The Harrison Review 2-14-2014

February 14, 2014 | Vol. 2, Number 7 | www.harrisonreview.com

Harrison REVIEWTHE

Formerly

By PHIL NOBILEStaff Writer

As the Harrison Police Depart-ment continues to enjoy steady salary, staff and equipment in-creases, the department further widens its gap from nearby mu-nicipalities in terms of spending and manpower, and continues to ignore a local law dating back to 2002 regarding the town’s top salary.

In the final moments of the last 2013 Town Council meet-ing, following a lengthy private to the public executive session teetering on three hours, the council passed an initially re-dacted police chief stipend, sala-ry increases and additional hires for the town’s Law Enforcement Department. The decisions, passed unanimously by the five-member, all-Republican Town Council, continue a trend of steady increases that has some town residents and critics of the current administration concerned.

To that extent, and thanks to plenty of allotted overtime hours, one Harrison police of-ficer exceeded $200,000 in pay and another neared it in 2013.

Danny Grant, a sergeant, and William Currow, a detective, made $211,980 and $197,222 in 2013 respectively, accord-ing to numbers obtained by the Harrison Review through a Freedom of Information Law request for police overtime fig-ures. Their base salaries were $111,034 and $105,291.

Initially, police overtime was budgeted at $500,000 for 2013, but the numbers more than dou-bled projections, eclipsing $1.2 million by year’s end. In 2014, $600,000 is budgeted for over-time.

Comparable municipalities in terms of population, such POLICE continued on page 7

Police pay, stipend scrutinizedas the Town of Mamaroneck and Eastchester, spent approxi-mately $423,000 and $99,000 on police overtime respectively in 2013.

Harrison Mayor Ron Bel-mont, a Republican, said nu-merous police investigations on the department’s end were the reasons behind the higher-than-budgeted overtime amounts for the town.

“We have had some really heavy-duty investigations while I’ve been here, and had some real bad people in town and we’ve done our best to get rid of them,” he said. “There have been investigations we’ve solved that other communities threw their hands in the air and said ‘it’s not going to happen.’”

Belmont referred to the Nov. 12, 2013 arrest of three gypsy contract scammers who traveled the country for a decade scam-ming people out of services for more than $1 million.

Citing 2012’s Hurricane San-dy and emergency situations, Harrison Police Chief Anthony Marraccini said that his depart-ment displays exemplary effort for the community which re-quires the high overtime hours.

“If an officer is working and we are actively engaged in criminal investigations, I be-lieve the overtime is justified,” Marraccini said. “The Harrison Police Department prides itself in going above and beyond to assist the residents of this com-munity. Unfortunately, it comes with a price tag.”

Along with overtime budgets, Harrison’s Police Department also has a higher number of to-tal personnel when compared to similar municipalities in the area. The total number of

By PHIL NOBILEStaff Writer

Moving from one end of Purchase to the other, a lo-cal non-profit group plans to bring a new greenhouse to Manhattanville College within the upcoming year after it was forced to change locations from Pepsico in Purchase.

The group Our New Way Garden Inc. was forced to find a new home for a new greenhouse after they were required to relo-cate from their old Pepsico lo-cation and abandon their older greenhouse due to new renova-

Greenhouse a go for Manhattanville locationtions on the company’s campus.

The non-profit, which has multiple gardens throughout the county, was introduced to the college by Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont, a Republican.

“It’s a wonderful organiza-tion that not only benefits the town but benefits the county,” Belmont said. “Manhattanville is very anxious to get involved in the community and do what-ever they can to make the com-munity a better place.”

Although Our New Way Garden officially formed as a non-profit in May 2012, the or-ganization was initiated more

than six years ago by Amy Benerofe, who has served as president of the group since its incorporation. Benerofe, who hopes to have the greenhouse completed by 2015, said it would serve as not only a source for seeds and other supplies for the group’s various gardens, but as an educational and commu-nity tool as well.

“We want to help give access to people who don’t have access to local organic food, educate the public about organic foods and to organize natural food systems,” she said.

According to Benerofe, the

facility is expected to be 1,300-square-feet and tucked in one corner of Manhattanville’s cam-pus. The main use of the green-house will be for seeds for the non-profit’s gardens through-out Westchester, located at Rye Country Day School, St. Christopher’s in Valhalla and Edgewood Elementary School in Scarsdale.

A potential program between the college and the organization is one of “infinite ways” that the greenhouse can be used, accord-ing to Benerofe. Working with

GREENHOUSE continued on page 12

Harrison’s Frankie Barchella tangles with New Rochelle’s Jordan Wallace at the sectional qualifiers on Feb. 8. Barchella is one of four Huskies who qualified for the Feb. 15 Section I Tournament with a strong showing at Harrison High School. For more, see page16. Photo/Bobby Begun

ARLINGTON

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2 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • February 14, 2014

February 14, 2014 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 3

By FRANK GORDON

It has been several months, but Harrison residents have yet to hear anything about the status of negotiations with Con Edison over the amount the town will be paid for Con Ed’s use of a portion of the town’s commuter parking lot for about a month in October 2013.

For the most part, this amount represents a windfall for the town as it incurred little ad-ditional cost to accommodate Con Ed’s request to use the lot. The burden fell primarily on Harrison’s commuters, who were displaced and forced to find parking elsewhere, despite having paid $600 a year each for a commuter parking permit.

As a consequence, the lion’s share of any monies collected from Con Ed rightfully belong to parking permit holders, not the town. In light of the spirit of community that has prevailed in Harrison throughout its ex-istence, I have no doubt that commuters will wholeheartedly support applying those funds to the downtown library’s planned renovation.

The incident that sparked Con Ed’s request to use the town’s commuter lot was the failure on Sept. 25, 2013, of one of its feeder cables in Mt. Vernon. The failure forced Metro-North to reduce service by half on its New Haven line. With the Town of Harrison’s permission, Con Ed was able to solve the prob-lem by temporarily erecting a substation in the north section of the town’s commuter parking lot. The substation tapped into Con Ed’s local distribution sys-tem to supply substitute power to Metro-North so that normal train service could resume.

The section of the lot com-mandeered by Con Ed con-tained 75 parking space—as determined by my manual count on Dec. 3, 2013—which were no longer available to commut-ers. This situation lasted for about a month, until Oct. 28. During this period, the town al-lowed commuter permit hold-ers to park on residential streets without regard to posted time restrictions.

Now that the supply of elec-tricity and train service has re-turned to normal, the time is ripe to determine what, if any, recompense is due as a result

Con Ed owes commuters, should fund libraryof these events. How would one determine a level of compensa-tion that is fair under these cir-cumstances?

One component would be the fair rental value of the prop-erty used by Con Ed for about a month. The most objective indicator of the property’s fair rental value would seem to be the commuter parking spaces directly across the Metro-North tracks on Halstead Avenue in Harrison. These spaces are available for rental from Metro-North at $7.50 per space per day. Accordingly, the fair rental value component of compensa-tion due from Con Ed would be $7.50 per day times 75 spaces for 30 days; a total of $16,875.

A second component of com-pensation due from Con Ed would be reimbursement for the cost of extra police duty. During the initial stages of the crisis, lo-cal roads near Con Ed’s tempo-rary substation had to be partial-ly cordoned-off and monitored by town police for the sake of public safety. This extra police detail lasted for several days. My best estimate of the cost of such additional police protection would be $5,000 to $10,000.

A third component of com-pensation due from Con Ed re-lates to lost parking violations revenue. As mentioned above, during the period Con Ed occu-pied the commuter lot, commut-ers were allowed to park on resi-dential streets without regard to posted time restrictions. In do-ing so, commuters displaced the normal flow of parking traffic. Parking turnover was greatly reduced, which, presumably, led to fewer parking violations. The town does not publish data relating to parking violations revenue, but I would guess it declined substantially. Without access to the actual data, esti-mating the amount of lost park-ing violations revenue is diffi-cult, but I would speculate that it dropped at least 50 percent, perhaps representing a decline of approximately $3,000 to $5,000, during the period.

