Stuyvesant High School Class of 1957 Irregulars
 




Contact: webmaster@stuy57.org


ZOOM Meeting, April 3, 2024
April 3, 2024

22 classmates met on Zoom. We discussed the weather from our locales coast to coast, Jewish restaurants, and personal memories. Our legacy scholarship will be awarded again in June but will conclude then without new funding. To donate, click on the Parents Association link, upper right this website. Our next dinner meeting is being planned. Stay tuned....


January 30 Irregulars Dinner
February 3, 2024

12 classmates and an accompanying woman filled our table. Two guys called in sick (minor stuff); the large round table wouldn’t have fit 15. Conversation was among adjacent seats, but did extend to the full table. The option for an agenda was largely ignored; we seem to like hanging out. Look for a Zoom meeting later in winter, and dinner again in spring.


Archived Posts



Last updated May 6, 2024 (JHG/dhg)
 
 
 
 

Archived Posts
November 29, 2023
October 16, 2023
August 30, 2023
July 5, 2023
May 16, 2023
March 21, 2023
January 25, 2023
October 16, 2022: Reunion
August 27, 2022: Pre-Reunion Committee Meeting
June 29, 2022: Zoom Meeting Report
February 23, 2022: Reunion Program Meeting
November 10, 2021: Reunion Planning
August 12, 2021: Stuy '57 65th Anniversary Reunion
May 5, 2021: Zoom Meeting(s)
January 27, 2021: Zoom Meeting
October 28, 2020: Zoom Meeting
July 31, 2020: Zoom Meeting
May 7, 2020: ZOOM Meeting(s)
January 8, 2020: Irregulars Dinner
September 25, 2019: Stuy '57 Dinner
June 14, 2019: Most Recent Class Dinner
March 27, 2019: Dinner Meeting
January 9, 2019: Dinner Meeting
October 31, 2018: Latest Gatherings
August 27, 2018: Next Regular Irregulars Dinner: September 12
May 11, 2018: The Irregulars Go Regular
March 5, 2018: Louis Cardona, RIP
March 5, 2018: Two Post-Reunion Letters (reprinted with permission of the authors)
October 14-15, 2017: Reunion 2017: A Recap
A Brief History of the Stuy57 Irregulars
November 29, 2017: Introducing this New Website
 
 

Irregulars ZoomReturn to Top
November 29, 2023

15 classmates joined the Zoom call from as far as California and much closer Massachusetts, though the majority were near or in New York. The agenda-less gathering began with a discussion of the books of several professors among us, moved to some 20th Century history of Poland and Russia, and concluded with mostly pleasant, some funny, recollections of memorable Stuyvesant teachers. We’ll meet in person mid-winter and Zoom again in March. Be alert for our not-so-frequent emails.

Dinner MeetingReturn to Top
October 16, 2023

Eleven classmates and one spouse met for dinner on October 16, with one agenda item: “schmoozing.” The much younger - by several months - spouse was an active participant, providing a hint of what we missed at our then, sadly, all-boys alma mater. Watch for notices of our next Zoom meeting.

Zoom MeetingReturn to Top
August 30, 2023

22 classmates from eight states and one province gathered without an agenda. Our legacy scholarship is funded for 2024. Going beyond will depend on our continuing donations. Discussion ranged from hair (facial and cranial) to world-wide travel (by Lambretta and Beetle) and the politics of Taiwan and China. A good time was had by all. Save the date for our next in-person meeting: Monday, October 16, at 6 PM.

Dinner MeetingReturn to Top
July 5, 2023

Our Chinese dinner tradition continued with ten classmates attending. Without any agenda, we enjoyed our meal and good company. We will continue to meet in-person and via Zoom. The next Zoom meeting will be scheduled for later in the summer.

