Justice Denied: Jordan Neely and the Cost of America’s Indifference

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Alexa Wilkinson (they/them) is an independent Photojournalist living in Newburgh having left Beacon due to the rising rent. Alexa goes on site to cover the Pro-Palestinian movement in Beacon’s Town Hall; at protests in the Hudson Valley; and on campuses in New York City. For this trial, Alexa was in the courtroom as Press for various points of the trial.

Justice Denied: Jordan Neely and the Cost of America’s Indifference
What the trial & verdict of Jordan Neely’s killer, Daniel Penny, can tell us about the dehumanization of people who are unhoused, the healthcare industry, and housing insecurity.

Daniel Penny on the right.
Photo Credit: Alexa B. WIlkinson

On the cold and rainy morning of December 9th at the 100 Centre Street Courthouse, Jordan Neely’s killer, Daniel Penny, was acquitted on a charge of criminally negligent homicide. The lesser charge verdict came after the more serious charge of Manslaughter was dropped last Friday. As the verdict was read, the courtroom erupted in a mixture of applause and anger, perfectly encapsulating the public rhetoric surrounding this case. Protestors outside shouted with signs in tow: “Justice for Jordan Neely!”

The video of Jordan’s death—six agonizing minutes of a chokehold administered by Daniel Penny—circulated widely online, leaving no ambiguity about who ended his life. Yet this verdict raises deeper questions:

  • How many systems failed Jordan Neely before Daniel Penny’s fateful encounter?

  • What does this mean for Black, unhoused, and medically fragile people in a country that criminalizes poverty?

  • Who gets justice in a system designed to punish the vulnerable and protect those with privilege?

Background: Who Was Jordan Neely?

Jordan Neely posting in his Michael Jackson impersonation.

Jordan Neely, a performer known for his Michael Jackson impersonations in New York City subways, was a symbol of both joy and tragedy. As reported by ABC News in an exhaustive feature, Jordan faced significant challenges from a young age. He and his mother, Christie, often struggled with housing insecurity. At age 14, Jordan’s life took a devastating turn when Christie was murdered by her boyfriend, who discarded her body in a suitcase. This loss profoundly impacted Jordan, and his mental health began to deteriorate as he entered adulthood​

Photo Credit: Mildred Mahazu from An ABC article.

Jordan found brief solace in his performances, however, his untreated mental health issues and struggles with housing insecurity overshadowed his life. He became a familiar figure on subway trains, sometimes asking passengers for food or money, as his situation grew more desperate.

Despite being flagged as a “high need” individual by NYC outreach workers, Jordan cycled through shelters, hospitals, and police interactions without receiving consistent or adequate care​.

During the defense’s case, we were given a glimpse of Jordan’s time in these facilities. Calling their expert witness to the stand, Dr. Alexander S. Bardey, MD a forensic psychologist. Dr. Bardey testified to Jordan’s medical history and the cause and effect of schizophrenia paired with self medication of K2/Spice (synthetic cannabinoid). A 50 page extraction of the alleged “thousands of medical records” was entered into evidence, 4 pages of which were shown to the jury and public.

“In these records, the defense attempted to blame the mental and physical state of Jordan (based on outdated records spanning from 2015-2021) for his own death at the hands of Daniel Penny. Framing Jordan as violent, odorous, scary, and unpredictable.”
— Alexa Wilkinson

In these records, the defense attempted to blame the mental and physical state of Jordan (based on outdated records spanning from 2015-2021) for his own death at the hands of Daniel Penny. Framing Jordan as violent, odorous, scary, and unpredictable. In these extractions from his many rotations through the failed NY Medical system, quotes from Jordan were also highlighted in which Jordan said “Tupac told me to change the world” and that he was scared someone was out to get him. When the medical scribe asked who Jordan thought was out to get him, he said “everyone in this hospital”.

On May 1, 2023, on a north bound F train, Jordan began “shouting” and “behaving erratically.” Witnesses reportedly said he claimed he was “hungry and tired of living without food.” Witnesses also stated that Jordan did not physically threaten anyone. Daniel Penny then proceeded to approach Jordan from behind, place him in a tight chokehold, and hold him down for several minutes while two other passengers assisted. Jordan struggled the entire time, until he fell unconscious and was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

“On May 1, 2023, on a north bound F train, Jordan began “shouting” and “behaving erratically.” Witnesses reportedly said he claimed he was “hungry and tired of living without food.” ”
— Alexa Wilkinson

The city medical examiner ruled his death a homicide caused by compression of the neck. While Penny argued that he acted in self-defense, the incident drew widespread condemnation, protests, and debates about the criminalization of homelessness and mental illness. Advocates criticized the failure of social systems that left Jordan vulnerable, ultimately leading to his murder.

A Legacy of Systemic Neglect

Daniel Penny walking in court.
Photo Credit: Alexa Wilkinson

To understand Jordan’s tragic death, one must examine the interconnected failures of the U.S. healthcare system, public housing policy, and the criminal justice apparatus. From 2015 to 2021, Jordan cycled in and out of New York City hospitals, where he was treated as an inconvenience rather than a patient in desperate need of care. Diagnosed with schizophrenia and battling drug addiction (K2), Jordan repeatedly expressed despair: “I’m sick and tired of being homeless,” he told hospital staff.

Yet the institutions tasked with helping individuals like Jordan fell tragically short. Instead of long-term treatment or housing placement, Jordan received the “revolving door” approach common in the American healthcare system. He was stabilized just enough to be discharged, only to land back on the streets—hungry, cold, and struggling to survive.

This is not an isolated case. The U.S. healthcare system routinely prioritizes crisis management over sustained care. For those battling mental illness or substance abuse—particularly if they are unhoused—the barriers to accessing adequate treatment are nearly insurmountable. Even when care is provided, it often comes without follow-up, leaving patients to fend for themselves in environments that exacerbate their conditions.

The Cruel Intersection of Homelessness and Healthcare

“From 2015 to 2021, Jordan cycled in and out of New York City hospitals, where he was treated as an inconvenience rather than a patient in desperate need of care. ”
— Alexa Wilkinson

Homelessness is both a cause and a consequence of inadequate healthcare. Without stable housing, managing chronic conditions becomes nearly impossible. Homeless individuals like Jordan Neely face stigma that dehumanizes them in the eyes of society and the medical community alike. They are not seen as people deserving of empathy but as “problems” to be moved along, ignored, or—too often—criminalized.

Photo Credit: SeastersJones

This dehumanization extends beyond Neely’s case. Just this evening, Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Altoona, PA, as a suspect in the fatal shooting of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The act was allegedly motivated by frustrations with the insurance industry, amid speculation about denied claims related to Mangione’s back surgery. This juxtaposition is stark and cruel: a man who lashes out at a system profiting from widespread neglect is swiftly met with the full force of the law, while those responsible for the system’s failures face no accountability.

In Jordan’s case, this dehumanization reached its apex when his mental health struggles were weaponized during the trial. The defense painted him as a volatile threat, conveniently ignoring the systemic failures that had abandoned him long before his death. The public’s willingness to accept this narrative speaks volumes about societal perceptions of homelessness and mental illness.

