First Ossining Summer BLOCK Party a Success; Next One is July 24

Hundreds of people danced, played games, picked up free books and ate healthy food at the first of four Community BLOCK Parties sponsored by the Ossining School District and Ossining Police Department.

The purpose of the July 10 event was to build community and inform visitors about local resources, organizations and services, such as Teatown Reservation, the Ossining Public Library, the Town of Ossining and Open Door Family Medical Centers free Mind, Body, Spirit, Ossining exercise classes.

Reading was a major theme of the event. Volunteers read Mo Willems’ “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” in English and Spanish to a group of children seated on a rainbow play parachute. The Ossining Teachers Association gave out books it had purchased.

At the Neighbors Link table, members of the organization asked visitors to answer questions that appear on the United States citizenship test, such as how many justices are on the Supreme Court and how many U.S. senators represent New York in Congress.

Teatown Lake Reservation displayed three phases in the process of composting and advised people how to compost at home. The Touro College of Dental Medicine asked children to choose objects from bins that are healthy and not healthy for teeth. The Bethany Arts Community invited children and adults to draw on the blacktop with soft pastels, something Police Chief Kevin Sylvester took them up on.

Other members of the Police Department cooked up hamburgers and hotdogs for the crowd on the hot July evening.

Feeding Westchester gave out meat and fresh produce at the event. The mobile food pantry, which regularly distributes food in Ossining, will also be at the three upcoming BLOCK Parties. Ossining School District employees help distribute the food.

Peter Pozo, mobile pantry coordinator for Feeding Westchester, said the organization would not be able to do everything it does in Ossining without the volunteers’ help. “We need hands and we need passion and passion is what we have here,” he said.

The Westchester Medical Center Health Network held its first Food for Life event at the BLOCK Party. Chefs showed visitors how to make healthy zucchini pancakes and applesauce.

Tomica Douglas said the BLOCK Party was a great experience for her son. “He saw some of his friends and he got to get some books and be outside,” she said.

Nayely Tenesaca, 17, played a game of giant checkers with her brother, 10-year-old Jomil. “I liked the food bank and also all the different books that they’re giving out,” she said.

The three additional BLOCK Parties are July 24 (Yale Avenue, intersection of Yale Avenue and Denny Street); August 7 (Croton Avenue); and August 21 (Dale Avenue, Park area). All of them run from 5-7 p.m.