TWF 333: NYS Attorney General James Sues Numerous LI Care Centers

Hello, friends,

First off, happy holidays for whatever you might celebrate!  Hell - celebrate more than one, if you're so inclined!

Now, then, on to business.  As first reported on her Twitter account, as well as her official website, and talked about by Newsday (which is behind a paywall), New York State's Attorney General Letitia James is out and about with regards to enforcing laws about how the people caught in such a place's 'care' are supposed to be treated.

And, honestly, that's basically all there is to say about it, right?  For example, CBS News reported on the Cold Spring Harbor case, citing the case of one victim whose wounds were deemed too horrible for TV.  There's more reporting out there, as well.

The bottom line is, Long Island is slowly getting older, especially as young people are priced out of the housing/apartment markets.  According to The Rauch Foundation's Long Island Index, between 2000 and 2013 the 55+ age range grew by about 2%/year.  It's legitimately hard to find data outside of the Newsday paywall, but according to this image that trend has only continued:

What that means is that there are more people who need care in a care home than there are people who can provide it, and that number is constantly growing more disparate.  When the need for care increases while the supply of it decreases, corners get cut.  Does that mean the wanton cruelty James has cited is necessary, or excusable?

Absolutely not!

But it does suggest that we need to make certain shifts in our economic system, on all of the levels (Local, state, federal) in order to retain young people, train them in how to take care of those who need it, and provide them a good lifestyle so that they can survive & thrive on Long Island.  I've talked about some things we can change on the federal level, like Medicare For All, and creating a "Care Economy," but those are Federal solutions that seem infinitely far away.  Passing the New York Health Act would help on a State level.

And for those who might say, "Well, my taxes will go up and I don't wanna!" there are two things to mention:

1 - You'll probably save more money off of not needing to pay premiums/copays/out-of-pocket bullshit.

2 - You'll be happier when you're 70 years old, break your hip, and have a care team that's experienced and well-paid so that they'll be extra patient and helpful.

Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author, political commentator, and occasional journalist born and raised in Freeport, New York.  Got a bookworm in your life you want to buy a holiday gift for?  Check out his website!

TWF 332 - A Decade After Sandy

Hey Friends,

It's hard to really measure the timing of a decade, let alone the start of the events which happened beforehand.  We have leap-years which means something isn't *quite* 365x10 days after it happened.  Then, you have to ask whether the damage from an event starts accruing when - say - it generates waves that chip away at protective dunes; or, whether you start from the time a storm makes landfall.  It certainly doesn't depend on whether or not it's still called a "Hurricane," or if it's now a "Superstorm" or "Frankenstorm" because technically it doesn't fit the profile it used to.

If you're a Long Islander, you know I'm talking about Hurricane Sandy, a topic that's still hard for many to talk about.  If you're unfamiliar, I urge you to check the Wikipedia article to understand it's national impact.

If you're a reader of The Weekly Freeporter, you know that we (in this case, myself, and my friend/occasional co-conspirator Jason Bass, who controls the Youtube page) chronicled the storm from the first warning calls to being on the ground the day after the storm did its worst, all the way to checking in on the community when a Nor'Easter slammed us and froze us out right after Sandy.

I want to be up front:  I'm sorry for any offenses caused.  We've all grown a lot since then, and some of our approach/commentary may have been wrong and/or disrespectful.

So How Does The Anniversary Make Us Feel?

I can really only speak for myself, and a lot of it I've already said in a different way.

So let's start with the community.

To begin with, no, Freeport has not forgotten the damage that Mother Nature can do to a community if she decides to throw her weight into a punch.  Some people have surely got PTSD; I read one conversation on Facebook recently about how just telling the story is painfully taxing.  I completely understand that feeling.  It's hard to talk about what we went through, especially to those who might not understand the damage it did.

The community seems to have survived the incident relatively well?  But that sentiment comes with a question mark for a reason  Some buildings are now super-tall and it's a little hard to figure out why at first glance.  To be perfectly clear, there are still houses in South Freeport that are waiting to have their re-construction completed.  My dad lived down the block from one.  And, since this cannot be left unsaid, many people were permanently displaced from the community, being forced to move to other towns and even states, either because they couldn't afford to rebuild here, or because others they cared about had to move out. 

As far as prevention and mitigation goes...?  It's hard to say.  Sadly, we lack those (not-quite) futuristic, now-far-off sounding things like flood-prevention systems briefly discussed in this article.  I'm sure that the various dunes and ecological barriers we have to prevent us from having future flooding have been worked on and improved, but at the same time climate change has led to rises in sea level, offsetting their effectiveness.  We now know what to expect when a big storm is coming, and preparedness is important.

How About On A Personal Level?

Well, I...My thoughts immediately run to one thing:

As many of you are aware, my father passed away on December 3rd, 2021.  He fell to the eventualityof a liver disease he was diagnosed with in the immediate aftermath of Sandy.  He began getting sick soon almost exactly at the same time as the storm hit.  At the time, he had been working at the Freeport Schools as a maintainer, and he'd been lining up sandbags at Giblyn elementary (which would prove to be less-than-successful at keeping water out), so we feared maybe he'd contracted some kind of waste-water-bourne pathogen.

It turned out to be far worse; Hepatitis C-induced liver failure.  He danced with death more than once,.  He survived a liver transplant from a benevolent soul (Seriously, consider being an organ donor - I am!  And while we're at it, bring down the cost of drugs like Harvoni that cure Hepatitis C!!!), but it took damn near ten years for that shit to kill him.

Sadly, kill him, it did.

I have an awful lot of thoughts on the eventual outcome of Sandy's aftermath, and my experience post-Sandy.  It was one piece of a much larger mental puzzle that ended...Hmm.  For now, let's just say it ended BADLY.  Some day, maybe soon, I'll write more about that.

But I do still have feelings about it, and always will.  For me, it's heavily-compounded trauma from multiple directions at one critical point in my life.

