March 6, 2014 - WestchesterGuardian.com

Transcription

Vol. VI, No. X
Westchester’s Most Influential Weekly
Thursday March 6, 2014
THE HEZITORIAL INVESTIGATION
Civil
Servants in
Harms Way
By HEZI ARIS, Page 21
GOVERNMENT
GOVERNMENT
What the
Cluck in
Hens Island
Big Brother
Comes to
White Plains
By NANCY KING, Page 17
By NANCY KING, Page 18
WWW.WESTCHESTERGUARDIAN.COM
$1.00
Rich monetti
Starnes and Shah
Page 6
Prof. OREN
LEVIN-WALDMAN
Social Costs
Page 8
Randy Vogt
Local Ukranian
Soccer
Page 9
John Simon
Ruhl and Ibsen
Page 12
raymond ibrahim
Why are Christians
Persecuted
Page 18
rience fundraising, knowledge of what development entails and experience working with sponsors/donors; 2) Operations Manager- must have a
good knowledge of computers/software/ticketing systems, duties include
overseeing all box office, concessions, movie staffing, day of show lobby
staffing such as Merchandise seller, bar sales. Must be familiar with POS
system and willing to organize concessions. Full time plus hours. Call (203)
438-5795 and ask for Julie or Allison
Page 2
THE WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
THE WESTcHESTER GUARDiAn
THE WESTCHESTER
GUARDIAN
THE WESTcHESTER
GUARDiAn
RADIO
RADIO
RADIO
Of Significance
Of Significance
Community Section ............................................................................... 4
Community
Section ............................................................................... 44
Business ................................................................................................
Business
................................................................................................
Calendar ............................................................................................... 44
Calendar
............................................................................................... 45
Charity ..................................................................................................
Creative
Disruption
............................................................................ 56
Charity
Contest..................................................................................................
Cultural
Perspective
........................................................................... 766
Contest
..................................................................................................
Creative Disruption ............................................................................
Energy
Issues
.......................................................................................
Creative
Disruption
............................................................................
Education ............................................................................................. 867
In
Memoriam
....................................................................................1078
Education
.............................................................................................
Fashion
..................................................................................................
Medicine
.............................................................................................10
Fashion
..................................................................................................
Fitness.................................................................................................... 89
Najah’s
Corner ...................................................................................119
Fitness....................................................................................................
Health ..................................................................................................10
Movie
Review
....................................................................................12
Health
History..................................................................................................10
................................................................................................10
Music
...................................................................................................12
History
Ed Koch................................................................................................10
Movie Review ...................................................................12
Community
........................................................................................13
Ed
Koch
Movie
Review ...................................................................12
Spoof
....................................................................................................13
Writers
Collection.............................................................................14
Spoof
Sports....................................................................................................13
Scene .......................................................................................13
Books
Sports
Scene
.......................................................................................13
Najah’s...................................................................................................16
Corner
...................................................................................13
People
..................................................................................................18
Najah’s
Corner
...................................................................................13
Writers Collection.............................................................................14
Eye
On...................................................................................................16
Theatre
..................................................................................18
Writers
Collection.............................................................................14
Books
Leaving
on
a
Jet
Plane ......................................................................19
Books
...................................................................................................16
Transportation...................................................................................17
Government
Section
Transportation
...................................................................................17
Government Section ............................................................................20
............................................................................17
Campaign
Trail
..................................................................................20
Government
Section
............................................................................17
Albany Correspondent
....................................................................17
Economic
Development....................................................................17
Albany
Correspondent
Mayor Marvin’s
Column..................................................................20
.................................................................18
Education
...........................................................................................21
Mayor
Marvin’s
Column .................................................................18
Government
.......................................................................................19
The Hezitorial
....................................................................................21
Government
.......................................................................................19
OpEd
Section .........................................................................................23
LegalSection
....................................................................................................23
OpEd
.........................................................................................23
Ed Koch Commentary.....................................................................23
People
..................................................................................................24
Ed
Koch
Letters
toCommentary.....................................................................23
the Editor ..........................................................................24
Strategyto...............................................................................................24
Letters
Editor............................................................................25
..........................................................................24
Weir Onlythe
Human
OpEd
Section
.........................................................................................25
Weir
Only
Human
............................................................................25
Legal Notices ..........................................................................................26
Legal Notices ..........................................................................................26
..........................................................................................27
CLASSIFIED ADS
YOUR PARENTAL RIGHTS AND COMMITMENT OF GUARDIANSHIP AND CUSTODY OF THE
CHILD FOR THE PURPOSES OF ADOPTION, AND MAY FILE BEFORE THE END OF THE 15-MONTH
PERIOD.
Office Space Available-
Prime Location,
Yorktown
Heights
UPON GOOD CAUSE, THE COURT MAY ORDER AN INVESTIGATION
TO DETERMINE
WHETHSq. Ft.: $1800.
Wilca: 914.632.1230
ER THE NON-RESPONSENT PARENT(s) SHOULD1,000
BE CONSIDERED
ASContact
A RESPONDENT;
IF
THE COURT DETERMINES THE CHILD SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM HIS/HER HOME, THE
COURT MAY ORDER AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE
NON-RESPONDENTCounty
PrimeWHETHER
RetailTHE
- Westchester
MARCH
6,Best
2014
PARENT(s) SHOULD BEThursday,
SUITABLE CUSTODIANS
FOR THE
CHILD;
IF THE CHILD
IS PLACEDHeights
AND
Location
in Yorktown
REMAINS IN FOSTER CARE FOR FIFTEEN1100
OF THE
RECENT
TWENTY-TWO
Sq.MOST
Ft. Store
$3100;
1266 Sq. MONTHS,
Ft. store THE
$2800 and 450 Sq. Ft.
AGENCY
MAY BE REQUIRED
TO FILE
PETITION FOR TERMINATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS OF
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY
23,A 2012
Page 3
Store
$1200.
THE PARENT(s)
AND COMMITMENT
OF GUARDIANSHIP
AND CUSTODY OF THE CHILD FOR THE
THURSDAY,
MARCH
29, 2012
Page
3
THURSDAY,
FEBRUARY
23,
2012
Page
Suitable
for
any
type
of
business.
Contact
Wilca:
914.632.1230
PURPOSES OF ADOPTION, EVEN IF THE PARENT(s) WERE NOT NAMED AS RESPONDENTS IN
THE CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE PROCEEDING.
Of Significance
HELP WANTED
A NON-CUSTODIAL PARENT HAS THE RIGHT TO REQUEST TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT CUS-
A non profit OF
Performing
Arts
Center
is seeking
two job positions- 1) DirecTODY OF THE CHILD AND TO SEEK ENFORCEMENT
VISITATION
RIGHTS
WITH
THE CHILD.
tor of Development- FT-must have a background in development or expeBY ORDER OFSection.........................................................................................................................
THE FAMILY COURT OF THE
STATE
OF NEW YORK
rience
fundraising,
knowledge of what development entails and
Community
3 experience working
with sponsors/donors;
2) Operations
TO THE ABOVE-NAMED RESPONDENT(S)
WHO RESIDE(S)
OR IS FOUND
AT [specifyManager- must
Calendar.........................................................................................................................................
3 have a
good knowledge of computers/software/ticketing systems, duties include
address(es)]:
Cultural Perspectives...................................................................................................................
4 lobby
overseeing all box office, concessions, movie staffing, day of show
Westchester On theLast
Level
isaddresses:
usually heard
from
to Friday,
from NY
1010701
a.m.
to 12
known
TIFFANY
RAY:Monday
24staffing
Garfieldsuch
Street,
Yonkers,
as#3,
Merchandise
seller, bar sales. Must be familiar with
Music.
.
.............................................................................................................................................
6 POS
Noon on the Internet: http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel.
system
willing
to organize
concessions.
Call (203)
Last known..........................................................................................................................................
addresses: KENNETH THOMAS:
24 and
Garfield
Street,
#3, Yonkers,
NY 10701 Full time plus hours. 7
Pro-Life.
Because of the importance of a Federal court case438-5795
purporting
corruption
bribery
and ask
for Julie orand
Allison
An Orderwith
to Show
Cause under Article
10 days
of the of
Family
Court 26
Act to
having
filed
with this Court
allegations, programming
be suspended
for the
March
29, been
2012.
YonPublic
Policy..................................................................................................................................
8
Westchester
On the
Levelto
ismodify
heard
Monday
to Friday,
from
seeking
the from
placement
for the above-named
child. 10 a.m. to 12 Noon
Westchester
On
the
Level
with
Narog
and
Aris
Westchester On the Level with Narog
and Aris
Aris
and
kersthe
Philharmonic
Orchestra
Sadewhite
is our
scheduled
Friday,
Sports..............................................................................................................................................
9
Westchester
On the
Level is Conductor
heard fromJames
Monday
to Friday,
from
10 a.m.guest
to 12
Noon
on
Internet:
http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel.
Join
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to appear before this Court at Yonkers Family Court
March
30.
on
the
Internet: by
http://www.BlogTalkRadio.com/WestchesterOntheLevel.
Join
Taboo............................................................................................................................................
10
the
conversation
calling
toll-free
to
1-877-674-2436.
Please
stay
on
topic.
located at 53that
So. Broadway,
Yonkers,
New York,
the 28th day ofon
March,
2012
at 2;15 pm in the
It is howeverby
anticipated
the jury
will conclude
itsonPlease
deliberation
either
Monthe
conversation
calling
toll-free
1-877-674-2436.
on
topic.
afternoon
of
saidare
day to
to answer
the petition
and
showstay
cause
why
saidFebruary
child should20th
not beand ending
Creative
Disruption...................................................................................................................
10on
Richard
Narog March
and
Hezi
Aris
your
co-hosts.
Incase,
thetowe
week
beginning
day or Tuesday,
26
or
27.
Should
that
be
the
will
resume
our
regular
adjudicated to be a neglected child and why you should not be dealt with in accordance with the
Richard
Narog
and
Hezi
Aris
are
your
co-hosts.
In
the
week
beginning
February
20th
and
ending
on
Eye
on
Theatre.
.
...........................................................................................................................
12
February
24th,schedule
we have
an exciting
of
guests.
programming
and
announce
fact on
the
Yonkers Tribune website.
provisions
of
Article 10entourage
ofthat
the Family
Court
Act.
February
24th,
we
have
an
exciting
entourage
of
guests.
Government.
.
...................................................................................................................................
14
Richard
Narog
and
Hezi
Aris
are
co-hosts
of
the
show.
Every Monday is special. On
Monday,
February
20th,
Wade,
participant
in http://
PLEASE
TAKE FURTHER
NOTICE,
thatKrystal
you have the
right toabecelebrated
represented by
a lawEvery
Monday is special.
On
Monday,
20th,
celebrated
participant
in http://
yer, and ifHealth.............................................................................................................................
the Court
finds
youFebruary
are
unableKrystal
to
pay forKrystal
a lawyer,
you
haveathe
right
to havewho
a lawyer
Mental
14
www.TheWritersCollection.com
is our
guest.
Wade
isWade,
a mother
of three
works fifty
miles
assigned
by the
Court.is
www.TheWritersCollection.com
our guest.
Krystal
is a novel
mother
threeaccepted
who works
fifty miles
from home and writes
in her
“spare
time.”
“Wilde’s
Fire,”Wade
her debut
hasofbeen
for publication
The
Feiner
Report.
......................................................................................................................
14
from
home and
writes
ininher
“spare
time.”
“Wilde’s
Fire,”
debut
has
been
publication
PLEASE
TAKE
NOTICE,
thather
if you
fail tonovel
appear
at the
timeaccepted
andHow
placefor
and should
be available
2012.
Not
farFURTHER
behind
is her
second
novel,
“Wilde’s
Army.”
does
she do
Message
from
the
Mayor..........................................................................................................
15 it?
noted in
above,
the Court
and determine
the petition
as provided
by law.Army.” How does she do it?
and
available
2012.
Notwill
farhear
behind
is her second
novel,
“Wilde’s
Tuneshould
in andbefind
out.
New Rochelle............................................................................................................................... 16
Dated: January 30, 2012
BY ORDER OF THE COURT
Tune in and find out.
Co-hosts Richard Weir
NarogOnly
and Hezi Aris will relish
the1 column
dissection
16
2 column Human......................................................................................................................
CLERK
OF
THE COURTof all things politics on Tuesday, February
Co-hosts
Richard
Narog
and
Hezi
Aris
will
relish
the dissection
of his
all things
politicsfrom
on Tuesday,
February
21st. Yonkers CityCurrent
CouncilCommentary...............................................................................................................
President Chuck Lesnick
will share
perspective
the august
inner
17
21st.
Yonkers
Council
Lesnick will
share 22nd.
his perspective
from the
august
sanctum
of theCity
City
CouncilPresident
ChambersChuck
on Wednesday,
February
Stephen Cerrato,
Esq.,
will inner
share
Government................................................................................................................................
17
sanctum
of the
CityonCouncil
Chambers
Wednesday,
February
22nd.
Esq.,be
will
share
his political
insight
Thursday,
Februaryon
23rd.
Friday, February
24th
hasStephen
yet to beCerrato,
filled. It may
a propiMiddle
East
Forum....................................................................................................................
18
his
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
Politics...............................................................................................................................................
tious
day toThat
sumWas
up what
transpired throughout the week. A sort of BlogTalk Radio version of That 20
Was
The Week
(TWTWTW).
The Week That Was
(TWTWTW).
Campaign
Trail........................................................................................................................... 20
For those who cannot join us live, consider listening to the show by way of an MP3 download, or on
OpEd.................................................................................................................................................
20link
For
thoseWithin
who cannot
join us
consider
listening
tofind
the the
show
by wayinof
MP3 that
download,
or
on
demand.
15 minutes
of live,
a show’s
ending,
you can
segment
ouranarchive
you may
The
Hezitorial
Investigation.....................................................................................................
20
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.
Legal Notices,
to using the hyperlink
provided
in the opening paragraph.
Letter
to the Editor.....................................................................................................................
21
Advertise
Today
The entire archiveLegal
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perusal.
The easiest way to find a particular interview
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AIN
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daily
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broader,
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we
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comprehensive, chronological step-by-step accounting of events, enlightened
hensive,
chronological
step-by-step accounting of events, enlightened
with analysis,
where appropriate.
with
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From
amongst
journalism’
s classic key-words: who, what, when,
Hair Cuts
• Stylingwhy,
• Washand
& Set •how,
Permingthe why and how will drive our pursuit. We
where,
Pedicure • Acrylic Nails • Fill
Ins • Silkwhy,
Wraps •and
Nail Art
Designs
where,
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andand
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drive our
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use
our •more
time,
ourwill
resources,
to pursuit.
get past We
the
Highights • Coloring • Extensions
• Manicure
Eyebrowabundant
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will
use
our
more
abundant
time,
and
our
resources,
to
get
past the
initial ‘spin’ and ‘damage control’ often characteristic of immediate
initial
and
often
characteristic
immediate
Yudi’s Salon 610 Main St, New Rochelle,
NY ‘spin’
10801 914.633.7600
news
releases,
to ‘damage
reach thecontrol’
very heart
of the
matter: the of
truth.
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news
releases,
toto
reach
theof
very
heart of the matter:
the truth.
will
take our
readers
a point
understanding
and insight
whichWe
cannot
take
our
readers
to
a
point
of
understanding
and
insight
which
cannot
be obtained elsewhere.
be obtained elsewhere.
To succeed, we must recognize from the outset that bigger is not necesTo succeed,
must
recognize from
theacknowledge
outset that bigger
is not
necessarily
better.we
And,
furthermore,
we will
that we
cannot
be
sarily
better.
And,
furthermore,
we
will
acknowledge
that
we
cannot
all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentationbe
of
all things to all readers. We must carefully balance the presentation of
relevant,
hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features
relevant, hard-hitting, Westchester news and commentary, with features
and columns useful in daily living and employment in, and around, the
and columns useful in daily living and employment in, and around, the
county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
county. We must stay trim and flexible if we are to succeed.
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Thursday, MARCH 6, 2014
Page 3
offering free tech help for any device. No
appointment is necessary, see you there.
The nursery manager at White Flower
Farm, Barbara Pierson will present new
annuals, perennials vegetables and shrubs
during her lecture at the John Jay Homestead
in Katonah on March 12th.
Looking for something fun to do (and
aren’t we all), then you may want to head over
to the Fox Lane High School in Bedford for
their presentation of the play “Smile,” on
March 14-16.
Pound Ridge Library will kick off their
2014 Spring (yes, I said spring) Concert
Series on Sunday March 9th with popular
area singer Sloan Wainwright performing.
As Sugarfest continues at the
Westmoreland Sanctuary in Bedford…the
Nannyhagen Creek Band will be on hand to
let the music flow this Saturday, March 8th
at 11:30am. From the grassroots traditions
of American folk songs to the working-class
ballads of Ireland to bouncy rock-tinged
tunes, Pleasantville-based Nannyhagen
Creek has been entertaining Westchester
County audiences for years with a blend
of toe-tapping musicianship and soulful
harmony.
The good folks at ProClinix Sports
Physical Therapy and Chiropractic, in
Armonk tell me they have added Dr. Kaitlyn
Clarke, DC to their practice.
Dr. Clarke specializes in soft tissue
Chiropractic techniques including Graston
technique and Kinesio Therapuetic Taping.
To fight off the winter blues every
time my wife sets foot out the door she
comes home with a bunch of tulips or
daffodils or any flower that is bright and
cheerful. According to my bank account,
spring can’t come fast enough…fortunately the Chappaqua Garden Club is
sponsoring a “seed starting” workshop with
Caroline N. Fanelli, a Master Gardener
with the Cornell Cooperative Extension
on Wednesday March a 9th at the First
Congregational Church in Chappaqua. Ms.
Fanelli will teach the fine points for successful seed starting, covering topics such as light
and temperature requirements, grow lights,
first and last frost dates and hardening off
your transplants. As this will be a hands on
workshop she asks that everyone bring along
4” pots or small plastic cups with holes in the
bottom (i.e. yogurt cups) and small plastic
cups to be used for watering. Soilless starter
mix and other needed items will be supplied.
My thumb just got greener writing this…
As you can see I’m trying to mention
“Spring” as much as I can in this column,
Major League Baseball has started Spring
training and all our local sports teams are
now starting to train for the upcoming
spring sports season…see you next week.
refreshments, and good sociability.
