parishioner welcomed Timothy Cardinal Dolan to Yorktown
“This Doesn’t Happen in Yorktown’”
By Dan Murphy
In the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 4, the hate speech, vandalism and violence that has been found throughout Westchester and Rockland County came to my hometown of Yorktown. Windows were smashed at Yorktown Stage, the John C. Hart Memorial Library, the First Presbyterian Church and St. Patrick’s Old Stone Church. In addition, a menorah was toppled at Veterans’ Field.
A few days after the incidents, Yorktown Supervisor Matt Slater, Police Chief Robert Noble, and Monsignor Joseph Giandurco of St. Patrick’s Parish welcomed Timothy Cardinal Dolan to Yorktown to tour St. Patrick’s Old Stone Church.
In a video message to the Yorktown community, Dolan said: “This is so contrary to everything Yorktown stands for. You have a sense of solidarity, helpfulness, outreach that brings people together. You are known for your unity not your divisiveness, you are known for peacefulness not violence.”
“We are not letting what happened here define this community,” added Slater. “We are so appreciative of the leadership and partnership of Cardinal Dolan and Monsignor Giandurco. Working with our religious and community leaders, as well as the Yorktown Police Department, we will continue to reject all forms of hate.”
Authorities in Yorktown released a photo of a suspected vehicle involved in the incidents, and continue their investigation.
“We are casting a very wide net,” said Noble. “We have called in any resource we can think of to assist us in our investigation, including the Westchester County Police, the Office of the Westchester County District Attorney, the New York State Police and the FBI.”
District Attorney Anthony Scarpino also offered his continued support.
“My office will continue to work closely with Yorktown police in investigating these serious and unsettling acts,” he said. “Our prosecutors and our crime analysts at the Westchester Intelligence Center will do everything we can to see that this investigation moves swiftly. And we will prosecute whomever committed these heinous crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”
Yorktown Councilman Ed Lachterman added: “This does not happen in Yorktown. The results of this will hopefully make sure something like this does not happen again.”
Msgr. Giandurco of St. Patrick’s said parishioners were both sad and upset of the breaking of the church’s 90-year-old windows. “Obviously it could have been a lot worse, but we thank God it was only the windows,” he said. “We hope these types of actions cease from happening both here, across the country and around the world.”
Rabbi Robbie Weiner of Temple Beth Am added: “I want to thank the chief and supervisor for taking this so seriously. For us, when an attack happens at one of our houses of worship, it is an attack on all of our houses of worship. The interfaith community is very much bonded together and will continue to be united in support of each other.”
Pastor Chip Low of the First Presbyterian Church gave thanks to the town leadership and police department. “We are thankful this is not a normal occurrence in Yorktown,” he said. “We must not respond to this attack in the same way it was done to us.”
Pastor Tami Siedel added: “We are so grateful to our police department and town government for their quick reaction. We continue to pray that all of our faith communities stand together and be a beacon of light and hope.”
