Tuckahoe Village Departments

TUCKAHOE TALK
With Mayor John Fitzpatrick

Class Trip

March, 2010

Even when I was a young student I was never one for organized trips; perhaps it was the stinky bus syndrome that soured me on the whole thing. So it felt odd to attend the equivalent as an adult and, worse still was that I was part of organizing such an excursion minus any bus, of course. The trip was to our nation’s capital, Washington DC.

Several months back Deputy Mayor Ecklond and I approached Congresswoman Nita Lowey about Tuckahoe Government and their families visiting Washington DC. While anyone is free to tour the many attractions, monuments and memorials of the city, entrance into the White House now requires one to contact their congressperson.

The world of terror threats has changed what we once took for granted. After September 2001, the White House was closed for several years al¬together to the public. Thankfully, this important symbol of our country was eventually reopened. I find it peculiar that people have recently “crashed” the White House, since it took nearly three months for the Village Board, the police chief, the DPW superintendent and their families to be cleared by the Secret Service. It was nevertheless worth the wait, even though our visit to this building was regrettably not graced with a glimpse of our president. It seems that President Obama had a more important meeting upstairs with the president of Haiti. Several of our group did see Bo, the first family’s Portuguese water dog out on the lawn. I, however, missed it.

Our tour to the Capitol building was less impressive. This saddened me because I believe the Capitol to be our national stage or village hall if you will. While it is remarkable to contemplate the great visionaries and intellects that have roamed its halls, our particular tour was plagued by several technical malfunctions and a guide ready to start his weekend. At the torturous conclusion Police Chief Costanzo didn’t miss the opportunity to point out how little juice I had in DC. It seems mayors, whether from Tuckahoe or Wasilla, don’t get much play in the big league of Washington. Unfortunately, Congresswoman Lowey had a commitment to attend an event home in the district so she wasn’t available to see us on this trip. Not that we would have wanted to take her away from the many pressing matters facing our nation but she can definitely get into the good places.

That day, for example, inside the Senate chambers our representatives were debating health care, and our tour went nowhere near the action. Personally, I am in favor of health care reform. Some things in my opinion require legislators to take action, regardless of whether it is viewed adversely. I am sure many were opposed to women’s right to vote, and civil rights, but they were not only necessary, they were righteous. Congress, in my opinion is supposed to be tackling lofty issues such as these instead of wasting time on pointless non-binding resolutions.

I just wish it was the insurance companies that were made to walk the proverbial plank with the legislation; yet they appear to be beyond any control. In Tuckahoe each year our insurance premiums inevitably rise. This isn’t just for the health coverage of our workers, but our liability premiums as well. We are continually switching companies in search of the best deal, but ultimately they are all a rip off. Most of us are beyond wondering why this is so and simply brace for higher rates. For those questioning the never ending increase policy, I offer this example as reasoning.

Not too long ago an independent contractor fell off the library roof while power washing the building. He clearly didn’t have his safety equipment on and was hanging over while at¬tempting to perform the job. He sustained many serious injuries and we were concerned for him. Then this knucklehead decided to sue our village as if we were at fault. Our insurance company in its infinite wisdom decided to settle for nearly a million dollars rather than go to court. Now ultimately all of us pay through raised premiums when these con artists just settle.

Forgive me though I digress, back to the class trip. Whether it was the Lincoln Memorial, the Smithsonian Air and Space museum, the Vietnam Memorial, or the National Mall or simply the remarkably clean streets, each was impressive and inspiring. Overall, DC is a great destination and I recommend you visit or revisit our nation’s capital soon.

That being said though when one visits a place such as this there is a hope to learn some¬thing profound, but I left with a feeling that national government could learn from its smaller counterparts. The Tuckahoe Village Board consists of both Democrats and Republicans and while there is debate and disagreement, we still manage to move forward with legislation every month aimed at protecting the interest of our residents. Finally, since many residents are familiar with reading about trips by Housing Authorities or Charlie Rangel on someone else’s dime, I am happy to disclose that no lobbyists or government money was spent during the making of this historic trip to Washington DC.