LEGAL NOTICES 42 LEISURE 36 OPINION 12 SPORTS 28 TOWN GREEN 2 Hornets face Huskers for flag football title pg 30 BANNER DAY! VOL. 12 NO. 50 Visit News.HalstonMedia.com for the latest news. MAY 9 - MAY 22, 2024 EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR Lakeland School District voters will head to the polls at Van Cortlandtville Elementary School on Tuesday, May 21, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., to vote for three of four school board candidates and the school budget. Incumbents Becky Burfeind, Michael Daly, and Anna Massaro are on the ballot, along with Tracy Sadler Hormazabal, who is seeking her first term. Here is a close-up look at the candidates, presented in the order in which they appear on the ballot. Tracy Sadler Hormazabal Tell us about your background. I grew up in the Bronx and have lived in Yorktown for 17 years. I received a bachelor’s degree from Binghamton University and earned a master’s degree in deaf education from Teachers College, Columbia University. I’m the parent of two children – a Lakeland graduate finishing her sophomore year in college and a high school junior. I am a true teacher at heart. I consider myself a forever learner – not only teaching students but learning from them so I can help them be the best version of themselves. You’re running against three incumbents. What made you decide to run for school board? What can you bring to the board that’s different from those already there? As a working parent, I didn’t always have the time to be involved as fully as I wanted. Now that my kids are older, I’m more engaged and have attended board meetings. I quickly realized it’s not always clear what is being discussed. It made me want to help educate the public about the board’s role in the school community. I would encourage greater board transparency to keep the public informed about what is being voted on and where each trustee stands on the issues. I’d also put my expertise as an educator to work, especially when it comes to bringing resources to students and teachers. Do you support the administration’s current approach to evaluating challenged books? I feel the administration’s current approach to evaluating challenged books (board policy #1311R) is fair. If a book came before the board, I would put my personal views aside and evaluate it objectively on its educational value. What should diversity/ inclusion efforts look like in Lakeland? Where have such efforts succeeded or fallen short so far? I’ve seen a number of positives such as the increased focus on special education students, which is so important and close Four vie for three Lakeland School Board seats Incumbents Burfeind, Daly, and Massaro take on Sadler Hormazabal Tracy Sadler Hormazabal Becky Burfeind Michael Daly Anna Massaro SEE LAKELAND PAGE 9 “Nina” Niurka Rodriguez 366 Underhill Avenue Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Home inventory continues at historically low levels while buyer demand remains high driving up home prices. Wondering how much your property could sell for? I can provide you with a pricing evaluation of your home in today’s market as well as in-depth information on the real estate activity in your neighborhood. Contact Me Today at 646.644.0099! 2019 352 $501,353 2020 322 $550,313 2021 342 $604,617 2022 320 $656,071 2023 255 $718,606 Town of Yorktown Number Of Homes Sold Average Sales Price Owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC. Real Estate Salesperson | 646.644.0099 (m) [email protected] | www.thehvlife.com *Per OneKey MLS data Sold Single Family Homes
PAGE 2 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 Periodicals Postage Paid at Somers, NY and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Yorktown News at 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 (ISSN 2329-8693) Published Weekly by Halston Media, LLC at 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2024 Halston Media, LLC The Staff EDITORIAL TEAM Emile Menasché Editor: 845-208-0774 [email protected] ADVERTISING TEAM Paul Forhan (914) 806-3951 [email protected] Bruce Heller (914) 486-7608 [email protected] Lisa Kain (201) 317-1139 [email protected] Corinne Stanton (914) 760-7009 [email protected] Jay Gussak (914) 299-4541 [email protected] Pam Zacotinsky 845-661-0748 [email protected] PRODUCTION TEAM Tabitha Pearson Marshall Creative Director/Photographer [email protected] DESIGNERS Noah Elder Bri Agosta Haven Elder Jacob Elder EXECUTIVE TEAM Brett Freeman CEO & Publisher 845-208-8151 [email protected] Deadlines Yorktown News The deadline for advertisements and editorial submissions for Yorktown News is the Thursday before the next publication date. For more information, call Emile Menasché at 845-208-0774 or email [email protected]. Subscribe To request Yorktown News weekly delivery, call 845-208-8503 or email [email protected]. Subscriptions are complimentary for residents and businesses in the town. Out of town mail subscriptions are $150 per year for First Class Mail. LAKELAND BOARD OF EDUCATION TRUSTEE CANDIDATES Resident of Yorktown Heights for 27 years along with his wife of 32 years. RE-ELECT MIKE DALY Parent of three Lakeland High School alumnae. 40 years in the finance industry, a Senior Vice President in an International Financial firm providing financial advice and investment management to successful individuals, families, and companies. A highly motivated, successful financial executive who believes passionately in donating his talents back to the community to enhance education and protect the stakeholders of Lakeland. • • • VOTE ROW 2 RE-ELECT ANNA MASSARO Resident of Yorktown Heights Proud resident with two children in the Lakeland School District. 3rd year on the Lakeland Central School Board serving on the Wellness, District Youth Council and Special Education committees. Over 22 years of experience as an educator working with students with disabilities with a doctorate in teacher leadership. Helped to revive the Little Red School House Historic field trip for our fourth graders. I am running for another term because I am invested in the decisions we make not only for my own children but for all the children within our district. VOTE ROW 3 RE-ELECT BECKY BURFEIND RESIDENT OF CORTLANDT FOR 21 YEARS, ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND OF 27 YEARS Currently serving in her fifth year on the Board of Education. Approved a 0% tax levy increase during the difficult years of Covid Hired Lakeland’s first woman Superintendent Approved the hiring of a District Safety Coordinator to be in district every day, along with upgrading technology and protocols to ensure the safety and security of our students Increased funding for all our school’s theater programs Collaboratively writing new policy for social media use LCSD is moving forward with strong leadership, the stability of an experienced school board is integral to continue progress. • • • • • • VOTE ROW 4 • Paid For By Mike Daly, Anna Massaro & Becky Burfeind • • • • • Re-Elect H H H H H H H H H H H Dine and Donate for Relay for Life On Sunday, May 19, head to Savannah & Company (3901 Crompond Rd, Cortlandt) between 4-8 p.m. for a dine and donate where fifteen percent of sales will be donated to the Relay for Life of Yorktown. Pitch Hit and Run The Yorktown Elks will host a local PHR event to provide a free and high-quality experience for youth participants. This event will be held Sunday, June 2 at 2 p.m. on Route 202 Roadside Field, 2881 Crompond Rd., Yorktown Heights. Suggested arrival times are 2 p.m. for 7-10-year-olds and 2:45 p.m. for ages 10-14. Register now at: pitchhitrun2024.leagueapps. com/events/4193109-yorktownelks-lodge-2324. Lakeland Central School District Art Show Head to the Jefferson Valley Mall for the annual Lakeland Art Show, until May 22. The show is promised to be a vibrant celebration of Lakeland students’ talent and creativity. Relay for Life The annual Relay for Life cancer awareness fundraiser comes to Jack DeVito Memorial Field (1974 Commerce St., Yorktown Heights) on Friday, June 14 from 3-10 p.m. Learn how to take part or support the event at https:// halstonmedia.org/YorktownRelay (URL is case-sensitive) or by contacting Kate Corsitto at kate. [email protected]. Town Hall with Michael Grace Lake Baldwin residents of Mahopac are holding a town hall meeting with attorney and former Yorktown supervisor Michael Grace. The clubhouse has been closed for use since runoff that enters the lake flooded its septic fields in the early 2000s. A new generation of taxpayers hopes to negotiate existing issues with local government and become a park lake district. Residents of Lake Baldwin are encouraged to attend on May 10, 730 p.m. at Yorktown Assembly of God on Mahopac Avenue. Those who wish to submit questions and extend support can connect with a growing team by emailing lakebaldwinconcerns@ gmail.com. Hilltop Farmstand Hilltop Hanover Farm’s Farmstand will be open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., every Thursday to Sunday through November. The farmstand offers a diversity of the farm’s high-quality produce (along with other items for local vendors) and accepts cash, checks, Apple Pay, major credit cards, and WIC, SNAP, FMNP, with a 50 percent discount to those paying with SNAP and FMNP benefits. Hilltop Hanover Farm is located at 1271 Hanover Street in Yorktown Heights. For questions, call (914) 862-5050 or visit hilltophanoverfarm.org. Chabad Jewish Center Shabbat services The Chabad Jewish Center of Yorktown (2629 Old Yorktown Road, Yorktown Heights) runs Shabbat services weekly on Saturday mornings. Traditional services, with contemporary messages. Community Kiddush luncheon to follow services. The Chabad Jewish Center also holds many general and holiday events and programs throughout the year. For more information, and to RSVP, visit ChabadYorktown. com, or call 914-962-1111. SEE GREEN PAGE 39
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 3 BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER Yorktown’s third annual Fam Jam raised more than $30,000 for local organizations and scholarship on April 27, packing a section of Commerce Street with food trucks, family activities, and live entertainment. Event organizers went into the event with the goal of doubling last year’s $15,000 raised in order to expand the list of where the funds go. Mission accomplished. Railroad Park was full of inflatables, carnival rides, and a pop up rock climbing wall for kids of all ages to enjoy. The day also consisted of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament with the Yorktown High School basketball team, Pioneer League, the Gameday Grille vs. the Yorktown Grille, and the Yorktown Police Department vs. Yorktown Volunteer Fire Department in the first Tom Diana Cup. The police won the cup 15-5. “I am so impressed with this incredible team, so grateful for all of the businesses that sponsored Fam Jam this year, and so excited to see the Yorktown community enjoy a great day for a greater good,” said Brian Duffy, an organizer of the event. Fam Jam rocks for a good cause Food trucks lined Commerce Street PHOTOS: SOPHIA CASELNOVA Alice climbing the rock wall at Fam Jam The police beat the firefighters in the 2024 Tom Diana Cup Officer Danny David dunks during the cops vs. firefighters game at Fam Jam Children enjoyed carnival rides at Fam Jam Madden and Friends Band kept the party going Donna Diana presenting the trophy to the officers that won the Tom Diana Cup PHOTO COURTESY OF PATRICK MURPHY
PAGE 4 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 SCAN HERE FOR MORE INFO! ENJOY 0 DOWN, 0% FINANCING! ACT NOW BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE! LIMITED TIME OFFER 845-600-8004 | www.bellmech.com Heat pumps are a cleaner and healthier alternative to traditional heating AND cooling systems. This all in one system will eliminate your need for fossil fuel and help you save thousands. Learn more about rebates & financing options! CALL US TODAY! $AVE THOU$ANDS in Federal, State and Local Incentives on your new HEATPUMP PROJECT EXCLUDES SERVICE CONTRACT • EXP 5/31/24 Coupon must be presented at time of service. Cannot be combined with any other offer. $50 OFF ANY OF OUR SERVICES Summe r Spell! Lock in THOUSANDS in Federal, State & Local incentives today! befor e Call Bell the BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER Supervisor Ed Lachterman was joined by family, friends, and local dignitaries last Friday at Town Hall for his inauguration. Not only were his local supporters there, but his daughter Keri flew in from Germany for the occasion. The event was emceed by former state Sen.Terrence Murphy. Anthony Grasso led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the invocation was given by Msgr. Joseph Giandurco of Saint Patrick’s Church. A poem was read by the town’s poet laureate, John McMullen. Sean Reilly sang the national anthem and was joined by Valerie Pilla-Peilly in singing “God Bless America.” Rabbi Yehuda Heber of the Chabad of Yorktown gave the closing prayer and Assemblyman Matt Slater gave the closing remarks. “There is so much to be grateful for today,” Lachterman said. “But, the reason for being here quite honestly sucks [referring to the passing of Supervisor Tom Diana earlier this year]. “You do the best you can.. You listen to your constituents, and everyone in Yorktown is a constituent,” he added. “You don’t differentiate people on anything, whether it’s nationality, whether it’s political persuasion, it doesn’t matter. We’re all a part of Yorktown, and that’s what this is about today. It’s such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude to look and see people who you barely know [support you].” Lachterman takes the oath of office Supervisor Ed Lachterman, joined by his daughter Keri and wife Carol, taking the oath PHOTOS: SOPHIA CASELNOVA Msgr. Joseph Giandurco of St. Patrick’s Church giving the invocation Rabbi Yehuda Heber of the Chabad of Yorktown giving the closing prayer Assemblyman Matt Slater giving closing statements Town Board Tuesday, May 14, 21, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall,363 Underhill Ave. Planning Board Monday, May 20, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Conservation Board Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Recreation Commission Thursday, June 13, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Yorktown Board of Education Monday, May 13, 7 p.m. Mildred Strang Elementary School Cafeteria 2701 Crompond Road Lakeland Board of Education Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. (business meeting) LCBMS
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 5
PAGE 6 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 Contact ANTHONY J. ENEA, ESQ. Managing Member • Fluent in Italian 914.948.1500 WHITE PLAINS • SOMERS • WWW.ESSLAWFIRM.COM • Asset Protection • Elder Law • Medicaid Applications (Nursing Home/Home Care) • Guardianships (Contested/Non-Contested) • Wills, Trusts & Estates Past Chair of Elder Law Section of NYS Bar Association “Super Lawyer” In Elder Law for 16 consecutive years CALL NEW YORK’S ELDER LAW TEAM 914.948.1500 Do you understand the difference between an irrevocable and a revocable trust? Library Porch Plant Swap Join Hart Library for its second annual community plant swap on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Do you love plants and want to expand your collection? Maybe you’re just looking for a place to start growing. Come join plant lovers of all levels for a plant swap on Hart’s porch! Bring a healthy plant or cutting to trade, and share your best gardening tips at this community meet-up. This is a drop-in program located on the library porch. No registration is required. Summer Reading Sesaon Begins Save the date: Hart Library’s Summer Reading Kickoff Party at the Library will take place on Wednesday, June 26, from 2-4 p.m. Calendar Highlights A – Adults; Y - Young Adults; C - Children. Visit the calendar page at yorktownlibrary.org for more information. Register online unless listed as a “drop-in” program. Friday, May 10 A - Trivia Night: Harry Potter. 6-7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 11 A - Art Reception: Michele Squibb. 2-4 p.m. Monday, May 13 C - 4-H Program: Three Sisters. 4:30-5:30 p.m. C - PAWS to Read with Izod. 5:30-6:30 p.m. A - Earring Making. 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 A - Chair Yoga with Lisa. 1-2 p.m. A - Container Gardening with Cornell Cooperative. 3-4 p.m. C - Tokyo Night Parade: Storytime & Craft. 4-5 p.m. Wednesday, May 15 A - American Stories Art Tour with National Gallery of Art (via Zoom). 11 a.m.-12 p.m. Y – Teen Tabletop Games (Drop-in). 3-5 p.m. C - The Hart Kids Book Club. 4-5 p.m. Thursday, May 16 A - Mostly Nonfiction Book Club. 2-3 p.m. A - Cigar Box Craft. 6-7:30 p.m. A - Up All Night Book Club. 6:30-7:45 p.m. A - Barbie: An American Icon with Rick Feingold (via Zoom). 7-8 p.m. Saturday, May 18 A - Community Plant Swap (Drop-in). 10 a.m.-12 p.m. A - Genealogy 101: A Step-byStep Guide to Researching Your Family Tree. 1-3 p.m. Monday, May 20 C - 4-H Program: Tree Journals. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 21 A - Blood Drive w/Red Cross. 12-5 p.m. C - Dumpling Dreams: Storytime & Craft. 4-5 p.m. A - Around the Kitchen Table with Kristen Eannetta: Ready Set Summe (via Zoom). 5-6 p.m. Weekly Drop-In Programs Rock ‘n Roll for Little Ones (C): Mondays 10:30-11 a.m. Mah Jongg (A): Mondays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. OR Fridays 12:30- 3:30 p.m. Medicare 1:1 Counseling (A): 2nd & 4th Tuesday 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Stories & Rhymes w/Ms.Terry (C): Wednesdays 10-10:30 a.m. Canasta (A): Wednesdays 12:30-2:30 p.m. Teen Tabletop Games (Y) – Wednesdays 3-5 p.m. (begins 5/15) Quilting & Needlework (A): Thursdays 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Game On! (C): Thursdays 4-5:30 p.m. Lego Free Build (C): Thursdays 5:30-6:30 p.m. Spring Play Group (C): Fridays 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Upcoming Meetings Friends of the Library: Tuesday, May 14 at 11:30 a.m. Anyone is welcome to sit in and learn more. Library Trustee Meeting: Wednesday, May 15 at 6 p.m. All are welcome! Hours and Contacts Library Hours: Monday - Thursday 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. / Saturday 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Phone: (914) 245-5262; Website: yorktownlibrary.org; Email: [email protected] Article courtesy of Hart Library Hart Library Corner PHOTOS COURTESY OF HART LIBRARY
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 7
PAGE 8 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 LOCATIONS: Baldwin Place • 44 Route 118 • (845) 628-7900 Croton Falls • 1 Center St • (914) 769-3206 Find out why Joe Ferone of Proper Service needs to be YOUR Go-To Automotive Service Center! YOUR FAMILY CAR CARE CENTER For over 100 years of combined auto experience, Joe Ferone and his sta of Proper Service have been serving the community, creating relationships and building a remarkable company with an amazing team JOE FERONE, owner of employees! Get This Newspaper’s App On Your Phone Always Stay Informed About News Involving YOUR Town & Schools Android Scan Here iPhone Scan Here Get Our App! Fifth grader Mackenzie Ingram and fourth grader Marco Silveira are the first-place winners of Yorktown’s Arbor Day poster contest. Officials announced the winners at Yorktown’s April 26 Arbor Day ceremony, where Girl Scout Troop 2398 led the pledge and read the “Four Corners” poem while adding soil from the four corners of Yorktown to the tree that was planted in front of Town Hall. The annual contest’s theme was Fruits & Nuts, which elicited 19 submissions from the Crompond Elementary School, Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, and St. Patrick’s School. The students’ works are currently on display in the Town Board Room through May, then the six finalists will be on display at the Town Court lobby for the month of June. Ingram is a student at Crompond Elementary School and Silveira attends Benjamin Franklin. The contest awarded first, second, and third place awards to students in the town’s fourth and fifth grades. The second-place winners are Maeve Schaefer and Elizabeth Gentilucci, fourth grade, St. Patrick’s; and Laura Walls, fifth grade, St. Patrick’s. Thirdplace winners are Sofia Oppedisano, fifth grade, Crompond, and Eloise Shriftman, fourth grade, Crompond. Article courtesy of the Town of Yorktown. 2024 Arbor Day poster contest recognizes young artists The winning entries by Silveira on the left and Ingram on the right. COURTESY OF TOWN OF YORKTOWN Town Board Tuesday, May 14, 21, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall,363 Underhill Ave. Planning Board Monday, May 20, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Conservation Board Wednesday, May 15, 7:30 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Recreation Commission Thursday, June 13, 7 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) Thursday, May 23, 6:30 p.m. Town Hall, 363 Underhill Ave. Yorktown Board of Education Monday, May 13, 7 p.m. Mildred Strang Elementary School Cafeteria 2701 Crompond Road Lakeland Board of Education Thursday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. (business meeting) LCBMS Government at Work
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 9 BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER Yorktown officials aim to slow traffic on seven town roads through a proposed amendment to the Town’s Vehicles and Traffic code. Town officials said the changes are needed to make the roads safer. Proposed changes discussed at the board’s April 30 meeting include a speed limit reduction from 30 to 20 mph for Aqueduct Road, Hitching Post, Woodfield Court, High Ridge Road, Baptist Church Road, and Wood Street Hill between Overhill and Route 118. A section of Underhill Avenue will also get a lower speed limit, going from 40 to 30 mph from the west side of Overhill Street to the northbound on and off ramps of the Taconic State Parkway. Supervisor Ed Lachterman told Yorktown News the proposed changes are designed to discourage people from speeding through residential areas. “Underhill in particular has been an ongoing concern, especially during school hours when the buses are in operation,” Lachterman said. “This will help control the speeding through the intersection until the road improvements are made as part of the Underhill Farms project. “The other roads are all small cul-de-sacs that are residential, but unfortunately people don’t respect the fact it is dangerous to speed through them causing concern for the neighborhood,” he added. Councilman Sergio Esposito said the board is considering comments made during the public hearing before finalizing the code. No date has been set for a vote. Town Board looks to lower speed limits BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER A local spa employee is facing prostitution charges after she allegedly offered sexual favors at the A+ Spa in Jefferson Valley. The woman, who hails from Flushing, was arrested and charged with prostitution, a Class B misdemeanor, and unauthorized practice of a profession, a Class E felony, following an investigation into the business, located at 3630 Hill Blvd., that began in March. The investigation, led by the Yorktown Police Detective Division and Yorktown Code Enforcement, alleges that Qingyuan Wang, 44, was unauthorized to be doing the work called for by the spa’s business license. She also allegedly offered to engage in sexual conduct in exchange for a fee. She was arrested on May 1, released on her own recognizance, and is due to appear in the Yorktown Justice Court on May 21. JV spa operator charged with prostitution LAKELAND FROM PAGE 1 SEE LAKELAND PAGE 37 to my heart. Other gains have been achieved in the continued development of the ENL program and the introduction of vocational training opportunities to help meet the varied skills and interests of our students. I’m also appreciative of the building-level activities such as multicultural day celebrations, hallway decorations, and representative books. These are all wonderful, but to me, they’re just a start. I feel there could be more substantive district-wide initiatives for students of culturally diverse backgrounds and greater consistency between the programs offered in the schools. Finally, I feel the staff should be more representative of our diverse student population. Where do you see the balance between core subjects, arts, and athletics? Our students have access to a wide variety of classes, including AP, honors, and elective courses. I’ve seen the positive impacts of our sports programs and as a reading specialist, I know how important creativity is to child development. All of these components help the district teach the whole child so they become life-long learners and productive citizens. I believe vocational training is also important and I’m glad the district is bringing these opportunities to students. There should be multiple paths for them to explore when considering life beyond high school. What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the Lakeland School District in the coming years? Students are facing struggles with peer pressure, social media, and global uncertainty and educators have increasing challenges around curriculum and teaching practices. I’m committed to supporting all constituents as they navigate this rapidly changing world. I also recognize the fiscal challenges facing the district with As Memorial Day weekend launches the onset of summer vacation and travel, families eagerly anticipate gatherings filled with flavorful barbecues and picnics. Amid the joyous celebrations, it’s paramount to prioritize safe food handling practices to keep you and your guests safe from potential foodborne illnesses such as Salmonella and E. coli. Implementing precautionary measures during food preparation and consumption helps to prevent the risk of illness, hospitalizations and even fatalities. What are some food safety guidelines to follow? Some helpful and easy tips include: wash your hands and surfaces often, keep raw meats, poultry, seafood and eggs separate from cooked and ready to eat food, cook to the right temperature (depending on the type of food a safe temperature is 145°F to 165°F), and refrigerate perishable food within two hours (one hour when temperatures are over 90°F degrees). What are the most common symptoms of food poisoning? Symptoms can range in severity as well as duration, depending on the germ ingested. The most common symptoms include: • Diarrhea • Stomach pain or cramps • Nausea • Vomiting • Fever When should I see a doctor for food poisoning? It is important to seek medical care when symptoms are severe or prolonged. According to the CDC these symptoms include: 1. Bloody diarrhea 2. Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days 3. High fever (temp. over 102°F) 4. Vomiting so often that you cannot keep liquid down 5. Signs of dehydration 6. If you are pregnant and have a fever and other flu-like symptoms, you should see your doctor immediately Essential precautions for summer food festivities Scan the QR code or visit optum.com/medicalcare Optum Medical Care, P.C. (“Optum Medical Care”) is a physician owned and led practice having complete authority for all medical decision-making and patient care through its physicians and other licensed professionals. Optum, through its owned management organizations, provides non-clinical administrative services to support Optum Medical Care and its physicians. Neither Optum nor its management companies employs, engages, or supervises physicians or other licensed professionals, or determines or sets the methods, standards, or conduct of the practice of medicine or health care provided by Optum Medical Care or by any of its licensed professionals. “Part of Optum” reflects that Optum Medical Care is part of Optum’s effort to support forward-thinking physician practices in helping their patients live healthier lives. Optum is a registered trademark of Optum, Inc. in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. All other brand or product names are the property of their respective owners. Because we are continuously improving our products and services, Optum reserves the right to change specifications without prior notice. Optum is an equal opportunity employer. © 2024 Optum, Inc. All rights reserved. 04/24
