Running can be a lonely sport—just you, the pavement and your mp3 player.

But if it’s the company of other runners you prefer, the Bedford Road Runners Club offers that, and a spring schedule of runs over the unique terrain and scenic beauty of Bedford that makes running here a joy, say members.

“I love the trails, the dirt roads and exploring the incredible surroundings in this area,” says Lucia Chapman, a resident of Bedford and member of the club since it was founded in 2003.

The spring season is underway for the local club that makes it possible for runners to gather—non-competitively—with a group of like-minded enthusiasts on weekend mornings or afternoons, for a three-to-five-mile run.

On Sunday, April 10, at 8:30 a.m., the “Mianus River Gorge Run” will be held on a dirt road loop near the gorge. It will be about 4.7 miles in length and although individual runners vary, club founder Jamie Coleman says the pace range is usually a nine-to-ten minute mile.

This chapter of the Road Runners Club of America was established by Coleman, a Bedford resident and runner, who thought the running experience that this area provides was worth sharing.

“As members, we rotate who host runs—basically they share their favorite routes and broaden the horizons of all the runners,” Coleman says.  “I thought it would be a great idea to have an area club that could take advantage of the beauty of Bedford and Pound Ridge.”

He says that the BRRC is open to everyone and besides the benefit of getting fit, it also provides camaraderie and support. Chapman, a triathlete and mother of three who has also completed the Boston and New York City marathons, agrees.

“The club has such a great variety of runs and you go out on these great trails and dirt roads with people you might not normally get to know,” she said. Her favorite route? “It’s the ‘Summer Solstice’ run at the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, on June 23. We run about three to five miles and then friends and family come to hang out in the shelter area. It’s a lot of fun.”

The “Captain Lawrence Run,” a five-miler that will take place on May 21, goes through the stunning Rockefeller State Preserve in Pocantico Hills.  Organizers call it the Captain Lawrence Run, however, because it will likely include a post-run stop at the popular microbrewery in Pleasantville.

The current president of the Bedford Road Runners Club, Susie Danziger, encourages anyone who loves running and wants to have a more social experience to join the group, which currently has about twenty members.

“There are people of different ages and levels—it is relaxed and fun, you just get hooked,” she says.

To join the Bedford Road Runners Club, send an e-mail to: Bedfordroadrunners@gmail.com . Annual fees are $30.00 and you can click here for the full schedule.  

After hosting a successful women’s networking event two years in a row, Mary Ricci decided to take it a step further. 

She said it is her unwavering belief that young, aspiring entrepreneurs need better access to advice from seasoned professionals within their field. That’s why Ricci launched the Women Promoting Women’s Mentoring Program for Young Women in Business.

According to Ricci, the new mentoring program—officially launched earlier this month—will match local high school and college-age women entrepreneurs or business-oriented students with successful women business owners from Bedford and Katonah. 

The goal is to “educate, encourage and inspire them” through the mentoring relationship, said Ricci.

Among the established business owners who have already agreed to become mentors are Christine Salazar of Happiness Is catering services, Tatianna Ferraro, an artist, Geri Brewster, a holistic nutritionist, Ellen Fisher of College 4 U consulting and counseling services, author Debra Battermann, Julie Vosler, faux painter, and Danielle Ricci, a performance artist and model.

Ricci was motivated to create the program based on her own difficult experience making it in business without contacts or support.  

“My mom wanted to be a dress designer and she was so talented, but we lived in South Bend, Indiana, and back then women didn’t pursue these things without help,” she said. “She had no one to encourage her.” 

When Ricci was just 13 years old, her mother died. The fact that her mom never realized her dream left a lasting impression on Ricci.

“I always thought what a shame that she died without reaching her potential. What if someone told my mom not to give up, or advised her to enter competitions, or directed her to go to Chicago?”

Ricci moved to New York and went on to study interior design and then began working as a designer after graduation. But after a nightmarish experience with her first client, Ricci made the decision to stop working and focus on her family here in Katonah.

Then three years ago, Frank Oliveri of Katonah Paint and Hardware encouraged Ricci to start her own business as a color and design consultant.  “Frank became my mentor.  He told me after seeing what I did for friends, I should do it for real.”

And he gave her tips on getting started, Ricci remembered. “I was 51 years old. What if I had a mentor when I first started off?”

Beginning this month, Ricci plans to bring her program into the local schools, with a goal of having mentors and aspiring entrepreneurs matched up and in the field by June.

Dr. Christopher Griffin, director of counseling for John Jay High School, said that while he has not yet spoken with Ricci about the program, the concept of providing mentoring opportunities for high school women interested in business is unique and could provide valuable opportunities for John Jay students.

“Any opportunity to engage students in experiential learning such as mentoring and internships is usually extremely valuable. While we do have internship components included in some of our business courses, we do not have a business mentoring program and we don’t have anything which specifically promotes women’s entrepreneurship,” Griffin said.

