WESTCHESTER’S OLDEST AND MOST RESPECTED NEWSPAPERS PRESORT-STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID White Plains, NY Permit #7164 Yonkers Rising Yonkerstimes.com www.RisingMediaGroup.com Friday April 16, 2021 Yonkers Force Beats Yonkers Brave NYS Lawmakers Deliver for Yonkers 42-19, to Win Yonkers Cup $46.1 Million More For Yonkers Public Schools The victorious Yonkers Force football team after winning the Superintedent’s Cup, photo by Docwscolek photography State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, back home in By Phil Foley Yonkers, at the Boyce Thompson School On Friday April 9th the battle of Yonkers HS Football took place at Roosevelt On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins along HS. The Yonkers Force prevailed over the Yonkers Brave by the score of 42-19. with State lawmakers who represent Yonkers, Senator and Education Com- The Force took the Superintendent’s Cup back home with them too. mittee Chair Shelley B. Mayer and Assemblymembers Nader J. Sayegh and The Force saw their seasons record even up at 1 and 1. For the Brave this was Gary Pretlow joined Yonkers school and city officials to announce the New their first game of the season which had been delayed due to a player getting Covid. York State budget’s historic investment in education, and the ending of the For the Force the following players were noted by Coach Dan DeMatteo for decades long battle to fully fund foundation aid. their stellar play: Elijah Cordero 118 yards rushing on10 carries and 2 TDs. Jahmi Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins negotiated a budget, which invests Jackson 71 yards on 15 carriesand 1 TD. $29.5 billion in New York’s schools and increases foundation aid by $1.4 Ryan Joseph rushed for 44 yards on 8 carries. Christian Valverde rushed for 15 billion, the largest ever seen. Foundation aid is meant to help bring equity yards on 4 carries. The Force placekicker Sherif Abouhatab was a perfect 6/6 on to New York’s schools and support schools with the greatest needs, like Extra points. Makachi Keels also scored on a 50 yard fumble return for a TD. supporting students experiencing poverty, students who are English Lan- Brave Coach Victor Chiappa said, “Our kids never gave up, and I’m just happy guage Learners, and students who receive free and reduced lunch. For years for our seniors that they have a chance to play football through a pandemic. Josh though, like other high needs school districts, Yonkers did not receive their Williams scored, Chris Needham had a defensive touchdown and Jhan Rosario has fair share of foundation aid through the foundation aid formula. defensive touchdown. However, through the Yonkers State Delegation’s efforts and years of The Brave play at White Plains on Friday April 16, at 6pm. advocacy by parents, students, educators, and unions, Yonkers will now receive a significant investment of $21.9 million, bringing total foundation aid from $213.7 million last year to $235.6 million this year, a 10.3 percent increase. Lawmakers also advocated for about $14 million in state aid to continued on pg 3- go towards infrastructure improvements. Now, total school aid in Yonkers is expected to increase about $35.7 million, bringing it from $309.9 million Growing Up with DMX and His Yonkers last year to $345.6 million this year. The federal government stepped in to help schools avoid disastrous cuts last year, allowing the State to allocate Anthems: True Legends Never Die about $10.4 million in federal aid to Yonkers bringing total State school funding to $46.1 million, an increase of 15.4 percent over last year. Yonkers Public Schools are also expected to receive about $106 million in federal funding, which means for the year, the district is expected to receive $141.7 continued on pg 7- _____________________________________________________________ I Lost My Mom to COVID, So Did 570,000 Americans and 50,000 New Yorkers By: Dennis Richmond, Jr. Earl “DMX” Simmons departed this life on Friday, April 9th, 2021 in White Plains, New York. It’s surreal for me to be writing this article. Sources across the globe are publishing stories both online and in-print about X. Though many sources want to focus on negative aspects of X’s life, I’d like to share the good. I’m a young man from Yonkers, New York who was born in 1995. As such, DMX’s music played a huge role in my childhood. Songs like, “Ruff Ryder’s Anthem” and “Party Up (Up In Here)” were literally, Yonkers Anthem’s. Between Mary J. Blige, DMX, and The LOX, Yonkers became known in the Music World Frank Spotorno, right, and his mom Rosa Spotorno, who died from COVID as a respected place for the real. DMX