The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Westchester

In July: LawnChair Theater to Present ‘A Midsummer Night’s Queen’ at Multiple Outdoor Westchester Venues

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 Starting this July, LawnChair Theatre is back for its 16th season, with a musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s renowned fantasy-comedy that the whole family can rock out to.  Featuring a cast of 23 pro-am local performers and 17-person crew, Westchester’s best traveling summer entertainment is a true community venture featuring live band performances of songs by the legendary rock group Queen. 

Adapted and directed by veteran theatre actor and director Mat Young, with music arrangements and direction by The Who’s global tour conductor and Broadway professional Keith Levenson, the show will run about 120 minutes and feature Queen hits like, “Don’t Stop Me Now,” “We Are The Champions” and “Bohemian Rhapsody.”  

Show Your Love with “Live Aid” Adoptions   Putting the “fun” in fundraising, this year LawnChair audiences are invited to support the production by “adopting” favorite parts of the show!  Visual Aid supports sets, costumes and lighting; Roll Aid helps trucking and traveling; Band Aid benefits musicians and equipment.  Shows are free but tax-deductible donations are gratefully accepted on site.  Visit www.lawnchairtheatre.org for more about how to donate, plus parking, raindate and venue details. 

LawnChair Theatre is a partner organization of the Rye Arts Center. The company is fully vaccinated and follows the latest CDC guidelines for audience, cast and crew safety.  All performances begin at 6:30 pm. 

 

Locations:

7/22: Village Green, Rye 

7/23 & 7/24: Rye Town Park

7/25: The Armory, New Rochelle

7/28: Rain Date, Rye Town Park

7/29: Private Benefit Performance

7/30: Recreation Field, Chappaqua

7/31: Bedford Playhouse Lawn

8/01: Bedford Rain Date

A Warm Reception as White Plains Hospital Unveils its Long Awaited Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery

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The Center for Advanced Medicine and Surgery (CAMS) is the largest dedicated outpatient facility for White Plains Hospital and one of the largest in Westchester County.

A First PET MRI Technology Now Here in Westchester

Public Invited to Tour the White Plains Hospital Nine Floor, State of the Art Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery

Congressman Mondaire Jones Predicts “A Hub of Healing and Renovation for Many Years to Come”

Story and Photos By Grace Bennett

Susan Fox, President and CEO, White Plains Hospital

June 2, 2021, White Plains, NY–It was a grand celebration and ribbon cutting, a long awaited for occasion enhanced by a collective sense of relief at hugely declining COVID cases, as private and public tours took place (with everyone still wearing masks) inside White Plains Hospital’s greatly anticipated and newly opened state of the art facility–the Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery. CAMS is a nine floor building  located at 122 Maple Avenue on the corner of Longview Avenue. Its doors officially open to patients on June 7.

 Along with the tours, staff, contractors and visitors alike applauded heartfelt speeches, and later were invited to pick up a delicious and healthy lunch, each packaged to go keeping COVID restrictions in mind, from CAMS’ new market cafe. 

“To say this has been an unforgettable year is an understatement…. but the situation is definitely looking brighter. Our COVID numbers are down,” stated Susan Fox, White Plains Hospital President and CEO, a joy- and pride- filled statement of basic victory, in a presentation about the new facility which drew a packed audience. “About a year ago, 80% of the patients in the Hospital had COVID – today that number is about 1%.,” Fox stated to much applause. “As of this morning, only three patients in the hospital had COVID.. a proof point that vaccinations are working and one that is supportive of restrictions finally loosening…” 

“Today, more than 135 million Americans have been vaccinated. Over 70% of Westchester residents over the age of 18 have received at least one dose of the vaccine. If you have not gotten vaccinated, I encourage you do so, and there are any number of people here today,” Fox noted, “who would bring you right over and give you a shot in the arm.”

Speakers spotlighted CAMS’ amenities and medical equipment, including Westchester’s first PET MRI imaging technology. They also relayed milestones of the hospital’s two-year long journey, from breaking ground and navigating COVID challenges to its triumph with an official June 7 opening. Tours of the 252,000 square foot facility–featuring its state-of-the-art operating rooms, endoscopy, ambulatory and procedure suites, wound care delivered through hyperbaric chambers, advanced imaging, non-invasive diagnostic testing and specialty physician offices–both preceded and followed the presentation with comments from key hospital staff and visiting dignitaries.

