I would like to take this opportunity to thank Barry McGoey, my opponent for Greenburgh Town Supervisor, for providing voters with a meaningful choice in the recent primary. Our democracy depends not only on those who win elections but also on those like Barry who were willing to participate, present differing ideas, and offering voters meaningful choices.
Barry might not have won the election. But he gave voters an alternative and offered the electorate the opportunity to think about different ideas and visions for the future. He raised important issues like affordability, financial management controls, consolidation of services, drainage, and sewer issues, bringing additional attention to these important issues. I will reflect on his suggestions and know that I will be a better Supervisor because of the campaign.
His campaign encouraged civic engagement – motivated people on both sides to learn about their town government, to volunteer, and to vote. The turnout in this primary was higher than ever.
Barry devoted lots of time, effort, and personal sacrifice to his campaign and was dignified and classy when he lost the election, supporting the outcome.
I was a friend of Barry before the primary. And hope to be a friend in the future. I wish Barry great success in his future endeavors and welcome his input, involvement, and help in the future. Contested elections are important. Good people like Barry sometimes lose an election. They should be proud of their contributions to democracy.
East Fishkill was the site for New York’s second-biggest data center proposal. The town has taken the controversial issue into its own hands and passed a three-year moratorium, while Governor Hochul considers a bipartisan bill passed earlier this month that would establish a one-year moratorium statewide.
HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. — The East Fishkill Town Board has approved a three-year moratorium, Thursday, June 25 on the construction of new data centers following months of community opposition and advocacy efforts.
The vote came after dozens of Hudson Valley residents joined members of Food & Water Watch, Indivisible 845, and For The Many outside East Fishkill Town Hall to urge town officials to reject Treetop Development’s proposal for a large data center and temporarily halt future data center projects while regulations are considered.
Supporters of the moratorium argued that additional time is needed to evaluate the potential impacts of large-scale data centers, including increased electricity demand, water consumption, noise, environmental concerns, and potential costs to taxpayers.
“The people of East Fishkill and the Hudson Valley have made it abundantly clear: They don’t want massive, noisy, polluting, expensive data centers in their backyards, and they’re ready to show up and fight to protect their communities,” said Melissa Hoffmann, an organizer with Food & Water Watch.
Hoffmann praised the Town Board’s decision and called on state and federal lawmakers to adopt similar measures. She urged Governor Kathy Hochul to sign statewide legislation that would establish a one-year moratorium on new data centers and called on Congressman Mike Lawler to support federal legislation that would temporarily pause new projects while national standards are developed.
East Fishkill joins a growing list of New York municipalities taking action on data center development. Communities including Lysander, Oneonta, and North Tonawanda have approved temporary moratoriums, while the Town of Dryden has enacted a ban on new data centers. Monroe County has also approved a resolution supporting a statewide moratorium.
On Long Island, the Town of Brookhaven is scheduled to consider an 18-month moratorium during its July 16 Town Board meeting.
Earlier this month, the New York State Legislature passed legislation that would establish a one-year statewide moratorium on new data center construction. The bill now awaits Governor Hochul’s signature. If enacted, municipalities such as East Fishkill would still be permitted to maintain longer local moratoriums.
Advocates also noted that Congressman Mike Lawler’s district includes several proposed data center projects, including sites in East Fishkill, Orangeburg, and at the former Indian Point Energy Center in Buchanan. They criticized the congressman for not supporting a federal moratorium proposal introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Opposition to artificial intelligence data centers has increased in communities across New York and the country as residents raise concerns about noise pollution, increased water usage, rising electricity demand, grid reliability, and other potential environmental impacts. Developers and industry groups, meanwhile, argue that data centers are critical infrastructure needed to support the growing demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence technologies, while also creating jobs and generating local tax revenue.
The East Fishkill moratorium temporarily pauses consideration of new data center proposals while town officials evaluate future regulations governing the rapidly expanding industry.
Every election tells a story. Sometimes the story is about money. Sometimes it is about endorsements. Sometimes it is about ideology. But every so often, an election reminds us that politics, especially local politics, is still about something much simpler and more decisive: relationships.