The Role of Housing in Justice

“In Jordan’s case, this dehumanization reached its apex when his mental health struggles were weaponized during the trial. The defense painted him as a volatile threat, conveniently ignoring the systemic failures that had abandoned him long before his death.”
— Alexa Wilkinson

It is impossible to discuss Neely’s death without addressing the broader housing crisis in the U.S. Decades of underfunded public housing programs, rising rents, and a lack of affordable options have left millions without stable shelter. For Black Americans, who are disproportionately affected by homelessness, the situation is even more dire.

Had Neely been housed, his story might have been entirely different. Stable housing provides a foundation for addressing mental health issues, securing employment, and rebuilding one’s life. Instead, Neely was part of a growing population left to navigate a world that increasingly criminalizes their existence. Public spaces become their only refuge, and the consequences are fatal when they encounter individuals who view them as a threat rather than as fellow human beings.

A Justice System Rigged Against the Vulnerable

Daniel Penny’s acquittal sends a chilling message: in America, the lives of the homeless, mentally ill, and marginalized are expendable. The defense’s argument relied not only on demonizing Jordan, but also on appealing to a societal bias that views the unhoused as less deserving of life.

“Daniel Penny’s acquittal sends a chilling message: in America, the lives of the homeless, mentally ill, and marginalized are expendable. ”
— Alexa Wilkinson

But the justice system’s failure is only part of the equation. It is a reflection of larger systemic failures—healthcare policies that prioritize profit over people, housing policies that ignore the basic right to shelter, and a societal framework that devalues the lives of the most vulnerable.

Moving Forward: What Needs to Change

Jordan Neely’s story is not just a cautionary tale; it is a call to action. Addressing the root causes of tragedies like his requires:

  • Healthcare Reform: Expand access to mental health and substance abuse treatment, including long-term care options that prioritize stability over short-term fixes.

  • Affordable Housing: Invest in public housing programs and enforce protections for tenants to reduce evictions and homelessness.

  • Decriminalization of Poverty: Stop penalizing individuals for being unhoused, mentally ill, or in crisis. Redirect funding from punitive systems to support services.

  • Cultural Change: Combat stigma around homelessness and mental illness through education and media representation that humanizes, rather than vilifies, the vulnerable.

Photo Credit: Alexa Wilkinson

Jordan Neely’s death was preventable. The systems designed to protect him failed, and the justice system compounded that failure. His story and the juxtaposition of this case’s outcome to other murders like Jordan’s is a devastating reminder that in America, justice almost always depends on privilege and wealth.

Let us honor Jordan’s memory by demanding better—for him, and for everyone failed by these systems.

Dump Truck Turns Over Blocking Entrance Ramp On I-84 Westbound, Stopping Traffic For Hours on Friday Morning

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Those trying to get to Newburgh re-routed by going on I-84 east to the Fishkill exit, turning around and traveling to Newburgh by going under the overpass.

By 10:30am, a tow truck had arrived to try to turn the truck upright. By 12pm, the truck was still in the middle of the ramp, and its contents seemed to have spilled out over the guard rail. The contents look like gravel.

Earlier in August, a dump truck carrying gravel turned over on the Tappan Zee Bridge.

This morning in Beacon, traffic was blocked on the entrance ramp to I-84 westbound on the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge when a dump truck turned over in the middle of the ramp. Traffic was backed up Wolcott heading into Beacon as of 9:30am at least. ALBB was told that the driver is fine.

The contents of the truck in the grass, with the truck in the middle of the westbound entrance ramp of I-84 getting onto the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge.
Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth

Newburgh/Beacon Bridge Railing Too Low - Easy For Jumpers - Pictures And Suicide Prevention Thoughts

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Attention: This article contains information about the concept of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm, there are ways to get help. Call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) (en español 1-888-628-9454) for free, confidential crisis counseling and referrals available 24/7.

After ALBB published about the most recent loss of life from the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge last week, of the young person who was identified as male who was 21 years old, several readers commented that the railing was too low. That sparked conversation offline. Therefore, this article will take a look at that railing, and why it needs to be raised. This article will show pictures of the railing, and will explore what it feels like to walk across the bridge to get to the railing, if that is indeed where people are jumping from. Because this person was not the first, and this is a problem.

Recognizing that even seeing pictures of the access path and railing may trigger emotions in people to either see for themselves for whatever reason, or if people who knew someone who did go over the railing, I (Katie) will contribute thoughts about how to get around and through hard feelings when they come.

As a jogger, I have run across this bridge several times, often wondering why the railing was so low, and feeling terrified to run across it, simply as a runner, walker or biker, since making one un-returnable choice is so easy to do from this bridge. Those crazy fantasies happen about what if one is flung over the railing, or what if one trips and somehow flips up and over the railing, even though tripping upwards is almost impossible. But, that is what the low height of this railing can do to people of mind who do not intend to jump.

Walking To The Bridge

We do not know how these people got to the spot on the bridge from which they jumped. Did they park on the right side of the bridge (if leaving Beacon), exit their car, and simply step off? Since there is no railing on the north (right) side of the bridge when leaving Beacon? Or did they walk down the path on the south (left) side of the bridge when leaving Beacon? If they came from the Newburgh side, this article does not look at that path.

For this article, I walked the left side to get to the middle, when coming from Beacon. Normally I jog here, but for this article, I parked my car at a friend’s house and walked. In this different head-space, I almost forgot how to get to the walking path that leads to the bridge. By the time I got to the I-84 overpass, I doubted myself as to where I was, since I was so near to the exit ramp. But sure enough, that is where the path is.

Cars whiz by very quickly, and the changing gears of the 18-wheeler trucks produce a large rumbling vibration sound, which has them low-pitched wailing as they get farther away. The current of the interstate traffic is pulsating. There is one sign for cars on the exit ramp: WRONG WAY. That if one were in the end-of-life state of mind, one may hope they would notice this sign and turn around. Next, there is a green sign that says “Life Is Worth Living,” which, if I were in the end-of-life frame of mind, I would want to punch for not understanding me, and carry on. There is one more of those signs later in the walking path. They seem totally useless.

And Now, We Get To The Railings On The Newburgh/Beacon Bridge

There are 2 levels of railings on the south side of the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge, or, the left side if you are leaving Beacon for Newburgh. The first is a set of bars, like a gate, that is taller than most humans. It starts at the beginning of the bridge, and continues over the tree tops, where the earth slants down to the MTA train tracks. The railing starts low, then goes a few feet higher.

The low railing before the taller railing once the ground ends to slope down. One begins to walk above the treetops, and the railing goes up.

The railing/Gate/bars at the beginning of the bridge on the Beacon side. The bars are taller than most humans

The treetops below the bridge on the Beacon side. Blocked by the taller bars.

After one walks over the tree tops, which is a wonderfully curious sensation, like you are flying, or are a drone, the high bars that were protecting you suddenly go lower. The bar of the gate lowers down to a railing that is the same height of many humans. Or, if you’re 5’8.5”, it is shorter than you. The railing has been lowered, presumably, to open up the view to cars to see clearly the mountains and river. As a walker, you can see all of this clearly, since the space between the bars is plenty wide.

