Thu., Oct. 29

Nosh night

Riverdale Temple, located at 4545 Independence Ave., will host a “nosh night” meet and greet for singles 55 and older at 7:30 p.m.

There is a $15 admission charge.

To reserve a spot, call 718- 548-3800 ext. 0.

Sonnet marathon

Horace Mann High School, located at 231 W. 246th St., will host its “Annual Shakespeare Club Sonnet Marathon” during first period in the Shakespeare Garden.

Students and faculty are welcome to come read a sonnet by any author. Prospective participants interested in reading should call Eliza Harkins, Ms. Little, Mr. Bauld, or Ms. Bahr with the title of their chosen sonnet by Tuesday, Oct. 27. There will also be some slots reserved for last-minute readers on the day of the marathon.

For more information, call 718-548-4000.

Garden walk

Wave Hill, located at West 249th Street and Independence Avenue, will host a garden walk, meeting on the grounds at the Perkins Visitor Center, at 1 p.m.

Participants can explore the Herbert and Hyonja Abrons Woodland and other areas of the garden with Horticultural Interpreter Charles Day to see native trees that would have been familiar to both the Algonquians and the early Dutch settlers.

The walk will be repeated Saturday, Nov. 7.

For more information, call 718-549-3200.

Study sessions

Mishkan Ha’am, the Westchester- Riverdale Reconstructionist Group, will hold the first of three study sessions examining the “masur tradition”- a practice of ethical selfdiscipline- at 7:30 p.m. at the Reformed Church of Hastings, 18 Farragut Ave., in Hastingson- Hudson. Other upcoming events include an Oct. 30 “chanting” service at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday Oct. 31 Tot Shabbat service geared toward children at 11 a.m.

For more information, visit www.mishkanhaam.org or call 914 478-4996.

Public hearing

The Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation, Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Disability Services, of which City Councilman Oliver Koppell is the Chair, is holding a hearing at 1 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at 250 Broadway.

The hearing is on “The Quality of Housing and Support in Adult Homes and the Implication of the Disability Advocates, Inc. vs. Paterson Decision.”

Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis of Federal District Court in Brooklyn recently ruled that New York State had discriminated against thousands of mentally ill people in New York City by leaving them in privately-run adult homes. He said that the state was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by housing more than 4,300 mentally ill people in “homes” where they were isolated and had little privacy, freedom or enriching activities. The judge ordered the state to come up with a “remedial” plan to correct the warehousing of the mentally disabled by early November.

This is part of the October 29, 2009 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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