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Of Significance Of Of Significance Significance
Community Section ...............................................................................4
Community Section ...............................................................................4 Community Section......................................................................................3 Business ................................................................................................4 Business ................................................................................................4 Calendar ...............................................................................................4 Books. ...........................................................................................................3 Calendar ...............................................................................................4 Charity ..................................................................................................5 Creative Disruption..................................................................................4 ............................................................................5 Creative Disruption. Charity Contest..................................................................................................5 ..................................................................................................6 Cultural Perspective ...........................................................................7 Contest ..................................................................................................6 CreativePerspective..................................................................................5 Disruption ............................................................................6 Cultural Energy Issues .......................................................................................8 Creative Disruption ............................................................................6 Education .............................................................................................7 History.........................................................................................................6 In Memoriam ....................................................................................10 Education .............................................................................................7 Fashion ..................................................................................................8 Medicine .............................................................................................10 Fashion ..................................................................................................8 Labor............................................................................................................8 Fitness....................................................................................................9 Najah’s Corner ...................................................................................11 Fitness....................................................................................................9 Health ..................................................................................................10 Lifestyle. .......................................................................................................8 Movie Review ....................................................................................12 Health ..................................................................................................10 History ................................................................................................10 Music ...................................................................................................12 Music. . ..........................................................................................................9 History ................................................................................................10 Ed Koch Movie Review ...................................................................12 Community ........................................................................................13 Ed Koch Movie Review ...................................................................12 Spoof ....................................................................................................13 SportsScene. ..............................................................................................10 Writers Collection.............................................................................14 Spoof ....................................................................................................13 Sports Scene .......................................................................................13 Eye On Scene Theatre. ........................................................................................10 Books Sports .......................................................................................13 Najah’s...................................................................................................16 Corner ...................................................................................13 People Najah’s Corner ...................................................................................13 Government Section...................................................................................11 Writers..................................................................................................18 Collection.............................................................................14 Eye On...................................................................................................16 Theatre ..................................................................................18 Writers Collection.............................................................................14 Books Legislation.................................................................................................11 Leaving on a Jet Plane ......................................................................19 Books ...................................................................................................16 Transportation...................................................................................17 Government Section Transportation ...................................................................................17 Mayor Marvin’s Column. .......................................................................12 Government Section ............................................................................20 ............................................................................17 Campaign Trail ..................................................................................20 Government Section ............................................................................17 Albany.......................................................................................................13 Correspondent ....................................................................17 Politics. Economic Development....................................................................17 Albany Correspondent Mayor Marvin’s Column..................................................................20 .................................................................18 Education ...........................................................................................21 Revaluation...............................................................................................13 Mayor Marvin’s Column .................................................................18 Government.......................................................................................19 The Hezitorial ....................................................................................21 Government .......................................................................................19 Government.............................................................................................14 OpEd Section .........................................................................................23 LegalSection ....................................................................................................23 OpEd .........................................................................................23 Ed Koch Commentary.....................................................................23 OpEd Section. ...............................................................................................15 People ..................................................................................................24 Ed Koch Letters toCommentary.....................................................................23 the Editor ..........................................................................24 Strategy Letters to...............................................................................................24 the ..........................................................................24 The .Editor .........................................................................................16 WeirHezitorial. Only Human ............................................................................25 OpEd Section .........................................................................................25 Weir Only Human ............................................................................25 LegalNotices. Notices................................................................................................18 ..........................................................................................26 Legal ..........................................................................................27 Legal Notices ..........................................................................................26
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allegations, programming be suspended for the days of March 29, 2012. Westchester On the Levelwith is heard from Monday to Friday, from2610toa.m. to 12YonNoon http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/Westchester kers Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor James Sadewhite is our scheduled guest Westchester On the Level is heard from Monday to Friday, from 10 a.m. to 12Friday, Noon on the Internet: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel. Join March 30. Jointoll-free the conversation by calling OntheLevel. on the Internet: by http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel. the conversation calling to 1-877-674-2436. Please stay on topic. Join It is howeverby anticipatedtoll-free that theto jury will deliberation ontopic. either Monthe conversation 1-877-674-2436. stay on 1-347-205-9201. Please stay onconclude topic. its Richard Narog March andcalling Hezi Aris your co-hosts. thePlease week day or Tuesday, 26 or 27.are Should that be theIncase, we willbeginning resume ourFebruary regular 20th and ending on Richard Narog andhave Hezi are entourage your InYonkers the week beginning February 24th,schedule we an Aris exciting of the guests. programming and announce thatco-hosts. fact on Tribune website.February 20th and ending on February 24th, we exciting entourage ofshow. guests. Richard Narog and HezianAris are co-hosts of the Every Monday is have special. On Monday, February 20th, Krystal Wade, a celebrated participant in http:// Every Monday is special. On Monday, 20th, Krystal a celebrated participant in http:// www.TheWritersCollection.com is ourFebruary guest. Krystal Wade isWade, a mother of three who works fifty miles www.TheWritersCollection.com our guest. Krystal is a novel mother threeaccepted who works fifty miles from home and writes in her “spare istime.” “Wilde’ s Fire,”Wade her debut hasofbeen for publication from home and writes ininher “spare “Wilde’iss her Fire,” her debut has sbeen accepted and should be available 2012. Nottime.” far behind second novel,novel “Wilde’ Army.” How for doespublication she do it? and available Tuneshould in andbefind out. in 2012. Not far behind is her second novel, “Wilde’s Army.” How does she do it? Tune in and find out. Co-hosts Richard Narog and Hezi Aris will relish the dissection of all things politics on Tuesday, February Co-hosts Richard andPresident Hezi ArisChuck will relish the dissection of his all things politicsfrom on Tuesday, February 21st. Yonkers CityNarog Council Lesnick will share perspective the august inner 21st. Yonkers Lesnick will share 22nd. his perspective from theEsq., august sanctum of theCity CityCouncil CouncilPresident ChambersChuck on Wednesday, February Stephen Cerrato, will inner share sanctum of the CityonCouncil Chambers Wednesday, February24th 22nd. Esq.,bewill share his political insight Thursday, Februaryon 23rd. Friday, February hasStephen yet to beCerrato, filled. It may a propihis political Thursday, February 23rd. Friday, February 24th has yet to be filled. It mayofbeThat a propitious day toinsight sum uponwhat transpired throughout the week. A sort of BlogTalk Radio version Was tious day to sum up what transpired throughout the week. A sort of BlogTalk Radio version of That Was The Week That Was (TWTWTW). The Week That Was (TWTWTW). For those who cannot join us live, consider listening to the show by way of an MP3 download, or on For thoseWithin who cannot join us consider listening the the show by wayinof MP3 that download, orlink on demand. 15 minutes of live, a show’ s ending, you cantofind segment ouranarchive you may demand. Within 15 minutes of a show’ s ending, you can find the segment in our archive that you may link to using the hyperlink provided in the opening paragraph. to using the hyperlink provided in the opening paragraph. The entire archive is available and maintained for your perusal. The easiest way to find a particular interview The is available and maintained forfor yourtheperusal. easiest to findofa the particular interview is toentire searcharchive Google, or any other search engine, subjectThe matter or way the name interviewee. For isexample, to search Google, or any other search engine, for the subject matter or the name of the interviewee. search Google, Yahoo, AOL Search for Westchester On the Level, Blog Talk Radio, or use For the example, hyperlinksearch above.Google, Yahoo, AOL Search for Westchester On the Level, Blog Talk Radio, or use the hyperlink above.
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CommunitySection BOOKS
No Guarantees: One Man’s Road Through the Darkness of Depression Diapers and Demons – Chapter Forty By BOB MARRONE
My life changed profoundly following the birth of my daughter and the onset of prolonged depression. The assortment of symptoms and obsessions was now joined by the reality of an infant with a bad heart; and the usual vicissitudes of little sleep, medical imperatives and family discord. To make matters more challenging my wife and I, to keep it simple and private, were not ready for the responsibilities we faced. And to look honestly and fairly as regards my wife, Kathy, she was also dealing with a husband who was roiling from serious emotional difficulties. It could not have been easy for her, and she did not, to say the least, behave well. There were issues, some of them intense. Suffice it to say we got through them. Besides, each person in a relationship has their own version of events. This is simply about what it was like to be me at that time. My days were spent conning my way through work in order to hide what I was going through in order to keep my job. My nights were spent learning how to raise a little girl and wondering if, each time she cried, her heart was going to stop. She was also colicky, a totally nerve wracking issue in any case, but near paralyzing to parents already dealing with their child’s bad heart. Of course, once a week, come hell or high water, I made it to therapy. I had committed myself to getting well, or to die trying, since that day in my mother’s kitchen, and I was prepared to do just that if need be; especially now that I was a father. I was intent on being the first decent father that came out of my dysfunctional line of ancestors, save for my two step-brother/cousins in the navy. My depression related maladies were growing less acute, if more plentiful and persistent. Phobias born out of extreme panic, ingrained by obsession and self destructiveness, changed the way I lived. I became severely claustrophobic, hydrophobic and agoraphobic. I also, as noted earlier, had a great deal of difficulty looking people in the eye and holding a conversation. I also began my long battle with the inability to concentrate and remember.These skills, which had been greatly compromised, had to be improvised in the short term and later relearned. I also continued to deal with uncontrolled thoughts and their associated fixations, as well as the usual day-to-day anxiety and vertigo.
And there was sadness, always sadness. Each work day began with my waking up from a sweaty, nightmare riddled sleep without need of an alarm. A syndrome, called early morning awakening, would ache me consciousness. The feeling was alien. I felt full of dread and fear, without the crescendo or rousing of a panic attack or its post climax relief, followed by an absence of other feelings, and a torturous sense that I could not sit still, let along go back to sleep. I hated this symptom more than some of the more acute ones because it robbed me of rest and created in me a hatred for the loneliness of the early morning that I maintain to this day. If I have nothing to do on a weekend morning, I will sleep-in rather than be reminded of that awful time. After showering and shaving I would walk back into the bedroom and kiss my daughter on the forehead, as much to give me motivation and courage, as to express my love. I would then stick my chin in the air and head for the door with a mantra in my head that I was facing into the wind, come what may. As I walked out the door and headed for the subway, my heart would pound and the physical pain that only those with sever anxiety know crawled from my lower back up my spine, exacerbated by my agoraphobic response. The fear was blinding, and I would lightly drag my right hand along the front fences of the homes as I walked down towards the elevated B Line Subway to keep from falling over. Some days, I felt like I would just explode or die from the terror, but I would think of my daughter and just keep going. I was prepared accept death if need be. Besides, I had nowhere else to go. There was no peace behind me either. As I entered the stairs and encountered people, the fear of eye contact or a crowd layered itself upon my shaky state. Once on the platform I made my way to the front of the train, again leaving an arm dragging in light contact with some firm object, like a fence or a garbage can. I stopped where the first car would pull up, and when the train arrived, I would enter the first car. It felt like I was entering a tomb. To avoid the acute combined effects of my phobias, I would plaster my face to the front window of the car, and lookout the entire time, never looking back or turning my head. The more crowded the train became, the worse I felt. And in those instances when there was no air conditioning or we would get stuck in the tunnel I would count backwards Continued on page 4
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
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BOOKS
No Guarantees: One Man’s Road Through the Darkness of Depression Continued from page 3
from one hundred thousand, or say the rosary to myself. A few words about phobias: Unless you have ever had a true pathological phobia, don’t believe for a minute that you can imagine what they are like. They are not like the fear you experience when you get into a fight, or think you are going to die when the car you are riding in is suddenly skidding out of control. Nor are they like the pain you felt when you lost your job or learned that your wife or husband was cheating on you. All those are terrible, but they are healthy reactions to real events. Serious phobias are massive, crippling and have real physical consequences, including near incontinence. They are terrible and linked to the worst of one’s anxiety disorder in a way that compels the victim to prefer death to the primordial loss of mental and physical control that they instill. They can also become highly specialized based on where and when they first appear. Get a severe reaction driving on a bridge… obsess a while… and you may never drive on a bridge again. Arriving at work required a similar routine, as did going home. But the real challenge was work itself. How, I wondered, do I get up in front of a class when I cannot stand crowds, wide open spaces or making eye contact? Or, how do I write and study when I cannot concentrate or remember anything? I came up with an improvisation to do these things that, ironically, would one day earn me a lot of money. I, of course, had no guarantees that it would work. Bob Marrone is the host of a Monday to Friday local morning talk show heard on WVOX-1460 AM radio.
