Long Island Sound Swim This Saturday to Raise Funds for Cancer Research
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Swim Across America - Long Island Sound is holding its 32nd annual open water swim on Saturday, July 27, 2024, in Larchmont, New York, with more than 800 swimmers and volunteers all making waves to fight cancer. One of the top fundraising teams is Team John, made up of a number of swimmers from the Scarsdale Town Pool who are again swimming in honor of their friend and fellow swimmer John Needham, who lost his battle with cancer in June 2023, just shy of his 70th birthday. Team John has over 15 swimmers and kayakers and again will raise over $100,000 in contributions to fight cancer.
A long-time Scarsdale resident, John Needham was an All-American swimmer at Hamilton College in upstate New York. After attending Boston University Law School he found his true calling and joined the Legal Aid Society in Manhattan and, ultimately, in the Bronx, working tirelessly to defend the underprivileged and marginalized. John’s greatest joy was his family, including his wife Leanne, sister Sarah, daughter Caitlin and son Dan, an award-winning swimmer who will be part of Team John and participating in the Swim Across America event at the 10K distance.
“For so many years John was with us every morning during the summertime at the Scarsdale Town Pool and his absence 
John Needhamcontinues to be felt deeply,” said Josh Glantz, co-captain of Team John. “We are all honored to be able to swim again this year in his memory. Over the 20 years that members of the Scarsdale Town Pool have come together to participate as a team in the Swim Across America event, we have been able to raise close to $1 million to help fund crucial research in the batter against cancer.”
Swim Across America - Long Island Sound held its first swim in 1992. Since that time, the swim has raised more than $25 million for its local beneficiaries, which have grown to include Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Columbia University Cancer Center, Cancer Support Team and Weill Cornell Medical Center. Through the funds raised at the annual swim, a network of doctors, researchers and caregivers continue to make breakthroughs in treating this deadly disease.
Swim Across America is a national nonprofit organization and offers open water and pool swims in 24 communities, from Boston to under the Golden Gate Bridge, to raise funds for cancer research. While its events are across America, its roots are firmly anchored along the shores of Long Island Sound. Nationally, Swim Across America has raised more than $100 million in the fight against cancer. More than 150 Olympians support Swim Across America.
Swim Across America’s funding of clinical trials on a national level - and specifically with the funds raised by the Long Island Sound swim - has helped contribute to four FDA approved life-saving immunotherapy cancer treatments: Yervoy, Opdivo, Tecentriq and Keytruda. Recently, the very exciting news about a clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was published in The New England Journal of Medicine that showed a 100 percent success rate in treating patients in a phase 2 clinical trial for advanced rectal cancer with dostarlimab, an immunotherapy treatment. The clinical trial at Memorial Sloan Kettering was funded by early-stage grant funding from Swim Across America - Long Island Sound.
To learn more about Swim Across America - Long Island Sound or to register to swim, volunteer or donate, visit swimacrossamerica.org/longislandsound. For those who would like to support Team Gina or any of the other swimmers at the June 27 Swim Across America - Long Island Sound open water event, or the eight pool swims this summer, donations can be made here.
Young Philanthropists Raise Funds for the Friends of the Scarsdale Library
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- Written by Wendy MacMillan
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Local boys held a “sweet” Fundraiser for the Friends of the Scarsdale Library! On Saturday, July 13th, brothers Costas (7) and Philip Konstantoulakis (5) sold lemonade and books to raise money for the FOSL’s Landscaping Project.
Mom Julia Park explained, “Costas and Philip love going to the Scarsdale Library. One day Costas noticed the FOSL poster about the Landscaping project and said that he wanted to help their cause. He was so motivated, that night he started brainstorming ideas and came up with the idea of donating his used books and selling lemonade.”
On the hot, steamy day the boys will offer cold, refreshing lemonade, snacks, stickers and an assortment of gently used books for sale. All proceeds were donated to the Friends of the Scarsdale Library.
Presidents of the Friends of the Scarsdale Library said, “Scarsdale has a deep history of philanthropic residents, and we are delighted to see and encourage it in our youngest residents. It is so gratifying to see our community members engaged in the plans to transform the library’s campus into a parklike destination for all our residents to enjoy. We are confident Costas and his peers will enjoy the changes for years to come."
Library Director, Beth Bermel, was also delighted to hear that the library had such an impact on Costas and his brother Philip. “It is truly heartwarming to see young people so invested in their community library. The Friends are lucky to have these enterprising youth supporting their efforts, and we are grateful for such a supportive community, including the inspiring Konstantoulakis family.”The Friends work in partnership with the SPL team to bring relevant and inspired content to Scarsdale by sponsoring book discussions with popular authors, underwriting art shows and purchasing the latest technology. Donations are accepted year-round, and funds are used for a variety of programs throughout the year, including the chess programs Costas and Philip enjoy attending.
