Photos from the Neighborhood
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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It was a lively week around town. Here are some photos we received from our readers:
About 150 dogs enjoyed a dog swim at the Greenburgh Town Pool on September 8. Photo Credit: Paul Feiner
Firefighters at a Popham Road house fire on September 8. Photo Credit: Jon Thaler
A fire drill at Scarsdale High School brought everyone outside on September 9, 2024. Photo Credit: Marcy Engel.
Roses still in bloom: Photo Credit: Shelley Grafstein
An empty nest for those who just sent their kids off to college. Photo Credit: Shelley Grafstein
Fishman and Nehmad Dodge a Hurricane to Marry in Bridgehampton
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Adrienne Fishman and Michael Nehmad were married at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club on August 10, 2024.The Hamptons met Hawaii at the wedding of Scarsdale’s Adrienne Fishman and Honolulu’s Michael Nehmad on Saturday night August 10 at the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club in Bridgehampton NY.
The couple had planned a three-day celebration, with friends and family travelling from far and wide. But with Hurricane Debby threatening to hit the area that weekend, they spent a tense week beforehand monitoring three weather apps for the hour by hour forecast.
Somehow fortune shone upon them and they ended up with three beautiful days for a rehearsal dinner on the bay, a wedding on the beach and a pool party to cap off the weekend.
The couple had mastered logistical challenges early in their relationship, when the groom was working in San Francisco and the bride was committed to living in New York. They spent a year flying cross country for visits before Michael, who works in strategy at the autonomous car company Zoox, applied to work remotely so that he could join Adrienne in Greenwich Village.
On a trip to Mallorca last summer, Michael proposed and the wedding planning began. Should they get married in Oahu, New York City or Long Island? All plans were vetted and debated. Michael, a graduate of Punahou School (2010), Stanford University and Stanford Business School has friends from all corners of the globe. Adrienne is an Engineering Manager with BuzzFeed and a graduate of Scarsdale High School (2010) and Cornell University. Her friends live closer to home.
Ultimately, Michael’s parents, Deborah and Robert Nehmad flew in from Hawaii to host the wedding with Adrienne’s parents, Glenn and Joanne Fishman of Scarsdale and Watermill. The florist decorated with birds of paradise, protea and orchids to give the party a tropical feel and balmy temperatures and the pounding of the surf added to the Hawaiian vibe.
The ceremony was officiated by the bride’s older brother, Robert Fishman, an SHS grad, who masterfully wove together the history of the two families. Libby Kurzner, age 4 and Emilia Kurzner, age 2, the daughters of Julia Fishman and Jonathan Kurzner, also from Scarsdale, served as flower girls. Julia and Jonathan were married on the same beach seven years before.
The couple are honeymooning in Spain and Italy and will return to live and work in New York in September.
(Email us your life cycle announcements to post at scarsdalecomments@gmail.com)
Joyous Celebrations at Greenacres and Heathcote
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The Greenacres Class of 2024 held its Moving Up Ceremony on June 20, 2024. The joyous celebration began with the Fifth Graders singing the School Song, followed by welcome remarks from Principal Sharon Hill. Each student was individually acknowledged and handed a certificate from the Fifth Grade Teachers - Mr. Guski, Mrs. McCarren and Mr. DeStefano. Dr. Blackhurst, Mr. Orengo and Ms. Leviatin, music teachers at the school, performed “In My Life” by the Beatles and the Fifth Graders sang “Defining Moment” by Pink Zebra.
Abby Englander, Sloane Allen, Maria Porto de Gomide de Faria, Marin Treanor, Avery Weppner, Kristel Oliva, Milly Pearson, Camryn Galeon and Evelyn Goldberg.Assistant Principal Sharon De Lorenzo continued the long-standing tradition of acknowledging families whose last child was graduating from Greenacres, and the Paulie Jimenez Award, which is presented to two students who go above and beyond in displaying kindness and inclusivity, was given to Maya Lall and Ezra Green. The students and their families enjoyed a video montage, which highlighted photographs of their classmates through the years and brought smiles to all in attendance. Before the Fifth Grade students left the ceremony, they received a gift of an SMS sweatshirt, which most put on while taking pictures outside with family and friends. Congratulations to the Class of 2024.
Jeremy Lam and Phoebe Chesler
Heathcote Elementary School
On the very warm, sunny morning of June 21, two classes of Heathcote fifth graders had their moving-up ceremony in the school's auditorium. The fifth graders sang a few songs including Yellow Submarine (with special Heathcote lyrics), Follow Your Heart and We Are The Future led by music teacher, Ms Bescherer. Principal, Maria Stile gave her message of appreciation to the Heathcote Class of 2024. Each of the fifth grade teachers presented certificates to their respective classes: Mrs. Cooper and Mrs. Edwards. It was a celebratory experience for all. Congratulations to the Heathcote Class of 2024! Now onto Scarsdale Middle School!
Spivack Braun Is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut’s New VP of Philanthropy
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Connecticut recently welcomed the new Vice President of Philanthropy to the team. Sheryl Spivack Braun, originally from Scarsdale, New York and now a Hartford resident, started her position on June 24.
Spivack Braun has extensive experience in nonprofit fundraising that will help BBBS of CT continue its mission of creating one-to-one mentorships between at-risk youth and adult mentors in the state. Most recently, she was the Director of Corporate and Community Partnerships for Hartford Hospital and Charlotte Hungerford Hospital. She engaged in similar work as the Director, Corporate & Community Engagement for the Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as Director of Making Strides Against Breast Cancer for the American Cancer Society.
Spivack Braun said, “I am thrilled to be able to combine my passion for improving the lives of children, regardless of their zip codes, to help them reach their highest potential with my desire to connect people, corporations and communities.”