Laurence Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors at White Plains Hospital

Laurence Smith, WPH’s Chairman of the Board, called the opening “an amazing milestone in the hospital’s 128-year history. It’s hard to believe we are finally here.” He recognized construction and design teams, physicians and staff members “who had enormous input,” community partners, including Mayor Tom Roach and the city of White Plains, the hospital’s partners at Montefiore Medical Center, and welcomed the dignitaries attending, offering a special congratulatory note to Congressman Mondaire Jones on his first term for the 17th district. Jones’ predecessor, long time Congresswoman Nita Lowey, was also in attendance and warmly received by hospital staff.

The facility, Smith said, “marks an expansion of both our physical footprint, and our commitment to providing only the very best health care in the Hudson Valley region,” said Smith. “Amazingly, CAMS is the 27th outpatient facility for White Plains Hospital; ten years ago we only had three. … The goal has always been the same… to continue to advance the care we provide without compromise to our community.”

He spoke of and to “the titans of the construction industry,” as many were in the audience, too.

“Building a building like this on time is an accomplishment in and of itself. Doing it during the pandemic that we’ve had in the last 15 months is nothing short of miraculous… The sound of construction became an echoing source of hope that someday this pandemic would be over and that we’d soon be welcoming our community into this beautiful new state of the art building,” said Smith.  He called CAMS’ completion “a breathtaking result of so many years of hard work by so many people.”

Dr. Philip Ozuah, President and CEO of Montefiore Medicine addressing attendees.

Dr. Philip Ozuah, President and CEO of Montefiore Medicine, told those gathered: “One year ago we were fighting the darkest days of a once in a lifetime pandemic. “And this amazing staff worked through the days and through the nights to care for the gravely ill and for the gravely suffering.  These remarkable people set aside their own safety and displayed their courage and compassion to save thousands of lives.”

White Plains Mayor Tom Roach, a cancer survivor treated at White Plains Hospital, called the Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery and White Plains Hospital at large vital to the wellness of the city. He described mutual support between the hospital and the city to get through the COVID crisis.

Dr. Ozuah commended Susan Fox for her “unwavering drive for excellence and singular drive for the future,” and Larry Smith “for his 17 years of dedicated service… Leadership does matter,” said Dr. Ozuah, also noting that “great achievements require great friends,” and that Congressman Mondaire Jones was one such friend.  “You’ve been in Congress only five months, and you’ve already become one of our fiercest advocates,” he said to Rep. Jones. He also called Mayor Tom Roach “a friend to us and a hero to many.” At Montefiore, said Dr. Ozuah, “our North Stars are innovation, excellence, access and equity; this extraordinary center presents new ways to reaffirm those stars…”

Congressman Mondaire Jones with his predecessor, Congresswoman Nita Lowey 

Congressman Mondaire Jones began by graciously acknowledging “the presence of legendary Congresswoman Nita Lowey” and related “what a joy it is to be on the cusp of crushing the COVID-19 virus, and what a joy it is to have a national testing and vaccination strategy… and to be part of the majority in Congress committed to full funding of support. I said a few months ago that help was on its way; I hope you see that help is finally here.” He called the CAMS’ opening “an auspicious occasion”; I feel privileged to be in the presence of physicians and the hospital staff who have been doing God’s work toiling in sometimes unbearable circumstances.” He said CAMS would enable the hospital to provide more of “the world class care that folks have come to expect… today, tomorrow and into the future”… and that patients will be welcomed “by spacious comfortable facilities with plenty of room for their loved ones.”   

“Over a year ago, Westchester was hit hard and fast by COVID-19.  Doctors, nurses, and staff here were on the frontlines working tirelessly to care for our friends, our neighbors, and loved ones. We hope that we see a new day is now upon us.  As we emerge from the pandemic,” continued Rep. Jones, “I can’t think of a better way to mark a new beginning to mark the beginning of a new era at White Plains Hospital than  the opening of this new center, and that he expect it will remain “a hub of healing and innovation for many years to come.”

White Plains Hospital, Director of Surgery, Kaare Weber, M.D.

Dr. Kaare Weber, Director of Surgery, said he was proud to call the building “my newest home… It is the largest dedicated outpatient facility for White Plains Hospital, one of the largest in Westchester… one that houses top specialists in the region all under one roof,” he noted, “with the  added benefit of connecting our campus to the hospital and to the Center for Cancer Care.”

