By Eric W. Schoen
The visit would be accompanied by all the pomp and circumstance due a visit by the Governor or his Lieutenant to any special event in Yonkers or any other city. Nowadays with what’s going on in Albany, the chances of a visit by the Lt. Governor are more probable than a visit by Governor Cuomo himself.
I would bet Yonkers Police were assigned, taking them off the street fighting crime and protecting the residents of Yonkers. Protecting us from Gun Violence. That’s what the meeting was all about. For those of you who don’t know, the Lt. Governor is Kathy Hochul. I’ve never met the woman, but she seems very nice and those I know that know her have a lot of respect for her.
However, if she was walking down South Broadway in Getty Square by herself, doubt most folks would know who she was! Her boss, well that’s another story.
Around the time of Hochul’s visit, Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano tweeted that the lieutenant governor “comes to Yonkers with little to offer.” Those are some mighty big words coming from a man so close to Governor Cuomo who I assumed sent the Lt. Governor to visit the city of gracious living. (He later deleted the tweet.)
The Lt. Governor was in Yonkers to meet with local officials and ‘community leaders’ on combating gun violence. Seems like they always invite the same ‘community leaders.’ In this case I don’t think they got the list from Mayor Spano. Same ‘community leaders’ but sadly, the situation doesn’t change much.
You would think they would have invited the leaders of the Police Community Councils in Yonkers. These unpaid folks meet monthly with the citizenry to discuss concerns in their neighborhood. Pretty sure combating gun violence is one of them. Nope. The Captains that are in charge of the precincts in Yonkers. Guess their invitations got lost in the mail.
Strangely, according to the Journal News, the meeting was closed to the press. In a way that can be a good idea so participants don’t ‘play to the press’ to get their 15 minutes of Andy Warhol fame. Most have gotten much more than that in a week! But given the circumstances lately it seems that most appearances with Governor Cuomo or his subordinates have been press listen, limited press questions events.
But there’s always some announcement the press is informed of made at these events. Like the icing on the cake. In this case, the state has identified 10 ZIP codes in Yonkers, Mount Vernon and Spring Valley that have been hit the hardest, and are providing summer jobs for 253 youth aged 15 to 24 in those cluster zones – and 580 long-term jobs.
Do you find the announcement of summer jobs on July 21 for those 15-24, many who will return to high school or college in a month logical? As someone who has run summer job training programs in Yonkers and Westchester County while in college, I can tell you that it will take at least a week to find and process these youth. By the way, 253 jobs spread upon 3 communities is a drop in the bucket compared to the need.
My only hope is that these are existing jobs Yonkers gets from the State and Federal governments every year and fills when school lets out in June. At least the 15-24 year olds get 2 months of salary. 600 At risk youth ages 18-24 in Yonkers zip codes 10701, 10703, 10704, 10705 and 10710 as well as Mount Vernon zip codes 10550 and 10552 and Spring Valley will be eligible for full time jobs through state Work Force Development Boards. A drop in the bucket, but it’s better than nothing.
But are you starting to see that maybe the initial tweet from Mayor Spano was right. Lt. Governor Hochul ‘came to Yonkers with little to offer.’ No money for additional police to protect our streets. No resolution to the crazy bail reforms signed by the Governor putting criminals back on Yonkers streets.
Hochul noted the state’s approach to combating violence has three components. First is removing illegal guns. Sounds great, but How are they doing that? Gun buy back programs? No details. Second is providing support services for mental health and substance use. This at a time when, as was told to my friend seeking services for her covered child Governor Cuomo quietly reimposed $25 copays for Telehealth
mental health programs for employees covered by the state insurance plan June 19. Even though Governor Cuomo says the state has reopened, most mental health professionals still see clients via Telehealth. And the federal COVID emergency ends in October.
The last part of the approach is providing opportunities for people to choose a nonviolent path. When I hear generic phrases like that without specifics, all it does is lead me to believe that Spano is right.
I’ve had my disagreements with Mayor Mike, particularly over the middle of the night extension of term limits when he pledged to me he would never do it, didn’t want it, and clearly said at a public event it was not on his agenda. I’ve known Mike a long time. He complimented me one time and said, ‘Eric, you know where all the bodies are buried in Yonkers!’
Mayor Spano. Don’t delete your tweets. Say what’s on your mind. Because if you don’t, the situation regarding gun violence is only going to get worse. You were right. The Lt. Governor came to Yonkers with little to offer. She and her boss have got to deliver more. Soon!
R.I.P. Jackie Mason
As a kid who grew up vacationing in the wonderful hotels of the Catskill Mountains, I was exposed at an early age to the humor of great comedians like Joan Rivers, David Brenner, Sal Richards, Alan King, Jan Murray, Red Buttons, Don Rickles and of course Jackie Mason.
Their humor was not for everyone. Some nights they would be totally on point, and some nights they were a bit off key. But there were many more nights that they were on point than off key. And my parents, my sister and I looked forward every summer to being entertained. Yes, sometimes the jokes were the same, but most often the comedians presented new, hilarious material. After the all you can eat Catskill hotel dinners, they truly provided belly laughs.
The Catskills hotels slowly shuttered, air fare got cheap, and South Florida called. Many of these comedians would travel in the winter to the sunshine of Florida. If you hit your dates correctly you could catch up with them. Nostalgic visits.
I remember staying at a hotel where the great Jackie Mason was performing. Mom was with me, visiting her friends in Florida while I did my thing. One night we went to see Jackie Mason perform. The venue had seen its days, the orchestra played for the musical guest who came on before Mason and for your dancing pleasure. The showroom was packed. I was a little older and my appreciation of the humor of Jackie Mason grew stronger.
Jackie would perform on Broadway and I would try to catch him as often as I could. One night I was standing in line waiting to get in behind the great William O’SHAUGHNESSY. This was long before I became a host on his wonderful radio station. I greeted him, told him I was from Westchester and familiar with his stations. He gave me that unique glowing smile.
That night, a little known Senator from Peekskill and his wife were in the audience. My friend and I went to say hello. We chatted with him and his wife Libby, and since Broadway was a long way from Peekskill she was happy to chat with us as she new few in the audience. Mason introduced Pataki from the stage. He didn’t get the greatest reception as no one knew him and folks liked Mario Cuomo. Well, as they say the rest is history.
I would in later years run into Jackie eating matzah ball soup and thick brisket sandwiches at the now shuttered Edison Cafe on 47th Street. If you said hello to him he would warmly greet you, often with a joke. And of course a smile. He will be missed!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
