Westchester County Newsmakers, 10.7.13
WHITE PLAINS ATTORNEYS RECOGNIZED AS AMONG ”˜BEST”™
HARRIS MARKHOFF, MICHAEL MARKHOFF and JOSHUA S. LEVINE are included in “The Best Lawyers in America 2014;” JAY FENSTER and MICHAEL MARKHOFF are included in “Super Lawyers.” All four attorneys are partners at Danziger & Markhoff L.L.P. in White Plains, a business and tax-oriented law firm that has been representing clients for more than 50 years. Harris Markhoff was selected in the area of corporate law and trusts and estates, Michael Markhoff was selected in the area of trusts and estates and Levine was selected in the area of health care law.
Super Lawyers Fenster and Michael Markhoff were selected for inclusion in the 2013 Metro New York Super Lawyers. Fenster was listed in the area of employee benefits/ERISA and Michael Markhoff was listed in the area of estate planning and probate. Only 5 percent of attorneys practicing in New York state received this honor.
WLS PARTNERS WITH TOTAL BOOX
LIBRARY CARD HOLDERS in Westchester County now have access to TOTAL BOOX, a new e-book service with the following features:
”¢ Unlimited access ”“ All books are immediately available to all patrons. No need to wait.
”¢ Unlimited downloading ”“ Download as many books as you want to your mobile device.
”¢ Unlimited reading ”“ No expiration. Books stay on your device for as long as you wish.
”¢ Unlimited freedom ”“ all books can be read online and offline.
A large selection of more than 17,000 books on the Total Boox platform in all categories and genres are available for Westchester Library System cardholders, which can be accessed on the WLS homepage by simply registering with their library card number and PIN. Just browse through the Total Boox site and select books of interest to add to your collection.
“We”™re very excited to launch our service with WLS,” said Yoav Lorch, founder and CEO of Total Boox. “This is the first time in the history of libraries where all titles are always available to all patrons, regardless if any titles have been checked out or not. We strongly believe our unique model provides true value to readers, librarians and publishers and hope to see it in the near future installed in public and academic institutions nationwide.”
“WLS is proud to be the first library system worldwide to integrate this service,” said Terry L. Kirchner, executive director. “Total Boox offers a wide range of e-books, including current titles in computer technology and the sciences, that will help our member libraries better serve the information needs of their communities.”
For more information on Total Boox and other digital collection services, visit our website westchesterlibraries.org.
The WLS includes 38 member public libraries throughout the county and is one of New York state”™s 23 public library systems. WLS and its member libraries have a total collection of 5.3 million items, including 3.8 million books, as well as audio recordings, DVDs, print serials and other materials.
MHA TO HONORÂ HOSPITAL EXECUTIVE
WILLA BRODY, director of government and community relations, New York-Presbyterian Hospital will be honored Oct. 17 by the Mental Health Association of Westchester (MHA) at the Metropolis Country Club in White Plains. She will receive the MHA On the Move Award. The annual event benefits and builds mental health services in Westchester and the honor recognizes an individual who advocates for improved mental health through actions or philanthropy and promotes an understanding of mental health issues.
An advocate for individuals seeking support for mental health issues, Brody has been a strong community activist throughout her professional and volunteer life. Responsible for creating deeply committed services across multiple sectors in Westchester, she has had an accomplished career at New York-Presbyterian Hospital where she has oversight of the Weill Cornell Medical Center, Westchester Division and Children”™s Hospital campuses.
Brody holds a bachelor”™s degree in sociology and English from Queens College, CUNY; a master”™s degree in social work and a post-master”™s degree in aging from Hunter College, CUNY, and a law degree from Pace University.
For the past 12 years, Brody has been a board member of The Business Council of Westchester.
SUPER LAWYERS AT KEANE & BEANE
RICHARD L. O”™ROURKE, JOEL H. SACHS and STEVEN A. SCHURKMAN of Keane & Beane P.C., a law firm in White Plains, were named to the Metro Super Lawyers List as top attorneys in New York state for 2013. O”™Rourke was named in the area of land use and zoning, Sachs in the areas of environmental law and real estate and Schurkman in the areas of estate planning and probate
Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers in more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
JUST 0.06 SEPARATESÂ FIRM FROM WINNER
GOLDBERG SEGALLA was less than one-tenth of a point separated from being named Intelligent Insurer”™s Global Law Firm of the Year, placing the firm among the very best law firms serving the insurance and reinsurance industries worldwide. Goldberg Segalla was the runner-up for the award given earlier this month at the Rendez-Vous de Septembre in Monte Carlo, the premier global conference for the insurance and reinsurance industries. Scoring for the award came from Intelligent Insurer”™s six-month poll of more than 1,100 insurance and reinsurance executives around the world, which evaluated firms for their quality of service and accomplishments in 2013 through interviews and questionnaires. Goldberg Segalla”™s average score was only 0.06 below the winner. The firm finished ahead of Norton Rose Fulbright, Mayer Brown and Locke Lord, who were the other finalists.
“We congratulate Clyde & Co on winning this prestigious award,” said Richard J. Cohen, managing partner of Goldberg Segalla. “But achieving the number-two spot as a firm that is only 12 years old and being placed there based on the opinions and feedback from industry leaders, is in itself incredibly rewarding. The competition was very strong.”
KATONAH MUSEUM DIRECTORÂ SELECTED FOR LONG ISLAND POST
NEIL WATSON has been appointed executive director of the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook, filling the position of Jackie Day, who announced her retirement last spring.
“After an extensive search, Neil quickly became our unanimous choice to lead the museum into the future,” said attorney James W. Wicks, president of the board of trustees. “We”™re truly excited about Neil”™s arrival. His enthusiasm has energized all of us and we look forward to great things to come at the museum. Neil is a seasoned museum professional and cultural leader with a compelling vision for our future.”
Watson, the former executive director of the Katonah Museum of Art (KMA) for eight years, increased membership by a third and the museum broke new ground with ambitious and award-winning exhibitions and educational programs. His exhibition “Shattering Glass: New Perspectives,” co-curated with Ellen Keiter, broke all previous attendance records for the KMA. Under his leadership, exhibitions such as “Bold Cautious True: Walt Whitman and American Art of the Civil War Era” and “Double Solitaire: the Surreal Worlds of Kay Sage and Yves Tanguy” brought new audiences to the museum. His vision of a museum as a community”™s cultural hub led to an expansion of the museum”™s public programming through series such as Crosstalk, an innovative speaker series that presented leaders and celebrities, including former CEO of Sesame Workshop Gary Knell, New Yorker cartoonists Roz Chast and Barry Blitt, actress Patricia Clarkson, and political journalist Joe Klein, and the concert series Shades of Jazz, curated by legendary jazz guitarist John Scofield.
Watson was also an advocate for educational outreach and collaboration, shepherding new award-winning initiatives to the museum such as Smart Girls, a leadership program designed for at-risk young women, and Thinking Through Art, a program designed for elementary schools focusing on visual literacy. These programs increased the museum”™s reach to 8,000 schoolchildren in five counties and along with innovative family programs, provided new avenues for community involvement in the museum.
The final exhibitions under Watson”™s stewardship include “Beyond the Bed: the American Quilt Revolution of Spring 2013,” and the interactive “Eye to I: 3000 Years of Portraits,” scheduled to open later this fall and for which Watson contributed to the catalog. Watson is known for his community engagement and charismatic style, serving on the board of the Katonah Chamber of Commerce for eight years, as well as the board of ArtsWestchester. He is an appointed museum panelist for the New York State Council for the Arts.