From the News Desk Of Brian Harrod. This Post is the View of Brian Harrod.

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: Ron Matten And A Tiny Faction Of #YonkersRepublicans Are Cheering As Chaos Reigns With #YonkersCityCouncil President #LakishaCollinsBelamy Canceling Tuesday's Redistricting Vote, Presenting A Brand New Redistricting Map, Calling For A Third Public Hearing And Scheduling A Special City Council Meeting... #OMG...Just 14 Days Before #Yonkers New District Lines Must Be Approved Under #NewYork Laws.

BUT, BUT, BUT.... Maybe The City Council President's New And Improved Redistricting Map Is Something A Majority Of Council Members And Residents In The City of Yonkers Can Support.

#LOL... Its Going To Be An Interesting Week At Yonkers City Hall.....

https://www.facebook.com/.../Yonk.../posts/3463341063923447/

Yonkers Insider: Statement from New York State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh 90th District.

 

Assemblyman Sayegh, State Senator Shelley Mayer, Cesar Perales, Vice Chair of the SUNY Board of Trustees, & SUNY Westchester Community College President Belinda S. Miles welcome the new SUNY Chancellor John B. King, Jr. to the Campus. Assemblyman Sayegh continues to advocate for his legislation to establish a 4 year SUNY Campus in Yonkers, and for legislation to provide financial support to New York’s High Schools to develop programs known as Grow Your Own. This would encourage students to return from college and teach in the public schools they attended.

Yonkers Insider: OPED from Christine Peters: Redistricting, Gerrymandering and you!

 

Do you like to win? Do you like feeling special? Do you like people always telling you how great you are?  If you said yes to all these things-then you may enjoy being an elected official! Can you handle a base pay of $48,000 for a part-time job?  If you are the head of some committees you make more money…and no one will actually ask you to do anything with those committees!  Some bad things are that constituents may tell you how you have to do your job, they may yell, protest, critique or curse at you. They may publicly and personally say mean things about you. They may always question your motives and intentions. If you can emotionally regulate enough to handle this…on the other side are the benefits. You will get your own fully paid and maintained city car, great health insurance, after 10 years you are vested in the pension system, the power to support your favorite friends, etc. But to sum it all up, you will get access and preferential treatment.

 

If you were given the opportunity to make sure this would continue through a competition, wouldn’t you try to skew it in your favor?

 

Is this all sounding like an infomercial?  Well, It’s not. Instead, this is the reality of being an elected official in Yonkers and how human an experience it is. If given the opportunity to do so, anyone can – and may be – tempted to stack the deck in their favor. We can all understand the experiential complexities of being human but being human is not always being fair and just, which are qualities we expect from elected officials. 

A little bit of history

Starting in March 2020, we all experienced a collective trauma, our state was shut down and we were avoiding certain death. That was the same year the last census was conducted by the Federal Government. The Census is just a short survey to count all the residents of a municipality. There were videos all over social media of people that looked like you and me urging us to complete the Census so Yonkers could get more federal funding. Our Yonkers residents needed help being counted because this is what determines state and federal funding for the next 10 years. This survey was also the main driver that would now set forth the redistricting process. 

 

Redistricting is a process through which we can reorganize voting districts for the various levels of government to ensure that people are more evenly distributed for voting purposes.  There is a process every 10 years, following the census, utilizing the numbers to ensure more even districts.  Thus redistricting is political in nature and specifically influences elections and election districts.

 

For those of you that do not understand the significance of redistricting: it determines who will represent you in local, regional, state and federal government. In the case of our state representatives, at one time Senator Shelley Mayer represented about half of Yonkers and now it is only about 10%. Our County Legislators also have very different districts. Currently, District 16 and 17 are entirely in Yonkers. District 14 and 15 share borders with other places like Bronxville and Mount Vernon and therefore incorporate parts of those places within their representation. 

 

Now that we are caught up on redistricting – what is more important is gerrymandering! Gerrymandering is drawing specific lines in order to favor a specific party or individual in elections. Currently, Yonkers has three times more registered Democrats than Republicans. Though the thought of creating districts in an uneven distribution to favor specific parties may seem wrong, it is not currently illegal. 

What are the rules of Redistricting?*

In 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation on rules related to fair redistricting. They are summarized as the following:

 

• Districts are nearly equal in population. The smallest to largest district may only differ by 5% in population.
• Districts are not drawn with the intent or result of denying equal opportunity of racial or language minority groups to participate in the political process.
• Districts consist of contiguous territory – meaning you can’t create an island and attach it to a different district. It all has to touch.
• Districts are not drawn to favor incumbents or any particular party or candidate.
• Districts should be formed to promote orderly and efficient administration of elections.

