Scarsdale Pool Closes a Successful Season
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdale Pool closed another successful season last week. We reached out to Recreation Superintendent Brian Gray to ask how it went, and here is what he shared:
“As you know, it was a hot summer without a lot of rain or afternoon thunderstorms that are traditional of New York summers. Thankfully we had a successful summer without too much downtime from equipment breakdowns. Department staff will begin winterizing the complex and preparing for summer 2026 over the next few weeks.”
And here is a note from Carol Silverman, Chair, Advisory Council on Scarsdale Senior Citizens:
The Scarsdale Seniors want to thank the Recreation Department & O'Neill's pool concession for their many efforts to make yesterday's Senoir BBQ Party such a successful event. The many attendees enjoyed a delicious meal, a line-dancing lesson, an aquacise session and an opportunity to socialize.
Thanks again.
Yours,
Carol Silverman
Farmers Market and Indoor Pickleball Coming to Greenburgh
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Two new developments from Greenburgh: The farmers market is back in Hartsdale, starting this Saturday, and an indoor pickleball facility could be opening on Central Avenue. Here are the details:
Saturday Farmers Market in Hartsdale
Hartsdale Farmers market is opening in front of the train station. The Greenburgh Town Board voted on a resolution that authorized an agreement with Joseph Katona of Satori Unlimited LLC to operate a Hartsdale Farmers Market adjacent to the Hartsdale train station building within a sectioned off portion of the town’s right of way on Saturdays from September 6, 2025, through November 27, 2025 from 8 AM to 3 PM. The market begins this Saturday, September 6, 2025.
Indoor Pickleball –at the Picklr
A new indoor pickleball business proposed on Central Avenue in the vacant space formerly occupied by Buy Buy Baby at 1019 Central Park Avenue South. The large space would be retrofitted as a pickleball facility. Known as the Picklr, the space would include eight year-round use indoor courts. The proposal requires a special permit from the Greenburgh Planning Board and will be before the Board later this year. They are already accepting members. Sign up here:
Discover the Joy of Music at Hoff-Barthelson’s Fall Open House
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Hoff-Barthelson Music School invites students of all ages—from Pre-K through adults—to experience the excitement of music-making at the School’s Fall Open House on Saturday, September 6, 2025, from 1:00–4:00 pm at its Scarsdale campus, located at 25 School Lane.
Whether you’re picking up an instrument for the first time or seeking to advance your skills, the Fall Open House offers a unique opportunity to explore the breadth and excellence of Hoff-Barthelson’s programs. Participants can sample private mini-lessons, observe or join group classes, and meet the School’s world-class faculty, who bring a wealth of experience and a passion for teaching.
Attendees will have the opportunity to explore:
• First Instrument Group Classes for young beginners in violin, cello, and guitar (Grades PreK–1)
• Youth Ensembles including Junior Flutes, Percussion, and Vocal Ensembles (Grades 2–12)
• Musicianship Classes for all ages, from Pre-K to adult
• Private Mini-Lessons for all ages, from Pre-K through adults
Space is limited and advance registration is required. RSVP at https://hbms.org/event/fall-open-house/.
With a legacy of over 80 years, Hoff-Barthelson is known for its exceptional faculty, welcoming community, and comprehensive approach to music education. Don’t miss this opportunity to explore where your musical journey can begin—or grow!
About Hoff-Barthelson Music School
Hoff-Barthelson Music School, based in Scarsdale, NY, has earned national recognition as a premier community music school, known for its outstanding leadership in education, performance, and community service. With a faculty drawn from the region’s most talented teachers and performers, the School has long been one of Westchester County’s most cherished cultural resources. At Hoff-Barthelson, students find a warm, friendly music school dedicated to the highest standards of education, performance, and community service. Students of all ages, aptitudes, and levels of interest enjoy a supportive, joyful learning environment; a focus on the whole person; exceptional teaching; and a multifaceted curriculum.
Photo caption and credit: A Violin Together Class at Hoff-Barthelson Music School. Photographed by Mark Jessamy.
