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Neighbors
More Than $50,000 Raised For Family Of Westchester Basketball Star More Than $50,000 Raised For Family Of Westchester Basketball Star
More Than $50,000 Raised For Family Of Westchester Basketball Star PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. -- Jon Lieb has witnessed firsthand how the Pleasantville community has come together to support the family of Quentin Lupo. Lupo, a Pleasantville High School senior, who starred on the Pleasantville Panthers basketball team, was found dead Wednesday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Lieb set up a GoFundMe to raise money for the Lupo family.  In four days, 457 people have donated $51,000. The initial goal was to raise $10,000 to cover funeral expenses. "The response has been overwhelming," Lieb said. "We knew we lived in a tight-knit loving community.&qu…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Actor Returns To Scene Of Crime In New Movie Filmed In Mount Vernon Actor Returns To Scene Of Crime In New Movie Filmed In Mount Vernon
Actor Returns To Scene Of Crime In New Movie Filmed In Mount Vernon NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. -- John Palomino admits that for most of his life, he was ashamed and embarrassed to talk about his father, who committed suicide when he was 6-years-old. And so, the New Rochelle native put his efforts into a movie that deals with the topic. "Man of the House," premiering at the Pelham Picture House Saturday, May 6, was filmed in and around New Rochelle and Mount Vernon, with nods to Mamaroneck, to mirror exactly what happened to him 24 years ago.  "The script and casting were important, but the areas we shot in were just as important or even more so,"…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
What Your Neighbors Think: Mount Vernon's Favorite Places For Good Eats What Your Neighbors Think: Mount Vernon's Favorite Places For Good Eats
What Your Neighbors Think: Mount Vernon's Favorite Places For Good Eats MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- Looking for some good eats in Mount Vernon? Look no further. Here are the three favorite places to grab some grub in the area, according to Yelp. Chalanas  Where: 105 W Lincoln Ave. Phone: (914) 699-9200 Hours: Mon.-Sun. 5:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.  What People Are Saying:  ''This place is amazing! Really a hidden gem compared to other expensive and commercialized Brazilian steakhouses. The meat is absolutely delicious. The caipirinhas are awesome. And the price is unbeatable. It's a feel good, casual place where you get up and serve yourself. Someone comes around for drin…

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by Tea Zagorscak
Neighbors
Mount Vernon Native Recognized With YMCA Black Achievement Award Mount Vernon Native Recognized With YMCA Black Achievement Award
Mount Vernon Native Recognized With YMCA Black Achievement Award MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- A longtime Con Edison manager from Mount Vernon has earned a prestigious recognition from the YMCA for her contributions to the energy company. Michelle Anderson-Loague, a section manager in Facilities & Field Services, is a 2017 winner of the YMCA National Black Achievers in Industry Award. "I've been lucky to work on projects with great, talented colleagues," she said. “I hope my work has contributed to our providing the best service possible for our customers.” Anderson-Loague, who works out of Con Edison’s  headquarters in Rye, is working on several l…

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by Daily Voice
Neighbors
Westchester College Lecturer Wins Pulitzer Prize Westchester College Lecturer Wins Pulitzer Prize
Westchester College Lecturer Wins Pulitzer Prize PURCHASE, N.Y. -- Du Yun, a lecturer in the School of the Arts at Purchase College, SUNY, has been awarded a Pulitzer Prize in music for Angel's Bone, her groundbreaking operatic work about human trafficking. The Pulitzer jury described it as a “bold operatic work that integrates vocal and instrumental elements and a wide range of styles into a harrowing allegory for human trafficking in the modern world.” The piece was first produced at the Protoype Festival, 3LD Arts and Technology Center in New York City in January 2016 and includes a libretto by Royce Vavrek. Du Yun, who is known for h…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Scarsdale Widower Turns Grief Into Action Scarsdale Widower Turns Grief Into Action
Scarsdale Widower Turns Grief Into Action SCARSDALE, N.Y. -- Scott Hirsh, a Scarsdale resident, wants to make sure no family ever has to go through what his just did. Hirsh recently lost his wife Michelle to pancreatic cancer. In her honor, Hirsh will be participating in the Westchester Pancreatic Cancer Research Walk on Sunday, April 23 at Rye Playland Park to benefit the Lustgarten Foundation. Pancreatic cancer is the deadliest of all major cancers. The survival rate is only eight percent. Michelle battled pancreatic cancer for 30 months. Despite her diagnosis, she maintained a positive attitude, Hirsh said.  "She taught u…

