February 8, 2013 - Rising Media Group

Transcription

February 8, 2013 - Rising Media Group
WESTCHESTER’S OLDEST AND MOST RESPECTED NEWSPAPERS
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Vol 108 Number 6
www.RisingMediaGroup.com
PAL Poster Contest 2013
Photo by Ed Whitman
Yonkers Police Department Sergeant James McGovern (left), Police Officer
Mark Whissner and canine Doc, who will appear on this year’s
PAL Poster, with 2012 Poster Contest Winners Enzo Kim and Julianna Calvello
Once again, it is that time of year. The Police Athletic League (PAL) of Yonkers is looking
for new faces for their PAL poster.
On January 30, the Contest Committee announced the kickoff of this year’s search for new
faces for the Poster. The Mike D’Ambrosio PAL
Poster Contest is very unique and the only one
of its kind in the country. The idea actually dates
back to the 1800s. Its message is a simple one:
the police officer is your friend.
Mike D’Ambrosio, after getting approval
from PAL President Angelo Martinelli and the
PAL Board, reinstated the contest and it has been
going strong ever since. Every year, hundreds of
children from throughout Yonkers submit their
Continued on Page 10
Yonkers’ Korean War Heroes
Private 2nd Class Christopher M. Murphy, Jr.
By Andrew Tobia
As Yonkers Rising reported last month (see
“Yonkers to Commemorate 60th Anniversary of
the End of the Korean War,” January 25), Mayor
Mike Spano and the City of Yonkers, in conjunction with the US Department of Defense’s 60th
Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration
Committee, will be holding events throughout
the year to commemorate the end of that war and
those who lost their lives during it, including 35
Yonkers natives.
As part of that commemoration effort, Yonkers Rising will publish feature stories on those
35 Yonkers natives who were killed in action
(KIA) during the Korean War over the course of
this year. We begin this week with a feature on
Army Private Second Class Christopher Michael
Murphy, Jr. But first, a little background on the
Korean War.
The Korean War
The Korean War (1950 to ‘53) was the second major conflict of the Cold War — the first being the Berlin Blockade and Airlift of 1948 to ‘49
— and the first to involve direct combat. Occurring between the much celebrated end of World
War II (1945) and the highly publicized and divisive Vietnam War (beginning in 1959), the
Korean War is often overlooked, so much so that
it is commonly referred to as the Forgotten War.
The course of the war is marred by many atrocities and massacres, committed by both North and
South Korea.
After World War II, Korea — previously
under Japanese control — was split in two along
the now-famous 38th Parallel. The United States
Army took control of Korea south of the 38th, the
Soviet Union north of it. This split was negotiated
Friday, February 8, 2013
Mayor Spano Seeks $4.2 Million
in Savings and Money Owed to City
By Dan Murphy
laptops, cameras, traffic signal heads and surSince taking office last year, Mayor Mike plus vehicles. Marquee items also generated
Spano has sought out every dollar of savings dollars for the city, including the old Getty
and every dollar owed to the city in an attempt Square Clock, which sold for $2,000, and the
to cut into and control the city’s budget defi- city’s gently used Snow Dragon snow melter,
cits.
which sold for $85,000. Since YonkersCARThe city’s estimated budget gap for the Store.com launched this spring, the city has
upcoming 2013 fiscal year, which starts on sold 38 vehicles and approximately 20 other
July 1, is $89 million.
surplus items;
Spano’s money sav• The city refinanced
ing and recouping proits bonds after receiving a
posals include:
financial outlook upgrade
“Every dollar
• Seeking to recover
last year. The $50 million
$950,000 of 11 defaulted
in bond refinancing saved
counts and
commercial loans, apthe city and its taxpayers
every taxpayer
proved by the prior ad$4 million over the life of
ministration’s Office of
the bonds, $1 million for
dollar should
Economic Development,
the 2012-2013 fiscal year;
be treated as if it
in court if necessary;
• Last November,
• Persuing $938,000
Spano ordered that the
were their own.”
in unpaid real estate
no longer subsidize
Mayor Mike Spano city
transfer taxes from 123
free trash collection for
Yonkers property ownlocal commercial properers. The city has reviewed
ties in the Downtown Wareal property transactions dating from July terfront Business Improvement District (DW2009. In November 2012, the city sent de- BID) saving taxpayers $300,000 per year;
mand notices to owners, sellers and title agen• Last year, the Mayor proposed the concies and has resolved 74 of the 123 properties solidation of the Yonkers Parking Authority
to date, for a collection total of $294,333. The (YPA) with existing city departments, which
city will work to collect the remainder;
would save $660,000 per year, $2.64 mil• Mayor Spano launched the city’s eBay lion over four years. The city would also restore, YonkersCARStore.com, which has gen- ceive a one-time cash influx of approximately
erated $200,000 in revenue for the city by $1,100,000 from the YPA capital investment
selling unused and surplus city equipment account. This proposal by the Mayor is being
and vehicles. Items sold include fire hydrants,
Continued on Page 8
Council Republicans Call for
an End to Gerrymandering
Army Private Second Class
Christopher Michael Murphy, Jr.
without the input from Koreans, contrary to international law. By 1948, South Korea (officially the
Republic of Korea) was founded and formed an
American-backed Democracy, and North Korea
(officially the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea) established a Russian- and People’s Republic of China-supported Communist government under the leadership of Kim Il-Sung.
While there is some debate as to whether or
not a South Korean attack prompted it, the Korean War is officially considered to have begun
Continued on Page 9
Councilman Mike Breen (left) and Council Minority Leader John Larkin
By Dan Murphy
Yonkers’ three City Council republicans
— Minority leader John Larkin and Councilmen Dennis Shepherd and Mike Breen — held
a press conference last week to propose a resolution they say will take partisan politics out of the
council re-districting process.
Last month, democrats on the council released their proposed re-districting plan, which
makes minor changes to all districts but signifi-
cantly changes the Fourth, represented by Shepherd.
Council republicans called the democrats’
plan “partisan gerrymandering” and announced
their plans to submit an alternative re-districting
plan.
“We are here today to introduce this legislation because the citizens of Yonkers deserve a
real choice,” Larkin said. “This is an intensive
Continued on Page 8
YPIE & Forest City Ratner Establish ‘Ridge Hill Academy’
Photo by Karen Issokson-Silver
The first Ridge Hill Academy class with (l to r) Councilman Dennis Shepherd, YPIE Executive Director Wendy Nadel, Ivy Reeves (for Councilman Michael Sabatino), Councilmen John Larkin
and Mike Breen, YPS Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio, Mayor Mike Spano, Council President Chuck Lesnick, FCRC Senior Vice President Kathy Welch, Councilman Wilson Terrero and
YPIE’s Ellen Cutler Levy
Forest City Ratner Companies (FCRC),
owners of the successful Ridge Hill retail, commercial, residential and entertainment ‘village’
in Yonkers, partnered this week with Yonkers
Partners in Education (YPIE) for a new innovative partnership called “Ridge Hill Academy,”
which will give 25 Yonkers public High School
sophomore and juniors a hands-on learning ex-
perience to explore future careers in the retail
industry.
FCRC will fund the program with a
$100,000 grant, which will teach the students
over a two year period about management careers in the shopping center retail industries,
including retail and restaurant management,
operations, security and maintenance manage-
ment, PR and marketing.
The 25 students, selected through a competitive application process, began their 10week semester of Ridge Hill Academy immediately after the press conference, held as
WESTMED at Ridge Hill. A new group of students will be selected for each new semester.
The students will rotate among vendors
and retail establishments at Ridge Hill to learn
about various careers and the educational paths
needed to get there. They will also participate
in a series of job readiness and skill-building
workshops focused on resume writing, interviewing and workplace etiquette. Each Academy graduate will be awarded a certificate
Continued on Page 8
PAGE 2 - Yonkers RISING - Friday, February 8, 2013
Academy for Jewish Religion
‘The Panoramic River:
Moves to Downtown Yonkers The Hudson and the Thames’
Council President Chuck Lesnick cuts the ribbon, while Mayor Spano
and AJR Vice President Ora Prouser look on
Robert Havell Jr.’s “Hudon River to Croton”
Prouser and Rabbi Jeffrey Hoffman (center) hold the City of Yonkers-issued proclamation
By Ben Cohn
Yonkers is now home to one of the biggest Cantorial and Rabbinical schools in New
York, as the Academy for Jewish Religion
(AJR) moved from its offices at the College of
Mount Saint Vincent to a new space in Downtown Yonkers.
There are many different kinds of Cantorial and Rabbinical schools throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn, but the Academy is very
unique. In most cases, Orthodox and Reform
Rabbis are trained separately, but AJR offers
classes for those who would like to become
Rabbis as well as Cantors and includes teachings from all degrees of the Jewish Faith.
The divide between Orthodox and Reform
Judaism has been widening in recent years,
especially in mainly-secular Israel, where the
Orthodoxy holds immense political power.
“We have been representing pluralism in
the Jewish Community since 1956,” said AJR
Executive Vice President and Academic Dean
Dr. Hora Horn Prouser. “AJR cherishes diversity and our student and faculty represent all
different denominations. AJR is ahead of its
time by helping people to become Rabbis who
would otherwise not be able to.”
The organization is funded by a combination of tuition fees and donors. Many of the
students travel from across the country to attend the school weekly and end up giving genContinued on Page 8
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From London to New York, “The Panoramic River: the Hudson and the Thames” at the
Hudson River Museum (HRM), on display from
now until May 19, shows new ways of seeing the
two iconic rivers — the Hudson, America’s “first
river,” and England’s ancient River Thames.
