SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Interdependence

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

In recent weeks there have been large demonstrations across Long Island and the nation protesting the Trump administration’s policy of separating children from families seeking asylum in the United States—and on the Fourth of July that was the scene in my little village of Sag Harbor.

Heralded as a “Walk for Interdependence: Keep Our Families Together,” it drew a remarkably high number of people—I’d estimate 400. It was sponsored by the Organizacion Latino-Americana of Eastern Long Island (OLA), area churches and synagogues and others. It started with speeches and songs at the windmill on Long Wharf and continued with protesters walking up and then down the sidewalks along Main Street.

Many carried signs such as: “Children Should Never Be Caged! This is America!,” “Compassion for Families Seeking Asylum,” “Hate Has No Home Here,” “No One Leaves Home Unless Home Is The Mouth of a Shark,” “ No Human Is Illegal,” “Families Belong Together,” “End Family Detention,” “Make America Humane Again,” “Only Monsters Put Children in Cages,” “Descendants of Immigrants—We Stand With Our Latino Brothers and Sisters,” “Trump and the White House Don’t Belong Together. Families DO,” “Mary and Joseph Fled Violence and Were Turned Away. LOVE” and “We got a call from France. They want their statue back.”

A member of the only group not immigrants to the U.S.—Native American—Nichol Dennis Banks, a former trustee of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, dressed in colorful native clothing, held a sign reading: “30,000 Native American Children Placed in ‘Boarding Schools’ Between 1880-1902. Keep Families Together. Stop the Trauma.”

“We call this interdependence because we all depend on each other,” said Minerva Perez, executive director of OLA, at the windmill. She sang a song with the lines: “You do not walk alone. I will walk with you—and sing your spirit home.” She continued singing the song at the side of the protesters as they walked along Main Street.

A young Latina girl, Isobel, at the microphone at the windmill, said: “The children need to stay with their families because they need the love to get through this hard time.”

To understand what those fleeing to the U.S. at our southern border are running from with their families, it is helpful to visit countries from which they are escaping. Years ago, I wrote a book on conflict in Central America and went to Honduras. Years before, as a student at Antioch College, I participated in its program in Guanajuato, Mexico. In Honduras, my first interview was with Ramon Custodio, president of the Committee for the Defense of Human Rights in Honduras. He was a doctor, having gone to medical school in England and receiving training in pathology in the U.S., and was founder and former president of the medical college in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. 

Dr. Custodio used a word I had never heard decades before from my Universidad de Guanajuato professors—desaparecidos. In English it means “disappeared persons.”

In Honduras, there’s been an increase in desaparecidos,” related Dr. Custodio. “It is a disturbing pattern.” Some bodies are found in “clandestine cemeteries.” The judicial system refuses to investigate the disappearances.  Honduran police, he said, will often keep people in custody without a trial for weeks and there have been numerous cases of torture by police.

I asked Dr. Custodio why he put himself at risk leading the 100-member human rights group. “It’s my duty to defend human rights where very few speak out,” he answered. “I know how to say it, write it, maybe I have the guts for it. I have the moral duty. I’d hate to be living in this country and be silent and be in the position of the many German people when Hitler came to power.”

Not all of Central America is in such a situation. Costa Rica and Belize are not.

But trying to survive in Honduras and El Salvador is really dangerous. And in the resulting flight-or-fight calculus, many seek to flee—and the dream is to go to the U.S., long known as a refuge for those escaping tyranny. Indeed, one speaker at the windmill last week said that with the Trump administration “zero-tolerance” program directed at these newest refugees, “The Statue of Liberty has tears in her eyes.”

The use of the word “interdependence” for the walk was meaningful. Like other immigrant groups that have sought refuge in the U.S., Latinos are vital in doing what others here usually won’t do—landscaping, hard restaurant work, etc. We are interdependent.

Perry Gershon, Democratic candidate for Congress in the lst C.D., was at the demonstration last week and told me: “What Trump is doing is not America. Our Congress has a duty to speak up loudly not only to end family separation but to accelerate family reunification.”

Karl Grossman is a veteran investigative reporter and columnist, the winner of numerous awards for his work and a member of the L.I. Journalism Hall of Fame. He is a professor of journalism at SUNY/College at Old Westbury and the author of six books.  

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - Perry Gershon's Remarkable Commitment

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

The victory of Perry Gershon in the primary last week for the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Lee Zeldin in the lst Congressional District was about an aggressive, well-financed campaign—but it was more than that.

On the afternoon of Primary Day June 26th, there was a knock on our door—and virtually no uninvited person has come down the long private dirt road to our rather isolated cottage in the 44 years we’ve lived there. The nice-looking young man at the door introduced himself as Marshall Gershon and asked for a vote “for my dad.”

