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This is the way it usually works: politicians treat us all as if we just fell of the turnip truck. When anything even slightly disconcerting happens, they start flapping their gums about how they are sure to save us all from certain doom.
These strident but ultimately soggy promises can be seen all the time, from the national stage where politicians bloviate about how they are going to save us from the terrorists under our beds to closer at home. Think everything from the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan, N.Y. to Greenwich, Conn., beaches that not too long ago had local politicians hatching plans to save residents from outsiders who, with their beach chairs, tubes of sun block and summer reading, were apparently coming to ruin everyone’s way of life.
That’s why I was intrigued to read a story on this website that Peter Swiderski ,the mayor of Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, essentially said even in light of a recent spate of home break-ins, there was no cause for special concern or action.
A proposal for neighborhood watch patrols (think a crew of vigilantes like the Guardian Angels meet soccer moms and dads) seems the natural knee-jerk reaction in this age of Chicken Littles in the public square.
But this mayor rejected the idea out of hand as an overreaction.
“I understand why people feel anxiety, but I can’t justify doing something drastic,” he said.
Of course, there is probably a finer line than one might expect between rank panic and total inaction. Time will tell if this mayor has taken the best tact. Nevertheless, that a political figure did not immediately deal from the bottom of the deck by heightening any slight hint of danger, jacking up public fears in the process, seems a welcome departure, maybe even an example of leadership. Not every iPad burglar, after all, is a pack of killers on the loose.
Keeping peace in the valley by saying, “Hey, let's not overreact?” Well, in this age, it's a novelty act, to say the least.
How do you think it will pan out?
Marek Fuchs is the author of "A Cold-Blooded Business," the true story of a murderer, from Westchester, who almost got away with it. His upcoming book on volunteer firefighting across America, “Local Heroes,” is due out this year. He wrote The New York Times' "County Lines" column about life in Westchester for six years and teaches non-fiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville. Follow him on Twitter: @MarekFuchs.
Comments (4)
Marek,
1. Unlike most well-to-do suburban communities, Hastings is not well staffed, it's undermanned. This is not about posting a police officer on every corner, it's about putting more officers on patrol throughout the village. A Mayor, whom in the face of this criminal activity defends the status quo, does nothing to discourage those desperate and criminally minded.
2. In order to add additional officers the situation must first be acknowledged and given priority. Focusing on the creation of new parks etal. ensures that these crime will continue. There is a difference between stirring fear and living in denial. Hastings is dealing not only with a rash of burglaries, we're talking home invasion robberies. Acknowledge the escalation, it's like moving from Hillside field to Yankee stadium. Would you applaud Swiderski for describing thiat scenario as, 'it's still just baseball?' The days of the occasional break-in are long gone, to describe the situation as such only contributes to this problem.
3. Your opinion appears in the Daily Hastings, concern for outside readers is befuddling. The Mayor's character and past performance is paramount in what faces the village.
Looking at the number of police officers and budgets of nearly all local police forces in well-to-do areas of Westchester and Connecticut and--well, we might simply have to agree to disagree that we need even more. Besides, could more cops prevent a targeted invasion? Unless the newly hired have telepathic abilities, I doubt it. All I was saying was that in light of a bit of danger and misfortune, it's somewhat refreshing to see a politician not react by telling us he must save us all from certain doom. And though this column appears in Daily Hastings, it also appears across Westchester and Connecticut. Best Wishes, Marek
This is not about a 'watch group' or "Shadows & Fog" vigilante groups, it's about putting more police officers on the street. By the by, the 'not jacking up fears' Mayor Swiderski, is the same guy who referred to Lyme disease as an epidemic and called for the Net & Bolt slaughter of deer as solution to the overpopulation issue, then set out to obtain the first permit issued in the history of New York state for this horrific slaughter. The 'not dealing from the bottom of the deck' Mayor, visited Irvington to sell this slaughter based on 38 hands raised in favor of a cull, none with knowledge of the means, calling Hastings 'earthy crunchy' and stating that Hastings is employing net & bolt, 'no matter what.' Today of course, after being called out and having his own email read back to him (obtained through FOIL), in which he describes his solution as "wiping out all the deer," Swiderski is now pursuing immuno contraception. This not only calls into question the character of the Mayor, it begs the question, what does Swiderski actually stand for or believe in.
Your naivety truly astounds. Swiderski is concerned only with perception, especially his own. He fashions himself an orator, however, you can't transmit something you haven't got. This is a man who simply, acts as if. Q - If Lyme disease were such an epidemic in Hastings, why is there not one sign erected in Hillside woods warning residents? Perception and property values took precedent as they do again with regard to crime. Peter Swiderski is a thoroughbred bureaucrat, Hastings is starving for a dose of reality as a much needed antidote. The village needs more police, not more verbiage from it's Mayor. There is a calamity ahead in this country and world that will reorder all we know, yet Hastings chose this time (2010) to forecast the future with the creation of it's Comprehensive Plan document. This document will serve only to create confusion as it was drawn up in the entitled insulation that has enveloped Hastings and it's politics. The document is the height of ridiculousness and will go down as a colossal waste of time, energy and money.
When it comes time again to select a Mayor, Hastings should think of seating one with a spine. It is something that may come in very, very, handy in the days ahead.
This might have been the first time I've ever written anything positive about anything a politician has ever said. Oh well, I guess no good deed goes unpunished. In all seriousness, most well-to-do Westchester and Connecticut communities have remarkably well-staffed police forces. Adding even more is not financially viable. Plus, posting one on, say, every corner probably isn't the life we want to live and guess what? There'd still be the occasional break-in. Moreover, I was only intrigued with a single line this mayor uttered, because it ran so counter to the conventional rhetoric we hear from our political creatures. This was not a review of his entire tenure, which probably wouldn't be of interest to any outside of his village, even if, as you say, he has failed to keep it safe from calamity and ticks. Best, Marek