The three-person race for Albion mayor, plus four people seeking two other board seats, brought out 23.4 percent of the registered voters or 710 of 3,031.

Angel Javier Jr. was elected mayor with 378 votes to 195 for Vickie Elsenheimer and 137 for Kevin Graham.

Tim McMurray and Joyce Riley were elected trustees with 440 votes and 326 votes, respectively. Other trustee candidates included Dan Conrad with 301 votes and Sandra Walter with 206.

The candidates bought ads, put out yard signs, sent mailers and many went door-to-door. That 710 voter turnout was up from 614 in March 2018 when there was also a three-person race for mayor that was won by Eileen Banker over Joyce Riley and Kevin Doherty.

One of the trustee candidates in Tuesday’s election, Sandra Walter, said during a candidate forum that she would support moving the village election to June, like in Holley and Brockport. She thinks there would be a bigger turnout in warmer weather and candidates could more easily connect with voters.

In Medina, the turnout was only 1.2 percent for the election with 39 voters out of 3,389. However, the candidates were all unopposed with Mayor Mike Sidari and Trustees Marguerite Sherman and Tim Elliott.

They were also unopposed on the ballot in the previous election in September 2020. That election was moved back six months due to Covid restrictions.

There was a write-in campaign in that election that brought more people to the polls with Sidari winning 104 to 59 for Mary Hare. Sherman had 124 votes and Elliott received 118, to 56 for Charles Hartway.

Press Release, Parks & Trails New York

BROCKPORT – Parks & Trails New York, the New York State Canal Corporation, and the Village of Brockport are excited to jointly announce that Brockport has been selected as the pilot community for the new Empire State Trail Town program. The program will help Brockport benefit from its location along the Erie Canalway Trail/Empire State Trail.

As part of the program, PTNY staff will provide technical assistance and resources to help the community attract and profit from the growing bicycle tourism market, improve the trail and infrastructure for those that walk and bike in the Village, and establish a strong community identity tied to the trail.

By promoting and supporting Brockport as a premier destination for cyclists, the program seeks to create long-term economic, health, and quality of life benefits for the entire community and surrounding area.

“We are thrilled to be working with the Village of Brockport as the first Empire State Trail Town,” said Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks & Trails New York. “Brockport already has a great reputation and a lot to offer outdoor enthusiasts. We look forward to helping the Village build strong partnerships, create safer streets for bicyclists and pedestrians, and improve connections between the Erie Canalway Trail and Main Street businesses.”

PTNY will work with the Village to establish a diverse Trail Town steering committee consisting of representatives from local businesses, organizations, institutions, and community groups. The steering committee will assist PTNY staff with data collection efforts and research to document existing conditions in the Village, and use these findings to create a detailed action plan that includes both short and long-term goals and recommendations.

The action plan will help guide planning efforts, and will help foster collaboration between Village stakeholders and the general public on event planning, advocacy, stewardship, and marketing.

“Over the past two years, the Empire State Trail has brought bikers, hikers, and walkers and more within a stone’s throw of the very best recreation opportunities that New York has to offer,” said Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton. “This new pilot initiative will usher in a new chapter for the trail and make the Village of Brockport a premier destination for cyclists and tourists alike while bolstering the local economy and quality of life for the community. By continually reinventing the experiences and partnerships along the Canal corridor, we are providing fresh opportunities for New Yorkers to experience every corner of the Empire State.”

With the completion of the Empire State Trail in 2020, the Erie Canalway Trail— the east-west leg of the statewide system— is growing in popularity. An economic impact study completed by PTNY in 2014 showed that the ECT attracts nearly 1.6 million annual visits and generates over $250 million in annual economic impact.

Trail use figures from 2021 estimated that the Erie Canalway Trail drew over 3.1 million annual visits, including over 58,000 visits to the trail in Brockport. The popularity of the Erie Canalway Trail is increasing as is, presumably, its economic impact. Communities along the Canalway Trail system, like Brockport, are in the perfect position to build on the national publicity of the Empire State Trail.

“Brockport is proud to have been selected as the Pilot Town for the new Empire State Trail Towns program,” said Margaret Blackman, Brockport mayor. “We look forward to discovering new ways to connect our downtown businesses to Empire State trail users and see our already strong connection to the Erie Canal benefit from this collaborative project.”

The Empire State Trail Town Program will be modeled after the successful Great Allegheny Passage Trail Town program established by the Progress Fund in 2007. A recent study estimated that tourism along the 150-mile Great Allegheny Passage resulted in over $121 million in economic impact in 2019, including an estimated $19 million in tax revenue.