All Of This To Say

With the ten year anniversary arriving to remind us of things lost - and, perhaps, still broken - it's worth giving you the reminder that it's okay to feel things.  It's okay to reach out to a mental health professional if you find yourself having trouble with the trauma that Sandy smacked us with.  That's all totally fine.

The best part of this entire disaster is that we have, as both individuals and a community, grown.  Freeport is far from perfect, and to my knowledge it still has at least one dystopian law it needs to change, but it's still a great community.  We come together in times of crisis and support one another.  You know, except for the seemingly-weekly debate over which pizza place is the best.

Here's a hint on that one, by the way:

Try 'em all, and then it's the one you like the best.

Jesse Pohlman is a sci-fi/fantasy author from Freeport, New York, and while The Weekly Freeporter is certainly no-longer weekly, it documents and reflects on critical events within the Village.

TWF 331: On The Incredible News Of A Shooting In Freeport

 Hello, Freeporters,

I wish I could be joining you with better news on this day, but unfortunately I cannot.  Yesterday, as I first learned from the news agency Daily Voice Nassau, and later saw repeated on sites like NBC 4 New York, a drive-by shooting took place at a house party located on Babylon Turnpike.

Four children were shot.

I want to start by offering my best wishes to these wounded children, along with my wishes for anyone who was present at the tragedy.  I don't know their physical condition, as the NBC 4 article notes that their condition wasn't known at the time of publication, states that they were expected to survive.  That is good news.

I hope these are relatively minor injuries, and that they can and will make a full recovery.  As bad as that still is, things are not going to be so easy as simply healing from wounds. I know they - and all those who were present - are suffering psychological trauma.  There's no escaping that, but it's still horrific to consider.

The Positive Response

Overall, the community response has been one of horror and support.  I've seen many a Facebook post about how tragic this is, and how they wish for the victims to recover.  That lightens my heart.  Moreover, after reading what someone related to a victim said (I'm only mentioning this because it's a public forum), that one victim is doing okay.  Just knowing that is a huge relief, and we again wish him a full and speedy recovery.

Again, on the whole, most people have condemned the violence, cheered on the victims' recovery, offered updates about those they are close to, and called out for what little excuse there is standing in for justice in such a horrible crime.  True justice would be that this never happened, but that's impossible, so all we have left is pain and preventing this from happening again.

But not everyone has handled this gracefully, and I feel there's no getting around the need to point out that some people are saying insensitive (at best) 

The Less-Than-Positive

I can always rely on the majority of Freeport and its neighboring communities to get things right in times of crisis, and I take heart from that.

However, not everyone has handled this situation appropriately.

I will be pointing out two comments, both of which were unacceptable, and both of which shall remain nameless because their authors do not deserve credit, and because I am not interested in creating internet brigades.  One is, in my opinion, suggestive of racism.  One is suggestive of attempting to make an unacceptable political point in an election season off of of dishonestly representing the law.

It's also my understanding that both of these commenters are either from outside of the Freeport community (with no clear evidence they've ever spent time, here), or are no longer even so much as in geographical proximity of the community.  In other words, it's easy for them to talk when it's not at all related to them.

The first was as follows:

I'm just gonna be honest:  Best case is that this is a projection of insensitivity, or maybe some kind of crude attempt to be an edge-lord.  Worst case (which is where my mind happens to go, these days) is that this is deliberately racist.  There's no expression of contrition, there's no giving a damn about how the kids are.  "No crime in the Hood" right?  To my mind:  I'm sure that thought might be followed by, "And we all know who lives in the Hood."  Also implied is, "We don't care about the Hood, or the kids that were shot."

We should rise above this pettiness.

We must.

Another post I saw that was distressing was a deliberate attempt at politicizing these childrens' suffering by ranting about New York State's bail reform law under false pretenses.

This is a lie.

According to the Brennan Center, a non-partisan law and policy institute, they write:

Very clearly, at least according to this analysis done by legal-world professionals, violent felonies are still bail-worthy offenses.  Now, the fact is that if this person has the money and/or means to get it from a bondsman, they can just pay bail and get out just like it was before bail reform was initiated.  But a judge can absolutely order them detained on bail.

Hell, for four counts of attempted murder, I would not be surprised if they were remanded without bail as an option.

I also noticed that, since the man brought up politics, he didn't talk about New York's actual, real laudable attempts to take illegal guns off the streets.  Because New York has been trying to keep gun violence low, and overall has a fairly low incidence of gun violence to begin with compared to other states.  Now, I might imagine some other things this person might believe about firearms, but I won't get into those.

So In Conclusion...

If you're one of the two people I mentioned, or if you're just someone who liked one of their posts:  Be better than this, especially if you left the town a long time ago and never looked back, or if you never lived here to begin with.

The rest of Freeport is carrying on with solidarity and love for those who were hurt, and with an eye intent on preventing another tragedy like this from ever happening.

May such lofty hopes come true.

Thank you for reading.  Jesse Pohlman is the editor-in-chief of The Weekly Freeporter, and spent his first thirty years living in Freeport. He still visits the community regularly (imminently after publishing this, in fact), with the intent to live there once again when all affairs are settled.

TWF 330 - Research Reveals Abortion Restrictions In Freeport & Other Municipalities

 Hello, friends,

We're going to start this off by saying all people have the right to control their own bodies at all times, and we'll be taking a strident Pro-Choice position.  If that's a Rubicon for you, now's a good time to close this article.

New York State Senator Anna Kaplan (NYS Senate District 7) and Assemblywoman Gina L. Sillitti (NYS Assembly District 16) recently took part in a review of Long Island's various municipal legal codes.  They were searching for abortion prohibitions, and they discovered five local governments which banned abortion under varying conditions.  Freeport turned out to be one such community.