PAGE 10 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 Law Offices of Joseph J. Tock 963 Route 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 TOCKLAW.COM • 800-869-8080 CRIMINAL DEFENSE/DWI • PERSONAL INJURY REAL ESTATE • BUSINESS LAW • WILLS, TRUSTS, ESTATES, PROBATE ‘ The collective background Joe & his team bring forth is that of expertise, dedication and compassion. ~C.K. WHY DO WE ADVERTISE IN HALSTON MEDIA’S LOCAL NEWSPAPERS? TO ADVERTISE WITH US, CALL BRETT FREEMAN AT (845) 208-8151 “Advertising in Halston Media is being part of a community. While walking through different towns, people recognized our picture and connected it to the services promoted. It was a great way to get new customers while validating our work with current clients.” Dr. Deborah Hardy Student Support and Educational Consultant GuidED Consulting, LLC BY BOB DUMAS EDITOR AT LARGE The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on May 1 that will require the Department of Education to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism when enforcing federal anti-discrimination laws. The bill, which passed 320-91, was introduced by Congressman Mike Lawler (R, NY-17). The bill had a total of 46 Republican co-sponsors and 15 Democratic co-sponsors. Lawler said using the IHRA definition is a key step in calling out antisemitism where it is and ensuring antisemitic hate crimes on college campuses are properly investigated and prosecuted. “In the wake of anti-Israel demonstrations at Columbia University and other colleges and universities across the nation, the safety of Jewish students has become a major concern,” the congressman said. “Amid escalating protests, a Jewish student at Yale was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag, and a Jewish UCLA student was blocked by protestors from entering campus. Last October, Jewish students at The Cooper Union were locked inside the college library after being harassed by a group of around 20 protestors.” Lawler said that what is happening at Columbia, Yale, UCLA, and other schools, is “reprehensible and alarming.” “When people engage in harassment or bullying of Jewish individuals where they justify the killing of Jews or use blood libel or hold Jews collectively responsible for the actions of the Israeli government - that is antisemitic,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that needs to be clarified, but that’s why this bill is necessary.” Lawler said requiring the Department of Education to adopt the IHRA working definition of antisemitism gives teeth to federal anti-discrimination laws to go after those who attack their Jewish peers. “Politics should never get in the way of the safety of students,” he said. “The strong bipartisan support for and passage of this legislation will ensure that it won’t.” Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ5), an original co-sponsor, said when he spoke at Columbia last week, he told administrators that we need deeds, not words to protect Jewish students. While the bill received plenty of bipartisan support, some Democrats who voted for it considered the legislation insignificant. Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.) voted in favor of the bill but called it “dumb,” telling Axios News, “I think we want to send a message about antisemitism, but we need to do it in a way that is more united.” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a Jewish progressive, told Axios that he had concerns about the IHRA antisemitism definition, but said he voted for the legislation “on the theory that it is basically meaningless and harmless.” Lawler told Halston Media he believes the bill will have plenty of bipartisan support when it reaches the Senate and said that “nearly every Jewish organization supports this definition [of antisemitism as laid out in the legislation].” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is leading the bill in the Senate. “Antisemitism has spread like wildfire on college campuses and now more than ever, it is crucial that we stamp it out,” Scott said. “I am urging Chuck Schumer to immediately bring the bill to the floor for a vote and for every single senator to support it. The Senate has a responsibility to stand against hatred so our Jewish brothers and sisters can live without fear.” Lawler said it got to the point where Congress could no longer sit around and do nothing. “Sadly, we are seeing how divided our country is,” he said. “But the problem is there are no consequences anymore for people’s actions. People do things with impunity and are not held accountable. The failure to do that is what led to this explosion on college campuses.” Lawler said after the Senate passes the legislation, it will head to President Biden’s desk for his approval. Lawler notes that while the President hasn’t publicly indicated his stance on the bill, he said he believes Biden will sign it. “If the bill passes the Senate [which has a Democratic majority], I can’t imagine he wouldn’t sign it,” Lawler said. “They worked with us last fall when we were crafting it, and we took their feedback.” Lawler has two other related bills pending as well. The College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Lawler introduces, passes Antisemitism Awareness Act SEE ANTISEMITISM PAGE 39
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 11 SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TO VISIT ONE OF OUR SHOWROOMS TODAY! Your Bath. Your Kitchen. Your Home. 49 Route 138 Somers, NY 10589 M-Fr 9:30AM-4:30PM 914-232-2020 3372 Old Crompond Road Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 M-Sat 10AM-5PM 914-736-2468 (ACROSS FROM THE BJ’S SHOPPING CENTER) BESTPLG.COM $100 off $1,000 Minimum Purchase when Shipped Complete. Eligible at Yorktown and Somers showrooms only Show this Coupon to Receive Discount. One per customer Expires 6/15/24 Mohansic first graders recently took a field trip to Yorktown Justice Court to learn all about the criminal justice system. In honor of Law Day, which is celebrated every year on May 1, students heard first hand about the roles of police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges before participating in a mock trial inspired by the classic tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Presiding over the case were Yorktown Town Justices Gary Raniolo and Aviah Cohen Pierson. A jury of Mohansic first graders saw evidence and heard testimony from Mom A. Bear, Pop A. Bear, Babe E. Bear, and Gold E. Locks, who was accused of breaking into the Bear family’s home, eating their porridge, and destroying a chair. In her defense, Gold E. Locks said the door was already open and that she was drawn into the home by the irresistible aroma of the porridge. She admitted to sitting in the chair but denied breaking it. Despite her testimony, the jury voted, 9 to 3, that Gold E. Locks was guilty on all charges! Thank you to first-grade teacher Mrs. Cusano, who organizes this wonderful event every year, and the many lawenforcement officials, lawyers, and judges who helped make Law Day such a special learning experience for our students. Article courtesy of Yorktown Central School District. Mohansic first graders celebrate Law Day with mock trial Mohansic students filled the court house for a mock trial on Law Day Town Justices Gary Raniolo and Aviah Cohen-Pierson COURTESY OF YORKTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT Yorktown Police Chief Robert Noble with Mohansic students Mohansic students acted as jury members at the mock trial, many finding the defendant guilty
PAGE 12 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 118 N. BEDFORD ROAD, SUITE 100 MOUNT KISCO, NY 10549 ©2024 HALSTON MEDIA, LLC Letters to the editor and op-ed submissions may be edited. The views and opinions expressed in letters and op-eds are not necessarily those of Yorktown News or its affiliates. Submissions must include a phone number and address for verification. Not all letters and op-eds will necessarily be published. Letters and op-eds which cannot be verified or are anonymous will not be published. Please send your submissions to the editor by e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, call the editor at (914) 302-5830 BRETT FREEMAN, PUBLISHER EMILE MENASCHÉ, EDITOR TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL, CREATIVE DIRECTOR Editorial Office: (914) 302-5830 [email protected] The following thought experiment, which I’ve seen and heard in a few places, is worth repeating in the pages of this newspaper. Imagine for a second that it was Black students who were told by university administrators and professors to stay off campus because it was not safe for them. There would rightly be a national outcry and a demand for the Biden Administration to send in the National Guard to protect those students. But when Jewish students are the victims of genocidal chants, harassment and violence on campus, as has been happening across this nation for the past few weeks, the response has been equivocation. The protestors aren’t just critics of Israeli policy, nor are they opposed to war. They have held signs stating, “By Any Means Necessary,” which is an endorsement of the murder and rape of Jews on Oct. 7. They also have held signs stating “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free,” which is a call to genocide against the world’s only Jewish state. The protestors have also held signs saying “Intifada,” which is the name of the uprisings that have indiscriminately killed men, women and children using suicide bombers on Israeli buses and in restaurants. One protestor at George Washington University, my wife’s alma mater, held a sign that said, “Final Solution,” a reference to Nazi Germany’s ambitions to exterminate Jewish people from the planet. This is what these protestors are glorifying. Of course, everyone has a right to free speech in America, even reprehensible speech. But some of these protestors have harassed, intimidated and in some cases been violent against Jews on campus (including a Jewish student at Yale, my dad’s alma mater, who was stabbed in the eye by a Palestinian flag). In a campus culture where victimhood is the greatest virtue, Jewish students and their families, of whom 70% identify as Democrats (according to several sources), are left pondering why they are suddenly being targeted by their intersectional allies. A great Democrat, President Harry Truman was the first world leader to recognize the state of Israel. Given that the vast majority of Jewish citizens count themselves among the progressive ranks, this antisemitism has wrought anguish and confusion among the American Jewish community. What is going on here? What is it about the philosophy of “social justice” organizations that exempts Jews from their supposedly noble aims? There are a few explanations. CRT & DEI unfairly label Jews as oppressors One involves the uncritical acceptance of DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and CRT (Critical Race Theory) policies. Those readers who are sympathetic to DEI and CRT, most of whom I am confident are well intentioned, please hear me out. “Despite its laudable goal of opposing racism and white supremacy, CRT relies on narratives of greed, appropriation, unmerited privilege, and hidden power—themes strikingly reminiscent of familiar anti-Jewish conspiracy theories,” wrote Pamela Paresky in her essay, “Critical Race Theory and the Hyper-White Jew,” which was published in the Spring 2021 edition of the quarterly journal, “SAPIR,” which is distributed by Jewish Insider. She goes on to explain, “In the critical social justice paradigm, that is how Jews are viewed. Jews, who have never been seen as white by those for whom being white is a moral good, are now seen as white by those for whom whiteness is an unmitigated evil. This reflects the nature of antisemitism: No matter the grievance or the identity of the aggrieved, Jews are held responsible. Critical race theory does not merely make it easy to demonize Jews using the language of social justice; it makes it difficult not to.” Paresky criticizes Ibram X. Kendi, a leader in the CRT/DEI movement, who says that racial inequity beyond a certain threshold should be unconstitutional. “This obviously presents a particular problem for Jews, who represent roughly 2 percent of the U.S. population,” Paresky wrote, citing the outsized success of Jewish Americans. “American Jews have generally looked upon Jewish success in the United States as evidence of the country’s fundamental (if far from fully realized) commitment to the principles of tolerance, fair play, and recognition of individual merit. But, according to critical social justice ideology, that explanation is not just false. It’s racist. Jewish success can be explained only by Jewish collusion with white supremacy.” While I share Paresky’s critique of CRT, again I give the benefit of the doubt to local DEI advocates. I think those promoting DEI policies are well intentioned individuals. I think there are also people leery about DEI policies, but nevertheless go along because they are terrified of being labeled as racists. We’ve seen these fights play out at local school board meetings throughout Westchester and Putnam counties, and most people just don’t have the stomach to enter the fray. I urge our readers to give this some thought when voting in the upcoming school board elections. I am not suggesting whom to vote for, but I am urging caution on this topic. Despite well-intentioned individuals’ insistence that CRT and DEI are just one big history lesson, in reality they are a radical departure from our nation’s founding principles. Our founding principles are what eventually led to the Emancipation proclamation and the Civil Rights Movement, but we’ve seen an enormous step backwards over the past few years with the loss of academic freedom and freedom of speech on campuses due to the policing of microaggressions that might offend some students. Professors add trigger warnings to their syllabi and universities set up safe spaces for easily offended students. But all of that is thrown out the window when it comes to Jewish students. All of a sudden, in 2024, freedom of speech is fashionable again, and it’s used to defend harassment and the most disgusting antisemitic drivel. It’s because in the CRT/DEI definitions of oppressor and oppressed, Jewish supporters of Israel are equated with white supremacists. Antisemitism shouldn’t be a partisan issue The other major problem is simple ignorance, including false claims that Israel is an apartheid state or that it’s committing genocide. American critics of Israel naturally view the conflict through a Western lens and they’ve been indoctrinated by radical leftist professors into thinking that Israel is some sort of neo-colonial fascist state. Nothing could be further from the truth. A majority of Israeli Jews have ancestral connections to Arab countries, as opposed to Europe, and there has been an uninterrupted Jewish presence in Israel for thousands of years. Israel and the fight to combat antisemitism should not be a partisan issue, and as I said previously, the vast majority of Jewish Americans are Democrats. So, while antisemitism clearly exists on the right fringe of America, this new unprecedented form of antisemitism represents some sort of internecine battle within the Democrat Party, which will surely play itself out this August at the Silence in the face of antisemitism What explains all the anti-Jewish hate on college campuses? Despite its laudable goal of opposing racism and white supremacy, CRT relies on narratives of greed, appropriation, unmerited privilege, and hidden power—themes strikingly reminiscent of familiar anti-Jewish conspiracy theories.’ -Pamela Paresky Spring 2021 edition of the quarterly journal, SAPIR BRETT FREEMAN PUBLISHER’S MEMO SEE FREEMAN PAGE 13
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 OPINION YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 13 Hallocks Square Low Taxes | Luxury Condos | High EEciency 914.245.9000 BonielloDevelopment.com Lorem Ipsum VIEW OUR MODELS! GRAND OPENING 2040 Crompond Road Yorktown Heights NY 10598 May 17-19 from 10AM-4PM FREEMAN FROM PAGE 12 Democrat’s National Convention in Chicago. President Biden is between a rock and a hard place. Yes, his administration has been and remains committed to supporting and aiding Israel’s defense. But his fear of losing the extreme left at the ballot box has forced him into a “very fine people on both sides” moment – something he condemned of his predecessor and was supposedly the reason he launched his 2020 candidacy in the first place. Calling out both Islamophobia and antisemitism in the same breath and with equal emphasis is a bit like stating “All Lives Matter” in 2020. Lucky for the people living in our readership area, we do have a leader on this issue. “Antisemitism has no place in America,” Congressman Mike Lawler said on May 1, after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill he introduced, the Antisemitism Awareness Act, by a vote of 320-91. To be clear, whether you are a Democrat or Republican, this is not a partisan issue. Lawler’s bill passed with 187 Republicans and 133 Democrats voting for the bill, while 21 Republicans and 70 Democrats voted against it. Lawler’s office told us that they expect Sen. Schumer to take this up in the U.S. Senate, where it will likely pass, and they expect President Biden to sign it into law. The bill adopts the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. Importantly, this definition cites as antisemitism the equating of Israel’s actions with that of Nazi Germany. Some may criticize this definition, like Lewisboro Councilman Dan Welsh, who has been the subject of intense criticism by residents after accusing Israel of genocide. Welsh has previously stated that he supports the Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism. I urge our readers to Google both definitions and decide for yourselves. Indeed, if Israel was a genocidal regime, the definition of antisemitism adopted by the U.S. House would be unworkable. But the definition does in fact work, as Israel is a progressive democracy and the only country where Muslims, Christians and Jews are afforded civil rights not seen in the rest of the Middle East. While we all mourn the death of so many innocent Gazans, Israel has taken steps to limit those deaths and to aid Gazan civilians that are unmatched by any other nation defending itself following the brutal, unprovoked attack it experienced on Oct. 7. In fact, Israel continues to face rocket attacks on an almost daily basis from Hamas to the south, Hezbollah to the north, and most recently from Iran to the east as well. Unfortunately, American media have tended to ignore the attempted attacks that Israel has had to defend itself from continuously since Oct. 7. Israel’s critics are ill-informed Where do we go from here? I think the most important thing is for people to educate themselves. Most people don’t understand that Gaza is not part of Israel, which removed its settlements from the Palestinian territory in 2005. The American LGBTQ community, some of whom have aligned themselves with the Palestinian cause, need to know that gay Palestinians have sought refuge in Israel because they can be executed by Hamas and the more “moderate” Palestinian Authority for being gay. If you have a few hours, an excellent source of information is Bari Weiss’ podcast, “Honestly.” Weiss, a former writer for The New York Times and founder of The Free Press (thefp.com), recorded a threepart series called “The Free Press in Israel.” Weiss did a phenomenal job of interviewing various segments of Israeli society from an objective standpoint. Here’s what I learned. Seventy-five percent of Palestinians surveyed by the Palestinian Center for Policy Survey and Research said that they thought the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel were justified. But what Weiss also discovered is that there is no free press in Gaza or the West Bank, and so the vast majority of Palestinians, when asked whether they believed in rape as a tool of war or if they believed it was OK to slaughter children, said no, and so they did not believe or were unaware of the barbarous actions of Hamas on Oct. 7. There is no similar excuse for the American protestors holding signs saying “By Any Means Necessary.” I also learned from Weiss’ podcast that Arab Israelis (these are Arab Muslims and Christians with Israeli citizenship) felt a greater affinity for Israel after Oct. 7. Before Oct. 7, just 48% of Arab Israelis said they felt they were a part of Israel. The number jumped to 70% after Oct. 7. These are Arab Muslims and Christians who today feel more united with their Jewish fellow citizens. Weiss interviewed Lucy Aharish, an Arab-Muslim Israeli, who is one of the most prominent TV news anchors in Israel. Aharish survived a Palestinian terrorism attack during the first Intifada in 1987, when she was 5 years old. While she acknowledged that she experiences racism in Israel (just as Black people and others in the U.S. sadly still experience racism), she categorically rejects the label of apartheid. I also learned that it wasn’t until very recently that Hamas displayed the Palestinian flag. This is because Hamas, in reality, is not a Palestinian national movement. If it was a national movement, they would have accepted Israel’s previous offers of a two-state solution. Rather, Hamas is a radical Islamist movement that rejects any sort of co-existence with Jews. Eighty-six years ago, Nazi Germany sought to make Europe and the world “Judenrein,” which means “free of Jews” in German. Today, only one side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict seeks to make their land “free” of the other. I urge all Americans to get on the right side of history. Israel is fighting a defensive war to preserve its existence and has taken unprecedented care to avoid civilian casualties, but it is fighting an enemy that uses its own population as human shields for propaganda purposes. I urge our readers to not fall for this propaganda.
