Brokedown Dreamhouses of a New York Suburb

When I moved to the New York area in 1992, I decided to live in Westchester County because it was an easy commute away from the city yet offered an abundance of fresh green lushness to satisfy my tree-hugging tendencies. For me, the time and money spent on the commuter train was easily recovered by the lower overall cost of living and the luxury of waking up to cicada songs rather than car alarms. I had no idea at the time that I was, in a sense, joining a wave of non-white faces settling an area that had served for some time as a melanin-lite sanctuary for affluent families tired of mingling with inner city riffraff. I had no real understanding of the restless ghosts that were stirring behind the surface of the idyllic landscapes. [ Pictured: Mount Kisco Village Hall.]

Right around the same time that I was putting down roots here, Rene Javier Perez took leave of his wife Miliana Morales and their 2-month-old daughter Gladys in the Guatemalan town of Chiquimula, to go looking for prosperity in this same county. He made his way north up to Brewster, before ending up in the immigrant-rich town of Mount Kisco. Unfortunately, the years did not unfold as planned. I imagine that Perez slowly cracked as he was battered by the hardships of his journey, dragged down by never-ending debt, burdened by the bleakness of his prospects. He sent some money home, sometimes fifty dollars at a time. But he was in bad shape: homeless, alcoholic, repeatedly running into legal trouble. Sometimes you just can't summon the strength to fight for yourself anymore; sometimes you stop believing that things will get any better; worst of all, sometimes it's true.

At 8:30 p.m. on April 28, 2007, Perez got picked up by the Bedford police for drunk and disorderly conduct at a Kohl's store. They didn't charge him with anything, but simply drove him a mile down the road and dropped him off at the intersection of Main Street and Route 117. There are many dark ironies built into the placement of this particular tale in this particular intersection. The most prominent landmark at this thruway is a statue of Chief Kisco, the American Indian after whom the town is presumably named. But according to village historian Jane Stewart, no such historical figure is known to have existed. The statue was actually presented as a gift to the village in 1907 by D. F. Gorham as a piece of prohibitionist propaganda. The generic Indian figure stands on a base that was once a water fountain running into a trough from which horses drank; it bears the inscription: "God's only beverage for man and beast". [ Pictured: Statue of Chief Kisco at the intersection of Main Street and Route 117; in the background, the police pull someone over.]

Directly across the street from the Chief Kisco statue stands the Mount Kisco Village Hall on a spacious lot lined with majestic maple and willow trees, accompanied by a solemn War Memorial and a statue of Christopher Columbus, whose pedestal bears the inscription: "We, the Italian American Club of Northern Westchester, Inc. and contributing organizations, families, and individuals present this monument to the people of Mount Kisco, in observance of the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World. The monument has been erected to symbolize that as Americans, we are an immigrant society."

The statues of Columbus and Chief Kisco practically face each other across Main Street: on one side, the European American Dream, backed by government and war, adorned with colonnades and stars and stripes; on the other side, a reckless projection of the land's indigenous inhabitants, exoticized and fetishized, fundamentally signifying the dangers of alcoholism and moral decay. This is the intersection where the Bedford police dropped off Rene Perez on the night of April 28.

I'm guessing that Perez probably walked the short block north on Main Street past the Chinese-Mexican restaurant, turned left before the railroad tracks, and made his way slowly down Lexington Avenue, Mount Kisco's long back road, away from the bustling retail district. He would have walked alongside two of Northern Westchester's major cemeteries, St. Francis and Oakwood, with their shady paths amid rolling green fields of gravestones; past the simple steak houses and auto repair shops, past the boxing gym. Maybe he picked up booze at one of the little delis along the way; places where people would have known him; places where people might have beefs with him. [ Pictured: Oakwood Cemetery on Lexington Avenue in Mount Kisco.]

At 10:47 p.m. Perez dialed 911 from the parking lot of a laundromat on Lexington (a family hangout where I sometimes wash big items like comforters and sleeping bags, next door to my favorite local bar and restaurant). Mount Kisco police officer George Bubaris handled the call. At 10:55 p.m., Bubaris reported that the situation was not a police matter and the case was clear. At 11:35 p.m. a passing driver found Perez some 4 miles away from the laundromat, fatally injured and unconscious on the side of a secluded Bedford road.

~ ~ ~

The original inhabitants of Westchester County were Siwanoy Indians of the Algonquin nation. European colonialists decided to begin forcibly removing these native folks from their land in 1644. The Dutch and the English both made claims upon the territory. They produced pieces of paper declaring that the land belonged to them, and if one disagreed with these little pieces of paper, then little pieces of metal would begin flying through one's limbs and organs — the usual type of arrangement through which Europeans have spread enlightened civilization to the many brown savages of the world. 