A fourth component of com-pensation due from Con Ed would repay commuters for the inconveniences they endured. When a commuter purchased an annual parking permit, he or she anticipated, among other things, a high likelihood of an available parking spot near the

train station, which would en-able a fleet-footed commuter to dodge inclement weather and avoid having to cross a main thoroughfare on foot to reach the train station. These benefits can be summarized as availabil-ity, protection from the elements and personal safety.

Allowing commuters to park on residential streets was an im-perfect substitute in this regard. Availability of parking on resi-dential streets was, at times, un-predictable, especially on days when the town court was in ses-sion. On those days, it is well known that local streets become clogged with the parked vehicles of court visitors. Court was in session on eight days during the month that Con Ed occupied the commuter lot, which amounts to 40 percent of the period if only business days are counted; those days being of primary relevance to the average commuter. As a result, many commuters faced in-creased search times for parking.

If commuters were fortu-nate enough to find parking on a residential street, it was often several blocks or more from the train station, exposing them to inclement weather and the risks of crossing busy thoroughfares, such as Halstead Avenue or Harrison Avenue, on foot dur-ing the morning and evening rush hours.

Consequently, from the stand-point of availability, protection from the elements and personal safety, commuter parking per-mit holders were poorly served by substituting parking on local streets for parking in the com-muter lot. Since each permit holder paid $600 for a permit, they deserve compensation for their inconvenience.

It is difficult to assign a mon-etary value to permit holders’ inconvenience under these cir-cumstances. Metro-North’s re-fund policy as a result of the disruption in train service dur-ing this crisis can serve as a guidepost. During the 12 days of Con Ed’s feeder cable outage, Metro-North operated only lim-ited service on the New Haven Line. As a result, at times trains did not run at all, were over-crowded when they did run and were often late. Commuters ex-perienced increased travel times and reduced availability of trains and seating.

After extensive deliberations

regarding how to compensate its customers, Metro-North de-cided that each commuter who regularly purchased a monthly commuter pass would receive a credit equal to 25 percent of the cost of two monthly commuter passes. This amount was rough-ly equivalent to the full cost of commuting for the 12 days that service was disrupted.

Applying the same math to the situation of a Harrison com-muter parking permit holder, each permit holder would be entitled to compensation equal to 25 percent of the cost of two months of permit parking. Based on the annual price of a permit of $600, two months of parking would cost $100 and 25 percent of that would be $25. The Metro-North refund policy represents a valid guidepost on the grounds the inconveniences endured by the average Metro-North commuter and Harrison parking permit holder during the period in question were roughly similar.

At the time Con Ed began using the commuter lot, there were about 530 commuter per-mit holders. The cost of $25

compensation to each of them would amount to $13,250. An alternative measure of compen-sation for the inconvenience faced by commuter permit hold-ers would be to refund the cost of one month of permit park-ing for each of the 75 parking spaces used by Con Ed. That would amount to $50 times 75, or $3,750. These two methods provide a range of $3,750 to $13,250 for compensation as a result of inconveniencing exist-ing permit holders.

Combining each of the fore-going estimates results in total compensation due from Con Ed as follows:

Fair rental value of north commuter lot $16,875Police detail$5,000 to $10,000Reduced parking violations revenue$3,000 to $5,000Inconvenience to existingpermit holders$3,750 to $13,250Total$28,625 to $45,125These amounts involve much

guesswork, so should be consid-

ered merely estimates. Actual amounts may differ.

Any amounts collected from Con Ed with respect to its use of the commuter lot represent something of a windfall for the town because such amounts were unanticipated and, there-fore, are not included in the 2014 town budget.

The town was able to grant Con Ed the use of the lot only through the forbearance and goodwill of its existing com-muter permit holders. The area in question had already been set aside for commuters who pur-chased a permit to park there. The town has an ethical and moral obligation to existing per-mit holders to not renege on its agreement with them. The town cannot rightfully pledge the lot to permit holders and then pledge it again to someone else. Accordingly, the lion’s share of amounts collected from Con Ed belongs to commuter permit holders, not the town.

In lieu of paying the town for using the commuter lot, Con Ed should contribute the

Opinion-Editorial

CON ED continued on page 9


What’s going on...

With Honors

Olivia Mogavero of Harrison has been placed on the Dean’s Honor List for the fall 2013 semester at Manhattan College School of Business as a result of her academic achievements.

Harrison Public Library events

Harrison Council for the Arts presents “Collection of Photographs” by Tina Link at the Harrison Public Library, 2 Bruce Ave. on view Feb. 2 to 25 with an opening reception Feb. 8 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For this body of work, Tina Link has selected photographs that integrate the composition of light, shadow, shape, form and fragments of de-tail, all of which collectively support the frame-work of her craft.

Tina began taking photographs while attending Ohio University, where she received a bachelor of fine arts degree in photography. She later special-ized in medical photography, enabling her to use her skills to facilitate teaching and research within a university medical school setting.

Tina’s interest shifted in subsequent years and her perceptual ability in photography began ex-panding as she became interested in Landscape Design. This led her to study landscape archi-tecture at Rhode Island School of Design, where she received a masters degree in landscape ar-chitecture.

Tina has recently returned to photography in pursuit of rediscovering its role in her pres-ent life. Her style has evolved over the years and, with each transformation, she has learned

to push the limits and the process involved in image making. Tina has exhibited her work in galleries and art venues throughout Ohio, Rhode Island and, most recently, the New York and Connecticut metropolitan area. Tina presently works as a landscape designer and resides in Harrison.

The exhibit may be viewed Mondays and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and Sundays 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

For info, call the library at 914-835-0324 or see harrisonpl.org.

Harrison Players present Open Mike Night

Saturday, March 8, 2014, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.Got a dance routine you’re dying to try out?

Wrote a poem, or did you read one that you want to share? Do you love to sing, and want to do it on stage? Got a guitar or other instrument solo to test out? Well, come on down to the Veterans’ Memorial Building, 210 Halstead Ave. on Saturday, March 8, and show us what you’ve got.

All we ask is that you keep it clean, Performances must be appropriate for all audience members. Bring your family; bring your friends.

It’s going to be fun. Come even if you’re not performing.

$5 admission for allCall 914-698-4599 for more informationPerformers must arrive at 7 p.m. to sign-inRefreshments will be available for purchase

Rye Arts Center eventsThe Winter Guide is now online

Sign up now for new classes in Minecraft, Lego engineering, creative build-ing, architecture, siege ma-chine, and LittleBits Maker Maniacs. All in addition to photography, ceramics, mu-

sic lessons and more. Don’t miss out. Sign up now.

Mamaroneck high school students sponsoring furniture drive

On Saturday, March 15, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., students from Mamaroneck High School’s Furniture Sharehouse service club will hold a drive to benefit Westchester’s furniture bank. They will be collecting items, which Furniture Sharehouse redistributes, free of charge, to fam-ilies in need. The drive will take place in the parking lot at Mamaroneck High School, 1000 W. Boston Post Road, rain or shine. Only basic home furniture in good condition will be accept-ed, so before you load up your car, please go to www.furnituresharehouse.org to make sure your furniture meets the donation guidelines. Furniture Sharehouse helps you “recycle with a difference.”

Spousal loss support groupFree afternoon group sessions for adults who

have lost a spouse or life partner. Group meets on Monday afternoons from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. First session is on Jan 27. Group will meet for seven con-secutive Mondays. Last session is on March 10.

