Westchester County Health Department Shares Heat Advisory; Vulnerable Residents Urged to Limit Time Outdoors and Avoid Strenuous Activity

The National Weather Service has issued a Heat Advisory for Westchester County on Friday, July 25, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. During this time, heat and humidity may make outdoor temperatures feel as high as 105 degrees. While some relief is expected overnight, Saturday afternoon temperatures are forecasted to remain in the low 90s.

The Westchester County Health Department advises residents to:

• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water – Drink plenty of water, even if you don’t feel thirsty, and stay away from alcoholic or caffeinated beverages. Construction workers and others who do lots of physical activity or work outdoors should be conscious of keeping hydrated while on the job. Make sure pets have access to fresh drinking water that is clean and cool.
• Avoid strenuous outdoor activity and overexertion – Reduce or refrain from strenuous physical activities until the coolest time of the day. At-risk populations such as older people, children, and pregnant women should stay in the coolest place available, which may not necessarily be indoors. (Maybe it’s in the local pool!)
• Check on vulnerable family members, friends, and neighbors – If you know someone who is at risk of heat-related health issues, make sure they are well cared for and in a safe and cool place. Don’t leave children or pets unattended in hot cars.
• Eat light. Go for cool, easy-to-digest foods like fruit, salads or even fruit salad. If you are bringing food somewhere, make sure to put it in a cooler or include ice packs, as meat and dairy products can spoil in the heat.
• Go somewhere cool. Spend some time in an air-conditioned place, whether that’s home, the library, a mall or other public spaces. You can search for your nearest local emergency cooling center by county at the New York Department of Health website. Ensure pets have access to shady spots when outdoors, or keep them inside.
• Ensure pets and outdoor animals have access to shade and fresh water – Residents are also reminded never to leave children or pets in a closed vehicle, as temperatures inside can rise to dangerous levels within minutes.

Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities.

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are the two primary heat illnesses in the United States. Heat cramps can also occur if the body is not properly hydrated during extreme weather events. Any heat-related illnesses, mainly heat exhaustion and heat stroke, can happen at any temperature above 90 degrees.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration also recommends scheduling “frequent rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned environments” when doing work outdoors.

If you lack air conditioning at home, you may visit a designated cooling center. ​​

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en Español

El Departamento de Salud del Condado de Westchester comparte un aviso sobre el calor; Se insta a los residentes vulnerables a limitar el tiempo al aire libre y evitar actividades extenuantes

El Servicio Meteorológico Nacional ha emitido un aviso de calor para el condado de Westchester el viernes 25 de julio, de 11:00 a. m. a 8:00 p. m. Durante este periodo, el calor y la humedad podrían provocar una sensación térmica de hasta 40 °C. Si bien se espera algo de alivio durante la noche, se pronostica que las temperaturas del sábado por la tarde se mantendrán en torno a los 32 °C.

El Departamento de Salud del Condado de Westchester recomienda a los residentes:

• Manténgase hidratado bebiendo abundante agua.
• Evite las actividades extenuantes al aire libre y el esfuerzo excesivo.
• Controle a sus familiares, amigos y vecinos vulnerables.
• Asegúrese de que las mascotas y los animales al aire libre tengan acceso a sombra y agua fresca.

También se recuerda a los residentes que nunca deben dejar a niños ni mascotas en un vehículo cerrado, ya que la temperatura en el interior puede alcanzar niveles peligrosos en cuestión de minutos.

Si no tiene aire acondicionado en casa, puede acudir a un centro de refrigeración designado .

The Setup

Thursday, July 17, 2025 – 6:30 PM – Van der Donck Park, Yonkers
Beneath the open skies of Van der Donck Park, beside the Hudson and just steps from the Yonkers Riverfront Library, over 175 people gathered not for a performance, but for a purpose. The Good Trouble Rally for Justice was part of a national series honoring the life and legacy of Congressman John Lewis, a giant of the Civil Rights Movement whose legacy continues to push us toward truth, action, and transformation.

Organized by the NAACP Yonkers Branch #2188, under the leadership of President Kisha Skipper, in partnership with NYCD 16/15 Indivisible and co-founder Eileen O’Connor, this event wasn’t just a call to remember, it was a call to reignite.

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A Run of Show Like No Other

This wasn’t a program with clear lines between “youth” and “electeds.”
It was a beautifully blended composition, a communal rhythm where elders and emerging voices moved in seamless harmony.

From the very first words, the audience was held in sacred space, opened by Rev. Margaret Fountain-Coleman, who grounded the event with an invocation that called in our ancestors and challenged us to move with intention.

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Youth Voices: The Synthesizer of the Night

The young people weren’t here to fill time; they were here to speak truth. And they did that with clarity, conviction, and culture.

• Kory Skipper-Miller, just 10 years old, started the engine. With a voice already known across social media for his powerful advocacy, he reminded us that youth activism isn’t waiting, it’s already here.
  
• Destiney Bella Kinsey, 11 years old, filmmaker, co-director of “Rise & Stop Bullies,” told us what time it is: “Clean your lens. Adjust your glasses.” Her words sliced through bias like sunlight through fog.
  
