A big thank you to Dan Eudine

To the editor:

Farewell and good luck to Dan Eudine, executive director of Riverdale Neighborhood House.

After almost 20 years of leading and growing Riverdale Neighborhood House, Dan resigned on Aug. 23 for a hopefully less stressful job in Rockland County.

Under Dan’s leadership, Neighborhood House expanded its early childhood programs and was an early leader in universal pre-K education. Services to assist youth in getting into college were grown and networked with Mosholu Montefiore and Kingsbridge Heights community centers.

Dan’s dream of building a new building to service teens year-round with a game room, lounge, gymnasium, meeting rooms, a kitchen, and professional staff offices was finally finished and is in full use not only for teens, but sports programs for all ages, as well as adult education and fitness.

A merger was completed with Riverdale Community Center with Neighborhood House taking over the struggling agency and strengthening it.

Dan expanded youth services that were free to the community at IN-Tech on West 228th Street, and after school at his own building on Riverdale Avenue.

As the former executive director of the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center (I retired in June 2017), I have had the pleasure and honor of working with Dan for 20 years. Both our agencies are members of United Neighborhood Houses of New York.

When I retired, my board of directors honored me for 25 years of outstanding service. I felt proud and appreciated.

I want Dan to feel the same. The Neighborhood House family should have recognized all that Dan has accomplished during his 20 years at the agency.

Dan is a soft-spoken giant in our community, and we are all better people for having known and worked with him.

Since there have been no public announcements, I want to personally and publicly thank Dan Eudine for almost 20 years of service, hard work, commitment and caring.

Don Bluestone

Have an opinion? Share your thoughts as a letter to the editor. Make your submission to letters@riverdalepress.com. Please include your full name, phone number (for verification purposes only), and home address (which will not be published).