(WHITE PLAINS, NY) As the frustrations of the recent Presidential election continue to boil over in many parts of the Country, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino has again fallen short of fulfilling another commitment; this time to stand up against bigotry and hate crimes despite a recent pledge to do so.  In the previous year Rob Astorino has failed to properly staff the public safety department and now reneged on a pledge to take action against inflammatory and discriminatory public behaviors.  

Board of Legislators Public Safety and Social Services Committee Chairman Ben Boykin (D-White Plains) asked that the Human Rights Commission Executive Director attend a meeting of his committee to discuss Astorino’s efforts to combat bigotry in Westchester.  Boykin’s request was denied by the County Executive leading several Legislators, including Boykin, to question Astorino’s commitment.  

“The County Executive suggested that there were going to be some new operations to help facilitate the casework and investigations related to these issues.  As many of our communities grapple with the presence of these incidents it would only be prudent to discuss how those operations would take place in an expedient manner, what the goals of their reviews would be and even how much any new activity could potentially cost.  By hiding from productive conversations that very much overlap with our review of the 2017 budget proposal, we can only assume the County Executive is not interested in following through with his commitment,” Boykin stated.

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss educational efforts to raise public awareness on how to prevent hateful acts and what to do if we see them.

Legislator Alfreda Williams (D- Greenburgh, Majority Whip), who has been a frequent critic of the County Executive’s management of the Human Rights Commission added, “The County Executive’s words were admirable and his rhetoric was lofty but again, his follow through has fallen short—much like when he missed the deadline to produce a report about what the commission has actually done over the years.  It is absolutely our goal to find a way to help the County Executive’s commission catalogue these incidents, work with local human rights commissions and law enforcement to put a stop to this kind of childish and discriminatory behavior.  I really hope the County Executive will allow his staff member to have a conversation with the Board of Legislators to detail how they plan on combatting the derogatory demonstrations and other acts of bigotry in various communities.”