Graham Broyd ’s First Book Signing
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- Written by: Bill Doescher
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Graham Broyd of Scarsdale, the well-known British-American businessman, writer and athlete, is officially a big-time author now, and he initially closed the deal at a book-signing celebration among his more than 150 close friends and family at his personal invitation on his home turf last Thursday evening at the Scarsdale Golf Club (SGC), where he is the immediate past president.
In launching his new book, entitled “Backpack, Jacket, Surfboard: My Journey Across America, Then and Now,” published by Advantage Books, the most affable and entertaining Broyd, still, after all those years in America with somewhat of a slight English accent and with the crystal-clear ability to always get to the heart of the matter, was his usual calm self during his overall presentation, and answered over 20 questions from a thoroughly engaged audience.
The book reflects Graham’s life-changing journey across America then (1980) and now. It is remarkable how much Graham has remembered, including minute details, even some scary ones and potentially life-threatening events in New York City back then, to ensure that the book had a fast-paced, lively and totally interesting tone. Literally, it could have been a novel, but it isn’t.
But hold on, many of his friends, including me, arrived, 30-minutes and 60-minutes ahead of the scheduled start time of 7:15 pm in order to get a good seat at the table in time before the “Graham Showtime” started.
Nonetheless, if you really know Graham well, nobody needed to worry because Graham, a consummate planner, had everybody in a good seat, the 50-yardline variety. Indeed, everyone had a comfortable viewing perspective and could hear every word. A home run, if you will.
To make 100 percent sure, Graham had reserved three tables each for his friends at SGC and Hitchcock, two tables ticketed for his two running senior groups, one for his new-found friends at Starbucks at the Scarsdale train station, and one for his immediate family that included wife Betsy, son James and daughter Peyton, and close-family friend, Dr. John T. King, Artistic Director and Conductor of The New Choral Society and Minister of Music at Hitchcock. 
Only James dared to ask his father a question.
The book is . . .
In a press release supplied by Advantage Media, it says: “Graham Broyd retraces his solo journey across America—then and now—exploring change, purpose, and what it means to truly see yourself and the world.”
“Forty years later,” the release continues, “Graham returns to retrace his steps, revisiting the landscapes, people, memories that defined his youth. What has changed? What remains? And how does time shift our understanding of the roads we once traveled?
“Backpack, Jacket, Surfboard is a raw and humorous adventure memoir, a time capsule of 1980s America, and an unfiltered reflection on risk, nostalgia, and the unexpected turns that shape a life. It’s for anyone who has ever dreamed of throwing away the map, saying yes to the unknown, or looking back at a wild decision and thinking, ‘I’d do it all over again.’’’
An Entertaining Evening
The event last Thursday evening was indeed a wonderful and entertaining evening to enjoy to the fullest. And, Graham’s guests did exactly that and that included the food and drink he provided. For sure, no attendee no matter the age, some in their 80s and 90s, was caught napping.
Graham and has hand-picked interviewer, Betsy Hills Bush, chairwoman of the Board of Directors of the New Choral Society of Scarsdale, an alto in the Chancel Choir at the local Hitchcock Presbyterian Church, where Graham is an elder and a most active and visible member.
An Appealing Presentation 
Together, they managed to conduct an interesting, appealing, fun and warm presentation in less than two hours for the courteous and heavily engaged crowd. And, it only seemed like 45 minutes for those begging for more. It just seemed like a short and entertaining movie clip.
With the noticeable professionalism coming from Broyd and Bush and a most attentive and happy, smiling crowd, it certainly could have been a late-night entertainment television show on a major TV network. But it wasn’t.
It seemed to me personally that the “Graham Show,” was much better entertainment and more informative than some of those entertainment shows lately anyway, then and now.
Booksellers at the Ready
Graham even corralled two representatives from the local Scarsdale book store, Bronx River Books, to sell books for him at the event. His book is available there and on Amazon. com.
It seemed to me more like 190-plus folks, all the room will hold anyway to keep the fire inspectors out, and the anxious guests were in their chairs waiting for the star of the show to step-up to the microphone, and start the show. And he did, mostly on time for the recommended 7:15 start time.
Whatever the time, they all seemed prepared and interested to listen to Graham and his natural ability to weave humor and wisdom into every story he would tell. As the event proceeded, the invitees all seemed to be totally engaged and listening to their friend and his personally selected interviewer Bush.