It was here in Westchester, just minutes from my cottage, that the Mahicans of the Algonquin nation mounted a famous stand against European invaders. They built a heavy fortification atop a high rocky ridge overlooking a wide flat wetland. Despite their control of superior terrain, the Mahicans were unable to withstand barrage upon barrage of cannon and musket fire. Today, the statuesque granite ridge where the Mahican North Fort once stood is the site of IBM international headquarters.

In 1776, George Washington's insurgent army stationed themselves on a steep hillside in central Westchester and set up artillery batteries to meet the advancing British and Hessian (German) armies in the Battle of White Plains. Like the Mahicans before them, Washington's troops were unable to hold superior position against superior numbers and firepower. Both sides took significant casualties, but Washington finally decided to pack up camp and retreat to avoid annihilation. [ Pictured: Battle of White Plains Memorial on Chatterton Hill, installed by Act of US Congress in 1926.]

Of course, Washington's army ultimately prevailed and the Founding Fathers got what they wanted: a resource-rich slave state in which they controlled currency and taxation. Modern US mythology implies that the northern states were somehow less culpable in the genocidal legacy of slavery, and that the Union fought the Civil War against southern secession in order to eradicate slavery; but this is the stuff of hysterical delusion. In the state of New York, in the 18th century, African slaves constituted some 10 percent of the population; they worked in plantations right here in the Hudson Valley, where they were branded with irons and notched in the ears to indicate ownership. You can actually make a strong case that New York was the national headquarters of the slave trade, because of both the ports and the banks. To imagine that the Civil War was fought over human rights, and not economics, is in my opinion nonsensical.

Nevertheless, every human society is full of internal cross-currents and contradictions, conflicts of interest, opposition and dissent. In the early 19th century, Black and Quaker abolitionists established an Underground Railroad running right through Westchester County, consisting of a network of collaborators, safehouses, and transportation vehicles extending from New York City to the Vermont-Canada border. Many of the slaves who traveled this illegal human passageway were not from southern states, but from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Many traveled on barges operated by Black crews and captains up the Hudson River. One prominent Quaker abolitionist was named John Jay Jr.; he was the grandson of the first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court; his father was among the most prolific pamphleteers of the abolitionist movement. John Jay Jr. gave refuge to fleeing slaves, sending them on their way with money, directions, and supplies, from his home in Bedford — the same town where Rene Perez was found dying in April.

~ ~ ~

It's been a warm sunny weekend in Westchester. I've spent a fair amount of time walking around the Mount Kisco sidewalk sale, a 3-day event during which locals set up tables on a tree-lined stretch of promenade to sell their goods and promote various causes. Handbags, sneakers, and jewelry appear to attract the busiest crowds. Local musicians play folk rock and blues. There's a blood drive; a church table; information on local water quality; a not-disastrous martial arts demonstration. I chew on Chinese bubble tea and spend some time chatting with an ex-boxer who now teaches English and is selling a book called "Confessions of a Fighter". It's a good time. It feels like a community. And the crowd is about evenly split between brown and white. [ Pictured: Sidewalk sale in Mount Kisco, September 8.]

It's hard to think about, much less talk about, the death of Rene Perez from this peaceful vantage point. And yet, this thing did happen here; and now that Bubaris has been charged with second-degree manslaughter, it appears that a police officer at the very least dumped a dying Guatemalan immigrant onto the side of a darkened backroad in a neighboring town, like a piece of garbage he didn't feel like dealing with. Of course, we don't yet know exactly what happened that night; we need to figure that out, with clarity and precision. But we know enough to be troubled.

On May 10, twelve days after Perez's death, Latino activists called for a federal civil rights probe into the matter, declaring that they had lost faith in local authorities in the wake of the strangulation murders of two other Guatemalan immigrants in Mount Kisco which remain unsolved. On May 24, the victim's brother, Anibal Perez, filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages against both the Mount Kisco and Bedford police, accusing the two departments of having a history of "border dumping" immigrants in each other's jurisdictions.

On May 14, the American Legion Post #134, a powerful civic organization whose membership includes many influential regional politicians and police officers, passed a resolution proclaiming:

WHEREAS, in recent decades, Mount Kisco, like other communities in the United States of America, has seen an influx of new immigrants from Central and South America; and [ Pictured: Mount Kisco Police Department ]

WHEREAS, slowly but firmly, the large majority of these new immigrants from Latin America have prospered and been accepted in Mount Kisco; and

WHEREAS, while some cultural differences remain, the less fortunate or unsuccessful new immigrants have been humanely treated in Mount Kisco, with assistance financially and otherwise by local religious, patriotic, civic and governmental groups, without any fanfare or publicity; [...]

