Staten Island Neighborhoods: North Shore - Your Soap Box
By Pearl Minsky
April 15, 2010
Bilee Seffern-Ludders of New Brighton
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — We asked Mrs. Ludders about her interest and participation in Staten Island’s cultural and civic organizations.
“I moved from Manhattan, where I obtained a Ph.D. in psychology, to Staten Island in 1972. As a Manhattanite, I was employed as an interviewer at CBS news, became a trustee at Cathedral of St. John the Divine and joined the Council for Greater New York Meals on Wheels.
“When I first moved to Staten Island, the late Eleanor Proske invited me to help at Snug Harbor. At that time, I, also, taught tennis at Notre Dame Academy and started community work on the board of the Council for the Arts [and Humanities] for Staten Island.
“Thereafter, I have sat on the boards of the Staten Island Symphony for 20 years, where I became a vice-president; the Alice Austen House museum, from which I won the Clear Comfort Award for pioneering its preservation; the Preservation League of Staten Island for 16 years, the Snug Harbor East Civic Association, and now, in addition, serve on the committees for the Botanical Garden luncheons, which I have done for 10 years, and the Staten Island Ballet’s Snow Ball.
“My husband, an attorney and an opera aficionado, and I attend many operas.
“We both love the ballet and see many ballet performances in Manhattan, as well, but we especially love the Staten Island Ballet. The brilliant Ellen Tharpe, its C.E.O. and artistic director, who, incidentally, was a dance teacher for the Trump children, introduced us to this beacon of light, hope and culture on Staten Island. Her talent is enormous and if someone came to one performance, they’d come more often. It is so eclectic — not just presenting tutu ballets, but, also, ballets with operatic themes. It is a triumph and could become a first class company.
“The school is also wonderful for the children who attend. They perform in some of the ballets and show so much discipline. I’m going to see that this company receives more attention and fuller audiences, even if I have to pay for the entire front row myself.”
- Pearl Minsky
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