L-R-Kisha Skipper, Congressman George Latimer, Indivisible CD 16 co-founder Eileen O’Connor, Councilwoman Corazon Pineda-Isaac
By Dan Murphy
More than 10,000 protestors rallied across Westchester County last week for “Hands Off” rallies in Mt. Kisco, Mamaroneck, Yonkers, and Hastings on Hudson on April 4 and 5.
Part of a nationwide movement with over 1,000 scheduled protests, the “Hands Off” events demanded protections for healthcare, workers’ rights, and economic security.
On April 4, protestors in Yonkers stood outside the Social Security office on South Broadway with one concern: Hands Off Social Security.
The White Plains Social Security office is set to close at the end of May. Other offices, including the Yonkers office, could be closed.
“Social Security has been here for 90 years and is a lifeline for people. Closing the White Plains office and taking the phones out of the Bronx office are all designed to get people to give up, not just on social security, but on veteran benefits, things that benefit our public school systems through the Department of Education, public health issues, and laying off people left and right. This is an attempt to remake America,” said Rep. George Latimer.
Kisha Skipper was one of the organizers of the Yonkers event. “Cuts to the government have led to the Social Security Administration’s website crashing four times in ten days this month, and there are not enough workers to answer phones. On Wednesday last, Sahil Kapur and Julie Tsirkin of NBC News reported that lawmakers, including Senate Finance Subcommittee on Social Security chair Chuck Grassley (R-IA), have been kept in the dark as the men working for DOGE have cut SSA phone services and instituted new rules requiring that beneficiaries without access to the internet prove their identity with an in-person visit to an SSA office.
“But of course, the Trump administration has a Catch-22; according to the AP (4/19), “Dozens of Social Security Administration offices across the country are slated to close this year due to actions taken by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration’s unprecedented effort to shrink the size of government… The offices are closing despite a new requirement that tighter identity-proofing measures be put in place to prevent fraud and abuse. These steps will require millions of recipients and applicants to visit agency field offices rather than interact with agency employees over the phone.”
Congressman George Latimer said, “So when Elon Musk, who was not born in this country, calls Social Security a Ponzi scheme. The White Plains social security office is closing even though Ken Jenkins and Westchester County government have offered a lower cost alternative, they still turned it down because they are not looking to save money, they are looking to get rid of a series of programs and services. It’s Social Security, but it’s also Medicaid and Veterans benefits.”
