222 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains
By Dan Murphy
We received the following letter to the Editor from a reader and White Plains resident. “I wanted to inform you of a troubling development. I am a disabled woman living in Westchester County. I have lived in White Plains for the past 20 years. My member of Congress is important to me because of the importance of having local business comply with the Americans for Disabilities Act, ADA.
“My member of Congress for many years was Nita Lowey. Recently, I have been represented by Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who opened one of his two Westchester offices in White Plains at the same location as Rep. Lowey did, at 222 Mamaroneck Avenue.
“When I went to the office at the end of September, I found no answer and the doors locked. When I called the office number for Congressman Bowman, I was told that the office had been closed due to a staffing issue. When I explained that there were still three months left in Rep. Bowman’s term of office, until Dec. 31, 2024, I was told that they still had their Mount Vernon office open for in person visits or questions. And even the Mount Vernon office is only open two or three days per week.
“When I explained that I was a disabled constituent who would have difficulty making the trip from White Plains to Mount Vernon, I was not given a remedy. And when I asked why they had closed the White Plains office so early, the woman on the phone answered, “Because we Lost.” At that point, I ended the conversation.
“When Nita Lowey retired in 2020, she kept her office open until the very end of her term. I cannot recall how long Rep. Mondaire Jones kept his office open in White Plains until the end of 2022.
“The answer, “because we lost” does not make sense to me. It actually offends me. As a proud democrat, I voted for Congressman Bowman. And as a taxpayer, I deserve to have the same representation throughout the two-year term of a House member, regardless of whether that member lost his or her reelection bid.
“But now I will be voting for George Latimer on Nov. 5, and this tale may be part of the reason why Mr. Latimer defeated Congressman Bowman.
“I have also attempted to inquire as to whether it is legal for a member of Congress to close their district offices 90 days before their term of office expires. The best that I could do was to find the House of Representatives Office of Ethics. I emailed them this same letter.
“I do understand how staff working for Congressman Bowman would want to find another job, but they should finish their job here before doing so,” writes Ruth Lydia, White Plains NY
Editor’s Note: We have confirmed that the White Plains office for Rep. Bowman closed sometime before the end of September. Some of our readers have told us that it happened over the summer.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to determine if any ethical violations occurred with the closing of one of his district offices. We doubt that any laws were violated as a result of the White Plains office closing, especially when the Mt. Vernon office remained open.
But Ms. Lydia makes a good point about the staff for Congressman Bowman. Did they resign their positions? Or are they still getting paid?
And was there a lease for Bowman’s White Plains office. Did that lease run until the end of the year, and the end of Bowman’s term?
While likely not illegal, the departure of Congressman Bowman and his staff, from his White Plains office three months early have many Westchester democrats scratching their heads. “It was an unprofessional move, and unbecoming of a Congressman representing Westchester,” said one Westchester democrat.
Bowman’s Mt. Vernon office is located at 6 Gramatan Ave. Suite 205.
While Bowman remains active on his Twitter-X account, his press office’s last release was in July, two months ago.
