The Joy of - Inside Chappaqua

MHA 5K Run/Walk: May 5 

The Chappaqua Orchestra’s “A Little Mozart”: May 19 

Tails to Trails: May 19 

www.insidechappaqua.com 

May 2013 

Find us on 

$3.95 

The Magazine for New Castle and Beyond 

The 

Joy of 

Jodi 

Rene Syler: 

Sweet & Ours 

Book 

Excerpts 

Moms 

Will 

Love 

Dawn 

Greenberg’s 

Can-Do 

Style 

See Inside for our 

Pull Out Mother’s Day 

Must Have/Must Do Guide 

in Partnership with our Sponsors 

May 2013 Inside Chappaqua 1

SSOLD 

O L Call our local offices to find out 

why William Raveis is the right 

option to choose when 

marketing your home 

CHAPPAQUA 

75 North Greeley Avenue 

Chappaqua, NY 10514 

914.238.0505 

2 Inside Chappaqua May 2013

Welcome New Agents! 

Patricia DelVecchio 

Sandra Scarano 

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to Patricia DelVecchio & 

Sandra Scarano to our Chappaqua office. Joining us from Douglas Elliman in 

Armonk, Patricia & Sandra bring a significant amount of experience to our 

group. Since 2000, they have closed over $150,000,000 in residential sales. 

This team specializes in Exceptional Properties and New Construction, 

with a focus on Armonk, Mount Pleasant, and the surrounding communities. 

They enjoy a loyal following of past buyers and sellers who have relied on their 

expertise in pricing, negotiating, and following up on the many details that are part of 

today's real estate transactions. Please reach out to Patricia and Sandra for all of your 

Westchester Real Estate needs. 

I N T E R N A T I O N A L 

r a v e i s . c o m 

"The Best Website in Real Estate" 

300,000+ Local Listings • Sold Properties • All Local Housing Data & Graphs • All MLS Open Houses 

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4 Inside 

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Harrison 

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Katonah 

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Rye 

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MLS 3307359 • 15 Flag Hill Road • $899,000 MLS 3306656 • 33 Westorchard Road • $899,000 

MLS 3305260 • 93 Inningwood Road • $825,000 

MLS 3309259 • 2 Annandale Drive • $799,000 

MLS 3304969 • 55 Wildwood Road • $696,000 

MLS 3309410 • 9 Pamela Place • $675,000 


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Harrison 

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Katonah 

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5 

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Advertorial 

Ladies: Want to Know how to REALLY Lose 

“the last 5-10 Pounds” after 40? Read on! 

“Now that I’m over 40, why 

can’t I lose those last five or ten 

pounds?” As a trainer and owner 

of Prescriptions for Fitness in 

Chappaqua, this is one of the 

most frequent questions I receive 

from our clients. Clients will tell 

me that in their 20s and 30s all 

they had to do was diet for a few 

days–and the weight would come 

off!!! Well, guess what? You’re 

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Lean tissue helps to rev up your metabolism. 

Remember, body fat can only 

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Fortunately, there’s also a simple 

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By Scott Reilly 

Trainer Renee Goldstein (in blue hat) working on core strengthening 

excercises with client Karen Brown. 

•YOU HAVE TO WANT IT. This is 

my numero uno tip. Just saying you 

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enough. You have to commit to it. Put 

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•Change it up! If what you are 

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•If it’s important to you, you will 

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The only difference is they make time 

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•Avoid late night snacks, and 

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Throw out those “fat person” 

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a great new skinny outfit as a reward 

for reaching your goals. (Tell your husband 

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What are you waiting for? 

Scott Reilly 

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Scott and 

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with osteoporosis, Scott and his staff can 

help you get in the best shape of your life. 

They also specialize in golf and tennis 

conditioning as well. For an appointment, 

call 914 238-0500. 


May 2013 

THE MAGAZINE FOR NEW CASTLE AND BEYOND 

Features 

17. True Balance 

Vicki de Vries caught up with Jodi Levine and 

captured her tale of 30 plus years of 

“gymnastics for the pure enjoyment.” 

20. Sweet and Ours 

Find out what Rene Syler–Chappaqua’s most 

famous Good Enough Mother–is up to now. 

By Ronni Diamondstein 

24. “Dawn” of a New Way 

Discover Dawn Greenberg’s fair trade passion, a “Robin 

Hood” leaning plus her steady flow of great ideas. 

By Sarah Ellen Rindsberg 

26. Introducing Dynamic Business Duos: 

• Gamechanger’s Marilyn Rifkin and 

Deborah Notis 

• StyleCyle’s Lisa Ballou and 

Susan Smugar Goodman By Michall Jeffers 

Associate Editor 

Carine Feist 


May 2013 • Volume 10, Number 6 

Publisher and Editor 

Grace Bennett 

Graphic Designer 

Dina Spalvieri 

Inside Chappaqua TM is published six to eight times a year, 

and is owned and operated by The Inside Press, Inc. 

Mailing address: PO Box 643, Millwood, NY 10546. 

Phone Number: 914-238-2600. Copyright © 2013. 

All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. Reproduction of any 

portion is prohibited without permission from the publisher. 

Inside Chappaqua may not necessarily agree with any one editorial viewpoint or necessarily 

endorse a particular product or service advertised. Editorial submissions should be mailed to the 

above address (please enclose an SASE) or sent to editor@insidechappaqua.com. 

For more information, rates and advertising calendar, go to www.insidechappaqua.com. 

General Counsel: Brian Hand 

8 Inside Chappaqua May 2013 

Web Design 

Annette van Ommeren 

Contributors 

Bill Bramswig, Ronni Diamondstein, Mike Feist 

Tim Friedmann, Debra Hand 

Michall Jeffers, Amy Kerwin 

Miriam Longobardi 

Sarah Ellen Rindsberg, Vicki de Vries 

Departments 

Just Between Us 

10. After the Party 

In and Around Town & 

Beyond New Castle 

12. Getting to Know New Castle’s 

League of Women Voters. 


14. At Silver Hill: Treatment and Hope 

for Opioid Addiction 

By Grace Bennett 

15. Hilary and Bruce Murray’s Fight against 

Crohn’s Disease 

34. Highlights from IC’s 10th year 

Anniversary Celebration 

By Michall Jeffers • Photos by Amy Kerwin 

28-30 Book Excerpts 

Three Worthy Reads for Moms 

Happenings 

36. A 5K Mental Health Walk, 

“A Little Mozart,” “Tails to Trails,” 

and “Serving Sandy Hook Families” 

Single and Smart 

38. What Have you Done for You, Lately? 

The indomitable Miriam Longobardi’s 

insights on beating “loneliness.” 

Maggie Mae Pup Reporter 

40. Giving Greyhound Racers 

a Second Chance 

By Maggie Mae with Ronni Diamondstein 

Cover 

JODI 

Photo by Bill Bramswig 

Bramswigphotography.com 

Special thanks to 

Jodi’s hairdresser Billy at Billy’s 

Salon in Mount Kisco, and to her 

makeup artist, Michelle Danielle, 

also in Mount Kisco. 

Advertorials 

7. How to Lose 

those Last Five 

to Ten Pounds 

By Scott Reilly, 

Prescriptions for Fitness 

13. WYYDYHL– 

“Chappaqua’s Find 

of a Century” 

Houlihan Lawrence 

Real Estate

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“Mother’s Day shares the calendar with the last frost date, 

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for the dear lady to redeem for her own flower garden? 

Prices starting at $500 for up to 60 square feet of bed or plants 

and flowers for 2 large containers.” 

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Pulling together a May issue in the 

midst of 10th year party planning and 

festivities was no small feat…but of 

course, I’m sure glad I did. I’m thrilled 

to be prominently featuring one of my 

best friends in Chappaqua…Jodi Levine, 

owner of Jodi’s Gym… After 30 years 

of bringing gymnastics into the lives of 

families in the city, northern Westchester 

and beyond, she is a good friend to 

many, and beyond that, an incredible 

business woman and mentor. Happy 

Mother’s Day, Jodi! 

A past IC cover girl, Chappaqua’s 

famous “good enough mother,” Rene 

Syler, is featured again…with all that 

she’s up to, sorry, but “good enough” 

just doesn’t begin to describe her! 

And there’s also a spotlight on Dawn 

Greenberg. If you haven’t heard about 

all the various initiatives Dawn seems 

to singlehandedly take on–including the 

spearheading of the October 5 Chappaqua 

Children’s Book Festival, you’re 

either not on social media or you’re not 

shopping local nearly enough! 

J U S T B E T W E E N U S 

After the Party 

Toward that end, we’ve produced a 

first time ever pull out “Mother’s Day 

Must Have/Must Do” guide highlighting 

our sponsors best suggestions. 

Carine Feist and her son Mike went all 

out especially in spotlighting Mother’s 

Day dining delights, in words and in 

so many pics, so very grateful for their 

efforts. We also used the guide as a 

vehicle to support the Neighbor’s Link 

Festival de Primavera on May 11. Check 

its back cover for details! 

Here’s hoping you find this issue filled 

with at least half as much love that I felt 

at my party at Crabtree’s Kittle House 

on March 14. While I churn out these 

issues year after year, it can sometimes 

be hard to tell how Inside Chappaqua is 

received. So now, well after the party, 

let’s just say I can happily embark on 

a second decade of publishing with 

renewed confidence that this little 

magazine is still appreciated, internet 

options and all. Have a very happy 

Mother’s Day. 

For highlights from IC’s 10th, turn to 

page 34. 

The Jewish Daily Forward just named 

our Rabbi Mark Sameth one of the 

“36 most inspiring rabbis in America.” 

