I am a very sensitive selector of optometrists. Due to my extreme
nearsightedness, only the best of the best optometrists are skillful
enough to meet my needs. In my entire life, I have encountered only three
such individuals. Richard of Classic Opticals at Ithaca, Dr.
Stephen Silagy of Briarcliff Manor, and Robert Moskovitz of Yorktown Heights. This article is dedicated to Dr.
Silagy for the occasion of his recent retirement.
Why am I qualified to evaluate opticians:
I have been
extremely nearsighted since schooling, visit opticians all the time,
experienced eyesight of all levels. Particularly after my retinal
surgery, my eyesight is over 1200 both eyes, demanding high quality eye
care.
My high myopia makes me a highly sensitive patient,
allowing me to judge good quality service from inferior quality, for
even a slight misalignment or mis-adjustment of my glasses will lead to
large perceptual deviation. My math and physics background allow me to
recognize every aspect of the theoretical side of optical instruments,
letting me recognize valid reasoning from invalid excuses supplied by
opticians who are not able to serve me.
Demand for extreme optometry skills
I
have been nearsighted since elementary school, probably as a result of
too much reading in poor lighting conditions (corner of a library,
inadequate lighting in a bookstore, etc). So I have been dependent on
optometrists for many years.
Especially for the last ten years,
after my retinal surgeries, I have extremely nearsighted. Even wearing
the highest power contact lens (never mind the fact that my eyeballs
are so sensitive to prevent this as a possibility) would still demand
augmentation of a regular pair of glasses. In my condition, the fitting
of my glasses to the face demand extreme high precision and hence top
skills of an expert optometrist. A minor discrepancy (such as a slight
tilt of the frame on my face) would mean large degradation in vision. I
have visited many optometrists for frame adjustments, but many were
left frustrated at my high demand.
Best optician in Ithaca, NY
During
my Cornell years at Ithaca, (and after visiting many shops), Richard,
the owner of Classic Opticals, was the first person I met in my life
who can fix my frame, put it on my face, made adjustments, and fit it
to my face, usually in two iterations. Even for the two years after
graduation from Cornell, I would try to return for any occasion, and
make sure to visit Richard to have my frames serviced.
Best optician in Westchester, NY
After
exploring many optometrists in the Westchester areas, I am fortunate
enough to enter Dr. Silagy's office, and find his amazing ability to
adjust my glasses. He would look at how my glasses sit on my face, then
make some adjustments, and put them back on my face, (occasionally he
would make an additional minor adjustment,) all without the need to ask
me how things look, and my eyes would feel the glasses to be better
than new.
His remarkable abilities (Midas Touch, as I would
refer to his service), coupled with his friendly and humorous
conversations, makes him not only the best optometrist in my view, but
a fine role model for people to look up to, as an artist dedicated to
his skills.
With his recent retirement, I may have to renew my
search for another skillful optometrist. Perhaps I should learn the
skills to self-service my glasses, now that I have someone to emulate.
I only regret that my friends would no longer have the opportunity to
experience the touch of a master. I do wish Dr. Silagy the best
enjoyable retirement, and thank him on behalf of all the needy people
that he served in his career.
Finding a successor
After months of searching, I have found another extremely skillful optician, Mr Robert Moskovitz, at Glassman Optical,
1940 Commerce St
Yorktown Heights, NY 10598
(914) 243-7920 or 962-5506
He
was able to fix my glasses just as Dr. Silagy had, with midas touch to
fix all the toddler mishaps to my glasses. He had worked for many
years at Flushing, NY, and thus the precious experience of adjusting
frames for Asian
faces. Skillful opticians such as he would notice that the facial
structure of Asians is different enough (nose
height, for instance) from the majority of the US population, that the
typical American optician training does not adequately prepare them to
handle our eyeglasses. Experience is crucial for frame adjustment.
Even
waiting for his service in my last visit was a fun experience. A
customer commented on the 60's music being played on the radio, and
Robert started to talk about all the details of the bands, singers,
artists, of the whole era, as well as their current inspirations,
recent concerts, ... He is able to tell the similarity and minor
differences in the vocal qualities of particular stars, past and
present bands, etc.
I am glad to have found such interesting personalities in my search for Master Opticians.
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