WHEREAS, exaggerated and inferential television and newspaper coverage of the aforesaid only tend to inflame and give support to certain hate groups, thereby causing even greater discord and hostility between old and new residents, without contributing to any resolution on the death of Mr. Perez or and recognition of circumstances of immigration within the Mount Kisco community, and

NOW, THEREFORE, on this 14th day of May, 2007, it is hereby unanimously resolved that we join together to express our complete and unconditional support for our government, in particular, the police, the Mayor and Trustees and Village Staff, and we commend them for the restraint exhibited by such government in recent weeks, and that [ Pictured: Rene Javier Perez ]

We recognize the Village government's desire and intentions to support a complete and full investigation of the cause of Mr. Perez's death, whether accidental or intentional, and to pursue the conviction of the person or persons responsible, if any, and that

We congratulate and support the Village government's continued support of the new immigrants in Mount Kisco, and on not being dissuaded by any negative reaction to the hate and divisive tactics of outside special interests and bias groups.

Now I don't read a lot of American Legion resolutions so I may not be attuned to their intentions here; but to my ears this sounds like defensive language intended to protect and prop up existing power structures from the "hate" and "bias" of "special interests" agitating for justice and reform. Because I'm not sure how you can simultaneously support a full investigation into a homicide, yet express "unconditional" support for a government and police department which might eventually be found to have participated in the crime. Certainly, from my perspective as an anti-racist, an advocate of immigrant rights and universal human rights, and a person of color, this rhetoric is far from reassuring.

~ ~ ~

In my swirling mind, I drift back to that wildly symbolic intersection of Main Street and Route 117 which I described earlier. The American Legion stands squarely on one side of that intersection, on the side of government, patriotic war, Columbus, stars and stripes, and all the associated myths and ideologies of the white male imperialist power structure. On the other side of the street stands the ghost of Rene Perez, marginalized and beaten, alongside the white man's caricature of the drunk Indian, without any authentic voice or representation from the actual people who inhabited this continent long before the European American Dream necessitated their genocide. [ Pictured: Central American grocery store and restaurant on Main Street in Mount Kisco.]

When I moved here in 1992, I never expected to fall in love with Westchester County as much as New York City; but it has happened. Which is precisely why I'm giving this story so much time and attention. As the political climate surrounding immigration heats up and emboldens the xenophobes, the last thing I want to see is an escalation of anti-immigrant and anti-POC violence in my stomping grounds. So it's not enough for local authorities to impatiently insist that Bubaris has been charged so let's leave it at that and forget about all this unpleasantness. There's a broader pattern here that must be recognized, considered, and addressed. Immigrants and people of color seek substantive, not rhetorical, reassurance that our lives are worth as much as the lives of European Americans, not only on a pleasant summer afternoon but also in a dark desolate parking lot. But that's not going to happen, is it? Because the truth is that, despite the glossy surface of things, our society has not yet honestly grappled with its deeply racist roots and the resultant racist structure of present-day institutional power. Our society has failed to confront the jarring dissonance of the contradictions between its stated democratic ideals and the experiential realities of social inequality.

So we will continue to be divided. Which means that some of us — many of us — will continue to dissent, to speak out, to organize the new underground passageways of the 21st century, to agitate for the empowerment of the disempowered, to make unapologetic moves toward greater social justice. We will continue to fight. I know which side I'm on. I hope you do too.

Comments

[M]

Other than the utterly ambivalent language of the American Legion about getting involved with the investigation of Mr. Perez's death, do you know of any other organizations working for securing an independent investigation of the events? You've given more than enough reasons that the current investigative procedures will be suspicious, and perhaps with oversight of another investigative body or neutral party, we'll at least get a fair resolution to the crime. (Of course, that's one of many different steps related in the overall struggle for civil rights and fair access to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, but it's something.)

And thank you for this thorough article on the crime and the local history; it's one thing for a person to have the courage to travel across countries and continents to fight human rights injustices, but it's another entirely to fight the injustices happening in one's own backyard. Hopefully this effort will spark others to take action online and offline.

[Yolanda Carrington]

I should be shocked by Rene Perez's death, but I'm not. How many more people have been killed this way, last year, last month, yesterday, right now.

Reading the American Legion's resolution reminds me of something James Baldwin said decades ago: those who hold on to the notion of innocence long after that innocence is dead invite their own destruction. So the Legion has completely chosen to shut their eyes to reality. They pledge unconditional support for an organization that may have murdered human beings in cold blood. What they and folks like them are holding onto seems beyond the mere desire to quell unpleasantness. It's something more sinister.

I can relate to the love that you express for this community, Kai, as you recognize its genocidal legacy. That's been a tough thing for me to reconcile---that even with all the death, degradation, and destruction from past to present, I love the United States of America. I love its people, its communities, and its culture. Given a choice, I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. I love the United States even after knowing that everything we have, every path and every dwelling that sits on this land rests on the bodies of violated and erased people. People just like you and me.