In the late 18th century, British artists developed the large-scale panorama, all-encompassing
bird’s-eye views of the rivers and their lands that
made humans seem the center of the universe.
Popular planetarium visions for the 19th century
audience, they are the roots of today’s big screen
immersive film experiences.
By the early 19th century, painters such as
Robert Havell, Jr., who emigrated from London
to New York, exemplify the influx of English
artists who influenced a shared Anglo-American
panoramic vocabulary as well as the evolution of
American landscape painting.
Havell’s work, (who also created many of
the landscapes for Audubon’s famous birds) includes panoramic publications and paintings of
the Hudson River and the River Thames, as does
the work of other artists in this exhibition, such
as Thomas Cole (father of the Hudson River
School) and noted artists Jasper Cropsey and
John Kensett, who favored the chain of cities,
suburbs and countryside along these two rivers,
where horizontal planes and historical associations gave form to both artistic and cultural expression.
“The Panoramic River” features major loans
from more than two dozen museums, galleries
and private collections. Museums lending paintings include The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
The New-York Historical Society, Museum of
Fine Arts in Boston, Baltimore Museum of Art,
Yale Center for British Art, The Frances Lehman
Loeb Art Center at Vassar College, Maryland
State Archives, Morgan Library & Museum of
the Williams College Museum of Art and Princeton University Art Museum.
HRM, located at 511 Warburton Ave. in
Yonkers, is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12
to 5 p.m. Admission to “The Panoramic River” is
free with HRM admission, with is $5 for adults,
$3 for seniors and kids aged 5 to 16 and free for
HRM members.
For more information, call 914-963-4550 or
visit HRM.org.
Send your story ideas, photos,
announcements and upcoming events to us at
dmurphy@rising mediagroup.com
Friday, February 8, 2013 - Yonkers RISING - PAGE 3
PAGE 4 - Yonkers RISING - Friday, February 8, 2013
First Precinct
Community Council Meeting
Mayor Edward I. Koch:
He, Too, was New York!
The First Precinct Community Council
will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday,
February 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Precinct,
located at 730 East Grassy Sprain Rd.
This month’s guest speaker will be Detective Ken Davis from Community Affairs. For
more information, e-mail yonkersfpcc@gmail.
com.
Spano Announces ‘Volunteer Match’
Effort with UWWP Volunteer Center
Mayor Mike Spano announced a new volunteer program, in partnership with the United
Way of Westchester and Putnam (UWWP) Volunteer Center, that links residents interested
in volunteering with volunteer opportunities
around the city.
“There are so many ways to get involved
with volunteering in Yonkers and there are so
many residents that want to give back to their
community and help others in need,” said Spano. “This program goes beyond offering volunteer opportunities; it simplifies the process of
finding the right opportunity for anyone who
wants to volunteer.”
Residents interested in volunteering can
visit the city’s Web site and be connected to a
volunteer search engine that includes a central
database of volunteer opportunities offered by
67 community and faith-based organizations
throughout Yonkers. Searches can be narrowed
down by a keyword or even a zip code, enabling
volunteers to match their interest with a specific
Eric Schoen and Ed Koch
location that works for them.
Available volunteer opportunities range
from services at a soup kitchen, reading to children, assisting seniors, working with the environment and more. All the volunteer projects
are Westchester-based.
“The Volunteer Center has a long tradition
of supporting volunteerism in Yonkers and we
are so pleased that the city will now include
a direct link from its website to ours,” said
UWWP Volunteer Center Executive Director
Alisa H. Kesten. “This will make it so easy for
residents of all ages to find wonderful volunteer
opportunities that suit their interests and availability and support the needs of vital Yonkers
non-profits.”
The Mayor encourages residents to visit
CityofYonkers.com to search the site and get
involved with volunteering in Yonkers.
For more information or questions, contact
the Mayor’s Office of Constituent Services at
914-377-6010.
Choking Child Revived
by Yonkers Firefighters
Ed Koch with a young Chuck Lesnick
By Eric Schoen
“I gotta get up to Yonkers!”
Ten minutes into the movie “Koch,” a
documentary about the former Mayor, the
audience at the opening night screening I attended at Lincoln Square Cinemas in the New
York City burst out in laughter.
The boroughs of New York are in the
middle of a transit strike and we find Mayor Koch standing on the Brooklyn Bridge,
greeting people walking over the bridge into
the city. Foot power was there only means
of transport. And the poor man crossing the
Continued on Page 8
RESEARCH STUDIES FOR:
•Arthritis
•Crohn’sDisease
•PediatricDepression
•Gout
•COPD
•LowBackPain
R
On February 2, Yonkers Fire Department
Engine 304, from Radford Street, was dispatched, along with Yonkers Police and Empress ambulance, to a report of a choking child
at 132 Bruce Ave.
Engine 304 arrived three minutes after dispatch, at 3:39 p.m., to find an approximately 1
and a half year old male child in severe respiratory distress. Members of Engine 304 provided
oxygen while simultaneously attempting to reposition and thus open more fully the child’s air-
Watch Stew Leonard’s Chefs Hand
Dip 11,000 Fresh Strawberries
When February begins, Stew Leonard’s
Executive Chef Chaz Fable starts to plan his
delicious strawberry dipping station for Valentine’s Day shoppers, right next to the fresh roses
and specially prepared dinners for two.
“We order the biggest, best stem berries
available,” Fable said. “The sweetest ones usually come from California this time of year.”
Customers enjoy watching the Chef carefully dip each freshly washed berry into a bath
of delicious, melted chocolate.
“We use a dark chocolate imported from
Belgium for the base coat,” said Fable. “Then
I like to drizzle just a touch of white chocolate
over them. It looks nicer, but also — it tastes
amazing.”
Stew’s Chefs will dip more than 11,000
We are currently enrolling
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way. After administration of oxygen and several
attempts at repositioning the airway, the child
began to breathe normally.
Empress ambulance arrived five minutes
after the arrival of Engine 304, at 3:47. At that
time, Engine 304 brought the child down the
stairs to the ambulance personnel and transferred care to them.
It appeared to the Fire Department members that the child was in good health at that time
and that this would be a very positive outcome.
Strawberries this Valentine’s Day week. Each
of Stew Leonard’s four food stores will have a
chef dipping fresh strawberries in chocolate and
offering the sweet treats in packages of two, six
or a dozen.
Stew Leonard’s Front End Manager Jenn
Polaski said, “It’s something special, yet inexpensive that everyone can enjoy and fresher than
a boring box of chocolates. I like to buy some
for my kids’ teachers, my best friend, my hair
stylist — it’s a nice way to show the people in
your life a little love and appreciation!”
Stew Leonard’s will set up a display at the
front door of the Yonkers store so that all customers can watch the chefs hand dip chocolate
covered strawberries from Tuesday, February 12
to Sunday, February 17.
Call: 888-259-1522
or Visit: www.AcurianHealthStudies.com
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Friday, February 8, 2013 - Yonkers RISING - PAGE 5
Barry Scheck to Speak at SLC Superintendent: YPS Budget
Deficit at $42.6 Million
Barry Scheck
Barry Scheck, co-founder and co-director
of The Innocence Project, will speak on the
Innocence Movement at Sarah Lawrence College’s (SLC) Reisinger Concert Hall on Thursday, February 7 at 5:30 p.m.
His remarks will focus on the impact the
project’s work to exonerate wrongfully accused
individuals and to reform the American criminal justice system.
Founded in 1992, The Innocence Project, a
non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, uses DNA evidence to exonerate people
who have been wrongly convicted of crimes.
It also lobbies for reforms to prevent wrongful
convictions from happening in the first place.
Since its founding, more than 300 people
have been exonerated with DNA evidence. The
Innocence Project worked on a majority of
these cases. Innocence Network organizations,
private attorneys and a few pro se defendants
were responsible for the others.
The DNA exonerations have helped to expose cracks in the criminal justice system, serving as evidence that some wrongful convictions
are a result of systemic defects, not isolated
events. Thousands of cases are awaiting evaluation by the national litigation and public policy
organization.
Scheck and his colleagues have also helped
to persuade hundreds of local jurisdictions to
adopt reforms and have worked to advance legislation in virtually every state in order to prevent future injustice.
A forerunner in the field of wrongful convictions, The Innocence Project is a founding
member of the Innocence Network, which comprises 64 independent organizations around the
world.
SLC is located at 1 Mead Way in Bronxville. For more information on this and other
programs, call 914-337-0700 or visit SLC.edu.
Presidents’ Day at
Philipse Manor Hall
By Dan Murphy
On January 29, Yonkers Superintendent of
Schools Bernard P. Pierorazio presented testimony before the state’s Joint Legislative Budget
Committee in Albany. At that meeting, Pierorazio
estimated that the YPS will have a $42.5 million
budget shortfall for the upcoming 2013-2014
school year.
“We can no longer reduce staff and services.
We have eliminated virtually all art, music, student support and extracurricular programs,” testified Pierorazio. “Moving forward, our goal is to
restore some of the critical offerings our students
have lost. Thank you for the bullet aid that allowed
us to restore some of our sports programs last year.
This year’s budget calls for the restoration of 60
vitally needed instructional and student support
positions lost due to the drastic budget cuts and
underfunding by the state over the last few years.
It is the only discretionary cost increase contemplated for next year.”
