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5:30 AM EDT
6:00 AM EDT
6:15 AM EDT GLORIOUS!
APRIL 17– 600 RAISE $612,000 AT FEEDING WESTCHESTER GALA AT THE WESTCHESTER, AT THE START OF THE GALA SEASON
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CRUNCH THE CARROT
WELCOMED ALL TO
An Evening in Good Taste: One night. 600 guests.
1.2 million meals. Thank you!
With your incredibly generous support, we welcomed 600 guests to a sold-out event and together raised a record $612,000+, which will provide over 1.2 million meals to our neighbors at risk of hunger right here in Westchester.
40 OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY’S TOP RESTAURANTS DONATED
THEIR FINEST CUISINES INCLUDING A YELLOW FIN TUNA FRESH CAUGHT WEDNESDAY NIGHT
at BROTHERS FISH COMPANY
THE KING OF TUNAS THE YELLOW FIN –TASTED RICH BUTTERY COOL ELEGANT IN THE MOUTH
“THE ULTIMATE SUSHI” ACCORDING TO THE CITIZENETREPORTER
GUESTS CAME TASTED, MINGLED AND STAYED ENJOYED GREAT FOOD A VERY COOL LIVE JAZZ COMBO
WITH SOME OF TASTIEST CREATIONS YOU COULD EVER TASTE
A heartfelt thank you to The Westchester, Jennifer Haythorn, our incredible restaurants, generous sponsors, and committee members for a night filled with community, compassion, and unforgettable cuisine. Your commitment to our mission is inspiring and reminds us just how powerful we can be when we come together to fight hunger.
We are so grateful to every guest, sponsor, restaurant partner, and volunteer who made this night possible. You remind us why we do this work. And you just made history doing iT
Still want to add to that record? Every gift counts.
GO TO WWW.FEEDINGWESTCHESTER.ORG
Together we are breaking records,
Together we are Feeding Westchester.
Still want to add to that record? Every gift counts. 
Together we are breaking records,
Together we are Feeding Westchester.
APRIL 17–WHITE PLAINS WEEK TONIGHT “COUNTIES IN CRISIS” THE APRIL 17 WORLD CAST ON FIOS CH 45 OPTIMUM 76 AND WWW.WPCOMMUNITYMEDIA.ORG WITH JOHN BAILEY AND THE NEWS
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COUNTY EXECUTIVES EXPOSE DEFICITS THEY ALL FACE IF FEDERAL CUTS ARE NOT COMPENSATED FOR. NO ONE IS TALKING. NO RELIEF IN SIGHT. WHO MAKES US WHOLE? WHO WILL BE HURT? STATE LEGISLATURE WHISTLES PAST GRAVEYARD
GALA SEASON STARTS! FEEDING WESTCHESTER TASTE OF WESTCHESTER AT THE WESTCHESTER RAISES OVER $600 MILLION 600 ATTEND TO FEED THE 40% OF WESTCHESTER RESIDENTS WHO NEED FOOD ASSISTANCE
SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER RETURNS TO CHAMPION GREEN ENERGY CONVERSION. NAMES TOM WATSON INTERIM PRESIDENT.
DR. MARISA DONNELLEY YOUR LOCAL EPIDEMIOLOGIST REPORTS ON THE STATE OF HEALTH IN MIDAMERICA.
APRIL 15– A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
APRIL 16—-SUBSTANCE ABUSE & TREATMENT REPORT FROM NASHVILLE LIKE IT IS — THE RX SUMMIT– THE LARGEST CONFERENCE ON SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN THE USA
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The opioid crisis, rural health, and other stark realities
What this “coastal elite” learned at the country’s biggest drug conference
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I’ll admit the label.
I grew up in a small Northern California town, but I’ve spent most of my adult life in places people mean when they say “coastal elite.” The Bay Area, San Diego, and now New York City, where I’ve been writing a public health newsletter for the past two years about topics like vaccine uptake, fluoride debate, and harm reduction programs. All things I care about and know about.
