Hudson Valley Restaurant Week

Larchmont’s Jeanne Muchnik writes in Westchester Magazine about “throwback eateries that make you feel like you’re 16 again.”

She includes Augie’s Restaurant & Pub (2417 Boston Post Rd, Larchmont 914-834-3800 augiesitalian.com);  Carlo’s Restaurant(668 Tuckahoe Rd, Yonkers 914-793-1458; carlosrestaurant.net); Francesco’s (600 Mamaroneck Ave, White Plains 914-946-3359);  Giulio’s Restaurant (53 Park Hill Ave, Yonkers 914-375-1043);  Gus’s Franklin Park Restaurant (126 Halstead Ave, Harrison 914-835-9804; gusseafood.com);  Solano’s Lincoln Lounge (209 Stevens Ave, Mount Vernon 914-664-9747), (one of our favorites) and  Sherwood’s Restaurant and Bar-B-Q (2136 Boston Post Rd, Larchmont 914-833-3317; sherwoodsrestaurant.com)

This house is located 22 Beach Ave, Larchmont, NY 10538

The listing says, “Imagine having the convenience of modern amenities and the quality craftsmanship of old in one beautiful architectural marriage. It’s here at 22 Beach Avenue in Larchmont Manor. This grand 1903 Victorian Manor home has been lovingly restored to feature its exquisite original architectural details while providing the conveniences of modern living. One block from the Long Island Sound and walking distance to town & train, library & schools, this home is the quintesential Larchmont Manor home.”

This 5 Bed/6 bath is going for $3,650,000.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Connor Robinson and Katie Broderick

LARCHMONT, MAMARONECK– Katie Broderick is a wonderful little girl in the fourth grade.  Connor Robinson is a sweet, athletic third grader. Both are from great families. Both are at Larchmont’s Murray Avenue School. And both of them are cancer survivors.

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PORT CHESTER– Perhaps buoyed by the buzz in Mamaroneck with Club Car at the Mamaroneck train station, the MTA says it’s bringing a Heartland Brewery to the circa 1890 station in Port Chester.

Published reports say Heartland plans to spend  $1.2 million to renovate the 5,630-square-foot brick building, which will include an outdoor garden, and name the restaurant “Port Chester Hall,” with a planned opening in June 2013.

What do you think? Are you on board?

Photo: Jacqueline Silberbush

from the NY Post

MAMARONECK, WHITE PLAINS, CITY ISLAND–214 visits to a single Mamaroneck’s Toyo Sushi restaurant. On public money. Not to mention 95 visits to  Mamaroneck Diner, 58 t0 Lum Yen, 44 to Red Plum and 53 to Larchmont’s Nautilus Diner.

Last month, federal prosecutors said that “Bronxchester” ex- State Senator Pedro Espada and his family spent about $60,000 on sushi and lobster meals.

The New York Post broke it down, reporting,  “He billed his publicly funded health clinic about $103,000 for meals between 2005 and 2009, including more than $20,000 for a staggering 214 visits to a single sushi restaurant.”

Espada famously resided in Mamaroneck while representing the Bronx. And from the list above, it appears he only likes one Bronx restaurant, The Harbor, in City Island.

Rafael Ferrer Dulzara Lithograph Courtesy of Nancy Hoffman Gallery

from the Neuberger Museum, Purchase:

An opportunity for collectors to buy world-class art at less than gallery prices…
Paper Jam 2012, an annual auction and dinner party to benefit the Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College, will be held at the museum on Saturday evening, April 28. This popular event is an art collector’s joy.  Whether you are a seasoned or beginning collector, you can acquire work during the Silent and Live auctions by some of the hottest contemporary artists, at some of the coolest prices.

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A big Rumorville for you today. We hear the Bellizzi Italian Restaurant is not renewing its lease in the Trader Joe’s Shopping Center in Larchmont, and that Trader Joe’s will be expanding into the space. (Bellizzi has a second location in Mt. Kisco.)

Calls to Bellizzi owner Ray Catena were not returned, however a Trader Joe’s manager confirmed the story, saying the expansion will occur, “eventually.”

Woo-hoo!

image: Wikimedia Commons

If your desk, basement and garage are cluttered with old electronic devices, don’t dump it all in the trash. Your old cell phones, printers, computers, and TVs may contain toxic lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and who knows what else–all bad for the environment because these poisons can leach into soil and drinking water.