PAGE 14 – YORKTOWN NEWS OPINION MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 WE’RE NOT YOUR ORDINARY DENTISTS. Affiliate of Astoria | Bay Shore | Garden City | Hoboken | Howard Beach Huntington | Lake Success | Long Island City | Mt. Kisco | Oceanside White Plains | Yonkers | Yorktown Heights Put Your Health Where Your Mouth Is™ and book an appointment today, call 914-770-8555 For more information: CareMount Dental is now ProHealth Dental. ProHEALTH Dental proudly announces a groundbreaking affiliation with Northwell Health. Northwell is New York State’s largest health care provider, with more than 900 locations. ProHEALTH Dental has a network of 16 state-of-the-art dental offices throughout the NY Metro Area. Together, we will treat patients holistically, focusing on how oral health improves overall health. phdental.com Oral Surgery General Pediatrics Orthodontics Endodontics Sleep Cosmetic Dentistry Periodontics Implants BY TALIA PIERSON GUEST COLUMNIST On Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, each year, we reflect on one of humanity’s greatest atrocities, mourn the millions of innocent lives brutally taken, and share the stories of those who survived. We make a promise: never again. Never again will we allow the world to get to a place where such a horror is possible, and never again will Jews, or any group of people, have to live in fear. Each year that we recognize this day, fewer Holocaust survivors are alive to attest to these horrors. A cousin of mine and a Holocaust survivor, Riva (Rivka) Bernstein, passed away just around a year ago. Her story, like the stories of many other survivors, is one of both anguish and heroism. As a teenager, she was forced into a labor camp in Novogrudok, Belarus, which she eventually escaped from with several others through an underground tunnel. After escaping from the camp, Rivka went to live in the woods as a part of the Bielski partisan detachment. She eventually left Belarus and came to America to restart her life, although without her parents and brothers - they had all been murdered. Rivka died only a couple of weeks before I was supposed to meet her with my family and hear her unbelievable story first-hand. Knowing that Rivka was only one of many Holocaust survivors who were passing away each year consumed me with fear of how the world would remember this atrocity. I feared Rivka’s and each survivor’s story getting lost, and that they would become simply numbers that future generations would learn about in history books. These thoughts, along with rising antisemitism, Holocaust denial and distortion were terrifying even before Oct. 7. On Oct. 7, never again happened again. Men, women, children, and elderly - including Holocaust survivors - were murdered, mutilated, and taken hostage - not only because they were Jewish, but because they were in Israel, the only Jewish state in the world. Among those killed and taken hostage were a distant cousin of mine, and friends of my grandparents and family in Israel. As of right now, 133 hostages still remain in captivity, half a year later. Personally, I feel that the reaction - or lack of reaction - from much of the world to Oct. 7 was even scarier than the brutal events carried out by Hamas. Riots on the streets of cities throughout the world and on college campuses glorifying the massacre and calling for the elimination of the state of Israel began on Oct. 8. Often, if the reaction was not glorification, it was complexity or silence. I would have never imagined that simply condemning a terrorist attack with genocidal intent and supporting a nation’s right to self-defense could be deemed “controversial.” It continues to baffle and horrify me. The Holocaust did not begin out of nowhere - it began with Jews being scapegoated, ostracized from society, and propaganda being used, all of which we are seeing right now. Failure to address seemingly-minor antisemitism was what allowed such an event to occur. History is bound to repeat itself, and it will if we do not learn from past mistakes. Unfortunately, we are seeing many parallels to what Jews faced leading up to the Holocaust today. Since Oct. 7, many Jews have taken down their mezuzahs, stopped wearing their Stars of David, and have become afraid to be associated with Israel. At the same time, much has changed. Today, Jews have a home to go to - a home built with the blood, sweat, and tears of pioneers like my great-grandparents; we have one of the strongest armies in the world, ready to defend the Jewish people and our home; and we have a voice. Very soon, there will be no Holocaust survivors remaining. It is our responsibility - as human beings - to ensure that history cannot repeat itself. We owe it to the millions of people, like Rivka, who lived through this atrocity to preserve their stories and memory. To simply say never again is not enough. Talia Pierson is a sophomore at Yorktown High School. To simply say ‘never again’ is not enough Reflections on the Holocaust and antisemitism from a Yorktown High School sophomore
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 15 Adults in their 20s and 30s tend to focus on building their careers and accumulating savings. Once they attain stability, they may start to buy properties and make investments. Their lifestyles and priorities will also change as they get married and start a family of their own. While the future is promising for them, it is also uncertain and planning for the unexpected is just as important for the “young” as the “old.” An estate plan provides several options to ensure that young adults establish a solid foundation for their wishes to be followed and their assets to be distributed to their chosen beneficiaries, should they, God forbid, pass away at a young age. Below is a list of estate planning documents that should be considered: Last will and testament In New York, those aged 18 and above who are “of sound mind” can make a will that takes effect upon death. It should detail how the individual wants to distribute assets like bank accounts, jewelry and real estate properties. The creator of the will can also appoint someone called an “executor” to carry out their wishes. If someone passes away without a will, all assets that are in their name alone without named beneficiaries go to their “heirs at law” known as “distributees.” A Last Will and Testament avoids assets going to someone who might be an “heir at law,” but who is not necessarily someone who the decedent would want to receive their assets. Living trust An estate plan can also have a living trust. This allows the creator of the trust to act as a trustee as well and manage their assets for their own benefit during their life. The benefit is that trusts are also private and any assets titled to the trust avoid the probate process and are not controlled by someone’s Last Will and Testament when the creator of the trust dies. In case of mental incapacity, a successor trustee can also be appointed by the creator of the trust to take over decision making tasks, which can be very helpful in the event of an unforeseen medical situation or diagnosis causing incapacity. Powers of attorney and health proxies Advance directives are crucial inclusions in an estate plan. First, a power of attorney takes care of financial matters. A designated agent can pay bills, give money to your family and manage your funds. Second, a health care proxy assigns someone to make medical decisions in case you become terminally ill or incapacitated. You can also include your wishes for end-of-life situations and medical emergencies. Updating your estate plan often When young adults create an estate plan, it isn’t a done deal yet. Estate planning is an ongoing process that requires updating every few years or so. You may revisit and update your plan every one to five years. Young adults also need to update their estate plans whenever they reach milestones. These include getting married, having a child, being promoted and acquiring new valuable assets. Preparing for the unexpected It’s never too early for young adults to prepare for the unexpected. An estate plan may protect your assets in life and death. Further, it guarantees that the fruits of your labor will benefit you and your loved ones. Lauren C. Enea, Esq. is an Associate at Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP. She concentrates her practice on Wills, Trusts and Estates, Medicaid Planning, Special Needs Planning and Probate/Estate Administration. She believes that it is never too early or too late to start planning for your future and she enjoys working with individuals and families to ensure that their estate and long-term care plan best suits their needs. Ms. Enea is on the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) Elder Law and Special Needs Section and is also the Co-Editor of the NYSBA Elder Law and Special Needs Section Journal. She is admitted to practice law in New York and Florida. She can be reached at 914-948- 1500. LAUREN ENEA GUEST CORNER FOCUS ON ESTATE PLANNING Is it too early for young adults to create an estate plan? An estate plan provides several options to ensure that young adults establish a solid foundation for their wishes to be followed and their assets to be distributed to their chosen beneficiaries, should they, God forbid, pass away at a young age.’ -Lauren C. Enea, Esq. Associate at Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP
PAGE 16 – YORKTOWN NEWS OPINION MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 Shop & Support LOCAL WE INSTALL TREES. WE DELIVER. Shade, Fruit, Flowering and Evergreen Fully Stocked Nursery 61 LUDINGTON COU RT, CARMEL NY • 845.225.7766 • KentCountryside.com Call for a FREE ESTIMATE! 4,000 SQUARE FOOT GREENHOUSE • House Plants • Succulents • Perennials • Hanging Baskets • Annuals VISIT OUR GIFT SHOP! • Wind Chimes • Pottery • Garden Gifts • Lawn Supplies • Candles • Tools Digital Custom Designs, Landscaping, Walkways Retaining Walls, Fi repits and more! UNIQUE LANDSCAPE DESIGN & INSTALLATION The lead article in last month’s Yorktown News (“First responders seeks 51% hike in Advanced Life Support contract,” April 25, Page 1) reported a possible 51 percent increase in the tax rate for our Advanced Life Support (ALS) services. The increase would cover the additional $390,000 needed for a second ALS flycar that responds to 911 calls and a second paramedic on the night shift. WOW. 51 percent sounds like an awful lot. But wait. 51 percent of what? What does a 51 percent increase in some unknown number translate to in dollars and cents? As taxpayers, we relate to, and understand, dollars and cents — not percentages which are often misleading. For example, this year’s 10 percent increase in our garbage tax is costing us an extra $52. But — if you read through to the end of the article about the possible ALS increase, you would have learned that the 51 percent ALS tax increase would cost the average homeowner with a $10,000 assessed value only an additional $30. For many homeowners with lower assessed values, the added ALS tax would be less than the cost of a pizza. Is your life worth $20-$30? Or the life of a family member, friend or neighbor? What is ALS and why it’s so important The ALS emergency medical service is separate and distinct from the services provided by our two very dedicated ambulance corps. Ambulance corps services are provided by volunteers with 165 hours of EMT training. They’re funded by donations and insurance company reimbursements for the rides they provide. The ALS service is provided by an outside company (Empress) under contract with the town. The contract includes one flycar and, depending on the shift, one or two paramedics who, in contrast to the ambulance corps volunteers, receive thousands of hours of training. The ALS service, funded by a separate ALS tax on our April town tax bill, was $57 for a house assessed at $10,000 in 2024. Both the ambulance corps and ALS flycar respond to all 911 calls — but only the paramedics can provide critical life-saving measures or administer critical life-saving drugs. If you’ve ever watched a medical show on TV, you’ve seen emergency responders hook up IVs or intubate a person having breathing difficulties. That can only be done by paramedics, either onsite or in the ambulance on the way to the hospital when 10 minutes can mean the difference between life and death. In simple terms, ALS paramedics bring the emergency room into your living room. Yorktown started providing ALS services in 1994. Since then, the number of calls have tripled, from 1,000 in 1994 to 3,000 in 2023 — but we’re still relying on only one flycar. Which creates a problem that can delay the paramedic’s response time: What happens when the single flycar is in the northern part of town and a 911 call comes in from the southern part of town? Yes, there’s “mutual aid” when Yorktown’s first responders call on the services of our neighboring towns. But what if those services are in use? Again, it’s all about response time. Paying for the services we want It all boils down to money: How much are you willing to pay to know that life-saving emergency medical services will be there if and when you need them? In all the years I’ve attended Town Board meetings, I don’t recall any discussions about ALS services and whether it was time to increase our level of services, and if so what the cost implications would be. There have been presentations from both ambulance corps, but to the best of my recollection, none about ALS. Which is probably why most residents aren’t familiar with the differences between the ambulance corps and the paramedic ALS contract, let alone what they’re paying for the ALS service. Isn’t it time we learned about this service that we’re paying for? Isn’t it time we spoke up about what services we want and may be willing to pay for? Supervisor Lachterman said he’ll likely hold an informational meeting about ALS. Let’s take him up on that. But not part of a regular Town Board meeting. It should be a special meeting devoted exclusively to ALS, and a meeting at which residents, not just Town Board members, can ask questions. We also need to understand how an increase in the ALS tax would impact What is your life worth? SUSAN SIEGEL GUEST COLUMNIST SEE SIEGEL PAGE 17
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 OPINION YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 17 the 22 other tax rates that are part of the town budget and the state tax cap. It’s complicated, but it can be explained. It needs to be explained. Afterall, we’re the ones paying the taxes. We need to get the facts so we can decide what’s in our best interest. And when we know that, we need to let our elected officials know what’s important to us. So please Supervisor Lachterman, schedule the ALS meeting ASAP — and before you start work on the 2025 budget. For more insights into what’s happening in our town government, visit me on Facebook at facebook. com/susansiegel4yorktown, or my blog, yorktownbettergovernmentorg. wordpress.com. Susan Siegel served as Town Supervisor from 2010- 2011 and Councilwoman in 2015. A recent Susan Siegel column incorrectly stated the differences between sewer maintenance charges. The average charge when paid on the water bill is $135 compared to $16.33 when paid on the town tax bill. We apologize for the error. SIEGEL FROM PAGE 16 CORRECTION I n 1975, not long after I was admitted to the bar, I faced the prospect of my very first trial. I wasn’t nervous, but I was truly amped up. It was a judge trial (no jury) in the City Court of Yonkers. The judge turned out to be the Honorable Robert Cacace. The trial was one of my finest moments. Judge Cacace, for his part, was superlative, exemplifying all the qualities you want in a jurist. It was a true pleasure having my first trial experience in front of such a wonderful human being. From that day forward, we were friends. Over the ensuing years (49 and counting), I got to know his daughter, Susan. I watched her career evolve. She went from being a respected assistant district attorney to a defense attorney to almost 20 years as a county court judge. Through it all, I kept in touch. In every role, she displayed the traits that made her father so great: hardworking, compassionate with integrity and character beyond reproach. So, when Judge Cacace decided to leave the bench to run for Westchester District Attorney, I asked to sit down with her and talk about the race. The following are edited excerpts from my talk with Judge Cacace. The entire interview can be seen on YouTube under the title, “All About Town with Jim Martorano.” Or, if you get Optimum, it’s on the public access station Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. (Channel 74). The following is an abridged version, since space limitation would make printing the entire interview impracticable. Q: When you first started out (in your law career) what was your ambition? Cacace: I really loved criminal law. My father was a judge in Yonkers for many years…When I was 7 or 8 years old, I would go to court with him. And often for Saturday morning arraignments. I found it fascinating. In grammar school, we had these yearbooks where you would write your ambition. I always wanted to go into the law, even at that young age. Q: Tell me a little more about your dad. Cacace: He was a wonderful man. He became the chief judge in the Yonkers Court and worked very hard in the construction of the new courthouse. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1986 and then, in 1990 when it was finished, they named the building after him. Q: Let’s fast forward to you coming out of law school. What was your career goal then? Cacace: I always wanted to be a prosecutor. When I graduated, I applied to the Westchester District Attorney’s Office, was hired, and had a career there of almost 15 years…I was in Yorktown, Peekskill and Greenberg local courts, for example…. Back then, you stayed in local courts for five or six years. After that, I went to the Grand Jury Bureau, where you learn the nuts and bolts of what the elements are of each case, whether you can prove your charge or not, etc. After that, I was assigned to the Trial unit where I tried many felony cases… Q: Eventually you left the District Attorney’s office, and, for a brief time, you were a defense attorney. How did that feel? Cacace: It was eye opening. I would go to the jails and interview my clients… It really cemented my view that everyone is entitled to vigorous legal representation. I had two trials as a defense attorney in local courts and was successful on both… Q: After a couple of years on the defense bar, you ran for County Court? Cacace: Yes, I ran in 2005 for County Court and won and then ran for re-election in 2015 and won again…All told, I was on the bench for 19 years. Q: You gave up a lot to run for district attorney this year, namely your county court judgeship. What compelled you to give up so much to run for this office? Cacace: I thought about this position for many years. As far back as 2015, I had considered running for Westchester D.A., Conversation with District Attorney candidate Susan Cacace JAMES MARTORANO MY PERSPECTIVE SEE MARTORANOPAGE 18 Our Fences Include: Chain Link Aluminum Wood Vinyl Deer Fencing Railings scrfence.com | 914-302-2552 GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS. -Robert Frost See Our Great Selection of Styles & Colors! Material Also Available for DIY. 2013 Crompond Road Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 [email protected] Westchester’s Leading Fence Installer Proud To Be Locally Owned Building Superior Fences at Competitive Prices Proudly Partnered With AFA (American Fence Association)
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Q: In my almost 50 years in criminal law, I have concluded that so many of my clients are in desperate need of drug or psychological counseling as opposed to incarceration. You have emphasized compassion in your campaign. Can you tell us more about your feelings? Cacace: …with respect to nonviolent felonies and misdemeanors, there are avenues today more than there were 20 years ago, alternatives to incarceration, to divert people away from crime and provide them treatment so they can learn how to not reoffend. I was at Mayor Spano’s State of the City address recently, and a gentleman came up to me and he thanked me for turning his life around. He now is married, and a pastor and he invited me to visit him in his church. I intend to take him up on his offer…. these are the things that inspire you to keep working at finding ways to help people get back on the right track… Q: Every office has blanket policies to handle cases uniformly but that, in my opinion, must be balanced against looking at the unique facts and circumstances presented. How do you feel about this dilemma? Cacace: …of course, each office has its policies, but you must be able to veer off the set rules, given the facts and circumstances of an individual case, where appropriate… Q: District Attorney Rocah has instituted some wonderful programs to help first time offenders of nonviolent crimes, like Fresh Start. Will you continue or even enhance these programs? Cacace: Absolutely…There is a misdemeanor wellness court… If you have mental health issues and you are charged with a misdemeanor, you go into that court and seek treatment and, if you are accepted, you are redirected into a program…It is not in every jurisdiction. It services the whole county and is presently in White Plains. I think it is important to have one in the southern part of the county and one in the north… Q: You are involved in a rather contentious primary and people have tried to, I believe unfairly, label you as a person who will bring us back to the old days of “lock them up and throw away the key.” How do you respond to that? Cacace: I have been involved for 34 years in the criminal justice system but, during that time, my opinions were never relevant. Now, as candidate, I can express myself, and I am sincere when I say, the theme of my campaign is “justice with compassion.” Justice for violent criminals but also compassion for first time offenders, for the youth, for the mentally disabled, for the addicted. We need to divert them away from the criminal justice system but, first and foremost, they must be held accountable. That means if you get a program, you must successfully complete that program. If you commit a theft in a store and nothing happens to you, there is no accountability, you probably will reoffend. That simply won’t work. …I visited the youth court in New Rochelle recently. The youngsters make a commitment to go every week and the program can last from a year and a half to two years… The judge has such compassion for the Youth Court that he tries not only to be an inspiration for these youngsters but also to deal with housing issues, mental health issues and drug addiction. You can see how much the judge cares and his commitment has done wonderful things. I think we need to open a similar Youth Part in Yonkers next. As district attorney, I will work to enhance these types of court initiatives. Judge Cacace is running in the Democratic primary to be held on June 25. Since this interview, Judge Cacace’s race has become much more contentious. Some rather ugly, false charges have been pushed by her opponents against her. Based on decades of knowing her, I can attest that Judge Cacace is a person of integrity, character and compassion. She is, by far, the most qualified candidate running for the position of district attorney. I have no doubt that, if she is elected, she will serve our county extremely well. But who is elected is up to you, the voters. Regardless of who you support, please vote in the primary and the general election in November. MARTORANO FROM PAGE 17
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 OPINION YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 19 Exceeding Expectations… One Home at a Time! Sending Heartfelt Wishes to all the Wonderful Yorktown Moms! Your unwavering love turns houses into homes and memories into treasures. Whether selling your current home or buying your next property, I'm honored to be part of your journey, helping you find the perfect place to nurture your family's dreams. Owned by a subsidiary of Anywhere Advisors LLC. Debra Bravoco-Forbes | Call or Text 914.610.6277 Real Estate Salesperson | [email protected] | www.DebraBravoco.com | 914.610.6277 (m) International President’s Circle Award Winner | MBA, Corporate Finance | Smart Home Certified 366 Underhill Avenue Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Happy Mother's Day! The afternoon of May 4, 1970. I’m amidst a sea of 3,000 people on the “Quad” at Syracuse University, the first day of a National Student Strike to protest the Vietnam War and the drafting of young men to fight in what the people of Vietnam called the American War. We are facing Hendricks Chapel, with Carnegie Library to our left and Huntington Beard Crouse (HBC) student center to our right. I glimpse painted on the wall of HBC, “Remember Kent State.” In complete puzzlement, I turn to my fraternity brother and ask, “What’s Kent State?” We found out soon enough about the horror of Kent State; the precipitous tragedy entombed in the name of that once-obscure Ohio college has horrific resonance to this day for my generation. Earlier that same day, four Kent State students running away from the scrum on campus to seek safe harbor had been stopped dead in their tracks, struck down from fatal bullets fired by the Ohio National Guard. In those ancient times before mobile phones and social media and the internet, graffiti hastily spray-painted in panic on a campus building was how that numbing news spread. It ignited a powder keg explosion of civil disobedience at campuses across the land. Sound familiar? A half-century after I was an eyewitness in the flesh to the Syracuse University version of the May 1970 National Student Strike that paralyzed campuses in the United States, here I am, another type of eyewitness, watching class shutdowns at a safe remove, through the highly selective lens of mass media. Because I was on location 54 years ago for that unrest and am at home now for the current unrest, I would not presume to compare what I experienced in 1970 at Syracuse with what I see on TV in 2024 while sitting here in Westchester. What I can do is share some personal observations. Both generations of protesters – 1970’s and today’s – have in common the act of advocating to end a war through agitation, as well as to be given direct agency in their college’s governance policies. In 1970, apart from the anti-war sentiment, core issues on students’ agenda were the so-called military-industrial complex (i.e. war as profiteering) and the common university practice of in loco parentis, which is the principle of administrators invoking their right to act as surrogate parents for students. One stark contrast between then and now is that the 1970 student protester was reacting to warfare further away from home in miles, yet closer to home in the direct impact on its citizens, the loved ones and friends of more than 300,000 Americans putting their lives at risk by fighting a war whose purpose was clear as day to some Americans and clear as mud to others. In the macro, we were over there to fight the good fight against the spread of communism; but in the micro, the winnability of the war became akin to nailing jello to the wall. It eventually dawned on U.S. military intelligence that, in realpolitik terms, our role in Vietnam had devolved from noble cause to fool’s errand. The 2024 anti-war student wants to put an end to others fighting. The 1970 anti-war student wanted to put an end to their peers and themselves being conscripted to fight involuntarily, through the Selective Service System’s draft lottery. Of the legions of American troops in Vietnam enmeshed in the dauntingly unfamiliar tactics of guerilla warfare in Southeast Asia rice paddies, a significant percentage were drafted. As a college student at Syracuse, I was nobody’s idea of an activist. I did not participate in building barricades at campus entry points to impede incoming vehicles, such as police cars. I did not join the sit-in at the administration offices. I did not break windows. I most certainly did not – as one of our high school classmates reportedly was doing at a famously radical midwestern university – concoct Molotov cocktails (i.e. life-threatening firebombs). As the son of a proud World War II veteran whose closest friends throughout the rest of his life were his buddies in the 9th Infantry Division’s 47th Regiment, I felt no impulse to protest the campus ROTC (Reserve Officers’ Training Corps). Defaming those future officers was a notable cause celebre among the so-called “peaceniks” of the era. The most “active” role I took in the Striking contrasts A Baby Boomer recalls the 1970 unrest on his campus BRUCE APAR BRUCE THE BLOG SEE APARPAGE 20