Meanwhile, the metal walking path beneath you is shaking. The bridge moves a bit with all of the cars and trucks driving across it at full speed. Walking on the right side feels pretty normal, but walking on the left side next to the railing on the return back to Beacon, feels almost slanted. I didn’t bring my leveler and don’t have a leveler app, but that half of the metal walkway feels tilted. Could just be the sensation, though!

Coupled with a large gap between the end of the railing and the walkway. One feels like their leg might slip through it, and then one’s entire body might slip through and fall off the bridge. Which is of course impossible, but these crazy sensations pull at one’s body when walking that close to the railing. I can’t imagine how it feels for a person who came there with the intention to jump. Since there is this weird pulling sensation just by being there.

“But Katie, People Make The Decision To Die. That’s It. You Know That.”

I don’t know that. And this is not why New York State or Beacon or Newburgh of any of these Hudson Valley municipalities should be OK with this bridge being so accessbile by people who are making a decision that may be momentary, or accurate for a few months, or that they may regret. Unlike a drinking or an ice cream binge, that seems like the right idea at the time, there is no turning back from this. Unlike having sex with that first person seems like the right idea at the time, there is no turning back from smacking down onto the water that becomes like cement from that height if one wants to do that. They can’t undo smacking down on the Hudson River Water cement.

“But Katie, people make the decision to die. That’s it. You know that.” This was said to me by a good-intentioned person who wishes no one to die. This is where I want to talk about deciding to end one’s life. And how that is their decision. And those of us left in the living have to tell ourselves things in order to cope with the loss of them here. I’ve read the phrase “Don’t go, you will be missed,” and I understand that sentiment, but sometimes, if someone is in that state of mind, it’s not about other people. It’s about that person, and what that person feels like they can or can no longer contribute or tolerate in this lifetime.

Decisions Are Moments In Time

A friend once told me, when I was feeling down about what I thought was losing an emotion forever, they told me: “These are feelings for now. Things return.” I decided to believe my friend, even though I was convinced otherwise. Turns out, my friend was right. Years and years later, my friend remains right.

That friend has become my Day Of The Week Friend. We are very different people. We see straight on 95% of things. The other 5% is very, very different. But we appreciate each other as our Safe Space. Where we can tell each other deep emotions without fear of that friend reporting us, judging us, and if they do judge us, we know it is with good intent, and we know we can push back if we feel we need to.

Days of the week are important, because each day can mean different things. Making it through each day can be very hard. My friend started as my Saturday Friend. In my 20s (I am now 47 with 3 young children), I decided not to answer the phone from anyone in my family before 12noon. Too emotionally dangerous/slippery. But this friend, I can answer their call at any time in the morning. Except 5am. I am journaling then, and need the quiet. Unless they are in an emergency.

That friend expanded to Wednesday Friend. For no reason, really. I think they just wanted to check in again. Tuesdays became another day for us. Slurpy Tuesdays. Because Tuesdays can be very emotional, as they tend to have less structure than the Go Go Go energy of a Monday (as a small business owner, I love Monday’s, because I am the only one making it happen, so I got to make the money and be jazzed about it starting on Monday).

I say this because each day and moment are different. What may feel real and permanent in one moment, will not be real and permanent in another. Some things will. Like true love you feel. Or certain ideas you have. But other truths are set in different ways. The Past You may know some truths, and the Future You may know those truths differently, after reality is revealed along the way.

A Quick Guide To Days Of The Week

Not sure about you, but this is how I view the days of the week. Everyone is different in their life experience. I work for myself, so my work hours vary. I don’t commute to a job. My job as a writer and website producer is in my computer, which travels with me everywhere. I also produce client’s social media, so much of my job is in my iPhone.

Monday: Yay!! Monday is here again and I get to start this week again to make money. Money is a huge trigger for me. If I don’t have it - if I can’t buy the groceries my kids need, if I can’t take them to Olive Garden like they ask me, if I can’t pay for the Volleyball registration, I get very, very low. I know this is momentary, and I know what I need to do to get more money. Even though that usually involves emerging from a very scary place.

Tuesday: Slurpy Tuesday. Catch up from Monday, but dangerous because there is less structure here. I try not to answer any phone calls from family on Tuesdays. Especially at holiday time in November/December. This can send me into an emotional tailspin.

Wednesday: Ok, how you doing, Wednesday? This used to be a day that I taught a class. I’ve since abandoned that class, but need to bring it back. Great day for laundry catchup at night to stay ahead.

Thursday: Could be a high or a low day. Usually a high, as people begin opening up to get ready for the weekend. But if no structure, this day can slide to slurpy quickly.

Friday: Wow. It’s Friday. Did I complete everything? No I didn’t. Oh no. Usually am behind on Friday with deadlines. Clients tend to call on this day with website or creative emergencies. Usually my plans go out the window on Fridays. It’s also payday on Friday. If I don’t have the money to make payroll, this is obviously a very depressing day. Usually by Friday Night, I have moved through the Dimming of the Day, which is a peaceful time, but a longing time. I’m usually in a missing mood, and hope that I make it to Saturday.

Saturday: Saturday! Disconnected. Most people are not working or sending business emails. This day is reserved for creative things, bills catchup or bookkeeping. Or Kids Sports of those are in season. If it’s Kids Sports season, then this day is very choppy, difficult and usually exhausting. If a bath with Epson salt didn’t happen Friday night, then it should definitely happen Saturday night.

Sunday: Ugh. Sundays are for Main Street errands, the Farmer’s Market, and purging trash and house clutter. Kids Sports Things if those are in season. Preparing for Monday.

Visual Tricks To Get You Through Hard Moments

I have been going through a divorce for 2 years, and pondering it for years prior. I don’t know what it feels like to “come out” for one’s sexuality, but telling my friends and family that I was pursuing divorce was very difficult for me. I was hiding for a long time, and in my marriage, felt I had disappeared.

Low moments can often happen if one doesn’t feel heard or seen. This can often happen from people who are the most close to us blood-wise, family-wise. This is why people speak of their “chosen family.” Sometimes one must separate from their blood family in order to process and understand their own needs, and then lift themselves from restrictions being placed upon them in various ways. These restrictions can cause one to feel hopeless.

To get through these moments, to protect against the hopeless feeling, I do 2 things:

  1. Remember that nothing lasts for ever. Good things or bad. I like to believe that the good things morph into the next version of that good thing. The bad or low moments will pass. Even though in that moment, they feel like forever, which is terrifying.

  2. Turn myself into different characters or objects. Here’s what I mean:

Maleficent’s Wings: When I thought that “nesting” was a good idea at the end of my marriage (aka still living together in the same house for financial reasons but are divorced), to be temporary until I bought a different house, my ex-spouse was home more than expected. To survive this, I imagined that Maleficent’s large, black, thick, luscious wings were attached to my back and wrapped around me, shrouding me and protecting me from anything coming my way.

Alice Down A Rabbit Hole: When I’m pursuing an article like this one, I often feel like Alice in Wonderland, gathering pictures and information from places I never expected to be. Meeting new people and learning about their lives.

