The Guardian Goes To Court
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- August
- 22
The war between the free weekly newspaper, The Westchestr Guardian, and Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone is getting more interesting by the minute.
The mayor, or somebody in his administration, ordered the confiscation of as many as 56 Guardian news racks on the grounds that the blue, plastic boxes were obstructing the city’s sidewalks. The paper is suing Amicone in federal court in White Plains.
Now we hear that Gene Smith, a Guardian employee, was given a summons by Yonkers police for the act of putting the papers in the racks. The paper says that Smith was threatened with arrest if he continued to “distribute” the paper. If this is true, Yonkers is looking more and more like East Berlin before the wall was torn down.
Smith is due to appear in Yonkers City Court today at 1 p.m.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 5:50 pm by Phil Reisman.
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Phil Reisman is a veteran journalist and native of Westchester County. He began his career in 1977 as the head copy boy of a startup New York City newspaper that quickly went belly up. Reisman was not to blame for the newspaper's failure, or so he claims.
I received a full color flyer the other day from the Mayor of Yonkers, chock full of smiling faces and testimonials. This advertisement touted all the fabulous accomplishments that have taken place under his reign. No mention of the fact he has made city sidewalks a much safer place to traverse by eliminating the obstacles posed by the Guardian boxes. Strangely he has not impounded similarly placed boxes distributing other publications.
I tell you, with that beard, sour disposition and all
those free lunches…Amicone is looking more and more like
Boss Tweedy. With apologies to Matt Davies….where is
Thomas Nast when you need him ?
Could Ball be referring to Nast’s famous drawing of Santa Claus rather than Boss Tweed?
I posted something about the Guardian and Dennis Robertson
in the Politcal blog, under the current item about Robertson and the Guardian.
The story I posted has traveled to various people beyond Yonkers. I wouldn’t have repeated it unless there was a clear indication of truth to it. And there is.
Make of it as you will. But Sam Zherka’s Guardian, although it is entitled to its voice, is a very poor wagon to hitch “First Amendment” cries to. Much worse than you already know.
If people did their homework (beyond just scanning that rag now and then), they would know that. But people don’t do their homework. That much is obvious.
Santa Claus gets milk and cookies, NOT FREE LUNCHEONS!
First admendement rights have been hitched to highschool and college newspapers as well as many other free independently distributed newspapers like the guardian. I keep hearing the word “Rag”. I disagree with that whole heartedly and I wish any small newspaper like the Guardian and it’s employees the best of luck on the way up.
I’d like to hear more editorial opinion on why the articles in the Guardian are incorrect…..all I here is rag, rag
A paper we don’t like = a rag
A woman who is annoying = a bit..ch
A Hispanic person = etc, etc, etc
I AM ABSOUTLUTELY PISSED OFF AT WHAT THEY DID TO THE GUARDIAN. FIRST OF ALL I READ THE PAPER, AND FIND THAT ITS THE ONLY PUBLICATION IN THE COUNTY THAT TELLS THE TRUTH NO MATTER WHAT. I ADMIRE THEIR COURAGE. OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS I COULD NOT FIND THE PAPER, SO I WILL BE SEEKING LEGAL COUNSEL ALSO. PEOPLE WAKE UP, PHIL AMICONE NOT ONLY VIOLATED THE GUARDIANS RIGHTS BUT ALSO ALL OF OURS. IF YOU ARE A READER OF THE PAPER AND YOU WERE UNABLE TO GET ONE IN THE PAST FEW WEEKS BECAUSE OF THE MAYORS CORRUPT WAYS OF CHILLING FREE SPEECH, THEN IN ESSENCE HE ALSO VIOLATED MINE AND YOUR RIGHTS BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE INFORMED
Zherka family are very well know peopel for trying to get money from gov. All of theme have criminal history in there family and they live there lives by gov support. D_DIBRA
Zherka family are very well know peopel for trying to get money from gov. All of theme have criminal history in there family and they live there lives by gov support. D_DIBRA