Last week, I was in a Nashville hotel lobby with that familiar conference energy: lanyards, coffee cups, and people craning to read each other’s name tags. I was there for the RX Summit, the country’s largest annual meeting on substance use and addiction, and I’d spent the morning watching sessions about fentanyl test strips and naloxone distribution.
Then I sat down across from a man from eastern Kentucky, and my frame of reference completely flipped on its head.
He grew up there, is in recovery himself, and now devotes his time to doing outreach with kids across his county. Playing basketball with them and showing up every single week as a trusted adult that a lot of them don’t have at home.
More than 60% of the kids in his county don’t live with a parent. He explained how substance use, incarceration, and poverty created ripple effects in a crisis that has been rewriting family structure for a generation.
I write about public health for a living, but I was speechless. All of a sudden, my usual public health lens (“talk to your doctor,” “get screened,” “get vaccinated”) felt so…out of touch.
He wasn’t the only one who shifted my thinking.
I talked to people from northeastern Tennessee who are scared to drink their tap water.
I heard story after story from clinicians and community workers about what it means when the nearest treatment center is two hours away.
I met people in recovery who had rebuilt their lives against all odds and are now thriving with families.
I walked away from that conference with three lessons I can’t stop thinking about, and that I hope to apply to this newsletter.
1. Public health priorities look different when basic access is broken
What stayed with me was the word he used for what he does: prevention.
In the world I write from, prevention means vaccination, screening programs, and public awareness campaigns. Where he works, it means being the adult who shows up to play basketball because the other adults are gone. Same word, but with a completely different world underneath.
The PFAS situation in northeastern Tennessee made this even clearer.
People there described being afraid to drink from their own taps, and that fear is grounded in real data: the Sierra Club found that 60% of surface waters in the region were contaminated, and state testing has detected PFAS in several raw waterways supplying public drinking water.
It’s a concern in New York, too, where some counties now offer free PFAS testing for private well water.
But when the baseline question in a community is whether the water coming out of the tap is safe at all, debates about fluoride additives don’t just feel like a lower priority. They feel like they’re arriving from a different conversation entirely—one happening somewhere far away, about problems these communities don’t even have the luxury to think about.
Public health isn’t one single issue. It can look very different depending on your community, your resources, and what problems are most urgent.
2. “Prevention” assumes infrastructure that many Americans don’t have
We are at a critical point for rural health care as clinics across the country close at high rates. Medicaid makes up 40% of hospital revenue in some rural regions.
In the Adirondacks, 28% of residents rely on it, as do half of all births and two thirds of nursing home residents. Many people there have seasonal or part-time work that doesn’t come with employer health insurance. Nearly a third of rural hospitals in New York state are already at immediate risk of closure, and that was before the most recent round of proposed Medicaid cuts.
What this means in practice is driving two hours, or more, for buprenorphine (a treatment for opioid dependence), skipping the prenatal appointment because there’s no one to cover your shift and the clinic is that far away, deciding whether a child’s injury is bad enough to justify a trip to an emergency room two counties over. Community workers I met at this conference drive hours to deliver naloxone, and recovery coaches are working out of church basements and school gyms.
Many are navigating a health care system that looks almost nothing like it does for the coastal elite.
There’s a gap between the public health guidance produced and what’s actually possible for the people receiving it.
3. Hope comes from understanding that public health is a team sport
In the lobby was something called a “Hope Wall.” It was covered in photographs and stories of people in active recovery, faces and names attached to the statistics I spend my time writing about. Some with kids, dogs, and friends. I’ve never stood in front of something like that at a conference before, and had to take a breath before moving on.
The Operation UNITE Hope Wall. Song: Here Comes The Sun Instrumental by Emerald Empire Band.
The people I met last week weren’t waiting for better systems or more political will before showing up.
They were already there, at churches, knocking on doors, on county basketball courts, showing up with whatever they had. It’s a reminder of what this work is actually anchored in: people, families, and communities that deserve better than what they’ve got. And that’s what we’re all working towards.
