• Several Westchester community leaders gathered with County Executive Robert Astorino at a press conference June 12 to dispute reports cards sent by a federal monitor that they say implied new benchmarks for affordable housing units were being set.

    Report cards sent last week to 31 municipalities referenced in the affordable housing settlement raised the ire of County Executive Rob Astorino and municipal officials who were miffed that local governments were being pulled into the fight. Astorino, accompanied on June 12 by a group of mayors and supervisors from around Westchester, were upset with [...]

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    • Several Westchester community leaders gathered with County Executive Robert Astorino at a press conference June 12 to dispute reports cards sent by a federal monitor that they say implied new benchmarks for affordable housing units were being set.

      Astorino, Municipalities Respond With Vehemence Against HUD Report Cards

      Report cards sent last week to 31 municipalities referenced in the affordable housing settlement raised the ire of County Executive Rob Astorino and municipal officials who were miffed that local governments were being pulled into the fight. Astorino, accompanied on June 12 by a group of mayors and supervisors from around Westchester, were upset with [...]

    • Spirelli Electric in Shrub Oak is a family run business. Show above, from the left are: electrician Joe Spirelli, his father, Pat Sr., who owns the business, and Pat Jr., who serves as the business’ vice president.

      Business Profile: Spirelli Electric, Shrub Oak

      It is named Spirelli Electric and it takes more than one Spirelli to run the Shrub Oak-based business. Mahopac resident Pat Spirelli Jr., who is the business’’ vice president, served as the spokesman for the family last week. Pat Spirelli Sr., who lives in Shrub Oak, owns the business and Joe Spirelli, who also resides [...]

    • Home Guru

      Home Guru

      Nobody likes getting dumped. Whether we are dismissed from a romantic relationship, a job or political office, it can be painful. But I assure you, few experiences compare with receiving a non-renewal notice for a home insurance policy and having difficulty finding another company to insure you. It happened to me, through no fault of [...]

    • Nick Antonaccio "Celebrating my 300th column."

      Grapevine: A Well-Guarded Secret That is Gaining Recognition

      In my travels through wine regions and wine trade events, I invariably find myself favoring a particular region or varietal. The experiences of enjoying the culture, landscape and wine of numerous locales, here and abroad, have left fond memories etched in my long-term brain cells. One of my fondest memories has been buried deep in [...]

    • Several youths who partcipate in programs at Epo Studios of New York in Brewster.

      Business Profile: Epic Studios of New York, Brewster

      North Salem resident Christina Lassen had been taking her children for gymnastics instruction at the gym located on Route 22 in Brewster, but the facility was slowly going downhill, she recalled last week. “The place, sadly, had its own issues,” Lassen said. “There was really just this small percentage of students left.” The facility eventually [...]

    • The 10th class of the Business Council of Westchester's 40 Under 40 Rising Stars was celebrated at an event at Empire City Casino in Yonkers on June 10.
Ben Brody photos

      Young Westchester Professionals Celebrated at Business Council’s 40 Under 40 Event

      By Ben Brody Darting out of a late spring rain, guests at Westchester’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars event last Monday gathered at Empire City Casino to celebrate the latest young professionals honored by the Business Council of Westchester. The council, the county’s largest business group, organized the 10th annual event to honor 40 impressive [...]

    • Crowds descended upon the new DeCicco Family Markets in Armonk on Friday.

      Crowds Come Out to Celebrate DeCicco’s Armonk Opening

        For 16 months Armonk residents had to endure the inconvenience of living without a supermarket in their hamlet. That wait ended on Friday with the opening of DeCicco Family Markets, a new specialty supermarket at the partially completed Armonk Square shopping center. Customers and curiosity seekers streamed into and out of the spanking new [...]

    • Business Profile: Primadonna Salon, Yorktown

      Business Profile: Primadonna Salon, Yorktown

      On June 6, Karen de Koff had to pause on occasion during an interview with a local newspaper reporter. She had a good reason. She and her staff at the Primadonna Salon were busy styling the hair of Somers High School students to prepare them for their prom, which was scheduled a few hours later. [...]

    • Post Office Loses Mount Kisco Tax Bills; Duplicates Sent Out

      Post Office Loses Mount Kisco Tax Bills; Duplicates Sent Out

      Mount Kisco property owners’ tax bills may have been lost in the mail but that won’t excuse anyone from paying their taxes on time. The deadline will remain July 1 even though the post office distribution center in White Plains lost the original bills in May. Village Manager James Palmer said earlier this week that [...]

    • Tao Porchon-Lynch practicing yoga in Central Park, New York. Robert Sturman Photo.

      Get On Your Mat for Mental Health Outdoor Event Features Yoga Icon

      Yoga enthusiasts are in for a special treat June 19 when the Mental Health Association of Westchester presents its mega outdoor yoga event in White Plains. Over 500 people are expected and those registering first will receive a free yoga mat provided by White Plains Hospital and a gift bag. A one-hour yoga class will [...]

    • Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, White Plains Mayor Tom Roach and Councilman Benjamin Boykin honor Chef Jefferson Evans of the Culinary Institute of America. AJ Simpkins Photo.