In keeping with a tradition of caring
for the needy, participants are asked to bring
canned or packaged food to donate for the
food drive in the area.
There is no charge for admission, but
donations are welcome.
For more information visit www.
wchj.org .
An RSVP is appreciated. Contact
Charlotte Klein: 914-218-8535.
CommunitySection
CALENDAR
News & Notes from Northern Westchester
By MARK JEFFERS
In honor of George
Washington’s birthday, “I
cannot tell a lie,” while I
went outside and chopped
down a cherry tree, my
daughters and wife wrote all the bad jokes in
this week’s “fun & fib free” edition of “News
& Notes.”
Congratulations and three cheers to
the combined boys and girls ski teams from
North Salem and John Jay as they both won
the Section 1 team competition championships recently held at Hunter Mountain, way
to go!
Are you looking to unload some hardto-recycle items, and hazardous material
then check out the new Household
Materials Recovery Facility in Valhalla at
the Westchester Community College’s
Grasslands Campus.
Grammy nominated singer, songwriter
and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Jarosz is
set to perform at Caramoor in Katonah on
March 8th, including works from her recent
“Build Me Up From Bones” CD.
For all those fans of the TV game show
“Jeopardy,” who is Leszek Pawlowicz, the
answer is former Pleasantville resident who
has won close to $200K on the Alex Trebek
hosted game show, wow!
Vietnam Veterans of America has
scheduled their Westchester pick up for
March 6th and they are looking for clothing,
shoes and bedding items, call 1-800-7758387 for more information.
To make my life “easier” a generous
friend gave me a tablet for Christmas. It is
now March and I can almost turn it on…
you can be sure I will be dropping by the
Mount Kisco Library on Main Street on
Thursday, March 6th at 4:00pm as they are
Mark Jeffers resides in Bedford Hills, New York,
with his wife Sarah, and three daughters, Kate,
Amanda, and Claire.
HOUSES OF WORSHIP
Purim Celebration
The Westchester Community for
Humanistic Judaism will have its annual
Purim celebration on Saturday, March 15,
@ 2 PM. The festivities will be conducted
at the Community Unitarian Church, 468
Rosedale Avenue, in White Plains, New
York.
The celebration will include music,
reading of a special kind of Megillah,
songs, fun with a Purimspiel, traditional
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with Narog and Aris
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program, has been operating for over two
years via the Internet with Co-Hosts Richard
Narog and Hezi Aris every weekday, from 10
a.m. to 12 Noon. Listen to the show live or
on demand. Share your perspective by calling
(347) 205-9201 or by clicking onto the following
hyperlinks: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
westchesteronthelevel
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Page 4
CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES
Sharara
By SHERIF AWAD
Few Egyptians musicians
have numerous talents like
Tarek Sharara. In addition
to his repertoire as a music
composer, Sharara wrote
and presented radio shows that spread
the knowledge about music coming from
throughout the world. His work at the local
censorship office did not prevent him from
being appointed for twenty years to the
International Music Center at the Cairo
Opera House where he supervised many
Secrets of Samarkand Album.
at the Faculty of Law, he continued to play
and compose with the various musical
groupings at the universities. Upon graduation in 1964, “I landed a job in the ministry
of culture, tourism and information. At that
time, the three cabinets used to be under
the auspices of one ministry headed by Dr.
Sharara, a kid discovering melodies.
classic and ballet presentations. Sharara
received several regional and international
awards for his music, his soundtracks, and his
radio shows. His musical leadership made
him a frequent jury member in both music
and film festivals.
Born in Cairo, Tarek Sharara was one
of five brothers in a big family whose origins
go back to Turkey (the name Sharara is correctly pronounced Djarara in the Turkish
language). At a very young age his mother
introduced him to music; his mother used to
play piano at home. His father, a lawyer by
profession, who used to play the Kanun and
the Oud, was also a friend of many musicians of his era - like Zakareya El-Hegawy
and Abdel Fatah Mansy. While growing up,
the Sharara brothers were also urged by their
parents to learn to play different musical
instruments as part of their educational
repertoire. Tarek Sharara excelled particularly in playing accordion and piano with
his school band and orchestra; assembled
by the school’s music teachers. Although he
followed in his father’s footsteps by studying
years”, recalls Sharara who was acquainted
and collaborated with many creative talents
in both the music and film fields since then.
Radio Shows
Sharara used his musical knowledge
and film background to create different
shows on Radio Cairo. He wrote and presented Around the World where he played
modern music coming from different parts
of the world in addition to classical concerts
coming from different eras. He also created
the show Cine Club where he presented
(L-R): Tarek Sharara with Composer Aram Khatchatourian.
soundtracks of recent foreign films accom- radio presentation skills, was also a filmpanied by his technical commentaries about maker who specialized in directing horror
the making of those films. Sharara also and paranormal thrillers. Shebl, who studied
expanded his practice into writing narra- filmmaking in the States thereafter returntives and music at the same time. “I also ing to Egypt in the 1970s, was in love with
wrote the screenplays and composed the two things: the British band, The Beatles,
and the infamous musical play The Rocky
music for a dramatic show called House of
Mysteries. In each episode, I used to select Horror Picture Show which became a cult
suspenseful novels, local and international, film in 1975. “Shebl and I collaborated in
and then adapted each one of them into a adapting and creating an Egyptian version of
the Rocky Horror Picture Show that we called
thrilling 25-minutes act where I invited my
colleagues of radio presenters to play differ- Anyab (Fangs) in 1981. We decided to cast
ent roles”, advised Sharara who won several the biggest uprising singer of that moment
Ahmad Adaweya in the role of a modern
regional and international awards for those
Dracula”, says Sharara. Like its original
shows.
source, Anyab follows a couple, played by Aly
Unconventional Filmmaking Al-Haggar and Mona Gabr, whose car has a
During his work with Radio Cairo, sudden breakdown in a remote place. They
Sharara met someone who shared his are invited inside a house only to discover it is
love for music and mystery films, the late full of strange and corrupted characters who
Mohamed Shebl who, in addition to his
Continued on page 5
(L-R): Farid al-Atrash with Tarek Sharara.
Abdel-Kader Hatem. The job introduced
me to two entities operating under this
ministry: the local censorship and the Radio
and TV Building. I became a censorship
official in the department of foreign films
and presenter in the local European service
of Radio Cairo. However, my connection
with music did not stop at all through those
(L-R): Pianist Cyprien Katsaris with Tarek Sharara.
Page 5
Sharara
Continued from page 4
metaphorically suck people’s blood. “When
the film was finished, Shebl had to bring it
to the Censor for a Certificate of Approval.
Because I was still working there, we sat
down altogether to watch the film with
the other censors. However, I was surprised
because I discovered that Shebl changed the
screenplay we wrote together using a third
credited writer in order to inject many references criticizing the sociopolitical status
in Egypt at that time. The censors trimmed
many scenes, which altered the continuity
of the film upon its first release. Shebl, who
also produced Anyab, was the first to create
promotional items like T-shirts and caps for
a film produced in Egypt. The film wasn’t a
box office hit. Currently, it is being rediscovered on Egyptian satellite channels and has
developed a cult status ”, he noted.
Egyptian Soundtracks
Other Egyptian producers asked
Sharara to make music adaptations for
their new feature films although he was
able to compose original scores. “They were
always in a hurry to finish their films and, of
course, it was cheaper for them to compose
an original score instead of hiring someone.
This meant I had the task of arranging music
from different sources; like foreign albums
and international soundtracks in order to
pick up music pieces that suited each film.
It is not an easy task because it requires a
great knowledge of music; classic and contemporary. There were great filmmakers
who favored music adaptation over composing new musical scores for their films. For
instance, the late and great Stanley Kubrick
chose to adapt music for most of his films.
Everybody remembers the opening scene
of his renowned masterpiece 2001: A Space
Odyssey that was accompanied by the rousing
music of Richard Strauss”, explains Sharara .
Even so, Sharara had opportunities in composing music for Egyptian documentaries
and with other established filmmakers, like
the late Egyptian director Kamal El-Sheikh,
who was many times compared to Alfred
Hitchcock for his direction of several film
thrillers. Sharara composed the music for
several films realized by El- Sheikh, like
Al-Tawous (The Peacock, 1982) starring
Nour El-Sherif, and Al-Soud Ela Al-Hawia
(Climbing to the Abyss, 1978) starring
Madiha Kamel. The latter landed Sharara
an award for Best Score in the Cairo Film
Festival of that same year.
The Craft of Soundtracks
The techniques of composing music for
films have changed over the past four decades
with the rise of electronic instruments near
Tarek Sharara at Sound Studio.
the end of the 1970s. “There are two main
Alexandria Film Festival, in Egypt, and the
types of electronica”, explains Sharara. “The
Arab Rotterdam Festival, in The Netherlands.
first type creates sounds that do not exist
He also contributes to Variety, in the United
in real life, and the second simulates music States, and is the film critic of Variety Arabia
instruments like piano and cello. Because (http://varietyarabia.com/), in the United
assembling an orchestra has become more
Arab Emirates (UAE), the Al-Masry Al-Youm
and more expensive, music composers are
Website (http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/
currently using electronica in creating film
node/198132) and The Westchester Guardian
soundtracks. Then, sound engineers can use (www.WestchesterGuardian.com).
an additional live instrument when needed
in the score. Example, the Irish flute in the
Titanic film score”, he explains.
About his own experience in composing music, Sharara feels it is a real personal
pleasure that gives self-satisfaction to the
author whether it is music for a theatrical
play or a ballet. “However, when it comes to
creating music for a film, it is a completely
different process”, he says. “The motion
Join us at our
picture soundtrack is about bringing additional concepts that reshape and conform to
OPEN HOUSE
the vision of the director who already shot
and
experience it
and edited the film. So one way or the other,
for yourself.
images in a film are imposed onto the music
composer that places some parameters, a
SATURDAY, MARCH 15TH,
kind of boundary, on the broadness of his
11:00 AM-3:00 PM
creativity. That’s why we notice that some
filmmakers frequently collaborate with the
515 Audubon Avenue at 191st,
same music composer because they develNY, NY 10040
oped a mutual understanding over many
If you cannot attend our Open House
years. For instance, Maurice Jarre frequently
or would like additional information on
worked with David Lean and now John
scheduling a private tour, please call
Williams frequently composes for Steven
212-342-9539
Spielberg’s films”.
ISABELLA
HOUSE
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Sherif Awad is a film /
video critic and curator. He is the film editor of
Egypt Today Magazine (www.EgyptToday.
com), and the artistic director for both the
www.isabella.org
Anyab (Fangs), the Egyptian Rocky Horror Picture Show.
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BAYARD
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Page 6
MUSIC
Clapton “The 1970’s Review” DVD
THE SOUNDS Eric
MVD Entertainment Group www.ChromeDreams.co.uk
OFBLUE
By Bob Putignano
From the same folks who brought you
Eric Clapton “The 1960s Review,” follows
Clapton’s musical journeys throughout
the seventies. Featuring new and archive
interviews, rare performance footage, contributions from Bonnie Bramlett, Bobby
Whitlock, The Albert Brothers, George
Terry, Willie Perkins, Bill Halverson,
Clapton biographer Marc Roberty, journalist Anthony DeCurtis and others.
The first minutes of the film update
viewers with a synopsis of Clapton’s work
in the sixties, honomg his chops in the
Yardbirds and John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers
before achieving megastar status in Cream.
We learn why the Cream super-group was
so successful but also why it was so shortlived, Clapton was too bored to continue
reworking blues standards into psychedelic
hits. Clapton unites with Steve Winwood
in a second super-group, which also featured
the eccentric Baker on drums. Blind Faith
crashed after releasing only one LP. But
Clapton became friends with the husbandwife team of Delaney & Bonnie the R&B
soul band that opened for Blind Faith via the
suggestion of George Harrison.
E.C. was captivated by Delaney
Bramlett’s singing and songwriting; he
utilized Delaney’s production skills for
Clapton’s solo debut for Atco Records.
(There are several live video clips of Clapton
sitting in with D&B.) Bonnie Bramlett
kindly opines that Delaney’s guidance and
voice lessons immeasurably impacted Eric.
Clapton originals like “Easy Now” and “Let
It Rain,” and two collaborations with Leon
Russell (“Blues Power,” “Lonesome and a
Long Way from Home,”) plus the classic
cover of J.J. Cale’s “After Midnight.”
Bobby Whitlock guides through
Clapton’s Derek & The Dominoes
“Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.”
Overwhelmed with the spotlight Clapton
also toured with Delaney & Bonnie as a
sideman, but when that group spun out
Clapton began shopping new tunes with
organist Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle, and
drummer Jim Gordon at Criteria Studios
in Miami. Engineers Ron and Howard
Albert explain how Duane Allman joined
the sessions (thanks to producer extraordinaire Tom Dowd, Clapton met Duane at an
Allman Brothers show) that resulted in the
monumental “Layla” sessions.
Other chapters “Dominoes Falling,”
“Highest Mountain to Lowest Valley,” and
“In Exile” chronicle the Dominoes’ dissolution and Clapton’s subsequent hiatus,
(1971-74.) Concerned for his friend the
Who’s Pete Townshend prodded Clapton
into playing a star-studded show at London’s
Rainbow Theater in January, 1973, with
Townshend, Steve Winwood and Ronnie
Wood assisting.
1974 a heroin-free Eric took to recording again at a rental house in Golden
Beach, Fl. “461 Ocean Boulevard” saw E.C.
teaming with guitarist George Terry and
backup singer Yvonne Elliman on several
blues covers. Johnny Otis’ (“Willie and The
Hand Jive,”) and the traditional “Motherless
Children.” The LP also uncovered Clapton’s
fondness for the reggae album (Bob Marley’s
“Burnin’”) that featured Eric’s popular
rework of “I Shot the Sheriff.”
The late ‘70s saw a Clapton staying on
the charts and (finally) marrying George
Harrison’s ex-wife Pattie Boyd. Terry and
others revealed how Clapton traded heroin
for alcohol, consuming booze at an alarming
rate.
The “extras” are mostly about Bobby
Whitlock, plus studio engineers Ron Albert
and Howard Albert reflecting on the “Layla”
sessions, and producer Tom Dowd, these
segments are insightful. The text/narrative contributor’s biographies are useful and
informative, but the “beyond DVD” portion
is just a commercial for the UK based
Chromed Dreams. Regrettably there’s no
booklet inside the packaging.
The seventies depict Clapton’s restless,
evolving and constant churn of his musical
development. Just think about the ground he
covered during this (mostly) fruitful segment
of his career. Even though near the end of
the seventies Eric severs ties to American
and Oklahoma bands, and reverts back to
playing with an all British band featuring
Albert Lee and other UK greats.
You might be overwhelmed by the
film’s 151 minute running time, but should
appreciate the album chronology and painstaking attention to detail. As an avid Clapton
fan I found this DVD somewhat lengthy
and wondered if it would have been prudent
to offer this documentary in two parts. Part
one as the early seventies, and another DVD
covering Clapton’s later seventies.
Note this film is not sanctioned by Eric
Clapton. You can watch the trailer at: http://
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_
embedded&v=fM614NQB3c8
at: [email protected].
Bob Putignano has for fifteen years been pivotal
to the continuing vision of WFDU (http://
wfdu.fm) with his Sounds of Blue radio show:
www.SoundsofBlue.com. Previously a senior
contributing editor at BluesWax, Blues Revue,
and Goldmine magazines, and Music Editor
of The Westchester Guardian: http://www.
WestchesterGuardian.com. Bob can be contacted
extension of marriage rights, the couple
seems no different in the face of the many
injustices that frustrate and perplex us
all – simply doing what they can to get by
themselves. “We’re not activists, we’re just
married,” says Zilpha, who married her
Lebanese born partner in 2013.
They also aren’t at the point where
young girls from Texas or the Middle
East are reaching out for advice, support
and strength. “When we get that big,” says
Dania, “we’ll let you know.”
Of course, both are grateful that their
families have been nothing but accepting,
and the same goes for the New York area
they live in. That has just left the music –
Shilling for Dreamtown being their latest
Dania started out at a young age singing
along to the car radio and playing the piano.
Drums then seemed like her musical destination until she took up the bass and realized
she wanted to write songs. Dania eventually graduated to the guitar, played in little
high school bands, and after coming to the
states for college in 2000, played the acoustic
singer/songwriter coffeehouse circuit around
Sarah Lawrence.
A few years behind and absent any discernible twang, Zilpha’s strum also began at
the piano and included singing in the choir
and harmonizing with her older sister. But
bringing her amateur interest to a professional level had no relation to penning notes
to a page like her cohort. “Oh wow, you can
be up onstage, in a band, I was like – great,”
she says. “That was the attraction.”
The inspiration established, Starnes
rode it to a more formal education. “She has
a background in musical theory,” says Dania,
“while I’m more self-taught.”
As such, they put the differences to
good use when other musicians come into
the fold. “I can’t read music but luckily I have
Zilpha who can translate my work into the
MUSIC SCENE
Starnes and Shah
First Friends, then Musical Partners, Now Partners in Life
By RICH MONETTI
Zilpha Starnes and Dania
Abu-Shaheen of White
Plains met once briefly
when they attended Sarah
Lawrence College in
Bronxville. After Dania graduated in 2004,
and needed a roommate, a friend suggested
Zilpha to fill out the lease. They would
become friends and then musical partners
as the Indie guitar duo, Starnes and Shah.
But it was the passing of landmark legislation in New York that truly solidified their
collaboration.
Gay marriage legalized, Texas born
Zilpha made light of her personal impetus.
“I didn’t want us to do our taxes twice – once
we didn’t have to do that, I figured why not,”
joked Zilpha.
Certainly pulling for a nationwide
Continued on page 7
Page 7
MUSIC SCENE
Starnes and Shah
musical language for people to understand,”
says Dania, who also doesn’t harbor an accent
from her birthplace.
No problem, Zilpha admits to an illiteracy of her own. “I’m on the other end of
the spectrum. I can’t jam at all,” says Zilpha.
Their voices also on a different page of
sorts, Starnes and Shah complement each
other across the octaves and belt them out
as equals, according to Dania. “I try to write
them so you don’t really have a lead singer
and a backup singer, you have two lead vocalists,” says Dania.