 

How can this be gerrymandered to favor a political party or individual? 

New York State created a bi-partisan Independent Districting Commission (BIDC) to manage state-level districts for Senate and Assembly seats. This BIDC was composed of individuals who were appointed by very partisan people.  Our very own Deputy County Executive, who was the Former Yonkers Democratic Chairman is the Chairman of the BIDC. This Commission created maps that were then approved by the state legislature. This approval started the Westchester County redistricting process. Then Westchester County, a highly democratic legislature, picked a consultant, Simon and Wards to complete the new County maps.  These maps were voted upon in December with the republican Legislator Jimmy Nolan’s 15th district looking geographically quite different. He now has a district that runs from the Hudson River on the edge of Yonkers to the complete other edge of New Rochelle incorporating Bronxville, Eastchester, and parts of Yonkers. 

 

The city council then started the process in September 2022 by approving a consultant to conduct the redistricting. This did not proceed and we then contracted Dr. Andrew Beveridge in Dec 2022. This is the same consultant who conducted our redistricting 10 years ago. 

 

At our local Yonkers-level, we were presented with maps drawn by our consultant after several changes in January,  just a few weeks before we had to finalize our districts.  The current maps that were released to the public are not the original maps he originally presented to the council for review.  Instead, the very people in elected positions who would represent these districts looked through the maps and got to input and change what districts they would want, for example when Council President Lakisha Collins Belamy stated she changed her own Election District back into the 1st Council District. It is only human nature to unfairly create circumstances where you would win, if given the opportunity, however this specific behavior affects us voters for the next 10 years.  The very people who would be running in these districts got to choose what districts they would and would not want and even more, their decisions about their own runs would affect a generation of citizens who have not even yet gotten the right to vote. There were grumblings that even party leadership, specifically Yonkers Democratic Party chairman Tom Meier, was given access to these maps, when us citizens were not given access. Giving the City Council and political parties a say over the districts they will be running in, means that the candidates choose their voters, cut out their competition and voters have very little say over all of it. 

The following suggestions would have improved this process:

 

• Start with the local municipality and expand upward.  This would help us finalize the building blocks for each district, much like laying the foundation of a house before building the walls and roof. 
• The City Council could do a city-wide survey and town halls to seek our input as citizens of this city as to what we want, and don’t want before restricting starts!
• The Census data has been available since April 26, 2021.  The council could have a meeting with their respective Caucasus to put together points to make the redistricting process easier, timelier and with greater citizen participation.
• The City Council could present the original maps, before the partisan input, and ask for citizen feedback before any changes. 
• Create a deadline months in advance of elections.  If they created a deadline for themselves in early January to have the original maps completed, there is far more time for a corrective process instead of this rushed process we currently find ourselves in.
• Meet with neighborhood community groups/Homeowners Associations to ensure they are not broken up by redistricting such as the Hyatt Association, HRCA, Lincoln Park Taxpayers association, etc…
• We know that there is no language in the City charter but this is a mandate so the Charter revision committee should create a referendum for us to put language into the charter and provide multiple options. 

 

 

Maybe it’s time for regular people who want to make a difference, connected to neighbors and with a history of careers outside of politics and government to run for office so that we can bring real world solutions to ensure a more efficient government.

Yonkers Insider: New York League of Conservation Voters: Environmental News: January 30.

 

Here's what we're reading this week:

NYLCV Releases 2022 NYC Council Environmental Scorecard The New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) today released its 2022 NYC Council Environmental Scorecard, in which Council Members and the body as a whole are evaluated based on their support of environmental bills in the previous year and whether those bills passed. Read More

How To Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Whole on Vacation  If you are thinking of going somewhere warm for spring break, here are a few green steps you can take to keep your house safe while at the same time limiting the amount of energy being used in your vacant home. While many of these suggestions are for people living in a house, some apply to apartment dwellers as well. Read More

Environmentalists Eye Zero Waste by 2040 - Capital Pressroom Podcast Featuring Julie Tighe   New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe outlines a goal of zero waste by 2040 in New York and discusses how a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul could help realize that future.   Listen here.

Warming Waters Affecting Bay Scallops, SBU Researchers Confirm   While researchers have been examining a range of potential factors in the Peconic Bay scallop die-offs for the past four years, the consistent trend has been higher water temperatures and a corresponding reduction in oxygen levels. Above, a researcher holds juvenile bay scallops at the Marine Science Research Center in Southampton in December 2021.   (Newsday)

Op-ed: Hochul Must Push Congestion Pricing   Jon Orcutt of Reinvent Albany, an NYLCV partner, penned a Daily News op-ed in support of congestion pricing, a top NYLCV priority: "Gov. Hochul, with the election behind her, should forcefully fill the policy and political vacuum around congestion pricing and embrace its implementation — and the huge environmental, transportation efficiency, traffic safety and mass transit recovery benefits it will bring — as a major accomplishment and legacy." (Daily News)

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: YONKERS MAYOR MIKE SPANO AND YONKERS FIRE DEPARTMENT TO COMMISSION AND BLESS NEW FIRE TRUCKS - Tues., 1/31 @ 1 P.M.

