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On The Record: Gone But Not Forgotten
Gym teachers retire after four decades of friendship
Good morning subscribers. ☕This is your Wednesday, July 9, Rye Record newsletter, curating some of the latest headlines across the city of Rye.
Today’s Weather Channel local forecast calls for partly cloudy skies and a high of 87 degrees ⛅Check out the forecast for the rest of the week here.
Bonds of a lifetime. Jean Romano and Mary Henwood, close friends who began their careers together as Rye school gym teachers, closed out their careers together as well when they retired last month.
Romano, 61, a lifelong Rye resident who graduated from Rye High School in 1981, plans to embrace “the freedom of unstructured days.”
“The goal is to take this fitness watch off and have no more schedules or bells and to enjoy the rest of my life,” she said.
Henwood, also 61, started working in Rye in 1986, around the same time as Romano, also is planning to start a new chapter.
“A knock on my dorm door changed my life,” she recalled. “My mom was on the hall phone and shared the exciting news that the Rye City School District wanted to interview me for a physical education position. I was over the moon.”
She was “just trying to find a teaching job and Rye happened to be the district that called and offered.”
After almost four decades, both have coached and taught dozens of students whose own children they coached on various teams and were their students — turning back-to-school nights into reunions for graduates of the ’80s and ’90s.
To read Zoe Loizeaux’s full article, click here
Mary Henwood and Jean Romano, pictured in 2024, left, and 1993.
-Today’s newsletter is curated by Christian Falcone
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-The train station coffee shop has reopened and it’s ready to rave.
IN OTHER NEWS
Call it karma. Harrison Mayor Richard Dionisio was trounced in a GOP primary after being highly criticized for his role in steering a 2023 zoning change that paved the way for a controversial development proposal in a flood plain near Rye. -David Hessekiel
Get your popcorn. The public hearing over Con Edison’s proposed rate hikes is schedule for 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. today the Westchester County Center in White Plains. -Camille Botello
Put on ice. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested an undocumented man with a criminal conviction in Mamaroneck on Friday, the Mamaroneck Police Department confirmed. -Rosie Newmark and ET Rodriguez
AROUND TOWN
-Six girls from Girl Scout Troop 2375 earned bronze medals this month for building a helpful footbridge at The Bird Homestead property on Milton Road. The girls — Kate MacVicar, Alice Tisdale, Nadia Skumpija, Penny Bourassa, Lauren Parish and Violet Johnston — earned their medals and received their badges and certificates in a ceremony at The Homestead. -Cassandra Spiss
-The month Walter’s, the iconic Mamaroneck hot dog stand, is serving up an exclusive Shortcake CrazyShake this month. The limited edition delicacy consists of a strawberry shake with a vanilla frosted rim, served with crumbled cake, and topped with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar, pink and white twisty pop, whipped cream, strawberry drizzle, and topped with a cherry. -Jeanne Muchnick
Off the Record: Immigration and Custo
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NEWS
The black bear that Harrison police killed was deemed appropriate by the Westchester DA.
The Westchester DA’s office dropped its investigation into a Harrison police officer’s controversial killing of a black bear that had been wandering through the town last month, but recently released body cam video of the incident is sparking new questions.
“The Westchester DA’s Office has looked into the facts and circumstances surrounding this incident and has determined that no further action by our office is warranted under the laws of New York State,” a spokesperson told The Record.
The DA did not provide any further information about the fatal June 8 shooting in Harrison.
-by Mayra Kalaora
An Acura flipped over on July 4 after the driving, who received a DWI, lost control of the vehicle.
POLICE
Fireworks weren’t the only loud blasts that rang out in Rye on the Fourth of July.
An allegedly drunk White Plains teenager flipped his car full of passengers and alcohol over, landing on its roof in a dangerous daytime scene that unfolded on Boston Post Road Friday, according to police.
Jamal Abdul Razak, 19, was driving a 2010 Acura MDX north on Boston Post Road, according to police, when he said he swerved to avoid running over an animal. In doing so, police said Razak hit the curb causing him to briefly struggle to control the vehicle before flipping it over.
-by Record staff
ARTS
The Botanical Garden in The Bronx is running a summer exhibit on famed artist Vincent Van Gogh’s love of flowers.
Whether you’re a lifelong admirer of Vincent Van Gogh or just someone who appreciates the charm of a sunflower, the New York Botanical Garden’s summer exhibit is worth the 27-minute drive from Rye.
Now through October 26, “Van Gogh’s Flowers” invites visitors to step into the world of one of history’s most beloved artists, where paintings blossom into gardens and sculptures bloom like brushstrokes come to life.
-by Laura Schiller
Playland has opened nine additional rides at the historic amusement park.
NEWS
About a month after Rye Playland opened with two-thirds of its rides shuttered, Westchester County is touting its continued rollout of more rides this week, as well as food vendors, entertainment, and expanded hours at the park.
Peter Tartaglia, the county parks department’s deputy commissioner, confirmed in a press conference Monday that 22 rides are now up-and-running at Playland — up from the 13 that were operable during the Memorial Day opening weekend.
“What a difference a month makes when you can have so much help and support from a very functioning Westchester County,” Tartaglia said during Monday’s press conference.
-by Camille Botello