January 20, 2022

Beacon's First HR Director Resigns After 1.5 Years In Position: Instrumental In Bringing Firearm, Diversity, Etc. Policies

January 20, 2022/ Katie Hellmuth

Beacon’s first HR Director, Gina Basile, has resigned after one and a half years in the position. The position which started in July 2020 was originally shared between Fishkill and Beacon. Previously, she spent a number of years with the New York State Bridge Authority.

“I have heard employee concerns about discrimination, inequality, and growing tensions,” Gina stated in her printed presentation. “We need to address these issues head-on, and policies and procedures are only the beginning. We need a long-term plan on how to address these issues.””

— Gina Basile, then Beacon's HR Director

Then City Councilmembers including Terry Nelson expressed relief at hiring an HR Director to help with employment issues. Some issues include the ongoing employment issue the City is pursuing with Reuben Simmons in the Highway Department, which began with City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, who has since resigned to work for Dutchess County. Anthony was replaced by current City Administrator Chris White.

During her first public presentation to the City Council on December 14, 2020, Gina mentioned “many discussions with our employees about how they feel about working for the City,” ALBB reported at the time. At that time, she also met with the community group Beacon4Black Lives.

After holding a Meet and Greet with all department heads individually, she scheduled a Meet and Greet with the Fire Department, which needed to be rescheduled due to COVID-19-related issues. Gina held a Meet and Greet with the Highway Department, which is where she began her focus to discover overall themes employees experience when working for the City.

According to Gina’s presentation, several themes emerged, including:

“Concerns surrounding diversity and equality.”
“Concerns regarding our Hiring Practices.”
“Growing Tensions in the Workplace.”
“Lack of clarity in intra-departmental policies and inconsistency.”

Gina confirmed: “I have heard employee concerns about discrimination, inequality, and growing tensions,” Gina stated in her printed presentation. “We need to address these issues head-on, and policies and procedures are only the beginning. We need a long-term plan on how to address these issues.”

A few of Gina’s next public steps were to introduce new policies that the City of Beacon had not had before, including a Firearms Policy, Domestic Violence Policy and Diversity and Inclusion Policy. While some City Councilmembers expressed surprise that anyone would bring a firearm to work, they assumed it occurred in the police department. However, there has been an unreported instance of an employee casually bringing a firearm to work in another department, during a time of increased employment tension.

Gina has accepted the position of Talent Acquisition Manager at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Gina had also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Hyde Park, according to her LinkedIn.

March 04, 2021

"Beacon's Water Department Is A Completely Caucasian Department... Some Of Their [Highway Department Employees'] Behaviors Are Questionable"

March 04, 2021/ Katie Hellmuth

For the record, since this statement was made about the Water Department being “completely Caucasian,” on September 21, 2020, a person of Color may have been hired to the Water Department.

Question On “Behaviors Are Questionable” Expanded Upon

Stefon Seward, a founding member of Beacon4BlackLives and an appointed committee member to the Beacon Police Chief Search Committee, called in to that September 21, 2020 night of the City Council Meeting to voice his concerns about the promotions in the Highway Department.

He stated: “I'm calling to talk about the 3 individuals that are going to get a raise, who you are voting on today. I think you should put a freeze on that, because some of their behaviors are questionable. I think there should be a little more talk before they get that raise.”

A Little Beacon Blog inquired about what behaviors Stefon was referring to. In an earlier podcast recorded this summer at “Wait, What Is That?” ALBB learned from Reuben Simmons, a Highway Department employee, that Steve Bechtold had brought a personal gun to work on company time, making other employees uncomfortable. Reuben, who is Black, emailed management Michael (Micky) Manzi about it. Michael is the current department head (Reuben used to be his boss, but was demoted on a job title technicality), Superintendent of Streets. Michael emailed back that Steve would be told not to bring the firearm to work in the future.

Reuben requested to have Michael’s email about the gun included in Reuben’s personnel file, but City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero declined that request, Reuben told ALBB.

The bringing in of the gun was about 6 months after Reuben filed a harassment claim against Steve in 2019, after Steve allegedly circulated an unsanctioned petition which advocated to have Reuben not be on a negotiation committee for the Highway Department’s new contract, which has remained unsigned after it expired (the City of Beacon’s website links to a latest contract of 2015), and is up for renewal any day, or whenever it makes it to the next agenda of the public City Council meetings.

According to Reuben, who served as CSEA Union President from 2009 to 2017, Steve made an assumption that Reuben was on the negotiation committee, and Steve did not want him there, so he had written a petition and circulated it around to the white employees of the Highway Department, without showing it to the 2 other Black employees also in the Highway Department, according to Reuben.

Reuben learned about the petition, and went to the department’s current Union President, Paula Becker, about it, who allegedly said she did not know about the petition. “My issue was that if you're going to petition,” Reuben told ALBB, “show it to everybody so that it's fair.”

Paula works for the City of Beacon as a staff member, in addition to serving as the Union President for CSEA. The union structure is to have the president also be an employee of the city. When A Little Beacon Blog reached out to Paula in her capacity as union president to confirm a future development concerning Reuben’s current employment status with the City of Beacon, the current City Administrator Chris White (Chris replaced Anthony Ruggiero in January 2021) gave instruction not to contact any staff about these issues, and to contact him directly. Chris also did not comment as to Reuben’s current employment status.

According to Reuben, the 2 other Black employees were then shown the petition, and did not sign. The petition allegedly was delivered to Paula’s desk. Superintendent Manzi knew about the petition, Reuben said, as he and Manzi discussed it during a meeting with then-Mayor Randy Casale in his office. “Management [Michael Manzi] should not have been influencing and condoning this behavior,” Reuben told ALBB. Current Mayor Lee Kyriacou was a city councilmember at the time.

To follow up on the harassment claim rooted in the petition against Steve, then-City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero inquired with Paula to see the petition, but that time he was told that this was a Union issue, and protected under certain laws, according to Reuben. No one saw the petition after that, according to Reuben. He said that the City of Beacon, by way of City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, did not investigate the harassment claim, citing that there was no physical evidence of its existence.

Months later, when the gun was allegedly brought to work, Reuben did not seek to file another harassment claim because of how his first claim was handled. Reuben still wonders why the petition to keep him off a committee was circulated, since he was not on the negotiation committee in the first place, he told ALBB.

It should be noted that the City Administrator works with a labor attorney on these issues. In this issue, the City was working with Lance H. Klein of Keane & Beane, the law firm that the city works with on real estate, labor, etc. When ALBB first started reaching out to get more information on this employment story in the summer of 2020, City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero could not answer all of our questions, and CCed the labor attorney Lance Klein on the responses, and offered to have a phone call instead.

This year, City Administrator Chris White has also offered to have a phone call in response to questions asked about job titles, and has decided that until an in-person conversation about how ALBB writes articles happens, after the publication of yesterday’s article “During Hot Mess Of Water Department Hires, Beacon Passes Diversity and Inclusion Statement,” he will not be answering any questions from ALBB.

“Completely Caucasian Department” - Diversity Needed

Now that we have partially unpacked that issue from 2019, let’s get back to September 21, 2020, the night of the City Council meeting and votes for Highway Department promotions. Stefon went on to state: “We need more diversity in the Water Department. It is a completely Caucasian department, and that's a little scary, being that we are a diverse town. I feel that we need to have a diversity look in every walk of life, everything we do for our town.”