This grief support is sponsored by Jansen Hospice and Palliative Care and is open to all.

Advanced registration is required. For more information, please contact Didi Marcal at 914-961-2818 ext 1336. All sessions will be held in the Jansen Hospice offices in Scarsdale. If you know of someone who has lost a spouse or life partner, please share this information.

Wainwright House events

Wainwright joins with Mannes College for salon music series

What could be more wonderful than the classic elegance of Wainwright House for an evening of classical music? Announcing The Mannes Music Salon Series at Wainwright featuring the gifted

young artists of The Mannes College New School for Music with Artistic Director Pavlina Dokovska.

Starting this December, Wainwright House and Mannes College will offer a series of four clas-sical music programs, each to be followed by a reception where guests will be able to meet and spend time with the artists. The dates of the sa-lon series are March 1 and March 29. The evening program will begin at 8 p.m. followed by a recep-tion with the artists. Tickets are $30 per salon or $100 for the series of four.

Each of the salons will offer four individual programs and will include two evenings of piano and two evenings of chamber music. The series will be led by Artistic Director Pavlina Dokovska. Each evening will present pre-concert remarks, deepening the audience understanding and appre-ciation of the works performed.

Founded in 1916, Manhattan’s Mannes College The New School of Music trains and nurtures classical musicians of all ages. Mannes College is a division of The New School, an intellectually rich and dynamic institution renowned for its ex-cellence, diversity and integrity.

Wainwright House is the oldest non-profit, non-sectarian holistic educational and learning centers in the United States.

The salon series will be concluded with a grand finale evening on April 26, 2014.

Do not miss your chance to hear world-class performances by the future stars in clas-sical music. For reservations, call Wainwright House at 914-967-6080 or visit their website wainwright.org. Seating is limited.

Wainwright Winter JAZZ Brunches are backJoin us for our second and third concerts in

a series of three. All with a delicious brunch by Corner Stone. See if those winter blues just don’t go jump jiving away.

Save the dateMarch 9, Luke Hendon and BandjangoTime: Noon to 3 p.m.Place: Wainwright HousePrice: $35 Member, $45 Non-Member, $50

Walk-inRegister at wainwright.org or 967-6080

Winter/Spring 2014 Program Guide is outClasses in yoga and movement? Health and

well-being? Environment? Creative? Spiritual exploration? Retreats? Children membership at donor level an up, receive free annual yoga and movement classes. Classes are in session and can be pro-rated. Register at wainwright.org.

Deadline for our What’s Going On section is every Friday at 12 p.m. Though space is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your listing. Please send all

items to [email protected].


After a vetting process of five different academic medical cen-ters for potential partnership, White Plains Hospital recently announced it will be team up with Montefiore Medical Center in the midst of a shifting health-care landscape.

Announced at the hospi-tal’s Feb. 5 board meeting, the Westchester hospital will pair with Montefiore within the upcoming year pending state approval.

According to White Plains Hospital Chief Executive Of-ficer Jon Schandler, the pairing will benefit the hospital in nu-merous ways.

“[Montefiore is] an excellent medical center and it delivers excellent care,” Shandler said. “This is all the result of doing some intense strategic planning, looking at the future and being prepared for the health reform movement.”

Montefiore Medical Center,

the university hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, has had a few expansions into Westchester County recently. The organiza-tion officially acquired Sound Shore Medical in New Rochelle and Mount Vernon Hospital on Nov. 6, 2013, and has physician offices in multiple municipali-ties in the area.

“Our vision is to build a re-gional network of hospitals and community physicians closely aligned in an integrated system of care,” Steven Safyer, presi-dent and chief executive offi-cer of Montefiore, said. “White Plains Hospital will serve as the center of that network to strengthen and expand our po-sition as a healthcare leader in Westchester and the Hudson Valley.”

According to Shandler, what helped Montefiore stand out above other possible partners was for a track record of high-

end tertiary care at Montefiore’s centers. Tertiary care deals with more complex and demanding procedures and treatments such as bypass surgeries, neurosurger-ies, burn treatments and more.

Additional tertiary services from the hospital will come as a result of the partnership, ac-cording to Shandler.

“The idea is to build more so-phisticated programs,” Shandler said. “For us to be able to take ad-vantage of Montefiore’s skills and capabilities will be important. We want to preserve what goes on at White Plains Hospital today and use the extra skills that an aca-demic enterprise can bring.”

Currently, White Plains Hos-pital is undergoing renovations and expansions to its cancer di-vision and expects construction to be done at the beginning of 2015. The hospital ended 2013 with more than $3 million in op-erating surplus.-Reporting by Phil Nobile

A pending partnership between White Plains Hospital, pictured, and Montefiore Medical Center will continue to expand on the hospital’s various care centers, including the continuing renovations and expansions to their cancer center. Photo courtesy White Plains Hospital

White Plains Hospital partners with Montefiore

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REVIEWBy KATIE HOOS

Staff Writer

Although an estimated 61.5 million American adults—or 26 percent—suffer from diagnosed mental illnesses in a given year, the issue of mental health re-mains clouded by stigma, dis-crimination and misunderstand-ing, oftentimes leaving sufferers to bear it alone.

Mental illness is defined as a medical condition that dis-rupts a person’s mood, feelings, thinking, ability to interact with others and daily function. Serious mental illnesses, in-cluding major depression, bipo-lar disorder and schizophrenia affect 13.6 million American adults. Among those Americans diagnosed with mental illness, nearly 60 percent of adults do not receive treatment.

That can lead to far bigger problems, according to Sally Eaton, a licensed clinical so-cial worker and program di-rector of the Crisis Prevention and Response Team—a divi-sion of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Westchester—which provides free support for Westchester County residents who are expe-riencing or are at risk of a psy-chological crisis.

“People are afraid of things they don’t understand,” Eaton said. “Mental illness is not looked at the same way as a physical illness due to a lack of education. The media tends to portray people with mental illness wrongly, like with the

Stigma impacts millions of mentally ill AmericansNewtown tragedy and other horrible tragedies that have oc-curred. People associate that behavior as the norm for those with mental illness, but that’s not the case.”

Mental health disorders are often portrayed as a charac-ter flaw or personal weakness, when, in actuality, many scien-tists, including psychiatrist Dr. Abby Wasserman, clinical di-rector of the Crisis Prevention and Response Team, argue men-tal illness has a biological and neurological basis.

“It has to do with neurotrans-mitters throughout the body and in the brain,” Wasserman said. “Every behavior, everything we do, has an organic basis.”

Despite the biological origin,

Waithira Mbuthia-Protano, a New Rochelle resident, ex-perienced first hand the stigma associated with mental illness, raising a daughter who suf-fered from bipolar disorder. Mbuthia-Protano’s daughter, Njeri Karanja, ended her life on Nov. 22, 2004, after a battle with her illness. She was 27.

“When I arrived at the hos-pital and heard those words, I remember throwing myself on the ground; but I think I flew,” Mbuthia-Protano said of learn-ing her daughter was dead. “I remember hitting the floor.”

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an organization dedicated to the education and advocacy for mental illness, suicide is the

mental illness and help erase the stigma associated with mental diseases. Since the book’s re-lease, Mbuthia-Protano said she has received countless emails and comments from people expressing their gratitude for bringing awareness to bipolar disorder and thanking her for shedding light on the normally closeted topic.

“[Njeri] did not just up and quit,” she said. “Bipolar claimed her life.”

A crucial part of eradicating the stigma surrounding mental illness, treatment of the mental-ly ill and how these diseases are handled is at the forefront.

According to a study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 55 percent of the nation’s 3,100 counties have no practicing social workers, psychologists or psychiatrists, due to doctors reaching retire-ment age, medical school stu-dents choosing other medical specialties and budget cuts to national mental health cover-age. Since 2008, states have cut mental health care funding by $4.5 billion.