Friday, May 10 Irregulars MeetingReturn to Top
May 16, 2023

Despite a computer glitch, 18 of us met without an agenda. We shared personal updates and also had enlightening discussions of sponges, natural and artificial, and artificial intelligence. In-person and remote gatherings will continue. The beat goes on....

Post-Pandemic In-Person MeetingReturn to Top
March 21, 2023

Ten of us resumed our Chinese dinner tradition; a good time was had by all. We shall continue. Advance notice of our next Zoom meeting: Save the date, Wednesday, May 10, 6 to 7 PM.

January 25, 2023Return to Top
January 25, 2023

The Stuy57 Irregulars met via Zoom, morphing from the "reunion committee" back to our "irregular" identity. Twenty-five classmates attended and collectively expressed the wish to continue remote gatherings The group also agreed that in-person meetings might resume if a suitable venue is located. Non-local participants expressed a wish that other locales where classmates are numerous might get a local list to enable convening in-person . As always, most of the time was spent talking about Stuy memories. Ongoing Zoom meetings will be planned about quarterly.

ReunionReturn to Top
October 16, 2022

Twenty-three of us (11 accompanied) participated in one or more of seven events during the weekend of October 7-9, 2022, to celebrate our favorite high school, our class, and one another. We dined, drank, and learned from class speakers (Oscar Garfein, Allen Kaplan, Alex Liebowitz and David Konstan), five students (one a young woman), and the principal, Dr. Seung Yu. Most of all, we enjoyed each other. We raised funds securing our annual legacy scholarship ($1,957) for 2023, and will continue to encourage additional support. Special thanks go to the most active committee members: Julian Jacoby, David Sider, Jonathan Liebowitz and Richard Trapani, and to two generous classmates who could not attend, Jeff Bolton and Michael Rogers. The Class of 1957 Irregulars will resume its meetings, initially with Zoom, eventually in person. We octogenarians will carry on as part of "our strong band."

Pre-Reunion Committee MeetingReturn to Top
August 27, 2022

Eighteen classmates met on August 24 to finalize planning for our 65th anniversary reunion. The knotty issue of Zoom coverage was untied: If allowed by the school we could run Zoom without paying a technician. [It will be allowed!] The final schedule was reviewed. The Parents Association all-volunteer leadership is in transition; our fund balance isn’t available. Registration remains open. Fundraising for our scholarship will continue through December. In rehearsal for post-reunion gatherings, schmoozing filled the balance of our meeting time.

June 29 Zoom Meeting ReportReturn to Top
June 29, 2022

A baker's dozen classmates met Wednesday evening, joined briefly by the Executive Director of Stuy's Alumni Association. Responses to invitations by then were adequate to maintain the schedule as distributed earlier. Less than adequate is the number signing up for "remote only" attendance for the other-than-lunch events at the school: One! A decision on remote participation will be deferred through summer, reply-dependent. Look for our fundraising appeal soon!

Reunion Program MeetingReturn to Top
February 23, 2022

25 classmates met to set the program for our 65th anniversary reunion, October 7-9. 30-year-old “new” Stuy will host in-person events: Zoom-enhanced memorial meeting, student panel and classmate-led topical talks, a closing lunch with “open mic” session and a discussion with Principal Yu. We will cheer the football Peglegs between festive in-person dinners Friday and Saturday. Present at this meeting was Diego Segalini ’98, SHSAA’s new executive director who offered assistance. The coming months will provide a major fundraising effort. Please donate to our legacy scholarship now by linking on this website to the Parents Association, steward of our funds. Expect formal invitations in early spring.

Reunion PlanningReturn to Top
November 10, 2021

24 classmates filled Zoom screens to continue planning for our 2022 reunion. It will be held on the weekend of October 7-9. Program development continues with a variety of panels and/or individual speakers discussed. Dining, hotels, excursion and sightseeing options are likely to result in a complete program to be approved at our next committee meeting, the Sunday segments at the school to be remote as well as in person. As always, friendly discussion filled the hour.

