education Committee. She shares her passion with her children who were featured in the HBO documentary The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm.

Saiontz with fellow honoree Gary Jacob

“The first words that spring to mind about Stacey are high energy and committed,” said Howard D. Unger, of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, in introducing Saiontz. “Whether it is fiercely advocating for food allergy legislation or relentlessly advancing Holocaust related causes,” he added, “when Stacey is in, she is all in.” The dinner raised over $3.2 million. Saiontz called the Museum “a beacon on the global stage; it reminds us all of what we are capable of, the good and the bad, and offers a universal message of tolerance and importance of taking action. The Holocaust is not just a story of hate; it’s also a story of resilience, humanity, love and kindness,” she said.

Gary Jacob, a second honoree who has served as a regional co-chair of the event,  is vice president of Glenwood Management and vice chairman of the Settlement Housing Fund. Powerful presentations at the benefit included harrowing testimony from Auschwitz-Birkenau survivor Irene Weiss.

Weiss described her family’s losses and how she was “forced to live and work next to the crematorium” and “forced out on a death march with 1000s of other prisoners.” “How does one put into words the magnitude of such a loss?” she asked.

Sara J. Bloomfield, Museum Director, said that while the world will always change, “human nature never will, and that we alone are responsible for the solutions.” She described the need “to unlock these powerful lessons of Holocaust history…so that wishful thinking might be constantly be met with determined resistance, so that today’s bystander will not become tomorrow’s victim… That’s the museum’s bold and urgent aspiration.” For more info, visit ushmm.org.

Toward Remembering and Reflecting: The New Castle Holocaust Memorial

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Photos in this feature by Samantha Milewicz for the Inside Press

How Two Chappaqua Residents Committed to Holocaust Remembrance & Education Made It Happen

“When you listen to a witness, you become a witness.” –Elie Wiesel, founder of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

In 2012, Alexandra Rosenberg (Ali) was lucky enough to spend a night listening to Elie Wiesel speak at Barnard College, Columbia University. She remembered him saying two things that forever stuck with her. The first was, “As long as survivors are here, listen to them…”. And the second was, “Indifference is never an option.” She spent the next six years hearing survivors speak as often as she could and felt if survivors had the courage to share their stories it was her duty to be their audience.

Ali began to focus her efforts on making an impact on the community and the schools. She wanted to find a way to increase Holocaust education for the next generation so that they could feel empowered to prevent this from ever happening again.

All of this led to the creation of a committee for the town and an organization for the students: the town renews its awareness and the students can learn. Together, the New Castle Holocaust & Human Rights Committee and the Horace Greeley High School student organization E.N.O.U.G.H.–Educate Now On Understanding Genocide and Hate will provide annual Holocaust and Human Rights programming to our community and our children.

In addition, Ali recommended the creation of a New Castle Holocaust Memorial which would stand in a visible area of our town where residents of all ages can reflect, remember and learn about the important lessons of the Holocaust.

Gaining a Town’s Support

Rosenberg approached Town Supervisor Robert Greenstein in April who threw his support behind her ideas. Aware of her friend Stacey Saiontz’s commitment to Holocaust education and remembrance, Ali approached Stacey to help her realize her vision for the community. Saiontz holds leadership roles at the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the Museum of Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center. In October, Saiontz was honored with a National Leadership Award by the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, www.ushmm.org, where she is a founding member of the Museum’s “Next Generation” board.

Photo courtesy of Alexandra Rosenberg

After introducing their combined experience and ideas, Rosenberg and Saiontz met with the Town Board and the Recreation and Parks Commission, and the idea for the New Castle Holocaust Memorial was approved.

Greenstein said, “This is one of the most meaningful projects that I’ve worked on over the last six years. It’s crucial that we remember the lessons of history and provide future generations with the tools to combat hate and bigotry.” Subsequently, Greenstein and the Town Board established the New Castle Holocaust & Human Rights Committee appointing Rosenberg and Saiontz as Co-Chairs and calling for applicants to apply for the eight Committee member positions and two student liaison positions for E.N.O.U.G.H..

The Daffodil Project

At Community Day on September 14th the students set up a table and introduced the club to the community. The students explained that the mission of E.N.O.U.G.H. is to empower students to stand up to hate and to develop a community of tolerance through education and the understanding of people’s differences.