• Dana Peña, 17, on her way to Baruch College to study Political Science, stood fully in her purpose: “Community starts with us.” Not when we’re older. Not when we’re asked. Now.
  
• Alexander Hall, also 17 and a proud member of Groundwork Hudson Valley, carried it home: “We’re here because we can make a tangible impact in real time, at any age.”
  

These four didn’t open the evening; they orchestrated it. Their words weren’t warmups; they were the movement.

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Building with Elected Officials

While U.S. Congressman George Latimer was unable to attend in person, he sent a representative who stood in solidarity with the community and reaffirmed his commitment to public safety, equity, and youth-led transformation.

The evening also featured appearances from:

• NY Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins
  
• State Senator Shelley Mayer
  
• Assembly Member Nader Sayegh
  
• Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins
  

They didn’t just take the mic. They stood in the moment.
They bore witness.
They heard the challenge.

And then… Joanne Robinson-Boettcher stepped forward.
A longtime NAACP leader, truth-teller, and community force, her words didn’t just inspire, they ignited.

She didn’t give a speech. She gave us an assignment:

“Speak up. Speak out. And let them know you represent us. We are the reason they have money in the bank. Only you can make the difference. Your voice is to be heard, right here, right now, and forever.”

With conviction ringing through every syllable, she reminded us that our presence is power, and our silence is no longer an option. That wasn’t motivation, that was mobilization. You could feel the crowd shift. This was the moment where inspiration became instruction.

Community champions like Mujahadeen Muhammed, Steven Siebert, and Diana Sanchez followed with ground-level truth, reinforcing what Joanne made clear: we’re not just residents, we’re the reason. And we have every right to rise, speak, and shift this city.

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My Offering: Good Trouble, On Purpose

As a poet, mother, healer, and someone who moves daily through the underbelly of systems designed to forget people, I carry stories that don’t always get told, but always need to be heard. I wasn’t born in Yonkers, but this city has wrapped me in love like family. It felt only right to offer this poem as both reflection and fuel, for the elders who still fight, the youth who won’t wait, and the communities who keep daring to rise. Good Trouble lives in us. And it was an honor to speak it into this soil.

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Good Trouble, On Purpose By Larnez Kinsey

They don’t silence us ‘cause we loud…
They silence us ’cause we light.
‘Cause when we speak,
the truth got teeth.
It bites.
It builds.
It breaks chains.
And it doesn’t beg for permission to breathe.

See…
Good Trouble isn’t rebellion.
It’s ritual.
It’s resurrection.
It’s the grandbabies of the Black Panthers
and the prayers of Puerto Rican abuelitas
still rising like incense through project hallways.

Good Trouble is sacred.
Like the hands of a mother who still shows up
with a busted heart
and a bag of snacks
for every child that ain’t hers,
but is.

‘Cause in YO?
We don’t wait to be called community.
We become it.

This isn’t noise.
This is North Broadway blues
turned battle cry.
This is nods on the 6 bus
and side-eyes that say “I see you.”
This is Harriet in our heartbeat
and Baldwin in our bones.

This is not protest,
This is prophecy.
This is what happens
when kids from School 13
start testifying truth
with chalk on concrete
and elders at Grace Baptist
still pray with fire in their throats.

Good Trouble is knowing.
Knowing you were never meant to just survive.
You were born to disturb the waters.
To speak when silence feels safe.
To heal out loud,
in spaces they swore we were too broken to bless.

We are not broken.
We are beacons.
We are not shadows.
We are scripture.
Living.
Breathing.

We are our ancestors’ sacred psalms,
moving through concrete and memory.

So let ‘em look confused.
Let ‘em call us radical.
We just remind ‘em
we were never supposed to wait our turn
we were meant to turn the table.

Because this isn’t just resistance.
This is remembrance.
This is Grandmas with gold teeth and gospel grit.
This is corner store prophets
and healing in the garden plots.
This is tambourines in council meetings.
This is Black girl joy in a system built for our silence.

So no,
We won’t sit quiet.
We baptize sidewalks with our stories.
We speak names they tried to bury.
We walk in rooms they boarded up
and leave ‘em blessed and broken open.

We are not the echo.
We are the origin.
The storm.
The psalm.
The reason your grandmama still hums at the stove
like freedom is so close.

This ain’t chaos,
This is calibration.
This ain’t noise,
This is new alignment.
We the sound of the shift.
The breath of the bridge.
The Good Trouble
they prayed would never come.

But here we are.
On purpose.
Unbought.
Unbossed.
And undeniably divine.
On mission.
And right on time.

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From This Moment to Many More

If you weren’t at Van der Donck Park that evening, know this: exactly what was needed happened. You were with us in spirit. The energy is now travelling, moving through fingers typing, pens writing, voices rising in living rooms and schools.

This is the lull before the leap. The recalibration before the march. The meditation before the movement. And Yonkers? You showed up & showed out. With rhythm. With legacy. With purpose.

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Final Word

This rally, this reckoning, was never about what ended.
It was always about what begins.

Yonkers didn’t just honor John Lewis;
Yonkers embraced his question:
“If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”

And the beautiful truth, here on these streets, is:
verging toward good trouble doesn’t wait.
Because good trouble made this city.
And this city, she claimed us back.
On purpose. In purpose.
In sweet, sacred sync.