One thing is expending large amounts of money on TV commercials and slick brochures, but this sort of thing is way beyond that—it reflects a remarkable commitment.  

(I’m not enrolled in any party—to emphasize being non-partisan as a journalist. I advise my students going into journalism to do the same. My wife, however, is an enrolled Democrat and young Gershon was in search of her primary vote.)

Hours after the results were in, Mr. Zeldin, in the way of President Trump with whom he is politically and personally close and who likes to use epithets to diminish people—“little rocket man,” “crooked Hillary,” etc.—issued a statement referring every several sentences to Mr. Gershon as “Park Avenue Perry.”

It will be a hot contest. Now we’ll see what the extraordinarily high Gershon energy will mean in a Gershon-Zeldin race.

Remarkable, too, the number of rivals in the primary—five. In more than 50 years following Suffolk politics, I know of no primary contest of any party in which there were so many contestants. I believe it to be a record.

From the outset, Mr. Gershon, a political outsider, broke out of the starting gate strong—and continued strong. A successful New York City businessman with a home in East Hampton, the son of two noted doctors, a Yale graduate who initially studied medicine, too, but then decided on a business route, his campaign issued hard-hitting literature—going for the jugular.

“Together We Can Beat Lee Zeldin And Stop Donald Trump,” declared one brochure. “It’s Time To Take Back Our Country.” And there were brochures on specific issues: “Medicare For All Isn’t Just My Fight—It’s Our Fight,” said one. “Perry Gershon Has A Plan To End Gun Violence” and this includes “banning assault weapons,” said another. “Our Environmental Treasures Must Be Protected…Perry Gershon will be protecting our coastline and drinking water. Global Warming Is Real, No Offshore Drilling,” said another. “Standing With Planned Parenthood. Protecting The Right To Choose,” said another.

The campaign literature and the TV commercials described Mr. Gershon as a “bold progressive”—and continued a drumbeat tying Mr. Zeldin, of Shirley, to Mr. Trump.

There was a large primary turn-out—almost double the number of Democrats who turned out for the 2016 primary pitting former Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst against David Calone, ex-chair of the Suffolk County Planning Commission, in a race to challenge Mr. Zeldin that year. 

Former Suffolk Legislator Kate Browning of Shirley, who came in second to Mr. Gershon, told supporters this indicated that “Democrats are energized to succeed in November.”

Mr. Gershon spent a great deal of money in the primary contest—a lot his own. Federal Election Commission records show that by June 6th he had raised $2,110,371 and spent $1,660,210. Ms. Browning raised the second-highest amount with $493,850.

Mr. Gerson received 35.5 percent of the vote, Ms. Browning 30 percent. (Mr. Gershon garnered in 7,226 votes, Ms. Browning 6,159.)

Other candidates in the race were former Suffolk Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher of Setauket who received 16 percent of the vote, former New York City Council staffer David Pechefksy, a Patchogue native now of Port Jefferson, who got 12 percent, and former Brookhaven National Laboratory physicist Elaine DiMasi of Ronkonkoma who got 6 percent.

Mr. Zeldin, then a state senator, first won the lst C.D. seat in 2014 defeating Democratic incumbent Tim Bishop of Southampton. The lst C.D. includes all five East End towns, all of Brookhaven, most of Smithtown and a slice of Islip town. Through the decades it has been represented by both Democrats and Republicans and, for a time, a Conservative, William Carney of Hauppauge, who ran with GOP cross-endorsement. 

Editorial - Getting Ejected At Zeldin Kick-Off

I am at a loss for words. Last night I was ejected from the Lee Zeldin kick-off rally, which I WAS INVITED TO, without cause. Yes, I was invited to attend the rally by the Zeldin Campaign and was credentialed by the Zeldin Campaign.  Upon arrival I was told to go anywhere I wanted to take photos, again by the Zeldin campaign. I stood in the same spot, with my credentials plainly in sight, for roughly an hour and a half before, out of the blue, I was told to leave…  without an explanation. I was forced to climb over a rope to get to the path leading to a door (one woman sneered and said “bye bye” as I walked past).  Once out the door and in a back yard area, I was mocked by a group of people. A man upset that I was taking photos smacked my camera and I was told by security to leave the Elks Club premises. All while I was wearing the press badge supplied by the Zeldin campaign and telling everyone I was an invited press person.

I am confident that my behavior was professional. This was not a ‘question and answer’ press event.  The press was there as observers.  I took photos, and for approximately one and a half hours I listened to guest speakers talk about Lee Zeldin and their impression of his work ethic, his belief in America and his relationship with Donald Trump. This was a rally for supporters meant to energize, create positive thoughts and a “can do” attitude about this candidate.

