When one walks through Scarsdale Village, one may see dozens of stores but few people on the sidewalks. Considering how much Scarsdale Village has to offer, the number of people in the village is suspiciously low. 

To combat the low foot traffic in the Village, a group of SHS students created Scarsdale Youth Business and Advocacy. “We created SYBA with a goal of supporting local businesses in recovering from the pandemic by increasing foot traffic in the village,” said Zach Berman ’23. “One of the main ways we will do this is by increasing teen foot traffic in particular,” said Anna Feldstein ’23.

Berman and Feldstein are the presidents and founders of SYBA. Their founding staff consists of five SHS sophomores: Mason Ruzumna ’23, Juliet Schneider ’23, Daniel Rublin ’23, Katie Han ’23, and Campbell Alin ’23. 

The staff feels that they are cohesive. “We work together really well, and I’m sure we will do a lot of good work together,” said Schneider. Ruzumna explained that even though not everyone in the group knew each other well, the group instantly clicked. “It was almost like we were all friends already… we have not disagreed much at all, and have had fun figuring things out as we go,” said Ruzumna.

SYBA has had two successful events thus far. A food packing event in June drew a large crowd of SHS students, and a chalking event in July drew kids of all ages. 

SYBA’s third official event is planned for this Saturday, October 2, 2021, in the Village Center between 3 and 5 pm. “Working with Feeding Westchester, this event will bring the community together to help package meals for people who need them,” said Berman. 

Berman explained that spending a Saturday doing good for people in need can be extremely gratifying. “While we all enjoy spending time with friends, doing work with friends for people in need can be more enjoyable and is a much more gratifying experience,” said Berman.