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When an Air Mattress Just Won’t Do: Local Lodging Options

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Is your bed overcrowded? Get the kids and dog out of your bedroom,
Is your bed overcrowded? Get the kids and dog out of your bedroom,

By Liz Susman Karp 

While there’s no place like home, as the saying goes, there’s sometimes simply no space there to spare for every dear family member or friend who comes to visit or celebrate a holiday or special occasion. Fortunately, there is a wealth of lodging available locally where guests can stay without compromising family relationships, a friendship or the festive spirit.

“If I needed convenience,” said longtime Armonk resident Anita Greenwald, “and if the person did not drive, did not have a car and needed to be close, I would put them at La Quinta. It’s basic, it’s bare bones, but it’s very convenient so I would absolutely call there.” Additionally, she adds, “When we had my daughter’s bat mitzvah years ago, we had people who stayed at the Holiday Inn in Mount Kisco.”

Pleasantville empty nester Margaret Atkinson also uses those local spots for visiting relatives. When Atkinson and her husband downsized nine years ago, they wanted to continue to host big holiday celebrations in their home. “We lived in Chappaqua and when both of our kids were gone and finished with college, we downsized to a townhouse at Pleasantville Country Club. While it’s large, we have a large family,” she laughed. “And if we’re all here, there’s about 26, 27 of us; then we can’t accommodate everybody in our house.”

Reflecting further on holiday logistics, Atkinson suggested that transportation is also a consideration and appreciates her guests’ thoughtfulness, “When my family comes from out of town, they either drive or fly in and rent a car.” This means she does not need “to give one of our cars to someone to use or shuttle people back and forth” which is, she continued, “probably the most difficult part of having people at a hotel…“getting them back and forth without your having to leave on Thanksgiving morning to go pick people up…that sort of thing.”

If there is a need for a handicap accessible room, Atkinson suggests making sure the room is not oversold as happened to a cousin. “Overall,” she commented, “I would say that the experience we have had at the hotels locally has been a good one. But you’ve got to plan well in advance.”

On the flip side, when transportation is not an issue, the options increase substantially. “Of course, Armonk is so close to White Plains,” Greenwald pointed out, “so if someone had a car and did not mind a 15-minute drive…you have so many hotels in White Plains.”

Indeed, there are a number of well-known hotel chains at various price points in White Plains including the upscale Ritz-Carlton as well as the Crowne Plaza White Plains-Downtown, Cambria Suites, Hyatt House and Residence Inn by Marriott. Further west in Elmsford are the Sheraton, Hampton Inn and Westchester Marriott. A bit more old world-elegant in neighboring Tarrytown is the Castle Hotel & Spa, an 1897 medieval structure that has been transformed into a luxury hotel and spa with 31 guest rooms and suites and an award-winning restaurant as well.

An alternative to hotel chains is the Edith Macy Conference Center in Briarcliff Manor, a rustic haven for guests and an easy drive to Armonk. Situated on 405 wooded acres, the center, which is owned by the Girl Scouts of America, offers 52 comfortable guest rooms of varying sizes. For those thinking ahead like the Atkinsons, note that for the past two years the center has closed the last week of December and first days of January. Trivia fact: the County’s first hotel, Briarcliff Lodge, opened in 1902, near the Center.

Local bed & breakfasts are a charming option. Crabtree’s Kittle House in Chappaqua, also an acclaimed restaurant and event space, offers 14 gracious rooms all with en suite bathrooms and modern amenities. Actor and Bedford resident Richard Gere and friends restored the Bedford Post Inn in 2007. The property, a member of Relais & Chateau, a luxury lodging group, now boasts eight beautifully appointed guest rooms as well as two popular restaurants and a yoga studio.

Online platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) provide a non-traditional route fast becoming mainstream for all kinds of lodging needs. Elizabeth Schub Kamir rents out her quaint two-bedroom home in Chappaqua for half the year through Airbnb while teaching screenwriting in France and has found it to be very rewarding.