Stuy '57 65th Anniversary ReunionReturn to Top
August 12, 2021

Seventeen of us met on Zoom to begin to plan our October 2022 reunion. Going forward, we will send advance reminders of coming meetings, the next one in November. Principal Seung Yu has offered full cooperation for our efforts, and Alumni Association policy provides independent reunions with an up-to-date mailing list and publicity.

28 classmates responded to our survey, confirming a multi-event schedule similar to that of our 50th anniversary, hybrid where feasible. Several of those at the meeting took responsibility for gathering dining and hotel information, for planning panel(s) and additional events, and for making calls. Our tax-exempt bank account is in place for reunion and for our scholarship award.

Stay safe and healthy.

Zoom Meeting(s) Return to Top
May 5, 2021

Two dozen classmates met (remotely), morphing from the “1957 Irregulars” to the “65th Anniversary Reunion Committee,” in anticipation of an October 2022 reunion weekend. Committee membership remains open to classmates who will join in the planning process. The range of issues requiring attention was discussed. A summary was sent to those with e-addresses.

Zoom Meeting(s) Return to Top
January 27, 2021

From East and West Coasts, the Midwest, the Rockies, Texas and Canada, 39 classmates gathered on Zoom to meet and question Stuy’s new principal, Seung Yu, and to enjoy matching old faces with Indicator portraits of teenagers. Mr. Yu held his own, spending a full half-hour with us, and was duly impressed. We then heard one mini-bio and schmoozed, and still had time to express the wish for a multi-event and hybrid 65th anniversary reunion in 2022.

Zoom Meeting(s) Return to Top
October 28, 2020

27 Stuy ’57 classmates got to the Zoom meeting; a glitch kept the invitation from those with first-names M-Z. A few emailed in timely, were sent individual invitations, and got in. Two days earlier, the new Stuy principal, Seung (pronounced “sing”) Yu, phoned for a 30-minute conversation, reported at the meeting. He sounded young (to a guy our age), but enthusiastic, knowledgeable and qualified. His experience includes 1) being founding principal of an engineering and computer science high school (the first specialized high school in New York City with no entrance exam), 2) an advanced degree from Columbia’s Teachers College, 3) teaching English in a Brooklyn High School, and 4) experience in the Peace Corps and DC public schools, among other respected non-profits. He will be happy to help us with arrangements as we approach our 65th anniversary reunion in 2022. The balance of the meeting was comprised of a dozen or so three-minute bios in which “our strong band” renewed itself once more. We expect to meet again mid-winter. Meanwhile: Stay safe and healthy!

Zoom Meeting(s) Return to Top
July 31, 2020

The Class of 1957 Irregulars held a first open Zoom gathering at 6 PM, July 29, 2020. Twenty-five classmates joined in. The program consisted of reports of lives. The hour allowed for 19 brief talks, most discussing families and careers, some reflecting on Stuyvesant, a few philosophical, several humorous. Many of those present were academics, most still teaching. There was commentary on the pandemic, with but scant allusion to politics. Good cheer was the predominant feeling, with tacit agreement that these meetings continue. That’s the plan!

ZOOM Meeting(s) Return to Top
May 7, 2020

Our dinner meeting scheduled for April 15 was cancelled due to Covid-19. We will carry on though, as we look forward to 2022 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of our Stuyvesant graduation at Carnegie Hall. Toward that end, an experimental Zoom meeting was convened on April 29. Long-term Irregulars and recent dinner attendees were invited; 13 participated. Dinner conversation doesn’t work for a Zoom meeting. Our classmate Chris Lange, a working scientist at New York’s Downstate Medical Center, presented an excellent summary on the novel Corona virus and its associated pandemic, Covid-19. Active discussion ensued.

We’d begun the meeting with a salute to the memory of Bruce Stern, a long-term leading member of the Irregulars, who died of Covid on April 25, four days earlier. Several of us were among the 200+ attendees at his Zoom memorial service on April 30, the evening following our meeting. We can also meet remotely with an open class invitation if our gatherings are structured. We hope to do so in mid-summer.