      White Plains Celebrates Freedom with Juneteenth Gala and Festival, By April McClemmy

      The White Plains Juneteenth Heritage Committee had the opportunity this year to share the cultural significance of Juneteenth with the larger community. Under the notable leadership of Chairman Bernie Thombs, The White Plains First Annual Juneteenth Awards Gala and 9th Annual Heritage Festival allowed the whole community to come together and celebrate.  Juneteenth’s theme this [...]

    • On Wednesday June 5, at Yankee Stadium, 27 members of the Coqueran Family gathered to remember their late matriarch Alyce N. Coqueran. It was the day before her June 6 birthday. Alyce Coqueran passed away on December 29, 2012.

      Alyce N. Coqueran and Others Honored at Yankee Stadium

      Each year Ken Gamble hosts his own Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Gamble will invite about 300 people, including family, friends and clients to Yankee Stadium for a friendly reunion, while routing for the New York Yankees. Gamble inherited the tradition from his late father Frank Gamble, who began the Gamble Opening Day at Yankee [...]

    • Developer John Fareri

      Mt. Pleasant Town Board Praises Revamped Medical Village Plan

      The Mount Pleasant Town Board last week praised a revised Medical Science Village proposed for Valhalla that eliminates the residential component and scales back the intensity of retail for the 80-acre site. Developer John Fareri unveiled his latest plan before the board on June 4, dropping his original request to build 150 rental units for [...]

    • Dr. Jaime Black

      Getting Kids Ready for Summer Camp

      Some children brim with excitement at the thought of camp while others groan and plead with parents to stay home.  Parental responses also range considerably.  Many parents are confident about their child’s ability to manage the transition while others are apprehensive.  Choosing a camp, particularly a sleep-away camp, can be a challenging experience in itself.  [...]

    • Adam Stark, President of Stark Business Suites at the home office in White Plains.

      Business Profile: Stark Office Suites, White Plains

      Nine years ago when Adam Stark left his career in mergers and acquisitions to form his own venture, he walked right into a rising business trend. Originally named Stark Business Solutions, Adam says his company, now called Stark Office Suites, was founded on a lot of research and the idea that local outsourcing of business [...]

    • County Executive Rob Astorino with ArtsWestchester Executive Director Janet Langsam

      Music Is In the Air All Over Westchester this Summer

      ArtsWestchester, in cooperation with Westchester County, has pulled together a compilation of outdoor concerts and performances taking place all over the county this summer. Many of the events are free, and others are affordably priced at under $20 per ticket. A print guide was released today at a kick-off breakfast for sponsors of the featured [...]

    • Samantha Levine

      Know Your Neighbor: Samantha Levine, Jewelry Maker/Lawyer, Chappaqua

      When Samantha Levine isn’t studying for her upcoming bar exam, chances are she can be found in her home studio working with hammers, drills, handsaws or a blowtorch. Levine has become adept using those tools as the creator of Auburn Jewelry, a company she launched last year while still attending law school at Western New [...]

    • Former North Castle Republican Chairwoman Rosemarie Bellantoni

      Ex-No. Castle GOP Chair Bellantoni Accused of Hypocrisy for Katz Fundraiser

      A former North Castle Republican Committee chairwoman has once again sparked controversy after agreeing to host a fundraiser this Thursday at her home for embattled Assemblyman Steve Katz (R-Yorktown). Rosemarie Bellantoni, a politically active Republican who served as town committee chair in 2010-11, will be hosting the invitation-only event at her Armonk home. In March, [...]

    • Police Seize Cache of Fireworks, Evacuate Mt. Pleasant Street

      Police Seize Cache of Fireworks, Evacuate Mt. Pleasant Street

      Westchester County police arrested a 53-year-old Valhalla man early Tuesday morning after it was discovered that a large cache of commercial-grade fireworks was being stored in his house’s basement forcing evacuation of the street. Authorities arrested Stephen Surace of 4 Saldi Lane at 12:22 a.m. following a joint county police and federal investigation. He was [...]

    • Grapevine

      Grapevine

      The 21st century global economy has affected varying changes in wealth profiles across the globe, depending on your GPS location. As a result of the Great Recession, many Americans are facing an uncertain retirement future while a (very) small handful of others have weathered, and prospered from, the tumult of the financial crisis. In the [...]

    • There’s No Place Like Yorktown for Relay For Life

      There’s No Place Like Yorktown for Relay For Life

      Like most people, Jim and Denise Poulin of Mohegan Lake have experienced co-workers, friends and relatives who have been stricken by cancer. In the early 1990s, Denise’s secretary, who was only 26 years old, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and died four month later. In 1997, the couple’s niece died of leukemia at two years [...]

    • Somers Supervisor Mary Beth Murphy

      Residents Blast Town Board over Green at Somers

      Members of the League of Women Voters of Somers and the head of the town’s Affordable Housing Board last week blasted the Somers Town Board for not approving a zoning change to allow for the potential approval of a major mixed use development that would have included affordable housing. Also at the June 6 meeting, [...]

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