In contrast to Zilpha’s academic background in music, she sees it a bit more
simplistically. “That’s putting it very politely.
I would say Dania writes a song and I just
make up something completely different.
Then I just blend or hide in the background,”
says Zilpha.
Whether that amounts to a passiveaggressive writing credit, Zilpha explains
how life on the move raises the level of
Dania’s songwriting. In the car, on the train
or on tour, says Zipha, “it forces Dania away
from the guitar, which makes her experiment a little more. So it’s mainly lyric driven
where it’s a little lick and she builds around
it,” says Zilpha.
At that point, they sit down, get the
vocals, and Dania returns to her roots. “She
loves rhythm. She loves bass and drums and
lets that be the beating heart of the story she
is telling,” says Zilpha.
Red and Blue provides just that pulse,
according to Dania who plays on Zilfa’s theatrical delivery to detail the struggles of being
an Indie musician. “Read and Blue captures
us at the peak of that struggle. It’s that feeling
of being defeated. What are we going to do,
but obviously we come through it because
there’s a song after that one on the record,”
jokes Dania.
Otherwise, Dania doesn’t worry about
what Rock ‘n Roll’s relationship is to the
corporations that control it and the resulting
direction. “We’re just trying to play a couple
of songs to a couple of people,” says Dania.
But if they rise above that level where
more money and fame reside, she won’t
judge it either. “When we get big enough
that iTunes is making a difference for us,”
says Dania, “you won’t hear me complain.”
And if it comes to that, neither will all
the new fans Starnes and Shah will gain.
Look for Starnes and Shah at Arlene’s
(L-R) Zilpha Starnes and Dania Abu-Shaheen.
Grocery Store, situated just south of
Houston at 1st Ave/Allen St., on May 3rd
Rich Monetti has been a freelance writer since
2003 and lives in Westchester.
PRO-LIFE
A Classic Young Adult Novel Contains a Pro-Life Parable
Part Three of Four
By CHRIS ROSTENBERG
After Hazel and his
friends learn that men have
destroyed their old warren,
the rabbits conclude that
the men killed the rabbits
because rabbits steal Man’s lettuce. The poor,
innocent rabbits still have no idea what true
evil is. We learn that one rabbit’s last words
were, “That wasn’t why they destroyed the
warren. It was just because we were in the
way. They killed us to suit themselves.” The
myth about cleansing the Aryan race was
largely a camouflage ideology – the Nazis
wanted the Jews’ property, and a scapegoat
to pin all their problems on. Likewise, the
idea that baby genocide is about promoting
women is absurd; the leaders of the anti-life
movement simply want to rid the world of
burdensome children. If it was about promoting women, it would not be necessary
to deny the value of unborn children. Once
babies are treated as garbage, women are
degraded, not elevated. Abortion is not about
helping women, it’s about strong people
eliminating those in the way.
Cowslip laughs. This is completely
unnatural and upsets Hazel. This could be
seen as similar to tangential cultural acts
considered odd by conservatives like piercings, hair dying, excessive tattoos and casual
sex. The strangers also tell weird stories that
view death in an alarming way, and have art
that exposes their sick mental state. One is
reminded of A Handmaid’s Tale, a pro-choice
allegorical novel and film that portrays the
abortion issue in a bizarre and objectionable
way, offering a peek into a warped worldview.
Hazel sees art in the stranger’s warren that he
simply cannot wrap his head around, which
is like disturbing pro-choice “art”. Senior art
student at Yale, Aliza Shvarts claimed she
had artificially inseminated herself “as often
as possible”, then taken herbs to cause abortions. She allegedly saved the blood from
each of the unborn to create an art display.
Supposedly, video footage of the abortions
were on both sides, and a canvas was in
the middle with paint made from the baby
blood. Perhaps caving to an embarrassed
Yale and a wealthy abortion movement in
damage control mode, Shvarts later indicated
it was all a ruse. Using language unsurprising
of a pro-choicer, Shvarts insisted, referring to
“That wasn’t why they destroyed the warren.
It was just because we were in the way.
They killed us to suit themselves.”
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Page 8
PRO-LIFE
A Classic Young Adult Novel Contains a Pro-Life Parable
the “art project”, that, “It was a private and
personal endeavor.” Editorial commentator at LifeNews.com, Laura Echevarria,
said the “art” was offensive to women who
have had miscarriages and suffered the loss
of a child they wanted desperately.
Rabbits have an exciting story about
their folk hero stealing the king’s lettuce.
I see this as an analog in an adult story of
a man seeking sex with a woman. Hazel
sees the rabbits create “art” about the king’s
lettuce, but it is clear that Hazel finds it
alien and indescribably wrong. This could
be like pornography.
Cowslip’s weird sense of humor
reminds us that nothing is less funny than
pro-choicers trying to make abortion
seem funny. Consider comedienne Leah
Krinsky claim that she went to a “woman’s
clinic” where she was confronted by
hundreds of pro-life protesters. “ … [I]t
took me an hour and a half to fight my
way through this mob of idiots - by the
time I got through, I was so aggravated – I
wasn’t even pregnant – I had an abortion
just to piss them off!”
To see a good example of pro-choice
rage and demented “humor”, see the late,
great George Carlin talk about pro-lifers
on YouTube. Carlin was, to many people
including me, one of the funniest, most
articulate, independent-thinking comedians and social commentators America
has produced. But he abused his comedic
power, and stained his legacy by insinuating that if pro-lifers are bad, the liberty
to kill the children they defend is good.
In 2008, Carlin was awarded the Mark
Twain Award for American Humor. But
while Twain spoke out against the politically correct bigoted practice of his day,
racist slavery, Carlin supported the politically correct bigoted practice of his, the
killing of preborn babies. (Since Carlin
used the classic ad hominem against religious defenders of unborn children, with
no evidence that the position is dependent
on arbitrary faithist dogma, I’ll point out
that I’m an atheist.)
At first, Cowslip and his peers are not
angry at Hazel’s group, and do not resort
to violence. But then Hazel’s band commit
an act that, to the strangers, is a terrible
crime. Before I reveal this “crime,” consider
the words of former abortionist-turnedpro-lifer, Dina Madsen. “The reason I was
so bothered by confrontations with you
[pro-life protesters at killing clinics] is
because you convicted me of my wrongdoing … and I didn’t want to hear it … I
was terrified, I was terrified … ‘cause I got
little glimpses of what I was really doing.
‘You know they kill babies in there?’ And
I’d smart back, ‘Yeah I know we do – what
are you going to do about it?’”
When do nine-month pro-choicers
really get angry? When they’re confronted
by protestors like Operation Rescue activists. Engaging in passive resistance by
blocking baby-killing clinics even in this
day when the media and law and establishment so ridicules and despises rescuers
makes clear to the killers themselves the
possibility that maybe abortion really is
a baby holocaust. This smashes the deep
demented denial of the killers and exposes
them to themselves, and this, for the
killers, is an unforgivable crime
What is the “crime” that Hazel and
his friends commit against the stranger
rabbits? They leave. They reject death and
killing. They act in a sane, natural, liferespecting way and escape the country
of lies, insanity and a culture of killing.
The problem is, the life-respecting act
of Hazel’s group of vacating the area
brilliantly illuminates Cowslip and his
peers to themselves as the ultimate liars
and cowards and friend-killers, with no
respect for their own lives, let alone the
lives of their family-members. Cowslip
and crew could now leave too if they
wanted, but that would be admitting
they had been wrong after so many of
their family members had been killed.
(Can you imagine leaders of the abortion
holocaust movement admitting they had
been wrong all along about the mountain
of dismembered babies, but then claiming
people should still listen to them?)
Only then – when the contract with
killing that Cowslip and his friends made
becomes clear to them – do Cowslip and
crew become homicidal. When three
more refugees from Hazel’s original
warren unexpectedly arrive at Cowslip’s
den, Cowslip and his friends immediately
attack the refugees and manage to kill
one of them. Cowslip values his self-delusions more than his own life. Post-abortive
women and men, and workers in the prochoice holocaust industry and political
movement don’t like other people calling
them murderers, but they sure as hell don’t
want to call themselves murderers.
Afterwards, Strawberry, a rabbit of
Cowslip’s warren, chases the fleeing Hazel
and says:
“Take me with you.” There was no
reply and he repeated, “Take me with you.”
“We don’t care for creatures who
deceive us,” said Silver. “Better go back
to Nildro-hain. No doubt she’s less
particular.”
Strawberry gave a kind of choking
squeal, as though he had been wounded.
He looked from Silver to Hazel and then
to Fiver. At last, in a pitiful whisper, he
said, “The wires.”
Silver was about to answer, but Hazel
spoke first.”You can come with us,” he said.
“Don’t say any more. Poor fellow.”
Hazel is big-hearted and is uninterested in punishing or even reprimanding
Strawberry, who had implicitly threatened
Hazel’s life, and completely forgives him.
Pro-lifers feel that when unborn human
rights are again protected under law,
“doctors” who kill babies ought not be
prosecuted under criminal law, only civil
law, and have their licenses suspended or
revoked, and/or face fines (note that unlike
others on my side, I believe abortionists
who kill viable babies should go to prison).
Women who abort will not be punished
under civil or criminal law; they have
suffered enough. When Hazel forgives
Strawberry, we are reminded of pro-life
magnanimity. Many of those in the baby
holocaust industry are traumatized by
a career in violence and wish to break
free, and they are accepted by pro-lifers
who believe the “medical workers” have
committed horrible crimes, but should
be forgiven. (To hear many former child
killers speak, including Joan Appleton,
Dina Madsen and Carol Everett, go to
YouTube and see Meet the Abortion
Providers/Abortion the Inside Story. Also
view the must-see video Eclipse of Reason
between minutes 10 and 15.)
case, the higher wage has attracted more
people into the labor force, with no corresponding increase in the number of
workers actually employed. Although a
fine line to be sure, there is still a difference
between a disemployment effect because
the minimum wage caused people to lose
their jobs and lower employment because
either more workers were attracted to the
labor market or employers decided not to
create more jobs in the future.
Of course, one might ask what difference does it make? After all, lower
employment is still lower employment.
The problem with framing the question in
this fashion is that we are inevitably led to
the competitive market model solution of
lower wages. This flows from the underlying assumption that unemployment is
caused by wage rigidity. If we only lower
wages, more people will be hired. And yet,
rarely is the question asked: just what are
the larger social costs to society of paying
workers low wages?
When employers pay their workers
low wages, they are imposing a social cost
on all of society. True enough, consumers
benefit from lower prices. But those same
consumers who are the beneficiaries of
lower prices are also put in the position of
having to subsidize those low wages in the
form of higher taxes to pay for programs
like food stamps, increased housing allowances, and other public assistance these
workers may need because their wages are
below subsistence. And yet, there may be
other social costs as well.
Poorly paid workers are less likely to
be engaged in civic organizations than
highly paid workers, and they are less
likely to participate in the political process
at the most nominal level of voting. Does
the political community not bear the social
cost of political anomie?
Poorly paid people may have poorer
health because they cannot afford healthier food and the costs associated with
regular exercise. Studies have found that
the rates of diabetes tend to be higher in
poorer communities where residents have
less access to gym facilities. Again, society
then has to pick up the cost when they
truly do get sick.
Chris Rostenberg is a freelance writer.
Correspondence may be directed to
[email protected].
PUBLIC POLICY
Social Costs of Paying Low Wages
By Prof. OREN
LEVIN-WALDMAN
The recent release of the
CBO
(Congressional
Budget Office)’s report
that an increase in the
minimum wage could lead to a loss of
as much as one million jobs by 2016 has
created quite a stir. Those on the Right
hailed it as proof that an increase in the
minimum wage is a bad idea precisely
because we are still plagued by long-term
unemployment. Meanwhile, those on the
Left hailed the report as a vindication
that the minimum wage would result in at
least 16 million Americans getting a raise,
which in turn would benefit the economy
through increased spending.
On one level, the controversy over the
CBO report only highlights the narrowness of the minimum wage debate to date:
adverse employment effects v. anti-poverty
benefits. But on another level, it is typical
of the type of cost-benefit calculus, which
itself is too narrow. The only costs really
considered are employment, specifically
among low-skilled workers. Meanwhile,
the only real benefits considered are those
that accrue to the low-wage labor market
earning either the minimum wage or
wages around the minimum. And yet,
there is a broader calculus that needs to be
taken if we, as a political community, truly
seek to formulate policy that truly reflects
the collective will of the people.
The problem with a narrow costbenefit analysis is it invariably misses the
larger social costs associated with paying
workers low wages, and the larger social
benefits that may accrue when those
workers are paid a liveable wage instead.
First, let’s consider what the CBO report
actually said. It did not say that a million
jobs would definitely be lost. Rather, it said
it could happen. In this vein, it appeared
to be acknowledging that the data on the
effects of the minimum wage have been
ambiguous at best. Rather than ambiguity being a justification for doing nothing,
it ought to be an opportunity for policy
experimentation. The report entirely was
also not clear about just what it meant
to talk about with respect to a lower
employment.
Lower employment could result
from three possibilities: 1) employers lay
workers off in response to a higher wage
floor, in which case the lower employment
is a “disemployment” effect; 2) A higher
minimum wage might lead employers
not to create new jobs in the future, in
which case the lower employment is the
result of slower growth as individuals
are maturing and getting ready to enter
the labor market; and 3), a higher wage
might attract individuals who had previously shunned the labor market back into
the labor market in search of the higher
paying jobs, in which case the lower
employment is a function of more workers
chasing the existing supply of jobs. In this
Continued on page 9
RP westchester guardian mar 6.qxp_Layout
PUBLIC POLICY
Social Costs of Paying Low Wages
When people are poorly paid we are
able to see the social costs more acutely
in the nation’s cities where the effects of
poverty are most visible. Of course, it is
also in these same decaying urban areas
that crime rates tend to be higher. Society,
then, has to bear the additional cost of
incarceration.
When all of these social costs are
tallied up, it would appear that society in
effect is being asked to subsidize the profits
of low-wage workers’ employers. Now
if we can see what the true costs are, we
can also get a sense of just what the larger
social benefits to paying higher wages
might be: less reliance on public assistance programs, lower political anomie,
more civic engagement, healthier workers,
less incarceration because of lower crime
rates, and less urban blight. In tangible
terms, the benefits of paying higher wages
should translate into lower taxes because
of the reduced social costs. Moreover, a
workforce that is more self-sufficient and
less reliant on the largesse of others only
maintains the social fabric of the nation,
especially one predicated on the American
work ethic.
Economics is not dispositive; rather
it is about behavior and should serve as
no more than a fountain of information
in the larger policy calculus. There are
indeed social costs associated with paying
lower wages. We can either support those
at the bottom of the distribution through
higher confiscatory taxation needed to
provide the necessary subsidies because
their wages are too low or we can support
them by paying them a liveable wage that
will enable them to be self-sufficient and
live in dignity. At the end of the day, the
minimum wage is about the type of society
we would like to be.
Oren Levin-Waldman is professor of public
policy in the School for Public Affairs at
Metropolitan College of New York ([email protected] ) and author
of several books on wage policy. They include
the just published: Wage Policy, Income
Distribution and Democratic Theory (http://
www.routledge.com/books/details/978041
5779715/#reviews); The Political Economy
of the Living Wage: A Study of Four Cities
(M.E. Sharpe 2005); and The Case of the
Minimum Wage: Competing Policy Models
(SUNY Press 2001). He is a researcher for
the Employment Policy Research Network
(EPRN), and some of his work can be found
at http://www.employmentpolicy.org/people/
oren-levin-waldman.
SPORTS
Local Ukrainians Play Soccer While Keeping an Eye on Events in Homeland
By RANDY VOGT
The US Men’s National
Team was scheduled to play
Ukraine in an international
friendly in the eastern
Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
on March 5 but the State Department put
out a warning on travel to Ukraine and the
game was moved to Cyprus.
Here in New York, local Ukrainians are
playing their favorite sport while keeping a
wary eye on their homeland. The Yonkers
Ukrainians, sponsored by SUMA Federal
Credit Union (www.SUMAfca.org),
play their home games at Tibbetts Brook
Park and currently have a 2-4-0 record in
the Blue Division of the Eastern District
Soccer League (EDSL) plus their Reserve
Team’s home field is at Saunders Trades
and Technical High School in Yonkers.
Men’s team defender Sergiy Fedorov grew
up in Yalta on the Black Sea and came to
the United States for the first time in 2002.
“A big thanks to our Parks Department
for letting our Reserve Team use Saunders,”
Sergiy said, “I am very proud that Eastern
New York is concerned with what is happening with Ukrainians, who are fighting
for their freedom and their rights.”
Another major Ukrainian team in the
metropolitan area is New York Ukrainians,
playing at McCarron Park in Greenpoint
and sporting a 6-3-1 record in Division
2 of the Cosmopolitan Soccer League
(CSL). Although the Ukrainian teams play
in different leagues, they have played one
another in the Yonkers men’s tournament
in June.
The coaches of both the Yonkers
Ukrainians and New York Ukrainians have
much in common as they both were born
Page 9
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LEAF EMERGING ARTIST SERIES
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Thurs, Mar. 13 @ 7:30PM
With Special Guest
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Guitarists of All Time!”
CLARK CONSTRUCTION COMEDY SERIES
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Sun, Mar. 30 @ 8PM
Former SNL cast member
and “One of Comedy Central’s 100 greatest standup comics of all time.”
in Germany, immigrated to the United
States decades ago, are very proud of their
Ukrainian heritage yet they have very different views on the current situation.
Yonkers Ukrainians coach Nicholas
Skirka said, “(Former President)
Yanukovych robbed the country, stuffed
his pockets with money which he sent
to Switzerland. Ukrainians fought
Communism for over 70 years and were
imprisoned and starved to death going
against a tyrant government. We are
going from the Soviet Union to a Russian
Empire and Ukraine is still not totally free.”
“The Ukrainian country is bankrupt,
cannot function economically and not
Yonkers Ukrainians team.
many countries want to deal with us. A
trade association with the European Union
seemed like a good idea and yet it was not
approved. That trade association could act
as a bridge between Europe and Russia
and I think this collaboration would satisfy
everyone’s needs,“ Coach Skirka added.
