When you live at North Shore Towers and Country Club, you don’t have to go very far to find something to do all year round thanks to the wide variety of amenities and social activities for residents.
Just ask Fred Chernow, who’s been a resident there for 10 years and has served on the North Shore Towers board of directors for eight years. In that time, he has coordinated many events.
“Residents see me all the time,” he says.
For example, Chernow launched a program in which residents can stream public figures’ speaking engagements at Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y after the events for free. Among them was an interview with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The stream was so popular he had to do it twice, Chernow recalls.
Other events he’s involved with include North Shore Towers’ annual salute to veterans in November, which features patriotic songs in their honor. Among the residents are veterans who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and other wars.
“It’s really a lovely evening,” he says.
His duties also include screening people who want to move to North Shore Towers “to see if they fit in” with the co-op’s lifestyle, he adds. He and another board member interview applicants and then give recommendations to the board, who vote on the applicants.
“Since I’ve been in charge of screening, we have admitted a more diverse group of applicants,” he says. He adds that many “shop in our stores and they’re very active members [who] participate in many things.”
“Fred Chernow moving here was a tremendous addition to the North Shore Towers and Country Club community,” says North Shore Towers General Manager Glen Kotowski. “We are fortunate to have someone of his stature choosing to live and serve here.”
Chernow is also an author who has written several books.
“The most popular one, that Oprah Winfrey liked, is called The Sharper Mind,” he says. “It’s how older people can do exercises that will improve their memory.”
Published by Prentice Hall, it’s available for sale at independent bookstores and on Amazon.com. Chernow also writes for the North Shore Towers Courier newspaper.
After serving as a New York City school principal for 37 years, he retired, but continued to teach at St. John’s University. Chernow lived in Westbury for 19 years before moving to North Shore Towers.
“I love it,” he says. “It’s just a perfect place for me.”
Perks include the arcade/mall that connects all three residential buildings and includes a bank, a movie theater, two restaurants, a supermarket, a dry cleaner, a beauty parlor, a hearing aid center, and other stores.
“You really don’t have to leave the building if you don’t want to [because the mall] connects all three buildings,” he says. “I live in building one. I have a lady friend in building three. If it’s snowing outside, I could visit her in short sleeves. I just take the elevator down to the arcade in my building. I walk to the other end, which is building three. I get in her elevator and I’m up there in maybe five minutes.”
He regularly gets exercise by walking around the arcade and using the club’s gym, as well as using the indoor pool and two outdoor pools in the summer.
“There are wonderful facilities here,” he says. “It’s just a great place to live. And there are many clubs.”
There are also a women’s club, card clubs, mahjong, and much more, he notes.
For more details about the North Shore Towers and Country Club or to book a tour, call Mary Anne Langone, country club manager, at 718-428-5030 ext. 0.