The YPS estimates revenues at $507.5 million and expenses at $550.1 million, with major
expense increases going to fund:
Salaries — $11.5 million — Step and contractual raises;
ERS — $1.2 million — Employee Retirement System;
TRS — $3 million — Teacher Retirement
System;
MTA Tax — $928,480;
Health Insurance — $5.4 million;
Restored Staff — Salary $7 million;
Restored Staff Benefits — $2.4 million;
Tuitions — $785,163;
Charter School — $1.4 million; and
Transportation — $2.1 million.
Pierorazio also added to the chorus of local
elected officials and superintendents seeking mandate relief from Albany.
“Unfunded mandates continue to be the subject of countless committees, reports and speeches
and continue to be as prevalent and pernicious
as ever, taking millions of dollars from the basic
education of our children,” said Pierorazio. “In the
last fiscal year, unfunded mandates accounted for
12.53 percent of our budget, or $62,366,147. We
continue to support the mandate relief proposals
suggested by the Big 5 and Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents and will not reiterate them here.
“We have taken these positions for years
and the Assembly and Senate have voiced understanding of this problem. However, nothing
has changed. Without legislative intervention,
next year the cost of unfunded mandates to Yonkers taxpayers will rise nearly $6.2 million, to
$68,505,751, an all-time high,” continued Pierorazio, who pointed to the APPR-teacher evaluations, “a new unfunded mandate that promises
to become one of the more expensive additions to
our budget — the unfunded mandate of an annual
professional performance review for all teachers
and principals. In fact, the implementation of the
negotiated APPR will cost the district close to $3
million this year alone.”
The Superintendent made a similar presentation recently to the Yonkers City Council, where
he outlined the upcoming budget shortfall. Mayor
Mike Spano will make his budget presentation,
which includes funding for the YPS, in April, and
the council will begin its review then.
Pierorazio has been seeking, for some time,
to begin the restoration of staff and programs that
have been severely cut over the past three years.
His proposed budget will include $9.4 million in
salaries and benefits for 60 restored positions.
The question in the months to come is who
will pay for the additional staff? It will come either from the city or from the state. The YPS needs
an additional $33 million just to keep its current
level of staff and programs in place. That number
does not include the additional $9.4 million for
restored staff.
The Mayor and City Council could attempt
to pass a budget that exceeds the property tax cap
of two percent — which is actually closer to four
percent, once you add allowable budget increases
not included in the cap. Spano has not been inclined to propose or sign a budget which exceeds
the cap, and the three republican members of the
City Council — John Larkin, Dennis Shepherd
and Mike Breen — have clearly stated that they
will not vote for a budget that exceeds the cap.
Another option is to seek additoinal state
education aid from Albany.
‘True Light Revealed’
Series Continues
President Theodore Roosevelt in Yonkers in 1910
Presidents George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt have both visited Philipse
Manor Hall and, this Presidents’ Day, you can
do the same!
Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site
will hold its annual Presidents’ Day celebration on Saturday, February 16 at Philipse Manor
Hall from 12 to 4 p.m. The program will include presidential quizzes, a scavenger hunt, a
mock election and hourly story-times. Visitors
also will have a chance to make their own set
of George Washington’s famous false teeth and
create presidential bookmarks.
Presidents’ Day at the Manor Hall will
feature the Cochran Collection of Presidential
Portraiture. After Alexander Smith Cochran’s
mother donated funds to New York State for the
purchase of Philipse Manor Hall in 1908, the
Yonkers businessman and philanthropist was
eager to transform the building into a place of
historic and patriotic interest. From 1912 until
his death in 1929, Cochran assembled portraits
of the American Presidents from George Washington to Calvin Coolidge. The collection includes the works of noted artists such as Gilbert
Stuart, Eastman Johnson and Thomas Eakins.
All activities for the day are included in
the cost of museum admission, which is $5 for
adults, $3 for seniors and free for children 12
and under.
Philipse Manor Hall is located at 29 Warburton Ave. in Yonkers. For more information,
call 914-965-4027 ext. 102 or visit NYSParks.
com/historic-sites/37/details.aspx.
Remembering Yonkers
Veteran Seymour Lehman
Color it Proud Chairman Sam Riti (left) and John Spencer (right)
give the 2011-12 Americanism Award to Seymour Lehman
Seymour Lehman, an active member of the
Veterans community in Yonkers, died on January
30 at the age of 80.
Seymour attended Peter Stuyvesant High
School in Manhattan. He was drafted into the
Army in 1952 and returned in 1954. While serving in the Korean War, he earned the distinction
of being a Combat War Veteran. Over the next 10
years, he owned several supermarkets and attended New York Universities, earning a Bachelor of
Science Degree in Finance and also received a
stock broker’s license.
Upon his return from the Korean War, his
service continued in the form of fighting for Veterans’ needs and rights. His exceptional service
as an active member and officer providing his
leadership skills in numerous Veterans organizations was invaluable.
Seymour is survived by Rosalind, the love of
his life for the past 48 years; his daughter, Ilene,
and her husband, Michael Pierz; his son, Elliot,
and his wife Christina; and five grandchildren.
Last year, Lehman was given the Americanism Award from the Yonkers Central Committee
of Veterans Organizations at its Color it Proud
Flag Day celebration.
Services were at Weinstein Memorial Chapel, located at 1652 Central Park Ave. in Yonkers.
Interment at Cedar Park Cemetery in Paramus,
NJ.
The Important Values for Youth (IVY) Programs, in conjunction with the Yonkers Human
Rights Commission and City Council Education Chair Michael Sabatino, will continue its
film and documentary series, “True Light Revealed,” in Celebration of Black History Month.
These films, though perhaps controversial
and often emotional, will be used to raise high
school and college students’ awareness of historical and sociological events that have taken
place in America against Black America.
Students will be asked to write a paper
and/or to participate in a discussion group after
viewing the film for extra credit. Guest speakers
may be available for discussions with the audience at the end of some of the documentaries.
The second screening, showing the film
“Black Wall Street: The Black Holocaust,” will
be held on Monday, February 11 at 4:30 p.m.
After the Civil War, many African-Americans settled in Oklahoma because of employment opportunities provided by the oil fields.
Around 1908, the community of Greenwood in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, was established. The Daily
Tulsa Star was an African-American owned
newspaper. Businesses owned by AfricanAmericans flourished. Their communities were
the best. Their schools were excellent. Greenwood was coined the Black Wall Street. However, because of jealousy, deceit and discrimination, Greenwood was burned to the ground by
white racists on June 1, 1921.
“True Light Revealed,” free and open to
the public, will be held weekly during February, Black History Month, at the Yonkers Riverfront Library, located at 1 Larkin Plaza. For
more information, call 914-377-6931 or e-mail
[email protected].
Our Air, Water and Food at Risk:
NYS Hydrofracking Update at GNC
Grassroots Environmental Education’s Ellen Weininger will focus on public health impacts of hydrofracking and initiatives on the local, state and national level whether or not New
York begins the permitting process in a special
presentation at the Greenburgh Nature Center
(GNC) on Wednesday, February 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Grassroots Environmental Education is a
an environmental health non-profit providing
public education on environmental health issues and practical solutions for schools, local
and state governments, community groups and
environmental and health organizations in the
Northeast and nationwide. Grassroots, working
directly with a network of leading medical and
scientific experts in the field of environmental
health, bridges the gap between emerging science and public understanding through communication and programs for education and advocacy.
Erin Heaton Meyer, a resident of both
Westchester and Chenango Counties, one of five
counties being considered for fracking by Governor Andrew Cuomo, will speak to how Cuomo’s choice affects New Yorkers both up- and
downstate. Meyer is a member of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy and Lower Hudson Group.
GNC is located at 99 Dromore Rd. in
Scarsdale. Refreshments, provided by the Sierra
Club, will precede the program at 7 p.m. For
more information, call GNC at 914-723-3470 or
visit GreenburghNatureCenter.org.
PAGE 6 - Yonkers RISING - Friday, February 8, 2013
Legal Notices
Classifieds
Voice and Piano Lessons Beginners to advanced Voice Therapy Dr. David Fairchild Doctorate in Voice from Columbia University 914-3376405 Web site Dr David Fairchild.com
ANTIQUES • ART • COLLECTIBLES
Most cash paid for paintings, antiques, furniture,
silver, sculpture, jewelry, books, cameras, records,
instruments, coins, watches, gold, comics, sports
cards, etc. Please call Aaron at 914-654-1683.
BASEBALL / SPORT CARDS / AUTOGRAPHS WANTED Cash paid for Baseball,
Football, basketball, Hockey cards, also sport
autographs, silver dollars, gold coins/jewelry, old
comics. Please call Jim at 914-310-5153 or call
914-835-1937
Take notice that in accordance with
N.J.S.A 39:10 A-8 ET.Seq Application has been
made to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, Trenton, N.J. to receive title papers authorizing the sale of: 1969 Cadillac F9256461. Objections, if any, should be made immediately in
writing to special title section/abandoned vehicle
unit, P.O. Box 017, Trenton, N.J. 08666-0017.
Tri-Phi Training Programs: Running Coach, Writing Coach, Canine Fitness. 508965-3467, www.Tri-Phi.com.
Affordable Recording Studio
for your Music and Videos. All styles. Record
your demo songs and videos. 914-513-0075.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE: PART-TIME
SALES OPPORTUNITY Promote renewable
energy at Westchester storefront tables and event
booths. Excellent paid training, flexible hours &
locations. Earn $500-$1000/week! Apply now
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Autonomy Preparation through
daily encounters. Debriefing, revisioning, inner
concepts. First session free. Singles preferred. 718994-2657.
