TWIW 23: June 1, 2026

In this episode:

• Associate Director of Community & Stakeholder Relations for the New York Blood Center (NYBC) Brian Harper joined to discuss the current blood emergency in the region. Blood supplies have dropped to less than a two-day inventory ahead of summer trauma season. 
• Acting Director of the Office for Women Catherine Borgia, Assistant Commissioner of the Department of Probation Katrina Mosley, and Director of the Domestic Violence High Risk Team David Ryan joined to announce a $1 million dollar federal grant to strengthen the County’s coordinated response to high-risk domestic violence cases, expand victim support services, improve offender accountability and enhance partnerships between law enforcement, advocates and service providers. 
• County Executive Ken Jenkins highlighted “A Plant Story: From Fern to Flower” at Lasdon Public Gardens in Katonah. 
• Jenkins announced the “Opening the Door” event at the historic Ward House in Tuckahoe, in honor of the Lenape people. 
• June 1 is Pride Month, and Westchester County and the County’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board are partnering with The LOFT LGBT Community Center in celebration of Pride. 
• Jenkins highlighted upcoming events in Westchester County Parks. 

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Transcript

0:06

Welcome to This Week in Westchester, the podcast, your weekly audio briefing from Westchester County government. Each week, County Executive Ken Jenkins breaks down the decisions, investments, and initiatives shaping life across Westchester. Clear information, real progress, one place to stay informed. Now, here's this week in Westchester. Good afternoon. Today is June 1st. This is this week in Westchester, the briefing. I'm Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins and Happy Pride Mill. Um, we're gonna start off today and talk about a few different things, but certainly we have um both we're gonna talk about blood emergencies, we're gonna talk about um the Office for Women um grant that happened with our um domestic violence high-risk um task force. We have a grow great group of folks that are gonna be here to talk about that. We'll talk a little bit about our plant story from fern to flower. We have some exciting other things that we're gonna be ignorant announcing. Um, but June 1st is two days before the NBA finals, and we know the the Knicks are involved in that. So again, we have so many things happening at one time. Um what we want to start with today, though, is certainly talking with something that's really critically important at this particular point in time. Um, and that's with Brian Harper, the Associate Director of the Community and Stakeholder Relations for the New York Blood Center, um, which is located right in the great city of Rye. Brian's here today to talk about with us the growing blood emergency across our region. Um, as we head into the busy, busy summer trauma season, blood supplies have fallen to a less than two-day inventory, creating an urgent need for donors and more community awareness. Brian will share with us um uh more about the current situation, what it means for local hospitals and patients, and how residents um can help ensure life-saving blood products are available for everyone who needs them. With that, let's start and welcome Brian Helper. Brian. Thank you so much, County Executive Jenkins. As you said, my name is Brian Harper, and I'm part of New York Blood Center's community and stakeholder relations team. I had the opportunity to speak at a previous This Week in Westchester briefing earlier this year, but to the unaffiliated. New York Blood Center has served the tri-state area for more than 60 years. Each year we deliver more than half a million life-saving blood products to more than 200 hospitals, EMS providers, and healthcare partners in the region. As the county executive said, Westchester County is home to our master campus in Rye, which opened just last year. Last Tuesday, New York Blood Center declared a blood emergency due to our blood inventories dropping to less than a two-day supply and less than a one-day supply for A negative, B negative, O positive, and O negative, which are the most essential blood types in emergency care. A seven-day supply would be considered healthy for context. What exactly does a blood emergency mean? It means the available supply has dropped below safe levels to meet both routine and urgent patient needs across hospitals in the region. Blood centers and hospitals have protocols for blood shortages, one of which is to adjust or reduce in order so we can prioritize urgent and life-saving care, but this is not sustainable. Ahead of this blood emergency declaration, blood donations were down nearly 15%, representing approximately 4,500 fewer donations than what is required to meet hospital demand across our region. This blood emergency comes at the start of summer, trauma season, when hospitals typically see a rise in serious injuries, including car crashes and other