 

YONKERS MAYOR MIKE SPANO AND YONKERS FIRE DEPARTMENT TO COMMISSION AND BLESS NEW FIRE TRUCKS.

 

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano will join Yonkers Fire Department Commissioner Anthony Pagano, fire department personnel and Yonkers Fire Chaplain Father William Cleary on Tuesday, January 31 at 1:00PM at Yonkers Fire Station 11 (433 Bronxville Rd.) for the commissioning and blessing of two new fire trucks for the Yonkers Fire Department.

 

The City of Yonkers invested over $2.2 million to replace aging trucks currently in service. The new apparatus will be assigned to Ladder 70 at 2187 Central Park Avenue and Squad 11 at Station 11 at 433 Bronxville Rd.

 

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: ***NEWS RELEASE***: THE YONKERS KIWANIS CLUB, YONKERS BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CITY OF YONKERS PARTNER FOR 2023 TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: THE YONKERS KIWANIS CLUB, YONKERS BOARD OF EDUCATION AND CITY OF YONKERS PARTNER FOR 2023 TEACHER OF THE YEAR AWARDS.

 

Students, Parents, Teachers & Administrators Called to Nominate Teachers at www.YonkersNY.gov

 

Yonkers, NY – January 30, 2023 – Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano today announced the Yonkers Kiwanis Club in collaboration with the City of Yonkers and Yonkers Board of Education will present the 2023 Teacher of the Year Awards to three deserving members of the Yonkers Public Schools’ faculty. Nominations can be submitted by students, parents, teachers and administrators today through March 1 at www.YonkersNY.gov.

 

Established in 1956, the Teacher of the Year Award celebrates Yonkers teachers who further excellence in education.  A committee comprised of members of the Yonkers Kiwanis Club and Trustees of the Board of Education selects the honorees.

 

“Teachers do some of the most important and amazing work in our community and they deserve to be recognized with honor,” said Mayor Spano. “The partnership between the City, the Yonkers Kiwanis Club and the Yonkers Board of Education celebrates the exceptional dedication and commitment of our everyday heroes in the classroom and, at times, even beyond the classroom.”

 

“In every Yonkers school, teachers create meaningful age-appropriate learning experiences leveraging technology to support and nurture our children’s curiosity, social-emotional and academic growth,” noted Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin M. Quezada. “Great teachers respect and believe that every child possesses something special and has the ability to reach their potential. As a community of learners, let's embrace this opportunity to appreciate and celebrate the diversity and talents of great Yonkers teachers.” 

 

Board of Education President Rev. Steve Lopez added, “The Trustees are intentional about taking every opportunity to recognize the outstanding work of our teachers. This annual partnership with Kiwanis and Mayor Spano brings together everyone in Yonkers to recognize the hard work and commitment of Yonkers teachers. Everyone remembers great teachers who not only creatively taught us but truly cared about us. We are confident that these are the teachers who will be nominated this year.”  

 

Three Yonkers Public Schools teachers, representing the elementary, middle and high school levels will be selected. Students, parents, teachers and administrators are encouraged to nominate a teacher at www.yonkersny.gov. Eligibility requirements for selection as Teacher of the Year include employment as a teacher in the Yonkers Public Schools for at least five years; demonstration of dedication to the teaching profession which has led his/her students to both knowledge and understanding; and initiation of new, meaningful programs for either students, teachers or parents, or been innovative in the use of existing programs, and display significant community involvement.

 

"The Yonkers Kiwanis Club is once again honored to sponsor the prestigious ‘Teacher of the Year’ award,” said Ralph J. Vasami, Yonkers Kiwanis President. “We are proud to have the opportunity to join the City of Yonkers and the Board of Education to honor these deserving Yonkers Public School teachers for their exceptional and dedicated service.”

 

Online nominations must be submitted by March 1 at 5PM.

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers Community Events Calendar.

 

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE ON McLEAN.

A Grand Marshal and a group of Aides to the Grand Marshal have been announced to lead the 66th Parade on McLean Avenue.

The parade will be held on March 18, 2023 at 1:00.

Related Parade events:

The Irish Flag will be raised at City Hall on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 4:00 p.m.

The Green Line will tentatively be painted on McLean Avenue near the Aisling Center on Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

The Parade Dinner will be held on Saturday, March 11, 2023 at Castle Royale at 7:00 p.m.