Bicyclists Bring Business Handbook

In order to help communities along the corridor benefit from their proximity to the Canalway Trail and take advantage of the economic benefits of bicycle tourism, Parks & Trails New York has also released an updated version of Bicyclists Bring Business: A Handbook for Attracting Bicyclists to New York’s Canal Communities.

The new guide provides background data on the economic benefits of bicycle tourism, and walks communities through the strategies that community leaders and business owners can use to attract bike tourists and tap into the bicycle tourism market.

The guide presents the essential steps of how Canalway Trail communities can benefit from trail users, including strategies to attract bicycle tourists and provide them with a positive experience. The 40-page guide features data from background research on bicycle tourism and provides numerous examples of successful strategies employed around the country.

Photo courtesy of Darren Wilson

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions Club are ready for today’s pop-up eye clinic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the White Birch Golf Club, 1515 North Lyndonville Rd.

The clinic is open to everyone in Orleans County and surrounding areas. Free prescription eyeglasses – both lenses and frames – are available and no appointment is needed.

The clinic will be staffed by a team of state-licensed doctors of ophthalmology and optometry who will determine the correct prescription glasses for each individual. The clinic is available for everyone ages 5 and older. Those under 18 will require the presence of a parent or guardian.

After testing, the eyeglass lenses will be sent out for grinding and insertion into the chosen eyeglass frames. When the glasses are ready, people will be contacted by a Lyndonville Lions Club member that they are ready to be picked up.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – The courthouse dome on East State Street is lighted up in blue and yellow tonight in a show of support for the Ukrainian people who have been under attack since Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24.

The courthouse will remain lit for the foreseeable future in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine.

“Around the world everyone is finding ways to show their solidarity with Ukrainians during this time of crisis. Orleans County stands with them,” Orleans County Legislature Chairwoman Lynne Johnson said earlier this week.

One side of the dome is blue and the other yellow.

The courthouse was built in 1858 and is the focal point of the Courthouse Square in Albion, a district that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Christine Robinson is pictured with some of the kids at Little Leapers Childcare Center, which celebrated its 20^thanniversary today.

Robinson secured her state license for the center on March 18, 2002. Back then the site was on Hamilton Street near the railroad tracks. Then it moved to East State Street near the Elks’ Lodge.

Robinson moved into the former Tiny Shoes location at the corner of Allen Road and Hamilton Street in 2011.

“The kids make you feel like a superstar,” Robinson said. “If you walk in, they’re grabbig you and hugging you.”

The kids are so excited to see Robinson and the employees if they are out in community, even if it’s years past when they were at Little Leapers.

The childcare center has room for 70 children. There is currently a waiting list. The site opens at 5 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Christine Robinson, owner of Little Leapers, is pictured with two long-time employees, Jamie Hickman (left) and Ethel Taylor (right).

Little Leapers has 18 employees and serves children ages 6 weeks to 12 years old.

Little Leapers follows a curriculum with kids being read to, learning sign language and vocabulary, and good manners are emphasized.

At Little Leapers, the motto is: “where your child leaps ahead.”

Christine Robinson works with her daughter Kourtni Mietlicki, who is the teacher in the one-year-old infant room.

Mietlicki said her mother does a great job managing the pressures of running the business.

“She can stay calm in any situation,” Mietlicki said. “She can figure out any type of issue, whether with a staff member, a kid or a parent.”

Press Release, Lyndonville Lions Club

LYNDONVILLE – The Lyndonville Lions Club wishes to remind everyone in Orleans and surrounding counties that they will be hosting a one-day-only pop-up eye clinic this Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the White Birch Golf Club, 1515 North Lyndonville Rd.

The purpose of this clinic is to provide free prescription eyeglasses – both lenses and frames – to everyone who attends. The clinic is open to everyone. No appointment is needed – simply show up. And, except for name, address and phone number, no other information or identification is required.

The clinic is staffed by a team of NY State licensed doctors of ophthalmology and optometry who will determine the correct prescription glasses for each individual. You will then have a wide selection of several hundred pairs of frames available to choose from – both in children and adult sizes – and optometrists will assist in proper measuring and fitting of your chosen frames. The frames are in as-new condition. Again at no charge.

If you, someone you know, a family member, your child or grandchild may be in need of glasses – or if your current glasses are damaged or your current prescription lenses are dated – this is the perfect opportunity to get better vision at no cost.