Pregnant? Anxious? Get FREE, no -pressure, confidential counseling, guidance, financial
assistance at our licensed agency; if adoption is
your plan, choose from loving, pre -approved
families. Call Joy: 866 -922 -3678. www.ForeverFamiliesThroughAdoption.org.
AUCTION: Vermont Ski House 2,197+SF,
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BUY REAL VIAGRA, Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn, Propecia & more... FDA-Approved,
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Order online or by phone at viamedic.com, 800467-0295
AIRLINES ARE HIRING –Train for hands
on Aviation Career. FAA approvedprogram. Financial aid if qualified -Job placement assistance.
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Driver-Qualify for any portion of $.03/mile
quarterly bonus: $.01 Safety, $.01 Production, $.01
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perience. 800-414-9569 www.driveknight.com
HAS YOUR BUILDING SHIFTED OR
SETTLED? Contact Woodford Brothers Inc,for
straightening, leveling, foundation and wood
frame repairs at1-800-OLD-BARN. www.woodfordbros.com. “Not applicable in Queenscounty”
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SAWMILLS from only $3997.00 -MAKE &
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Info/DVD: www.NorwoodSawmills.com 1 -800
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*Medical, *Business, *CriminalJustice, *Hospitality, Job placement assistance. Computer available.
Financial Aid if qualified. SCHEV Authorized.
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SAVE MONEY with your own bandmill -Cut lumber any dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE
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-578 -1363 Ext.300N
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,minutes to Atlantic Ocean. 772 -581 -0080, www.
beach -cove.com. Limited seasonal rentals
Exeter, NH -55+ New homes from $69,900
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miles to ocean, 50 minutes to Boston! 603 -772
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Discover Delaware’s distinctive, gated
community. Larger than life amenities -equestrian
facility and Olympic pool. New Homes mid $40’s.
Low taxes. Brochures available 1 -866 -629 -0770
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HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA FROM
HOME 6-8 weeks. ACCREDITED. Get a Diploma.Get a Job! FREE Brochure. 1-800-264-8330
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OCEAN CITY, MARYLAND. Best selection of affordable rentals. Full/partial weeks. Call
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Legal Notices
Notice of Sale
Supreme Court: Westchester County T10 Funding v Gerald Depaul Individually and
as Executor of the Estate of Mary Ann Depaul et al, Defts Index 52048/12 pursuant
to a judgment of foreclosure filed January 15, 2013, I will sell at public auction at
the Lobby of the Westchester County Courthouse 111 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
White Plains NY on February 22, 2013 at 11:00 AM premises known as Block 2014
Lot 74 in the City of Yonkers. Sold subject to the terms of sale and filed judgment of
foreclosure. Daniel P. Romano Esq. Referee
#3055 1/25 – 2/15
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
NOTICE OF FORMATION of
ATI-Alex LLC.
Articles of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of
NY (SSNY) on 06/13/2012.
Office location: Westchester County. SSNY has been
designated as agent upon
whom process against it
may be served. The Post
Office address to which the
SSNY shall mail a copy of
any process against it is:
Knauf Shaw LLP, Attn: Linda
R. Shaw, 1125 Crossroads
Building, 2 State Street,
Rochester, NY 14614. Dissolution date: 06/13/2111.
LLC Purpose: to engage in
real estate development.
Street address of Principal
Business location is: 159
Alexander St., Yonkers, NY
10701.
NOTICE OF FORMATION of
Ravine 33 LLC.
Articles of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of
NY (SSNY) on 05/04/2012.
Office location: Westchester County. SSNY has been
designated as agent upon
whom process against it
may be served. The Post
Office address to which the
SSNY shall mail a copy of
any process against it is:
Knauf Shaw LLP, Attn: Linda
R. Shaw, 1125 Crossroads
Building, 2 State Street,
Rochester, NY 14614. Dissolution date: 05/04/2111.
LLC Purpose: to engage in
real estate development.
Street address of Principal
Business location is: 159
Alexander St., Yonkers, NY
10701.
NOTICE OF FORMATION
of Glenwood POH LLC Article of Organization filed
with the Secretary of State of
NY (SSNY) on 03/20/2012.
Office location: Westchester County. SSNY has been
designated as agent upon
whom process against it
may be served. The Post
Office address to which the
SSNY shall mail a copy of
any process against it is:
Knauf Shaw LLP, Attn: Linda
R. Shaw, 1125 Crossroads
Building, 2 State Street,
Rochester, NY 14614. Dissolution date: 3/20/2111.
LLC Purpose: to engage in
real estate development.
Street address of Principal
Business location is: 159
Alexander St., Yonkers, NY
10701.
#6364 1/25 – 3/1
#6365 1/25 – 3/1
#6366 1/25 – 3/1
AGENDA FOR ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
February 4, 2013
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: A Public Hearing will be held before the Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Yonkers on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 at 6:00 P.M. sharp,
in the Ceremonial Courtroom, Yonkers, New York (building is accessible to the handicapped), on applications for Appeals from the Building Commissioner’s decisions
and applications for Variances under the provisions of G.O. # 4-2000, as amended:
CONTINUED HEARINGS
# 5330–Area Variance- Steven A. Accinelli, Esq., on behalf of Kimball Brooklands
Corporation, owner, on premises know as 1000 Palmer Road, Block: 5345, Lot: 1,
Zone: A
NEW HEARINGS
# 5334–Area Variance- Andrew Romano, Esq., on behalf of L. Nieviarovski, owner,
on premises know as 73 Edgewood Avenue, Block: 6373, Lot: 97, Zone: MG
# 5335–Area Variance- John Imhof of Accent Architecture PLLC, on behalf of Mr.
and Mrs. Paolo Forte, owner, on premises know as 47 Malvern Road, Block: 4956,
Lot: 21, Zone: S-100
# 5336–Area Variance- Cuddy & Feder LLP, on behalf of New Cingular Wireless
(AT&T), lessee, on premises know as 1170 aka 1200 Midland Avenue, Block: 5125,
Lot: 5, Zone: MG
# 5337–Use & Area Variance- Cuddy & Feder LLP, on behalf of New Cingular Wireless (AT&T), lessee, on premises know as 28-30 Locust Hill Avenue, Block: 2027,
Lot: 78, Zone: M
JOSEPH CIANCIULLI
CHAIRMAN, ZBA
#1168 2/8
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Street To Strip Auto Design
LLC has filed articles of
organization with the Secretary of State of NYS on
11/26/2012. The offices of
this company are located
in Westchester County, NY. The Secretary of State has
been designated as agent of
the limited liability company
upon whom process against
it may be served. The address to which the Secretary
of State shall mail a copy of
any process against the limited liability company served
upon him or her is PO Box
451, Verplanck, NY 10596 The company is organized to
conduct any lawful business
for which limited liability companies may be organized.
Notice of formation of Bustech Solutions LLC Art. Of
Org. filed with the Sect’y
of State of NY (SSNY) on
11/2/2012. Office in Westchester County. SSNY has
been designated as agent of
the LLC upon whom process
against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail process
to: Bustech Solutions LLC
36 Sarles St. Armonk, NY
10504. Purpose: any lawful
purpose.
Notice of formation of Nehemiah MC, LLC. Arts. Of Org.
filed with the Sect’y of State
of NY (SSNY) on September 13, 2012. Office location: Westchester County.
The street address is: 1333A
North Avenue, Suite 405,
New Rochelle New York,
10804. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process served to:
Michelle D. Edden, 1333A
North Avenue, Suite 405,
New Rochelle, New York
10804. Purpose: any lawful
act.
#6359 1/11 – 2/15
#6360 1/11 – 2/15
#6358 1/4 – 2/8
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of Merritt
Contracting, LLC, a domestic Limited Liability Company
(LLC), filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on
01/04/2013.Office location:
Westchester County. Principal office of LLC: PO Box
466, Purchase, NY 10577 .
SSNY designated as agent
of LLC upon whom process
against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail process to
Adam Newcomb PO Box
466, Purchase, NY 10577,
upon whom and at which
process may be served. Purpose: Residential
Construction.
Notice of formation of ALENTI FILMS, LLC Arts. Of
Org. filed with the Sect’y
of State of NY (SSNY) on
12/26/2012. Office location: County. The street address is: 63 Ridgewood Terrace, Chapaqua, NY 10514.
SSNY has been designated
as agent of the LLC upon
whom process against it may
be served. SSNY shall mail
process served to: Elizabeth
Schub, 63 Ridgewood Terrace, Chappaqua NY, 10514.
Purpose: any lawful act.
Notice of formation of The
Bail King, LLC., a domestic
Limited Liability Company
(LLC). Articles of Organization filed with the Sect’y
of State of NY (SSNY) on
6/18/10. Office location:
Westchester County. The
street address is: 15 Palisade Avenue Yonkers, NY
10701. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process served to:
Christopher Daroja c/o the
LLC at 70 South Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06854. Purpose: any lawful act.
#6367 1/25 – 3/1
#6362 1/25 – 3/1
#6361 1/18 – 2/22
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of Force
Software, LLC, a domestic
Limited Liability Company
(LLC), filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY)
on 01/04/2013. Office location: Westchester County.
