Winner of Vol. 71, No. 50
What’s inside?
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, January 21, 2021
$1.00
Honoring MLK through service
n After car hits man on Independence Avenue, all eyes turn to what’s next
Out-oftowners
By ETHAN STARK-MILLER
City council candidates are spending a lot of money — just not dropping any dough locally. Page A8
estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
It was a busy day inside the gymnasium of The Riverdale Y as volunteers honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., by giving back to their community. King always championed service as much as he demanded civil rights, so he’d likely be proud to see that even practicing social distancing in the midst of a pandemic wasn’t enough to stop helpers from the UJA-Federation of New York from feeding the hungry.
Jabbing teachers Educators are on the front lines of the pandemic, yet it could be months before many are vaccinated. Page A5
Domestic fallout Sen. Luis Sepúlveda faces calls to resign — an issue hitting close to home for one of his senate colleagues. Page A3
Turning the corner revamping intersection
No one expects to get hit by a car when crossing the street, yet it’s more common than many might think. Cars killed 120 pedestrians in New York in 2019, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association — behind only California, Florida and Texas. And many of them lose their lives on New York City’s streets. But Kenneth Rowe not only worried that someone might get hit by a car on Independence Avenue between West 232nd and West 249th streets — he expected it. That expectation was fulfilled last month when a car turned off of West 232nd and onto Independence, knocking him off REVAMPING, page A4
Remembering day government stopped n Still shaken from Jan. 6 riot, Bowman and Espaillat turn their fears into action By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
In the days leading up to his swearing in as one of Washington’s newest congressmen, Jamaal Bowman knew there would be a lot of fight ahead of him advancing his progressive ideals. He just didn’t expect it to actually be a physical fight. In fact, Bowman is still in a bit of disbelief over his first two weeks in Congress, which included a violent attack on Capitol Hill and a vote to impeach President Donald Trump a second time for making that attack happen. “I didn’t expect any of this,” Bowman said. “Never. Never in a million years.” Yet it happened last week when, culminating with Bowman joining his fellow Democrats — and 10 Republicans — to force yet another Senate trial involving Trump, despite his impending departure from the White House. Because the coronavirus pandemic limited the number of congressional members who could be on the House floor at one time, Bowman was watching what would typically be a routine certification of Electoral College votes that would ultimately hand the presidency to Joe Biden. Outside their very building, however, a crowd of right-wing exJAMAAL tremists — riled up by bOwMAN Trump at a nearby rally — broke through Capitol Police barricades and stormed the seat of U.S. democracy. “I went from watching the debate related to certifying the election results, to seeing Nancy Pelosi get ushered away and the Capitol go on lockdown,” Bowman said. ADRIANO “And then I turned the ESPAILLAT channel to CNN, I believe it was, and I just saw people literally scaling the walls of the Capitol. So, it was obviously just (a) shock. And very scary.” Bowman sheltered with his congressional team in his office inside the Longworth House Office Building — one of three buildings Congressional members use just south of the Capitol building itself. He only left his office briefly to see what was happening on the building’s ground floor — where other House members were secured together in one room. Deciding not to join them and stay with his staff, Bowman went back to his office. The insurrection left four rioters dead. One woman was shot by Capitol Police and died on the scene — while three othCONGRESS, page A4
JULIUS CONSTANTINE MOTAL / File
U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat huddled with his congressional team while insurrectionists breached the Capitol on Jan. 6. After the attack, Espaillat introduced legislation to have some House Republicans who he says supported the attack investigated. He also voted in favor of President Donald Trump’s second impeachment, after leading efforts on first House rebuke.
In today’s classroom, history could have happened yesterday n Following insurrection, teachers lead classroom talk on what happened Jan. 6 By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
With the unprecedented events of the past year — including a deadly pandemic and a turbulent presidential election — living through history doesn’t seem to be too uncommon anymore. But few, if any, might have foreseen they’d live through something that hadn’t happened since the War of 1812. And yet, more pages were added to the history books after a mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 6 while Congress was attempting to certify Presidentelect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. The ensuing lockdown inside the Capitol building lasted for hours. When the smoke
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cleared, five people were dead, including a Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. And if that wasn’t enough, exactly one week later, the U.S. House of Representatives reconvened at the scene of the alleged crime, impeaching Trump on the charge of inciting an insurrection. They were ultimately successful, making Trump the only president in history to have been impeached twice. After a truly chaotic turn of events, it’s likely some students were struggling to make sense of it all. That prompted teachers across the city to bring what’s happening out there inside their classrooms to help students understand what was going on, process the difficult emotions surrounding it, and hopefully hear accurate information about what it all meant. New York City schools chancellor Richard Carranza recognized the need to do just that almost immediately, encouraging teachers to do what many already decided to do: Discuss what happened on Capitol Hill.
‘Can they assemble? Yes, based on the First Amendment. Can they protest? We’ve given more clarity for the students, but it went very well.’
— Michael Simmon
IN-Tech Academy history teacher “My heart breaks to know that our young people have witnessed this violent assault on people, property, the rule of law, and on our democracy itself — met by a response that illustrates our nation’s troubled past and present,” Carranza wrote to teachers Jan. 6. “Today, tomorrow and beyond, you will have the opportunity — and responsibility CLASSROOM, page A4