It was a surprise to me to learn Freeport had such a restriction.  It turns out it was a surprise to others, as well.  This could constitute a ban on things like mail-ordered Mifepristone & Misoprostol being taken at home to induce abortion.  While current New York State law would appear to make these laws toothless, there is no guarantee that the next Governor (there's an election coming up in November...) is going to be a Pro-Choice Governor.  There's no guarantee of a Pro-Choice Assembly and Senate, either.  The rules-as-written can be changed.

It's my understanding that the Village is going to be reconsidering these rules; rules which were, according to Kaplan's press release, issued in the 1970's; rules which were lost in time, but unearthed through diligent research.  And, good!  Change for the better is progress, and such shifts get made by people who pursue it.

Thank you for reading.  Jesse Pohlman is a Science Fiction/Fantasy author born and raised in Freeport, New York.  The Weekly Freeporter is over ten years old, now, so you probably know what it's about!

TWF 329 - New York State Sues Freeport Over Cleveland Avenue Environmental Disclosures

Hello, friends!

I hope this post finds you all well.  Before we get into the news, I just want to note that the subject of our previous article, Hitler-cheerleading Carl Paladino, appears to have lost his primary.  I figured I'd start with that good news.

New York Attorney General Sues Freeport.

Well, we can start with a link to the court document (hat tip to Dawn de le Llera for posting the link on FB) which appears to have been filed yesterday by NYS Attorney General Letitia James.  I invite you to read it for yourself, but being as neither of us are lawyers (except those of us who might be reading this who might be lawyers?  In which case, hi!  Feel free to gently correct me where I'm wrong), I think both of us are going to labor in analyzing it.

Here's what I gathered from it:

Paragraph 22 sets out that the Village Board approved a "negative declaration," basically saying that there would be no negative environmental impact to what's apparently a 15-acre industrial development over previously green space.

According to Paragraph 24, the Village did not perform a required type of environmental impact study on their proposed sale of the park to developer PDC .  In fact, if I'm reading it right, Paragraph 24 lays out that Freeport did nothing whatsoever - no study, no research, nothing - to support its negative declaration.

First and foremost is that the sale simply doesn't pass the environmental sniff test.  Paragraphs 29-31 certainly lay this issue bare, but it also hits on another issue:  That the sale would have a negative impact primarily on lower-income residents of color.

Diving Into The Lawsuit Against Freeport

New York's lawsuit seems to have two main thrusts, then.  The first is about the environment, the second is social equity.  In many ways, these two are connected:  "What will the impacts be, and who will bear the brunt of them?"

One thing I found impressive about this briefing was found in Paragraphs 19-20, in that it has a familiarity with both Freeport's history (the Moxey Rigby's experience during Hurricane Sandy) as well as it's accurateness with regards to the hydrological cycle.

NY AG James seems to be asking Freeport, "Hey, have you studied how paving over a bunch of open space is going to impact the immediate neighborhood during a flood like, say, Hurricane Sandy's future reincarnation?"  And while Freeport's official answer is yet to be published (to my knowledge), the fact remains that so far, their answer appears to be "no."

I remember one of the earliest issues The Weekly Freeporter covered was Mayor Hardwick's proposal to build an incinerator in Freeport.  In the linked article, I paraphrased Trustee Robert Kennedy from a community meeting citizens had organized in neighboring Merrick.

At the time, Robert Kennedy understood that it was incumbent on a business making a developmental proposal to evaluate the environmental impacts the building would have.  NOT taxpayers.  In this case, it should fall upon PDC to perform a legitimate environmental impact study using independent experts and labor.

But, really...

All in all, this is an issue that should not exist.  Robert Kennedy from a decade ago recognized that this needed to be done.  Did Robert Kennedy of today forget?  Did the Board?  If so - how?!

Seems like this is just another fight that didn't need to happen, and you'd better believe that reading that brief has further moved me in the "no, I'd prefer we keep the open space" camp.  I've vacillated, mainly because the alleged tax savings would be a huge benefit to many families in Freeport (I'm certainly happy to pay less in taxes), but I also strongly doubt that apartments Village-wide are about to drop their rent by a commensurate percentage, and it's clear which parts of the community are going to make sacrifices and which other parts will be reaping the rewards.

It just seems rushed, and I don't like being rushed into deals.

TWF 328: Checking Back In On Carl Paladino And, Surprise, He's Called For Violence (NYS Politics)

 Hello, friends,

On the surface, this one isn't directly Freeport-specific.  It'll also (maybe?  I'm still writing it) be relatively short (about 1,000 words!).  It's political, so be prepared for that.  It's also not covering wholly new ground for The Weekly Freeporter:  We talked a lot about Carl Paladino before.  If you don't want to read two articles, just know that he's a racist, Fascistic pox upon New York State.  Don't believe me?  Don't like the terminology I'm using?  Read that article, then let's continue.

So how's he doing?

Well, here's an AP article where Paladino oh so kindly explains that his call for U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to be murdered was just facetious.  Really, it's no surprise he'd believe that a Brietbart interview was the perfect place to make such a "joke."  I mean, it's not like gunmen are making attempts at attacking FBI outposts or anything.  ...Right?

Oh, yeah, he literally said the United States needs a leader like Adolf Hitler.  Yes, the Nazi from the 1930's-40's.  That guy.  Adolf Fucking Hitler.  Paladino likes that guy.  Yup.  I don't work with the word "Fascist" lightly.

He's mainly relevant today because he's running for Congress as a Republican.  Because I guess that's what depths that political party has descended to, he's gotten endorsements from the likes of Elise Stefanik, which kind of establishes the whole racism/fascism thing as a party platform, but I won't get much more partisan than that.

Follow me on this adventure for another minute.  Maybe it'll give you some ideas.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Why is this relevant to Freeport, Long Island?

We're living in an era where the rivers of Europe are drying up, along with U.S. ones like the Colorado River, upon which millions depend on.  We're less than two years off of a coup attempt against our national government.  Ukraine's burning cities are a smoke signal that a world war is in the air, one which is already killing uncountable, unrelated Humanity via war-fueled famine.