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, June 28, 2012
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Writing II
Publishing Goes Digital with Blogs and e-Books – and Other Challenges By JOHN F. McMULLEN
The changes affecting writers written about in the first column in this series, though almost mindboggling when one considers what happened in a short period, were mainly mechanical – we went from typewriters to word processors; from rekeying (and re-editing) for typesetting to diskette input to telecommunications; from a network of small bookstores to megastores to on-line purchasing; and from large inventories of books to publishing on demand. The advent of blogs and e-books not only changed the mechanics but also created new types of literature and new choices / challenges for writers. Since the advent of the Internet, it has been used as a vehicle for people to share information and opinion. In 1978, during a blizzard in Chicago, Ward Christensen and Randy Suess developed “CBBS (“Computerized Bulletin Board System”), the first “Online Bulletin Board System,” a system that let users post comments on a variety of topics and respond to the comments of others. This concept spread like wildfire through the Internet world and Bulletin Boards sprang up throughout the country. One of the most notable of the BBSs was (and is) the “WELL” (“Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link” – http://www.well.com), founded in 1985 by Stewart Brand (founder of the “Whole Earth Catalog”) and Larry Brilliant. The WELL, then in Sausalito, CA, organized its topics for discussion into broad “conferences” (“Hackers”, “Dead”, “EFF”, etc.) and each conference was divided into “topics” on which readers could post new items or comments on the postings of others. The WELL rapidly became one of the intellectual hubs of the Internet – a site for intelligent conversation. The “Electronic Frontier Foundation” (“EFF”), the number one technology and privacy advocacy group in
the US, was founded in 1990 by Mitch Kapor (founder of Lotus Development Corporation) and ex-Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow as a result of their involvement in the WELL’s “Hacker Conference.” I was involved with many WELL members (including Barlow & Kapor, Jim Warren (founder of the “West Coast Computer Faire” and “InfoWorld” Magazine), Dorothy Denning (a computer security expert at that time with Digital Equipment Corp.), Peter Neumann (“SRI International”), and many others) in the founding in 1991 of the still-running “Computer, Freedom, & Privacy Conference” to bring together Hackers, Law Enforcement, Security Experts and Privacy Advocates. The WELL has also been the subject of a number of books: “The Virtual Community” by Howard Rheingold “Deeper: My Two Year Odyssey in Cyberspace” by John Seabrook “The WELL: A Story of Love, Death, and Real Life in the Seminal Online Community” by Katie Hafner “From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the rise of Digital Utopianism” by Fred Turner In 1990, influenced by the community spirit she found on the WELL, New Yorker Stacy Horn founded another virtual community, “ECHO” (which came to be known as “East Coast Hang Out” – http://www.echonyc.com). Horn hoped to bring a more New York flavor to ECHO than she found on the WELL. ECHO members included New York writers, actors and actresses and Horn wrote her first book, “Cyberville: Clicks, Culture and the Creation of an Online Town” about her experiences as the ‘Sysop’ and final arbitrator of behavior (Horn has since, in addition to her responsibilities on ECHO, become an NPR commentator and appeared as a drummer in a band as well as authoring four other books on various subjects).
John F. McMullen’s “Creative Disruption” series has been chosen worthy of recognition at the “Fifth Hagan Summer Symposium, June 2012” at Iona College. The dates of the Symposium are June 29th and 30th with Mr McMullen’s presentation to take place on the 30th. With the advent of the graphic web browser, virtual communities lost their appeal for many – but the WELL and ECHO continue to both have devoted followings (The WELL has a web interface while, although ECHO has a web site, it is still necessary to “telnet” to echonyc.com to sign into the ECHO conferences.). Shortly after the development of the graphic browser, web users began to post their thoughts and activities online in the form of diaries and journals. Some of the first known “diarists” were Justin Hall, a student at Swarthmore College, science fiction writer and Byte Magazine columnist Jerry Pournelle, and software developer Dave Winer. These writings tended to be known simply as journals or diaries and required the author to update a standard web page. In December 1997, Jorn Barger coined the term “weblog” for this type of writing and, in 1999, Peter Merholz broke the term apart to “we blog,” creating “blog” as a new word. Soon after, Evan Williams of Pyra Labs, used blog as both a noun and a verb and created the word “blogger” to both define a “person who blogs” and publicize “Blogger,” a system created by Pyra Labs in August 1999 and later sold to Google) to simplify the process of “blogging” (Other blogging authoring products had been developed before Blogger – “Open Diary” in October 1998 and “Live Journal” in March 1999 – and the currently much used “WordPress” was released in 2003.). Once the tools made it easier to write and maintain blogs, blogging proliferated and came to public attention in relation to politics in 2002 when bloggers were the first to hammer away at House Speaker Trent Lott for remarks considered racially insensitive in his praise of Senator Strom Thurmond. They also became politically important in the 2004 Presidential Election when bloggers built a strong case that the documents presented on the “CBS Evening News With Dan Rather” questioning President George Bush’s Air National Guard service were forgeries. Blogging has now moved totally into the mainstream with blogs on every possible subject – politics, technology, memoirs, cooking, sex, literature, comics, movies, business, gossip, economics -- to name only a few. Wikipedia stated that there were, in February 2011, “over 156 million public blogs in existence” in the Continued on page 5
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
Page 5
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Writing II Continued from page 4 universe of blogs that we call the “blogosphere.” Many blogs are supported through advertising and reach extremely large audiences. “Technorati” (technorati.com) is a blog search engine and ranking web site. According to the service (source -- http://technorati.com/blogs/ top100/), the top eleven blogs (the site gives all 100, updated daily) as of June 22, 2012 were: 1. The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com
2. BuzzFeed - Latest http://www.buzzfeed.com 3. Mashable! http://mashable.com 4. The Verge http://www.theverge.com/ 5. TMZ.com | Celebrity Gossip | … http://www.tmz.com 6. Engadget http://www.engadget.com 7. Gizmodo http://www.gizmodo.com 7. Business Insider http://www.businessinsider.com
9. The Daily Beast - Blogs and … http://www.thedailybeast.com 10. Ars Technica http://arstechnica.com 11. TechCrunch http://www.techcrunch.com Blogs are, if anything, increasing as newspapers more and more supplement their daily columns with discussion blogs; many magazines have either gone to a combination printed / blog platform or suspended print publication all together (three of the most circulated computer publications that I wrote for – “Computer Shopper,” “PC Magazine,” and “InfoWorld” have suspended
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Mayhem in Bunohan By SHERIF AWAD
Premiered in the São Paulo Internacional Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) last year, Bunohan is a new Malaysian action drama that takes place in a northeastern border town of the same name. It is a story of three estranged brothers – Adil, a kick-boxer, played by Zahiril Adzim, Bakar, a smuggler played by Pekin Ibrahim, and Ilham, an assassin played by Faizal Hussein – whose fates become tragically intertwined in a web of deceit and corruption. After fleeing a kick-boxer death match in
Festival (IFFR) a few months ago where he was promoting his film before its regional release last March. Said was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He graduated in Film and Photography from the University of Westminster in London in 1990. He worked on several short films, television programs, commercials, media installations and documentaries. He directed his first feature film Dukun in 2006, but the film was banned and never released. Bunohan had a strong showing at the Malaysian box office. Bunohan garnered recognition is now getting a US distribution deal with Oscilloscope Company. Said’s visual style shows his directorial
Assassins Ilham (Faizal Hussein) and Deng (Bront Palarae).
printing), and, most importantly, individuals more and more express themselves online – “Twitter” is considered a “microblog” and seems to be used by the immediate world. So, if you aren’t using blogs or microblogs, it’s time to, at least, explore them! Next – e-books – and Other Challenges. Creative Disruption is a continuing series examining the impact of constantly accelerating technology on the world around us. These changers normally happen under our personal radar until we find that the world as we knew it is no more.
told to me by my policeman father who patrolled the border. These personal histories not only formed the characters of Bunohan, but also the psychological and philosophical tropes that scowl beneath the film’s saturnine disposition. Greed and lust for power, and hunger for land, between brothers were Shakespearean themes and biblical stories related to mankind since the dawn of time”, offered Dain Said, who faced dark clouds in the morning, and heavy rain in the afternoon while shooting the action packed mayhem. “We planned the shooting in advance so that if we faced a problem, we could switch to a Continued on page 6
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Adil, a kick-boxer, played by Zahiril Adzim. Thailand, Adil goes on the run. His fate brings him to Bunohan, the Malaysian badlands, where he crashes into the shady schemes of his two brothers. The trio’s unlikely homecoming brings a struggle for reconciliation with their father and a final confrontation that leads to loss, betrayal, corruption and murder. I met Bunohan’s writer-director Dain Said at the Rotterdam International Film
capacity and capability in overcoming many logistical challenges and still realize a tough shooting regimen in a real environment. “I have devised Bunohan to be a depiction of our society. They are people I know. In writing the script, I drew inspiration from my childhood memories growing up in the border town of Tumpat, tapping into a rich tapestry of stories of assassins, kick-boxers and smugglers
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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Mayhem in Bunohan
strikes to inflict the most damage. Which is why it is sometimes referred to as the art of siku lutut, which literally translates to mean “elbow-knee”. Back to filmmaking, in Egypt and many Arab countries, filmmakers still have to submit scripts to the regional censorship
Continued from page 5
similar place immediately, maintaining an on time schedule. It was like going into the eye of the storm because shooting on water is quite tricky, especially to the point that it is impossible to shoot night scenes. Our feature film crews are most professional and have excellent stamina to work in the sea, the lagoons and the monsoons that shift islands in Malaysia”. Bunohan is highlighted by its kick-boxing
Adil (Zahiril Adzim) and Muski (Amerul Affendi) on the run.
Dain Said. scenes in which Said mixed choreography and improvisation. Tomoi is the Malaysian name for a Southeast Asian martial art known in Thailand as Muay Thai. The word Tomoi is derived from “dhoi muay” which is the Thai word for pugilism and fist-fighting in general. In Malaysia it is mainly practiced in the northern states of Kedah, Terengganu and especially Kelantan, which borders Thailand. Tomoi is a form of kick-boxing which allows for strikes to be made using fists, elbows, knees and feet. Distinct from conventional kick-boxing, Tomoi practitioners consider punches to be the weakest form of attack, preferring instead elbow and knee
Farid Al-Atrash. in order to be granted a certificate to start shooting their films. “It was a similar case a few years ago in Malaysia when we used to submit our scripts to the police. Things have now changed for the better unless the film has a contentious element that can raise their concern. For Bunohan, we had to submit it to our film board in order to get the funding, which is a loan that must be recouped after the film’s release. And, in Malaysia, as in other parts of the world, American films dominate,
Behind the Scenes of Bunohan. making it very difficult for the young audience to discover their own regional films vis-à-vis the big Hollywood machinery. After we finished talking about his film, Dain Said revealed that he grew up in Egypt because his father was briefly assigned in Cairo during the 1970s. “They are really fun memories. It was the happiest time I spent in my life. I loved Arabian music specially Oud played by Farid Al-Atrash and songs by Abdel-Halim Hafez and Oum Kolthoum. Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad I a film / video critic and curator. He is the film editor of Egypt Today Magazine, and the artistic director for both the Alexandria Film Festival, in Egypt, and the Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The Netherlands. He also contributes to Variety, in the United States, and Variety Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
HISTORY
Who Wrote the Bugle Call Taps? By ROBERT SCOTT
The 24 notes of the hauntingly mournful bugle call we call Taps are heard frequently across America these days as our military dead continue to be returned from Afghanistan for burial. For many years after the Civil War, legend had it that Gen. Daniel A. Butterfield composed this call in 1862, which means its 150th birthday is coming up next month. Writing about bugle calls in the August 1898 issue of The Century Magazine, Gustav Kobbé stirred up a hornet’s nest among Civil War veterans with his article, “The Trumpet in Camp and Battle.” Kobbé was a respected music critic and opera expert. After tracing many of the U.S. Army’s bugle calls to the French army of Napoleon, Kobbé admitted, “In speaking of our trumpet calls
Daniel Butterfield. He couldn’t read or write music, but he knew what he liked when he heard it.
I purposely omitted one with which it seemed most appropriate to close this article, for it is the call which closes the soldier’s day, Lights Out. I have not been able to trace this call to any other service. In order to profit from the battle experience gained in the Civil War and faced with a downsized army, in 1866 the War Department had assigned Lt. Col. Emory Upton to head a board of officers at West Point charged with creating a new tactical manual. Upton, the Army’s most brilliant strategist, asked Major Truman Seymour to compile a system of bugle calls to be incorporated into the new tactical manual to be published in1867. Referring to the “Lights Out” call, Kobbé concluded, “If it seems probable it was original with Major Seymour, he has given our army the most beautiful of trumpet-calls.” Taps was still called “Lights Out” in the post-Civil War Army. Kobbé’s article prompted a letter from Oliver W. Norton, who said he knew the origin of the bugle call and claimed he was the first to play it.