The clinic is available for everyone ages 5 and older. Those under 18 will require the presence of a parent or guardian. After testing, the eyeglass lenses will be sent out for grinding and insertion into your chosen eyeglass frames. When your eyeglasses are ready, you will be contacted by a Lyndonville Lions Club member that they are ready to be picked up. No gimmicks or strings attached.

The Lyndonville Lions are proud to host this extraordinary event. We remind everyone that this clinic will only be held for one day this year in Orleans County. The clinic will not return again until next year.

“The Lions historical mission centered around sight and vision,” said Darren Wilson, the club president. “Thus, this eye clinic provides our Lyndonville Lions an opportunity to return to our roots and that original core focus.”

By Ginny Kropf and Tom Rivers

Photo by Ginny Kropf: The hotel on Maple Ridge Road is branded is a Comfort Inn & Suites. It is owned by Medina Hospitality, a group of investors from the St. Mary’s, Pa. area.

MEDINA – A new hotel with a national brand opens unofficially today on Maple Ridge Road. The site already has many reservations throughout the year, with people taking rooms while in the area for weddings and other events, said Teddy Rhim, general manager.

“The phone has been ringing off the hook,” Rhim said. “And the meeting room is selling like crazy.”

Rhim and Todd “Booka” Hanes, one of the owners of the hotel, hosted the Medina Sandstone Society on Wednesday evening for their annual meeting. There is a display about Medina Sandstone in the front lobby. Some local Medina photos also are on the wall in the meeting room.

The hotel has 58 rooms, which include seven suites. Supply chain issues delayed the opening, but the last piece, installing cable for all of the televisions in the rooms, is now complete.

During Wednesday’s Sandstone Society meeting, Hanes unveiled the name of the meeting room as Charmtowne. He picked that name in honor of a Medina business run by Sara Calandra, mother of Gabrielle Barone.

Barone is vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency. She pursued Hanes and his team of investors to build in Medina.

Hanes said the hotel wouldn’t be their without her encouragement – and persistence.

Todd “Booka” Hanes, one of the owners of Comfort Inn & Suites on Maple Ridge Road in Medina, is shown in one of the 58 rooms at the hotel. The Comfort Inn also has many reservations later in the year, especially among people going to weddings.

Barone had long been confident a hotel could be located in Orleans County. A feasibility study showed a hotel would in the Medina Business Park would be a success.

In 2016, Barone was on a plane going to a hotel conference in Milwaukee, when she was seated next to Hanes, a hotel developer in St. Mary’s, Pa. Hanes said they also stayed at the same hotel and had the same adjacent seats on the plane going home, allowing a lot of time for conversation.

“Gabrielle told me she wanted a hotel In Orleans County and was looking for a developer,” Hanes said Wednesday night, as he prepared for today’s soft opening of the Comfort Inn. “I told her when our project in St. Mary’s was done, if she had not found a developer to contact me.”

The rest is history. Barone was invited to the grand opening of Hanes’ hotel in St. Mary’s, and Kathy Blackburn accompanied her.

Booka Hanes pulls off the cover of the photo of Charmtowne, a ladies’ clothing store on Main Street that operated  for 15 years beginning in the late 1950s by Sara Calandra. Charmtowne will be the name for the hotel’s meeting/conference room. Teddy Rhim, left, will be the hotel’s general manager.

Hanes and several of his partners came to Orleans County, and subsequent meetings took place with then EDA director Jim Whipple, Barone and Medina mayor Mike Sidari. Medina Hospitality, the group Hanes and his partners had formed for their new hotel, broke ground on what would become the Comfort Inn in May 2019.  They were 70 percent complete when the pandemic hit 10 months later.

“All construction was shut down,” Hanes said. “When we could, we got a waiver, but contractors in other states had to quarantine for two weeks when they came into the state, and their employers did not want to pay them to sit around for two weeks.”

And so, construction stalled.

“It took a long time to put the train back on the tracks,” Hanes said. “The last few months we had issues with the supply chain, making it hard to get supplies.”

Booka Hanes unveils the photo of Charmtowne, which was operated by Gabrielle Barone’s mother. Hanes said Barone, the vice president of business development for the Orleans Economic Development Agency, was influential in convincing the development team to bring the hotel to Medina. She worked with the developers during construction challenges in the past two years of the Covid pandemic, including the supply chain shortages. “Thank you for being with us since the beginning and helping us work through the challenges,” Hanes told Barone.