Principal office of LLC: 8
Tam O Shanter Dr., Purchase, NY 10577 . SSNY
designated as agent of LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY shall
mail process to Christopher
Rodier, 8 Tam O Shanter Dr.,
Purchase, NY 10577, upon
whom and at which process
may be served. Purpose:
Software Consulting.
Notice of formation of
Bluesky Capital Partners,
LLC. Arts. Of Org. filed with
the Sect’y of State of NY
(SSNY) on October 1, 2012.
Office location: Westchester
County. The street address
is: 40 Memorial Highway
20C, New Rochelle, NY
10801. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process served
to: Won-Jae Lee, 40 Memorial Highway 20C, New Rochelle, NY 10801.
Purpose: any lawful act.
Notice of formation of Daphne Viders, LLC. Articles of
Organization filed with the
Secretary of
State on December 15,
2008. The street address is
Weschester County, New
York. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY shall
mail process served to: LLC
c/o The Viders Law Group,
PLLC, 368 Veterans Memorial Highway, Commack,
New York 11725. Purpose:
Any lawful act.
#6363 1/25 – 3/1
#6368 1/25 – 3/1
#6369 2/1 – 3/8
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
LEGAL NOTICE
Notice of formation of Hudson Valley Till LLC Arts. Of
Org. filed with the Sect’y of
State of NY (SSNY) on December 3, 2012. Office location: Westchester County.
The street address is: 146
Ridgecrest Road, Ossining,
NY. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY
shall mail process served
to Hudson Valley Till, LLC;
146 Ridgecrest Road, Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510.
Purpose: any lawful act.
Notice of formation of HORIZON BUILDERS NY, LLC
Arts. Of Org. filed with the
Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY)
on JANUARY 17, 2013. Office location: Westchester
County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC
upon whom process against
it may be served. SSNY shall
mail process served to: JOSEPH BOHM, 2131 ESPEY
CT., STE3, CROFTON, MD
21114. Purpose: any lawful
act.
Notice of formation of B & D
Motel LLC Arts. Of Org. filed
with the Sect’y of State of
NY (SSNY) on January 25,
2013. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY has
been designated as agent of
the LLC upon whom process
against it may be served.
SSNY shall mail process
served to: 100 Prescott Ave.
White Plains, NY 10605.
Purpose: any lawful act.
John J. Greco, Esq.
Atty. for B&D Motel LLC
Governor Clinton Building
1 Albany Avenue
Kingston, NY 12401
Tel. No.: (845) 331 - 6073
Notice of formation of: CENTRAL
WESTCHESTER
HOME HEALTH SERVICES,
LLC. Articles of organization filed with the Secretary
of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on
1/29/13.
Office location:
Westchester County. SSNY
has been designated as
agent of the LLC upon whom
process against it may be
served. SSNY shall mail
process to the LLC, c/o Segun Okunoye: 15 Nella Lane,
Port Chester, NY 10573.
Purpose: Any lawful activity.
#6370 2/1 – 3/8
#6371 2/1 – 3/8
#6372 2/8 – 3/15
#6373 2/8 – 3/15
Friday, February 8, 2013 - Yonkers RISING - PAGE 7
Seniors and Health Care
Elected Officials Provide
Spano Announces Free AARP
Seniors Tips to Prevent Falls Tax Counseling for Seniors
Photo by Rachel Estroff
L to r: Assemblywoman Shelley Mayer, Senator George Latimer, Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow,
Council President Chuck Lesnick, Mayor Mike Spano, Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and
VNSNY CHOICE Director of Community Relations and Marketing Dominic Mascara
Mayor Mike Spano recently announced
that the Tax-Aide program of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) will be offered to seniors through the Yonkers Office for
the Aging and the Will Branch of the Yonkers
Public Library. The program is available now
until Monday, April 15.
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, an AARP
Foundation program, helps low to moderate income taxpayers have more discretionary income
for everyday essentials, such as food and housing, by assisting with tax services and ensuring
they receive applicable tax credits and deductions.
“AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is a great opportunity to ensure our seniors are equipped with
the comprehensive tools needed to manage their
finances,” said Spano. “This is just one example
of how Yonkers continues to strive and provide
beneficial services at no cost to our residents.”
AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is available
free to taxpayers with low and moderate income, with special attention to those 60 and older. Through a cadre of trained volunteers, AARP
Foundation Tax-Aide has helped low to moderate income individuals for more than 40 years in
every state and the District of Columbia.
Trained volunteer tax counselors will be on
hand to assist at the following times and locations:
• Mondays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 to
3 p.m. at the Office for the Aging at the Chema
Center, 435 Riverdale Ave., starting Monday,
February 4; and
• Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to
1:30 p.m. at the Will Branch of the Yonkers Public Library, 1500 Central Park Avenue, starting
Tuesday, February 5.
All required tax reporting forms will be
available at the Tax-Aide sites. No appointment
is necessary. Senior Citizens will be assisted on
a first-come/first-serve basis.
AARP coordinators for this program request that people bring with them their last
year’s tax returns, their W2 and/or 1099 forms
and all other information and documentation
concerning their income in 2012.
The free nationwide program is administered through the AARP Foundation in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service. For
more information, contact the Yonkers Office
for the Aging at 914-377-6822.
Social Security Column:
A ‘Raise’ for Recipients
Photo by Lorenzo Ciniglio
A large, curious crowd showed up for the event
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for seniors, and Westchester elected
officials want their elder constituents to stay strong
on their feet.
On Thursday, January 31, State Senators Andrea Stewart-Cousins and George Latimer, Assemblymembers Shelley Mayer and J. Gary Pretlow,
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and experts from
VNSNY CHOICE Health Plans, a nurse-led health
plan for Medicaid and/or Medicare eligible New
Yorkers by the non-profit Visiting Nurse Service of
New York (VNSNY), presented an important Falls
Prevention workshop at Coyne Park Community
Center in Yonkers.
Nearly 200 Westchester county seniors and
their family caregivers attended the workshop to
hear about how to stay safe and confident in their
home and community environments.
At the beginning and end of the seminar, VNSNY CHOICE Rehab Clinical Manager Allison
Simms lead and performed stretching exercises
with the seniors in attendance.
Additionally, seniors were provided with tips
and techniques for avoiding falls, like how to assess a home environment for potential fall hazards,
how to choose footwear and walking aids that offer
increased stability and how to find local resources
that can help seniors build strength and increase
stamina.
“Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injury in older adults,” said Simms. “Every 17
seconds, a senior is taken to the emergency room
because of a fall — 70 percent of these falls occur in the home. These elected officials here today
have strong connections with the elderly population in this community and we truly enjoyed team-
ing up with each one of them to share tips and techniques for Yonkers seniors and their loved ones.”
Stewart-Cousins, the Senate’s Democratic
Conference Leader, said, “I am pleased to partner
with VNSNY CHOICE and other elected officials
to host this important seminar. The statistics are
quite troubling. Teaching prevention is key to addressing this and I am honored to be a part of this
important effort.”
Latimer said, “Our job as legislators is to
serve as advocates for all of our constituents and
help them face the challenges they encounter in
their lives. Partnering with VNSNY CHOICE, we
were collectively able to identify a need for our seniors and provide them with information and other
resources that will allow them to live healthy and
productive lives. I am grateful to my colleagues for
working together to conduct this forum and to the
VNSNY CHOICE for providing their expertise on
a topic that will help our seniors and their loved
ones.”
Mayer said, “I am so pleased that we were
able to bring the knowledge of VNSNY CHOCE
to our seniors. I know firsthand that preventing
falls is critically important to our seniors’ health
and quality of life.”
Spano said, “The City of Yonkers is continuously seeking ways to best protect the health, safety and quality of life of our residents. This workshop offers valuable information to prevent serious
injuries that are too often the result of a fall. I thank
VNSNY CHOICE for their continued partnership
with our city and for offering this great resource to
Yonkers residents today.”
For more information, call 855-AT-CHOICE
(282-4642) or visit VNSNYCHOICE.org.
By Susan Sobel, Social Security District
Manager in Yonkers
As we continue to ring in a new year, we
can expect to see a number of changes.
Social Security is no exception: in 2013,
people who receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments will see
their benefits increase.
Beginning in 2013, a 1.7 percent cost-ofliving adjustment (COLA) was applied to all
Social Security and SSI payments. The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired
worker in 2013 is $1,261 (up from $1,240 in
2012) and the average monthly Social Security
benefit for a disabled worker in 2013 is $1,132
(up from $1,113 in 2012). These changes were
reflected in SSI payments dated December 31,
2012 and Social Security payments dated in
January 2013.
For people who receive SSI, the maximum
federal payment amount has risen to $710 (up
from $698).
Other Social Security changes in 2013 are
worth noting. For example, a worker now pays
Social Security tax on up to $113,700 of annual
income (up from $110,100 in 2012). A worker
earns one credit after paying taxes on $1,160 in
earnings in 2013 (up from $1,130). As always,
a worker may earn a maximum of four credits
each year and a person generally needs forty
credits (or 10 years of work) to be eligible for
retirement benefits.
To learn more about these and other changes for 2013, visit SocialSecurity.gov and read
our fact sheet about the changes.
Salute to Veterans Planned
The staff and volunteers at the VA Hudson
Valley Health Care System will honor those who
have served their country in a week-long celebration entitled the “National Salute to Veterans”
from February 10 to 16.
During the celebration, many activities will
be sponsored by Veteran Service Organizations,
supported by volunteers, staff and the community, sending in thousands of Valentine’s Day cards
to brighten the days of hospitalized Veterans.
