Gu Winner of Vol. 72, No. 12
What’s inside?
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, April 29, 2021
$1.00
SHATTERED HOPE
Saving the bank A Chase Bank in Knolls Crescent is on the chopping block again, and there might be no saving it now. Page A3
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Missing garden Gardeners at JFK returned to school to find their tools were stolen. But the community wasn’t going to let that stand. Page A6
Political teacher Eric Dinowitz is an educatorturned-politico, but he’s not alone in that regard as more and more teachers seek elected office. Page A9
Rabbi Levi Shemtov says he’s very disturbed by the vandalism of his synagogue, Chabad Lubavitch of Riverdale, over the weekend. Shemtov’s shul was one of four targeted by a person police suspects smashed windows with rocks.
Weekend vandalism targets 4 synagogues n Rocks were used to smash windows in what NYPD is potentially treating as hate By ROSE BRENNAN & ETHAN STARK-MILLER of The Riverdale Press
Between sundown on Friday and Saturday evening, the Jewish community typically takes time for reflection, faith and fellowship. It’s supposed to be a time of relative peace and quiet, and maybe even laughter. But at least for a few synagogues in the area, that Shabbat peace was disturbed this past weekend. Four temples were targeted in a series of vandalism attacks spanning from Thursday to Sunday. Police say someone threw rocks through windows at the Riverdale Jewish Center on Independence Avenue,
Chabad Lubavitch of Riverdale on West 246th Street, Young Israel of Riverdale on Henry Hudson Parkway East, and the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale on West 250th Street. But the man didn’t stop there, according to authorities. He reportedly smashed the windows of three cars along West 239th Street near The Moore Family Riverdale Counseling Center run by the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. Police believe just one perpetrator is responsible for the entire rampage who, as of Tuesday, remains at large. Whether the shuls were targeted specifically or by chance — as they and the cars were all in the vicinity of the Henry Hudson Parkway — remains unknown. Nevertheless, the New York Police Department isn’t taking any chances, assigning the investigation to its Hate Crimes Task Force. Shabbat had not yet begun when the windows at Chabad Lubavitch were first
‘Jewish people have been the victims of hate crimes and persecution for centuries, and this week’s events are a somber reminder that we must all be vigilant in weeding — Statement from local electeds out anti-Semitism.’ smashed Thursday night, said Rabbi Levi Shemtov — who condemned this attack as a part of a broader trend of anti-Semitism. “With anti-Semitism on the rise, unfortunately some cowards, some deranged people are just following along with other anti-Semites,” Shemtov told The Riverdale Press. “I just hope we catch them right away and there are no copycats.” But Thursday wasn’t the only attack the West 246th Street synagogue would experience. More windows were broken Saturday evening, joining the Riverdale Jewish Center as two sites that were hit twice by
the vandal. Volunteers from Community Security Service — an organization that trains individuals to protect Jewish communities — were on-site at the Jewish center Saturday night. According to Richard Priem, the group’s deputy national director, the volunteers provided police with a description of the culprit which they hope will soon lead to his arrest. While these attacks are disturbing, Shemtov said, they won’t stop his congregation. VANDALISM, page A4
Derek Chauvin verdict rare Politicos instance of police accountability turn away
from Zoom, head for Clubhouse Co
n Neighbors well beyond Minneapolis seek police reform and racial equality By ETHAN STARK-MILLER
estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
Derek Chauvin was found guilty in the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The former police officer faced a jury of his peers, yet even in what many saw as an open-and-shut case, there were still some uncertain what would happen until the moment Judge Peter Cahill read the word “guilty” three times. Not only is such a verdict rare, but so is a police officer facing charges for killing a civilian, period. Video clearly showed Chauvin, who is white, kneeling on the neck of Floyd, who is Black, for more than nine minutes, capturing the world’s attention last year. It sparked racial justice protests in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, last summer, calling for changes to the way Black communities are policed. Chauvin was found guilty of secondand third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter. The former cop likely will spend decades in prison, as just the second-degree murder charge alone carries a presumptive sentence of more than 12 years. While racial justice advocates see this verdict as a scarce sign of true account-
By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Derek Chauvin was found guilty of the murder of George Floyd last week in a history-making verdict. Locally, advocates for police reform see the verdict as a step forward, but say there’s much more work to be done. ability, it came down amidst several other highly publicized incidents where Black people were shot and killed by the police. That includes the shooting and killing of Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center — just miles away from the Chauvin trial — and Adam Toledo in Chicago. Carlton Berkley called the Minnesota jury’s verdict a good verdict. “Definitely with me being a retired detective, I’m glad he was found guilty of every charge,” said Berkley, who also is running for city council in the June pri-
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mary. “Hopefully it will send a message to all of the other police agencies that reform is good and police need to take everything into consideration before they do what they do.” Although Crystal Reyes is relieved by the verdict, she has mixed feelings about how much work it took to get there. “The sigh of relief for me was like, ‘Yeah, the system did what it needed to do,’” said Reyes, the youth director with Sistas and Brothas United, an organizaCOP ACCOUNTABILITY, page A4
What would you say to your elected representative if you could call them up right now? Until recently, this question was a moot point because most constituents didn’t have direct access to their representatives beyond maybe text-based social media. They would have to jump through a series of hoops before ever being able to get on the phone with their Assemblyman, council member, or even a mayoral frontrunner. But Clubhouse changes that — at least that’s what fans of the relatively new audioconferencing app say. Launched just as the coronavirus pandemic took hold of the world in April 2020, this invitation-only application is available through smartphones, allowing members to have real-time voice conversations in CLUBHOUSE, page A4
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