White Plains became my home in 1996, after living in New York City for the preceding eleven years, and growing up in Saugerties, a small town upstate. However, my job in White Plains in the late 1980s as a waitress and bartender at Mr. Greenjeans, one of two sit-down restaurants in the Galleria Mall, is what helped me pay my way through college at Fordham University in the Bronx.
When The Galleria Mall closed recently it was bittersweet, since that is also where I met my future husband Juan, who worked at Oakley’s Restaurant across the food court.
White Plains is special because it combines both city and smal- town lifestyles. The schools are top-notch and cater to a diverse, close-knit community. I lived in the Battle Hill neighborhood for my first twenty-three years here and loved it. My home was within walking distance to the library, downtown and the train station. Proximity to the Bronx River Parkway led my family to be regulars on the bike trail to Kensico Dam, and Bicycle Sundays on the parkway.
In 2019 we moved to the Holbrooke neighborhood near Ridgeway Elementary School and found that we love this part of the city equally. My husband is an avid gardener, and both of our homes have allowed him to grow some of the best tomatoes in the city, in beautiful backyards.
My children attended Church Street Elementary School, Eastview and Highlands Middle Schools and White Plains High School. There’s an array of extra-curricular activities in the schools and the White Plains Parks and Rec from dance to sports to chess and art, and my son and daughter experimented in so many of them. The summer Neighborhood Nights offers outdoor movies, plays and magic shows in neighborhood parks that we loved attending. Both of my children eventually found their way onto the track and field teams as middle and high school students, and formed lifelong friendships with their teammates and coaches. This also helped me to become more involved in the community. From running concessions stands to becoming the booster club treasurer, I got to meet and become friends with so many families. I also joined the Executive Board of the Glenn D. Loucks Memorial Track & Field Games back in 2013. I’m now their secretary. I volunteer with the New York Blood Center by hosting blood drives, and recently joined the Woman’s Club of White Plains.
My career as a teacher has been rewarding. I’ve taught English and Spanish in elementary schools in Brooklyn, Yonkers, Edgemont and Scarsdale. Within weeks of moving to White Plains, I was also hired to teach English to adults at the Rochambeau School. Some colleagues and friends used to ask me why I didn’t enroll my children in Edgemont or Scarsdale, since that was an option as an employee of those districts. My answer was simple. My husband and I chose to live in White Plains because we love our schools and community. So do our (now adult) children.