The areas that do have men-tal-health professionals are so inundated with patients that they are often selective with insur-

If you or someone you know is experiencing or at risk of a

psychological crisis, please call the Westchester Crisis Prevention and Response Team, available

24/7 at 914-925-5959

ances, declining private insur-ance companies and not seeing new patients.

“Access to care is a big rea-son why people go untreated,” Eaton said. “Mental health care is not treated the same way as physical care, including in the eyes of insurance companies. There’s a big push out there to change that now.”

By improving the health care system to make treatment more readily available to those with mental illness, more mentally ill people will have access to treatment that will enhance their quality of life. Mbuthia-Protano asserted that the more the topic of mental illness is discussed, the more lives will be saved.

“My daughter did not have to die,” she said. “And I want peo-ple who read my book to know there is no need to be ashamed; there is no need to hide.”

CONTACT: [email protected]

“As a writer, writing is my automatic weapon against pain. I wrote this to keep from dying.”

-WAITHIRA MBUTHIA-PROTANO, on how her poetry book helped her deal with her daughter’s suicide

tenth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and more than 90 per-cent of those who committed suicide had one or more mental disorders. Substance abuse and addiction are associated with an increased risk of suicide.

“She was such a good person, my daughter, and she suffered so much. But there was so much shame and we didn’t know any-thing about the disease at all,” Mbuthia-Protano said. “We suf-fered alone and in private and that’s the biggest danger.”

As a coping mechanism, Mbuthia-Protano, a Kenyan-born writer and former teacher in the New York City and Westchester County school systems, wrote a book of poetry, “Requiem for Njeri,” that details the frustration of a grieving mother dealing with the loss of her child.

“I needed to exercise the pain,” Mbuthia-Protano said. “As a writer, writing is my automatic weapon against pain. I wrote this to keep from dying.”

“Requiem for Njeri” includes 34 poems Mbuthia-Protano com-posed in the eight years follow-ing her daughter’s death, as well as an accompanying CD, “Songs of Mourning and Remembrance,” composed by Dr. George Groth, which puts Mbuthia-Protano’s words on her daughter to music.

Hoping to not only provide solace for herself, Mbuthia-Protano said she wrote the book to help others struggling with

New Rochelle resident Waithira Mbuthia-Protano, author of “Requiem for Njeri,” hopes to erradicate the stigma associated with mental illness after the tragic death of her daughter, a bipolar sufferer.

Njeri Karanja, 27, ended her life after battling bipolar disorder, a mood disorder characterized by manic and depressive episodes. Photos courtesy Waithira Mbuthia-Protano

the societal stigma that the men-tally ill should be feared still persists and can bring shame to such persons and their families, impacting the effectiveness of treatment and even influencing the decision to seek treatment. Without effective treatment, the mentally ill can develop sub-stance abuse problems and en-gage in other harmful behaviors to cope with their symptoms, according to the American Psychiatrict Association.


employees in Harrison’s Police Department is 74, including 10 civilian workers. Harrison’s population, according to 2012 United States Census Bureau numbers, is 27,785.

In the Town of Mamaroneck, which has the closest population to Harrison’s at 29,156, accord-ing to 2010 census numbers, there are 39 total police depart-ment personnel. In Eastchester, there are 50 total police per-sonnel for a town population of 32,363.

“They have a very demand-ing job that can be dangerous, which has to be recognized, but it still has to be in the context of what is being paid in neighbor-ing municipalities and what the town can afford,” Joan Walsh, a former Democratic Harrison mayor said.

Total police salaries are just under $6.3 million, accounting for almost a third of total town salaries this year, which total more than $19 million, accord-ing to the town’s adopted budget for 2014.

The Town of Mamaroneck is budgeting to spend $4.5 mil-lion on its police salaries and Eastchester $5.2 million based

A controversial police chief stipend made its way back to the Town Council for approval at the end of 2013, bringing renewed criticism and concern over police expenditures as a whole. File photo

cording to the town budget, fur-ther dividing the gap between the two position’s pay. The salary and the stipend for the chief puts Marraccini more than $25,000 higher in pay than Belmont.

The mayor’s salary has re-mained relatively steady since 2008 when Walsh began her term as mayor. The salary of the police chief, however, has grown by almost $20,000 from that point, and has increased $40,000 since 2004, not includ-ing an additional stipend recent-ly awarded to Maraccini.

Initial criticism of police ex-penditures came as a result of the stipend and it being imposed and redacted swiftly. Originally, the Town Council passed an $18,000 stipend on Aug. 1, 2013 for the police chief for the purpose of fulfilling additional duties for a vacant police cap-tain position. Since Marraccini, a former captain, was appointed in March 2010, his position has remained unfulfilled.

But, the stipend was then rein-stated in the amount of $12,000 at the tail end of the Dec. 17, 2013 council meeting, the final meeting of the calendar year.

Walsh, who was defeated by Belmont for a second straight time in the 2013 election, spoke

out against the stipend when it was originally enacted in August 2013, and questioned whether the department was seeking to fill the captain position.

“I don’t think it’s neces-sary,” Walsh said. “I think that [Marraccini] should be satisfied with his salary and not always seeking to improve it.”

Belmont said the August sti-pend wasn’t appropriate tim-ing and rescinded it less than a month later. Belmont said the end of 2013 was the right time instead, declining further expla-nation as to why conditions had changed.

According to Belmont, the amount the town’s department is being paid and spending is appropriate, and important to the Harrison way of life.

“People choose to live here because they know it’s a safe community, it’s where people want to raise their children and be comfortable, and seniors want to stay here and feel com-fortable,” Belmont said. “It’s not like New York City when you call and don’t know when or if they’ll show up. Here you call and they’re there in minutes, and that’s what people want.”


on the municipalities’ respective 2014 budgets.

Mayor Belmont, however, said Harrison and its police en-deavors are “incomparable” to that of other communities due to unique aspects of the town.

“Our community cannot be compared to other communities,” he said. “The other communities that we are sometimes compared to have our square mileage, but don’t have three or four major highways going through town, train station and a corporate sec-tor [Westchester Avenue] that we have, which is second-to-none for a town of our size.”

Chief Marraccini described the police department as “un-derstaffed,” hoping to reach 70 to 74 officers in the future.

“There are many more things and many more investigations that we need to be doing here,” Marraccini said. “In Harrison, we take policing very seriously, and we take helping our resi-dents very seriously.”

But beyond officer pay, the pay of the town’s top cop has also been the topic of much de-bate receiving some criticism, and actually violating town code. According to the code, the mayor’s salary must be fixed at a rate of at least $1 more than

any other town employee. The law, enacted under the admin-istration of former Republican mayor and current town coun-cilman Stephen Malfitano, has been ignored since 2011, when the police chief’s salary first eclipsed the mayor’s by more than $700.

Belmont, when asked why the town currently wasn’t following the law, said “Joan Walsh did not follow it and nor will I.” He said the law would probably get changed pending referral to the town’s Law Department.

Town Attorney Frank Alle-gretti, who was in place when the law was enacted, said the 2002

Town Council was of the mind-set that the supervisor should be the highest-paid official at the time. According to Allegretti, any change in policy the current council would have to enact.

“You’re talking about a tech-nical violation,” Allegretti said when asked about possible re-percussions. “The current su-pervisor, at the least, is looking to save the taxpayers money by not demanding the provision be enforced and not demanding the salary he is entitled to.”

