Q: I keep seeing these Kennedy Fried Chickens popping up throughout the County. I’ve seen them in New York City for years. Are they just a rip-off of Kentucky Fried Chicken or do they have their own history? — Peter Angelino, Yonkers
A: Unlike Kentucky Fried Chicken (now simply “KFC”), Kennedy Fried Chicken is not a large chain, but rather a string of independently owned businesses that all use the same name and similar colors. There’s no central ownership, and thus there have been disputes between the various owners and between Kennedy and KFC over trademark infringement since an Afghan immigrant started the pseudo-chain in the mid 1970s. The reason for the choice of name is unclear. But, yeah, it may be because it looks and sounds a whole lot like a certain other chain mentioned above.
Q: At the entrance of the Bronx River Parkway in Scarsdale, there’s a large stone that says “Greenburgh.” It looks so out-of-the-way, I wondered if there was some history behind it. —Maria Cocucci, Eastchester
A: Why, yes, there is a “large stone” that says “Greenburgh” on it. It took us a while to find said “large stone” because we generally refer to the specific type of “large stone” you mentioned as a “bridge.” Semantic nitpicking we know, but, alas, we can’t get the hours back that we spent stone-hunting so we’ll just be overly sarcastic as usual.
Indeed, the Ardsley Road Bridge is one of the 20 or so original bridges spanning the Bronx River Parkway built to be “in harmony” with the natural surroundings. Diametrically across the bridge from the “Greenburgh” imprint is one that says “Scarsdale,” which makes sense because the bridge connects the two municipalities. It was completed in 1925—there’s an unfortunately graffiti-covered inscription hidden on the side of the bridge—and features stairs that connect the road to a path that parallels the river. You’ll find it pretty quickly—if you leave no “bridge” unturned.
Q: I’m not sure if this is the type of question you answer, but my brother and I were arguing after discussing your issue [“Westchester vs. the City,” September 2012] comparing Westchester to Manhattan. We are both Westchester residents, and at one point I explained that we have a better quality of life than “him,” referring to a friend who lives in Manhattan. My brother argued I didn’t use correct grammar, saying I should’ve said “better quality of life than he” since what I was really saying is “better quality of life than he has.” What is correct? —David Estevez, Rye
A: You were most correct when you said you weren’t sure if this is the type of question we answer. We’ll have you know that we receive many Westchester-based inquires, and this one is way less appropriate than they are. Or is it just “they”? Or “them”? Darn. I guess we’re going down this road after all.
It turns out that everyone is right—and not like in some politically correct Little League game where no one keeps track of the score and everyone wins. You can look at your sentence either as two sentences joined together, i.e., “We have a quality of a life that is better” and “He has a quality of life” linked with the conjunction (remember those?) “than”—or you can look at it as a relationship in which your life is the subject, “than” is a preposition (remember those, too?) specifying that a relationship exists, and “him” is the object you are comparing yourselves to. Generally, “he” is preferred because sentences such as “Governor Cuomo likes Astorino more than Bloomberg” are confusing—are we talking about whom Cuomo likes or whom Bloomberg does?—but become less so if you substitute a “he” or “him” at the end.
So, in sum, the answer is this: Westchester is better than New York City and no more grammar questions in a column not about grammar questions. Wow, that was easier than we thought.
Have a question for “Ask Westchester”? Email edit@westchestermagazine.com. Subject line: ASK WESTCHESTER.