Bottom line
For this city girl, spending time at the summit was both humbling and inspiring. It was a reset. A reminder to get out of my bubble, to listen more, and to make sure this work stays grounded in real lives. I hope I can bring that to this newsletter, but I’ll need your help learning more about your experiences, your questions, and your realities.
The man I met in that lobby is still showing up to play basketball with kids who need him. That’s public health, too. I want to remember that.
Love,
Your NY Epi
Dr. Marisa Donnelly, PhD, is an epidemiologist, science communicator, and public health expert. This newsletter exists to translate complex public health data into actionable insights, empowering New Yorkers to make informed and evidence-based health decisions.
Thanks for your financial support of Your Local Epidemiologist in New York! I couldn’t do this without you. — Marisa
APRIL 16–GREENBURGH SEEKS $3 MILLION GRANT FOR FLOOD RELIEF FROM SENATOR GILLEBRAND
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WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. APRIL 16, 2026:
Greenburgh Town Board members unanimously approved a resolution seeking a grant from United States Senator Gillibrand to address flooding problems from the Saw Mill River. The grant, if approved, is another action step that could provide relief to many businesses and residents who are impacted by flooding each year.
Groundwork Hudson Valley, had conducted a study “Case Studies for Nature-Based Solutions within the Saw Mill River Watershed,” which could be very helpful to residents impacted by flooding. If awarded, the Town will have designed and constructed a restoration of a 35
acre portion of Town-owned Park including the removal of invasive species, habitat improvement,
modifications and enhancement of the river corridor to expand the existing floodplain’s storage
capacity, extend the floodplain bench, Saw Mill River and Rum Brook erosion control/stream
restoration, wetland restoration, and incorporation of native plantings.
The project requires a $3,000,000 budget, $2,250,000 of which will be requested
as a CDS grant, with a Town match of $750,000.
The town continues to look for creative ways to address flooding problems in neighborhoods impacted by Saw Mill River flooding. Earlier this year we removed an abandoned bridge which caused obstructions to the river. We have worked with the Village of Elmsford removing obstructions on the river. We will continue to try to find additional solutions. Special thanks to Westchester County Legislator David Imamura who has been working on this initiative with Senator Gillibrand.
PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor
APRIL 15–SUSTAINABLE WESTCHESTER HAS NEW ROLE IN WESTCHESTER ENERGY UNDER NEW INTERIM PRESIDENT
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AUGUST 14– GOVERRNOR HOCHUL HIGHLIGHTS “LET THEM BUILD” AGENDA–SHOWS MIXED-INCOME PROJECT UNDER CONSTRUCTION
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Common Sense Reforms to State Environmental Quality Review Act Will Speed Up Building of Housing Localities WANT
Agenda Will Cut Red Tape That Delays the Building of Critical Infrastructure Like Clean Water, Green Infrastructure and Parks
State Will Establish Clear Timelines for Environmental Review, Standardize and Simplify Review Process, and Expedite Major Project
Governor Kathy Hochul today joined Capital Region leaders on a tour of Sol Apartments, a mixed-income housing project in Troy that is underway to highlight her “Let Them Build” agenda, a series of landmark reforms to speed up housing and infrastructure development and lower costs as part of her 2026 State of the State.
This initiative will spur a series of common sense reforms to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) and executive actions to expedite critical categories of projects that have been consistently found to not have significant environmental impacts, but for too long have been caught up in red tape and subject to lengthy delays. Together, these actions will make it easier to build the housing and infrastructure that localities want and that New Yorkers need.
“New Yorkers know all too well that the cost of rent is too high, and the only way to solve the housing crisis and bring down costs is simple: build more housing,” Governor Hochul said. “That’s why we need to cut red tape and make it easier to build housing in places like Troy faster and more affordably. When communities say yes to housing projects that won’t have an environmental impact, we should fast-track these projects and let them build.”
Sol Apartments, located at 1818 5th Avenue, is a $22 million project that entails the construction of a four-story, 55,000-square-foot building which includes 71 apartments and resident amenities such as a co-working space, lounge, community kitchen and indoor bicycle storage, with 30 percent of the apartments being available to individuals earning 65 percent Area Median Income. The building will be the first all-electric, zero-emission multifamily building in Troy. Sol will utilize geothermal heat pumps for space conditioning and domestic hot water, an air-tight building envelope, continuous insulation, triple pane windows, energy recovery ventilation and a rooftop solar photovoltaic array.