Barone is thrilled with the makeup of Comfort Inn’s developers, Medina Hospitality, all of whom she said are regular, working individuals. This includes a lawyer, accountant and tool and die maker, as well as his brother, who worked for a high-end men’s clothing store.

Hanes was a restaurant owner, whose business had burned in St. Mary’s. While he waited for his insurance settlement, the city decided to create a re-development area on the block and offered to build a hotel next to Hanes’ restaurant if would give up his land.

But things moved so slow, the development fell through, so Hanes purchased another plot of ground. Then a man who was going to build a hotel couldn’t get funded and the city asked Hanes why he didn’t build one.

“I knew I couldn’t do it on my own, so I started asking friends and family,” he said.

The general partners now are Hanes, John Schatz and Mike Faulk, with Hanes as managing partner of Medina’s Comfort Inn.

Gabrielle Barone praised the commitment from Hanes and his team to bring the project to Medina. She also said she had her first job in her mother’s store when she was 13. “We want to thank you both for being here,” she said to Hanes and Rhim.

Hanes has hired a Medina native Teddy Rhim, who has years of experience in the hospitality industry. Rhim was working in West Virginia and welcomed the opportunity to come back to Medina.

Hanes explained originally the hotel was not going to be a Comfort Inn, but the opportunity to affiliate with such a large chain means bigger buying power and lower prices.

“We take pride in what we do,” Hanes said. “We respond to any complaint within 24 hours.”

Hanes said reservations have been brisk and they have booked a lot of groups coming into town for weddings. While the Comfort Inn doesn’t have a banquet hall, they do have a small bar and double meeting room capable of holding 86 people. The 58-room hotel will employ 20 to 22 people on staff. A stay at the hotel will also include breakfast.

Hanes said a ribbon cutting will be planned in the near future.

David Miller, president of the Medina Sandstone Society, presents gifts of appreciation to Rhim and Hanes while Barone thanks Hanes for bringing the new business to Medina.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – A cast of 27 Albion Middle School students will be performing Alice in Wonderland at 7 p.m. Friday, and noon and 7 p.m. on Saturday at the Middle School Auditorium. Tickets are available at the door.

This is the first full-length musical the middle school gets to perform since March 2019. The cast was a week away from performing Matilda when Covid closed the school in mid-March 2020. Last year the school did a scaled down show that wasn’t in front of a live audience. They also did a shorter show this fall.

“I’m so excited to be back and performing for an audience,” Carrie Kozody, the musical director, said today after the students gave a preview of the musical to elementary students. (The young students in the crowd giggled many times during the preview.)

This will be the first time many of the cast members, including the eighth-graders, perform in front of an audience due to the previous Covid restrictions.

There are 60 students total involved in the show, including the stage crew and production team.

Julia Button plays the lead role in Alice in Wonderland. She goes down a rabbit hole and meets many zany characters, including the The White Rabbit, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum, the Mad Hatter, the Caterpillar, the Mock Turtle, the mysterious Cheshire Cat, the Queen of Hearts and many others.

Kozody has directed the musical several times during her character. She likes the message in the show.

“Don’t be afraid to hold on to the whimsy of being a child,” she said. “Don’t be in a hurry to grow up.”

Carrie Kozody speaks with the cast and crew after a preview today. They were getting ready to go over their bows.

Kailee Anstey is Tweddle-Dee, right, and Phoebe Allen is Teedle-Dum. They are two silly and childish Wonderland characters taking Alice on an adventure.

These cards include Cerenity Johnson as No. 7, Neveya Barnes as No. 2, and ChrisJen Winters as No. 5. They are performing “Painting the Roses Red.”

Kamryn Simmons (right) plays the Cheshire Cat, one of the magical creatures in Alice in Wonderland.

Some members of the stage crew rehearse their bows today for the first time. There wasn’t a musical in 2020 and in 2021 it was online only. This will be the first chance to perform a full-length show for a live audience since March 2019.

Press Release, Assemblyman Steve Hawley

ALBANY – Assemblyman Steve Hawley (R,C,I-Batavia) is slamming proposed legislation (A.9563), introduced by Patricia Fahy, that would establish an excise tax on ammunition purchased in the state, costing sportsmen an extra two to five cents per round.

These funds would be deposited into a gun violence research fund, and while proponents of the legislation argue hunters and others who enjoy shooting sports should contribute to efforts that mitigate harm caused by firearms, Hawley argues such a tax would be an unconstitutional, onerous burden that infringes upon the Second Amendment rights of New Yorkers.