The Jewish Daily Forward just named our 

Rabbi Mark Sameth one of the 


CREDITS: Gold dress by Pesavento Couture 

at Elephant’s Trunk in Mount Kisco (thank you 

Susan Ward, Robert and Rafael!); earrings by Jolie 

B. Ray at ROCKS in Armonk; at Aura Salon, kudos 

to Lu Camarena 

Meshulam for 

makeup and 

to hairdresser 

Dawn Hiller for 

the cascading 

curls–and to Ana 

for nails. Special 

thanks to ICD 

Contemporary 

Jewelry for a 

gorgeous bracelet 

and to March 

Boutique for a 

stunning black 

and gold cover 

up. Whispering 

Pines sent 

over a fabulous 

bouquet with the 

10th anniversary 

issue of IC 

cleverly tucked 

inside the vase. 

Chappaqua’s 

Joy’s Balloons 

decorated the 

tables. Beascakes 

Bakery in Armonk 

created the “CQ,” multiple layer strawberry 

shortcake. Finally, The Flower Pot in Larchmont 

supplied the single stem roses for all. I so appreciate 

everyone’s TLC on this special day. 

Photo by Amy Kerwin 

The Jewish Daily Forward just named 

our Rabbi Mark Sameth one of the 



Folks from twenty towns, villages and cities across Westchester have 

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CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE DIAMOND 

PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE 

Lisa Koh Gloria Marwell Ellen Schwartz 

Eileen McGrath 

Sally Slater 

Melissa Frank-Lutz 

Margaret Harrington 

LEADING EDGE SOCIETY 

Stacey Sporn Maureen Ostro Ted Holmes Arik Efros Cindy Haas 

RELOCATION AWARDS 

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR 

Andrea O'Brien Ellen Schwartz Diane Freedman 

Relocation Service Broker to Broker 

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF THE ELLIMAN AWARD WINNERS 

ON THEIR EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS IN 2012. 

© 2013 Douglas Elliman Real Estate. Equal Housing Opportunity. 


The League of Women Voters 

of New Castle is a very welcoming 

group. Whether one is new to town 

or a longtime resident, joining and 

attending their events adds a new 

dimension to life by acquiring a 

breadth of knowledge and meeting 

fellow residents. “Through the 

League, I have met many intelligent 

and interesting community members 

that I would not have crossed 

paths with otherwise,” LWVNC 

Membership Committee chair Lea 

Barth observed. 

Candidates’ Night is one of the most 

popular forums held by the LWVNC. 

In this nonpartisan discussion, residents 

are afforded the opportunity to 

learn about the qualifications of each 

person running for office. 

Candidates on the local and state 

levels including those running for the 

House of Representatives, are invited 

to speak in the fall and those on the 

slate for the school and library boards, 

appear in the spring. 


I N A N D A R O U N D T O W N 

The LWVNC: A Vital Member of the Community 


League Volunteers at New Castle’s Community Day. 

One of the former participants at 

Candidates’ Night is Town Supervisor 

Susan Carpenter, who is a huge 

proponent of the LWVNC. Carpenter 

spoke highly of their program on climate 

change too. She recommends the 

LWVNC to anyone interested in being 

“informed about anything from very 

local issues to international concerns.” 

Carpenter was on center stage 

in March at the LWVNC’s annual 

“Conversation with the Supervisor.” 

Sheila Miller Bernson and Jennifer 

Mebes Flagg, Co- 

Presidents of the 

League of Women 

Voters of New 

Castle mentioned 

that this is always 

“a highly anticipated 

event.” (All 

subsequent quotes 

attributed to the 

LWVNC were 

provided by the 

co-presidents.) It 

provides a special 

setting in which 

residents listen 

intently to Carpenter’s 

remarks and 

then pose questions 

which are 

answered in a very 

candid manner. 

The effectiveness 

of the LWVNC is 

evident in local 

politics. When a 

vote was scheduled 

to determine 

whether the 

current method 

of electing town 

board members 

would be changed 

from an at-large (where all voters can 

vote for all seats) to a ward system, a 

lengthy investigation was conducted. 

The LWVNC described the subsequent 

education process: 

“The League held a community 

forum where the advantages and 

disadvantages of the current and 

proposed forms of government were 

presented to New Castle residents. 

The League then advocated against 

the change by writing a Letter to the 

Editor of NewCastleNow detailing our 

position and handing out flyers to the 

community explaining what adopting 

this system would mean to New Castle. 

The Referendum did not pass.” 

At community day, representatives 

are on hand to respond to all manner 

of queries regarding voting. This past 

fall, the LWVNC registered over 150 

voters at events held throughout the 

county. This spring, a voter registration 

drive will be held at Greeley. The 

LWVNC also encourages civic participation 

by attending and distributing 

information on voting at ceremonies 

for recipients of the Girl Scout gold 

awards in town and for newly naturalized 

Americans at the courthouse in 

White Plains. 

And, yes, in an era where the issue 

of gender equity is still of paramount 

importance, men are also vital members 

of this organization; constituting 

20% of the current 100 members. In 

addition, Bruce Gilchrist served as 

president in 2003. The LWVNC also 

participates in meetings on global 

issues at the United Nations. Last 

spring, members attended a presentation 

on human trafficking. The LWVNC 

said that “Several New Castle League 

members have had the privilege of being 

Alternate UN Observers.” 

Future programs include a forum 

on health care, co-sponsored by the 

Chappaqua Library, on May 7. This will 

be followed on May 15 by the annual 

meeting and luncheon (which is open 

to all) at Crabtree’s Kittle House where 

the featured speaker will be Assemblyman 

David Buchwald. On May 16, 

Candidates’ Night for the school and 

library boards will take place at the 

Chappaqua Library. Further information 

on the LWVNC is available at 

www.lwvnewcastle.org.

WYNDYHYL – “ Chappaqua’s Find of a Century” Advertorial 

This Queen Anne 

Victorian homestead 

has had only two owners 

in all of its 100+ 

years! Samuel Thompson 

built the house in 

1897 and his grandson, 

Al Hutin, who grew up 

in the house, lives next 

door. The Hutin family 

sold the home to the 

Barnes family in 1985, 

who have mindfully 

maintained the historic 

Victorian appearance 

while adding two 

bathrooms as there was only one 

and making some 

renovations and 

restorations. 

The two-car 

garage, originally 

the barn for Mr. 

Thompson’s horse 

and buggy, was later converted to 

hold his Model T Ford, the first in 

Chappaqua!!! 

The house was originally called 

Fairview because of the view of the 

Hudson River but Samuel’s daughter 

christened the house WYNDY- 

HYL in the early 1900’s and it has 

retained that name to date. This 

homestead was named 

an Historical Landmark 

in 2000, along with our 

town’s founder, Horace 

Greeley’s house on King 

Street. Wyndyhyl was 

featured in an exhibit at 

the New Castle Historical 

Society Headquarters 

in 1998. It will 

also be on the Society’s 

house tour this May. 

A New Castle Land 

marked home has no 

building restrictions; it 

is just a historical and 

prestigious designation. 

Emie Barnes, the 

owner and listing agent 

says, “It was love at 

first sight. The 9’ ceilings, 

the wide plank 

flooring and the wrap 

around porch just had to be ours!” 


Inside Silver Hill Hospital 

Offering Hope and Help in Treating Opioid Addictions 

Inside Chappaqua’s “connection” 

to Silver Hill Hospital, a not for 

profit, full service psychiatric hospital 

situated on a bucolic campus of New 

Canaan, CT, is really a connection to 

a wonderful Chappaqua resident and 

friend, Janine Crowley Haynes. Janine 

has sought help at Silver Hill to help 

manage her bipolar disorder. A few 

years ago, we featured her book, My 

Kind of Crazy. In it, Janine chronicles 

her story with fortitude and good 

humor. 

Sigurd Ackerman, M.D. 

Most recently, 

Janine–a volunteer 

on Silver Hill’s 

Development 

Committee–was 

eager to acquaint 

me with Silver Hill 

directly; she has 

told me that it is 

a special place of 

healing and new 

beginnings. On 

our ride to Silver 

Hill, I asked 

Janine to help me choose a focus for 

my interview with Sigurd Ackerman, 

M.D., president and medical director. 

She suggested the newest program, 

the Chronic Pain and Recovery Center, 

because there are few like it in the 

country and there is a pressing need 

for the treatments it offers. 

According to Dr. Ackerman, the 

Chronic Pain and Recovery Center is 

designed for individuals with chronic 

pain and some additional, co-occurring 

problem. The co-occurring problem 

may include chemical dependence or 

abuse, depression or anxiety, social 

isolation, de-conditioning of muscles, 

weight fluctuation and sleep disturbance–all 

in addition to physical pain. 

“Our pain center programming has 

evolved to address chronic pain as well 

as these additional problems patients 

with chronic pain experience. Often, 

the co-occurring problem is an overuse 

or misuse of pain medication. For 

many, their lives have become ruled by 

their use of pain medication," said Dr. 

Ackerman. 

"Many commonly used pain medications, 

called opioids, are synthetic narcotics 

that have opiate-like qualities,” 

Dr. Ackerman explained. "Like opiates, 

they are very effective in relieving 


B E Y O N D N E W C A S T L E 

By Grace Bennett 

pain. However, for many, they provide 

a "high" and the user finds him/herself 

driven to repeat the experience over 

and over apart from the need for pain 

relief. The real problem is that medication 

tolerance develops which means 

to obtain the same pain relief or the 

same high, it requires more of the 

medication. So, while these medications 

can do great good when used 

properly, they can lead to great harm 

when misused, creating serious problems 

within families, at work or even 

problems 

with the 

law.” 

Some 

people take 

initiative to 

help themselves… 

they contact 

Silver 

Hill because 

they 

want to get 

off the pain 

medication 

and have 

failed on 

their own. 

Others are 

urged to do 

so by sometimes 

very 

frustrated, 

frightened family members. “It’s not 

always a physician referral,” stated 

Dr. Ackerman. Others end up in an 

emergency room with an overdose… 

and find their way to Silver Hill for focused 

treatment. Whatever the route, 

a patient at Silver Hill, emphasizes 

Dr. Ackerman, receives services with a 

first-rate staff. “The clinicians on our 

staff who treat these problems are true 

experts.” 

