"The Sinner" Films at Hartsdale Train Station
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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What was the hubbub at Hartsdale station on Monday September 23? We spotted trucks, cameras and microphones and learned that the Netflix series “The Sinner,” was filming a scene there. About 60 cast members and 120 crew members were on site, filming a scene where Detective Ambrose (Bill Pullman) greets his family getting off the train. It appeared that they had to time the scene based on the Metro North train schedule – so there was lots of waiting in between arrivals. Notice the sign in the picture at left -- where Hartsdale became Dorchester!
For anyone trying to conduct business in Hartsdale it was a difficult day. The parking meters on the lower level of the garage were off limits to parkers and one of the exits to the garage was closed off as well. However, whatever stress resulted will undoubtedly be forgotten when Hartsdale shows up on Netflix.
Extras pose as commuters on the platform.
National Merit Corporation Announces 2020 Semifinalists
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The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 65th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These high school seniors will have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 7,600 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $31 million that will be offered next spring.
The Semifinalists were selected from over 1.5 million juniors in about 21,000 high schools who took the 2018 PSAT. The pool of Semifinalists, representing less than one percent of U.S. high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state. The number of Semifinalists in a state is proportional to the state’s percentage of the national total of graduating seniors.
Here are the names of the Semifinalists selected from Edgemont and Scarsdale High Schools:
Edgemont High School
Hu, Alan J.
Kang, Joongoo
Lew-Kiedrowska, Olga
Lin, Iris C.
Markowitz, Ross J.
Sandhu, Amar
Shah, Rohan C.
Tucker, Laura C.
Yaghoobzadeh, Kion D.
Zagorsky, Ariella R.
Scarsdale High School
Asriev, Vladimir A.
Bandsma, Ward X.
Brenner, Lucy
Carroll, Craig G.
Chan, Alison K.
Chen, Patrick
Dhuri, Anika S.
Higgins, Caroline J.
Jansky, Dylan H.
Kelson, Charlotte S.
Lee, Calvin S.
Mainster, Eve L.
Martin, Spencer
Masic, Luka F.
Morin, Andrew
Peng, David
Roberts, Caroline C.
Silvers, Jack K.
Wei, Eric L.
Yang, Max
Zou, Lauren
Congratulations to all the Semifinalists.
Scarsdale Residents and Students To Raise Money for Alzheimer’s Research
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Rhonda Hunt of Barrys Bootcamp warming up the crowd at last year's walkOver 1,500 people are expected to participate in The Westchester Walk to End Alzheimer’s on Sunday, September 29th at SUNY Purchase. The Walk is a very moving event where people come together, honor their loved ones and raise funds with the hope of finding a cure for this disease. The crowd will include babies, Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers and a lot of dogs! The funds raised at the Walk support the research as well as the chapter’s care efforts in the local communities. To donate, register or join a local team, please visit www.westchesterwalk.org.
Over 20 years ago the first Westchester Walk to End Alzheimer’s was held at White Plains High School. Scarsdale 
The Scarsdale High School team at the 2018 walkresidents Abby Salzman, Barry Meiselman, Eileen and Claire Hogdgon were among the earliest walkers. To this day, they continue their fight to find a cure for this disease. They remain active as volunteers and walk in memory of someone they have lost to Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is relentless, has no cure and unfortunately almost every person has a relative or friend that has been impacted by this disease.
In 2017, Abby Fehrenbaker, a Senior at SHS founded the Scarsdale Club for Alzheimer’s Awareness Research and Services, SCAARS. Its mission is “to spread awareness about Alzheimer’s Disease, provide a resource to students going through a dementia related situation and to promote personal outreach and involvement with patients and caregivers.” Team SCAARS plans on walking with several students this year in an effort to raise funds for a cure for this disease.
Several other residents walk and/or volunteer as individuals, with their families, with local residences, churches and temples, including Westchester Reform Temple Jewish Learning Lab. "The Westchester Reform Temple (WRT) community is proud to be a part of the Walk to End Alzheimer's again this year," said Felicia Block, Assistant Director of Jewish Learning Lab. "It is a wonderful way for our children and families to start the Jewish New Year, thinking about helping others and supporting the research and services to those living with and fighting to find a cure for Alzheimer’s. We can't think of a better way to spend our day."