The Pre-Parde Mass will be celebrated on March 18, 2023 at 11:15 a.m. in the St. Barnabas High School Chapel.

Congratulations to the Grand Marshal Father Brendan A. Fitzgerald and all the 2023 Aides!

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: MURAL AT CALCAGNO HOMES GYM.

 

The Calcagno Homes gym located at 10 Brook Street unveiled some major art work this week.  This mural is part of a two-year partnership with Yonkers Arts to bring art to housing authority properties.  More than 150 pieces of art including murals, framed watercolors, oils and pen and ink drawings, have been installed at properties across the housing authority.  This mural is by artist Robin Alcantara and was funded by a $100,000 grant from the Mulford Corporation.  

Yonkers Insider: Yonkers Public Schools: YPS - MY BROTHER'S KEEPER SIXTH AND PROUD CELEBRATION.

 

On Thursday, January 19, 2023, I attended My Brother's Keeper's Sixth and Proud Celebration.

Congratulations to: Tomorrow's Leader Today Award - Nana Augustine, Roosevelt High School - Early College Studies, Graduating Class of 2023.

Builder of the Future Award:  Alvin Martinez, Yonkers Montessori Academy, Graduating Class of 2023.  

Yonkers Insider: City of Yonkers: SENATOR SCHUMER VISITS YONKERS.

 

On Friday, January 20, 2023, Senator Chuck Schumer visited Yonkers and pushed to transform a section of the city to get its first greenway.  

The plan is to renovate the abandoned Old Putnam Railroad and its four station, which used to serve as a vital connection but caused neighborhoods to be disconnected back in 1943. 
The state and the city want to put purpose back into it.  Senator Schumer stated that it "Could unite over 3 miles of walking and biking here in South Yonkers taking you right into the gateway of Van Cortland Park from Getty Square."  That is why the Senator is aiming to get the final funding of over $5 million to push the project forward.  

Officials have stated that the project will not just cover up an eyesore but also improve quality of life in all aspects.

Matters of Faith: Weekly Column: With Authority and Power.

“With Authority & Power”

By Reverend J. Loren Russell

 

Matthew 28:18-20‬ (NKJV) ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.’”‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

 ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

As much as you would like to think it does, “life does not revolve around you!” My parents used to tell me that when I was a child. I didn’t understand what they meant, after all, what else could life be for if it weren’t about me? I saw them do everything in their power to supply all my needs even if it meant they went without. That convinced me that life was all about and revolved around me.

I guess every child, or at least most of them, thinks that life really does revolve around them. As babies, our every cry is answered by a loving parent who has adjusted their lives so that their world revolves around us. Those actions leave the impression that our desires and aspirations are most important. You might be thinking the same thing, “What else could the world revolve around if not me?”

In the text, Jesus had risen from the grave and is preparing to ascend into heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father as the great intercessor for failed humanity. But before he does, He needs to set the record straight and commission His disciples for the task at hand. His task was advocacy, and theirs was to make disciples.

They were charged to “go.” It wasn’t to stay and bask in the glory of their privileged positions as apostles. They were to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. When they were endowed with power from the Holy Ghost in Acts 1:8, they were charged to “witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

The charge they received to go is a clear indication that it was not about them, but those they were sent to. They had to be like loving parents to needy children, ready and willing to sacrifice their own comfort for the benefit of others. Like babies and children, we cannot help ourselves and need someone to care for us. But some of us are still caught up in the thought that the world revolves around us. We are the ones God is most concerned about because we cannot help ourselves.

The motivation for parents to forsake their own well-being for the benefit of their children and the motivation of others to overlook their personal needs to benefit others is exactly the same…, love! Parents are given authority and power to take care of their children through love. The Apostles were commissioned by the resurrected Christ, certified by His authority, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. They were charged to go where other men dared not step, to rebellious people, murderers, adulterers, embezzlers, thieves, whores, blasphemers, and liars through love.

How would they fare with people who still thought the world revolved around them? Over 2,000 years later, we know that they were able to spread the Gospel and make disciples in accordance to the Great Commission. But it is impossible to do the Great Commission unless you obey the Great Commandment. The Great Commandment says we are to “love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

Combining the Great Commission with the Great Commandment endowed the Apostles with authority and power, and will endow us likewise to go “and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”

Be Blessed!

Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at Goodwill Baptist Church and is the spiritual leader of both LaGree Baptist Church and the Evangelical Church of God, all in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial & Strategic Consulting (718-328-8096), and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Monday nights from 8:00 – 10:00 PM on Facebook Live. Be sure to Friend “Matters of Faith” on YouTube and email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The eBook at www.smashwords.com/books/view/993177.