Our mission is to empower children and adults with developmental disabilities to achieve their potential based on personal choices, abilities and interests...

For more information contact:
Mellissa Lang
Director of Marketing and Public Affairs
phone: 914.949.9300,
ext. 4618
fax: 914.997.2985
or 914.428.0322
mlang@westchesterarc.org

Westchester Arc
The Gleeson-Israel Gateway Center
265 Saw Mill River Road
Hawthorne, NY 10532
914.949.9300
info@westchesterarc.org

24-hour
Crisis Intervention:
914.949.8200

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Press Release

Westchester Arc Celebrates Groundbreaking


“Gateway to Community” Will Benefit People with
Developmental Disabilities

» Click here for event highlights

WHITE PLAINS, NY —September 25, 2006—On September 20, over 150 people gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for Westchester Arc’s “Gateway to the Community” at 265 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne, New York. Pre-schoolers in hard hats wielded shovels, as did government officials and fundraisers. So far approximately $4.5 million has been collected for the new building and a “Fund for the Future” to safeguard under-funded programs.

Westchester Arc is the largest agency in the county serving people of all ages who have cognitive or developmental disabilities such as autistic spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and learning disabilities.

“The new building will be a big improvement on the old one,” said Will Horton, a Westchester Arc board member who has developmental disabilities. “I’m going to feel a lot more at home there.”

State Senator Nick Spano (R-35th District) presented a $100,000 community gift to Westchester Arc Executive Director Ric Swierat to help defray costs. “Arc has done so much for a population that, decades ago, was forgotten,” noted Spano. “This ‘Gateway to the Community’ will be more than just bricks and mortar…. I look forward to sharing in the smiles of the children and adults who will have an opportunity to work and live in this community—as they should—thanks to this agency.”

“The mission of Westchester Arc is to provide a framework for those it serves to live their lives with optimism, self-worth and a sense of security,” noted Mitch Benerofe, co-chair for the agency’s first capital campaign. “The building will be a platform for accomplishments and security for many years to come.” The committee’s fundraising goal is $7.5 million.

Guests at the ceremony included County Legislator Thomas Abinanti (D-12th District); State Assemblyman Adam T. Bradley (D-89th District); White Plains Mayor Joseph Delfino ; Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner (D); Director Tom Hay, Special Olympics, Hudson Valley; Deputy Commissioner Christine Reinhard, Westchester Department of Community Mental Health; Ira Rothenstein, Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Office, and Mary Swikata, office of the governor.

The Hawthorne building will replace the agency’s current headquarters at 121 Westmoreland Avenue, White Plains. The existing site is incompatible with the needs of a population expecting a high level of involvement with society at large. Westchester Arc now delivers most of its services within the community—neighborhood residences, jobs, leisure activities and more. As services become dispersed, however, it becomes more important to have a central location where people with disabilities and their families can network, consult social service professionals and have access to other resources enabling them to make decisions concerning their futures. The new building will house an expanded Charles R. Kingsley Life Planning Center and have many meeting spaces available to self-advocates and their families. Galleries and a theater will showcase the accomplishments of people with developmental disabilities. There will also be facilities for conferences and advocacy events.

Westchester Arc’s White Plains headquarters is currently up for sale. CB Richard Ellis, a Fortune 500 company based in Los Angeles, has been chosen as exclusive advisor and broker.

Established over 55 years ago, Westchester Arc serves 1600 individuals with developmental disabilities and their families. The agency has long advocated community inclusion for individuals with disabilities, consistent with personal wishes and capabilities.

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