events requiring large volumes of blood. This increased demand for blood comes just as blood donations often decline nationwide during the summer months due to travel, busy schedules, and school breaks. Compounding the issue, this time of increased need will coincide with the logistical challenges as New York and New Jersey welcome tourists for the FIFA World Cup and other major events. As a result, New York Blood Center is preparing for the risk of further blood shortages this summer. And we need all of you to help. Blood cannot be manufactured. It has a limited shelf life. Hospitals and the patients they serve rely on a constant daily supply of donations to ensure that no patient goes without blood when they need it most. Someone in the United States needs blood every two seconds. And while more than 60% of the population is eligible to donate blood, only about two or three percent regularly do. Many of us know someone whose life has been extended by blood donations. The victim of a traumatic accident, a newborn baby with anemia, a cancer patient, or someone being treated for sickle cell disease, or awaiting a surgery. Perhaps some of us have personal experience receiving blood, and how extraordinary it is that we all have the power to help someone in need. So to everyone who donates blood, we cannot thank you enough. Your generosity is truly saving lives. If you haven't donated blood before, please join us today. I'm happy to answer your questions about the process, which includes cookies after you donate. You can visit nybc.org to find a blood drive or a blood donor center near you. You can also spread the word and invite your friends, family, and coworkers to donate with you. Remember, a single donation can save up to three lives. As we prepare for a wonderful summer here in Westchester, each of us can do our part to make someone else's summer just a little bit brighter by donating blood and giving them the gift of life and the gift of time. Thank you very much. And that's a good friend of ours, Brian Harper, who is again the Associate Director of Community and Stakeholder Relations for the New York Blood Center. And certainly we're going to continue to make sure if you jump on their website to make sure to um to see the opportunities to do those life-saving um changes and making sure that your donations are happening. So again, we're looking forward to that. Um up next, we're gonna have our acting director of Catherine for the Office of Women, Catherine Borgia, um, our assistant commissioner, Department of Approbation, Katrina Mosley, and the director of the domestic violence high-risk team, um, Chief Ryan, um, to come up and talk to us about some significant um things that have happened this week for a new uh for a renewed grant that will hold um victims um of domestic violence and hold those offenders accountable, but more importantly, continue to support those victims of domestic violence. So, with that, let me bring up the assistant uh our acting director of the Office of Women and certainly Katrina and certainly Chief Wine or all come on up and let's turn over to our Office for Women Acting Director. Thank you. Thank you. So, as the county executive said, we're very delighted to announce that we've received a million-dollar grant. Um, it's a federal funded grant called ICJR, which stands for improving the criminal justice response program. This is to fund our domestic violence high-risk team continuing operations. And as the county executive mentioned, this is the second time we've received this grant. Um, the domestic violence um high-risk team uh led by led by Chief Ryan um has done really um tremendous work. It was the brainchild of my predecessor, Robbie Slough, and with her inspiration, Dave's leadership, the collaboration of so many partners who are here with us today, it's really changed the way victims are um served in Westchester County. So we're very, very, very proud of that. And also uh Westchester County, as not uncommon, is being used as a model around New York State on this initiative because in Westchester County our um collaboration always leads to innovation. So I'm going to turn it over to the two um my two my two friends here to talk a little bit more about the specifics. Thank you. Good afternoon. As County Executive Jenkins said, I'm Katrina Mosley and I'm an assistant commissioner with the Westchester County Department of Probation. And I wanted to say on behalf of Commissioner Posey, the Westchester County Department of Probation is honored to be a part of the domestic violence high-risk team and to be the recipient of the grant to improve criminal justice response from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women. These funds, along with the continued support of the County Executive Jenkins and the Westchester County Board of Legislators, allow the high-risk team to continue the important work of supporting survivors of domestic violence while holding offenders accountable. Through this collaborative effort, the high-risk team remains committed to enhancing survivor safety, strengthening community partnerships, and promoting offender accountability throughout Westchester County. And I can't wait to see what's next. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks and welcome aboard. But you've been a strong partner since the get-go, so we appreciate it. So I want to say thank you to Ken County Executive Jenkins and the Board of Legislators. You know, none of this happens without without support and leadership. You know, people have tried to do this around the state. We've been blessed in Westchester County to have good leadership that's willing to listen to the partners and say, this is what we're seeing, this is what's happening, this is what we need to do, please support us. I've known Ken for a long time. I've known members of the Board of Legislators for my 40-year career in law enforcement, and there's never been pushback when it came to responding to domestic violence. Funds can be challenging, and we understand that, that's why we seek grant funding. But the one thing that's never been missing is the support from the collective group. So to you and your team, to the Board of Legislators, and just a shout out to all the partners that are here. Piaget from Putnam, Northern Westchester, Carla from Hope's Door, Cindy and her team from Pace Women's Justice Center, the Office for Women, I met my sister's place, um the Westchester Medical Center, Dr. Miller and his team who are really doing some of the most incredible work as part of this because of what are the trends that we're seeing in the violence that we're seeing to include things like strangulation and what his team is assembling with all the work they're doing in the medical center is going to be, I think, another groundsetting innovative way which is going to set the tone for healthcare systems throughout New York State and how to respond to strangulation. So, for Dr. Miller, really, you should be very proud of what you and your team are doing. Why? Nothing is more meaningful in the service of others than freeing people from violence in their home. The one place they should feel the most safe. And yet we see this, we've seen over 7,800 high-risk cases of domestic violence, high risk in Westchester County since January 1st, 2020. 7,800. That means 7,800 potential homicides. Let's call it what it is. To have the support that we have to receive this grant funding, to keep this work going, is really just a testimony and a testament to a culture of leadership that does not exist in a lot of places. And I can tell you this because I teach around New York State. They want to be like us. And some of them are doing well, but they are constantly reaching out to us, even to come train as far as Rochester, Erie County, Lake Placid, come help us do what you're doing. Um so I want to say again, thank you to Ken and your leadership. Thank you to the Board of Legislators, thank you to this amazing group of people that are here. Uh Katrina, I look forward to really expanding the one piece that we're looking to expand upon. We've focused for so long on victim safety. Uh, but the offender accountability piece, while important to us, I think again it's gonna be a game-changing way things are done, and much like everything else that we do, I think it's gonna set the tone for New York State. So looking forward to it, and kudos to you for being willing to do it with us. I gotta go this tone. It's always fun trying to navigate through through our live broadcast, but the reality is that the work um that that all of the folks that were mentioned, as well as our leaders through this, whether it's our acting director of the office of women, Captain Borgia, certainly um Katrina and Dave Ryan are gonna continue to do this particular work. You know, Katrina Mobley is uh our assistant commissioner in the Department of Probation, has a role of playing this. And again, as Chief was pointing out, um some of us have been doing this work for a long time. Um, you know, first time I met Chief was when he was Chief, that's why we call him Chief, um, up in Bedford, and certainly working with um something that we're gonna talk about a little bit later on with with the challenges with the the FIFA World Cup that are coming up and people that are being trafficked and that kind of thing. Again, that's how we started that particular work myself and then legislator Peter Harcom, um now State Senator Peter Harkom, and there's so many of the advocates and family and friends that continue to do this work. And here in Westchester, thank you, Chief, for uh pointing it out for Westchester because of the level of partnerships that we have. And yes, we stretch across the line in northern Westchester, pundam that's P Piaget, and the team up there that are continuing to do this work because again, well without without the voices working together, making sure that we are able to work with our friends in WMC Health and the Medical Center, be able to do all of those pieces that we can um be able to eliminate um this