Writing from Chicago, Norton, a successful businessman who would later found the American Can Company, said in his letter, “Mr. Kobbé says he has been unable to trace the origin of the call now used for Taps, or ’Go to Sleep,’ as it is generally called by soldiers. During the early part of the Civil War, I was bugler at the headquarters of Butterfield’s Brigade. “Up to July, 1862, the Infantry call for Taps was that set down in [Gen. Silas] Casey’s Tactics, which Mr. Kobbé says was borrowed from the French. One day, soon after the seven days battles on the Peninsular, when the Army of the Potomac was lying in camp at Harrison’s Landing, General Daniel Butterfield, then commanding our brigade, sent for me, and showing me some notes on a staff written in pencil on the back of an envelope, asked me to sound them on my bugle.” Norton’s letter continued, “I did this several times, playing the music as written. He changed it somewhat, lengthening some notes and shortening others, but retaining the melody as he first gave it to Continued on page 7
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THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
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HISTORY
Who Wrote the Bugle Call Taps? Continued from page 6
me. After getting it to his satisfaction, he directed me to sound that call for Taps thereafter in place of the regulation call. The music was beautiful on that still summer night, and was heard far beyond the limits
played at the burial ceremony for a cannoneer killed in action. Not wanting to set off return fire from edgy Confederate troops nearby, Tidball substituted Taps for the traditional three rifle volleys fired over the grave. Taps was also played at the funeral of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson nearly a year later. By 1891, Army infantry regulations required Taps to be played at military funeral ceremonies, and the tune is still used to signal “lights out” at the end of the day.
Other Claims to Authorship
Truman Seymour. The artistic general, he chose the bugle calls of the post-Civil War U.S. Army. of our brigade.” Oliver Norton went on to describe how the next day he was visited by buglers from neighboring brigades who wanted copies of the music. The call was gradually taken up throughout the Army of the Potomac. Later the tune was carried by buglers to troops fighting with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant in Tennessee. Rapidly making its way through the entire Union Army, it eventually became accepted as a regulation U.S. Army bugle call. Acting on a suggestion in Norton’s letter, the editor of The Century Magazine wrote to General Butterfield. Replying from his home “Cragside” in Cold Spring, N.Y., the 67-yearold Butterfield confirmed the Norton account: “I recall, in dim memory, the substantial truth of the statement made by Norton about bugle calls. His letter gave the impression I personally wrote the notes for the call. “ The call of Taps did not seem to be as smooth, melodious and musical as it should be, and I called in some one who could write music, and practiced a change in the call of Taps until I had it suit my ear, and then, as Norton writes, got it to my taste without being able to write music or knowing the technical name of any note, but, simply by ear, arranged it as Norton describes. I did not recall him in connection with it, but his story is substantially correct.” Butterfield may not have written the bugle call we now know as Taps, but he certainly deserves credit as the arranger of today’s version of the call. The first time the Butterfield version of Taps was sounded at a military funeral may have been when Union Capt. John Tidball ordered it
According to a widely circulated account, the tune was born in 1862 when Union Capt. Robert Ellicombe heard a soldier moaning on a battlefield near Harrison’s Landing, Virginia. He decided to investigate and found that the injured soldier wearing a Confederate uniform had died. In the light of his lantern,Captain Ellicombe discovered to his horror that the dead soldier was his son, who had been a music student in the South and had enlisted in the Confederate Army without telling his father. He found In his son’s jacket a scrap of paper on which a staff and 24 music notes had been penciled. Captain Ellicombe’s request that his son be given a full military funeral was denied. Instead of a military band, he was allowed one musician, a bugler, who played his son’s song at the funeral. Thus the bugle call Taps came into being, and the tradition of playing it at military funerals and memorial ceremonies began.
Emory Upton. Brilliant military thinker, he wrote the Army’s new manual on tactics. This touching story has become an intriguing urban legend--but it’s just that, a legend. Like so many legends, it has no basis in fact. No evidence exists that a Captain Robert Ellicombe ever served in the Union Army of the Potomac. Ironically, cartoonist and author Robert L. Ripley died on May 27, 1949, after filming a segment on the 13th episode of his TV program, “Believe It or Not.” The subject was a retelling of the Ellicombe story.
Gustav Kobbé. Music critic and historian, he questioned the authorship of Taps.
Still Another Version of the Taps Story
Another account claims the song was indeed written by a Butterfield--Milton Butterfield, a Confederate soldier from Alabama and no relation to Daniel Butterfield. As a bugler home on leave in Alabama, he regaled relatives and friends with an account of how he had composed “burial
music,” and told of being asked to play an appropriate song at a burial ceremony after the fall of Vicksburg. He then played for his family the song he had composed. It turned out to be the song we know today as Taps.” Spoilsports may point out that Vicksburg did not surrender until July of 1863, by which time General Butterfield’s version of the call was being played regularly by buglers on both sides. Milton Butterfield rejoined his unit, which was sent to Chickamauga, Tennessee, where he served as clerk of the Court Martial Court. In a letter to his family, he reported that a meeting had been arranged under a flag of truce for him to visit with Union Gen. Daniel A. Butterfield. During this meeting, he told General Butterfield of his “burial music.” When the general expressed interest in it, he wrote the simple tune on the back of an envelope and gave it to him. Milton Butterfield, who was attached to a scouting party, was killed during the siege of Atlanta and is buried at Stone Mountain, Georgia. As so often happens with legends, substantiating documents, including the letter from Chickamauga, were conveniently lost during the family’s frequent moves after the war.
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Continued on page 8
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HISTORY
Who Wrote the Bugle Call Taps? Continued from page 7
Research Reveals the True Story
Musicologists familiar with military music have traced the European roots of the 24-note bugle call we know as Taps. Taps actually existed in an earlier version of the Tattoo call used to notify soldiers to stop the evening’s drinking and return to quarters. Tattoo was sounded about an hour before the final call of the day to extinguish all fires and lighting devices such as candles and lanterns. The words Tattoo and Taps are alterations of the obsolete word “taptoo,” derived from the Dutch “taptoe.” Taptoe was the command meaning to shut the tap of a keg. The mournful melody predates the Civil War. The melody of Taps is close to the last five and a quarter bars of what was called the Scott Tattoo (after Gen. Winfield Scott), a call included in many tactical manuals published well before the Civil War. Daniel Butterfield never claimed credit for the bugle call that was sometimes called “Butterfield’s Lullaby.” He may not have written the bugle call we now know as Taps, but he certainly deserves credit as the arranger of today’s version of the call. Who wrote the bugle call Taps? Like so many cultural mysteries, the identity of the original composer of Taps and the date of its creation are today lost in the mists of history.
Robert Scott is a semi-retired book publisher and local historian. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y.
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
LABOR
250 More Lay-Offs at the Westchester Medical Center By NANCY KING
250 Nurse’s Aides were pinked slipped on Friday at the Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. In the latest effort to restore fiscal health to the already ailing hospital, CEO Michael Israel announced most of these positions would be replaced by new employees from the private agency MSN. It is claimed this current round of lay-offs will save the hospital between $5 and $6 million dollars a year. Hospital administrators assert these layoffs are the only way to help close a $60 million budget gap. The new agency employees will be paid approximately $11.00 an hour while the former employees averaged $28.00 an hour inclusive of benefits. If the new hires wish to have benefits, they will be able to purchase them (with that whopping $11.00 an hour salary), through their agency. The new hires will also be per diem workers who will report to work based on the hospital census. If the census remains low, they will not be called into work. This action leaves other staff, and of course the patients wondering whether the current hospital administration has a crystal ball and can predict a low census. Several physicians who spoke with this reporter on the condition of anonymity offered a
different perspective on WMC’s low census. In the past year, many doctors have complained to the administration that as a result of the monthly layoffs, patient care has suffered. Turning a deaf ear to these doctors, the administration has continued to cut staff and doctors are no longer referring their patients to WMC and are instead referring patients to other local hospitals. In the past year and a half, the Westchester Medical Center has laid off close to 1,000 workers, most of who were CSEA members and replaced them with low cost agency workers. Departments cut, and then privatized, have been laundry, central sterile, courier services, the Behavioral Health Center and its outreach program. Registered nurses throughout the facility have also been terminated leaving behind dangerously high patient loads to those who haven’t had their positions eliminated yet. It is no secret that WMC, a public benefits corporation is hemorrhaging cash. However, the model of this corporation just isn’t working anymore. Once intended to be the safety net that would provide treatment and services to the needy, hospital officials are faced with walking a thin line of remaining fiscally solvent while providing quality and expensive care. Union members perceive these cuts differently though. They see the elimination of programs, services
and positions as a union busting tactic. At this time, both sides are preparing to negotiate a new contract and neither side seems to want to come to the bargaining table. At this time CSEA members do not contribute to their benefits. Earlier this spring, the Westchester Corrections Officers union and the Teamsters union struck a deal with the county and settled their contract disputes. Members received modest wage increases and will now be contributing 12% toward their benefits and new hires will contribute 20%. These concessions are anticipated to help preserve jobs. Will these two union’s settlement be a model for the upcoming negotiations at the Grasslands facility? Maybe. In the meantime, Westchester Medical Center is situated in limbo. Doctors are hesitant about sending patients there, current employees report to work each day uncertain about their future, and those newly hired and often under trained agency workers, most of whom are just grateful to have a job, are providing direct and indirect patient care. At this rate, Westchester Medical Center is no longer the home of World Class Medicine; it has evolved into the home of a world class mess. Nancy King is a freelance investigative reporter; a resident of White Plains, New York.
LIFESTYLE
Gina Bergamini Brings Belly Dance and Fitness to Mt. Kisco By RICH MONETTI
Trained in modern dance, Gina Bergamini wanted to keep her studies up after completing school by taking dance classes a few nights a week. When one was cancelled, she decided to take a belly-dancing course in its place. Offering her limitless potential for creativity, she grew into this cross cultural dance and has gone on to becoming both a performer and a teacher. Nonetheless, aware of the connotation that it can sometimes carry, she never told her parents what she was doing. They found out, though, when a commercial for one of her classes appeared on a local cable television program in Chappaqua, New York. “Carol, come look at your daughter,” she says her father yelled up the stairs to her mother. His reaction implied the misconceptions that comes with the territory. When Ms Begamini performs throughout Westchester County or neighboring New York City, she generally appears in the belly dancing attire that caught on in America during the 1920’s but putting the belly in the dance isn’t really historically accurate. “Those that do perform,” she says, “it’s a choice whether you
bare your mid drift or not. It follows the same rules likewise apply in the continuing education courses she teaches in Chappaqua and Armonk. Recognize that part of the appeal to many women as a fitness regimen is the traditional accessories that come with the costume. Veils, beads and coin belts that jingle,” noted the Mt. Kisco resident, “It brings out the willingness to play a little and you’re basically dressing up to exercise.” Health aside, belly dancing – as she found out – takes on an infectious feeling that won’t go away. “They’ve been bitten by the bug,” she says, as cultural and artistic considerations morph out of
the initial inclination to get fit. In contrast, again to a common misconception, women then seek out performances, rather than seemingly being the sole domain of male desire. Having never encountered any problems at private parties that are mostly for families, she says, “It’s the wives and daughters that usually ask for the dancers.” Back in class, one’s belly has little to do with whether this low impact workout applies to them. “I think it embraces all different ages, all different bodies and whatever your movement history or your fitness is, you can do this,” she says. That especially since belly dancing – unlike
ballet – was built with a woman in mind. “Belly dancing is based on a woman’s body. It’s what our bodies can do so there’s that sense that this is about me,” she says. In turn, you’ll end up with a nice limber spine and abdominals strengthened at the core. “You can be voluptuous but underneath you would have very strong abdominals,” she says. Following a pregnancy that could appeal to women hoping to tone up again. At the same time, even her parents have come around. Seeing firsthand the family orientated and artistic nature of performances – which are devoid of anything crass – they now offer a critique of her work when in attendance. “Why did you wear that outfit, how come you used that music?” she says. she hears – or in other words, they are very proud,” she concluded. To reach Ms. Bergamini, direct email to Ginadanza@aol.com. Photo by and courtesy of Jerry Bezdikian. Rich Monetti lives in Somers. He’s been a freelance writer covering Westchester County since 2003. Peruse his work at www.monetti.blogspot.com.