That lesson is clear in Paul Feiner’s decisive Democratic primary victory for Greenburgh Town Supervisor.
On paper, Feiner faced one of the toughest challenges of his political career. His opponent, Barry McGoey, was backed by the overwhelming majority of the Greenburgh Democratic Committee, several Town Board members, and prominent Democratic leaders throughout Westchester County. Many political observers viewed this race as an opportunity for the Democratic establishment to replace an incumbent who has held office for more than three decades.
Instead, Greenburgh voters once again chose Paul Feiner.
The obvious question is why.
What is Paul Feiner’s secret sauce?
The answer is not found in campaign consultants, expensive mailers, or political endorsements. Paul Feiner’s advantage is simpler: he has made constituent service the center of his political success.
For more than 30 years, Paul Feiner has built a reputation for accessibility. Residents know they can email him and, in most cases, receive a response within twenty-four hours. He openly provides his personal cell phone number, home phone number, and personal email address to constituents. That level of accessibility is almost unheard of in modern politics, yet it has become one of the defining characteristics of his public service.
Many elected officials ask for your vote every two or four years. Paul Feiner has spent decades earning it every day. Every returned phone call, every answered email, every neighborhood meeting, and every resident he has helped have added another brick to the foundation of trust he has built with the people of Greenburgh. By the time Election Day arrives, voters are not simply evaluating campaign promises. They are evaluating years, and in many cases decades, of personal experience.
There is another leadership quality that often goes unnoticed but deserves recognition.
People disagree with Paul Feiner. They have disagreed with him on taxes, zoning, development projects, budgets, and countless other issues over the years. Yet disagreeing with Paul Feiner does not automatically make you his enemy for life. That distinction matters.
Too often today, politics has become personal. A disagreement over public policy is treated as betrayal. Political opponents become personal enemies. Constructive criticism is viewed as disloyalty. That kind of politics divides communities and discourages honest debate.
Paul Feiner has demonstrated a different approach. You may disagree with his decisions, and he may disagree with your position, but he continues to engage with you as a constituent. He listens. He responds. He remains accessible. He understands that representing the public means serving everyone, not just those who agree with you.
As someone who grew up in Greenburgh and graduated from Woodlands High School, I have watched Paul Feiner’s political career for decades. Like many Greenburgh families, members of my own family have disagreed with him on numerous issues. My aunts have often disagreed with Paul Feiner’s positions, yet they have always respected him. Those disagreements never became personal, and that respect has remained despite their differences.
That experience has taught me something important about Greenburgh politics.
Like him or not, Paul Feiner has become a fixture in the political life of this town. Entire generations of residents have known him as their Town Supervisor. They have watched him attend neighborhood meetings, answer emails, return phone calls, and make himself available long after the campaign signs have come down. Those relationships cannot be manufactured by a political organization, purchased through campaign spending, or created by an endorsement.
Trust is earned.
That may be the greatest lesson from this election.
Political organizations matter. Democratic committees matter. Endorsements matter. Campaigns matter. However, there are limits to what political organizations can accomplish when they run into decades of established trust between an elected official and the people he serves.
This election should be studied by every elected official and every candidate running for local office in Westchester County. Too many campaigns focus on consultants, social media, endorsements, and fundraising while overlooking the most important part of public service: being available to the people who elected you.
Paul Feiner appears to have understood something that many modern politicians have forgotten. Constituent service is not something you do during election season. Constituent service is the campaign. Every resident you help, every phone call you return, every email you answer, and every neighborhood concern you address becomes an investment in credibility. Over time, those investments become political capital that no consultant can replicate.
The Democratic establishment may have believed this election was about endorsements and organization. Greenburgh voters appeared to believe it was about something else: the person they believed had consistently shown up for them over more than three decades.
Whether someone supports Paul Feiner or not, his longevity in office cannot simply be dismissed as incumbency. Incumbents lose elections every year. What separates Paul Feiner is this: election after election, despite criticism, organized opposition, and repeated calls for change, Greenburgh voters continue to place their confidence in him.
