Remembering Jessie Ann Cashen, January 6, 1937 - November 2, 2024
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Jessie “Ann” Cashen died of natural causes on November 2, 2024, at her home in Lenox, Massachusetts. She was 87 years old.
Ann was a natural connector for her community and her family. She always had a smile for everyone and wanted others to feel included and loved. She strived to fill life with warmth and laughter and make her friends and family feel special and understood. It always felt like she was focused in on you, with laser-beam attention. She was a person with an optimistic outlook, and her enthusiastic energy was contagious.
The second of four children born to Mary and Robert MacLeod, Ann grew up in Washington, D.C. She graduated with honors from Western High School and then traveled by train to Ithaca, NY, to attend Cornell University. She majored in psychology and also enjoyed studying art history, literature and music appreciation. She was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority. During her senior year, she met Tony Cashen, and they married shortly after graduation.
The early years of Ann’s marriage were spent relocating multiple times for Tony’s career and starting a family. Three daughters, Ann, Sally and Linda, arrived in relatively quick succession. By the time the family got to Scarsdale, NY, Ann was ready to settle in and become part of the community. For the next 40-plus years, Ann was happy to call Scarsdale home, becoming involved with community activities and finding a spiritual home at St. James the Less Episcopal Church.
Ann loved helping children learn. She worked as the Nursery School Director at St. James the Less for about 10 years. During this time, she went back to school, receiving her master’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Manhattanville College. After her divorce she courageously forged a new path as a single mother, working for several years at a public relations company in New York City. She also worked as a real estate agent in Scarsdale, helping many new families settle into the area. Later, she pursued advanced studies in information technology. She retired as database manager for Mamiya America, importer of professional photography equipment.
Ann loved being involved with her community. At St. James the Less, she served on the vestry and the Altar Guild, also taking stints as a Sunday School teacher, greeter, and, for many years, rummage sale coordinator. Later she helped others feel at ease as a front desk greeter at Phelps Hospital and an ESL tutor in Tarrytown.
For the last five years of her life, Ann lived at Kimball Farms, a retirement community in Lenox, Massachusetts. She loved living in the Berkshires, with its forested hills and quaint villages and towns. As chair of Kimball Farms’ trips committee, she organized outings to local sights, like the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown and Mount Greylock Reservation, the highest point in Massachusetts. On summer Saturday mornings, you could find her at Tanglewood, listening in on rehearsals of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Ann was an influential force for her five grandchildren, sharing her love of reading, history, and travel with them. She took each grandchild on a special Wyoming trip to a destination of their choice when they reached the age of ten. The Alaskan wilderness, the islands and waters of Hawaii, a dude ranch in Colorado, baseball parks of California and Arizona, and a Disney cruise in Florida were all explored in this special way. Her family meant so much to her.
Ann’s family celebrated her life at a private gathering on November 29. A funeral service and interment of ashes will be held at St. James the Less in spring 2025. Donations in her memory can be made to the National Parks Foundation or Tanglewood.
Democrats Honor Former District Leader Henry Neale
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- Written by: Myra Saul and Michelle Sterling
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On November 21, 2024, the Scarsdale Democratic Town Committee honored Henry Neale, its former chair and District Leader.
Henry is a true son of Westchester and Scarsdale, as he was born in White Plains Hospital and grew up here in Scarsdale and attended Scarsdale public schools. Henry recently moved to Sleepy Hollow.
Henry not only ran the Committee, he has had a keen interest in public policy. He ran for Assembly in 1982, a tough year for Democrats and lost. In 1991, then chair of the Scarsdale League of Women Voters Amy Paulin started a fight to keep the town of Scarsdale in one district. Henry helped in the effort by bringing a successful redistricting lawsuit for a client in Greenburgh, which in turn set a legal precedent helping to ensure that Scarsdale would not be divided between two county legislative districts on the County Board of Legislators. He was the driving force for the adoption of a resolution by the Westchester County Democratic Committee which criticized then President George W. Bush’s invasion of Iraq, a controversial call at the time.
Henry’s true love is the environment, including public parks and open spaces--way before these causes were topics of wider public discussion. Henry was Chair of the County Parks, Recreation and Conservation Board and is currently a member. He also serves as a Trustee of the Westchester Parks Foundation. Henry has been active in the Environmental Planning Lobby and headed the activist forces that led to New York’s “Bottle Bill”. He also took a principled stand against County Executive O’Rourke, when Henry was the Chair of the Westchester County Environmental Management Council. Henry criticized O’Rourke’s proposed plan to use park land for non-park purposes. O’Rourke subsequently dropped Henry from the Council. Because Henry had publicly spoken out, O’Rourke eventually backed down.