The project is receiving $1 million in funding from New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) through Round 3 of the Buildings of Excellence Competition and $2.6 million from Empire State Development (ESD) through RESTORE NY Round 7.
Today, it is too difficult to build housing and other critical infrastructure in New York: these projects can take as much as 56 percent longer to get from concept to groundbreaking compared to peer states. Longer projects equal higher costs, a challenge that is especially critical in the context of New York’s housing crisis, where the only solution to high costs and scarce homes is to build more housing faster and more affordably than before. Red tape can increase the cost of building a unit of housing in New York City by as much as $82,000. Similarly, burdensome and duplicative requirements delay needed investment in clean water infrastructure, child care centers, and parks.
Helping Our Communities Build Housing
When Governor Hochul took office, she vowed to tackle the housing crisis and bring down costs by building the housing that New Yorkers desperately need so that more hard working households and families can afford a place to call home. However, too much critically-needed housing development is forced to navigate a web of red tape created by duplicative state mandates that can add unnecessary costs and years of needless delays, despite such housing development consistently being found to have no significant adverse environmental impacts.
Studies have shown that State-mandated environmental review can slow down housing projects by an average of two years, and add hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional costs, at a time when New Yorkers can least afford to wait for the housing they need to continue to live and thrive in New York.
To speed up the development of housing to create a more affordable and sustainable New York, Governor Hochul has proposed to amend the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) to exempt from SEQRA review certain types of housing that have no significant adverse impacts on the environment. Housing exempted from SEQRA will still be required to comply with crucial State environmental protections governing water use, air quality, and protection of natural resources. The proposal does not supersede local zoning and other state and local permitting requirements, and exempted housing also must be located outside of flood risk areas in order to qualify.
Years of experience in both New York City and across the state, involving more than a thousand projects, has shown that virtually none of such projects ultimately were found to have significant environmental impacts, but nevertheless were still subject to lengthy and duplicative reviews. Governor Hochul’s reforms will cut red tape to accelerate the delivery of much needed housing and reduce the cost of building in ways that are consistent with sustainable and environmentally-protective development, driving down the cost of housing and rents across the state while protecting our natural resources.
Accelerating Critical Infrastructure Projects That New Yorkers Depend On
Governor Hochul also has proposed to facilitate the speedier, cheaper delivery of a broad range of beneficial infrastructure projects that New Yorkers depend on. Specifically, the Governor has proposed to adjust SEQRA’s classifications to exempt the following important categories of infrastructure that meet specific environmentally-protective criteria from additional SEQRA review to start serving New Yorkers faster:
- Clean Water Infrastructure: Critical water infrastructure that avoids impacts to natural resources.
- Green Infrastructure: Nature-based storm water management.
- Parks and Trails: Public parks and recreational bike/pedestrian paths
- Child Care: New or renovated child care centers
Governor Hochul’s proposal would reserve these fast-track environmental review processes for only infrastructure that would be located at previously disturbed areas, protecting our natural resources and undisturbed lands, while strengthening our neighborhoods. The Governor’s approach would yield tangible environmental benefits including improved air and water quality, and the preservation of critical habitats when compared to policies which encourage sprawl and unchecked development of natural areas.