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“420″ slipped into the English language lexicon as an insider’s term for marijuana. Today, 4/20, is marked by some as a day to smoke with reckless abandon, or launch awareness programs.

Where did the term come from? We asked snopes.com:

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At the Quick Cash on the Post Road in White Plains, customers receive a card that says,

 Pawning is the world’s oldest form of banking. Quite simply, pawning an item for money is the same as taking a collateral loan. A person in need to money can bring items of value to a pawn broker, and the broker will assess the value of the items and give out a loan based on their value. The person pawning the item has a specific amount of time to pay the loan back or they lose the item. They can also pay the due interest, and extend the loan. In a person fails to pay back the loan the item becomes property of the pawn broker.

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It’s genius. It’s fashionable. And it’s cheap.

Green Eileen in Yonkers is an Eileen Fisher store -that opened in March- stocked with professionally cleaned, gently worn Eileen Fisher clothing at, in many cases, below half the original retail prices.

Phillipa Climaco holds a dress that retailed for $278, and was never worn. It's selling for $70.

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From Larchmont Pet Rescue:

Scarlett was born in 2010 and is a newcomer to Pet Rescue. This beautiful tabby with white paws, white neck and nose is very sweet and adorable with big golden eyes. She is good with other cats and dogs too.

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A fantastic Syrah-Merlot blend from Languedoc-Roussillon bio-dynamic for $10?

Yes, I just tasted the Canon du Marechal 2010 from Domaine Cazes in France and found a superb medium to full body wine that fully expresses the terroir of this southwestern region known as Languedoc-Roussillon or Cotes Catalanes.

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Tompkins Oak, Beach St., Mamaroneck

In response to our story on the centuries-old Tompkins Oak in Mamaroneck, and plans to dig flood mitigation pipes near it, Village Manager Richard Slingerman sent theLoop a copy of this letter to the Village of Mamaroneck from the Cornell Cooperative Extension regarding the CCE’s inspection of the tree.

It appears the Village is also interested in trying to preserve it:

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This condo is located at 1 Renasissance Square, White Plains, NY (The Ritz Carlton)

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The listing says:

“Invest in Pleasure at rock bottom pricing! Affordable Financing NOW available! Sleek sophisticated residence offers walls of windows, top-of-the line kitchens,spa inspired baths & elegant spaces enriched by natural light & inspiring views. Amenities include Health Club with Steam & Sauna, Resident Lounge, Expansive Media Room, Business Conference Room, Children’s Playroom, Outdoor Terrace,24 hour concierge service & Jitney to train.”

This 3 Bedroom, 4 bathroom Condominium is going for $5,200,000.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Have a look at this tree. The Tompkins Farm Oak has stood on Beach Avenue and Pine Street in Mamaroneck Village since before the Revolutionary War.

Noah Tompkins’ barns are gone, but the Oak remains…and neighbors worry plans by the Village to install pipes below Pine Street could severely damage the tree. The area is prone to flooding and a project to install the pipes is currently under bid.

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This house is located at 139 Country Club Ln, Pelham Manor, Pelham, NY 10803:

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The listing says:

“Gracious Country French Colonial situated on private cul-de-sac. Features include expansive living room with fireplace, formal dining room, family room and renovated eat in kitchen. Master bedroom with new marble bath plus three additional bedrooms. Prospect Hill School. Full finished walk out basement complete this exceptionally attractive home.”

This 4 bed/3 bath is going for $685,000.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Goldfinger at original NYW&B bridge over right-of-way, Bryant Ave. White Plains.

It’s not hard to find people around here that are fascinated with trains.  Two of our favorite blogs, Trainjotting and IRidetheHarlemLine,  write in the realm of Metro North.

But there is also much deep fascination with a local railroad that has ceased to exist, the New York, Westchester and Boston, or NYW&B.

railroad cut near Goldfinger's house (and in 1937 photo he holds, below)

“Scattered about Westchester and the Bronx are original, authentic pieces of a once glamorous and noteworthy railroad,” says New Rochelle’s Eliot Goldfinger.

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Oh, please. The corruption trial against not-from-Mamaroneck Ex-State Sen.Pedro Espada continues. You may recall the Bronx ex-politician actually lives on Beechwood Drive in Mamaroneck.

Now prosecutors say Espada billed his non-profit Soundview clinic for the Beechwood Drive home’s picket fence and garage door, according to the Daily News.