Cranking A Lawn Mower: During this divorce period, my usual mojo has been off. I can’t get into the groove to produce for my job the way I need to, or know that I can. I often feel like I am pulling on the lawn mower crank thing, and the motor is just not catching. I know it can start, but why. WHY. When it does start, I am very thankful, and I mow the whole lawn without turning it off.

Han Solo Flying The Millennium Falcon: When my motor starts again, I become like a jittery broken ship and a pilot at the same time. According to StarWars.com: “Millennium Falcon is a legend in smuggler circles and is coveted by many for being the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.” When I’m getting back on track, I feel like Han Solo in the pilot seat, working all of the levers and pressing all of the buttons, while some things are springing leaks. He fixes it as he goes, and knows he will be alright, but it’s a scary, yet exciting ride.

Batman and Robin: I don’t have a business partner, but I do, or did, have an employee here at A Little Beacon Blog. During the new time of blogging about Palestine, and how difficult that has been for this publication, thanks to people who are in denial, and to at least 1 stalker who has been walking into businesses demanding that they cut financial ties with my blog, and 1 stalker who takes the time to send a 6 pages letter to over 20 businesses, demanding the same, I had to go rogue. While my employee wanted to stay, I told her that I seem to be driving the plane into the ground, and for her own safety, I must eject her. Oddly, the day before I wrote her this text that I did not send, my body sent me to the hospital with an unexpected attack of Diverticulitis, that I realize know, has been brewing for at last one year. But with the stress of my divorce, these stalkers, and the denial of much of the world who are in power of the murders in Palestine, which bleeds into other genocides and hiding of police brutality and other things, my body couldn’t absorb any more. I may not have wanted to jump off a bridge, but my body sent me to the ER.

Butterfly/Person In Ocean: I have several ocean scenes I embody. On a productive, fast-moving day, I envision myself to be under the water, zipping around the ocean floor, collecting things in my arms. My body travels as fast as a bullet, and can twirl around horizontally while shooting forward. It’s like being a person and a butterfly at the same time.

Sinking To Bottom Of Ocean: I never felt this, but I imagined someone else feeling this way. I let go of them, and they fell slowly into the dark depths of the ocean. They could still breath and see me, but they were gone from me. They were on their own. It was a painful vision for me to have, but necessary for that person to make for themselves.

Treading Water In The Rough Ocean Waves: During my divorce, sometimes I felt like I was bobbing in the cold ocean water in the pitch black night, in angry and busy waves, but staying above water. I was next to a tall ship, where people close to me were in it and watching me, assuming I was fine. “Look how strong she is!” they said. But she/I was treading water as best I could, while cold salt water splashed into my mouth, choking me. The waves kept crashing over my head. I looked up at the people in the ship, and wondered why they thought I was OK and didn’t need help, or a life ring, or a life boat..

I have many more examples of characters or objects you can become. But you get the idea.

And don’t worry, Stalkers. I am exposing you in a few articles to come. You are so proud of your work, so you won’t mind the feature article.

Point Is:

The point is: don’t jump off the bridge. These are moments in time.

Even if someone thinks that jumping off the bridge is a good idea, New York State shouldn’t make it so easy to do. New York State removed the toll booths on the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge and cut those jobs in a few months time. They can raise the railing just as quickly.

We are always in traffic on that bridge. So I know we won’t mind the new construction.

Write To Our Elected Officials

Please write to your elected officials to get this railing raised.
Dutchess County Executive: Sue Serino CountyExec@DutchessNY.gov
Assembly Member Jonathan G. Jacobson: jacobsonj@nyassembly.gov

ALBB Talks On 91.3 FM Independent Radio About The Shutdown Of The Newburgh Beacon Bridge On April 15, 2024

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Thank you to the Trova & Mas Show and Carolina on 91.3FM, Independent Radio at Vassar College, for having us on to talk about the shutdown of the Newburgh / Beacon Bridge on April 15, Tax Day for the Economic Blockade from 8-9am organized nationwide to send a message to federal and local governments to Free Palestine and to stop investing in (aka divest from) Israel’s killing of so many Palestinians (which is bleeding into Lebanon). ALBB did not organize that and didn’t even know about it! But we did report on it.

Co-host Carolina asked what points we wanted to cover, and some of these points were made:

  • Participating protesters on the bridge included Palestinians, Jews, Arabs, Non-Arabs, Muslims, Non-Muslims, Whites, and other allies.

  • Protests in have been held on sidewalks in Beacon, Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, and Kingston.

  • Pat Ryan was demonstrated against in Beacon at the City Council Swearing In Ceremony at the Memorial Building by demonstrators who wanted a silent protest with a banner that said Ceasefire, but Beacon’s City Administrator and some managing Veterans blocked the banner and physically touched the demonstrators, causing the event to escalate and get loud.

  • The first demonstration to Pat Ryan was at his Poughkeepsie office near Vassar College.

  • Some Beacon Jewish citizens organized their 8th night of Chanukah lighting at his Newburgh office.

  • Ceasefire Resolutions were passed in Beacon and Newburgh. A ceasefire resolution still needs to pass in Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie needs to show up!

  • A woman from Poughkeepsie is from Palestine and lost at least 20 of her family members in Gaza from Israeli bombardment.

Trova asked what final message we wanted to get out, and we said that while this is a global issue, we see how our United States Government is treating Brown people in Palestine, at a very shocking level by allowing this to happen and is in part funding it, and that translates back here to our local communities. Systems aren’t broken, they are working as designed. Those systems need to change.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge Shutdown During National A15 Economic Blockade For A Free Palestine

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The Newburgh/Beacon Bridge was shut down today, April 15, 2024, at 8am in coordination with at least 65 other cities across the United States who designated April 15th Tax Day to be A15 Economic Blockade to Free Palestine. Organized by a15actions, the mission states: “75 years and 182 days into this US backed genocide we must take collective risk beyond symbolic acts of solidarity. On April 15th, we will block logistical hubs to stop the flow of capital worldwide. This is just the beginning. We will not cooperate with the police. If a blockade in one city faces repression, we will respond in solidarity in other cities. Join us in organizing towards our collective liberation.” See the shutdown in Oakland, CA, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Texts from a reader showing Local radio station K104 was Reporting on Sheriff messages about terrorism, and not about the cause of the shutdown, which was A15 Economic Blockade for a Free Palestine.

@HV4FreePalestine was the first to cover the true nature of this blockade. The radio station K104 focused on parroting messages from Sheriff Offices like Putnam County, to perpetuate fear via the terrorist narrative that this country has accepted as normal with anything related to “the Middle East.”

Reported HV4FreePalestine:

“This morning at 8am, over a dozen Palestinians, Jews and allies blockaded the westbound Hamilton Fish Newburgh-Beacon bridge for over an hour, stopping traffic on I-84 for miles at the peak of rush hour. The action, part of the April 15 Economic Blockade for Palestine taking place in 65 cities across the globe, ended at 9am with 15 arrests.

“Organizer Abdallah Qotate states: ‘As a Palestinian, I wake up everyday worrying whether my best friend in Gaza will live to see another day. I’m forced to be in the street because our elected government refuses to listen to us. How many Palestinians have to die before our government will stop sending our tax dollars to Israel to fund this genocide?’