A Little Beacon Blog looked into the demographics of the Water Department. The City of Beacon will not release stats, even when we asked about the demographics of the Police Department and were told by then-City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero to submit a FOIL to get the information. The FOIL was apparently ignored. This was before the City of Beacon published all of the names of the police officers on their website, after pressure from the national Black Lives Matter movement that went local on Beacon’s Main Street in the form of protests, emails, and calls into public City Council meetings, along with the New York State ordered re-imagining of the policing in the community with Executive Order 203.

To get an idea of the demographics, we asked for thoughts from Reuben Simmons, who has worked for the City of Beacon since 2002, and who served as the union president for the City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 from 2009 to 2017. His response: “I did look into it a few years ago while I was the union president, because an employee from the Water Department who was white was uncomfortable with racial slurs being spoken regularly by Water Department employees, including supervisors, in reference to other city employees who were Black. It resulted in me having to have an employee transferred from the Water Department to the Highway Department.”

City of Beacon Regulates Personal Guns In The Workplace in 2021

On December 14, 2020, during a City Council workshop meeting, Beacon’s new HR Director, Gina Basile, introduced new policies that she wanted the City of Beacon to adopt, one being a Firearms Policy. The Firearms Policy states that City employees cannot bring personal guns or weapons of any kind, including knives that are 4 inches or longer, and cannot store them on City property (ie inside of a locker or vehicle).

During that December 14, 2020, public City Council meeting, the councilmembers pondered the ramifications of this for Police Officers, wondering if this was confusing with their professional guns used for work. Gina and Anthony advised that there was no crossover; guns assigned for work were fine. The City Councilmembers were mostly certain that no person would bring a personal gun to work, but Councilperson Dan Aymar-Blair said that he had received a complaint from a constituent about a police officer bringing a personal gun to work.

Councilmember Jodi McCredo’s Statement To Pause Highway Department Promotions, Wanting More Information

Councilmember Jodi McCredo has been aware of the employee tensions in the Highway Department for some time, as have other councilmembers and Mayor Lee Kyriacou. Years ago, Jodi was the subject of a hand-delivered, unsigned letter written in the first person (using the word “I”) but from the Highway Department at large, delivered to her front porch.

That letter described discontent using ill logic at the appointment of a fellow employee, Reuben Simmons, to the position of Highway Superintendent (which he was later stripped of, using Civil Service rules to legally do so). The letter stated that the appointment did not encourage promoting “from within,” despite Reuben being a current employee. It was if he did not exist. A Little Beacon Blog has seen that letter, and published it along with the podcast here. At the time years ago, Jodi brought in the letter to a private Executive Session meeting, not knowing what to do with it, she told ALBB.

The results of that letter campaign resulted in Dutchess County telling the City of Beacon that Reuben did not have the qualifications to hold the Superintendent of Streets title because he “never held a supervisors title.” Thereby moving him and his salary back down to Maintenance Worker. The Superintendent of Streets position went to Michael (Micky) Manzi after Mark, the City’s first candidate off the Dutchess County list, turned the job down, according to Reuben.

Michael Manzi currently holds the position today. Back then, on February 4, 2019, Jodi was part of a unanimous public City Council vote for Michael’s promotion, where before casting it, she turned to the audience in the courtroom and asked: “What do you guys think?” She was met with shouts of agreement and applause, which can be seen on the Council video here at the bottom of the page. Jodi has gone on to say to ALBB that the letter “had absolutely no influence on any decisions.”

Back to September 21, 2020, with the promotion of the 3 Highway Department employees on the agenda for the evening. Jodi was not so sure this time. Resulting from Stefon’s comments, and having the prior experience of not knowing details and then learning them later, Jodi moved forward with speaking about her hesitation concerning the promotions. She stated:

“Stefon Seward mentioned a couple of things that I want to address: He spoke about people getting raises today. I want to clarify - “ At this point in her statement, then City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, who has since left this job for another in Dutchess County, attempted to interrupt her to stop her from speaking with an "Um…".

Normally, the City Administrator likes the Council to not discuss personnel issues in public, but Jodi continued and kept speaking.

“It’s not an issue with a raise, it's an issue with a promotion because of position. But I also want to go back to something I have said in the past many times, which is I really don't feel comfortable voting on things like that without having all of the information. I don't know what it was he [Stefon] was referring to when he said what he said. Now I am in a position again where I do feel uncomfortable about this and I do think it is something we need to talk about.

“I'm just going to throw that out there because if I'm not in the situation and people aren't coming to me, I don't know what questions to ask, and it's a little awkward. I also want to put out to the public if you do have information that you think Councilmembers should have before a vote, please share that information with us. You have our phone numbers and you have our email addresses. Contact us, talk to us. Inform us. Nine times out of 10 we don't know, and that helps us know what questions to ask and what information to look for. I'm not saying anything about what he said specifically, because I have no idea. But the point is, I have no idea. And I probably should.”

All of the other City Council Members agreed to table the promotion, and Air Nonken Rhodes made an enthusiastic motion to move the discussion to Executive Session, where it could be further discussed in private.

There are times when people do know or are told about something, but may not be presented with paper documentation to prove something without a doubt, and then the information gets dismissed, contributing to a silent segregation. During this time, decades after the Civil Rights movement resulted in laws that are intended to prevent discrimination, actions taken even within those laws can still create a form of silent segregation that is harder to prove.

While the City of Beacon recently apparently hired a person of Color in the Water Department - Ricardo Brown - Mayor Kyriacou stated the night of that vote that diversity was added. Not only has the City of Beacon not confirmed with A Little Beacon Blog what Ricardo’s job title is - after a possible mix-up on the City’s agenda for Justin Herring (the agenda said Justin was Water and Sewer Superintendent but Edward Balicki is currently listed as that, even though Ed’s LinkedIn has him listed as Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator at City of Beacon) - having true diversity means to embrace others, to listen to them, and believe them. Call them back after a job interview. Include an email complaint in a personnel file.

As to the confusing development of Water Department job titles after October 5, 2020’s meeting to hire employees, City Administrator Chris White has declined to provide confirmation.

Diversity Is Not Guaranteed By A PDF On A Wall Or Website

Any city can put up a PDF of a Diversity and Inclusion Statement on the City of Beacon on a wall or on a website, but that’s not a guarantee that diversity or even fairness and decency are happening. Not when complaints are ignored, dodged and delayed with FOIL requests. When Mayor Lee Kyriacou said that Beacon delivered diversity on October 5, 2020, with the hire of one person of Color, that does not make the diversity cup even half-full.

Diversity is speaking up against a vote. It is believing a story. It is asking questions about a story in public to find more connections in order to believe it. Diversity is being anti-racist, which means that you are actively speaking up against something that feels like a person was just made to feel invisible, and then became invisible, with a legal checkmate of a demotion. Diversity means to question current Civil Service laws, to see if they are working as intended, or if they are protecting a comfort level that doesn’t serve all equally.

And these are only the stories we know about. When a City does not comment to confirm a story told at a City Council meeting, like when Wendel Henson called in to say that he was interviewed for a position in the Water Department and was never contacted after that, these stories will require paper documentation, which the City will not release, and the reader will be left to wonder. Which often leads to doubt, but then fades away.