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New Suburban Propane automatic delivery customers receive*: FREE PLUS 1970 Syracuse student strike was being asked to emcee a dance marathon fundraiser for a political organization, even though I was not a political animal and to this day am not registered with a political party. In fact, my inactivism elicited a rebuke from a student whom I did not know. Upon seeing me just chillin’ at HBC, while he was hightailing his way to a ROTC protest, he caught a glimpse of my shoulder-length hair and, in a brutish attempt to enlist my participation, bellowed, “Why don’t you act like you look?!” (News alert: college students can say some sophomoric things.) In retrospect, the friction between ROTC students and peaceniks was the extent of interpersonal animus between disparate groups. It was fairly mild, especially compared to the bottomless well of ad hominem hatred being played out today between the surrogate factions on either side of the 2024 Mideast conflict. (Fun Fact: a 1970 Syracuse classmate of mine, Robert Tembeckjian, who dealt with the Syracuse administration in his role as “Shutdown Spokesman” for the strikers, went on to become head of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.) As for law enforcement presence on campus, I vividly recall being struck by the sight of mounted police patrolling Marshall (or “M”) Street, a commercial strip in the middle of campus. Having a police officer tower over me, like a foreboding deus ex machina, drained the blood from my face as a numbing reminder that we had passed into an uncharted Twilight Zone of campus life. Another contrast between 1970 and 2024 campus activists: the face of protest fashion has a new look. The rabble-rousing students of my day were not compelled to disguise their identity with face coverings. But did we ever love our bell bottoms and our tie-dyed shirts and our flowing “hair down to there.” If those freak flags, along with some other collegiate indulgences, and my being at Woodstock the previous August, all conspired to cast me as a card-carrying hippie, all I can say is hey, man, it was cool while it lasted. Finally, we’ve heard a great deal about the presence in the current campus conflagrations of outside agitators, who also don’t answer to being called professional protesters and other job titles. Though I can’t say to what degree, if any, such slithering creatures were embedded in the Syracuse student strike, I do prefer the decidedly more exotic, James Bondesque name that those infiltrators were dubbed during the riots rocking the 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention: agents provocateur. APAR FROM PAGE 19 Underhill Farms could wind up costing the town At a recent Town Board meeting, Ed Lachterman said: “… Underhill Farms will be paying one million in taxes. Unfortunately, 800,000 or so is school taxes. Schools are going to do very well with these projects.” He defended his statement, saying his information came from the town assessor. Regardless of who advised him, Lachterman is mistaken. I am writing because, as a former Planning Board member, I believe it is important for residents to know the true costs and benefits of development projects. In the case of Unicorn’s Underhill Farms, it will be years before the school district sees financial benefits. I will use Unicorn’s Expanded Environmental Assessment Form to make my case. To understand any development project’s financial impact, you first measure the amount of revenue it brings to a town. Yorktown will waive a significant portion of Unicorn’s taxes under “485B” tax abatements and for improvements to the Underhill/ Route 118 intersection. According to Unicorn, Underhill Farms will be assessed a tax of $1,295,297 in the first year. However, it will pay only $788,114 as a result of these abatements. The second step in measuring impacts requires subtracting the project’s cost in municipal and educational services from actual tax revenue. Underhill Farms will cost the town and school district $710,048. Subtracting this cost from post-abatement revenues shows a net positive impact of $78,000. That’s not doing “very well” when you consider the $78,000 benefit will change to a net loss if Unicorn has underestimated the number of school-age children living at Underhill Farms – or if its assumption that the “… district has available capacity in each school to accommodate” these children is inaccurate. Since tax abatements under 485B decrease each year, properties provide greater revenue to the town over time. Unicorn estimates Underhill Farms will contribute $1,237,373 in tax revenue after five years. However, their estimate assumes abatements for highway improvements will be zero by that time. This is unlikely to happen. In 2023, the Town Board approved a resolution limiting Unicorn’s cost for intersection improvements to $627,919, leaving Yorktown to provide future abatements to Unicorn for all remaining construction costs. Under this arrangement, Unicorn profits from building public infrastructure without bidding against other companies, and Yorktown’s taxpayers pay the difference between whatever Unicorn charges and $627,919. What could go wrong? -John M. Flynn Yorktown Heights LETTERS SEE LETTERSPAGE 21
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PAGE 22 – YORKTOWN NEWS OPINION MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 FOR ALL YOUR PLUMBING, HOT WATER HEATER & GAS NEEDS 60 Years of Excellence 845.628.3924 • beeandjay.com TAKE $150 OFF MOTHER’S DAY SAVINGS INSTALLATION OF A SOFTENER luxurious, softened water brings to your Mom! Feel the Difference The Annual Meeting of the Amawalk Hill Cemetery Association will be held on May 19, 2024 2pm Amawalk Hill Cemetery 2445 Quaker Church Rd Yorktown Heights All Interested Parties Are Invited To Attend. Bring A Chair. as construction, manufacturing, plumbing, welding and electrical work. His foundation is Mike Rowe Works. A friend of mine who runs a successful, second-generation electrical contracting firm reports that electricians, after completing their apprenticeship program, earn over $100,000 per year to start. These essential industries are hiring, but that may not be well known. Our high school seniors make the papers when they are admitted to the top schools or when they accept athletic scholarships, but seldom do we see announcements about graduates heading off to competitive vocational programs. That should change. I’m reminded of the joke about the neurosurgeon who calls a plumber to fix a leaky pipe at his house. After the plumber finishes the job, the neurosurgeon is surprised by the bill, which is significantly higher than he expected. The neurosurgeon says to the plumber, “I’m a neurosurgeon, and I don’t even charge this much for surgery!” The plumber responds, “I know, I used to be a neurosurgeon too.” There is more than one path to finding a lucrative career regardless of the credential. With recent events on some of our elite college campuses, one wonders if the value of those credentials may have taken a hit. SCOTT FROM PAGE 21 Benjamin Franklin once famously wrote, “be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.” Franklin always struck me as a worldly guy and his idea of selfimprovement is definitely something to strive for. Plus, he appears on currency. To go head-to-head with our vices, my wife Maggie and I recently embarked on a 21-day sugar detox. I’ll bet Benjamin Franklin never went three weeks without a piece of candy. I don’t consider myself to have much of a sweet tooth. Don’t misunderstand. I enjoy sugary snacks as much as the next person, with a particular penchant for peanut butter pretzels and mint chocolate chip ice cream. (Maggie insists that’s just frozen toothpaste, but no marriage is perfect.) If I can take or leave the cookies and candy, a 21-day sugar detox should be easy, right? Wrong. The problem with three weeks off the sugar wagon is not avoiding the cakes and pies. The real difficulty comes when you realize that sugar is in EVERYTHING. Hidden Figures Don’t believe me? Go have a look at the nutritional information of anything in your cupboard or refrigerator. Sugar molecules are anything ending in “ose” (dextrose, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose and sucrose). This makes for a lengthy list of “no” foods, including any bread and refined carbohydrates, sauces and condiments, and all types of fruit with natural sugars. Even things like skim milk, peanuts and my beloved Costco rotisserie chicken were now forbidden. Basically, the list of “yes” foods included all meat and fish, vegetables and a handful of “limit foods,” including certain types of beans and one green apple a day. If nothing else, doing a detox for a few weeks is eye-opening to how much sugar is in everything we consume on a daily basis. Battle Plan For anyone who might be inspired by this column to undertake a sugar detox, I can say that your best chance to succeed comes from proper planning. Maggie and I made meal prep and bulk shopping a top priority and were able to set ourselves up for grumpy, sugar-free success each week. We would cook mass quantities of vegetables and chicken on Sunday, which would prepare us nicely once the hectic work week began. The detox also challenged us to go outside the box with menu planning and not rely on some of the familiar comfort foods that we all fall back on once life gets busy. I also discovered that casting aside the idea of traditional breakfasts in favor of grilled chicken and veggies was helpful to get me over the longing for my usual bowl of cereal in the morning. Once we got over the hump of the first few days, replacing my normal pretzel rods with mixed nuts for a go-to snack and avoiding late night cravings while working became much easier. Temptation still reared its ugly head from time to time, especially when we attended a minor league hockey game Ben Franklin never faced Girl Scout cookies Our eye-opening 21-day sugar detox TOM WALOGORSKY TOM’S TAKE SEE WALOGORSKYPAGE 23
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 OPINION YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 23 We see you here. What’s our greatest asset at The Bristal Assisted Living communities? It’s the lifetime of interests and experiences you bring to it. After all, that’s what makes you special. A caring team that spends the time getting to know you so you can continue nurturing, sharing and exploring those interests? Well, that’s what makes us special, too. Schedule your visit today and see for yourself. THE BRISTAL AT ARMONK | 914.266.3550 THE BRISTAL AT WHITE PLAINS | 914.485.7020 thebristal.com Licensed by the State Department of Health. Eligible for Most Long Term Care Policies. Equal Housing Opportunity. Independent Living | Assisted Living | Memory Care and realized that our options from the snack bar were severely limited. (“I’ll have two delicious bottles of water, please.”) With only a few days remaining, a friend presented me with a box of Girl Scout cookies. He was understandably confused when I politely screamed at him. Nobody said this would be easy. How Sweet It Is The clock ran out on sugar detox just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, and Maggie and I celebrated our success with corned beef and cabbage with a side of her delicious soda bread (with double the sugar in the recipe for good measure). I’ll admit that the next day was a bit of a shock to the digestive system since we followed up three weeks of healthy eating with a feast of sugary carbs and fatty meat. What happened to the good old college days when I could subsist on a diet of pizza and keg beer and bounce back without a problem? Nobody tells you these things about getting older. Things have since evened out in our house, and we have stuck to our plan to follow up the sugar detox with continued healthier (but slightly less strict) eating habits. And I still have yet to break into the Girl Scout cookies. I think Ben Franklin would be proud. Tom Walogorsky thinks $100 could buy a lot of mint chocolate chip ice cream. Contact him at walogorsky@ halstonmedia.com. BY RANDY FREEMAN GUEST COLUMNIST This year is an important election year, and trustworthy elections are essential to ensure the legitimacy of our government. They are the cornerstone of democratic governance. Fair elections protect the right to participate in the democratic process. Elections conducted with integrity contribute to political stability and enhance our country’s credibility on the world stage. Overall, trustworthy elections are essential for upholding democratic values, protecting human rights, ensuring stability and fostering socio-economic development. Braver Angels, a national grass roots organization, is active in Westchester County, and has members throughout Westchester and Putnam counties. Braver Angels has been around since 2016. It is made up of people on the political left and the political right. Their focus is on decreasing the political rancor, getting people to disagree amicably and finding some common ground even if each side has to give up a little to get there. Braver Angels has spent the past year putting both conservatives and liberals together to hash out what constitutes a trustworthy election. We have held 26 of these Common Ground Meetings around the United States this past year. We wanted to show ourselves and the country that people from both sides of our political spectrum could come together and find points of agreement about what constitutes a trustworthy election. This impacts all of us on the local, state and federal level. These were three principles that were agreed upon: 1) “Voting should be easy. Cheating should be hard.” 2) “Every citizen should have an equal say in who will govern them; this is done through free and fair elections.” 3) “The American government will fail if candidates refuse to accept any outcome other than victory.” Some examples of points of agreement were: 1) Voter ID should be required and it would be the government’s responsibility to issue all eligible voters a free voter ID, photo or non-photo. 2) Gerrymandering should not be allowed. 3) There should be a process that ensures transparency and accountability at the polls. 4) Safety and security at polling places should be ensured. 5) A process should be in place to enforce accuracy and confidence in vote counting. 6) Candidates must accept the results of the election for peaceful transfers of power. These are some highlights of the results of our Common Ground Meetings. There were more that were agreed upon. They are the results of hours of discussions and haggling over details that took place across the country. Randy Freeman is the New York State coordinator for Braver Angels. If anyone would like a copy of the full report or for more information about the Westchester group, contact Freeman at [email protected]. Left and right unite on voter integrity WALOGORSKY FROM PAGE 22 Letters and Op-Ed Policy Letters to the editor and op-ed submissions may be edited. The views and opinions expressed in letters and op-eds are not necessarily those of Yorktown News or its affiliates. Submissions must include a phone number and address for verification. Not all letters and op-eds will necessarily be published. Letters and op-eds which cannot be verified or are anonymous will not be published. Please send your submissions to the editor by e-mail at [email protected]. For more information, call the editor at 914-302-5830.
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MAY 9 - MAY 22, 2024 BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER The Yorktown Chamber of Commerce kicked off the change of season with its annual Spring Festival and Car Show at the Jefferson Valley Mall on April 28. Gorgeous weather brought out the crowds, which enjoyed a Roadknights Car Show, some tasty food trucks, a beer garden, live entertainment, and the goods on display by local vendors. On hand signing autographs were ex-Giant Ahmad Bradshaw and former Mets legend Dwight “Doc” Gooden. “I am thrilled to witness the resounding success of our Spring Festival and Car Show,” said Chamber President Karen Trendell. “It’s a testament to our community’s spirit and passion for celebration, bringing people together while showcasing the vibrant essence of Yorktown and our business community. A huge shout out to our small but mighty event team who put this event together and we look forward to seeing everyone again in the fall for our next big event on Oct. 13.” Yorktown welcomes spring with Chamber Fest Dwight “Doc” Gooden from the New York Mets and Ahmad Bradshaw from the New York Giants signed autographs Lisa Wagner, Karen Trendell, Matt Diaz, Alex from MB Media, Violeta Guerrero from M&T Bank, and Mike Marks PHOTOS: SOPHIA CASELNOVA G ONLY 8-0362 OME TO YOU! 53 YEARS! Silver ns nzes bles C. le? Call us! AFFORDABLE Dumpster Rentals! CIRONE CARTING 845-533-5262 Same-Day Roll-Off Container Delivery Available 10-yard • 12-yard • 15-yard 20-yard • 30-yard CALL FOR A FREE ESTIMATE cironeconstruction.com Come See Us At Our New Location! PUTNAM WINDOW TINT AUTO , COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL WINDOW FILM Follow us on Instagram 1065 Route 6, Mahopac, NY 10541 • Paint protection film • Vehicle lettering • Full Service vehicle wraps • gift cards available Over 35 in Business Years PAGE 25
PAGE 26 – YORKTOWN NEWS NORTH SALEM HORSE SHOW MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows have returned to Westchester County’s beautiful horse country, May 7-12 and May 14-19, with a full schedule of world-class competition featuring many of the nation’s best horses and riders. One of the premier stops on the nation’s hunter-jumper horse show circuit, the Spring Horse Shows host competitions for riders of all levels and ages, ranging from young children on ponies to Olympic veterans aboard their grand prix mounts. Many familiar faces return to Old Salem Farm each year to vie for top honors, including Olympic veterans such as local hero McLain Ward (USA), Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA), Daniel Bluman (ISR) and Nayel Nassar (EGY), who will have their sights on the Paris Olympic Games this summer. The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows’ Week 1 takes place May 7-12 with highlights including the Evergate Stables $40,000 New York Welcome Stake, $10,000 Old Salem Farm Speed Derby, $38,700 FEI 1.45m Two-Phase, $38,700 FEI 1.45m Jump-off, $25,000 Old Salem Farm Jumper Classic, $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur Jumper 1.40m Classic presented by Eastern Hay and $125,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix Presented by The Kincade Group. Week 2 competition follows May 14-19, featuring the $65,000 Welcome Stake of North Salem Presented by The Kincade Group, $38,700 FEI 1.45m Two-Phase, $38,700 FEI 1.45m Jump-off Presented by Fidelity Investments, $25,000 USHJA National Hunter Derby, $25,000 Old Salem Farm Jumper Classic, Evergate Stables’ $15,000 Show Jumping Hall of Fame Junior/Amateur Jumper 1.40m Classic, Governor’s Perpetual Hunt Seat Cup Presented by Lillie by Flying Changes and the $5,000 Old Salem Farm Grooms’ Class Presented by McLain Ward, Inc., before concluding on Sunday, May 19, with the $200,000 Empire State Grand Prix Presented by Old Salem Farm. The ambiance at the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows is unlike any other venue in the country with over-the-top hospitality and unique shopping offered along Old Salem’s popular Boutique Row. The Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows also feature a collection of local, gourmet food offerings and familyfriendly activities including pony rides, face painting, dog adoptions each Saturday and more. From Welcome Wednesday to Fiesta Friday and Family Fun Weekends presented by Halston Media, every day is special at the Spring Horse Shows! Old Salem caters not only to the comfort of the people visiting the historic facility but also to the horses competing onsite, providing top-notch care alongside sponsors such as the HEART Equine Ambulance, Eastern Hay & Grain, and FootingFirst. The incredible action starts daily at 8 a.m. with classes running in three rings simultaneously throughout the day before finishing at approximately 5 p.m. A full schedule can be found at OldSalemFarm.net/our-events/. Admission to the Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows is free! Spring Horse Shows return to North Salem Rodrigo Pessoa (BRA) aboard Chili PHOTO: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL Old Salem Farm has a revitalized vendor area and courtyard for even more unique shopping opportunities. PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDOLPHPR OLD SALEM FARM McLain Ward (USA) aboard Faro PHOTO: TABITHA PEARSON MARSHALL
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 27 Old Salem Farm Spring Horse Shows May 7-19 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. daily (closed Monday, May 13th) www.OldSalemFarm.net • 190 June Rd. North Salem, NY Sat., May 11: face painting, rider autograph sessions, SPCA of Westchester dog adoptions and an ice cream party – with free ice cream! – with Pegasus Therapeutic Riding Sun., May 12: face painting, pony rides, rider autograph sessions plus the $125,000 Old Salem Farm Grand Prix Presented by The Kincade Group! Sat., May 18: face painting, pony rides, rider autograph sessions, A New Chance Animal Rescue dog adoptions and an ice cream party – with free ice cream again! – with the Wolf Conservation Center Sun., May 19: face painting, pony rides, rider autograph sessions and a visit from the Animal Embassy plus the $200,000 Empire State Grand Prix Presented by Old Salem Farm! Over-the-top hospitality and unique shopping experiences! Kids’ Activities • Pony Rides • Face Painting & More! ADMISSION IS FREE Olympic Stars and the World’s Best Horses and Riders right in your own back yard! As a young rider, Georgina Bloomberg earned four medals in her three appearances at the North American Young Riders’ Championships, and she has continued to be a major player for Team USA in the years since. She made her Nations Cup debut in 2005 in France, where she was a member of the all-female winning team; she made her first of two World Cup Final appearances that same year in Las Vegas. She helped to clinch the win at the 2014 Furusiyya Nations Cup in Spain and later claimed the Team Bronze medal in her major games debut at the 2015 Pan American Games. A dedicated philanthropist and advocate for animal rescue, she shares her North Salem farm with her horses, dogs, goats, rabbits, mules and the endearing pig, Wilbur. Spotlight on North Salem’s Georgina Bloomberg North Salem resident Georgina Bloomberg PHOTO COURTESY OF GEOFFREY TISCHMAN/JUMP MEDIA NORTH SALEM HORSE SHOW
PAGE 28 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 Lakeland wins Sorrentino Cup Done drives in the winner in 13th Alex Ornstein (5) is ready to make the catch with Jayden Nezaj (1) looking on. Lakeland celebrates winning Sorrentino Cup. Yorktown’s AJ Solla fires it to first. Lakeland’s Brandon Forte takes a strong cut, with Liam Biberaj catching. PHOTOS: SARAH QUARTO Lakeland’s Anthony Frobose was dealing against Yorktown. BASEBALL SEE BASEBALL PAGE 29 BY MIKE SABINI CONTRIBUTING WRITER No local baseball game brings out more emotion than the annual Sorrentino Cup contest between Lakeland and Yorktown, and its 42nd edition on May 3 was no different. For the third straight season, the contest was decided by one run in a frenzied atmosphere, with an RBI single by Ramzi Done in the top of the 13th inning giving Lakeland an exhilarating 1-0 victory over the Huskers under the lights at Granite Knolls Park. Done drove in Alex Mautone from second base after Mautone reached on a walk and was bunted over by Evan Tostanoski. Anthony Frobose (2-5, walk) was intentionally walked before Done got the game-winning hit. “It all started in the on-deck circle,” Done said. “I knew that if it came down to me, I had to do a job.” Done also did the job on the mound, allowing just 3 hits in five innings of relief to earn the win. “Earlier in the game I was all tensed up and my coach ( Justin McCarthy) just told me to relax and just play baseball,” Done said. “This game meant a lot. It was really fun to play in that environment.” Yorktown’s Alex Ornstein gave his team a chance with a two-out double in the bottom of 13th. “During that at-bat, I was thinking any way on base to give the team the opportunity to come back,” Ornstein said. “After a tough inning, it certainly felt good to help the team out by hitting it down the third base line.” Derek Patrissi followed with a tough at-bat but flied out against Done to end the game. “Patrissi had a really good swing on the ball, but unfortunately he lined out to center,” Ornstein said. “You can’t ask for a better swing by him in that big of a situation.” Frobose (10 strikeouts) started and threw eight innings of no-hit ball. “I personally love that atmosphere,” Frobose said. “I love the loudness and love the adrenaline. I’m all about that stuff and I think that had a big factor in my pitching. “It was amazing to win this game with a great team effort,” Frobose said. “I’m so proud of all the guys battling through the toughest game of the season and coming through for a huge win.” The win was big for Lakeland, which got a two-hit game from Brandon Forte (2-5, double). “Getting a win in this type of game is huge regardless of who it’s against,” McCarthy said. “To fight for 13 innings and come out on top
just shows the grit this team has.” McCarthy said the game came down to pitching. “To have two pitchers throw 13 innings and not give up a run is incredibly impressive,” McCarthy said. “I think the rest of the team wanted to do whatever it took to get the win for Anthony and Ramzi.” Yorktown’s pitchers were sensational as well with Patrissi (7 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts), Luca Masillo (5 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts), and Ornstein (1 inning, 1 hit, 1 walk) doing the job. “We thank Lakeland for being a part of the Sorrentino Cup all these years, they are well-coached and a talented team,” said Yorktown coach C.J. Riefenhauser. “It was a great game and atmosphere; more importantly, it’s a day where we play to honor Joe Sorrentino’s memory with his family, friends, and alumni in attendance.” The Sorrentino Cup is named after Joe Sorrentino Jr. who was born Jan. 4, 1965, and died Dec. 12, 1981. Sorrentino played football, basketball, and baseball for the Huskers. “The Sorrentino Cup is one of our biggest regular-season games because of what it is for,” Ornstein said. “We play to honor and respect Joseph Sorrentino who sadly passed away. It really means a lot to play in this game to show respect and knowing our team played really well throughout the game makes it even better.” Lakeland (6-9-1) fell against visiting Ossining 5-1 on April 29 and at Mahopac 8-2 on May 4. In-between on April 30, the Hornets tied host Hendrick Hudson 5-5, led by Mautone (6 innings, earned run, 2 RBI) and Kaare Numme (2 hits, RBI). Yorktown won 16-5 at Brewster on April 30, led by Ornstein (2-2, 3 runs, HBP, stolen base), AJ Solla (3-3, 4 RBI, 2 runs, 2 doubles), and Jeffrey Nunez (2- 4, 3 RBI, run, double). The Huskers (8-8) hosted Brewster on May 2, beating the Bears 8-5, led by Patrissi (2-4, 3 RBI, run, triple), Solla (2-4, RBI, run), and Ryan DiNapoli (4 innings, 0 runs, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks). MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 SPORTS YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 29 BASEBALL FROM PAGE 28 Yorktown’s Jayden Nezaj looks to lay down a bunt, with Mikey Santoiemma catching PHOTO: SARAH QUARTO Some bugs do more than bite. If you’ve been bitten by a tick, don’t delay getting tested for tick-borne illness! AFC offers removal, testing and treatment for infection. With convenient extended hours seven days a week and the option to “save your spot” to be seen, getting the care you need when you need it has never been easier. AFC Yorktown (in the BJs Plaza) 3379 Crompond Rd, Yorktown Heights, NY 914.930.5550 afcurgentcare.com/yorktown-heights M-F: 8am-8pm, S-S: 8am-5pm
PAGE 30 – YORKTOWN NEWS SPORTS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 BY MIKE SABINI CONTRIBUTING WRITER The popularity of flag football has skyrocketed over the last few years and Yorktown’s game at Lakeland on May 3 for the league title offered a perfect example of why. The two local squads went toe to toe with Yorktown (13-0-2) prevailing 13-12 to clinch its first-ever league crown, taking the title in the program’s debut season. “Our hard-fought win against Lakeland left us with an amazing feeling,” said Yorktown’s Kaitlyn Judge, who was named Con Ed Scholar-Athlete (see Athlete Spotlight). “It wasn’t just our crosstown rival, we had our undefeated season on the line and the league championship. We also knew Lakeland was especially motivated for the game with their place at the top of the section, needing the win. It created such a great atmosphere to play. My teammates were intensely focused from the beginning and I’m so proud of them. Seeing all of their hard work pay off this season truly is the best feeling ever.” Husker Drita Tinaj said that clinching the league title against Lakeland (13-2) was surreal. “We knew they were going to come out strong, so we had to match their momentum,” Tinaj said. “Being able to get back on the turf with this amazing group of girls after being injured for most of the soccer season has made me stronger both physically and mentally.” The first touchdown was set up when Lakeland’s Nichole Ljuljic (65 rushing yards, 7-12, 175 passing yards) threw a 26-yard pass to Samantha Del Ponte (23 rushing yards, 2 receptions, 75 receiving yards) on a wheel route that put the ball at the Husker 9. “Her speed is just too much for anyone to keep up with, so I know to look for her on that play and she made a great catch,” Ljuljic said. Ljuljic followed by scoring on a 9-yard run, putting the Hornets up 6-0 with 19:55 to go in the first half. “I saw room to set up in the pocket and just tried getting to the outside,” Ljuljic said. “When I scored I knew it would give our team the confidence for the rest of the game.” However, a missed conversion opened the door for the Huskers to edge ahead when Judge’s touchdown run and extra-point pass gave Yorktown the lead with 4:32 to go before Yorktown wins league title in debut season Huskers nip Hornets in thriller to clinch Yorktown’s Kaitlyn Judge finds room to run while Lakeland’s Mia Lucia chases. Lakeland’s Gabby Santini finds running room to the perimeter as Yorktown’s Mackenzie Meola and Stephanie Douglas chase after. PHOTOS: ROB DIANTONIO FLAG FOOTBALL SEE FLAG PAGE 31 www.jaiporeny.com OPEN FOR LUNCH & DINNER Spoil Your Mom with our Mother ’s Day Buffet! MAY 12TH 12pm - 3pm 4:30pm - 9pm $ 34.95 845-279-9555 • TankRemovalServices.com 280 ROUTE 22 | BREWSTER, NY | 845-277-3549 Before you place your home on the market, contact ENVIROSTAR about replacing your aging underground storage tank (UST). It is required by most insurance companies prior to insuring property. We replace above ground tanks as well! Call us today for a free estimate and evaluation of your current above ground tank. SPRING SPECIAL! $100 OFF IN-GROUND TANK REMOVAL With this coupon only. Coupon must be presented at the time of the estimate. Not to be combined with any other offers. Expires 6/30/24 FREE ESTIMATES WE WILL MATCH OUR COMPETITOR’S ADVERTISED OFFER! We are the name you trust for environmental needs Since 1998 DON’T GET CAUGHT WITH AN AGING OIL TANK!
