Coronavirus Update - May 6, 2021

The following report from Kendal Management was received on May 6.

The three metro-area Governors (NY, NJ and CT) have announced their intention to ease COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the region's businesses, venues, and gatherings given significant progress in vaccinations and sustained reduction in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The anticipated date for changes is May 19.

The Infection Control Team is aware that these changes are forthcoming and are ready to analyze and apply them to our community. The details are very important in how we proceed, please be patient while we await the formal announcement.

Confirmed Changes beginning on May 17:

• New York State has already announced that gyms may increase their capacity mid-May. Therefore, consistent with State guidelines, the Fitness Center capacity will increase to 15.

• Guest Rooms will be opened for overnight visitors to the Community. Contact Resident Services to make reservations (Briana or Ellen).

• The Bistro will be available for visitors for take-out. Dining-in will remain available only to residents at this time.

Other activity and gatherings resuming in May:

• “Wine & Cheese” will resume on the Terrace on Wednesday, May 12 (5 pm to 6 pm). The rain date is Thursday, May 13.

June Course on Criminal Law

The Education Committee has announced its June course. It will cover the “Fundamentals of Criminal Law” and will be taught by Professor Bennett L Gershman of the Pace University School of Law. Sessions are:

June 8: Fundamental Features of Criminal
Law

June 15: Criminal Investigations

June 22: Introduction to the Criminal Justice
System

June 29: Criminal Trial: role of judge,
prosecutor, defense attorney, jury

For more information and to sign up, contact Fran Kelly

Handmade Book Workshop Using the Accordion Fold Technique

Instructor, Erin Carney, Sleepy Hollow Artist

Thursday, May 20 and May 27 from 2 pm-4 pm

Participants in this two-session workshop will create one-of-a-kind, handmade books using the accordion fold technique. The first workshop will begin with a visual review of this binding style and a discussion of the expressive use of texture, mark, color, and text in handmade books. We will do a series of playful mark-making and brainstorming exercises to develop ideas before moving into book creation.

All materials are supplied. Participants are encouraged to bring any decorative papers, maps, watercolors, collage materials, and old or unfinished drawings that they wish to incorporate into their unique handmade book. Ribbon donations appreciated.

This workshop series is open to all levels and abilities.

The fee is $25. Limited to 12 residents.

Sign up with Lynn Brady.

Trips to Westchester Greenhouse

The Horticulture Committee has organized several trips to the Westchester Greenhouse on Wednesday, May 19, so that residents may purchase plants for balconies, patios, or terraces.

The van will leave:

MORNING: 9:15 am and 10:15 am

AFTERNOON: 12:30 and 1:30 pm

Maximum six persons per trip. 

A sign-up sheet will be placed in the Front Desk SHOPPING notebook on May 12.

Questions? Anna Mae O’Leary or Peter R. Limburg

Covid-19 Update April 29, 2021

NEW NEWS...and UPCOMING CHANGES... The New York State Department of Health visited Clearwater yesterday for an unannounced, COVID-specific Infection Control Survey. They exited at the end of the day stating that they had no findings or concerns. Congratulations to the entire staff on a deficiency-free survey. Well done!

Fitness Center and Pool

New opening times – Monday to Friday - beginning Monday, May 3:

Fitness Center: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm (closed
12 noon - 1pm)

Pool: 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (closed 11:30 am –
1pm)

New York State has announced that gyms may increase their capacity mid-May. Therefore, to align with State guidelines, the Fitness Center capacity will increase to 15 on Monday, May 17.

Keeping our Community – all levels of living – Connected:

Visitation is open in Clearwater, Sunnyside and Adirondack...reservations are required for visits. Reservations are made by calling x1041. All guests are expected to adhere to the core principles of infection control including masks and social distancing.

Adirondack residents may dine in the Formal Dining Room if invited by an Independent Living resident. If hosting an Adirondack resident for dinner, please let the Adirondack staff know by calling x1063 so that the resident may be “signed out.”

