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Rivertowns Dispatch, 145 Palisade Street, Suite 200, Dobbs Ferry, NY (2025)

01/31/2025

It’s Print Day—check your mailbox for the latest issue of the Dispatch, packed with benefit concerts for the LA fires, a Hastings alum running for Colorado governor and a useful map of parking kiosks!

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01/30/2025

We are thrilled to announce a new way to connect with the Rivertowns Dispatch: a podcast!

Hosted by Timothy Reuter, a longtime Hastings resident and experienced podcaster, the Rivertowns Dispatch Podcast dives deeper into Dispatch stories, and introduces you to the people behind the headlines. Timothy has been posing tough, thought-provoking questions to the people who make the Rivertowns tick since 2021 with the Rivertown Story Corps podcast. Now, he’s rebranding his podcast to join forces with the Dispatch.

In the first episode, Timothy chats with Ardsley Mayor Nancy Kaboolian about the state of democracy, balancing progress with tradition, and promoting change and inclusivity in today’s world.

Going forward, expect a new episode every month, each paired with a summary article in the paper. You can explore Timothy’s past and upcoming episodes at rivertownsdispatch.com/podcast

01/28/2025

The Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry is holding its first-ever, in-person jazz benefit concert in support of its continuing mission to address local hunger. The event, on Sunday, Feb. 2, will take place at South Presbyterian Church, where volunteers distribute provisions to about 100 families every week.

The food pantry has been operating from the church since 2011. Co-directors and Dobbs Ferry residents Donna Assumma and Vera Halpenny have 30 volunteers signed up to help pack and give out fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, and other products on the lawn outside the church every Wednesday, from 10:30 a.m.-noon.

“The loyalty and the dedication of our volunteers are unparalleled,” Assumma told the Dispatch. “It’s amazing. Even during these really bitter cold days, whether it’s snowing, raining, it doesn’t matter — 100-degree heat, we’re out there. Nobody gets paid. There’s no administrative overhead, so anybody who’s donating to the pantry knows it’s going to the good of the people who are in need.”

Story by Julian Caldwell

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/23/2025

The Westchester community is celebrating the life of Irvington resident Monica Getz, who helped countless victims of domestic abuse as founder of the Coalition for Family Justice. Getz, who was the former wife of the late legendary saxophonist Stan Getz, passed away on Sunday, Jan. 5, at age 90, after a battle with bile duct cancer. She had lived in the village for nearly six decades.

Monica Getz was born into Swedish aristocracy, the granddaughter of Count Eric von Rosen and a descendent of Nils Silfverskiöld, both of whom were members of prominent royal families. She met her future husband in 1954 while she was a student at Georgetown University and he was performing in a campus concert with Count Basie. They married two years later.

The couple had two children, Pamela and Nicolaus; Monica was also stepmother to Getz’s three children from a previous marriage. They divorced in the 1980s, and Stan passed away in 1991.

Story by Julian Caldwell

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/22/2025

Check out the exciting events coming up in the Rivertowns!

Dobbs Ferry:

📣 “Free for All: The Public Library”
🗓️ 01/25 @ 1 p.m.
📍 Dobbs Ferry Public Library, 55 Main St.
Advanced screening of the documentary to air on PBS in April about the pioneering women who created a civic institution
dobbsferrylibrary.org

Hastings-on-Hudson:

📣 “Gidion's Knot”
🗓️ Through 01/26
📍 , 23 Water St.
GoJo Clan Productions, the theatrical troupe of Hastings residents Albi Gorn and Robin Anne Joseph, presents Johnna Adams' play about a mother and teacher trying to understand a troubled youth after his su***de
🎭 Performances 8 p.m. Jan. 24, 3 and 8 p.m. Jan. 25, and 3 p.m. Jan. 26
💰 $25, $20 for seniors and students
gojoclanproductions.com

Irvington:

📣 Friends of the Irvington Library’s Spelling Bee
🗓️ 01/31 @ 7 p.m.
📍 Irvington Theater, 85 Main St.
💰 $15 for adults, $10 for ages 10 and under
friendsoftheirvingtonlibrary.org

Want to stay in the loop for upcoming events? Subscribe to the Dispatch at rivertownsdispatch.com/membership

01/21/2025

Hastings resident Daniel Belasco is an art historian and curator, as well as the executive director of the Al Held Foundation (Held, 1928–2005, was an American abstract painter). Belasco is also the author of the new book “Women Artists in Mid-Century America: A History in Ten Exhibitions,” which examines shows that took place between 1943-1962 at various museums and galleries. Artists featured include painters, photographers, fiber artists, welders, printmakers, and sculptors.