The police chief’s salary is ex-pected to rise to $168,568 while the mayor’s is slated to remain at the current rate of $155,376, ac-

POLICE from page 1


By CHRIS EBERHARTStaff Writer

Actors Bobby Moynihan and Nick Kroll, who grew up in East-chester and Rye respectively, were surrounded by cameras and films crews in Eastchester and New Rochelle as they re-cently acted out their scenes in the upcoming comedy “Brother’s Keeper.”

The film’s location man-ager, Mike Hartel, said, “about 90 percent of the filming” will take place in New Rochelle and Eastchester.

“The areas are picturesque; they’re beautiful and, for every movie, unless it’s a gritty movie, you want the scenes to look as beautiful as these towns do with their architecture and scenery,” Hartel said. “After searching for a while, you’d be surprised how hard it is to find towns that cin-ematically look great.”

Hartel said, the indie film “Brother’s Keeper” is a private-ly-funded, $1.5 million comedy about a guy down on his luck who moves back home. Hartel said Ross Katz, who was the pro-ducer of “Lost in Translation” and “In the Bedroom,” is direct-ing the film, and Jared Goldman,

Westchester communities home to new movie

who produced “Skeleton Twins,” is the producer.

Hartel said the film’s main character, played by Kroll, is an unlikeable guy that begins the movie on top of the world, but by scene three, loses everything, becomes broke and has to move back to his hometown of New Rochelle, where he lives with his sister—played by actress

Rose Byrne—and her husband. The Kroll character becomes the caretaker for his nephews while learning more about himself.

Hartel said, the film is New York based, and the idea to film in Eastchester came after shoot-ing “The Namesake” in 2006 at Lake Isle Country Club, which he remembers distinctly because “it was such a beautiful setting.”

In one of the scenes, Kroll visits Value Drugs on Tuckahoe Avenue in Eastchester to buy a pair of swim trunks for his neph-ew, which is where he meets an old, hometown friend played by Moynihan.

Value Drugs store manager Brian Sarfaty said the time spent filming in his store was “hectic.”

“There were so many people

and cameras,” Sarfaty said. “It was a different experience. It was mostly positive, but it was a little much because we couldn’t do a lot of business while they were filming because there had to be silence.”

In Eastchester, scenes were also shot in Piper’s Kilt bar on White Plains Road and Teresa’s Bakery on Mill Road.

Hartel said Teresa’s Bakery was turned into more of a cafe setting, where Byrne and anoth-er actress were “having a chat.”

Giulio Darmetta, the owner of Teresa’s Bakery, said he en-joyed the time they were filming in his bakery and said he joked with the cast and crew.

“It was a lot of fun. I got a picture with Nick [Kroll] eating a canoli,” Darmetta said. “And then I was joking with the assis-tant director and saying, ‘Quiet on the set.’ It was a great time. And it was really amazing to see how a movie is made and how many takes it takes to get a scene right.”

Hartel said they used the ex-terior of Piper’s Kilt for a scene in which Kroll’s character rolls out of bed at 10 in the morning and gets frustrated because the bar is still locked.

Filming in Eastchester only lasted parts of two days; Jan. 13, which is when filming started, and Jan. 15, with the major-ity of the remaining film to be shot in New Rochelle, which is where Hartel said the film pri-marily takes place.Hartel said the crew’s time in New Rochelle will include 11 straight days of filming in a house on Paine Avenue and 15 days in either New Rochelle High School or the College of New Rochelle.

After filming is complete in February, Hartel said the next steps for “Brother’s Keeper” are trips to film festivals, which Har-tel said, is where the film would be picked up by a distributor.


Camera crews were set up outside Teresa’s Bakery on Mill Road in Eastchester for the filming of the movie “Brother’s Keeper.”

Piper’s Kilt on White Plains Road in Eastchester is the set of a comedic scene in which comedian Nick Kroll is upset because the bar is locked at 10 a.m. Photos/Mike Hartel

Westchester natives Nick Kroll and Bobby Moynihan are shooting a new comedy, “Brother’s Keeper,” on location in Eastchester and New Rochelle.


On Jan. 16 at the Harrison-Mamaroneck Rotary Club weekly meeting, Michael Amicucci from Harrison High School was honored with the annual sportsmanship trophy. At the annual Harrison-Rye football game, each team chose a student on the opposing team that best exemplified true sportsmanship. The Harrison-Mamaroneck Rotary Club presented a trophy to the winning Harrison High School stu-dent and the Rye Rotary Club presented a trophy to the winning Rye High School student. (Submitted)

Student awarded annual sportsmanship trophy

Harrison-Mamaroneck Rotary president Sergio Brasesco presents the sportsmanship trophy to Michael Amicucci. Contributed photo

Recently, it appears this win-ter is regularly bringing signifi-cant snowfall to our area. Given the magnitude and type of storms we are experiencing, the Highway Department’s main concern is to keep our primary roadways clear for emergen-cy and official vehicles. After plowing, the focus is to remove large piles of plowed snow, lo-cated at intersections that may be causing sight distance issues. These locations also typically include catch basins, which may be covered with snow, leading to the potential for road flooding.

After plowing these main arteries and clearing intersec-tions, tertiary roadways will be cleared. Please be patient as crews from our Public Works Department work hard to keep our roadways safe for vehicles and pedestrians.

Recently, town personnel

Come on with the snow alreadywere invited to a preview tour and luncheon at the new Life Time Fitness athletic facility located on Westchester Park Drive, formally Gannett Drive, in Harrison. The design fea-tures of the health club high-light the importance and ben-efits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Lifetime’s magnificent accommodations and state-of-the-art health classes and equipment are examples of why they are a leader in the health club industry. It was an honor to cut the ribbon at their grand opening ceremony and I’m sure Life Time Fitness will be regarded as a premier property in our community for years to come.

Please note the following February sanitation schedule change: Monday, Feb. 17th is a holiday. Garbage and/or re-cycling normally collected on Monday, Feb. 17 will be collect-ed on Tuesday, Feb 18. Garbage and recycling normally collect-ed on Tuesday, Feb 18, will be collected on Wednesday, Feb. 19. There will be no bulk trash

collection on Feb. 19.In closing, I would like to

recognize the accomplishments of Harrison High School senior and football player, Michael Amicucci. Michael recently be-came a member of this year’s Golden Dozen team. This team is comprised of Westchester area athletes, and members are recognized for their exceptional athletic, academic and civic ac-complishments. Congratulations to Michael and all the athletes on this well-deserved honor.

The next “Lunch with the Mayor” is on Friday, Feb. 14. I will be at Aquario, lo-cated at 141 Lake St. in West Harrison and will be joined by Legislator Benjamin Boykin, a member of the Westchester County Board of Legislators. On Feb. 21, I will be at Gus’s Franklin Park Restaurant lo-cated at 126 Halstead Ave. in downtown Harrison. I will be at these locations from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. and look for-ward to meeting with residents and talking about issues facing our community.

amount to the Harrison Public Library Foundation to support the downtown library’s planned renovation. In light of the spirit of community that has prevailed in Harrison throughout its exis-tence, I am sure commuter per-mit holders would wholeheart-edly support applying the funds in this manner. Alternatively, a portion of the funds could be paid by Con Ed to the town to

defray its out-of-pocket costs and losses—for example, to cover the police detail and re-duced parking violations rev-enue—and the remainder could be contributed to the library foundation.

Any contribution by Con Ed to the library foundation would be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Jarden Corporation, subject to a maximum match of $100,000.

The town’s granting of per-mission to Con Ed to use the commuter lot was done in the spirit of generosity and helping others in times of need. We can only hope that Con Ed and the town will embrace the forego-ing proposal as a way to pay that spirit forward.

Frank Gordon is a Harrison resident. The views expressed are his.

CON ED from page 3



By MICHELLE JACOBYContributor

The Titanic represented the ship of hopes and dreams to all of the passengers on board on April 10, 1912. Little did they know their dreams would be shattered as the unthinkable happened four days later.