“Amazingly, there is a constant demand for my house,” reports Schub Kamir. “Who knew that so many people had so many reasons for wanting to stay in Chappaqua short term? I would say I have equal demand from Airbnb and local people who either know me or have been referred to me on Chappaqua Moms–most of whom are looking to escape renovation hell.”

“Most people are looking for a temporary place to stay while they renovate their homes, others come for work or to visit family in the area,” continued Schub Kamir. “I had another family last year whose daughter was at boarding school in Westchester; they wanted to be closer to her for a while. I have also had several guests from the city who want to test the water in Chappaqua. These are generally young families who want to experience life in the area before making the commitment to buy a home here.”

Schub Kamir’s long-term rentals have fostered enriching connections. “For me renting my home on Airbnb at times becomes a very personal experience,” she said. Currently hosting a family from Brazil for three months, she was able to help them register their daughter for high school and even put the student in touch with potential classmates.

“I knew what it was like to have a child start school in a new country and it was so gratifying to be able to ease the transition to for someone else…For me being a good Airbnb host is more than just providing a clean, pleasant home. It’s an opportunity to make a difference for people in unique situations.”

Using Airbnb or VRBO is vastly different than booking an established hotel directly or through a travel agent, which confirms an assured experience. It’s prudent for users to carefully follow all proper protocols as with any online transaction.

As nice as it is to gather family and friends to hearth and home for the holidays, it’s not always possible for everyone to stay in situ. Hosts don’t always have the extra room while guests often appreciate being able to return to a hotel for some quiet relaxation or breathing space after a long day of visiting. Regardless of where one stays, the goal is enhanced time together; we lucky residents can take advantage of ample options for lodging, as varied as the reasons for needing them, in and around Armonk.

Liz Susman Karp is a freelance writer and public relations practitioner.  She, her husband and two teenage sons live in Briarcliff Manor near the site of Briarcliff Lodge where they used to explore the ruins when the boys were young.   

LOCAL LODGING WEBSITES

La Quinta Inn & Suites,
laquintaarmonk.com

Holiday Inn Mount Kisco, ihg.com

Renaissance Westchester,
marriott.com

Doral Arrowwood in Rye Brook, doralarrowwood.com

The Hyatt Regency,
greenwich.hyatt.com

Homestead Inn, homesteadinn.com

Ritz-Carlton, ritzcarlton.com

Crowne Plaza White Plains-Downtown, ihg.com

Cambria Suites,
cambriasuiteswhiteplains.com

Hyatt House,
whiteplains.house.hyatt.com

Residence Inn by Marriott, marriott.com

Sheraton, sheratontarrytown.com

Hampton Inn,
hamptoninn.hilton.com

Westchester Marriott, marriott.com

Castle Hotel & Spa, castlehotelandspa.com

Edith Macy Conference Center, edithmacy.com

Crabtree’s Kittle House,
kittlehouse.com

Bedford Post Inn,

bedfordpostinn.com

Airbnb.com

VRBO.com

Vital Expansion Planned at Sunshine Children’s Home & Rehab Center

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* Expansion Necessary to Accommodate Burgeoning Waitlist
* NY State Issues Certificate of Need to Accommodate Growing Demand for Care

Ossining, NY–The Sunshine Children’s Home & Rehab Center, which specializes in the care and treatment of medically complex children (all who require long-term residential care and many whose lives are terminal) is planning to expand its home at 15 Spring Valley Road. This expansion will enable Sunshine to improve the quality of life for the current number of children who live there, as well as to reduce the number of waitlisted children who are in dire need of the kind of care that this 55-year old facility provides.sunshine 1

Sunshine’s expansion plans and facility discussions began four years ago with the goal of enhancing support of the care, health, and positive psychological growth of the children who live there. Plans to do this include the increase of its square footage from 19,000 to 146,000 to create long-needed space for additional beds, essential specialty medical equipment and circulation areas, improved classroom space for the onsite school, rooms for visiting families, etc. sunshine 2

“These 33 acres and the Sunshine Children’s Home have become a lifeline for our families over the past 55 years. We are known as a ‘second home’ for the families of the children who need to live here and the only home that these children have ever known,” said Linda Mosiello, who has served as director of the Sunshine Children’s Home since 2009. “We are so very grateful to have been granted this Certificate of Need from NY State, which shows that the planned expansion size is more than appropriate for the size of our site and its surrounding acreage, and moreover, comports with the bulk and dimensional requirements of the Zoning Code.”