Neale has many admirers.
Henry has also been involved with and a supporter of Hour Children, a group that keeps mothers incarcerated in the Bedford Hills and Taconic Correctional Facilities connected with their children by facilitating family visits in positive settings. Henry has been ahead of his time in promoting family cohesion between these mothers and their children.
Neale Displays a Proclamation from the office of State Senator Shelley Mayer.
At the party, County Executive George Latimer, State Senator Shelley Mayer, Assemblywoman Amy Paulin’s office and Westchester Legislator Ben Boykin saluted Henry with their remarks and delivered to him citations in his honor.
A Proclamation from the office of Amy Paulin, Neale and Michelle Sterling
Neale with County Legislator Ben Boykin 
Mondaire Jones with Michelle Lichtenberg
Neale cuts the cake with BK Munguia
A Salute to the Veterans of Scarsdale
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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Scarsdale honored the bravery and sacrifice of those who have served in our armed forces on Veteran’s Day, Monday November 11, 2024. The morning started with speeches, followed by a parade through the streets of the Village.
On hand were Mayor Justin Arest, representatives from the Scarsdale Board of Trustees, Village Manager Alex Marshall, the American Legion, Scarsdale’s Girl Scouts, Scarsdale’s Boy Scouts, the Scarsdale Fire Department, the Scarsdale Police Department and many Scarsdale residents who attended to express their gratitude to our veterans.
Photo Credit: Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez
Photo by Mayra Kirkendall Rodriguez
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Troop 4 Scouts, Christian Kirkendall-Rodriguez and Jason Ren and the scouts participated in the parade.
Photo gallery by Michelle Sterling:
In Support of Garrett Capobianco for CNC
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- Written by: Joanne Wallenstein
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The following letter was submitted by Victoria Capobianco in support of her father for election to the Citizens Nominating Committee.
It’s late on a Tuesday evening and I’m leaving work. Worn out and drawn long, I eagerly anticipate speaking with my Dad as I drive back to my apartment. After discussing work, studies, and recent global events, I ask him about home and his running for a position on the Citizens Nominating Committee (CNC). He fittingly said, “From a place of profound gratitude, I am humbled by the opportunity to continue to serve our community in a new role, as a member of the CNC representing Greenacres.”
Please permit me this opportunity to tell you a little bit about a man whose head and heart have always been filled with service— a man who I call “Dad”
My dad, Garrett Capobianco, is a 53-year-native of Scarsdale, NY and has sought out ways to serve his community throughout his life. His commitment to service was instilled to him by his experiences in the scouts as a young adult and was further cultivated in his 11 years as a member of Scarsdale Volunteer Fire Company 1, an organization which he joined while attending Scarsdale Senior High School at just 18-years-old. My dad would go on to serve as Volunteer Membership Chair from 1987-1992, increasing company membership to the maximum allowed by charter. From 1991-1995, he was Volunteer Lieutenant and later promoted to Volunteer Captain, serving from 1995-1997.
After earning his Bachelor of Business Administration in Banking and Finance from The Frank G. Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University in 1989, my Dad worked as a loan officer for the Bank of New York Mortgage Company from 1990-1993, earning the title of Assistant Sales Manager in 1992 at just 26-years-old. Throughout his work as a loan officer, he continued to be invested in his contributions as a volunteer Scarsdale firefighter, and although he experienced much success in his position at the Bank of New York Mortgage Company, he felt a deeper calling to service. In 1997, my Dad graduated from the Westchester County Career Fire Chiefs Firefighters Academy Class 1-97, and became a career firefighter for The Village of Scarsdale– the very same town in which he grew up. He served on the letter committee as the Letter Chair & Corresponding Secretary from 1998-2003 for the International Association of Firefighters Local 1394 and as union secretary from 2001-2014. In 2014, he was elected to a two-year term as union president by his department. Throughout this 21-year career, he received many Line of Duty Commendations for his exceptional work and dedication to public service.
He has said that it “takes a village to raise a child. I was raised in this Village and with this Village I have raised two children.” Of all of the titles and positions he has dutifully fulfilled throughout his lifetime, my Dad assigns the highest priority and pride to his role as a single father to two children– Christian and Victoria. Our Dad raised us in the Scarsdale School System, where both my brother and I attended and graduated from Greenacres. While we learned and grew at Greenacres, our Dad was heavily involved in the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) for many years and served as Safety Advisor in this position– a role that proved evermore critical in the wake of the Sandy Hook tragedy. I can recall our Dad attending almost all of our field trips and the playground frequently filled with vibrant, new equipment. It would not be until I grew up that I realized these happy experiences were, in part, the results of Dad’s commitment to the PTA.
