Winner of Vol. 71, No. 36
What’s inside?
the Pulitzer Prize
Thursday, October 15, 2020
$1.00
A year too late? Aftermath of an expulsion n A dozen council members, including Cohen, Cabrera, saved Andy King previously By KIRSTYN BRENDLEN kbrendlen@riverdalepress.com
Torkin responds Developer takes public stage to address some of his more controversial construction projects. Page A3
It was a historic vote — not in the sense of being over a landmark issue, but instead simply because it was making history. For the first time since at least the mid-1980s, the city council voted to expel one of its own. Andy King, who had represented parts of the east Bronx, was removed from office in a 48-2 vote after the council’s ethics committee released a report detailing his alleged harassment of employees, including telling one who asked to go to the emergency room for polycystic ovarian syndrome to “put a Band-Aid on it” while reportedly asking another staffer for $2,000. King’s council seat has been in jeopardy before. He first faced investigation in 2018 after an employee accused him of sexual harassment, which reportedly prompted King to undergo sensitivity training. The following year, King was accused of intimidating and retaliating against his staff who cooperated with the first investi-
Courtesy of William Alatriste/New York City Council
Andy King, who formerly represented parts of the east Bronx on the city council, was expelled by his colleagues last week after the release of an investigation report by the council’s ethics committee. The expulsion was the first since at least the mid-1980s. gation — and of allowing his wife to use her own email and King’s email to give instructions to those who worked for him. King also reportedly told members of his staff to send invitations and RSVPs for his daugh-
ter’s wedding in St. Thomas. At least one staffer was allegedly given money by King to attend the wedding. King faced a disciplinary vote last fall where he was suspended for 30 days and
levied a $15,000 fine. The council said it would assign a monitor to observe his operations for the rest of his time in office, ensuring staff members were being treated fairly. The council overwhelmingly approved those measures at the time, which just one vote against. But another move later that day to expel King from the council entirely failed 34-12. Among those who voted against expulsion last year were two councilmen representing this part of the Bronx — Andrew Cohen and Fernando Cabrera. Both are term-limited — Cohen is leaving his seat early at the end of this year to become a Bronx supreme court judge, while Cabrera is running to succeed Ruben Diaz Jr., as Bronx borough president. Both voted with the majority this time around to kick King from the council. Before that vote, King read a statement he said was from a constituent defending his actions — questioning whether someone sitting on the five-member ethics committee had a grudge against the beleaguered councilman. He said he had been “thrown under the bus” by a former staffer. “That started the whole campaign against me to make my life challenging in the city council,” King said. “Politics do EXPULSION, page A4
Bringing real world into the classroom Learning curbed? Tutor centers struggle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But can they survive? Page A10
Courtesy of Educators for Excellence
Michael Simmon teaches eighth grade U.S. history at IN-Tech Academy on Tibbett Avenue. And his classroom — the physical one and the virtual one — is becoming a space where students can discuss racial justice issues as well.
Happy trails?
IN-Tech teacher doesn’t avoid race, he embraces it
Park explorers can finally traverse the Putnam Trail again, but will everyone be good with all the changes? Page A8
By ROSE BRENNAN rbrennan@riverdalepress.com
M
ichael Simmon may teach U.S. history, but he also believes history is in the making every day. And that’s especially the case after the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement over the past several months. For some of this time, Simmon was teaching his eighth-grade classes at IN-Tech Academy remotely. But that didn’t stop conversations about Breonna Taylor and George Floyd’s deaths at the hands of the police from finding their way into the virtual classroom. And according to him, those conversations are necessary to have in school — whether in the classroom itself, or over an
Learning in an environment that could become a new frontier to discuss racial justice and trauma online videoconferencing app. Simmon’s U.S. history curriculum picks up during the post-Civil War reconstruction era. And because it begins in the aftermath of a pivotal event in American race relations, it actually informs some of the conversations his class has when it comes to contemporary racial issues. And that’s exactly what happened at the beginning of this academic year.
“Before I started any type of history lesson, we talked about what is race, diversity and the perspectives of race,” Simmon said. “I asked them their feelings and if they had any family members that had run-ins with police officers or law enforcement. Some of them said their family members are police officers or work in law enforcement, and some did have run-ins with the police.” Simmon believes not talking about uncomfortable or controversial topics like racial justice might actually be doing students a disservice, especially in the city’s public school system, where nearly two-thirds of the students are Black or Hispanic/Latino — populations disproportionately targeted by police. And although his students range between 12 and 14 years old, they’re nevertheless CLASSROOM, page A4
Students emerge as lifeline for post-COVID eateries n It’s a chance to reverse the narrative on economic pain caused by a global pandemic By PETE JANNY Intern
Colleges and food. The young adults flocking to campuses bring with them significant appetites, many times needing to be satiated around the clock. That means big business for anyone selling food not far from colleges and universities — unless something happens that seems to only hit society once every century. That something was the coronavirus pandemic, shutting down campuses — and
ultimately businesses — across the city, state and even country since the middle of March. All of a sudden, those late-night visits to nearby pizza joints and delis disappeared, and with it the much-needed cash flow at the very businesses that are staples of the college off-campus community. The business corridors surrounding Manhattan College weren’t spared at all, particularly the businesses that line West 238th Street near Waldo Avenue. With no students in the neighborhood for several months — along with some new stateenforced regulations — some businesses just couldn’t make it. And now, even with some students returning, major question remarks remain LIFELINE, page A4
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An Beal Bocht Café has been an oasis for Manhattan College students looking to take a break from campus life. The Irish pub features a serene outdoor dining setup, and saw business drop when the school shut down its campus in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.