“As incredible as this building is from the outside, it’s really about what is happening on the inside. From the minute a patient enters the building, they will realize this facility takes the patient experience to the next level… on par with the level of medicine being provided by its physicians and its professionals and staff.” He described different floor’s highlights, beginning with the second floor for advanced imaging, noting that White Plains Hospital is now the only hospital in Westchester to now house a PET (positive emission tomography) MRI scan. “The very latest in diagnostics,” as, Dr. Weber explained,” it offers the most detailed window to help physicians determine the best possible care for treating cancer and other diseases. The 3rd floor houses six of eight state of the art operating rooms.”

The Center also features top physicians in such specialties including: Orthopedics; Urology; Pain Management; Ears, Nose and Throat; Thyroid; Colorectal; Vascular; Plastic; and Bariatric care; as well as a comprehensive new Heart and Vascular Program.

Later this year, Dr. Ozuah of Montefiore Medicine, said that the cardiac surgery team from Montefiore will begin performing cardiac surgery at White Plains Hospital. “This new facility will allow for local patient access to these surgeons, who will work side by side with area physicians supporting a comprehensive cardiac program and represents just one more example of our commitment to providing local access to world-class physicians and advanced services.”

Features of the new Center for Advanced Medicine & Surgery include:

Enhanced Patient Experience: The patient drop-off driveway is integrated into the building’s design, allowing for convenient drop off. Two pedestrian bridges will connect the outpatient facility to the main Hospital and the Longview Parking Garage for optimal convenience and seamless access.

Design and Construction: The project was designed in accordance with the principles of sustainable construction to support energy efficiency, water efficiency, light pollution reduction, and indoor air quality. The project’s architect is Perkins-Eastman; the facility was built by Turner Construction; the structure utilizes 2,800 tons of steel and 1,100 glass curtain wall panels.

Smart Building Features: The building will feature a robust IT infrastructure designed to facilitate current and future medical technology and telemedicine. An intelligent infrastructure will support automatic building management, energy efficiency through technology and real-time data collection.

The move-in for departments and programs in CAMS will be in a phased approach beginning on June 7.

Floor by Floor Layout:

Level 2: Advanced Imaging

Level 3: Surgical Suites

Level 4: Endoscopy & Procedure Suites

Level 5: Women’s Imaging

Level 6: Non-oncologic Infusion Suite, Pre-Procedure Testing, Urology

Level 7: Heart & Vascular Program – Cardiology, Electrophysiology, Vascular surgeons and Future Home of Cardiothoracic surgeons

Level 8: Orthopedic Surgery, Spine Surgery and Interventional Pain Management

Level 9: The Carl Weber Center for Wound Care & Hyperbaric Medicine, Surgical Specialties including: bariatrics, colorectal, ENT, endocrine and plastics.

To learn more about White Plains Hospital, visit whiteplainshospital.org

 

  

White Plains Hospital CEO and President Susan Fox with Armonk Town Supervisor Michael Schiliro

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For the Best Summer Ever, Sign Your Child Up for Dance Camp at Logrea Dance Academy!

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The Logrea Dance Academy (LDA) is offering 4 weeks of dance, fun and learning – beginning July 13th.

Dance Camp at Logrea will take place three times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with different sessions for different age groups.

For ages 7 to 9, camp will take place from 9:30 a.m, to 12:30 p.m. For ages 10 to 12, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. These summer camp classes include training in ballet, jazz, creative movement, theater dance, dance history, conditioning, arts and crafts–and more!

And for your peace of mind, and the safety of students and staff, Logrea’s class sizes are limited for safe distancing–and all are required to wear face masks. Plus, all classes take place in their air quality-controlled studio.

LDA is also offering summer intensive classes to their LDA students to improve their individual technique, strength and flexibility, running from July 12th through August 6th. These classes are for LDA levels IV through C (Intermediate through Advanced.) They can be taken live or virtually, whichever you prefer. To see the summer intensive schedule, go to www.LogreaDance.com.

About LDA: Logrea Dance Academy has been providing dance education to the children of Westchester for 35 years. The school offers classes in ballet, jazz, tap, modern and theatre dance for students from ages 3 to adult.