Silent segregation.

March 03, 2021

During Hot Mess Of Water Department Hires, Beacon Passes Diversity and Inclusion Statement

March 03, 2021/ Katie Hellmuth

Beacon’s Presentation Of Its Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement

Beacon’s Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement, posted on the new Human Resources page, like a shield. Job Postings are now listed underneath this document.

The City of Beacon signed into law a Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement on October 5, 2020. It came on an evening where the City of Beacon was announcing 2 new appointed hires to the Water Department: Justin Herring as Water and Sewer Superintendent, and Ricardo Brown as a Water and Sewer Maintenance Worker. During the presentation of the Diversity statement, the term “we’ve got work to do” was used several times. Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes made a point to say: “This isn’t lip service.”

On the same evening, Mayor Lee Kyriacou also announced the hiring of Beacon’s new Human Resources (HR) Director, Gina Basile, who was hired on July 20, 2020 and previously worked as Human Resources Manager for the New York State Bridge Authority. She wanted the diversity statement published, which is currently included on the new main page of the Human Resources page, like a shield. You can read the Diversity and Inclusion Statement here, or it has been republished below for easy reading.

Mayor Kyriacou told the public: “We hired a professional HR person, Gina. We're not a big city; it's the first time we're doing this. We are sharing it with the Town of Fishkill. I look for sharing opportunities with the Town of Fishkill. I thank Gina for her work recently. Makes a difference on the messages we communicate to our managers, to our staff, and to our community as a whole.”

Public Calls In To Question The Hiring Process Of Water Department Hires

Two people called in to the public City Council Meeting on October 5, 2020, asking about the Water Department hiring process:

Stefon Seward, a founding member of Beacon4Black Lives and appointee to the Police Chief Search Committee who identifies as Black, asked about the City’s expectations about that Water Department position, plus the Highway Superintendent position.
The second caller was Weldon Henson, who called at the end of the meeting during the second opportunity for public comment, in order to express that he interviewed for an advertised Water Department job with Beacon’s new HR Director, Gina Basile, on August 26, 2020, but was never contacted after that. A Little Beacon Blog has reached out to Gina and the current City Administrator Chris White for confirmation, and received this response from Chris: “We do not comment on interviews and personnel issues.” ALBB would like to verify with Weldon, and if he is reading this, please feel free to reach out.

The callers’ questions, and the City’s answers, have been transcribed in full below. Because of their questions, more was expressed about the hiring process of city jobs, otherwise known as the Civil Service process. The hiring and firing process of city employees is hard to follow, namely because most discussions about them happen during Executive Session, which is a private meeting that happens after the public City Council meeting. Reporters reaching out with questions are usually told: “You’ll need to submit a FOIL,” (former Administrator Anthony Ruggiero told us this), or “The City does not comment on personnel items” (what current Administrator Chris White said to ALBB). Questions to the HR Director Gina Basile usually go unanswered, or she defers to someone else on staff.

Was The Water Department Job Posted Internally?
What Is The Hiring Process?

During the City Council meeting, questions were raised about if the Water Department job(s) were posted internally. It is not clear where that would be posted, or what the requirements are for that posting. As of today, there are job listings on the city website’s Human Resources Page, which is a new page for the City of Beacon. It is unknown if people are expected to refresh the page daily for new listings, or refresh a Dutchess County Civil Service employment page, or if employees are expected to simply notice flyers on the wall while they are walking by (if they are walking by), thereby putting the responsibility on them to see internal listings. It is unknown if emails are sent out to any lists, or if announcements are made in Department meetings, if such meetings happen.

The City Administrator last year, Anthony Ruggiero, explained that the job for the Water Department was posted internally at first, before being advertised publicly. After Anthony’s explanation, City Councilmember Amber Grant asked one more time about the internal posting before the final vote on the appointments of two people into the Water Department titles. This question of an internal posting seemed to be of high interest during the meeting.

In the past, and for another department, when asked if he knew about a Highway Department job opening, Reuben Simmons, a Maintenance Worker for the Highway Department, answered that he was not aware of open positions in the Highway Department toward the end of 2020 that were mentioned during City Council meetings in ways that indicated people were already being considered for the positions by the current Highway Supervisor, Michael (Micky) Manzi.

Reuben was the Highway Superintendent before Dutchess County told the City of Beacon that his job title did not exist - even though the former Mayor Randy Casale also held that job title decades ago - despite being recommended by and approved of by Anthony Ruggiero. Reuben was thereby demoted back down to Maintenance Worker, and Michael Manzi, a former co-worker, became Highway Superintendent of Streets. A slightly different job title that comes with a different required test and certification. It’s like being called “Boss” or “Boss The Boss,” with different tests to prove worthiness of either job title, but with similar (or the same) job responsibilities.

The “job title” question reference is notable because a single word change in a job title can alter someone’s career. Chances are, you don’t have to deal with this at your job. But City of Beacon employees do. The wording in a job title can mean that you lose almost everything that you have been working up for, if someone else wants your job and uses Civil Service rules to checkmate you out. Your job title and duties could change in the blink of a Resolution.

About The Hiring Process for City Employees, AKA “Civil Service” Jobs

The questions of Stefon and Weldon are transcribed below from the recorded City Council meeting. The previous City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero was always patient with explaining how the process works. The results of that process, however, can be surprising.

Stefon Steward: “I'm just curious if the titles on the agenda for the new hires are correct, and if they are, did the City consider hiring someone internally for this position? I was looking at the website... It says that Ed is on the Water and Waste Department. I want to know what Department does he manage, and does he have the proper license to run this plant and do this job? What are the duties and responsibilities for the Highway Superintendent. What are the City's expectations for this? Is it true that one of the appointees' family members, Justin Herring, has… The family does business with Beacon, is anyone getting any financial kickback from his appointment for his position?”

Ed Balicki, shown on the City of Beacon’s website as Water and Wastewater Superintendent on 3/2/2021. Justin Herring was appointed to his position on 10/5/2020.

Toward the end of the City Council Meeting, Anthony answered Stefon’s questions. As of today (March 2, 2021), Ed Balicki, who has worked for the City of Beacon since 2013 according to his LinkedIn profile, is listed on his LinkedIn as Chief Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator at City of Beacon. But on the City of Beacon’s website, he is listed as Water and Wastewater Superintendent.

Yet this new job appointment is for Justin Herring to be Water and Sewer Superintendent. (Note the slight difference in words in the title there. That can play a major difference in Civil Service rules by disqualifying someone out of their current job.)

Further, according to Reuben Simmons of the Highway Department, Justin Herring was a candidate for the Operator or Maintenance worker position. In the Meeting Agenda, he is listed as Superintendent.

On March 2, 2021, ALBB has reached out to HR Director Gina Basile and City Administrator Chris White for confirmation of job titles since this October 5, 2020 meeting, and was told by Chris that a response would be forthcoming. This response of a job title confirmation so far has not come. If it does, this article will be updated. If you are reading this, then a response has not yet come.