Similarly, Joy Rosenzweig, Associate Director of the Women’s Enterprise Development Center said that this mentoring program seems unlike any of the services provided by WEDC and could be used to complement its programs.

Based in White Plains, WEDC provides vital business counseling and training for women business owners, including a 15-week entrepreneurial training program, a peer exchange program, one-on-one counseling, networking opportunities, and information on gaining access to capital.  Most recently WEDC launched a microloan program providing some clients with $500 to $50,000 small business loans. microloans for their small business.

“We do training, but I think young women need both the training and the support. This mentoring component might be a great supplement to our programs,” Rosenzweig said.

 

If you are a high school or college-aged aspiring entrepreneur interested in being mentored, or if you are seasoned woman business owners interested in becoming a business mentor, contact Mary Ricci at (917)833-0886. 

 

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The weekend’s almost here! No plans yet? No worries. We’ve got you covered.

Second Annual Run for The Hills

When & Where:  Saturday, April 2, 8:30am, beginning at the Bedford Hills Train Depot

Why Go:  Coordinated by the Bedford Hills Neighborhood Association, this 5K run celebrates the lovely hamlet of Bedford Hills and also will benefit the Community Center of Northern Westchester, with organizers collecting rice and pasta on the day of the race.  Read more about the neat new timing system, where each runner will get a chip that uniquely identifies them as they pass mile-markers.

Price: Runners and walkers (no strollers) may pre-register for $20 at ACTIVE.com or the morning of event at 8 a.m. for $25.

Annie

When and Where: Saturday, April 3, 1:00pm at the Yorktown Stage, 1974 Commerce St, Yorktown Heights

Why Go:  A classic production of this family favorite will entertain all ages—and there is no need to travel far. A few local children are are part of the cast, too.

Price: Adults $26, Yorktown residents $24, Seniors and students $21, Children under 12 $19

 

Zumbathon “Party Hearty” Charity Event

When and Where: Saturday, April 2 at the Melrose School in Brewster, NY from 9:30am-11am

Why Go:  Have lots of fun with top Zumba instructors in a heart-pumping workout. Ticket sales will benefit the American Heart Association and bring awareness to living a heart-healthy lifestyle.  

Price:  $15.00 in advance or $25.00 at the door

 

Open House—Free Art Day at the Katonah Art Center

When and Where: Sunday, April 3 from 12:00m-3:00pm at the Katonah Art Center, 131 Bedford Rd, Katonah

Why Go: Check out all different kinds of art: drawing (from a model in costume), painting, pottery, sculpture, animation, cartooning, crafts and music.There will be workshops, tours, on-site instruction and staff will be there to answer questions about classes and camps. Refreshments will be served.

Price:  Free and no registration is required

 

A Woman’s Work is Never Done

When and Where:  Sunday, April 3 from 1:00-3:00pm at Muscoot Farm

Why Go: To take a break from our high-tech world and step back in time. Visitors can experience what household chores that were once part of every homemaker’s daily routine were like during the early 1900s.

Price:  Free

 

“Tiger Mom” Amy Chua and bestselling author Jed Rubenfeld to speak

When and Where:  Sunday, April 3, 5:00pm, at the New Canaan Library in the Lamb Room

Why Go:  To see the husband and wife authors, each talented writers. Amy Chua, who has received plenty of press around “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” and Jed Rubenfeld, bestselling author of “The Interpretation of Murder” will be presenting their books and entertaining your questions.

Price:  Free

 

Family Day at the Katonah Museum of Art

When and Where: Sunday, April 3 from 1:00-4:00 at the Katonah Museum of Art

Why Go:  The museum invites families and visitors of all ages to enjoy an afternoon of abstract exploration. Children will delight in artful, mark-making activities; learn about the art on-view in Drawn/Taped/Burned: Abstraction on Paper; and meet author/illustrator Peter H. Reynolds via Skype.

Price:  Free/members; $5/non-members (ages 3 and up)

 

Boz Scaggs – Spring Gala

When and Where: Sunday, April 3 at 7:00pm at The Tarrytown Music Hall

Why Go: An old favorite, Grammy award-winner Boz Scaggs is performing in Tarrytown.He first gained fame in the 1970s with several Top 20 hits including “Lowdown,” “Lido Shuffle,” “What Can I Say” and “We’re All Alone.”

Price: Tickets start at $50.00

 

Editor’s note: We’ve merged our Grab & Go Kid’s Planner and our Get Out Planner, into the Weekend Planner column. We’ll feature a mix of kid-friendly ideas in with a few for the grown-ups too. Post your events to Patch and they just may end up featured in our planner, to run every Thursday morning.

The brown paper taken down two days ago has revealed a handsome new wine shop, The Finer Winer, set to open in Katonah next week.