[Carmen Van Kerckhove]

Great post Kai. I love the way you weave the history of the area in wiht the current events. Makes for a chilling effect.

[Joan Kelly]

This piece is what should be released-unto-the-public, not crazy ass after-all-we've-done-for-you-we-can't-BELIEVE-that-you-would-insinuate-that-it-might-be-problematic-for-us-to-have-killed-a-couple-of-you manifestos of horseshit.

Thanks, Kai.

[rootlesscosmo]

Excellent post--thanks. Another historical link, definitely involving Westchester County Legionnaires, is with the 1949 Peekskill Riots

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peekskill_Riots

when a mob (including many wearing Legion and other vets' organization caps) attacked the audience leaving a concert by Paul Robeson and the local and state cops stood by without intervening. As someone said, "The past isn't dead; it isn't even past."

[Kai]

M, well Hispanics Across America is the only organization I'm aware of at the moment who are involved. I'll keep poking around, maybe shake a few trees myself. One of my first questions is, If Perez was murdered, and Bubaris is only being charged with manslaughter, who's being charged with the murder? Or do you not even even bother with homicide investigations for certain kinds of victims?

One interesting twist here is that I believe the weird rivarly between the Mount Kisco and Bedford police departments actually ends up working in favor of advancing the case, because the Bedford police don't want to get pinned with this whole thing. Apparently the two departments have been playing hot potato with Perez and other "troublesome" immigrants; Bedford cops are probably pretty pissed at the Mount Kisco cops for dumping a dying man on their turf; so they appear to be taking care of evidence and almost forcing the DA's hand. Or so it seems to me at the moment. We'll see what happens.

[Kai]

Yolanda, Carmen, Joan Kelly, rootlesscosmo, thanks for the thoughts and good words! Yeah that whole American Legion resolution just rubs me wrong; it really does seem to say what Joan's super-long-hyphenated-phrase said.

[Nanette]

A dreadful story, beautifully written and beautifully situated in history and in the present. A very chilling effect, as Carmen says. And memorable, thanks for detailing the story, I'd not heard of it.

I think this happens more than we think. Reminds me of our "lesser evil" neighbors to the North where, in Sask I think it was, the police would pick up drunk (or just wandering about) Aboriginals, drive them out to some far off road and then dump them. If they froze to death trying to make their way back (and some did), or if they made it home safely, all well and good either way.

Or the stories about the hospitals in Los Angeles ...hospitals!... dumping sick, indigent and sometimes mentally disabled people in dangerous areas like Skid Row, to live or die as they will.

The reaction of the American Legion doesn't surprise me - nor that all this can go on here, for years, yet we'll turn up our noses in disgust when we hear of some practice like widow dumping in India or whatever... because, no matter how much a way of life that is in the US and other Western countries, it's just *different*.

[Blackamazon]

Made of teh awesome

[Nightprowlkitty]

Well said:

Our society has failed to confront the jarring dissonance of the contradictions between its stated democratic ideals and the experiential realities of social inequality.

Great post. Wish I could see writing like this in the traditional media. Such cognitive dissonance when I read things like this on a blog and then go to a newspaper or magazine and see, even in the best and most sensitive writing, a complete ignorance of the "experiential realities" going on in our country.

[Buster]

This is a truly amazing piece. I appreciate the history and the care in constructing the narrative and argument. Great work.

[Theriomorph]

Thank you for writing this beautiful, true essay, Kai, and for telling some of this man's story.

[Michael Mandel]

Outstanding post, Kai, and a tribute to Rene Perez's memory. Thanks for sharing this.

[Nezua Limón Xolagrafik-Jonez]

They produced pieces of paper declaring that the land belonged to them, and if one disagreed with these little pieces of paper, then little pieces of metal would begin flying through one's limbs and organs — the usual type of arrangement through which Europeans have spread enlightened civilization to the many brown savages of the world.

::drinks deeply like a flagon of verdad::

(such green grasses grow still from roots steeped in blood)

[Kai]

Nanette, Blackamazon, Nightprowlkitty, Buster, Theriomorph, Michael Mandel, Nezua, thank you for your generous comments!

[LM]

Kai,

Incredible, excellent. Thank you for the thought, research, experience, skill and care you poured into this piece.

[Kai]

LM, thanks! I'd been meaning to write about the locale for some time, but then the Perez story grabbed me and didn't let me go until this piece was finished...so there ya go! I'll be continuing to track how events unfold...

[prof black woman]

I just wanted to let you know that I linked this post. Thanks for the heads up.

[Kai]

Prof Black Woman, thank you, your post on this matter hits many of the exact points I was hoping would come across here, so this is good, we're on a wavelength here... :-D