She continued, “We desperately need this space in order to improve the quality of care and living for our children and to make room for the overwhelming number of children who need to be here. Our goal is to soon be able to care for them with better medical facilities and to provide a true school experience for them, as our current space for school is housed in a makeshift addition.”sunshine 3

Mosiello offered details regarding Sunshine’s long-planned, careful process including research, studies and approvals to date:

● In 2014, the Sunshine Children’s Home was granted a Certificate of Need by the New York State Department of Health. The Home is currently operating at 100% capacity, and has a waitlist of over 70 sick children, all of whom will need the resources that Sunshine provides for the duration of their lifespan, which is limited for 50 percent of the children in care. The planned expansion will allow the facility to increase from 54 to 122 pediatric nursing facility beds in order to make somewhat of a dent in the waitlist.
*Note: Including Sunshine, there are currently only nine nursing facilities in New York State with dedicated pediatric nursing units, two of which intend to cease pediatric operations in the near future. Only three of these facilities are able to fully address special-needs pediatric care. The need to expand the Sunshine Children’s Home has never been higher.

● The application for the expansion project was first filed in December, 2014, following several months of pre-application meetings with the town, and was revised after three months of meetings with the town. This review process began after a year-long approval process from the New York State Department of Health.

● The application’s traffic study, conducted by a professional traffic engineer with over 25 years of experience in traffic engineering, shows that the proposed project will not result in any significant adverse impacts on traffic. No existing levels of service in the town or surrounding areas will change as a result of the project. The traffic study for this project was reviewed by the town’s traffic consultant, who has extensive expertise in traffic engineering and whose firm has more than 60 years of history in Westchester County. The town’s traffic engineer concurred with the results of the study.

● Environmental reports detailing the project’s impacts on wetlands, tree removal, steep slopes, rock removal and water usage were prepared by Sunshine and agreed upon by the town. Field tests indicate that there is adequate water supply to service the proposed addition without impacting water supply at neighboring properties. In fact, the reports identify the impacts of the project and demonstrate that they will not at all be significant including water usage and sewage disposal.

● The Sunshine Children’s Home has worked with both the Department of Health and the Westchester Office of Emergency Management on the formulation of their Indian Point Evacuation Plan. It is a well thought out, state-approved response that does not draw upon town or local resources. A preliminary update of this plan to reflect a new projected census has been drafted and will follow the same approval process as the previous plan, which includes working with nearby hospitals and nursing homes to jointly handle evacuations, and covers both the shelter and the transportation of residents. It also includes a “Shelter in Place” response which details specific contingencies for incidents at Indian Point. Sunshine is required to conduct mock evacuations and Shelter in Place drills at least twice a year.

The mission of the Sunshine Children’s Home and Rehab Center is to create a loving and supportive environment that provides the highest level of quality pediatric care for children who need it. The Home takes in children from birth to 18 years of age who require post-acute medical care and/or rehabilitative therapy, combined with psychological and developmental interventions. About 46 percent of the children in residence require palliative care, while an equal percentage of others improve enough with care to be discharged to a group or community facility, or ideally, at home with their families. For more information, visit www.sunshinechildrenshome.org.