“Ukraine needs to set up a more democratic and pluralistic country if it wants to
survive.”
New York Ukrainians coach Steve
Kovalenko, an Eastern New York Hall of
Famer, struck a more conciliatory tone.
“The situation in Ukraine does not
look good,” commented Coach Kovalenko.
“I speak both Ukrainian and much Russian,
ROCK SERIES
talk to my friends there and you have to see
both sides, from those in the Ukrainianspeaking western portion of the country
to those who speak Russian in the eastern
part of Ukraine. It’s a very difficult situation and there are people trying to divide
the country in two which is obviously not
a good thing.”
The Ukrainian teams, like much of
New York soccer, resume playing outdoor
soccer next month which will provide
a nice respite from concerns about the
volatile situation in their homeland.
Randy Vogt is Eastern New York Youth Soccer
Association Director of Public Relations.
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Sat, Mar 22 @ 6:30 & 9:30PM
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Page 10
TABOO
What Is It Good For?
By LUKE HAMILTON
According to Wikipedia,
the origin of the word
“taboo” is found in either
the Tongan or Fijian
language. When James
Cook visited Tonga in 1777, he wrote,
“Not one of them would sit down, or
eat a bit of any thing… On expressing my surprise at this, they were all
taboo, as they said, which word has a
very comprehensive meaning; but, in
general, signifies that a thing is forbidden.” Taboo has come to mean anything
which is distasteful or unmentionable in
society. Subjects considered taboo have
varied drastically throughout history. In
Victorian England, the legs of furniture
and pianos were covered so that the
sight of “naked” legs would not disturb
the ladies. In India’s caste society, the
lowest status a person can achieve is to
belong to the ranks of Untouchables.
These poor people are so taboo that they
cannot even be touched by members of
polite society. Are taboos an example of
cultural fuddyduddyism? Or does the
concept of taboo actually serve a purpose
in society?
In America, subjects which have
traditionally been taboo are increasingly
celebrated. The use of mind-altering
drugs is viewed as a viable medical
treatment or a recreational alternative to
boring old sobriety. President Obama has
recently stated that he believes anal sex
is a “fundamental freedom and universal
human right”. Pornography is no longer
a taboo subject but seen as a glamorous
lifestyle and a valid career choice for
enterprising young women. Pedophilia
is no longer execrable sexual deviancy,
but an illness in which the patient has
no control over their sordid appetites
and deserves our sympathy. They are no
longer called pedophiles or pederasts, but
MAPs (Minor-Attracted Persons) to
diminish the stigma of those “born that
way”. Americans who feel the urge to
dress like the opposite sex or have their
bodies cut to mimic the other gender
receive special privileges, including the
use of whichever bathroom they choose
and “gender reassignment” surgeries
which are now covered by many company-sponsored insurance plans. These
subjects, once taboo in America, are now
gracing covers of magazines and leading
parades down Main Street.
Is anything in America considered taboo anymore? Surprisingly, yes.
Speaking about your religious beliefs
(read: Christian beliefs) in public is
very much taboo. Expressing doubt
about “settled” scientific theories such
as androgenic global warming and
macro-evolution are taboo. Monogamy
and abstinence are viewed as unrealistic and unachievable. The concept of a
nuclear family is denigrated as sexist and
oppressive. Also deplorable is the desire
to protect yourself and your family via
firearm ownership and support for a
strong military to protect our country
from harm. These traditional beliefs are
the object of scorn despite being held
by mainstream America not long ago.
Nearly everything which contributed to
the formation of America is now taboo,
while the debauched skeletons from the
closet bask in the approval of the masses.
Anthropologically-speaking,
a
lot can be learned about a culture by
studying what they considered taboo.
Biblical skeptics are quick to scoff at the
Mosaic Law contained in the books of
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and reiterated in the book of Deuteronomy. They
bray at the statutes which forbid the
use of clothing with mixed fibers and
the prohibition of trimming the sides
of one’s beard. They look at the surface
of the statues, disregarding the meaning
and purpose underneath the law and
the greater significance for the Israelite
nation. As our scientific understanding
of this world increases, we are finding
that many of these laws had practical
purposes behind them. For instance, the
strict laws surrounding what meat was
acceptable and unacceptable for a Jew
to consume was revolutionary. Today
it is understood that pork frequently
carries a parasitic roundworm which can
infect the consumer unless it is carefully
prepared, but during the time of Moses
this knowledge belonged to God alone.
Beyond the practical purposes
behind these laws, the primary reason
the Mosaic Law defined certain things
as acceptable and certain things as taboo
was to distinguish the Israelite culture
from the surrounding nations. God
wanted His people to demonstrate their
faithfulness to His will by adhering to
His law. Many of the Israelites would
have agreed with the scoffers of today
who think that the Law seems arbitrary
and silly. They flouted God’s commandments, reveling in the forbidden
practices of the nations around them,
and consequently forsook God’s blessing
and protection.
Taboo does serve a purpose in a
civilized society. It can punish sociallydetrimental behavior. Until recently, the
sexualization of children was rightly
considered among the most taboo of
all topics. The emotional and spiritual
damage, to say nothing of the physical
damage, done to children who are
sexually abused has a detrimental effect
on society because victims of abuse are
more likely to perpetuate the pattern
of abuse on other victims later in life.
On the flipside, taboo also serves to
encourage socially beneficial behavior.
In cultures where adultery is verboten,
marriage is taken more seriously and the
family is stronger as a result.
Lastly, when the boundary between
acceptable and unmentionable is
clearly-defined, society rests on a more
stable foundation. When society is
stable, tyranny is a much harder sell.
But when everyone draws the line in a
different place—or erases all lines they
see—society is fractured. This leads to
disenfranchisement and resentment,
which opens the door for those who
prey on such things. There is a clear case
to be made for adherence to taboo in
a society. Far from being a puritanical
purge on fun and recreation, it clearly
defines what should be tolerated and
what should be abhorred. When that
definition is twisted or removed, we
become unmoored and vulnerable to
those dark influences which seek chinks
in the armor of a healthy society.
Luke Hamilton is classically-trained,
Shakespearean actor from Eugene, Oregon
who happens to be a liberty-loving, rightwing, Christian constitutionalist. When
not penning columns for ClashDaily.
com, Hamilton spends his time astride the
Illinois-Wisconsin border, leading bands of
liberty-starved citizens from the progressive gulags of Illinois to [relative] freedom.
Hamilton is the creative mind/voice behind
Pillar & Cloud Productions, a budding
production company which resides at www.
PillarCloudProductions.com. He owes all
to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, whose
strength is perfected in his weakness.
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Mr. Gates Is In The Building!
Microsoft Returns to Earth Somewhat – Part 3
By JOHN F. McMULLEN
With the settling of
the anti-trust suit and
the demise of Netscape,
Microsoft was on top
of the technology world. The sales
of personal computers had exploded
and a large percentage of them were
sold with the current version of the
Windows operating system installed,
bringing Microsoft a royalty on each
one sold (while sloppy writers still referred
to these units as “PCs,” ignoring the fact
that Macintoshes were also personal computers, the standard reference to these
computers within the industry was
“Wintel” – meaning computers based on the
Intel chip set). Additionally, the components of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel,
and PowerPoint) were the largest selling
programs of their class, both on WinTel
and on Macintosh systems.
Cracks, however, were beginning to
appear in the walls of the empire:
Other Web Browsers which ran as
well on Windows as on the Macintosh
began to appear – “Opera,” “Firefox,”
Apple’s “Safari,” and more recently
Google’s “Chrome” (my favorite). This
did little to decrease Microsoft’s profits
because its “Internet Explorer” was never
a chargeable item but is part of the operating system cost buried in the price
of the computer (or sold as an upgrade)
but did take away part of the Microsoft
luster (while disproving the logic of Bill
Gates’ contention at the beginning of “The
Browser Wars” that the browser had to
be contained in the operating system to be
efficient).
The appearance of “Open Source” –
and usually free – programs hurt much
more. The concept, originally developed
as an alternative to high-priced software
by Richard Stallman and his “Free
Software Foundation” (“FSF”), really
took off when Linus Torvalds, a Finnish
student at the University of Helsinki,
using the FSF tools and a copy of the
“MINUX” (a “UNIX-like” operating
system based on microkernel architecture
developed by Andrew Tanenbaum for educational purposes), developed a UNIX-like
operating system that would run on
Intel 386 and above chips (UNIX
systems had previously only run on minicomputers or expensive and very powerful
microcomputers). Torvalds put the new
system, which he named “LINUX,”
online (including the “C” source code for
the system), and made it free to be downloaded and used. He further encouraged
users to modify the code for their uses
and, if they felt that they could enhance
the overall system components (file
management, e-mail, etc.) to submit their
changes to a committee for review and
possible inclusion in the next release of
the system. The story and the idea of
LINUX spread like wildfire and hackers
and other software aficionados began
using and modifying LINUX (Richard
Stallman has never been happy that the
FSF tools – and, perhaps, him personally – did not receive the credit that he
deemed appropriate for the development of
LINUX). While most businesses were
not willing to move their desktop users
from a Windows platform to LINUX,
which would have required both finding
applications that ran under LINUX
to replace the Windows applications
(most notably Office), they often were
willing to replace their use of “Windows
NT” servers with LINUX ones – both
ran using “Ethernet” protocols and the
transition would be transparent to the
Continued on page 11
Page 11
just behind Apple and Google. Its new
products such as the “Surface Pro 2”
(on which this is being written) and
its movement into “The Cloud” with
“SkyDrive” (available for all platforms)
shows that it is still a company to be
reckoned with. Only time will tell whether
the return of one of the brightest people that
I have even known in the industry will
herald a new chapter of success for the firm
he co-founded.
(Next week – The 100th article; Part
4 of this series will follow at a later date.)
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.
CREATIVE DISRUPTION
Mr. Gates Is In The Building!
end user. This movement did cut into
Microsoft sales.
A German company, “StarDivision”
developed a proprietary alternative
to Microsoft Office,”StarOffice.” In
1999, Sun Microsystems, acquired
StarDivision for $59 million dollars,
saying that the price was cheaper than
licensing Microsoft Office for its 42,000
staff (ff those numbers don’t seem to work,
there was a little more to it -- the majority
of their employees had to have both a UNIX
system for their products and Wintel one
for administrative purposes. The use of
StarOffice would allow Sun to not purchase
new Windows machines.). On July 2000,
Sun announced that it was making
the source code of StarOffice available
online for download with the intention of enhancing the Open Source
community and offering a free and
open alternative to Microsoft Office.
The new project was to be housed at
openoffice.org and named “OpenOffice”
(Sun gave up the maintenance of the site
in 2011, a year after its acquisition by
Oracle Corporation.) IBM, still perhaps
piqued with Microsoft after the OS/2
fiasco, gave away thousands of copies
of StarOffice to its corporate clients
(in spite of the fact that it competed with
its own “Lotus Suite”). OpenOffice
contains a word processor (“Writer”),
a spreadsheet (“Calc”), a presentation application (“Impress”), a drawing
application (“Draw”), a formula editor
(“Math”), and a database management
application (“Base”) – more components
than in the basic Office Suite which
only includes the first three—and is
available for Windows, LINUX, and
Macintosh systems. Although Oracle no
longer supports OpenOffice, Apache
has taken over both the maintenance
and the website and similar systems are
available with the names “NeoOffice” and
“LibreOffice”.
The agreement with the Department
of Justice led Microsoft to provide interface formats to other software companies
and that led Office component competitors to be able to input files created in
Word, Excel, etc. and to output files in
the same format. This allowed users of
OpenOffice to write out files that could
be read into Word, Excel, etc – this is
very useful for students and freelancers
who can develop reports and the like and
then can display or print them through a
university or client computer which has
Office installed. It also allowed Apple, in
spite of the fact that
Microsoft Office components are
the most purchased programs for the
Macintosh, to develop its own suite
(“Pages”, “Numbers,” and “Keynote”) for
the Macintosh and iPad. All of these
products have an effect on Microsoft
Office sales.
Microsoft forayed into many areas,
apparently expecting to dominate them
and fell short. It purchased WebTV to
compete with AOLTV in an attempt to
dominate “set top boxes,” which many saw
as the application of the future (while this
thrust fizzled out, it may have provided the
forerunner to its successful XBox product).
It also set up MSNet as a competitor
to AOL, created “Microsoft Messenger”
(“MSM”) as a competitor to AOL and
Yahoo’s Messengers, and purchased an
e-mail system, “Hotmail,” to compete
once again with those firms. In each
case, its market penetration fell short of
expectations (and now Google’s “Gmail,”
dominates the e-mail landscape).
It also went into the handheld
market with the “Pocket PC” to compete
with Palm, the leader in the market at that
moment. The inclusion of a version of
Office on the units seemed to guarantee
its success – but the units from Compaq,
Hewlett-Packet and others were too big
and clunky to be comfortable in pockets
and Palm continued to dominate
until the iPod and iPhone came along.
Microsoft further went into the cable
television business, in partnership with
NBC, to form MSNBC and compete
with CNN. The plan to mix technical shows with news did not work
out. Fox came into the market with a
Conservative bent, and MSNBC soon
turned into a political platform with a
Liberal slant. Microsoft then bowed out
of the business.
When Steve Jobs returned to
Apple, the firm was close to bankruptcy. Ironically, it was Gates who was
instrumental in saving Apple by having
Microsoft invest $150 million in Apple.
At that time, Apple’s valuation was
less than $9 billion while Microsoft’s
was $556 billion (the firm, dependent
on market moves, was often the most
valuable company on earth). The rejuvenated Apple improved the Macintosh
line, developed the iPod, IPhone, and
the iPad and ranked in 2013 as one of
the most valuable companies on earth
with as valuation of $509 billion. At the
same time, Microsoft’s valuation was
$320 billion.
Microsoft was not prepared for the
rise of the “Search Engine” and certainly not for the success of the fledging
Google. By the time it recognized the
importance of the Search Engine and
introduced “Bing,” it was coming from
behind – and has not caught up.
For all of the above, Microsoft is
still a very important company in the
information processing world, running
John F. McMullen is a writer, poet, college
professor and radio host. Links to other
writings, Podcasts, & Radio Broadcasts at
http://www.johnmac13.com.
Westchester
Community
for Humanistic
Judaism
Invites You To A
FESTIVE
PURIM
CELEBRATION
Come and Enjoy!
READING OF THE MEGILLAH humanist style with noisemakers
MUSIC AND SINGING WITH JOYFUL SOUND
LIGHT REFRESHMENTS
FUNNY PURIMSPIEL
WHEN–SATURDAY, MARCH 15, AT 2:00 PM
WHERE–COMMUNITY UNITARIAN CHURCH,
468 ROSEDALE AVE, W.P.
Suggested donation of 5 dollars is welcome Participants are also
requested to bring canned or packaged for food drive as part of the
Jewish tradition (Shalach Monos) for the needy.
Visit wchj.org Call Charlotte Klein 914-218-8535
Page 12
EYE ON THEATRE
Ruhl And Ibsen
deplore, manages as SHE to be by
turns comic and pathetic, amorous
and awkward, absurd and believable,
changing from one to the other as
quickly as a stage lover becomes a reallife one or vice versa. Not quite so good
is Dominc Fumusa as HE, a bit too
boyish and also a trifle raw. But I thoroughly admire Daniel Jenkins, Michael
Cyril Creighton and Patrick Kerr in
supporting roles.
Neil Patel has designed the vivid
scenery, Susan Hilferty the nifty
costumes, and Rebecca Teichman has
directed with pungent authenticity.
Sarah Ruhl can be an annoying playwright or a genuinely amusing one; here,
felicitously, she is the latter.
VENUE: Playwrights Horizons,
416 West 42nd Street, New York,
NY 10036. Tickets by phone: (212)
564-1235.
Production photos of “Stage Kiss”
by and courtesy of Joan Marcus.
By JOHN SIMON
Sarah Ruhl’s “Stage Kiss”
neatly juggles several
themes. It plays for a
sizable part in a rehearsal
studio where a play within
the play is having its final audition. As it
happens, the cast’s leads, the lovers Ada
Wilcox and Johnny Lowell, are to be
played by actors labeled HE and SHE,
former real-life lovers. SHE is now a
wife and mother returning after a long
absence to the stage; HE has lately been
a sculptor in Sweden. Neither of them
knew they were to play opposite an old
flame.
As “Stage Kiss” progresses, we are
meant to find it hard, if not impossible,
to figure out which scene, or even which
line, comes from the stage lovers, and
which from the former real ones. But
clearly HE and SHE fall in love anew,
despite her very understanding husband
and his new eager young teacher girlfriend. There are to be stage kisses both
passionate and farcical, the latter when
Kevin, a gay understudy, is kissing SHE
Daniel Jenkins, Dominic Fumusa, and Jessica Hecht PC Joan Marcus.
Jessica Hecht and Dominic Fumusa.
as if he were trying to eat her. Even HE
and SHE must practice a stage kiss over
and over again under the watchful eye
of their director, Adrian Schwalbach, a
droll, savvy figure.
Many kisses are to come, but which
are theater and which are life—or is
there very little difference between the
two? Other questions are raised. Does
the old real-life romance survive in the
lovers’ memory, and does the past bleed
into the present? And what does the
renewed passion portend for the future?
Might SHE leave her good husband
for the erratic but more exciting HE?
Ad what does it mean that a real-life
daughter is combative and foulmouthed,
whereas a stage daughter is all sweetness
and light?
Punctuating such principal plot
elements are sardonic vignettes and
epigrams about the theater, specific performances, marriages and relationships,
Dominic Fumusa, Jessica Hecht, and Clea Alsip.
parents and children, sex on stage versus
sex on the screen, handled with sophisticated dialogue that can be both witty
and even touching, as when one person
is threatened with imminent death from
cancer. SHE exclaims, “When I kissed
you just now did it feel like an actor
kissing an actor or a person kissing a
person, because I’ve kissed you so many
times over the last few weeks I’m starting
not to know the difference.”
There is good writing. Ada pleads,
“We were happy, weren’t we?” To which
Johnny, “No, darling, but it was heaven—
being miserable with you.” Or take
the director’s “I think it’s a five-count
kiss—or maybe a three-count kiss—if
that helps.” Or gay Kevin worried about
kissing a woman onstage: “It’s not a
problem, obviously, I just have this awful
feeling that I’ll kiss this woman . . . and
everyone will be like: you know, yeah
right, whatever.”