What is the connection between Paladino, the above paragraph' dystopian setting, and Freeport?

Let's start by recalling that Freeport, as a seaside community, has an insurmountable connection with our oceans.  Climate change fuels storms like Hurricane Sandy, to say nothing of melting glaciers raising the global sea level.  Incidentally, as recently as 2016, Paladino didn't believe climate change was manmade.  Oh, and he's reinforced his stance on that recently - so much for eight years of clear evidence, eh?

If climate change has dramatically increased the risk of a major hurricane hitting us in the future, shouldn't we be concerned if a bloc of our state's Congress-critters are in abjectly naked denial of the reality that threatens millions of New Yorkers?

Yeah, we oughta care about this guy!

One More Plank And We're Done.

I want to point out one more thing, and then it's a wrap and you're free to go.  (I mean, you're free to go at any time, but you wanna sate your curiosity, right?)

Remember the recent, hyper-contentious school board election in Freeport?  Or maybe you've heard of the small issue that is the sale of Cleveland Avenue park to a private company?  These are local issues that people feel very strongly about.  It's their livelihood at stake - the proposed tax savings from the Cleveland sale, for example are no laughing matter; but, also, so is the value in having more open green space in our community than less.  It is a cost-benefit analysis that different people feel differently about.

It's okay to have strong beliefs.  I do, too!

But it's necessary that calls for the murder of the Attorney General coming from Congressional candidates be addressed as symptomatic of a larger problem, and it's a problem that adds fuel to the fire of civic unrest.  It is Stochastic Terrorism.

Stochastic Terrorism is best summed up as, "Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?"  (Okay, it's usually written as "meddlesome priest.") It's when a person in power makes very clear they absolutely despise a certain person, or group, and laments that they can't do anything illegal.  It's basically a call for any "lone wolf" out there to take up violence on the person in power's behalf.  It's calling the FBI or the media or some other group "the enemy of the people."  Like...Sure, the guy in charge isn't gonna be the one pulling the trigger, but he knows damn well that what he says might inspire someone else to pick up a gun.

See also:  Tucker Carlson and other Fascist extremists inspiring the terror attack in Buffalo, this year.  Among many others.

Maybe you've heard about the Anti-Semetic flyers in our community?  How about the Proud Boys, a known Fascist terrorist organization linked to the January 6, 2021 attack on our government, marching around Long Island like they own the place?

People like Paladino are adding fuel to this fire, and you're a fool if you think that the Freeport community is magically immune to racist propaganda.  We take pride in our multi-cultural approach, sure!  But that doesn't mean that hostile elements won't try to find purchase in our town.

Perhaps worse still:  Those who can't be brought into "the cause" may become targets of "the cause."  Those flyers some Nazi trash sent out weren't some inert leaflets, they were a call to action - a call for people to target the individuals on the flyer.  They're calling for people (mostly limited to those who look like me, by the way - peachy white folk), to join hate groups and commit atrocities against whoever they designate as "the enemy."

And that's why it's worth shouting all the way upstate to Buffalo that they should vote against Carl Paladino in the August 23rd Primary.  And the General Election, if this Fascist makes it that far.

Because all we have are our voices, and we have to stand united to reject his hate.

Jesse Pohlman is an Sci-Fi/Fantasy author and avid anti-Fascist hailing from Freeport, New York.  Hey!  Did you know The Weekly Freeporter is over twelve years old?  It's sure evolved a lot!  It's no longer weekly, but it's definitely still alive when a cause calls out for it!

TWF 327 - Freeport's Nautical Mile Festival Is Coming Up, June 4th!

Hey friends!

I hope you're all doing well.  This is just a short notice to remind all of you (who probably already know?) that the Freeport Nautical Mile Festival is coming up, this weekend.  So make sure you wear your sun-block (skin cancer sucks, trust me first-hand on that one), wear a hat that keeps the sun out of your face, bring some water with you, and have a good time!

Oh!  And stay out of trouble!

Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York, born and raised in Freeport.  He writes sci-fi/fantasy novels you can check out at his website.

TWF 326 - A Dig Into Claims Of Increased School Violence.

Hello, friends!

Throughout the course of this years' contest for School Board, I've seen numerous parents, residents, and taxpayers express concern about the safety conditions at the Freeport School District degenerating. That's a weird sentence, but I don't know how else to really put it: There's this pervasive idea that the schools are unsafe as they're operated; or, at least significantly less safe than they were.

I mean, hey!  Didn't you hear about that one recent, really bad fight?  Isn't that something to be worried about?

This article has changed significantly in its second draft thanks to information from village insiders and also just the course of revisions.  Much of it (especially the data dive) will be in its original form, because that was the original point of the article - Background, data-dive, quick thoughts, done.

The more research I did, the more complicated the story got, and the more I had to say about it; so I hope you'll join me for a dive into data, statistics, numbers, and - ultimately - a broader perspective to take on some changes that need to take place to fix what looks like a very real, but intangible problem.

If you want a TL;DR version of this, just scroll down to the last few paragraphs, but suffice to say that the data does not tell a complete picture, the research is sometimes contradictory, and the pursuit of information has been hampered with farce.  I've broken the article down to chapters, with chapter 3 being my conclusions and, as I always endeavor to provide, recommendations on what to do, next.

On The Record About School Safety

Obviously, it goes without saying that student safety is paramount.  As an educator for about eight years, I've always put student safety first.  I've had to test that commitment to their safety bodily (took just a grazing blow, no biggie).

Chapter One:  Sourcing and data.

Getting A Background

I was looking for some exact quotes to pull from the candidates, because the first thing I know about journalism is that it's essential to get people at their word. So imagine my surprise when I ran into a little problem with trying to track down some relevant Facebook groups:

I found it weird that I couldn't see the Facebook group for Butler and Jackson's campaign, when I had been able to do so for my previous article on the election (TWF 324).  So, naturally, I asked if other people could still see it, and their answer was "very clearly, yes." I saw so, myself, on another person's Facebook account, that the group and its posts still existed.

