RyeCity REVIEW THE
August 21, 2020 | Vol. 8, Number 35 | www.ryecityreview.com
Cuomo gives schools green light to reopen By CHRISTIAN FALCONE Editor-in-Chief
THE WAY BACK! On Aug. 24, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that low-risk high school sports would be permitted to start on Sept. 21. Soccer, field hockey, cross country, swimming and tennis are all among the sports that will be allowed to hold interscholastic contests. For story, see page 16. Photo/Mike Smith
New York Archdiocese motion denied in Gaynor case By MIKE SMITH Sports Editor An associate New York State Supreme Court judge blocked two motions by defense lawyers in the Edwin Gaynor case last week, rejecting a request by the Archdiocese of New York to have portions of complaints by Daniel Fagan and David B. Fox stricken from the record. On Aug. 20, Hon. Steven M. Jaeger officially denied the Archdiocesan plea to disqualify a total of 12 statements included in the complaints that highlight the fact that Gaynor—a former teacher and coach employed by several Catholic schools in Westchester County over 28 years—seemingly admitted wrongdoing in several communications to the law firm Lowey Dannenberg PC, which represents the plaintiffs. Since November 2019, 23 former students and players have come forward to file lawsuits
against Gaynor, the Archdiocese of New York and the parishes in which Gaynor served, including Immaculate Heart of Mary in Scarsdale, Holy Rosary in Hawthorne and St. Bernard’s in White Plains. Each of the allegations charges that the willful inaction of church and school officials allowed Gaynor’s abuse to continue for nearly three decades. In hand-written letters which were entered into evidence, Gaynor admitted to molesting two of the plaintiffs, but denied several of the other claims. Attorneys for the Archdiocese argued that Gaynor’s written declarations were irrelevant to the Fagan and Fox cases and were only included to potentially “inflame” a potential jury to the detriment of the co-defendants. “The diocese alleges that the complaint contains irrelevant, scandalous and prejudicial information from other actions in which defendants Mr. Gaynor,
the Archdiocese and [The Immaculate Heart of Mary] are also co-defendants,” read the motion. In his denial, however, the judge disagreed with the defense’s assertion that Gaynor’s letters had no immediate bearing on the Fox or Fagan cases, citing previous court decisions that upheld the inclusion of otherwise prejudicial material in lawsuits, providing the information was relevant to the case at hand. “In this instant matter, although the allegations in the Complaint may be deemed prejudicial by the Defendant, they are also relative to the Plaintiff’s claims of abuse, knowledge of abuse by the Defendants, and alleged pattern of abuse by Defendant Gaynor, and admissions or declarations against interest by Defendant Gaynor,” Jaeger wrote. This latest ruling follows an Aug. 12 decision to grant the plaintiffs the ability to consol-
idate the Fagan action with 18 of the other cases filed against Gaynor. Two more accusers have come forward with allegations against Gaynor since that time. The case brought by David Fox—who is currently living in hospice care in California—has been excluded from the consolidation order due to Fox’s health concerns, and the latest accuser, Robert Reno, filed his lawsuit separately and did not include Gaynor as a co-defendant. The Fox case will likely be expedited due to the plaintiff’s failing health, as the 66-yearold California resident’s lawyers sought to compel discovery from the defendants in a request filed on Aug. 21. Fox’s lawyers are asking for IHM and the Archdiocese to produce any documents, yearbooks, employment records and more pertaining to Gaynor’s role with the school by Sept. 11. CONTACT: sports@hometwn.com
Bolstered by a continuously low transmission rate of COVID-19 across New York state, students statewide will be allowed to return to the classroom this fall. After huddling with members of the state Department of Health, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced on Aug. 7 that every region in the state had met the necessary threshold. Each of the state’s 10 regions currently sit well below the 5% infection rate set on July 13 by Cuomo in order for schools to reopen. As of Monday, Aug. 18, the statewide infection rate was 0.7%. “They are all authorized to open,” he said. “New York State is in the best possible situation right now. So, if anybody can open schools, we can open schools.” But how to proceed will now largely rest with each school district, which will have to decide whether to conduct in-person learning or some type of hybrid model that incorporates remote learning. Reopening plans will be assisted by state Department of Health guidelines. Prior to the governor’s decision, school districts had been circulating surveys to gauge parents’ level of comfort with sending their kids back into the classroom. “I have been deluged with calls from parents and teachers,” Cuomo said. “There is a significant level of anxiety and concern, and I’ve said a number of times these school districts have to be talking to the parents and talking to the teachers.” District plans were required to be submitted to the Department of Health for review by July 31. However, as of Aug. 14, 107 of the 749 school districts in the state had yet to submit plans for
in-person learning, while another 50 districts had submitted either incomplete or deficient plans. “There are 107 school districts that have not submitted their plan—for those 107 school districts, how they didn’t submit a plan is beyond me,” he said. So Cuomo set a new Aug. 21 deadline for delinquent districts to kick in plans; any district that doesn’t submit a plan would not be allowed to open this year. As of Aug. 18, the Bedford, Poughkeepsie and Cortland school districts were the only in Westchester County that hadn’t submitted plans. The Health Department has the authority to reject any plan if it is not responsible from a health standpoint, according to the governor. Cuomo also required districts to host three public meetings by Aug. 21 with parents as well as one meeting with teachers to go through their individualized reopening plan and try to assuage any concerns. Remote learning plans must be posted online as well as districts’ plans for testing students and teachers, and protocol for contact tracing in the event that someone comes down with the coronavirus. “The people that are going to make the decision are not a bunch of bureaucrats, it is going to be the parents and the teachers,” he said. “If parents don’t send their kids back to school you don’t have school. If the teachers don’t come back you don’t have a school.” The Chappaqua school district plans to start the school year off implementing a hybrid model. In the district’s K-8 schools, students will return to the classroom in a staggered 3-day week where students will be broken up into cohorts. After the first week, remote learning will be added to the mix before the district will SCHOOLS continued on page 7