Jessica Hecht, an actress I usually
The highly-touted 2012 Young Vic
production of Ibsen’s “A Doll’s House”
has crossed the ocean to the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, bringing along the
rapture of British reviewers for Simon
Stehens’s English adaptation, Carrie
Cracknell’s innovative staging, and,
above all, Hattie Morahan’s Nora, the
troubled heroine, Torvald Helmer’s “doll
wife.”
Let’s start with the title, referring
to the toy house inhabited by a doll,
which in England is indeed called a
doll’s house, but in America is, properly,
a dollhouse.
The possessive “doll’s” is misleading, making Nora into some sort of
proprietress instead of Torvald’s infantilized little woman. In the new version,
Torvald has enough avian nicknames
for her to populate an aviary, and Nora’s
passion for macaroons is modernized into chocolates. Otherwise, much
remains unchanged.
There is still the IOU for a loan
from the shady Nils Krogstad, to which
Nora signed her just dead father’s name,
Krogstad whom bank manager Helmer
fires, giving the job to widowed Kristine
Lind, a schoolmate of Nora’s. That loan
may have saved the ill Torvald’s life by
financing a trip to Italy, but now allows
Krogstad to blackmail Nora. There is
also the Helmers’ family friend, Dr.
Rank, secretly in love with Nora, and
dying of a dread disease. And there is
the renewed bond between Kristine and
Page 13
EYE ON THEATRE
Ruhl And Ibsen
Krogstad, which could save Nora, but
she now wants the truth out.
There is also Nora’s growing awareness that neither Torvald’s smotheringly
patronizing love, nor even the charm
of her children, has done anything but
inhibit her human potential for selfrealization. She finally walks out on the
desperately imploring Torvald to face a
new independence.
A good trait of this production is
Ian MacNeil’s scenery, which keeps
revolving among the several rooms of
the Helmer apartment, and gives the
complex story a more varied, fuller
scope. This revolve is accompanied by
Stuart Earl’s ominous music, and dramatically lit by Guy Hoare. And even
Nora’s famous tarantella proves more
of a cry for help than a bit of playful
conjugal relief.
Hattie Morahan’s ecstatically
reviewed Nora strikes me as disappointing. She comes across as the heroine of
a horror movie trapped in a haunted
house. She flutters and fidgets, her upper
body listing awkwardly forward, her
voice now a squawk, now a rasp, and
her entire persona that of a berserker,
turning a dollhouse into a madhouse.
For me, the definitive Nora remains
Claire Bloom. The smug Torvald of
Dominic Rowan, on the other hand,
is brilliant, and Caroline Martin’s concerned Kristine is also impressive.
Carrie Crackwell’s direction makes
excellent use of the turntable’s several
acting areas, as, for instance, locating
the final parting ironically in a bedroom.
Even if the Nora is not the heralded
wonder, the production is well worth
attending for other reasons.
Hattie Morahan as Nora and Steve Toussaint as Dr. Rank.
Mr. Simon holds a PhD from Harvard
Production photos of A Doll’s House Ticket Services at 718-636-4100. NY
University in Comparative Literature and
217
by and courtesy of Richard Termine.
VENUE: Brooklyn Academy of John Simon has written for over 50 years on has taught at MIT, Harvard University,
Bard College and Marymount Manhattan
Art – BAM Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton
theatre, film, literature, music and fine arts
Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217. All in- for the Hudson Review, New Leader, New College.
person advance ticket purchase(s) can
Criterion, National Review, New York To learn more, visit the JohnSimonbe accomplished at the main box office
Magazine, Opera News, Weekly Standard, Uncensored.com website.
at the Peter Jay Sharp Building. BAM
Broadway.com and Bloomberg News.
Dominic Rowan as Torvald and Hattie Morahan as Nora.
Page 14
GovernmentSection
MENTAL HEALTH
Changes in NYS Mental Health
Trying to Provide Better Service with Less Resources
By GLENN SLABY
I do not know how this
will affect the mentally ill
community and their daily
suffering but we have a lot
of opinions.
Governor Andrew
Cuomo has implemented a plan to
redesign the mental health system. Ideally,
this should decrease overall cost, improve
the safety net and its treatment of the
afflicted and their families. The closing of
nine of New York State’s 24 mental health
in-patient facilities and the conversion to
‘hubs’ should save $43 million upon full
implementation. There will be five Office
of Mental Health (OMH) regions with
each region containing two or more
Regions of Centers Excellence (RCEs)
for a total of 15 RCEs. “RCE’s will be
regionally-based networks of in-patient
and community-based services, each with
a specialized in-patient hospital program
located at its center with geographically
dispersed community service “hubs”
overseeing state-operated communitybased services throughout the region.”
(Per NYS OMH Report, July 11, 2013.)
Westchester will be a ‘hub’ under the
Hudson River Region, headquartered in
Orangeburg, New York, providing adult,
child and adolescent in-patient services.
New York State spends twice the national
per-capital average on mental health.
Political office holders in the NYS
Legislature prevented facility closings in
the past. (And mental health is not the
only area facing closings. Some prisons
and juvenile detention facilities were
closed despite opposition.) At issue is
how much of a trade-off between quality
and cost is acceptable? Can the safety
net be strengthened or even maintained
in the face of financial challenges? Can
new ways and structures of implementing
services be successfully developed? Will
the 15 regions be separate and equal in
quality?
Quotes form New Windsor Police
Commissioner Michael Biasotti, in an
opinion-editorial letter (October 14,
2013, www.TimesUnion.com) stated,
“When psychiatric beds go down, incarceration goes up.” “Because OMH closes
state hospitals and refuses to make full
use of existing capacity, local psychiatric
hospitals become overcrowded. The psychiatrists are put under intense pressure
not to admit patients and to discharge
those admitted sicker and quicker to free
beds for new arrivals. Anyone well enough
to walk in and ask for help, is generally
not sick enough to be admitted.” “We
wait hours for psychiatrists to evaluate
them, only to find the doctor overrules
us and refuses to admit the patient. If
the individual is admitted, they will generally be discharged prior to being fully
stabilized or having effective community
services put in place.”
In December 2013, the NYS
Psychiatric Association gave notice of
the following developments: RCEs will
not take place until local communities
are ready, three of the nine hospitals will
now remain open until further notice and
two new children’s centers are to open.
Their position paper concluded: “Here in
New York, if we again embark on another
plan to “restructure” the state psychiatric
centers to achieve cost savings, we must
first plan, implement and adequately fund
an alternative state-operated “safety net”
to continue to provide crucial services for
those children and adults who currently
rely on the public hospital system before
we dismantle it.” Is there time and ability
to do such?
D. J. Jaffe of the City Journal said,
“Unlike community-based programs,
psychiatric hospitals cater to those who
need in-patient services, cannot survive
safely in the community, or who refuse
treatment. New York currently has about
4,000 state psychiatric hospital beds—
roughly 27 per 100,000 New Yorkers,
down from 600 per 100,000 in 1955. To
meet the generally accepted minimum
standard of 50 beds for every 100,000
people in a state, New York needs at least
3,000 more psychiatric beds. As a result
of the shortage, at least 9,000 mentally ill
New Yorkers are currently incarcerated
and thousands are homeless. Closing
hospitals and losing even more beds will
only make the problem worse.”
Continuing, Jaffe said, “Cuomo
hasn’t said what, if anything, will replace
New York State’s psychiatric hospitals
once they close, or what will happen to
the patients. The New York State Office
of Mental Health (OMH) is circulating a Regional Centers of Excellence
Plan containing lots of platitudes but
few details. What’s clear is that many
previously hospitalized patients will be
declared “recovered” and left to fend for
themselves. Others will be transferred to
distant facilities, making it hard for their
families to visit them. Anyone who gets
sick after the hospitals close will simply
be locked out.”
Positive reviews came from the following reports:
“While it is still very early in the
process of analyzing Governor Cuomo’s
budget proposal, the NYS Council
is pleased with the level of support
we received for most of our sectors
critical needs. I say ‘most’ because we
are deeply concerned that our workforce is once again being asked to defer
a Cost of Living Allowance(COLA)
that is badly needed,” said Lauri Cole,
Executive Director of the NYS Council
for Community Behavioral Healthcare.
“The Governor’s budget proposal does a
good job putting together a package of
investments that we hope will support
the rollout of managed care in our service
system. We are counting on the fact that it
is enough money to continue New York’s
commitment to guarantee access to care
through adequate networks composed of
behavioral health provider organizations
who know best how to meet the complex
needs of individuals challenged by an
addiction or mental health issue.”
“NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo’s
budget proposal for the coming fiscal year
addresses numerous long sought budget
priorities for NYAPRS members,” said
Harvey Rosenthal, Executive Director
of the New York State Association of
Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services.
“Since our origins in 1981, we have long
pushed for the state to move resources
from institutional settings like state and
Medicaid hospitals and adult and nursing
homes into the expansion of community
recovery services and supports. And we
have worked hard over the past 2 decades
to help championed the rise and growth
of a broad array of rehabilitation, employment, housing and peer run initiatives.
This year’s executive budget proposal represents the largest single investment and/
or reinvestment in community recovery
initiatives in decades. The OMH budget
increases by 1.6% or $52 million.”
With such diverse opinions, some
political, This reporter is at a loss at what
to believe or expect. As one with the
constant daily pain of mental illness, I
pray and hope all this leads to a better
system of growth and healing.
should be required to contribute towards the
new Tappan Zee Bridge construction.
THE OTHER OPTION: If upstate
won’t pay for a downstate bridge, downstate
shouldn’t have to pay for the 7 year capital
program projects listed on the Thruway
Authority’s website for work Under
Construction or Completed in the 3 Upstate
Divisions: Albany, Syracuse and Buffalo. The
total cost of all these projects is almost $1
Billion and that’s only for the most recent 7
years listed. A few examples of these projects
are shown below for each Division: There
are many other projects taking place around
the state that Westchester and Rockland
residents currently pay for. Equal rights for
upstate and downstate! The NYS Thruway
Authority should treat every part of the state
the same.
Mohawk River and over Barge Canal
Glenn Slaby is married and has one son.
A former accountant with an MBA, he is
a part-time freelancer contributing to The
Westchester Guardian. He struggles with
mental illness, yet works at the New Rochelle
Public Library and at St. Vincent’s Hospital
of Harrison, New York.
THE FEINER REPORT
Toll Discounts
By PAUL FEINER
It’s my hope that Governor
Andrew Cuomo and the
NYS Legislature will do
for Westchester/Rockland
motorists what they recently
did for motorists who reside in Staten
Island. The current automobile toll on the
Verrazano Bridge for people who don’t live
on Staten Island is $15, or $10.66 for cars
with E-Z Pass.
The toll will now be further reduced for
residents of Staten Island to $5.50 by the
Governor. Currently, those residents now
pay a discounted toll of $6 or $6.36, depending on how often they use the bridge. This is
a 37% (5.50/15.00) reduction from the $15
toll. When the Tappan Zee Bridge is built,
residents of Westchester/Rockland should
receive similar discounts. In addition, the cost
of the bridge should be paid for by the entire
NYS Thruway system users; not only motorists who use the Tappan Zee Bridge. I don’t
think this is fair! When work is done around
the state on other bridges and roads the
entire system pays for the work. If down state
residents are going to pay for upstate bridges
and road construction, upstate residents
Albany:
(1) $1.5 Million: Thruway Bridge over
Catskill Creek- Emergency Repairs
(2) $8.9 Million: Bridge Painting- 13
Bridges
(3) $99.7 Million: Exit 23-24- Pavement
Repairs & Bridge Painting
Syracuse:
(1) $127.9 Million: 1-690 (Exit
39-40) including 4 Bridges- Pavement
Reconstruction
(2) $8.3 Million: Thruway Bridge over
Buffalo:
(1) $6.0 Million: Grand Island BridgesSteel Repairs
(2) $91.2 Million: Hamburg to Silver
Creek- Pavement Repairs & Rehabilitation
of 4 Bridges
(3) $9.3 Million: Pembroke to DepewPavement Resurfacing
(4) $3.0 Million: State Police Headquarters
Paul Feiner is Greenburgh Town Supervisor.
Direct email to [email protected].
Page 15
remain at a distance, and keep your dog on
a leash. As docile as the deer may appear,
darted or undarted, they remain wild animals
with an instinct to startle and flee or rear up
and defend themselves if no other option
presents itself. Don’t give them a reason.
This is an exciting moment. This study
will draw substantial attention since so many
communities have the same problem, and we
are eager for it to run smoothly and effectively. If you have questions, please write me
or, if you see them, ask Rick or Kayla. The
website (here) will also have a full description
of our safety protocol.
be possibly considered. This places them on a
list that a village then requests when they are
ready to fill a position. The first three names
on that list that are interested in the position
are then interviewed. The candidate deemed
the best fit from the three interviewed is
then selected and offered the position.
In Hastings, that interview process
involves the Board of Trustees, the Village
Manager, and the Police Commission, a
group of volunteer residents appointed for
the express purpose of reviewing candidates
for various police openings. We interviewed
the three interested candidates with the top
scores last week - all sergeants within the
Hastings Police Department - and have
extended an offer to Sergeant Visalli, a fifteen-year veteran of the force and a resident
of Hastings who lives on Maple Avenue. He
will be sworn in as the new chief on March
10th. Sergeant Visalli brings a dedication,
thoughtfulness and skill to the job that
impressed the selecting committee. We look
forward to working with him and seeing
him grow into the challenges of the position.
We are proud of the level of service, professionalism, training and spirit of our police
force. We believe that Sergeant Visalli will
continue that tradition and seek to maintain
the high standards and further extend the
services we offer. There will be opportunities
to meet Sergeant Visalli in the upcoming
months. I hope you have a chance to introduce yourself and welcome him to the new
responsibilities he faces.
MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR
The Deer Study and A New Police Chief
By Mayor PETER
SWIDERSKI
Last weekend, we began
the deer immune-contraception study in Hastings.
This email describes how
this will affect you and what you might see
as it unfolds over the month of March. Since
the darting will occur in Hillside Woods and
on the Andrus property (as well as other
locations), almost everyone is within range of
experiencing the process first-hand.
This effort will consist of two trained
Humane Society professionals (their names
are Rick and Kayla) who will be darting deer
with anesthetics in various parks in town.
The deer will be sedated by the drugs and
then be injected with the actual immunocontraceptive drug, have their ears tagged,
and then released.
First of all, we are going to ask that
anyone walking their dogs in Hillside
Woods strictly obey the leash laws during
the entire month of March. You should,
naturally, be obeying the leash laws at all
times (it is almost never fun to have a strange
dog jumping up on non-owners), but during
the duration of this study, we do not want
the dogs spooking the deer or interfering in
the darting. Leash laws (yes, we have them)
will be immediately enforced (no warnings).
1) Feeding
The Humane Society professionals
will be surveying the woods this week and
determining where best to start. They will
likely deploy a barrel-like device filled with
corn that will automatically dispense the feed
at certain times during the day. This device
will be unmistakable should you encounter
it, though it will have a sign indicating its
purpose for those not informed. The feeder
will quickly habituate the deer, who are quite
hungry by this point in the winter, to congregate for feeding. Please do not disturb the
feeders and please keep your pets away from
them as their scent may discourage the deer.
2) Restricted Park Access
On those days when the darting will
actually happen, we will restrict access to
those parts of Hillside where the darting will
occur. There will be yellow tape with clear
signs and possibly volunteers, village employees, or police officers who will be waving off
dog walkers and the curious. Please respect
the tape and the restricted access. The entire
park will not be off limits. This may be for a
couple of hours or it may be for much of the
day. It will depend upon the success we are
having in that location.
3) Darting
The darting professionals will wait until
they have a clean shot at a still deer when
the dart will hit the flank of the deer. This
typically happens at a distance of 25-35
feet. Upon impact, the dart will discharge
the anesthetic into the deer and remain
imbedded in the deer because of barbs in the
dart needle.The deer will typically bolt at this
point, and run some distance from the site of
the darting. The professionals will not pursue
the deer for several minutes as they will want
to give the anesthetic five or ten minutes
to take effect. If the deer is out of sight, the
Humane Society professionals will use a
radio receiver to home in on the radio beacon
that is a part of the dart still imbedded in the
deer. This radio receiver device looks like
something out of a cold-war era movie, a
metal loop on a stick attached to a box. If you
see a man or woman in an orange reflective
vest walking through the woods or down
the street holding such a device over their
head, you will know what you are looking
at. Very occasionally, the dart may become
dislodged. While the Humane Society professionals will do their level best to retrieve
the dart, on the off chance that they don’t but
that you encounter it, please do not touch it.
Instead, call the police (478-2344) and they
will vector someone in to retrieve it. This is
the moment where I should mention that
the darting professionals have done this over
3,000 times in a variety of settings and have
never had an accident.
4) Deer Treatment
The deer will eventually become sedated
and lie down. This may be in the woods, and
it also may be (depending upon how far the
deer ran) out in public, perhaps even in your
front or backyard. The deer, while sedated,
is not a predictable animal. PLEASE DO
NOT APPROACH THE ANIMAL. It
may not be fully sedated, and can rise up
and startle. If you do not have the Humane
Society professionals within sight, please
phone the police and report that you have a
sedated deer on your property (478-2344).
The Humane Society professional will be
there in a matter of minutes to process the
deer. They will first verify that the deer is
fully sedated and if not, ensure it is so by
additional injections. Then the professionals
will tag both ears with very large and visible
tags, carry out some measurements, and then
inject the deer with the immune-contraceptive. The deer will take some time to revive
(20-60 minutes). The Humane Society
professional will remain near the site until
the deer is conscious and ambulatory. At no
point in this process should you approach
the team: they are working and the deer may
come to unexpectedly.
5) Deer Release
The deer will amble off with its new
ear-tags and hopefully not calve new fawns
in the subsequent two years. It may decide to
lie down a little later and sleep off the anesthetic. Do not worry about the deer: that is
normal and it will be fine.
Over the course of four weeks, we hope
to treat a substantial number of the does in
these woods. This is really the first trial run
of the study, and if we succeed in treating
20-30 does, it will be a fine first effort. You
may land up wondering why you continue to
see so many untagged deer. Remember that
only does are being treated, so a substantial
portion of the untreated deer are going to be
males (“bucks”) or juveniles.
