Harrison REVIEW THE
July 14, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 28 | www.harrisonreview.com
County Democrats push for immigration vote By FRANCO FINO Staff Writer
with heart
Big Picture Foundation brought children from the U.S. and Syria together to enjoy an afternoon at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The foundation works with children to help fundraise through works of art they create. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Roundhillcolormill.com
Backlash reroutes Hudson River anchorage proposal By JAMES PERO Staff Writer After an outpouring of negative commentary and bipartisan backlash from elected officials, a proposal from the U.S. Coast Guard to add dozens of anchorages across the Hudson River has been suspended, but may not be fully dead in the water. According to a statement made by the Coast Guard following their decision to halt the process on June 28, the suspension of a
rule-making process to install 43 additional anchorages across the Hudson will coincide with a study of the waterway’s safety. Concern over the safe passage of barges traversing the Hudson has been frequently cited as the agency’s impetus for floating the anchorage proposal in the first place. The study, called a Ports and Waterways Safety Assessment, PAWSA, will assess “safety hazards, estimate risk levels, evaluate potential mitigation measures, and
set the stage for implementation of selected measures to reduce risk,” according to the Coast Guard. In addition to political opposition, including Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, who described the Coast Guard plan as a “parking lot” for large oil barges, public comments against the anchorage proposal, which totaled more than 10,000 before the comment period closed, were overwhelmingly negative. In December last year, New
York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, also called for more scrutiny of the Coast Guard’s proposal. The plan aims to add anchorages spanning miles along the Hudson from Kingston to Yonkers, which was set to see the largest expansion; 16 in total and covering more than 700 acres. According to John Lipscomb, vice president of Hudson Riverkeeper, an environmental advocacy group BARGE continued on page 8
Westchester County’s Democratic Caucus is mounting some political pressure in hopes of bringing to the floor a vote on legislation that would set forth a policy on immigration enforcement, despite it not even making it out of committee yet. While the bill is still awaiting approval in three separate committees—Budget and Appropriations, Legislation, and Public Safety and Social Services—the Democratic Caucus is pushing for the committees to approve the proposal in order to move forward on a late night vote of the full 17-member county Board of Legislators on Monday, July 17. County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, a Hastings-on-Hudson Democrat, said that with the bill sitting in committee since February, it’s urgent to keep the bill “on track” and avoid letting it go unaddressed through the summer. “Trying to put this off at this time of year is very dangerous,” she said, explaining that there are only a few meetings throughout the remainder of the summer, which might lead to the bill being pushed off until September at the earliest. “If things get pushed back, it will be a tactical move for those opposed to the bill to kill it.” Known as the Immigration Protection Act, it aims to prevent the county’s emergency services from aiding the federal government in investigations made on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity
and national origin. As of press time, eight Democratic lawmakers have pledged their support for the pending legislation. The bill requires nine votes in order to pass through the Legislature and three additional votes to avoid a potential veto by County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican who is yet to take a public stance on the proposal. “It’s safe to say that most Republican legislators want to see some type of legislation on this,” said Matt Richter, the press secretary for the Republican Caucus, adding that it’s likely some will vote in favor of the bill when it’s finalized. “We hope that everything moves quickly, but it’s complicated stuff, and it might not be prudent to push a vote if people aren’t ready.” The legislation was initially pitched in February after uncertainty over whether or not Astorino would repeal an existing executive order relating to confidential information and immigration status that was signed by former County Executive Andy Spano, a Democrat, in 2006. In Westchester County government, the incumbent county executive can legally repeal any executive order made by one of his predecessors. The Democratic Caucus’ pending legislation was submitted in order to codify those existing policies adopted under Spano while also drawing from model ordinances put in place by the New York state attorney general’s office to alleviate concerns about IMMIGRATION continued on page 9