“As a Palestinian, I wake up everyday worrying whether my best friend in Gaza will live to see another day. I’m forced to be in the street because our elected government refuses to listen to us. How many Palestinians have to die before our government will stop sending our tax dollars to Israel to fund this genocide?”
— Abdalla Qotate

In a non-violent act of civil disobedience, protestors highlighted the federal government and US economy’s role in Israel's genocidal siege against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Activists blocked all westbound lanes of traffic on the bridge for nearly one hour, amidst the busiest time on the bridge, over which 65,000 commuters and 6012 transport trucks travel daily.

During the protest, New York State Police assaulted, pushed and threatened peaceful demonstrators with a baton. In a tweet removed later, the New York Department of Transport for the Hudson Valley reported that as of 8:44am, one lane remained closed during police intervention.

Shutting down a key artery of commerce and commuter transport during one of the busiest hours of morning traffic, demonstrators were part of a global movement shutting down commerce to end the genocide.

“During the protest, New York State Police assaulted, pushed and threatened peaceful demonstrators with a baton.”
— @HV4FreePalestine

Grace Collins, one of the participants, concludes “Months of pleading to my representatives has not slowed the genocide in Palestine. Disrupting traffic to get our message across is a natural next step. If the constituents wont be heard through government channels then we will get our message across in nonviolent ways however we can.”

“From the Hudson Valley organizers: ‘Tax Day is a reminder that the Biden administration has made over 100 transfers of taxpayer dollars in military assistance to Israel since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to allow business as usual to continue while Palestinians are murdered by Israel using American weaponry and tax dollars. Those committed to Palestinian freedom in the Hudson Valley have tried many tactics—we’ve demonstrated, we’ve lobbied our representatives, Pat Ryan and Marc Molinaro, for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, we’ve visited their offices, we’ve educated the public. Those on the highway today are done waiting on congressional representatives. We are committed to keeping up the pressure until the genocide ends and Palestine is free.”

Citizen Reporter @bryanne_af reported that she was happy to learn she had been stuck in traffic for a cause during her Kid School Drop-off morning, telling her Instagram friends: “Hudson Valley shut down the westbound Newburgh Beacon bridge for Palestine today!!! 😭🇵🇸😭 I had no idea what was going on and had to drive over an hour to get home from dropping my kids off to school - so happy and proud to discover it was comrades doing worthy and noble work! So very thankful for their bravery and that I got to bear witness to the incredible impact they had on the Hudson Valley this morning - the blockade here went for six miles beyond the bridge, toward Fishkill [down 9D passing Stonykill Farm and the Heritage Financial Stadium] - if this inconvenienced you, just IMAGINE how Gaza suffers from what our tax dollars are doing in blocking their food, their medicine, their freedom to live! From the river to the sea!!! 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

Another reader, Citizen Reporter Cowboy, responded to the news of the shutdown by telling ALBB: “I gotta go check Whacker Wire to see if my Mom was arrested today.” Their mom has been arrested 4 times during this extermination of Palestine, including once at Grand Central Station.

Pro-Palestine Protestors Shut Down Westbound Hamilton Fish Newburgh Beacon Bridge As Part Of An International Coordinated Economic Blockade On Tax Day

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HAPPY MONEY MONDAY!! That’s what we celebrate at ALBB’s sister business, the media resource Tin Shingle (hey Anonymous, Cowardly Letter Sender! You missed one of my businesses!! And it won’t by my last!!)

Happy Tax Day Economic Shutdown Day. Free Palestine.

Repost @hv4freepalestine :
BREAKING: Pro-Palestine protestors have shut down the westbound Hamilton Fish Newburgh Beacon Bridge as part of an international coordinated economic blockade on Tax Day with @a15actions to compel the U.S. government to divest from the genocide happening in Palestine. Hudson Valley organizers join over 50 cities around the world in disrupting the global economy in response to a call from Gaza to fight for a liberated Palestine.

From the Hudson Valley organizers: “Tax Day is a reminder that the Biden administration has made over 100 transfers of taxpayer dollars in military assistance to Israel since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. We refuse to allow business as usual to continue while Palestinians are murdered by Israel using American weaponry and tax dollars. Those committed to Palestinian freedom in the Hudson Valley have tried many tactics—we’ve demonstrated, we’ve lobbied our representatives, Pat Ryan and Marc Molinaro, for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, we’ve visited their offices, we’ve educated the public. Those on the highway today are done waiting on congressional representatives. We are committed to keeping up the pressure until the genocide ends and Palestine is free.”

USPS Hosts An "Open House" For Beacon's Mail To Visit Newburgh Facility, But Beacon Bridge Traffic Is Too Bad To Get There - What Does This Mean For Beacon's Mail?

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The United States Postal Service (USPS) has decided to pull mail operations from several Post Offices across the country, including Beacon, NY.

The Postmaster General, Louis DeJoy, who was appointed by Trump, has declared that this decision is in the name of cutting costs, in his 10 year plan. You can hear DeJoy describe this plan in his own words in this forum, which shows DeJoy’s lust for package delivery, and dismissal for mail/letter delivery. Highly recommend the listen, as you may not usually hear DeJoy speak in the news. He speaks plainly here, including how he was “spooned” COVID money, which he used to build this 10 year plan to slow the mail (but not packages).

At the heart of this plan, is to pull mail carriers (the people who deliver your mail to your mailbox at your house or apartment) from their local Post Offices, and have them go to a large facility that several other municipalities (communities) will also report to now. This facility will most likely be far from the zip code where the mail is being delivered to. For Beacon, this means that all mail carriers are going to Newburgh each morning to pick up the mail, then drive to Beacon, then drive back to Newburgh to park their trucks and do it all again the next day.

When this news first hit Beacon, people feared that Beacon’s Post Office might close. They were reassured by Beacon’s City Administrator Chris White, who was reassured by a local post master, that Beacon’s Post Office would indeed not be closed because it was such a high-volume location.

However, the clerks who work the desk at Beacon’s Post Office have since taken jobs elsewhere - as enforced by the USPS - reducing the Beacon Post Office to 1.5 clerk workers. One regular clerk for Beacon was recently in a bad accident, according to the clerk’s Union president Diana Cline, so the clerks Beaconites are seeing now are new to the community.

These clerks are PTF aka “Part Time Flexible Career” staff, says Diana. “Now, Jackie is still there until Saturday, but then she gets excessed to Peekskill,” Diana told ALBB. “Beacon has been borrowing PTF’s. Not sure how many hours Saturday. I heard PTF from Germantown and Gardener will be there. Neither knows the office or PO Box customer names." If someone in their home office calls out Saturday, they would have to be there instead of home hours rule.”

When ALBB checked in at Beacon’s Post Office this week to confirm the union’s speculation, we met one new worker, who was young white man, who said he’d most likely be there indefinitely most likely after next week. The next day, a different man was working the desk, who was an older Indian man. Right before closing, two older white women who were enjoying the air conditioning of the building while holding their purse dog, were upset when the employee promptly shut the service metal window at 5pm. While the women had been talking casually for several minutes, they shouted at the older employee after he closed the window: “Can’t you look one more time?!?” When he finished closing the window, they proceeded to call him an “asshole” twice.