This study will progress through the full
month of March. You’re likely to encounter
Rick or Kayla throughout the month in
their signature orange vests, possibly carrying
darting gear or their radio antennas. They’ll
be pleased to explain what they are up to - up
to a point. Remember that they have a job
to do and please allow them the time to do
it. They’ve done this in wild and suburban
locations for many years and have never had
an accident or major issue. Their primary
concern is your safety, and they will let deer
walk by if they think there is any remote risk
to resident or wayward pet. But we want
their effort to be successful and ask that you
respect the yellow tape, respect requests to
-
A New Police Chief
One of the primary roles of local government is providing police protection to
the community. Our small and quite competent department of 21 is headed by Chief
Bloomer, a life-long Hastings resident and
most excellent man who has served the
village in the Police Department for thirty
years, during which he served as chief for the
past five years. All good things must come
to an end, and Chief Bloomer leaves us on
March 7th, heading off into retirement.
We’ll have the opportunity to wish him well
later: he’s led the department with a firm
hand and with great grace and intelligence
and he will be missed. His rapport with our
youth, his discretion, sensitivity and tact are
legendary and I have personally come to
deeply respect his leadership and consider
him a friend.
The position of chief of police is a civil
service position. It requires that interested
officers of the level of sergeant or higher must
pass a famously difficult civil service exam to
Peter Swiderski is mayor of the Village of
Hastings-on-Hudson. Direct email comment
and /or correspondence to mayor@hastingsgov.
org.
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Page 16
NEW ROCHELLE
New Rochelle Councilman Hyden Addresses City Issues By PEGGY GODFREY A continuous stream of
probing questions by residents were addressed by
Councilman Ivar Hyden
(D.) at the New Rochelle
Citizens Reform Club. On February
25, 2014, the first issue Hyden discussed
was the Forest City Residential project
whose Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) had just expired. (Note: Forest
City Residential backed out of a two
million dollar lawsuit against the City the
day after the meeting). Hyden expressed
concern about what should be done
now in the Echo Bay area. But he was
insistent that the City Yard needed to be
moved and he questioned how much the
residents of New Rochelle were willing to
pay for this move.
Almost immediately, Bob Petrucci
asked what in the city’s history had been
the best revenue source and Hyden
answered the Home Depot and Costco
development. A series of complaints by
residents about recent developments in the
city followed. However, Hyden insisted,
“If you don’t do anything, taxes will go up.” Petrucci wanted to know what development plans Hyden was promoting at this
time. Marino Michelotti followed, adding
that the city did not have money to do
something, e.g. to move the City Yard. While he did not blame Hyden, Michelotti
insisted many tax abatements lasting
20-25 years have been granted by the
same political party (Democrats). Echo
Bay, he continued, is not Main Street and
there are local retail stores “hanging on for
dear life.” Hyden answered the city’s part
of the residents’ real estate taxes is much
smaller than the school taxes (now 67% of
the total tax bill), and the lean city budget
has no place to be cut. He continued
City Hall is “short staffed.” In his view
there was nothing to cut in the city budget,
but he did not think this was the case at
the Board of Education and suggested
looking “closer” at this group because only
2,500 people voted for the school budget. Audience members asked to slow
down any possible movement on the City
Yard. Ron Tocci felt that if a decision to
develop the adjacent Armory had been
made five years ago the construction
would have been completed by now. There
is still no memorandum of agreement for
the Armory. There are now four finalists
with proposals for developing the Armory,
Hyden answered. At this point Rosemary
Spalin said “Hyden should stop listening to the Mayor.” She was answered by
Hyden that he had “tried to keep” his word
as an independent voice on council. Toxic waste still plagues the Echo Bay area and the new Commissioner of
Development has applied for clean up
funds. Turning attention to potential
development near the transit center, Hyden
felt this could help businesses in the
downtown. In his opinion the present
condition of the Armory is “a sin.” His
decision to run for council was influenced
by his personal analysis that he could do a
better job of representing the people who
lived in his district. He has “pushed back”
on his own party because he does not agree
with them on everything. One of his best
friends on the council is Republican Al
Tarantino. He and Al had gone around
the city to identify and report on where
city services are needed. Lorraine Pierce
wanted to know why commissioners were
not going around checking on conditions that needed to be addressed. Hyden
countered that the city only had one code
enforcement officer. However, Hyden did
agree that the commissioners needed to be
held accountable to a higher standard of
performance. John Karl added that the proposed
transit oriented apartments which Hyden
supports, would not pay their fair share of
taxes. Hyden agreed a new school would
have to be added if more apartments are
built. He also expressed concern about tax
abatements, saying the city must be careful
to only approve projects that produce
a profitable revenue stream for the city. In
his view the Montefiore Hospital takeover of the local hospital was a positive
development for the city. More recent developments, such
as the Trump Tower, were not felt to be a
positive influence on downtown businesses
by audience members and instead were
considered “a huge gamble.” Hyden
responded he was not an “urban planner”
and recounted how the city council had
considered a proposed Church-Division
Street apartment project but decided not
to support it because it was all residential. He concluded that council is much more
aware of these development problems
now. The temporary closing of the North
Avenue bridge was brought up because
it was suggested the Commissioner of
Development has not allowed the Traffic
Committee to meet. Hyden felt all
the ramifications of closing the North
Avenue bridge for two years needed to be
addressed. Peggy Godfrey is a freelance writer and
former educator.
WEIR ONLY HUMAN
Is Anyone Out There Listening To Us?
By BOB WEIR
It often seems as though we
the people have no control
over our government. We
feel powerless in the face
of the huge bureaucratic
behemoth that reaches into every facet of
our lives. Our elected representatives often
appear distant, except every few years when
they need our votes to stay in office. Average
Americans tune in to the national news on
one of the popular mediums and can only
shake their collective heads when told that
their country has a $17 trillion debt, the
healthcare plan they were satisfied with
has been taken away by force, unemployment is still too high, threatening an already
weak economy, and their country is unable
to protect its borders from a daily invasion
of interlopers. Those and many other
depressing stories will cause even the most
optimistic Pollyanna to change the channel
and search out a sitcom in order to calm a
raging pulse.
It’s the feeling of helplessness that turns
people into cynics, unwilling to participate
in the political process. “They’re all the same,
all they care about is feathering their own
nests,” is a frequent refrain from those who
have given up on the system. It’s hard to
blame them when the closest they ever get to
an elected official is when they receive email
or snail mail requests for money whenever a
campaign season is in full bloom. Moreover,
those requests are generally accompanied by
dire warnings. “If you want to preserve your
way of life, send a contribution to the only
candidate that can keep you from losing the
American dream,” is an example of a method
designed to elicit money by creating fear of
“the other guy.” Of course, the other guy is
saying the same thing about his fear-mongering opponent. You can attend any debate
and you’ll hear the candidates say their
opponent is lying. Excuse me, I mean you’ll
hear them say their opponent is not being
truthful. You see, it’s considered improper
protocol to say what you actually mean;
hence, euphemisms are tactfully weaved into
the discourse.
Perhaps all of the above is just a personal
expression of frustration. However, the good
news is that there are many honest and
forthright leaders in our orbit who don’t take
their positions for granted, and work assiduously every day to fulfill the promises they
made to their constituents. One such leader
is Texas Congressman Michael Burgess,
currently serving his sixth term and running
for his seventh. Prior to his election to the
House in 2002, Dr. Burgess had been a practicing physician in Texas for about 30 years.
Who would be better prepared to talk about
the Affordable Care Act (ACA) debacle that
has permeated every aspect of our lives and
put our healthcare system in turmoil? In his
book “Doctor in the House,” published in
2011, before the promulgation of the ACA
and the irritation felt by millions when they
tried to register online, Dr. Burgess wrote
on page 86: “In spite of the repeated mantra
during the debate over this bill – ‘If you
like what you have, keep it’ – the fact is that
nothing could be further from the truth.”
The congressman was simply stating
what should have been obvious to the
administration in Washington before they
proclaimed that which turned out to be
mendacity on steroids. Dr. Burgess stopped
by for a visit recently and we talked, among
other subjects, about the alarming trend by
our current Chief Executive to rule by fiat,
bypassing Constitutional safeguards which
allow for checks and balances in our federal
government. Attempting to enforce the laws
upon which this country was founded, Rep.
Burgess has co-sponsored a number of recent
bills. H.R. 442 STOP Resolution reads in
part: “Directs the House to institute legal
action to require the President to comply
with the law. The President has repeatedly
ignored this Constitutionally-mandated
duty.” Another bill, H.R. 3973, requires any
federal official who is not enforcing the law
to report to Congress and state the exact
reason for the non-enforcement. Other resolutions offered by Burgess include a demand
that the IRS stop targeting political beliefs,
and one that expresses no confidence in
Attorney General Eric Holder.
Nevertheless, while all these bills are
being considered, the president is issuing
Executive Orders that have the immediate
force of law. As for the ACA, many members
of Congress were given a choice to opt out of
the plan that was being foisted on the rest of
us mere mortals. Dr. Burgess exhibited the
integrity he’s become known for; he decided
to accept the same plan that’s being imposed
on his constituents. “Last October 1, at 3
a.m., I started signing up for ObamaCare. I
went online to see what it looked like. My
check cleared the bank on January 6. I wish I
kept a journal of the times I spent online on
hold with healthcare.gov,” Burgess said.
“In addition, it was the most expensive
insurance policy I’ve ever purchased. I’m in
the individual market. I bought a bronze
plan, which is the lowest level of coverage that
you can have and the deductible is astonishingly high. I’ve had health savings accounts
for years and was used to a high deductible,
but this is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Not
only was it was extremely difficult, but, at the
end of the day I have a $6,000 deductible.
If I were to go to the hospital at 3 a.m. for
an emergency procedure and get a bill for
$4500, guess what; I’m paying it all myself.”
Keep in mind, this is a US
Congressman’s experience with the new law
and he’s a physician, so, imagine how difficult
it is for the rest of us. We can only hope that
there are enough legislators in the House
and Senate to keep an eye on a government
that may be living up to the admonition: “A
government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough
to take away everything you have.”
Bob Weir is a veteran of 20 years with the New
York Police Dept. (NYPD), ten of which were
performed in plainclothes undercover assignments. Bob began a writing career about 12
years ago and had his first book published in
1999. Bob went on to write and publish a total
of seven novels, “Murder in Black and White,”
“City to Die For,” “Powers that Be,” “Ruthie’s
Kids,” “Deadly to Love,” “Short Stories of Life
and Death,” and “Out of Sight.” He also became
a syndicated columnist under the title “Weir
Only Human.”
Page 17
oriented toward Poland and its EU partners.
There is a very good argument that, historically, that is where it belongs.
Eastern Ukraine and Crimea are
another matter entirely. Only a quarter of
Crimea’s population is ethnically Ukrainian.
Crimea came under Russian control in the
19th century, in the Crimean war, and was
a nominally autonomous Soviet republic
before World War II. After recapturing the
peninsula from the Germans in 1944, Stalin
exiled the dominant Tatar ethnic group for
allegedly collaborating with the Nazis and
flooded the region with ethnic Russians.
Crimea only became part of the Ukrainian
Soviet republic after Stalin’s death, and that
was a distinction without much meaning
until after the fall of communism.
I am not prepared to say that Ukraine
should be divided. (It isn’t my country, after
all.) But I do not see why – apart from selfinterest – foreigners should say certainly that
it should not be, either. The violent breakup
of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is sometimes cited
as a reason not to divide existing countries.
But Czechoslovakia divided itself peacefully,
to resolve ethnic and regional tensions that
were not unlike those in today’s Ukraine.
Both the Czech and Slovak republics today
coexist peacefully within the EU. Dutchspeaking Flemish and French-speaking
Walloons are engaged in a long-running
discussion about partitioning Belgium,
whose capital, Brussels, is the EU’s very
seat. Even Scotland will hold a referendum
in September on the matter of separating
from Britain. In Spain, many in the prosperous Catalan region that includes Barcelona
support independence, an idea Madrid and
the EU are resisting, entirely peacefully.
All of these separations came, or would
come, with economic and political complications. None would be cost-free. Yet some
countries are left pretty much to their own
devices to weigh the pros and cons, while
others, such as Ukraine, must deal with
substantially more involved neighbors. If
there is a common thread, it seems to be that
rich countries get to decide their futures for
themselves, while for those with the misfortune to be both poor and strategically
situated, territorial integrity becomes a principle with fighting for.
Especially when someone else is doing
the fighting.
CURRENT COMMENTARY
Self-Determination, For Rich Countries
By LARRY M. ELKIN
Citizens of Ukraine – some
of them, anyway – gained
a remarkable if tentative triumph against their
domestic oppressors over
the weekend. Now they need to be on guard
against the machinations of foreign friends.
The departure from Kiev of Victor
Yanukovych and his government is widely
seen as a defeat for Russian President
Vladimir Putin and a corresponding
triumph for Western governments, especially the European Union. Yet on Sunday,
while Yanukovych remained at an undisclosed location and the Ukrainian legislature
busily appointed replacements for him and
his top ministers pending new elections this
spring, Russia and the West were in solid
agreement on one thing: Ukraine must not
be partitioned. Or, as German Chancellor
Angela Merkel said in a statement on her
website following a phone call with Putin,
the two leaders agreed that Ukraine’s “territorial integrity must be respected.”
Foreign leaders consider this principle so important that they are apparently
prepared to fight to the last Ukrainian to
defend it.
Their reasons are not difficult to fathom.
For Putin, Ukraine is more than just the
keystone of the association of former Soviet
states, which he wants to draw more firmly
into his political and economic orbit in order
to help maintain his global clout in an era in
which Beijing, rather than Moscow, serves
as yin to Washington’s yang. Because of its
control of Crimea and the port of Sevastopol
(where Russia has rights to base its Black
Sea fleet until 2042), Ukraine is Russia’s
gateway to the warm, strategically important waters of the Mediterranean. It also sits
astride the main routes for Russia’s lucrative
gas exports to Western Europe. Putin places
great importance on maintaining a Russianleaning government there.
But Ukraine, which is home to the
Soviet nuclear ruin at Chernobyl, has an
economy that is almost equally a wasteland. Its bureaucracy is ranked among the
most corrupt on earth, its industry consists
of subsidized Russian gas and thus cannot
compete with developed economies, and its
famous agriculture has not fully recovered
from communist mismanagement.
Europe has plenty of economic
problems of its own. The EU is still dealing
with the costs of absorbing many backward
eastern economies, including Merkel’s
native East Germany. There is little appetite
for financing Ukraine’s development, and
none at all unless the country agrees to
make dramatic reforms prescribed by the
International Monetary Fund. Europe wants
Russia to stay engaged with Ukraine so that
it can share the cost of national development,
at least by providing a market for Ukraine’s
industries. But it is a tab Putin is unwilling to
pay on Europe’s terms.
Both sides are acting inconsistently
when they insist that Ukrainians should
decide their country’s fate on the one hand,
while prejudging the question of whether
Ukraine ought to remain unified on the
other.
Politically, the nation is a hodgepodge
of territories that were thrown together amid
the various conflicts of the 20th century.
Consider the western, anti-Yanukovych
city of Lviv – not to be confused, as many
Americans do, with the Polish city of Lvov.
The confusion is understandable, though;
they are the same city. The allies agreed at
Yalta, late in World War II, that Stalin could
push Europe’s postwar borders westward,
so Lvov became part of Ukraine, and thus
the Soviet Union. German cities such as
Breslau and Danzig became the Polish cities
of Wroclaw and Gdansk, respectively. It is
little wonder that western Ukraine is heavily
Larry M. Elkin, CPA, CFP®, has provided
personal financial and tax counseling to a
sophisticated client base since 1986. After six
years with Arthur Andersen, where he was a
senior manager for personal financial planning
and family wealth planning, he founded his
own firm in Hastings on Hudson, N.Y., in
1992. That firm grew steadily and became the
Palisades Hudson organization, which moved to
Scarsdale, N.Y., in 2002. The firm expanded to
Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 2005 and to Atlanta
in 2008.
GOVERNMENT
What the Cluck is Going On with Rye’s Hen Island
By NANCY KING
It’s just a ten minute boat
ride from the waterfront
mansions that dot the
shoreline in Rye, but once
you set foot onto the tiny
30 acre Hen Island you would think you
are stepping onto an island that time
forgot. Hen Island, as a matter of fact, is so
small that most of the residents who live
on the mainland in Rye are unaware of its
existence. However, if you’ve ever driven
into White Plains via Rt. 119 you’ve
probably seen a van in a parking lot with a
full sized toilet on the roof. On the side of
the van is a painting of a whimsical piece
of poop wearing a sailor’s cap. Motorists
and commuters, meet Mr. Floatie, the
mascot of website www.healtheharbor.
com. The van, the toilet, Mr. Floatie and
the website belong to Hen Island summer
resident and environmental activist Ray
Tartaglione.
Tartaglione, who owns a towing
company in White Plains, has also owned
a summer cottage for over a decade on
Hen Island. He’s also been at war with the
island’s (their official name is the Kuder
Island Colony Corporation) governing board since around 2007. The crux of
Tartagione’s complaints is not the island
itself but with some of the summer residents, the Town of Rye and the County
of Westchester who have allowed some
summer residents to turn the island into
an environmental hazard. But the hazard
of this island extends well beyond its
shoreline; it’s affecting the residents of
the mainland, Mamaroneck, and quite
possibly New Rochelle as well. You see,
Hen Island has become the epicenter of
mosquito breeding. There is no electricity, no plumbing, no sanitation services, no
running water and no outside interference;
and that is just how many of the residents
want it.
Not long after Ray Tartaglione
purchased his tiny piece of paradise, he
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Page 18
GOVERNMENT
What the Cluck is Going On with Rye’s Hen Island
began to really come to understand that
this just wasn’t Paradise Lost; this was
more like the Island of the Damned.