The students also sold daffodil bulbs which were planted at the Memorial in October. The sale of the daffodil bulbs was part of a larger initiative–The Worldwide Daffodil Project (daffodilproject.net). The Worldwide Daffodil project’s purpose is to commemorate the lives of the children lost during the Holocaust. The goal is to plant 1.5 million daffodils across the world–one daffodil for every child killed during the Holocaust.

A few weeks before the dedication and opening ceremony, E.N.O.U.G.H student members coordinated a Community Planting Event. Students and residents, together with Saiontz and Rosenberg, planted 750 daffodil bulbs which will blossom in the spring when the community holds an annual event commemorating Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The Dedication and Opening Ceremony

Rosenberg explained that, “The Dedication and Opening Ceremony was purposely planned to coincide with Kristallnacht, “The Night of Broken Glass”, which symbolized the final shattering of the Jewish existence in Europe. And so, on November 6 , in cool temps on the lit green field outside our pretty Gazebo, a full array of dignitaries gathered, each to speak out against antisemitism and hate. They included President Bill Clinton, State Assemblyman David Buchwald, State Senator Peter Harckham, County Executive George Latimer and Town Supervisor Elect Ivy Pool. Former Westchester Legislature chairman Mike Kaplowitz, New Castle town board members Lisa Katz and newly elected board members Jeremy Saland and Jason Lichtenthal also attended.

Greenstein, Rosenberg and Saointz each spoke. I was graciously invited to speak as well on behalf of my father, Jacob Breitstein, who was a Survivor of Auschwitz-Birkenau. As part of the ceremony a bench was dedicated in my Father’s loving memory. Rosenberg and Saiontz said: “It was a way to honor your father who so many have come to know through your affectionate writing about ‘Poppy’ and for all you do for New Castle and Holocaust awareness.”

Holocaust survivor Peter Somogyi offered the keynote address which conveyed the pain and horror he endured as a victim of Dr. Mengele’s cruel experiments. A candle lighting ceremony was led by survivors and also by students of E.N.O.U.G.H.

At the ceremony the Co-Presidents of E.N.O.U.G.H., Sam Rosenberg and Charlie Gordon, unveiled the memorial plaque. The inscription on the plaque says, “In memory of the six million Jews and millions of other victims who were persecuted and murdered simply because of who they were and what they believed. In honor of those who survived the Holocaust, and those who risked and gave their lives to save them. NEVER AGAIN.”

Matty Wasserman, a Junior at Horace Greeley High School and the winner of the Horace Greeley High School Quote Submission Contest, read the original quote that he wrote, now listed below the words NEVER AGAIN on the Memorial plaque. Wasserman’s quote reads: “Although no one can change the hate that occurred, to not acknowledge it and understand it would be forcing it upon our future.”

As part of the ceremony Rabbis, Cantors and Reverend from local synagogues and churches joined together in prayer and song. The materials for the memorial and bench as well as the landscaping were generously donated by Manzer’s Landscape Design & Development based in Peekskill. The memorial plaque was funded by an anonymous Chappaqua family.

“Our Residents are our Town’s Best Assets”

Right here in our town, these two extraordinary women, each with their own respective and immensely impressive histories of philanthropy, advocacy and Holocaust education, have ‘listened’ to and embodied the very spirit of the witnesses of whom Wiesel speaks. Together these women partnered with a mutual mission to honor survivors, and to ultimately fight antisemitism and all hate by keeping the lessons of the Holocaust alive for present and future generations.

In 2017, HBO created an 18-minute documentary, featuring a conversation between Saiontz’s grandfather and sons, specifically to educate students. Saiontz commented that the creation of the Memorial, the Committee and E.N.O.U.G.H. will now serve as a platform to educate the community and future generations about the lessons of the Holocaust and the importance of taking action. “The Holocaust did not start with the gas chambers and killing. It started with indifference to hate. We need to teach people to stand up to hate wherever it may fester.”

All of Rosenberg’s and Saiontz’s initiatives have been aimed at combatting the significant rise in hate that is permeating our world. Rosenberg said, ”The Holocaust is not only a Jewish story it is a HUMAN story and one that began with HATE. Over these last several years hate has crept back into our world’s, our children’s world’s and specifically our children’s schools. Hate crimes in schools have increased by 25% for the 2nd year in a row. Collectively, it is time that we all say E.N.O.U.G.H. of the reactionary response to hate. It is time to be proactive.”