Until another candidate demonstrates the same level of accessibility, responsiveness, and long-term commitment to constituent service, Greenburgh voters are likely to keep rewarding the relationships Paul Feiner has spent decades building.
That is his secret sauce.
It is not ideology.
It is not political machinery.
It is not endorsements.
It is trust.
And in local politics, trust still beats the machine.
According to THE HILL, New York Attorney General Letitia James is now sounding the alarm about the very progressive forces reshaping the Democratic Party in New York. Her comments about Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s DSA-backed candidates sharpen the central issue: leaders who praise the movement now warn that it is overrunning the party. James criticized the mayor for endorsing outsiders who, in her view, “do not understand the politics of New York City, the cultural differences from district to district,” and lack connection to the “history and the struggle” of local communities.
This is rich coming from a leading figure in the very establishment that helped elevate Mamdani to power. James and other prominent Black Democrats backed his mayoral campaign against incumbents like Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo. Their support helped empower the same political force she now criticizes.
I do not know how Tish James and other black leaders or elected officials failed to see it coming. At the Black and Latino Caucus, Mamdani was embraced with near-messianic fervor. While many politicians, accustomed to their own rhetorical games, focused on short-term votes and alliances, Mamdani’s strategy was clearer: accept their support to build a formidable DSA power base in New York City, then leverage it to advance his agenda across the state. That is how political karma operates. Now that the consequences are unfolding, it may already be too late for the establishment to course-correct.
For years, James and other prominent Black leaders have aligned with, defended, or remained silent as progressive and DSA-aligned policies gained ground—from criminal justice reforms to expansive social mandates. Even allowing AOC to bastardize Black history and the Black American struggle without correction. Now, as Mamdani’s influence delivers victories for candidates James sees as disconnected from race, class, and neighborhood realities, the Attorney General warns that the party is being “blown up.” The warning lands because it follows years of accommodation.
James’ critique of Mamdani’s slate inadvertently highlights a deeper problem: the disconnect between elite progressive visions crafted in certain enclaves and the lived realities of working families across the city and state. That disconnect is the real issue, because candidates who overlook cultural nuances, historical context, and district-specific struggles risk imposing one-size-fits-all approaches that fail the very people they claim to champion.
This internal Democratic tension is not abstract. It plays out in policy fights over public safety, economic development, education, and now family law—where recent efforts to replace “mother” and “father” with gender-neutral terms in state statutes have drawn bipartisan pushback. Southern states and Bible Belt communities, with their strong emphasis on traditional family structures rooted in faith and proven outcomes, will not quietly embrace such shifts.
James is right to worry about outsiders remaking the party without understanding local dynamics. But accountability starts at home. What James and other prominent Black Democrats failed to acknowledge is that they were in the kitchen helping to bake this monster. Their early and vocal support for Mamdani’s mayoral campaign—bolstered by her platform as the state’s Attorney General—lent him critical credibility and legitimacy. Now she wants to complain about the very force she helped empower. That is the hypocrisy at the center of this moment: it is like Frankenstein complaining about the monster he created. New York Democrats, including the Attorney General, have long tolerated or advanced the ideological infrastructure now bearing fruit—complaining about the harvest while ignoring the seeds they planted.
Voters—especially in Black communities that have consistently delivered loyalty—deserve better than factional infighting masquerading as concern They deserve leaders who prioritize measurable results over performative ideology.
The Democratic Party in New York, as we used to know it, is on life support Whether establishment voices like James can course-correct—or whether the DSA wave will further fracture coalitions—will shape not just city and state politics, but the national brand heading into 2026 and beyond.
Politics has always been local, but campaign messaging is national.
While many New Yorkers celebrate the victories of Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-backed candidates in this week’s primaries, including Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed slate sweeping key congressional races—Republicans see opportunity. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise quickly declared the “Mamdani takeover of the Democrat Party is official,” framing the results as proof that Democrats have embraced socialism.
