By Eric Wolf Schoen
The Yonkers City Council is currently dealing with an $86 million deficit in the proposed 2004-2005 City Budget. The deficit is caused by the evaporation of Pandemic funds and other one time budget gimmicks.
The budget gimmicks are nothing new. Every year a ‘Mighty Mouse’ from somewhere comes in to save the day and the poor Yonkers employees who get threatened with layoff notices keep their jobs. This, after they and their families are humiliated by the whole situation. It’s truly pathetic.
So then we hear and read of the Council getting involved in the Middle East. Oy, they can’t solve the problems of our fair city but they think they have the solutions for solving the problems of the world. A resolution is put on the City Council agenda calling for an end to the Israel-Hamas war while also defending Israel’s right to exist.
According to the Jewish Week, after months of discussions and weeks of debate, the Yonkers City Council tabled a Gaza ceasefire resolution that aimed to thread a narrow needle. The council announced that it would table the resolution at the start of the meeting Tuesday night where the resolution had been on the agenda.
The tabling followed opposition from all sides of the equation, and dragging hundreds of passionate people to this week’s Yonkers City Council meeting. Thousands of emails flowing through Yonkers servers. I sure hope the Yonkers Parking Authority did not charge these spirited people to park in the City Hall Garage.
Believe me, the last place one would want to be on a nice day like we had on Tuesday is Yonkers Council Chambers with purposely uncomfortable bench seats that were built that way so the public would not stay too long. The Chambers are not air conditioned, the windows are closed to avoid interruptions with the broadcasting of the meeting, and perish the thought that the Council would move their meeting to the Saunders Auditorium when they expect a big crowd for the comfort of the citizenry.
Kudos to the City Council President. Her comments: ‘My position is, if the group that asked for the resolution does not support it because it doesn’t go as far as they want, and the Jewish community does not support it because they don’t want a ceasefire without the release of hostages, which is totally understandable, then why are we bringing this to a vote?” City Council President Lakisha Collins-Bellamy sensible comments to the New York Jewish Week before the meeting.
I’ll take it one step further. Why is this issue before the Yonkers City Council, period. The Council has nothing to do with world affairs. With all the problems Yonkers faces, please Yonkers City Council, deal with them and let the folks in Washington, D.C. deal with international issues!
What did you Think of the Eclipse?
Be honest, what did you think of the once in a lifetime eclipse we experienced on Monday. Among my friends things blow 2 ways. Half of them think viewing the Eclipse was the greatest thing since sliced white bread. The other half were not impressed with what they saw.
So there I was, on Executive Boulevard in Yonkers on Monday at 2:00 pm. With several other scattered eclipsers. I was heading in that direction so I figured I would view the eclipse from the parking lot for the office building and Bank across from Applebees. Nice tree free area, high enough in Yonkers and fairly close to the highest point in Yonkers by Sacred Heart Church. I had my special glasses remembering from my day camp days and an eclipse that took place where we were told not to look at the sun as our eyes would burn. I was Mr. Astronomy.
I looked at the sky glasses on for 5 minutes before it’s peak to 10 minutes after.I expected the sky was going to go dark and all of a sudden it was going to get very cold. Didn’t happen. I saw the moon covering the sun but it didn’t look like it was 100% covered. Maybe I wasn’t in the best spot in America to view the eclipse.
Should I have gone to Buffalo where the Governor was? Niagara Falls? Canada side, the best side to see the falls on? I went to Niagara Falls once. In 15 minutes I was over it. Bottom line is a trip to Niagara Falls to view the eclipse was not worth it to me. If you enjoyed it like so many friends did, I am happy for you. But if you didn’t,
Did You Feel the Earthquake?
I was on the beach in Southern California when I felt a little movement many years ago. It was a 1.6 earthquake. I felt it, put my transistor radio on and the broadcaster confirmed it. I had gone through my first earthquake. Little did I know at the time that the worst place to be when an earthquake hits is on the beach.
We’ve had various earthquakes in Yonkers and Westchester, none close to the 4.8 one last Friday. I felt them, the pictures on the wall shook, and within seconds everything was fine.
It was a Friday in Philadelphia about 10 years ago. I was driving my car, heading to Denny’s for an order of 2 pancakes for $2 when I really felt an earthquake shake my car. It was probably one of the the biggest earthquakes Philly had ever had.I remember being afraid to park my car in an underground parking lot. So I parked at a meter putting quarters in every 3-4 hours.
So we had a 4.8 earthquake last Friday. I was in an office building on Waters Place in the Bronx. Fairly new building, it probably has features that allows it to withstand an earthquake far greater than 4.8. I felt nothing and would not have known about it unless I heard people talking about it or from the radio.
Eclipses, earthquakes? Maybe I’m just not impressed with these things anymore. Fortunately, our buildings are built to withstand earthquakes so there was very little damage. Lately we see so many residential and commercial buildings rise so quickly. Sometimes too quickly. And I wonder if another, bigger earthquake hits, will these buildings be able to withstand the stress? Don’t you?
Some briefs:
A delay of 3 hours for the Powerball numbers for the big drawing last weekend. Do you realize the chaos it caused, all of us staying up to watch our winning ticket numbers pop up on the screen? Those games monitored by big accounting firms should be perfected by now with none of this delay nonsense.
There was a mistake on one of the courts in the regional round of the N.C.A.A. women’s basketball tournament. For five games, the line at the top of the 3-point arc was nine inches shorter than the same line at the other end of the court at Portland’s Moda Center. The N.C.A.A. blamed a “human error” by a company contracted to finish the court. And you know that company was paid a lot of money for those lines.
With the power Yonkers has in the Assembly and Senate in Albany, we should not have to wait another year to find out if Yonkers will have a full fledged casino!
Councilperson Tasha Diaz’ punishment for her potty mouth remarks? ‘Sensitivity/communication training’ and ‘workplace violence training’ for all Council-members? Are you kidding me! You know if those words came from a City of Yonkers non-elected official the punishment would be greater!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com, or friend him on Facebook Eric Schoen…just look for him in the picture with Joan Rivers!