Prestigious ISO Certification to Neave Group

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Neave Snow ManagementNeave Group Outdoor Solutions’ commitment to quality has now been recognized by the experts at Smithers Quality Assessments as deserving of ISO certification. Specifically, the SN-9001:2012 certification is a version of the quality management standard developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that establishes an effective quality management program for snow and ice management companies. In 1973, Bill Neave founded the landscaping company which now serves 12 counties across the Hudson Valley area and Western Connecticut. In addition to commercial snow and ice management, the business spans landscape design and construction, landscape lighting and irrigation, pool design construction and maintenance, property maintenance, lawn and plant health care, and holiday decorating–all delivered by highly trained, dedicated, and experienced professionals.

Visit: neavepools.com

Ready or Not – School is Right Around The Corner

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By Jodi Baretz

Summer is the time we all look forward to–it’s the weather, of course, but it’s also the relaxed vibe and laziness of it all. As summer begins to wind down and the back-to-school craziness begins, one may well wonder how to hold onto some of that tranquility and calm; how to relish the days and not become frazzled and frantic with lives, schedules and children. The weather will inevitably change, and so too our children’s schedules, but that doesn’t have to mean the end of nirvana.

No matter how old one’s child is, chances are their schedules will be chaotic and hectic. This is the nature of childhood these days, and the culture we live in. We tend to fear that if we don’t put our child in every sport, art class or lesson, they will get left behind. If we don’t give them every possible opportunity to excel, they will be stuck in mediocrity for the rest of their lives.Take a step back and ask yourself if they really need to be in so many structured activities. When we over-schedule our children, we take away that crucial unstructured time where they learn to play. We also worry that unscheduled free time will just lead to more screen time, or, perhaps, that we will have to fill it ourselves. I suggest you do allow some down time; it may just let you be with your children–without screaming to get out the door when they’re exhausted, not to mention save you an extra carpool. It will also take some pressure off your children and send a message that it’s ok to recharge, relax and just be a kid. Maybe if we experiment with this concept, and slow down, we will be calmer and better able to enjoy the fleeting time we do have with our kids. Remembering to love and accept every child for themselves, not what they achieve, is crucial to their state of mind and ours.

Back to schoolHelping your child adjust to the stress of a new school year can feel overwhelming. I can recall the butterflies in my stomach the first day of school every year. Beginnings always produce some sort of anxiety, just like endings can produce sadness. The important thing to remember is that this is normal, and not to trivialize or ignore their feelings, or your own. You might tell them that everyone experiences feelings of nervousness, but the feelings are sure to go away as a routine settles in and that you expect they will soon feel just fine. Telling them that you went through the same thing as a child can also ease their anxiety. We don’t want to push the anxiety away, but shifting it from their head (our minds can make up doomsday scenarios) to feeling it in their body can sometimes diffuse it as well. You do this by asking them what part of their body they feel it in. Can they breathe into it, and simply allow it to be there?

To ease your kids into the back to school structure, you may want to have them start going to bed a little earlier every night, so they are not completely wiped out when the early mornings arrive. Kids may also feel like their screen and play time will be over, so it’s important not to take that away completely in exchange for a rigid schedule. Personally, I am planning to make some screen time rules during homework time. What I’m suggesting is that new rules be implemented, and that they are reasonable, not punitive.

As summer slowly fades away, and a new school year begins, we have a choice. We can approach it with sadness, stress and anxiety, or we can chose to view it as a new beginning, a new challenge with new joys. We cannot change or hold on to the summer months, but we can approach this transition with a sense of wonder, curiosity and gratitude for what it will bring. If things get too stressful and you see the anxiety start to build, remember to STOP–Stop, Take A Breath–open and Observe what you’re feeling, and then Proceed! You might even consider sharing that one with your kids!

Jodi Baretz is a psychotherapist and mindfulness coach, with a private practice at The Center for Health and Healing in Mt. Kisco. In addition to her private clients, she leads a variety of small group mindfulness trainings from busy moms to corporations, teaches mindfulness for Chappaqua Continuing Education, and a “Mindfulness Bootcamp,” four-week program. She lives with her husband and two teenage boys in Millwood. You can reach her at jodibaretz@gmail.com or visit jodibaretz.com.

