Author Archive for Neal Rentz
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 [...]
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 [...]
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
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
School Safety Issues Debated at Ball Forum in Mt. Pleasant
Nearly six months after the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, a panel of educators, students and community members discussed and sometimes debated strategies Saturday afternoon to make schools safer. The roughly 70-minute discussion held at the Westlake Middle School/High School library was organized by state Sen. Greg Ball (R-Paterson) and featured comments from experts as [...]
Mount Kisco Native Stars in New Tyler Perry TV Series
You may be familiar with John Schneider from his many years portraying Bo Duke on the popular television series “The Dukes of Hazard” or from his 100 appearances on “Smallville.” Or maybe you know him as a country music singer who has nine studio albums to his credit or about his efforts on behalf of [...]
Revised Senior Housing Proposal Draws Praise From Mt. Kisco Planners
A revised plan for a 129-unit senior housing proposal that causes far less disturbance on an environmentally sensitive hillside received compliments last week from the Mount Kisco Planning Board. The project, The Hearth at Mount Kisco, is proposed for a 17.7-acre site on Kisco Avenue opposite Holiday Inn Drive. The three-story building would be 177,000 [...]
Somers Town House Parking Lot Construction Begins
Construction work on the Somers Town House parking lot will take place from June 3 through 28. During construction the lot will be closed for both residents and town employees. Employees will park across the street in the top lot behind the Bailey house, but there will be no handicap parking available. The town is [...]
Business Profile: Tea Temptations, Mohegan Lake
PutnamValley resident Michael Adamovich opened Tea Temptations, his first business, on September 1, 2012 Adamovich is a retired New York State court officer who served for nearly 33 years and was in the active military reserve for 24 years. Why did he decide to open his own restaurant? He did so based on a talk [...]
Business Profile: Char Steakhouse – Mahopac
For Rick Megna, owning a seafood restaurant in Mahopac the past 12 years has proven to be a worthwhile venture. Now the restaurant owner is looking to give steak a try, too. Last Thursday, Megna held the grand opening for his latest restaurant, Char Steakhouse along Bryant Pond Road in Mahopac. After finding the right [...]
Security Concerns Raised About Pace Consolidation at Hearing
Concerns about security and student conduct at Pace’s Pleasantville campus surfaced during the resumption of a public hearing last week on the university’s proposed consolidation plan. At the May 20 session, Mount Pleasant Planning Board members urged Pace representatives to beef up security after one resident and several board members described problems with student behavior [...]
Lead Agency Declaration Delayed for New Castle Legionaries Land
The New Castle Town Board delayed declaring itself lead agency last week for a proposed development on the 97-acre Legionaries of Christ property until it has a chance to review the matter with the town attorney. David Steinmetz, an attorney representing Soder Real Estate Equities of Montclair, N.J., which is hoping to build 50 luxury [...]
Mt. Pleasant Republicans Shake Up Town Board Slate
A shakeup to the all-Republican Mount Pleasant Town Board appears likely, even if the Democrats fail to run a slate of candidates this year. The Mount Pleasant Republican Committee last week opted against nominating longtime Councilman Thomas Sialiano for re-election, instead endorsing planning board member Denis McCarthy of Hawthorne and Valhalla resident Laurie Rogers-Smalley. Another [...]
Business Profile: Mirinet Communications, Somers
The Mancini family is well known in Somers for their success in the real estate field. One member of the family, Ricky Mancini, is trying to make a name for himself, but in a different business. Mancini has owned and operated Mirinet Communications in the Somers Commons Shopping Center since July 2010. “We offer the [...]
THE GYM of Armonk Launches tG² Yoga
THE GYM of Armonk recently launched a serious new yoga program, featuring a comprehensive schedule of six different classes to accommodate all levels of experience. The ultimate compliment to strength, cardio and conditioning work, tG² Yoga – “yoga to the highest power” – at THE GYM will bring an additional element of flexibility and mental [...]
Business Profile: CrossFitSomersX, Somers
A few years ago, nearly no one heard of the CrossFit exercise program, but today, it is so popular that CrossFit competitions are held internationally and the championships draw thousands of spectators and broadcast nationally. A Somers resident, Stephen McNamara is helping to promote the program locally. McNamara and his brother, Michael, own CrossFitSomersX. The [...]