We all know the story and the ending. It is recorded as one of the worst disasters in his-tory. The untold story here is the one showing at Westchester Broadway Theatre this month.

In this production, the talented Don Stephenson, director, and his collaboration with Maury Yeston, music and lyrics, and Liza Gennaro, choreographer, suc-cessfully portrays the 1997 Tony Award winning show “Titanic” on a much smaller scale.

“Titanic” was one of the most expensive productions in Broad-way history. In the original pro-duction, Stephenson played Charles Clark. He felt it was a shame that “Titanic” could not be done more often. As a re-sult, Stephenson went to work creating a new adaptation of the story.

Westchester Broadway Theatre presents “Titanic”

The score only required six musicians compared to the more than 30 needed on Broadway. The sets were scaled down and the cast of 20 doubled and tri-pled up on roles.

The stage is set to increase the intimacy of the relationships on board, giving the audience an accurate account of what hap-pened on April 14, 1912.

Images of the grand ship take up the back wall of the stage

as photos of passengers that climbed on board that day flash in black and white. Eerie sounds echo throughout the theatre as the Titanic hits the iceberg and hand-written excerpts from the journal display on the wall, recounting the descent of the sinking ship.

When faced with danger, hu-man emotion takes over and so-cioeconomic issues come into play: upper class versus. work-ing class, bravery versus cow-

ardice and selfishness and love.The phenomenal cast and

crew recreate history with their song and dance. Donna English as Alice Beane, Philip Hoffman as Edgar Beane, Drew McVety as Henry Etches, Kate Walbye as Ida Strauss, Adam Heller as J. Bruce Ismay, William Par-ry as Captain Smith and Tom Hewitt as Thomas Andrews. The three working class Kates: Sarah Charles, Elizabeth Hake

and Celeste Rose give an inspira-tional performance with the song “Lady’s Maid.” Will Boyajian as Lighttoller, Xander Chauncey as Frederick Barrett and Christian Palmer as Fleet are ones to watch in the passionate roles they play.

The production also fea-tures musical direction by Ian Weinberger; set design by Patrick Rizzotti; lighting de-sign by Andrew Gmoser, sound design by Jonathan Hatton and

Mark Zuckerman and costume design by Derek Lockwood and Ryan Moller.

While the tale is old, the sto-ry is fresh, the music is alive and the performances are emo-tional and energetic.This Bob Stutler and Bob Funking pro-duction of “Titanic” is play-ing now through Feb. 23. For more information call 914-592-2222 or visit the website at broadwaytheatre.com.

Left to right: William Parry as Captain Smith, Jeremy Ellison Gladstone as Harold Bride, Tom Hewitt as Thomas Andrews and Adam Heller as J Bruce Ismay.

The cast of “Titanic.” Contributed photos


the college’s sustainability pro-gram and community service programs are just a few of the possibilities.

“It is with great pride that Manhattanville College partners with Our New Way Garden to pro-vide space on its campus for the organization to advance its work with the community to increase access and knowledge about lo-cally grown food,” J.J. Pryor, a

spokesperson for Manhattanville College, said. “The greenhouse aligns with the college’s strong commitment to sustainability.”

The organization hopes to become involved in numerous aspects of Harrison life, via working with the Harrison Food Pantry—the town’s food dona-tion center—local schools and senior citizens homes, and near-by restaurants to have proximity

with its purchased produce.“We’re happy to bring the lo-

cal food movement to the Town of Harrison,” Benerofe said.

Donations and funds for the greenhouse and organization are being accepted. The organization is located in White Plains and can be reached through its website, ournewwaygarden.com.


GREENHOUSE from page 1

I’m one of those guys who won’t go to the doctor for any-thing. Don’t you hate guys like that? I know my wife does. I suspect everyone’s wife does.

I’m also one of those guys who’s going to be 40 this year, and even I have thought now is probably a good time to start do-ing some maintenance.

In my defense, I think I come by my stubbornness honestly, which is to say it’s hereditary, which is to say it’s not my fault.

My father, who, until a point, was also one of these guys, has acquired some renown for what he was willing to do to avoid, or otherwise shrug off, the need for a doctor. There’s a famous story in our family about a time one of my father’s molars was bothering him to such an extent he removed it himself with nothing but a pair of pliers and masculinity.

That’s 100 percent true, folks. I saw the tooth, roots and all. It looked like something you’d see in a Tex Avery cartoon.

So, that’s the stock from which I come. While my father’s do-it-yourself attitude had served him well in some areas—he’s a self-taught master repairman of just about anything—I’m not sure it was the best idea in terms of his body and health.

And yet that was my attitude, too, until a couple weeks ago.

Shortly after Thanksgiving 2013, I started feeling, let’s call it a sensation, in my gums on the lower left side. I believe I was sitting in the wonderful new Alamo Drafthouse theater in Yonkers when I first noticed it. It progressed from there to bite pain on that side, followed by periods of burny pain that some-times required a couple of Advil before I could proceed with my day at your newspaper.

As we all do these days, es-pecially those of us who dismiss

Go to the dentist, will you please?going to the doctor or, in this case—shudder—the dentist, out of hand, I spent a lot of time on the Internet trying to diagnose my problem.

Pooling the full diagnostic powers of WebMD and Editor-in-Chief Christian Falcone to-gether with my own, I deter-mined I had a gum infection and, in a separate but perhaps related issue, that my lower left wisdom tooth had shifted, crowding and irritating my other teeth.

Yes, I still have all my wis-dom teeth. What did I do when I was about 19 or 20 and they were coming in to enormous, throbbing pain that lasted weeks, you ask?

I sucked it up and got on with the business of renting movies to people.

Thanks, Dad.Needless to say, my wife told

me to see a dentist the moment I made the mistake of telling her what was going on. No, I thought, I want to beat this myself. I’ve read about the home remedies and treatments for a gum infec-tion. I’ll tackle it myself and not only avoid the dentist, but I’ll know I won. I won and the infec-tion lost. Then, and only then, if I decide to have the wisdom tooth extracted, it’ll be on my terms, not those of some lousy gum infection, which I knew didn’t stand a chance against warm salt water and my will.

This is how men think, ladies. Isn’t it great?

In my defense, the salt water and diligence with which I used it did hold whatever was wrong at bay, to some extent. The burning flare-ups of pain got fewer and farther between, but they still happened and, after the first McDonald’s chocolate shake I’ve had in a couple years made me see stars, I jacked it in and decided to seek the care of a professional.

Remember, I’m going to be 40 this year. I remember it be-cause I think of little else these days. Forty without a doctor or a dentist to my name.

At that rate, what on Earth will 60 look like, assuming I get there?

If you’re a guy like me, here’s what I want you to take away from this if you take anything from it because it’s something I wasn’t expecting. Going to the dentist, and I believe I found a good one, that first time—I’ve been twice, so far—was instant peace of mind and taught me I’m not alone in this problem, nor will I be for any future problem.

As soon as I filled my pre-scription for antibiotics and pain reliever, I felt like, hey, these pharmacy guys are here to help me win this fight, too. As soon as I took my first doses, I real-ized what a complete fool I’d been to wait and try to tackle the problem myself.

Especially since, hey, I was right; it was a gum infection and a case of reversible pulpitis in my lower left molar, third from the back.

Finding out you’re right is never a bad thing.

As I sit here now, finishing up our weekly visit, I do so with no pain and a second course of an-tibiotics making sure the infec-tion stays dead. I’m going back to the dentist next week for oth-er, long overdue maintenance and repair work—nothing ma-jor, thankfully—and, I have to say, I’m more looking forward to it than not.

