A Spring Valley man has been accused of second degree murder and weapons charges following a two-year investigation. A Rockland County Grand Jury indicted 21 year-old Jack Ramirez in the death of 28 year-old Juvenson Paul, also of Spring Valley. He was found fatally shot at 7 Prospect Gardens in the village in January 2020. He was inside a car that had crashed into the building. Ramirez was arraigned yesterday in Rockland County Court and sent to the county jail. He is due back in court March 1st.
Breaking News
NY Creates Office to Focus on Issues for People with Disabilities
The State Office of the Chief Disability Officer was announced earlier this week by the governor, a new office and position created that will advocate on behalf of persons with disabilities. Governor Kathy Hochul says people with disabilities deserve to be treated better in New York…
Randi Rios-Castro is the CEO of Jawonio in New City, and said the creation of the new office ensures the state’s most vulnerable populations have a voice in decision-making, securing resources and creating more opportunities for people with disabilities. North Rockland and Orange County state senator James Skoufis says since his days in the Assembly more than five years ago as a member of the “People with Disabilities Task Force” he’s been working to have this position created…
Denise Figueroa is the Executive Director of the Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, and says the new office will help all people with disabilities…
Kimberly Hill was appointed the State’s first Chief Disability Officer. She most recently served as the Principal Analyst for the State Assembly Standing Committee on People with Disabilities, and she had previously served as Director of the Assembly Task Force on People with Disabilities.
Rockland Opens New Office Of Buildings and Codes to Start Covering Spring Valley Violations
Rockland County’s new Office of Buildings and Codes is now open for business, but they’ll spend the next month focusing just on existing cases in the Village of Spring Valley. They won’t be accepting any new permit applications for the next 30 days. 20 inspectors will first have to take care of a backlog of about 800 buildings that have yet to be inspected for years. The state-authorized move comes in response to the fatal fire last year at the Evergreen Adult Home in which Spring Valley firefighter Jared Lloyd and a resident were both killed. At a press conference yesterday announcing the opening of the main office in Pomona, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said financial repercussions for lawbreakers will be steep, but the goal is not to penalize people, but to make their buildings and homes safe for all…
Day was referring to a note that’s been circulating around Spring Valley discouraging residents from letting inspectors do their jobs. Two former Spring Valley building department employees and four others have been charged in connection with the Evergreen blaze. Heading up the new department is former Suffern mayor and NYPD Officer Ed Markunas, who said the office will have a zero-tolerance policy towards those who break the law…
Rockland County Attorney Thomas Humbach said cases against law-breakers could end up being prosecuted in local courts…
The new office is headquartered at the county’s health complex in Pomona at Building “A”, but a satellite office will be opening in Spring Valley in the near future. Day didn’t give an estimate as to how long the process to fix Spring Valley’s department might take.
Nyack School District Demands Answers from Pearl River Schools After Video Emerges of Racist Taunts During Basketball Game Last Week
The Nyack School District and Board of Education want answers from the Pearl River School District following what they called “racist and reprehensible behavior” from the crowd at a basketball game last week. Video posted online showed a Black Nyack student being taunted with monkey sounds as he was attempting free-throws. In a letter to parents, Pearl River’s Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marco Pochintesta, said he was outraged by the student spectators’ actions and “the harm they have caused.” Counseling has been made available to Nyack students in need of support, and they’ve invited Pearl River students who participated in the incident to attend the “Undoing Racism” Workshop or the “Getting to the Root” training session run by the Center for Safety and Change. Pearl River schools have been under the microscope lately following allegations of anti-LGBTQ incidents in the high school.
Area Lawmakers Seek to Rename Stretch of Route 45 on Behalf of Fallen Spring Valley Firefighter
A bi-partisan group of Rockland state lawmakers got together yesterday with the family of Jared Lloyd, the Spring Valley firefighter killed last year, to announce an effort to name a stretch of Route 45 in the village in his honor. State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, and Assemblymen Mike Lawler and Ken Zebrowski all introduced a bill this week to designate the state roadway between New Hempstead Road and East Eckerson Road as “Jared Lloyd Memorial Highway.” Jared’s mother, Sabrail Davenport, was moved by the gesture…
And that was Calvin Lloyd, Jared’s father. Dozens of Rockland emergency services members attended the event, prompting Betty Lloyd, Jared’s aunt, to burst into tears…
Jared Lloyd was a member of Columbian Fire Engine Co. No. 1 for more than 15 years. He was killed while rescuing residents at the Evergreen Court Home for Adults last March.