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 SPORTS YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 31 FLAG FROM PAGE 30 Yorktown’s Mackenzie Meola tries to stop Lakeland’s Gabby Santucci. Yorktown’s Kiera Mooney tries to escape the grasp of Lakeland’s Haley Santucci. Lakeland’s Caroline Leonard looks to elude Yorktown’s Mia Chee. PHOTOS: ROB DIANTONIO halftime. “The momentum was on their side,” Judge said. “We settled down and worked our way down the field. The ball was a half a yard off the end zone and although the touchdown run was unremarkable, psychologically it was huge for us to take the lead with the extra point. The touchdown and extra point put us up 7-6 and we stayed dialed in for the rest of the game.” Maddy Reilly caught the extra point from Judge. “Maddy ran a great route and was able to get open,” Judge said. “She timed it perfectly and caught my pass with ease.” Judge (70 passing yards, 182 rushing yards, 5 tackles) connected with Eva Monaco on a touchdown pass with 8:07 to go in the game, extending Yorktown’s advantage to 13-6. “We began to march down the field and run the ball,” Judge said. “A key call on the sideline from both Ciara O’Brien and coach (Mike) Rescigno allowed us to fake a snap and get Lakeland offsides. Automatically giving us the first down, we continued our momentum. Again, with the ball half a yard off the endzone, Eva Monaco ran a perfect route and I was able to find her wide open for the catch. We all rushed to her to celebrate, knowing we had to finish the game off here.” A 35-yard touchdown pass from Ljuljic to Del Ponte cut Yorktown’s lead to one, 13-12, with 4:12 remaining in the contest. “I knew that she would be down the field and as soon as it left my hands it felt great,” Ljuljic said. “She made a great catch and that touchdown felt great. The whole team was so excited.” Lakeland went for two for the lead, but Ljuljic’s pass was incomplete, thanks to the pressure applied by Tinaj and Keira Mooney. “With the help of our coaches, Keira Mooney and I have worked endlessly to connect on the field,” Tinaj said. “Coach Rescigno reminded us that stopping this 2-point conversion would win us the game. I immediately became focused and was able to get around the blocker. Both of our aggressiveness helped throw Nichole off, and the pass was incomplete. The realization afterward was a rush of both relief and happiness. With this, we were able to finish the game off strong.” Mooney (40 receiving yards, 4 tackles), Alina Rivera (20 receiving yards), Stepanie Douglas (3 tackles), and Kenzie Meola (2 tackles) produced for Yorktown. Caroline Leonard (25-yard reception, 5 rushing yards) and Gabby Santini (4 receptions, 75 receiving yards) came through offensively for Lakeland with Haley Santucci (6 tackles), Ljuljic (5), Caroline Daly (4), Emily Hahn (4), Del Ponte (4), Mia Lucia (1), and Leonard (1) making the tackles. The game was also the Hornets’ senior night, with Ljuljic, Emma Dedushaj, Maeve Dineen Herzog, Talia Franklin, Grace Hahn, Grace Nugent, and Kellie Sullivan being recognized before the game. “It meant so much being honored on senior night with the girls,” Ljuljic said. “It was set up so nicely.” Lakeland won 46-0 at Scarsdale B on April 29, 67-0 against visiting Ossining on April 30, and 26-6 at Woodlands on May 4. FESTIVAL DE PRIMAVERA THE FRIENDS OF NEIGHBORS LINK INVITE YOU TO THURSDAY, MAY 30, 2024 AT 6:30PM GlenArbor Golf Club, Bedford Hills, New York This Ad is Donated By Enea, Scanlan & Sirignano, LLP Attorneys at Law (914) 948-1500
PAGE 32 – YORKTOWN NEWS SPORTS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 made of. George Lucciola, Agent 1885 Commerce Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Bus: 914-962-3030 [email protected] elping out roud to ommunity tarts with ghbors who care. That’s what our town is made of. 1201196 State Farm, Bloomington, IL George Lucciola, Agent 1885 Commerce Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Bus: 914-962-3030 [email protected] State Farm® has a long heritage of helping out in the community. That’s why I’m proud to support Yorktown Youth Sports. Get to a better State® . e of. George Lucciola, Agent 1885 Commerce Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Bus: 914-962-3030 [email protected] g out o yho That’s what our town is made of. 1201196 State Farm, Bloomington, IL George Lucciola, Agent 1885 Commerce Street Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Bus: 914-962-3030 [email protected] State Farm® has a long heritage of helping out in the community. That’s why I’m proud to support Yorktown Youth Sports. Get to a better State® . Community starts with neighbors who care. That’s what our town is made of. State Farm® has a long heritage of helping out in the community. That’s why I’m proud to support Yorktown. Get to a better State®. www.summertrailsdaycamp.com CURRENTLY HIRING STAFF! CALL FOR A TOUR! 914.245.1776 BY MIKE SABINI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Yorktown’s Kaitlyn Judge wears No. 1 on the flag football field, and the numeral seems especially appropriate considering that the Husker senior has just become the first player ever to earn the Con Ed Scholar-Athlete Award for the sport of flag football. The multisport standout in soccer and basketball has helped lead the Huskers to Yorktown HS’s first flag football league title as a three-way player on the gridiron. She plays quarterback and wide receiver on offense, free safety and cornerback on defense, and shares punt-returning duties with Chloe Quiles on special teams. As of this writing, Judge has amassed 1,088 passing yards, 13 touchdown passes, 788 rushing yards, 9 rushing touchdowns, 9 interceptions—with 3 returned for touchdowns—for a Yorktown squad that captured the league title by defeating Lakeland on the road 13-12 on May 3. An all-section player in soccer, Judge was on the varsity for four years, showing her versatility as a center midfielder, wing, and forward. As an all-conference standout in basketball, Judge played varsity for three years, first as a sophomore shooting guard before taking on the point guard role during her junior and senior campaigns. What did it mean to be the first flag football player to win the prestigious Con Ed Scholar Athlete award in its 73-year history? Winning the Con Ed Scholar Athlete award as the first flag football player is an incredibly meaningful and humbling experience for me. This award not only recognizes my dedication to sports and academics, but it also marks a significant moment for girls flag football. I’m super pleased that my team and I have been able to recognize and validate this phenomenal sport. It’s being able to not just represent myself, but all the girls who play and love the sport. It sends a powerful message to younger girls that they can achieve greatness in whichever sport they choose to pursue. How old were you when you started playing flag football and what got you started? Surprisingly, I just started playing flag football this year in midMarch. As a 17-year-old senior, I had no idea how impactful playing flag football would be on my life. Coach (Mike) Rescigno, coach (Jeff) Cerar, and coach (Mike) Nardone have done an amazing job of helping me get started and giving me the confidence that I have today. What is your favorite team activity or pre-game or post-game ritual that you share with your teammates? Post-game would have to be getting food at Salsa Fresca with my teammates. With most of our team composed of seniors and sophomores, the seniors have done an amazing job of creating a closeknit culture and engaging in team makes history Multisport Husker star becomes first-ever Con Ed award-winner for flag football Yorktown Kaitlyn Judge PHOTOS: ROB DIANTONIO Yorktown’s Kaitlyn Judge leaps and sends it up the field. Yorktown’s Kaitlyn Judge takes a free throw in action a season ago. ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT SEE ATHLETEPAGE 35 kaitlynjudge
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 SPORTS YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 33 BY MIKE SABINI CONTRIBUTING WRITER Yorktown Softball (9-8) Harrison 6, Yorktown 0 Monday, April 29, Yorktown High School Yorktown fell to Harrison 6-0, paced by Eva Destito (2-2, walk, double), Alyssa McEniry (1-3), and Kate Brown (1-3, 7 innings, 2 strikeouts). Yorktown 1, John Jay-CR 0 Wednesday, May 1, John JayCR High School The pitching of Brown (7 innings, 9 strikeouts, 4 hits), ignited Yorktown to a 1-0 win versus John Jay-Cross River. “Going into the game, we were very confident that we could compete with them,” Brown said. “Eva called a great game behind the plate as always. I felt really good out there today and was able to hit my spots. We made many great plays on defense.” Alicia Cinicolo (1-3), Sienna Katzenberg (1-3, run), and Gianna Bjerke (1-2) produced for Yorktown at the plate. Brewster 7, Yorktown 6 Thursday, May 2, Brewster High School Brewster nipped Yorktown 7-6, with Destito (1-3, run, walk), Brown (2-3, run, RBI), Cinicolo (1-4, run, RBI), Ava Huffman (1- 4, double, 2 RBI), and Mia Horn (7 innings, 4 strikeouts) doing the job for the Huskers. Somers 11, Yorktown 0 Saturday, May 4, Yorktown High School McEniry, Destito, and Brown each had a hit with Brown (3 innings) striking out 3 and Horn (3.2 innings) 2 batters in Yorktown’s 11-0 loss to Somers. Lakeland Softball (7-8) Ardsley 4, Lakeland 0 Monday, April 29, Lakeland High School Jenna Yazzetti (1-3, single), Nicole Mautone (1-3, double, pitching 5 strikeouts), and Arianna DeEsso (1-3, single), led Lakeland in its 4-0 loss to Ardsley. Lakeland 16, Sleepy Hollow 1 (5 innings) Tuesday, April 30, Lakeland High School Lakeland defeated Sleepy Hollow 16-1 in five innings, led by Emily Yazzetti (3-3, single, double, triple, 5 RBI), Selah Lugo (2-2, 2 singles, 2 RBI), and Mautone (10 strikeouts). Lakeland 13, Panas 0 (5 innings) Thursday, May 2, Lakeland High School Amanda Cohen (3-4, 2 singles, 2 doubles, RBI), Madi Panos (3-4, single, double, triple, 5 RBI), and Mautone (8 strikeouts) helped Lakeland sweep the season series from sister school Walter Panas, 13-0, in five innings. “We always have such a fun time playing Panas,” said Cohen, a senior. “Today’s win was awesome as it was our senior night and ending the game with a victory was the cherry on top. Sweeping the series just boosts our morale for the last few games of our season and encourages us for playoffs.” Emily Yazzetti is Lakeland’s other senior. Lakeland 14, Poughkeepsie 0 Friday, May 3, Poughkeepsie High School Mautone struck out five, including her 300th strikeout for her varsity career, in a 14-0 win against Poughkeepsie. “To reach a milestone of 300, it Brown shuts out JJ-CR, Mautone gets 300 YHS girls lax wins league title PHOTO COURTESY OF COURTNEY HYNDMAN VARSITY ROUNDUP SEE ROUNDUPPAGE 34 The Consumer’s Choice for Discount Heating Oil! SAVE WITH OUR LOW C.O.D. PRICES! • No Contracts or Commitments • Oil Burner & A/C Service/Tune-ups • Quality Heating Oil • Senior Citizen & Volume Discounts • Heating, Cooling & Generator Installations • Price Matching (Restrictions apply) Order online at: www.codoil.com CALL US TODAY AND SAVE! 914.737.7769 Service... Integrity... Compassion Family owned and operated We began with a mission to celebrate life and serve families. There is much peace to be found here, and we invite you to find yours. Explore more. Take a tour. Read our story. Share in experiences. Anthony J. Guarino Family Owned & Operated 945 East Main Street • Shrub Oak, NY 10588 • (914) 962-0700 YorktownFuneralHome.com • [email protected]
felt great and means so much,” Mautone said. “It was nice to get that accomplishment along with a good team win. I’ve worked hard towards this goal to get there and can’t wait for the future.” Yorktown Girls Lacrosse (12-3) Yorktown 10, John Jay-CR 8 Tuesday, April 30, Yorktown High School Ava Cunneen (3G, 4 draw controls), Annie Cunneen (3G, 2 draw controls), Ali Passarella (3A), Ava Ryan (2G), Sofia Boucher (1G), Lily Diaz (1G, 2DC), Maggie Appelle (6 saves), and Annie Durante (1 save) propelled Yorktown, the No. 12 ranked Class B team in the state, to a 10-8 triumph vs. John Jay-CR, the No. 9 ranked Class C squad in New York. “Winning against John Jay was a huge accomplishment for us,” Annie Cunneen said. “It meant a lot to beat such a tough team. It was a really close game, but we managed to come out on top. It’s always a great feeling to win against a strong team.” Yorktown 9, Mahopac 4 Saturday, May 4, Yorktown High School Diaz (4G, 5DC), Ava Cunneen (1G, 1A, 3DC), Passarella (1G, 1A), Ryan (1G, 1A), Brie Gaccino (1G, 1A), Annie Cunneen (1G, 3DC), Samantha Robustelli (1A), and Appelle (9 saves) led Yorktown to a 9-4 victory against Mahopac, which clinched the league title for the Huskers. “It feels amazing to win that league title,” said Diaz, a freshman. “Our team has been working so hard, it was great to see that pay off.” Lakeland/”Panas Girls Lacrosse (6-8) Hen Hud 18, Lakeland/Panas 9 Tuesday, April 30, Hendrick Hudson High School Lakeland/Panas fell to Hendrick Hudson 18-9, led by Brooke Pizzarello (5G), Gabby Goldstein (1G, 1A), Maddie DiMirco (1A), Clare Warren (2G, 1A), Kaitlyn Wilkowski (1G), and Kate Astrab (10 saves). Lakeland/Panas 12, Brewster 9 Thursday, May 2, Lakeland High School Lakeland/Panas won its seniornight contest with a 12-9 triumph against Brewster, paced by Pizzarello (4G, 2A), Goldstein (3G, 1A), DiMirco (3G), Warren (2G) and Astrab (7 saves). “To win on my senior night felt like a culmination of all the hard work of my fellow seniors over the past years,” Warren said. “To be able to share a victory with my team whom I love, it felt right.” Isabel Kocaj, Ashley Glass, Wilkowski, and Astrab are the other Rebel seniors along with Warren. Mamaroneck 17, Lakeland/ Panas 7 Friday, May 3, Mamaroneck High School Lakeland/Panas fell to Mamaroneck 17-7, led by Pizzarello (1G), Goldstein (2G), Lilly Whippo (2G), Warren (2G, 9DC), and Astrab (5 saves). Yorktown Boys Lacrosse (8-4) Yorktown 9, Rye 8 Tuesday, April 30, Yorktown High School Yorktown, the No. 6 ranked Class B team in the state, rallied to win against Rye 9-8, ranked No. 4 in Class C in New York, on a goal in the second overtime by Chris Constantine (2G). “We were 2 EMO (extra man offense) and coach (Jeremy) Guski set up a play and a few of my teammates were telling me the shot was going to be there and it was,” Constantine said. “It was a pretty great feeling to score the goal and have the guys run onto the field, it’s definitely a memory I will remember.” Rye took the lead 8-7 with 2.8 seconds left in regulation. Yorktown’s Chad Bowen (57 percent face-offs) won the face-off afterward and got rid of it right away with a shot on goal from about 45 yards and scored as time expired to tie the game, forcing overtime. “So he (the Rye player) was going for a counter to try and tie me up to take as much time off as he could but I exited out as quick as possible and once I exited I took a couple of steps and shot it as soon as possible,” Bowen said. “It was definitely a great feeling to score the tying goal because this team had a lot against us and all we wanted to do is take home the win. One thing coach (Tim) Schurr always tells us is to never give up and we all take that to the heart and keep our foot on the gas.” Ryan Vogel (1G, 1A), Marchini (2G), JT Carney (1G, 1A), Dylan DelVecchio (1G), Brady Sheridan (1G), Andrew Weissman (1A), and Hunter Mezzatesta (8 saves) all contributed to the Husker win, their fourth in five overtime games at home. Yorktown 14, New Fairfield 4 Thursday, May 2, Yorktown High School Nick Carducci (4G), Marchini (1G, 2A), Constantine (1G), Ryan Cane (2A), JT Carney (2G, 1A), Vogel (1G, 1A), Devin Carney (1G), Nicolas Bucello (1G), DelVecchio (2G, 1A), Sheridan (1G), Mezzatesta (5 saves), Sam Brown (4 saves), Bowen (12/12 faceoffs), and Matt Merante (7/10 faceoffs) paced Yorktown in its PAGE 34 – YORKTOWN NEWS SPORTS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 ROUNDUP FROM PAGE 33 SEE ROUNDUPPAGE 35 Yorktown’s Vittoria Milizia makes the tag for the out at third base. Yorktown’s Sienna Katzenburg throws it in from the outfield. The Huskers’ Kate Brown follows through on a swing. The Huskers’ Kate Brown delivers a pitch. Yorktown’s Eva Destito puts it in play. PHOTOS: ROB DIANTONIO
bonding while driving to get food together. Who has been your biggest role model over the years and what have you learned from them? It has no doubt been my dad. He has coached me in any sport I chose to pursue growing up and has always given his unwavering support. From him, I’ve learned the importance of hard work and the value of perseverance. He taught me that every challenge is an opportunity to grow and to always be the best person I can be. Watching him approach life with empathy and strength inspires me daily to become a better person and be an example for those younger than me. Tell us one thing about yourself that not a lot of people know. How much I love to engage in completing puzzles, Legos, or even paint-by-numbers and diamond painting. These little engaging activities keep me busy and I could work on them for hours. What are your plans after high school? I recently chose to attend Lafayette College to study chemistry. I made the decision to only attend college and not play Division 1 soccer. This was both a significant and difficult decision for me because while soccer has always been a huge part of my life, I recognized that college offered many new and unique opportunities to explore. Name your favorite athlete or sports team. My favorite athlete would have to be Caitlin Clark from the Iowa women’s basketball team. Not only is she extremely talented, but she has done an amazing job of drawing attention to women’s sports and equity in athletics. What is your favorite pre-game music? Remix on SoundCloud that incorporates music from the 2000s and 2010s. I love listening to all different genres, so it gets me super pumped to listen to them all combined at once. If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? It would be the ability to manipulate time. I would love to be able to pause, rewind, or fast-forward time. I would choose to savor special moments a bit longer, help those when needed, and to correct mistakes. This power would be amazing for making the most of every situation and helping others. If you could pick one place to visit on vacation that you’ve never been to, where would you go and why? I would choose the Cayman Islands. While I’ve traveled to several different countries, most have not been tropical and I would love to have a nice beach resort escape. What is your favorite food before or after a game, and what’s your favorite Yorktown eatery? My favorite food to eat before a game would have to be an açai bowl from my favorite Yorktown eatery Primal Bowls. What’s the go-to app on your phone and why? It would have to be Instagram because I love seeing what people are up to and talking to new people. It’s a great way to reach people worldwide and see everyone’s creative expression. What would you tell a young athlete thinking about trying out for the Yorktown flag football team? I would say to absolutely go for it. Joining the Yorktown flag football team is a fantastic opportunity to learn new skills, make lasting friendships, and be part of a supportive community. Whether you’re an experienced player or new to the sport, flag football is not only fun but also a great way to build teamwork, leadership, and confidence. After all, we are making history. MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 SPORTS YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 35 ATHLETE FROM PAGE 32 ROUNDUP FROM PAGE 34 14-4 victory against New Fairfield. Lakeland Boys Lacrosse (5-7) Lakeland/Panas 15, Brewster 2 Monday, April 29, Walter Panas High School CC Savastano (3G, 2A), Jack Jimenez (2G, 1A), Anthony Farroni (2G, 1A, 13/14 faceoffs), Kyle Gallagher (1G, 2A), Paul Fitzgerald (2G), Bubba Baumeister (1G, 1A), Thomas Kuney (1G, 1A), Mikey DiCioccio (1G, 1A, 6/6 faceoffs), Will Moore (1G, 1A), Vinny Savastano (1G), and Brian Schiller (4 saves), led Lakeland/Panas to a 15-2 win against Brewster. Lakeland/Panas 16, Ossining-Peekskill 1 Thursday, May 2, Walter Panas High School Baumeister (3G, 2A), CC Savastano (4G, 1A), Kuney (3G, 2A), Moore (1G, 2A), Cayden Turner (1G, 1A), Jimenez (1G, 1A), Vinny Savastano (1G), DiCioccio (1G, 6/8 faceoffs), Tyler Nichols (1G), Paul Fitzgerald (1A), Kyle Gallagher (1A), Schiller (2 saves), and Farroni (6/12 faceoffs) helped the Rebels beat Ossining-Peekskill 16-1. Lakeland/Panas 16, Briarcliff 5 Saturday, May 4, Lakeland High School Lakeland/Panas won its third in a row with a 16-5 triumph against Briarcliff, paced by CC Savastano (4G, 2A), Gallagher (3G, 3A), Moore (2G, 3A), Kuney (3G, 1A), Baumeister (3G), Farroni (1G, 1A, 16/16 faceoffs), Vinny Savastano (2A), Turner (1A), Schiller (5 saves), KC Bryan (3 saves), and DiCioccio and Dom Lemma, who each won one faceoff apiece. “It’s really been about putting everything together from the start of the season to now,” said Moore, of the Rebels’ three-game winning streak. “Everyone on the team has bought into the process and we feel that our best lacrosse is played in May.” NO NEWS... 1. Clip the short form on the page 2. Fill out the information. 3. Mail it to P.O. Box 864, Mahopac, NY 10541 4. Or visit www.halstonsubscribe.com 5. Or Scan our QR Code to Subscribe. We need you to subscribe. 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PAGE 36 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 LEISURE To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! For puzzle solutions, please see theparamountrehab.com CLUES ACROSS 1. It wakes you up 6. A place to sleep 9. Czech village 13. Appetizer 14. African country 15. Dark brown or black 16. Parent-teacher groups 17. Saturates 18. ESPN personality Kimes 19. Songs to a lover 21. Cavalry-sword 22. Begat 23. Patriotic women 24. Famed Princess 25. One who does not conform 28. Neither 29. Nigerian monetary unit 31. Body parts 33. Hit Dave Matthews Band song 36. Depicts with pencil 38. Make into leather without tannin 39. Plants grow from them 41. Alias 44. Fingers do it 45. More dried-up 46. Clod 48. Senior officer 49. A way to listen to music 51. The bill in a restaurant 52. Historic center of Artois region 54. Cyprinid fishes 56. Poisonous perennial plant 60. Scottish Loch 61. Heads 62. Extra seed-covering 63. Wings 64. Britpop band 65. Forearm bones 66. Small immature herring 67. Female sibling 68. Hymn CLUES DOWN 1. Vipers 2. Not on time 3. Resembling a wing or wings 4. Tears down 5. Professional designation 6. Noise a sheep made 7. Type of lodge 8. Speak poorly of 9. Ties the knot again 10. Apron 11. Studied intensively 12. City in Finland 14. One who monitors 17. 18-year astronomical period 20. Trent Reznor’s band 21. Takes to the sea 23. Split pulses 25. Valentine’s Day color 26. Wyatt __ 27. Type of rail 29. One from the Big Apple 30. Asteroids 32. Made more sugary 34. Change in skin pigment 35. Mild yellow Dutch cheese 37. Koran chapters 40. A place to relax 42. Young woman ready for society life 43. Female horses 47. Half of Milli Vanilli 49. Icelandic poems 50. Indiana town 52. Golden peas 53. Closes tightly 55. It’s mined in mountains 56. Cliff (Hawaii) 57. Ribosomal ribonucleic acid 58. Monetary unit 59. Primordial matter 61. TV station 65. Rise PUZZLE SOLUTIONS FOR THE WEEK OF 4/25/24 Mixed Berry French Toast Whisk together the first six ingredients. Place bread cubes in a 13 x 9-inch or 3-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour egg mixture over top. Refrigerate, covered, eight hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 350 F. Remove berries from freezer and French toast from refrigerator and let stand while oven heats. Bake French toast, covered, 30 minutes. In a small bowl, cut butter into brown sugar until crumbly. Top French toast with berries; sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar and serve with syrup. This recipe is from Metro Creative Connection. Great breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day Ingredients Makes 8 servings 6 large eggs 1-3/4 cups fat-free milk 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon vanilla extract There may be no better way to start Mother’s Day than serving Mom some breakfast in bed. A homemade meal before Mom even gets out of bed can set the right tone for a day that celebrates all mothers have done and continue to do for their children. There’s no shortage of breakfast in bed options to serve Mom this Mother’s Day. If Mom loves a traditional hearty morning meal, this recipe for “Mixed Berry French Toast” courtesy of Taste of Home (tasteofhome.com) is sure to please. 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 loaf (1 pound)French bread, cubed 1 package (12 ounces) frozen unsweetened mixed berries 2 tablespoons cold butter 1/3 cup packed brown sugar Confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup (optional)
