Episode 18: Little Mermaid, The “Live Action” Movie Deep Dive
OUTTAKE: In finding our selfie for the episode cover photo, we gave an impromptu super-simple synopsis: Turn the volume up real loud for when Moraya introduces the episode. She speaks softly into the microphone, saying: “Today we talked about The Little Mermaid. We talked about relationships and race. And some random things about how some white people got dizzy.” Nailed it.
Brandon and Katie are titillated to have special guest expert Moraya Seeger DeGeare MA, LMFT, into the podcast studio to deep dive all through the live action remake of The Little Mermaid, staring Halle Berry. Moraya is a relationship and race specialist (she's an intersectional relationship and race therapist with BFF Therapy, a therapist and sex advice columnist for Refinery29, and the In-House Relationship Expert for Paired.com). Moraya is generationally mixed race, Brandon is Black and married to a white woman, and Katie is super white bread white.
Covered In This Episode:
Kid Takes
ie Brandon's son's "beef with Flounder."
ie Moraya’s daughter’s reaction of “That’s ME!!!” when she sees Arial first emerge from the water and flip her hair.
ie Moraya’s son considering Arial’s shark attack strategy: “If only she would have the shark flip onto its back…and then it would be really calm…” Moraya responded: “This isn’t Octonauts”
How we feel about "Live Action" Remakes.
Relationships, Trauma, and Un-Attended To Trauma Presenting Later In Life.
Was Ariel’s Dad a misogynist? Or a product of his life trauma and pain. Why is he so strict? Moraya asks: “What does trauma do to our bodies? Is it misogynist, or is it parenting from a trauma that has not been attended to?”
Racism.
Little Mermaid Deep Dive Bits are sprinkled throughout this episode.
Sometimes we refer to the original book version of The Little Mermaid.
You will laugh out loud with and by yourself during this episode. It’s a must-listen. Travel through trauma theory, which can be comforting, and relish in a movie review. Take as long as you need.
HEADS UP: This episode is 1.5 hours because we let The Little Mermaid movie played in the background as we discussed it. Before we knew it, the movie was over, and it was 1.5 hours later. We could have split this up for you into 3 episodes, but we figured you wanted it in one episode, and could pause un-pause at your leisure.
Episode 17: The Barbie Movie Review (and why the Kenergy?)
SPOILER ALERT: This entire description and episode is filled with spoilers.
Co-hosts Brandon and Katie explore the Barbie movie from their perspectives as a tall Black man who loves superheros, and a not as quite as tall blond white woman who just stepped off her own moving sidewalk. They munch on topics from the movie including why Kenergy was introduced at all; would this movie have grossed over a billion dollars had the Ken story not been explored?; could Irrepressible Thoughts Of Death Barbie have carried it on her own?; the background of the co-creator and star Margot Robbie and writers Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach; more exploration of Gloria’s (America Ferrera) character; and why Barbie wanted to see the gynecologist as soon as she decided to feel feelings and gain anatomy like a vagina in the Real World.
Additionally, these topics (and more) are covered:
Why was this movie all about Ken?
In the “I’m Just Ken” song, was it okay that he was singing about his “blond fragility?” Was that a spoof off the now trending term “white fragility” and if so, does that weaken the term “white fragility?” Why or why not?
Why did the writer Greta Gerwig, who is known for her quietly fierce and poetic style of female centered character studies, insist that her life partner Noah Baumbach, known for an absurdist style compared to Wes Anderson and Woody Allen, co-write the movie?
Would the movie have grossed over a billion dollars, placing Greta Gerwig as the first female director to have solo directed a movie, if Kenergy had not taken over? Could Irrepressible Thoughts of Death Barbie have carried it?
But was it refreshing and necessary to see male vulnerability and explore unrealistic expectations?
What happened to Gloria’s (America Ferrera) Irrepressible Thoughts of Death Death Barbie?
Why wasn’t Gloria financially rewarded for her high grossing concept of Ordinary Barbie?
Why did Gloria propose Ordinary Barbie to the CEO instead of the darker Barbies she was drawing?