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by Sam Barron
Neighbors
Westchester Mom Takes A Stand On Facebook To Help Syrian Refugees Westchester Mom Takes A Stand On Facebook To Help Syrian Refugees
Westchester Mom Takes A Stand On Facebook To Help Syrian Refugees YONKERS, N.Y. -- Amber Lewis has never been to Syria or had any prior personal connections to its people but, as a humanitarian  -- and a mom -- she felt she could no longer sit idly by.  And so, in late December 2016, the Yonkers resident made a post in a Facebook Mom's group proposing small but positive actions to combat the horrific images coming out of this Middle Eastern country. In 48 hours, she went from zero to 500 members. And, at her first meeting in January, she had formed an army of 1,000 people acting under the name Greater NYC Families for Syria (GNYC4Syria).  The non-partisa…

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Mount Vernon Sports Underdome Hosts Charity Middle School Lacrosse Tourney Mount Vernon Sports Underdome Hosts Charity Middle School Lacrosse Tourney
Mount Vernon Sports Underdome Hosts Charity Middle School Lacrosse Tourney NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - A pair of well-intentioned New Rochelle teenagers from the Albert Leonard Middle School took to the field for a charitable cause at the second annual Be a Good Cookie Lacrosse Tournament. This week,  Sam Rosenberg and Evan Phillips, both 13, raised more than $12,000 for children’s cancer research after organizing the tournament as part of their mitzvah project in celebration of their upcoming Bar Mitzvah. Hundreds of families filled the Sports Underdome in Mount Vernon during the two-day tournament, where 15 teams comprised entirely of middle school students from the lo…

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by Zak Failla
Neighbors
19-Year-Old Westchester Singer Alleviates 'Doubts' With New Hit Single 19-Year-Old Westchester Singer Alleviates 'Doubts' With New Hit Single
19-Year-Old Westchester Singer Alleviates 'Doubts' With New Hit Single HASTINGS-ON-HUDSON, N.Y. -- Caleb Flood can’t remember a time in his life where he wasn’t fascinated by music. As a toddler, the Hastings resident would put on performances for his family and beat on a drum set made of pots and pans. He started taking piano at five but by eight had moved onto the guitar.  Now, you can find the 19-year-old traveling the world belting out original songs and playing a range of instruments, including the guitar, piano, bass, and drums. (He can also play ukulele, harmonica, and a few other random instruments.)  If you're a WXPK ("The Peak") listener, …

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by Jeanne Muchnick
Neighbors
Westchester Organization Seeks Music Instrument Donations Westchester Organization Seeks Music Instrument Donations
Westchester Organization Seeks Music Instrument Donations MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. – The Guidance Center of Westchester is looking for musical instruments for a program that already benefits more than 150 local adults suffering with mental illness. The instruments are for new music courses that are part of the agency’s PROS (Personalized Recovery-Oriented Services) program, a rehabilitation effort designed to allow people with mental illness to achieve life goals through treatment, according to a statement from the agency. Music courses are just some of many offered with the PROS program, according to agency officials, who said other skills such as goal…

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by James O'Rourke
Neighbors
Mount Vernon's Foundations in Feelings Wins Award Mount Vernon's Foundations in Feelings Wins Award
Mount Vernon's Foundations in Feelings Wins Award MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. -- Foundations in Feelings, an early childhood program of the Guidance Center of Westchester, is being honored as Program of the Year by the Westchester Division of the New York State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday at  5:30 p.m. at the Women’s Club of White Plains; it's at 305 Ridgeway, White Plains. Foundations in Feelings is an innovative approach for addressing the social-emotional development needs of very young children while ensuring that no child is expelled from a childcare program due to beh…

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by Ken Davis
Neighbors
Veteran Westchester Lawyer Robert Spolzino Joins New Firm Veteran Westchester Lawyer Robert Spolzino Joins New Firm
Veteran Westchester Lawyer Robert Spolzino Joins New Firm WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. -- Veteran Westchester lawyer and judge Robert A. Spolzino has joined the Yonkers law firm of Smith, Buss & Jacobs LLP. Spolzino, a former board chairman at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, got his undergraduate’s degree from Georgetown University and his law degree from St. John’s School of Law. Spolzino was formerly a partner at the law firm of Wilson Elser Moskowitz & Dicker in White Plains. During an eight-year hiatus from Wilson Elser, he was a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, and served five years as a Justice of the Appellate…

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by Carol Reif