The first treatment goal is to target 

the reason for the chronic pain. “You 

need to begin with a thorough evaluation 

of the pain itself.” A next step is 

helping patients detox from the pain 

medication by working toward a dose 

that’s the minimum amount possible 

to continue to address pain symptoms. 

What follows is a reconditioning of 

the patient’s approach to pain management…one 

that doesn’t necessarily 

involve a medication. “From working 

with a physical therapist to teaching 

lifestyle changes, there are many ways 

to learn to manage pain besides grabbing 

a pill.” The goal may not necessarily 

be a complete elimination of the 

drug either. “If the patient needs pain 

medication, we teach how to administer 

it safely. In a family situation, 

we might advise that one responsible 

person be in charge of medication administration," 

said Dr. Ackerman. “Our 

overall objective is to separate the person 

from medication being misused, to 

The 2012 Silver Hill Gala, held in November at Cipriani 42nd Street, raised 

funds for scholarship support for their residential treatment programs. Some 

Chappaqua residents who attended (l-r): Larry Haynes, Janine Haynes, Maria 

Larramendi, Dr. Fred Feiner, Vicki Feiner and Laura Hamburg. 

improve function in valued activities 

and engage in a life full of meaning 

and purpose.” 

Photo by Patrick McMullan 

Finally, and perhaps most critically, 

at Silver Hill, there are treatment 

teams and adjunct programs to address 

what are very often underlying 

psychiatric reasons for opioid addictions. 

“Some chronic pain sufferers 

may be depressed and stay depressed 

or develop fears and those fears rule 

their day,” he said. “So a patient 

coming to us often doesn’t just come 

seeing us about their pain and their 

medication problems but also about 

the depression and anxiety in their 

lives too.” 

To learn more about Silver Hill and 

its variety of residential treatment 

programs, visit silverhillhospital.org. 

Grace Bennett is the publisher and editor 

of Inside Chappaqua Magazine.

B E Y O N D N E W C A S T L E 

Passionate Fundraisers in our Midst 


The Fairfield/Westchester Chapter 

of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation 

of America is thriving thanks to the 

devotion of its volunteers, including 

those right here in our hamlet. Hilary 

and Bruce Murray of Chappaqua were 

honored for their endeavors at the 

Chapter’s annual fundraising event 

at the Ritz-Carlton, Westchester on 

February 9. Their motivation, like that 

of many volunteers, is the search for a 

cure for all those who are afflicted. 

Photo by Kristan Zimmer/ 

Serendipity Magazine 

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When Hilary met Bruce she learned 

that he had just had surgery and was 

living with Crohn’s. In addition, her 

mother had recently been diagnosed 

with colitis. When the Murrays moved 

to Chappaqua, a friend introduced 

Hilary to Jennifer Paley, Executive 

Director of the Chapter, who also resides 

in Chappaqua. Hilary and Bruce 

had been very active in other chapters 

in Washington and Chicago and were 

eager to continue. Each year, contributions 

have skyrocketed due to their 

efforts. “We try to get the whole com- 

Hilary & Bruce Murray 

munity involved,” Hilary said. Neighbors 

Wendy Silverman and Lauren 

Baker have joined in to help. 

As a board member, Hilary finds her 

work for the Chapter extremely gratifying. 

“At the meetings, we hear about 

the progress being made in research. 

It makes me feel good,” she related. 

Dr. Tom Ullman of Chappaqua, a 

gastroenterologist who specializes in 

Crohn’s and colitis, also sits on the 

board. 

One person who is especially appreciative 

of the volunteers’ efforts is Lisa 

Harding, Development Manager of the 

Chapter. “We wouldn’t be able to raise 

nearly the amount of funds that we do 

an annual basis without our volunteers,” 

she noted. The event in February 

raised over $300,000. “They’ve 

been wonderful at helping with all of 

our initiatives and with the awareness 

part of our mission,” Harding added. 

Future events include the Take Steps 

Walk on May 19. 

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(914) 328-2874 / Fax: 914-468-2133 

lharding@ccfa.org 

www.ccfa.org/chapters/westfield 

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“Do what 

you love, 

and you will 

never work a 

day in your 

life!” Most 

people nod 

in agreement 

and then 

walk away. 

Jodi’s Story 

How Her Talent and Passion for Gymnastics 

Turned into a Lifelong Career 

Photo by Bill Bramswig 

Not Jodi 

Levine, 

who started 

Jodi’s Gym 

32 years 

ago and has 

proven that 

love and 

work can be a perfect 10, an old gymnastic 

term for the highest possible 

score. How did she do it, and how does 

she manage to continue running a successful 

business? 

Jodi took what she loved and excelled 

in–gymnastics–and turned that 

passion into a new business idea—Jodi’s 

Gym, a gymnastics company catering 

to young children in New York City. 

The concept proved to be so successful 

that she eventually opened a Jodi’s 

Gym center in Mount Kisco. Over 

the years, Jodi and her staff, many of 

whom have been working with Jodi for 

over 15 years, have developed numerous 

offerings that range from “Teeny 

Tumblers” (ages 9 months to walking) 

to Girls Advanced Gymnastics (1st to 

8th grade), attracting thousands upon 

thousands of children. 

What accounts for the tremendous 

success Jodi’s Gym has enjoyed during 

the past 32 years? Is it the great 

business concept or the fact that all of 

the instructors are USA Gymnastics 

certified? Or maybe it’s the rich variety 

of offerings in a kid-friendly, pleasant, 

safe environment? Certainly, all of 

those factors have played, and continue 

to play, a key role in the Jodi’s Gym 

phenomenon. 

But what has really made the difference 

is Jodi Levine herself. 

By Vicki de Vries 

Jodi’s Dance…to Gymnastics 

One of Jodi’s earliest memories 

is about her wanting to be a ballet 

teacher. At around five years of age, 

she started taking dance lessons and 

acrobatic tumbling. “I really enjoyed 

being upside down,“ Jodi said. (Could 

that be when she began acquiring 

her remarkably perceptive slant on 

things?) 

At age 12, Jodi began her first 

gymnastics class and by age 13, began 

competitive gymnastics. Entering her 

senior year of high school, she received 

a scholarship to attend the Walnut Hill 

School for Performing Arts in Boston. 

That honor required that she leave her 

hometown of Spring Valley in Rockland 

County, NY, for the year in order 

to pursue gymnastics training along 

with other scholarship recipients from 

around the country. 

Jodi had such a successful senior 

year at the Walnut Hill School that after 

competing at the national level, she 

was awarded an athletic scholarship to 

Indiana State University’s nationally 

ranked women’s gymnastics team. She 

graduated with a BA in psychology and 

a certification coaching of gymnastics/ 

physical education minor. 

At that point, Jodi believed her 

gymnastics days were over: “After ISU, 

I truly did believe that I had completed 

my ‘gymnastics piece.’” 

Next on her 

list was attending 

New York 

University to 

complete a 

master’s degree 

in psychology/ 

organizational 

behavior. With 

graduation approaching, 

Jodi 

decided to take 

a break prior to 

pursuing a doctorate 

in child 

psychology. At 

the same time, 

she experienced 

what she 

described as a “gut moment pulling me 

back into the world of kids’ health, fitness 

and movement education.” 

During her break from graduate 

studies, Jodi returned to coaching 

competitive gymnastics, something 

she had always loved. Here is where 

her story really takes off... “I really 

wanted to reach out to all kids, not 

just the ones who were inclined to be 

competitive gymnasts,” Jodi said. “I 

saw there was a great need for all kids 

to reap the psychological, as well as the 

physical, benefits of the sport that had 

given me so much. This was back in 

1980, when ‘mommy and me’ gymnastics 

really did not exist. I saw a niche 

that was missing.” That niche was 

“gymnastics for the pure enjoyment, 

fun, education and benefit, where kids 

could work toward their personal best 

without having to compete for a score 

or how they compared to other kids.” 

“In the sport of gymnastics, every 

fiber of a young person’s mind and 

body is fully engaged. I felt that so 

many children were missing out on the 

benefits gymnastics gave me, and I felt 

I just had to give it back to as many 

who would like to have the chance.” 

The idea became a cause celebre for 

Jodi: “I felt as if this was what I was 

meant to do. There really was no stopping 

me. The energy was endless, the 

passion was so strong. Although the 


work was hard and those early days 

were very long, it never really felt like 

‘work.’” Her athletic father was her 

main cheerleader early on: “If you love 

it, go for it!” In fact, “Dad always encouraged 

my sister and me to get back 

up, dust off the dirt and try again,” 

said Jodi. “He always wanted me to 

believe there was nothing I could not 

do because of my gender.” 

Valuable words that would come 

in handy because in those early days, 

Jodi had no banker, no credit, no 

equipment, no staff, and no experience 

running a business. Surely the odds 

were against her, but Jodi was armed 

with a dream, boundless energy, and 

a strong passion for gymnastics and 

helping children. 

Once Jodi’s Gym opened in New 

York City, it became an immediate 

success–the game in town for young 

children and their mothers. However, 

the business soon outgrew its space, 

and Jodi realized she would need to 

hire and train her first employee, who 

turned out to be a former student of 

hers. Her second employee was her 

mother, Carole, who came to “help 

out” with some administrative duties 

on a temporary basis. (To this day, Carole 

continues to assist her daughter’s 

business in New York City.) 

Today, at any given time, Jodi’s Gym 

NYC and Mount Kisco between them 

will have from 25 to 40 employees— 

full and part time. 

A Matter of Balance 

Operating a business requires finding 

the right balance and constantly 

fine-tuning. Over the years, Jodi has 

developed a successful philosophy of 

business that is based on personal 

experience, common-sense, and a deep 

love for children and gymnastics. 