Why was Barbie dressed down wearing pale yellow and flat hair by the end?
Why was going to the gynecologist the first thing Barbie did in the real world? Was it because she now had a real vagina and feelings and wanted to feel and explore them?
Episode 16: “Intentional Styling” with Danielle Pitts and Tahira Willis
Hair, Hair Everywhere, by Danielle Pitts.
Sitting in the hair stylist chair is a therapy session. After years of sitting in the chair at Total Beauty Salon (formerly Salon Dae), co-host Katie knows the back story of at least two of the stylists there: Danielle Pitts and Tahira Willis. Danielle is the former owner of Salon Dae. She recently sold the salon to one of her stylists (but still rents a booth to service her guests), after deciding to invest her time into her new child and family after sending her older twins to college, and publishing her children’s book, Hair Hair Everywhere, that celebrates muli-cultural hair with a high Black presence. Meanwhile, Tahira always styled hair, but held different jobs, including at daycares and at Walmart. And yet, she always styled hair and did lashes. Having been identified and encouraged by her friends, Tahira was pushed and pulled into her styling profession. “We bullied you into it,” Danielle laughed. Tahira and Danielle explain how they put themselves into this profession, once the seed was planted in each of them. “Sometimes characters build, and strength is recognized through being pushed to a certain limit. It was all out of love.”
This podcast episode is done from the chair, and even in the rinse sink.
Episode 15: The Costellos: Their Love Story and 6th Album Release, “Hold On”
Recorded live in the old Citizens Bank on Beacon’s Main Street during the inaugural Beacon Bonfire festival on November 4th and 5th, 2022, The Costellos sat with Brandon and Katie of the "Wait, What Is That?" podcast to discuss their latest album, "Hold On," which contains a love song heavy with longing written and sung by Lynn Johansen for her husband, Bobby Costello, inspired by 7 weeks of being apart for travel.
During this episode, The Costellos previewed two tracks from their new album, and shared the songs' backstories. The Costellos are local and nation-wide performers, but also write love songs for wedding ceremonies of friends and family. They shared their own love story, which started when Lynn hired Bobby's band to play for the restaurant she owned with her husband at the time, Blueberry Hill in Fishkill (now the restaurant Eleven 11). Four years later and after divorce, Lynn and Bobby had been writing and performing, and she proposed to Bobby before going on stage to perform at Woodstock, where they opened for Todd Rundgren.
Thirty years later, they continue to write and perform music together. This episode explores how they do that.
On the stage Bobby C and Lynn have performed with a number of major acts including: Jon Bon Jovi, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, The Crash Test Dummies, NRBQ, Reverend Horton Heat, Danny Kalb (former member of the Blues Project) America, Pure Prarie League, Belinda Carlilse, and Jim Lauderdale. They were also a featured act at Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties, NY.
The Costellos have produced 5 records: “Sygtagma Square,” “Roman Times,” “Outside of Paris,” “Darktime,” and “This Night,” which are all presently offered on iTunes, Amazon, and cdbaby. “Hold On” is their lateste album, and recorded and engineered by Scott Hull, at his studio Masterdisk. It was co-produced by Art Labriola.
Episode 13: Kamel Jamal On His Love For Palestine And Devotion To Its Liberation
Kamel reviewing questions before our podcast inside of his restaurant, WTF, as Brandon sets up the recording equipment.
Kamel Jamal speaks of his love for Palestine and devotion to its liberation in a quietly sad yet solid voice after completing one of his toughest days as chef for one of his restaurants, Beacon Bread Company. During the early summer days of May 2021, after families in the Palestinian neighborhood, Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem, banded together to protest their scheduled displacement by occupying Israeli forces, the world awoke to the plight of Palestinians and their inability to survive in Palestine, as homes are demolished by their occupiers, electricity is limited, water is supplied undrinkable, and packages are confiscated. All of which is nothing new, but more people started paying attention.
Hudson Valley residents marching for a free Palestine in May 2021. Read the article and watch videos of speakers here.