The school is led by directors Beth Fritz-Logrea and Jean Logrea, and associate director Nick Logrea. Beth Fritz-Logrea, joined the Metropolitan Opera at age 16, and subsequently became a soloist with the St. Gallen Stadt Theater and Graz Opera House in Austria. Jean Logrea began his formal training at Scoala de Coregrafie in Cluj Napoca and thereafter became a soloist with Opera Romana Ballet Company and the Graz Opera House in Austria. Nick Logrea is not only a classically trained dancer, but is also a Zumba Education Specialist, travelling the US and internationally teaching Master Classes – and appearing in fitness concerts in London, Australia and Prague, among others.

Additionally, LDA’s large faculty are professionals who have worked in the business – some from Broadway, others from prestigious dance companies, and many travel from NYC to teach LDA students.

The school is also the official school of the Westchester Ballet Company, where Beth Fritz-Logrea and Jean Logrea serve as Artistic Directors.

Why expose children to the arts? Research shows it expands them in so many different ways – helping them acquire skills that can greatly impact their academic school success – and make them into more well-rounded adults. Students at LDA learn life lessons like discipline, poise, confidence, respect, teamwork, and perseverance. Many of LDA students have moved on to prestigious dance companies and Ivy League colleges. Some have taken their dance training and moved on to careers in musical theatre. But whether a student wants a career in dance, or just wants to dance for the joy of it, he or she will learn skills at Logrea that will last a lifetime. 

LDA is located at 2 Dale Avenue, Ossining, NY. For more information on Summer Dance Camp or Logrea Dance Academy, go to www.LogreaDance.com – or call us at 914-941-2939.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Conversation with Congressman Mondaire Jones

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Congressman Mondaire Jones   PHOTO BY Carolyn Simpson

Like other members of his Freshman class, Congressman Mondaire Jones was thrown into the fire before he’d had time to get acclimated to his new job. He was sworn in Sunday, January 3rd, and three days later spent much of the workday in fear for his life. The day of the Capitol insurrection was a hellish day for Congress in general. But for the congressmen and women, senators and their staffers who are people of color, it was acutely terrifying.

“As an African American in congress, I would have stuck out to those white supremacist domestic terrorists,” he said in an interview from D.C. 

The Congressman, who represents the 17th District that encompasses parts of Westchester and Rockland counties, was in the House chamber with Democratic House Leadership during the attack. As the House Democratic Freshman Class Leadership Representative, Jones is the only freshman of the 16-member leadership team. 

“Not only was the Capitol perimeter breached, but we were sieged in that chamber itself with very little security to protect us,” he says. “For me as someone who narrowly survived the insurrection, which was motivated by white nationalists threatened by my very existence as someone they see as a sort of bearer of change that this country does not need, holding the people responsible for that insurrection accountable, including the second impeachment of Donald J. Trump, was a no brainer.”

The insurrection has certainly been the most defining event of his early weeks and months on the job. But Jones is in D.C. to work. And he has already made a national name for himself as a leader and doer. He’s also made a number of appearances on national TV news shows to discuss the issues. He is outspoken and unafraid to call people out–both Republicans and Democrats–when he sees injustice.

“I am most focused on legislating, especially having taken back the United States Senate the day before the insurrection. We can actually get things done as a U.S. Congress if Democrats commit themselves to meeting this moment. I’m less concerned about House Democrats understanding that than I am concerned about a handful of Senators realizing that we need to, for example, repeal the filibuster, to enact the kinds of structural reforms that I ran on that the American people are going to need.”

He says this moment calls for other institutional changes, such as ending partisan gerrymandering and restoring the Voting Rights Act. And of course Jones is focused on his agenda–helping Westchester and Rockland families. He continues to champion universal childcare and Medicare for all, which he says would help lift children out of poverty. And he is committed to cancelling student debt, the kind of bold policy, he says, that President Joe Biden was elected to deliver. Jones calls student debt a racial justice issue

“Disproportionately, the people in this country who bear that $1.7 trillion dollars in student debt nationally are Black and Hispanic. Two thirds of the people who are crushed by student debt are women. And we know that with respect to the LGBTQ plus community, members of that community on average have $16,000 more in student debt than other people.”

One of the arguments heard in the halls of Congress and from critics is that if previous generations had to pay their students loans, this generation should suck it up and repay its own debt. But Jones says it’s simply not as easy to pay off that debt today as it was a generation ago.

