Westchester Insider: Westchester County: Spend Holiday Break in the Park!

 

There's something for everyone at Westchester County Parks!

Enjoy family holiday events, go on a hike, play a few rounds of golf and more! https://parks.westchestergov.com/holiday-break-activities

Westchester Insider: Rep. Jamaal Bowman Improves Transit for Westchester & the Bronx.

Dear neighbor, 

Many of you shared with me the importance of expanding access to transit in our district so that your daily lives would see material improvement. I took this seriously, and worked hard with all levels of government and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) to improve our infrastructure and transportation. 

I am so proud to announce that we have secured major game-changing transit investments coming to the Bronx and Westchester. Last week, after months of advocating for these improvements, Amtrak agreed to pay $500 million to build the line to Penn Access through the Bronx and up to New Rochelle. The MTA will also allocate $432 million toward rehabilitating Amtrak-owned tunnels under the East River that were damaged by Superstorm Sandy. What this means for our community is huge. 

This will create hundreds of good paying jobs for our neighbors, create a new train station for Co-Op City, and upgrade the New Rochelle station. It will also reduce commuting time by 1.5 hours daily from Co-Op City to Manhattan and by 2.5 hours daily for those commuting to Connecticut. We fought for Bronx and Westchester residents to have equitable access to transportation and this is a major step in the right direction.

High quality transit also means that our planet and communities thrive. Less time will be spent traveling on the train and more time will be spent with family, pursuing educational and career advancement opportunities, engaging with surrounding communities, and more. We will also reduce our carbon footprint by expanding transit access so that less cars are on the road. 

I am honored to have joined Governor Hochul, Senator Schumer, Mayor Noam Bramson and Mayor Bill de Blasio, along with my colleagues throughout New York to continue supporting this project. We will keep working to create transit justice and equity by collaborating to address your needs and championing investments at the federal level that make a difference in your life.

Please feel free to share what else our office can do to continue to build on this effort in order to make transit more accessible and affordable in our district. We enjoy reading your feedback, comments and concerns. Our work is to best serve you.

Happy Holidays,

 

Congressman Jamaal Bowman (NY-16)

Westchester Insider: STATEMENT FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROCAH ON GOVERNOR HOCHUL SIGNING COVID-19 LEGISLATION AND THE CREATION OF MULTI-AGENCY COVID VACCINE FRAUD TASK FORCE.

 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY OFFICE OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY

MIRIAM E. ROCAH

 

 

 

***STATEMENT***

 

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – December 23, 2021

 

STATEMENT FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROCAH ON GOVERNOR HOCHUL SIGNING COVID-19 LEGISLATION AND THE CREATION OF MULTI-AGENCY COVID VACCINE FRAUD TASK FORCE.

 

 

We commend Governor Kathy Hochul for signing legislation that will enable law enforcement to better protect our communities against COVID-19 and those who seek to thwart vaccine requirements through fraudulent acts. The new legislation clarifies that making, possessing or selling a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine cards is a crime and criminalizes computer tampering related to COVID-19 vaccine provisions. 

 

We are also pleased to announce the COVID-19 Vaccination Fraud Task Force to combat instances of fraud associated with COVID-19 vaccinations. The task force, which has already been meeting and collaborating, includes the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office, the Queens County District Attorney’s Office, the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, and the New York County District Attorney’s Office, together with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. As part of our ongoing efforts in this area, we are releasing the attached public service announcement.

 

Westchester Insider: Choice Matters: Closing 2021 with a Bang!

 

What a year. 2021 was wild from start to finish. But one thing has been clear—Choice Matters never backs down.

Just last month, we witnessed an abortion clinic attack right here in Westchester. It was the worst one in New York State in decades. Empowered by the US Supreme Court's refusal to stay Texas SB8 and then by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization oral arguments, extremists invaded the clinic.

New York can't be caught off guard—and Choice Matters is already fighting back! We are working on a plan to educate County police departments on State and Federal Clinic Access Laws—which they clearly don’t know, given they failed to enforce them when the White Plains clinic was attacked on November 27th. 