Islanders collect their water from rainwater that rolls off their roofs and into large
cisterns. Take a hot muggy day, a little
seagull guano, and add it to the water you
are bathing and cooking with. Gross! The
average person would probably think it
quaint to collect your own water and sort
of live off the land. But what’s really scary
is the fact that nearly all of these watergathering receptacles are uncovered and
breeding mosquitos isn’t quaint at all. Just
the thought of standing water, bird poo
and mosquito breeding is making my skin
crawl and I don’t even live in the Sound
Shore area. And so years after begging,
pleading with the island’s board of
directors, and suing the Rye City Council
and others, nothing has been done about
the unsanitary conditions on Hen Island.
Well not exactly… there have been a few
inspections, but as usual in the land of
politics and political favor, those inspectors
were usually taken off the case or wrote
that there were no viable violations on the
island. So there you have it, the friends and
family network even reaches out into the
Long Island Sound.
The whole mosquito-gate thing is
pretty interesting to those who follow
county politics and municipal politics as
well. Former Rye Mayor Doug French
didn’t see it as a large problem and did
his very best to cover it up because it
would be politically unbeneficial for him
to do anything to correct the problem.
All he ordered was that residents of the
enclave would have to go out and purchase
composting toilets. The installation of
those toilets was never inspected and after
Superstorm Sandy, most of them were
washed away and are probably sitting at
the bottom of the Long Island Sound. The
rest of his well-connected city council also
adopted a hands off approach. All in all
they thought they would wear Tartaglione
down but that plan sure has backfired;
he’s all the more committed to not only
cleaning up Hen Island, but to exposing
the corruption that is keeping it filthy.
Last summer, Tartaglione enlisted the
help of Massachusetts-based Kimberly
King who is a licensed expert in the field
of mosquito infestation. While conducting studies on Hen Island she uncovered
fresh water mosquito larvae in the rain
collecting barrels, salt-water mosquitos
that live in the marshy high reeds that fill
with tidal water and the dreaded Asiatic
Tiger Mosquito known to transmit The
West Nile Virus. Ms. King actually lost
her 5-year-old daughter in the matter
of a week after being bit by an infected
mosquito and found that Hen Island was
so infested that she could barely complete
her studies there. When she reported her
findings to the Rye City Council, they
practically yawned in her face. The lack
of government intervention on the part
of Rye and Westchester County left Ms.
King no alternative other than to contact
the Center for Disease Control concerning raw sewage, mosquito larvae, and
the resident’s tradition of burying their
garbage and outhouse effluent. Yuck.
This reporter also had a question
aside from garbage, sewage and mosquitos
and that was concerning fire protection.
Since the cottage owners pay taxes to
Rye, included should be the 2% fire tax
that provides fire protection for taxpayers. The fire safety of these cottages is at
question. Most homes have large battery
packs, used for power and in most cases
are literally stored right next to multiple
propane tanks. What would happen if a
spark from a firing battery made contact
with a propane tank bank; the fire would
be disastrous. This could happen as well
during a freak summer lightning strike
anywhere on the island. With the amount
of debris and garbage on the island, the
destruction to the island in its entirety
wouldn’t take long.
And in a nutshell, there you have it.
Ray Tartaglione isn’t a nut-job nor is he a
guy who has a bone to pick with the Town
of Rye or Westchester County, he’s a guy
who sees a wrong and wants to make it
right. The classic case of just doing the
right thing has changed Ray Tartaglione;
he’s become a legitimate environmentalist.
Part 2 of this story will explore which
elected officials made promises they never
intended upon keeping and how they all
played Pass the Problem along.
Nancy King is a freelance writer.
GOVERNMENT
Big Brother Comes to White Plains While The Downtown Area Languishes
By NANCY KING
While the months of
February and March are
traditionally a quiet time in
municipal government, the
City of White Plains has
not only been quiet, but the city has been
pretty sneaky as well. This past week, residents and more importantly, small business
owners found out that they’ve now got to
install closed circuit camera systems in their
businesses. While having cameras can and
often does deter crime, the City of White
Plains has taken this idea that they’ve turned
into the law one step further; no camera and
no agreement to turn your tapes over to the
police department, and you’ll be looking at
15 days in jail and a hefty fine on top of your
decision not to film your daily business.
So, if you own a small pharmacy, check
cashing store, liquor store, pawnshop, deli,
restaurant, convenience store, or any other
small business, you had better be heading
out to Radio Shack to get yourself a camera
system. While calling around to the various
electronic stores it was pretty surprising
to find that a cheap system will set a small
business back financially to the tune of
about $ 2,500. If you are looking for a state
of the art system that you can view from the
comfort of your home, be prepared to spend
over $5,000.
Most business owners and customers welcome an extra layer of safety when
shopping or dining out, but sooner or later,
this extra layer of protection, punishable by
law if one doesn’t abide by it, will do something more than deter crime - it will drive
small business out of White Plains. White
Plains, which has always been the “pretty girl”
of municipalities and is also the county seat,
is having what looks like a bit of difficulty in
the area of local economic development.
This past winter has seen Mamaroneck
Avenue lose a spate of businesses, some
small, and others a part of larger chains.
Gone are Legal Seafood’s, Cheeburger
Cheeburger, The Energy Kitchen, Come
Sea Me, Duane Reade’s, a handful of cellular
stores, and a couple of yogurt stores. Food
establishments are tricky to navigate in
any economy but if you have a small eatery
or lounge, and then are forced to not only
install a high tech camera system but to also
to be ordered to turn your footage over to the
White Plains Police Department whenever
they request it isn’t going to be an award
winning recipe; it’s a recipe for disaster. Some
small business owners however, are speaking
out against the new “Big Brother” ordinance.
Stu Levine, owner of Vino 100, an upscale
wine shop on the corner of Post Road and
Mamaroneck Avenue spoke out recently at a
Common Council meeting where he stated
that he already had an adequate camera
system in place and to now place a camera
facing the sidewalk entrance to his store
would be cost prohibitive, and of course,
he would have to pass this added expense
on down to his customers. Levine, who
just happens to be a member of the White
Plains Business Improvement District,
might just be on to something here. You
having a dying downtown, the city came up
with a bonehead idea to make a few bucks
with Municipal Code 4-25 and City Hall
ain’t speaking.
Well, actually, City Hall is speaking.
Mayor Tom Roach has made a statement
that loss of small business is the nature
of small business…”it comes and goes”.
That sure doesn’t make any potential small
business start-up feel very secure about
coming to White Plains to launch their start
up. If I were a small business thinking about
locating to White Plains, you can bet I’d start
looking for an alternative site. In addition
to the obscene amount of money needed
to launch a start-up, I’d be real concerned
about the long arm of the law forcing me
to purchase expensive video equipment and
then turn it over to the police.
White Plains… you need to figure out
a way to make our downtown more inviting
and viable to both shoppers and storekeepers. We applaud you for your efforts to keep
all of us safe. We all know that in a post 9/11
world, we are all expected to have some of
our privacy rights compromised but seriously, is there ever going to be a day when
you can have a meal, buy a bottle of wine, or
get your phone upgraded without the government watching us? Apparently not in
White Plains.
Nancy King is a freelance writer.
MIDDLE EAST FORUM
Why Are Christians the World’s Most Persecuted Group?
By RAYMOND IBRAHIM
Why are Christians, as
a new Pew report documents, the most persecuted
religious group in the
world? And why is their
persecution occurring primarily throughout the Islamic world? (In the category on
“Countries with Very High Government
Restrictions on Religion,” Pew lists 24
countries—20 of which are Islamic and
precisely where the overwhelming majority
of “the world’s” Christians are actually being
persecuted.)
The reason for this ubiquitous phenomenon of Muslim persecution of
Christians is threefold:
Christianity is the largest religion in
the world. There are Christians practically
everywhere around the globe, including
in much of the Muslim world. Moreover,
because much of the land that Islam
seized was originally Christian—including the Middle East and North Africa, the
region that is today known as the “Arab
world”—Muslims everywhere are still
confronted with vestiges of Christianity,
for example, in Syria, where many ancient
churches and monasteries are currently
being destroyed by al-Qaeda linked, U.S.
supported “freedom fighters.” Similarly,
in Egypt, where Alexandria was a major
center of ancient Christianity before the
CALENDAR
News & Notes from Northern Westchester
By MARK JEFFERS
a winter forum on Saturday, January 11th,
THE
“WildWESTCHESTER
Flowers of the GUARDIAN
Wetlands and
One of the trickiest tasks Waysides? What Are We Losing? What
for us this winter season is
Can We Use?”
storing
the Christmas
decoMIDDLE
EAST
FORUM
Congratulations and good luck to our
rations in our garage while
friend Kenny Hayden as he has signed on
making room for the cars
with the University of Albany to play baseball
so we can plow our driveway. Good news to
and further his education next year…
report… Frosty
and 18
Santa are now driving fact that most Muslims who apostatize to
Continued
from page
first of the 2014 Home Gardening
our car, but we made enough room to shut other The
religions
overwhelmingly
convert
Lecture
Series
Anthony Veteran
Park
7th
Islamictoinvasions,
the century
door… Kudos
my wife. there
It wasstill
her to Christianity.at the
Finally,
if in
indigenous
in
Ardsley
will
be
“Right
Tree
the
Right
remain
at least
millionme
Coptic
Christians
planning
that 10
allowed
to finish
up this Christians are many in the Middle East,
Place, with Amy Albam.”
(though
some ofput
the &
number
week’s edition
“News
Notes.”at much because
thatSaturday,
is the cradle
of Christianity,
in
January
11th, the
higher).
sheeryou
numbers
A Due
big to
thank
goes alone,
out tothen,
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regionsEducation
with largeCenter
Muslim
populaArmstrong
will
host
indigenous
are for
much
Lions Club Christians
of Bedford Hills
theirmore
$500 tions, such as sub-Saharan Africa and Easta
workshop on the Wild Suburbia Project
visible
andtoexposed
to attack
Muslims
donation
the Bedford
Hillsby
Free
Library Asia,
have won
over
fromChristian
10am to missionaries
Noon. This project
captures
than
otheryouth
religious
groups throughout millions
to benefit
programs.
of information
converts toabout
the faith—many
important
local
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ass CNS
Grabworld.
your X’
s, Q’
and Z’News
s and puts
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their movement, and interactions. All are
it,over
“President
hopeHouse
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according
Islam’s citizen
anti-apostasy
encouragedtoto become
scientistslaw,
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th would give rise to greater
the
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rab
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on January 11 for the Katonah Scrabble which often calls for the death penalty.
help
record
sightings
of
all
the
wildlife here
religious
freedom
in
North
Africa
and
the
Tournament. Everyone is asked to register in
ChristianityCounty.
is the quintessential religion
in Westchester
Middle
whichand
hasscore
had sheets
the world’
s
advance,East,
equipment
will be
of martyrdom.
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its inception—beginIf you have a need
for speed and it
highest
level of hostility towards religion in
provided.
ning
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Jesus
followed
by hisdrive,
disciples
seems
the
way
my
daughters
thenand
you
every The
yearKatonah
since 2007,
when
Pew
first
began
Museum of Art is holding the early Church—many Christians have
will
want
to
check
out
Grand
Prix’
s
newest
measuring
finds3
six-session it.
artHowever,
workshopstheforstudy
children
accepted
martyrdom
rather than
addition for
racing enthusiasts
of allrecant
ages.
that
regions
actually
experienced
to 5these
five years
of age
through
January the
21st. their faith, in ancient times at the hands of
It
features
an
80
foot
long
slot
track with
largest
increase
in
religious
hostilities
in
For more information give them a call at Romans, in Medieval and modern times
adjustable speeds, promising fun for racers
2012.”
914-232-9555.
atofthe
of piousare
Muslims
others.
all hands
ages. Drivers
able toand
design
and
Christianity
is
a
proselytizing
faith
that
The Pound Ridge Library is holding Few
other
religions
encourage
their body
adher-in
build
their
own
custom
NASCAR
seeks to win over converts. No other major ents to embrace death rather than recant,
religion—including Buddhism, Hinduism, as captured by Christ’s own words: “But
and Judaism—except Islam itself has whoever denies me before men, I will deny
this missionary aspect (these faiths tend him before my Father in heaven” (Matt
to be coterminous with their respective 10:33; see also Luke 14:33).” Conversely,
ethnicities: Buddhists, Asians; Judaism, Islam teaches Muslims to openly renounce
Jews; Hinduism, Hindus). Thus because their faith (taqiyya)—not just when their
Christianity is the only religion that is lives are threatened, but even as a strataactively confronting Muslims with the gem of war—as long as they remain
truths of its own message, not only is it the Muslim in their hearts. Other religions
primary religion to be accused of proselytiz- and sects also approve of dissimulation to
ing but, by publicly uttering teachings that
preserve their adherents’ lives. Back in the
contradict Muhammad’s, Christians are 1800s, for instance, Samuel M. Zwemer, a
accused of blaspheming as well. Similarly, Christian missionary, observed that in Iran
this proselytizing element is behind the
Why Are Christians the World’s Most Persecuted Group?
GPNY’s Art Garage and then head for the
slot track. “Slot car racing is a logical extension to our existing racing-related offerings
and fits very well with our long term goal
of making Grand Prix a destination where
families, friends and corporate groups can
“Bahaism
taqiyya
(concealment
of
enjoy timeenjoys
together
doing whatever
it is they
faith)
as under
a duty,one
butroof.”
Christianity
demands
love, all
said Grand
Prix
public
hence in
it is far
New profession;
York’s Viceand
President
NatPersia
Mundy.
easierThe
to become
a
Bahai
than
to
become
a
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra will
Christian.”
be celebrating their 40th birthday with a
To on
summarize,
of their
at the Performing
concert
January 26thbecause
sheer
numbers
around the
globe, includArts Center
at Purchase
College.
ing the
Muslim
Christians
areisthe
A very
well world,
deserved
celebration
set
most
likely targets
Islamic2020
intolerance;
Bedford
will hold
for January
25th as of
because
sharing Celebration
the Gospel,honoring
or “witnessa Community
Lee
ing,”
is a dominant
of for
Christianity,
Roberts
for 20 yearselement
of service
the town.
Christians
are most
to fall afoul
of
You know
I will likely
be in attendance
at this
Islam’
s
blasphemy
and
proselytism
laws,
beer lover’s dream-come-true event... the Big
asBrew
evenNY
theBeer
barest
pro-Christian
talk is
Festival
at the Westchester
by
necessity
a
challenge
to
the
legitimacy
County Center in White Plains on February
of8th.Islam;
because
Muslimsbrews
whoto
There will
be overmost
200 different
apostatize
to other
try; I’m getting
thirstyreligions
already…convert to
Christianity,
as Christians
Calling it
all istweens
and teens,that
comethey
and
suffer
persecution;
and
because
boldness
in
make an awesome and adorable Penguin
face
of certain
death—martyrdom,
Backpack
Nametag
from Duct Tape dying
at The
for
theLibrary
faith—is
as old onasJanuary
Christianity
Field
in Peekskill
27th. It
itself,
Christians
prone
is a perfect
winteryare
wayespecially
to personalize
anytoof
defy
Islam’
s
anti-freedom
laws,
whether
your bags, backpacks, or luggage. All supplies
by openly proclaiming Christianity or by
refusing to recant it, and so they die for it.
First published in FrontPageMagazine.
com on February 28, 2014;
http://www.meforum.org/3779/
christians-persecuted
Raymond Ibrahim, author of Crucified Again:
Exposing Islam’s New War on Christians
(Regnery, April, 2013) is a Shillman Fellow
at the David Horowitz Freedom Center and
an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum.
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If Donald Trump runs for governor,
can I become the new host of “Celebrity
Apprentice”? See you next week.
Mark Jeffers resides in Bedford Hills,Page
New York,
19
with his wife Sarah, and three daughters, Kate,
Amanda, and Claire.
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PoliticsSection
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
Open Letter to Ed Cox
spoke, I saw the fearless soul of a man who
knew he had that unique quality and ability
do what others can’t do. I also saw in his eyes
and tone a familiar sensitivity, an empathy for
the plight of the masses, an opportunity to
do something significantly meaningful for
humanity, for his family, and for his dad’s
memory--time to form his legacy. His hesitancy is an asset, not a negative or publicity
stunt. He is certainly not the toxic caricature
the media paints. He is a successful and
likable man who will strategically deliberate
on the challenge because he can.
From that conversation, I was confident
that Donald Trump would run but it will be
on his terms. His instincts will determine the
pace, the time and the place of battle. He will
not follow the rules or terms of an old politic
led by the same narcissistic, self-serving
establishment.
Even after hearing from the base,
when I trounced Lazio with 64% of the
2010 primary vote, the RINO county chairs
didn’t show up for me. Trump won’t let that
happen to him.
After the 2010 Primary, a respected
friend was sitting outside the conference
room in New York City where you, Vinney
Reda, Jay Savino and the other RINOs on
the party executive committee discussed
and planned “laying down” on my campaign
because, if elected, I would bust up the
Albany establishment. He heard the entire
dialogue and drove all the way to Batavia
to tell me. It was business. I didn’t take it
personally.
Call it a draft, a rebirth, a reformation,
a revolution. Whatever it is, Ed, it will be
the beginning of a better day for the people
of the State of New York. A supermajority
weighted vote of the County chairs, representative of the will of the Republican/
Conservative rank and file, want Trump as
their candidate. Execute their will. Unite
the party. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Denounce the RINOs and put the deal
together to run Trump. If you don’t and you
chose to play more games, the rank and file
will no longer want you as their leader and I
will re-consider all of my options. Don’t take
it personally. It’s business.
To all New York State voters, feel free
to forward this memo to your friends and
family.
Joseph Celli Unafraid to Put Our Civil Servants in Harms Way
and asked them to incorporate the services
of select, skilled Department of Public
Works employees to do the job instead of
using an outside contractor to improve all
the firehouses in Yonkers. The argument
was that the DPW workers, under Celli’s
auspices, guidance, and scrutiny would allow
more workers to broaden their skills. In a
sense, employing the DPW workers would
be a win, win all around. The YFD, eager
to work with their compatriots at DPW
readily agreed. Celli’s convincing “spiel”
would prove to be a fraud.
Joe Celli used the business agreement
to foster patronage and favor on mostly
unqualified workers to rob the fire department of the renovation effort for which
they were engaged. Celli gave those workers
overtime everyday at the firehouse with
By CARL P. PALADINO
To reverse the downward
spiral of the Republican
Party in New York, I asked
Rob Astorino and you, to
clean up the Republican
Party and denounce all Republicans in
Name Only (RINOs), before the 2014
Gubernatorial campaign. In particular,
Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb,
must be called out for their past treachery to
Republican/Conservative Party principles,
including passage of the SAFE Act.