Periodic meetings have enhanced reunion participation, likely making us the first Stuy class to expect a 65th anniversary party. We hope to return to in-person schmoozing before long, but for now we want suggestions for topics to provide necessary structure for remote meetings in which we must “raise a hand” to speak (unmuted).

Our annual class scholarship remains active. Please link to the Stuy Parents Association to contribute on line. Check “Class of 1957 supporter” to direct donations to our fund.

Stay safe and healthy! Seeya (on Zoom) this summer.

Irregulars Dinner Return to Top
January 8, 2020

Eleven of us met at Sammy’s Noodle Shop for an evening of good fellowship; 13 sent regrets. Paul Slater was a surprising twelfth, joining us - practically on his way to the airport to return to his California home. Nostalgic conversation was, as always, the primary agenda item. Warm greetings from Stuyvesant Principal Eric Contreras were conveyed. We did not fundraise last month but have now worked out an on-line means of contribution for our annual scholarship: on our website, http://www.stuy57.org/, link to the Parents Association, and complete its donation form. All contributions from Class of 1957 alumni will be credited to our scholarship fund. Happy New Year!

Stuy '57 Dinner Return to Top
September 25, 2019

Fifteen of us gathered at Sammy’s Noodle Shop for an evening of good fellowship. Sixteen sent regrets, in some cases messages that were read aloud. The new frequency of irregular gatherings has generated a following that portends success for what is likely Stuyvesant’s first free-standing 65th anniversary reunion.

Our scholarship fund does need replenishment. Please click the link on the Parents Association logo to make a contribution marked "Class of 1957 legacy scholarship."

Let’s keep moving toward 2022!

Most Recent Class Dinner Return to Top
June 14, 2019

Thirteen of us gathered at Noodles 28 on June 5th. 17 classmates sent regards. Our annual scholarship ($1,957) was awarded at a school assembly that very evening, the winner: Isabel Yin, whose biography will be forwarded when we receive it. Our website www.stuy57.org surpassed 25,300 hits in its 19 months, easily exceeding the former website with its 16,500 hits over a 45-month life.

We welcomed new attendee David Silver, and thanked him for taking responsibility for our “snail mail” list (for classmates without email). We hope this email will generate a volunteer to take over the task of searching the internet for “missing” classmates. Please respond if you have the time and inclination.

Sadly we report that SHSAA has become a virtual foundation posing as an alumni association. With its financial forms routinely a year and a half late, the only reliable datum seems a continued drop in dues-paid membership. The student Spectator just published our op-ed with a response from the SHSAA president. See it here: www.stuyspec.com/opinions/shsaa-vs-csa-the-alumni-make-their-case.

The Specialized High School Admissions Test remains in the news in the face of continuing decline in minority admissions offers to Stuyvesant and other selective New York City high schools. That test as single criterion remains protected by state law for Stuy, Tech and Bronx Science, so there is little chance of imminent change.

Most of our time, as always, was spent in good fellowship. We plan to reconvene in September. We’re always glad to hear from classmates.

Dinner Meeting Return to Top
March 27, 2019

Earlier in the week it seemed we’d have 16 old guys dining at a new venue; ailments and aging memory reduced attendance to ten, with eleven others sending good wishes. Schmoozing was unlimited though, with expected disagreement over the admissions test, very recently a front-page story in the New York Times. The food was excellent, so we’ll return to Noodles 28 again - in June.

Stay tuned.