Here’s what the speakers didn’t say, and you should now know about Lee Zeldin. He, through his staff, will discriminate, try to embarrass, and arbitrarily have the invited press removed without benefit of an explanation and without cause. Another thing the speakers didn’t mention about Lee Zeldin was that his love of country falls short of the 1st Amendment rights of free speech or free press. Was the Press being invited to cover his event and then being ejected, (David Ambro of The Smithtown News was also ejected), for the purpose of showing his disregard for the work journalists do?  Was it intended as a preemptive strike against future work? This behavior was an attempt to taint the belief in journalist objectivity - after all, he can say that he had to have the Press ejected. Imagine a news article written about Lee Zeldin now…  imagine how the story is perceived by someone who learns that the writer was thrown out of his kick-off rally. Will the writer be seen as a fair source of information?

These are challenging times. Elected officials are taking unique steps to quiet the voices of those who challenge or question them. For our democracy to flourish a strong press is necessary. I will continue to do all I can to maintain a high ethical standard and I call on you to push back on abuses like this.

Pat Biancaniello and this is Smithtown Matters

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP - LI Emmy Award Winner Is Also A Banker And Immigrant

SUFFOLK CLOSEUP

By Karl Grossman

Lupito GadeasJust three years ago, Lupita Gadeas was a student in my Investigative Reporting class at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. Following an internship she did at Adictivo, a TV program shot at studios in Hauppauge and Long Island City and aired on Telemundo, she got a job with Adictivo as a reporter.

In April, Lupita and two other journalists at Adictivo received an Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. 

I was thinking of Lupita in recent days as the horror unfolded of more than 2,000 children being separated from their families who were seeking refuge in the United States, mostly from Central America, with many of the kids put in cages. 

Lupita is from El Salvador in Central America. She left the violence in that country in 2008 for the promise of the United States. She is now, happily, a U.S. citizen.

She told me, proudly, on the phone last week of having just interviewed Nayib Bukele, a candidate for president of El Salvador, on a visit he made to Brentwood, historically a center for Latinos in Suffolk. (Now Latinos are spread through the county.) 

In addition to being an associate producer at Adictivo, Lupita is a banker at Chase Bank. She also worked at Chase while a student at Old Westbury.

Lupita’s energy—as a student and today—is boundless. Since graduation, she told me, she has bought a house and gotten married (to a young man from Guatemala). 

“In the United States, you work hard and you can succeed,” she commented.

For me, Lupita is an example of what immigrants—now and since the founding of the United States—have brought to this country. My late father used to say “hybrid vigor” was a key to how the U.S won World War II against powerful enemies, how it built nearly 3,000 Liberty ships and 300,000 military aircraft (many of these on Long Island at the Grumman and Fairchild plants). We overwhelmed the Nazis and Italian and Japanese fascists. Hybrids have great strength. Consider the mule. The diversity of people in this nation has given it enormous strength.

Lupita doesn’t want to go back to El Salvador “not even to visit.”

It isn’t that she doesn’t love her homeland. She told of interviewing Mr. Bukele, a former mayor of San Salvador, the nation’s capital, and asking about “what his plan is to help the country. He said he wanted to make El Salvador ‘a better place so people would want to stay.’”

Crime in El Salvador is intense, said Lupita. “People are killed every hour, an average of 23 every day.” The root cause: poverty and gangs, and they connect. She told of her aunt who works in a market two days a week and gets $3 a day—“$6 a week! You can’t make ends meet on $6 a week.” Poverty causes people to become gang members and “be pickpockets or get involved in the protection racket.” And if you don’t pay money for protection, “you or your children can get killed.”

“You can get killed in El Salvador for $20,” said Lupita. If you want someone murdered, she said, you can go to a gang member and pay $20. ”It’s a nightmare.”

She got out. And fortunately, she came to the U.S. with a Green Card due to her father having come here earlier and becoming a U.S. citizen. (Typical of Latino newcomers, he has a landscaping business on Long Island “and during the winter does snow removal.”)

Lupita told of watching the children in cages on TV. “Heartbreaking!” she said.

I have many Latino students at SUNY Old Westbury. Indeed, the college in its now more than 50 years has been committed to diversity as a central part of the educational experience, and there is wonderful diversity on the student, faculty and administrative levels.

The story of Lupita isn’t unique.

Newsday this month featured on the cover of its “LIlife” section a story headed: “Best in class. It’s the first time East Hamptons valedictorian and salutatorian are both Latino.”  It was about Nicolas Sigua Pintado, the valedictorian, and Christopher Gomez, the salutatorian, the top students in a class of 215 graduating East Hampton High School this year. 

“Sigua will be the first in his family to obtain a college degree, and both will attend Ivy League institutions come fall—Sigua at Harvard University to major in political science, and Gomez at Cornell University to study astronomy and physics.” The article quoted Adam Fine, the high school’s principal, as saying: “These kids, whether Latino or not, are two of the best young men I’ve encountered in my career.”

