Local Moves: Josh Ringel Accepts Position in Briarcliff Manor, Greenburgh Police Chief to Take Top Job in Larchmont
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Josh RingelFormer Scarsdale Village employee Josh Ringel has been named the top Village Administrator in Briarcliff Manor. Ringel worked as the Assistant to the Village Manager in Scarsdale from 2015-2019 and left to accept a position as Assistant Village Administrator in Tarrytown in July 2019. Now just a little more than two years later, he will take on the top job in Briarcliff Manor.
Josh Ringel is a life-long resident of Westchester County, and spent his formative years in Hastings-on-Hudson. He is a graduate of the University of Albany, where he earned his B.A. in Public Policy and his Master’s in Public Administration at the Rockefeller School of Government. As Assistant to the Village Manager in Scarsdale, he played a key role in village operations including grant administration, traffic safety, improving parking management, planning and managing special events, and much more.
Greenburgh Police Chris McNerney will step down to become the new Chief of Police of the Larchmont Police Department. McNerney has been with 
Chris McNerneythe Greenburgh Police Department since 2013 with an intervening stint at the Westchester County DA’s office.
McNenery left the department in July 2019 to take a job with the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office as their Chief Criminal Investigator. However he returned to Greenburgh in July 2020 when Chief Ryan announced his retirement. In a statement about his decision to leave for Larchmont, McNerney said he never intended to return to Greenburgh for the long term.
Jury Finds Bronx Woman Guilty Of Burglarizing Homes Targeted Because Families Were At Funerals
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Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that after a week-long trial, a jury on Thursday found Bronx resident Latonia Stewart guilty of burglarizing six homes of families she targeted because they were attending funeral services of loved ones between 2017 and 2018.
Stewart, 30, was found guilty on October 14, 2021, of six counts of Burglary in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of Stolen Property in the Fourth Degree, both felonies. Stewart faces a sentence range from a minimum of 3 1/2 years to a maximum of 15 years in a state prison on each burglary count.
Between December 2017 and May 2018, Stewart burglarized the homes of six Westchester County residents in Cortlandt, Greenburgh, Ossining, Rye Brook, Scarsdale, and Tarrytown who were out of the house attending their spouse’s wake or funeral service. Stewart targeted the homes after searching through obituaries online. Jewelry, watches, silverware and other valuables were stolen. Stewart used a sledge hammer to break windows and glass doors to gain entry into certain homes, and caused further damage to the homes once inside.
On May 1, 2018, Greenburgh Police arrested Stewart after observing her driving away from the home of a deceased person with jewelry in the vehicle and the website with an obituary pulled up on her cellphone. Following her arrest, police recovered more stolen items and burglar’s tools in her car and at her Bronx residence.
The Greenburgh Police Department and the District Attorney’s Office investigated the case, with assistance from the New York State Police, Greenwich Police Department, Ossining Police Department, Rye Brook Police Department, Scarsdale Police Department, and Tarrytown Police Department.
“It is absolutely appalling that people mourning the loss of a loved one were specifically targeted and taken advantage of in such a cruel and heinous manner,” DA Rocah said. “I commend the great work of my team, the Greenburgh Police Department, and the other law enforcement partners who handled this case, and I hope that this verdict brings some measure of comfort to the victims.”
The case is before Judge David Zuckerman in Westchester County Court and is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Stefanie DeNise and Assistant District Attorney Michelle Calvi. Stewart is scheduled to be sentenced on November 22, 2021.
Scarsdale Family Counseling Service and Drug and Alcohol Task Force Awarded $125,000 Grant
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The Scarsdale Drug & Alcohol Task Force (DATF) and Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service (SFCS) have been awarded the Drug Free Communities (DFC) grant by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The $125,000 DFC grant is renewable annually over five years for a total of $625,000. DATF was one of only 52 new recipients nationwide to be awarded in this grant cycle.
The DFC Support Program is the nation’s leading effort to mobilize communities to prevent youth substance use. The program provides grants to community coalitions to strengthen the infrastructure among local partners, to create and to sustain a reduction in local youth substance use. “The grant was a result of the collective planning efforts by DATF and multi-sector partnerships within the Scarsdale community. The DFC program will provide DATF the resources and strategic framework to implement local solutions to local problems in our prevention efforts,” said Jay Genova, Executive Director of SFCS which will serve as the fiscal agent for the grant.
“We know that evidence-based prevention efforts are the most effective way to reduce youth substance use and to support youth who do not use drugs. The DATF will continue to mobilize partners from across the community with the common goal of advocating for positive change and implementing environmental prevention strategies that reduce youth initiation and use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs,” said Wendy Gendel, DATF Chairperson.
About Scarsdale Drug & Alcohol Task Force (DATF)
The DATF is a community coalition dedicated to reducing underage use of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs that negatively impact the health of our youth. Since its founding in 1984, the DATF has worked to convene all sectors of our community to create positive change for our young people. In July 2015, Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service (SFCS), an accredited family service agency, assumed the role of Lead Agency and Fiscal Agent for the DATF.
To learn more, visit www.ScarsdaleDATF.org or contact Lisa Tomeny at DATFScarsdale@gmail.com.
What Can You Do To Decrease Your Risk Of Getting Breast Cancer?
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Adding a light touch to a serious topic, Dara Gruenberg, Vice Chair of the White Plains Hospital Foundation Board, invited the community to a panel discussion with breast cancer experts by asking them to “Learn More About Your Boobies and Other Bits.” The event was held in the dining tent in Scarsdale Village on Wednesday night October 6 and though temperatures outside had cooled, the atmosphere under the tent was surprisingly warm and lively.