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 37 MUST BE 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER TO PLAY THE NEW YORK LOTTERY GAMES. PLEASE PLAY RESPONSIBLY. 24-HOUR PROBLEM GAMING HOTLINE: 1-877-8-HOPENY (846-7369) Newburgh, NY RWHudsonValleyNY.com I-84 | Exit 36B I-87 | Exit 17 Earn Entries All Month Long! Saturday, May 25 • 10pm Win a Ford Mustang GT Premium Fastback! *Actual model and color may vary. FORD MUSTANG DRAWING C Clark & Giordano | G Funeral Home Clark Funeral Home is now Under New Ownership Family Owned and Operated Joseph Giordano Jr., Owner/Yorktown Graduate and Resident Centrally Located in the Heart of Yorktown Oversized Chapel and Large Parking Lot We look forward to serving and giving back to the community that has been our home for so many years. 2104 Saw Mill River Road (Route 35, 118 & 202) • Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 Additional Location: Curry & Giordano Funeral Home, Peekskill 914.962.3333 www.clarkfh.com LAKELAND FROM PAGE 9 SEE LAKELAND PAGE 38 rising costs and mandates such as converting to electric buses. I’m eager to help the administration responsibly manage the district’s budget through economic hurdles while retaining the highest level of programming. Why should Lakeland residents vote for you? Because I’m completely invested in keeping “education” front and center in the Board of Education and will work to ensure all children are seen, heard, and understood at every level – academically, socially, and emotionally. Michael Daly Tell us about your background. I’m a 27-year resident of the Lakeland School District, married for 32 years, and the proud parent of three Lakeland alumnae. I am completing my third, three-year term as a school board trustee, currently serving as the board’s vice president Professionally, I am a senior vice president and registered financial advisor with an international financial services firm. I hold an undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA. In total, I have 40 years of diverse financial experience. As an active community volunteer, I served six years as treasurer of the Lakeland Education Foundation and seven years as director of the Shrub Oak Athletic Club’s Girls’ Basketball program. For 20 years, I coached my daughters and their teammates, often spending 15-plus hours a week in the gym. Do you support the administration’s current approach to evaluating challenged books? Lakeland has done an excellent job of providing age and content-appropriate books to our students. As a district, we look forward to the completion of our new state-of-the-art libraries. The new libraries in each of our eight schools will include college-level collaboration spaces, nooks for reading, and plenty of real books to encourage lifelong readers. The ADA-compliant spaces will remain available to community groups in the current budget. What should diversity/inclusion efforts look like in Lakeland? Where have such efforts succeeded or fallen short so far? Every student should feel welcome and safe. Under the leadership of the board and superintendent (Dr. Karen Gagliardi), the district has a robust Equity for All (E4A) program for students and faculty to proactively address intolerance, racism, and unconscious bias. E4A committees in each school, comprised of its own diverse stakeholders, collaboratively address issues of diversity and inclusion in a manner aligned with the district’s mission statement. Where do you see the balance between core subjects, arts, and athletics? An education must include a robust selection of challenging classes, and access to arts, music, and sports to keep students engaged and to truly prepare them for the world beyond graduation. During my tenure on the board, course selection has been expanded, music and drama programs received increased funding, and athletic facilities made state-of-the-art. Significant upgrades to science labs, STEAM centers, and theatres are currently in progress in a tax-neutral manner. What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the Lakeland School District in the coming years and how should it prepare? Inflation is running far more than the tax cap. This year, the state passed its budget late, after debating the idea of cutting school aid. Examining district spending and planning for the possibility of reduced government funding is essential. Taxpayers can ill afford unnecessary tax increases or waste. Why did you decide to seek reelection? I am honored the voters have trusted me to serve on this board. Leaving politics and personal agendas outside of the boardroom allows us to focus on what is best for students, educators, and taxpayers. As the longest-serving board member, I offer a unique historical perspective, which is coupled with my business experience. As long as I can add value, I hope to continue donating my time. Looking back on your tenure on the board, what were some of your (and the board’s) biggest accomplishments? The school board and the administration have done an amazing job of being fiscally responsible. This is evidenced by the funding of a $57 million capital project that is 100 percent tax-neutral to the taxpayers. We’ve kept tax increases below the tax cap, all while maintaining a high-quality educational experience. This isn’t an accident. It comes from years of managing expenses, planning, saving, and discipline. My accomplishments include assisting in the restructuring of the new capital improvement bonds, saving the district $ 300,000-plus in interest expense. I recommended the district change its investment policy for cash reserves. As a result, the district has earned $325,311 in additional interest this year. Why should Lakeland residents vote for you? My nine years on the board have proven my ability to make a quality education available to all students and to respect our teachers and parents while acting in the best interests of the taxpayers.
Anna Massaro Tell us about your background. I am a proud resident of Yorktown Heights, with two children in the Lakeland School District. My son is in seventh grade at Copper Beech Middle School and my daughter is in 10th grade at Lakeland High School. Although my children may attend these schools, I pride myself in being an active participant in as many school events as possible within our district, to show support for all our schools and how they support all our children. I began my career as a special education teacher in the Bronx [and] worked my way to becoming a staff developer and instructional coach always, having a hand in special education as the liaison. Currently, I am the specially designed instruction specialist with the Regional Partnership Center at PNW BOCES. Having been in the education system for over 22 years with a doctorate in teacher leadership, I have worked for positive change, with a particular focus on creating environments where all students feel safe and can be successful given their own strengths and challenges. Do you support the administration’s current approach to evaluating challenged books? As a specially designed instruction specialist, my goal is always to foster an inclusive and open-minded environment where diverse perspectives are represented and respected. I believe we have a process that is transparent and involves input from various stakeholders, including educators, parents, and students. What should diversity/inclusion efforts look like in Lakeland? Where have such efforts succeeded or fallen short so far? Lakeland has prioritized creating welcoming and equitable learning environments for all students, staff, and community members through the work of the Equity for All committees. Evidence of this can be seen through initiatives that committees at each school have implemented by fostering discussions and working towards established goals collaboratively. By actively listening to the needs of diverse voices and implementing inclusive policies and practices, the board strives to have every individual feel valued and respected within the Lakeland community. Where do you see the balance between core subjects, arts, and athletics? The balance between core subjects, arts, and athletics is vital to providing students with a well-rounded educational experience. While core subjects lay the foundation for academic success, arts and athletics play an important role in nurturing creativity, teamwork, and physical wellbeing. It is essential to provide students with opportunities to explore diverse interests and talents. By maintaining a balanced curriculum that incorporates all three areas, we can support a more holistic approach to education. What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the Lakeland School District in the coming years and how should it prepare? AM: Lakeland’s challenges are not unique [and] school structures are everchanging. Therefore, to address these challenges, we must prioritize proactive planning, collaboration, and innovation. This is done by engaging stakeholders in meaningful conversations, leveraging resources, and staying up to date on the ever-changing circumstances. This will allow us to navigate these challenges while ensuring that every student receives a high-quality education. Why did you decide to seek reelection? After serving on the board for the past three years, I am committed to serving the Lakeland community. I am passionate about making a positive impact on the lives of students and families. I believe my continued involvement can contribute to the ongoing progress and success of our district. With each passing year, I am inspired by the opportunity to collaborate with my fellow board members to find workable solutions that will enhance our students’ educational experiences. Looking back on your tenure on the board, what were some of your (and the board’s) biggest accomplishments? As part of the Wellness Committee, I help ensure our students and staff have access to healthy meals and wellness-related opportunities to help them better learn. As part of the District Youth Council Committee, I help ensure our students’ voices are being heard and valued at the top levels of the district and concerns are being taken into consideration. As part of the Special Education Committee, I help ensure that all students’ needs are being met with the greatest access to their peers and the general education curriculum with the support needed to succeed. I also helped revive the Little Red School House historic field trip for our fourth graders. This experience is part of Lakeland’s rich history and is now up and running again for our students to learn and enjoy. Why should Lakeland residents vote for you? Together as a team, we can work collaboratively to not only find solutions to problems but create opportunities for our children to thrive. Becky Burfeind Tell us about your background. I am a 21-year resident of the Lakeland Central School District, married for 27 years, and am the proud parent of two LCSD graduates. One who has graduated college with a degree PAGE 38 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 LAKELAND FROM PAGE 37 SEE LAKELAND PAGE 42 PICK-UP & DELIVERY AVAILABLE WE SERVICE ALL BRANDS OF PORTABLE GENERATORS 845-225-3503 * LAWN MOWERS * CHAIN SAWS * TRIMMERS * TRACTORS * GENERATORS * MOTORCYCLES * ATV’S * AND MORE! FACTORY-TRAINED SERVICE TECHNICIANS EAST ROAD MOTORS 58 CAROLAN RD. EAST • CARMEL, NY www.EASTROADMOTORS.com MAY IS LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH!! 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MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 39 Investigations and Accountability (COLUMBIA) Act would have the Secretary of Education appoint antisemitism monitors to college campuses that receive federal funding. The expenses of the monitorship would be paid by the particular college or university that has been selected for monitorship. Failure to comply with the monitorship would result in the loss of federal funds. The monitor would release a publicly available online quarterly report, evaluating in detail the progress that a college or university has made toward combating antisemitism on campus and issuing policy recommendations to Congress, the Secretary of Education, and state and local regulators as needed. The other bill is known as the Stop the Antisemitism on College Campuses Act, which would strip funding if the school were found to be propagating antisemitism. A spokesperson for Lawler’s office said he believes the Columbia Act will get to the House floor for a vote in about a month. Lawler’s 17th Congressional District contains all or parts of Putnam, Dutchess, Rockland, and Westchester counties and is home to one of the largest Jewish populations in the United States. ANTISEMITISM FROM PAGE 10 Hercules Volpe Hercules Alexander Volpe, a former longtime Mahopac resident, passed away on April 22, 2024. He was born in Providence R.I., on July 10, 1928, to Giovanni and Mary (Vento) Volpe. He was the youngest of six children - two brothers, and three sisters - all of whom passed away before him. Herc, as he was known to family and friends, was the devoted husband of the late Barbara (Cutler) Volpe. He was in the U.S. Navy from January 1946 through December 1947. He was a graduate of the prestigious Rhode Island School of Design and put his engineering degree to good use during his 37 years at IBM and in everyday life. He was an exemplary employee, but the most important role in his life was as a husband and father. He was a strong, generous, giving man who spent many years volunteering at several East Hampton Organizations starting in the mid-1980s. Before the move to Amagansett, N.Y. he and his wife Barbara lived in Mahopac for more than 30 years where they were active participants at St. John the Evangelist Church and Parish community. Herc was still imparting knowledge, guidance, and love at the age of 95-plus years. He and his late wife Barbara raised nine children and were the proud grandparents of 53 grandchildren and greatgrandchildren. Hercules, and the love of his life Barbara, were married on June 8th, 1950, for 67 years, raising not only their 9 children but also Jean Cutler, beloved 9-year-old sister of Barbara. He is survived by his children Katherine ( Jack) Bettin; Susan (Larry) Gusmano; Peggy (Kevin) Healy; Rosemary (Steven) Carinci; Annie (Rich) Fetzer; James (Louise) Volpe; Beth (Richard Jr.) Ainsworth; Krissie ( Jay) Hansmann; Matthew (Lisa) Volpe, 22 grandchildren, and 31 great-grandchildren. Herc was cremated and a funeral mass was held at St. Peter’s Church in Amagansett with a private interment following on May 2. A memorial mass will be held at St. John the Evangelist Church in Mahopac at a later date. OBITUARY MY BROTHER VINNY WALK/PARTY MY BROTHER VINNY WALK/PARTY MY BROTHER VINNY WALK/PARTY US STORAGE CENTER, MOHEGAN LAKE NY US STORAGE CENTER, MOHEGAN LAKE NY US STORAGE CENTER, MOHEGAN LAKE NY 2,400+ Veterans served 2,400+ Veterans served 2,400+ Veterans served ...and counting with your help! ...and counting with your help! ...and counting with your help! Early birds welcome starting at 10am Car Shows at Jefferson Valley Mall Join the Trans Ams and Camaros of the Hudson Valley every Tuesday night at 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the Jefferson Valley Mall (600 Lee Blvd.). Showcase your American muscle cars while checking out others from throughout the lower Hudson Valley. Donate Blood With supplies short, the American Red Cross and New York Blood Center are organizing multiple blood drives in town: Jefferson Valley Mall, 650 Lee Blvd. in Yorktown Heights on Monday, May 13, noon-6 p.m. (New York Blood Center); Copper Beech Middle School, Tuesday, May 14, 3:30-8 p.m. (New York Blood Center); John C. Hart Memorial Library, Tuesday, May 21, 12:30 p.m.-5 p.m. (American Red Cross). Visit donate. nybc.org/donor/schedules for more information about these and other donation opportunities. GREEN FROM PAGE 2 To advertise in Yorktown News, call Brett Freeman at 845- 208-8151 or email freeman@ halstonmedia.com.
PAGE 40 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 My Community Bulletin Board Honest and Reliable, 30+ years experience. Local Collector/Seller Putnam/Westchester/Orange/Dutchess and more Call or text: 917-699-2496 • email: [email protected] Hope to hear from you! Thanks! BUYING COMIC BOOK COLLECTIONS! TOP PRICES PAID! 3565 Crompond Road • Suite 202 • Cortlandt Manor, NY 10567 Office: 914.736.9230 ext 107 Direct: 914.788.4549 Cell: 914.659.2051 Fax: 914.930.1111 [email protected] www.asapmortgageinc.com Douglas C. Petri Branch Manager NMLS# 39875 Registered Mortgage Broker - NYS Department of Financial Services. CT - Mortgage Broker Only. Not A Mortgage Lender or Mortgage Correspondent Lender. Mortgage Broker Licensed in Florida. Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities. All loans arranged through 3rd party providers. Company NMLS # 4368, Cortlandt Manor Branch NMLS # 325538, Yonkers Branch NMLS # 1140068 914-245-2060 YorktownGardenSupply.com Topsoil Stone Mulch Sand 3311 Gomer Street Yorktown, NY 10598 INCREASE REFERRALS AND NAME RECOGNITION. Advertise in the Yorktown News Bulletin Board and reach over 7,000 USPS delivered addresses every week. Call 845-208-8151 today! BY SOPHIA CASELNOVA STAFF WRITER Yorktown HS student and National Honor Society member Isabella Falcone has been passionate about dance and music all her life. At age 3, she began studying ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop and has been competing in ballroom since middle school. It was also about that time that she discovered her love for playing an instrument after a transfer to Yorktown schools led her to take up the violin. “Music has given me a great avenue to express myself and learn about others,” Falcone said. “I can’t wait to see where my musical journey will bring me in the future!” When did you start playing music? I started playing the violin in sixth grade when I transferred from a private school to Yorktown Central School District. It was hard for me at first to go from a music class that didn’t have any instruments to a class that had actual instruments where students were already more advanced than me. Eventually, with the guidance of my teacher and friends, I was able to catch up and begin playing with the rest of the class. From the beginning, the violin became a big part of my school career. After being introduced to the violin, I began expanding into other instruments, including playing in the bell choir which I performed with my sister and some friends at church. Do you plan to continue after high school? I hope to continue playing the violin in college. I have a love of music that is part of me. I hope to find a club that reaches out to the community to spread joy through music. I also plan on continuing other extracurricular activities that I have been a part of in high school, including rowing and debate. Through my activities outside of my academics, I hope to expand my experiences and knowledge of the world Who inspires you? Honestly, all my teachers really inspired me. As someone who entered high school mid-pandemic, the transition from middle school to high school was incredibly difficult. My teachers were the ones who gave me hope about my future and really pushed me to not only create goals for myself but then inspired me to reach them. They gave me the small push I needed and were there to support me the entire way. Dr. Bhasin has been an incredible addition to my high school experience. Trying to learn the violin during COVID was difficult, but since Dr. B came to the school he made learning fun and interactive. When I had any difficulty with anything, he would always listen to me and share his opinion. From him, I found mentorship and connection with faculty that I hope to replicate within my college experience. What makes playing an instrument so fulfilling? Playing the violin provides me with many benefits. It brings me happiness to play with my peers and I can see the joy it brings to our community. The musical showcase that Tri-M [music honor society] put on for the residents at Artis Senior Living Facility was well received and we were able to create such happy memories for those who attended. The event went so well that they wanted more opportunities to see the students. I am very proud to be a member of such an important and special organization as Tri-M whose mission it is to spread the love and appreciation of music. What do you do in your free time? I am currently taking four AP courses, so I have had to learn how to budget my time. That being said, I’m involved in a lot of extracurricular activities. In school, I am the president of Tri-M so I tend to do a lot of work for that during my free time. I am an avid reader. I grew up on the classics and mythology. I also enjoy dancing. I am a competitive ballroom dancer with my twin sister, Savannah, as my partner. I also love to row with my crew team. My sister and I are captains of the CCRA crew team. Last year my sister and I rowed a double at States. I also enjoy baking, and even working out during my free time. As a member of the National Honor Society, I also tutor. I enjoy giving back and helping at my school. With a very full schedule, I find these activities beneficial in helping me to relax. What kind of music inspires you? Through these types of experiences, I have been able to meet so many different types of people and find so many different genres of songs that bring people together. I also have a large portion of my family that is Peruvian and their musical taste has greatly inspired mine. My favorite songs have to be the ones that get my family and friends up and make us dance, have fun, and enjoy spending time together. My top five songs are definitely “Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony, “Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna, “Bailando” by Enrique Iglesias, “Ego” by Willy William, and “Thrift Shop: by Macklemore. Isabella Falcone takes a bow Isabella Falcone with her violin COURTESY OF ISABELLA FALCONE PERFORMING ARTS SPOTLIGHT
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 41 Scan Here To Sign Up (It’s FREE!) Get YOUR Town’s Local News In Your Inbox Daily Service: 914-669-9679 Auto Sales: 914-485-1195 Fax: 914-669-9685 6 Dingle Ridge Road - North Salem, NY 10560 meccanicshop.com ORDER ON OUR ONLINE STORE AND PICKUP LO CALLY! BEST PRICES IN THE AREA! PICKUP HOURS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY! www.american-arms.com [email protected] 1928 Commerce St, Suite C Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 NRA Basic Pistol/Personal Protection UTAH Concealed Firearms Course Private Lessons Permit Assistance Refuse To Be A Victim™ Group and Private Classes Gun Sales & Ammunition Gun Accessories FFL Services & Transfers 914-455-4210 BY EMILE MENASCHÉ EDITOR Yorktown High School student Carly McGirr started dancing at age 7 and has never looked back. With a work ethic inherited from her mom and a feel for music that’s part of her DNA, the Yorktown High School senior has the moves to excel in a variety of dance styles. We caught up with her earlier this spring. Who is your greatest artistic influence? My mom inspires me because she has shown me how to work hard every day to achieve my goals by owning her own business, working morning and night to make sure she is getting her work done. This inspires me to continue to work hard and learn to improve myself every day and become successful in what I am doing whether it is dance, school, or work. Do you plan to keep dancing after high school? Yes. I plan on continuing to take classes at Broadway Dance Center and auditioning for the dance team at whatever college I end up attending. What’s the most challenging thing about dance? The thing that makes dancing in and outside of school is being able to learn many different styles from different teachers. What songs would you put on a Top 5 playlist? “No Caller ID” by Megan Moroney, “I Remember Everything” by Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, “Escapism” by RAYE, 070 Shake, “Sand in My Boots” by Morgan Wallen, and “Riptide” by Vance Joy Carly McGirr has dancing in her DNA PHOTO COURTESY OF CARLY MCGIRR PERFORMING ARTS SPOTLIGHT