Photo Credit: A Little Beacon Blog
Kamel emerged from a prayer session to get through the tough day - the grounding and peaceful Islamic ritual practiced at least 5 times a day by Muslims - to share with us his lived experience as a Palestinian refugee; immigrating to America at the age of 2 on a sponsored visa his father’s friend arranged; his experience passing through heavily guarded Israeli checkpoints that Palestinians and visitors must pass through to get to work or vacation; his interpretation of the keffiyeh (the black and white Palestinian scarf); his reaction to 9/11 and how he felt Islam was hijacked; who he donates to in Palestine and why; his admiration of the Jewish faith and why it should not be confused with Zionism; and why he believes Palestine will be free.
Kamel is the owner of Ziatun, Beacon Bread Company, and WTF. He recently sold Tito Santana, previously sold Végétalien in Beacon and Angelina’s in Cold Spring. Does his love for people in Palestine impact his businesses? Not really. Many people have expressed how at home they feel in his restaurants. His staff is supportive, and his love for food and culture shine through. He pursues many ways of resisting, including designing merchandise that encourages supporters to resist through food. There are rare occasions when a person who does not support Palestinian freedom steps into the warm atmosphere of Ziatun, which features styles from Kamel’s Palestinian home, and leaves a bad review based solely that the restaurant proudly identifies as Palestinian.
What can you do? Stay - thrive - in business. Make good food. Enjoy happy customers. Sometimes an act of resistance is simply existing.
The Institute For Middle East Understanding
Reclamation Magazine (Instagram and Website)
Muna El-Kurd (when she was arrested, and when Time Magazine recognized her and her brother Mohammed El-Kurd)
Beaconites and Hudson Valley Residents March For Palestinian Liberation In May 2021
“The Way Home: Kamel Jamal, Chef and Restaurateur of Ziatun” - edible Hudson Valley
“Resistance Through Food” - Highlands Current
“Feeding Beacon During The Crisis, With Kamel Jamal” - Beaconites Podcast
“Ziatun in Beacon just one of Kamel and Lena Jamal's restaurants” - The Poughkeepsie Journal
Episode 12: To Weed Or Not to Weed: Does Legalized Cannabis Include Smoking In Beacon Parks?
As the City of Beacon considers a smoking cannabis ban on its public parks, Katie and Brandon discuss if people even want to smoke cannabis in public parks, and if the the smoke should be allowed to drift. Now that New York State has made smoking cannabis legal - partly in the name of removing racial discrimination from enforcement - the once criminalized aroma can be all around us. Can people re-wire their brains to not associate negative thoughts with smoking? Does regulating open-air of cannabis take a step backwards from attempting to remove discrimination?
To Attend The Public Comment Meeting On 8/2/2021:
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the City of Beacon City Council will be holding the City Council Workshop and Meeting of August 2, 2021 in the Courtroom at 1 Municipal Plaza, Beacon, NY 12508. The meeting will simultaneously be streamed via Zoom. The public can attend in the Courtroom, or access the meeting via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88375353313?pwd=ZUNRTkkzdXJpbU5uQWlXeTlvSytKQT09
Webinar ID: 883 7535 3313 Passcode: 544508. To the extent internet access is not available, the public can attend and comment via telephone by dialing + 1 929 205 6099 and entering the Webinar ID: 883 7535 3313 Passcode: 544508.
PLEASE TAKE FURTHER NOTICE, that the City Council Meeting of August 2, 2021 at 7:00 pm can be accessed live at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPpigGwZDeR7WYmw-SuDxg
Episode 11: Disney Discussion Part 2
Brandon and Katie’s first Disney discussion was so riveting, Katie’s sister wanted to come onto to the show to voice her very strong opinions about why she’s not a Little Mermaid Fan, her questions about Elsa from Frozen, and why Hans as a duplicitous character is allowed to make an appearance at all.
Episode 10: We’re Back! Disney Discussion Part 1
Brandon and Katie are BACK! It’s been an entire pandemic (for Dutchess County…several parts of the world are continuing to get crushed). To grease our wheels, Brandon breaks into song to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Katie ends the segment by singing the Little Mermaid’s “Part Of Your World.”
