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Follow on Google News | Updating a 106-year-old legend: New Rochelle to Broadway Just 30-minutes! Happy Birthday George M!In 1906, George M. Cohan wrote a musical tribute to New Rochelle, NY, "45-minutes to Broadway." But the show's signature song is overdue for an update. It's a quick 30-minute ride to Grand Central and another 5 to the legend's Times Square statue.
By Rob Seitz “Later on in the program we’re going to hear from our old friend, Derek Bermel.” As the host of WNYC’s “New Sounds” radio show made casual reference to this world-class composer, clarinetist, conductor and New Rochelle native, my fond memories of the Glenwood Lake neighborhood in New Rochelle, where Bermel grew up and where I lived for a decade, got my creative juices flowing. After securing a real estate listing for a Glenwood Lake house for sale, I decided to write this article on what I consider to be one of the best neighborhoods in New Rochelle in which to live. It is conveniently located in the heart of the city yet on the border of Pelham, making it a very easy and pleasant walk to the Pelham train station. It also has easy access to the Hutch and I-95. But what other factors, besides a property’s location, catch the attention of potential buyers? On most buyers’ short list is price, schools, condition of the house, its size, and people. People? As a Realtor, I can’t steer buyers to or from a house based on the demographics of its neighborhood. I can wax on about the house’s price, its four bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths, its renovated kitchen, its many new appliances, its spotless, move-in condition, and the mini nature preserve from which the neighborhood derives its name. The lake is a magnet for a wide-assortment of ducks, herons, the occasional swan or two, and many other birds. I remember the residents of Glenwood Lake as friendly and involved with their neighbors’ lives without being in their face. They are concerned about issues that will impact not only their property value but that of all of the local community. For example, the Clark sisters moved to Glenwood Lake with their parents in 1956. They were already both working professionals, Audrey, now 86, was a social worker; Geraldine, now 85, worked as a librarian. Their memories of Glenwood Lake over the years are fond and their desire to remain active in the community is unfaltering. During a recent visit with them, I learned things about the neighborhood that I never knew, even though I served as the neighborhood association president for two years. For example, Glenwood Lake was once home to two giant families in retailing, the Altmans and the Wannamakers. -more- “Great Neighborhoods: The sisters recalled a time when they could see the lake from their Lincoln Ave. backyard. First settled in the 1920s, the neighborhood has since built up to about 300 houses of mostly Normandy Tutors, English cottages and center hall colonials. Their home is an interesting blend of formal furnishings and eclectic art. Whether it’s their delicate antique settee decorated with gold leaf or their collection of African, African American, European, American and Caribbean artwork, the Clarks can quickly and fondly recall how each piece of furniture, knickknack, or piece of art came into their possession. The neighborhood’ Growing up in an apartment a few blocks south of here, Glenwood Lake was always on the radar screen of Joanne Starapoli. “I was in awe of the architecture,” Now 27-years later, she reflects that “My life in the neighborhood hasn’t changed because my neighbors haven’t change. Its greatest strength, for me, is the people. The people I am involved with here share the same feelings about wanting to live in a neighborhood that has a history of accepting all people. My neighbors are as close to me as my family. I know that whatever I need I can get from my neighbors.” Starapoli goes so far as to say that Glenwood Lake residents “get a better feel of what the world is all about from living here.” Newcomer Becky Miller agrees. She moved here five years ago from a small country town in Central New York, one of the more homogenous regions of New York State. Now, she says, her best friends are her neighbors and they are from every walk of life, ethnic group and spiritual orientation. Echoing Starapoli, Miller says the neighborhood’ Preserving the architectural character of the neighborhood is a passion of another neighborhood veteran and the immediate past-president of the neighborhood association, Don Swanson. “We looked at more than 60 houses in Westchester, most had been remodeled,” practically a four-letter word for this conservationist at The Frick Collection museum in New York. “This was about the only house we saw that has all the bones there. It was designed by a Madison Ave architect as his home.” Over the years, Swanson and his wife have lovingly preserved or restored as much of the house’s architectural detail as possible, from its slate roof to its original leaded glass casement windows. Swanson echoes the same sentiment of his neighbors. “Its greatest selling point is the families, historically strong families who have worked together regardless of their diversity.” In the 1970s, there was discussion about tearing down what is now the neighborhood’ # # Rob Seitz is a real estate agent with Stetson Real Estate in Mamaroneck , as well as a freelance writer and public relations consultant. He welcomes recommendations of other New Rochelle neighborhoods to profile. Contact him at rseitz@stetsonrealestate.com End
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