Currently, SEQRA review timelines vary greatly across projects, creating unpredictability for local communities, project sponsors, and state agencies alike. To cut through the red tape, Governor Hochul has proposed to do the following to expedite review when SEQRA applies:
- Deliver faster decisions for local communities by setting clear timelines for environmental impact statements and driving accountability
- Streamline some environmental impact statements to cut down on review timelines for key categories of projects
- Modernize New York’s permitting processes to save time and money for localities by improving processes and utilizing new technologies
- Expedite major state infrastructure projects to serve New Yorkers faster
- Support local communities through a new permitting academy
APRIL 14—A NIGHT TO REMEMBER –114 YEARS AGO THE TITANIC WAS SAILING THE HIGH SEAS
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113 YEARS AGO TONIGHT–THE TITANIC WAS SAILING THE HIGH SEAS. THE MEMORY PHOTOS OF FATHER BROWN
WPCNR ACROSS THE EDITOR’S DESK. By John F. Bailey April 14 2026 10:45 A.M. EDT 2025: If you were an immigrant from Third Class Steerage to the United States in 1912, or a millionaire and millionairess of the Titanic gentry strolling the wide decks of the most famous luxury liner of all time taking in the salt air you had a freshening breeze in your faces, a calm sea basking being rudely parted as Titanic steamed towards New York.
The eternal waves in a quiet chop in brilliant sunshine at 11:30 AM, April 11, 1912, 114 years ago, when Father Brown took this photo in 1912 on the deck on the voyage from Southhampton to Queensland Ireland. Looking out on a sun-splashed sea at the disappearing emerald isle of Ireland, you had no idea this would be the last land you would ever see.
The Titanic, 882 feet long, 92 feet wide was the largest ship ever built by the White Star line. It is dwarfed by the cruise ships of today. But everyone who sails the ocean has heard of the Titanic and she is in their thoughts today. The Titanic, no question is one of the most remembered disasters of the Twentieth Century because of its claims: Unsinkable! Fastest ship on the sea! But it is now remembered for its horror, hubris, heroism, cowardice and sacrifice, grippingly, horrifyingly portrayed in books, cinema and exploration.
Tonight 110 years ago: The Titanic had picked up passengers in Cherbourg, France and with all its decks aglow in this picture taken by Father Brown who disembarked at Queensland gives you an image of what she looked like as she made her way across the Atlantic and on when she sank on April 14 this NIGHT at 2 A.M. in the morning, carrying with her to the bottom, 1,500 souls rich to poor. 715 passengers and crew were rescued.
APRIL 13–GOVERNOR HOCHUL FUNDS HEAT PUMP INSTALLATIONS FOR SMALL HOMEOWNERS AND SMALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS STATEWIDE
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New Green Small Buildings Program Will Accelerate Decarbonization and Lower Energy Costs for New Yorkers
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced up to $150 million in supplemental funding is now available to support the installation of energy-efficient heat pump systems in small residential buildings across New York State. The funding, administered through New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s (HCR) Green Small Buildings Program, will help expand access to clean heating and cooling technologies while reducing emissions and improving affordability for homeowners and renters.
“New York is continuing to lead the nation in building an affordable and more sustainable future,” Governor Hochul said. “By investing in modern, energy-efficient heat pump technology for homeowners and small buildings, we are lowering utility costs, reducing harmful emissions and ensuring more New Yorkers can live in safe, comfortable and climate-friendly homes.”
As part of the State’s $1 billion Sustainable Green Futures program, the Green Small Buildings Program supports the installation of high-performance heat pumps and related upgrades that enable building electrification across New York State. It is expected to expand access to clean energy upgrades for single family homes and small-scale residential buildings, including those serving low- and moderate-income households, while supporting local economies and advancing New York’s transition to an all-electric building sector.
The funding is now available as a supplemental resource to various existing small building development grant and loan programs administered by HCR as well as through the State of New York Mortgage Agency’s mortgage programs, allowing for streamlined delivery and faster implementation and ensuring broad geographic access throughout the State.
To ensure high-quality outcomes, all projects will be required to meet program guidelines developed in coordination with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s Clean Heat program. These standards will ensure best practices in installation, performance and long-term energy savings.
APRIL 11 — PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE DAY: SUNNY SEVERE CLEAR HIGH IN THE 60S WINDY
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SUN RISE 6 AM WHITE PLAINS NY USA
NOW HERE’S SUNNY! 6:15 A.M. “GOOD MORNING WHITE PLAINS NEW YORK USA HOW ARE YA? WHERE IT’S 40 SUNNY WPCNR DEGREES HIGH IN THE 60S”