On Jan. 12, Belasco gave a talk at the Hastings Public Library about his book, also discussing local mid-century artists Barbara Morgan (whose son Lloyd was a Hastings resident) and Nancy Nemec. Belasco is a member of the Hastings Village Arts Commission and is on the board of the nonprofit RiverArts. Here, Belasco answers the Dispatch’s questions about art and why he chose to write about women artists in mid-century America.

Story by Janine Annett

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/18/2025

Friday has arrived, and so has the latest edition of the Dispatch! Look out for this week’s issue in your mailbox and stay informed as we head into a chilly weekend!☃️

Not subscribed yet? Subscribe at the link in our bio!🗞️

01/16/2025

With its first action as an advocacy group since forming last month, the Friends of Halsey Pond are leading a call to ban fishing at the Village-owned property. The group has presented the Irvington Board of Trustees with 111 signatures on a petition calling for the ban, stating that fishing at Halsey Pond is unsafe for the general public and wildlife. At the same time, the village board has received letters from residents who oppose the proposed ban.

Friends group member Lisa Antonelli has lived in the Legend Hollow neighborhood next to Halsey Pond since 2011 and walks the area with her dog on a daily basis. For the past decade Antonelli has lodged complaints with the parks and recreation department about improperly discarded fishing line and hooks, materials that she and other visitors found in the pond’s surrounding grass and trees.

“When she was young, my daughter got caught up in some fishing line and couldn’t move, and my dog got caught up in some line,” Antonelli explained. “They were lucky — neither was seriously hurt by the metal hooks attached to the nearly invisible fishing line.”

Story by Julian Caldwell

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/15/2025

Check out the exciting events coming up in the Rivertowns!

Ardsley

📣 Artscape Atelier Community Event
🗓️ 01/19 @ 1 p.m.
📍 500 Saw Mill River Road
Hand-build ceramic mugs to gift to women at Lifting Up Westchester, a local shelter, for Valentine’s Day
RSVP required at artscapeatelier.com

Dobbs Ferry

📣 Szabó Chamber Music Society Concert
🗓️ 01/19 @ 3 p.m.
📍 Sacred Heart Church, 417 Broadway
Internationally known Bulgarian violinist Toma lliev and harpsichordist Sándor Szabó perform works by Bach, Handel, Mozart, and Soler
💰 $20 adults, $15 seniors, $5 students

Hastings-on-Hudson

📣 Old Movie Day: “How to Marry a Millionaire”
🗓️ 01/23 @ 12:30 p.m.
📍 James Harmon Community Center, 44 Main St.

Want to stay in the loop for upcoming events? Subscribe to the Dispatch at rivertownsdispatch.com/membership

01/14/2025

REGION — The indigenous practice of “listening circles,” during which the community members sit together to discuss shared challenges, as well as teach, listen, and learn, has been around for centuries and is now being used as a tool to create a more welcoming and inclusive environment in the Town of Greenburgh.

The Greenburgh Restorative Circle Project has conducted more than a dozen listening circles over the past 18 months in an effort to engage residents to come together and talk about race relations and shared experiences. The primary goals of the circles are to promote change through civil dialogue and personal storytelling while transcending differences, and develop community recommendations to heal racial divisions within the town.

The circles were first put into practice during the summer of 2023, a collaborative effort by community organizers Colleen Brathwaite, who co-founded the Westchester Racial Equity Collaborative; Jill Sternberg of Restorative Justice Westchester (RJW); Lane Cobb of the Greenburgh Human Rights Advisory Committee; Mary Saliani from SURJ Westchester; and Annick Williams.

Story by Julie Schneyer

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/09/2025

The great-great-grandson of a legendary competitive walker takes up his ancestral activity and treads thousands of miles to connect with family in “Walker,” the debut novel from Irvington native Sam Pasternack. The book was released by Humorist Books in August 2024, and Pasternack, a 2009 graduate of Irvington High School who now lives in Los Angeles, made a book tour stop at the Irvington Public Library last month.