So, that almost certainly meant I was blocked from their Facebook group for asking this very question.

Since it's now the day after this issue, it's only fair to note that it appears I have since been un-blocked, because the group is visible again, but only after public complaint.  I am not the only person who has experienced an inability to see their group; there's more than one person who has reported being being blocked from some groups or pages.

For what it's worth, I've been assured that I never was blocked, but I can't think of any explanation as to why others could see what I couldn't.

This feels like the early days of getting into stupid Facebook arguments as far back as 2010.  Ahh, the old days of Mayor Hardwick trying to influence the School Board.  (Mayor Kennedy has endorsed the Jackson/Butler ticket)  The reason I mention it is because, again, this is a dive into my research practices as much as it is an analysis of background, and when I find something - shall we say - interesting in the research, I always report it.

It's hard to come up with a background record when part of it is obscured, even temporarily.

Moving on:  I was looking for quotes.  Let's see what I find.

What's Readily Available

I do have a very brief, but useful bit of a statement-on-safety from each of the four candidates, courtesy of the Long Island Herald:

Most of this is in the mold of boiler-plate obligations that political leaders have to say.  I get it!  Maria Jordan-Awalom provides a broader context to the problem of a nation-wide rise in school violence, based on her experience with police councils.  This would lend some significant credence to the idea that, yes, there might be an ongoing spike!  We will circle back around to this later.

But the thing I noticed that was particularly unusual was Mr. Ben Jackson's (I almost wrote "Mr. Jackson," but there are two candidates with that last name running, so I have to check myself) interest in increasing the amount of contact between the schools and the police department.  It's couched in the Adopt-A-Cop program, which is certainly an interesting idea!

But, here, I have to think about my own experience in education.

I was an educator for about eight years, and five of them were spent in Freeport.  When I later worked for NYC DOE, we frequently had contact with school-based police officers.  The reception was definitely mixed; I'm sure I got a mostly-positive reception as I was a teacher (I even wore "work clothes!"), but I'm pretty sure the kids didn't share those feelings.  Many of them told me they felt like they were labeled "bad kids" and otherwise stigmatized by things like having police in the school and having metal detectors and whatnot.

In other words, I know it did significant mental harm to them.

Now, I know from first-hand experience that there are days Freeport High breaks out the metal detector wands.  Those days *suck,* by the way, but I get it.  They happen!  There's a known threat, or maybe it's just a random day once in a while to check things.  Totally understandable.

But I've also had to be the guy who doesn't just de-escalate students, but de-escalates cops who are thinking of detaining his students instead of just talking through a problem.  That was certainly an unpleasant day, and my fear is that adding police into the schools will create those type of problems when previously they didn't exist.

Could police be further integrated into the schools in an appropriate manner?  Maybe!  It's just very hard to say what will cross the fine line between, "We have a guest in the school today," and, "One more reminder I live my daily school life under surveillance by authorities who don't trust me to be free."  And I haven't seen a stated plan-of-action anywhere, so my gut says, "Not without a clear plan, no."

(I am obliged to note, based on this invocation, that the Freeport Police Benevolent Association has endorsed Mr. Ben Jackson, as well as his running mate Mr. Butler.)

So there's your background - and some of it's mine, when it comes to talking about schools.

Now, let's look at some data starting with 2020-2021

This is mostly stream-of-consciousness, and a look into my research procedure as much as it is into data.

Thanks to a lead from one Scott McInnes (I tip my hat), I've been able to find data on what the school has reported to the state. The website to do this can be found from the NYS Department of Education, whereby first you have to pick a year. Then you download one of two spreadsheets - The choices are “NYC” or “not NYC,” so that's a lot of data to parse.

Thankfully, (Editorial Note:  SOME OF) the spreadsheets are built with filters included.

I also have to note:  2020-2021 was the Pandemic's height. (Case numbers are climbing back up, by the way) Most kids weren't in school for most of the year.  Much of the in-class time involved hybrid learning.  I know - I was working in an elementary school for part of it.

Here's what you get when you look at Freeport for 2020-2021.  It's not 21-22, but that year (which appears to be the entire point of this question!) isn't over.  It'll require two separate images to put all the spreadsheet data out:

So, there you have the 2020-2021 data.  Anyway, what we've got here starts with one - to be clear, this is bad - incidence of physical assault.  I don't know how far a common fight has to get in order to be classified as "physical assault."  It took place at Atkinson, if that's any help.

Moving on in a similar vein:  The next thing that jumps out at me is that we've got a (very hard to parse) bit of data indicating that cyberbullying is a problem.  I don't think that's anything particularly new, but there's also less than ten incidents of it.  Now, yes, that needs to be worked on, but that's about one incident a month.

Then, on to the possession situation:  3 in Dodd, 3 in FHS.  Okay.  Kids shouldn't be doing drugs, should not selling them; we get that.  We'd like those numbers to be better, but, also, as much as kids shouldn't do something, I'm not stupid enough to pretend they don't.  At this point in my analysis, I can only note that number and get ready to look back to previous years for a trend.

There were also four incidents of weapons being brought to school.  Two of these incidents happened in Atkinson, by the way, which I only stress because I've TA'd in an elementary setting and...Just, how does an elementary kid try sneaking a weapon in without their parents finding out?  I guess it's pretty easy, it seems to happen all the time, but, wow.

Looking Back A Few Years Further.

Lemme just pull up the 2019-2020 data...

Yikes!  Okay, so what you're telling me is it ISN'T nearly as accessible as the previous document.  Now, then, here we are, Freeport, in between Roosevelt and Baldwin in this not-alphabetical list.

And here is the data!