Espada and son Pedro Gautier are charged with embezzling more than $500,000 from the federally funded clinic for personal expenses.

Expo in December 2011

To herpetologists, a treasure trove; to others, something else…The New York Reptile Expo is back. The Convention Center in White Plains will be filled with reptiles of every shape and size.

April 22, 10am-4pm. Click here for directions. Adults: $10; Children over 7: $5.

"They're going to what??"

What is it about sheep shearing? Once a mundane source of  income for many area farmers producing wool, modern suburbanites flock to the flocks to see sheep shorn and spinners spin as entertainment.

The annual Sheep Shearing Day at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills April 28 was sold out long ago. But there’s the Philipsburg Manor’s Sheep to Shawl Day this coming weekend in Sleepy Hollow, Sheep-shearing, dyeing wool, and weaving cloth are just some of the weekend’s activities. Scottish border collies display their skills with sheepherding demonstrations throughout the day while newborn lambs frolic. Visitors are invited to explore each step in the process of turning wool into cloth using 18th-century techniques.

For tickets.

 

photo: James Bowe on flickr

Red Bridge by Jacqueline Silberbush

Submit your local photo by email or to www.flickr.com/groups/looppool, and we’ll post one at the end of every weekday.

Remember Payton, the Pot Bellied Porker? He was one of the more unusual pets picked up by the New Rochelle Humane Society. He lived in a group house of Iona College students who had rescued him–then didn’t know what to do with him.

NRHS Director Dana Rocco tells us that Payton has found happiness, living in New Hampshire, “with a wonderful couple and a girlfriend pig.”

Payton gives us a smile

220 Hommocks Rd. Larchmont

One-of-a-kind spectacular 4 acre Waterfront Estate with priceless panoramic views of Long Island Sound & Larchmont Harbor. Secluded 4 acre peninsula with nearly 1/4 miles of waterfront property.

Elegant gazebo leads to deepwater dock, exquisite swimming pool/poolhouse. Grass tennis court, gym & carriage house with 4+garages. A charming arbor and sweeping picturesque lawns and terraces fan out in all directions. A rare opportunity for the discerning buyer. Sq.Ft includes Carriage House.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Larchmont by Jacqueline Silberbush

Submit your local photo by email or to www.flickr.com/groups/looppool, and we’ll post one at the end of every weekday.

10 Brevoort Ln, Rye

This home in move-in condition starts with an inviting front porch & welcomes you to this meticulous property on a private road with modern amenities. Rye Neck Schools. Living room w/built-ins & gas fireplace leads to dining room, updated kitchen and family room w/gas fireplace & doors to deck.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Jim Thomson, president of the University Club of Larchmont  from 2007–2009, passed away on Monday, April 9, 2012, after a long and courageous fight with leukemia. He was 52 years old.

A member of the Larchmont community for the past 20 years, he is survived by three wonderful kids—Diana, 22; David, 19; and Catherine, 14—as well as his good friend and former wife, Jamie Mooney. He also leaves behind his father, John Thomson of Bogota, Colombia, and his brother, Robert Thomson of Durham, Connecticut.

Jim was a class of 1979 graduate of Hamden Hall Country Day School in Hamden, Connecticut, and a 1983 graduate of Trinity College in Hartford. Besides his work with the University Club, he also volunteered at the Nature Conservancy, the New York Botanical Gardens as well as working the grounds of the Community Unitarian Church of White Plains.

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54 Brookby Rd., Scarsdale

This 5 BR, 3 BA,  11 room colonial has a .35 acre property. 3350 sf of vintage architecture and quality renovation featuring a 35×17 family room adjoining the updated eat-in kitchen and large stone patio.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

During spring break week, we are bringing back some popular posts:

The Metropolitan Museum calls Alexander Jackson Davis, “the greatest architect of the mid-nineteenth century.”

The designer of Federal Hall (the Old Customs House) in New York and Lyndhurst in Tarrytown, designed some remarkable Gothic Revival houses in New Rochelle in the mid 1800′s.

Some of their photos can be seen if you scroll down here.

Wildcliff, or the Cyrus Lawton House, sits high atop a hill, overlooking the Long Island Sound at 44 Wildcliff Road in New Rochelle.

The 20-room house was built in about 1852; Tudor architectural feature were said to have been added later.

When Clara Prince, whose family acquired the house in 1913, donated Wildcliff to the City of New Rochelle in 1940, her intention was for it to be a destination for children to learn about science and nature. It was a Youth Museum for a time (1964-1981, when the New York Times did a story about its economic ruin),  then abandoned.

