RyeCity REVIEW THE
July 10, 2020 | Vol. 8, Number 27 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Gaynor’s replacement testifies in abuse case By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor
PLAY BALL! An Eastchester Little League pitcher throws a strike on July 13. Several area Little League organizations kicked off their summer seasons this week, albeit with some new safety guidelines in place. For story, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
Latimer urges Westchester to be prepared for severe storms Westchester County Executive George Latimer is reminding residents to review their emergency plans and stock up on necessary supplies so they are prepared during hurricane season. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a shortage of various items in our stores in recent months. I am once again urging our residents to replenish those supplies in case they have to shelter-in-place without power or evacuate their home on short notice,” Latimer said. “Severe storms can occur at any time.”
Latimer said residents should have several days’ worth of food, water, medicine and other critical supplies like flashlights and batteries on hand in the event they are stuck in their homes due to flooding or a power outage. He also directed all county government departments to assess their preparedness for severe weather and coastal storms. Commissioner John M. Cullen of the Department of Emergency Services said hurricane season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. He recommended that people
create a disaster preparedness kit that includes: one gallon of water per person per day; a three-day supply of canned, packaged or other foods that do not need refrigeration or need to be cooked; a manual can opener and eating utensils; flashlights and batteries; a first aid kit; and a battery-powered or hand-crank radio. Foods that can be stored include ready-to-eat canned meats and fish; protein or fruit bars; dry cereal and granola; peanut butter; nuts; crackers and canned fruit juice.
Cullen said residents can do the following to enhance their preparedness: Make a plan • Begin by creating a personal support network and developing a communications plan with friends and family. Put the plan in writing and share it. Consider the needs of pets or service animals. Build a kit • Ensure that your kit has all the items you may need if STORMS continued on page 9
During a June 25 deposition in the ongoing abuse case against former Immaculate Heart of Mary gym teacher and coach Edwin Gaynor, Dan O’Hare—a former colleague who took over for Gaynor at IHM in the late 1960s—testified that Gaynor was dismissed from IHM following allegations of sexual misconduct. But despite being forced out at IHM it appears as though a culture of silence allowed Gaynor to continue to coach at area Catholic schools. During the deposition, O’Hare—who would go on to a 49-year teaching career at both IHM and the Ursuline School in New Rochelle—admitted to lawyers that he did not speak out after learning Gaynor had received another local coaching job at Holy Rosary in Hawthorne. “I didn’t think it was my business,” he said. “No one ever asked me.” Since November 2019, 21 former students and players have filed sexual assault lawsuits against Gaynor under the Child Victims Act, naming the Archdiocese of New York and other parishes where Gaynor has worked—including IHM and Holy Rosary— as co-defendants for failing to put an end to more than 26 years of alleged misconduct. O’Hare’s testimony, which was obtained by The Review, sheds light on how a general culture of silence and lack of accountability may have allowed these purported misdeeds to continue. O’Hare began teaching religion and history at IHM in 1966 and testified that sometime in either 1967 or 1968, he was approached by school officials in the middle of the year to replace Gaynor as the seventh- and eighth-grade physical education teacher and basketball coach. It was at this meeting where
O’Hare learned that Gaynor’s abrupt dismissal was due to accusations that he had inappropriately touched a student. “I was called to a meeting with one of the parish priests and he told me of an incident . . . between the boy and Mr. Gaynor,” O’Hare said while being deposed. “The parish priest said he had a conversation with Mr. Gaynor about it and that Gaynor admitted to it.” Court documents show that of Gaynor’s 21 accusers, 17 allege that the abuse took place at IHM between 1961 and 1968. Four of those accusers claim that incidents of abuse were reported to IHM officials at the time. But those other reported accusations were not divulged to O’Hare in the meeting with the parish priest. O’Hare went on to recount that the reasons behind Gaynor’s departure were simply never addressed in any way by IHM administration or faculty and that parents—including a “Men’s Club” that O’Hare said was comprised of community fathers that was tasked with raising money for IHM’s youth sports programs—never questioned him about Gaynor’s dismissal. O’Hare also never broached the subject with Gaynor in the ensuing years, as the two men’s coaching careers intertwined. Gaynor would return to IHM’s campus regularly as the youth basketball coach at Holy Rosary and also served as the founder, chairperson and scheduler of the Catholic Athletic League, CAL, or Catholic Athletic Association, CAA, an organization in which both IHM and Holy Rosary— along with other local Archdiocesan schools—participated in. O’Hare even worked for Gaynor briefly, serving as an instructor at the basketball camp Gaynor ran out of the Holy Rosary gymnasium. GAYNOR continued on page 8