Health Care center staff welcomes the Valentine’s cards, well wishes and the support from
anyone who wishes to honor Veterans during the
week. The staff discourages donations of homebaked goods or candies to ensure for patients’
health and safety.
Community organizations or Veteran Service Organizations also can sponsor an activity
for the Community Living Center (nursing home)
residents as well. Groups interested in planning
an event for the Veterans may contact the Voluntary Service Office at 845-831-2000 ext. 5135 or
914-737-4400 ext. 3714.
St. Paul’s Church Holds
Special Civil War Event
“A Conservative Union Parish: St. Paul’s
Church and the Civil War” opens with a special
program at St. Paul’s Church National Historic
Site on Saturday, February 9 from 12 to 4 p.m.
Using an impressive array of original materials, the exhibition explores the war’s impact on
the lives of Union veterans buried in the historic
cemetery and chronicles the struggles of the parish and town with the great issues of the national
conflict of 1861 to 1865.
The opening event features a talk about the
role of religion in the Civil War by Professor
Robert T. Valentine of Lehman College. There
will also be re-enactments commemorating
President’s Day and African American History
Month, including appearances by Presidents
Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt and
Underground Railroad icon Harriet Tubman.
Historic activities for children, with prizes,
will also be held. Parking and admission are free
St. Paul’s Church is located at 897 South
Columbus Ave. in Mt. Vernon. For more information, visit 914-667-4113 or visit NPS.gov/
sapa.
Advertise on our Seniors and Health Care
Page! Call today: 914-965-4000
PAGE 8 - Yonkers RISING - Friday, February 8, 2013
Legendary Troy
Mayor Spano
Continued from Page 1
challenged in court; and
• Immediately after taking office, Spano
announced a new policy on city-owned takehome cars and city employee healthcare benefits. All departments were asked to return
non-emergency take-home cars; 40 of the 93
cars in the city’s fleet were returned, saving
more than 100,000 miles in take usage, estimated at $50,000 per year. Only those department heads, deputy commissioners, commissioners and mayoral staff who are required
to be on call on a 24-hour basis as specified
by the Mayor’s office will be assigned takehome vehicles. As of now, 50 vehicles have
been or will be auctioned off at YonkersCARStore.com. The Mayor also created a revised
policy for city healthcare benefits, which will
save the city up to $150,000 annually in coverage. All unrepresented employees, including all top officials in the Mayor’s office, will
be required to contribute to their city-funded
YPIE & Forest City
Troy, available at the Yonkers Humane Society
Troy is a feline legend at the cat adoption
center in Yonkers, where he found shelter after being abandoned.
The volunteers at the center, where he
is universally loved, say that he has the most
wonderful personality! But, sadly, the feline
face that has launched a thousand smiles
won’t be able to stay at the center much longer
and must find a forever home very soon.
A handsome, sweet older tabby that gets
along well with everyone, Troy is very affectionate and loves being kissed and petted.
Troy is a special-needs cat who would do better as an only pet since he needs to eat prescription MD food. Thanks to the wonderful
care he received at the center, he no longer
needs medicine to manage his diabetes.
But what he does need is special food,
an occasional blood test and lots of love in a
fabulous home. He’s neutered and current on
vaccinations.
To meet Troy or for more information,
call the Yonkers Humane Society at 914-4392415.
Academy for Jewish
are able to have Westchester’s biggest library
of Jewish texts in our new space here.”
Recently, Cantors from AJR sang at the
Yonkers City Hall Menorah lighting, at which
the Yonkers Jewish community was represented in full force.
On January 27 a dedication of the space
and ribbon cutting ceremony, led by Mayor
Mike Spano and AJR leaders, took place.
Continued from Page 2
erously.
While Prouser said that the Yonkers move
was not about attracting Jews from Yonkers to
attend, she did say, “It’s exciting to be part of
the revitalization of the downtown area. We
Mayor Edward I. Koch
Continued from Page 4
bridge not only had to navigate a New York
City with no mass transit but somehow get his
way up to Yonkers.
This wasn’t the only reference to Yonkers and Westchester featured in this exquisite movie. We see the headline in the New
York Daily News when Mayor Koch loses
the primary for Governor to Mario Cuomo.
Cuomo won, and so did Al DelBello, former
Yonkers City Councilman and Mayor, as well
as Westchester County Executive, who was
running for Lieutenant Governor.
We see the headlines that a man is terrorizing New York City, putting fear in all of
its inhabitants. This man, of course. was Yonkers resident David Berkowitz, AKA Son of
Sam. And we see scenes, however brief, of
Berkowitz being taken into custody from his
Yonkers apartment. A menace off the streets.
Our former neighbor, Gabe Pressman,
dean of the New York Press Corps who lived
in Yonkers, is also front and center at the
many press conferences Mayor Koch would
hold at a moment’s notice. I went to School
27 on Valentine Lane with Gabe’s daughter
when the family resided in south west Yonkers.
New York lost a giant with the passing
of Ed Koch last Friday. His passing coincided with the opening of a documentary that
celebrated his life without sugarcoating it.
We have all read and heard so much about
Ed Koch over the last week that even those
among us who don’t remember his tenure are
now connoisseurs of his life.
What struck me with all the stories, radio
and television reports and other commentaries about his life was not simply that he was
larger than life. He was an elected official
who truly enjoyed governing. He loved being
Mayor of New York City, bringing it back to
life after it almost went into bankruptcy in the
1970s. It wasn’t just a financial bankruptcy
that New York was experiencing at the time.
It was a bankruptcy of spirit, and Ed Koch
played the role of cheerleader, leading the underdog team to victory.
Do we have any elected officials, current
or past, that enjoy governing as did Mayor
Koch? Guiliani or Bloomberg? Obama or
Bush 1 or 2? Closer to home, Westchester
County Executive Astorino or Yonkers Mayor Spano? They do their job, but we don’t see
the joy of governing in their face that we saw
in Ed Koch.
How did Koch do it? In his own words,
he decided early on that he was not going to
be a jerk running around trying to save the
world. So many politicians exhibit a holier
than thou philosophy, expecting the public to
believe that they are our world’s savior. Not
Ed Koch.
He followed basic philosophies that
seem so simple but, the more you thought
about them, you realize how prudent and realistic they are. When making a decision, Koch
would do what his mother would do. If his
mom didn’t have money, she would not spend
it. New York was bankrupt in the late 1970s
and he made decisions, however unpopular
they were, to cut the budget, closing hospitals and laying off workers, as the city did not
have the money.
Koch believed that he needed to get the
attention of the public to deal with municipal
problems. He would hold press conferences
at the drop of a hat. Unscripted, teleprompter-less affairs unlike today’s politicians. The
press and public relished his every word.
He would say what he believed, guided
by the philosophy that if the public didn’t like
what he said or did, he could always get another job. He was a lawyer but always had in
his mind memories of his parents who ran a
coat check at a relative’s business. He helped
out at the coat check and never forgot how
humiliating the coat check job was, begging
for tips.
His private life was none of anyone’s
business other than his. Even when his opponents put up signs on Queens Boulevard saying “Vote for Cuomo not the Homo” he didn’t
let the desire of others to paint him sexually
interfere with his quest for the job. He told
them where to go, in terms not publishable in
this family-friendly newspaper.
He confronted his opponents in public.
He wasn’t hidden by guards, press people,
aides or anyone. Even late in his life, he relished a good debate.
I’ll never forget the night when he lost
the primary for Governor. Koch stood on the
stage, sad but reminding his supporters, loud
and clear, that “I am still Mayor.” Up until
his death, his guiding philosophy was that he
wanted to stay relevant. Author, television
commentator, radio host, movie reviewer —
though he was out of office for years, officials
running for office still clamored for his endorsement.
He planned his funeral many years ago.
Simple, short speeches by individuals important in his life. Simple strains of “New York,
New York” played on the organ at Temple
Emanu-El in New York City. No Frank Sinatra, no Liza Minelli, no Beyonce. He wanted
to be front, center and relevant to the very
end. How beautiful, how poignant his funeral
service was.
Think about the philosophies that guided
his life when you make your next decision!
Mayor Edward I. Koch. We are better
people because we knew him. He, too, is New
York!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@
aol.com.
Make Rising Media Group a part of your
advertising plan. Call today! 914-965-4000
Continued from Page 1
indicating they successfully completed the program and will have an opportunity to apply for
summer internships and jobs.
Each week of the program will focus on
a different area of retail and shopping center management. In addition to learning from
FCRC and operational partners Securitas USA,
LAZ and CBS about areas like marketing, retail center security, parking/traffic and maintenance, students will meet and interact with
management professionals at partner organizations like Lord & Taylor (retail management),
Whole Foods (supermarket operations), The
Cheesecake Factory (restaurant management)
and WESTMED (medical center management).
Whole Foods will also be acting as “Snack
Sponsor” and, on March 6, the day after their
Academy session, they will donate five percent
of their sales to YPIE.
“Forest City is giving these students a
wonderful opportunity,” said YPIE Executive
Director Wendy Nadel. “Exposure to careers
and the skills needed to be successful in the
workplace should be part of every child’s education. Ridge Hill Academy will help these students understand what they need to do to build
a successful future.”
Ridge Hill Academy fits into YPIE’s successes in providing students with the information and tools they need to decide on a future
career path. While YPIE has been successful
in helping Yonkers public high school students
apply for and obtain scholarship funds to get
into college, Ridge Hill Academy will allow
YPS high school students the opportunity to
explore other career paths.
