Rye Neck High School students embrace living close to the Big Apple, and – thanks to The New York City Club – they get to visit at least six times a year.

 

By Janice Llanes Fabry

 

Rye Neck High School students embrace living close to the Big Apple, and – thanks to The New York City Club – they get to visit at least six times a year.

 

Faculty club advisor Liz Mahony, who has been teaching math at RNHS for 23 years, started the extracurricular club seven years ago. “We had been taking European trips with the kids for years, but we weren’t going to the greatest city in the world, so we changed that,” said Ms. Mahony. “Not only do the kids learn all about the city, but how to navigate it.”

 

The New York City Club is run by Mahony and an executive board made up of five students: Sage Reisner, Hanna Pedersen, Lane Kirschner, Angela Noguchi, and Lucas Bucknavage.

 

“A lot of students don’t have the opportunity to get to the city much, so we set up affordable, fun trips,” explained Ms. Reisner. “There is so much culture in the city and so many places are often overlooked, too.”

 

Ms. Pedersen added, “We discuss what’s available, dates, prices, possible school conflicts. We also take advantage of holiday activities.”

 

Once the club has made their decision, they open the trip to 20 juniors and seniors, who may go on as many or as few trips as they like. Currently, the club is putting up flyers for a visit to the National Comedy Theater in Times Square.

 

One of Ms. Mahony’s favorite itineraries is starting out at St. Paul’s Chapel on their visits to Chinatown. “It’s the oldest public building in New York City, dating back to 1766, and it’s where first responders assembled on 9/11. It also has a great view of the Freedom Tower,” she explained with the fluidity of a tour guide.

 

Ms. Mahony’s classroom is filled with blown-up photos of past trips. The two constants are ice-skating in Rockefeller Center to kick off the holiday season and ending the school year with a stop at the teacher’s home for pizza before heading to Serendipity, an Upper East Side eatery where ice cream sundaes and frozen hot chocolate rule. Other excursions have included Broadway musicals, off-Broadway shows, Central Park, the Bronx Zoo, Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum, and the Big Apple Circus.