The women may not be familiar with union rules, whereby at 5pm, the Post Office closes. And the metal window shuts, and no one is an asshole for following their worker rules.

Tonight’s “Open House” To The Newburgh Mail Facility Was Hard To Get To - What Does That Mean For Regular Mail?

ALBB has driven to the Newburgh mail facility before: (“Over The River, Across The Bridge, Through The Woods - This Will Be The New Commute That Beacon Mail Carriers Will Drive If Proposal Happens (Already Happening Elsewhere)"). We wanted to see what the drive was like for the local mail carriers. In their rickety mail trucks that go about 40mph across the bridge, because they haven’t been given new trucks or vans. No union president or employee has been able to confirm to ALBB if newer trucks are being provided. DeJoy was awarded eco trucks from his COVID money, but it’s not clear if that includes any mail trucks in Beacon, NY.

Starting next week, the Beacon mail carriers will drive to Newburgh indefinitely. As for the PO Box mail, Diana warned: “The PO Box mail won’t get there until the window is already open, so clerks have to wait on customers and put mail away at the same time.”

It’s Not The Post Office Employees Fault - It’s Federal - It’s Louis DeJoy’s Design

The most important thing to keep in mind during these Post Office changes is that it is not the employees fault for things to be hard. The employees are being shipped to different locations and are bound by tight union rules. If one thinks that the mail is slow, there is a reason. By design, the mail is slow. One should not take it out on the employee. Take it up with Louis DeJoy who is designing this atmosphere to kill the mail, and compete against “frenemies” like Amazon (his words) for package delivery (listen to him say “frenemies” it in that forum).

Zero letter/package carriers will report from the Beacon building. Only 1.5 clerks will be working there, and they may be rotating and different. No business would make this decision for a thriving retail business on Main Street. Unless they were trying to torture and kill their business in a slow death.

The truck parking lot behind the Beacon Post Office will hold….we aren’t sure. Since all of the little rickety mail trucks will be going back and forth over the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge at least twice per day.

PS: Tonight - the power went out in Newburgh because of the severe thunderstorm watch that was also noted in the traffic app. Not only was there an accident on the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge, there was a thunderstorm on the other end in Newburgh.

Before you complain to your Beacon mail carrier about anything you are unsatisfied with about the mail, consider instead taking it up with federal carrier unions, Loius DeJoy, and Joe Biden for allowing DeJoy to still hold the Post Master General position.

Yes, this was a bias article. Sorry not sorry. Will get back to neutral fact reporting in the next one. But for now, this Post Office mail issue is so difficult to report on, namely because it is so absurd, that we have to state issues the way they are stated.

Pictured below are ALBB flashbacks of traffic in Beacon before even getting to the bridge for tonight’s 6pm “Open House.” ALBB didn’t go, and instead, wrote this article. Hopefully pictures of the rare opportunity to go into the Newburgh mail facility will be sent in.

Interview With Local Muslim Women On Their View of Iranian Protests, Hijab, Free Will & Support of Iranian Women

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In writing the article covering the performance protest from Iranian born Beaconite, Maryam Mehrjui, the protests of which are based on the killing of the 22-year old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini while in Iranian “morality police” custody for wearing her hijab improperly, the question arises: “How will the world see the hijab as a practice, and the women wearing the hijab (also called ‘hijabis’) both locally and in the world? Will this damage the safety they feel walking around, and create more misunderstanding? Will this embolden places like France to complete their different steps of legislation to ban the hijab? Will hijabi women who love wearing their hijabs - as opposed to those who are forced to by their governments - need to take up scarves to protest to save it?”

That was 4.75 questions. To answer these questions, A Little Beacon Blog interviewed two local Muslim women - one from Beacon and one from Orange County - one who wears the hijab and one who does not - both of whom are Palestinian.

ALBB: Can the protests against forcing women to wear the hijab in Iran harm women here in Beacon or Wappingers or Newburgh who do want to wear hijab by choice?
“It is already happening,” said Sereen El Jamal, a Palestinian New Yorker living in Orange County who participated in the pro-Palestinian march in Newburgh in 2021 and wears hijab. “It is being taken like that by a lot of people. Take your scarf off and burn it. Very different.”

Sereen was recommended to ALBB to interview by Khitam Jamal Nakhleh, sister to Kamel Jamal, an outspoken restaurant owner in Beacon. Sereen is their cousin. Said Sereen to ALBB: “I haven't really spoken out about it because the way that everybody is looking at it is if you wear hijab, you are supporting the oppression of Iranian women.”

How does Sereen feel about that sentiment? “I don't have the energy to think like that,” she said. “The only thing I said was in a repost. This isn't a protest on hijab. Not necessarily. Not a protest against religion. It's a protest against the government.”

Sereen went on to explain: “That's not how Islamic law is enforced. What they [the Irani government] are doing is anti-Islamic. It is nobody's job to force you to cover your hair. We are born with free will.”

As Sereen was speaking her feelings, she expanded upon what was being protested: “I can't force people to do what I feel is right. The way that government enforces it is wrong. In no way is it right to kill a woman for not covering her hair properly. To say something badly about the religion itself, or to burn a hijab, is also wrong. We have to find a balance, to say OK, I am protesting for human rights. Not against a religion.”

Khitam, on the other hand, does not wear hijab. She explained: “In Islamic religion, you wear hijab and modest clothes. You leave it to the imagination. I'm a religious person, I try to do things good enough. My mother didn't wear a hijab until her late 40s. Her husband, my father, can't force her to wear it.”

“I'm Muslim. I don't cover my hair. I give to charities. I do everything. It is a choice for me. It is a choice for a woman to wear it or not. No one should judge you if you wear it or not. I'm going to wear it when I'm ready to wear it. If I'm ever ready to wear it.”

Feelings From Wanting To Wear Hijab By Choice

Sereen volunteered explaining how she feels wearing hijab. “For me, wearing a hijab is feeling. No one will look at me and judge me and based on ‘oh, she is really pretty.’ I know I'm really pretty. When people look at me, it's purely who I am that makes people like me.”

She continued: “I'm not looked at in people's opinion's based on my looks. Obviously I make myself presentable, and I dress modestly. Me dressing modestly - that being my choice - frees me from thinking that the whole world is thinking whatever they are going to think. It is purely who I am.”

It's more about your inner beauty. We see - most women who wear hijab - we see it in a freeing way. We see it as empowering. It's a shame that people are forced into it, to the point where they don't see the beauty behind it. They get no chance to understand why they are wearing it. What the beauty behind it is. It's wrong. For the government to do that.”

Islam and Women

“Islam as a religion is very supportive of women,” reflected Sereen. “We are given rights as Muslims...that nobody is obligated to give us. Our religion gives us rights and support and empowerment. I can't even...,” Sereen begins to express her feelings, but can’t. “People just take it and twist it most of the time.”

“A woman is so valuable because the rest of the human race would not exist without a woman. This whole ‘the women are oppressed’ - that is a patriarchal government that is oppressing women. They hide behind the religion. They say it is because it is religion but that's not how it is enforced.”

