Winner of Vol. 71, No. 17
What’s inside?
Thursday, June 4, 2020
Walter Watson spent the day driving his bus, came home, laid down for a nap, and never woke up again. Page A3
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Bowman, Engel dominate first primary debate By MICHAEL HINMAN mhinman@riverdalepress.com
Sudden passing
the Pulitzer Prize
Eliot Engel is not ashamed about the fact he’s been in Congress a long time — or the fact that voters have “renewed his contract” every two years since 1989. Such longevity has come with a significant financial bounty for his district, which includes the northwest Bronx and some southern pieces of Westchester County. It’s also given him prominence as the chair of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee, giving him a prominent role in the impeachment of President Donald Trump — something that now feels so long ago. In fact, Engel jokingly refers to it as “bringing home the bacon” for his constituents.
But will that be enough for voters to give him a 17th term in the U.S. House of Representatives? Jamaal Bowman, a Bronx middle school administrator who is trying to take that congressional seat away, says absolutely not. JAMAAL In fact, Bowman told BOWMAN Engel during a primary debate that aired Tuesday on BronxNet, that it’s time to clear the cobwebs and make room for something new. “Mr. Engel knows how to ‘bring home the bacon,’ but there are people in his district who are starving,” Bowman told debate moderator Gary Axelbank. “Where
is this bacon? Especially with 30 percent of his population living in food deserts.” Bowman — who has received some of the same ultra-progressive political backing as U.S. Rep. Alexandria OcasioCortez in a different part ELIOT of the borough — says ENGEL the Democratic Party has changed a lot since Engel first went to Washington. And not in a good way. “The Democratic Party is designed to work for working class people,” he said. “It is designed to work for the poor. It is designed to work for the general welfare of all
Engel takes heat for hot mic comment after riot. Page A4 people. But the Democratic Party has been corrupted and compromised,” especially with the introduction of larger corporations and other donors with deep pockets. “Our campaign doesn’t take any money from corporate PACs,” Bowman added. But its contributions like that which help back Democratic initiatives in Congress, Engel said, especially now when many Democrats are sniping at Trump ahead of his November showdown with former vice president Joe Biden.
Dinner is served
Farm to farm box
plindo@riverdalepress.com
JULIUS CONSTANTINE MOTAL / Photos
The gym might be closed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t turn on your computer and start exercising. Page A10
CUNY union fights adjunct job cuts By PATRICK LINDO
Moss Cafe was not open for business as usual — but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t feeding the community. Page A6
Cyber stretch
DEBATE, page A4
Daniel Kestenbaum carries a box full of lunches for homebound senior citizens to the trunk of his car behind The Riverdale Y. Kestenbaum and his children, Shaya and Raffaella, have volunteered their time to help The Y with meal delivery during the coronavirus pandemic.
There’s a lot of talk about how the coronavirus pandemic has hit businesses — but when it comes to schools, outside the fact that campuses are closed, some might be surprised to find out what’s happening inside. Like the fact some professors are getting the ax at many CUNY schools — including Lehman College — affecting primarily those who are working parttime, or in an adjunct capacity. The layoffs, according to some observers like CUNY Rising Alliance, are coming in anticipation of looming budgets cuts. With New York City joining the rest of the state in being shut down in some way or another since the end of March, collecting tax revenue and other fees hass been challenging for city officials. And less money means budget cuts will have to come somewhere. For CUNY schools, it seems that sacrifice are the teachers who help round out the full-time faculty. Barbara Bowen president of the Professional Staff Congress union, called on CUNY during a conference call last month to change course from what she described as a lack of vision, courage, imagination and empathy. She emphasized her point by calling back to the Great Depression, when CUNY added three colleges to its institution despite the economic hardships. “There are alternatives to cutting,” Bowen said. “CUNY should be demanding the full CUNY, page A4
Electeds fighting for (and over) New York’s homeless By ANTHONY CAPOTE of The Riverdale Press
Every night since May 4, a swarm of police officers, city social workers and volunteers descend on subway stations that close just as the clock strikes 1 a.m., hoping to find people who need their help. It’s a small army of people who have forsaken sleep in order to deliver as many homeless individuals into shelters as possible. It’s all part of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to abate homelessness while also disinfecting trains in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s social services department and city police are leading the effort, taking advantage of the nightly shutdown as a way to intervene with a population of people who make various subway cars their home when the sun goes down. Between the start of the program May 4 through
May 17, more than 600 people have accepted help in the form of either shelter or a hospital, city officials said. In one week alone, 181 homeless people found room in a shelter — and more than 60-percent of them were still in the shelter a week later. “These numbers, they may seem to some like a small number in the context of New York City,” de Blasio said — especially since New York’s homeless population is said to exceed 4,000. Yet, this was major progress. “When you see a hundred people in a week come in to (a) shelter and stay there, that’s actually a major step towards reducing permanent homelessness once and for all,” the mayor said, “and ending it once and for all.” Not everyone who gets a ride from the subway to the shelter ultimately goes inside, however, according to social services commissioner Steven Banks. HOMELESS, page A4
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Signs inform passersby of the overnight closure of the subway system beginning at 1 a.m., which has displaced hundreds of homeless people who find shelter on overnight trains.
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