in music education and one who will graduate in a few weeks with a major in education and a minor in American Sign Language. I volunteered in Lakeland schools for 14 years, from class parent to PTA president, and I am passionate about educating and equipping our children for a rapidly changing world. I am currently serving in my fifth year on the LCSD Board of Education. I serve on the Health and Safety Committee, District Equity for All Committee, Sick Bank, and Policy Committee. I have been the office manager in a financial planning/retirement planning firm for the past eight years. In my early career, I worked for 12 years in the airline industry, including as a station manager and district trainer. I was also a full-time mom for 16 years and a fitness kickboxing instructor for five years. Do you support the administration’s current approach to evaluating challenged books? Lakeland does an excellent job of providing age and content-appropriate books in our schools. The policy is available on our website and the process is transparent. Our district looks forward to the completion of our capital project that will bring so many upgrades to our libraries and media spaces. What should diversity/inclusion efforts look like in Lakeland? Where have such efforts succeeded or fallen short? Lakeland has Equity for All (E4A) committees in each building and a district E4A committee that I serve on. We believe that all students should have the PAGE 42 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 LAKELAND FROM PAGE 38 SEE LAKELAND PAGE 44 LAKELAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING, INCLUDING ELECTION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND VOTE ON THE SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET AND PROPOSITIONS THE BOARD OF EDUCATION OF LAKELAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT OF SHRUB OAK, NEW YORK, HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that the Annual Public Hearing on the Budget shall be held on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at the Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, at which time the budget for the 2024-2025 school year shall be presented. NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Annual Meeting for the purpose of voting on the Budget and Propositions and electing three (3) members to the Board of Education will be held at the VAN CORTLANDTVILLE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GYMNASIUM, Mohegan Lake, NY, in said District, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Daylight Savings Time. NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education must be filed with the District Clerk at her office in the Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, not later than April 22, 2024 at 5:00 p.m. The following vacancies on the Board of Education are to be filled: Term: Name of Last Incumbent 3 years – expiring June 30, 2027 Becky Burfeind 3 years – expiring June 30, 2027 Michael G. Daly 3 years – expiring June 30, 2027 Anna Massaro Each petition must be directed to the Clerk of the District, must be signed by at least 25 qualified voters, and shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 2018 of the Education law. NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that the Budget Proposition, and Proposition in substantially the following form, shall be presented to the qualified voters of the District at such Annual District Meeting and Election: PROPOSITION 1 – 2024-2025 BUDGET RESOLVED, that an amount to be determined be appropriated to meet the estimated expenditures for school purposes for the school year 2024-2025 and that the Board of Education of the Lakeland Central School District be authorized to levy taxes to meet the same. PROPOSITION 2 – BUS/VEHICLE BOND RESOLVED: That the Board of Education of the Lakeland Central School District of Shrub Oak, in the Counties of Westchester and Putnam, New York (the “District”), is hereby authorized to purchase (i) gas/diesel powered buses and vehicles, at the estimated cost of $1,358,071; (ii) an electric powered bus, at the estimated cost of $435,908 and (iii) an electric powered vehicle, at the estimated cost of $141,821 and to expend for the foregoing, including preliminary costs and costs incidental thereto and to the financing thereof, an amount not to exceed the estimated total cost of $1,935,800; provided that the detailed costs of such buses and vehicles as set forth herein may be reallocated if the Board of Education shall determine that such reallocation is in the best interests of the District; 1. that a tax is hereby voted in the aggregate amount of not to exceed $1,935,800 to pay such cost, said tax to be levied and collected in installments in such years and in such amounts as shall be determined by said Board of Education; and 2. that in anticipation of said tax, bonds of the District are hereby authorized to be issued in the principal amount of not to exceed $1,935,800 and a tax is hereby voted to pay the interest on said bonds as the same shall become due and payable. 3. Such Bond Proposition shall appear on the ballots used for voting at said Annual District Meeting and Election in substantially the following condensed form: RESOLVED: That the Board of Education of the Lakeland Central School District of Shrub Oak, in the Counties of Westchester and Putnam, New York (the “District”), is hereby authorized to purchase various gas/diesel powered and electric powered school buses and vehicles for use by the District and to expend therefor, including preliminary costs and costs incidental thereto and to the financing thereof, an amount not to exceed the estimated total cost of $1,935,800; (b) that a tax is hereby voted in the aggregate amount of not to exceed $1,935,800 to pay such cost, said tax to be levied and collected in installments in such years and in such amounts as shall be determined by said Board of Education; and (c) that in anticipation of said tax, bonds of the District are hereby authorized to be issued in the principal amount of not to exceed $1,935,800 and a tax is hereby voted to pay the interest on said bonds as the same shall become due and payable. 1. NOTICE IS HEREBY FURTHER GIVEN that the Board of Registration shall meet at the Lakeland Central School District Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY in the conference room between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (Daylight Savings Time) on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Any person shall be entitled to have his/her name placed upon such register provided that at the above-mentioned meeting of the Board of Registration he/she personally appears and is known or proved to the satisfaction of the Board of Registration to be then and thereafter entitled to vote at the school meeting/election for which this register is prepared. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that, pursuant to Article 5 of the Election Law, any person otherwise qualified to vote who is currently registered with the Westchester or Putnam County Board of Elections for any General Election under the provisions of the Election Law shall be entitled to vote without further registration. If a voter has previously registered to vote with the school district and has voted at an annual or special school district meeting within the last four calendar years, he/she is eligible to vote. NOTICE IS ALSO HEREBY GIVEN that the Board of Registration will also meet during and at the place of the foregoing election between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 to prepare a register for meetings or elections held subsequent to said Annual Meeting and Election. The register, including the names of military voters who submitted valid military voter registrations, will be on file in the office of the District Clerk, at the Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, and will be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the District between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on each of the five days preceding and on the day set for the Annual Meeting (other than a Saturday, Sunday or holiday). AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that a copy of the detailed statement in writing of the amount of money which will be required for the school year 2024-2025 for school purposes specifying the several purposes and the amount for each, including the property tax report card and tax exemption reporting form, may be obtained by any resident in the District on each of the fourteen days preceding the Annual Meeting (other than a Saturday, Sunday or holiday) at each of the schoolhouses in which school is maintained and at the Administration Building, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and at such Annual Meeting. The Budget will also be available at any free association or public library located within the District and on the District website. A Real Property Tax Exemption Report prepared in accordance with Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law will be annexed to any budget of which it will form a part; and shall be posted on District bulletin board(s) maintained for public notices, as well as on the District’s website. PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that applications for early mail ballots and absentee ballots for the election of members of the Board of Education and for voting on the School District budget and on propositions, in accordance with the provisions of Education Law, Section 2018-e (early mail ballots) and Section 2018-a (absentee ballots), may be obtained at the office of the Clerk of the District, Administration Building, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY. The application for early mail ballot or absentee ballot must be received by the District Clerk no more than 30 days and at least seven days prior to the Annual Meeting if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter or the day before the Annual Meeting if the ballot will be picked up personally by the voter or the voter’s authorized agent set forth in the application, at the District Office. Lists of all persons to whom early mail ballots have been issued, absentee ballots have been issued, and military ballots have been issued, will be available for public inspection in said office of the Clerk during regular office hours (8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) until the day of the election. Any qualified voter may file a written challenge of the qualifications of a voter, whose name appears on any such list, stating the reasons for the challenge. AND NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that Military Voters who are not currently registered to vote in the District may obtain an application to register as a qualified voter of the District for the Annual Meeting on May 21, 2024 by contacting the District Clerk at 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588, Telephone (914) 245-1700, Ext. 39022, or email: [email protected]. The Military Voter may indicate their preference for receiving the registration application by mail, by facsimile or email. The application to register must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 P.M. on April 25, 2024 Military Voters who are qualified voters of the District may obtain an application for a military ballot from the District Clerk at 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588, Telephone (914) 245-1700, Ext. 39022, or email: [email protected] by no later than 5:00 P.M. on April 25, 2024. The completed application for a military ballot must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 P.M. on April 30, 2024. The Military Voter may indicate their preference for receiving the application for a military ballot by mail, by facsimile or email. Military ballots will be mailed or otherwise distributed no later than 25 days before the election. Military ballots must be returned by mail or in person and received by the District Clerk by 5:00 P.M. on May 21, 2024. THIS LEGAL NOTICE CAN ALSO BE FOUND ON THE DISTRICT WEBSITE IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH: www.lakelandschools.org By Order of the Board of Education Lakeland Central School District of Shrub Oak Lynn Cosenza District Clerk
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 43 LAKELAND CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AVISO DE REUNIÓN ANUAL, INCLUYENDO LA ELECCIÓN DE LOS MIEMBROS DE LA JUNTA DE EDUCACIÓN Y LA VOTACIÓN DE LAS PROPUESTAS Y EL PRESUPUESTO DEL DISTRITO ESCOLAR LA JUNTA DE EDUCACIÓN DEL DISTRITO ESCOLAR CENTRAL LAKELAND DE SHRUB OAK, NUEVA YORK, POR LA PRESENTE AVISA que la Audiencia Pública Anual sobre el Presupuesto se llevará a cabo el martes 7 de mayo de 2024 a las 7:00 p. m. en el Edificio Administrativo, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, momento en el cual se presentará el presupuesto para el año escolar 2024-2025. Y POR LA PRESENTE ADEMÁS SE AVISA que la reunión anual para votar por el presupuesto, las propuestas y la elección de tres (3) miembros de la Junta de Educación se llevará a cabo en el GIMNASIO DE LA ESCUELA PRIMARIA VAN CORTLANDTVILLE, Mohegan Lake, NY, en dicho distrito, el martes 21 de mayo de 2024, desde las 7:00 a.m. a las 9:00 p.m., horario de verano. Y POR LA PRESENTE ADEMÁS SE AVISA que las peticiones de nominación de candidatos para el cargo de miembro de la Junta de Educación deben presentarse ante la secretaria del Distrito en su oficina en el Edificio Administrativo, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, a más tardar el 22 de abril de 2024 a las 5:00 p.m. Las siguientes vacantes para la Junta de Educación deben ser llenadas: Periodo Nombre del último o última titular 3 años - expira el 30 de junio de 2027 Becky Burfeind 3 años - expira el 30 de junio de 2027 Michael G. Daly 3 años - expira el 30 de junio de 2027 Anna Massaro Cada petición debe dirigirse a la secretaria del Distrito, debe ser firmada por al menos 25 votantes cualificados y estar de acuerdo con las disposiciones de la sección 2018 de la Ley de Educación. Y ADEMÁS SE AVISA que la Propuesta de Presupuesto, y la Propuesta, se presentarán a los votantes cualificados del Distrito en dicha Reunión y Elección Anual del Distrito sustancialmente de la siguiente forma: PROPUESTA 1 – PRESUPUESTO 2024-2025 SE RESUELVE que se reserve, una cantidad a ser determinada, para cubrir los gastos estimados para propósitos escolares para el año escolar 2024-2025 y que la Junta de Educación del Distrito Escolar Central Lakeland esté autorizada a recaudar impuestos para cumplir con los mismos. PROPUESTA 2 - BONO PARA AUTOBÚS/VEHÍCULOS SE RESUELVE: (a) Que la Junta de Educación del Distrito Escolar Central de Shrub Oak in Lakeland, en los condados de Westchester y Putnam, Nueva York (el “Distrito”), está autorizada a comprar (i) autobuses y vehículos propulsados por gas/diésel, con un costo estimado de $1,358,071; (ii) un autobús propulsado por electricidad, con un costo estimado de $435,908 y (iii) un vehículo propulsado por electricidad, con un costo estimado de $141,821 y gastar para lo anterior, incluidos los costos preliminares y los costos accesorios, así como para su financiación, una cantidad que no supere el costo total estimado de $1,935,800; siempre que los costos detallados de dichos autobuses y vehículos establecidos en este documento puedan reasignarse si la Junta de Educación determina que dicha reasignación es para el mejor interés del Distrito; (b) que por la presente se vota un impuesto por una cantidad total que no debe exceder $1,935,800 para pagar tal costo, dicho impuesto a ser tasado y recaudado en tales años y en tales cantidades como lo determine dicha Junta de Educación; y (c) que en anticipación a dicho impuesto, se autoriza la emisión de bonos del Distrito por el monto principal que no exceda los $1,935,800 y se vota un impuesto para pagar los intereses de dichos bonos, a medida que los mismos venzan y sean pagaderos. Dicha propuesta de bono deberá figurar en las boletas usadas para votar en dicha elección y reunión anual del Distrito substancialmente en la siguiente forma condensada: PROPUESTA DE BONOS SE RESUELVE: (a) Que la Junta de Educación del Distrito Escolar Central de Shrub Oak in Lakeland, en los condados de Westchester y Putnam, Nueva York (el “Distrito”), por la presente está autorizada a comprar varios autobuses y vehículos escolares que funcionan con gas/diésel y electricidad para su uso en el Distrito y a gastar, incluidos los costos preliminares y los costos relacionados con los mismos y su financiación, una cantidad que no supere el costo total estimado de $1,935,800; (b) que por la presente se vota un impuesto por un monto total que no exceda los $1,935,800 para pagar dicho costo, dicho impuesto se tasará y recaudará en cuotas en los años y montos que determine dicha Junta de Educación; y (c) que, en anticipación a dicho impuesto, se autoriza la emisión de bonos del Distrito por un monto de capital que no supere los $1,935,800 y se vota un impuesto para pagar los intereses de dichos bonos a medida que venzan y sean pagaderos. Y POR LA PRESENTE ADEMÁS SE AVISA, que la Junta de Registro se reunirá en el Edificio de Administración del Distrito Escolar Central Lakeland, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, Nueva York, en la sala de conferencias entre las 9:00 a.m. y la 1:00 p.m. (Horario de verano) el miércoles 1 de mayo de 2024. Toda persona tendrá derecho a que su nombre se incluya en dicho registro siempre que en la citada reunión de la Junta de Registro, él/ella se presente personalmente y se sepa o se demuestre a satisfacción de la Junta de Registro que en ese momento y a partir de entonces, tiene derecho a votar en la reunión/elección escolar para la cual se preparó este registro. Y ADEMÁS SE AVISA, que en virtud del artículo 5 de la Ley Electoral, cualquier persona cualificada para votar que está registrada actualmente con la Junta Electoral del condado de Westchester o Putnam para cualquier elección general bajo las disposiciones de la Ley Electoral tendrá derecho a votar sin tener que volver a registrarse. Si los votantes han sido registrados previamente con el distrito escolar para votar y han votado en una reunión anual o especial de Distrito escolar dentro de los últimos cuatro años, ellos reúnen los requisitos para votar. Y ADEMÁS SE AVISA POR LA PRESENTE que la Junta de Registro también se reunirá durante y en el lugar de la elección entre las 7:00 a.m. y la 9:00 p.m. el martes 21 de mayo de 2024 para preparar un registro para reuniones o elecciones a llevarse a cabo posteriormente a la reunión anual y la elección. El registro, incluidos los nombres de los votantes militares que presentaron registros de votantes militares válidos, se archivará en la oficina de la secretaria del Distrito, en el Edificio de Administración, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY, y estará abierto para inspección por cualquier votante cualificado del Distrito entre las 10:00 a.m. y las 4:00 p.m. en cada uno de los cinco días anteriores y en el día fijado para la Reunión Anual (que no sea sábado, domingo o feriado). Y ADEMÁS SE AVISA que una copia de la declaración detallada por escrito de la cantidad de dinero que se requerirá para el año escolar 2024-2025 para propósitos escolares, que especifica los varios propósitos y el monto para cada uno, incluyendo la tarjeta de informe de impuestos a la propiedad y el formulario de informe de exención de impuestos, puede se obtenida por los residentes del Distrito en cada uno de los catorce días anteriores a la reunión anual (que no sea sábado, domingo o feriado) en cada una de las escuelas y en el edificio de la administración, entre las 8:30 a.m. y 3:00 p.m. y en la reunión anual mencionada. El Presupuesto también estará disponible en cualquier asociación gratuita o biblioteca pública ubicadas en el Distrito y en la página web del distrito. Un informe de exención al impuesto a la propiedad elaborado de conformidad con la sección 495 de la Ley de Impuesto a la Propiedad será anexado a todo presupuesto del cual formará parte; y será publicado en la(s) cartelera(s) de anuncios del Distrito mantenidas para avisos públicos, así como en la página web del Distrito. TENER EN CUENTA ADEMÁS que las solicitudes de boletas para votación anticipada por correo y boletas de voto en ausencia para la elección de los miembros de la Junta de Educación y para votar sobre el presupuesto y las propuestas del Distrito Escolar, de conformidad con las disposiciones de la Ley de Educación, la Sección 2018-e (boletas para votación anticipada por correo) y la Sección 2018-a (boletas de voto en ausencia), se pueden obtener en la oficina de la secretaria del Distrito, Edificio Administrativo, 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, Nueva York. Las solicitudes completas deben ser recibidas por la secretaria del Distrito no más de treinta (30) días y al menos siete (7) días antes de la elección si la boleta se enviará por correo a los votantes, o el día antes de la elección anual, en la oficina del Distrito, si la boleta será recogida personalmente por los votantes o agentes autorizados por los votantes, como esté establecido en la solicitud. Las listas de todas las personas a las que se han emitido boletas de votación anticipada por correo, boletas de voto en ausencia y boletas militares estarán disponibles para su inspección pública en dicha oficina de la secretaria durante el horario habitual de oficina (de 8:30 a. m. a 4:00 p. m.) hasta el día de las elecciones. Todos los votantes cualificados pueden presentar una impugnación por escrito de la cualificación de uno de los votantes cuyo nombre aparezca en dicha lista, exponiendo los motivos para la impugnación. Y ADEMÁS SE AVISA que los votantes militares que no están registrados actualmente para votar en el Distrito pueden obtener una solicitud para registrarse como votantes cualificados del Distrito para la Reunión Anual del 21 de mayo de 2024 comunicándose con la secretaria del Distrito en 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588, teléfono (914) 245-1700, extensión 39022, o por correo electrónico: [email protected]. El/la votante militar puede indicar su preferencia de recibir la solicitud de registro por correo, fax o correo electrónico. La secretaria de Distrito debe recibir la solicitud de registro a más tardar a las 5:00 p. m. del 25 de abril de 2024. Los votantes militares que reúnan los requisitos para votar en el distrito pueden obtener una solicitud de boleta militar de la secretaria de Distrito en 1086 East Main Street, Shrub Oak, NY 10588, teléfono (914) 245-1700, ext. 39022 o correo electrónico: [email protected] a más tardar a las 5:00 p.m. el 25 de abril de 2024. La solicitud completa para registrarse y/o para una boleta militar debe ser recibida por la secretaria del Distrito no más tarde de las 5:00 p.m., el día 30 de abril de 2024. El/la votante militar puede indicar su preferencia de recibir la solicitud de una boleta de voto militar por correo, fax o correo electrónico. Las boletas de voto militar se enviarán por correo o se distribuirán no más tarde de los 25 días antes de la elección. Las boletas de voto militar deben ser devueltas por correo o en persona y recibidas por la secretaria del Distrito no más tarde de las 5:00 de la tarde del día 21 de mayo de 2024. ESTE AVISO TAMBIÉN PUEDE ENCONTRARSE EN LA PÁGINA WEB DEL DISTRITO EN INGLÉS Y ESPAÑOL: www.lakelandschools.org Por Orden de la Junta de Educación Distrito Escolar Central Lakeland de Shrub Oak Lynn Cosenza Secretaria del Distrito LEGAL NOTICES Contact Us Yorktown News is located at 118 N. Bedford Road, Suite 100, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. You can contact us at 914-302-5830 or email yorktownnews@ halstonmedia.com.
