Sound Shore

On March 6, the Jewish Studies Program at Purchase College SUNY will present Israeli filmmaker Avner Faingulernt who will discuss and screen portions of his riveting films “War Matador” and “Fishermen’s Diary.”

“War Matador” explores the curious phenomenon of “war tourism” which flourished during the 2009 conflict that took place on the Israeli-Gaza border.  People from all over the region swarmed to the border to observe the shelling of Gaza.

Faingulernt’s 2005 film, “Fishermen’s Diary: Men on the Edge,” will also be partially screened.  It  tells the story of four fishermen – two Israelis and two Palestinians – who work together on a small beach wedged between Israel and Gaza, and how they form a delicate working relationship despite political tensions.

“Bringing huge, seemingly intractable issues to an interpersonal level is an essential step in addressing conflict. It makes the complexity understandable,” said Christopher Robbins, an Art & Design School professor at Purchase College whose work includes think tanks working in Israel, the Gaza Strip, Serbia and Kosovo.

Rye Country Day School held its annual Festival Chorus Concert Sunday with 175 voices and a full orchestra at Purchase College Performing Arts Center.

The 17th annual concert was titled “I’ll Fly Away.” The chorus performed quite a range of music: the Fauré Requiem, Beethoven’s Hallelujah from Christ on the Mount of Olives, and some traditional folk tunes, backed by a Bluegrass band. The Festival Chorus features the Upper School Concert Choir and a choir of alumni, current and past parents, faculty, and friends.

(Photo: Todd Shapera Photography)

The New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is doing his part to help the Harrison Public Library.

Girardi, a former Yankee catcher, will be signing autographs and taking pictures with fans and library supporters from noon to 1 p.m. Sunday at the library, 2 Bruce Ave.

The fundraiser has two parts:

• An MVP reception which includes two guest passes for $225. This portion is from noon to 12:20 p.m.


• An autograph session from 12:20 to 1 p.m., where Girardi will sign a card or photo for $35, a baseball or bat for $50 and a uniform or other item for $100.

I was over at Purchase College’s Performing Arts Center today as contestants rehearsed for the Miss New York USA pageant this weekend. Runway coach Lu Sierra was giving pointers to the sash-wearing teens and women: Smile! Don’t rush the lady in front of you! Don’t run, Tribeca, don’t run!”

I spoke with Laura Hajek, whose video for a “people’s choice” award is going viral, and posted this on LoHud.com:

With her own viral video and a comedic take on beauty pageants, contestant Laura Hajek seems to embody the personality of this weekend’s Miss New York pageant at Purchase College.

Hajek is a Purchase College literature student who loves Dante, Chaucer and the Beat poets. She entered the pageant on a lark and made the video over Christmas break with friends in her hometown of Glens Falls. In the clip, puppet Sheldon Crest interviews Hajek as she shamelessly plugs New York, dressed in sash and tiara.

“This has been outrageously fun,” she said from a seat inside the Performing Arts Center as fellow contestants clicked across the stage in heels Friday in a practice for the swimsuit competition. “I feel like all of the cells in my body are moving at once.”

John Gitlitz is being honored Wednesday with a Martin Luther King Jr. award for his efforts in Mamaroneck, helping to address the clash over immigrant laborers and their right to seek work from street corners. He is a familiar face locally on the board of the Hispanic Resource Center, which it established a dedicated hiring site for laborers in the wake of a federal lawsuit. In speaking to him this month I learned about Gitlitz’s primary pursuit over the years—to research and document a complex issue of conflict and justice in rural Peru.

Gitlitz is an associate professor of Latin American studies, immigration and human rights at Purchase College. In northern Peru, he explained, cattle are essentially a family’s bank account, an asset that can be sold for cash in case of emergency. Theft of cattle, therefore, is a serious threat. After a wave of cattle rustling in the ‘70s, peasants, facing inaction by police and an ineffective legal structure, organized their own system of justice—“the Peruvian equivalent of the Guardian Angels.” By 2000 there were 250,000 people involved in the patrols, he said.

Gitlitz is researching this alternative system of justice and the political and legal arguments over it. The issue intersects with human rights, indigenous rights, the exploitation of natural resources, and other areas of tension. He spoke recently at a gathering attended by Peruvian government officials on this issue of “informal justice.”

“It’s a small issue, but for a lot of people, an important one,” he said.

To explore his experiences in Peru – legal issues, profiles, patron saint festivals and the culinary use of guinea pigs – see his blog, Wandering the Andes.

The public is invited to spend part of New Year’s Day with their newly elected officials.

The installation ceremony will be held at Town Hall, 1 Heineman Place, at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 1.

Ron Belmont will be sworn in as the next mayor/supervisor of Harrison.

Stephen Malfitano and Fred Sciliano will be sworn in as councilmen/trustees.

Town Clerk Jackie Greer will take the oath of office as well, and so will town justices Nelson Canter and Marc Lust.

The second round of Harrison’s budget hearing will continue tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m.

Two weeks ago the meeting grew contentious, and Republicans cut back most of the raises for department directors which were proposed by outgoing Supervisor Joan Walsh, a Democrat.

With these latest amendments, the raises reflect a 3 percent increase in the new year – which is consistent with what their staffs get through union contracts.

The positions and their salaries (what was proposed by Walsh and what it was cut back to by Republicans) are as follows: (more…)

HARRISON — Over the objections of Supervisor Joan Walsh,Town Board Republicans  town voted to cut the proposed salary increases of local department directors.
The measure, which Walsh said she didn’t know about until minutes before Thursday’s budget hearing, was passed by the board’s 3-2 Republican majority.
The move saved about $39,000 from Walsh’s plan, which totalled $54,778,411. It cuts her proposed 4.254 percent tax rate increase down to 4.201 percent — a difference Wash said was negligable.
“The raises are well-warranted,” she said. “It would not have affected a resident.”

On Saturday Dec. 3, Harrison music teacher Cris Spinner, along with the Harrison High School PTA, is sponsoring the fifth annual “Voices Heard” concert to raise money for Autism Speaks.  

The concert will be held at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at 7:30 p.m.

“It is so exciting to have everyone involved,” Spinner said. “At the high school, students involved in our IB and GO programs are designing flyers, programs and working with town business to sponsor the show.”

Harrison Central School District teachers are a key element to the show. In addition to Spinner, who taught at Harrison Avenue Elementary for over 20 years and is now at LMK, the program includes fellow HAS teachers Kristina-Marie Cascone, Regina Singel, and Clancy Tager. Additional performers are long time professional colleagues and friends of Spinner.

As the parent of an autistic child, she knows firsthand the struggles parents face. She is proud that her son is now in his third year at Harrison High School and marvels at the support they both receive from students, teachers, administrators and community members.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without the amazing support of our Harrison community,” she said.

The West Harrison Neighborhood Association is holding its annual tree lighting ceremony tomorrow night at 7:30 at Taylor Square in West Harrison.
Also, at 7 p.m. Saturday there will be a musical program at Harrison High School with proceeds going to support Autism. Adults and Children are welcomed.