Keeping a business on course includes 

“staying true to core values and 

goals while constantly innovating” and 

“keeping pricing fair while compensating 

staff well,” not to mention “maintaining 

the highest quality programs, 

high teacher/student ratios, and an 

extremely competent, well-trained, 

long-term, experienced staff.” 

If that list sounds like too much 

somersaulting, Jodi would disagree 

because it’s what she has been doing 

for over 30 years. Her key advice to 

any business owner: “Listen to your 

customers, treat them as you want to 

be treated, be caring and sincere and 


accessible, and constantly innovate, 

always keeping in mind what is in the 

kids’ best interest.” 

But, perhaps most importantly, Jodi 

is genuinely “in sync” with the kids 

themselves; she and her staff support 

and root them on because they’ve seen 

the positive results over and again, 

“knowing that children in our programs 

are feeling more confident and 

are developing a love for fitness and 

movement,” she stated. 

Ultimately, “if this early positive 

exposure to movement keeps kids 

wanting to move and engage in active 

pursuits as they grow, we will have 

added to a healthier world. To me, that 

is success.” 

Straddling Two Worlds 

In the middle of her career, Jodi’s 

own two children became her students, 

and she and her husband, Hal, 

became, in effect, customers. Wearing 

the customer chapeau, she was able to 

see things from a mother’s perspective 

and learned to listen to the mothers 

who brought their children to her 

gymnastic classes. 

In fact, Jodi felt better prepared to 

tackle perhaps the biggest challenge 

of all–being a parent: “Seeing so many 

different children and parenting styles 

over the years really helped prepare me 

to some extent for becoming a mom 

myself. I had so many role models.” 

In a refreshingly candid way, Jodi 

added, “They helped me to be a better 

mom and got me to thinking, ‘What 

does a mom want? What does she 

deserve?’ That’s when I really started 

listening to what parents want for 

their children.” 

Now that those mothers are grandparents, 

Jodi loves the fact that their 

children are bringing their kids to 

learn gymnastics: “When our ‘legacies,’ 

or second-generation kids, come 

through the door and the mom tells 

me of her great memories as a child at 

the gym and that she is now bringing 

her own child, I have been brought to 

tears on many occasions.” 

Being sensitive to the needs and 

interests of families with children with 

all types of special needs, allergies, 

likes and dislikes further accounts for 

the variety of programs at Jodi’s Gym. 

That sensitivity came close to home, 

shaping the parenting style of Jodi and 

her husband, Hal, who made physical 

activity and music a big part of their 

children’s lives. It also served as the 

inspiration for some innovative classes 

at Jodi’s Gym. For example, Jodi introduced 

gym and music classes after noticing 

how much her then two-year-old 

son, Will, enjoyed music. Later, when 

her daughter, Marly turned two, she 

enjoyed the musician Bobby Doowah 

so much that Jodi began featuring him 

in Jodi’s Gym birthday parties. 

Now that Will and Marly are young 

adults and Jodi and her husband, Hal, 

are empty nesters, Jodi is thrilled that 

both children love working with kids. 

Will is a medical student, plays guitar 

and enjoys a lot of sports, including 

running, hiking, and skiing, while 

Marly, who is a junior in college, sings 

a capella, enjoys working out, yoga 

and dance. “And she recently became a 

Zumba instructor!” said Jodi. 

Given all the successes, does Jodi 

have any regrets about her business? 

To her credit, Jodi freely admits a few: 

delegating more earlier on, asking for 

more help, taking less to heart, and 

being able to see more of the big picture. 

Would she do it all over again? A 

resounding definitely: “I have learned 

so much about people, relationships 

and myself. The bottom line is I feel I 

am really making a difference, and that 

makes it all worthwhile!” 

Jodi’s Gym has plans to add more 

fitness and wellness-based classes to 

its offerings as well as expanding the 

“Jodi’s To Go” side of the business, 

which brings the Jodi’s Gym brand 

to schools, daycares, camps, and 

other locations in New York City and 

Westchester. 

Nearest and perhaps dearest to Jodi’s 

heart is her plan to start programs 

for underserved populations in New 

York City and Westchester: “I would 

love to fill the gap for kids who come 

from homes where an active, healthy 

lifestyle is not so easy.” 

That expresses not merely Jodi 

Levine’s business acumen, but more 

importantly, her warm and caring 

heart. Jodi is truly an “all-around” 

winner. Gymnastic aficionados will 

know that means “a strong competitor 

on all events.” 

Vicki de Vries is a freelance writer/ 

editor and educator living in Westchester 

“country.”

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Sweet Rene 

The Good Enough Mother’s Next Chapter 

by Ronni Diamondstein 

When Rene Syler first 

graced the cover of Inside 

Chappaqua magazine in May 

2007 she was embarking on 

a new chapter in her life. She 

had just lost her job at CBS’s 

The Early Show and published 

her book Good Enough Mother, 

a humorous look at modern 

motherhood. Syler was on 

course to reinvent herself and 

did just that via the internet. 

Fast forward to May 2013 

and Syler, who celebrated her 

50th birthday in February, 

has given new meaning to the 

saying, “there is beauty in imperfection.” 

Her career proves 

that great new beginnings are 

possible at any stage of life. 

“I’m almost another person,” 

says Syler about the changes 

in her life since 2007. She has 

shown that dreams you may 

never have imagined can come 

true. A social-media dynamo 

as well, these days Syler is 

busier than ever. 

Since she was fired from CBS in 

2006, Syler has been through difficult 

times. “It was like a tornado ripped 

through my life. I lost a job, lost my 

breasts ( a preventive measure) and 

lost my hair. All that loss shaped me 

to find myself and who I am.” Syler 

says she was down to the studs, but 

her foundation was the same: “I had 

to be true to myself.” Syler’s website, 

www.goodenoughmother.com, like Syler 

herself, has grown and transformed in 

the past six years. Serving up tips on 

parenting, home and family life, health 

and fitness, the site has migrated to 

Social Media: Facebook and Twitter 

where Syler’s audience has increased 

and her fans span the world. Good 

Enough Mother’s mission is to improve 

lives through the shared parenting 


Photo by Craig Salmon 

Rene Syler living dreams she never imagined. 

experience. Spreading her message 

of ‘perfect imperfection,” she speaks 

from her authentic voice. “When people 

come to Good Enough Mother, they 

are comforted by learning that they 

are not alone,” says Syler, whose goal 

is to uplift and empower her followers 

which include a significant number of 

men too. 

Syler says a big part of her story is 

the amazing shift in how business operates 

today. “I built an empire using 

a MAC. I went from a blog to having 

two paid staffers. One started as an 

intern and became a freelancer. The 

other, her assistant and producer Ella 

Rucker, saw Syler on television and 

asked her to become her mentor. Syler 

told her she was too busy and Rucker 

asked if she could help her. She told 

Syler she didn’t need to pay her and 

that she wanted to write. They have 

been working together for more 

than a year, and Rucker has made 

amazing strides. “Since I am on 

the road two weeks out of each 

month, Ella Rucker and I have a 

virtual office using skype and all 

the tools of modern business.” 

Syler loves the fact that Rucker 

took a chance on Syler and that 

Syler took a chance on Rucker. 

“People ask me, ‘How many 

hours are you online? How long 

do you write? Aren’t you ever 

off?’” says Syler. Her response is 

that she is always connected. “I 

write all the time, when I’m not 

on my laptop, I’m writing in my 

head.” She asks them: “When 

was the last time you saw anyone 

build an empire putting in three 

hours a day, five days a week? 

Make an effort or make excuses.” 

In her posts online, Syler has 

written about her family life 

from time to time, so her daughter 

Casey, 16, and son Cole, 14, 

have become part of her Good Enough 

Mother brand. “Like most kids they 

are tech savvy so it’s a part of life,” says 

Syler. Now that they are older she is 

more careful about what she writes 

about them. But they enjoy the perks 

of her new business, including her affiliation 

with Disney, Nike and Quaker 

Oats. “Sometimes I take them with me 

and that part they like very much. 

Syler has made guest appearances 

on such programs as The Nate Berkus 

Show, The Wendy Williams Show, The 

Doctors, and has taken over for Joy 

Behar as her guest host on her CNN 

primetime show. 

Syler makes many public appearances 

and was a headliner at Disney’s 

2011 Social Media Moms’s Conference. 

“One of the fun things is to go to Blog-

" 

W 

ging conferences and meet up with 

the people I’ve connected with online,” 

says Syler. 

Host on “Sweet Retreats” 

Her current hosting gig on Live 

Well Network’s Sweet Retreats came 

about on a circuitous route. Peggy 

Allen, an executive at that network 

saw an article about Syler a year ago 

in More magazine and contacted her 

about another project she had in mind 

for Syler. Sweet Retreats, on Sunday 

evenings at 7:30PM, highlights a new 

trend in which people on vacation rent 

apartments or houses instead of going 

to a hotel. On the show, Syler takes a 

group or family to various locations 

where they examine three possibilities 

and get to choose one. 

Syler says the best decision she 

has made in her life was to marry the 

right person. Syler and her husband 

James “Buff” Parham, an Independent 

Media Consultant, have been married 

for 19 years. “Buff and I have built a 

life together. He’s steady Eddy and 

I’m emotional. I couldn’t do what I do 

without him.” 

“I’m a multi-media brand,” says 

Syler who has come a long way in the 

past six years. Syler says the most 

gratifying aspect of her work is to have 

the opportunity to have an intimate 

dialogue with the people who follow 

her. “It’s talking back and forth,” says 

Syler. “If I hadn’t left network news I 

could never have done this.” Syler is 

happy for the relief she offers women 

today. “Women put too much pressure 

on themselves and live life on other 

people’s benchmarks.” Doing it her 

way, Rene Syler is, by her own example, 

so much more than a Good Enough 

Mother in 2013. 

Ronni Diamondstein, owner of Maggie 

Mae Pup Reporter is a Chappaqua based 

freelance writer, PR consultant, awardwinning 

photographer and a School 

Library Media Specialist and teacher who 

has worked in the US and abroad. 