If I’m going to be here at 60 and beyond, I don’t want those years to be full of trips to WebMD, or whatever the holo-graphic implant equivalent will be at that time, and fretting, even if it means I never get to do something as spectacularly awe-some as extract my own molar with a pair of pliers and my own willingness to get the job done.

Still need to get to a doctor for a check-up.

Maybe I’ll wait until I’m ac-tually 40 for that.

Reach Jason at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @jasonchirevas

Our New Way Garden Inc. will build a new greenhouse at Manhattaville College, pictured, within the year after being forced to abandon its PepsiCo Inc. greenhouse due to company renovations. File Photo


In September 2000, Aresh Mo-hit, a 1992 graduate of Scarsdale High School, had his 15 minutes of fame when he was featured in a New York Times article. Aresh became famous for doing some-thing so simple that almost ev-eryone has done it at one time in their lives. Aresh taught kids to ride a bike.

The difference with Aresh is he taught kids he didn’t know, for a fee. At the time, he was the only known bike tutor in Westchester County and he couldn’t keep up with demand. In fact, in some circles, he was known as the “bi-cycle whisperer.”

These days, parental out-sourcing ranges from learning how to drive, to ridding your child of head lice, to learning how to ski or even potty train-ing. Parents have different skill sets and they don’t always sync with the skills needed at any given time of a child’s life. One family may be blessed with a parent who can do advanced cal-culus and a math tutor wouldn’t be someone they would hire, but that same parent might not have any clue how to throw a basket-ball properly or the safe way to lift weights.

Hiring academic tutors to help our kids do well in school or on college entrance exams has been a long accepted prac-tice but, more and more, people are turning to trainers like Aresh for help as well.

In November 2013, Aresh fulfilled his dream by opening a state-of-the-art workout facility

Fenom fuses fun and fitness in Harrison

in Harrison. Fenom Fitness is a family sports and fitness facility specializing in result-oriented and attention-based programs for the entire family.

“I come from a kids program-ming background, but I’m also a certified athletic trainer. For years, I trained entire families,” Aresh said. “I had a large prac-tice training adults and their kids in various sports. But I’ve wanted to open my own place for a long time.”

His mission is unique: Create the well-rounded athlete. There are so many organizations and clubs aimed at the specializa-tion of a sport, helping kids to become the best they can be at one particular thing.

“I want everyone to be good at all sports instead of just being amazing at one,” he said.

Aresh explained how, over the years, he would work with chil-dren who excelled at one sport, like soccer, but when they went to shoot a basketball they had no idea how to do it. He thinks all kids should be able to play all

sports with some proficiency.“Not everyone learns the same

way,” he said. “I’ve had sideline sitters and homerun hitters, but there is a really wide band in the middle that, in large orga-nized programs, can sometimes be overlooked. I want to cater to that big group in the middle.”

Aresh’s solution is small classes with low trainer-to-ath-lete ratios.

“Big classes work only for the best athletes, but large fa-cilities have huge overhead and they have to overfill their classes just to break even,” he said. “We don’t have to do that at Fenom.”

Wendy Alper, a Purchase resi-dent, is a supporter of Aresh and the new facility.

“Aresh is a one-of-a-kind train-er that is amazing for kids and adults,” she said. “His upbeat, happy disposition pushes you through the most difficult, phys-ical and mental challenges while training. He has helped train all members of my family for the last 10 years, including my boys, who are now 13 and 15.

Fenom is a fabulous facility that makes you feel at home from the moment you walk in the door. Whether taking a private lesson, a group class or playing basket-ball, it’s a wonderful environ-ment to spend your time and get in shape. My teens and I all go there for all our different favorite classes. It’s like hanging out at ‘Cheers’ where everybody knows your name.”

Almost all of the classes at Fenom include not just skills, but strength and conditioning as well.

“Now that most doctors and professionals agree that proper resistance training could be ben-eficial to young athletes, a lot of parents want their kids to be taught the proper form when us-ing weights and doing exercise,” Aresh said. “What’s great about combining all forms of train-ing is that we can focus on the athlete’s weaknesses and then provide a well-rounded program that’s beneficial to the everyday athlete. To us, it’s the proper way to train. Kids also respond really well to it because it’s a mixture of things instead of constant ex-ercise. It’s more fun.”

Fenom isn’t a membership-only club; it and is open to the public. It offers a very flexible fee structure so you can sign-up for a 6-week or 12-week class or sign-up on a one-off basis. Kids can come after school on ran-dom days, or during snow days, and pay $20 and stay for hours.

Aresh offers court rentals in which an organized group of friends—adults or children—put together a team and rent the court for basketball, soccer or hockey for 6 to 12 consecutive weeks.

Adults can stop in for an open workout and pay a small fee.

“I envision a kid being dropped off for an hour-and-

“I’m always on the lookout for a great story, an amazing

restaurant, an unusual day trip or a must-see cultural event in

Westchester County."

TO CONTACT LISA, [email protected].

And you can follow her on Twitter, @westchesterwand

a-half sports program and the mom, instead of waiting around or having to return for pickup, uses the gym and works out too,” Aresh said.

Fenom also trains middle school athletes who need to pass the New York State Physical Fitness test in order to join a high school varsity team. The athlete may have a killer serve in tennis, but might not be able to meet the minimum require-ments of the standing long jump. Aresh and his trainers help kids pass the test.

Fenom is housed in a 13,000-square-foot industrial space located at 67 Grant Ave., off Oakland Avenue in Harrison. It’s been completely gutted and totally renovated, including fab-ulous artwork throughout by a well-known graffiti artist from Argentina named Mariano. I would imagine it would be hard to get bored while working out just by looking at all the inter-esting art that covers the walls.

The class menu is diverse and offers everything from batting and golf cage rentals to spin, surfset, yoga, pilates, zumba, basketball, soccer, lacrosse and field hockey and more programs are constantly being added. Fenom has recently started a kid’s night out on Friday and

Saturday nights from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and they offer fun birth-day party packages with multi-sports and games.

There will be mini-summer camps listed on the gym’s web-site soon.

And if Fenom doesn’t current-ly have a program you are inter-ested in, tell Aresh. He’s a great whisperer…I mean listener.

Fenom Fitness67 Grant Ave.

Harrison, N.Y, 10528914-732-3000

Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Saturday 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Sunday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

www.fenomfit.com

Owner and trainer of Fenom Fitness, Aresh Mohit. The fun and colorful lobby at Fenom Fitness in Harrison.

Fenom’s graffiti open gym. Photos/Lisa Jardine

Aresh Mohit demonstrating surfset.


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SPORTS February 14, 2014 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • 15

I’ll be dead honest; when it comes to watching most events in the Winter Olympics, I’m clueless.

Now, it’s not that I don’t get the main gist of what’s going on. I think I understand the basics. In speed skating, luge, and other race-type events, the object is to get the best time. In slope-style and half-pipe, it’s a combination of a routine’s difficulty and the snowboarder’s ability to pull it off that makes the winner, and in figure-skating—at least to the best of my knowledge—the gold medals go to the country that is best able to pay-off the international judges.

But it’s the intricacies of the events that elude me; even if I understand the task at hand. And I’m certainly not alone.

For many American sports fans who don’t see these types of events on television very of-

Figuring out Sochi

Sports Editor Mike Smith might not know how all these Winter Olympic sports work, but he’s rooting on the USA every step of the way. Photo courtesy englishclub.com

ten, the nuances of Olympic sports are foreign concepts.

On Saturday afternoon, a group of friends and I sat in a ski lodge in Killington, Vt., fresh off our own annual winter Olympics in which the gold medalist is de-termined by the skier or snow-boarder with the least bumps, bruises or broken bones at the end of our weekend trip.