Dinner Meeting Return to Top
January 9, 2019

Fourteen of us convened at Pete’s Tavern on January 9, having learned just days before that the The Cottage, our (ir)regular venue for many years had gone out of business at the end of 2018. Thanks to Barry Greenhouse for making the arrangements. Suggestions for a new (ir)regular venue (preferably Chinese) are welcome. More frequent scheduling of dinners is clearly successful, not only with attendance, but also with an increase in email correspondence (to webmaster@stuy57.org), and over 18 thousand hits in 13 ½ months on our website www.stuy57.org (compared with 14.5 thousand hits to date since August, 2015 on the former website). Daily hits average 10.5 times those of the old website.

This year’s solicitation for our legacy scholarship generated $1100, bringing our fund balance to $5253, nearly enough to fund annual awards ($1957) through 2021. Additional contributions can be made at any time by linking to the Stuy Parents Association from our website.

SHSAA continues to be opaque and unaccountable to members. Its focus on major donors has had its first success ($1 million for enhancing Stuy’s robotics program), but with no indication of overall fundraising and paid membership, now for over five years. It is now an endowment, but no longer an alumni association. We deserve both! We continue to maintain relationship with Principal Eric Contreras, who agrees that SHSAA reform is needed.

As always, much of our time was spent in convivial schmoozing. We expect to meet again in late winter or early spring.

Latest Gatherings Return to Top
October 31, 2018

Nine of 19 enjoyed the camaraderie on September 12 at Pete’s Tavern, when our “official” dinner was cancelled due to kitchen problems that closed The Cottage, our regular venue. A rescheduled dinner was held on October 24. 17 had signed up, 12 made it; an additional 12 sent regrets and regards. More regular irregular gatherings have sparked interest, a big plus for our plan for what we believe will be the first Stuy 65th anniversary reunion in 2022. Our website, www.stuy57.org, is getting lots of hits, and a snail-mail list is being developed for us to contact classmates without email. If you know the whereabouts of anyone on our “Missing” list, please let us know.

Principal Eric Contreras is staying on the job, and busier than most NYC school leaders. Reporters show up at his office often; Stuyvesant is newsworthy. Our “alumni association,” having reelected its self-perpetuating leaders, seems moribund, continuing to fail at needed fundraising. Our 1957 Legacy Scholarship is well-managed by the Parents Association (PA). Click on its link on our website to donate. The PA has recently also agreed to accept alumni donations for a general fund that goes directly to current student activities.

In addition to our usual dinner schmoozing, each guy gave a synopsis of 61 years of life after Stuy. The variety of successful life paths was impressive. We took up one piece of business, reaching general agreement with a suggestion that we hold weekend lunch gatherings for those for whom a weekday night in Manhattan is not possible. We await a volunteer to lead arrangements that we can publicize.

We expect to meet again in early winter. Look for the announcement, and join us if you can.

Next Regular Irregulars Dinner: September 12 Return to Top
August 27, 2018

A baker’s dozen of us met on July 18 for the first “Regular Irregulars” dinner meeting. We’re doing it again in a few weeks: Wednesday, September 12, 6 PM, again at The Cottage, diagonally across the street from Washington Irving High School (Irving Place at East 16). RSVP: webmaster@stuy57.org.

The Irregulars Go Regular Return to Top
May 11, 2018

The Irregulars (our class reunion committee in “off-years”) is going “regular.” We’ve had occasional open committee meetings in the past, and attendees have enjoyed them. The main business at our dinner meetings is good fellowship (along with reports on the state of the Alumni Association, our legacy scholarship, goings on at Stuyvesant, etc.). We believe regular gatherings will benefit preparation for a 65th anniversary celebration in 2022. Our group has always been - and remains - open to members of the class who wish to participate in our enjoyment of each other’s company, and occasional work.

We’re announcing our next two dinner meetings, both Wednesdays, each at The Cottage, a Chinese restaurant near the old school (at Irving Place and East 16th Street): July 18, 6 PM, and September 12, 6 PM. All are welcome (especially out-of-towners who may be visiting the Big Apple on those dates). To join us, simply let us know by one week in advance so we can reserve ample seating.