particular challenge. And that's again a challenge that we have to first face every day. And again, this grant is going to be helpful um in continuing that high-risk work. And again, it's that challenge to do that. So, again, um kudos for all of the work because it it was not an automatic grant. That's part of the challenge that that we saw. I saw uh Cindy and the team from Pace Women's Justice that were telling me about the the challenges while it was getting all held up from some of the misergosh that's out there, but we continue to do the work. But but the truth again is that we have to continue to do this work together again. So um kudos for getting the grant done and now working with all of that team to make sure that we're able to provide those services, provide those resources, and to be able to take on both sides of the equation the victims and making sure that they have the support that they need and holding people accountable um to make sure that the changes can happen. So, again, thank you all for all of that important work, and again, it's a teamwork that makes it all come together. We're gonna flip um now and talk a little bit about um an opportunity at our Lasden Public Gardens in Katona, Lazdin Public Gardens and Veterans Memorial in Katona. Um, we're gonna look for a brand new plant story from fern to flower. So if you're looking for a different way to experience the beauty and diversity of the natural world, um, we're gonna encourage you to go and see a plant story from fern to flower at the Lazdin Public Gardens in Katona. This ongoing exhibit located inside the Gardens beautiful glass conservatory takes visitors on a fascinating journey through the evolution of plant life from the ancient ferns that flourished millions of years ago to the flowering plants that brighten our landscapes today. This is a unique opportunity to explore how the plants have adapted, evolved, and shaped our world over time, all through stunning displays and educational exhibits. We have a quick video to give you a little sneak peek into the event. Let's take a look at that now. Lazdin Public Gardens is presenting a plant story. It's in our conservatory. You can come and learn about the evolution of plants from fern to flower, from when they started as ferns, and then as they evolved through time and adapted as earth changed to then have flowers and the fruits that we know and eat today. The oldest plants were really spore-bearing plants, are ferns, and then they changed over time and developed into flowers. Magnolia, for example, is the first flower, and now we have lots of fruits that we love to eat today. The exhibit was actually designed and installed by uh Francisco Cuelo, who is uh the Friends of Last Ford and the former head of glass houses at the New York Botanical Garden. We have some carnivorous plants. These plants grow in environments where there's poor nutrients in the soil, so they substitute that by being able to eat bugs. So pitcher plants and famous fly traps are really cool, and kids will love that. But we also have cacti, pretty flowers, tree ferns that grow in New Zealand. It's a tropical plant and it grows really tall, and they have these beautiful long fronds, and it does look like when the dinosaurs watch the earth. Alright, so that's a plant story from fern to flower that's going to be open at the Lasden Public Gardens and Veterans Memorial. It's going to be open to the public from 10 to 3 every day till August 31st. This is a free event. Um, certainly you'll be able to see that uh again on our um parks app to be able to see the things that are happening. But whether you're an avid gardener, a nature enthusiast, or simply looking for an enjoyable outing with friends and family, plant story from Fern to Flower is well worth a visit. I hope you'll take this opportunity to discover this remarkable exhibit and see all that the Lasden Public Gardens has to offer. It is your park, so make sure that you take advantage of them. This Thursday at 10 o'clock in the morning, we're going to invite everyone to join us for a very special event inside the historic wardhouse in Tuhoe. Um, as we're celebrating America's 250th anniversary, and we have so many different events going on. The Ward House um gives us this unique opportunity, as many people understand, that Westchester was the neutral ground between the Patriots and the Loyalists, and we were in the middle. And there's so many pieces of history that are embedded here in Westchester County. But we're gonna officially open the doors to the remarkable property, um, the Ward House in Tucko, for its first public viewing since Westchester County acquired it. We're calling this event Opening the Door. And that name is intentional. It's about opening the door to our history, opening the door to new opportunities, and opening the door to the future when the Lenape people who stood on this land that we are all on now will once again have a place to gather and share their culture here in Westchester County. Um, again, as we're approaching this 