What started as a planned pod about Disney presentations of female and family values, turned into an improv jazz session, if you will, covering random but important topics, including (but not limited to):
Brandon’s experience taking the vaccine. He was afraid and walked out at first. He returned, got the J&J, and had an epiphany.
Aliens and NPR.
Mother’s Day and the actual possible meaning of it - a new discovery? And how TV-dinners relate to that.
Door Dash, and how it’s helping, but hurting restaurants when customers don’t understand how the 3rd party delivery apps work, and blame the restaurants for late food. It’s the app! Call the app! Ease up on the restaurants.
Katie’s conspiracy theory about space trash and Russia.
Palestine-Israeli conflict escalated this week. We touch the topic, to try to begin to understand it.
Lion King. The original animated from Disney. Bringing it back to the original intent of this podcast.
Part II will revisit the other movies we wanted to discuss. But listen to this one first!
Episode 8: Justice McCray And The Origins Of Beacon4Black Lives
When A Little Beacon Blog shared its first article about the first protest in Beacon, NY, a person in Facebook commented: “Is there racism in Beacon?” As a white person living in Beacon, it can feel idyllic. Nice yards. Beautiful (but balmy) weather. Wonderful mountain. Charitable community. All the things one could want in a small town. But if one opens their ears and eyes, to listen to how their Black friends ands neighbor really feel, one may begin to admit to themselves that all places in America are racist, and now is the time to recognize it, learn it, admit it, and move into a new space that actively rejects it. People in their 40s were raised to believe that color doesn’t matter. Color blindness was encouraged. So blindness happened.
This social revolution has revealed is a silent segregation, where experiences felt by Black people might not make it to the white community’s ears, or if it does, may fall on deaf ones. Even well meaning deaf ears. After the 5th protest, a person in Instagram commented: “The riots ended in Beacon 40 years ago,” alluding to the “racial disturbance” the Poughkeepsie Journal headlined it years ago, when the youth between Beacon and Cold Spring heated up. It’s why the Spirit of Beacon Day was created - as a way to work together - or numb the pain.
Justice McCray is a young Beaconite, known for his work at the Howland Public Library, Split Rock Books in Cold Spring, his past work on the Human Relations Committee years ago, and his colorful and artistic expressions in his Instagram. As what has happened with several Black people at the beginning of this social revolution and movement to make Black lives matter more after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Justice began responding to his friends and followers in Instagram and in real life, as he dove in to the water rapids with swift currents that has become this revolution.
Along with other people he knew years ago in his super-youth, Justice stepped into an organizing roll of the group Beacon4Black Lives. “We're out here with the sole intent of listening to the whole community,” he told us during this episode, “to build safety and build community.”
Justice has dedicated most of his free time attending City Council meetings, organizing and leading protests down Beacon’s Main Street, supporting protests in sister cities, curating speaking and performance events after each March, showing up for sister organizers in their specialties - all in the name of spreading the word and experience of Black and Brown people, in order to create a safer, more comfortable environment, he says.
In this podcast episode, we learn that Justice, who has a vast collection of capes, never had a super hero role model growing up. He tells Brandon and Katie that there was no one who looked like him that he could identify with. “I strive to be the hero that I never had.”
Justice reveals on this episode:
Visions for a community center.
Visions for public WIFI.
Why defunding the police - or a lowered budget - is the first mission of Beacon4Black Lives, and not the only budget they are focusing on.
How they are just getting started.
Justice also reveals the 2 super powers he wished he had: Empathetic Telepathy (to truly understand how someone is feeling), and the ability to help heal people (not to be confused with actually healing them - but helping them heal themselves).
Numbers: In this podcast, Justice mentioned how many meals Mutual Aid of Beacon helped get to people during the summer of 2020. The correct number is even more than he stated: 350 families every Wednesday and 150 families every Friday.
Episode 7: Cole Martin On Paw Patrol
Police reform and reflection is on the minds of everyone, including children. One example of confronting police influence is in children’s programming. For a minute, the long-loved cartoon Paw Patrol, which is a show that follows a boy named Ryder and a crew of pups who go on rescue missions in the community, was rumored to be canceled when police programming such as “Cops” was actually deemed to go off the air. The rumor was so strong, that even President Trump himself thought Paw Patrol was going off the air, and had his press secretary Kayleigh McEnany lament it at a press conference (USA Today had to correct her and his false statements).
