Daily Archives: August 5, 2016

Meet Your Local Farmers: Valley Shepherd Creamery

Daego Albero at the Stuyvesant Town Greenmarket (Photo by Maya Rader)

Daego Albero at the Stuyvesant Town Greenmarket (Photo by Maya Rader)

By Maya Rader

Daego Albero has been working for the past three months at Valley Shepherd Creamery, a 120-acre sheep farm and cheese making facility in Morris County, New Jersey. The creamery makes sausages and dairy products including cheese, butter and yogurt.

On an average day, Albero pumps milk, boils it, presses it and molds it. He also cleans dishes. “Everything has to be clean, always,” explained Albero.
One of Albero’s favorite parts of his job is working in the aging caves.

“We age the cheese in a cave because the conditions are not the same (as elsewhere),” said Albero.

Cheesemakers have been using caves for centuries because of the high humidity and cool temperature. Albero likes working in the caves because it is cooler. In other areas of the facility, Albero explained he’s “working in a cheese room that is maybe 100 degrees and really high humidity.” The heat is his least favorite part of the job.

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Indoor places to take your kids when it’s just too hot outside

The pool at Waterside can be used by non-members who purchase a day pass.

The pool at Waterside can be used by non-members who purchase a day pass.

By Sabina Mollot

While the city is finally starting to see some relief after a too-long heat wave made even more brutal due to the humidity, the summer is still only half over. Sure, there a variety of local, outdoor activities for kids scheduled throughout the summer (See T&V’s Around & About section for details), but those can get rained out and other times, it’s just too hot to be out all day. So, this week, Town & Village is putting the spotlight on a few local places where parents can bring their kids for some recreation in indoor, air-conditioned bliss.

One is Ibiza Kidz, the new shop in Stuyvesant Town which has branched out from just selling clothes, shoes and toys to offering weekly puppet shows.
Not long after opening the store around the holidays, Carole Husiak, who owns the business with her husband Johnny, started looking at additional ways to use the space on First Avenue. She ended up deciding to host puppet shows on Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. and again at 11 a.m. The shows quickly became draws to the point where some parents were opting to pay for a few in advance at a discount rather than just dropping in. (That would be $22 as opposed to the $25 drop-in rate, which includes admission for the adult accompanying the child.) There are also occasional book readings.

Husiak, who also lives in Stuyvesant Town, explained, “We’re going beyond the classic retail concept. By focusing on more than just the merchandise it serves the community so much better. That’s what I’m hearing from all the parents.”

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