Anthony Answers Questions Regarding The Job Title and Hiring Process

Anthony answered Stefon’s question: “Titles: Those titles are in the municipality known as Civil Service. There are ‘competitive,’ which means there is a list [of qualified people] where you have to take a test, and there are ‘non-competitive,’ where you don't [have to take a test.] These titles aren't, but by the Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA) contract, first you have to post them internally. If nobody applies internally, then you can go out and advertise.”

ALBB has inquired with the HR Director Gina Basile and the current City Administrator Chris White as to whether the City’s contract with CSEA is current. According to city employee Reuben Simmons, who served as a past Union President for the City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 from 2009 to 2017, the Highway Department contract has not been negotiated or signed since 2019. The current contract posted on the City’s Human Resources page as of today is dated 2010-2015, and looks to have been first uploaded to the City of Beacon’s website in October 2020. Which would seem to mean that the Water and Highway Departments are currently not in any contract.

Anthony continued: “In this particular case, that is what happened. Nobody applied internally, so we went out and advertised. Gina handled the process. As the Mayor indicated, she's creating something from nothing. She's trying to get organized. The department head prepares a memo to her ‘requesting this position is budgeted, I'd like to go through the process.’ It comes to me, we talk about it, and then I sign off on it. If it's OK, we go after the process. Gina takes it from there and advertises.

“She tries to make it as diverse as she can. As I was saying, she's creating a whole process as it is. She's got work to do, we've got work to do. She's been wonderful, by the way, let me just say.”

Anthony continued to address Stefon’s question about Herring: “They do not, from my understanding, do any work. They do haul. They do take their trucks and their haulers down to the wastewater treatment plant. We might rent some of the port-a-potties that we have in the parks, but that's to the extent that we know right now. Nobody's getting any kickbacks, certainly we will verify that. Certainly that has not happened.

“There was questions about some of the titles. Ed Balicki was switched up to the Water Department. He was handling both. His title was Chief Wastewater Operator. We do have to fix that title for him. He did go to school for Water Certifications and License, and also all the operators in the plants have all the license. So we are fully compliant.”

You can find this quote in minute 55 of the meeting video.

Question From An Apparent Applicant For The Water Department Position

At the end of the meeting, during the second opportunity for public comment, Weldon Henson called in to ask about what he describes as an un-responded-to interview he had for a job in the Water Department. His question is in minute 1:10 of the meeting video.

Weldon: “I didn't quite hear you on the Water Sewer Maintenance. Were they looking for inside Beacon or outside Beacon for the hiring?”

Anthony: “Both. First, the first part of the process is to advertise internally, within the workforce, and then to advertise externally to anybody, if nobody internally is interested. So then it goes outside. For these positions, there is no list. So you can just advertise and interview candidates.”

Weldon: “Oh, OK, because I was a resident that applied for the job, actually got the interview for the job, but I never heard or received anything back.”

Silence followed from the City Council.

Anthony: “I can follow up with Gina on that.”

Weldon: “I had the interview on August 26, 2020, I think it was a Wednesday at 12:30pm.”

Mayor Kyriacou: “OK. And Anthony, you are able to do that? And Colin (the Mayor’s Assistant) has it on the record.”

Weldon: “Thank you for your time.”

Mayor Kyriacou: “Of course.”

The Voting Of The Diversity And Inclusion Statement

Sometimes, councilpeople state their thoughts before or after passing a Resolution. Statements from two councilpeople are below:

Councilperson Air Nonken Rhodes: “This isn't just lip service. I've observed in the ways that I've seen the City operate behind the scenes, and in conversations around hiring, and in everyday work. This is something that everyone I've talked with really believes in. I'm really glad to see it put in writing here. This will be something we can aspire to and really live up to. I'm glad to see this enshrined, and something we can look to in every hiring process.”

Councilperson Jodi McCredo: “Like we've said with so many other issues, this is a starting point. We do realize that we have a ways to go. This is a nice guidance towards making those changes and improvements that need to be made.”

The Diversity and Inclusion Mission Statement

Find this statement here, and it has been republished below for easy reading:

The City of Beacon is an equal opportunity workplace – and proudly so. We do not just accept differences – we embrace, support and celebrate them – knowing that diversity improves our performance and better serves our community.

The City of Beacon’s mission is to represent and serve all of our residents, including providing them with high quality services at reasonable taxes and fees, along with excellent customer service. The way we accomplish this is by representing everyone, listening to all ideas, and through the hard work and dedication of our employees.

We want to represent everyone. To do that well, we need a workforce that is representative of the community.

The City of Beacon is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workforce. Our employees thrive when we achieve this. We aim to create a workplace that reflects and recognizes the diversity of our employees, and residents. We strive to provide services that benefit everyone in the community by including perspectives from backgrounds such as those that vary by race, ethnicity, social background, religion, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, trans-gender status, veteran status, and national origin.

Having a diversified workforce builds a better team, enhances our skills, broadens our ideas, and is integral to effective performance.

November 05, 2020

Beacon's City Administrator Anthony J. Ruggiero Accepts Position With Dutchess County Department Of Behavioral & Community Health

November 05, 2020/ Katie Hellmuth

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The City of Beacon has announced that City Administrator, Anthony J. Ruggiero, has accepted the position as Assistant Commissioner for Administration with the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health. His last day with the City of Beacon is scheduled for January 29, 2021, and will start up with Dutchess County on February 1, 2021, according to the City’s press release.

“As City of Beacon Administrator, Anthony has had a strong working relationship with the County, including DBCH, particularly as he helped guide the City of Beacon through the COVID-19 pandemic”

— Dutchess County Executive, Marcus Molinaro

Anthony is an integral part to Beacon’s functioning, with his vast institutional memory of how funding and scheduling happened or is projected to happen for a number of projects. It is comforting to know that during this global health crisis, Anthony will still be in Beacon’s sphere as he stays in Dutchess County at the Department of Behavioral & Community Health. Cut from a similar cloth is the Mayor’s Assistant, Collin Milone, who continues to provide administrative assistance and coordination.

Ruggiero has served as City Administrator since 2015, joining Beacon after former City Administrator Meredith Robson became the Village Manager for the Village of Ardsley in Westchester County. With a Masters in Public Administration and over 24 years of experience, Ruggiero previously served as the City Manager for the City of Peekskill and Putnam County’s Commissioner of Planning, Development and Public Transportation.

Mayor Lee Kyriacou congratulated Ruggiero, saying, “While I am saddened to see Anthony go, and thank him for his steady and professional service especially in this most difficult year, I offer my congratulations and best wishes for his next chapter. I know that the county gains an asset, and also that Beacon will attract a professional and appropriate successor.”

City Administrator Ruggiero said “It has been my pleasure and honor to serve as Beacon’s City Administrator for over five years. The City has successfully navigated the most challenging environments, provided outstanding municipal services, implemented a number of major capital projects, and have developed one of the strongest management teams. I am excited for the opportunity to work for Dutchess County and the Department of Behavioral & Community Health”

Said Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro about Dutchess County’s new talent: “With decades of experience, Anthony Ruggiero will be a valuable asset to Dutchess County Behavioral & Community Health, providing administrative oversight to one of the County’s largest and most complex departments. His managerial and administrative experience will bolster the talented leadership team of public health professionals who guide DBCH. As City of Beacon Administrator, Anthony has had a strong working relationship with the County, including DBCH, particularly as he helped guide the City of Beacon through the COVID-19 pandemic. We look forward to Anthony joining our County team early next year as current Assistant DBCH Commissioner Cathi Tegtmeier steps down to enjoy a well-earned retirement.”