The Library in the Park Campaign - the inspiration for the fundraiser - will make more outdoor space available for open-air programming, for reading and study, for Scarsdale children and adults alike. The Campaign has nearly achieved its fundraising goal and will be wrapping up and unveiling detailed drawings this Fall.
To make a donation to the Friends, reach out to foslpresident@gmail.com.
Graduation Tributes
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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It's graduation season, and kids are moving up in elementary school and middle school, and graduating from high school, college and graduate school. Here are tributes to the grads of parents and grandparents at Advocate Brokerage and Houlihan Lawrence in Scarsdale. Hat's off to everyone who is moving up and moving on.
Letters Regarding the Duck Pond and Idling Cars
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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The Duck Pond in Heathcote is covered in algae.We received two letters this week. One regarding the Heathcote Duck Pond and another about idling cars.
Here they are:
Dear Sirs:
I and my family have lived in the Heathcote section of Scarsdale for over 60 years. I would prefer to submit this letter anonymously but the facts discussed below should be obvious to all Scarsdale residents:
My family and neighbors have all noted the condition of the Heathcote Duck Pond has seriously deteriorated since the COVID pandemic in 202. The water is now covered with a film of algae, with a foul order and is no longer an attractive destination for residents. For decades there were 2 or 3 water fountains that every spring, summer and fall sprayed and circulated water and were illuminated at sunset. This little park was a beautiful setting for locals to walk or drive to oin the evening and weekends and was often a backdrop for pictures of wedding parties, etc. We would also see many ducks and other birds in the park. This is not possible today because of its swamp-like decayed and deteriorating condition.
I was astonished to learn this property is privately owned and the Village has no authority to maintain it in the dignified and appropriate manner so appropriate as the center of our “Village in a Park.” The Village advised the pond and surrounding land are owned by The Heathcote Association, a private entity.
I request that the appropriate Scarsdale government officials inspect this pond and land and please have the lawful owner immediately clean and restore if and maintain it, in perpetuity, to its pre-pandemic condition, consistent with our community’s values.
With much appreciation,
A Heathcote Resident
(Note: Scarsdale10583 received a similar communication in July 2022. At the time, we reached out to the President of the Heathcote Association who said the following.)
“Yes, the Heathcote Association does own the pond and maintained it for years. But now there is considerable sediment on the bottom and it needs to be dredged. If not, the sediment will clog the fountains (bubblers) and break them."
He explained that the Association has been looking into doing the dredging but during COVID it was difficult to get people out to do the work. Furthermore, he said that the primary cause of the sediment is that the Village waterways empty into the pond. Therefore, they have been working with the Village Engineering Department and believe that the Village has an obligation to help the Association with the project and the costs. They don’t believe it is only the Association's responsibility as the Village has been using the pond as part of their water system and people from all over Scarsdale use the pond.
So for now, the fountains will remain off until the dredging can be done.”
From Susan Levine regarding cars:
Today was a lovely day in Scarsdale...75 degrees and breezy. Despite that I saw several cars disobeying the “No Idling for Over Three Minutes Westchester County Law,” including a huge black Lincoln Navigator with the occupant just sitting inside on her phone for more than 20 minutes creating huge amounts or air pollution right in front of Bagel Power. Scarsdale residents need to help to fight air pollution by obeying the law and turning off their car engines when they are parked and not driving.
Daniel Kurzner Weds Tessa Shapiro in Williamsburg
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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Daniel Ethan Kurzner (SHS ‘09) and Tessa Leigh Shapiro were married on May 11, 2024 at Weylin in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tamara Wolfson (SHS ‘07), a hazzan (cantor) and the bride’s cousin, officiated the Jewish wedding ceremony.
The couple began dating in February 2018, when Tessa’s cousin & Dan’s friend Sarah Wolfson Butler (SHS ‘09), thought they would be a great match. Their relationship has been filled with great restaurants, adventurous travels, weekends on the North Fork of Long Island, lots of ice cream and bonding over their shared fandom for the New York Giants and the Michigan Wolverines.
In December 2022, Dan’s sister-in-law Julia Fishman (SHS ‘06) came up with the plan to throw a fake birthday party for herself to save the date for a surprise proposal. Dan proposed in Astoria Park, which is where the couple said “I love you” to each other for the first time.
The groom, 32, is a Strategy and Operations Manager at Google. He graduated from Scarsdale High School in 2009 and from Washington University in St. Louis in 2013, and earned his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 2020. Dan is the son of Wayne Kurzner, who is a personal injury lawyer in New York.
The bride, 30, is a Manager of Trust and Safety Partnerships at YouTube. She graduated from The Dalton School in New York City in 2012 and from the University of Michigan in 2016 with a degree in Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience. Tessa is the daughter of Richard Shapiro and Lynn Usdan Shapiro. The bride’s father is a Senior Advisor at Excel Sports Management. The bride’s mother is the Senior Vice President of Ethics and Compliance and Corporate Affairs at LVMH.