Residents may be escorted, if needed, back to Adirondack by Independent Residents after community events or dinner in the Formal Dining Room. If simply providing escort assistance, please wear your mask and enter/exit Adirondack as promptly as possible. If your intention is to visit for any period of time, please make a reservation and be screened prior to entering. Adhering to these aspects of our visitation program is required by Department of Health regulation.

Saturday Opera May 1

Kendal’s Saturday Opera programs continue.

This week Dialogues of the Carmelites by Francis Poulenc (with English subtitles) will be shown.

The opera tells the fictionalized story of a group of Carmelite nuns, the Martyrs of Compiègne, who in 1794 during the closing days of the Reign of Terror were guillotined in Paris for refusing to renounce their vocation.
The story is a little tragic and gory but the music is beautiful.

The program will be presented in the Gathering Room on Saturday, May 1, at 1:00 pm sharp.

Please note that Anna Bolena will be shown on Saturday, May 8.

Revising the Bylaws

The most important residents’ organization at Kendal is, indeed, the Residents Association which represents all of those who live here.
Every five years, the Residents Association’s bylaws are reviewed to see if they need revising. A committee has recently gone though them and is proposing new additions and corrections.

On May 10, a Special Meeting on Proposed Bylaws will be held immediately following the May 10 regular Residents Council Meeting.

This Special Meeting of the Association will be called for the sole purpose of accepting the ballots cast for the proposed revised Bylaws.  Please be sure to leave your completed Bylaws ballot in cubby 4307 by May 3.

Welcome New Residents

Residents can identify new Kendal residents from their bios/pictures posted on Main Street.

The Welcoming Committee puts short bios of new residents in Spotlight when they move in. More complete bios are produced a month or two later by a team headed by Janet Schloat.

These more complete bios are posted on Main Street, at the end toward the front desk (opposite the main bulletin board), for several weeks, after which they are moved to a notebook in the Library. They are also included in the Digital Directory in the Residents Only section of the Residents website. Since it is easy to miss these bios, the Welcoming Committee will be announcing them in Spotlight.

Getting to know “newbies” and having them feel at home at Kendal is vital to community well-being. New residents have a large green dot on their nametags. Greeting them and introducing oneself goes a long way in making these new neighbors feel welcome.

A Coast Guard Update May 3

On May 3, Kendal will be fortunate to hear Captain Mike Glander present “A Coast Guard Update.”

It all began with a May 2020 email Sheila Darnborough sent to the Coast Guard thanking those who captain, crew, and otherwise organize the traffic on the Hudson River, especially during the pandemic.  
Without identifying Kendal, Sheila mentioned how much she enjoyed watching Coast Guard vessels on the river from her apartment.

 Mike Glander, Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Navigation Center, responded with appreciation, stating that he was familiar with Kendal on Hudson – if that happened to be where Sheila lived.  Further correspondence resulted in our scheduling Captain Glander as a guest speaker.

 Mike Glander assumed command of the Coast Guard Navigation Center in June 2018.  NAVCEN provides navigation-related services and information to the maritime public to enhance safety, security, and efficiency of the Coast Guard’s Office of Defense and counterterrorism. He has served over nine years at sea, performing many missions including search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and environmental response operations.  He holds degrees from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, George Washington University, and the U.S. Army War College.

You can join in via Zoom on Monday evening, May 3, when Captain Glander will discuss the work of the Navigation Center with an emphasis on some local items of interest on the Hudson River.

Live Music Returns to Kendal: Raritan Trio Concert in the Gathering Room May 16

The Music Committee is pleased to announce that our first concert since the pandemic began will be held at 3 pm on Sunday, May 16.

Because of limited capacity in the Gathering Room, admission will be by ticket only. A sign-up book will be available on the shelf in the Activities Alcove on May 1. 

The concert is open to residents only – no guests or aides.  It will also be broadcast live over Channel 970 so residents may enjoy it in their apartments.

Formed in January 2019 at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, the trio consists of pianist Alexander Bui, violinist Yu Ouyang, and cellist Jiun-Ru Wang. Born in three different countries, the artists combine their individual cultures and personalities to create wonderful music together. The trio will perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70, No. 1, (“Ghost”) and Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor.

In lieu of a reception, audience members may visit with the trio in the Gathering Room following the concert.