Hearing the mis-information back in Beacon, 8-year-old Cole Martin fact checked the White House, and found that USA Today and many other newspapers also fact checked the president to correct him and Kayleigh, proving that Paw Patrol was in fact on the air, and thriving.
Brandon and Katie sit down with Cole Mitchell Martin, who is Katie’s son, to discover:
Why he loves Paw Patrol.
Cole’s true feelings about Optimum now that the cable and WIFI go out all the time.
Cole’s true feelings about Remote Learning, that he felt “pain” when Optimum kept going out, and how he hopes to return to the classroom.
What Cole notices about YouTube shows he follows.
Get into the mind of an 8-year-old these days, to see how this one approaches everyday things.
Episode 6: Ali T. Muhammad During The Black Lives Matter Movement
Ali T. Muhammad was born and raised in Beacon, NY, walking every day down a literal pathway between prison and public school, as his home was on the grounds. He walked the “school to prison pipeline” (and tells us about what that is on this podcast). His father was incarcerated for 12 years, and upon getting released, became the Chaplin for Fishkill Correctional Facility. Ali’s mother was a teacher at Rombout Middle School (and was Brandon’s teacher!).
Ali lived the life of a Black youth in Beacon, and continues to as a Black man in America. As a way to keep himself occupied and on a straight path, he began getting involved with local politics, getting elected as a Council Member for Ward 4 at an early age. After serving and challenging the Council and City on numerous issues, Ali participated in a series of political career challenges, including bucking the system of the Democratic Party of which he belonged to, trying to run on his own party, Stand With Ali, working with county level politicians including County Executive Marcus Molinaro, moving to Newburgh, running for Mayor there, and now fully immersing himself in connecting community groups who have come together throughout the Hudson Valley region to keep the Black Lives Matter Movement alive and working for action.
Brandon and Katie sit down with Ali to catch up with him, get his perspective on the unpleasant Pleasant Valley Blue Lives Matter counter protest that occurred during the Black Lives Matter March in that community, as well as his experience during Beacon’s Back the Beacon PD’s rally, when supporters for Black Lives Matter arrived to counter rally. Ali tells us about his true feelings about counter-protests, what “defund” means to him, and why he knows that Beacon needs community centers in Beacon for kids of all ages, who have idle time between 2pm-8pm. Maybe a Wee Play playground for an affordable housing community like Davies Terrace? And why are the public restrooms in the public parks where little kids play all run down and closed? Let’s talk about it…
Episode 5: Reuben Simmons And His Fight vs The City Of Beacon To Save His Job
UPDATE 7-30-2020: The City of Beacon is responding to a series of questions we sent to them. We are awaiting a response from them. Meanwhile, the list of questions is at the bottom of this article.
Reuben Simmons was born and raised in Beacon. He has two sisters and his parents are mixed race. That detail was never a defining characteristic about Reuben until after he spoke at an open mic at the second Black Lives Matter March in Beacon in June 2020. Usually people know him as Coach Yogi, as he coaches youth football for the Beacon Bears, and youth basketball for Beacon Hoops. He is the founder of I Am Beacon, an organization in Beacon that connects anyone in the community and helps them stay involved. Reuben works for Beacon’s Highway Department. He started years ago as a summer intern, and stuck around, making it his career. He studied Criminal Justice at Dutchess Community College, and Sociology at Catholic University of America. Reuben went on to apply that knowledge to his civil service career for the Highway Department, as well as his role for his union.
During Reuben’s speech, at the Black Lives Matter March, Reuben spoke for the first time about his career in the Highway Department. Not many people may have noticed this detail, but at one point, Reuben had been promoted within the department to become Highway Superintendent. He held that position for less than a year before he was demoted. He continues to work for the department as a Maintenance Worker.