250th anniversary of our nation, this is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the full story of this land. While we will celebrate our nation's founding, we must also recognize the history of this place long before those 250 years. The Nenapi people called here in Westchester home. They were here first. And the preservation of the Ward House will allow us to honor that history as well as creating something meaningful for future generations. I hope you're gonna be able to join us at 230 White Plains Road in Tucko on June 4th as we take this important step together and begin a new chapter chapter for this historic property. And again, we want to continue to remind everyone it's all those pieces of the history. It's not just the Ward family and the things that happened there. Samuel Crawford, right across the street on Route 22, you see that there's a historic marker there. There were enslaved people in the Ward House, but before that it was the Lenape family, the Lenape um tribe that had so many things in Westchester, and again around this whole country. So this is a great, great, great opportunity for us to bring all of those together and making sure that in the 250th years, not just about the Declaration of Independence, that we will also display that'll come up a little bit later on as we are going to have that at the New Berger Museum. But this first step for the Lenape people in Westchester County, this is the first in the country that we're being told to make sure that we're talking about making sure people can come home and be able to celebrate with everyone the great history that we have in this country. And again, sometimes a little bit challenging, but we're all going to continue to work through this together. So June 4th at 10 a.m., that's gonna be the start of that. Um, at the historic wardhouse again in Tuckahoe at the edge of East Chester. You know, we also had, as I started out this program today, today today is Pride or this month is Pride Month, so happy Pride again for June 1st. And Westchester County and the county's LGBTQ Plus advisory board are proud to partner with the Loft again for this this year, the Loft Community Center in celebration of Pride Month. It's a time to honor the strength, resilience, and history of the contributions of the LGBTQ plus community here in Westchester and across our country. We invite residents, community leaders, advocates, families, and allies to join with us on Sunday, June 7th at 11 a.m. outside the McKillian office building right here in White Plains for a special pride flag raising ceremony. This annual tradition is more than a ceremonial moment. It's a visible reminder how Westchester County believes in dignity, inclusion, and the fundamental right for every person to live openly, safely, and authentically. As the Pride Flag rises, so does our shared commitment to creating a county where everyone feels seen, respected, and welcomed. So we're hoping that you'll all join with us for this meaningful celebration of Pride Visibility. And acceptance and community as we raise the prize flag together in front of the People's Building here in White Plains. As we continue to talk through the things that we have going through Westchester County, that was happening in the nationally accredited and award-winning park system, starting again on that June 3rd from 10 to 3. That's the Veterans Museum exhibit. 250 years of military gear. And again, this is done by those by volunteers, but in a Veterans Museum up in Lasden Park, Lasden Public Gardens, as well as the Veterans Memorial, there is a Veterans Museum. There's a trail of honor which talks about all of the conflicts that and wars that the United States has been involved with. And you have an opportunity to see the 250 years of military gear that is also being displayed at the Veterans Museum. And again, I was there for our Memorial Day um recognition and ceremony, and we had an opportunity to take a look at the the gear from 250 years. And again, there's some authentic things that are there. There are some food packages. Those aren't authentic. And again, it's free. It's going to include those artifacts, boots, headgear, uniforms, camouflage, firearms, dog tags, communication equipment, medical supplies, haversacks, field rations, and it is going to explore and let visitors see the changing realities of military service. Those interactive touchscreen components also will have an engaging educational opportunity as well for visitors of all ages. So take some time to take that opportunity to do that. Now we know that Westchester County beaches are open. That's Glen Island in New Rochelle, Croton Point Park and Croton on the Hudson, and Playland Park, which is in Rye. Those three beaches are going to be open weekends and holidays through Sunday, June 21st. And then we're going to go from that to June 27th to September 7th, where Croton Point Beach will be open weekdays and holidays starting at particular time. Glen Island and Playland beaches will be open daily beginning Friday, June 