Planning Board Focuses on Chap Crossing Traffic, Safety Issues
New Castle Planning Board members last week voiced deep concerns related to traffic and safety near the site of the proposed Chappaqua Crossing retail project, including worries about the development attracting Horace Greeley High School students. Board members posed several questions and comments for town consultant Michael Galante, executive vice president of Frederick P. Clark Associates, [...]
Mt. Kisco to Create Unpaid Parking Tickets Dismissal Policy
Mount Kisco officials plan to create a policy to eliminate old unpaid parking tickets from the municipality’s records in response to a recent audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. The report released to the public this week by the comptroller’s office recommended that officials incorporate written policies and procedures for identifying uncollectible tickets and removing them [...]
Jazz Greats Honored at Jacob Burns Film Series
Jazz greats like Anita O’Day and The Dorsey Brothers made their mark in another era but their music lives on. Starting this week, their careers and their music will be celebrated through performance, films and discussion during the next month at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville. The sixth annual Jazz Sessions: The Greats [...]
Business Profile: WaterStone Grille, Peekskill
Montrose resident Theresa Johnsen has been in the restaurant business for years, working as a a server, bartender and manager, but had not owned one until recently. Johnsen co-owns the WaterStone Grille with Manhattan resident Vincent Kennedy. Johnsen said last week Kennedy bought the building in August. “In the first week in January we closed [...]
Seventh Grade Student Has Solo Art Exhibit at Mt. Kisco Library
Mount Kisco resident Eli Wald startled family members when he created his first drawing. Wald was seven months old and his parents thought that he might injure himself with a pencil he had picked up. Now a seventh-grader at Seven Bridges Middle School in Chappaqua, several of Wald’s drawings, stone carvings and paintings are on [...]
Business Profile: Sala on Hudson, Croton
There are legends about how tapas were created. One story is that a patron at a bar in Spain did not want flies to enter his wine glass, so he covered it with a slice of ham. Another theory is peasants would travel from town to town in Spain and cover their wine jugs with [...]
Mt. Pleasant Special Education Report Criticized By Parents
Ordinarily, adoption of a proposed budget would be the most talked about item on a school board agenda. But at last week’s Mount Pleasant Board of Education meeting, the unanimous adoption of the $52.5 million budget for 2013-14 took a back seat to a controversial report prepared by a district consultant. The audit of the district’s [...]
Byram Lake Safe After Truck Accident and Oil Spill
A one-vehicle accident on Tuesday that caused oil to spill into Byram Lake posed no environmental threat, Mount Kisco officials reported. Village Manager James Palmer said the Bedford Police Department received a phone call on April 23 at about 3:15 p.m. reporting a pick-up truck had gone off the road coming to rest partially in the [...]
Business Profile: Crystal Hall at Somers Community Center, Somers
Somers resident Donna Martone and her family saw an abandoned building on Hillandale Drive and felt it had great potential. The Martone family own and operate Crystal Hall at Somers Community Center, which was purchased in January 2012, and following extensive renovations, opened in August. The building was closed for about four years when the [...]
Mt. Pleasant Against Rezoning for Valhalla Retail, Housing Plan
Mount Pleasant officials are opposed to a developer’s mixed-use residential and retail plan on a portion of a 80-acre parcel adjacent to Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College in Valhalla. Developer John Fareri unveiled his concept at the town board’s April 16 work session that would include 150 rental apartments for medical center [...]
Mount Kisco Approves $20.3M Village Budget; Taxes to Rise 2%
The Mount Kisco Village Board unanimously approved a $20.3 million 2013-14 general fund budget last week. The budget, which includes a tax levy increase of 1 percent, increases the tax rate for property owners by 1.99 percent. In March, Village Manager James Palmer had proposed a $20.4 million budget with a tax rate increase of 3.5 [...]
Southeast Town Board to Adopt Revised Ethics Code
The Southeast Town Board is poised to revise the town ethics code when it meets on May 9. The town board held its final discussions on the code during its April 18 meeting. The board rejected a call by town activist Ann Fanizzi to bar residents working in the real estate industry or active with [...]
