New York

“The state Senate, to its disgrace, has denied farm workers the basic labor
protections taken for granted by other New York workers. The harvest of shame lives on.”
- Friday, August 6, 2010 (Source)

Samuel Rudin Arc

The farm workers’ view:

• http://www.labor-religion.org/farmworkers-updates.htm
• http://www.takepart.com/issues/migrant-workers-rights/33243

Iona College

The Farmer’s point of view: “The bill would have required employers of farm laborers to give their workers at least 24 consecutive hours of rest each week and would have required farm owners to pay workers time-and-a-half after the first 10 hours of work in a day. The bill also would have made the provisions of the unemployment insurance law applicable to farm workers, according to the Senate’s website.”

Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, called the bill onerous and damaging to farmers: “To add these rules and regulations – a day off and overtime pay – is just increasing the costs to the farmers,” she said. “Most of the farmers in this area treat their help very well. Good help is hard to come by, and once you have it, you work to keep it. These rules and regulations were really over the top.” – Source.

The farm workers’ and the farmers’ issues collide again – this time in the state of New York. On reading the headlines and reading both sides, I think of Cesar Chavez who dedicated his whole life for the rights of migrant workers. The above sites are interesting readings for Labor Day Weekend — or maybe before the weekend. The New York State debate touches upon agriculture issues still facing our country today.

Depicting Edmund Rice with Students

New York State is making news this summer along with the Farm Bill defeat. Another headline from the www.westchesterguardian.com on 8-26-10 said, “The Nations First Statewide Tea Party is Born In New York.” I am not participating in New York politics but am keeping an eye on its decisions and happenings.

Sports Field

As promised, my blog today has pictures of Iona College in its beautiful setting in Westchester County. Many of the students have arrived this week looking quite young or maybe it is that every year I get older. I am thinking these students are first year students.

Student Housing

Iona College Library

For me, I am continuing to spend my time taking long walks in between hospital visits in White Plains and talking with people. New Rochelle has grown up over the years and like most towns that have done so, much still remains the same. For one thing, the squirrels continue to eat just before sundown. When I take my walk at that time, I am bombarded with empty small acorns and the like being thrown down from the trees.

On My Walk

Beauty

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“People change and forget to tell each other.”
- Lillian Hellman

Welcomed as a Guest

Iona College, New Rochelle

Right now I am staying in New Rochelle as a guest at an Irish Christian Brother’s residency on the grounds of Iona College. As I travel in the Northern New England States by bus and train, my car will be resting at Iona College. These websites will give a glimpse of the background – as we learn together. Actually all of these sites are extremely interesting. For me, I am truly grateful for the Brothers’ gracious hospitality.

“…. At a time when most of the Irish people were extremely poor and living under repressive laws, Edmund Rice became a wealthy and influential member of the city of Waterford…” Be sure to read the rest of the story. Tomorrow I plan to show more pictures of Iona College.

Iona’s Field from Afar

New Rochelle was my hometown from 1947 to 1953. It was my Mother’s and Father’s home many years after that time. The other day, I started taking pictures of “my home” when the owner came out to say hello. A wonderful person, LaVelle, who with his wife and two children, soon to be three children, welcomed us to come inside and look around from the attic to the basement. What fun!

Everything was very much the same although LaVelle, the owner, was making some changes in the attic to eventually make it a Master Bedroom. He is preserving the ‘tub’ which is now ancient. The walls and fixtures in the downstairs remained the same and all the other rooms were recognizable!

Home – Coligni Ave

In researching homelessness in New Rochelle, I saw a fair number of ‘soup kitchens’ and other food programs in addition to shelters:

New Rochelle Shelters
O.A.S.I.S.
New Rochelle, NY 10801
18 and older, referred by DSS
Maximum: 32 – men and women

Providence House
New Rochelle, NY 10801
For pregnant 18+ and children (boys & girls up to age 4)

Volunteers of America
New Rochelle, NY 10801
For adults in recovery from chemical dependence

Westhab Burling Lane Residence
New Rochelle, NY 10801
Permanent housing (9 units) and transitional housing (3 units) for males over 18 years of age

What was interesting to me was the lack of family homeless shelters which is good news if it means there are no families without a place to live.

Hospital

Today, I also visited White Plains, New York and White Plains Hospital Center.

Near Hospital

On my research, I discovered this unique site on a report on Westchester County’s Homeless. Anyone interested in this topic will find the report extremely informative. Be sure to read the section where they interviewed the homeless on how they spend their day plus other questions — especially the ‘incentive level to convince the hard core homeless to accept shelter care.’ This report was put together in 2007.

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