Whether one agrees with Scalise is beside the point. Republicans have their narrative: New York previews the national Democratic future.
Elections turn on perception as much as policy. Every Democrat in a competitive House or Senate race could now face questions about progressive policies associated with New York’s leftward shift. Republicans need only convince enough moderates and independents that the party is moving in that direction—no need to paint every candidate with the same brush.
This strategy targets swing states like Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada, decided by suburban families, working-class voters, veterans, and faith communities. These groups prioritize affordability, public safety, education, energy costs, and opportunity over ideology.
Expect ads linking local Democratic candidates to New York footage: DSA pushes on policing, housing mandates, expansive government programs—and now, efforts to rewrite foundational family language in state law.
Consider the recent bill passed by New York’s Democratic-controlled legislature that would replace “mother” and “father” with “gestating parent” and “non-gestating parent” in family court, domestic relations, and education statutes, while changing “paternity” proceedings to “parentage.” Critics argue it erases biological and traditional parental roles; supporters frame it as inclusive modernization for diverse families, surrogacy, and court efficiency. The measure awaits Governor Hochul’s signature and does not directly alter birth certificates themselves, but it signals a deeper ideological shift in how government defines family.
Will this become a national model under a DSA-influenced Democratic brand? Republicans will certainly ask that question in every competitive district. The political cost could be significant.
Southern states, particularly in the Bible Belt, are poised for strong pushback. These regions hold deep cultural and religious convictions about the family as the bedrock of society—rooted in biblical teachings that honor distinct roles for mothers and fathers. Black churches, faith communities, small business owners, veterans, and working families across the South often prioritize traditional family structures as essential to child-rearing, moral formation, and community stability. Policies perceived as undermining those foundations—whether through gender ideology in schools, family law redefinitions, or related cultural shifts—risk alienating voters who have long formed a reliable part of the Democratic coalition but draw firm lines on issues touching home and hearth.
Black New Yorkers—and Black voters broadly—face their own reckoning. For decades, Black communities powered New York Democrats. As the party’s center shifts left, priorities deserve scrutiny through outcomes, not slogans:
Are schools delivering better educational results for Black children?
Is Black business ownership and wealth-building (through homeownership and entrepreneurship) rising?
Are neighborhoods safer?
Are young people gaining real economic opportunity?
Is policy strengthening stable two-parent families—the proven foundation for better child outcomes—or expanding dependency and redefining core institutions?
These questions transcend parties. DSA supporters promise affordability, workers’ rights, and equity. Critics warn of higher costs, reduced investment, weaker safety, slower growth, and, now, the erosion of the language and legal recognition of motherhood and fatherhood. History and measurable results will judge.
National parties are often defined by their boldest voices. With the House hanging on a handful of districts and the Senate on tight statewide races, New York’s progressive surge—including this family law shift—gives Republicans a ready brand for 2026.
Whether it sticks remains to be seen. But the campaign is underway.
Voters of all stripes should watch how local choices shape national consequences.
I have great respect for Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and his devotion to advocacy. However, I must publicly disagree with the narrative he and other Black elected officials in New York have been advancing.
Listening to Williams’ recent remarks, one message stood out: Black Americans should stand with our brothers and sisters in the South because, in their view, what is happening there will eventually happen here.
There is another, more fundamental question Black New Yorkers and Black America should ask.
What gives Black elected officials in high-tax, high-regulation cities like New York the moral authority to lecture Black communities in the South about what is best for them? In the very video of Williams’ speech, Jamaal Bowman stands right there. It’s kinda hypocritical to warn the South about voter suppression and political threats while staying mostly silent when New York State Democrats gerrymandered Bowman’s congressional district 16 and Mondaire Jones’s congressional district 17. Where was the unified press conference and fierce pushback from these same officials when Democrats did the same thing right here in New York?