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
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MUSIC
rd Michael Arnone’ s 23 Crawfish Fest THE SOUNDS 1, 2, 3, 2012 OFBLUE June Augusta, NJ www.CrawfishFest.com By Bob Putignano This year’s edition of Michael Arnone’s Crawfish Fest continues to evolve to attract a wider audience, and increased attendance figures. Featured performers included: the son of Aaron Neville, Ivan Neville who brings in his funk band, Dumpstaphunk. Dave Malone of the Radiators and his brother Tommy Malone of the Subdudes played two sets with their new band The Malone Brothers. A relatively new group; The New Orleans Suspects make their Crawfish Fest debut featuring Mean Willie Green from the Neville Brother’s, Reggie Scanlan of the Radiators, Kevin Harris of the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the recently departed from the Dirty Dozen guitarist Jake Eckert, and CR Gruver of Outformation. Brass fans will be happy to see Bonerama return, as well as New Orleans’ legends the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Grammy winner Marcia Ball played two sets. Alexis P. Suter, nominated for Best Blues Soul Female Artist at the Blues Music Awards brought her eightpiece band in on Friday night. For some jazzy funk, blues, and R&B Walter “Wolfman” Washington and his Roadmasters are always
Jon Cleary
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
drummer Raymond Weber (ex of the New Orleans Social Club,) was propulsive working the Crescent City grooves, and pounded his butt off. I was originally excited that Jon Cleary was added to the good Doctor’s unit, but he wasn’t given much space to solo on piano, and (other than some background vocal chores, and keyboard fills) he was mostly just along for ride, too bad. Needless to say; Cleary didn’t sing any tunes from his excellent “Occapella” CD, which is a tribute to the brilliant and great Allen Toussaint. I hadn’t seen Walter “Wolfman” Washington with his Roadmasters for quite some time, and it was great to see them reunited, especially with his co-author/bassist Jack Cruz. They started their set in a pretty breezy and jazzy mood opening with Miles Davis’ “All Blues,” and segued into Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” instrumentally of course. Needless to say; eventually their set became bluesy (a terrific cover of “Marianne”,) and it was no surprise to see this fine unit turn up the funk as well, funk was definitely in the house. They also tell me that they’re working on a new album- good! Closing out Saturday night; the Dirty Dozen once again dazzled. Their set was of the highest magnitude. As always, the horns ruled with complex horn arrangements, and abundant on-the-fly horn chart Dirty Dozen -Roger Lewis surprises. Note: there’s been several changes in the band, as they no longer have a guitarist, have added a keyboard player, and they have also supplemented the front horns with a new sax player, nonetheless these changes are all for the better, and a good time was had by all, including the band! The core unit of: Roger Dirty Dozen - Kevin Harris
a joy. Plus Johnny Sketch and the Dirty Notes and the Stanton Moore Trio, last but not least the great Dr. John band has Jon Cleary sitting in. Additionally; the Crawfish Fest has long featured a Gospel band to open the main stage on Sunday mornings. Tony Smith and the You Know How We Do Crew took us to the jazzy church; by the way Tony Smith also hosts a Gospel-Jazz show on WFDU. One other new feature of this year’s festival will be several musicians’ workshops each day, featuring drummer Stanton Moore of Galactic and several members of Feufollet. The lineup for this year’s Crawfish Fest continues to set new standards. My favorite performances were by Dr. John, Walter “Wolfman” Washington, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Speaking of Dr. John, man he was on his game, especially with his vocals, he also played stinging guitar leads, yes guitar, but I would have liked to have heard more piano playing from Mac. His band was pretty good, but not up to the standards of previous bands he toured with in the past. But the dynamic
Wolfman Washington, Jack Cruz
Efrem Towns
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Dr. John Lewis (baritone,) Efrem Towns (trumpet, flugelhorn, and vocals,) Gregory Davis (trumpet and vocals,) Kevin Harris (saxophone,) Kirk Joseph (sousaphone,) and Terrence Higgins (drums ;) fortunately remains unchanged. For further authenticity and proof, checkout their latest disc “Twenty Dozen” recently released on the Savoy Jazz Label. Michael Arnone is a Louisiana native, and is the founder and producer of the Crawfish Fest. Arnone recommends ordering a King Cake and Mardi Gras Beads from a traditional New Orleans bakery such as: Haydel’s Bakery or Gambino’s Bakery. Arnone’s Jambalaya Mix can be ordered in the Crawfish Fest Online Store and is the next best thing to Arnone’s (made from scratch) Jambalaya served at the Crawfish Fest. As Arnone annually opines, now that this years Crawfish Fest is behind us, the main thing he looks forward to s planning next years Fest. Keep checking: www.CrawfishFest.com for updates. Yeah you right. Bob Putignano www.SoundsofBlue.com
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THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
SPORTSSCENE
Sports Scene By MARK JEFFERS
Welcome to another edition of “Sports Scene,” where we take a look at the great sports action here in Westchester County… Mary Cain from Bronxville High won the 1,500 meters at the USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the second-fastest time for a high school girl in history with a time of 4:14.74; the win punches Cain’s ticket to the IAAF World Junior Championships in Barcelona in July. The Irvington Boys and Girls Track & Field teams each won state scholar/athlete team championships this spring season as awarded by the state Public High School Athletic Association… way to go! The Iona Prep Gaels defeated Fordham Prep 9 to 2 to win the CHSAA Class AA baseball championship and it was their coach Fred Gallo’s last game as he has announced his retirement. Briarcliff lost a close battle to Oneonta High School 2-0 in the Class B state baseball championship game. In the small world we live in, OHS is where I went to high school and the Yellow Jackets head coach Joe Hughes is a dear friend, so congrats to Joe on his first state title… Hackley took home the crown as the Hornets beat Fieldston 15 to 5 to win the New York State Association of Independent Schools
lacrosse championship. In Sound Shore Lacrosse League action, James Bryant scored a hat trick to lead the White Plains Alumni past Foley’s Tavern 9-8. Chappaqua’s World Cup Gymnastics Level 6 boys team captured the state championship recently held at West Point.
DONELSON_Weird Golf
Here is a fun summer read from our friend Dave Donelson. “Weird Golf ” has tongue firmly in cheek, Dave tells some of the strangest stories in golf. Like the grudge match at Pebble Beach between Superman and Batman. Meet the golf pro who sold his soul to the devil and the
werewolf who makes a run at the Grand Slam. And don’t forget the guy who can cure your slice if you’ll only let him bite your neck. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you might even throw up your dinner, but “Weird Golf ” will make you think twice about teeing it up at twilight. Golf has so much more to offer than hushed fairways and perfectly-trimmed greens. For golfers with open and slightly-twisted minds, there are also Manhattanville Sports Business Management Masters class blue gnomes that read putts, ghosts joins “The Clubhouse” gang at Grand Prix NY in Mount Kisco. with golf tips, and witches you never, awarded former PGA pro Tony Jacklin with the ever want to play through. These 18 stories by Gold Tee award at their 61st National Awards veteran golf writer Dave Donelson will help you Dinner. push aside your long-drive ego, peel back your Pelham’s JV football coach Justin Lombardi putter-shaking id, and expose the goofy golfer will take over as head varsity coach this fall, he deep inside. certainly will know the players, we wish him well. In an emotional day, New Rochelle’s own It is signup time for the WBA Lady Knicks Ray Rice had his number 5 retired by the high Girls Camp being held July 16-20 in New school to put a fitting end to Ray Rice Day, the Rochelle. NFL’s Baltimore Raven was clearly moved by I would like to take this opportunity to the gesture. applaud my Manhattanville Sports Business Rye Country Day girls basketball star Management Masters class for the fine job they Carolyn Binder has chosen Columbia University did producing and writing a recent episode of our basketball court as the place to play her college sports radio show “The Clubhouse,” the future of hoops. sports business looks to be in good hands. Good luck to John Aguilar as he takes over With the Lance Armstrong and Roger as the head coach of Rye High School basketball Clemens’ stories swirling around the national team. sports scene, I just want everyone to know I wrote 15-year-old phenom Cameron Young from this column steroid free… see you next week. the Sleepy Hollow Country Club won the 75th Hochester Memorial Tournament at Quaker Mark Jeffers resides in Bedford Hills, New York, Ridge by two shots. with his wife Sarah, and three daughters, Kate, The Metropolitan Golf Writers Association Amanda, and Claire.
EYE ON THEATRE
As Who Likes It? By JOHN SIMON
As with Swiss cheese, where an optimist sees nothing but cheese, and a pessimist nothing but holes, there are two ways of looking at the Public Theater’s offerings of free Shakespeare
in the Park. An optimist will note how pleasant it is to be entertained of a summer evening in Central Park, allowing all of us “in city pent” to feel a little less pent (whatever that may precisely mean). There is free theater—Shakespeare for people who may not afford it elsewhere—of which we are tempted to feel no more critical than of what we might see in a gift horse’s mouth. A pessimist--or perhaps more accurately a perfectionist—would shudder at the very idea of transposing the action of “As You Like It” to America’s Old West. Which has nothing to do with the Court, dukes, courtiers, a court jester, the enchanting forest of Arden, references to Robin Hood and such—being, in short, very English and very Elizabethan. It makes about as
much sense as playing “Death of a Salesman” in doublet and hose and with attempts at British accents. But there are also, as with most Park mountings, problems of casting. While it is laudable and financially prescribed to employ actors of color, a semblance of logic must not be flouted. Thus it makes no sense for even a supposititious Duke in old or new America to be black. Why not make one of the shepherds or shepherdesses black, a somewhat less obvious stretch. Here we have Andre Braugher, a good black actor, playing both the good and the bad duke, which adds further questionableness, especially when the former’s daughter is white and her cousin is black. Great actors could conceivably overcome illogic, but no on here is that great.. And there is more. Orlando doesn’t recognize the girl he has just fallen in love with at first sight, when, at second sight, she unconvincingly pretends to be a boy right smack before his face. And why do his love letters to her not get carved in the trees , as the text calls for, but pinned to them in neat stationery. How many sheets of it does one bring along to the woods? Well yes,you say,but this is a romance,almost a fairy tale, from which logic is not expected. But
(L-R): Jon Devries, Donna Lynne Champlin, MacIntyre Dixon, Jesse Lenat. problems. I have never seen Jacques played as must it be so flagrantly defied? So Orlando in his effetely as by Stephen Spinella, who even throws fight with the enormous Charles is first flattened away the great Seven Ages of Man speech. and banged about, which is rather too logical, but Most heinous to me is Sullivan’s turning gets up and wins by kicking Charles in the balls, last year’s wretched Portia into today’s dreadful which is hardly romantic. Rosalind, played by the appalling Lily Rabe, Daniel Sullivan, the generally apt director, who, for some reason, is a critics’ darling. Her cannot seem to help messing with Shakespeare, hoydenish lack of femininity doesn’t pay off even as he also did with “The Merchant of Venice” in a trousers role, and her scratchy voice comes last summer. To be sure, I don’t know how much raspingly as if out of a cracked barrel. She is freedom or choice he has with casting , but here Continued on page 11 too, as with certain interpolations, he creates
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
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EYE ON THEATRE
As Who Likes It? Continued from page 10
supremely mannered and rather common, but thanks to her famous parents could at least be the poster girl for nepotism. I suspect that the able David Furr’s Orlando being lackluster may also be credited to his uninspiring vis-à-vis. Some solid old-hands do well in lesser parts: Oliver Platt’s Touchstone, John DeVries’s Corin and Macintyre Dixon’s Adam cannot be faulted. Though John Lee Beatty’s set is peculiar, it opens up engagingly from a fort into a forest. Natasha Katz’s lighting is effective, but the trusty Jane Greenwood could not do much with the misplaced costumes. Best of all is Steve Martin’s bluegrass music, but I fear that it caused the infelicitous choice of place and period. It is too much like a man finding a gleaming button in the street and having a splashy suit tailored to go with it. How important do redesigning a Bronx mall and straightening out a middle-aged woman’s double mortgage seem to you? Not very? Then how about a stalled storefront-church preacher’s haunted by a huge black hole that seems to gape before him? Not much either? Then you
Will Rogers, Susannah Flood.
may forgo John Patrick Shanley’s “Storefront Church,” even though it plays in the Atlantic Theater Company’s nicely refurbished auditorium situated in a church, albeit not a storefrtont one. Shanley has written some worthy works, especially“Doubt”for the stage and“Moonstruck” for the screen. But this, purportedly the last item in a trilogy dubbed “Church and State,” though admittedly about faith and politics, strikes me as neither very trilogical nor very compelling. It is unalloyedly talky, and neither its religion nor its politics gripped me; the stuff about banking even
(L-R): Omar Metwally, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Oliver Platt, MacIntyre Dixon.
left me uncomprehending. Six actors performed handsomely under the author’s direction: kudos to Bob Dishy, Giancarlo Esposito, Zack Grenier, Ron Cephas Jones, Jordan Lage and Tonya Pinkins. They made the most of a few good moments. To Shanley’s credit, he addresses matters not the stock-in-trade dystopias of current American drama. But there is no huge credit for finding new ways of being tiresome. Photos by and courtesy of Jennifer Broski.
