Birchez » Our Stories

Our Stories

Resident Profile: Emanuela Mauro

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Though she’s originally from Brooklyn, Emanuela Mauro (Ela to her friends), made her way up to Saugerties back in the early 1950s, when she moved with her husband, Mike, back to his hometown.

“Mike was born right here in Glasco. So I moved up here with him and my two children at the time. And that was ’50 or ’51,” she says. “Then we built a home right here on Route 32 outside of Glasco.”

After raising her kids and retiring from a job in sales, Emanuela and Mike moved to Florida, where they lived for the next 20 or so years. But when her husband passed away from a stroke in 2000, Emanuela knew that it was time to come home.

“My kids are here, so if something happened to me, I didn’t want them worrying, like they did when my husband had his stroke,” she says. “They had to jump on a plane and out they came. I had to consider them too, so I came back.

“So, here I be, like they say.”

After living in an apartment building on Simmons Street in Saugerties, Emanuela decided that she was tired of the landlord’s lax attitude toward taking care of problems.

“I heard of The Birches at Saugerties apartments being built at one of our senior meetings in the Town of Saugerties. I think Steve [Aaron] had come in and spoke to us, to the elderly people, about wanting to put up a place… I put my application in, and I was eligible. I didn’t know if I was eligible or not, never having applied for any kind of help.”

Part of what makes living in The Birches at Saugerties good for Emanuela is that she can afford it on her fixed income. “We didn’t get a raise in social security, so we don’t have any extra income,” she says.

Fortunately, there are amenities in place at The Birches at Saugerties — like Senior Advocate Alice Tipp — that help residents like Emanuela live well without breaking the bank.

“Living here, we found out that the [Ulster County] Office for the Aging offers a lot of different help we can get,” she says. “I didn’t know that when I lived in my other place. Here, Alice will tell us different things. At the end of this month, they’re going to give us a $20 booklet towards produce at the local Farmers’ Market. That’s fresh vegetables we get to have. Lots of different things like that that we wouldn’t know about if we weren’t here.”

Resident Profile: Aleta Elsworth

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

For Aleta Elsworth, a nurse’s aide for 27 years who was born and raised in Kingston, there’s simply no place like home.

“My husband and I went to Florida for seven months,” she says. “Only seven months — we came back to Kingston. All our family was here.”

Aleta has a big family. Between her and her husband, Clarence, there are 10 kids (three of her own, seven step-children), and she has two younger (twin) sisters who live in the same community as her at Chambers Court in the Town of Ulster.

“A lot of people think we’re triplets, but I’m the oldest,” says Aleta of her sisters. “They’re twins. They’re funny, and a lot of people here get the biggest kick out of them, because they bicker at each other,” she laughs.

Things weren’t always so easy for Aleta and her sisters, though.

“I lived on Franklin Street with my sisters and my mom,” she recalls. “I took care of my mom, and she lived with me for quite awhile, and then she passed away. Then we couldn’t afford it anymore because the rent was too high, and we had to pay all the utilities…so we had to find another place. I had had an application in here at Chambers Court, but Birches in Saugerties was opening up, so I lived there first. And then when a cottage unit became available at Chambers Court, I moved here, because I really wanted to be here. This is convenient to everything — you can go to ShopRite, you can go to the mall — it’s really, really nice.”

Since moving to Chambers Court, Aleta has enjoyed all of what it and its neighboring community, The Birches at Chambers, have to offer. She and Clarence are frequent visitors to the fitness studio, and Aleta makes routine appearances at the regularly held community tea parties.

“And I know they have the computer lab — I really don’t know anything about computers, but I want to learn. So I’m interested in that,” she adds.

But it’s not just the fun stuff that makes Aleta love her home: the convenience of having a handicapped accessible apartment has truly improved her quality of life, as she’s sometimes unable to get around without a wheelchair.

“I’ve had four different surgeries on my feet and I have two more to go, and it’s great that my apartment is handicapped accessible,” she says. “It has a roll in shower, because when I have my surgery, I can’t walk.”

Aleta is also a strong supporter of Alice Tipp, the Birches Communities’ official Senior Advocate. Without her, says Aleta, she would have been lost.

“I took my brother-in-law in because he had had a stroke, and my husband and I had power of attorney, and we were his healthcare proxy,” says Aleta. “Alice helped me because I didn’t know what to do, because we were legally responsible for him. She called and got me an appointment with an attorney at the Ulster County Office for the Aging. They helped us take care of that situation and resolve it. She’s wonderful.”