The City will initiate a recruitment process immediately to begin a search for a new City Administrator.

September 23, 2020

Uptick In COVID-19 Cases In Beacon Connected To Assisted Living Facility In Beacon, City Says

September 23, 2020/ Katie Hellmuth

On Monday evening, during the weekly City Council Meeting for 9/21/2020, City Manager Anthony Ruggiero provided detail for the recent uptick in COVID-19 cases in Beacon during his regular report session (see hour/minute 1:06:00). He explained that the positive cases were connected an assisted living facility located in Beacon. “We had received a number of emails after a News12 report,” Anthony remarked.

That facility, as reported by News12, is Hedgewood Assisted Living Program, located at 355 Fishkill Avenue. Anthony stated that this increase right now is isolated in the one facility, and that State and County Health Departments have been monitoring, and both have been to the facility, where the staff and residents are tested weekly.

According to News12’s report: “A spokesman with the assisted living facility tells News 12, ‘Each of our nearly 200 residents is observed carefully. This facility - subject to 24-hour a day, seven-day a week unannounced inspections, strictly adheres to all NYS Department of Health guidelines.’ The person did not go into detail on the breakdown of cases among residents and employees, or even the severity of symptoms.”

Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro confirmed to News12 that there is likely to be an increase in case number based on this cluster, telling the news outlet: “It is likely going to result in more cases, with severity because of the age of the individuals and sadly, we’ve already seen 1 individual succumb to the disease. We have to engage in that social distancing. We are encouraging people, ya know, we cannot have theses large gatherings. And continue to wear a mask please.”

At the time of this announcement on Monday, there were 27 cases on the Dashboard, "with about 13 that are related to this facility, with sadly, 1 death,” said Anthony. Always a man of dates and schedules, Anthony reflected on the speed of the spread, when he remarked: “This was fast moving. There were 0 cases about 2 weeks ago. Week of September 14th, there was a severe spike of 8 or 9, and then the last week, 13.” Anthony stated he was in regular contact with the Commissioner, and that Beacon’s first responders had been made aware of the situation.

Wednesday night, after another increase to 45 active cases in Beacon, Mayor Lee Kyriacou made an announcement via robo call, which is also texted and emailed to those who opted in. “To be clear, the large increase is from a single residential facility – not from Main Street businesses, or not from children returning to schools.”

Mayor Kyriacou went on to encourage citizens to practice personal safety: “Beacon is doing exceptionally well. We have carefully opened up much of our city activity, while keeping our COVID numbers way down – that is remarkable. Our job as individual members of this community remains unchanged: Each of us must continue to do our part – social distancing and face coverings in public, quarantining if required, being respectful to all. Everyone’s vigilance is essential to keeping us all safe.”

Click here to visit Dutchess County’s Dashboard, which lists Beacon’s active case numbers. To see how many new cases were recorded in Dutchess County for the day, click here for New York State’s Dashboard, and click on the text link for Dutchess County, and then the highlighted shape of the county.

July 30, 2020

Sender Of "Love Thy Neighbor" Anti-Choice Abortion Flyer Campaign Comes Forward

July 30, 2020/ Katie Hellmuth

Graphic Warning: This article contains a graphic image on a flyer that we are sharing to give context to what citizens in Beacon received hand-delivered to their homes.

Back in June, 2020, a reader wrote into A Little Beacon Blog about a flyer they found to be disturbing, that had been put into their yard. The flyer contained a message of anti-choice abortion, and wasn’t the first time this reader had received a flyer. Last year around this time, the reader received a series of anti-gay fliers. This reader has a rainbow pride flag flying from their house, and says they are a queer family. Quickly, a rumor circulated that it was the KKK, which was reported by one news outlet but then retracted almost the same day.

This family wasn’t the only ones to receive the distributed flyers. Other residents with gay pride flags flying outside their homes had also received the flyers. The reader was spooked, has children, and was afraid to let their children play in the front yard. They wrote in: “I am hoping to raise awareness. There was a new wave of anti-choice abortion flyers distributed to the folks who have rainbow flags today. We got one last week and another 2 today thrown into our yard. Last year we got an anti-gay one (we are a queer family). I wanted to raise attention to it if others are receiving these too. I don’t want to be public on Facebook and open my family up further to harassment, but I wanted to draw some attention if there’s a larger trend.”

Several other households had been receiving flyers. At least two others reached out to A Little Beacon Blog to submit photos of the flyers they received and shared with the police. Said one recipient, Kit Burke-Smith, who has a pride flag flying and is part of a straight family: “We believe we have been targeted each time because of our pride flag on our house. Generally, we have found our community to be wonderfully caring and supportive. Knowing that one of our neighbors is repeatedly attempting to intimidate us and others in our community is reprehensible and disappointing,” she told A Little Beacon Blog.

The original reader pursued various channels to get the mail to stop. “Last year, I reported the letter to the police. I spoke to [then] Mayor Casale and a few attorneys, reported the harassment to the postal police, the New York Hate Crimes division and many others. I had dozens of conversations to report the harassment, and to my knowledge, nothing was done.“

Then came 2020. In the middle of the pandemic, and during Pride Month, a new batch of letters arrived. The Beaconite continued: “A few weeks ago, we found the abortion one on the car. I ignored it, honestly. Then, Saturday, we got a new batch thrown into the yard. Other folks we know got them on the porch."

Councilperson Terry Nelson of Ward 1 spoke out against the flyer campaign during his Community Report section of a City Council Meeting, saying: “Unfortunately, a first-grader of one of those families found the letter,” he said. “This has to stop. You have to stop doing this. To the coward who left those fliers, myself and a bunch of other people are allies of the LBGTQ community and just know that there are more of us than there are of you.”

Flyer recipients began suspecting that one of their neighbors was the sender. A Little Beacon Blog asked if they had considered simply approaching their neighbor to ask them to stop. Their response: “I am nervous about my children playing in the front yard.”

Style And Tone Of Letters And Flyers Begin To Match A Public Figure

Having seen the content of the letter, the style and tone resembled that of another Beaconite who has published his statements against abortion before in the Beacon Free Press an on his own blog. The style was so close, in fact, it resembled this letter to the editor published last year that sparked a large backlash to the newspaper for even publishing it. Here at A Little Beacon Blog, it inspired an article to be written about censorship. The writer, Richard (Dick) Murphy, had cried out to his newsletter list about local newspapers who had censored him. A Little Beacon Blog wrote in response the need for censorship, why it is helpful in some cases, and how it happens every single day because media outlets simply cannot publish all of the words in all of the world every single day.

Just as we were going to cross reference the styles, another Beacon resident received a postmarked letter from R. Murphy, with his return address on it. The postmark was out of Albany. The letter began by referencing his former political campaigning days: “I prefer handouts to signs, too many of them during my political campaigns I guess.” He signed the letter Dick Murphy. A Little Beacon Blog put on the list of things to do: “Email Richard Murphy to ask him if he is the same R. Murphy from the signed letter, and if he has been distributing unsigned flyers.”