As host of the discussion, Gruenberg continued to use humor to enliven the session with panelists Dr. Preya Ananthakrishnan, Director of Breast Surgery at White Plains Hospital; Dr. Pamela Weber, Director of Imaging at the White Plains Hospital Imaging and Dr. Sara Sadan, Section Chief for the Department of Medical Oncology and the Director for Breast and Women’s Cancers at White Plains Hospital.
The event was inspired by Marcy Berman-Goldstein and Abbey Solomon who run the popular Scarsdale boutique I Am More Scarsdale, which operates as a philanthropic business, with ownership foregoing a salary to donate profits to the organizations it supports. Berman-Goldstein is a board certified radiologist so the topic of breast health is near and dear to her heart.
Goldstein explained, “The breast cancer event started out as an intimate gathering of 15 women inside I Am More 4 years ago with the group discussion led by Pam Weber. We are so excited to be here with Dr Weber this evening, along with her colleagues, and appreciate your support in raising funds to provide mammograms for uninsured, underserved women in Westchester County.”
The doctors shared their perspectives on screening and treating patients and offered some eye opening information on prevention, though as Dr. Sadan said, “Things just happen – there are things we can affect and things we cannot affect.”
Gruenberg noted that the two main risk factors for breast cancer are being born female and getting older. So what to do?
Dr. Preya Ananthakrishnan explained that breast tissue is fatty tissue. She said, “Under the microscope it looks like a bunch of grapes, a system of ducts. Breast cancer is abnormal growth inside the ducts.” Though risk does rise with age, so does the capability of imaging to detect more.
Are mammograms necessary? Dr. Weber gave an emphatic yes. She said, “ We recommend a baseline mammogram at age 35 and if 
that’s okay, you do not need to come back until you’re 40. After that we recommend annual mammograms. If you have a family history, we start monitoring at 10 years before the age your relative was diagnosed.”
Dr. Preya (as she is sometimes called) added, “Family history is just one factor. Sometimes we recommend genetic testing to see if people have an increased risk.”
What about dense breasts? Though patients often here that dense breast tissue makes the imaging harder to read, dense breasts are not more prone to cancer than less dense breasts. So don’t fret if you hear that.
“What about mammography,” Gruenberg asked. “Have there been any new developments to make the process more comfortable for women?”
Dr. Weber responded, “As of now- not yet! Nothing can replace mammography. Other tests like a cat scan will expose you to more radiation.” She recommended that patients ask for 3D mammography if your doctor has that equipment.
What else is new? Dr. Preya said that advances in medicine have reduced over-treatment. “We can pick and choose who needs what treatment.” In general the trend is toward a “de-escalation” in the use of radiation, chemotherapy and drugs.
What can women do to reduce their risk? As one in eight women will get breast cancer during their lifetime, the doctors recommended doing what you can to beat the odds.
They all agreed that women should avoid processed foods and reduce intake of meats or dairy that contain hormones. Obesity is another risk factor, especially for those with a BMI of 25-30. What else? Birth control pills increase estrogen and increase your risk as does hair dye.
Dr. Sadan recommended exercising 30 minutes per session, five times per week and elicited groans when she said that any alcohol consumption increases cancer risk – even a single glass a night with dinner. How depressing is that?
I was enjoying a glass of rose supplied by Zachys and savored my last sip, thinking I would never enjoy a guilt-free glass again.
It was informative evening—even if it did deal with a topic I try to avoid.
Assemblymember Amy Paulin and State Legislators from 45 States File Amicus Brief Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Roe v. Wade
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Amy Paulin in White PlainsNY State Assemblymember and Scarsdale resident Amy Paulin was among almost 900 state legislators from 45 states who appealed to the Supreme Court to uphold Roe v. Wade and reject Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban, a direct attack on legalized abortions in the U.S.
The brief was filed by the State Innovation Exchange, a progressive legislation advocacy group, in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
The brief argues that the Supreme Court has a responsibility to uphold the legal precedents set by Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey — the two main decisions that legalized abortion in the United States — which they maintain provide pregnant women the constitutional right to choose whether to continue a pregnancy free from state interference.
In a statement on the brief, Paulin said, “Forty-eight years ago, in the landmark case of Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court legalized abortion across the US, ruling that women have a constitutional right to the procedure during their first trimester of pregnancy. The Supreme Court revisited and modified Roe's legal rulings in its 1992 decision Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In Casey, the Court reaffirmed Roe's holding that a woman's right to choose to have an abortion is constitutionally protected, but abandoned Roe's trimester framework in favor of a standard based on fetal viability. Now we have states challenging these rulings and half-century of precedent. The Mississippi law bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with limited exceptions, and the Texas law bans abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy – even in instances of rape or incest.
While the Supreme Court didn’t rule on the merits of the Texas law, five of the nine justices have permitted it to go into effect – which has now left women in Texas with no options for the procedure. The consequences this will have on women’s health, safety and rights is devastating.
Equally frightening, both for women and our democracy, is that the Texas law turns every citizen of Texas into a possible vigilante to pursue others who support abortion rights. This type of vigilante justice feels to me like we are turning the clock back much further than a half-decade.
The current situation underscores how extreme positions now control our nation’s judicial levers of power and are allowing states to create laws not previously considered possible. We have to take a stand and make our positions known – and as an elected representative and legislator it is even more imperative for me to speak out. We have a chance to affect change in the Mississippi case which will be heard this fall. That is why I have signed on to the amicus brief filed this week which opposes the constitutionality of the Mississippi anti-abortion law. I will not sit by as justice for women, and our democracy, gets trampled on.”