And Alice Tipp isn’t the only member of the Birchez staff that Aleta appreciates.

“Steve Aaron — each place he builds is better than the last one. I’ve never had a problem. I’m very happy here.”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

Resident Profile: Mary Jackson

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

When it comes to seeing wonderful places, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgeable in that department than Mary Jackson, a Manhattan-native who moved up to High Falls in the 1960s to work as an elementary school teacher.

“I really like travelling,” she gushes. When pressed for where she’s been, she replies, “Oh, gosh! I visited most states in the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. I’ve visited England, I’ve visited France, I’ve visited Greece, and Turkey, and Mexico, and Africa, and, of course, Canada.”

Then she remembers that there’s still a location she has on her list that has yet to be checked off: “There’s only one place that I really hate that I didn’t get to see, and it was because the state department at that time said I shouldn’t go, because of the problems in Egypt — I wanted to go see the pyramids. We were getting ready to go, and they said, because of the disturbances at that particular time that it wasn’t advisable, so we didn’t go.”

In fact, Mary’s travels have a bit of a reputation among her friends for the trouble she tends to find.

“M y friend used to joke with me, saying, ‘I don’t want to go anyplace that you’re going, because you have run into two or three revolutions.’ And he said, ‘they wait for you to come.’”

But she hasn’t given up hope: “I have a friend now who says, even though we have to limp, maybe we’ll go,” she says with a laugh. “I would love to see the the pyramids. I can’t imagine how people were able to build those things without the machinery of today. Only back-power. I would love to see it—I’m just unhappy that I won’t be able to climb them—just be able to see them. Those in Mexico are not quite the same. They’re great, but they’re not quite the same.”

Mary’s discriminating taste in construction is apparent; and as such, it’s especially telling when she discusses how she feels about The Birches at Esopus, her home for the last year.

“Really, I think that more people should take a look at this sort of place and see what’s being done for us,” she says of the building and the community. “It really is a lovely place.”

It’s not difficult for Mary to enumerate the many reasons she’s a fan of her home. Like when she lists the places she’s visited, the list of things she likes about The Birches at Esopus comes easy and without hesitation.

“The apartment is spacious; it’s easy to get to, because so many of the things we do, we do in Kingston. It’s quiet, and they have done a marvelous job of doing the landscaping. And I don’t worry about maintenance — there are people here who work here that seem to come right away if something goes wrong, so I don’t have problems with upkeep.”

But that’s not all—the building’s fitness studio is one of Mary’s favorite features as well.

“I love the fitness studio. Lately I’ve been going each day or so. Mostly work on my own, but the trainer is a marvelous young lady — I think she does very well with all of us.”

Mary also belongs to the community’s Residents’ Club, by whom she’s been asked to teach and lead crafts sessions.

“I love crafts,” she says. “And I’ve been ask to teach them about making certain boxes, and origami, and things like that — I’ve done a lot of that.”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

Resident Profile: Bobby Taylor

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

When it comes to sewing, Indiana-native Bobby Taylor has plenty of experience. Having once run her own handmade doll company — called, appropriately, Taylor Made — these days Bobby is lending her skills to the Residents’ Club at The Birches at Esopus, where she’s lived for the past year. In addition to serving as the club’s treasurer, she creates table covers for the community room where the club meets, and her current project is to sew grocery tote bags for her fellow residents.

“I’m making tote bags, and what I’m trying to do is make it so that everybody here can have at least one grocery tote,” she says. “I gave one to each of the other three officers in the club, and they say it works great, and holds a lot of stuff. That’ll be my project for the next business meeting, and I hope to have one for everyone that wants one.”

However, it’s not just her sewing skills that she brings to bear in the club. Her position as treasurer is well deserved: “I have the background for it. I spent forty years working with big budgets and money and stuff.” Bobby got her start with budgets when she got her first big job, working for the Sansabelt Slacks Company.

“When I started there, I didn’t know what an invoice was,” she says. “When I left, I was in charge of my own department.”

While sewing and keeping track of the residents’ club’s finances, Bobby has taken note of the benefits her home in The Birches at Esopus, which she shares with her husband George and their daughter, Nikki, who acts as their caretaker.

