By Eric W. Schoen
When I looked for the most ridiculous thing our legislators in government are obsessed with at press time, Albany’s deliberations on allowing beer or hard cider to be included as a mix-in with ice cream certainly takes the cake. Let’s go government level by level to see what’s going on!
Separating Kids & Parents as They Cross the Border
Let’s be clear: This is an embarrassment to our country, and this is something all agree can be changed in a minute by our president. The mess we have is his fault, plain and simple.
Let me first state that we don’t want those who have committed crimes in their respective countries in the United States. We want people to come into this country legally, as my grandfather Max Roth did, coming through Ellis Island. We need to secure the border with whatever it takes to make sure that people with criminal backgrounds are not allowed to enter our country.
But separating parents from their children is beneath the dignity of the United States. How would President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania feel if their children were taken from them? How would Ivanka and Jared feel if their children were separated from them? Do you realize the psychological damage being done to these children as they are separated from their parents?
Warehousing the children in fenced-in cages? All I could think of when I saw the pictures were concentration camps. These kids have had hard lives, coming from places where concern for their safety and security doesn’t exist. The trauma they are going through now is compounded when they are suddenly separated from their parents. It’s terrible.
Theses parent are not abusing their children. Until things get settled legally, we must keep the parents and their children – innocent victims – in this mess together. I’m floored when I hear that somehow from the border these kids are being housed in Yonkers. We can’t find out where the kids are, although we know Leake and Watts in Yonkers, and other agencies, have contracts to house these children.
A responsible federal government will tell us what these kids need and serve as an intermediary to get public donations to them. I said “responsible federal government” – that’s what’s needed until the president gets the “cojones” to end this embarrassment to the American people.
Albany Ice Cream
The State Legislature was scheduled to end its deliberations yesterday. On the table was ethics reforms, as yet another trial involving appointees of Gov. Andrew Cuomo begins; gun safety legislation; and speed cameras around public schools, reauthorized for New York City – something that should go statewide.
Yonkers and state police are cracking down on speeders on local and state roadways, and more than 70 folks caught going over the speed limit earlier this week. Maybe we need speed cameras on our roads to compliment the work of the police to crack down on speeders and drunk or distracted drivers.
Sports betting… New Jersey was able to figure out how to do it in less than a week after the Supreme Court ruled it was legal. Why not New York? It’s all about revenue and losing dollars to New Jersey and other states with sports betting.
So what subject takes up the time of our dear friends in Albany? Whether to allow ice cream vendors to add hard (sweet) cider or beer (yuck!) to their product. Chocolate and vanilla with a twist, versus ethics. What would Tom Carvel, who grew his ice cream biz in Yonkers, say?
Red Lights for Westchester
At 1:25 a.m. last Friday, after my column was distributed, I got an email message from County Executive George Latimer to call him to discuss red light cameras, among other topics. At press time, we learn that chances are slim that the State Legislature is going to give the county authorization.
George promised me that the process for the introduction of a red light vamera program in Westchester will be transparent, with meetings to discuss the program, and signage at the approach to intersections with red light cameras alerting motorists to their existence. They asked for 100 cameras, but he anticipates, if they got the approval, that it would be less than half of that. Westchester was not going to employ the same lobbyist used by the red light camera companies to lobby for the legislation. And George certainly was not going to drop cameras in municipalities throughout the county. Westchester red light cameras would be exclusively on county roadways.
Basically everything Yonkers did wrong they would do right!
We talked about the urgency to do something to stop trucks from entering county parkways and he assured me that he would present proposals to the state shortly to attempt to fix this problem. We agreed that you must stop the trucks before they enter the parkways and that the current county and state solutions are not working
Regarding the Sprain Ridge Pool, George told me they waited until the last minute possible to announce its closure this season. In the rush to get it up and running before Election Day last year, they failed to let the concrete dry sufficiently and he’s hoping that with a year to go, the pool will open next year.
George is a good man, willing to talk and listen. But please, George, sleep. No need to email me at 1 o’clock in the morning!
Yonkers
So, no layoffs in Yonkers this year. The 400-plus people who got notices that their jobs were being cut can rest for another year. When will we ever stop this charade? Doesn’t anyone realize you are playing with people’s lives. People who have a mortgage and car payments every month. Does anyone care about the poor people whose lives are affected while our city officials play games?
Speaking of games, my sources on the fourth floor of City Hall told me that the budget crisis got solved with a 6.2 percent tax increase and additional state aid, with lots of wheeling and dealing for jobs and “goodies” for certain elected officials’ districts. Let’s watch for new folks (probably old folks reincarnated) on the city payroll. Shoot me an email if in the weeks to follow you see any new hires at City Hall on the “Friends and Family” plan.
What’s the expression? If you see something, say something? Let me know so that we can let our readers know what is going on.
On a personal note: Yonkers lost a giant with the passing of former Fire Commissioner Edward Dunn. When I was called on to provide administrative support to the fire department, Dunn taught me everything I needed to know about firefighting. He took me to fires, brought me to buildings where people were living in apartments that were deplorable and true fire hazards, and introduced me to the inspection process – taking me to a meat store that was inside a refrigerated room. Condolences to his family.
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com and follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show on Thursdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on WVOX 1460 AM or download the Simple Radio app for free from the App Store.