We’ll send a reminder closer to each date, and we hope you’ll make these dinners a regular part of your calendar going forward.

Louis Cardona, RIP Return to Top
March 5, 2018

A standing-room crowd filled the party room at Coogan's on Sunday, March 4 to celebrate our late classmate Louis Cardona. Champagne provided by Louis's daughter Leslie flowed for nearly two hours. Four Stuy classmates were there (Barry Greenhouse, Jeff Golland, Phil Rodman and Richard Trapani), along with life-long and more recent friends and neighbors, and former colleagues. Several people recounted Louis stories. Jeff read the tribute written by Julian Jacoby:

The Stuyvesant High School Class of 1957 remembers the life of Louis Cardona, a stalwart whose efforts helped to bond us together. He died in the early hours of February 19, 2018, after a four-year battle with cancer, resulting from the 9/11 attacks. Louis was a devoted father to Leslie and Debbie, and a wonderful husband to Emelia, who predeceased him. An air force veteran and a talented photographer, Louis was a student athlete at Stuyvesant, and one of only a handful of Latino students. A sincere friend, he will be missed.

After nearly four years of valiant struggle, Louis is resting in peace.

Two Post-Reunion Letters (reprinted with permission of the authors): Return to Top
March 5, 2018

FOR LOUIS

DINNER AND BRUNCH FOR THOSE WHO WOULD STRIVE,
TO GATHER WITH THOSE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE,
FROM THE CLASS OF SEVEN, PRECEDED BY FIVE.
IT WAS MY FIRST REUNION JOINING THE HIVE,
WITH FIFTY GRADS AND OCCASIONAL WIVE,
GREAT PLACE FOR DINNER WITH A GROUP THAT WAS LIVE;
BRUNCH AT OLD STUY, STILL A REHABBED OLE DIVE.
THE STUYVESANT PRINCIPAL PRESENTED HIS JIVE;
IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE HOW MANY SURVIVE
FOR OLD TIMES TOOK THE SUBWAY, REFUSING TO DRIVE.
SO GLAD THAT I WENT AND DID NOT DEPRIVE
AN EXPERIENCE FROM WHICH THERE WAS MUCH TO DERIVE.

--N. Barry Greenhouse
-----
The 60th Stuyvesant reunion dinner was lovely and especially propitious for me. I did not see any of my close friends from Stuyvesant at the 50th reunion though it certainly was very enjoyable also. However, at the 60th I was delighted to reconnect with Joel Novak who I hadn’t seen in 60 years! What a treat to meet up with a old friend after all those years. We talked and talked throughout the dinner about our lives and experiences which were very interesting and very different. We graduated high school at a time when opportunities were everywhere and most of us, I’m sure, had rich lives. When we were young Stuy students we were somewhat self-assured and even a little cocky, not unusual qualities for privileged kids in a premiere school. However, the vicissitudes of life did attenuate those early qualities making for closer and warmer feelings between alumni. One of the few benefits of getting older and meeting old classmates after a half century or more!

--Arthur Kramer

Reunion 2017: A Recap Return to Top
October 14-15, 2017

Forty-five classmates came together during a warm fall weekend to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of our graduation from Stuyvesant High School. We were accompanied by 18 spouses, two girlfriends, a son, a daughter, and - at the Sunday brunch - Stuyvesant Principal Eric Contreras, who was accompanied by his nine-year old son. Classmates traveled from nearby New Jersey and Connecticut, and from Massachusetts, Ohio, Florida, Colorado and California to join with 33 New Yorkers at one or both events.

Most attendees arrived early at Dolcino Trattoria Toscana, the entire Second Avenue restaurant having been reserved for the class’s exclusive use. Nametags were distributed to aid aging memories and weakened eyesight. Alumni and their companions engaged for nearly an hour in animated talk and libation, before they were asked to be seated for salad at tables set for intimate groups of six to eight.