26th through Monday, September 7th, weather permitting. No admittance act at any one of the beaches after 6 p.m. And parking and beach admission fees may apply. Westchester County residency is required for Glen Island, but Westchester County resident is not required for Playland or the Croton Point Park beaches. So again, that's a great opportunity to make sure that you see that. Coming up this Saturday, we're going to have the 29th Asian American Heritage Festival at Kensico Dan Plaza. That's going to be able to showcase our Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, and Indonesian cultures with live songs, dances, musical performances, and of course, food. Right? So we're going to have some there'll be some great exhibits that happen. This is the second one. We kicked it off this week on May 31st with a Polish, the 47th Polish American Heritage Festival. And then we're going to go with another 12 more throughout the season. And so it's a great opportunity, as we like to say in Westchester, that Westchester starts with WE, and that says that we all have great culture that we would like to display and share with everyone. So it's a good opportunity wherever that happens to be, whether it's at Kensico Dam Park or at um at Ridgeroad Park, which is really the two main places that we do those. Those are going to be rain or shine. Seating's informal, bring a blanket or a folding chair for seating on the lawn. Coolers are not allowed, but the emission and parking, once again, is free. And finally, we have Bicycle Sunday that's coming up. Bicycle Sunday will be on the Bronx River Parkway June 7th, 7, 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. So we're starting to change the timing. This weekend it's projected to be 89 degrees over the weekend. So we go from a 70-degree weekend with some 50s in some places, going to the up to 89 degrees, 90 degrees on this weekend, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. And so bicycle Sunday first, we start a little bit earlier instead of 10. It's at 8, 8 to 12, where you can get on the Bronx River Parkway for that 13.1 mile loop from the county center south to the Yonkers on Scarsdale Road, where you can bike, walk, jog, non-motorized bikes by the way, e-bikes with class one only, and inline skaters. It's a great opportunity to be able to see the beauty of the parks, which are your parks, to be able to do that. Then on Sunday again, we have our third heritage day, which will be Albanian Heritage Day. So for those that you expect, Albanian cuisine, beverages, and dancing, and a variety of sports, live performances, and from the children of the Mother Teresa Center, and DJ Jenny's gonna play traditional music from all regions of Albania. Um, again, it's rain or sunshine. And if you would like to come, make sure you get there early between the Albanian one. It's a little bit crowded from time to time, and we want people to be safe as they're getting into the park to enjoy all the festivities. But so on Saturday to 6th, Asian American, followed by Sunday, Albanian Heritage Day. And again, we're gonna continue to do those things. Download that parks app, whether you're on the Google Play Store or the Apple iOS App Store, download the official Westchester County Parks app. That's the one it looks like with the leaf with the Westchester County logo, and download and you can see all of the events that are happening in the park, and there's so many of them out of the 54 different facilities, 18,000 acres. There's something to do for everyone, including going to Playland. And that's this week in Westchester. As we begin Pride Month, today's briefing was a reminder of what makes Westchester County strong: our commitment for caring for one another, lifting up other members, every member of our community, and building a county where everyone knows they belong. So this June we're proudly celebrating LGBTQ Plus, um, the LGBTQ plus community, and the many, many contributions our LGBTQ plus residents have made to the fabric of Westchester County. Um we that spirit of community was reflected in today's updates from efforts to address the regional's critical blood shortage to the $1 million federal investment that will strengthen support for the victims of domestic violence. Today's announcement highlights the power of the people coming together to help those in need. We also look forward to the county's opening the door ceremony at the historic wardhouse in Tuckahoe. And as we prepare to celebrate and commemorate our nation's 250th anniversary, the preservation by the county of the wardhouse offers that opportunity to recognize the full story of our county and create a future gathering space for the Nenape people whose history on this land searches back generations. So whether you're attending a community event, visiting one of our parks, donating blood, supporting a neighbor, or simply celebrating pride with friends, family, thank you all for making Westchester County a place where the unity, inclusion, and compassion continues to lead the way.