“If tomorrow it was proposed that the faithful be made to pay to freely worship, or that anyone who wanted to espouse a controversial opinion be taxed in order to mitigate the consequences of them doing so, such bills would be dismissed with disgrace,” said Hawley. “When we take our oaths of office to protect and defend our U.S. Constitution as state lawmakers, we make a commitment to defend the document in its entirety, so it’s a shame the Second Amendment has become something members of the Majority feel can be consciously ignored in their policymaking.

“While those in support of this bill argue that taxing ammunition by just a few cents a round does not place a substantive financial burden on sportsmen, the implementation of financial barriers of any kind to exercise constitutional rights sets a dangerous precedent that could enable the nickel-and-diming of our fundamental liberties in the future.

“This latest attempt to stifle criminality by inconveniencing the law-abiding may be the most dangerous we’ve seen in some time, and I’d encourage this bill’s sponsors to reflect deeply on the implications its enactment could have on the protection of their favored rights within our constitution.”

Press Release, Congressman Chris Jacobs

ORCHARD PARK – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) is announcing the NY-27 Congressional Art Competition for high school students is returning.

“I am pleased to announce the Congressional Art Competition is once again open for NY-27 high school students,” Jacobs said. “Last year we had some incredible submissions from young artists in our area, I am looking forward to once again showcasing the talent of Western New York!”

The Congressional Art Competition is a national program started over three decades ago as a way to showcase the extraordinary talent in congressional districts around the country. In NY-27, this program is open to any high school students who reside in the district, which includes Orleans and seven other counties.

Schools and students wishing to participate are urged to reach out to one of Jacobs’ district offices located in Clarence (716-634-2324) and Geneseo (585-519-4002). All artwork must be submitted between April 11 and April 15.

A reception to celebrate the artwork and recognize the winners will be held. First Place will have their artwork hung in the Capitol for all members and visitors to see. Second Place will have their artwork hung in Rep. Jacobs’ Washington, D.C. Office. Third Place will have their artwork hung in Rep. Jacobs’ Clarence District Office.

For more information on the Congressional Art Competition and eligibility requirements for artwork, interested parties can click here.

Tests going to nursing homes, adult care facilities, schools, senior centers, food banks and other sites in communities

Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office

ALBANY – Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that more than 20 million Covid-19 over-the-counter tests will be distributed across the state through the spring to bolster New York State’s ongoing preparedness efforts.

“As we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, test kits are a critical tool in the fight to stop the spread of Covid-19 and prevent exposure to others,” Hochul said. “While our numbers remain low, now is the time to ramp up the distribution of tests and build up our stockpile so we can bolster our preparedness for the future to protect our communities, and safely move forward through this pandemic.”

The state will continue to provide over-the-counter test kits to nursing homes, adult care facilities, and schools, and will partner with elected officials for continued distribution to the public, during the next few months to identify new Covid-19 cases and keep New Yorkers safe.

This includes one million tests to schools outside of New York City every other week until the end of the school year. New York City no longer receives state distributions because they have sufficient test kits to get them through the year. At home tests have proven to be an invaluable tool for identifying cases and protecting our communities; they were responsible for finding at least 15,000 positive cases among students and staff the week after the winter break alone.

In addition to these continued distributions, the state is increasing distribution points for test kits. The State will partner with Mayors, County Executives, Members of Congress, Borough Presidents and State Legislators across New York to increase access to tests for the general public.

And the State will coordinate distribution of 1.74 million tests to the NYC Housing Authority tenants, enough for each household to receive four tests. An additional 500,000 tests will be made available to various food banks and senior centers throughout the state, based on request.

More than 54 million tests have already been distributed throughout New York since the beginning of the year, including nearly 30 million tests to schools, 12.5 million tests to nursing homes and adult-care facilities, and more than 10 million tests to local officials for public distribution in their respective communities. The distribution efforts follow the procurement of more than 90 million rapid tests in recent months.

NYS Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario said, “Expanding access to over-the-counter test kits is a key part of our strategy to return to normalcy during the Covid-19 era. While getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect against Covid-19, testing is another important tool to prevent the spread of infection so we can safely return to work, school, and social activities. We commend Governor Hochul for continuing to lead New York State through this new phase of the pandemic and providing our residents with the tools they need to keep themselves and their communities safe.”

Chart from Genesee & Orleans County Health Departments.

The number of new confirmed Covid cases in Orleans County declined again in seven days (March 9-15). There were 13 new cases in Orleans, down from 15 the previous week.

