County Legislator Judah Holstein

Dear Friends and Neighbors,  Much of the focus this week has been on funding concerns, especially at the federal level. At the NonProfit Westchester Legislators Breakfast, my colleagues and I heard clear concern from the nonprofit community. Westchester relies on these partners to deliver vital services, and as public funding becomes uncertain, If you can, I encourage you to support local nonprofits whose mission aligns with your priorities. If you need help finding one, visit NonProfit Westchester for a list of their members . I also stood with elected officials to call attention to another critical funding issue: the USDA's refusal to release contingency funds for SNAP. With grocery costs soaring and unemployment rising, this is not the time to withhold food from families in need. Those contingency funds exist for emergencies, and there is precedent to preserve SNAP , just as there is precedent to...

Dear Friends and Neighbors,  This past weekend, I had the honor of marching in the Eastchester Columbus Day Parade, where this year's honorees included our own DA Susan Cacace and my former Eastchester Board of Education colleague Jackie DiMarco and her family. It was wonderful to see so many families, friends, and neighbors coming together to celebrate our shared pride in Eastchester. After the parade, I had the privilege of visiting the JCC Mid-Westchester to present a $29,000 Community Based Organization (CBO) funding check in support of their aquatics programs for children with special needs. The JCC is one of Westchester's greatest assets, offering programs for people of all faiths and backgrounds — children, families, and seniors alike. I am proud to support them with all my Board colleagues, especially Legislator Ben Boykin, who co-sponsored the funding.   The JCC has served our c...

This week the world watches what feels like a miracle after two years of anguish, as progress toward peace was made in the Middle East. For many of us, the relief was fleeting. Feelings of instability returned as we saw how fragile that progress remains, along with conflicts that continue elsewhere, messages of hate from loud voices in our politics, all against the backdrop of our own federal government shutdown which has and will impact so many. Especially in these difficult times, we need to work together and support one another. We cannot afford to alienate allies over single issue disputes, or attack each other with rumors or purity tests. I have had some personal experience with this and the outcome is almost always that we weaken our own coalition. Now more than ever, we need to raise each other up and not tear each other apart. If we want to strengthen our party and our democracy, we have to start by assuming good faith, seeking truth, and standing together. Please...

As the world watches the situation in the Middle East with hope, I had the opportunity to join the community at the JCC for a screening of Montana Tucker's powerful and moving documentary, "The Children of October 7" . While I also attended several commemorations marking that solemn day, I found this one to be particularly meaningful and I am grateful to have been able to join. I also joined several colleagues for a conversation hosted by the OCA-WHV , advocates for the AAPI community in Westchester and the Hudson Valley. One important topic that came up was the continued challenge of rising Con Ed rates, and the ongoing Con Ed Rate Case, which Westchester County and multiple municipalities have joined. I urged those present to share their opposition with the Public Service Commission on its public comments web site. When I last wrote about this in August , there were only 6,100 comments o...