I'm going to be honest:  TWF is a free publication, I don't charge for it, so I don't have money to pay a data analyst to break this down.  You've only got me, and your own eyes if you want to take your own look.  The highlighted column is for possession of weapons, so clearly that was more of a problem in 2019-2020 than 2020-2021.  Which only makes sense.

My eye also caught the number 6 and got concerned, but when I scrolled up it didn't even tell me what the column was, so...I'm at a loss, but 6 is bad.

Maybe 2018-2019 will be more parseable?

Good news:  It is.  This is how a spreadsheet should look for accessibility.

Bad news:  Just a first glance reveals some alarms.

And the second glance puts us into the double-digits:

I don't need to tell you that those numbers look worse.

They look worse.

How about 2017-2018?  Garbled mess again:

I wonder if the data scientists who compile these reports finish them up in alternating years?  Every other year the data makes sense and is well presented; every other year, it's virtually useless.

So we go between Roosevelt and Baldwin again...

Without much by way of context, these numbers seem to be less numerous than 18-19.  Of course, those are kind of random data points.

So What Does The Data Show?

First: Most obviously, the 2020-2021 data is less than helpful as a baseline because of the Pandemic closures and hybrid learning modalities.

Second:  Any numbers mean someone's had a really bad day, right?  Whether it's possession of narcotics or something far worse, every incident means something broke down along the way.  But what matters is how we react to it.

Third:  This data isn't the complete picture.

What do I mean?

Chapter Two:  Data can be incomplete, and is only ever part of the puzzle.

Two Rabbits.

Here's where we take the broader context into consideration.  I've got two rabbits and can only chase one at a time, but I'm about to cover both Jordan-Awalom's point about a nationwide increase in violence, and then I'm going to cover what's 'being said,' what I believe and know to be accurate about some stuff, and then finally offer a solution to at least one of the problems this data has raised.

First, to the idea of a nation-wide violence spike.  Well, in November 2021, the publication Education Week put out an article detailing that there had been an increase in school violence.  It gets a bit weirder; the same kind of thing was claimed in 2018 by USA Today (Interestingly, the 2018-2019 data looked particularly bad, earlier).  But, also, in late February 2022, NBC 6 in South Florida reported on yet another ongoing increase in violence.

Let's take this reporting for what it is:  The claim that school violence is increasing nationwide is grounded in evidence, but that evidence dates back to both before the Pandemic and after the Pandemic.  So does that mean violence is on a continually increasing scale?  Possibly!  Or, could it mean there are tiny spikes at various times?  Also possibly!

It's enough that we can't rule out that Freeport is simply seeing splash-over from a national trend.

But, let's now circle back to the claims, themselves.

What's really being said, and what does 'increase' even mean?

Well, first off, there's the general complaint, itself.  "Violence is on the rise!"  Well, I've seen those kind of claims before.  I've seen it here, and I've seen it in other schools.  It is a very easy political tool to use against incumbents, whether it's got a factual backing or not.  But some of the stories I've heard from parents have really had an impact upon me, and I also have no reason to immediately assume they are false.

What I have is knowledge that there is a substantial amount of trouble, both inside the schools and taking place outside of, but nearby.  Again, I have no reason to doubt what I've seen, regardless of where it came from.  Apropos of everything, yes, it is concerning.

What I haven't seen (yet, anyway?) is evidence that this is an actual increase in unacceptable behavior.  We know it's bad!  We're told by some it's worse than ever, and just as we lack data to prove it is, we also lack data to prove it isn't.  Certainly something needs to change, but what?

And does the problem have a Freeport-specific origin, or is it part of a nationwide trend that requires nationwide efforts to stop?

Let's make some suggestions!

Chapter Three:  Conclusions And Recommendations.

What New York State Can Do ASAP:

We need to change the way school violence numbers are reported.  Yearly simply doesn't cut it.  Schools are supposed to take some degree of guidance from parents, but parents can't provide that guidance if they don't have data on what's going on right now.

I remember during the Coronavirus pandemic (which is still ongoing; I'm talking about the earlier days), that schools were mandated to publish real-time statistics on how many kids and staff contracted CoVID.

There is no reason this cannot be done with school violence statistics, except perhaps for having to shift workloads around or hire a new staff member to take care of it.  This type of mandate must be coupled with funding to increase staff specifically for this purpose, but also for others so long as the data is compiled daily.

Ideally, this data would be published on the school's website, but it could be a state-maintained database that they link to.

That may require new laws to be passed.  Discuss with your relevant NYS Assemblyfolk/Senators.

What Freeport Can Probably (?) Do Right Now

What would be most helpful, right now, would be if Freeport could disclose what violence numbers they would be reporting to the state as of the year-to-date.  This would be imminently helpful to settling this arguable idea of a "spike in violence," as well as providing evidence for any rapid responses needed to counteract them.  There might be some state statute which prohibits this, there might not.  I'm not an education lawyer.

For all I know, it's as easy as publishing a spreadsheet file.

For all I know, it's legally prohibited!

And As For The Community...

Freeport simply has a hotly contested election on its hands.  The claims are huge, and the publicly-available data to check them is slim.  The possible solutions are many, but so is the possible blow-back.  It's a fine line to walk.  Your vote matters.  You should vote.

Your subjective experience may vary!  Maybe you've got family who goes to the school and has primary-source information that's got you thinking things are worse than ever.  Maybe you've got some old memories of a time when things were pretty bad at the schools, yourself.  (I'm lookin' back at you, 1990's, especially 97)  Maybe you have seen a video on the internet that's got you shaken.  Maybe you haven't experienced any problems, whatsoever.

It's up to you to vote based on what you believe.

As always, The Weekly Freeporter is not making any endorsements.  I'm just providing you with one internet stranger's (or maybe pal's?) exploration into an issue that hits home.  I hope it's been helpful.

Jesse Pohlman is a 'recovering teacher' and author born and raised in Freeport, New York.  Thank you for reading, I hope it made you think.