was one of the people who made that hap- pen. Westchester Resident Frank Spotorno is one of more than 2,408 West- DMX was the type of person who took pictures with his fans. Born in Mount chester residents, 50,000 New Yorkers, and 570,000 Americans who have Vernon and raised in Yonkers, his family knew my family for decades. My grand- lost a loved one to COVID. Like all of the friends and families who have mother, the late Mrs. Joyce Jones would see him when he was a little boy. She suffered the loss and pain, they would like closer. lived on 28 Lamartine Terrace in Yonkers. X was never a stranger to where he was Spotorno has asked for answers about where the Coronavirus originated, from. He always made sure to big up Yonkers up no matter what. He would give and is calling on our elected officials in Washington to demand answers children money when they needed it. People across New York have stories about from the Chinese Communist Party, CCP. “If it came from a lab, then tell DMX and the amazing person that he was. us, so that the world can work together to prevent another pandemic,” writes DMX and rappers like him; JAY-Z, Jadakiss, Sheek Louch, Styles P, and Busta Spotorno on page 8. Rhymes, share one huge personality trait. They always tell the truth in their music. Spotorno has also called on Upstate New York to become a PPE and X’s songs carried truth in them, and he wasn’t afraid to let the world know how generic drug manufacturing center, and will be traveling across the state this he felt. Despite everything going on in his personal life, X made sure to always summer to gauge support. shine on stage and in his music. X’s 1998 debut album It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot Finally, Spotorno urges all New Yorkers to stand up against HATE being was certified 4x Multi-Platinum. His best-selling album …And Then There Was X made against Asian-Americans. “Asian-Americans have nothing to do reached 5x Platinum status. with COVID-19 and the spread of it in our country. People across the world are mourning the late, LEGENDARY rapper, DMX. Perhaps that feeling is most felt right here in Yonkers. LEAVE THEM ALONE! Rest In Peace, X. Love. more on page 8- ____________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________ PAGE 2 - YONKERS RISING - FRIDAY, APRIL 16, 2021 Vaccines Open to Anyone 18 Years or Older Join Friends of the Old Croton Adueduct at WCC Site-J&J Vaccines Suspended for I Love My Park Day Cleanup May 1 Friends of the Old Croton Aqueduct (OCA) will host “I Love My Parks Day” on May 1st. This year due to Covid-19 there will be several trail improvement and clean-up sites along the OCA. Two sites along the Yonkers section will be targeted, one from the entrance of Tibbetts Brook Park to McClean Avenue and the other from Lamartine to Phillipse Place. The OCA is a historic state park. We need volunteers to come on out to make the Yonkers section welcoming to all. The Westchester Parks Foundation will be joining the Friends of the OCA to help out at the Tibbetts site. Those wanting to help in the clean-up and learn about invasive plant management can find detailed information about all of the events at www. aqueduct.org/ilmpd including the link to register. On the registration site, fill in your information, then scroll down to choose your site; to volunteer in Yonkers choose either Tibbetts Brook Park or Wicker Street. Rain date will be May 2nd. NY State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Parks & Trails NY and the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) are sponsoring this historic event, and we note that that all of our sites are included as official Riverkeeper Sweep events! Local sponsors include Avalon Yonkers and the Office of the Yonkers City Council. We will be adhering to all COVID guidelines and masks are required. County Executive George Latimer, with Deputy County Exec. Ken Jenkins Please pre-register to allow us to ensure social distancing at each of the sites. We look forward to seeing members of our community at I Love As of April 13, The First Dose Covid-19 Vaccination Clinic at West- My Park Day 2021. It’s up to each of us to make a positive difference to chester Community College will be open to NYS residents 18 years of age the beautiful and historic Aqueduct Trail. Hope to see you or older. The Moderna vaccine will be given. ___________________________________________________________ Reserve your appointment here https://health.westchestergov.com/ And New York State has declared that effective April 6, all New York- Great Saw Mill River Cleanup ers 16 years and older became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.