Wildcliff was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. But it has continued to fall into ruin.

Enter Marie Inzinna of New Rochelle and Kerrilee Hunter of Bronxville, both educators. Says Kerrilee, “Marie and I both started as teachers; within a few years of working together people were telling us, ‘You should start a school!’  We knew we couldn’t be just anywhere, because children bring such amazing energy to a space and they deserve to have a space that fits their curiosity and need to discover.  One day Marie thought of Wildcliff–a place she went as a child when it was the Wildcliff  Youth Museum–and the pieces began to fall into place.”

Now, Jen’s Community at Wildcliff  has a board of directors, has hosted a few events to raise awareness, (including last Fall’s Harvest Festival) and will soon launch a capital campaign needed to refurbish the building and grounds and create a nursery school, gallery, office space and spaces for adult education. They will lease the building from the City of New Rochelle.

Clara Prince’s dream may soon come true.

photos: KFriend on flickr, Kerrilee Hunter, Wikimedia Commons

first published March 8, 2012

During spring break week, we are bringing back some popular posts:

Eco-friendly hybrids and sporty foreign numbers have their place, but, Nick Pagani only has eyes for Big American Cars.

“I go down to my garage at night and I sit and look at my cars,” Pagani says. “To me, they’re beautiful.”

Pagani – a guy born and raised in Pelham Manor who restores cars in the same New Rochelle shop his granddad opened in 1920 – has no shortage of stuff to gaze at.

His collection of 80 vintage cars frequently appears in period-piece movies (often with Pagani behind the wheel) such as Revolutionary Road, The Wrestler and Angel Heart. Pagani’s wheels are currently being used in the production of Inside Llewyn Davis, the latest Coen brothers’ movie.

55 Elizabeth Rd., New Rochelle

5 BR 5 BA Gracious Tudor in Wykagyl area with architectural details. Spacious, sunken living room with fireplace. Formal dining room. Comfortable library den with mill work.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Vincent Greco 4th grade, Vincent Bottone 1st grade and Lily Flynn 8th grade.

Sts. John and Paul School in Larchmont wanted us to share this with you; students there have  just completed an 8 foot tall sunflower bouquet to celebrate Vincent Van Gogh’s birthday.

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555 Walton Ave., Mamaroneck

Classic brick and shingle Center Hall Colonial is located in Orienta. Sunny 4Br 3 1/2Bth home features living rm w/ fireplace, expansive family rm w/fireplace and french doors leading to garden.

See this home and all the MLS listings at theLoop Real Estate Marketplace.

Highbrook Bridge, Pelham

The dream of creating a Highbrook Highline in Pelham is closer to reality with the designation of the Highbrook Bridge as eligible for the National Registry of Historic Places.

The Highbrook Highline, much like the High Line in New York City, proposes a linear High Line plan for the entire 1.9 acre site, reclaiming an historic rail bed of the New York, Westchester and Boston railroad as green space.

We reported about a section being worked on this month where there is consensus.

The website of the Friends of the NYW&B Highbrook Highline  says, “The Highbrook Avenue Bridge was designed for The New York, Westchester & Boston Railway in 1910 to attract development in the Village of Pelham and Westchester County. Given the current density of population, it can be said that the effort was successful. Today the “Highbrook” stands as a living memorial to the inventions, investments, design, competition and physical challenges of a century ago.”

images courtesy Friends of the NYW&B Highbrook Highline

Check theLoop Events Listings

Collect eggs at Stone Barns

What’s at Jacob Burns

What’s at the Emelin

What’s at the Picture House

What’s at Paramount Center for the Arts

What’s at Tarrytown Music Hall  (Joan Osborne April 7)

Some ideas from Found in Yonkers:

• Benjamin Manry and the Crimson Journal by Owen Palmiotti Signing B&N Central Plaza Apr 7
• Easter Bunny Photos @TheWestchester through April 7
• City of Yonkers FREE Easter Egg Hunt April 7

Bea is a five year old chinchilla living in Larchmont, who came to stay during a previous owner’s vacation, and never left. Her owner, Abby Troy, says a chinchilla is “half bunny half squirrel.”

She lives in a big cage, a three level split, in the living room and has two pet girls, Abby and Dillon.

photos by Molly Loie Dionne and Abby Kathryn Troy