Furthermore, the recent Supreme Court ruling on voting provisions did not strip Black voters of their rights. Southern states held elections as recently as May, and there has not been a single credible report of any Black person being denied the right to vote as a direct result of that decision. Claims of widespread disenfranchisement appear more rhetorical than reality-based
Leadership is not conferred by title, zip code, or the passion of speeches. It is measured by the strength of the arguments, the evidence presented, and, most importantly, the measurable outcomes that policies produce for the people they claim to serve.
Black communities in the South are fully capable of determining their own interests. They do not need New York politicians speaking as if they possess superior wisdom or moral authority.
What concerns me even more is the story that Black people are being “forced” into the South or that the region represents only oppression. This ignores decades of voluntary migration flows. Large numbers of Black Americans have left states like New York, Illinois, and California for the South in search of lower housing costs, lower taxes, better job opportunities, higher homeownership rates, and improved quality to life for their families.
If New York is losing Black residents while Southern states are gaining them, New York’s elected officials should first examine why. Why are Black families deciding they can no longer afford to stay? Why are Black entrepreneurs finding greater success elsewhere? Why are Black retirees leaving in significant numbers?
Instead of instructing the South, perhaps they should scrutinize whether their own policies—on taxes, housing, public safety, and economic development—are driving this exodus.
Black America must judge every political message, from any leader, by the same standard: outcomes.
Stronger Black families?
Higher Black homeownership?
More Black-owned businesses?
Safer neighborhoods?
Better educational achievement?
Greater generational wealth?
These are the metrics that matter. Justice is not proven by rhetoric or symbolic actions. It is proven by whether Black people are living better today than they did yesterday.
If we truly care about the next generation, our responsibility is not simply to pass them a baton of activism. It is to pass them stronger families, thriving businesses, safer communities, quality schools, economic ownership, and real generational wealth.
That is the legacy Black America should demand from every elected official—regardless of whether they serve in New York, Georgia, Texas, Florida, or anywhere else.
Mount Vernon Police Investigating Early Morning Shooting That Left Two Injured
***** Updated 4 PM to include MVPD Statement *****
Multiple Mount Vernon residents reported hearing what they believed were gunshots early Thursday morning on East First Street, prompting a response from emergency personnel.
According to folks we talked to in the area, the incident occurred at approximately 3:11 AM EST, inside Rascals Den Event Space located at 32 East First Street in Mount Vernon. One resident said they heard a woman scream, “Oh, shit,” moments before what several neighbors described as a series of loud bangs. Shortly afterward, multiple emergency vehicles (Police and Fire Department) were seen responding to the area. People can be seen running out of the event space and jumping into their cars and speeding off.
Several residents who talked to Black Westchester, but requested and were granted anonymity for their safety, said they believed the sounds were gunfire.
“It sure sounded like it,” said one elderly man who was near North Third Avenue at the time. Another witness, who said he was near FoodTown on East Prospect Avenue, estimated hearing “at least eight shots.” A third resident reported hearing approximately five loud bangs that they also believed were gunshots.
As of publication, authorities had not publicly confirmed whether gunfire had occurred or whether anyone was injured. The exact circumstances surrounding the incident remain unclear. Black Westchester contacted the Mount Vernon Police Department for comment. A department spokesperson said they could not comment on the incident.
A few hours after publication, officials released the following statement confirming that two individuals were being treated at local hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries and no arrests have yet been made.
Residents in the neighborhood said the sounds raised alarms and drew several to their windows as emergency vehicles arrived.
This is a developing story. Additional information will be reported as it becomes available and is confirmed through official sources or further reporting.
Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the MVPD by calling their non-emergency communications line at (914) 665-2500 or the Detective Division directly at(914) 665-2510 or email us at BlackWestchesterMag@gmail.com
A GENERAL ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 68 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF YONKERS ENTITLED “SMOKING” TO PREVENT SMOKE IN PUBLIC PARKS WITHIN THE CITY OF YONKERS.
Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Yonkers has adopted the abovementioned legislation to prevent smoking in public parks within the City of Yonkers, to protect the public health, reduce environmental pollution from smoking-related litter, discourage smoking, vaping and related activities by children, and reduce overall exposure to harmful secondhand smoke (including from tobacco, cannabis, and e-cigarettes), while creating a clean, safe, and smoke-free air location for all visitors.
