A LETTER FROM THE GAZETTE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

The following letter from Paul Steinberg appeared in the 9/5/19 edition of The gazette.  While your editor does not agree with some of the content, it is nevertheless an important letter that is worth reading in its entirety.  A potion of the letter is re-published below.  The Gazette is on sale just about everywhere.

TO THE EDITOR:

The situation at our southern border is getting out of hand. Immigrants have crowded out the native-born, and there is now a health crisis at the border.

In the short term, law enforcement has attempted to stem the tide by setting up checkpoints near the border and verifying that only legal residents are allowed entry. But some immigrants continue to slip past the border crossing points, often with children in tow. The long-term solution being implemented includes posting signage to discourage immigrants: the government intends to put up “RESIDENTS ONLY” warnings and increase enforcement efforts to discourage entry.

Donald Trump at the Rio Grande? No, Brian Pugh at the Croton River.

Welcome to Croton, where everyone is welcome and hate has no home. Croton loves immigrants, so long as they stay south of the Ossining border.

At the Rio Grande, we argue that we are wealthy enough to give respite to poor families seeking a better life in our community. At the Rio Croton, we argue that we are wealthy enough to buy our way into a community with restricted parks. We brush off the concerns of blue-collar workers worried about job loss from non-residents entering the country but we bar those same non-residents from entering Senasqua Park.

Village Code 168-5 should be amended. Immediately. Anyone who works in our village should be able to go and sit in a village park on lunch or after work. If José is good enough to mow your lawn and Marìa good enough to babysit your kids, then José and Marìa are good enough to picnic on the lawn with their kids next to you and your kids at Black Rock Park.

I was shocked to learn that Vassallo Park is restricted: non-resident Holy Name of Mary parishioners who stroll thru the park after church this Sunday will be breaking the law! Can we all agree that this is outrageous and must be changed today?

Does our Board of Trustees have to punt this to 10 different committees and commission a consultant study or two before they do the right thing?

If we are going to restrict public access to any part of our village—whether parkland or public streets—we should be honest and set out the reason for restriction. Any restrictions should be narrowly tailored to achieve those reasons. That is especially true when restrictions which appear neutral on their face have a racially or ethnically disparate impact.

Therefore if the issue really is too much garbage, too many people, or too many cars then the actions taken by the Board of Trustees should remediate those specific problems. Throwing trash on a lawn or blocking a driveway are serious quality of life offenses which are properly dealt with by having the Croton police issue tickets and booting/towing as necessary. If the issue is street parking, then the least-restrictive methods should be used, including time limits and ticketing enforcement.

Using bad behavior of some non-residents as a cover to perpetuate and expand discrimination is wrong, even if you consider yourself the most woke progressive in Croton. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: THERE'S MUCH MORE. THE GAZETTE IS ON SALE JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE.

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