Nadel thanked FCRC for the $100,000
Council Republicans
Continued from Page 1
process that requires transparency and public
deliberation. When politicians pick their voters,
the voters lose. We need reform that will put the
voters back in charge.”
Shepherd said, “The first proposal splits
communities between districts designed to make
them uncompetitive. Passing these reforms will
ensure that communities of interest are kept together so that everyone will have a voice on the
City Council.”
The three councilmembers are calling for
passage of a resolution they have introduced,
which would ensure that:
• The council reaffirms its commitment to
fair, non-partisan redistricting;
• Along with passage of any maps, the
council adopt an anti-gerrymandering provision
prohibiting the favoring or disfavoring of incumbents, challengers or political parties;
• The council prohibit a map that would
split census blocks and communities of interest;
• A requirement that any deviation from the
mean population in districts be explained;
• The creation of minority opportunity districts, where practicable, and the protection of
minority voting rights mirroring the current federal law;
• Consensus decision-making, ensuring minority party participation;
• Better criteria for drawing district lines
including, but not limited to, increased transparency, with public hearings in each city council
district at least 30 days prior to the adoption of
any maps; and
• Every aspect of the process open to scrutiny by the public and the press.
Council republicans are in the process of
reaching out to good government groups to advise with drafting their own set of maps, which
would be in compliance with the new resolution
as well as the Voter Rights Act of 1965.
“We are calling for public hearings which
will thoroughly vet both sets of maps and produce a product that is best for the diverse Yonkers communities,” said Breen.
“In most cases, public hearings come first,
then maps,” Breen said. “We should be doing
the same here. Let’s take the time to improve
the democratic process in the city by ensuring
that redistricting be constitutional and fair and
reform the system for future generations so that
the redistricting process is open so it cannot be
controlled by whichever party is in power.”
The resolution states, “under current law,
Councilmembers draw the districts for them-
healthcare insurance at the rate of 20 percent
for an individual plan and 10 percent for a
family plan.
“While we look at the city’s current budget, we are constantly evaluating all of the
city’s resources and look for ways to eliminate
wasteful spending,” said Spano. “Although
these initial policies are not budget busters,
it sends a message to Yonkers taxpayers that
cost-cutting is a shared sacrifice for us all and
we all must be held accountable for city expenses.
“We are taking a common sense approach
our city’s finances. It’s no different from a
family living within their budget. We have a
certain amount of dollars and we need to justify how we spend every dollar. We are trying
to change the financial direction of the city
and every day we make a little bit of headway
to make Yonkers better from where we got it.
Every dollar counts and every taxpayer dollar
should be treated as if it were their own.”
The cost cutting efforts and attempts to
collect monies owed to the City, to date, total
$4.248 million.
donation and hoped that Ridge Hill Academy
would lead to additional partnerships with other area corporations and businesses.
Mayor Mike Spano and YPS Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio praised the new program.
“Ridge Hill Academy, the collaboration
between YPIE and Forest City Ratner Companies, is critical to the future of our Yonkers Public School students,” said Spano. “Programs
like this are vital so we can expose our students to different careers and provide them the
real-life experience needed to help them make
educated decisions about college and beyond.
Thank you to Forest City Ratner for its generous contribution and YPIE for its commitment
to our students.”
Pierorazio thanks FCRC for the donation
and praised YPIE for “Helping the education
of our students blossom. Graduation rates have
risen and scholarships to college have skyrocketed.”
FCRC Senior Vice President Kathy Welch
said, “We have so many management professionals here at Ridge Hill with useful career
knowledge to share with students, and the
Ridge Hill Academy really builds on what Yonkers Partners in Education is already doing to
help students prepare for life after high school.
This is a great opportunity for participants to
learn and work with Ridge Hill professionals
who put good ideas and innovative solutions
into practice every day. We are very excited to
be participating in this worthwhile, hands-on
program.”
Islain Dominguez, a program participant
and 11th grader at Saunders Technical and
Trades High School, spoke about her desire to
learn about retail management and how it could
fit into fashion design, her passion and her major at Saunders.
selves; allowing politicians to draw these districts, to make them safe for incumbents, or to
tailor the districts for the election of themselves
or their friends, or to bar the districts to the election of their opponents, is a serious abuse that
harms voters.”
Prior to the council republicans’ press conference, council democrats released a statement
calling on council republicans to stop fanning
the flames where there is no fire and engage in
constructive debate rather than create hysteria.
“I would hope that my Republican colleagues stop fanning the flames where there is
no fire,” said democrat Councilman Christopher
Johnson (First District). “For them to now accuse
the Council’s Democratic Caucus of gerrymandering is ridiculous and reeks of hypocrisy, when
the boundaries that the city is currently using
are clearly partisan. My colleagues and I have
merely proposed a plan and expect their input,
something democrats never got the opportunity
to do when republicans controlled this council.”
Democrat Councilman Michael Sabatino
(Third District) said, “It is ironic that the republicans are raising concerns over my new proposed district, when they themselves told me
that the existing one was so gerrymandered. This
resulted after decades of their past redistricting decisions. My new proposed Third District
eliminates many broken up neighborhoods and
major streets, reuniting the diverse communities
into one council district.”
City Council President Chuck Lesnick said,
“Our consultant, whose hiring was agreed to by
the republicans, proposed a smart plan based on
empirical data collected that also measures the
reality of an increasingly democratic base that
can vote either way, as has been the history in
Yonkers. My hope is that the republicans cease
their character assassinations and work with us
to create district lines that are legal, reflective of
the fast-changing Yonkers population and reduce
costs of elections for the taxpayers of Yonkers.”
The City Council has scheduled an Intergovernmental Committee meeting for February
19 to initially discuss the redistricting plan with
the council’s redistricting consultant, Phillip
Chonigman. Following that meeting, the proposed plan can be modified to meet concerns
and be re-presented to the public, after which it
will sit for eight days. The public will have a second opportunity to comment on the plan (once
revised) at a Committee-of-the-Whole meeting
before the entire City Council votes.
Each council district represents about
33,000 residents. The city is required to redistrict
every 10 years to comply with new census data.
The city’s population of 197,000 did not significantly change over the past 10 years.
Friday, February 8, 2013 - Yonkers RISING - PAGE 9
Murphy graduating from St. Joseph’s
Korean War: Murphy
Continued from Page 1
at dawn on Sunday, June 25, 1950, when North
Korea launched attacks over the 38th Parallel.
By August, North Korea advanced as far as Pusan in the far southeast of the Korean Peninsula,
one of only two South Korean cities not occupied
by North Korea at some point. Backed by United
Nations forces (mainly Americans, who made up
88 percent of all UN forces in the Korean War),
South Korea held the Pusan Perimeter until September 1950, at which point UN reinforcements
arrived and a counterattack began.
By October 1950, South Korea and the UN/
US forces had advanced from their southernmost
position (Pusan Perimeter), to their northernmost,
just shy of the Yalu and Tumen rivers, which form
North Korea’s border with China. On November
1, 1950, the Chinese military officially intervened
on behalf of North Korea. By Christmas in 1950,
UN/US forces were pushed back to below the
38th Parallel again and, by January 4, North Korea had captured Seoul for the second time. The
UN/US forces fought back and recaptured Seoul,
for the last time, by March 1951 (in all, Seoul was
conquered four times within a year — twice by
North Korea and twice by South Korea).
By July 1951, fighting degraded into the
trench warfare tactics of WWI, with both sides
building heavy fortifications (including some
trenches) at established locations. North Korea/
China and South Korea/UN/US had reached a
stalemate at the 38th Parallel, the same line at
which the war began. Fighting continued but
little territory was exchanged. The Korean War
continued in this way for two full years, before
the Armistice Agreement was signed into effect
on July 27, 1953.
As no peace treaty was ever signed, the Korean War is, technically, not over. Both North and
South Korea maintain a heavy military presence
on their respective side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, a 4.5 mile wide strip of land which
separates the two countries, running roughly
along the original 38th Parallel division line. The
US maintains a military presence of between
28,000 and 29,000 soldiers in South Korea.
Army Private Second Class
Christopher Michael Murphy, Jr.
Christopher Michael Murphy, Junior, affectionately known to family and friends as Sonny,
was born on November 8, 1930 at Yonkers General Hospital to Bridget Murphy of County Waterford, Ireland, and Christopher Michael, Senior,
of County Cork, Ireland.
He was the second of five children — he
had an older sister Marie and was followed by
three brothers, Thomas, Edward and Joseph.
Each of his brothers served in the Armed Forces
Proudly serving the City of Yonkers
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— Thomas joined the Army Air Corps (forerunner to the Air Force), Edward was a Marine and
Joseph was in the Army. His brother-in-law, Ray
Murphy, also served in the Air Force.
He grew up on Ashburton Avenue in downtown Yonkers. He attended St. Joseph’s Grammar School. He attended Saunders Trades School
(now Saunders Trades and Technical High
School) until 1948, when he joined the Army.
In the Army, Murphy was stationed in postWWII Japan, serving with the Military Police to
guard Japanese prisoners of war (POWs) at the
outbreak of the Korean War. He was then transferred, as a Private Second Class, to G Company,
2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division.
In July 1950, he was involved in fighting
at Taejon, located in central South Korea, during North Korea’s initial advance across the 38th
Parallel. During the fighting, he was injured in
his right leg. His and other friendly regiments —
from the armies of South Korean and other UN
Nations — were making a fighting withdrawal
from Taejon in an effort to fall back to the Pusan
Perimeter. During the withdrawal, he was reported as missing in action (MIA). He was captured
by North Korean forces, becoming a prisoner of
war (POW), on or about July 30.