Choice Matters is on the front lines, and we know what to do. Our knowledge base has been developed over almost 50 years of activism, and is essential as we battle to elect abortion rights champions to Congress and fortify New York State—which is the only real way to ensure comprehensive reproductive health care for all.

We are also working to pass a safe clinic access bill right here in Westchester. Choice Matters is taking the necessary steps to fight back against these terrorists who become more dangerous with each Supreme Court indicator.

Your gift supports Choice Matters’ vital advocacy, reproductive policy advancement, and political and public education campaigns.

As president of WCLA – Choice Matters, I am asking you for your financial support because it is “sink or swim” for women’s reproductive rights.

Together, we can protect the rights of women in New York and those who come here seeking abortion care, but we need your financial support to do so.

We count on you!

Catherine Lederer-Plaskett
President & Chair

https://choicematters.org/donate-now/

Westchester Insider: Westchester County Legislator Margaret Cunzio 3rd District: Happy Holidays!

 

Westchester Insider: Westchester County Legislator Ruth Walter 15th District: Holiday Wishes for Health and Happiness!

Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

Whether you plan to enjoy the holidays in-person or remotely, the spirit of giving can shine brightly. A phone call to an old friend or an errand run for a homebound relative is as special as a beautifully wrapped gift under the tree. Thoughtfulness and connection boost the spirits as much as candles and tinsel.Christmas is upon us shortly, with Kwanzaa fast on its heels, and then right into New Year’s. Most of us are vaccinated, and hopefully boosted as well, but we still must be careful and celebrate safely this year.

So let’s reflect on the important things, the things that will be truly meaningful to the people in our lives at this holiday season, and let’s do those things this year. And with any luck next year, we can do all the things we used to.

Best Wishes for Happy and Safe Holidays,

Westchester Insider: Westchester County Police Seize Handgun, Recover Stolen Vehicle.

 

WESTCHESTER COUNTY POLICE SEIZE LOADED HANDGUN, RECOVER STOLEN CAR.

Suspects charged after crashing on the Hutchinson River Parkway.

 

(Hawthorne, NY) – Westchester County Police arrested two men and recovered a stolen car and a loaded 9 mm handgun yesterday after the suspects fled from police in an effort to elude capture.

 

About noon yesterday, the Real Time Crime Center at County Police headquarters broadcast an alert that a stolen vehicle was traveling northbound on Interstate 684. New York State Police located the vehicle and attempted to stop it but the driver failed to comply. The County Police Aviation Unit helicopter and a County Police officer joined the state police in following the vehicle on to Interstate 84 and terminated the pursuit when the vehicle entered Connecticut.

 

A short time later, County Police located the vehicle traveling southbound on I-684 and again attempted a traffic stop with NYSP troopers. The driver continued south on I-684 and on to the Hutchinson River Parkway, where the vehicle crashed near the Interstate 287 interchange in Harrison. Both men jumped out of the car and ran off, but were apprehended after a foot pursuit.

 

Angel Vasquez, 18, and Saevian Watts, 20, both of Suffolk County, New York, were booked at County Police headquarters in Hawthorne on charges of Criminal Possession of Stolen Property 3^rd and Criminal Possession of a Weapon 2^nd Degree, felonies; and Resisting Arrest, a misdemeanor. Vazquez, the driver, was also charged with Unlawful Fleeing a Police Officer in a Motor Vehicle, a misdemeanor.

 

In a separate incident yesterday, a County Police officer traveling through Yonkers spotted a man attempting to steal a catalytic converter from a vehicle on Emerson Street and took him into custody. The suspect climbed out from under a Hyundai sedan when he became aware he was being observed and attempted to drive away. After making a traffic stop, the officer found cutting tools, and detected a strong odor of marijuana, inside the vehicle. An examination of the undercarriage of the Hyundai revealed evidence of an effort to cut the catalytic converter off the vehicle.

 

Anthony Jameade, 27, of Baychester Avenue, Bronx, was charged with Auto Striping 3^rd Degree, Criminal Mischief and Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, misdemeanors. A passenger in his vehicle was detained but released without charges.