I couldn’t find anyone who wanted their picture taken on a weekend at Sprain Ridge Park in Yonkers, so I set up and had a….

https://mbaction.com/places-to-ride-yonkers-new-york/

HARTFORD COURANT: Connecticut’s James Blake, former tennis star, still shaken by encounter with cop in 2015

Nearly five years later, former tennis star James Blake says he never suspected the large man running toward him was a plainclothes New York City policeman.

Blake was in town that day for the U.S. Open and standing outside a Manhattan hotel.

“I thought someone was running at me that was a fan, someone that was going to say, `Hey I saw you play so and so, I was at this match, my kid plays tennis,“’ Blake recalled. “I’m smiling with my hands down.”

But Blake, who is black, had been mistakenly identified as a suspect in a credit card fraud scheme. Video showed the undercover officer grabbing him by the arm, throwing him to the sidewalk face down and handcuffing him.

“I went to bed very sad and very deflated, seeing this over and over again,” Blake said Tuesday from his home in San Diego.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t stop my mind from racing, thinking about the events that took place there, the events that took place with me in 2015.

“It saddens me to see that kind of policing is still going on, that kind of brutality, particularly how often it is aimed at the black and brown community.”

Blake, a Harvard alum who reached a career-high ranking of No. 4….

https://www.courant.com/sports/hc-sp-james-blake-george-floyd-20200602-20200602-6uqpcph3dfhm7keobd43xftf5y-story.html

FLASHBACK: Video Shows NYPD Cop Tackle Former Tennis Star James Blake

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-shows-nypd-cop-tackle-former-tennis-star-james-blake-n426031

YONKERS, NY – #Yonkers City Court Judge candidate Judge Karen Best has won the endorsement of the New York State Public Employees Federation (PEF), highlighting her strong focus on social equality and economical justice.

PEF works proactively to help and empower New York State employees in the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Unit, including frontline workers in New York State hospitals.PEF has been working hard during the Covid-19 crisis by conducting daily negotiations and filing class action grievances to make sure that its members’ rights are fully protected.

Furthermore, PEF has created a relief fund to purchase personal protective equipment (PPEs) and secure hotel rooms for their nurses who are fearful of bringing Covid-19 into their homes, along with any other relief efforts for the frontline workers.Judge Karen Best said, “The New York State Public Employees Federation is an incredibly important union that works conscientiously and proactively to ensure that state representatives remain fair and just. The PEF’s endorsement of my candidacy exemplifies our shared mission. PEF’s concern to protect their members is one that I will maintain and emulate so as to continue to protect the public interest. With PEF’s support, I may have have the opportunity to become the next judge to preside at the Yonkers City Court. If so, I will preside with compassion, respect, and in adherence to the law. ”….

Yonkers City Court handles a wide array of cases, from Small Claims, to Landlord/Tenant disputes, to Domestic Violence and more….

Source: Judge Thomas Daly, Judge Brendan McGrath And The Shako Campaign

More regions are ready to enter Phase 2 of New York’s four-phased reopening plan, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo fears George Floyd demonstrations could be spreading COVID-19.

Local officials remain confident the region will enter Phase 2 next Tuesday.

IVY REEVES: Last week, Mr. George Floyd, a 46-year-old man, was murdered by a Minnesota police officer as he kneeled on his neck.

We later found out that there were two other police officers kneeling on his back as well.

According to the Atlantic Daily 260,020 black men have been killed in America since 1980.

Police killed about three Black men per day.

This figure does not include Black women killed by police.
Most White Americans will tell you that they are not racist; some will even tell you that they… “do not see color.”

They honestly believe that all people are equal, and slavery is over.

Some even exclaim “I cannot be a racist, I have half black grandchildren,” or the old throwback, “Some of my best friends are black.”

The reality is … Everything in America is about COLOR. Black people with a lighter complexion, are more acceptable….

The SPCA of Westchester has received a grant from The Rachael Ray Foundation™ to expand the SPCA’s Pet Safety Program, a program created to help pets of domestic violence victims while their owners seek safe housing.

“This funding will allow us to expand our partnership with domestic violence agencies in Westchester and provide a safe alternative for victims of domestic violence who need to protect their companion animals. It couldn’t have come at a better time with domestic violence cases sadly on the rise during quarantine,” said Shannon Laukhuf, executive director.

Since 2008, the SPCA of Westchester and My Sisters’ Place, a local domestic violence agency in Yonkers, have been working together to make it possible for victims to leave their abusers, knowing their pets will also be placed in a safe setting.

Often victims will remain in an abusive situation to protect their beloved pets when they cannot find a domestic violence shelter who will allow animals in. Funding from The Rachael Ray Foundation will also help pay for medical costs associated with animals who are often victims themselves.“During the coronavirus pandemic, we are seeing victims more isolated at home than before, and the severity of assaults has increased by as much as 30 percent. For these reasons, the Pet Safety Program is needed now more than ever,” said Karen Cheeks-Lomax, CEO of My Sisters’ Place.The SPCA places victims’ pets with confidential foster families during an owners’ stay at a domestic violence shelter.