PAGE 44 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 LAKELAND FROM PAGE 42 SEE LAKELAND PAGE 45 opportunity to learn and feel safe and supported in LCSD. Our commitment to this equity work is ongoing. Please see our E4A page that highlights some of the ongoing work in our district at lakelandschools. org/community/equity_for_all/ index.php. Where do you see the balance between core subjects, arts, and athletics? I am proud of the AP courses available to our students and also the opportunities that provide exposure to the arts, music, and athletics. While the core subjects are vitally important to the foundation of education, the additional programs are important to round out the students’ educational experience. Students have different talents and skills, and we need to continue to provide opportunities to grow and succeed. My children thrived in Lakeland and received an excellent education with a foundation of credits to begin their college careers. What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the Lakeland School District in the coming years? The state mandate to replace gas buses with electric vehicles by 2035. As LCSD has a large bus fleet, the cost and logistics of infrastructure PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE IS HERE GIVEN that a public hearing will be held by the Town Board, Town of Yorktown, Westchester County, New York, at the Town Hall, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598 on the 21st day of May, 2024 at 7:30 o’clock PM, or as soon thereafter as the same can be heard, to consider amending Section 216-2 of the Code of the Town of Yorktown entitled “Peace and Good Order.” A copy of the proposed local law is on file in the Office of the Town Clerk at the said Town Hall, where the same may be inspected during regular office hours. It may also be viewed on the Town Clerk’s website at www.yorktownny.org under Pending Legislation. All persons in interest and citizens may be heard at the public hearing as aforesaid. DIANA L. QUAST, TOWN CLERK MASTER MUNICIPAL CLERK TOWN OF YORKTOWN YORKTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NEW YORK NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING, BUDGET VOTE AND ELECTION NOTICE The Board of Education of the Yorktown Central School District, HEREBY GIVES NOTICE, that the Annual Meeting, Annual School District Election and Budget Vote of the residents of the School District, qualified to vote at school meetings in the District, will be held in the Cafeteria of the French Hill School, Yorktown Heights, New York on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 for the purpose of voting by voting machine on the statement of estimated expenses for the ensuing school year (School District Budget), for the purpose of electing two (2) members of the Board of Education, and for voting on any propositions legally proposed. Polls, for the purpose of voting, will be open from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM prevailing time. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that a public hearing on the proposed 2024-2025 budget of the Yorktown Central School District will be held on Monday, May 13, 2024 at 7:00 PM at the Mildred E. Strang Middle School for the purpose of presenting the 2024-2025 budget to the public. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that a copy of the statement of the amount of money which will be required for school district purposes during the 2024-2025 school year (Budget) may be obtained by any resident of the district at each school house of the district and the administrative offices during the hours of 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM (prevailing time) during the fourteen days (14) days immediately preceding the Annual Meeting, OTHER THAN SATURDAY, SUNDAY or HOLIDAY. Such statements will also be available on the District’s website, at any free association or public library within the District, and at the Annual Meeting and School District Budget Vote to be held as aforesaid, Tuesday, May 21, 2024. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that a Real Property Tax Exemption Report prepared in accordance with Section 495 of the Real Property Tax Law will be annexed to the final adopted budget and will be posted on the District bulletin board maintained for public notices, as well as on the District’s website. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that petitions nominating candidates for the office of member of the Board of Education must be filed with the District Clerk at 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York no later than 5:00 PM on April 22, 2024. Vacancies on the Board are not considered separate specific offices; candidates run at large. Nominating petitions shall not describe any specific vacancy upon the Board for which a candidate is nominated; must be directed to the Clerk of the District; must be signed by at least twenty-eight (28) qualified voters of the District; must state the name and residence address of each signer, and must state the name and residence address of the candidate. The following vacancies are to be filled on the Board of Education. Term and Name of Last Incumbent Three (3) years, expiring June 30, 2024 Peter Bisaccia Three (3) years, expiring June 30, 2024 Jackie Carbone NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that all propositions by anyone other than the Board of Education must be submitted with an approving petition signed by at least seventy-two (72) qualified voters of the District at least 60 days prior to the Annual Meeting. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that voter registration is ongoing in the office of the District Clerk and that any person entitled to have their name placed upon the register may register on any school day at the Administration Office of the District, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York between the hours of 8:30 AM and 3:00 PM up until 5 days before the Annual Meeting. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that any person otherwise qualified to vote, who is currently registered to vote in any general election, pursuant to Article 5 of the Election Law, or is currently registered to vote with the School District and has voted at an Annual or Special school district meeting within the last four calendar years, shall be entitled to vote without further registration. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that the register prepared pursuant to Section 2014 of the Education Law, including the names of military voters who submitted valid military voter registrations, will be filed in the Office of the Clerk, in the District Office at 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York, and that the same will be open for inspection by any qualified voter of the District between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM on each of the five (5) days prior to and including the day set for the election, OTHER THAN SATURDAY, SUNDAY or HOLIDAY. NOTICE IS ALSO GIVEN that APPLICATIONS FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS and EARLY MAIL BALLOTS may be obtained at the Office of the District Clerk at the Administration Office of the District, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York on weekdays between the hours of 8:30 AM and 3:00 PM (prevailing time). Such applications for absentee ballots and early mail ballots must be received by the Clerk of the District no more than 30 days and at least 7 days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the day before the election if the ballot is to be given directly to the voter or the voter’s authorized agent set forth in the application, at the Office of the District Clerk. A list of all persons to whom absentee ballots shall have been issued and a list of all persons to whom early mail ballots shall have been issued, as well as a list of all persons to whom military ballots shall have been issued, will be available for inspection in the Office of the District Clerk during regular business hours, 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM until the day of the vote. Any qualified voter may file a written challenge of the qualifications of a voter whose name appears on any such list stating the reason for the challenge. NOTICE IS FURTHER GIVEN that Military Voters who are not currently registered to vote may apply to register as a qualified voter of the District and military voters who are registered to vote may obtain an application for a military ballot, for the Annual Meeting on May 21, 2024, by contacting the District Clerk at 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, Telephone 914-243-8000, Ext. 18529 or email: [email protected]. The Military Voter may indicate their preference for receiving the registration application by mail, facsimile or email. The completed application to register and/or military ballot application must be received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 PM on April 25, 2024. Military ballots will be mailed or otherwise distributed no later than 25 days before the election. Military ballots must be returned by mail or in person and received by the District Clerk no later than 5:00 PM on May 21 2024. BOARD OF EDUCATION YORKTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT YVETTE SEGAL, DISTRICT CLERK DATED: April 11, April 25, and May 9, 2024
MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 YORKTOWN NEWS – PAGE 45 LAKELAND FROM PAGE 44 Voter Information Lakeland’s school board and budget vote will take place at Van Cortlandtville Elementary School on Tuesday, May 21, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. A public hearing on the $191 million budget was scheduled for Tuesday, May 7 (after this edition of Yorktown News went to press). Find more information on the budget and the hearing at News.HalstonMedia.com. DISTRITO ESCOLAR CENTRAL DE YORKTOWNYORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NUEVA YORK AVISO DE REUNIÓN ANUAL, VOTACIÓN PRESUPUESTARIA Y AVISO DE ELECCIÓN La Junta de Educación del Distrito Escolar Central de Yorktown, POR LA PRESENTE NOTIFICA, que la Reunión Anual, la Elección Anual del Distrito Escolar y la Votación del Presupuesto de los residentes del Distrito Escolar, calificados para votar en las reuniones escolares del Distrito, se llevarán a cabo en la Cafetería de la Escuela French Hill, Yorktown Heights, Nueva York el martes, 21 de mayo de 2024 con el propósito de votar por máquina de votación en la declaración de gastos estimados para el año escolar siguiente (Presupuesto del Distrito Escolar), con el propósito de elegir a dos (2) miembros de la Junta de Educación y para votar sobre cualquier proposición legal. Las urnas, con fines de votación, estarán abiertas de 7:00 a.m. a 9:00 p.m., hora prevaleciente. TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que el lunes 13 de mayo de 2024 a las 7:00 p.m. se llevará a cabo una audiencia pública sobre el presupuesto propuesto para 2024-2025 del Distrito Escolar Central de Yorktown en la Escuela Secundaria Mildred E. Strang con el fin de presentar el presupuesto 2024-2025 al público. TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que cualquier residente del distrito puede obtener una copia de la declaración de la cantidad de dinero que se requerirá para los fines del distrito escolar durante el año escolar 2024-2025 (Presupuesto) en cada casa escolar del distrito y en las oficinas administrativas durante las horas de 9:00 a.m. a 3:00 p.m. (hora prevaleciente) durante los catorce (14) días inmediatamente anteriores a la Reunión Anual, EXCEPTO SÁBADO, DOMINGO o FESTIVO. Dichas declaraciones también estarán disponibles en el sitio web del Distrito, en cualquier asociación gratuita o biblioteca pública dentro del Distrito, y en la Reunión Anual y Votación del Presupuesto del Distrito Escolar que se llevará a cabo como se mencionó anteriormente, el martes 21 de mayo de 2024. TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que un Informe de Exención de Impuestos a la Propiedad Inmobiliaria preparado de acuerdo con la Sección 495 de la Ley del Impuesto a la Propiedad Inmobiliaria se adjuntará al presupuesto final adoptado y se publicará en el tablón de anuncios del Distrito mantenido para avisos públicos, así como en el sitio web del Distrito. TAMBIÉN SE NOTIFICA que las peticiones de nominación de candidatos para el cargo de miembro de la Junta de Educación deben presentarse ante el Secretario del Distrito en 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, Nueva York a más tardar a las 5:00 p. m. del 22 de abril de 2024. Las vacantes en la Junta no se consideran oficinas específicas separadas; los candidatos se postulan en libertad. Las peticiones de nominación no describirán ninguna vacante específica en la Junta para la cual se haya nominado a un candidato; debe dirigirse al Secretario del Distrito; debe estar firmada por al menos veintiocho (28) votantes calificados del Distrito; debe indicar el nombre y la dirección de residencia de cada firmante, y debe indicar el nombre y la dirección de residencia del candidato. Las siguientes vacantes se cubrirán en la Junta de Educación. Mandato y nombre del último titular Tres (3) años, con vencimiento el 30 de junio de 2024 Peter Bisaccia Tres (3) años, con vencimiento el 30 de junio de 2024 Jackie Carbone TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que todas las propuestas de cualquier persona que no sea la Junta de Educación deben presentarse con una petición de aprobación firmada por al menos 72 votantes calificados del Distrito al menos 60 días antes de la Reunión Anual. TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que el registro de votantes está en curso en la oficina del Secretario del Distrito y que cualquier persona con derecho a que su nombre se coloque en el registro puede registrarse en cualquier día escolar en la Oficina de Administración del Distrito, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, Nueva York entre las 8:30 a.m. y las 3:00 p.m. hasta 5 días antes de la Reunión Anual. AVISO TAMBIÉN SE DA que cualquier persona calificada para votar, que actualmente esté registrada para votar en cualquier elección general, de conformidad con el Artículo 5 de la Ley Electoral, o que esté actualmente registrada para votar con el Distrito Escolar y haya votado en una reunión anual o especial del distrito escolar dentro de los últimos cuatro años calendario, tendrá derecho a votar sin más registro. TAMBIÉN SE NOTIFICA que el registro preparado de conformidad con la Sección 2014 de la Ley de Educación, incluidos los nombres de los votantes militares que presentaron registros válidos de votantes militares, se archivará en la Oficina del Secretario, en la Oficina del Distrito en 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, Nueva York, y que el mismo estará abierto para su inspección por cualquier votante calificado del Distrito entre las 9:00 a.m. y las 3:00 p.m. del cada uno de los cinco (5) días anteriores e incluyendo el día fijado para la elección, QUE NO SEA SÁBADO, DOMINGO o FERIADO. TAMBIÉN SE DA AVISO de que las SOLICITUDES DE BOLETAS DE VOTO AUSENTE y BOLETAS ANTICIPADAS POR CORREO se pueden obtener en la Oficina del Secretario del Distrito en la Oficina de Administración del Distrito, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, Nueva York de lunes a viernes entre las 8:30 a.m. y las 3:00 p.m. (hora prevaleciente). Dichas solicitudes de boletas de voto ausente y boletas anticipadas por correo deben ser recibidas por el Secretario del Distrito no más de 30 días y al menos 7 días antes de la elección si la boleta se va a enviar por correo al votante, o el día antes de la elección si la boleta se va a entregar directamente al votante o al agente autorizado del votante establecido en la solicitud, en la Oficina del Secretario de Distrito. Una lista de todas las personas a las que se les habrán emitido papeletas de voto en ausencia y una lista de todas las personas a las que se les habrán emitido papeletas anticipadas por correo, así como una lista de todas las personas a las que se les habrán emitido papeletas militares, estarán disponibles para su inspección en la Oficina del Secretario de Distrito durante el horario laboral habitual. De 8:30 a.m. a 3:00 p.m. hasta el día de la votación. Cualquier votante calificado puede presentar una impugnación por escrito de las calificaciones de un votante cuyo nombre aparece en cualquiera de dichas listas, indicando la razón de la impugnación. ADEMÁS, SE NOTIFICA que los votantes militares que no están registrados actualmente para votar pueden solicitar registrarse como votantes calificados del Distrito y los votantes militares que están registrados para votar pueden obtener una solicitud para una boleta militar, para la Reunión Anual del 21 de mayo de 2024, comunicándose con el Secretario del Distrito en 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598, teléfono 914-243-8000, ext 18529 o correo electrónico: [email protected]. El Votante Militar puede indicar su preferencia por recibir la solicitud de registro por correo, fax o correo electrónico. La solicitud completa de registro y/o la solicitud de boleta militar debe ser recibida por el Secretario del Distrito a más tardar a las 5:00 p. m. del 25 de abril de 2024. Las boletas militares se enviarán por correo o se distribuirán de otra manera a más tardar 25 días antes de la elección. Las boletas militares deben devolverse por correo o en persona y ser recibidas por el Secretario del Distrito a más tardar a las 5:00 p. m. del 21 de mayo de 2024. JUNTA DE EDUCACIÓN DISTRITO ESCOLAR CENTRAL DE YORKTOWN YVETTE SEGAL, SECRETARIA DE DISTRITO FECHADO: 11 de abril, 25 de abril, 9 de mayo de 2024 and maintenance training is a daunting task. This will be an ongoing discussion in collaboration with other districts and governing officials. What made you decide to seek reelection? I love our district. My children had a wonderful experience in LCSD and gained a solid foundation for life. They are good citizens, volunteering in various capacities and giving back in their communities. I believe our district is moving in a positive direction with strong leadership, and the stability of an experienced BOE is integral to continue [moving] this forward. What were some of your (and the board’s) biggest accomplishments? We identified and remediated a gap in funding for our schools’ theater departments. We approved budgets with a zero percent tax levy increase during the tough COVID years to ease the financial burden on our community. We appointed Lakeland’s first woman superintendent who is a strong leader for our district. I attend many events at each school during the year to remain connected to the students and the community. Why should Lakeland residents vote for you? I love this district and keeping politics off the school board is especially important to me; everything I do in my board trustee role is through the lens of what is best for our students, faculty, and staff.
PAGE 46 – YORKTOWN NEWS MAY 9- MAY 22, 2024 NOTICE TO BIDDERS TOWN OF YORKTOWN Collection and Disposal of Residential Refuse and Recyclable Materials Contract NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received by the Town Clerk, Town of Yorktown, Westchester County, NY until 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, June 27, 2024 at the Town Hall, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 for the Collection and Disposal of Residential Refuse & Recyclable Materials Contract. Specifications may be obtained at the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 during regular business hours, also on the Town’s website at www.yorktownny.org., or on BidNet Direct (www.bidnetdirect.com). All bids must be accompanied by a Non Collusive Bidding Certification. All sealed bids must be received in the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY no later than 10:00 a.m. on June 27, 2024 and marked “Bid: Collection and Disposal of Residential Refuse & Recyclable Materials Contract.” The Town of Yorktown reserves the right to waive any informalities in the proposals, to reject any or all proposals and reserves the right to accept that proposal which it deems most favorable to the interests of the Town of Yorktown. DIANA L. QUAST, TOWN CLERK MASTER MUNICIPAL CLERK TOWN OF YORKTOWN NOTICE TO BIDDERS TOWN OF YORKTOWN Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) Phone System Services and Replacement/Upgrade of All Voice Cabling with CAT6 and Surveillance/Security Cameras & Cabling NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received by the Town Clerk, Town of Yorktown, Westchester County, NY until 10:00 A.M. on May 23, 2024 at the Town Hall, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 for VOIP Phone System Services. Specifications may be obtained at the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 during regular business hours, also on the Town’s website at www.yorktownny.org., or on BidNet Direct (www.bidnetdirect.com). All bids must be accompanied by a Non Collusive Bidding Certification. All sealed bids must be received in the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY no later than 10:00 a.m. on May 23, 2024 and marked “Bid: VOIP Phone System Services. The Town of Yorktown reserves the right to waive any informalities in the proposals, to reject any or all proposals and reserves the right to accept that proposal which it deems most favorable to the interests of the Town of Yorktown. DIANA L. QUAST, TOWN CLERK MASTER MUNICIPAL CLERK TOWN OF YORKTOWN LEGAL NOTICE BID#: 2024-2025 FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM YORKTOWN CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT The Yorktown Central School District, Yorktown Heights, New York, invites all qualified bidders to submit sealed bids for the Food Service Program commencing with the 2024-2025 school year. Bids will be received at the Business Office of the Yorktown Central School District, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York, 10598 (Phone 914-243-8000), until Thursday, May 23, 2024 at 10:00 am. Specifications may be obtained beginning Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 8:00am at the Business Office of the Yorktown Central School District, 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York, 10598, and on the District’s website, www.Yorktown.org. There will be a pre-bid conference in the Business Office 2725 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, New York on Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 1:30pm. It is strongly recommended that bidders attend this conference. Any clarification or questions regarding the bid must be submitted, in writing, by Thursday, May 16, 2024. The Yorktown Central School District reserves the right to waive, or refuse to waive informalities in bidding as it determines to be in the best interest of the School District. By: Lisa Sanfilippo Assistant Superintendent for Business Administration Terrier LLC. Filed with SSNY on 02/04/2024. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail copy to: 334 Eastern Close, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. Purpose: Any lawful. Notice of Formation of It Must Have Been the Bake, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 1/30/2024. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to It Must Have Been the Bake: 24 Birdsall Farm Dr, Armonk, NY 10504. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. 27 Pine Design LLC filed Articles of Organization with the New York Department of State on 12/15/2023. Office location: Westchester County. The New York Secretary of State is designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and is directed to forward service of process to 27 Pines Bridge Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. Notice of Formation of Kandoo Ventures LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 12/13/2023. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Kandoo Ventures LLC 3 Consulate Dr. IG, Tuckahoe, NY 10707. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of Suave Media, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 1/19/24. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Suave Media Attn: Legal, 43 E Ridge Lane, Mount Kisco, New York 10549. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of N.B. Painting, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with SSNY on 2/19/24. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Nicholas Bologna, 20 Sassinoro Boulevard, Cortlandt Manor, New York 10567. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. Notice of Formation of DLC Family Enterprise, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/31/2023. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to DLC Family Enterprise, LLC: 3509 Stoney Street, Mohegan Lake, NY 10547. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of Focus Foam LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 08/15/2023. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 1737 French Hill Road Yorktown Heights NY 10598. Purpose: any lawful act or activity. NOTICE OF FORMATION OF BALLOONDESIGNSBYJO, LLC ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OF NY ON 1/30/24. OFFICE: WESTCHESTER COUNTY. SSNY DESIGNATED AS AGENT OF LLC UPON WHOM PROCESS AGAINST IT MAY BE SERVED. SSNY SHOULD MAIL PROCESS TO BalloondesignsByJo, 882 HERITAGE COURT, YORKTOWN HEIGHTS NY 10598 PURPOSE; ANY LAWFUL PURPOSE Notice of Formation of BROJAS VENTURES LLC. Office: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent for profess & shall mail process to: 17 Main Street, Suite 75, South Salem, NY 10590. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Notice of Formation of Never T, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 4/14/24. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as agent of Limited Liability Company (LLC) upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY should mail process to Never T, LLC: 6 Valley Drive West, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598. Purpose: Any lawful purpose. Tack and Tweed, LLC, Art. of Org. filed with NY Secy. of State on 03/02/2024. Office located in Westchester Co. Secy. of State designated as agent upon which process may be served. Secy. of State shal mail a copy of any process against it served upon him/her to: 255 Quaker Road Chappaqua, NY 10514 (the LLCs' primary business location). LLC may engage in any lawful act or activity for which a limited liability company may be formed, which includes Pre-Owned Equestrian Equipment and Apparel Consignment and Sales. The Yorktown Central School District will hold a public hearing over its adopted budget on Monday, May 13, at Yorktown High School. Incumbent Yorktown CSD Board of Education members Peter Bisaccia and Jackie Carbone are running uncontested in this year’s school board election, appearing on the same ballot with the district’s budget when voters go to the polls at French Hill School, 2051 Baldwin Road, on Tuesday, May 21, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Last month, the school board unanimously approved the administration’s proposed $119.1 million spending package, up 2.97 percent from last year’s $115 million budget. The tax levy (total amount of money collected by property taxes) is set to rise from $84.5 million to $86.3 million representing a 2.07 percent increase. The estimated tax rate increase for Yorktown is 2.07 percent; Cortlandt is 0.02 percent; and New Castle is 2.95 percent. Actual tax rate increases may vary based on final assessed values. Other than the tax levy, the biggest component of revenues is state aid, which is slated to increase by $250,000. The district also plans to use $2.2 million from its reserve funds to balance the budget. Yorktown CSD budget hearing set for May 13 ahead of May 21 vote
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Evon’s Svces: 516-505-5510 NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a public hearing will be held by the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Yorktown on Thursday, May 23rd, 2024 at 6:30 P.M. or as soon thereafter as is practicable in the Town Board Room, Town Hall, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, New York as follows: CUNHA #05/24 Property Address: Summit Street (STREET NUMBER TBD) Section 37.19, Block 1, Lot 78 This is an application to construct a new two-family dwelling with a lot size of 10,000 sq. ft where 20,000 sq. ft is required as per section 300-21 and Appendix A of the Town Zoning Code. SUMMA #06/24 Property Address: 356 Hallocks Mill Rd Section 37.10, Block 1, Lot 16 This is an application for a special use permit for an accessory apartment for new owner that requires a special use permit as per 300-38 of the Town Zoning Code. POLCHA #07/24 Property Address: 201 Friends Rd Section 37.15, Block 1, Lot 3 This is an application to legalize a deck with a pergola with a rear yard setback of 2 ft where 10 ft is required for accessory structures as per 300-21 and Appendix A of the Town Zoning Code. LYNCH #08/24 Property Address: 1496 Heights Dr Section 48.09, Block 1, Lot 14 This is an application to construct an addition with a rear yard setback of 38 ft where 50 ft is required as per 300-21 and Appendix A of the Town Zoning Code. 76 ROUTE 6 HOLDINGS #09/24 Property Address: 76 Route 6 Section 6.18, Block 1, Lot 37 This is an application of the Planning Board under Town Code § 300-201(A) for an interpretation of Town Code § 300-97(A), specifically, whether a 200- or 100-foot setback applies to this project. In the event the 200 ft setback applies, applicant is seeking an area variance of 200 ft as per Section 300-97(A) of the Town Zoning Code. SIGNS INK #10/24 Property Address: 335 Downing Dr Section 37.18, Block 2, Lot 56 This is an application for a variance for multiple signs on the front, rear and side of the building as follows: Front(south) – 246.7 square feet facade sign, plus 2 - column signs totaling 9.4 square feet, Totaling 257.1 square feet. These signs have 111 square feet of frontage, plus is 199.7 square feet above the setback requirement that increase the allowable sign square footage by 50 square ft. Total allowable sign 161 sq. ft Total area of signs requested 257.1 sq. ft Total variance requested 96.1 sq. f Rear(north) – A variance is required for a sign of 128.6 sq. ft where 111 square ft is allowed. Side (west) – A variance is required for a sign that is 128.6 sq. ft where no signs are allowed. PILLAI #11/24 Property Address: 3786 Indian Hill Rd Section 5.20, Block 1, Lot 3 This is an application to legalize an existing deck with a setback of 4.8 ft where 10 ft is required, as per Section 300-21 and Appendix A of the Town Zoning Code NOTICE TO BIDDERS ELEVATOR MODERNIZATION AT THE ALBERT A. CAPELLINI COMMUNITY & CULTURAL CENTER NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that sealed bids will be received by the Town Clerk, Town of Yorktown, Westchester County, NY until 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, May 23, 2024 at the Town Hall, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 for Elevator Modernization at the Albert A. Capellini Community & Cultural Center. Specifications may be obtained at the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 during regular business hours, also on the Town’s website at www.yorktownny.org., or on BidNet Direct (www.bidnetdirect.com). All bids must be accompanied by a Non Collusive Bidding Certification. All sealed bids must be received in the Office of the Town Clerk, 363 Underhill Avenue, Yorktown Heights, NY no later than 10:30 A.M. on Thursday, May 23, 2024 and marked “Bid: Elevator Modernization.” The Town of Yorktown reserves the right to waive any informalities in the proposals, to reject any or all proposals and reserves the right to accept that proposal which it deems most favorable to the interests of the Town of Yorktown. DIANA L. QUAST, TOWN CLERK MASTER MUNICIPAL CLERK TOWN OF YORKTOWN Advertising Deadline The advertising deadline for Yorktown News is the Thursday before the next publication date. Advertisements can be submitted by you as a camera-ready PDF via email at freeman@ halstonmedia.com. We also offer our clients a free ad design service. For more information, call Brett Freeman at 845-208-8151. Contact Us Yorktown News is located at 118 N. Bedford Road, Suite 100, Mount Kisco, NY 10549. You can contact us at 914-302-5830 or email [email protected].
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