Westhab is now the owner of 5 Hudson Street (the Windham) in downtown Yonkers
YONKERS, NY: Westhab has purchased a site where they have been providing affordable housing and services since 1984.
For decades, Westhab had a handful of properties in its portfolio, including Westhab Limited Partnership Number One, also known as the Windham.
Westhab had leased the abandoned hotel in 1983 and converted it into 63 Single Room Occupancy units for both homeless and permanent residents.
This allowed Westhab to help address the mushrooming homeless population in Westchester County in the 1980s while also continuing to pursue its primary mission of creating more affordable housing.
In the mid-2000s, the aging Windham got a full makeover, including structural work and converting to a capacity of 45 tenants, with 15 new studio apartments for disabled veterans.
Some thought Westhab would not be able to afford to buy the Windham when the current lease expired in 2031.
This caused Westhab began negotiations with the Windham’s ownership that led to the $2.2M deal.
Help came from the Westchester County New Homes Land Acquisition funding program.
There was also financing from the Leviticus Fund to help Westhab seal the deal.
Verris Shako, an experienced attorney, has been endorsed by the Democratic Party to run for Yonkers City Court Judge.
The General election this year is on November 3, 2020.
There are three openings for Yonkers City Court Judge this year and Verris Shako would like you to cast one of those judicial votes for her.
Verris has protected the rights of Yonkers residents. She has represented clients on matters involving criminal, family, and traffic law in Yonkers City Court as well as in many other courts in Westchester County.
After years of practice, Verris started her own law practice in 2009.
She has litigated felony matters to verdict as well as conducted trials in family court.
Verris understands the law and the importance of giving both sides an opportunity to be heard before deciding on a case.
She believes in Justice.
She will bring that experience and dedication with her to the bench.
Verris has fought for and understands the importance of protecting the rights of parents, grandparents and children.
She understands that legal decisions affect everyone in a family.
By running for Yonkers City Court Judge, she aims to protect Yonkers families by ensuring their right to be heard and their cases are resolved in a fair and impartial manner.
As a Judge, Verris will bring her many years of dedication to advocating and finding solutions for Yonkers residents to all litigants that will appear in front of her.
Verris is a member of many local organizations and associations including the Yonkers Lawyers Association, Westchester County Bar Association, Westchester Women’s Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Westchester Black Bar Association, Aquehung Women’s Democratic Club and the Yonkers chapter of the Black Women’s Political Caucus.
Verris is grateful for the support she has received as a candidate for Yonkers City Court Judge.
Verris grew up in Westchester County and has lived in Yonkers for over sixteen years.
She is happily married to her biggest supporter, her husband Lucson.
Verris and Lucson are the proud parents of two children.
Verris serves as a class parent and sits on the PTA board of a Yonkers Public School.
Verris is also a Yonkers Girl Scout Troop Co-leader for kindergarten and first grade girls.
Verris is strongly committed to serving her community and is honored to receive the Democratic Party’s nomination.
Verris is personally fulfilled by her work as an attorney and says she will continue to protect the rights of the residents of Yonkers as a Yonkers City Court Judge.
Joe Kenner is the President and CEO of Greyston, a pioneering open hiring bakery in Yonkers, NY
YONKERS: It was not long ago when inclusive hiring (sometimes called second-chance hiring) was all the rage across the U.S.
In February, U.S. unemployment was at 3.5 percent, the nation was reckoning with its mass incarceration problem, and various business organizations were busting myths about what’s involved with hiring people who have criminal records.
The Ban the Box campaign, around since 2003, was also gaining more supporters.
Fast forward a few months and now, almost no one is talking about inclusive hiring. And speaking of rage, there’s currently a different form of it sweeping across the U.S.
One company that has not shied away from inclusive hiring despite the current crises is Greyston Bakery, which has long been churning out brownies in Yonkers, New York, and includes Ben & Jerry’s amongst its customers.
For Joseph Kenner, who has been with Greyston since early 2018 and was named CEO of the company this past April. no other employee engagement option exists other than inclusive hiring.
From Kenner’s point of view, the convergence of COVID-19, the protests stemming from the murders of Black Americans including George Floyd, and the current economic crisis makes hiring the most vulnerable even more of an imperative, especially since many people with criminal justice histories never got a “first chance” at employment in the first place.
Greyston has already gone above and beyond its mission of employing the last hired and first fired to bake brownies. Two years ago, the company opened the eponymous Center for Open Hiring, a space where business leaders can learn more about the “open hiring” human resources model. Greyston and the staff running the center are spreading the word on inclusive hiring however they can. Next, they’ll host a seminar on Tuesday, July 14. The event has the goal to show leaders the value of investing in employees, “rather than screening them out.”
Open hiring seeks to turn the human resources model on its head. Most companies expend their resources screening out people. But with open hiring, companies commit to training, learning, development, benefits and a culture of support.
The process is simple: In Greyston’s case, applicants are asked for the name, contact information and if they can stand on their feet for a full day’s shift.
Plus, Greyston employees need to be able to lift 50 pounds, as baking 8 million or so pounds of brownies and blondies a year requires moving around lots of huge bags of flour and sugar.
At a time when companies are making bold statements about standing with Black Americans and promising to build more diverse workforces, Joseph Kenner and his company doesn’t have to pledge anything – it is hiring now.