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Build Your Dream 

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High Orchards 

Circa 1895 antique Farmhouse. Quality renovations 

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Hardscrabble Lake 

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True Oasis 

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Custom home with lake rights and seasonal views. 

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Meet Dawn: 

The Quintessential Altruist with a Pulse on the Town 


When Dawn Greenberg was looking 

for a retail concept to open in Chappaqua, 

she sought a model which 

would incorporate her spirit of giving 

and provide a positive addition to the 

existing retail mix. She visited several 

fair trade shops–which proffer only 

items created in a safe and equitable 

environment–and decided that going 

in this direction was the viable vehicle 

for her and the town. 

One of the factors in her strong 

belief in fair trade stems from the 

finding that most of those employed 

in this capacity are moms. “A lot of 

the fair trade artists are moms; this 

spoke directly to me, she observed. 

A popular item at Aurora is a 

beaded bracelet crafted by women in 

Guatemala. At least $8 of the retail 

price goes directly “into the hands of 

the artist,” Greenberg mentioned. In 

addition, Dunitz and Company (the 

firm which distributes the product) 

also contributes funds to the hospital 

and library in the area where its 

workers reside. 

About 75% of the products on 

display at Aurora are classified as fair 

trade. A significant portion of the 

remaining 25% are created by craftswomen 

in the hamlet. Laurie Berg’s 

bracelets and Buddah necklaces are 

prominently displayed. Leslie Weissman’s 

abstract paintings adorn the 

walls. Charitable donations are often 

tied in to sales from both Berg and 

Weissman’s works. 

Greenberg’s sensibility toward giving 

is strongly rooted in her desire 

to help those who are less fortunate. 

Her family sponsors a child in Guatemala, 

through an organization called 

Mayan Families which covers the cost 

of school fees, supplies, uniforms, 

shoes and backpacks. Affection from 

the Greenberg household is sent long 

distance to Pedro Fernando. 

In her personal life, the caring begins 

at home. Greenberg is the proud 

mother of two sons, Jackson, 10 and 


Photo by Isabel Greenberg 

Ben, 4. Jackson’s Asperger’s is another 

motivating factor in her character. 

“Something very special to my identity 

is being a special needs mom,” Greenberg 

related. The support systems 

offered in the schools were a major 

factor in her decision to move to the 

community. 

Dawn with her youngest, Ben. 

Spearheading the October 5th 

Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival 

One of Greenberg’’s largest endeavors 

to date is the Chappaqua Children’s 

Book Festival. When she heard about 

the demise of its predecessor, the 

festival at Sunnyside, her reaction was 

quick and effective. Greenberg saw the 

opportunity to continue the idea in 

downtown Chappaqua and proceeded 

to assemble a team of volunteers. “She 

certainly is a visionary in terms of 

coming up with new ideas and trying 

to attract business to the town,” fellow 

merchant Erik Nicolaysen noted. On 

October 5, over 55 authors will come 

to the festival. The roster includes 

several illustrious authors from the 

hamlet: Barbara Dee, Mara Van Fleet, 

Matt Van Fleet and Jean Van Leeuwen. 

A recent post by Greenberg on the 

Chappaqua Moms Facebook page: 

another brainchild–exhorted members 

to bring in bras. She laughed and 

said: “I call myself the Robin Hood of 

Chappaqua. I gather things to give to 

others.” The idea brought a smile to 

many faces and over 300 bras were 

donated. The bras will be sent to Free 

The Girls, an organization which 

gives used clothing to women 

who in turn sell it to support 

themselves. Bras are particularly 

valuable because they command 

a superior price. A previous post 

by Greenberg on Facebook (after 

Hurricane Sandy) brought in 

over $11,000 in gift cards for 

the residents of Barnegat, New 

Jersey, Long Beach Island and 

the Rockaways. 

When tropical storm Hurricane 

Irene flooded the town, 

Greenberg knew that small 

businesses were going to suffer 

irrevocably unless someone 

stepped in to help. As a small 

business owner herself, she 

knew the potentially damaging 

effect of having to close for 

several days. Greenberg rallied 

the town and organized an event 

to bring residents in to provide 

emotional and financial support. 

Refreshments were donated and 

local art teacher Quincy Eggenton set 

up an arts and craft table. 

Town Administrator Penny Paderewski 

has had the opportunity 

to work with Greenberg on several 

projects–including the festival–and is 

thoroughly impressed with her intelligence. 

She had stopped by Aurora 

recently to purchase a ticket for a fundraising 

tea for the festival and to wish 

the proprietor a very happy birthday. 

Plenty of patrons were browsing and 

chatting. “She’s got the pulse of the 

town,” Paderewski said. “I like being 

associated with her,” she continued. 

Sarah Ellen Rindsberg pops into Aurora 

regularly and is always rewarded with a 

warm greeting and a smile.

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Inspiring and Dynamic Women Business Partners 

Marilyn Rifkin and Deborah Notis 

were just your typical busy moms; 

they spent hours trying to find the 

best tutors, coaches, and activities for 

their kids. Pretty soon, their friends 

were coming to them for recommendations. 

Light bulb! Why not pool their 

resources and help other parents save 

time and effort? 

Thus, Gamechanger was born; for 

no fee, there’s one stop shopping for 

assistance with preparation for the 

SATs, locating opportunities for music 

and sports activities, even help with 

the dreaded college essays needed to 

get into the best schools. 

“It’s all about having fun,” says Lisa 

Ballou, “because we understand that 

everyone has wardrobe problems,” 

adds Susan Smugar Goodman. These 

best friends are so in sync, they finish 

each other’s sentences. Together, their 

company StyleCycle offers women a 

chance to get professional help cleaning 

out an overstuffed closet, creating 

impeccable outfits out of clothes they 

already own, and buying new threads 

that are perfect for who they are right 

now. They’ll even take those items you 

never wear to a consignment shop. 

They do all this with ease and grace, 

and a true appreciation for the fact 

that we’re all unique. Lisa and Susan 

have formed stellar relationships with 

select boutiques and trendy stores. 


By Michall Jeffers 

Editor’s Note: Inside Chappaqua asked long time contributor and cultural journalist Michall Jeffers to catch up with two new 

teams of women business partnerships who are changing lives in and around town! Here are her two reports! 

Gamechanger: Two Moms Match Up Kids with the Right Expert 

“Our goal is to empower the wellrounded 

child,” explains Marilyn. “We 

vet all the teachers, coaches, everyone 

connected with helping give kids the 

ultimate experience,” adds Deborah. 

“We’re committed to matching up 

youngsters with just the right person 

to help them achieve success. We make 

sure that prices are competitive, and 

that only the best people are on our 

rosters for coaching in bar and bat 

mitzvahs, organizing children’s parties, 

teaching languages. Very often, 

parents start by seeking help with 

academics; when they understand how 

easily and quickly we can provide other 

great prospects for their kids, they 

branch out.” 

They do the shopping, and bring you 

fabulous clothing and accessories to 

replace and to implement your wardrobe. 

Their clients come from New 

York, as well as Westchester, and span 

all ages–the oldest 

was a chic 82! And 

they know their 

stuff; “It’s so fun 

reading fashion 

magazines, and 

we study them 

all” declares Lisa. 

“We get a lot of 

inspiration online, 

and by watching 

the style shows on 

TV. I think Rachel 

Zoe is terrific, for 

example,” proffers 

Susan. 

Gamechanger collects 

a commission 

from their proven 

experts, not from 

the families they 

help. “We value creating 

a work/life balance 

for ourselves, 

so we understand how important 

it is to free up valuable time for our 

clients,” Deborah says thoughtfully. 

Marilyn smiles, “We’re very regimented 

and organized, and we’re experts at 

networking. It’s all about giving your 

child the ultimate advantage, which is 

the goal of every parent.” “Gamechanger,” 

uwn@gamechangernow.com; 

914 449-6772 

“Stylecycle” Takes the Angst Out of Dressing Great 

Trends for the coming season? These 

experts advise that large accessories 

are in, leather is hot, and cropped 

pants show off trim ankles. Susan 

advises, “Store the platform shoes; buy 

lower pumps for jeans and dresses; 

pointy toes are back. Floral prints are 

big, but you have to be careful; they’re 

not for everybody.” Lisa counsels. 

“Black and white and graphics are 

much easier for everyone to wear. You 

don’t have to spend a fortune, especially 

on trends.” 

We all get stuck in a certain time 

frame when it comes to how we 

present ourselves. The mission of 

StyleCycle 

is to gently 

guide 

us “to that 

next phase 

of dressing beautifully for our age, 

shape, and lifestyle,” offers Susan. 

“And once women realize how much 

more comfortable this is, they embrace 

it,” agrees Lisa. info@stylecycle.com or 

susan@stylecycle.com; 

914 953-4141 or 914 522-1158 

Michall Jeffers eponymous cable TV 

show is syndicated throughout the tristate 

area, and features celebrity interviews, 

reviews, and commentary. www. 

michalljeffers.com

Riverside Memorial Chapel 

WESTCHESTER: 21 West Broad Street, Mount Vernon, New York 10552 

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The Source of Support for the Jewish Community Since 1897 

www.riversidememorialmountvernon.com 

Charles S. Salomon • Joel E. Simon 

Continuing to maintain the high service standards of the 

Rosenthal, Grossberg, and Alpert families 


“My left thumb is identical 

to my right thumb 

except for a small pink 

callus below its joint, 

permanently hardened 

by the regular pressure of 

my lower teeth. I am in 

my 50s–writer, teacher, 

wife, and mother of two 

grown daughters– and I 

still suck my thumb. The 

left one, never the right; an 

ingrained response, I know, 

from my earliest days. 

When my first baby was 

born, my mother revealed 

that she had to stop nursing me after 

just three weeks because of an infection 

in her left nipple. My parents had 

come to stay in our Brooklyn Heights 

apartment to meet their new granddaughter. 