Julie and Dana Salzman
Chill Bucket Presents Reading of The Bridge in Scarsdale at St. James the Less
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Chill Bucket Productions will present a staged reading of Robert Remington Wood’s The Bridge in Scarsdale, an unpublished play, which was produced Off-Broadway in 2002 to high praise from the New York Times. The reading will take place on September 20, 2019 at 8 pm. The 100-seat chapel venue, nestled amidst the 1851 stone church, will allow the audience an intimate setting to experience this rarely-performed gem.
Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times: "Practicality and poetry wrestle for possession of a soul in the eternal triangle formed by a father, mother and son that is at the heart of The Bridge in Scarsdale..."
As the play opens, Phil is meeting his father, Henry, for lunch. What swiftly becomes clear as the martinis, wine and fish are ordered is that although Henry's professional life has been devoted to building bridges, his personal life is not as well engineered as his bridges. Phil is hoping to persuade his father to join him on one of his regular visits to see Regina, the wife whom Henry has never divorced. Currently, she resides in the hospital where she is being treated for mental illness. The subsequent visit rekindles feelings, reveals secrets and brings past betrayals to the forefront of the action for a family who has spent a lifetime in conflict.
The Wood family is thrilled that Chill Bucket has chosen to feature The Bridge in Scarsdale in their 2019 season and will be involved in the process of bringing it to the stage. Directed by Dakota Martin (Yonkers resident & office manager at Church of St. James the Less, Scarsdale), the cast includes actors from Northern & Southern Westchester and the Bronx.
The cast and creative team will be participating in a talk back after the reading. Audience members are invited to join us for coffee and refreshments.
Reservations and donations can be made at chillbucketproductions.com. Any and all donations are welcome and deeply appreciated. Seating and parking is limited.
About Chill Bucket: Chill Bucket is a new theatrical group based in Westchester County and this event is serving as a fundraiser for the group. Producers, Dakota Martin and Jeff Rocco are looking forward to the remainder of our year of fundraising before debuting their first mainstage production in early 2020.
Mindfulness: De-stress with a Forest Bath
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Many of us Scarsdalians live a fast paced lifestyle that can often leaves us trying to find ways to de-stress and deal with anxiety. To help find a sense of calm, maybe you’ve tried yoga, meditation, mindfulness, or even practiced gratitude, but have you ever tried forest bathing? Don’t break out the bath bubbles just yet! While a cool swim in the middle of the woods does seem like it would be relaxing, you don’t have to jump in a lake to practice forest bathing. Rather, forest bathing is simply a practice of disconnecting from technology and using all of your senses to bathe in the atmosphere of nature. Sounds easy right? And it is! No need for a strenuous hike up Bear Mountain to start alleviating stress, you can simply find a quiet spot to sit comfortably and tune in to the wondrous sights, sounds, and feelings of nature. Listen the crickets chirping, feel the wind against your skin, watch the trees sway in the breeze and start feeling the healing effects of a forest bath.
Not quite convinced that a forest bath will leave you feeling footloose and fancy free? Well, forest bathing as a practice to ease stress and other harmful side effects of modern day living, was first made popular in Japan in the early 1980’s. After much research, Japanese scientists found the healing effects of spending quality time in nature to be so powerful that they launched a national program to encourage Shinrin-yoku or forest bathing across their nation. Additionally, according to shinrin-yoku.org, Shinrin-yoku has also “become a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine”. As stated by Dr. Qing Li, author of Forest Bathing; How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness, some of the healing effects of spending time in a forest include:
-reduced stress, anxiety, and anger levels
-a strengthened immune system
-improved cardiovascular and metabolic health
-improved overall well-being
So the next time you’re feeling stressed out about an approaching deadline, or your kids are anxious about an upcoming test, or you simply need a break from all the screen time, grab your loved ones and head to the forest for some Shinrin-yoku. Below are a few of my family’s favorite places to de-stress:
-Hart’s Brook Park and Preserve
156 Ridge Rd, Hartsdale, NY 10530
-Cranberry Lake Preserve
1609 Old Orchard St, West Harrison, NY 10604
-Rockefeller State Park Preserve
125 Phelps Way, Pleasantville, NY 10570
Wendy MacMillan is a former teacher and a proud mom of two children. While her background is in psychology and education, Wendy was recently trained in mindfulness at Mindfulschools.org. She has long been passionate about wellness, and as an active member of the Scarsdale PTA, Wendy helped to bring mindfulness to her children's elementary school. In addition, Wendy helped establish and is an acting member of the school's Wellness Committee. For more information about mindfulness check out this site: mindfulschools.org or Watch the video of Jon Kabat-Zinn explaining what mindfulness is ... or contact Wendy MacMillan at wendymacmillan@gmail.com.