Section 1. Article IV, of Chapter 68, § 68-12. Prohibition of the Code of the City of Yonkers entitled “Smoking in Playgrounds” is amended in part to read as follows:
Smoking is prohibited in any playground, park (as that term is defined in Chapter 45, Article 13-E. § 1399-o-2(2) of the New York State Public Health Law, as the same may be amended from time to time), or within 50 feet of any play equipment, under the jurisdiction of the Department of Parks and Recreation; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to the sidewalks immediately adjoining playgrounds or parks.
Penalties: Any violation of Chapter 68, Article IV, shall result in a fine of $50.
The complete text of the ordinance is on file and may be examined at the Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 40 S. Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701.
[Editor’s Note] The City of Yonkers manages more than 80 parks, playgrounds, and recreational facilities across the city. The Yonkers Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation maintains an extensive catalog of amenities, which includes: 81+ Parks and Playgrounds, 74 Street Malls, 57 Ball fields, 23 Tennis courts, 9 Fitness areas, 4 Pickleball courts, and 1 Greenhouse. Notable major parks include the 161-acre Tibbetts Brook Park (managed in conjunction with Westchester County) and the historic 43-acre Untermyer Park and Gardens.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man [or woman] who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
One of the greatest observations ever made about leadership, activism, and public service wasn’t written by a politician seeking votes or a social media influencer seeking likes. It was spoken by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1910 during his famous “Man in the Arena” speech at the Sorbonne in Paris. More than a century later, his words may be more relevant than ever.
We live in an age where everyone has a platform. Social media has given ordinary people extraordinary power to communicate, organize, inform, and advocate. At its best, it has democratized information and amplified voices that were once ignored. At its worst, it has created an army of anonymous critics who spend their days tearing down the work of others from behind fake profiles, nameless accounts, and faceless pages.
They criticize elected officials but have never attended a public meeting! They attack activists but have never organized or even attended a rally! They condemn journalists but have never investigated a story! They ridicule community leaders but have never led anything beyond a comment section! They question the motives of those doing the work while risking absolutely nothing themselves! President Roosevelt had a message for these people. “It is not the critic who counts.” Those words cut through the noise today just as they did in 1910.
The people who deserve the credit are not the ones sitting comfortably behind keyboards offering endless criticism and making baseless accusations. The credit belongs to those willing to step into the arena. The people whose names, reputations, and livelihoods are attached to their actions. The people who show up when others stay home. The people who speak when silence would be easier. The people who take risks, knowing they will be criticized regardless of what they do.
The truth is that anyone can criticize. It’s not the same as holding those in power’s feet to the fire. It takes no courage to disagree just for the sake of being disagreeable. It takes no sacrifice. It requires no accountability. It doesn’t even require what you write, and post have any real truth to it. You can misrepresent the facts and it doesn’t require any real accountability. The anonymous social media page can post accusations, spread rumors, attack character, and disappear without consequence. They never have to answer questions. They never have to defend their claims. They never have to stand before the community and be accountable for what they say.
Those actually doing the work do. Community activists do. Journalists do. Many Clergy members do. Educators do. Public servants do. Nonprofit leaders do. Parents fighting for their children do. People speaking for those who cannot speak for themself do. People who fight for those who cannot fight for themselves do. Every person who chooses action over apathy understands that mistakes will happen. No meaningful work is done perfectly. No movement advances without setbacks. No leader succeeds without criticism. The people in the arena understand this. Yet they continue anyway.
As the co-founder with Damon K. Jones of Black Westchester, we have seen this reality firsthand. As Black Westchester approaches its 12th anniversary of giving you “The News With The Black Point Of View,” I find myself reflecting on the journey, the victories, the setbacks, and the countless voices that have emerged along the way—both supporters and critics. One thing I have learned over the past twelve years is that there will always be people willing to criticize those who are doing the work.
President Theodore Roosevelt captured this reality perfectly in his famous 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech when he said:
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.”
