The Croton Chronicle

Above: Board of Education candidates just before the forum began. Last Thursday evening, a candidate forum for the five contenders in the Croton-Harmon Board of Education election on May 19—in which three trustee seats are up for grabs—drew a standing room only crowd to the Parish Hall of St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Croton.

Pierre Van Cortlandt (1721–1814), slaveowner. Most people in Croton know the name Pierre Van Cortlandt. He was the first Lieutenant Governor of New York State; he inherited Van Cortlandt Manor, now a major village tourist site, from his father, Philip Van Cortlandt; and our middle school is named after him. Names less well known are Titus and Bridget, Ishmael, Sib, Abbey, Phillis, Ruth, Dinah, and Sam. They were slaves “owned” by the Van Cortlandt family over the years.

We in Croton-on-Hudson are lucky to have a highly professional and competent police force, as most anyone who has needed their services can attest. They are experts at defusing tense situations, including disputes between neighbors, and they only use force of any kind when it is absolutely necessary. They know that they are working for a community in which respect for fellow citizens is a principle (even if not always applied) and they follow that principle.

The day before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Chronicle published a commentary entitled “Croton-on-Hudson in the Age of Trump.” We asked how Trump’s presidency might affect Croton and its citizens, and outlined some areas of village life that we thought might be particularly sensitive, or vulnerable, to the policies of the new administration. As we know, dismantling Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs around the country is a long-stated goal of Trump and his allies.

WATERBURY, CT— When Robert Carlo was a boy growing up in Connecticut and Michigan, he would often visit his great aunt and uncle in Croton-on-Hudson. Laura and Richard Beaumont, who lived on Crest Street, had raised Robert’s mother—also named Laura—and so this village on the Hudson River was a deep part of his roots. The house on Crest Street overlooked the river, but also the Croton-Harmon station and its vast rail yard.

No fundraising and no campaign, but Frascone stays on the ballot. In a decision handed down late last evening, Westchester Supreme Court Justice Janet C. Malone ruled against petitioners who tried to have former Republican Anthony Frascone thrown off the ballot as the Working Families Party candidate for Congress in the 17th District. Frascone had narrowly defeated Mondaire Jones in the WFP’s primary election last June after the party declined to actively campaign for Jones.

In a possible victory for plaintiffs trying to get alleged usurper Anthony Frascone thrown off the Working Families Party line for the 17th Congressional District Elections, Westchester Supreme Court Justice Janet C. Malone asked them to draft a temporary restraining order (TRO) giving the petitioners the relief they are seeking.

Editor’s note: Rabbi Jennifer Jaech has been the Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel in Croton since 2006. Known for her interfaith work and involvement in social justice issues, she is a former Co-Chair of Reform Jewish Voice of New York State and served on the Union for Reform Judaism’s Commission on Social Action and the Central Conference of American Rabbis’ Committee on Justice, Peace and Civil Liberties.

Editor’s note: The Chronicle thanks Paul Wolf, President of the New York Coalition For Open Government (NYCOG), for supplying much of the historical information on which this article is based. The Chronicle, represented by its editor, is affiliated with NYCOG. These days, we take it for granted that citizens have a right to know what their government is doing, even if the fight for that right seems never ending. But it was not always so, at least not in our laws.

Just 12 days short of a federal court deadline to provide an Answer to a Complaint filed on June 12 against the Croton-Harmon school district by Parents Defending Education, attorneys at the high-powered law firm of Sokoloff Stern LLP have informed U.S. district judge Cathy Seibel that they will be representing the school district, as well as a number of named defendants (including superintendent Stephen Walker and all members of the Board of Education.) Today, July 3, two members of the law...