In 2015, Garrett joined The Rotary International Club of Scarsdale, NY, and has been a dedicated member ever since. Following his retirement from career firefighting, he became President of the club for the 2020-2021 Rotary year. Charged with transitioning the club from in-person to virtual meetings, Garrett was greatly adaptive in his role and integral to the success of the club throughout the pandemic. In recognition of his service to the club and his community, Garrett was awarded the title of Paul Harris Fellow in 2021. As his role in Rotary continues to expand, he endeavors to live his life by the Rotary International Four Way Test:
Of the things we think, say, and do;
Is it the truth?
Is it fair to all concerned?
Will it build goodwill and better friendships?
Is it beneficial to all concerned?
He currently serves as President of the Scarsdale Rotary Foundation, a position which he has fulfilled since 2021. I am filled with excitement to witness how his role in service to the community will continue to grow.
Service is at the core of all my Dad strives to do in his life. In this new role as a representative for Greenacres of the CNC, he brings intellectual humility, profound empathy for others, dedication to “service above self” and an unparalleled appreciation for his village and those in it. My Dad deeply understands what it means to be a member of this community having been raised himself, attended school, worked, raised kids, served and resided in Scarsdale. To this role on the CNC, he also brings with him the capacity to advocate, earning significant experience in this skill as Union President of Local 1394 and later as the President of the Rotary Club of Scarsdale, NY. Throughout his many positions in service to the community, my Dad has worked with a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures and personalities. From these many experiences and relationships, he has developed true cultural competency, and intellectual humility– he embodies what it means to value the nuances of other perspectives and to be a team player. With your support and vote for my Dad, I am confident that Greenacres would be well represented on the CNC. He is greatly privileged and humbled by the opportunity to serve Scarsdale in this new capacity. I am proud to call him “Dad”.
Please cast your vote on Tuesday, November 12th at the Scarsdale Public Library from the hours of 7:00 AM to 10:00 AM and 2:00PM to 9:00PM.
With great respect and appreciation,
Victoria Capobianco
SHS ‘20
toricapo15@gmail.com
Broken Voting Machines and a Dispute About Campaigining on Election Day
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In the run-up to this pivotal election we have heard so much about the potential for fraud and the disenfranchisement of voters. Though many are concerned about the security of the election in other states, most of us assumed that voting in our small Village would be routine.
However, this was not the case on election morning at three Scarsdale polling sites where broken voting machines and a dispute over signs disrupted the vote.
What happened? At the Heathcote School a voter reported that he showed up to vote just after 6 am, the voting machine for his district was broken. (There are four districts in Heathcote and just one machine was broken.)
Eric Schnipper said, “A staff member stated that he was going to report it but had no idea when the Board of Elections would arrive to repair the machines. They went into election day knowing that one of the machines was broken but were surprised that the other machine was broken as well. When I initially voted by affidavit my ballot was placed on the floor and when I protested the lack of security of this ("We have to put it there for now so we can process other voters") it was then placed in an intended envelope which the staff did not seem to know how to open initially. The level of unpreparedness for an event such as this was astounding and I felt disenfranchised.”
Schnipper continued, “I reported this online and have already spoken to someone from the NY State Attorney General's office. Additionally, this story has been picked up by multiple sources on X/Twitter and has been widely disseminated.”
A Quaker Ridge woman had a similar experience. Though the voting machines were initially working, when she went to cast her vote at 8:40 am the voting machine for her district, which is one of two districts, was also broken.
What to do? She was told to fold her ballot and put it into a red bag that would be sealed and brought to the Board of Elections to be tabulated. She left there with the uneasy feeling that her vote would not counted.
There were also reports that one of the two voting machines at the Edgewood School was broken on election day morning.
By 10:30 am the machines had been fixed. It should be noted that the voting machines are supplied by the Westchester County Board of elections who runs the election, not the Village of Scarsdale.
Advocacy
Problems have also emerged with advocates for Proposition 1 who were disseminating literature and speaking to voters outside the polls. NYS law permits signs at polling places if they are 100 feet from the door.
Th school district received a complaint about the advocates near the Heathcote School and the Superintendent was called. Citing a policy that bars advertising near the schools during school hours Superintendent Andrew Patrick said they would have to leave the property.
The question is, when school is not in session and the school is serving as a polling place, do school rules prevail for political activity?