They were eager to hear what he was going to say about his new book, “Backpack, Jacket, Surfboard,” and more. And they weren’t disappointed even though Betsy needed at times to “manage” Graham to allow for more questions.
Of the testimonials in front of his new book, I personally relate mostly to one by Nick Brown, Chairman, Hampstead Cricket Club, St. Johns Wood, London. It says: “I think it’s brilliant. I think Graham’s stories create vivid images in the mind of the reader. I love the detail, the additional history too; this makes it come alive. I felt as I journeyed across America with Graham, shared his adventures, and it deepened my connection with places I had previously visited myself.
In the same press release supplied by Advantage Media, Graham says, “When you strip life down to the essentials, you gain clarity. And with clarity comes a deep connection—to yourself, to others and to what is possible.”
And, Graham now knows for sure “with clarity” that it’s humanly possible for an international banker to become a first-rate author. Pleased with the first one, more books are forthcoming from Graham.
Summer Book Recommendations from Scarsdale Readers
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Looking for a summer read? We’ve got some suggestions– and below these find the list of the most borrowed print books, audiobooks and e-books from the Scarsdale Library.
Take a look below and send us your additions to the list in the comments section below.
Here are a few recommendations:
The Doorman - by Chris Pavone. New Yorkers’ are sure to recognize some type they know in this thriller, filled with upper class residents of an iconic Upper West Side apartment building and the doormen, drivers, nannies and assistants who serve them. Bookshop.com calls this “A pulse-pounding novel of class, privilege, sex, and murder.”
There Are Rivers in the Sky – by Elif Shafak – A complex novel that time travels from ancient Nineveh, to Charles Dickens London, and modern day Turkey, weaving together a tale connected by a single drop of water. Shafak, a Booker Prize finalist is a masterful storyteller.
The Names – by Florence Knapp, “explores the painful ripple effects of domestic abuse, the messy ties of family, and the possibilities of autonomy and healing.” Ann Napolitano, author of “Hello Beautiful,” calls the Names “a truly gorgeous, heart-opening novel. I couldn’t put it down. What a wonderful book.”
Broken Country – by Claire Leslie Hall. I was swept away by this mystery about a love triangle in Dorset, England and did not want to hit pause on the audio. Reese Witherspoon had this to say about this captivating novel: “Broken Country is an unforgettable story of love, loss, and the choices that shape our lives…but it’s also a masterfully crafted mystery that will keep you guessing until the very last page. Seriously, that ending?! I did not see it coming.”
These Summer Storms – Sarah MacLean: “Sarah MacLean’s first foray into contemporary fiction, with a sharp, sexy novel about a wealthy New England family's long-overdue reckoning with hidden desires, destructive secrets…and one week that threatens to tear them apart.”
Three Days in June – Anne Tyler. “A socially awkward mother of the bride navigates the days before and after her daughter's wedding. Told with deep sensitivity and a tart sense of humor, full of the joys and heartbreaks of love and marriage and family life, Three Days in June is a triumph for the bestselling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer at the height of her powers.”
And here’s what the library reports you are reading:
Most Borrowed Items at Scarsdale Library for 2025, so far…
Top Audiobooks
The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
The Heiress : a novel by Rachel Hawkins
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
How to sleep at night : a novel by Elizabeth Harris
Resurrection walk by Michael Connelly
The Hunter : a novel by Tana French
Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten
The personal librarian by Marie Benedict
By any other name by Jodi Picoult
Pick-up by Nora Dahlia
Top Print Books
Long Island : a novel by Colm Toibin
The Women by Kristin Hannah
Camino Ghosts by James Patterson
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness by Jonathan Haidt
Sandwich by Catherine Newman
James by Percival Everett
Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
The Blue Hour: by Paula Hawkins
Top Ebooks and eAudiobooks
All Fours by Miranda July
Broken Country by Leslie Claire Hall
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali
Audition by Katie Kitamura
James by Percival Everett
Careless People by Sarah Wynn Williams
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
Table for Two by Amor Towles
Happy reading –- and please share your book suggestions in the comments section below.
