Community Corner

Dispatches: The Changing American Dream

Starting this week, Scarsdale Patch will be chronicling both the negative effects of the economic crisis and the creative and innovative ways people all across the country are responding to it.

Last week, Scarsdale Patch talked with , a third-generation Italian family whose small, Scarsdale-based cobbler shop, Vaccaro's Shoe Repair, is closing its doors after surviving 14 national recessions, one World War, a shifting economy and the rise of multinational corporations since Luke Vaccaro's grandfather, Donato, moved to the Village in 1929 with nothing but calloused hands, a burgeoning trade and boundless ambition. 

Filled with fortitude and resilience, the Vaccaros' story is a classic example of the American Dream — the ideology that hard work and gumption yields prosperity, regardless of religion, race, economic status or origin. 

This ideology, which resonated with readers so strongly that over 100 people shared the Vaccaros' story with friends, family and neighbors via Facebook, is currently in flux due to the dizzying array of changes Americans  — and Scarsdale residents  — are facing every day in light of national debates concerning unemployment, foreclosures, debt, religion, government and private enterprise. 

Find out what's happening in Scarsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There's no such thing as a singular American Dream. Every individual, from the recently-graduated college senior forced to compromise their vision of the future as they move home while struggling to find entry-level jobs to the business executive whose stock plummeted in the latest market dip, has their own vision of personal achievement. What they all share in common, though, is that the journey towards success, happiness and self-actualization is now fraught with brand-new obstacles brought on by the economic crisis — and everyone is wondering what's the best way to proceed.  

Starting this week, Patch will inaugurate a new series: "Dispatches: The Changing American Dream." This series will explore how jobs, homeownership, education, debt and upward mobility are affecting the American Dream — and how local communities are reacting to the pressures. 

Find out what's happening in Scarsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Through your participation, stories, pictures, videos and comments, tell us what issues and what stories in Scarsdale go to the heart of your American Dream. Does the closing of Vaccaro's Shoe Repair ignite a desire for your family to shop, eat and spend money locally? Do you have a neighbor whose political fire has been reignited by the trying times? Have local volunteer or business groups shown innovation and creativity in light of dwindling investors or donors? We want to hear about it! Email your stories and suggestions to kirstin.fawcett@patch.com — and prepare for upcoming grassroots coverage of what matters most to Scarsdale's future. 


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