Pictured above is a copy of the unsigned letter from the Highway Department that is referenced in this podcast, as well as in former Mayor Randy Casale’s podcast, that was circulated to City Council during the decision making process to demote Reuben. We have reached out to the City Council member mentioned in this podcast to see if she had further comment about how or if the letter impacted her voting decision on employment, and were replied to by the City Administrator, Anthony Ruggiero, with an offer to speak with himself and Lance Klein, an attorney specializing in management-side labor law for the City of Beacon’s law firm, Keane and Beane. We have responded with an invitation to them to appear on this “Wait, What Is That?” podcast if they have anything further to contribute to this story, after they listen to Reuben’s interview in this episode.
Reuben’s Resume:
City of Beacon Summer Help in parks 2002-2008
Laborer 2008-2012
Maintenance Worker 2012-2017
Highway Superintendent 2017-2018
Maintenance Worker May 2018-August 2019
Working Supervisor August 2018-March 2020
Maintenace Worker March 2020-Present
Union President for City of Beacon CSEA Local 814 unit 6662 2009-2017
While serving on the planning board with Reuben for the Rock Out For Mental Health event Reuben organized in 2019, “Wait, What Is That?” co-host Katie was writing an article about what inspired Reuben to start this initiative. She went to Reuben’s LinkedIn to get his proper job title of Highway Superintendent, so that she spelled it right and all that jazz, when she noticed that his job title was Maintenance Worker. She refreshed the screen a few times, and saw that sure enough, Maintenance Worker was above the role of Highway Superintendent.
Never having seen a job decention like that in LinkedIn, she asked Reuben about it. At the time, he stated that he was going through some things at work and wasn’t able to talk about it because of union rules. A year later, his job demotion secured and a new Highway Superintendent, Michael Manzi, promoted and voted in, Reuben took to the microphone at the Beacon4Black Lives March to share his story.
In this episode, you will hear Reuben mention a letter. During former Mayor Randy Casale’s interview, Randy also mentioned this letter. The letter was a small detail in the larger story of how and why Reuben lost his job position, but it is a detail nonetheless. The letter was typed onto a plain piece of paper, not on letterhead, and was not signed. The opening paragraph states that it was written by the Highway Department, which at the time, employed Michael Manzi before he replaced Reuben as Highway Superintendent.
As of today, Reuben continues to work for the Highway Department, and undergoes a series of complaints written up against him and placed into his file. For instance: one day last year, Reuben attended a planning meeting for the Rock Out For Mental Health event that he and Katie were on. The meeting was at 9am. Reuben was at work, with his team just down the street getting breakfast at Mr. Vs. Reuben waved to his then boss, and stepped into the meeting, which at the time was in the Telephone Building, before Katie moved offices. During the day, Reuben reported the clocking out for that meeting on his time card, yet the attendance was written up against him and placed in his employment file, which currently continues to get thicker.
This episode is long - but we kept all of the details in because they include how a job for the city works - the legal parts of it. It is a “Civil Service” job, which means that it follows rules that Dutchess County sets, and has a lot of particular details that must met, like tests taken and what happens if the City makes an offer to the first person on the job offer list, and that person declines. Like a good board game, there are a lot of rules.
Give it a listen, as it will help you follow along with the search for Beacon’s new police chief, as well as when other employment opportunities arise in this city, or any municipality you follow.
PRESS PLAY
Timeline Of Events Referenced In This Episode
“I have experienced unfair treatment, harassment, and retaliation in the Highway Department that has continued after my efforts to bring a number of issues to the attention of city management and leadership. I share my story as a response to the many narratives and rumors spread by childish individuals and because I don’t want it happening to anyone else.”
With the different technicalities in play, we have asked Reuben for a timeline of events referenced to in this podcast. To help you follow along, those events are as follows, in Reuben’s words.
Civil Service Test “Superintendent of Streets” called for by the City - 2016/2017
Simmons appointed to position - 2017
Civil Service notifies City that Simmons does not qualify to take the test because “I never held a supervisors title” - 2017
Test given - 2017
Reuben discovers that “Superintendent of Streets” is an outdated job title for the work being done - 2017
City of Beacon [allegedly] fails to reclassify job - 2018
List from test available - 2018
List “broken” in 2018 when candidate with the highest score (Mark) turns down the job offer. According to Reuben, when the top candidate turns down an offer, flexibility opens to hire other people not in the order of the list.