In the book “Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey Into the Heart of Islam,” by A. Helwa, the author describes it as: “Men and women are not physically identical, but they are equal in value in the eyes of God, for the soul has no gender. As the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) says, ‘Verily, women are the twin halves of men.’ In fact the word for ‘Eve’ in Arabic is the same as the Hebrew word Hawwaah, which comes from a root word that means ‘source of life.'“

Sereen continued: “I don't believe in what you believe in, nor do you have to believe in what I believe in. You are entitled to your own religions. And I'm entitled to mine*
*Surah 109 of the Qur’an
It is un-Islamic to force anyone to do anything. The whole premise of our religion is intention. If I am forcing you to practice - oh you’re doing it because I'm telling you - then you're not doing it for the right reason.”

Sereen concluded: “God gave people free will. It is not any government’s job to force them. Let them come to that point by themselves. Rather than bringing people closer to the religion, they [the Iranian government] are pushing them away.”

Bans Off Our Bodies Protests For Abortion Rights, Happening This Week In Corning, NY & Kingston, NY - Happening This Weekend In Kingston, NY & Poughkeepsie, NY

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Abortion rights supporters will continue to gather for a “Bans Off Our Bodies” day of action in support of abortion access and reproductive freedom. We won’t go back!

“The events are part of a nationwide response after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion revealed the court soon plans to overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate constitutional protections for abortion rights - a move that would likely lead 26 states to swiftly ban abortion.”

When:

Centerway Square, Corning, NY from 8pm-9pm TONIGHT, Monday, June 27

YWCA, Kingston, NY from 6pm-7pm Tuesday, June 28

Academy Green Park, Kingston, NY at 11:00am Saturday, July 2

Corner of Main & Market Streets, Poughkeepsie, NY at 1:00pm Saturday, July 2

#wewontgoback

Find an event near you >

Bans Off Our Bodies Protests For Abortion Rights, Happening In Newburgh, NY Tonight

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“On Friday, June 24th, in Newburgh, NY, Rhinebeck, NY and nationwide, abortion rights supporters will gather for a “Bans Off Our Bodies” day of action in support of abortion access and reproductive freedom.

The events are part of a nationwide response after a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion revealed the court soon plans to overturn Roe v. Wade and eliminate constitutional protections for abortion rights - a move that would likely lead 26 states to swiftly ban abortion.”

When: Friday June 24th, 2022

Rhinebeck Village, corner of Route 9 and Market St. from 7pm-8:30pm

Downing Park, Newburgh at 7:30pm

Centerway Square, Corning, NY from 8pm-9pm

Dewitt Park, Ithaca, NY from 8pm-9pm

Nassau County Courthouse, Mineola, NY from 6:30pm-7:45pm

Union Square, New York, NY from 8pm-9:30pm

Congress Park, Saratoga, NY from 8pm-9pm

YWCA, Kingston, NY from 6pm-7pm on Tuesday, June 28

Find an event near you >

Newburgh All City-Wide Basketball League Holds First Championship

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The basketball program, All City-Wide Basketball League (ACWBL) has grown in popularity since renaming this past year. Their championship is January 23, 2022, and new registration opens for the next season.
Photo Credit: All City-Wide Basketball League

From the desk of Ali T. Muhammad, who has been co-running basketball and other youth programming at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, and Executive Director Nancy Proyect, the following press release shares details of an upcoming youth basketball championship and new season registration opportunity:

The Newburgh Armory Unity Center will hold its All City-Wide Basketball League (ACWBL) championship on Sunday, January 23rd, beginning at 11 AM.

Photo Credit: All City-Wide Basektball League

The ACWBL is co-ed and includes two divisions – one for youth aged 9-11 and for children aged 11-13. The League is part of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s athletic and academic programming and is free of all costs to families.

In 2021, Mr. Harold Rayford, a lifelong resident of Newburgh and a well-respected basketball coach, leads the new basketball league. His volunteer coaches brought their talents and longstanding basketball knowledge, experience, and insight to the Newburgh Armory Unity Center.

Since this program’s inception, the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s Saturday Morning Enrichment Program has seen an uptick in enrollment and increased diversity within all programming. “We decided to name the new League ‘All City-Wide’ so people from throughout Newburgh would recognize they are all welcome at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, no matter who they are and on what side of Newburgh they live,” said Coach Rayford. “I’m thrilled to say it’s worked. We have people from all over the area and from different ethnicities in the League.”

Mr. William Kaplan, Newburgh Armory Unity Center Founder and Chairman of the Board, said he is thrilled to join the new league a full line up of athletic and academic programming. “Having a seasoned coach and living legend like Coach Rayford at the Newburgh Armory Unity Center provides our youth with a dedicated team that can uniquely assist in improving the skills and lives of young athletes in Newburgh.” Mr. Kaplan added that the new basketball league feeds directly into the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s goal of serving as a community center. “When I opened the Unity Center eleven years ago, my vision was to create a safe place for the youth of Newburgh to play basketball. Since inception, we’ve grown into a premier educational enrichment center, and it’s wonderful to be able to fulfill this original mission.”

New Winter Registration Opportunity

Following this weekend’s championship, Coach Rayford will hold registration and tryouts for the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s ACWBL Winter Basketball League for 9-13-year-old youth beginning in mid-February. For dates and times, please visit the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s website at www.newburgharmory.org or the Newburgh Armory Unity Center’s Facebook page and Instagram account, or call 845-245-4035 or email Program Registration contact Diana Bernal at DBernal@newburgharmory.org

About The Newburgh Armory

The Newburgh Armory Unity Center (NAUC) has been changing young lives since 2010. Using the concept of learning through play, the NAUC provides free educational programming from literacy classes to career path exploration, all aimed at ending poverty and eliminating the need for educational remediation. During the Unity Center’s signature Saturday Morning Enrichment Program, children in pre-k through sixth grade participate in reading, writing, math, engineering, natural science, computer science, and the arts to develop the scholastic ability, life skills, and emotional intelligence. After-school programs offer additional opportunities for educational enrichment. The NAUC also offers sports programming to provide skills and increase development, as well as to introduce leadership skills and team building. NAUC operates 52 weeks per year to ensure that children and their families always have a place to learn, enjoy themselves, and be a part of a community.

Newburgh to Beacon Ferry Will Run Again! CARES Act + American Rescue Plan Act Earmarked For MTA

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MTA MONEY FROM FEDERAL GOVT SINCE PANDEMIC
Rep. Maloney voted to pass the CARES Act in March of last year, which generated funding for different sectors, some of which the MTA is receiving:

$4.35 billion via The CARES Act: Allocated $4.35 billion to New York in Transportation Funds. $3.8 billion of those funds went exclusively to the MTA.

$6 billion via The American Rescue Plan Act: The American Rescue Plan Act, which Rep. Maloney voted to pass in February, dedicated over $6 billion to the MTA.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, Metro-North implemented an Essential Service Plan and discontinued service on both ferries. This summer, readers of A Little Beacon Blog have written in to ask if the Newburgh/Beacon Ferry is running (signage and website were not updated), and if it would run again.