And, said the piece, “In addition to excelling academically, Gomez is senior class co-president and goal-keeper on the varsity soccer team. During his junior year, he traveled to Malawi with the BuildOn Club to help construct a school. Sigua is captain of the swim team…and works during the summer as a lifeguard. This year he and students created a debate club.”

“Sigua was born in East Hampton to parents who emigrated from Ecuador.,,,Gomez moved from Guatemala with his single mother when he was 7.”

All these extraordinarily intelligent and highly active young people will bring great credit to the United States. 

Zeldin Campaign's Statement On Perry Gershon's Primary Victory

Zeldin for Congress Statement Following NY-1 Democratic Primary

Port Jefferson Station, NY – Zeldin for Congress released the following statement after NY-1’s June 26, 2018 Democratic Primary:

Congrats to Park Avenue Perry on buying his way into a general election. It’s amazing that the Democratic Party was so desperate that they nominated a liberal Manhattan Democrat who has never even voted here in a November election for Congress. After a primary where he continuously preached about his desire to make Nancy Pelosi the next Speaker of the House, made the disgusting comparison of President Trump’s rallies to Hitler rallies, pathologically lied about Congressman Zeldin’s policy positions, defended high taxes, and took many other out of touch, far left positions, Park Avenue Perry proved how unrepresentative to us he would be as a representative. Having just changed his residency into the district from Manhattan this past year, he has more in common with radicals like Bill DeBlasio and Nancy Pelosi than the residents of our Congressional District. The east end of Long Island is not NYC or San Francisco and to think otherwise proves just how out of touch Park Avenue Perry really is. Our district will not elect someone who supports sanctuary cities and protects violent members of MS-13 from being deported and we certainly will not allow Nancy Pelosi to once again become Speaker of the House. With the limited number of votes Park Avenue Perry received today to get the Democratic Party nomination, voters were clearly unimpressed and unmotivated by the best options Democratic money can buy. The few Democrats who did decide to vote chose someone who sees this district as one that can be purchased. Park Avenue Perry will learn the rest of that lesson the hard way in November.

Lee Zeldin is a stark contrast. The lifelong Long Island native is a Congressman, soldier, and family man, who proudly served our country as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army and continues to serve today as a Major in the Army Reserves. An independent, honest and effective leader in Congress, Lee has consistently fought for national security wins, economic wins, infrastructure wins, and so much more over these past few years on issues that were of the highest priority and importance for Long Islanders. Despite the lies the Democrats have been desperately attempting to deceive voters into playing along with, the residents of the First Congressional District are smart enough to sort fact from fiction and reject the false, radical partisan attacks on our Congressman made up by the far left.

Regardless of the resistance from liberal obstructionists who oppose everything and anything, Congressman Zeldin continues to deliver one win after another for his constituents: Passing his Adult Day Health Care bill into law this year to help severely disabled veterans, leading the effort to eradicate MS-13, combating the heroin and opioid abuse epidemic, working to secure our borders, bringing home record funding for our local environment, and pursuing key foreign policy wins abroad. As an extremely accessible Representative who any constituent has the ability to meet with, Congressman Zeldin also successfully resolved over 8,500 constituent cases in favor of NY-1 residents.

The reality is that our national economy is going great. Our national security is doing well. ISIS is nearly wiped off of the map. MS-13 is being defeated. Unemployment is setting historic lows. Our markets are hitting historic highs. Our borders are also being better secured. This is all great for anyone who is rooting for America’s success and Congressman Zeldin’s voice is always being heard in the middle of all of this. Lee Zeldin calls it as he sees it and has proven he is willing to work with absolutely anyone to move our community, state, and nation forward.

When local fishermen, boaters and small business owners recently reached out to Lee Zeldin concerned about navigation conditions in Moriches Inlet, we all witnessed how effective our Congressman is with his immediate and successful advocacy to secure an emergency dredge. Lee Zeldin is a workhorse who delivers positive results again and again and again.

Congressman Zeldin consistently delivers for the Long Islanders he represents. We all experienced it up close and personal when he led the successful effort to eliminate the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, eliminated the Saltwater Fishing License Fee, cosponsored the nation’s strongest property tax cap, reduced middle income tax rates to the lowest level in 60 years, created the PFC Joseph Dwyer Program for veterans with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury and authored the law that bans protests at military burials.

Congressman Zeldin is committed to continue pursuing his New Era of American Strength agenda to protect America’s security at home and abroad, help grow our economy, support our veterans and first responders, improve healthcare and the quality of education, repair our nation’s infrastructure and safeguard our environment. He looks forward to building upon his work for Long Island and our nation in his third term.

Voters in NY-1 demonstrated their overwhelming support for Congressman Zeldin in 2016, reelecting him to a second term with over 58% of the vote.