For more than a decade, as Editor-In-Chief, we have reported stories others would not touch. We have asked difficult questions. We have challenged systems of power. We have advocated for communities that often feel unheard. Have we made mistakes? Of course. Have we gotten everything right? No. But every article, every interview, every event, every community conversation was done openly and publicly. Our names are attached to our work. We stand behind what we write. We answer for it. That is what being in the arena looks like.
What has always fascinated me is how many of the loudest critics operate from the shadows. They hide behind anonymous social media accounts, fake profiles, and nameless pages. Their countless anonymous pages and nameless profiles appear whenever controversy emerges. They offer criticism but no solutions. Condemnation but no contribution. Cynicism but no commitment. They are experts on what everyone else should do. Yet they do nothing themselves. The challenge facing our communities today is not a lack of critics. We have more critics than ever before. The challenge is a shortage of people willing to do the work.
A shortage of people willing to run for office! A shortage of people willing to volunteer! A shortage of people willing to organize! A shortage of people willing to mentor! A shortage of people willing to build institutions that will outlive them! Real change has never been created by spectators. It has always been created by participants. By people willing to enter the arena despite the certainty of criticism.
So, to those who continue to fight for better schools, safer streets, affordable housing, criminal justice reform, economic opportunity, and stronger communities—keep going. To the journalists who continue to pursue truth. To the activists who continue to demand justice and speak truth to power. To the community leaders who continue to serve. To the elected officials who continue to make difficult decisions. Keep going.
Because history rarely remembers the anonymous critic hiding behind a screen name. History remembers the people who dared to enter the arena. The people who dared greatly. The people who had the audacity showed up, despite the odds. The people who fought. The people who tried. And whether they succeeded or failed, they earned something the critics never will: The right to say they were actually in the arena.
History Remembers The Doers, Not The Trolls! And That’s REAL TALK!!!
For decades, the fight to legalize cannabis centered around justice.
And rightfully so.
Communities of color were disproportionately criminalized. Families were torn apart. Opportunities were denied. Entire neighborhoods bore the weight of policies that punished people more than they protected them.
But now that New York has entered a new era of legalization, perhaps it’s time for another conversation.
Not about criminalization.
Not about morality.
Not about fear.
But about health.
Because just because something is legal doesn’t mean it is harmless.
Researchers analyzed nearly 700,000 medical records comparing individuals with cannabis use disorder, heavy or problematic cannabis use, with people diagnosed with other substance use disorders.
What they found was striking.
Young people 17 and under with cannabis use disorder were 52% more likely to later receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia, 30% more likely to experience recurrent major depression, and 21% more likely to develop anxiety disorders compared with young people using other substances.
Among adults, however, the opposite pattern emerged. Adults with cannabis use disorder actually had lower rates of psychiatric disorders compared with adults using other substances.
What Is This Study Actually Saying?
Let’s slow down.
This study is not saying cannabis causes schizophrenia.
It isn’t saying every teenager who smokes marijuana will develop mental illness.
And it certainly isn’t advocating for a return to the failed war on drugs.
What the study does suggest is that age matters.
Brain development matters.
And heavy cannabis use during adolescence may carry risks that deserve serious attention.
Researchers themselves acknowledge there are still many unknowns.
Perhaps heavy cannabis use accelerates psychiatric disorders in young people.
Or perhaps young people predisposed to anxiety, depression, or psychosis are turning to cannabis to self-medicate before symptoms become fully apparent.
Either way, the message is clear:
Something important is happening.
And we cannot afford to ignore it.
Why This Matters for New York
Cannabis legalization has transformed New York.
Dispensaries are opening across the state.
Edibles are packaged like candy.
High-potency products are more accessible than ever.
And culturally, marijuana has become normalized.
Many teenagers don’t see cannabis as dangerous.
Many parents don’t either.
After all, it’s legal.
But today’s cannabis isn’t the marijuana many adults remember from decades ago.
Today’s products contain significantly higher levels of THC.