Formal recognition of the committee members was greeted with applause, and table-hopping was encouraged. Waiters offered a choice of main courses as relative strangers and friends made or renewed acquaintanceship. Unlike our stag experience in the 1950’s, female companions participated fully in lively discussion at each table. As the evening progressed, table-hopping (for those still able) increased. There was reluctance to close the evening to return home or to hotels, and some who had not made reservations decided to sign up to join us to celebrate the next day.

Sunday’s brunch at the old building second floor cafeteria also began with milling around. The group sat to receive a distribution of the list of “missing” classmates, in the hope some might be “found.” An “In Memoriam” list was also distributed, and a period of respectful silence observed. A slide show from our 50th anniversary reunion was available for viewing on a small computer. Gifts were distributed to the classmate who traveled farthest (Paul Ephraim, California), and to the committee members who made arrangements for each of the events (Bruce Stern, Alan Aronson). As we adjourned for food, Principal Eric Contreras and his young son arrived. He then spent a full 75 minutes discussing Stuyvesant today, and then responding to our questions. His presentation demonstrated that, as he had said, his position was not a job; it was a life style.

The concluding portion of the event was our “open mic” session; with memories and anecdotes providing the content. The tentative result to our fundraising effort was over $7,000 collected to support our annual Class Legacy Scholarship ($1,957) for a graduation senior, funding three more years 2018-20. We will resume fundraising next year and through our next celebration (2022), since the committee was encouraged to keep “our strong band” going. Stuyvesant has no record of a 65th anniversary reunion. Our committee accepted the challenge and, morphing back to our occasional dinners as the “Irregulars,” we look forward to gathering again five years from now. But let’s remain in as much contact as possible.

Jeff Golland ’57 P’92

A Brief History of the Stuy57 Irregulars Return to Top
The year was 1985. I had just become president of the Brandeis University Alumni Association, following 10 years on its board. My college class had enjoyed reunions every five years, from 1966. I’d chaired my class’s 20th anniversary reunion, and I had recently been recruited to the board of a reactivated Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association (SHSAA). This group had begun to promote the major activity of alumni groups: class reunions. Our class had never had one, missing out on the most recent, a 25th anniversary, in 1982. There was no internet; there was a meager mailing list. It devolved on those locals who might be interested to create a class mailing list, and to plan a 30th year reunion. I contacted a few classmates whose names I recognized from the minimal SHSAA list, and we convened at a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan. Chinese meals would become the major draw for regular - though irregular - meetings of this group.

A two-event weekend featured a Chinese dinner, taking over an entire restaurant on the Bowery. A few retired faculty members joined us, as did Principal Abe Baumel. We agreed to hold reunions every five years….

18 years elapsed; we were now two years away from the golden anniversary of our graduation. The Irregulars reconvened, again at a Chinese restaurant, and, aided by the internet and a cooperative SHSAA leadership, we produced a college-style, seven-event weekend in October of 2007. During the planning period, the Irregulars, again a reunion committee, met every other month, assisted by “corresponding” classmates who had moved to distant states and nations. Our concluding event, a brunch at the new Stuyvesant building in Battery Park City, was attended by Principal Stan Teitel. This time the commitment to continue to support our class - and our high school - was sustained.

55th anniversaries aren’t big draws. In partnership with SHSAA, we held a brunch at the Old Building, joined by newly-designated Interim Principal, Jie Zhang, who was less than two months on the job. We took this opportunity, belatedly, to establish an annual scholarship of $1,957 for a graduating senior.