My mother and I were sitting 

on opposite corners of the sofa when 

she told me. Sofie lay across my lap and 


B O O K E x C E R P T 

Slipping Out from Under 

Photo by Margaret Fox 

By Susan Hodara 

(L-R) Authors Lori Toppel, Susan Hodara, Vicki Addesso, & Joan Potter. 

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pulled greedily at my right breast; my 

mother perched upright on the edge of 

the seat cushion, knees together. 

I remember her words, innocent, 

almost chatty, her eyes averted across 

the living room as she spoke. Of 

course I have no memory of my own 

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in my new life– 

my sustenance, 

my comfort, my 

reconnection with 

my mother’s body 

–suddenly gone. 

The discovery of 

my thumb set a 

lasting pattern: 

get the need filled, 

find another way. 

Though I don’t 

think about it 

often, I know my 

left thumb holds 

something of my 

mother for me. 

In my childhood 

memories of 

her, she is often 

standing on the 

sidelines as my 

father proclaimed, 

announced, 

questioned, yelled. 

She is silent and 

passive, removed. 

In the memoir 

class, after I’d 

finish reading 

my work, Joan’s 

response was often the same: “But 

what about your mother? Where 

was she?” 

The fall that our writing group 

started meeting, my father was 

declining into the morass of Alzheimer’s 

disease. Over five years our 

family had watched him slowly 

disappear. I talked to my mother 

on the telephone almost every day, 

and traveled regularly to Washington, 

D.C., to visit. Sometimes she 

cried, from exhaustion or despair. 

But the more lost my father 

became, the more my mother 

emerged. As I wrote about her 

and shared my stories in our group, 

and as I learned about the others’ 

mothers through the stories they 

wrote, my understanding started to 

shift. For the first time in my life, I 

began to glimpse who my mother was. 

I am the only member of our writing 

group whose mother is still alive, 

who can still ask her mother questions, 

compare memories from the past. 

When I think of the others’ stories– 

the heartbreaking last days of Vicki 

and Lori’s mothers, the spreading of 

Joan’s mother’s ashes–I sense the 

fragility of the time I have left with 

my own mother. I have just begun to 

discover her. It awakens a hunger I can 

hardly bear to feel.” 

Excerpted from Still 

Here Thinking of You: 

A Second Chance with 

Our Mothers (Big Table 

Publishing, March 2013), 

a collaborative memoir 

by Susan Hodara, Joan 

Potter, Vicki Addesso, and 

Lori Toppel. Hodara, a 

longtime Chappaqua resident, is a memoirist 

whose work appears in numerous 

anthologies and literary journals, and 

a journalist who covers the arts for the 

New York Times and other publications. 

She and her co-authors formed a writing 

group in 2006; Still Here Thinking of You 

presents their stories of their relationships 

with their mothers, from their early 

childhoods to their mothers’ later years. 

Available at Amazon.com and StillHere- 

ThinkingOfYou.com.

Printed by Chase Press • 866.661.4152 

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From: “Peace in Relationships: Attachment-Detachment” 

“In order to explain the balance of 

“you-me-us” concepts, we need to be 

mindful of schemas. Schemas are the 

emotional and experiential attachments 

we have to words or objects. For 

example, “attachment” may stimulate 

feeling of sticky confinement or it may 

generate an image of an adoring, cherishing 

mother-infant bond. Those two 

schemas are very different. So when 

a person with one schema talks about 

attachment with a person with the 

other schema, misunderstanding and 

conflict occurs. Therefore, it is important 

to listen beyond words-to listen to 

the heart. Both schemas exist and are 

acceptable, but hearing the intention 

of the conveyor of a message- listening 

to the heart-is where understanding is 

created. Hearing the heart of a person 

provides a mindfulness of reality. A 

good therapist listens to the heart 

beneath the words. 

People often say one thing but mean 

another, as if they are leaving clues or 

simultaneously want to be heard and 

1 KING ST, CHAPPAQUA, NY 

914.238.8050 

Open daily in downtown Chappaqua. 


By Suna Senman 

not heard. What do people really want? 

We all want to express truth, love, 

and beauty so that it is received and 

reflected back to us. Sometimes people 

want to express lies, hurt, and ugliness, 

because that’s what they have seen. 

They both want and don’t want to see 

that reflected back. The experience of 

lies, hurt, and ugliness is unpleasant. 

And yet, a person wants to be seen. 

If a person has allowed lies, hurt, and 

ugliness to penetrate their being, these 

factors becomes part of their being that 

they need to express. He or she will 

continue to express everything that is 

in them-a mix of lies, hurt, and ugliness 

along with the truth, love, and beauty 

of his or her original, natural state. 

These contradictory qualities coexist 

until the person cleans house and lets 

go of the garbage. Because we always 

express what is inside of us, it is also 

the mix that will be reflected back. We 

see what is inside. Therefore, when a 

person sees jealousy, greed, gluttony, 

or any of the “sins” in others, the wise 

person will recognize 

that there are 

at least crumbs of 

those things inside 

him–or herself. 

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Attachment 

and detachment 

are key concepts 

to understand in 

order to navigate 

the complicated 

“mix.” If you 

can clean house 

often (even several 

times a day), you 

practice healthy 

attachment and 

detachment. If 

you are mindful 

of the things that 

approach you 

through the day 

and are discerning 

of their core 

(love or ugliness), 

then you can let go 

of the unwanted 

ugliness quickly so 

that you can practice 

filling yourself 

with truth, love 

and beauty. 

Suna Senman 

Some people love playing in ugly 

messes. When I have tried to engage 

people in expressions of truth, love, 

and beauty, they are often eager to 

engage, yet, unwilling to let go of ugliness. 

Some people get attached to the 

concept of “ownership.” At one time, a 

friend felt that she owned me and tried 

to prevent me from expressing a part of 

myself that evoked a feeling of dishonesty 

in her. She had talked herself into 

believing that her lifestyle was beautiful, 

but my expression of truth triggered 

a realization that she contained 

ugliness. Her reaction was to discredit 

me and push me away instead of doing 

some “housecleaning” or making her 

own necessary changes. She was afraid 

of change. 

In her ownership attitude toward 

me as her friend, she insisted that I 

don’t speak about some of my ideas. 

What she tried to own slipped away. I 

detached from her instead of detaching 

from a part of a truth of my being.” 

Suna Senman LMSW, CSW, CTIM, CED 

is a life transformation facilitator who 

specializes in wellness counseling, childhood 

development, peace education, and 

diversity training. She blogs on topic for 

The Huffington Post; she has published articles 

on topic in periodicals such as Metro; 

and she is the author of Being: A Process. 

Through her work, Suna helps people 

expand their sense of self, release their 

illusion of separation, develop nurturing 

partnerships, and consciously design 

a harmonious life path. Her writing has 

included interviews with supermodel Tyra 

Banks, celebrity violinist Miri Ben Ari, and 

relationship expert Paul Brunson.

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There Comes a Time When we Must Choose. 

That is Yoga. 

“As humans, we are given the gift of 

choice. 

It is a powerful gift. 

People often ask me how long I’ve 

been practicing yoga, and the truth is I 

became a yogi when I was 10 years old. 

It was a turtle that led the way. 

Of course, I didn’t yet know it. 

Becoming a yogi back then was about 

the furthest thing from my mind. I was 

pretty occupied with boys and Barbie 

and Bobby Sherman. My world had 

seemed important then, but soon I 

would have to choose if I would stand 

up for another being that had no voice 

at all. 

Choosing between the easy thing, 

and the right thing, is yoga. 

My father had taken us on vacation 

to the British Virgin Islands. It was a 


By Michelle Berman Marchildon 

confusing time in our lives, so if you are 

confused then by all means take along 

a pre-adolescent. At dinner, the waiter 

mentioned the resort’s famous turtle 

soup. 

“What makes the soup so good?” my 

Dad asked. 

“We use our own turtles,” the waiter 

replied. 

We sat speechless. There are turtles 

in turtle soup? I thought it was like 

chocolate “turtles” are caramel and 

welsh rarebit is just cheese, no rabbit. 

After dinner we walked down the 

beach to a stone wall. I started tip toeing 

along the top when I saw something 

splash. Then I saw a flipper, and when I 

bent down closer, I saw a face. 

“Dad,” I screeched. “There are turtles 

in here!” We stared in silence. 

Until that night 

my world had been 

all about me, but 

looking into the 

turtle’s face made 

me realize I was 

not walking alone 

in this life. I had a 

responsibility to 

make the world 

better. 

For the next few 

nights we worked 

quickly and 

precisely. One by 

one we freed the 

turtles. On the last 

night, there was 

a sign that said 

anyone caught 

poaching would be 

imprisoned. Ending 

the vacation 

in jail was not the 

bonding experience 

Dad had in 

mind. 

By now, only 

the largest turtles 

remained, particularly 

one giant turtle. 

He 

looked 

extremely 

sad to 

me, as if 

he knew 

he was 

just too 

big to 

get over 

the wall. 

I started 

to cry. 

“All right,” Dad said. “We will try to 

set him free.” 

A choice is not often obvious. There 

may not be anyone else on your side. 

But you know you have done the right 

thing when you cannot live with yourself 

having done anything else. That 

night, we chose the turtles over the law. 

Together we coaxed the largest turtle 

to the sandy edge of the pen, and then 

we somehow managed to boost him up 

and over. The turtle tumbled into the 

water and then he turned and gazed at 

us. I thought he might have said thank 

you for not giving up. 

As humans, we are given the gift 

of choice. It is a powerful gift. We 

choose what to believe. We choose 

who we love. We choose when to fight, 

and when to lay down our sword. We 

choose our path. 

Yoga is only a little bit about the postures. 

The postures reveal who we are 

when things get difficult. Yoga is about 

being who we were meant to be. 

Neither I nor my Dad had heard 

of yoga in 1970. But that night we 

became yogis. If yoga is about leaving 

the world a better place, then in that 

moment there was no question but that 

we had to save the turtles.” 