In her new position as BBBS of CT’s Vice President of Philanthropy, Spivack Braun will engage and cultivate relationships with donors of the agency’s programs and be beneficial to the agency’s efforts in serving more Connecticut children in the coming years.
“I’m excited to welcome someone with Sheryl’s experience and community commitment to our team and have no doubt that she will be a boon to our efforts to serve more children in the coming years,” said Andy Fleishmann, BBBS of CT President and CEO.
Anyone interested in donating to support BBBS of CT’s mission of connecting youth in need with caring adult mentors throughout Connecticut are encouraged to reach out to Spivack Braun by emailing sherylb@ctbigs.org or visiting www.CTBigs.org.
Zoe Greenberg Publishes a Fantasy Novel
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While most of us have trouble gathering our thoughts for an essay, SHS Junior Zoe Greenberg just published a fantasy novel – and illustrated it too! She stopped by, just before finals, to discuss her book, Vie, that is now available on Amazon.
What inspired you to write and illustrate a book? Did it begin with the plot or your artwork?
I’ve always wanted to be an author– it’s been the plan since elementary school. There were a few gap years when I was convinced I wanted to be a roller coaster engineer, but after taking some high school math classes, I’m firmly back to my writing roots.
The story of how Vie itself came about is interesting, though. It was right after Covid, and my mom had forced me to go with her to the Brooklyn Museum. Now, in a typical 8th-grade angsty fashion, I was moping around and acting like she’d just done something horrible– like, she just told me she was sending me off to Alcatraz, or something. But, while I was there, I saw a sculpture. It was of a tree, and embedded in that tree was a piano, which played entirely on its own. Of course, the piano was automated– it was one of those things you sometimes see in hotel or movie-theater lobbies. But as I was looking at it– and I stood looking at it for a while, while my mom was desperately trying to move on to the next room. I wondered, “what kind of invisible creature would play that piano?” And somewhere along the way, that character became Hehma, and the story grew from there.
In regard to whether the art or plot came first, it was pretty simultaneous. I came home that day with character-creation in mind and started drafting my first drawings of Hehma. I moved on from character to character until I had a full cast of people– thinking up what sorts of characters they would be, drawing them, changing them a bit, renaming them. The two processes were intertwined.
How did you go about getting the book published? How did you produce it?
It was surprisingly easy. There’s this platform on Amazon called “Kindle Direct Publishing,” and if you make an account, you can publish basically anything (for free!). I’m pretty sure the books are printed on demand– so they don’t have inventory ready, they just make a new book every time someone orders one. So, it doesn’t cost me any money. Amazon takes a big cut of my profits. Which is sad, but fair.
Would you call it a graphic novel? Who are some other authors who you admire in this genre?
I wouldn’t say it’s a graphic novel. It’s a fantasy novel. Most of the book is just strict writing. But there are a few illustrations here and there—there’s 11 of them, including the front-cover and the map.
There are a whole bunch of authors whose work influenced my book. My biggest influence is J.R.R Tolkien, simply because he invented the fantasy genre as we know it today. I also adored (and still adore) Harry Potter as a kid. It was truly all I thought about for a good three years of my life, which is probably a little concerning, but it’s too late to ruminate on that now. It was the series that really made me realize that I wanted to write fantasy, too. Other than those two, I also loved Ransom Riggs’ Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson. I also take a lot of inspiration from movies and television, especially Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli movies, like My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko’s Avatar the Last Airbender.
Who do you envision as the target audience or readers of your book?
I might be a little biased as the author, but I feel like my book could appeal to anyone. I mean– if you’re 7 months old and don’t understand English yet, then that’s a different story. But I’ve shown my book to people of all ages (my age, 20s, 50s, 80s) and they’ve all really enjoyed it. Or, at least, they told me they did– so I’m just gonna choose to trust them. I would say it’s probably best suited for older elementary school kids to younger high school kids, but it’s certainly not restricted to them.
Explain the title.
I can’t say too much without spoiling the book, but I will say that the name Vie (pronounced Vee, like how the francophones say it) belongs to a “lost spirit of mortality” that the main character, Lucia, is tasked with finding. Which isn’t ideal for Lucia, because she has a very shoddy understanding of what’s going on most of the time. But she’s trying her best, so I suppose that counts for something.
Are you promoting it?
I am! I’ve been making videos on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube Shorts (those who are familiar with YouTube Shorts know that that’s a pretty desperate resort but I gotta do what I gotta do, so oh well). I will say, the marketing has probably been the hardest part of the whole process, both because I enjoy it the least and because it’s really difficult to truly catch someone’s eye and get them interested in what I have to offer– interested enough to spend their money on it. But I’m trying my best and hoping that my book, if not taking off on social media, will do its own rounds by ear and recommendation from those who’ve already read it!
Do you plan to continue to study art/writing in the future?
I do. Being an author is definitely Plan A for me. I would talk about my Plan B’s, but I feel like having a Plan B in the first place usually undermines Plan A, so I’ll just leave it at that– my goal is to make a living off of my writing!
Tell us about yourself.
Well, other than my writing and art, I’m a big animal-lover. I have two cats, a crested gecko, and was a volunteer at the Greenburgh Nature Center (until school got in the way– but I’m planning on returning soon!) I also really love video games– to my fellow video game lovers, God of War Ragnarok, Baldur’s Gate 3, Undertale, Assassins Creed Odyssey, and Minecraft are my favorites. I have two older brothers (23 and 26), one of whom spends most of his time showing me old YouTube videos from 2006, and the other coming into my room, throwing random objects onto my floor, and then leaving. And I love to read, which I think goes without saying. My recent favorite (other than Harry Potter) is As I Lay Dying, for my fellow Faulkner fans!
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