If you’ve been wondering, as I have, what’s been going on behind the sealed windows the last few months, the answer is the most prominent feature of the store—handmade cabinetry, constructed from Washington redwood, lines both walls and fills the center of the room, ready to be stocked with wine and spirits.

“We’ve been building it for the last four months right here in the store,” said Dino Turchioe, co-owner of the store. Turchioe designed the wine shelving and he and his partner, Fabio Ricci, completed the installation.

In addition to being a wine enthusiast—as his business card describes him—Turchioe has had a varied career including owning a construction company and a wireless deer fencing company. Ricci has restaurant experience and formerly owned the Carvel ice cream shop in Bedford Hills. The two men live in Valahalla and their children grew up together.  

When asked why Bedford needed another wine shop, with Fountainhead and Katonah Wines nearby, Turchio said their approach is personal and they were committed to the community.

“We’re here for at least 15 years, so we want people to like us and trust us,” he said. “We think our presentation is different.”

Floor-to-ceiling murals of wine landscapes set off walls painted burgundy and white. Five flat-screen televisions broadcast soft music and images from vineyards in France; Turchioe said that he’d vary the video selections to feature different growers from around the world with whom he works.

A wet bar with two sinks and a refrigerator is set up in the back of the store. The owners plan to host wine tastings and classes, taught by sommelier Lawrence La Manna.

Turchioe said their inventory would include a global selection of wines plus spirits.

“Some new retailers purchase a database to open a store—we’ve tasted and hand-selected over 900 wines to sell,” he said.

While they don’t plan to specialize in any one region, he said he thinks New York wines are underappreciated and plans to have a solid representation of state wines and local scotches.

“New world” wines will be featured on the northern wall and “old world” wines will fill the center of the store. Selections will be available at all price points, said Ricci. “We know the $10 to $20 range is popular so we’ll have plenty of brands there, like Blackstone,” he said. “But we’ll also carry higher-end wines, like Cakebread and Opus One.”

For the next week or so the two men will stock the shelves, and continue to meet with vendors and anyone who walks into the store to say hello. They plan to be active members of the business community and support local causes, said Turchioe, who had already collected a stack of business cards from organizations in just a few days.

The Finer Winer is located at 134 Bedford Road in Katonah. Beginning next week, the hours will be Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. and Sunday noon – 6 p.m. The phone number is (914) 232-1900.

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 Mortgage rates inched up again this week, bringing 30-year fixed-rate mortgages back to where they were at the beginning of the month, while demand for purchase loans was down more than 20 percent last week when compared to a year ago.

Rates had been rising steadily this year until mid-March, when economic uncertainty over the crisis in Japan and turmoil in the Middle East had investors seeking safety in bonds, and rates eased.

Investors, at least for now, seem to have put their worries behind them, and money is flowing back into stocks. Reduced demand for bonds that fund most mortgage loans means lower prices and higher yields on those investments — and higher rates for borrowers.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.86 percent with an average 0.7 point for the week ending March 31, up from 4.81 percent last week but down from 5.08 percent a year ago, Freddie Mac said in releasing the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit an all-time low in Freddie Mac records dating to 1971 of 4.17 percent during the week ending Nov. 11.

For 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, rates averaged 4.09 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from 4.04 percent last week but down from 4.39 percent a year ago. Rates on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages hit a low in records dating back to 1991 of 3.57 percent in November.

Rates on 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans averaged 3.7 percent with an average 0.7 point, up from 3.62 percent last week but down from 4.1 percent a year ago. The 5-year ARM hit a low in records dating to 2005 of 3.25 percent in November.

For 1-year Treasury-indexed ARMs, rates averaged 3.26 percent with an average 0.6 point, up from 3.21 percent last week but down from 4.05 percent a year ago.

Some analysts fear that as the economic recovery takes hold, rising oil prices and government debt could fuel inflation, which would send mortgage rates up. But inflation as measured by the 12-month growth in the core price index for consumer spending is hovering near the lowest pace since the index was launched in 1960, said Freddie Mac Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

In a March 15 forecast, economists with the Mortgage Bankers Association said they expect rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans will average 5 percent during the first half of this year, rising to an average of 5.3 percent in the third quarter and 5.5 percent in the final three months of 2011.

The MBA forecast projects rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans will continue a gradual rise next year, climbing to an average of 6.2 percent in the final three months of 2012.

Looking back a week, the MBA said its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending March 25 showed demand for purchase loans was down a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from a week earlier, and off 21.9 percent from the same week a year ago.

Requests for refinancings were down 10.1 percent from the previous week, but still accounted for 64.3 percent of all mortgage applications, the group said.

 

 

  

I could do this.

