Another award for The Tree Army

Kingsbridge-based Tree Army is one of nine New York City veteran-owned and -operated companies that will receive a $20,000 grant from Mayor Adams’ administration.

The city’s small business services commissioner James Hendon and the Ron and Kerry Moelis Family Foundation announced the awards last Thursday as part of the “NYC Boss UP Veteran Entrepreneurship Program.” In addition to the grant, each company is enrolled in the SBS small business mentorship program.

“Today and every day we honor and are grateful for the service and sacrifice of the more than 200,000 veterans that call New York City home,” said Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce. “Through the city’s first-ever NYC Boss UP Veteran Entrepreneurship Program, we hope to give back to a community that has given us so much.”

The Tree Army, which also won the Betty Campbell Most Valuable Merchant Award by Community Board 8 this year, is owned and operated by Nick and Joelle Lynch of Kingsbridge. Their company focuses on tree removal, pruning, planting and tree emergency response. They are known for hiring transitioning veterans and dependents. The couple, which served in the U.S. Army, plans to invest their grant funds on new specialty machinery and equipment that will allow them to hire veterans with disabilities.

The other eight recipients include:
• Sergio Adams of Brothers Building Blocks
• Ron Holloway of Woofbowl
• Tsikata Apenyo of indeHealth
• Analiza Quiroz Wolf of Women of Color Rise
• Dan Rossi of AJM Business Service
• Vance Gorman of Vanso Visual Imaging
• Sergio Rodriguera Jr. of Straylight Systems
• Marlin Yinet Santos of Mariachi Mexican Cantina

A farewell to Riverdale Choral's Lettieri

The Riverdale Choral Society will perform a concert Sunday, Dec. 10 at Christ Church Riverdale, 5040 Henry Hudson Parkway at West 252nd Street at 3 p.m.

The winter concert, called “Requiem by Gabriel Fauré and other Timeless Treasures of Choral Music,” will be led by the music director Mun-Tzung Wong. Besides Fauré, the concert will feature the works of Mozart, Bainton, Rutter and Brahms.

It will honor former music director John Lettieri, who served 15 years in that position. The concert will also feature soloists Corrine Byrne, a soprano, and Trevor Hamuschlit-Rocha, a baritone. The guest instrumentalists will be Sonia Bize on the harp and David Štech on the organ.

Tickets are $25.

For more information, go to RiverdaleChoral.org or call (718) 543-2219.

Artists’ beautiful views of Kingsbridge

The theme of Kingsbridge Historical Society’s next meeting is artists’ views of Kingsbridge, Spuyten Duyvil and Inwood. It will take place Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. at the Edgehill Church building, which is the society’s new headquarters.

Don Rice, a society board member, professional musician and music copyist, has brought together a collection of art of the area that includes watercolors, etchings, drawings and paintings. There will be a slide presentation that will feature the art of “ashcan artist” Ernest Lawson (1873-1939) among others.

The society itself is represented in the presentation by works of past members, such as Charlotte Livingston, Francis Vandeveer Kughler, Danny Hauben, Bill Behnken.

The event is free and the society asks anyone to invite a friend. Edgehill is at 2570 Independence Ave., just south of Kappock Street.

For more information, go to KingsbridgerHistoricalSociety.org