As a POW, he was kept at Taejon Police Station with roughly 40 to 50 other prisoners. During
an official US Army interview, Lee Jong Koon —
a South Korean policeman who was incarcerated
at Taejon Police Station at the same time — reported that there were 42 American combatant
POWs, including Murphy, and 13 South Korean
prisoners, including himself. In the same interview, Koon said that of the 42 American POWs,
two had died — one from sickness and another
after having his leg amputated.
The amputee was Murphy. During his captivity, Murphy’s leg wound worsened and, ultimately, became gangrenous. He was moved from
Taejon Police Station to a hospital in the city — it
was reported to have been a Red Cross Hospital
or Relief Dispensary, but that is under dispute.
Three other interviewees corroborated Koon’s
account.
Kim Kee Sung, who worked at the hospital as a “temporary chief of surgery,” performed
Murphy’s amputation. Sung reported that, after
the amputation, Murphy died on September 24,
1950.
Kim Il Kyu, another employee of the hospital, reported that “on 21 September 1950” a US
soldier, Murphy, was carried into the hospital
and, three days later, died. “Later this same day,”
said Kyu, “I observed six American soldiers remove the body... I observed them bury the body
on a mountain approximately 300 meters distant
from the hospital.”
A third witness, Kim Pan Sool, reported seeing six American soldiers bury another American
on “the mountain behind [his] house.”
It seems conclusive that Murphy passed
away, following the amputation of his right leg,
on September 24, 1950, about one month shy of
his 20th birthday. Four days after his death, the
roughly 54 prisoners remaining at Taejon Police
Station were all executed. There were two survivors — a South Korean named Lee Jong Koon
and US Army Sergeant First Class Carey H. Winel — each of whom were shot, buried while still
alive and ultimate rescued about 52 hours later.
The whereabouts of Murphy’s remains are
still unknown. It is possible that they remain
buried in Taejon. Another possibility is that they
were interred in 1956 at the National Memorial
Center of the Pacific (The Punchbowl) in Honolulu, Hawaii, as one of 432 US Unknowns (unidentified soldiers) from the Korean War.
The Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command
has been regularly searching Korea to find the
remains of Murphy and other missing soldiers.
There are several locations suspected of containing Muphy’s remains, some of which are now
heavily developed, making excavation without
more reliable evidence not currently possible.
Since the end of the Korean War, his brother-in-law, Ray Murphy, has undertaken his own
extensive search and done much research in an
effort to locate Murphy’s remains. He suspects,
and not without reason, that they have, in fact,
ended up at The Punchbowl.
On one trip to South Korea, Ray was toured
around the entirety of the city of Taejon. Stops
included several sites that have been earmarked
as possible burial locations of Murphy’s remains
— one a hill by the hospital at which Murphy’s
leg was amputated (not a school), another on a
hill near the then-Taejon Police Station where
Murphy was a POW, and some others.
One visited site was definitely the burial
place of an American soldier — as corroborated
by several witnesses — but was empty at the time
of Ray’s visit. Taejon locals reported that the
grave had been rummaged through by wild dogs,
but Ray disagrees, on account of the fact that
there were no remains at all found at the site. Ray
believes that this was where Murphy was buried,
but whose remains were recovered by US Graves
Registration personnel and sent, as an Unknown,
to The Punchbowl.
“What they did with remains, unidentified
remains, is they shipped them to Kokura, Japan,”
Ray told me. “Kokura sprayed formaldehyde on
the remains [to preserve them] and then transferred them to The Punchbowl. When they tried
to go through the Unknown remains and identify
DNA, they couldn’t penetrate the formaldehyde.”
Ray believes that that’s what happened
to Murphy’s remains — they were recovered,
brought to and interred in The Punchbowl, and
now remain there, unidentified, until more accurate DNA testing techniques can be used.
The Murphy’s family plot in St. Joseph’s
Cemetery in Yonkers has a marker bearing Christopher Michael Murphy, Jr.’s name. He is the
recipient of the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the
United Nations Service Medal and the National
Defense Service Medal.
Yonkers Bat Company
Making Big Splash
Fresh off the production line
Xplosive owner Victor Delgado working on a bat
Xplosive Bats is the first Yonkers-based custom wood bat Company.
Xplosive’s incredible attention to detail allows it to make some of the best custom wood
bats in the market. It produces professional quality
wood baseball and softball bats that can be used at
any level of play from youth leagues to the pros.
Xplosive maintains precise quality control from
the lumber selection, drying and finishing, ensuring that customers are receiving top quality professional bats. Xplosives are the best made, most
durable and consistent wood bats made today.
“I have baseball in my veins,” said Xplosive
owner Victor Delgado. “I know that I can’t play
baseball for a living, but I enjoy making a difference in the game. I take a lot of pride in each bat I
make and there is nothing better than the sound of
the crack from a wood bat. Making baseball bats
is my passion.”
Xplosive wants its customers to know that its
priority is to give them the best bats and service
possible. It also allows customers to speak to real
during the bat-making process instead of an answering machine.
Xplosive’s professional grade wood has
straighter grain and greater density, leading to better quality. The wood comes from loggers who
select cutting and use mills that are the most technologically advanced in their field. Natural gas is
used to reach six to eight percent moisture content
for vacuumed dried billets. Only #1 Clear Grade
Maple is used.
Each bat begins as a precisely sized 37-inch
cylinder of wood, called a billet, which is weighed
to a 10th of an ounce and then sorted by weight.
The billet is loaded into the lathe and programmed
to produce a specific bat model.
But the process is far from over. Wooden nubs
left on either end of the newly formed bat need to
be cut off. The bat needs to be sanded, painted,
sometimes stained, dried and then dipped in two
coats of clear coat finish before applying the company label. Xplosive customizes everything in the
bats, from the color and model to the engraving of
players’ name and team.
Xplosive bats fit all levels of baseball players,
from tee ball to college. It can fine-tune the balance and make it unique to you. Technical advice
and recommendations are offered. Players from a
growing number of wooden-bat leagues are buying from Xplosive, which currently has clients and
stores selling its bats in Puerto Rico and Florida.
For more information, e-mail info@xplo
sivebats.com or visit XplosiveBats.com.
Car Wash l Oil Change l Detailing
999 Saw Mill River Road
Yonkers, NY 10710
(914) 963-8787
www.starautospa.com
Fleet Discounts
PAGE 10 - Yonkers RISING - Friday, February 8, 2013
PAL Poster Contest 2013
PAL membesr and supporters at the
2013 Poster Contest Kickoff Event
2012 Poster Contest winner Julianna Calvello her
Montessori Academy class and teacher Leila Faoer,
YPD Commissioner Charles Gardner and Margaret Staruch
Left: Mayor Mike Spano
welcomes all to the kickoff
Right: Paul Zachareas,
longtime PAL supporter, with
Sergeant McGovern, Officer
Wissner and Doc
Right: PAL Vice President
Jim Vetrano
Far right: 2012 Poster
Contest winner Enzo Kim
with his PEARLS
class and teacher
Pamela Roura-Vazquez,
Gardner and Staruch
City Council President Chuck Lesnick with Kim and Calvello
PAL Poster Contest 2013
Continued from Page 1
photographs. From those hundreds, we narrow it
down until we get our final 10 contestants, five
boys and five girls. They rehearse for a week at
the City Hall. One the night of the contest, a boy
and a girl will be chosen by our panel of judges.
To enter the contest, you must be in the 5th or
6th grade, reside in Yonkers and attend a Yonkers
Public, Private or Parochial school.
The announcement was made at City Hall
where last year’s winners, Enzo Kim of the
P.E.A.R.L.S. Hawthorne School and Julianna
Calvello of the Montessori Academy attended
the ceremony with their teachers and classmates.
Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, Yonkers School
Superintendent Bernard Pierorazio and Yonkers
Police Commissioner Charles Gardner were
among the speakers cheering the kids on. City
Council President Chuck Lesnick and members
of the City Council also attended. The rehearsals
and the contest itself are held in the City Council
Chambers.
Yonkers Police Benevolent Association
President Keith Olson and CLS President Lieu-
tenant Thomas Phelan were there with the Yonkers Police Officer Mark Whissner, his partner,
police canine Doc and Sergeant James McGovern. McGovern and Whissner will be on the PAL
poster with the two student winners.
The kick off also was attended by members
of the PAL Board including longtime Poster
Contest Chair Jimmy Vetrano. Vetrano worked
for years on the contest, encouraging all of the
participants to do their best every year.
If you are interested in being on the PAL
poster and you fit the requirements listed above,
send a five by seven inch photo of yourself (with
name, address, phone number, date of birth,
name of school and grade on the back) to: PAL
New Faces, 127 North Broadway, Yonkers, N.Y.
10701. Attention: Margaret Staruch. Submission
deadline is March 15. For more information, call
914-968-7468.
A special thanks to the Mayor’s and City
Council’s staff members, especially Lucia Trovato, and PAL Members Charlie Gebbia, John
Harrigan, Greg Keleshian, Sue Sacco, Wanda
London and Ros Marani.
Good luck to new PAL Poster Contest
Chairs Margaret Staruch and Wanda London.
Calvello, Staruch and Kim with Stew Leonard’s’ Wow the Cow
Photos by Ed Whitman