Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
April 21, 2017 | Vol. 5, Number 16 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Rosenblum candidacy for county board official
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER
By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
Meral Kathwari, of Mamaroneck, is the owner and director of Kathwari of Kashmir, a textile company she took over from her father after he unexpectedly passed away. For story, see page 6. Photo courtesy Meral Kathwari
Village PD to codify immigration policy By JAMES PERO Staff Writer With the recent issuance of a federal executive order muddying local police departments’ role in the deportation of undocumented immigrants, village of Mamaroneck police and elected officials will look to codify their own policy. According to Mamaroneck police Sgt. Sandra Diruzza, at an upcoming village Board of Trustees meeting, scheduled for April 24,
the Police Department will introduce its policy on what it describes as concerns over “immigration status.” Specifically, Diruzza told the Review that the Police Department hopes to address issues with detainer requests issued by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ICE, which are not backed by judicial warrants. “The [police] department will not act upon an immigration detainer alone,” Diruzza said.
The department’s decision to solidify its stance on undocumented immigrants come as a response to a nationwide executive order signed this January by President Donald Trump, a Republican, which seeks to ramp up deportation efforts. According to a weekly report by ICE cataloguing noncompliance with the organization’s detainer requests, between Feb. 11 and Feb. 17, the last available report, there IMMIGRATION continued on page 11
Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, has solidified his decision to run for higher office against two-term incumbent Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker, a Rye Democrat. “My decision to seek higher office is based on only one philosophy,” Rosenblum told the Review ahead of his official campaign announcement scheduled for Friday, April 21, after press time. “And that is, what position can I best represent my community and look to improve current situations?” Rosenblum’s decision to run for a county legislative seat will act as a leap forward from his helm as village mayor, a post he has maintained since 2009 on a mostly Democratic Board of Trustees. At 74, this will be Rosenblum’s first-ever bid for higher office, and potentially his toughest race yet. Parker, who served as a Rye City councilwoman between 2008 and 2013, won convincingly in 2015 against her previous opponent— Susan Watson, of Rye—securing 59 percent of the vote. On a Democratic-majority county Board of Legislators, Parker has often been a vocal critic of County Executive Rob Astorino, a Republican, many times aligning herself with the board’s staunchest Democratic lawmakers. When asked about facing off against the two-term incumbent Parker, Rosenblum said, “I am not running against anyone, I’m running for a position… If you like
what I do, vote for me.” Having served four terms as part of the political minority in Mamaroneck, Rosenblum is also no stranger to heated partisan politics. At times, relations on the village Board of Trustees have taken contentious turns, culminating this past year when Rosenblum unsuccessfully filed a lawsuit against board Democrats that sought to subdue a referendum against his powers of appointment. With the latest announcement that Rosenblum’s Deputy Mayor Louis Santoro will also not seek re-election to the village Board of Trustees, Democrats in Mamaroneck are jumping at the chance to take unanimous control of the board, with multiple candidates having surfaced in recent weeks. According to Rosenblum, among the issues compelling him to seek higher office are flood mitigation—a problem shared by communities across the Sound Shore region—and an ongoing opioid epidemic that has rippled across Westchester County. ROSENBLUM continued on page 8