In the past seven weeks in Orleans the cases have dropped from 255 from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1, 157 from Feb. 2-8, 84 from Feb. 9-15, 41 from Feb. 16-22, 29 on Feb. 23 to March 1, 15 from March 2-8, and then 13.

Genesee County also has seen a steady decline of cases until the past week, when they increased from 25 to 38.

Both Orleans and Genesee are considered to be at low Covid community levels, according to the CDC.

The 51 cases in both counties in the past week is far fewer than the Covid peak in early January when there 2,703 cases in the two counties from Jan. 5-11.

The Genesee and Orleans County Health Departments is reporting one more Covid-related death in Orleans County, bringing that total to 113 during the two years of the pandemic. Genesee County has 184 Covid-related deaths during the pandemic, according to the G-O Health Departments.

Paul Pettit, public health director for Genesee and Orleans counties, continues to urge people to get vaccinated from Covid to protect themselves and help bring an end to the pandemic.

Press Release, Congressman Chris Jacobs

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) was joined by Representatives Stefanik (NY-21), Malliotakis (NY-11), Garbarino (NY-02), Tenney (NY-22), Zeldin (NY-01), Reed (NY-23), and Katko (NY-24) in calling for SUNY Brockport to rescind its invitation to Jalil Muntaqim (a.k.a. Anthony Bottom) to deliver a speech entitled, “History of Black Resistance, U.S. Political Prisoners & Genocide: A Conversation with Jalil Muntaqim.”

“As members of Congress representing thousands of brave police officers throughout New York State – we find it unsettling that a taxpayer-funded college would believe it is acceptable to give a platform to an individual who was convicted of murdering two law enforcement officers, Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones, in cold blood, especially at a time when violent murders and ambushes of police have skyrocketed in this nation,” the Representatives wrote.

Jalil Muntaqim was convicted of the 1971 murders of NYPD Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones. Muntaqim, along with others, ambushed the patrolmen after they were lured into public housing using a phony 911 call.

“We urge SUNY Brockport to withdraw its invitation to Jalil Muntaqim immediately and to apologize to the families of Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones as well as every law enforcement officer in our state,” the Representatives said.

Full text of the letter sent to Brockport President Heidi Macpherson by the delegation can be found here:

Dear Dr. Macpherson,

We are writing today to express our deep concerns with SUNY Brockport’s recent decision to invite Jalil Muntaqim (Anthony Bottom) to speak on campus. As members of Congress representing thousands of brave police officers throughout New York State – we find it unsettling that a taxpayer funded school would believe it is acceptable to give a platform to an individual who was convicted of murdering two law enforcement officers, Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones, in cold blood, especially at a time when violent murders and ambushes of police have skyrocketed in this nation.

SUNY Brockport’s decision to label this individual a “political prisoner” is not only patently false but an insult to the thousands of actual political prisoners throughout our world who are being unjustly persecuted for their legitimate beliefs – not heinous crimes against law enforcement.

We value our Constitution above all else and the right of every American to free speech. However, this is not a question of censorship, but of the college’s responsibility to accurately represent the background and context of speakers it hosts. Someone who has been convicted of the murder of two police officers should not be given the opportunity to address young adults at a public college under the false pretext that he is a political prisoner.

We urge SUNY Brockport to withdraw its invitation to Jalil Muntaqim immediately and to apologize to the families of Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones as well as every law enforcement officer in our state for failing to properly contextualize his violent criminal past.

State Assemblyman Steve Hawley is adding his voice to opposition with Brockport State College’s planned speaking appearance on April 6 for Anthony Bottom, who was convicted in 1971 of killing two NYPD officers. Bottom, also known as Jalil Muntaqim, spent nearly 50 years in prison for the crime. He was released on parole in 2020.

Hawley issued this statement this afternoon:

“While colleges and universities are indeed places where uncomfortable conversations about controversial subjects should take place, I am deeply disappointed that members of the SUNY Brockport Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion have decided to invite Anthony Bottom, a convicted cop-killer, onto campus while framing his experiences as those of a ‘political prisoner,’ all while using taxpayer grant funding to do so.

“It is nothing less than a slap in the face for the family of the two officers he murdered, as well as those serving currently in law enforcement who face very real threats from individuals like him daily in their work.

“In speaking with administrators of SUNY Brockport, I have been reassured this decision was one that was spearheaded by a subcommittee consisting of several faculty members in conjunction with the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.

“Unless Mr. Bottom plans on speaking about how remorseful he is for his actions, he has no place on a SUNY campus, especially not as a paid speaker. I very much so hope a closer review of grant applications will be forthcoming.”