Michelle Berman Marchildon is The Yogi 

Muse. This is an excerpt from her book, 

Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew 

Better, Wiser and Stronger through 

Yoga (Wildhorse Ventures 2013). Her 

father is the veterinarian Dr. Lewis Berman, 

who if given a choice, would still free 

a turtle today.

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Hail IC, Full Of Grace 

By Michall Jeffers • Photos by Amy Kerwin 

What a glorious night! Friends, 

neighbors, and family of Grace Bennett 

all flocked to Crabtree’s Kittle 

House for a chance to help celebrate 

the 10th anniversary of “Inside 

Chappaqua” on March 14. Everyone 

brought signature style to the event; 

some were casual, some more dressed 

up, but no one was quite as resplendent 

as our own Grace B, swathed in 

gold, and beaming. As is her way, she 

seemed to be everywhere at once, 

supervising and making sure she got 

to talk with all the well-wishers. 

The toasts were clever and blissfully 

short. Handsome and dapper Mike 

Kaplowitz, who’s been Chappaqua’s 

able county legislator since 1998, was 

equally successful reminding us what 

an amazing achievement it’s been 

keeping the publication going all this 

time, how much Grace has added to 

the community, surprising her with a 

County proclamation declaring March 

15th “Inside Chappaqua Day.” 

Long time friend Nancy Huehnergarth 

regaled the crowd with a poem 

that was part roast, but all love. 

Writer Jean Sheff, editor of Westchester 

Family Magazine, and one of 

IC’s shining lights, chose just the right 

words, as always. We all laughed when 

Jean pointed out that contrary to 

popular belief, Grace has not had coffee 

with everyone in town. Jean spoke 

for everyone when she told us how 

much Grace has encouraged her, and 

what a great friend she’s been. 


After calling up her kids Anna and 

Ari to join her, she invited her indomitable 

dad, who’s an 89-year-old 

Holocaust Survivor; she thanked us 

all for our donations, large and small, 

to The Holocaust and Human Rights 

Education Center. (Grace raised nearly 

$6000 the same evening by requesting 

a voluntary donation of any amount 

with attendance.) 

Incidentally, while some guests took 

advantage of the excellent live music, 

no one danced as enthusiastically as 

Grace’s dad, and no one enjoyed the 

evening more. How could it not be so, 

with such a daughter? Grace referenced 

her journey from a sometimes 

Grace’s son Ari; her dad, Jacob Breitstein, and 

her daughter Anna. 

perilous childhood in Washington 

Heights, to her current stature as an 

esteemed voice of New Castle. 

A cheer rang in the air when she 

finished reading a letter, delivered just 

in time from Chappaqua’s own former 

First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of 

State, Hillary Rodham Clinton. 

“...While I regret I am unable to be 

there myself, I hope you will do some 

dancing in my honor, because I have 

fond memories of us dancing and 

clapping all across Africa last August– 

on the tarmac when we landed 

in Nairobi, on a farm in Milawi, and 

even with the South African Foreign 

Minister in Pretoria,” wrote Clinton. 

“Tonight more than ever, you deserve 

to dance and celebrate this milestone 

in Inside Chappaqua’s history. Here’s 

to the next successful decade!...” 

As the champagne flowed, conversation 

got ever louder. Old friends were 

greeted enthusiastically, and new 

friendships were made. This didn’t 

stop us from partaking in a delicious 

Kittle House meal, from tasty passed 

hors d’oeuvres; to fresh, delectable 

salads; creamy orecchietti; and succulent 

Roasted John Boy’s Mountain 

View Farm Chicken. Strangely, we all 

seemed to find room for the scrumptious 

cake Grace and her kids had cut 

earlier. But I can guarantee that no 

one went home hungry. 

On the way out, we each took a 

lovely long stemmed rose as a souvenir. 

It was a charming gesture, 

but no reminder will be needed for 

those of us who had the good fortune 

to celebrate our beloved friend, her 

indefatigable energy, her unwavering 

support, her undaunted courage and 

yes, her remarkable Grace. 

Full credits appear on page 10 in 

Grace’s Just Between Us column.

Grace with (left to right)... 

Barry Graziano of Houlihan Lawrence and 

Beth Kuck-Hundgen of Whispering Pines. 

Sarah Ellen Rindsberg, Carine Feist, Dina Spalvieri 

and Annette van Ommeren. 

David Alpert and Millie Jasper of the Holocaust and 

Human Rights Education Center. 

County Legislator 

Michael Kaplowitz 

after declaring 

March 15, 2013 

as Inside Chappaqua 

Day. 

Adam Stone, Kris Ruby and David Streich 

Marne Roskin and Jamie Herman of 

Eye Designs in Armonk. 

Tanya Tochner and Marjorie 

Troob of ROCKS in Armonk. 

Andrea Hecker and Eric Vachon of 

Cummings Printing in New Hampshire. 

Why Not Give a Smile with a Balloon? 

Even the smallest party 

can blossom with balloons! 

Joy's Balloons in Chappaqua 

creates a distinctive, 

festive atmosphere for your celebration 

with all kinds of custom 

balloon arrangements, as well as 

balloon imprinting and stuffing. 

Joy’s Balloons 

Call Us at (914) 462-1925 

Joy@joysballoons.com 

Dr. Lydia Evans, Ronni Diamondstein (owner of Maggie Mae 

Pup Reporter), and Rachel Rosin, publicist for Temple Beth El. 

Congratulations Grace 

on a remarkable decade 

of community service at the helm of 

Inside Chappaqua. 

You have much to celebrate and be proud of! 

Todd Shapera Photography 

Elegant Bar Mitzvah and Wedding Photography 

ToddShapera.com • 914-631-8353 



H A P P E N I N G S 

MHA’s 5K Run/Walk: A Feel Good Way to Do Good 

It’s time to lace up 

your sneakers and head 

outside for a great 

cause. The Mental 

Health Association of 

Westchester’s MHA on 

the move 5K Run/Walk 

and 1 Mile Kids’ Race 

will take place on Sunday, 

May 5 from 8 a.m. 

to noon at FDR State 

Park. Parking is free. 

The Run/Walk is an 

inspiring, fun, familyfriendly 

communitywide 

event in support of mental health 

initiatives in Westchester. 

Lou Young of WCBS-TV, and Miss 

Hudson Valley 2013, Jessica Pinckney, 

have signed on to cheer on participants 

and award the medals. Yorktown 

Heights native, singer Jessica Lynn, 

will be entertaining before and after 

the race. Children get their own fun 

warm-up and 1-Mile Kids’ Race (ages 

4-12) plus ribbons for each runner. 

Everyone gets healthy food and a 

fun morning. All participants receive 

a free t-shirt. The race will be timed by 

the Taconic Road Runners with medals 

awarded in each age category as well as 

overall top male/female. 

Sunday, May 5, 2013 

FDR State Park 

2957 Crompound Road 

Yorktown Heights, NY 10598 

is a proud sponsor of 

MHA on the move Run/Walk 

5K Run/Walk & 

1-Mile Kidsʼ Race 

Rain or Shine! 

8:00am-9:45pm: Check-in 

9:00am: 1 Mile Kidsʼ Race 

9:45am: 5K Run/Walk 

Fun for the whole family Move for mental health! 

Register Now! www.mhawestchester.org 

For more info, call 914-345-5900 x7511 

The Mental Health Association of Westchester 

580 White Plains Road • Suite 510 • Tarrytown, NY 10591 

www.mhawestchester.org 

MHA is a community-based mental 

health agency that has been helping 

Westchester County residents for 67 

years through direct services, professional 

and community education and 

advocacy. 

MHA supports 20,000 individuals 

annually through a comprehensive array 

of mental health services striving 

to help each individual to achieve their 

personal goals and to lead independent, 

healthy and successful lives. 

To register for the event or for more 

information, visit mhawestchester.org 

“A Little Mozart” 

The Chappaqua Orchestra will present pianist Cynthia 

Peterson, soprano Leigh Folta, tenor Alan Briones, and 

bass John Dominick in A Little Mozart as part of The 

Chappaqua Orchestra’s orchestral concert series. The concert 

will be held on Sunday, May 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM at 

the Horace Greeley High School Auditorium, Chappaqua, 

New York. 

The concert features music Mozart wrote mostly in his 

teenage years, including excerpts from his third opera (written when he was 

11!), Bastien and Bastienne, Concerto for piano and orchestra, no. 9, in E flat 

Major (known as the “Jeunnehomme,” or appropriately, the “young man”), and 

his masterful 29th Symphony. For info, go to chappaquaorchestra.org. 

Millwood’s First Annual “Tails to Trails” 

Sunday May 19, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Pet Fair at Millwood Animal Hospital: 

Then Enjoy the North County Trailway 

Sponsored by Millwood Animal Hospital & Drugmart 

in partnership with the Chappaqua-Millwood 

Chamber of Commerce: Benefiting Pets Alive Westchester 

Serving 

Sandy Hook 

Families 

“I would do it again in a heartbeat 

if it would help these families heal.” 

Those words come from Abresha 

Sinanaj, an Ardsley-based mother of 

three kids (ages 16, 14 and 9) and a 

busy manager/host and spouse of 

one owner at Benjamin Steakhouse in 

White Plains. 

Abresha and the 

partners of this relative 

newcomer to Westchester 

had generously arranged 

for 26 gift certificates 

to be donated 

Abresha Sinanaj 

to the family members 

of the victims lost. It was part of a love 

filled winter evening in which many 

Westchester moms gathered at Benjamin’s 

to raise an additional $1,828 in 

donations for The Sandy Hook School 

Support Fund. The donations were 

presented to honorary guest Robert 

Merola, Legislative Council Member of 

Newtown, CT. 