With coffees in hand, we settled in to watch the women’s short-program figure skating competition. With only a mini-mal knowledge of figure skat-ing, gleaned mostly from the Will Ferrell vehicle “Blades of Glory,” we sat there watching the routines, unable to offer much in the way of ski lodge banter about what we were seeing other than when a skat-er made a visible gaffe, such as falling down. Of course, our resident bigmouth friend—ev-ery group has one, it seems—had no problem interjecting his own two cents into the proceedings, but was quickly silenced after a move that he

called “flawless” was quickly discounted by commentator Tara Lipinski, who determined that the skater didn’t have enough rotations in the air for the jump to qualify.

But it’s not just figure skat-ing; it’s a host of other events as well. And somehow, it doesn’t even seem to matter. I couldn’t tell you exactly what the ath-letes with the brooms are doing in curling, but that doesn’t stop me from plopping down on the couch and watching Canada’s finest hurling stones the length of an ice-rink in what looks like the most athletically challeng-ing game of bar shuffle puck I’ve ever seen.

I’m not exactly sure about the ins-and-outs of cross-coun-try skiing, but when I watch competitors cross the finish line and immediately collapse and sprawl on the snow, laboring to breathe like a bunch of Under-Armor clad beached whales, I’m pretty sure I’ve just watched a fairly intense athletic specta-cle, one that I would never dare

to attempt for fear of suffering a massive heart attack.

But NBC’s Olympic pro-grammers are smart. They know the American public is always hungry for strong human inter-est stories, especially when they are out of their element in terms of actual sports narratives. This way, even if we don’t exactly know how our American bob-sledders stack up against the rest of the world’s best—or

even how they steer those death machines down the side of the mountain—we can rally around sports figures like Lolo Jones, who’s difficult childhood and previous track and field ca-reer make her a media darling, or men’s bobsledder Johnny Quinn, whose valiant strug-gle against Sochi’s unyielding bathroom doors have turned him into a Paul Bunyan-esque folk hero in the early goings

of these games.So, I can’t tell a triple sow

cow from a lutz, or a McTwist from a fakie, but it doesn’t matter. When it comes to the Olympics, I’m all in, regardless of the sport. That said, if some-one could get me a glossary of terms and maybe a rulebook or two, I’d be eternally grateful.

Follow Mike on Twitter, @LiveMike_Sports

While Harrison’s varsity wrestlers were doing their best to qualify for sectionals this past weekend, the future of

the Huskies’ program was also in action, as the Harrison Mat Club hosted 40 teams from around the area to compete in

the Youth Wrestling Section 1 Tournament, which took place on Feb. 9 at Harrison High School.

Harrison Mat Club STATE QUALIFIERS:

A member of the Harrison Mat Club wrestles at Youth Sectionals on Feb. 9. The Harrison wrestling program had 20 wrestlers qualify for the state tournament. Contributed photo

Mat club hosts sectionals Outside of one club team–which is comprised of wrestlers from all over Section I-Harrison finished ahead of every other team, sending 20 wrestlers age 8 to 12 to states.

According to head coach Victor Arcara, the finish was the best in the club’s nine seasons, a testament to the growth of the sport in the Harrison community.

“When we first started entering the tournament, we didn’t place,” he said. “About three years ago, we took sixth, last year was fifth, so this year we were hoping for a top-five finish.”

Harrison’s success at the tournament was a result of sev-eral returning grapplers as well as some first-timers who have picked up the sport quickly.

“We had about 15 kids return from last year’s tournament and the new kids have been work-ing really hard,” Arcara said. “They’ve been having an extra practice day, which definitely helped a lot, and we had about 15 kids come down from modi-fied to help us score points.”

With nearly 400 competitors in action, the day was split into two separate sessions to help the tournament run more smoothly. Arcara said that his ranks–and the ranks of local youth clubs in general–have risen in recent

years, thanks in part to more visibility for the sport.

“Varsity wrestling is out there in the papers, and on the Internet,” he said. “And a lot of these kids have brothers wrestling on the varsity lev-el, so they want to do it too. That’s one of the reasons for its popularity.”

The state tournament will be a three-day event starting

in Bayshore on March 7. Until then, the wrestlers will be doing their best to keep busy.

“We’ve got a week’s vacation coming up where the school is going to be closed so we can’t get in there,” Arcara said. “Other than that, we’ve got some tournaments in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts scheduled before states.”- Reporting by Mike Smith

Lightning Roggero

Victor Arcara

William Roggero

Cole Joseph

Christian Barchella

Javier Jimenez

Dylan Cottini

Timothy Denet

Angel Alvarado

Michael Rozelli

Joseph Scofield

Rocco Maiorana

Jason Viola

Jordan Arango

Brian Fay

Tyler Joseph

Tommy Giandomenico

Valkyria Roggero

Luke Sullivan

Dennis Brecani

SPORTS16 • THE HARRISON REVIEW • February 14, 2014

By MIKE SMITHSports Editor

On Feb. 8, Harrison High School played host to one leg of the sectional wrestling quali-fiers with grapplers from nine area high schools looking to earn their ticket to Arlington High School for next week’s tournament.

When the dust had settled, four wrestlers from the hosting Huskies advanced to next week-end’s tournament to take on the best of the rest in Section I.

Jay Martins (99 pounds), Frankie Barchella (106), Max Lukaswitz (132) and Max McMullen (285) all kept their seasons alive with strong quali-fying rounds and will head up to Arlington for sectionals.

Harrison coach Vin Nicita was hoping for a few more qualifiers, but that’s just the way

Harrison sends four to sectionals

the divisional rounds break out sometimes, he said.

“Coming in, we were hoping for anywhere from six to eight wrestlers to qualify,” Nicita

said. “But you never know who you’re going to go up against, what weight classes will be stacked.”

The Huskies started the day

off on a high note and sent eight wrestlers to the semifinals, but had trouble pushing forward as only McMullen and Lukaswitz made it to the finals. McMullen

was pinned by Tappan Zee’s Michael Manni in the finals, while Lukaswitz won his brack-et with a pinfall win over White Plains’ Julio Cruz. Martins and

Barchella both fought back in wrestlebacks to take third, which was enough to send them to sectionals.

“It was looking pretty good for us early, but I think we ran out of gas,” Nicita said. “We just didn’t perform well in wrestle-backs.”

McMullen, Barchella and Lukaswitz have all been to the dance before but, for Martins, a freshman, next Saturday will be his first time competing at sec-tionals. According to Nicita, the freshman has shown steady im-provement throughout the sea-son and will be poised to handle himself against some of the top 99-pounders around.

“He keeps getting better and better,” Nicita said of Martins. “This is going to be great for him, he now knows he’s one of the top 16 kids in the section and he’s go-ing to be there not just to show up, but to hopefully place and be-come an all-section wrestler.”

Over the course of this week, Harrison’s wrestlers will be practicing with some other lo-cal sectional hopefuls as the Huskies will team up with other programs, including Scarsdale and Rye, to get some last min-ute work in.

“We’re going to be figuring that out,” Nicita said. “We’ll be seeing who other teams are sending and doing our best to figure out what weights work for practices.”

Sectionals kick off at Arlington High School on Feb. 15 and will conclude the fol-lowing day at Clarkstown South High School.”

CONTACT: [email protected]’s Frankie Barchella tangles with New Rochelle’s Jordan Wallace on Feb. 8. Wallace and Barchella both punched their ticket to sectionals.

Harrison’s Max Lukaswitz, left, and Frankie Barchella celebrate wins at the Scarsdale Tournament in January. Both Lukaswitz and Barchella have qualified for the Section I tournament. Contributed photo

Barchella and Wallace prepare to resume the action at Harrison High School. Barchella and three other Huskies qualified for the sectional tournament. Photos/Bobby Begun

Documents

The Harrison Review 2-14-2014