And while legalization has created economic opportunities and corrected some historical injustices, legalization without education creates vulnerability.
Especially among young people whose brains are still developing.
What This Means for Our Communities
For Black and Brown communities, conversations around cannabis are complicated.
We know what over-policing has done.
We know families that suffered because of criminalization.
We know people who are still living with the consequences of laws that have since changed.
But protecting our communities and protecting our children are not opposing ideas.
Both can be true.
We can support legalization and still acknowledge risk.
We can reject stigma and still embrace science.
We can fight for equity and still educate our youth.
Because love requires honesty.
Perhaps the Bigger Story Is Pain and Unaddressed Trauma
Underneath all the statistics, this study points us toward something much deeper than cannabis.
It forces us to ask uncomfortable questions.
Why are so many young people trying to escape?
Why are anxiety and depression increasing among children and adolescents?
Why are teenagers seeking relief before they’ve even fully discovered who they are?
Perhaps marijuana itself isn’t the whole story.
Perhaps the bigger story is pain and unaddressed trauma.
Perhaps beneath the diagnoses and the data is a generation of young people trying to regulate nervous systems overwhelmed by experiences they were never given the language or support to process.
Adverse childhood experiences.
Community violence.
Bullying.
Family instability.
Loss.
Grief.
Social isolation.
Academic pressure.
The endless comparison machine called social media.
Intergenerational trauma passed down in silence.
Because trauma doesn’t disappear simply because we don’t talk about it.
It doesn’t vanish because we tell children to “be strong.”
It doesn’t leave because adults are uncomfortable with emotions.
Trauma adapts.
Sometimes it becomes anxiety.
Sometimes depression.
Sometimes rage.
Sometimes perfectionism.
Sometimes numbness.
And sometimes, it looks like self-medication.
A substance often becomes a solution when healthier tools are unavailable.
And perhaps that’s what this study is quietly inviting us to consider.
Not simply whether cannabis is dangerous.
But what pain young people may be trying to soothe.
Maybe the next chapter of public health in New York shouldn’t begin with punishment or panic.
Maybe it begins with prevention.
With emotional literacy.
With trauma-informed schools.
With accessible mental health care.
With nervous system awareness.
With spaces where young people can speak before they smoke, cry before they collapse, and heal before they numb.
Because no substance, legal or illegal, should become the primary language our children use to communicate pain.
And perhaps that is what this study is ultimately asking us to pay attention to, not simply what our young people are consuming, but what they are carrying.
Because if legalization is the conversation, healing must be part of it too.
And if we truly want to protect the next generation, perhaps the deeper question isn’t merely:
“What are our children using?”
Perhaps the question is:
What kind of world have we built that makes escape feel easier than being present?
And what kind of world are we willing to build where healing becomes easier than escape?
Because our children deserve more than access.
They deserve tools.
They deserve language.
They deserve connection.
And above all, they deserve a world that teaches them how to live with pain, not simply how to run from it.
If this study teaches us anything, it’s that prevention is bigger than prohibition.
Perhaps protecting the next generation isn’t simply about telling young people what not to use.
Perhaps it’s about teaching them how to feel.
How to grieve.
How to regulate.
How to name what hurts.
How to ask for help.
How to build the internal capacity to navigate life’s inevitable storms.
If you are a parent, educator, clinician, faith leader, youth-serving organization, or policymaker, now is the time to invest in trauma-informed spaces, emotional literacy, and nervous system education that helps young people process pain before they attempt to numb it.
Because healing is not a luxury.
It is infrastructure.
And if legalization is part of New York’s future, then emotional wellness must be part of its public health strategy.
The conversation cannot end with access.
It must continue with awareness.
And ultimately, with healing.
Because our children deserve more than warnings.
They deserve tools.
For speaking engagements, trainings, and community conversations on trauma-informed care, nervous system awareness, and building emotional capacity in youth and communities, contact: Larnez Kinsey, Founder & Principal Consultant of BlackGate Consulting Group LLC EMAIL: BlackGateCG@gmail.com – Phone: (914) 953-0877
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