Winner of Vol. 72, No. 17
What’s inside?
the Pulitzer Prize Thursday, June 3, 2021
$1.00
Biaggi: Drinking or no, rape is still rape n Legislation aims to better protect sexual abuse victims ‘voluntarily intoxicated’
The current law encourages victims to change their behavior in order to avoid assault rather than discouraging perpetrators from committing assaults in the first place.
By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
Taking charge The future is coming for electric cars, but is Broadway the right place to kick it all off? Page A3
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that combating sexual abuse has been one of state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi’s core issues since heading to Albany three years ago. The senator even gained national attention with her calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after several allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against him last winter. She also has been on the frontlines of passing numerous pieces of legislation aimed to strengthen protections for abuse victims and punishments for perpetrators. So it’s no wonder that with a week left in this year’s legislative session, Biaggi says one of her top priorities is passing a bill that would close the so-called “voluntary intoxication loophole.” The senator describes it as a discrepancy in state law that treats sexual assault and rape victims who chose to drink alcohol before the attack differently from those who didn’t. New York’s criminal code only considers someone mentally incapacitated in cases where it happened involuntarily — meaning someone else drugged or in-
ALESSANDRA BIAGGI state senator
Courtesy of The Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center
The Lasallian Women and Gender Resource Center at Manhattan College was started five years ago partially to address issues with the college’s consent code, says faculty co-director Jordan Pascoe. The center supports state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi’s bill intended to strengthen legal protections for rape and sexual assault victims who also chose to drink. toxicated them without their consent. The result is prosecutors cannot bring rape or sexual assault charges in cases where the victim was intoxicated by choice, like after a night out.
“If somebody goes out with their friends, and voluntarily consumes alcohol, or drugs, and is taken advantage of while they’re out, they’re not protected by the law to successfully charge their abuser or
HOLOCAUST IN THE CLASSROOM Court’s people Voters hear so little about the election of civil court judges in the Bronx, but some of the candidates on the ballot want to make sure you’re informed. Page A5
this perpetrator with rape or assault,” Biaggi said. “Which is crazy.” Biaggi’s bill would change the law giving courts the power to prosecute sexual assault perpetrators, even after their victims drank or took drugs voluntarily. The senator has heard many stories from prosecutors around the state about how the current law prevented them from charging someone with a sex crime simply because of this loophole. And it’s a problem that extends beyond New York where more states have this loophole than don’t. RAPE, page A4
Heading back to school ... for real n Classrooms on city campuses will reopen inperson, five days a week
By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
JULIUS CONSTANTINE MOTAL / File
A group of state legislators argue the recent rise in hate crimes against the Jewish community is because New York’s public schools don’t effectively teach about the Holocaust — a state-sponsored genocide that killed 6 million people during World War II. They include Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who co-sponsors a bill that aims to ensure the Holocaust is being taught properly in schools across the state.
Getting it Wright Isaac Wright Jr., says he has everything it takes to be the next mayor, but is he ready for the Bronx? Page A7
Could better education stem hate?
n Bill authorizes study of how Holocaust is taught in schools, and how much of it By ETHAN STARK-MILLER estarkmiller@riverdalepress.com
Memories of the Holocaust still haunt Jessica Haller, even though she didn’t personally live through it. As the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors, she might not have experienced the horrors of the state-sponsored genocide that killed at least 6 million Jews during World War II, but that trauma has
passed down in her family through the generations. In fact, Haller still thinks of how it affected her father, who was born in a displaced persons camp. “My dad, when I was little, used to clear a path from my bed to the door every night,” she said. “Now, most parents might do that because you might have to use the facilities right? (But) he used to say, ‘In case we need to escape in the middle of the night.’” Echoes of those horrors were revisited in April after a vandal smashed the windows of four local synagogues with rocks. Such anti-Semitism is not just happen-
ing in this corner of the Bronx. It’s been on the rise nationally in recent weeks, especially after the most recent outbreak of violence between Israel and Palestinians. Haller sees a direct link between the rise in anti-Semitism and a lack of effective Holocaust education in public schools. That’s why she’s advocating for passing legislation aimed to ensure school districts around the state are teaching about the atrocities properly. The bill is sponsored by Queens Assemblywoman Nily Rozic and Great Neck state Sen. Anna Kaplan in their respective chambers. Locally Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz is a co-sponsor for ANTI-SEMITISM, page A4
Technology has become more commonplace in the classroom over the past 20 years or so. But it may have been difficult to guess just how essential it would become in March 2020. That, of course, was the first time the coronavirus pandemic spread like wildfire throughout the country. And kids all over soon had to report to their computers rather than their classrooms to get the education they need. A little of that changed when fall — and a new academic year — rolled around, with the city’s offer of “hybrid” learning. But many families — well more than half — chose not to send their kids back to campus a few days a week, instead keeping them home on a strictly remote platform. But that won’t be an option anymore come September. Mayor Bill de Blasio says schools will fully reopen in the fall, meaning every child will be back in the classroom. It’s been a long time coming, but made possible with falling coronavirus cases, and the fact that anyone 12 and older is eligible for a vaccine. BACK TO SCHOOL, page A4
Family discovers a different kind of ‘YouTube Poop’ n Festival honors young filmmakers who showcase crappy — and happy — life By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
Crap happens. But when it interferes with a fun winter activity, it’s bound to face displeasure from some of the city’s younger residents. That was exactly the case for the Nasser family. All they wanted to do was enjoy a day in the snow by going sledding. But on their way to do so, they made a startling discovery: Much of the snow on their route was littered with dog poop. This met the ire of the Nasser kids at the time, so much so that dad Nicola filmed
them complaining about the “land mines” hiding in the snow. But what they might not have expected from this short video was recognition at a film festival. The aptly titled “Dog Poop” was one of 32 short films recognized in the third annual New York City Public School Film Festival. The featured videos were divided into animation, documentary, experimental, short feature/narrative categories, and the category for the Nasser family film in PSA/advocacy. Discomfort is no excuse for leaving an unpleasant surprise in the neighborhood, eldest daughter Loor Nasser says. And the city could certainly do with a reminder that poop is gross, even if your beloved furry friend is the one who left it. “I bet you their excuse is, ‘Oh, no! My hands! They’re too cold, so I can’t touch YOUTUBE, page A4
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HIRAM ALEJANDRO DURÁN
Loor, Jude, Luke and Joseph Nasser were four of the featured personalities in the short film ‘Dog Poop.’ Filmed by father Nicola, the video was one of 32 included in the third annual New York City Public School Film Festival.