Anonymous letter written (shown above) in opposition to the City to offer Mark the position. Says Reuben: “Letter attacks my character. Letter pushes for the appointment of our current Superintendent Michael ‘Mickey’ Manzi.” - 2018
Anonymous letter given to City Council member, Jodi McCredo, who reads it during a private Executive Session meeting discussing Reuben’s job. Says Jodi when A Little Beacon Blog reached out for comment: “I barely remember that letter. It wasn't signed and I don't remember if it was on any type of letterhead. I brought it to the Council's attention because it seemed like the right thing to do, but I didn't think much about it since I didn't know who sent it and I don't put much weight into anything that I can't back up or verify. It was only discussed briefly in Executive Session so I'm surprised that Randy's talking about it and that Reuben even knows about it. It had absolutely no influence on any decisions.” - 2018
City appoints Manzi to Superintendent position. At that appointment, employees of the Highway Department were in the audience. When it came time to vote, Jodi turned to them to ask: “What do you guys think?” She was met with shouts of agreement and applause after she voted Yes to appointing Michael Manzi. The rest of the board also voted unanimously. Hooting and hollering happened after the vote happened, and then Mayor Casale told them to settle down, that this wasn’t a football game. None of the Black employees (3 in total) were at the voting or told of the appointment. The video of that vote is below. You can find it at minute 50:17. - 2018
Regarding Manzi Management, Reuben says: “A meeting was called for by the three Black workers under Manzi supervision to address issues that are looking to be racially motivated within the department. Nothing comes out of the meeting, and the workplace continues to be uncomfortable, hostile, and unfair for the three employees. Examples: we have been denied training opportunities, denied opportunities to gain contractual financial benefits, and holding up promotion opportunities. As well as receiving bogus write up of disciplines to be added to employees’ personal files.”
Note:
The current Superintendent of Streets, Michael Manzi, is actually listed as Highway Superintendent on the City of Beacon’s website, as of August 2020. During public City Council meetings, the City Administrator refers to the position as Highway Superintendent. While the City may change this on the website once they read it, it is noted that after Reuben lost his job for being told that there is no Highway Superintendent job, because it is really Highway Superintendent, the public listing was not changed, nor the reference to it in meetings.
FAST FORWARD
The part of this City Council meeting referenced in the podcast is at minute 51:18.
Just skip ahead on the video strip.
Questions Awaiting Response From The City Of Beacon
When Reuben first applied for the higher level position, was he encouraged to do so by Anthony Ruggiero (City Administrator) or Former Mayor Randy Casale?
When Reuben first applied for that higher level position, was it at the time called Superintendent of Streets? Or did Beacon know it to be called Highway Superintendent?
During the decision making process of appointing Reuben at that time, did you recommend that he would be good for the position and a good leader? Was this in 2017?
After Reuben was hired as Highway Superintendent, but Dutchess County said that the job title was Superintendent of Streets, did that job position (Superintendent of Streets) require a different Civil Service test? And if so, was Reuben not allowed to take that test because he had not held a supervisor’s title prior?
Was the Superintendent of Streets job title an outdated job title for the job duties that Reuben was doing after he was appointed?
Was the City of Beacon able to reclassify the job title from Superintendent of Street to Highway Superintendent? And did the City of Beacon not do that? If so, was this in 2018?
For a new hire for Superintendent of Streets, was a list made available in 2018, with a person named Mark at the top of it?
Did Mark already work for the City of Beacon? Or was he from a different city or state?
Was Mark offered the position of Superintendent of Streets, and did he declined the offer?
If he declined, does this “break the list?”
What does "breaking the list” mean in Civil Service? Does it give flexibility to hire people out of listed order?
Was the City of Beacon then able to hire Reuben to the job title he then performed duties for (but prior had been titled Supervisor of Streets) to be Highway Superintendent? Does “breaking the list” mean that the Civil Service test that Reuben was not allowed to take before, did it mean that he was no longer required to take that test?
