Yonkers Insider: From Campaign of New York State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh 90th District.

Photo Credit: Brian Harrod News Page.

ENDORSEMENT ALERT

I’m honored to have the support of Mayor Mike Spano as I run for re-election as your NYS Assemblyman. Mayor Spano’s words remind me why I continue to fight hard for the people of Yonkers. 

VOTE Assemblyman Nader Sayegh on or before November 5th!

#vote #yonkers #voteearly

From the Desk of Journalist Brian Harrod of Yonkers Newswire.

 

UNEXPLAINED PHENOMENA: It is easy to dismiss conspiracy theories as unhinged beliefs held by a small number of people, but that seriously underestimates the unknown, the strange encounters, and the ancient mysteries that challenge what we think. FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE: Explore the incredible wonders and ideas waiting for their secrets to be unlocked.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/343615108567274

From the News Desk of Journalist Brian Harrod.

FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE: Don’t remove a fence until you know why it was put up in the first place.

Our modern society, with its deadly mix of arrogance and certainty, has dispensed with a vast number of controls that had kept us in harmony with the world for hundreds of thousands of years. Many other cultures enshrined the concept of “initiated” knowledge and power. Mass access to technology and information has knocked down many of those fences. This has had phenomenal benefits, but also substantial costs. This makes Silicon Valley’s mantra of “move fast and break things” unintentionally hilarious. Why should access to some kinds of knowledge be controlled? In the age of search engines it seems outdated and patriarchal. The focus of my life is on the benefits of openness and following your curiosity. But there is an important caveat. There may be such a thing as too much, too fast.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/343615108567274

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

WOW... You Can Get One Of The 400 Affordable Apartments To Be Built On The World Trade Center Site..... THANKS KATHY: Governor Reaches Deal With Port Authority to Build Affordable Housing at 5 WTC COMMERCIAL OBSERVER: New York reached a deal to start construction on a residential building at 5 World Trade Center with more affordable housing than previously proposed, but far less than advocates pushed for. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that the Public Authorities Control Board (PACB) approved the framework for the 1,200-unit multifamily building earlier in the day, with up to one-third of the units priced for “low- and moderate-income residents,” and with some set aside for victims of 9/11 and their families, Hochul said. Construction is expected to start in 2024. “This is going to be a symbol of what we can do,” Hochul said on the 79th floor of 3 World Trade Center, where the announcement took place. “[It’s] going to bring new life here.” Silverstein Properties, Brookfield Properties, Omni New York and Dabar Development Partners were selected as the developers of the project in February 2021, which at the time was slated to be about 900 feet tall, with 1,325 rental units spread across 1.2 million square feet. In the original proposal, about 25 percent of the units were expected to be set aside for affordable housing. Housing advocates have been pushing for several years for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which has been spearheading the development, to make the building 100 percent affordable.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/YonkersNewswire/posts/3586853788238840/

News from Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

#LOL... But do they use to that rat in their tasty dishes

.....

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvM8vVsriOt/

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

YONKERS PIC: The Glenwood Power Plant has a looming, architectural presence which hearkens to a bygone era of train travel. It sits along the Hudson River, just next to the tracks of Metro North....

https://www.facebook.com/.../Yonk.../posts/3585290125061873/

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

FROM THE FOLKS AT TIKTOK: #Yonkers Gunfire Explained....

https://www.instagram.com/p/CvA-madu2uX/

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: The Barack Obama School for Social Justice is now the fourth Yonkers Public Schools to be awarded the New York State Education Department Pathways in Technology (P-Tech) grant.

PRESS RELEASE This New York State grant invests in a Computer Information Systems Pathway coupled with an Environmental Studies Pathway.

YONKERS: The Barack Obama School will receive $2.7 million over seven years.

It will partner with SUNY Westchester Community College, Corporate Computer Solutions, Groundwork Hudson Valley Incorporated, and the Department of Information Technology for The City of Yonkers.

The Obama School joins Groton, Riverside and Saunders as YPS P-Tech schools.

P-Tech incorporates an integrated program that combines high school, college, and career training.

The program provides students with mentorship and opportunities to learn through worksite visits, speakers, and internships....

https://www.facebook.com/.../Yonk.../posts/3582871851970367/

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

 

YONKERS RUMORS: There people saying that there are moving trucks at The Village Idiot’s house 99 Young Avenue In The City of Yonkers... #OMG... His neighbors say it appears as if Yonkers Public Schools Assistant Principal #AndreaVazquez's House Husband is moving out... #SMH....But, Is She Going To Go With #AlfredoVazquez AKA #FreddyVazquez....

https://www.facebook.com/.../Yonke.../posts/3580607755530110

UPDATE >>> CITIZENS ON PATROL: The #Yonkers Neighborhood Watch "C.O.P" Crew Definitely Has The Unstable And Delusional "Freddy" Under Surveillance....