“It was really fun to get back to Irvington because that’s where we [he and younger brother Jesse] found the seed of the idea in the first place, hidden in the Irvington Library,” Pasternack told the Dispatch, adding that his friends’ parents, his former pediatrician, and his childhood rabbi were among the locals in attendance on Dec. 17. “The way I describe it is, it felt like my second bar mitzvah.”

Story by Julian Caldwell

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/07/2025

Check out the exciting events coming up in the Rivertowns!

Want to stay in the loop for upcoming events? Subscribe to the Dispatch at rivertownsdispatch.com/membership

Dobbs Ferry:

01/12 @ 2 p.m.
Annual Eggnog Party,
The Mead House, 12 Elm St.
The Dobbs Ferry Historical Society hosts a community gathering with eggnog, nonalcoholic beverages, and dessert.

Hastings-on-Hudson:

01/11 @ 5 p.m.
Good Witch Anniversary Party
The Good Witch Coffee Bar, 134 Southside Ave.
Celebrate with a throwback menu, live music by Joe Abba and Friends, and a cash bar.
Purchase tickets in advance at goodwitchcoffeebar.com

01/16 @ 7 p.m.
Local Luminaries: The Rivertowns Ramblers
Hastings Public Library, 7 Maple Ave.
The group plays music and talks about the origins of bluegrass or “old time” music.

Irvington:

01/12 @ 2 p.m.
Virtual Architectural History Lecture
The Irvington Historical Society presents Robert Yasinsac and Thomas Rinaldi, co-authors of “Hudson Valley Ruins: Forgotten Landmarks of an American Landscape,” to discuss bricks and brick ruins of the Hudson Valley
Registration required for the Zoom link at irvingtonhistoricalsociety.org

01/06/2025

For almost 24 hours, starting on Christmas Eve, a sprinkler system rupture in the attic caused water to pour through the ceilings, floors, and walls of the Farragut Wing of Farragut Middle School, which is part of the Farragut Complex.

The subsequent damage to all three floors of the wing will require months of restoration during which middle school classes (grades 5-8) will be held in other parts of the Farragut Complex, which includes Hastings High School.

The incident happened during the school district’s two-week holiday recess. The schools were scheduled to reopen on Monday, Jan. 6. Instead, elementary and high school students will return on Jan. 7, followed by middle school students on Jan. 8.

Story by Tim Lamorte

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

01/03/2025

The first Friday of 2025 is officially here! After a short break, print day is back.

It’s the perfect weekend to unwind with the latest issue of the Dispatch.

Not subscribed yet? Subscribe at the link in our bio!

01/01/2025

Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey—let’s make this year one to remember, one story at a time!

Happy New Year from your favorite source for local news!

12/31/2024

Inside the rotunda at Mercy University, surrounded by portraits of the school’s past presidents, the first Black woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court was the center of attention on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 15.

By 2 p.m., hundreds of people had filled the rotunda for a program with 54-year-old Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed the 116th justice of the court in 2022. The court was established in 1789.

Most attendees, who had to register in advance, received signed copies of Jackson’s memoir, “Lovely One,” which Random House released on Sept. 3, and which the New York Times Book Review listed among its “100 Notable Books of 2024.” Following a welcome by Mercy president Susan Parish, Jackson read from the preface of the 432-page book, the title of which is the meaning of her first and middle names (Ketanji Onyika).

Story by Tim Lamorte

For the full story, click the link in our bio!

12/20/2024

Wishing you and your loved ones all the joy of the holiday season.

Thank you for your support in 2024 to bring back local news to the Rivertowns.

Not subscribed to the Dispatch yet? Don’t miss a 2025 headline.

Subscribe now by clicking the link in our bio.

12/19/2024

Check out the Menorah Lightings coming up in the Rivertowns!

Ardsley:

12/26 @ 7 p.m.
Legion Park, at the intersection of Ashford Ave. and Saw Mill River Road

Dobbs Ferry:

12/26 @ 6 p.m.
Intersection of Main and Cedar streets

Hastings-on-Hudson:

12/26 @ 5 p.m.
VFW Plaza

Irvington:

12/29 @ 5 p.m.
In front of the fire station

Rivertowns Dispatch