Are the job duties different for the current Highway Superintendent than they were for 2018, 2019, and decades prior?
What is Michael Manzi’s salary as Superintendent of Streets?
What was Reuben’s salary when he was Highway Superintendent?
What is Reuben’s salary now?
Did an unsigned letter arrive to any member of the City Council, stating that it was from the Highway Department, but was not signed by any name(s)? Was it read out loud to other council members, and did it factor into anyone’s decision of appointing the current Highway Superintendent, Michael Manzi?
UPDATE: We got this answer, and it is yes. Council Member Jodi McCredo received the letter to her porch, and brought it to Executive Session, which is a private meeting that City Council has after public meetings. She read it during Executive Session. Jodi told us via email: “I barely remember that letter. It wasn't signed and I don't remember if it was on any type of letterhead. I brought it to the Council's attention because it seemed like the right thing to do, but I didn't think much about it since I didn't know who sent it and I don't put much weight into anything that I can't back up or verify. It was only discussed briefly in Executive Session so I'm surprised that Randy's talking about it and that Reuben even knows about it. It had absolutely no influence on any decisions.”
Episode 4: Lee Kyriacou: About Federal Investigation Of The Beacon Police Department Prior To 2010
Lee Kyriacou, best known for his passion for real estate development and is part of how he was elected as Mayor of Beacon in 2019, also took on the Beacon Police Department in the early 2000s. Why? Because of a lot of overtime money being spent, and what felt like excessive spending on things like four police dogs. We love dogs. Especially german shepherds. So no judgement here. But what was going on?
During the second and biggest Black Lives Matter March, which ended in an open mic session (as they all have), Lee alluded to this role he served as initiating the federal investigation into the Beacon Police Department of the dark ages, while the crowd boo-ed the letter from the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) that he tried to read to participants.
Brandon and Katie heard him refer to this accomplishment of being involved with changing the Beacon Police Department, and wanted to interview him for more intel.
This interview will shed a lot of light on the Beacon Police Department prior to 2010, when a lot of stories take place. That said, stories still happen, but this was a big period for Beacon.
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Episode 3: Randy Casale: His First Coming Out
Randy Casale is many things in Beacon. A friend. A basketball coach. A former Highway Superintendent. A former councilperson. A former Mayor of Beacon. After he completed all of these things, and lost his third mayoral campaign (after winning two), he went radio silence. Not much of a social media fan (he really didn’t like blogs, so A Little Beacon Blog barely registered on his radar as a news source), Randy experienced an awakening. During the Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement. The current Mayor Lee Kyriacou texted him that a black bench with a blue line through it that Randy dedicated to his stepson, Dustin James, a police officer who was killed in a motorcycle accident while off duty, was going to be moved from the front door of the City Council to the Police Station.
Randy took to his Facebook to protest. It was the first time he encouraged his friends to “come out of our homes” to protest the Movement, and show support for police. Brandon and Katie reached out to him for an interview about the bench, which turned into a 3 hour long interview about everything else. The Bench. The Police Department prior to 2010, when it was being investigated by the federal government. The demotion of Reuben Simmons (summer-time intern of the Highway Department who worked his way up to Highway Superintendent only to be demoted through a few technicalities and an unsigned letter).
Honestly, a lot more was in the interview. However, at Randy’s request, we cut the interview from 3 hours to 39 minutes. It’s all good. When you’re dealing with publishing, things could get ugly. So…listen to what is here now, and let it help you in your homework.
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Episode 2: Let’s Go
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Brandon and Katie feel their way through the vibe is this podcast. What will they talk about? They have known each other for 4 years (maybe more) and have talked about having a podcast for many years. So now we are here. And then our Beacon conversation takes us to talk about that house on the corner of Cross Street that is a storefront window? Brandon remembers when it was a deli and he went there daily on his way to and from the old Beacon High School. This picture is unrelated, but will do for now.
Episode 1: The Beginning
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Brandon and Katie record their first podcast. Not sure what they were going to talk about. And then Brandon brought the Brooklyn doughnuts. Which are from Connecticut. And go…