When readers write in to you, spooked for their own safety and the safety of their children, a blogger will seek truth. While it seems unkind to call attention to someone who is doing something that most people would find mentally unhealthy, even if most of their intentions in other parts of their lives are good, to the receivers of the flyers and letters, they are frightened. Plus, conclusions are fabricated and made up. For instance, because this happened during the BLM protests all over the world,that the flyers were from the KKK. So to help these people find an answer and ease their fear, this article was produced.

Confirmation Pursued; Confirmation Received

On July 16, 2020, an email came into my inbox from Richard (Dick) Murphy. It happens from time to time. Richard (he prefers to go by Dick), sends emails to his list of about 125 people, most of whom never signed up for his list, wanting to know their opinions of his latest blog posts. Years ago, without my approval, and without me even knowing who he was, Richard added me to his newsletter list. When he can’t get published in a newspaper, he emails this list of email addresses to rant about it, and rails about the First Amendment protecting his right to get published in a newspaper.

Some people request to be removed from his list, and then he denies their request, citing the First Amendment. His response last year on July 19, 2019 to my request to be removed, when I referred him to the Can-Spam Act: “THE CAN-SPAM Act...gad! Never said you were required.” And then I was never removed.

This time, on July 16, 2020, he asked us what we thought of the removal General Lee’s statue. This sounds pretty random, and it is. Richard has a thought, blogs about it, and then emails us on his list. Richard didn’t specify which General Lee statue. My assumption is that he is referring to the 6-story statue in Richmond, VA. I replied to him via email by asking him questions about the flyers and the letters he sent with his signature and home address on them in the return address section of the envelope.

On July 17, 2020, Richard (Dick) emailed me back about the flyers. Hi hit Reply-All to his whole list, and sent me the below response:

“Regarding the First Amendment, it's a glorious thing. Hand delivering information to houses is done all the time especially during political campaigns and unfortunately it now seems it is always political campaign time in our country. The news is full of it, the media the newspapers etc. If a citizen thinks certain topics are not being given sufficient coverage or if local newspapers avoid printing letters of one opinion or another it is incumbent to find alternative ways to communicate. As I said, Isn't the First Amendment wonderful and isn't a healthy, reasoned and honest exchange of ideas what democracy is all about? Really, a "Love thy Neighbor" message shouldn't be all that "disturbing" or "scary." And, regarding "grotesque? Isn't 60,000,000 new lives destroyed by abortion since Roe rather grotesque? Let's keep the exchange going for the sake of democracy and the nation we love.

Sincerely, Dick

PS.Please include my remarks in your article and also invite the complaints to join in the discussion. This is hardly "targeting." It; a call for honest, reasoned dialogue and debate, It's just what the country needs.”

How The City Of Beacon Responded

In June 2020, Pride Month, Mayor Lee Kyriacou donated a pride flag to City Hall. The rainbow flag flew all month. A Little Beacon Blog reached out to the Mayor, the City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero, and to Terry Nelson who had first spoken against the flyers, asking if the City had received any letters, since it had the pride flag, as well as how they felt about this outreach. Anthony usually knows the rules around campaigning, knocking on doors, and perhaps about distributing flyers, so we sought some guidance there.

So far, we have only received a response from Terry. Questions and answers are thus follows:

ALBB: During a City Council Meeting when you first addressed the issue, did you know who was placing and sending the flyers?

“I had my suspicions, but I couldn’t 100% confirm it.”

ALBB: How do you feel about a neighbor sending his neighbors mail about his personal views? On a repeated basis?

“I hate it because it is harassment, plain and simple. I even asked this individual to stop emailing me his hate filled, bigoted blog posts only to have him accuse me of violating his first amendment rights. I never asked to be placed on his email list. This has gone on for about two years.”

Who Is Richard (Dick) Murphy?

Richard lives in Beacon and cares about it very much. He has a political history, that for clarification sake, I asked him to confirm so that we can know how he served:

“By the 1960s I was teaching High School American History putting the stress on The Bill of Rights and specifically the First Amendment as well as the amendments aiming for political and racial equality, Getting into Democratic Politics in the 1970s and appointed by Mayor Cahill to Chair the Beacon Human Relations Committee, I aimed at the integration of the Beacon Volunteer Fire Department, accomplished in 1978. A Democrat for most of my life, I ran on the Party line for a seat in the County Legislature in 1979 and was defeated. Ran again in 1981 and won and was reelected eight times retiring in 1999. I became Minority Whip in the Legislature for several years serving under an excellent Minority Leader Mrs. Kip Bleakley. I was pushed into a dissenter role by the Party when it gagged Governor Casey of PA barring him from giving a pro-life address to the delegates at the 1992 Convention.“

July 03, 2020

Beacon Launches New Poster For Reopening (The Partial Reopening); Mayor To Walk Main Street 4th Of July

July 03, 2020/ Katie Hellmuth

Max’s On Main rolled out the green carpet for patrons in their side “parklet.” Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin — Max’s On Main rolled out the green carpet for patrons in their side “parklet.” *Photo Credit: Katie Hellmuth Martin*

Business and recreational life is all topsy-turvey at moment, but Beacon is making the best of it. During a holiday when business are normally closed on the 4th of July (like last year when it fell on a Thursday) leaving the city as a ghost town, this year, those who can open are thrilled to be open, and are rolling out the green carpet for diners to eat outside in the new “parklets,” which are the parking spots along Main Street outside of participating restaurants (see who is open this weekend - ALBB compiled the list!).

In a firework happy town (yes, people continue to blast off small fireworks from their driveways), there was the year when the fireworks almost didn’t happen because the organizers, the Kiwanis Club of Beacon, disbanded and the baton needed to be found and handed down to business owners who stepped up to the plate to fundraise. Due to COVID-19, fireworks in Memorial Park have been postponed.

Mayor’s Main Street Walk

The City of Beacon issued a press release announcing that Mayor Lee Kyriacou would be walking Main Street on Saturday to visit businesses. “Mayor Lee Kyriacou will walk the length of Beacon’s Main Street on Saturday July 4th. He will visit with business owners and patronize restaurants and stores along the way. The City has been assisting Main Street businesses with the phased reopening process, in particular developing additional safe outdoor space.”

Mayor Kyriacou said: “We’re facilitating the safe reopening of businesses through controlled expansion into targeted outdoor spaces. Our local businesses are the life blood of our Main Street and Beacon’s economy. Everything you need can be found at a local Beacon business.”

In the press release, Mayor Kyriacou stated that he created a Local Business Working Group. ALBB first reported on that group after Councilperson George Mansfield (owner of Dogwood) announced to the public and encouraged any business owner to join and participate. The group met on Tuesday mornings and was facilitated and attended by Councilperson George and Beacon’s City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero. Businesses discussed outside alternatives for dining, and what safety precautions to have in place for retail. During different calls, Assistant to the County Executive, Ron Hicks was a featured guest to advise businesses about enforcement of safety guidelines. Ron expressed the hard position he is in as both an enforcer of rules, as well as a promoter of the Reopening. On the next call, the City’s law firm, Keane and Beane was on to present and answer legal questions.

“A lot of great ideas were discussed during the Working Group meetings,” City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero said in the press release. “The group’s intention was to create simple and immediate solutions for businesses in a unique climate. The visible outcomes were the parklet program – businesses expanded into parking spaces, and the Beacon Back Together branding campaign found in many storefronts.”