TWF 325: School Board Candidate Forum, May 3rd, 2022, at Dodd Middle School!

 Hello, friends!

A short and simple one, today, to celebrate 325 posts on TWF:  The four candidates for School Board will be part of a "Meet The Candidates" forum.  If you have any questions, they may be able to provide answers!  Feel free to ask whatever you'd like.

Thanks for reading!  Jesse Pohlman is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy author born and raised in Freeport, New York, currently living in another LI town, with a website available at this link!

TWF 324: Upcoming School Board Vote, Tuesday May 17th, 2022!

 Hello, friends!

It's been a bit, and there's not too much for me to say at this time, but I did want to put what tiny extra light I can on an upcoming Board Of Education and School Budget vote on May 17th, plus provide a short editorial about school board elections in general, nationwide, and not specific to Freeport.

There are, as far as I am aware, two "slates" of candidates that are being voted for.  As always, The Weekly Freeporter is a non-partisan endeavor and we will not be publishing any endorsements on the subject.  I will link to their respective Facebook pages so you may read more about their perspectives and qualifications.

First up is the tag-team of BoE incumbent Maria Jordan-Awalom, who is running for (what I believe to be) her second term, and first-time candidate Shuron Jackson, himself an educator.

Next up, we've got the team of Ben Jackson (no relation to Shuron, I'm sure), President of the Freeport Chamber of Commerce, and Jacques Butler, Vice-President of Freeport PAL.

Voter turnout in school board elections is typically low.  For example, it's hard to pin down exactly how many people voted in the 2019-2020 elections, since votes are permitted for any two candidates they choose, but the winning candidates had 659 and 714 votes, respectively.  Freeport is a Village with over 40,000 residents, but it took the collective votes of less than 1/40th of that to win the election.  The budget vote is rarely close, but I remember back when I was in elementary school that wasn't the case and the district went on an austerity budget that was impactful enough on my education that I remember it.

I highly encourage you to get out and vote in your School Board election, wherever you live.

Now for a brief editorial you may, or may not, want to read.

A Note On Creeping Fascism In School Board Elections

As I've stressed, school board elections are important.  Right now, they are a significant "culture war" battleground. While The Weekly Freeporter is non-partisan, it is very Anti-Fascist.  Let me stress up front that to my knowledge, none of the candidates running for election have tripped any of the red flags I'm about to point out, but I have seen some shameful Facebook comments that have helped inspire this commentary.

To that end, please be wary any time commentators (and especially candidates!) start talking about things like, for example, "We shouldn't be teaching students CRT" and "We shouldn't be teaching little kids about sexuality."

Those lines of "inquiry" are substantial red flags that the person in question is aligned with Fascist ideology, and they should immediately be challenged to explain what they are talking about, with evidence.  These are dog-whistles (more like megaphones) for racism, homophobia, transphobia, and other bigotries of-that-like

There is no chance that these are things which are being taught in the way Fascists portray.

If you would like more education on these topics, or just if you've got about an hour to kill (Maybe you have some commuting to do, and you could use something to listen to?), I would recommend starting with Some More News' take on the so-called "CRT issue."  Yes, it's halfway to being a comedy show, and halfway to being a tragedy as it covers real-life events quite accurately.

TWF 323: Big Winter Storm Approaching, Jan 28, 2022

 Hello, friends,

The below image is courtesy of the National Weather Service.

I mean, that says enough, doesn't it?  Well, Accuweather says this:

That's...Honestly twice as bad as the 6-12 we were predicted to get as of a couple days ago, which is why I decided it deserved an article.  That means it's time to review some of our usual winter weather tips!  If you've got one you'd like to share, leave it in the comments and I'll credit you and add it to the list.

(Yes, this list seems to repeat year to year for a reason, but it's been tweaked here and there)

- Try to stock up on anything you need before the snow gets heavy.  It goes without saying that if you can't drive safely, if you can't move well, then you are at risk of getting injured while walking around, or crashing your car if you risk driving.  I know it's kind of an old motif, but get your "bread and milk" now.

 - Keep your pets and beloved animals inside!!!  They won't be able to move through two feet of snow any better than you will, and if the temperature is cold out, they can get sick or even freeze to death.  Have some compassion.  If you can, put out a large styrofoam box/cooler/something, stuffed with straw, for local stray cats/animals to take shelter in; in these days, compassion is a must.  If you've got some spare pet food, put that out - staying warm burns calories.

 - Help your neighbors clear the snow from their sidewalks if you can.  If possible - and I mean unless you absolutely cannot - clear out a 3-feet circle around your nearby fire hydrants.  (via TJ Johnson.)  Make sure to dress warmly, wear sturdy and stable boots, and take your time shoveling!

 - If the power goes out, be careful with candles! Nobody needs a fire!

 - Keep a cell phone handy; a battery-powered radio is a good idea, too.  If you need to report a non-life-threatening emergency, call the Nassau County line at 1-888-684-4274.  For medical emergencies ONLY, use 911.  Charge it up as much as you can as early as you can.

 - Get your car off the road!  Park your cars in your driveway, if you can. (Via FFD member Robert Volpe).  Village lots are typically available for public parking if you can't.

 - Try to have cash available!  In the event that there is no electricity to run credit cards or operate ATMs, you'll want to have money around if you need to pay for anything.

 - Once the storm is over, call your friends and family and see if they're alright!

TWF 322 - Poetry Month & Contest At Long Island Arts Council.

 Hello, friends.

April is Poetry Month for Long Island Arts Council at Freeport.  I wish I had a direct link to a page specifically dedicated to the poetry contest they're running, but that's not available at present.  What is available is information and registration for the seventh annual high school-oriented poetry contest!

I would strongly encourage any and all interested youths to apply (with parental permission, of course).  Sharing poetry is often very personal, and while it might not seem like a huge stepping stone, but I promise you that if you're poetically inclined, earlier publication credits are a positive step for your portfolio down the path.