Dr. William Donohue, Superintendent, Byram Hills Central School District

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Pinksy D'Angelo Studio Photo
Pinksy D’Angelo Studio Photo

By Eileen Gallagher

Admired, respected and well-liked by all, Dr. William Donohue is a name familiar to most, if not all, families in the Byram Hills School District. With the start of the new school year quickly approaching, Inside Armonk caught up with this Big Man on Campus to bring him up close and personal.

What you might be surprised to learn about Dr. Donohue…

He has travelled to 36 countries at last count. Taking advantage of some time off during summer and winter breaks, Donohue visits locations across the globe including exotic destinations such as Cambodia, India, or the Mediterranean. Much of the excitement of his travels comes from sketching out his plans ahead of time. Donohue loves to visit places “with historical or cultural interest.” He is fascinated with everything historic and romantic about ancient culture, and has a collection both at home and in his office of antiquities from Asia and Africa. “I like to understand and learn, where has this been? Who made this?”

What does he love about his job?

Donohue admires institutions.

Describing one of his passions, Donohue phrased it as “trying to build a quality institution that offers something lasting and valuable for the community.”

“Institutions offer so much,” he continued. “You meet a variety of people, and have the chance to learn about those beyond the family.”

Donohue feels that our academic institutions make us civilized. “There is a sense of tradition, of belonging to a community.”

Donohue also enjoys “getting to influence the influencers.” He continued, “I reach many more kids than if I was in the classroom.” He does, however, miss the dynamic conversations with kids that would take place throughout the day in his capacity as a teacher.

How did he become involved in the field of education?

Originally from the D.C. area, he felt as though he “coasted” through his high school years–school was just not something that he put a lot of energy into. It wasn’t until his undergraduate years at the University of Maryland that his interest in studies was awakened. Inspired by his coursework and some of his professors, Donohue pursued a degree in English. He didn’t stop there, however. Continuing his education, he earned a master’s degree in counseling from The George Washington University, and then a master’s in administration from Harvard. Ultimately, he attended Columbia University in New York and received a doctorate in administration.

Donohue, who lives on the Upper West Side, had been an English teacher, guidance counselor, assistant principal, and the director of guidance before serving as the Byram Hills High School principal for 11 years beginning in 1997. “It was a great time–the district was growing, there was a need for programming, and change…”

What would he like parents to know?

Donohue advises parents to make a connection with their child’s principal. The principal is the most important person to contact if there is an issue for a child. Having established a relationship with the principal beforehand, parents will feel more comfortable meeting again should challenging circumstances arise.

What is so special about the Byram Hills School District?

“The community and schools are so closely tied. Everyone from the superintendent to the teachers feels accountable to the community.” Donohue spoke of how everyone has worked to build a coherent system from top to bottom, as a team.

Armonk also has a very active “succession planning initiative.” According to Donohue, about half of the administrators in the district have come from within. As such, some administrators have given up tenure up to three times as they moved into higher positions, including the superintendent.

There is a culture of high expectations in Armonk. As such, the Board of Education has set in place a Five Year Renewable Tenure plan, ensuring that teachers maintain the high standards that are so valued in the district.

What does education look like going forward?

Technology is about to bloom in education, similarly to industry in the 80’s. There is a shift from teachers as information providers to helping students manage information and solve problems with it. Physical classrooms are becoming more dynamic, with students having access to information at any time and from other sources.

What would Donohue change about education if he could?

The current reform obsession. “It is a one size fits all method, with sizes often being determined by someone who hasn’t been inside a classroom since their own school days. This is careless, dangerous, and arrogant.”

Growth and change are part and parcel of a highly sought-after school district such as Byram Hills. With Donohue at the helm, the Byram Hills School District is in excellent hands.

Eileen Gallagher is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Inside Chappaqua and now Inside Armonk. The mother of a college junior and high school senior, and former teacher and PTA chairperson, she has a great deal of respect and admiration for those in the field of education.