Since that evening, one of the families 

from Sandy Hook has come to dine 

at Benjamin’s. “The one family who did 

come wrote to us telling us they felt 

like they were treated like royalty,” she 

said. She recalled one of the parents 

telling her that their young daughter’s 

favorite food was steak. “That was 

heartbreaking for me to hear but we 

were also so glad we could provide a 

pleasant evening out.” 

Abresha said that providing the 

gift cards was a small gesture in her 

view, and she is hopeful more of the 

families will come to dine at Benjamin’s 

when they feel ready. “I live in a small 

community too and simply can not 

imagine these terrible losses. Sandy 

Hook has become my community too. 

As a mother, I feel a connection to all 

the parents there and it was extremely 

painful to hear about precious young 

lives lost. I wish the families their 

continued healing and we are here to 

still offer a fine, complimentary meal.” 

For Mother’s Day, especially, Abresha 

stated that she hopes Benjamin Steakhouse 

will have the honor of serving 

another family from Sandy Hook. 

“We are here.” –Grace Bennett

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Are you in a holding pattern caused 

by loneliness? Anyone can experience 

the painful awareness of not connecting 

with others–married or single. 

Strong, competent women rationalize 

being treated poorly by awful men to 

avoid loneliness. Others in healthy relationships 

feel isolated by the lack of 

true friendships outside that relationship. 

Loneliness is a state of mind that 

can be changed by connecting with 

yourself first. 

My most profound loneliness was 

being in a marriage I had outgrown. 

After being married several years 

with two young children, I had drifted 

away from many of the friends I had 

growing up and in my early 20s. My 

emotions were in turmoil and I had 

nobody in whom to confide. Despite 

our sporadic socializing we reconnected 

immediately and I began rebuilding 

other friendships I had neglected over 

the years. My friends gave me strength 

to pursue my divorce and that step empowered 

me to start questioning what 

I want to do with the rest of my life. 

If you are not doing things to fulfill 

all parts of your self–intellectually, 

physically, and spiritually–you are 

not truly living. For years, I coasted 

on auto pilot. I worked, took care of 

my kids and collapsed exhausted each 

night. I realized I wanted more and 

started setting goals. I have the same 

24 hours in my day as anyone and I 

work full time, juggle the busy lives of 

two teenage girls and my own social 

life, yet I don’t just come to life on 


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www.jean-jacques.com 

By Miriam Longobardi 

“Friends keep me sane and grounded,” says 

Miriam. To the left of Miriam (l-r): Buddies 

Amy Mittelstadt, Jennifer Cahill and Genine 

Coccoli DiFalco. 

weekends. I ensure there are things I 

do for my mind, body and soul each 

day. What have you done for you 

lately? 

Dinners and nights out with my 

friends are a given, but I belong to the 

Jacob Burns Film Center and enjoy 

seeing films alone. Running makes me 

feel good and that led to running marathons. 

Travelling the world alone connects 

me deeply to the moment and 

myself–quite the opposite of lonely. 

Between family, work, travelling and 

socializing, I met a guy. We clicked 

instantly and became involved. While 

happily enjoying my life I met someone, 

exactly how all the magazines 

said it would happen. My happiness 

was short-lived, however, when things 

ended abruptly six months later. Yes, 

I was sad, but I rechannelled that sadness 

into a freelance writing career 

which fulfils me creatively. Changing 

grade levels after 18 years challenged 

me professionally. 

Can I pursue 

all things, all the 

time? No. Life 

is a balancing 

act. Deciding to 

learn a new curriculum 

meant 

publishing fewer 

articles, but 

planning new, 

creative lessons 

and teaching 

older students 

fulfills me in 

new ways. Some 

weeks I’m too 

busy to run as 

much as I ‘d like so I read or watch 

a movie. Actively pursuing things I 

enjoy gives me more energy than I had 

as a young mother, and strong friendships 

transcend any romantic relationship. 

So how can you reconnect with 

yourself and your old friends? 

•Take that first step. Send that 

message to someone you have been 

meaning to contact. Suggest after 

work drinks with colleagues and widen 

your social network. 

•Join a social website. Meetup. 

com has groups for any interest. Some 

are geared toward singles but I suggest 

finding groups geared to your own 

interests or create your own group! 

• Select an interest or two and 

devise a plan. If it’s travel, calculate 

costs and plan your trip. Thinking 

about learning a language, or taking a 

cooking or photography class? Check 

out Chappaqua Continuing Education 

or other community or city options. 

•Exercise regularly. Vary your 

exercise routine to avoid a plateau and 

remain physically challenged. Don’t 

belong to a gym? Put on headphones 

and go for a walk. Endorphins, those 

“feel-good” hormones released during 

exercise, are real! 

Sometimes friends and pursuing 

goals are not enough and what began 

as loneliness veers into depression. If 

you feel overwhelmed, seek help. A 

professional, outside perspective can 

help you view life differently. 

Loneliness is not a permanent state 

but only you initiate change. Make the 

time for things that bring you joy and 

the richness of your life will overflow. 

Happiness is magnetic, and while 

you’re busy living your fabulous life 

you might find that special person, just 

like all the magazines say it happens. 

Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, 

fourth grade teacher and single mother 

of two daughters living in Westchester. 

wA breast cancer survivor, she also volunteers 

for the American Cancer Society 

and has completed four marathons. Also, 

check out her weekly New York Modern

Rosenthal JCC 

(914) 741-0333 • www.rosenthaljcc.org 

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• Nature, Pioneering & Technology 

• Weekly excursions for older campers 

Camp Bear Ridge 

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Fall 2s Classes 

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One day I was talking about 

my job as a journalist to my 

friend Jester, who is a Greyhound, 

and he told me that he 

once had a job too. “When I was 

young I was a racing dog and 

now I am retired,” he said. Jester 

and I are both five years old 

so I thought it was strange that 

I was in the prime of my career 

and he had already retired. “I 

was racing in Florida and broke 

my leg so they didn’t want me 

to race anymore.” He told me 

that he spent months in a crate 

before anyone repaired his leg. 

That made me sad. My owner 

would never treat me that way, 

and I know Jester’s Chappaqua 

family would never do that to 

him. I wondered how he got here 

from the south. “I was adopted 

through Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation, 

and that’s how I came to live 

with Sophie and her family,” he said. 


M A G G I E M A E P U P R E P O R T E R 

Giving Greyhound Racers a Second Chance 

By Maggie Mae...with Ronni Diamondstein 

Photo by Ronni Diamondstein 

Rescued by Sophie and her family, Jester found a loving home in 


Spectacular Seafood Menu with Full Wine List 

Bistro 146 

The Seafood Grille 

914-495-3992 

www.bistro146.com 

theseafoodgrille@gmail.com 

I was curious about greyhound racing, 

because the only racing I know 

is when I run around in my house or 

chase a squirrel. From the ASPCA I 

found out that racing dogs are not 

treated as well as I am. They spend a 

lot of time in crates and when they 

can’t race anymore they are put to 

sleep forever. That made me even 

sadder, so I decided to find out about 

the Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation 

(known also as GRR). I contacted 

the President and Founder, Christine 

Johnson, who lives in Cross River. She 

told me that she started GRR after she 

got her own dog. Her sister recommended 

that she adopt a retired greyhound, 

because she lived in a condo 

and racing dogs don’t need to run a lot. 

I was surprised that racers didn’t need 

to run, but she explained that to me. 

“Greyhounds live most of their lives in 

crates so they make excellent apartment 

pets,” said Johnson. She adopted 

her first dog in 1999. It worked so well 

that within four months she adopted 

a second. 

Johnson started GRR because she 

loved her dogs so much. She found out 

that there were lots of retired greyhounds 

that had been injured or “were 

just a split second too slow ” Unless 

these dogs found homes, their futures 

were uncertain. 

GRR takes greyhounds from all over 

the country. 

“Most of the 

hounds have no 

medical issues, 

but we do take 

in as many with 

injuries as we 

can afford.” Like 

Jester, some 

of them break 

their legs while 

racing. “The 

retired racers 

we get are from 

2 to 6 years old, 

however we will 

146 Bedford Road 

Pleasantville, NY 10570 

take younger dogs if they’re injured 

while getting ready to race 

or older dogs, which we refer to 

as ‘brood moms’ who have had 

racing careers and then a second 

career having puppies,” says 

Johnson. GRR doesn’t have a 

kennel so after each dog is examined 

by a veterinarian and either 

spayed or neutered, it needs a 

foster family to care for it until 

it is adopted. I was surprised to 

learn that the foster family has 

to teach the dog how to be a pet. 

Racing dogs have never learned 

to go up and down stairs or 

walk on a leash. They don’t even 

know about those things in your 

house that you can look through 

but not get to what is on the 

other side. My owner calls them 

windows. And I couldn’t believe it 

when Johnson told me that these dogs 

have never even had a ride in a car, 

which is, next to going for a walk and 

eating, one of my favorite things to do. 

So to help these greyhounds find 

families to love, GRR runs adoption 

“Meet and Greet” events in our area. 

Dogs like Jester are on hand at the 

events as “Ambassadogs”. If you want 

to adopt a greyhound or find out more 

about Greyhound Rescue & Rehabilitation 

and the upcoming events go to 

their website: www.greyhoundrescuerehab.org 

Who knew that my sweet 

and personable greyhound 

friend Jester had such an 

interesting history? Makes 

me wonder what my next 

career could be. Some kind 

of “Ambassadog” sounds 

good to me! 

Contact Maggie Mae Pup Reporter 

at maggiemae10514@gmail.com 

Maggie Mae lives in Chappaqua with 

her adoring owner Ronni Diamondstein, 

who, when she isn’t walking Maggie is a 

freelance writer, PR consultant, awardwinning 

photographer and a School 

Library Media Specialist and teacher who 

has worked in the US and abroad.

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Tell ‘em You Saw it in 

Inside Chappaqua! 


FRAME: BRADFORD 

• 


RED CARPET FASHION EVENT 

STARRING OLIVER PEOPLES, 

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The Joy of - Inside Chappaqua

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