“Oh, the building is so nice,” she says. “We don’t have to go outside for anything except to buy food. You don’t have to schlep through snow and ice to get rid of your garbage or pick up the mail. You don’t have to carry laundry baskets next door or anything. It’s very nice to have it accessible.”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

Resident Profile: Gerry Mazur

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

It was around the time she moved back from Florida that “the depression” settled onto Gerry Mazur. Having moved there after the death of her husband fourteen years ago, she met and wed her second husband. Sadly, he passed away as well and Gerry decided to move back up to the Hudson Valley.

“I began to miss my family,” she says. “I came back up here, expecting that my grandchildren were going to be as they were when I left — you know, small, who would come sit in your lap, say, ‘Hi grandma, read me a story.’ But fourteen years is a long time, and these kids are grown now and going out on their own.”

Gerry sank deeper into depression and she found it easy to isolate in the duplex apartment she rented. Finally, the family became involved and one of her daughters told her about The Birches at Esopus, where she’s lived for the last year and a half.

That’s when things started to turn around.

“I like it here very much,” says Gerry. “And there’s alot to do if you want to do it…I get to play bingo, and tomorrow night will be movie night. I’ve been to every one of them so far that we’ve had here. The theater is very comfortable. We had new movies and ole. Jerry Lewis was in our first movie, and we laughed so hard.”

As for the depression that had descended upon her return from Florida, Gerry says, “I finally got with people, people to talk to.”

The key, it seems, is not just being active, but being social. Being able to talk to other people has allowed Gerry to find happiness at The Birches at Esopus.

“My next door neighbors on both sides of me are very nice,” she says. She does crafts with the Residents’ Club, plays bingo on Tuesdays and Fridays, and makes sure to catch every one of the movies on show in the building’s media room. “In between, even when you walk to the laundry room, you meet people, talk to them,” she says. And Gerry gets out to the patio to visit with new friends.

“I just do what I want to do, when I want to do it, how I want to do it,” she says. “Once you’re retired, you’re pretty much on your own. Of course, it’s harder to live. You can’t go out and buy things like you did when you had a good pay check coming in, but you got to realize that life is going on, we’re getting older…we laugh here, and say ‘I’m not old, I’m getting old.’”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

A Chat with Marie Shultis, First President of The Residents’ Club at The Birches at Esopus

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

In July 2010, Rochester-native Marie Shultis finished her yearlong stint as the president of the Residents’ Club at The Birches at Esopus. Shultis worked as a team with vice president Ruth Rosu, and together the pair was able to get the first year of the building’s residents’ club off to a rousing start.

“Our goal was really to bring the residents together and to establish different programs and events that they could participate in,” says Shultis, “and we did do that over the course of a year.”

Having been founded in the summer of 2009, the club can now count over half of The Birches at Esopus’s population as members, having reached their fiftieth member in June 2010. Throughout the year, the club has hosted events to allow the community’s residents to get to know each other and participate in fun activities. The first such event was participating in the Town of Esopus Fall Festival.

“The whole town could have yard sales,” says Marie, “and so everyone here was interested in having a yard sale. Well, since it’s a secure building, it poses a problem for us to have a yard sale inside here. So in speaking with Steve and Judy Aaron about this one day when they were visiting, I voiced our desire to have a yard sale. And so, Judy says, ‘how about a tent?’ And so they very graciously put a huge tent out here in the parking area, and tables for those residents who wanted to sell their personal items.”

Marie says that the sale was a “huge success,” allowing residents to sell their items, as well as the sale of baked goods and items that were donated to the club for sale. In fact, Marie says that the baked goods table was an even hotter seller than the tables without food. “It was a winner—it was really fantastic,” she says.

The money raised went back into the club’s coffers, which, in addition to the $2 monthly dues paid by members, was able to fund other events and get-togethers for the club’s members. From pot lucks and Wintertime Comfort Food dinners, as well as their subsequent Leftover Lunches, Marie says that the club has tried to host at least one event a month.

One particularly memorable event for Marie concerned the local volunteer firefighters who make routine visits to The Birches at Esopus.

“The firemen are always visiting us, because, unfortunately, there are escapades like burnt toast and things like that occurring,” says Marie. “ Ruth and I felt it would be nice if we did something for the firemen, so we had a dinner especially for the firemen, and they could bring their wives – many of whom are members of the auxiliary – if they wished.

