Women's History Month - Barbara Jordan

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference.

Day 12 - Barbara Jordan “My faith in the Constituiton is whole, it is complete, it is total and I am not going to sit here and be an idle spectator to the diminuation, the subversion, the destruction of the Constitution.”

Testimony befor the Houste Judiciary Committee, July 25, 1974.

Barbara Jordan won a seat in the Texas Senate in 1966, becoming the first African American state senator since 1883 and the first black woman to serve in that body.

In 1972, she was elected to the United States House of Representatives, becoming the first black woman from a Southern state to serve in the House. She received extensive support from former President Lyndon Johnson, who helped her secure a position on the House Judiciary Committee. In 1974, she made an influential, televised speech before the House Judiciary Committee supporting the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

Jordan was mentioned as a possible running mate to Jimmy Carter in 1976,^[1] and that year she became the first African-American woman to deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention.^[1] Her speech in New York that summer was ranked 5th in “Top 100 American Speeches of the 20th century” list and was considered by many historians to have been the best convention keynote speech in modern history. Despite not being a candidate Jordan received one delegate vote (0.03%) for president at the convention.

Jordan retired from politics in 1979 and became an adjunct professor teaching ethics at the University of Texas at Austin Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. She again was a keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention in 1992.

In 1995, Jordan chaired a Congressional commission that advocated increased restriction of immigration, called for all U.S. residents to carry a national identity card and increased penalties on employers that violated U.S. immigration regulations.^[2][3] Then-President Clinton endorsed the Jordan Commission’s proposals.^[4] While she was Chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform she argued that “it is both a right and a responsibility of a democratic society to manage immigration so that it serves the national interest.” Her stance on immigration is cited by opponents of current US immigration policy who cite her willingness to penalize employers who violate US immigration regulations, to tighten border security, and to oppose amnesty or any other pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants^[5] and to broaden the grounds for the deportation of legal immigrants.^{[6] (Wikipedia)}

Women's History Month - Maggie Kuhn

In recognition of Women’s History Month, Smithtown Matters is proud to recognize the accomplishments of women.  It is fascinating to learn the wonderful and interesting ways women have made their mark on the world.  Throughout March, SmithtownMatters will give a brief history of women who made a difference.

Day 11- Maggie Kuhn - Leader of the revolt against “Ageism” Founder of the Gray Panther Movement

In 1970, at the age of 65, she met with a group of five of her friends to address the problems of retirees. The group that grew out of this meeting was named the Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change. After a year, this organization had 100 members. The group was later named the Gray Panthers  in 1972. In 1973, eleven chapters of the Gray Panthers were opened. In 1975, the Gray Panthers held its first national convention in Chicago. The Gray Panthers quickly received public notoriety and grew as a national organization. In 1990, the Gray Panthers public policy office opened in Washington, D.C. Kuhn described the mission of the Gray Panthers, “In the tradition of the women’s liberation movement, the common mission of all the Gray Panther groups was consciousness-raising. Instead of sexism, we were discovering “˜ageism’”“the segregation, stereotyping, and stigmatizing of people on the basis of age.” Over the years, the Gray Panthers have been involved in grassroots activities that deal with public and governmental policies that deal with the elderly.

Maggie Kuhn died in 1995. Before her death she wrote an autobiography entitled, The Life and Times of Maggie Kuhn. She had never married and was able to be involved in many activities that helped make significant changes in the welfare of the elderly. Speaking about never being married, she said, “Many people ask why I never married. My glib response is always “˜Sheer luck!’ When I look back on my life, I see so many things I could not have done if I had been tied to a husband and children.”

Maggie Kuhn, the Gray Panthers charismatic leader changed the face of society with regard to the elderly. She was a committed, hard-working woman who at age 65 began an organization that continues her tradition of fighting for a better life for all. Her advice for those who want to make a change in the world is, “Go to the people at the top”“that is my advice to anyone who wants to change the system, any system. Don’t moan and groan with like-minded souls. Don’t write letters or place a few phone calls and then sit back and wait. Leave safety behind. Putyour body  on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind”“even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants.”

Reprint From WomenSavers - http:http://www.womansavers.com/women-who-changed-history.asp andhttp://www.essortment.com/maggie-kuhn-founder-gray-panthers-39872.html#

Another Death On Main Street - A Call To Action

Last week, yet another tragic accident occurred on main street. The papers were quick to point out that this is a dangerous section of road in the middle of a high pedestrian area.  They also quoted statistics that by design do not tell the whole story. They claim one pedestrian death since 2003. Anyone who lives around here knows this to be tragically wrong.  We have seen a young lady hit a telephone pole early in the morning. A child hit while going to music lesson. A grandmother headed to a lunch with her family. Countless others have been hurt or had very near misses but no statistics will ever be generated. Whatever happened to the couple that left the Theater in Town and were hit crossing the road?  Statistics alone cannot tell the story of our Main Street.

Many officials, State and Town have been quoted about changes that have occurred since Courtney Sipes was tragically lost. They have made some improvements like longer times to cross the street. A fence was installed to stop pedestrians from crossing in the middle of traffic. I must point out however, that most of the pedestrian accidents have occurred at the cross walks. The fence is  a practical idea that will help, but at the same time a cop out, and the cheapest way to quickly fix an overall poorly designed down town.

In 2009 I ran for Town Council. For a year I carried a design of Main Street Smithtown around to every debate and meeting. The purpose of running was to bring the issue of revitalizing our main street areas to the front of the small Town politics. Safety of crossing Main Street, a sewer district, and making the north side of Smithtown pedestrian friendly were all brought into the political debate. This was before all the recent tragedies.  The debate was friendly, and all the candidates took to supporting the ideas and concepts of a better main street.  No one disagrees that main street needs help!