Since 1970, Shelter-Kit has offered pre-cut custom post and beam barns and sheds for assembly by people like me—who have no prior building experience. (The company says women make up a large portion of its customers.) Versatile in appearance and function, the kit buildings can be used as storage, workshops, barns, pool houses, garages, garden sheds and hobby spaces. My dream is to build one as an office.

Created individually for each customer, Shelter-Kit’s customizable barn-style buildings range in size from a compact 16-foot-by-16-foot unit to a 36-foot wide building. The kits come with the necessary materials to build a complete, weather-tight shell, including the frame, siding, sheathing, hardware, roofing and sub floors, and the company claims they can be assembled by two people in three to fifteen days, depending on the structure.

“The do-it-yourself nature of our product allows customers significant cost savings, but with the ability to maintain exceptional quality,” says Shelter-Kit owner David Kimball. “There are no added expenses of contractors and builders, plus since all of our products are manufactured at our facility, there is significantly less waste – which results in further savings for our customers, as well as an eco-advantage, which is extremely important.”

Shelter-Kit’s Green Home Kit, created in response to customer demand’s for energy efficiency and minimal environmental impact, uses biobased materials from renewable and indigenous sources when possible. The kits are designed with exterior materials that do not require on-site finishing and NFRC certified windows. Shelter-Kit’s Green Home Kit can contribute points toward ANSI-NAHB-ICC 700 National Green Building Standard certification.

A 16-by-16-foot barn begins at $9,950, and a 24-by-24-foot barn is $19,950. I could do this.

Shelter-Kit’s Green Home Kit was created in response to many requests for a kit that can be a major part of a complete green home project.

The Unit One is a one story 12′ X 12′ cabin kit, which has been in continuous production since 1970. It can be used as a standalone cabin or combined with more Unit Ones, decks or porches to create a larger building.

Shelter-Kit houses can be built anywhere.

Manhattan commercial asking rents will advance 16% over the next three years, the second biggest gain in the nation, according to a forecast released by Cushman & Wakefield Inc. on Thursday.

Only San Francisco, where rents are expected to jump 33% through 2013, will best New York, the report said.

New York is benefitting from a much stronger job market than many cities in the country, said Maria Sicola, head of research for the Americas at Cushman. She said that in New York, 40% of the jobs lost during the recession have come back.

Midtown south and midtown are the driving forces behind what is expected to be the city’s exceptional performance. Midtown south’s vacancy rate of 8.6% was the lowest for any central business district in the country last year. By 2013 it is expected to fall to a mere 4.4%, which would also rank as the smallest in the nation. Rents in the neighborhood are expected to increase 22% over the next three years.

Ms. Sicola said that midtown south’s older buildings, many of which have high ceilings and exposed brick walls, are especially popular with tech firms that are seeking space.

Meanwhile, rents in midtown are projected to move up 17% in the period and the vacancy rate should fall to 7.5% from 10.6% last year.

Downtown will continue to lag its brethren, according to the report. The vacancy rate is expected to increase to13.5% by 2013 as One World Trade Center is completed. It is currently at 11.5%. Rents are expected to grow 7% to $41.38 a square foot.

The most remarkable sequel of the September 11th attacks, now approaching their tenth anniversary, was rarely reported as such: the continued rise of New York real-estate prices. Since many pundits swiftly declared that the question was not whether but when future terrorist attacks would come, it was plausible to believe that commercial and residential prices in New York, Washington, and other major urban centers would drop significantly to reflect the risk of destruction, from hijackings to suitcase bombs. Certainly other plots have been discovered, and some experts believe risks are increasing.

But at Ground Zero itself, results have been the opposite of what terrorists expected. The area, once in limbo, is thriving, according to this Associated Press report.

Virginia Lam, a publicist and former City Hall operative who moved into a newly converted residential building on Wall Street in 2006, said the site is a source of inspiration, rather than fear or gloom.

“It’s pretty amazing,” she said of the new towers rising from the 16-acre hole created by the attacks. “I feel like, being a New Yorker who was here on 9/11, and who has worked for the Fire Department and for the city, I think it is always in the back of my mind, but it’s not something that dominates my thinking. I go about living my life.”

About 45,750 people now live in the part of Manhattan south of Chambers Street, which encompasses ground zero. That is more than twice as many as there were during the last census.

All this may reflect a false sense of security, which we’ve seen in finance and nuclear power. Crowds may be wise, but every so often they stampede and people get hurt. Still, terrorism specialists might also consider real-estate prices as a form of prediction market.

That doesn’t mean the attacks were necessarily futile from a terrorist perspective. They may indirectly have promoted the financial crisis of the decade’s end — a possibility that economists and economic historians will be discussing for a long time, as it’s hard to separate Sept. 11 from other trends. (See this report from the St. Louis Fed.) The Lower Manhattan real-estate boom may be a harbinger of a national renaissance — or just the other side of the gloomy, bitter mood still haunting this country and much of the European Union.