#OMG... Yonkers Public Schools Assistant Principal #AndreaVazquez's Unstable, Armed And Psychotic House Husband Just Observed Another "Citizen On Patrol" Filming His Rented Moving Truck And Went Berserk, Threatening Him And Chasing Him At High Speed To Central Park Avenue....

From Yonkers Newswire Journalist Brian Harrod.

NEW YORK POST: Yonkers' only charter school illustrates just how broken the system is

To what lengths will teachers’ unions and their allies go to destroy charter schools?

#EduardoLaGuerre and #SobeidaCruz are in the process of finding out.

The couple raised their three children in #Yonkers.

It wasn’t the best public school district, but they hired tutors to fill in the gaps.

Two decades ago — when #NewYork state passed legislation to create a path for charter schools — LaGuerre and Cruz wanted to ensure other parents in Yonkers had the types of choices they had lacked.

“My concern was for those parents who didn’t have resources,” LaGuerre told me. So in 2005, the couple founded The Charter School of Educational Excellence in a converted Yonkers supermarket.

Today, the school has over 1,000 students and every member of its initial graduating class this year is headed to college.

Charter School Of Educational Excellence kids—mostly poor, black and Hispanic –outperform the state average in just about every subject area in every grade.

Some 69% of its sixth graders, for example, scored proficient in math, compared to 38% for New York State.

In English Language Arts, 91% of #CSEE students were proficient, compared to only 57% for New York State.

Over 92% of CSEE students passed the Algebra I Regents exam compared to only 26% in The City of Yonkers.

And while traditional #YonkersNY public schools spend about $26,800 per student, CSEE spends only $16,800.

Still, when it came time to add a high school, the New York State Board of Regents told the administration that they would need to admit 50% of its student body from outside of The City of Yonkers.

How come?

After all, there are more than enough Yonkers students on CSEE’s waitlist to fill the school’s slots.

What’s more, the 50% provision plainly violates the state’s charter law, which gives preference to “pupils residing in the school district in which the charter school is located.”

Siblings of pupils already enrolled in a charter school are also given preferential enrollment slots.

“It’s just sad to tell parents who live right across the street from our school that we can’t take their kids,” says LaGuerre.

“It’s even sadder when I can’t take the little sister or brother of one of our students. Why are we splitting the family?”

Of course, if the school let in all those kids from Yonkers, someone might notice that Yonkers has one of the highest student attrition rates in all of New York State.

Moreover, according to #EdLaGuerre, children who transfer from the nearby schools are typically starting between two and three years behind their peers at CSEE.

Ultimately, however, CSEE was forced to let in non-Yonkers and did so starting in 2019. But the absurd demands put on the school did not end.

The most outrageous is transportation. Indeed, in opening up the school to other districts, CSEE became responsible for bussing costs of children from all over Westchester and as far as the Bronx, which came to over $1 million dollars this past academic year.

Across Westchester, districts provide and pay for busing for children who attend public schools in other districts and even for private and parochial schools.

But guess which is the only Westchester school whose busing needs are not covered by the districts according to state education mandates:

That’s right, the Charter School Of Educational Excellence.

“A million dollars!” says Erika Collazo-Fermin, president of the school’s Parents’ Association.

“There are so many more resources we could be giving to our kids with that money.”

The harassment experienced by New York’s charter schools is hardly new.

At every turn teachers’ unions and their allies in Albany have tried to reduce charter numbers, deny them buildings to operate in, and create innumerable obstacles to their success (such as requiring out-of-district students or refusing to pay for bussing).

And year after year, many — such as CSEE — still manage to outperform their peers by miles.

Parents are clamoring for more, but our politicians are beholden to Big Education instead of state taxpayers.

Last November, nine neighborhood families filed a complaint against the Board of Regents and the Department of Education in the state supreme court after being denied admission because of the 50/50 rule.

On Thursday the judge sided with the state, claiming that even if the rule violated the law, it was the product of negotiations between the school and the state.

Of course, the approval for a high school was conditional on acceptance of 50-50 — which left the school effectively with no choice.

And so hundreds of Yonkers children will be denied admission to an academically successful institution in their own backyard.

And CSEE will be left with a million dollar bill for this injustice....

https://www.facebook.com/.../Yonk.../posts/3578798442377708/