“What I want people to understand is that this is not the early 90’s, or any time prior to the modern era where we have seen wage stagnation for decades. And the cost of a four-year college education has skyrocketed. We know that in the early 90’s the average debt for someone graduating college, a four-year college, was around $9,000. But here we are in 2021, where the average is closer to $37,000.”

It’s a matter of doing the math. “The rhetoric around this from critics sounds on its face persuasive to many people, but I submit if you just do some further analysis, a lot of those critiques just fall apart.”

For Westchester/Rockland residents wondering if there will be any changes to their tax bill now that the Democrats are in charge, Jones hopes so. He, along with Congressman Tom Suozzi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, introduced the SALT Deductibility Act to fully restore state and local tax deductions to bring financial relief to his constituents. “When that was capped at $10,000 by Donald Trump and Republicans in congress in 2017, that crushed families in Westchester and Rockland County.”

Jones says he sees many of these issues through the lens of personal experience. “On a day-to-day basis, my experience of being black and openly gay in this country, and also having grown up low income, gives me a sense of urgency on any number of policy issues that are deeply personal for me in a way that they are not, I think, for many people in congress. And at times, in parts of our district.”

Jones, who grew up in Spring Valley in Rockland County, was raised by a single mother and his grandparents. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University in 2009, and his law degree from Harvard in 2013. Despite his education, he never thought election to national office was in the cards for someone like him. To grow up poor, Black and gay is to “feel completely unseen,” he said on the House floor in late February in a speech about the Equality Act, which includes the Juror Non-Discrimination Act, a bill he also introduced.

How does Jones feel now that he has won Nita Lowey’s former seat? “I am still getting used to something that I did not imagine was possible just a few years ago. I spent most of my life agonizing over my sexuality, and being so afraid people would find out. And here I am this gay, black political hero in some communities who is celebrated for this feat. And all I want to do is deliver for the people who got me here, the great people of Westchester and Rockland Counties.”

Congressman Jones has made it to Washington, and just a few months in, he is already digging in to deliver on commitments to his constituents in Westchester and Rockland, as well as the country at large. Check out his Twitter feed @RepMondaire to keep up with his work, events and media highlights. Also, visit www.Jones.house.gov

Heart to Heart with County Executive George Latimer

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Successes to Applaud… but also: ‘What Keeps Him Up at Night’

Latimer at one of his many summer press briefings which have been both livestreamed on Facebook and available for viewing on YouTube. Visit WestchesterGov.com to keep up with County updates and initiatives.

There’s something reassuring about talking to George Latimer. When we spoke on the phone in late July, the Westchester County Executive’s responses to my questions about Covid-19 were intelligent and thoughtful, qualities that the federal response has been sorely lacking.

Latimer doesn’t wear rose-colored glasses, but he is encouraged by the county’s response to date. “You hate to use that phrase cautiously optimistic, but we are in fact cautiously optimistic because the basic sense we have is that we’re doing ok with the strategies we’re using.”

Those strategies were tested in June with the Chappaqua outbreak during high school graduation season. The Westchester County Executive says Chappaqua was a cautionary tale, but overall, the system worked. “We’re not cocky about it, but the Chappaqua situation appeared to be handled well and while there were bumps along the road, nobody died, nobody was hospitalized, and we did not have an outbreak that reached triple digits.”

The rallies and marches following the murder of George Floyd were also a success story–over 30 of them in the county–all peaceful. And Latimer says most people wore masks at those events. The upshot? “We saw no spike that we could trace back to the rallies.”

Latimer finds hope in statistics as the county’s positive Covid-19 numbers flatten out, and in the behavior of his constituents. “I know mask wearing is not universal, but it’s more the norm than not. And I know that social distancing depends on the group and the circumstances, but we’re seeing better implementation of that.”

What keeps the man who oversees a county of close to one million residents up at night? Knowing that we can’t conquer the virus until we have a vaccine and anti-viral treatments. Until then, it’s going to be a challenge.

“We’re managing it as best as you can, but it can morph out of control at the snap of our fingers.”

George Latimer with Westchester County Health Commissioner Sherlita Amler, MD   Photo by Grace Bennett/Inside Press

Failure from the Top

And he has little faith in the White House, which he says never took control of the pandemic.

Latimer says there are thousands of things President Trump could have done but didn’t. He says sure, he’s a Democrat and the president is Republican, so there will be differences in approaches. But he says it’s a matter of practical government.

