In January of 1987, when Fr. Henry Mansell, Vice-Chancellor for Priest Personnel of the Archdiocese of New York, asked me to become pastor of St. Mary's in Yonkers, he made it clear that one of my responsibilities was to be involved in City Hall and to make sure that what happened in Boston would not happen in Yonkers. My past experiences as a priest in Harlem(1963 -1973) and in the civil rights movement as well as my thirteen years teaching sociology in the college seminary(1973-1986) should make me well qualified to understand the situation in Yonkers. Also of great importance is the fact that I was born and raised in the Bronx ( as was Fr. Mansell) which would help me understand the grievances of people opposed to having housing for poor minorities in their backyards.

With that mandate I came with high hopes of being a mediator. When I was invited by Jack O'Toole, the leader of the organization, SAVE YONKERS, representing thirty community organizations opposed to the desegregation order, to dinner at his home, I thought this would be "the beginning of a beautiful relationship." We had grown up together on the same street, Andrews Ave., in the Bronx. I knew we were on opposite sides but I thought we could find a compromise that might end or at least tone down the fierce animosity that was tearing Yonkers apart. In our conversation it became clear to me that this fight had gone on so long that the lines had been drawn in cement. There was nothing I could do. In fact, he had asked me to dinner to help me persuade the Catholic Church to support his opposition.

When the Catholic pastors met with Judge Sands to try to persuade him to modify some of his plans for the 200 units of low income housing. It was suggested that perhaps Catholic Charities could sponsor the housing. This might soften the opposition, many of whom were Catholics. He replied that he had tried for two years to get Yonkers to come up with their own plans. He found them unwilling and they would do anything to delay forever the implementation. The first 200 housing for low income minorities would be done by the government - it is not negotiable.

To explain it as briefly as possible: In 1985, the City of Yonkers was found guilty of intentionally segregating its schools and housing. Following the directives of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (U.S Supreme Court affirmed this Act on June 2015), Judge Sands linked the segregated housing with the segregated schools. The remedy was not only to integrate the schools but to build housing for minorities on the east side of Yonkers. When I arrived in Yonkers in 1987 the schools were being integrated through magnet schools and the redrawing of school district lines. Although it was opposed by some residents, the integration of the schools was accomplished rather peacefully - unlike Boston. However, the Remedy Order for the housing was met with fierce opposition. The Remedy Order consisted of two parts. The first was to build 200 public housing units for minorities of low income. The second part was to finance 800 privately developed subsidized homes for low and moderate minority families in northwest and east Yonkers. This remedy order, especially the 200 public housing units, created a firestorm of opposition.

For anyone interested in reading about this very complicated history, I recommend the book "Yonkers on the Twentieth Century" by Marilyn E. Weingold and the Yonkers Historical Society, especially the section: "1988: the City's Annus Terribilis (The Terrible Year)."

During these years the clergy of Yonkers, either through the Catholic Clergy of Yonkers or the interdenominational Clergy of Yonkers (COY) or the Black Ministers Association, became deeply involved in trying to find a just and peaceful solution. There were many meetings and heated discussions. The Catholic pastors who represented twenty one parishes reflected all the different sides of the controversy. When Oscar Newman, appointed by Yonkers, came up with a plan for "scattered" housing i.e. not two large housing projects of 100 tenants each but eight townhouse style housing with a much smaller population, the clergy breathed a sigh of relief. This would be accepted by all sides.

However when the sites were announced in December of 1987, the opposition was fierce. Four of the sites were in the geographical area where most of the opposition lived and it included one (16 units) on the property of St. Joseph's Seminary. Suddenly The Archbishop of New York, John Cardinal O'Connor, was thrust into the problem. Since it appeared at first that he voluntarily offered the land, SAVE YONKERS accused him of siding with the opposition. In response, he reported that he thought that the Archdiocese was going to be forced to hand over the property and that there was no choice. After tense meetings with all sides, he came to the conclusion that the site selections were unfair because it impacted too much on one parish, St. John the Baptist. He went to the courts and successfully had the seminary property removed. In an editorial in the Herald Statesman in August of 1988 he was scolded for not doing enough to alleviate the tension. His response was a long defense of his actions in the same paper.

In the meantime loud demonstrations were held inside and outside City Hall. Since I lived just across the street, I spent many an evening absorbing the noise, especially the shrill whistles.

After defying the court order for months and faced with fines that would bankrupt the City (and possible imprisonment for individuals council members), the City Council voted for acceptance. Over time the 200 units were built on 7 sites and over a longer time( 10 years?) the 800 units were built or made available in existing housing.

In 1990 I became president of COY and was involved in tense discussions with the NAACP over the sensitive issue of "screening" potential occupants. It was finally agreed that the Yonkers Housing Authority would select suitable candidates from those already in Municipal Hosing or on their waiting list.

There were two immediate consequences for St. Mary's. First, the promise of 2,000 new condominiums on the waterfront ( all within the parish boundaries of our parish) was delayed indefinitely. This was caused by an economic recession and the uncertain political situation. Private investors find these situations too risky. One positive consequence was the involvement of the parish in the workings of City Hall- thanks to YIELD, a community based organization sponsored by Catholic Charities. Through the work of two parishioners, George Russ and Ed Joseph, we were able to navigate the political intricacies of Yonkers. This proved very helpful when we fought to get a new library built.