GOVERNMENTSection
Stephen Spinella. John Simon has written for over 50 years on theatre, film, literature, music and fine arts for the Hudson Review, New Leader, New Criterion, National Review, New York Magazine, Opera News, Weekly Standard, Broadway.com and Bloomberg News. Mr. Simon holds a PhD from Harvard University in Comparative Literature and has taught at MIT, Harvard University, Bard College and Marymount Manhattan College. To learn more, visit the JohnSimon-Uncensored. com
LEGISLATION
Paving the Way for Tattoo Parlors in Peekskill
is finally lifted. “We are looking to allow parlors in the downtown artist district and the core business district.” Areas newly being proposed for tattoo studios include Main Street, North Division
By ABBY LUBY
PEEKSKILL, NY -- The art of tattoo in America has been widely embraced over the past few decades and although decorating the skin with ink has been around in Japan since 10,000 BC, somewhere along the line here in the U.S., permanently marking the skin came to mean something less than respectful. The long standing bias toward tattoos and allowing tattoo parlors to operate here have polarized Peekskill for the last two years, pitting the pro-tattoo artist community against those skeptical of who the parlors might attract. For many, the connection between a perceived, sordid underworld and tattoos has a residual stigma. Today, the highly contentious issue in this river city is almost resolved, especially the crucial concern of where the parlors are to be located. Right now, new areas in downtown Peekskill have been proposed for tattoo parlors. “There are still items we have to modify,” said Anthony Ruggiero, Peekskill Director of Planning, who explained some of the final changes before the city’s 20-year-old tattoo ban
Street, Bank Street, Park Street, South Street. Also shops may be in the shopping center district and the light and general industrial district and industrial park district. “The [city] council will review the planning department’s new proposed areas and make new recommendations,” said Ruggiero. “Then we will Continued on page 12
1-800-NEW-FLOORS • 1-800-639-3566 Mark Sinnis, owner of the Beale St. Barber shop in Peekskill, NY. Photo by Abby Luby; courtesy of Abby Luby Photo.
Page 12
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
LEGISLATION
Paving the Way for Tattoo Parlors in Peekskill Continued from page 11
schedule a new public hearing, probably at the end of the summer.” At the last public hearing about a month ago, for over an hour, overwhelmingly, testimonials were heard in favor of tattoo parlors. The key issue was allowing tattoo businesses to open in the downtown artist district and many feared the parlors would be too close to schools and churches. Other revisions to the proposed regulation are requiring tattoo studios have a special permit to be renewed every two years; the actual tattooing is to be done in an enclosed area out of
Mark Sinnis, owner of the Beale St. Barber shop in Peekskill, NY. Photo by Abby Luby; courtesy of Abby Luby Photo.
MAYOR Marvin’s COLUMN
public view; a studio can’t be closer than 500 feet to another studio and no closer than 500 feet to a school. Initially proposing the tattoo ban two years ago was Patrick Conlon, a professional tattoo artist based in New York City and a Peekskill resident. When Conlon asked to open a studio in the artist district, the response on either side became divisive. “Peekskill is in absolutely no position to turn down any creative business,”Tim Trewhella told The Westchester Guardian. Trewhella, a 20-year Peekskill resident, owns Treat Station on South Division Street, a novelty sweet shop
and vintage toy store. He referenced the many vacant store fronts in the city. “We’re not talking a massage parlor here. In Patrick Conlon’s case, we’re talking world class art. People from all over the world want his art on their bodies,” said Mr Trewhella. Of the closest tattoo parlors to Peekskill, one is in Montrose, Mohegan Lake and Pleasantville. Because there are health issues associated with getting tattoos, (infection and blood borne disease transmission such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B Virus and Hepatitis C Virus), Peekskill will require tattoo artists to have a current tattooist licenses and public health permits. Peekskill will also require tattoo studios to have a minimum of $1,000,000 in liability
Now that the Village operating budget is finalized for the 2012-2013 fiscal year, the Trustees and I will set our sights on crafting a capital improvement program (CIP) budget. We will work on it over the summer with a final adoption of specific projects at the September Board of Trustees meeting. Since we approved a two year street paving and curbing capital project last year, that work will be done this summer when the Village streets are less crowded. We always strive to
GOVERNMENT
have street paving, sidewalk and curbing work completed before Labor Day and the start of the new school year. Due to the economic downturn, the Trustees and I had suspended a capital improvement program in past years. However, this year we decided to take advantage of the one positive associated with the recession – the low cost of borrowing. Last year, we borrowed $2.54 million for capital improvements at the incredibly advantageous rate of 1.75%, thanks to our current triple A bond rating. That money is programmed to support the Village Police, Public Works, Buildings, Office and Library. The range of the Village infrastructure
requiring repair and replacement is vast and certainly more than we can judiciously spend so we will prioritize projects. One project already underway paid through last year’s CIP is a part of our flood abatement initiative. We are currently sending cameras through, and cleaning the entire expanse of the pipes leading from the Bronxville School to the Bronx River. The scope of projects cross all departments and services provided by the Village. For example, the Bronxville sub-surface pipe and drainage infrastructure is in regular need of our attention primarily due to age. We had a recent sanitary sewer line problem and when the pipes
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Abby Luby is a Westchester based, freelance journalist who writes ocal news, about environmental issues, art, entertainment and food. Her debut novel, “Nuclear Romance” was recently published. Visit the book’s website, http://NuclearRomance.wordpress.com/ .
Maps showing areas proposed for tattoo shops and their allowable setbacks. Courtesy of the City of Peekskill.
Crafting a Capital Improvement Program By MARY C. MARVIN
insurance. Mark Sinnis, who just opened his Beale Street Barber Shop on South Street a month ago said people see tattoos differently today. “It’s not the stigma it used to be. There’s doctors and lawyers with tattoos and it’s such a big part of our culture. I’m waiting for a future president to have a tattoo.”
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were excavated, some were marked 1902. We routinely have to replace vehicles and equipment in both the Police and Public Works Departments due to age and intensive usage. Unfortunately, since we do not have garages for most of our vehicles, their lifespan is significantly decreased. The same is true in the Parking department as rain, snow, age and accidents require routine replacement of meters, poles and parking bumpers. We also anticipate additional expenses going forward as the warranties on the Village Hall mechanics since our 2007 renovation of our 70 year old Village Hall have all finally expired. Funds need to be earmarked to upgrade our record keeping and slowly but surely keep moving all departments away from paper to digital storage. As an example, all Building Department records, going back decades, are now being prepared for electronic copying. Part of this cost is being paid through a $54,000 State grant, the rest through the Village CIP. We expect to allot funds to do another revaluation of our Village properties given the Continued on page 13
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
MAYOR Marvin’s COLUMN
fluctuations in the market over the past few years. A new assessment of Village property is prudent and timely. Funds to undertake this program will be provided through the CIP. Trees must also be routinely purchased as many of our beautiful mature trees are nearing the end of their life cycle. In the recent past, our construction projects at both the library and Village Hall have added to their respective footprints. Though the expansions were obviously needed, they do not come without recurring costs. On the operating
Page 13
GOVERNMENT budget side, heat and air conditioning costs have increased and the same is true for the capital needs. As example, a larger roof surface increases the possibility for repair and/or replacement of shingles or gutters. To avoid the costly results of deferred maintenance, we have routinely designated specific line items in the capital budget for eventual and recurring big ticket items. These budgetary lines are analogous to a kind of “layaway plan” so funds will be available to do anticipated repairs and replacements and the cost will not be absorbed in just one budget year. As we prepare our list of capital project priorities, we must keep in mind that the Governor’s tax cap legislation is always looming.
Crafting a Capital Improvement Program Continued from page 12
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
Both the principal and debt service of the CIP are not exempt from the tax cap in municipal budgets. In contrast, all capital improvement expenses for school district maintenance are exempt from the 2% tax cap. This translates into an unexplainable disincentive to repair the aging infrastructure throughout New York State - the logic being that schools should be incentivized to do necessary upkeep but not their surrounding municipality? In an effort to stay under the cap and thus look prudent, communities are foregoing capital programs with the end result that New York State’s infrastructure will deteriorate even further. Ironically, the folks who championed this cap will most likely have moved on and not be held responsible for the long term
damage inflicted on New York State towns and villages. We have always been frugal with our taxpayer’s money and will continue to operate in that fashion. However, municipal infrastructure needs improvement and renovation from time to time. We will have our work on the 2012-2013 capital improvement program ready for public view and comment in the early Fall. Please share your thoughts at that time. Mary C. Marvin is the mayor of the Village of Bronxville, New York. If you have a suggestion or comment, consider directing your perspective by directing email to mayor@vobny.com.
POLITICS
Rockland GOP Committeemen Call for New Leadership Rockland County Republican Committeemen, are calling for new leadership for consistently horse-trading the Republican line with incumbent Democrats despite previous promises to stop this practice. The group calling themselves the “Rockland Republican Academy” released a list of indictments today that was mailed to GOP committeeman and posted on their website to rally support for their cause. Why the urgency? On a date TBD this coming September, all Republican leadership seats will be open to challenge. July 9th will be the last day petitions will be accepted by the board of elections to become a new Committeeman. If Republicans miss this chance, it will be 2 years before Rockland Republicans get another chance to become Committeeman and vote for new leadership. In a letter to fellow Committeeman representatives: Jean Black of Orangetown, Joseph Ciardullo of Clarkstown, Anthony Mele of Ramapo and aspiring Committeeman of Stony Point and spokesman for the group, Lawrence Stone called for a whole new slate of GOP
leadership. The letter states: “We believe that 22 years of ineffective leadership has reduced our party’s relevancy. The erosion of Republican core principles led to the financial calamity we now have in Rockland County. What is the long term impact on the tax payer, when we no longer have an opposition party to challenge Democrats? The role of the opposition party is to protect the taxpayers from uncontested power of the majority over the minority. The party leadership has forgotten that they work for us and not the other way around. As a result, we are forced to take this less than
conventional route to restore these principles by replacing the leadership.” The group is insisting all new candidates for leadership take a pledge, available on their website, that is in line with their core principles. Stating: “If we are to restore the relevancy of the Republican Party in Rockland County, new leadership is a must. Anyone accepting to lead this party moving forward will not win our support without having first signed and embraced this pledge themselves.” The core indictments they make of the current GOP leadership are as follows: 2012 June 6th – Chairman Reda gives Nomination to Democrat: Without a convention, Chairman Reda Nominates Democrat Ossining Trustee, Janis Castaldi for NY State Senate, 38th District; then instructs Republican Committeemen to carry petitions for her without divulging her affiliations. 2012 March - Reda suppressed Candidates interviews and caused a primary to occur. Republican Convention for the 17th District Congressional district excludes all other candidates. Committeemen were only given one person to vote for!