Shooting a cannon across the bow of
disloyal, lame and parasitical RINO legislators and party leaders will send a clear
warning and set the stage to energize and
rally the new anti-liberal, anti-Cuomo/Silver
voting base.
Conditioned to the politic of the past,
you refused to deal with the RINO treachery saying you wanted “party unity.” Really?
Well the great majority of Republican/
Conservative voters and I don’t want to be
united with RINOs like Skelos and Kolb,
Reda and Mondello.
A ritualistic, underfunded Astorino
candidacy doesn’t work for the rank and
file. Playing the same old game and hoping
for a miracle, instead of changing the rules
and making it happen, illustrates how the
Republican establishment has devolved
to be so brazenly disrespectful of the rank
and file. Rob is a good man and will be
a great Governor someday, but not now.
Republicans and the great majority of
their County Chairs say they want Trump.
Cuomo sends his surrogates to encourage
you for a reason. He gets apoplectic when he
thinks of Trump.The clock is running out for
the people and the Republican Party in New
York State. It’s the two minute warning.
If Donald Trump scares you and the
establishment RINOs, he paralyzes the
liberal bubble that is ready to burst. The
national movement can start right here in
New York.
Trump has no respect for or loyalty
to the Albany game. He is deep on all the
important fiscal and social issues but his
greatest quality is not name recognition or
money. It’s that leadership quality that sets a
man apart to lead others. He has gut with a
killer instinct. He doesn’t wimp out. He leads
from the front. He is the first into battle.
Ed Cox
His business acumen and negotiating skill
is unchallenged. He was born to lead. He’s a
man unable to be intimidated.
At dinner, having known him for 15
minutes, I told Trump why I ran and asked
him why he wanted to run for Governor?
He looked at me intently and when he
Carl Pasquale Paladino is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo,
New York. He ran for Governor of New York
in 2010. Paladino is the founder and chairman
of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate
development company he founded in 1973.
OpEdSection
By HEZI ARIS
Joe Celli’s Past
Conduct May
Prove Him to Be
a Murderer
This Hezitorial references the conduct
described in the publication of February
17, 2014, with respect to minor renovations
undertaken in May 2013 at Yonkers Fire
Station 12, located at 75 Fortfield Avenue “THE HEZITORIAL INVESTIGATION:
A Sad Telling in the City of Yonkers - Asbestos
at Yonkers Fire Station 12 By HEZI ARIS”,
The Hezitorial referenced above
speaks to events as they transpired. Little as
to how they came about, and even less with
respect to the interaction between Joseph
Celli, director of the Yonkers Office of
General Services and his Manager Lenny
Spano. The ramification of the harmful
effects exposure to asbestos poisoning that
should and could have been prevented
has yet to be revealed. In contrast to that
silence, in contrast to the silence over this
issue, the Yonkers Tribune will no longer
keep the issues under wraps. The prognosis is unknown. It may take two decades or
so to learn if any negative and deleterious
issues arise. Even so, nothing has been said
about the predatory, domineering, bullying,
and controlling conduct and demeanor of
predator Celli and his placing Department
of Public Works (DPW) workers and
members of the Yonkers Fire Department
(YFD) who work at Fire Station 12, as
well as the family members, spouses and
children, among other relatives, and business
associates alike in harms way.
Not a a word or acknowledgment from Celli’s second in command
Lenny Spano, his uncle Mayor Mike
Spano, newly installed Yonkers Inspector
General Brendan McGrath, Esq., DPW
Commissioner Thomas Meier, Yonkers
City Council President Liam McLaughlin,
Teamsters Local 456 Business Agent
Louis Picani, and none of the Yonkers City
Councilmembership. Yonkers Corporation
Counsel Michael Curti, Esq., is mum. The
Yonkers Board of Ethics will not tackle
this concern. At issue is why does Yonkers
permit bullying predators to run roughshod
and betray the trust over the people who
maintain the function of the City of Hills.
There is definitely much blame and responsibility borne among the silent in our midst.
Despite the silence of the past, there
are witnesses to everything we do; both the
good and the bad. This telling reveals the
latter.
It all began in May 2013, when the
Yonkers Fire Department (YFD), having
earned a $200,000 grant to renovate Fire
Station 12. Becoming aware of the grant,
Joseph Celli, director of the Yonkers Office
of General Services approached the YFD
The New
Celli Unafraid to Put Our Civil Servants in Harms Way
absolutely no supervision. The workers
lacked knowledge and skills required for the
job they were said to be skilled at and they
consequently got bored very quickly. Even
those that had some idea of what was to be
done quickly tired of their effort. They had
nothing to do; they had no guidance and
no training. The interest to get the job done
would soon be lost to finding something to
do. The “crew” eventually stopped working,
but the overtime pay kept accruing. While
the Firefighters were completing their
inspection rounds in the area during the
daytime , the DPW crew would eat the
snacks purchased by the Firefighters,
leaving a mess that had to be cleaned up
by the Firefighters upon their return. The
DPW crew watched television. They were
bored silly.
The unsupervised conduct continued
until some workers began to turn overtime
down because they realized the Firefighters
were completely fed up with their pointless
presence in the firehouse.
Celli continued to employ workers
who spent time at Firehouse 12 for
earning overtime, nothing more. This
became evident when the $200,000 grant
was quickly reaching depletion and the
renovation effort was nowhere near being
completed. Those employed had no idea
what they were to do and they no longer
cared. Celli was delinquent in not teaching
those he employed to learn the skills necessary to complete the project as he initially
said they could. YFD has Joe Celli to thank
for talking them into hiring workers who
did not know how to repair the muchneeded repairs in all of Yonkers Firehouses.
The overtime handed out by Joe Celli
became more of an after hours hangout
consisting of playing pool, throwing darts,
and sleeping in the firemen’s lounge by
general services finest.
Then came the revelation of the
asbestos problem. Once again, thanks to
a lack supervision and the lack of knowledge required for the job, everyone who
had contact at Firehouse 12 and those that
would come in contact with them were
potentially at risk of asbestos poisoning,
even death.
Joe Celli told his workers that the
Firefighter’s sleeping dormitory flooring tile
had to be ripped up and removed. Without
supervision, the workers did as they were
told; for a week’s time, they began to rip
up and remove the floor tile. They placed
the ripped up tiles filled with asbestos into
black bags and dumped the bags at Yonkers
City Dump as if it were “normal” garbage,
which should not have been disposed of
like normal garbage. Approximately one
month after the floor was ripped up, some
Firefighters questioned why the asbestos
laden tiles were removed. Some of the
Firefighters knew that asbestos could have
been present in the removed tiles and that
asbestos residue was likely left behind. The
Firefighter took air samples in the room in
which the tiles once were and asbestos was
found to be present in that environment.
The “air test” was done a month or so after
the tile was ripped up. Firefighters were
sleeping in that room all that time. No new
flooring was ever applied.
Word got to Joe Celli that asbestos was
found in that room and he allegedly ordered
workers to duct tape the doors of the room
with signs that read keep out. About four
months passed and the doors were still not
taped shut and no asbestos was removed.
Asbestos remained in the firehouse for
about five months until finally, an asbestos
removing company showed up to remove
the asbestos from the contaminated room.
There will be some who will not care
about the potential harm and possible death
this may cause the workers employed at Fire
Station 12, the Firefighters assigned to that
station, their spouses and children, friends,
or associates. Asbestos adheres to clothing,
skin, and fills lungs with every breath taken.
Firefighters and the workers assigned to the
renovation job were betrayed by Joe Celli
either because he was ignorant of what was
required to complete the job correctly or
because her didn’t care. But there may be
financial concerns.
One has to wonder how much the
asbestos removal company cost the taxpayers of Yonkers? Asbestos removal is
not cheap because it is a deadly and lethal
material that must be handled with prescribed standards and protocol. What was
the total cost for the incompetence and lack
of responsibility by Celli in exacting his
responsibilities?
Not only did Joe Celli not advise the
Firefighters to evacuate the building once
he knew of the asbestos and immediately
engage the services of an asbestos removal
company, he continued to send his own
workers there to work on repairs in other
rooms for an additional five months. It took
five months for Joe Celli to recognize the
deadly material his untrained and unsupervised workers were exposed to and that they
and the Firefighters, and their respective
families were in harms way. No excuse given
by Joe Celli is acceptable. He betrayed his
responsibilities. He is a thug who continues
to earn $140,000 per annum. Is that the
price for a responsible servant of the public
trust or is that the price for a killer? Does
Yonkers need a murderer within our midst?
HUMAN
TRAFFICKING
To the Editor:
Recently, the Super Bowl raised the
concern that the huge influx of people
who would be in the metropolitan area
would lead to a surge in prostitution
and sex trafficking. Whether or not
this is another urban myth remains a
question, but what is not a question
is that sex trafficking is alive and well
in Westchester and other suburban
areas. While we protect youngsters
under sixteen by dealing with them
in the family courts, considering
them victims, and persons in need
of supervision, we have not extended
these protections to youngsters, mostly
girls, who are sixteen and seventeen.
In contrast we have treated them as
criminals in the criminal courts.
I am happy to report that a new
law changing the procedures for
treating juveniles charged with being
prostitutes has passed the legislature and been signed into law by the
governor. I was pleased to be a supporter of the new law. Sixteen and
seventeen year olds charged with prostitution or loitering for that purpose
can now be treated as “persons in
need of supervision.” If the person
charged pleads guilty or is convicted,
the judge must substitute youthful
offender adjudication. This brings the
treatment of sixteen and seventeen
year olds into line with the treatment
of those under sixteen in the family
courts.
The recent TV show I hosted
on sex trafficking certainly suggested
that the exploitation of youngsters is
a fact of life in our area and not just
large urban settings. I was therefore
glad to be able to support a bill that
I believe will be more effective in protecting our children, removing the
taint of a permanent criminal record,
and providing the support they need
to succeed in life.
Sandy Galef
New York State Assemblymember
The New
Page 21
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Diana O’Neill
Holistic Health Services
LE G A L N O T I C E S
SUMMONS, NOTICE AND BRIEF STATEMENT OF NATURE OF ACTION
CONSUMER CREDIT TRANSACTION
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER
Index No. 60186/2013
GENERATION MORTGAGE COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
-against
Thomas A. Reale as Heir-at-law to the Estate of Albert Reale;
Donna Mills individually and as Beneficiary of the Estate of
Albert Reale; Secretary Of Housing And Urban Development;
All Unknown Heirs, Devisees, and Personal Representatives
of the Estate of Albert Reale and any of his, her or any of their
successors In right, title and interest; United States Of America;
New York State Department Of Taxation And Finance; “JOHN DOE
#1- #50” and “MARY ROE #1- #50”, the last two names being fictitious, said
parties intended being tenants or occupants, if any, having or claiming an interest
in or lien upon the premises described in the complaint,
Defendants.
TO THE DEFENDANT ALL UNKNOWN HEIRS, DEVISEES AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF ALBERT REALE AND ANY OF HIS, HER OR ANY OF
THEIR SUCCESSORS IN RIGHT, TITLE AND INTEREST:
YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to serve upon plaintiff’s attorneys an answer to the complaint in this action within twenty (20) days after
the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service is complete if the Summons is not personally delivered
to you within the State of New York. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60)
days of service hereof. In case of your failure to answer, judgment will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the complaint.
Trial is desired in the County of Westchester. The basis of venue designated above is that the real property, which is the subject matter of this action,
is located in the County of Westchester, New York.
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.
HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE
New York State Law requires that we send you this notice about the foreclosure process. Please read it carefully.
Summon and Complaint
You are in danger of losing your home. If you fail to respond to the summons and complaint in this foreclosure action, you may lose your home.
Please read the summons and complaint carefully. You should immediately contact an attorney or local legal aid office to obtain advice on how to
protect yourself.
Source of Information and Assistance
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The State encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal
aid office, there are government agencies and non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about possible options, including
trying to work 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 Department of Financial Services at to
1-800-269-0990 visit the Department`s website at www.dfs.ny.gov.
Foreclosure rescue scams
Be careful of people who approach you with offers to “save” your home. There are individuals who watch for notices of foreclosure actions
in order to unfairly profit from a homeowner’s distress. You should be extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions that you
pay them a fee or sign over your deed. State law requires anyone offering such services for profit to enter into a contract which fully describes
the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and which prohibits them from taking any money from you until they have completed all
such promised services.
The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of Honorable William J. Giacomo, Justice of the Supreme Court
of the State of New York, signed on the 27th day of January, 2014, in White Plains, New York and to be duly entered in the Westchester County Clerk’s
Office, in White Plains, New York.
The Nature of this action pertains to a note and mortgage held by Plaintiff on real property owned by the above named defendants as specified
in the complaint filed in this action. The above named defendants have failed to comply with the terms and provisions of the said mortgage and said
instruments secured by said mortgage, by failing and omitting to pay the balance due and owing and the Plaintiff has commenced a foreclosure
action. Plaintiff is seeking a judgment foreclosing its mortgage against the real property and premises which situates in the Village of Irvington,
County of Westchester and State of New York and is commonly known as 12 Grinnell Street, Irvington, New York 10533 and all other relief as to the
Court may seem just and equitable.
DATED: February 11, 2014
SCHILLER & KNAPP, LLP
BY: WILLIAM B. SCHILLER, ESQ.
Attorneys for Plaintiff
950 New Loudon Road
Latham, New York 12110
Telephone: (518) 786-9069
Page 23
LE G A L N O T I C E S
30 EAST 76TH STREET #3B, LLC Articles of Org.
filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/7/14. Office in
Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC
upon whom process may be served. SSNY
shall mail copy of process to C/O Stern Keiser
& Panken, LLP 1025 Westchester Ave Ste. 305
White Plains, NY 10604. Purpose: Any lawful
activity.
Notice of Formation of ASH ST. PROPERTY LLC
Arts. of Org. filed with SSNY on 10/31/2013.
Office location: MOUNT VERNON. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process
may be served. SSNY shall mail process to
LUIS MORILLO 75 PARKWAY EAST, MOUNT
VERNON, N.Y., 10552. Purpose: any lawful act
or activity.
EMER LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of
State (SSNY) 1/29/14. Office in Westchester
Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon whom
process may be served. SSNY shall mail copy
of process to C/O Zussman Law PLLC, Attention: Michael J. Zussman, Esq. 425 East 79th
St Ste. 1F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any
lawful activity.
COPYWRITE COMMUNICATIONS, LLC Articles
of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 10/18/13.
Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent
of LLC upon whom process may be served.
SSNY shall mail copy of process to The LLC
2983 Sherman Ct. Mohegan Lake, NY 10547.
Purpose: Any lawful activity. Registered Agent:
John D. Ellis 2983 Sherman Ct. Mohegan Lake,
NY 10547
BLUEPAC ADVISORS, LLC Authority filed with
Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed
in Delaware (DE) on 9/17/13 SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process
against it may be served. SSNY shall mail
process to The LLC 20 Oscaleta RD South
Salem, NY 10590. DE address of LLC: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington, DE 19801. Arts. Of Org.
filed with DE Secy. of State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity.
BLUEPAC PARTNERS, LLC Authority filed with
Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13. Office location: Westchester Co. LLC formed in
Delaware (DE) on 9/17/13 SSNY designated
as agent of LLC upon whom process against it
may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The
LLC 20 Oscaleta RD South Salem, NY 10590. DE
address of LLC: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington,
DE 19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of
State, PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose:
any lawful activity.
BLUEPAC PARTNERS FUND, LP Authority filed
with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/13.
Office location: Westchester Co. LP formed in
Delaware (DE) on 10/8/13. SSNY designated
as agent of LP upon whom process against it
may be served. SSNY shall mail process to The
LP 20 Oscaleta RD South Salem, NY 10590. DE
address of LP: 1209 Orange ST Wilmington, DE
19801. Arts. Of Org. filed with DE Secy. of State,
PO Box 898 Dover, DE 19903. Purpose: any lawful activity.
GLORIA LOUZAO LLC Articles of Org. filed NY
Sec. of State (SSNY) 1/29/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon
whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail
copy of process to C/O Zussman Law PLLC, Attention: Michael J. Zussman, Esq. 425 East 79th
St Ste. 1F New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any
lawful activity.
TRINITY SHARP REALTY LLC Articles of Org.
filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 9/17/13 Office in
Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC
upon whom process may be served. SSNY
shall mail copy of process to C/O Solomon
Borg 630 Third Ave New York, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of Oxyto, LLC. Art Of Org.
filed with SSNY on 12/16/2013. Office Location: Westchester County. SSNY designated as
agent of the LLC upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY mail shall mail process to: C/O UNITED STATES CORPORATION
AGENTS, INC. 7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202
BROOKLYN, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful
purpose.
WESTCHESTER GUARDIAN
LEGAL ADVERTISING:
914.576.1480
10:30AM-5PM
Notice is hereby given that an Order entered
by the Supreme Court, Westchester County on
the 22nd day of January, 2014 bearing Index
No. 2253/2013, a copy of which may be examined at the Office of the Clerk, located at 111
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., White Plains,
New York grants me MARK OBINNA MOFUS,
OLIVIA NNEKA MOFUS, JANICE IFUNANYA
MOFUS and MELVIN CHIKEZIE MOFUS, the
right to assume the names and our present address is 181 Clunie Avenue, Yonkers, New York.
The date of their births are Mark Obinna Mofus
born November 11, 1998, Olivia Nneka Mofus
born January 7, 2004, Janice Ifunanya Mofus
born February 11, 2000 and Melvin Chikezie
Mofus born July 22, 2009 and the place of all
births are New York State.
MELVILLE GARAGE LLC Articles of Org. filed
NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 2/5/14 Office in Westchester Co. SSNY design. Agent of LLC upon
whom process may be served. SSNY shall
mail copy of process to The LLC 305 North Ave
New Rochelle, NY 10801. Purpose: Any lawful
activity.
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Page 24
HOW’S
MIKE
DOING?
Paid for by Yonkers Firefighters Local 628 I.A.F.F. COPE
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March 6, 2014 - WestchesterGuardian.com

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