Tragedies Lead to Citizen Rallies in Brewster

Led by Patti Hupp (left) and Alicia Grasso, women walk down Brewster's Main Street during a twice-daily demonstration.

It has become a daily occurrence.

Groups of women walk along Main Street in downtown Brewster from the public library to the intersection of Routes 6 and 22 to draw attention to the issues surrounding illegal immigration and driving while intoxicated.

Leader Patti Hupp, a 44-year-old teacher residing in Southeast, who, like everyone, was shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of Lori and Kayla Donohue—run down and killed by an intoxicated motorist earlier this month in Brewster—hopes to draw attention to the tragedy "until change starts to happen. We continue to grieve. Change will only occur if people protest the lack of enforcement of laws on the books. We can no longer turn the other cheek."

Hupp admitted she was "incredibly sad and increasingly frustrated" with two tragedies that have touched the area in recent years.

Four and one-half years ago, Hupp hired a teenager to work a shift babysitting in the nursery of a local health club. Six months later, Elizabeth Butler, a pretty 17-year-old, was stabbed, raped, and murdered by her former boyfriend in a car parked behind a market in Croton Falls. Butler's death came weeks before her scheduled graduation from North Salem High School. Her killer, Ariel Melendez, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant, is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Hupp said the Butler murder and the deaths of the mother and child at the hands of an intoxicated illegal immigrant "touch everyone. Something needs to be done."

The driver of the pick-up that struck the victims on the evening of June 8 was arrested for DWI as well as aggravated vehicular homicide. Conses Garcia Zacarias is being held without bail at the Putnam Correctional Facility and faces up to 25 years in state prison if found guilty.

Last Friday, Hupp was accompanied by two dozen women as well as Southeast Supervisor Michael Rights during the peaceful half hour walk.

Alicia Grasso of Southeast carried a sign reading: "19 Americans die everyday due to illegal alien crime."

Grasso called on governmental officials to enact laws so that "taxpaying people get jobs, not illegals feeding off the fruits of the American people's labor. They are stealing and are sending money back to their homeland. This is not fair to the American public."

Grasso demanded that license plate numbers of contractors hiring day laborers from Brewster's Main Street be recorded and turned over to authorities.

Hupp received a call last Friday from a local resident indicating taxicabs being sent to apartments housing day laborers and picking up groups of the men. "The contractors are one step ahead of us by hiring cabs to pick these guys up so they no longer have to come into the village," said Hupp.

Cathy Murphy of Brewster also walked along the street. "My husband has been in the landscaping business for more than 35 years and has never hired an illegal immigrant. There are young people who want to work who are legally here—college kids are always looking for summer employment. As long as the illegal immigrant is hired, he or she will stay."

Murphy called Brewster a "beautiful little community. I remember the days when Brewster was known as the 'Hub of the Harlem Valley.' Today Brewster resembles a 'border town,' which is a darn shame."

Supervisor Rights walked because, he told the Courier, "I support these women and their cause. A terrible tragedy has befallen the Donohue family and the entire community. The question remains: 'How do we go forward?' The answer: 'We work together by addressing the issue of illegal immigration.'"

Rights has called for cracking down on contractors hiring illegal aliens, while tracking absentee landlords who rent apartments to groups of illegal men.

The Southeast Town Board has approved a rental registration law that allows the town to inspect homes occupied by renters. Rights said 75 percent of rental properties had been inspected. In the wake of the tragedy earlier this month, Rights ordered the town's building and code enforcement personnel to "pull the files and re-inspect every house. We will target the 25 percent never inspected first and we will re-inspect every property after that."

Rights has also asked the community to become the "eyes and ears of the town. I am asking for residents' help. If you know of a suspected illegal apartment house, call town hall."

Rights also wants to eliminate the practice of contractors picking up illegal aliens from street corners. The Southeast Town Board last Thursday set a public hearing for a contractor's law. "The concept will mandate that any contractor hiring in Southeast will have to register as they are required to for Putnam County. Those who refuse to comply will be subject to hefty fines and possible incarceration. This is a beginning," he said.

The Town Board has scheduled a town hall meeting for tomorrow (Friday) at the Starr Ridge Manor Conference Center at 7pm.

Supervisor Rights said the issue of illegal hiring and illegal housing will be discussed.

The meeting is open to the public and Rights has encouraged widespread attendance.