The Irregulars was always an open group, and its periodic dinners, still held (mostly) at Chinese restaurants, served to build bonds of friendship and fellowship among us. Classmates new to the committee became regular Irregulars, while infirmity and mortality exacted their price. We were concerned when, four years ago, SHSAA reduced services to class reunions and pressed class committees to come together for a single May event. We tried to develop cooperation as the time for our 60th anniversary reunion approached. SHSAA moved in a different direction, so we planned our recent two-event weekend independently. Joined at the brunch by Principal Eric Contreras, we succeeded, and our legacy scholarship will continue for years to come. We were encouraged to plan an unprecedented 65th anniversary celebration, and have taken on the challenge. We will continue with New York Chinese dining, and plan to invite you to join us regularly, a practice we’d initiated on occasion during the last five-year interval between reunions. Please participate with us as we face the future.

This too-brief history of the Irregulars is a personal perspective. I hope others will provide responses and recollections, so that a more expansive and collaborative history of our class might be published.

--Jeff Golland

Introducing this New Website Return to Top
November 29, 2017

Dear Classmates,

Welcome to our new Class Email/Website!

As we’ve done following each reunion since 1987, “Your Reunion Committee” has morphed back into the “Stuy 1957 Irregulars.” We have also opened a new, combined email/website: webmaster@stuy57.org and www.stuy57.org. The email is “up” and the website will soon have content. The former email and website no longer represent our group. An explanation is in order.

Each of our earlier reunions was in partnership with a very cooperative Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association (SHSAA). Four years ago, SHSAA changed its focus to endowment fundraising, and instituted a new policy of support for class reunions, backing only those that ceded control to its staff. Several communications have been sent or posted to you over these years, earlier ones hoping that SHSAA would be cooperative before our reunion year. When planning began in earnest, our committee concluded that we must operate independently. SHSAA played favorites from the start in policy enforcement, and - having ignored our requests for the minimal assistance promised in their published policy - they then sent messages to you this spring claiming “Your 60th Reunion” was in May, though they’d been fully informed the prior summer of the October 2017 dates. They treated our independence as a hostile act, and responded in kind. They even sent an informational postcard in late summer that confused some classmates because it arrived three months after it should have been sent.

In mid-July, just three months ahead of our 60th Anniversary weekend, our webmaster cut off access to the committee’s email and website, editing the website on his own, differently from the committee’s instructions. We successfully promoted the events, with our scholarship going forward via The Stuyvesant High School Parents Association (PA), and asked that your checks be made out to that hospitable organization. Our webmaster has since expressed his wish that we stop speaking negatively about SHSAA, and has just posted his recommendation to promote paying dues to SHSAA.

For several weeks following reunion, committee members tried without success to regain cooperative access to our media. To aim for a 65th anniversary celebration, and to support our scholarship fund, we launched this new email/website to resume exchanges with you. Among the links we will provide are those to SHSAA, PA, and Concerned Stuyvesant Alumni (CSA), the group organized some years ago to fix our alumni association. We invite you to access these sites to learn more of the different points of view about supporting our alma mater. We hope that the former class email and website will soon be shut down, but that is not up to us. What you will find here are communications from the committee, now again “the Stuyvesant 1957 Irregulars.” We also hope you will attend our irregular meetings, or participate with us as a corresponding member.

Fraternally yours,

Alan Aaronson, Bruce Stern, Charles Rodman, Chris Lange, Jay Gingold, Jeff Bolton, Jeff Golland, Julian Jacoby, Louis Cardona, Michael Rogers, Oscar Garfein, Phil Rodman, Richard Trapani


Stuy HS

Parents Assn

SHSAA

CSA
Visit SHSAA on Facebook | Visit CSA on Facebook



In Memoriam
We fondly remember our departed classmates. If you learn of the death of anyone not on this list, please contact the webmaster.
  • David Konstan, 5/2/24
  • Sanford Ratzan, 2/29/24
  • Barry Brett, 12/30/23
  • Alan Aaronson, 7/7/22
  • Arthur Altshul
  • Edward Aponte – 8/3/17
  • Gerald Appelbaum – 5/21/21
  • Albert Araujo
  • Bruce Atlas - 2017
  • George Balduzzi
  • William Barron
  • Simon Basse, 9/12/18
  • Robert Beck
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