He points out that the governors of Vermont, Massachusetts and Maryland–all Republicans–have done the right thing. But he says now, because President Trump didn’t lay out a comprehensive national plan, “we’re fighting a rearguard action, each state doing their own thing, and we’re trying to do our best. We’re trying to put this thing in our rearview mirror.”

That’s going to be difficult as long as some states are doing as poorly as they have been this summer, Latimer is concerned about how the divide in attitudes in the U.S., a divide that is often along political lines, is impacting the country, and could send Westchester moving in the wrong direction.

“You know that there’s a certain mindset in parts of the country that says, I’m not wearing a mask. I don’t want to do it, it’s restrictive, I don’t believe in it philosophically.” He adds, “When you start listening to that kind of rhetoric, I do get concerned because it flies in the face of our experience.”

School Concerns

And then of course, there are the concerns about school. As of this interview, the county’s schools were beginning to unveil their plans for the fall, but as every parent knows, it’s a frustratingly fluid situation and nothing is certain. Although the decision on whether schools can open rests with Governor Cuomo, the county is helping superintendents prepare for the fall and devising protocols for reopening. Latimer says the schools are counting on county government to provide certain services such as contact tracing, when needed.

I asked him what he’s been hearing from parents and teachers on the subject. He says there are two distinct lines of thinking.

“I think you’ve got a number of people who want to see the schools resume, kids back in class. They see the problems of kids who aren’t in structured learning situations, the disadvantages which that creates for poor kids or disabled children.”

On the other hand, he says, “We’re very concerned, the virus is not in control. It can spread through children and of course it could spread through every household or many households in Westchester because of the universality of K-12 education. Both of those things work against each other, and I don’t know if it’s 50-50 in the community, but those two points of view are expressed by different people all the time.”

Small Business Outlook

I asked the County Executive what he thinks the retail, restaurant and overall economic situation in Westchester will look like in the near future. He says we’ve lost businesses, and we will lose more. The county has put together a small grant loan program–$10,000 grants, $25,000 loans–as they understand that restaurants and other small businesses run on a very small profit margin and can’t afford to lose business for even a few months. And they have been giving out free PPE to businesses in the county. Latimer hopes that as more commerce can reopen, they will be able to save more restaurants, stores and other businesses from going under. That is a process that is not only going to affect businesses, but the county as well.

“We’re not going to fully reopen until we’re comfortable. And we’re going to suffer. We lose sales tax revenue, we lose hotel occupancy tax revenue, we don’t maximize the kind of parks revenue that we would normally get. So as a government, we have a big budget hole as many local towns and villages do, and the state does.”

One of the bigger challenges the country faces in light of Covid-19 is the upcoming election in November, and Latimer looks at it from two angles: what he and his staff have to do to make it all work in the county, and his concerns about what happens on the national level.

“In the county, we have our work cut out for us,” he says.

The county is working with the Board of Elections to make sure there is additional staff to mail out absentee ballots and increase the number of polling inspectors. He also says county workers will have off Election Day so they can increase staffing to open as many polls as possible.

“The number of people coming out for this election is going to be phenomenal. This is one of the most compelling elections of my lifetime. It may be the most compelling one.”

And this is where his concerns come into play about the national election. “I take for granted that the strategy should be that the greatest number of people vote in order to get the greatest inclusion in the final decision. But there are people who believe, for their political gain, that they don’t want the greatest number people to vote. They want to suppress the vote.”

Latimer says there are a thousand ways to make it hard for people to vote. He says the deployment of troops to Portland could be a tactic used in November across the country.

“Are they going to be deployed on Election Day? Are they going to show up in front of the polls in areas where the president’s opposition might be strong and their presence there is meant to dissuade people from voting?”

Never one to mince words, Latimer had a great deal to say on this subject. He insists that this is not an election anyone can afford to miss, and he encourages Westchester residents to vote early, in October.

“I don’t want to write a Stephen King novel, but the bottom line is I think that Americans are concerned that we don’t get a fair, free opportunity to express our opinion.” As for the result, he says every president in U.S. history has accepted election results. But now President Trump says he doesn’t know if he’ll accept the country’s decision.

“I don’t want to hear anybody, certainly not this guy, say I don’t know if I’ll accept it. That is an anti-American dictatorship-type of response and there is no place for it in a democracy.”

Does George Latimer think democracy will survive this period of our history? “What happens in the next six months,” he says, “will tell the tale.”