MEMORIAL MASSOn Thursday, March 28, 2019, at 1000 hours, E-24/L-5/B-2 will have a Memorial Mass honoring the memory of Captain John J. Drennan, L-5, FF James F. Young, E-24 and FF Christopher J. Siedenburg, E-24, who made the supreme sacrifice on March 28, 1994. The mass will take place at St. Anthony’s Church located at Sullivan and West Houston Streets, Manhattan. All off-duty members and their families are invited to attend. Members are requested to attend in dress uniform. BAYSIDE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADEThe 2nd annual Bayside St. Patrick’s Day Parade will take place on Saturday, March 30, 2019, at 11:00 AM. This year’s Grand Marshal will be Chief Ed Kilduff, Retired Chief of Department, with Aides Phil Brady, Martin Dolan, Betty McLoughlin, John Ryan, and Rev. Msgr. Thomas Machalaski, Sacred Heart. Formation location has been updated, and will now be between 35th and 36th Avenues at 10:30 AM. Pipe Band and Color Guard will be marching as well. All members participating in the march are requested in their Class A Uniform. For further information, please contact Lt. Gerard Walsh, BN 51, at 347-525-4108 or FF Daniel Casey, E316, at 917-484-2291. KNICKS 9/11 MEMORIAL STAIR CLIMB & FIRST RESPONDERS NIGHT This year’s New York Knicks 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb Presented by Chase will be held on Sunday, April 7, at Madison Square Garden. The Stair Climb is a way to honor and remember the FDNY members who selflessly gave their lives so that others might live on 9-11-2001. To donate or to register, visit events.firehero.org/2019NYKnicks. Cost to climb is $50 and includes a t-shirt, 343 honor badge and entrance for up to 3 guests. Additionally, MSG, the Garden of Dreams and the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation have asked us to provide volunteers to assist with the Stair Climb. If interested, please email RecordingSecretary@ufanyc.org. After the Stair Climb, the Knicks will be hosting First Responders Night vs. Washington Wizards at 7:30 PM. Tickets can be purchased through the link https://www.fevo.com/edp/2019-Knicks-First-Responder-Night-fs4zCk9?referrer_hash=6mnnQqmd. A portion of each ticket purchased through this link will be donated to the UFA Widows and Children’s Fund. GARDEN OF DREAMS TALENT SHOW On Tuesday, April 9, at 7:00 PM, 150 children will take the Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall for the Annual Garden of Dreams Talent Show. The inspiring and entertaining evening will include individual and group performances by Garden of Dreams children. The Garden of Dreams Foundation invites you, your family and friends to this event to fill the house with as many guests as possible to help provide an amazing experience for a very talented group of children and to show New York City the power of Garden of Dreams. Admission is free; however, tickets are required for entry. RSVP to afatone@ufanyc.org no later than Thursday, March
MCLEAN AVENUE ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE This Saturday, March 23rd, led by the FDNY Emerald Society Pipe Band, the FDNY Emerald Society will march in the Yonkers/McLean Avenue St. Patrick’s Parade. In order to give members the opportunity to attend Mike Davidson’s Plaque Dedication and still make the parade, they will be stepping off from Vireo Avenue and East 239 St at approximately 1:45 PM. All members are requested to attend in Class A uniforms. Bring your kids to this family friendly parade. For more info, or questions, call Frank Beirne at (917) 842-0578.
MEET STEVE BUSCEMI AT FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS Steve Buscemi and Friends of Firefighters invite you to an exclusive cocktail event and live screening of the final episode of Season 1 of Steve’s new TBS comedy series Miracle Workers. On Tuesday, March 26th, from 8-11 PM, at 199 Van Brunt Street in Brooklyn, talk life, talk characters, talk film and TV with the actor, comedian, director, and former FF while enjoying drinks and assorted appetizers prepared by MasterChef finalist and Ladder 4 FF Chef Eric Howard and team. Before the show airs at 10:30, sit down for a fascinating Q&A, moderated by actor and director Anatol Yusef, who starred alongside Steve in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. Ticket price is $350 per person, or $600 for two. Click this link (https://bit.ly/2FpWlYj) to purchase tickets. All proceeds support Friends of Firefighters’ mission to provide free mental health counseling and wellness services to active and retired FDNY firefighters and their families. For more info, email Marlo at info@friendsoffirefighters.org.
FDNY COUNSELING SERVICE UNIT The Counseling Service Unit of the FDNY, with the support of Captain Kananowicz (aka K9) from Engine 53 (retired), is running a monthly support group for members who have children or family members with special needs. This includes parents with dementia. Come together with other members who share similar challenges and exchange ideas and get support. The next group will be held on Wednesday, March 27, from 11AM-12:30PM at Fort Totten Building 405 (CFRD) Room 200. To RSVP, contact Captain Eugene Kananowicz (aka K9) at 516-238-1024 or ek953@icloud.com or Mike O’Keeffe at 917-853-5772 or michaelokeeffe55@gmail.com.