Although nobody disagrees  that main street needs help, I often hear that the circumstances of accidents on Main Street are partly the cause of the driver, or even lack of vigilance of the pedestrian. As an Architect, I was trained that accidents happen from several circumstances happening at once. A poorly designed roof on a building will not collapse until a bad winter overloads it. Main Street contributes to accidents simply because it is designed for speed, not safety! The four lanes are under the state standard width for a road. The cross walks wear quickly and they are often not visible. The utility poles often restrict visibility.

If you are idealistic, you should never run for politics. A wise Smithtown politician told me that during the election. He was right, I am no politician. It is not one of my strong points. An idea of a safe and thriving town consumes me. It tears my heart out every time a tragedy occurs in this Town I love. I live and work on these streets every day.  My kids are always running around, and I fear for their safety every time they are down town.

The time is now for us to change this unsafe and unusable Main Street. With the business vacancy rate higher than any other comparable towns, and the inability for vehicular and pedestrian traffic to move through town, we are at a standstill. The four lanes of traffic that were installed in the 1970’s are too narrow and simply just not right. Consider the fact that Route 25 is only two lanes before you enter Smithtown from both the east and west.  Why would a main street area look as if you can go faster as you enter town.  The design is wrong and needs to be rethought.

A familiar answer to the four lanes in Smithtown is “The traffic must move at rush hour”. I accept that we are moving a large number of cars, but what happens at rush hour has to be considered! Anyone who has been caught in main street traffic knows that the left lane becomes a turning lane. If you are smart you keep to the right when entering town. Often we see cars backed up ten deep waiting for someone to make a left hand turn. Frustrated drivers will quickly jump to the right lane and hit the gas. If the left lane is a turning lane, we should make it a turning lane! 

Am I over simplifying the traffic problem? Absolutely! No solution to Main Streets safety is a one item thing.  Turning lanes and clearly marked pedestrian cross walks, speed enforcement, areas of refuge for pedestrians, better directional signs, elimination of the fifty year old utility poles are just a few issues. The Main Street needs a master plan. A comprehensive reconstruction of the downtown area to make it safe and revive it at the same time.  We are way over due for this!

How are we going to pay for this? I would argue that we have paid an extremely high price already.  A master plan has been promised almost every election cycle in recent years. When I ran for office in 2009, it was stated at a debate that the master plan would be completed any day now. We have not had any master plan for the Town of Smithtown since the seventy’s or even earlier. If you do not have a plan, you do not have anything! Simply talking about the town being safer is not going to make it safe. No federal or state funds can ever be asked for unless these steps are taken.

I submit the following items for consideration:

• A three lane highway with a center median and left turning lanes. One lane for going west and two lanes going east.  Left turning lanes would be limited to selected streets and entrances.
• A new sewer district to encourage revitalization of Main Street.
• Put the utilities along Main Street underground and eliminating the telephone poles that are less than six inches from the road.
• Eliminate parallel parking at the cross walk areas so that pedestrians do not walk between cars.
• Create brick style cross walks similar to what the town did on Maple Avenue.
• Create signage that encourages cars to move slowly through the down town.
• Coordinate a master plan that incorporates town parking facilities as far back as the train station. Provide signs that tell people were the public parking is.
• Enforce the speed limit.
• Create planters and areas of protection for pedestrians walking along our sidewalks.
• Fix all the sidewalks and curbs.

I ask every resident to support these ideas and any thoughtful reasonable concept for a better Main Street. I ask every elected official that has any connection to this corridor to make these concepts your own. All of these items are reliant on each to be done. You cannot cherry pick from this list because the safety of town would be compromised.  We can never eliminate tragedies on our streets, but we sure can do a lot better. The time to act is now!  Let us not wait for another tragedy.

Mark Mancini – Resident, Parent, and Business Owner

Women's History Month - Amy Beach, Gaelic Symphony

 Day 10 - Amy Beach - America’s First Female Symphonic Composer

Headlines celebrated the work as the first symphony by an American woman, stressing her gender but ignoring any nationalist implications. No critic declared it an American work; yet it fit one contemporary definition of a nationalist work, that it draw on the music of any ethnic group in the United States.

Women's History Month - Emily Warren Roebling

Reprint From National Academy of Engineering

Day 9 - Emily Warren Roebling was, and still is, considered to be the person who was in charge of the day to day construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

Emily Warren Roebling was, and still is, considered to be the person who was in charge of the day to day construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. Conceived by her father-in-law, John A. Roebling, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the largest engineering projects in America’s history. In the late 1800’s, there was no greater challenge than spanning the East River from Brooklyn to New York.

So, in 1869, John Roebling began designing the Brooklyn Bridge. Emily became involved in the Brooklyn Bridge project when her father-in-law died and her husband, Washington, took over as master bridge builder. In order to help her husband as much as she could, Emily started studying topics in civil engineering - math, strength of materials, stress analysis, and cable construction. In 1872, Washington came down with an illness that left him bed-ridden and partially paralyzed.

Now, Washington had to rely on Emily to carry out plans for completion of the bridge. Emily became such a major participant in the project that many people began to believe she was Chief Engineer. In addition to answering questions about the bridge from officials and contractors, Emily also kept all the records, answered Washington’s mail, delivered messages and requests to the bridge office, and represented Washington at social functions.

One of the most important social functions Emily attended was a meeting of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Questions had come up about her husband’s ability to head the Brooklyn Bridge project. Emily delivered a moving speech on behalf of her husband that ensured his position as Chief Engineer. Emily Roebling never planned on becoming an engineer. However, she accomplished what could only be describes as a huge engineering feat for that time.