REVALUATION
Peekskill Joins Yonkers, Greenburgh for Tax Assessment Feasibility By ABBY LUBY
PEEKSKILL, NY – The City of Peekskill will join the City of Yonkers and the Town of Greenburgh to ascertain if reassessing properties for multiple municipalities will be cost
effective. Peekskill received a letter from both Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner and Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano asking if Peekskill was interested in adding their name to a Request for Information (RFI), an initial process that is free and doesn’t require any commitment. The
June 4th letter said that a “shared revaluation [would] create fair and equitable assessments in Westchester County” and described the partnership between Yonkers and Greenburgh as “historic.” At Peekskill’s Committee of the Whole meeting last week, the Feiner and Spano letter was discussed and members agreed to be included in a RFI. “If we piggy back on other municipalities it makes common sense,” said Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster. Foster add that it would be important to establish a protocol for frequent property reassessments. According to Peekskill Assessor
Denise Knauer, Peekskill has never had a reassessment. Most other Westchester municipalities have not had a “reval” for at least 50 years. Greenburgh’s last reassessment, or revaluation was in 1956. This has been a hot issue for Westchester Country where many have demanded a countrywide revaluation. “This is a huge issue and a huge process for the county,” said Foster. “But the county is not leading here. The country doesn’t have the infrastructure or the internal process to deal with this issue. The communities will have to explore this issue themselves.” Continued on page 14
2011 – Chairman Reda Nominates a Republican candidate at Convention but gives the line to Democrat: Thomas Zugibe for District Attorney. 2010 Dec 28th - Chairman Reda MORTIFIED THE PARTY when he was Arrested for Shoplifting {NY POST, News 12 } 2009 – Chairman Reda gives the Republican line to Democrat: Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack offering zero opposition. Gromack had every line on the ballot. 2009 – Chairman Reda gives the Republican line to Democrat: Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, and suppressed the Republican Challenger. 2007 - Chairman Reda gives the Republican line to Democrat: LD 14 VJ Pradham 2007 – Chairman Reda gives the Republican line to Democrat: Clarkstown Supervisor Alex Gromack The letter goes on to say that “…there is no point to a Republican Party that gives the line to Democrats” and urges those interested in becoming a Republican Committeeman or running for leadership to join them by signing up on their website: www.RocklandRepublicans.org
Page 14
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
REVALUATION
Peekskill Joins Yonkers, Greenburgh for Tax Assessment Feasibility Continued from page 13
Yonkers and Greenburgh represent over 20 percent of the properties within Westchester County. Feiner and Spano are gearing up to solicit vendors to research and document potential savings of property reassessment for several cities and towns under the same contract. Estimated costs for Westchester municipalities to run their own reassessment have ranged from $3 - $5 million, one of the main reasons Feiner and Spano were inspired to join forces. Whether other towns and cities will join them in the actual joint reassessment remains to be seen. Greenburgh was recently awarded a federal grant to hire Berkely college interns to enter data
that will eventually be used for the reassessment. The grant is expected to cut about $50,000 a year off the cost of doing property revaluations. The push to have a comprehensive reassessment of all properties is because municipalities have seen record numbers of property tax appeals over the last five years. The escalating rate of tax grievances has forced towns to refund millions of dollars to property owners, further depleting municipal funds and causing town tax hikes. The main reason for reassessment is to set a market value on all properties. When towns revalue properties, many inequities are realized; some people find that they are paying lower taxes, others might pay the same amount, others will pay more. Because Westchester has
not conducted a county wide revaluation in over 50 years, there are unequal county tax rates in different towns for different years. For example, this year the county portion of the property tax in Greenburgh will go up 3.12 percent, Bedford residents will see a 9.30 percent hike. While Rye county tax goes up 5.4 percent, Yorktown tax will be 1.3 percent. Some, like Feiner and Spano, believe that a county wide, comprehensive reassessment conducted at the same time would illuminate the revaluation inequity between communities. Foster said a number of municipalities have started reassessments on their own. “Other communities have engaged firms and they are sharing their information with us so we can tailor it to our needs. Right now, we have agreed with Yonkers and Greenburgh to have
Peekskill be included among those municipalities asking vendors about their services. At this point we are a long way from joining a [formal] collaboration effort, but it will be interesting to see if there are any savings in numbers.” Feiner and Spano RFI outreach to vendors has set September 1, 2012 as the deadline. Feiner said the Town of Bedford has also agreed to add their name to the list. “I’m very pleased – the momentum will build up for a county wide reassessment.” Abby Luby is a Westchester based, freelance journalist who writes ocal news, about environmental issues, art, entertainment and food. Her debut novel, “Nuclear Romance” was recently published. Visit the book’s website, http://NuclearRomance.wordpress.com/ .
GOVERNMENT
Astorino Fiddles While County Residents Burn Employees and Cronies Get Raises While Pools and Parks Get Cuts By JOSEPH P. GRIFFITH
Westchester County’s Sprain Ridge pool in Yonkers was closed for the summer in 2011 and will be closed again this summer. It needs $500,000 in repairs, which the county claims it does not have. At the same time, County Executive Rob Astorino gave $640,000 in raises to various aides and political allies, some of whom were already making more than $100,000 a year. Some of the individual raises were more than $60,000, more than doubling the salaries of the recipients. This summer the county’s Tibbetts Brook Park pool, also in Yonkers, which was converted to a water park without an actual swimming area, will also start charging $5 for parking, in addition to the $8 entrance fee for persons over 12 years old. This is a hardship for residents, some of whom have incomes among the lowest in the county, and little more to look forward to than to cool off at the pool on a hot day. For all of Astorino’s constant talk of keeping down the costs of government, this seems to send the opposite message. When I first noticed the small sign outside the Sprain Ridge pool about its closing, in April 2011, I wrote several letters and e-mails to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation; my county legislator, Bernice Spreckman; Board of Legislators Chairman Ken Jenkins; and Astorino himself. I protested, calling it a serious quality of life issue. Because of the current economic situation, I wrote, people have fewer opportunities for recreation, and a pool may be one of the only relatively inexpensive options. Many people take free or cheap access to
parks for granted. County residents, however, are charged three times for access to the parks and pools: through their property taxes, through the mandatory park passes and again through admission and parking fees. In fact, a recent study by the nonprofit Friends of Westchester County Parks found that the parks create $183 million annually in regional economic benefits, about five times more than the county spends. That includes such intangibles as attracting higher-income professionals, especially those ages 22 to 35. So it would seem that offering more services and accessibility, rather than less, would benefit the county and its residents. My letters and e-mails received the predictable responses (none from Astorino himself) about budgetary constraints, but no explanation of why raises were awarded at the same time. Linda Lovallo, a parks spokeswoman, wrote that “it was necessary for Westchester County Parks to balance its services with the ability of taxpayers to pay for them.” She said the county projected a $100 million deficit in 2012, and had to balance operating the pools against providing essential services such as day care, social services and bus service. She added that the pool was “in dire need of significant repairs. It was not economically responsible and feasible to temporarily fix the facility for one season.” Jenkins said it was scheduled to be closed in 2010 and reopened in 2011, but the Astorino administration failed to approve a capital project to fix it. He said the board intended to restore the funding, but that has not happened. The legislators and parks department also directed me to “several alternatives,” including the county’s other pools and beaches in Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains, Rye and
Croton-on-Hudson. There is talk of converting the Sprain pool to another water park if and when it reopens, which would probably eliminate lanes for actual swimming anywhere in a Yonkers park. The county says attendance at the Saxon Woods pool in White Plains was 80,000 while the Sprain pool had only 50,000, which, for some people, was part of the attraction: fewer people, with a grassy area of relative quiet. Obviously, many of them now crowd into Saxon Woods; on hot summer weekends it is filled to capacity and turns people away. Moreover, it has had inadequate parking since most of the parking lot was converted to a soccer field a few years ago. Overflow parking is available about a mile away in a corporate parking lot leased by the county, and small vans shuttle patrons to the pool, about a dozen at a time. That process can take a half-hour or more, or patrons can walk, in temperatures approaching 100 degrees. At the time of my letters in 2011, the issue of raises had not yet surfaced. About a month later, information obtained by the Journal News under New York’s Freedom of Information law detailed several rounds of raises that Astorino gave to county personnel. Among them: – The director of economic development and the communications director/senior adviser got $18,000 raises, bringing their salaries to $155,245, approved by the Board of Legislators. – Philippe Gille, a voting machine technician with the Board of Elections who previously worked for former County Executive Andrew O’Rourke and former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, was promoted to deputy commissioner of social services. He got a $62,700 raise, bringing his salary to $127,125.
– George Oros, who had a $49,200 parttime job as a county legislator, was hired full-time as Astorino’s chief of staff, at $155,245. – The wife of the county attorney and chairwoman of the Mount Pleasant Republican Party went from a program specialist to Republican deputy commissioner, a raise of $51,230, to $118,965. – A Board of Elections commissioner received a $36,280 raise, to $155,245. – Jenkins himself authorized nearly $75,000 in retroactive raises for his chief of staff, finance director, director of communications, board clerk and several aides. (Why, you may ask, does a county legislator need such a large staff?) – A Board of Legislators clerk was given $20,338 more, to $135,000. – The board’s press secretary was promoted to director of communications, which carried a $17,000 raise, to $85,000. The complete list was long, and several of the appointees and beneficiaries coincidentally were related to other county officials. The reason given for many of these raises was increased job responsibilities. Out here in the real world, however, people who are lucky enough not to lose their jobs routinely have more work given to them, without any salary increase, let alone more than 100 percent, and have to be thankful they still have jobs. On May 30, 2012, Astorino held a “TeleTown Hall,” inviting residents to phone in with questions. I called and submitted my question about raises to one of the screeners, knowing full well that it would never even reach Astorino. After all, if you denied tens of thousands of lower- and middle-income residents the swimming pool they sorely needed, and claimed it was because it needed $500,000 in repairs, but then turned around and gave $640,000 in raises to your cronies, you probably wouldn’t want to take any questions on that either. Continued on page 15
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
GOVERNMENT
Astorino Fiddles While County Residents Burn Continued from page 14
As Astorino suggested on the air, I submitted the question to him for later followup. An assistant sent me an e-mail about budget considerations, similar to the one the parks department had sent in 2011, even using some of the same phrases. Again, no answer about the raises. It is ironic enough that the Friends of Westchester Parks study showed the economic wisdom of funding the county parks; what’s worse is that for some reason, the group recently saw fit to give Astorino a “Best Friends Award” for “vision and leadership in keeping Westchester parks clean, green and growing.” And now, patrons are discovering that the austerity budget means still more programs are disappearing, including the Lasdon Park summer concert series, movies at Kensico Dam Plaza and the open gym at the County Center. It’s easy for people to say of government, “We’re paying more and getting less,” and they may or may not be able to cite actual figures (especially considering perennial arguments about whether we even need a county government). But when they cannot even get answers to their queries and concerns, the truth is selfevident. On the other hand, it’s inconceivable to me what legitimate excuse for this any answer could provide. Joseph P. Griffith, a freelance writer in Yonkers, has been a newspaper reporter and editor for several decades. He has written extensively about real estate and Westchester County for The New York Times and Gannett Newspapers, and is the author of books on topics including endangered species, film and China.
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
Page 15
OP EDSection OP-ED
An Open Letter to Homosexuals By MATT BARBER
I write this not to professional homosexuals. That is to say, not to members of the well-funded, politically powerful homosexual activist lobby. They will mock and reject my words outright. They will twist and misrepresent what I say to further their own socio-political agenda. That’s fine. It’s to be expected. It merits little more than a yawn and an eye roll. Instead, I write this to my fellow travelers in life – average, ordinary people, male and female, young and old – who happen to call themselves “gay.” I write this out of obedience to God. It is my hope and prayer that you will consider what I have to say and take it at face value. My intentions are pure and my motives upright. If I can plant the seed of truth in just one person, and that seed begins to sprout, then I consider this letter a success. I pray that you are that person. What I write may offend you. It may even infuriate you. But I hope it makes you think. Know this: Your friends have lied to you. Christians do not hate you. We love you intensely. We love you because of who you are, not because of what you do or because of who you think you are. Still, to love someone and to lie to them is to hate them – especially when that lie inevitably leads to a tragic and hopeless end. If you have a loved one, blindfolded and running full speed toward cliff ’s edge, do you not
yell, stop! Would you not run after them, even tackling them if need be to prevent them from plummeting to certain death? What would we think of the person who said: “Keep running; all is well.” All is not well, and you know it. On this path, “it” decidedly does not “get better.” It only gets worse.You will fall and you will die – perhaps not physical death, straight away – but certainly, an emotional and spiritual death. Homosexual activists, “progressives,” Hollywood, the media, academia and popular culture are telling you to keep running. I’m yelling, stop! Your lifestyle – homosexuality – is always and forever, objectively and demonstrably wrong. It is never good, natural, right or praiseworthy. If you have “gay pride,” you have “sin pride.” Although homosexuality is not the only sexual sin, it is, indeed, sin. Scripture is unequivocal on this fact throughout both the Old and New Testaments. But this reality is manifest beyond the pages of Scripture. Unnatural behaviors beget natural consequences. So-called “homophobia” is not responsible for the fact that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one-in-five “gay” men and adolescents in major cities across America have been infected – through bad behavior – with HIV/AIDS. Sin is responsible. In almost every category – disease, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide – those who call themselves “gay” live and die with
consequences that have nothing gay, in the true sense of the word, about them. Is this you? Be honest. At least be honest with yourself. Scripture admonishes: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). This does not simply mean physical death, but something far worse: spiritual death. Yes, hell. I know from which I speak. I am no better than you. I, too, once lived a lifestyle of sexual sin. Not homosexual sin, but sexual sin nonetheless. As a young man I did not treat God’s daughters as He intended and, instead, engaged in a lifestyle of selfish womanizing and fornication. The wages of sin in my life was death – spiritual and emotional death. I was on your same path. But by His grace, I was offered and accepted “the free gift of God.” I, instead, was saved and given “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Do I still struggle with sin? Of course. Every day. We all do. We are fallen. We are sinners. Still, Christ’s gift to me was forgiveness, redemption and life everlasting. My friend, that gift is available to you as well. Snatch it up. Please. During the Awakening 2011 – a national conference held, that year, at Liberty University – I was visiting with a young woman from the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). I liked her. I loved her, in fact, in the way her heavenly Father, Christ Jesus, loves her and has enabled me to love her. I think of her and pray for her often. In recent years, the SPLC has taken to Continued on page 16
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Page 16
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
OP-ED
An Open Letter to Homosexuals Continued from page 15
smearing Christian organizations that defend the biblical sexual ethic as “hate groups.” After visiting for a while, I asked this young woman if she really believed that we Christians hate homosexuals. To my surprise she admitted that we do not. “But the things you say are sometimes hateful,” she added. Indeed, truth is hate to those who hate truth.