“They enjoyed themselves, and they said, ‘you know, no one ever does anything like this for us,’ and it made us feel good to know that we had done that for them. So we have a link there, as well as a link with the town with the yard sale.” Marie says she hopes that the club will keep hosting the dinner annually, though the decision won’t be up to her when she and Ruth pass the batons to the new officers.

Besides simply hosting these monthly events, the Residents’ Club is responsible for the twice-weekly Bingo games in the building’s community room, as well as the holiday-themed decorations that fill the community room each month, a result that came about with a combination of “Ruth’s creativity and the dollar store,” says Marie with a laugh.

And Marie is adamant about the fact that the club’s initiatives and strides weren’t her achievements alone—rather, she and Ruth Rosu accomplished it all together.

“I really want to emphasize that we were a team,” she says of her partnership with Ruth. “And it’s a large undertaking—one person can’t do it alone, can’t come up with all the ideas and whatnot. You need another individual who has ideas. I’m very lucky, because Ruth is very artistic, and she’s very creative. It was a team effort. I never knew Ruth before I moved here. We just kind of clicked. That happens sometimes.”

For profiles and stories about and by our residents, visit the Our Stories tab of each community.

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

Resident Profile: June Diamond

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Having served as the executive secretary for four different mayoral administrations in the City of Kingston for over 20 years, June Diamond knows a thing or two about how tough it can be to juggle lots of responsibilities and still keep people satisfied.

“I enjoyed working for the city,” says June. “People would come in, upset and mad, and I would make them happy when they left. And they usually did leave happy.”

That’s why she appreciates her new home at The Birches at Chambers so much: she’s fully aware of the delicate balancing act it takes to make a place like that run while keeping residents content.

“I admire Steve and Judy Aaron, for the foresight and the compassion they have for senior citizens,” she says. “I mean, look at this place! They make sure everything is perfect. Look at just what Judy did with interior decorating—it’s wonderful. And Steve—man, he’s on top of everything.”

June and her husband, Charles (formerly the Postmaster for the City of Kingston) have lived locally their whole lives, so when Charles lost the ability to walk due to Parkinson’s disease, The Birches at Chambers and its ADA and senior-friendly amenities were the solutions to many of their problems.

“Here, the wheelchair can go right into the bathroom,” says June. And the handicapped accessible shower helps her take care of Charles with greater ease. She adds that the building’s features allow her peace of mind should she need to leave the apartment.

“For me, it’s hard to get out,” she says. “Lots of times I do leave the apartment in the afternoon, because Charles will nap in the afternoon and I know he’s safe. I think that’s something else that Steve did, was ensure everyone that they would feel safe. They have emergency cords in the bedrooms and the bathroom, if need be. We haven’t needed to use them, but they are there.”

June goes on to say that even if she can’t go out, her new home has enough amenities that all her needs will be taken care of easily.

“I like all the facilities that are available. I like the idea that I don’t have to go outside to get my mail or newspaper. Laundry rooms are just down the hall. Other places, you have to outside to do all this.…You get one snowy night or day, and you’re confined. Here, you don’t have to worry about going out because everything’s right here. I really like that.”

The fact that she and her husband can afford to live in The Birches at Chambers on their fixed incomes is part of what impresses her so much about the building.

“Here’s how I feel about this place, and I think they should use it as a motto: it’s elegant living at affordable prices,” she concludes with a laugh.

June spoke at the dedication of The Birches at Chambers in July. To see — and hear — her remarks, click here.
Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com

Su Casa, Mi Casa

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Yes, I know that the traditional phrase is Mi Casa, Su Casa which translates to My House is Your House. But for Judy Wells Aaron, the phrase truly is “Your House, yes, but I care as if it was My House”. Spouse and partner of Birchez Associates’ Managing Member Steve Aaron, Judy creates the interior decorating and landscaping vision at the company’s extraordinary, affordable senior properties. These roles are in addition to her corporate responsibilities.

I was giving a tour at the latest gem among the Birchez communities, The Birches at Chambers. We had arrived at the media room where residents will view recent releases and great classics on a theater quality screen and listen to scores on an accompanying state-of-the-art sound system, designed by Steve and Judy’s son, Josh Aaron.

One guest commented on the movie-themed artwork surrounding the theater foyer. “Where can you find this theater art?” was the question. I realized the guest had just started to appreciate Judy’s sense of caring for the communities that Birchez had created. (It should be noted that there was also fabulous, movie-themed pieces hanging outside the media room at The Birches at Esopus, completed last year.)