I know, lots of alliteration, there.  If you noticed, you oughta consider entering the contest!

As for me:  I'm presently kicking back in CoVID-Positive quarantine; I'm feeling about 97% healthy, a fact which I'm crediting to my vaccination.  If you haven't already gotten yours, please do.

Jesse Pohlman is an author from Long Island, New York; born and raised in Freeport.  Well, maybe not "born" in Freeport - Freeport Hospital wasn't doing delivery in 1984.

TWF 321: Hospital Update, A Story, And A Call To Action (CoVID Update #15)

Editorial note:  Opinions ahead.

 Hello, friends,

This is like the cliche freshman college essay:  I want to start with giving credit to News 12 on the germ of this article, which some beta-readers have identified as a bit of a rant, but there are serious problems afoot in Long Island, and it's due to our old pal the Coronavirus.  I'm opening with some data, I'm following that up with a personal story, and - at the end of this - I am calling upon Governor Hochul to take significant action to combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

Hospital overcrowding and overload has reached highs that honestly haven't really been seen, at least since the beginning of the pandemic.  With the Omicron variant in town, U.S. Case Positivity rates have skyrocketed.  NBC News reports that on January 3rd, over one million tests returned positive.  Just think about that:  1/330 people in the country came down with CoVID.  Child hospitalizations are at climbing rapidly, as reported by Reuters.  Seems like Freeport Schools going remote for at least this week was a good idea, now, doesn't it?

Oh:  And here's Nassau County's caseload.

Notice how it's kind of just going almost straight up?

News 12 is reporting that Nassau University Medical Center is overwhelmed.  That's no surprise.  60% of the hospital's population is there specifically for CoVID, and - if I'm reading the first link in this post right - the other 40% was positive?  That's, like, 100%.  I think they could have been clearer with their reporting, there, honestly.

At any rate, other hospitals are increasing their requirements for in-patient emergency admission.  Virtually anything that can be managed outpatient is being called upon to be handled outpatient, even if that's not exactly ideal for the patient.  Then there's the case of the Florida hospital turning away pregnant people because they're overwhelmed with CoVID.  You know, because that's a thing.

What's this all mean?

Well, dammit Jim, I'm not a doctor.  I'm just a part-time journalist trying to interpret data.  What it screams to me is that everyone is catching CoVID at this point, even though vaccinations are definitely keeping serious illness at bay for those of us who have paid attention to the science.  (If you've got a problem with that sentiment, just leave now, because we're going deep.)

As to the concrete effects of this new wave of hospitalpolicy changes, I'm just not sure.  They might mean that hospitals aren't going to accept non-life-threatening injuries, such as from moderate-to-severe car accidents.  "Oh,  your arm might be broken?  Too bad, get it treated outpatient."  It might not!  I know people who have had serious surgeries postponed, and while they were non-specific with their reasoning, I'm betting they didn't need to be clear about it.

And the more I write, the more concretely an idea forms in my mind.

I have a story I'm ready to tell:

I know that, due to CoVID, hospitals have put in place a policy in place where, generally speaking, you can't have guests in an emergency room.  There are limited exceptions, and this is where we get personal.  When my dad was in his last month of life, we decided to take him to the emergency room to see if there was anything that could be done to help him.  At that point, he was an immunocompromised cancer patient with suspected internal bleeding fresh off a first-time infusion of Cyramza, so he got in pretty quick - only, I wasn't allowed to go in with him.  I stressed that I was his healthcare proxy and power of attorney, that he could not advocate for himself in any effective manner, and they still wouldn't budge.  I was told to wait in the car.

Of course, being completely sick and disoriented, he was totally unable to provide a medical history for himself.  Totally.  I was called back within 10 minutes and sheepishly told they needed someone to help out with him.  It was only a short period of torment for a dying man, but it was terrible nonetheless.  I'm sure I'm not alone in this exemption regard, but I cannot imagine going to an ER when you're sick and being Goddess-damned alone.  It's a horrifying thought, to imagine going through that - and infuriating to imagine my wife going through it.  But people have to go through it, nonetheless?

And, in large part, people are going through that because other people are making selfish choices which damn them entirely?!

Enough.

No More.

A Call For Action From The Governor

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in the 1905 Jacobson Vs Massachusetts that states have the power to compel citizen vaccination in the face of a public health crisis.  The relevant overview is down below:

I am calling upon New York Governor Kathy Hochul to implement mandatory vaccination, either directly through executive order mandates, legislative mandates, and vaccine passports; or - at least - through existing requirements for school admission and any other mechanisms like mandates for all state workers to be vaccinated.  I am calling on all candidates for Governor, including Jumanne Williams and Tom Suozzi, to make this a part of their platform.  I am furthermore calling on all legislators to back specific laws being written to compel vaccination.

Yes, we are at that point.

No, I don't care about your self-assigned "Freedoms" in this case, because by refusing to get vaccinated all you are doing is hurting the sick and defenseless out of pure, unbridled selfishness.  Vaccines are safe, they will almost certainly not hurt you.  The science is well tested and established since the 1990's.  The disease is bad enough to warrant it, with one million cases in a day and overwhelmed hospitals.  The legal authority was established over a century ago by the highest court in the country.  I'm sorry, but you are not - and,  unless you are 115 years or so old, have never even plausibly been - "Free" to kill, cripple, and traumatize innocent people by turning yourself into a vector for disease.  You do, in fact, have a fundamental responsibility to protect your fellow Human being.

If you have a problem with this?  Don't bother arguing, here.  Give me an angry reaction and I'll tell you to kiss off.  This was and is something of a factual review of our situation, something of a rant, and definitely a sad story.

And I've seen enough suffering.

I'm done.

Jesse Pohlman is an author and recovering teacher from Long Island, New York, born and raised in Freeport.  He's currently furious at the state of affairs and the harm it's caused, both directly and indirectly.