The truth is that you have immeasurable value. You are a beautiful, unique, priceless human being. The very Creator of the universe, in the person of Jesus Christ, took such an interest in you that He meticulously wove you together in your mother’s womb. He loves you with a love that no human can fully grasp. Still, this is true not because of your so-called “sexual orientation,” but, rather, in spite of it.
Over Regulating, Under Governing By FRANK V. VERNUCCIO, JR.
Our Government appears to be replacing traditional responsibilities with “nanny state” concerns. From a new emphasis on federally provided health care to local school boards emphasizing multiculturalism at the expense of American tradition, our leaders have engaged in a pronounced change of course. A salient example comes from New York City. While the crime rate both in New York State and The United States is falling, serious crime throughout the metropolitan area is rising. (Westchester County experienced a 3.5% hike in crime, which included a 5% increase in the murder rate.) NYC’s unemployment rate is 10.2%, far above the national average of 8.2%. Half of its 8th
graders fail statewide science tests. Budgetary concerns may cause the closing of firehouses. Incongruously, Big Apple Mayor Bloomberg spends much of his attention addressing not these problems, but the intake of calories, sugar and salt by his jurisdiction’s residents. The response from civil libertarians has been scathing. CATO Institute’s David Boaz writes, “In a free society, government doesn’t make our personal decisions for us. We don’t need a Big Brother or a mayoral nanny. We have the right and the responsibility to make our own decisions, so long as we don’t interfere with the rights of others.” PJ Media recently asked, “If government bureaucrats can ban the types of fast food outlets available, manipulate the size and types of drinks we consume, and regulate every aspect of food preparation, what couldn’t they attempt to ban?...Will Bloomberg next propose a
You are valuable and worthy of love because God created you in His image. If you define your identity based upon sexual temptations and behaviors your Creator has called sin – an “abomination” – then you are not fulfilling the purpose for which He created you. In so doing, you have become the sum total of your sins. You are in rebellion against God and you know it. He made you to know it. Yes, the activists tell you to take “pride” in your “sexual orientation,” but you don’t feel pride. You feel ashamed, and so you try, in vain, to
numb the shame with more of the very behavior that causes it. You will never fill the void you feel with drugs, alcohol or more sexual acting-out. These things only expand your emptiness. Christ alone can fill the void. And He will.
measure limiting red meat intake…Will the nanny state do-gooders ban hot dogs, or force Americans to take part in government exercise programs…?” There are distinct parallels between Bloomberg’s elitist impulses and President Obama’s Health Care law. NPR reports that “some Bloomberg critics on social media did detect a nanny state axis…and warned that Bloomberg’s proposal could be a vision of the future under Obama.” The Washington Examiner’s Philip Klein notes that Bloomberg, in defending his ban, quoted a supporter who wrote that “anyone who pays taxes and thus bears the health care costs… should support this.” Interference in personal matters extends beyond food. Increasingly, education has been the battlefield where elitist attempts have been launched. Legal writer Elie Mystal recently wrote about the New York State Department of Education’s weird decision to ban words that they deem too controversial. The outcast
words weren’t curses or racial insults. They included “birthday,” (it might offend Jehovah’s Witnesses) and dinosaur (which could anger creationist) as well as other harmless phases. Educational bureaucrats seem to have a penchant for banning American cultural icons. A California school sent home a student who wore a U.S. flag t-shirt on Cinco de Mayo. A principal in Brooklyn has forbidden the singing of “God Bless America” in the odd belief that these tunes would be offensive to some. The central theme appears to be a deep belief by politicians and bureaucrats that constituents, and their traditional beliefs, are ignorant, and need to be guided by “those who know better.” Americans increasingly object to this, as noted in a recent poll revealing that 51% believe “that government is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector of them.”
in which they both asserted unequivocally Yonkers was designated the second safest city of like population cities in the nation. When this reporter questioned the integrity of the numbers, later to have been also refuted by The Wall Street Journal, who had tabulated the statistics to instead place Yonkers in 134th place, I was rebuked by former Mayor Amicone and former YPD Commissioner Hartnett for misunderstanding the numbers. Truth be told, I took their statement to heart and tried to comprehend their contention. Their contention proved to be a lie. They were both engaged in lying to New York State, worse, they got away with it. The truth is former Mayor Amicone instructed former Police Commissioner Hartnett to fudge the numbers. And it was easily done. New York State accepted notice of all crimes reported by the City of Yonkers to be noticed to New York State manually, that is, in written form. Yonkers was the last
municipality in New York State to manually submit such statistics. Every other municipality is required to digitally report crime statistics by the end of each day. Yonkers was the last to be demanded to abide by the state protocol. Yonkers was last year officially advised if they did not switch to digital notification by January 1, 2012, they would be fined $1,000 every week. Alleged arrests were to be reported and followed by notice of disposition by the court system, which in a sense validated and confirmed the actuality of the arrest. Yonkers City Hall, under former Mayor Phil Amicone found he could circumvent the process. He instructed Commissioner Hartnett demand Precinct Captains submit all arrests to Central Office and under Harnett’s direction he would decide how each “arrest” would be slotted, specifically for the purpose of making Yonkers look better than it was. He would Continued on page 17
Matt Barber (@jmattbarber on Twitter) is an attorney concentrating in constitutional law. He serves as Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action. (This information is provided for identification purposes only.)
Contact Frank Vernuccio by directing email to: nycommunityaction@gmail.com.
THE HEZITORIAL
Misplaced Loyalty Now Part of the Spin By HEZI ARIS
The opening contention in a recent article in The Journal News stipulated violent crimes in New York State’s fourth largest city soared last year to levels not seen since the mid-1990s. The spin came into play when it was noted that “criminal-justice experts” are struggling to explain the reality of the day. The statistics, as tabulated, were a compiled numerological hodgepodge of deceit, not by the stated figures delineated in the Index Crimes Reported to Police 2007-2011, but by the numbers afforded to New York State so as to compile the given data. The numbers afforded New York State are a big lie. No mention of that lie was afforded Yonkersites in the press conference that featured Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano as if he should be expected to speak to or even be aware of the deceitful falsehoods perpetrated by his
predecessor, former Mayor Phil Amicone Administration that came to an end on December 31, 2011. Det. Keith Olson, president of the Yonkers Police Benevolent expressed a salient point, “There is nothing baffling about the rise in violent crime in Yonkers. It is a direct by-product of the understaffing of the Yonkers Police Department. With far less officers on the street, fewer detectives to investigate crimes, no Domestic Violence Unit, far too few plainclothes officers, no police presence in our schools and virtually no community outreach programs within the YPD, it will only get worse before it gets better. The only thing baffling is the City’s current plan to layoff even MORE police officers.” This reporter remembers when then Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett, with then Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone by his side, conducted a press conference
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THE HEZITORIAL
Misplaced Loyalty Now Part of the Spin The Index Crimes Reported to Police 2007 – 2011, were they to be believed are as follows… Year Violent Ttl Crime Ttl Murder Ttl Forcible Rape 2007 3,890 878 10 44 2008 4,040 914 9 42 2009 4,110 965 8 36 2010 3,746 895 9 29 2011 4,060 992 7 35 Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Robbery 424 447 475 455 463
Burglary 642 653 620 521 753
Continued from page 16
Agg Assault 400 416 446 402 487
Larceny 1,994 2,121 2,128 2,086 2,017
change one “crime” to a lesser “crime” whenever he could. In this same manner, some arrests could even be disposed of rather than going through the court system. This is where the “Family and Friends” network would be invaluable. For criminal-justice experts to scratch their heads struggling for a rationale as to why the jump in crime to such a high extend is bewildering. Worse, the deception and deceit by Amicone and Hartnett, was permitted because the vindictive culture of the Amicone regime was such to exact great pain for not following orders. People who snitched would be demoted, worse still, dismissed, finding themselves unemployed within 6 months of having strayed of “Amicone” standards and protocol. Assaults in Yonkers rose 43 percent to 574 in 2011, the most recorded in a single year since 1985. The Yonkers story is kept on the down low, hush hush, no one must know. When reality was revealed by the 2011 FBI data, experts were baffled and Yonkersites are stunned. The 22 percent increase in violent crimes in Yonkers, as compared to only 5.6 percent in New York City reveals the second aspect of the data, that is, when it becomes difficult to operate criminally in New York City, crime moves to the neighboring underbelly less well equipped to handle the increased criminal flow in Yonkers. The lack of ability to contend with increased crime in Yonkers is the direct result of not having a large enough police force commensurate with a city the size of Yonkers.
Property Ttl 3,012 3,126 3,145 2,851 3,068
MV Theft 376 352 343 244 298
Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said, “In 2011, we experienced a spike in both burglary and assault. Burglaries were up throughout the region and through the deployment of various police initiatives, burglaries have subsided and are trending down in 2012.” “Additionally, Commissioner Gardner advised, “the newly enacted Strangulation statute along with problems associated with the implementation of a complex department wide Records Management System has contributed to the assault numbers. This Records Management System utilizes a victim based accounting method versus an incident based method for Part 1 Crimes Against Persons.” Continuing, Commissioner Garder said, “Although we are currently experiencing an increase in certain categories of crime, we continually analyze crime conditions and deploy multiple strategies to address these conditions.” “The YPD remains committed to utilizing all means and resources available to reduce crime and disorder and will continue to work towards providing a safe environment for the people of Yonkers,” concluded Commissioner Gardner. The FBI statistics: http://www.fbi.gov/ about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/ preliminary-annual-ucr-jan-dec-2011/ data-tables/table-4/table-4-montanaohio N.Y.S. statistics - click on this link and then click on “Westchester” http:// www.criminaljustice.ny.gov/crimnet/ojsa/ indexcrimes/county_totals.htm
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
Page 17
Page 18
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012
LEGAL NOTICE SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Index No.: 54653/2011 Date of Filing: June 13, 2012 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF Westchester REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE NETWORK INC, Plaintiff, -againstM YOUSUF A/K/A MOHAMMED YOUSUF, if living, or if either or all be dead, their wives, husbands, heirs-atlaw, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, assignees, lienors and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said M YOUSUF A/K/A MOHAMMED YOUSUF, by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise, of any right, title or interest in and to the premises described in the complaint herein, and the respective husbands, wives, widow or widowers of them, if any, all of whose names are unknown to plaintiff; STATE OF NEW YORK; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; “JOHN DOES” and “JANE DOES”, said names being fictitious, parties intended being possible tenants or occupants of premises, and corporations, other entities or persons who claim, or may claim, a lien against the premises, Defendant(s). TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a Notice of Appearance on the Plaintiff’s attorney(s) within twenty (20) days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service, where service is made by delivery upon you personally within the State, or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner, and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. YOU ARE HEREBY PUT ON NOTICE THAT WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT, AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable Orazio R. Bellantoni, J.S.C of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, signed on June 7, 2012, and filed with supporting papers in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Westchester, State of New York. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage upon the premises described below, executed by M YOUSUF to MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC. AS NOMINEE FOR REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE NETWORK, INC. in the principal amount of $345,349.00, which mortgage was recorded in Westchester County, State of New York, on November 3, 2010, in Control No. 502933380. Thereafter said mortgage was assigned to REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE NETWORK, INC. by assignment of mortgage dated August 8, 2011 and recorded on December 22, 2011 in Control No. 513543517. Said premises being known as and by 15 STEWART PLACE, YONKERS, NY 10701. Date: May 17, 2012 Batavia, New York Virginia C Grapensteter, Esq. ROSICKI, ROSICKI & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Attorneys for Plaintiff Batavia Office 26 Harvester Avenue Batavia, NY 14020 585.815.0288 Help For Homeowners In Foreclosure New York State Law requires that we send you this notice about the foreclosure process. Please read it carefully. Mortgage foreclosure is a complex process. Some people may approach you about “saving” your home. You should be extremely careful about any such promises. The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. There are government agencies, legal aid entities and other non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about foreclosure while you are working with your lender during this process. To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Banking Department at 1-877-BANKNYS (1-877-226-5697) or visit the Department’s website at www.banking.state.ny.us. The State does not guarantee the advice of these agencies.
SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS
Index No.: 56465/2011 Date of Filing: June 8, 2012 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF Westchester JAMES B. NUTTER AND COMPANY, Plaintiff, -againstANTHONY CATO AS POSSIBLE HEIR AT LAW AND NEXT OF KIN OF NED DORSEY CATO, if living, or if either or all be dead, their wives, husbands, heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, assignees, lienors and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said ANTHONY CATO AS POSSIBLE HEIR AT LAW AND NEXT OF KIN OF NED DORSEY CATO, by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise, of any right, title or interest in and to the premises described in the complaint herein, and the respective husbands, wives, widow or widowers of them, if any, all of whose names are unknown to plaintiff; THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF NED DORSEY CATO DECEASED AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF ANY OF THE AFORESAID DEFENDANTS WHO MAY BE DECEASED AND THE RESPECTIVE HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DISTRIBUTEES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, TRUSTEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, ASSIGNEES AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF THE AFORESAID CLASSES OF PERSONS, IF THEY OR ANY OF THEM BE DEAD, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HUSBANDS, WIVES OR WIDOWS, IF ANY, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES AND PLACES OF RESIDENCE ARE UNKNOWN TO THE PLAINTIFF, if living, or if either or all be dead, their wives, husbands, heirs-at-law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, assignees, lienors and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF NED DORSEY CATO DECEASED AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF ANY OF THE AFORESAID DEFENDANTS WHO MAY BE DECEASED AND THE RESPECTIVE HEIRS AT LAW, NEXT OF KIN, DISTRIBUTEES, DEVISEES, GRANTEES, TRUSTEES, LIENORS, CREDITORS, ASSIGNEES AND SUCCESSORS IN INTEREST OF THE AFORESAID CLASSES OF PERSONS, IF THEY OR ANY OF THEM BE DEAD, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE HUSBANDS, WIVES OR WIDOWS, IF ANY, ALL OF WHOM AND WHOSE NAMES AND PLACES OF RESIDENCE ARE UNKNOWN TO THE PLAINTIFF; by purchase, inheritance, lien or otherwise, of any right, title or interest in and to the premises described in the complaint herein, and the respective husbands, wives, widow or widowers of them, if any, all of whose names are unknown to plaintiff; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; SECRETARY OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA-INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE; “JOHN DOES” and “JANE DOES”, said names being fictitious, parties intended being possible tenants or occupants of premises, and corporations, other entities or persons who claim, or may claim, a lien against the premises, Defendant(s). TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a Notice of Appearance on the Plaintiff’s attorney(s) within twenty (20) days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service, where service is made by delivery upon you personally within the State, or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner, and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. YOU ARE HEREBY PUT ON NOTICE THAT WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT, AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable Orazio R. Bellantoni of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, signed on May 10, 2012, and filed with supporting papers in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Westchester, State of New York. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage upon the premises described below, executed by NED DORSEY CATO to SOMERSET INVESTORS CORP on October 3, 2008, in the principal amount of $382,500.00, which mortgage was recorded in Westchester County, State of New York, on March 17, 2009, in Control # 490700267. Said mortgage was assigned to Plaintiff, JAMES B. NUTTER & COMPANY, by assignment of mortgage dated October 3, 2008 and recorded on January 8, 2010, in Control #493510212. Said premises being known as and by 1735 PARK STEEET, PEEKSKILL, NY 10566. Date: April 13, 2012 Batavia, New York Virginia C Grapensteter, Esq. ROSICKI, ROSICKI & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Attorneys for Plaintiff Batavia Office 26 Harvester Avenue Batavia, NY 14020 585.815.0288 Help For Homeowners In Foreclosure New York State Law requires that we send you this notice about the foreclosure process. Please read it carefully. Mortgage foreclosure is a complex process. Some people may approach you about “saving” your home. You should be extremely careful about any such promises. The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. There are government agencies, legal aid entities and other non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about foreclosure while you are working with your lender during this process. To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Banking Department at 1-877-BANKNYS (1877-226-5697) or visit the Department’s website at www.banking.state.ny.us. The State does not guarantee the advice of these agencies.
Page 26
ThursdaY, FeBruarY 23, 2012
The WesTchesTer Guardian
THE WESTCHESTERADS GUARDIAN CLASSIFIED Office Space Available-
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THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 2012 LEGAL NOTICES FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER In the Matter of ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE
LEGAL NOTICE
Bridge Builders Translators, LLC Articles of Org. filed with the NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 5/7/12. Office in Westchester County. SSNY design. agent of LLC upon whom service of process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of same to 2072 Baldwin Road, Yorktown Heights, New York 10598. Purpose: Translation Services. QUICK CASH OF WALLKILL LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 6/5/12. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy The LLC 400 Rt. 211 E - Store #16 Middletown, NY 10940. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Prime Retail - Westchester County
Page 19
SUMMONS AND INQUEST NOTICE
Chelsea Thomas (d.o.b. 7/14/94),
Location inofYorktown Heights VEGAN, LLC ArtiA.P.E. FITNESS, LLCBestArticles THE TRENDY HOUSE Articles of Notice of Formation of ZANICK A ChildENDRIM Under 21 Years of Age LLC Dkt Nos. NN-10514/15/16-10/12C Ft. Store $3100;(SSNY) 1266 Sq. cles Ft. store 450NY Sq. Sec. Ft. of State Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) Four, LLC a domestic Limited LiOrg. filed 1100 NY Sq. Sec. of State of $2800 Org. and filed Adjudicated to be Neglected by NN-2695/96-10/12B 10/27/11. Office in WestchesterStore Co.$1200. (SSNY) 4/20/12. Office in West- 4/24/12. Office in Westchester Co. ability FU No.: 22303 Company (LLC). Articles of Suitable for anyoftype of business. Contact Wilca: SSNY design. Agent LLC upon chester Co. 914.632.1230 SSNY design. Agent SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon Organization filed with Secretary of Tiffany Ray and Kenneth Thomas, whom process may be served. of LLC upon whom process may be whom process may be served. State of NY on 05/10/2012. NY office Respondents. X SSNY shall mail copy THE LLC served. SSNY shall mail copy THE SSNY shall OF mail copy LLC 191 NOTICE: PLACEMENT YOUR CHILDTHE IN FOSTER CARElocation: MAY RESULT WESTCHESTER IN YOUR LOSS OF YOURCounty. A nonSCHNEIDER profit Performing23 Arts Center is seeking job positionsDirecATTN: LORI WOODLLC 56two QUARRY LN1)BEDFORD, NY BEECH ST. IFEASTCHESTER, Secy of 15 State designated as RIGHTS TO YOUR CHILD. YOUR CHILD STAYS IN NY FOSTER CARE FOR OF THEis MOST RECENT tor of Development- FT-must have a background in development or expe22 MONTHS, AGENCY MAY BE REQUIRED BY LAWagent TO FILEupon A PETITION TO process TERMINATEagainst LAND DR RYE BROOK, NY 10573. 10506. Registered Agent: YONNI 10709.THERegistered Agent: PHILIP whom rience fundraising, knowledge of what development entails and experiYOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS AND COMMITMENT OF GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF THE Purpose:ence Anyworking lawful activity. WATTENMAKER 56 DENNING 191 BEECH ST. EAST- the LLC may be served. Secy of with sponsors/donors; 2)MICHELLE Operations Managermust have a CHILD FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADOPTION, AND MAY FILE BEFORE THE END OF THE 15-MONTH QUARRY systems, LN BEDFORD, NY 10506. CHESTER, NY 10709 Purpose: Any State shall mail a copy of any progood knowledge of computers/software/ticketing duties include PERIOD. MADISON-DAVIS Articles of Purpose: Anyday lawful activity. lawful activity. cess against the LLC served upon overseeing all LLC box office, concessions, movie staffing, of show lobby UPON GOOD CAUSE, THE COURT MAY ORDER AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE WHETHOrg. filedstaffing NY Sec. State (SSNY) such asofMerchandise seller, bar sales. Must be familiar with POS him/her toASDACK Consulting ER THE NON-RESPONSENT PARENT(s) SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A RESPONDENT; IF Solusystem and to organize concessions. Full time plus OF hours. Call (203) 5/7/12. Office in willing Westchester Co. QUICK CASH BROADWAY LLC NEW WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS, tions, 2FROM William suite 202 THE COURT DETERMINES THE CHILD SHOULD BE REMOVED HIS/HERstreet HOME, THE 438-5795 and ask forofJulie SSNY design. Agent LLCor Allison upon Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. COURT of LLC filed with TO Secy. of White MAY Authority ORDER AN INVESTIGATION DETERMINE WHETHER THE NON-RESPONDENT Plains, NY 10601. Purpose: PARENT(s) SHOULD BE (SSNY) SUITABLE on CUSTODIANS IF THEin CHILD PLACED AND whom process may be served. State (SSNY) 5/4/12. Office in WestState of NY 5/31/12.FOR Of-THEToCHILD; engage anyISlawful act or acREMAINS IN FOSTER CARE FOR FIFTEEN OF THE MOST RECENT TWENTY-TWO MONTHS, THE SSNY shall mail copy The LLC 303 chester Co. SSNY design. AgentAGENCY of fice location: Westchester Co. LLC tivity MAY BE REQUIRED TO FILE A PETITION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS OF S. Broadway Tarrytown, NY 10591 LLC upon whom process may THE be PARENT(s) formedAND in Delaware (DE) on 5/24/12 AND CUSTODY OF THE CHILD FOR THE COMMITMENT OF GUARDIANSHIP Purpose: Any lawful activity. served. SSNY shall mail copy The SSNY designated agent of LLC CLOVER11, Articles of Org. PURPOSES OF ADOPTION, EVENasIF THE PARENT(s) WERE NOT NAMEDLLC AS RESPONDENTS IN filed THE CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE PROCEEDING. LLC 1150 Broadway New York, NY upon whom process against it may NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 4/23/12. 11221 Purpose: Any lawful activity. be served.PARENT SSNY HAS shall process Office in Westchester Co. SSNY A NON-CUSTODIAL THEmail RIGHT TO REQUEST TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT CUSTODY OF CHILD AND TO SEEK ENFORCEMENT OF VISITATION THE CHILD. to THE Corporate Creations Network design. RIGHTS AgentWITH of LLC upon whom Inc.OF15THE N.FAMILY Mill ST Nyack, 10960. may be served. SSNY shall BY ORDER COURT OF THENY STATE OF NEWprocess YORK DE ABOVE-NAMED address of LLC: 3411 Silverside mail copy United TO THE RESPONDENT(S) WHO RESIDE(S) OR C/O IS FOUND ATStates [specifyCorpoRD #104 Wilmington, DE 19810. Arts. ration Agents, Inc. 7014 13th Ave address(es)]: Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State, Ste 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228. RegLast known addresses: TIFFANY RAY: 24 Garfield Street, #3, Yonkers, NY 10701 PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Pur- istered Agent: C/O United States Last known addresses: KENNETH THOMAS: 24 Garfield Street, #3, Yonkers,Agents, NY 10701 Inc. 7014 13th pose: any lawful activity. Corporation An Order to Show Cause under Article 10 of the Family Court ActSte having202 beenBrooklyn, filed with this Court Ave NY 11228. seeking to modify the placement for the above-named child. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
HELP WANTED
EMPIRE CITY MOVING LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 3/14/12. Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy The LLC 754 Palisades Ave Yonkers, NY 10703. Purpose: Any lawful activity. Notice of application for authority of FindawayWorld LLC. Initial DOS filing with the Secretary of State of NY (Westchester Co) on 3/30/12. Jurisdiction and date of org: Ohio 7/19/04. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process against LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC to registered agent: A.G.C. Co., 3200 PNC Center,1900 E 9th St, Cleveland, OH 44114. Office address: 31999 Aurora Rd, Solon, OH 44139. Authorized officer where copy of articles of org are filed: Jon Husted, Ohio Secretary of State, 189 E Broad St, 16th Floor, Columbus, OH 43215. Purpose: any lawful act or activity.
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear before this Court at Yonkers Family Court located at 53 So. Broadway, Yonkers, New York, on the 28th day of March, 2012 at 2;15 pm in the afternoon of said day to answer the petition and to show cause why said child should not be adjudicated to be a neglected child and why you should not be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Family Court Act.
CLASSIFIED ADS
914-562-0834
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that you have the right to be represented by a lawyer, and if the Court finds you are unable to pay for a lawyer, you have the right to have a lawyer assigned by the Court.
Office Space AvailablePrime Retail Prime Location, Yorktown PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that ifHeights you fail to appear at the time and place Westchester County
Best Location in Yorktown Heights 1100 Sq. Ft. Store $3100; 1266 Sq. Ft. store $2800 and 450 Sq. Ft. Store $1200.
noted above, the Court will hear and determine the petition as provided by law.
1,000 Sq. Ft.: $1800. Contact Wilca: 914.632.1230
Dated: January 30, 2012
BY ORDER OF THE COURT CLERK1 column OF THE COURT
2 column
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Page 20
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
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