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SCARSDALE, N.Y. The Scarsdale Teen Center drop-in program is going to be closed for a few weeks. But dont be frightened.
No. Not yet, anyway.
There will be more than enough fright to go around when the center throws open its doors to The Haunted Dungeon, a Fright Room Productions presentation, from Thursday, Oct. 27 through Monday, Oct. 31 Halloween night.
The haunted house a first for the teen center heralds a new beginning of sorts as Ellen Tiven-Moore, new executive director, takes the facility in a new direction.
"I'm really excited," Tiven-Moore said Wednesday at the center. Expect more big events and ongoing classes geared to a slightly younger crowd, she said.
Tiven-Moore has been on the job for just a month, and began by interviewing people in the community about their perception of the teen center, located in the basement at 862 Scarsdale Ave.
"Everybody said, 'I love the teen Center, but what's going on there?'" she said. Many parents of high school-age teens said they thought it was a great place, but admitted their children didn't go there.
"We were targeting the wrong age group," said the mother of two teens, ages 18 and 19. "Frankly, even maybe six years ago, high school kids would have enjoyed it. But today? They just don't like hanging out" in such a setting, she said.
The Ardsley resident has a background with children's therapy and education and most recently was a Behavioral Play Therapist for children with autistic spectrum disorders. She was also the owner and director of Circle of Friends Nursery School in Manhattan, is a graduate of Vassar College, and continues to work with children with autism.
While it is still open to all local teens enrolled in Scarsdale schools, the teen center has changed its focus to younger teens, she said. Middle-schoolers, she explained, are more drawn to the type of facility and programs the stridently anti-drug, anti-alcohol center intends to be.
"We started with a huge kickoff in Chase Park" right after schools opened in September, she said. "We had more than 200 kids show up. And we went back to the center for the after-party."
Next up is The Haunted Dungeon $5 admittance and open to the entire Westchester community. Anyone under 10 must have an adult with them.
The Haunted Dungeon will be open from 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, 7 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 28-29, 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 30, and 7 to 10 p.m. on Halloween, Monday, Oct. 31.
For more information, go to the teen center website.
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