This Monday (7/19/2021), the MTA announced that they were reopening the Newburgh/Beacon Ferry, as well as the Haverstraw-Ossining ferry services, scheduled to resume on Monday, August 30, just one day after Metro-North's overall service increase, which will increase train service to 83% of pre-pandemic levels.

“We are so excited to see the region continue to recover, and our weekday ridership has increased steadily all spring and into the summer,” President Rinaldi said. “Our late August service increase will provide even more travel options for people ready to return to the office after Labor Day. Restoring ferry service during weekday peak periods will give our Rockland and Orange County customers returning to work additional options for getting to and from the City and other destinations along Metro-North’s Hudson Line.”

"People are coming back to work and NY Waterway ferries are here to give them a safe, fast and convenient commute. We’re thrilled to restart the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon service with Metro-North, and we look forward seeing all our past riders, and many more new ones, back aboard in August," said Armand Pohan, CEO, President and Chairman of NY Waterway.

Funding From CARES Act And American Rescue Plan Act Earmarked For MTA

In an emailed press release, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney highlighted the reinstatement of ferry service between Newburgh and Beacon, where he celebrated “the essential funding he secured for the MTA and Metro-North in the American Rescue Plan and CARES Acts that has enabled service to resume at close to full capacity,” stated in his press release sent Wednesday (7/21/2021).

Said Rep. Maloney: “Folks are going back into the office, and they need safe, reliable, and fast transportation to get there. Getting Metro-North up and running at full capacity is key to New York’s economic recovery,” said Rep. Maloney. “The MTA saw steep declines in ridership, expensive sanitation efforts, and a massive budget shortfall during the pandemic. I worked hard to deliver the funding necessary to help fill that deficit and get operations back to normal. Now, we are seeing the impact of that investment. We’re not at 100% yet, but thanks to the nearly $10 billion I helped secure in Washington, we are getting close.”

The CARES Act, which Rep. Maloney voted to pass in March of last year, allocated $4.35 billion to New York in Transportation Funds. $3.8 billion of those funds went exclusively to the MTA. Amtrak additionally received approximately $1 billion to meet funding needs after a decline of ridership on the Northeast Corridor and long-distance routes due to COVID-19.

The American Rescue Plan Act, which Rep. Maloney voted to pass in February, dedicated over $6 billion to the MTA, as well as $4 million for New York Stewart International Airport.

MTA Announced No Scheduled Fair Hike

Also on Monday, Gothamist reported that the MTA announced that they decided not to impose a previously scheduled and postponed fair hike. From the article:

“The MTA announced Monday that a previously postponed fare hike will not happen at all in 2021. MTA board member Larry Schwartz, who chairs the finance committee and is a close confidante and adviser to Governor Cuomo, said it would be inappropriate to raise fares, during Monday’s MTA committee meetings. Larry was also at the heart of a vaccination question on counties during the spotlight on Cuomo for alleged sexual inappropriateness in the spring of 2021.

“Now is not the time to raise fares,” Schwartz said Monday. “At a time when we need to encourage increasing ridership, raising fares does the opposite.”

After receiving so much money through the CARES Act and American Rescue Plan Act, as spelled out by Rep. Maloney in this week’s press release, it appears that they may not need to add that cost to people.

MTA Timetables For Re-Opening Services

According to the MTA’s 7/19/2021 announcement about the Newburgh/Beacon Ferry, the Augst 30th date is part of their logic on staggered openings. “Upcoming Aug. 29 service increase follows up on service increases reflected in Metro-North's April 12 and June 21 timetables. The April 12 timetables saw the restoration of weekend service to Wassaic and the reopening of the Manitou station, located near Bear Mountain Bridge and Anthony’s Nose. The June 21 timetables added 24 new peak trains on the Hudson, Harlem and New Haven Lines, bringing the railroad to 67% of its pre-pandemic service levels.”

Schedules for the Haverstraw-Ossining and Newburgh-Beacon ferries will be made available in early August. Perhaps the MTA will also update the printed signage in the Beacon location as well! And perhaps they will consider opening weekend service for trips across the river to visit the sister cities of Beacon and Newburgh!

March For Palestinian Freedom In Newburgh (Videos) - March Congregates At Rep. Sean Maloney District Office

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In mid May in response to the Palestinian neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, protesting to save their homes from being taken over by Israeli forces, the world started paying attention to the centuries long conflict between Palestine and Israel, which are essentially in the same place.

Local Beaconite and former Councilperson Ali T. Muhammad helped to organize a march with Next Step Hudson Valley and people in the Palestinian and Arab communities living in the Hudson Valley. Several people attended, marching down Broadway and side streets, ending at Rep. Sean Maloney’s district office.

Speeches were made on the steps of his office. Several are posted below for you to view and to hear. Beacon locals Lena Rizkalla and Kamel Jamal were some of the speakers. Kamel later recorded a podcast with ALBB’s sister podcast, “What, What Is That?” which you can listen to here.

The first of many speeches, on the steps of Rep. Sean Maloney’s Newburgh office. This video includes a speech given by Beacon business owner, Kamel Jamal, who is a Palestinian refugee (see minute 9, but don’t miss the other speakers). Kamel spoke with ALBB’s sister podcast, “Wait, What Is That?” for an hour long episode on his experience and thoughts on Palestinian liberation.

Local Beaconite, Lena Rizkalla, a first generation Palestinian, speaks about her Palestinian experience and connection.

This speaker noted how Palestinians helped fight the Nazis in World War II.

Local Beaconite, former Beacon Councilperson, and current Newburgh resident, Ali T. Muhammad, speaks about supporting each other.

Little friends encouraging each other to speak about human rights in Palestine.

A little boy makes simple demands on the steps of Rep. Sean Maloney’s Newburgh office.

A speaker encourages people to continue spreading the word about Palestine.

Featured Businesses In ALBB's Black Owned Business Directory

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Maggie and Ease

“We at MAGGIE & EASE are committed to preparing great food and providing a remarkable and enriching experience through bold flavor and savory delights made generously with love.” Try their desserts at Dia: Beacon art museum & Homespun Foods on Main. St.

Sound Asleep Media

Sound Asleep Media is a production company in Beacon, NY offering photography & videography services including parties, portraits, family photos, and events.

A charming and cozy salon studio with a good energy and vibe. A rustic/chic boutique decor. It’s not just a hair appointment, it’s an experience!

Blacc Vanilla

A Coffee Lounge located in Newburgh, NY with an experience that serves old-world passion evoking a strong sense of community. “Blacc Vanilla may not be an industry leader in the café business, but they have consistently been very active within the city community: hosting community and political events, providing relief for folks during disasters, and creating a business, as well as a community partnership.”

APG Pilates

“Whether you’re new to Pilates or at an advanced level, at APG Pilates we work with each person individually and in small groups to help you achieve your personal goals. Pilates is designed to improve physical strength, flexibility, and posture, and enhance mental awareness.” Located in Newburgh, NY, APR Pilates is designed to improve physical strength, flexibility, and posture, and enhance mental awareness.

Are you in the Black community and run a business in the Hudson Valley? Let us know about you! Listings in the Black Owned Business category are free. All other categories can sign on as sponsors for a listing.