Vol. 76, No. 18
What’s inside?
Thursday, April 30, 2026
Renewed push for assault loophole bill By Olivia Young oyoung@riverdalepress.com
Tending their futures
$1.00
In New York, those accused of rape and sexual assault can cite a victim’s voluntary intoxication as part of their defense. A bill that aims to put an end to that possibility — which supporters call a legal loophole — has been introduced for the seventh time. But it once again faces a narrowing window to reach a floor vote. Since being introduced in 2019 by former state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, the bill, A101, has been championed by Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz — the bill’s sponsor — and the Justice Without Exclusion Coalition, which includes dozens of survivor advocate organizations. In the past, the bill failed to pass due to
factors such as time constraints and concern for the potential overcriminalization of men of color. But proponents of the bill say recent incidents make its passage all the more urgent. Activists point to recent sexual misconduct accusations by several women, some of whom were willingly intoxicated, raised against former U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell. Others call upon a recently released CNN investigation, which revealed an online “rape academy” where users drugged and sexually assaulted their partners. Coalition co-chair Chris Lake explained something like the “rape academy” could fall under the bill too. He said networks of predators, across states and countries, are conversing on drugging victims with substances that are not only easily accessible, but metabolize
in the body quickly. “This forces the victim into a very terrible gray zone,” Lake explained. “If [an assaulter] used a drug that’s not detectable, [the victim] now falls into the very same voluntary intoxication exclusion gap.” Dinowitz, who is also a lawyer, said a case where the victim is heavily intoxicated — such as in several of the Swalwell cases — would be “extraordinarily difficult to prosecute.” Though the Manhattan District Attorney’s office launched an investigation into Swalwell, Dinowitz is “not confident anything is going to happen.” But local activists believe such patterns need to change. Sue Dodell, a lawyer, longtime Riverdale resident and member of the local women’s activist group called the Ruth Mullen
Meet Wave Hill’s interns Page A5
Riverdale Huddle, said predators need consequences. “They know they’re working within gaps in the law, and if they knew they would be investigated and prosecuted for rape, they won’t do it,” Dodell said. “Word really does get out among predators.” Throughout the country, legislation has been attempting to close such gaps. Twentyseven other states and Washington, D.C. have adopted versions of the A101 bill, Lake pointed out. However, for the past several years, the New York State Legislature has stalled on budget negotiations, and A101 has been one of many bills crammed into the last weeks of sesA101 ON PAGE A4
Terence “Terry” Connaughton dies at 92 years old By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
ground, often incorporating traditional dishes, clothing and personal histories. Families were a central part of that effort, helping to bring authenticity and pride to each display. “Parents were dying to come in to participate, to help,” Prado said. “And it turned into something really amazing where they brought in food, they brought in different traditional attire, and they participated proudly in a little mini fashion show that we did where they were able to show off their cultural attire.” The diversity event was meant to offer more than just festivities, explained RKA Guidance Counselor Johanna Cuello-Gutierrez. It served as a platform for students to better understand themselves and one another in a way that traditional classroom settings often cannot. “It’s an opportunity to celebrate, but it’s also a bigger opportunity to share,” she said.
At St. Margaret of Cortona Church, hundreds gathered April 25 to honor Terence Connaughton, better known as Terry, a longtime Riverdale resident whose influence in New York’s Irish community spanned decades. Connaughton, who died at 92, built a life that bridged Ireland and New York — through Gaelic sports, public service and a restaurant that became a central gathering place for generations of Irish immigrants and families finding their footing in the city. His daughter, Eileen Connaughton Montague, described that focus as constant throughout his life. “My dad’s life was really devoted to Gaelic sport and the Irish community, just first and foremost,” Connaughton Montague said. “We always joked that even before family, it was that.” Born in Athleague, County Roscommon, Connaughton grew up in rural Ireland during a period of economic hardship. As a young athlete, he stood out in hurling, captaining Roscommon’s minor team and helping secure a Connacht championship, a rare accomplishment for the county at the time. In 1952, at 19, he emigrated to New York. Within days, he found his way to Gaelic Park in the Bronx, where he joined a team and began a lifelong involvement in Gaelic Games. Connaughton went on to play hurling in New York for more than two decades, primarily with the Clare club, winning championships and earning selection to the New York All-Stars. As his playing career progressed, he moved into coaching and organizing, working closely with younger players. Much of that work took shape through the Good Shepherd Football Club in Inwood, where Connaughton coached generations of Irish American players and helped build one of the area’s most enduring Gaelic programs. His son, Terry Connaughton Jr., who delivered the eulogy at the funeral, said that connection was generational, adding that his father found purpose in developing others through sport. “He had a real passion for training the kids,” he said. “It was really a community affair that way.”
RKA ON PAGE A4
CONNAUGHTON ON PAGE A4
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Michelle Mullen
Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy showcases culture and diversity By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Local art on display “Emergence” opens soon Page A7
At Riverdale/Kingsbridge Academy, also known as RKA, the gymnasium transformed into a global showcase April 23, where dozens of cultures were represented through student-led tables featuring vibrant foods, traditional crafts and handmade poster boards. The school’s second annual Cultural Diversity Day built on years of multicultural programming, expanding it into a more immersive experience — a space where students not only learned about one another, but took the lead in teaching. Matthew Rosenberg, an English as a New Language teacher and RKA’s multicultural committee chair, said the scale of diversity across the academy’s roughly 1,400 students required an approach that actively reflected students’ cultures in both the classroom and school community. “We have 35 languages spoken at the
school and students from over 46 countries,” Rosenberg noted. That breadth, staff said, drove a shift in how cultural programming takes shape. While the school had long marked yearly cultural observances — including Black History Month and Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month — students began expressing a desire for something more expansive. Assistant Principal Miledys Prado, who also serves as the school’s cultural diversity chair, said the idea for the fair emerged directly from those conversations. “I had a really close relationship with the students and they would tell me sometimes that they felt that their culture was never celebrated,” she shared. In response, Prado and her colleagues sought out to create a space where RKA’s teens could take ownership of how their cultures were represented. The result was a lively student-driven event where each table reflected a different country or cultural back-
Former Riverdalian awarded Israel Prize By Michelle Mullen mmullen@riverdalepress.com
Former Riverdale resident Chantal Belzberg received the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement, the country’s highest civilian honor, for her work supporting victims of terror and their families. First awarded in 1953, the prize is presented annually on Israeli Independence Day. This year, Belzberg, who co-founded the Israel-based organization OneFamily with her husband, Marc Belzberg, was recognized for building a nationwide support system for bereaved families and survivors of attacks. Chantal Belzberg, born and raised in Belgium, moved to New York in the fall of 1986, after she and Marc were married. The two
first crossed paths in New York City the year prior, when Chantal Belzberg was in town for a friend’s wedding. Her husband would be the one to introduce her to Riverdale, having settled into an apartment in The Century Tower in the late ‘70s. “He said Riverdale is a beautiful neighborhood, you will love it,” Chantal Belzberg told The Press. “So that’s how I found out about it. I mean, I had heard of New York, but I had not heard of Riverdale.” Over the next five years, Chantal and Marc Belzberg welcomed three children before relocating to Israel in 1991. The family made their home in Jerusalem, where they would build their lives and begin the work that led to the ISRAEL PRIZE ON PAGE A4
Courtesy Meir Pavloski
&ormer 2iverdale resident Chantal "elZBerG co Founder oF )srael Based nonprokt /ne&amily Was aWarded this year s )srael PriZe For ,iFetime !chievement.