By Eric Wolf Schoen
In a tragic accident last week, Yonkers Police Sergeant Frank Gualdino lost his life to a 16 year old who had just got his learner’s permit and was driving a BMW on Tuckahoe Road. Gualdino was a respected Sergeant in the department with 24 years of service looking forward to his retirement in the not to distant future.
What the hell is a 16 year old doing driving a BMW? The car clearly did not belong to him. The question I ask is where were his parents. Did they give the kid the key to the car?. Leave it around the house? Are they not aware of the laws regarding 16 year olds getting their driving permits and what they can and cannot due. When we have a kid 16 years old getting a permit, is he and the one who goes for the test with him given a list of do’s and don’t. Not that it would matter here but are we offering driving classes in our high schools so the kids can learn from professionals how to drive?
Driving on our roads has become truly ‘defensive’ particularly as a result of when the roads were empty during the heart of the pandemic. People had freedom to act like crazy nuts, and they have continued this behavior even though the roads are back to normal with traffic. All you see on the roads right now are cars disobeying every rule in the book. This has got to stop Or we are going to have more tragedies.
Please pray for Sergeant Gualdino, his family and for all the other cops on the road. They need our prayers and they need us to drive like human beings and not race cars drivers. We might never find answers to why this happened, but make sure before you give someone the key to a car they know what they are doing.
And again I ask, where were the parents of this 16 year old kid?
Handicapped Parking Spaces
Two people I know recently got handicapped parking permits and have a hard time using them in Yonkers and Westchester. The common complaint? Cars and particularly trucks without the permits are parking illegally in handicapped parking places, sometimes for hours at a time. And no one is ticketing or towing illegally parked cars in handicapped spaces.
If people get the word that enforcement is going to take place, see how quickly they move their vehicles. And it’s not alright to have someone sitting in the ready to move the car when a handicapped driver pulls up.
Back in the 70’s Yonkers had an excellent program where citizens were paid to take pictures of cars illegally parked in handicap spots and submit them to the court. People got hefty fines as it was all sort of done undercover with No uniforms and no marked police cars. With cell phone cameras today it would be much easier to catch offenders and email the information right to the police or courts. The city of Yonkers could make $200 a clip with minimal costs for the program. Something to look into City Hall!
I use to see Traffic Enforcement Agents around town giving out tickets but they are far and few between. And i travel frequently around town that if they existed I would see them. We need a big publicity splash for these programs. Don’t forget the many cars double parked or close to fire hydrants.
We can enforce the laws, get traffic moving and make some money! A beautiful trifecta.
Lack of Food at the Grocery Store
I’m starting to believe that the empty shelves whether it be canned goods, paper goods, produce, cat and dog food and all the other products missing from the grocery store is simply a game merchants are playing to raise prices. It’s terrible when you walk in the store and don’t know what to expect. This forces you to waste your time going to two or three stores to get what you need.
Senator Schumer calls for all these investigations at Sunday press conferences. Let him investigate why from week to week you never know what to expect at the supermarket!
A gift tip: i had to go to the Dollar Tree store on South Broadway to pick up some candies I like. I noticed that they had small packages from Entemann,’s, Italian candy, Chock Full O’Nuts coffee and teas all for $1.25 each. Pick up 5-10 items, pick up a basket and you have a wonderful inexpensive gift anyone will enjoy. The items are even marked ‘for gift baskets’ on the shelf display making it easy to choose.
A health tip: I received a notice from my doctor that before I do my holiday shopping I should do my health shopping by the end of the year even more immediately. Is there something bothering you that you want checked out? Are you eligible for a pair of glasses or a teeth cleaning before December 31. Prescriptions that need filling before the ball drops for the New Year? Better to get it done while people are shopping and appointments are available then to wait until you are rushing around December 24-31.
Every year I remember the poor children and adults who died in the fire at the Jewish Community Center on South Broadway in December oh so many years ago. May their memory be a blessing.
Listen to Eric Schoen 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.