The poster for Beacon Back Together was designed by Randall Martin and spearheaded by Councilperson George.

Beacon Back Together - Sort Of

Left out of the business reopening are numerous storefronts who fall into the category of Gyms. This includes dance studios like Yanarella and Ballet Arts Studio; fitness studios like Studio Beacon and Zoned Fitness; yoga studios like BeBhakti (the hot yoga studio Pavonine has announced their sad but anticipated closure); and pilates studios like Beacon Pilates and Roc Pilates (so sorry if we did not mention anyone else in this brief mention).

Movie theaters are also in this designation - like Story Screen - and performance and education venues like Beacon Performing Arts and Compass Arts (sadly did leave their retail space, but are figuring it out in a digital and nomad outside destination way for now).

A Little Beacon Blog is currently looking into COVID-related commercial lease programs to see if landlords in Beacon have been using them (or if they exist), as several storefronts in and around Main Street are continuing to pay their rent for a space they are not allowed to use. Unlike homeowners who have been rescued by mandated mortgage relief programs.

June 23, 2020

The Story Behind The Bench - The Memorial To Dustin James - A Beaconite, An Officer, and A Son

June 23, 2020/ Katie Hellmuth

Former mayor Randy Casale, sitting on the bench that was made for his stepson, Dustin James. Photo Credit: Randy Casale — Former mayor Randy Casale, sitting on the bench that was made for his stepson, Dustin James.
*Photo Credit: Randy Casale*

There is a black bench with a thin blue line through it that is a memorial to a fallen police officer in front of Beacon’s City Hall. The bench is in memory of former Beacon Mayor Randy Casale’s stepson, Dustin James, who died in a motorcycle accident while off-duty. At some point, there has been a call for and a decision to remove the bench. This article is the exploration of what has transpired so far.

To give context: we are in a time of a revolution. A time of an awakened civil rights movement for black lives that gained strides, but got quiet and complacent for white people. Until police videos of violence came along. The pandemic gave everyone time to think and re-evaluate. We have been through the beginning of the #MeToo movement, where women’s voices began to be heard and believed. We are in the Black Lives movement, where black and brown and mixed-race voices are being heard and believed. Monuments all around us are toppling. Monuments of white men who conquered and defined this country. Toppled by regular white and black and brown people who have wanted these personified statues of oppression down for years, but nothing happened (well, in New Orleans, they were removed), and common people have taken it into their own hands, literally, by seizing the monuments and pulling them down, or voting them down (the City Council for Charleston, S.C. just unanimously voted to remove Calhoun’s statue and construction of removal has begun).

Imagery is also in question. Flags, logos, colors. What means what, and what did it used to mean? Three weeks ago, the American stars and stripes black flag decals with a blue line through them that had been placed onto police vehicles in Cold Spring were called into question by residents of Cold Spring. This black stars and stripes flag with a thin blue line decal was used to represent the Blue Lives Matter campaign, a movement started as a counter-response to the Black Lives movement. The decals were placed onto Cold Spring’s police cars one year ago, which is past the time when proud white supremacists used the black stars and stripes flag symbol to protest in Charlottesville, VA and run over people with a van. For an article covering the vehicle decals at A Little Beacon Blog, we reached out twice to Beacon’s Mayor Lee Kyriacou, City Administrator Anthony Ruggiero and then Police Chief Kevin Junjulas for comment as to their opinions of the black stars and stripes flag, but received no response.

This black stars and stripes flag imagery however, is separate from the decades honored symbol of a fallen police officer, which is a solid black rectangle with a thin blue line. The black stars and stripes flag design is also a possible obstruction of United States flag code, which states that the flag cannot be altered in its design. The discussion for this article is on the traditional marking for the fallen officer, which is a solid black rectangle with a thin blue line running through it. This design has been inspired onto a bench which sits outside of City Hall in Beacon, with these words on it: “In Loving Memory Of Police Officer Dustin James.”

Today, there is a call to move the bench. The memorial to Dustin James. Who is Dustin James, and why is there a call to remove, or move, the memorial? As we do with many little details, A Little Beacon Blog looked into it. We were already pursuing the history of the years past federal investigation by the Department of Justice into the Beacon Police Department, when suddenly, Beacon’s former mayor, Randy Casale, broke his silence after losing the mayoral election to Mayor Lee Kyriacou, a self-imposed silence Randy enacted to give the new mayor a fresh platform.

A Little Beacon Blog has been working on starting a new podcast with known podcaster Brandon Lillard. While we were recording practice episodes and finding our voices, Randy fired up his Facebook to suddenly announce his disapproval of removing the memorialized bench in front of City Hall, the decision of which had otherwise not been in the public domain. We reached out to Randy for an interview, which he granted. The recording of our discussion will be published shortly on our new podcast so that you can hear his voice, but as local debates swirl around Dustin’s memorial, we wanted to share what of the story we knew.

Who Is Dustin James?

Dustin James is the son of Etha Grogen and Bryon James. Dustin is the stepson of Beacon’s former mayor Randy Casale, who was the life partner of Etha. Before being Beacon’s mayor for 2 terms, Randy served on the City Council for years. Randy served as Beacon’s Highway Superintendent, coached high school basketball and was involved in numerous community initiatives in Beacon.

Dustin James grew up in Beacon and had many friends. He and Etha came into Randy’s life while Dustin was 8 years old. Randy recalls bouncing him on his knee as they watched the show “Cops” together at night. “Etha would come down and want him to go to bed, and I told her it was alright, we’d stay up and watch together.” Dustin grew up wanting to be a police officer. Randy helped him pursue the police academy, and to make good choices while being a police officer.

According to Dustin’s obituary: “Dustin was a Police Officer with the Walden Police Department where he started his career 10 years ago as a dispatcher and was recently promoted to Investigator. He was also a part-time police officer with the Village of Montgomery. Dustin started his career dispatching in the Town of Fishkill. Throughout his career, he received numerous awards for his achievements. He was the President of the Walden PBA and a member of the Warthogs. Dustin also organized Walden's National Night Out for several years.”

Dustin was a motorcycle rider, and while off-duty when a woman ran a stop sign, ending Dustin’s life on Tuesday, April 17, 2017. Dustin was 31 years old and married to Maryellen James. The Highlands Current wrote about it at the time.

“I always told Dustin to be a good cop, and to not turn into one of them,” Randy recalled during our interview. “I never knew if he was until his funeral. When I saw how many people were at his funeral.” According to friends of Dustin, and confirmed by Randy, some people who Dustin arrested were even at his funeral.

Dustin’s friends took to creating a bench to memorialize him. They built the bench that sits in front of City Hall today that is black with a blue line running through it. The traditional symbol of a fallen officer, and a symbol of support for the family the officer leaves behind.

“I’ve Never Seen Or Heard Of This Bench Before”

Right. Neither had we. When interviewing Terry Nelson 3 weeks ago for his story about attending the first big Black Lives Matter protest in Beacon as an African American, he mentioned this bench with the blue line through it. Being new to this symbol entirely, and fresh off reporting about the consideration of the removal of the black flag decal (different symbol) from the police cars in Cold Spring (the black flag stickers have since been removed), a knee jerk reaction could be to feel negative emotions about the blue line. Three weeks ago, Terry said that the City Council had been discussing removing the bench for a period of time, and that no one had brought it up to Randy yet.