I next pointed out the adjoining kitchenette designed to service the media room – a place to make popcorn, keep beverages cold, for sure. But you could serve a small party from this well appointed space.

Then it struck me. The ultimate demo of the lengths Judy will go to! I opened the door to the stairs. (Bear in mind most visitors will take the elevator to the media room, not the stairs to the lower level. ) In a small stairwell one might expect to find empty or more likely cluttered with junk is a delightful vignette. A voluptuously shaped lacquered chest, topped with a tasteful cluster of silk flowers, is on view. Above, Marilyn Monroe observes approvingly from a series of photos. So Hollywood, so sweet outside such a media room, so Judy!

Contributed by K.J. McIntyre, Director of Marketing, Birchez Associates LLC, kjmcintyre@birchez.com

Worth the Wait: Why Wait Lists Work

Monday, July 19th, 2010

It’s true: the wait lists are long for Birchez Associates’ senior affordable housing communities. But don’t despair! When we have an opening at a property, we go down the list of those who have checked that property on their application. Sometimes the people who are contacted aren’t quite ready to make a move, giving more opportunities to people lower down. For example, an applicant has planned a long visit with fer grandchildren, another applicant needs to sell his home before moving. . .

On top of that, when Birchez has a new property, we reach out to the wait lists at our existing communities. That’s why some people on the waiting list for The Birches at Saugerties were able to find apartments in The Birches at Chambers. And others chose to stay on the wait list at The Birches at Saugerties. No penalty for declining the new property.

Even more important, the wait lists themselves can help create new affordable senior housing. Case in point: New York State agencies can use wait lists as a region’s proof of need when they decide where to allocate funding. The senior population in Ulster County continues to grow, and with it the need for affordable housing grows as well. If local, state, and federal agencies can see hard proof of that need, funding will help fill that gap. New York State Senator John J. Bonacic spoke of the need for affordable housing at the recent dedication of The Birches at Chambers in the town of Ulster. Here are the Senator’s comments click here.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for the wait list! It may not be as long a wait as you think…

Resident Profile: Joe Vanacore

Friday, July 9th, 2010

TOWN OF ULSTER, NY – Joe Vanacore, a native of Jamaica, Queens, has had the kind of experiences in his life that most people only read about in books. And, in fact, when it comes to Joe, you can actually read about his exploits as a tank driver in Patton’s army in The Liberators, a book published in 2010, written by Michael Hirsh.

“We surprised Patton himself in terms of what we did to the enemy,” recalls Joe of his time spent in the European Theater of War. “We never lost a fight to the enemy, and he started giving us all the dirty work because he could depend on us to do the job.”

As a tank driver, Joe got a first-hand tour of Europe—with the majority of his sights seen through the tank periscope—and, with the use of his bulldozer-modified tank, personally busted in the gates of the Ohrdruf concentration camp, located near Weimar, Germany.

As a veteran, Joe was chosen to open the recent dedication of The Birches at Chambers by leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

In the years after the war, Joe kept working hard, making his living in the construction business and moving up to Shokan in 1955 with his wife.

After over 40 years in Shokan, the couple made their way to Kingston because of health issues. “My wife got pretty sick. So we got her a bed at Golden Hill, and she died there only a month later.”

Since then, Joe had moved into a senior complex in Kingston, a place that didn’t have much going for it, in his eyes. “The buildings were very cheesy, cheap,” he says. Worse, this veteran didn’t feel safe there. So two months ago, after a recommendation from his granddaughter in the real estate business, Joe moved into his new apartment in The Birches at Chambers.

“Let’s put it this way,” he says of his new home. “In the last 25 years, I moved about four times, maybe longer than that. When I saw this apartment, I said, ‘this is it, I’ll never move again.’

“I find it very nice. They keep you occupied. You got a gym downstairs with a trainer, you can do all the exercises you need or you want. You got the art room for arts and crafts, you got the computer room, you got a movie room, you got a card playing room. Just name it—everything is happy. The people are really satisfied. I have never heard anybody say they didn’t like it.”

Part of what makes Joe’s home so good is the personal attention provided by the staff and management, particularly Birchez Associates’ founder and managing member Steve Aaron and his wife Judy.

“Their objective here is to make the people happy, and keep them happy. And it’s not easy to do, when you’ve got that many old people,” he says with a laugh. “They’ll complain about the air, for crying out loud.

“But he takes care of it, Steve. He doesn’t let any complaints get by him.”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com