FIREHOUSE KITCHEN TALK WITH EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS LIAISON ANDY PERLMAN NYC Emergency Management helps New Yorkers before, during, and after emergencies through preparedness, education, and response. Join Friends of Firefighters on Wednesday, March 27, from 6-9 PM at 199 Van Brunt Street in Brooklyn, for a firefighter-prepared dinner followed by a presentation from NYCEM Operations Liaison Andy Perlman on NYCEM’s role in planning, tools to aid in response, and how NYCEM works with FDNY & other emergency services. Open to active and retired FDNY members. No RSVP necessary. For more info, email Marlo at info@friendsoffirefighters.org.
A return of loyalist violence in the north of Ireland could help Britain wriggle out of its international treaty obligations in regard to the border and the Good Friday Agreement, according to its Attorney General.
AG Geoffrey Cox has delivered his latest legal advice to help convince unionists and racist Tories to support the current Brexit deal and its ‘backstop’ provisions, which are intended to prevent a remilitarisation of the border.
Cox’s new advice may be enough to squeeze the deal through parliament after it was rejected by British MPs last week. Amid a mounting sense of crisis in London, other divisions at Westminster also saw them reject a crash Brexit, and seek an extension to the Brexit deadline, currently set for March 29, until June 30.
In a desperate gambit, Cox has now claimed that Britain could legally resile from the ‘backstop’ provisions, intended to prevent a remilitarisation of the border, if they are considered by London to have a “socially destabilising effect on Northern Ireland”.
Such a ‘destabilisation’ in the north of Ireland would facilitate the British government to trigger Article 62 of the Vienna Convention, he argued, which allows international treaties such as the Brexit deal to be broken in “exceptional” cases.
That appears to suggest that loyalist violence, or merely disturbances similar to the flags protests of 2012, could be used as a pretext for Britain to abandon the backstop and restore spy-posts and other military infrastructure to the border area.
The idea that loyalist paramilitaries could play a role in reinforcing the partition of Ireland appears to have won favour with the DUP, who remain closely allied with loyalist hardliners across the north of Ireland. DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds has described the discussions as “constructive”.
However, Cox’s legal advice received criticism from other quarters. Some commentators noted that it would actively encourage loyalists to use violence to achieve their goals, while other legal experts pointed out that by advising of the idea, Cox had already ruled out that it could be considered ‘exceptional’ or ‘unforeseen’, as required under the Vienna Convention.
One hardline unionist politician has already warned that the border through Ireland could be “maintained by the gun”. In a Facebook video late last year, loyalist pastor Barrie Halliday said “men and women… paid for that line to remain where it is by laying down their lives. It was defended by the gun and will be maintained by the gun.”
Brexit has also been linked to a degree of social destabilisation and violence in Ireland already. Last week, a series of package devices were sent from Ireland to Britain, including two posted to military recruitment offices. None of the devices exploded, but they were claimed in the name of the New IRA, their first parcel bomb attack in five years. The same organisation in January detonated a large car bomb at Derry’s courthouse, without causing injury.
Discussions between the DUP and the British government are to resume on Monday ahead of an expected third Westminster vote on the Brexit deal next week. Sinn Fein’s Chris Hazzard has called on the DUP and Tory Brexiteers to step back from the “cliff-edge” of a “crash-out”.
“After yet another week of chaos in the British Parliament with ministerial resignations and bizarre and delusional votes, the north of Ireland is still facing the possibility of being dragged out of the EU and over an economic cliff edge in a no-deal Brexit,” he said.
“There is no such thing as a good Brexit but crashing out with no deal would have dire economic consequences for the north.”
The Spring 2019 edition of Archways, the quarterly magazine of the Archdiocese of New York, is now out. You can view or download it here. This edition is also coming out in print – so expect it in mailboxes around March 23.
In these difficult times, when we are bombarded by reports of a new abortion law in New York and continuing revelations about sexual abuse in the Church, it’s important to remember why we are Catholics. We must not lose sight of the blessing of our community and the critical services parishes, priests, parishioners and Catholic organizations perform every day.
In this issue of Archways, we hope you will find inspiration in our cover subject, Dorothy Day – a laywoman of extraordinary talent, energy and compassion who became a Catholic at age 30 and went on to co-found the Catholic Worker movement during the Great Depression. Over the next five decades, her works of mercy and devotion to the poor and oppressed reached around the world. The archdiocese is now promoting her cause for sainthood.
Elsewhere in the issue, you’ll find articles about:
The many mercies of ArchCare, the health-care ministry of the Archdiocese of New York The athletic, spiritual and community benefits of CYO, whose competitive programs teach values of fairness, kindness and inclusiveness Pioneering parishes using digital tools to build community and spread the GospelHow to prepare kids for first communion beyond religious education classes, including with bedtime questions about thankfulness, personal accountability and charityInsights and information on the archdiocesan Office of Black Ministry and, as always, notable events around the archdiocese The Archdiocese of New York Safe Environment Program, developed in 2002 in response to the sexual abuse crisis. You’ll learn how the program works and how you can help ensure it remains effective. Archways is published digitally four times per year at archny.org/archways; two issues per year are distributed in print. I hope you will find valuable information and inspiration in the Spring 2019 edition, and that you will look forward to our next issue, Summer 2019, due out at the end of May.