There was no ceremony or public discussion in City Council for the installation of the memorial, which according to Randy, is normal for memorialized benches. “It was placed like every other bench was placed. Someone calls and asks can we donate a bench in honor of someone, and the administration usually says yes.”

So What Is Happening Now?

Randy first learned of proposed removal of the bench from his friends who are police officers across the river. Mayor Kryiacou texted (or emailed) Randy to tell him that the bench was being moved. There was no discussion in any public City Council meeting or police related community workshop.

To date, according to Randy, the only person who has spoken to him in person about the memorial is Councilperson George Mansfield.

After Randy published his disapproval of the removal of the bench on his Facebook on June 18th, his Facebook friends went back and forth in Comments, with a majority in strong support of leaving the memorial in place. For those friends who did not know who Dustin was or why the memorial was placed there, or why the bench was being removed, things got confusing. Beacon, and politics in general, has been a place where names aren’t always mentioned, but topics are alluded to. It can get confusing to cover and figure things out.

On June 22, 2020, A well known community leader, Brooke Simmons, who is from a mixed-race family, wrote an open letter to the administration, protesting the move of the memorial, advocating for it to stay in place. Brooke is on the board of I Am Beacon and was on the founding committee for Beacon Speaks Out, a coalition that Randy formed after the killings of Eric Garner (2014) and Freddie Gray in 2015. While the City of Beacon’s police department was under federal investigation (which closed in 2016 under Randy’s administration), Randy wanted to get ahead of the racial divide and bring the community together at the local level - to an actual table in a room - to discuss. He brought together the then Police Chief Doug Solomon (Beacon’s recently retired Chief Kevin Junjulas was the Captain at the time), religious leaders, the City Administrator Anthony, and others. Not all parties were eager to come to the table. Randy strong-armed them. Brooke and her brother Reuben Simmons were part of the organization of that group.

Brooke started a Change.org petition to keep the memorial in place, and emailed her open letter all City Council members: Air Nonken Rhodes, Amber Grant, Jodi McCredo, George Mansfield, Terry Nelson, Dan Aymar-Blair, and Mayor Kyriacou. She also CCed media publications, including A Little Beacon Blog. The letter read:

City Administrator, Mayor, and City Council,

It is my understanding there has been discussion regarding the memorial bench dedicated to Dustin James. I believe in having all voices heard, especially in matters that question the values of our city.

With that, I began a petition on Change.org in support of keeping the bench in place and here is the response in less than 48hrs:

Signatures: 2,530
Shares: 783 (this metric speaks to further engagement, care, concern)
Comments:
- "The outpouring of love for Dustin across the Hudson Valley shows that he made a positive difference for all who knew him as a boy, as a man, and as a police officer. He exemplified the character we need more of in this world!"
- Theresa Yanerella
- "Dustin was a fine, upstanding Young man. He comes from a wonderful family. His death was so unfair and tragic. The thought of anyone having a problem with how he is honored sickens me. I hurt for his family. I can’t believe that this is even being considered."
- Shelley Piccone
- "I can’t believe this is even an option. Dustin was an amazing human and an even more amazing police officer. This has gotten way out of hand do remove a MEMORIAL of someone who had such an amazing impact on this city. This man who is no longer with us to be under attack is truly disgraceful."
- Colleen Carey
- "So much of the community knew Dustin and were inspired by him, which is the reason the bench was put there in the 1st place."
-Jessica Lubben
Petition Site: https://www.change.org/standfordustin

On behalf of 2,530 signatures and counting, I ask that you stand for the values of this city, stand for the many voices represented on this petition, stand for Dustin. Stand for Dustin's contribution to the city of Beacon and the legacy his bench represents.

In this moment, as the leaders of this city, it is critical to act with integrity - that means being willing to stand for what is right over what is convenient.

We ask that you leave the memorial bench for Dustin James in place.

Thank you for your time.

-Brooke Simmons

Note: As of 6/23/2020, the petition has 3,034 signatures.

City Of Beacon’s Response

The morning Brooke sent her letter, A Little Beacon Blog responded with a series questions directed to the Mayor, but CCed to all of the City Council and Administrator, at about 11am Monday. The questions went unanswered. On Tuesday, the questions were sent again. At 6pm on Tuesday, the City Administrator Anthony responded. Here are the questions and responses from Anthony:

“I am responding for the Mayor who is away.”

ALBB: When was the bench placed there?
”Summer of 2019.”

ALBB: Why was the bench placed there?
”It was donated to the City, and placed there by former Mayor Casale to honor Police Officer Dustin James who grew up in Beacon.”

ALBB: When did consideration begin for the bench to be removed?
”Residents raised concerns to individual council members.”

ALBB: What has been the discussion regarding the treatment of the bench?
”This has not been raised or discussed at a City Council meeting.”

ALBB: When was this topic brought up and proposed? To whom was it proposed to, and in what format?
”Residents raised concerns to individual Council Members.”

A Little Beacon Blog followed up with this question: “Can you provide when residents raised concern?”

If this clarification on time is provided, this question will be updated.

Symbols and Flags and Who Owns What Meaning

During our podcast interview, Brandon and I explored the meaning of a symbol, and what happens when a symbol takes new meaning, or gets hijacked by a different group. Is it possible, we wondered, if the thin blue line has gotten weaponized by the white supremacists, and suppressed its true meaning? Or, do people want to dismantle police theory 100% and change colors and symbols?

Brandon and I admitted that the red, white and blue American Flag has gotten caught in the middle for us. We are openly non-Trump people, and the tendency for Trump supporters to wave the American flag and attach it to their cars, the American flag has come to lean towards Trump. A couple years ago, fashion magazines were even advocating not to wear red, white and blue at 4th of July events, as doing so would be unpatriotic. This made me uncomfortable, as the American flag is mine also. If I have it flying outside my house, does that mean I am a Trump supporter? My instinct has become to take the American flag back.

Brandon admitted to questioning his favorite face mask - which has red, white and blue American flag on it. Also not a Trump-supporter, he wanted to wear his American flag face mask into the grocery store, but hesitated.

Randy, a straight shooter, understood the analogy, but saw no problem with the American flag or the thin blue line. “The only way the family got through was with the support of the officers. They were there at the time of the accident, at the funeral, and after. That is what the thin blue line means.”

In Middletown, CN, a divided debate is in progress after residents wanted a flag removed from flying outside their police department (unclear if it is the black stars and stripes flag, or the solid black flag). Their police chief provided an explanation in a video of his position on the flag before removing it for now, in an effort to “give some release to the ‘us versus them’ mentality.” Their mayor also contributed to a TV interview on the topic.

In the podcast, Brandon and I discuss with Randy what the blue line stands for, and the value in speaking about that meaning. We discuss how logos like the NHL logo have been co-opted by Antifa, and the difficulty in reclaiming a visual symbol. That podcast to hear Randy’s answers will be posted in the next few days, as well as more of Randy’s thoughts on police reform and where that reform is needed.

As for the fate of Dustin’s memorial, we do not have the final status as of now.