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Breaking Barriers, Leading Rye with Marion Anderson · MyRye.com Conversations with Doug French

• MyRye.com: Welcome to the MyRai.com podcast, Conversations with Doug French. I'm your host, Doug French, former mayor of the City of Rye, and this podcast is about the people and the issues that impact Rye and our surrounding region. And our focus is really to educate and inform you, our listeners, so you can engage on the issues that matter most to you. Today in conversation is the topic of Rye City Council, Leadership, History, and Moving Forward. And with us, Is Marian Anderson, Rice City Council member, and the first African American elected to the Rice City Council. Marian, welcome to myriai.com. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Thank you. Happy to be here. MyRye.com: So in this episode, I'd like our listeners to walk away with three things. First is Marion's lifelong journey as a Rye resident and historic first on the city council. Second is the progress on the city's comprehensive plan. We spoke with the mayor earlier in an episode. Marion's taking the leadership role of the comprehensive plan, so just an update as far as that stands. And then third is some of the issues that matter most to her when it comes to community, inclusion, and quality of life. So to kick off the conversation, Marion, I I'd like you to take us back to election night when when you realize that the historic moment of you're the first person elected to the city council. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: You know, I you've already said I've grown up in Rye. It's not a particularly diverse community, less diverse now than it was back then. it was a big moment. I thought back to my mom and dad who moved here in the nineteen forties. I grew up in a totally white community, and it was a big moment for I think for Rye, in a time that Our country is in such upheaval and there are so many things going on. It it just it made me proud for the community. It really did. It was a good thing. MyRye.com: That's that's great. So let's just dive into a little bit. So you are a true Rye Lifer, born at United Hospital, no longer there. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Mm-hmm. Yep. MyRye.com: raised in Glen Oaks, graduated from Rye High School. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Mm-hmm. MyRye.com: So what are some of the memories you remember, you know, growing up in Rye? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Well, as you said, I grew up in the Glen Oaks neighborhood. it was a primarily Italian neighborhood. a few black families in the neighborhood, but it was the time when you were outside, you were playing, you were in and out of people's homes. It was a very different way that people lived. We were out on the streets playing stick ball, having crab apple fights. Just being left to our own devices, climbing trees, riding bikes. So it was a very innocent time back then. It was it was free. MyRye.com: What was Purchase Street like? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Purchase Street. it's it's very similar. You know, so what I love about Purchase Street is that there are many of the buildings that are there were there and they've been repurposed into something else, which is kind of a cool thing. So you look at Oco Restaurant, way back in the day when I was a kid, that was a clothing store. But it's been through so many iterations. Ruffelli was Woolworths and where their bar is, it was the counter for Woolworths. And then we had at some point the gap, but the buildings are repurposed, it has that look, and there's something familiar. There's something nice about having that familiarity over the years with the structures. It's cool. MyRye.com: Yeah, when I was when I was d doing some research for the Rye Recreation, we it was actually Jackie Onassis who had talked about preserving New York City and the landmarks so that when people mark their place and time, they want to come to some place familiar that other people before them have been. So yeah, Purchase Street is like Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Mm-hmm. Right, exactly. MyRye.com: that. you also talked about your family history, what it's meant to you and how it's really shaped your public service. Can you can you tell us some stories about that? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: my parents moved to Rye in the late forties after the war. My dad was a CB in the Navy, and he was stationed in the Philippines. My mom came here first. She originated from Virginia, a very poor family, fourteen children. I was gonna say sixteen, fourteen children, on a farm. And back then She was able to go to sixth grade and that's when schooling stopped for an African American person in Virginia. So She came here to Rye, and I think one moment that I remember so clearly is in 1964 when the Voting Rights Act was passed. My mom went to vote at Osborne School, which my dad was carpenter on, and she took us into the voting booth with her. It was people don't understand how important voting was. She was not a highly educated woman, cleaned houses, did laundry or whatever, but that right to vote was so important and she instilled that in in in her kids. It's just amazing. MyRye.com: What a great story. So, what what would she say now when she just sees that you're the first African American on the city council? What would she say? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Shh. she would be thrilled. I'm thinking, you know, my sister was actually the first person in her family to ever go to college. Which, you know, so we have some first. my sister went off to Wellesley, transferred to Yale, and graduated from that first class of women graduating from Yale. So I think it's just something in our family that. We're we're into the first and knowing how important it is to break those barriers. Because then you you you're opening up the barriers for others. Right now, going to Yale as a woman, nobody would even think about it, right? Yeah. But MyRye.com: Right, right, right. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: back in nineteen seventy it was a big deal when my sister graduated. MyRye.com: And then how how has your mother's influence really impacted you in terms of civic engagement and and guided you into the initiatives you get involved with, those types of things? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: I remember, you know, this this political involvement was a big deal for her. And I remember going into the city and campaigning for Robert Kennedy and handing out literature on the street. I remember on Purchase Street, kind of near what's now the little mini mall, there was a John F. Kennedy. MyRye.com: Okay. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: he had an office there in Rye when he was campaigning. downtown Rive. She made us aware of those things, and just made sure that we were out there and standing up for ourselves because she had to fight her whole life. you know, so she opened doors for us. And the the the main goal for her education. It is just like whatever you learn from a book, somebody can't take it away from you. Your education, you got it, and how important. that is because it was something that she was lacking. MyRye.com: Great stories, great stories. Now I also see that you have championed initiatives for Paul and it's Oriel Red, the Plaza. Tell tell us about them. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: So Mr. and Mrs. Red were here in Rye. They had children, Paul, Paul Junior and Paula. Paul and Paula, Paul, Paul, Paula, we all went to high school together. However, the Reds, as their families was expanding, they MyRye.com: Mm-hmm. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: needed a larger home. And they became involved in trying to find an apartment. And it was just like that perfect intersection of people in the community. We had a Jewish community that was living up on Kirby Lane North, and they were activists. And one of those families, the Sterling family, the mother was a writer and she wrote African American history books, and She became a champion of the African American population in Rye, which was I think probably larger than it is now. MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: and the Reds were looking for an apartment, and she helped them by going to Rye Colony. There was an open apartment. And she went to find out that she did the reconnaissance, the apartment was available, and she quickly got Oriel. Who was waiting across the street to come over? Well, suddenly that apartment was no longer available. Once she showed up at the door. This then turned into other people getting involved, and one of those people, very first civil rights case for William Kunzler, the great civil MyRye.com: okay. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: rights attorney. He lived in Porchester. And he took the case. there was a frost burning, eight-foot cross that was burned on the Sterlings property. MyRye.com: So what year was this about? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: this was about 1963, 64, in the early 60s. MyRye.com: Okay. Okay. Right. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: counselor's involvement led to a housing discrimination bill, New York State bill, the Red Bill. It's named after Paul and Oriel MyRye.com: Ha ha ha. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Red, that Opened the door for them to be able to move into Rye Colony. Eventually Paul became the chair or the president of their board, but they were so involved in politics, in human rights activities throughout Rye. That was just one step, but they owned a newspaper, the Westchester County Press, which is Still in operation today. It is a newspaper that focuses on the African American community. Paul had an a tagline, Paul Tells All, and that was his article. MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: it was really kind of and they still put that in that newspaper, but it lended voice to the African American community in Westchester. So they branched out from Rye, involved in the Porchester Rye NAACP, National Association for Colored People. MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: both of them were past presidents. the organization, of course, is still very active and I think becoming more active now in the in these times in Porchester Rye and throughout the nation. he started the Westchester Black Democrats, which is an offshoot of the Westchester Democratic Committee. He was involved in the Urban League. He did a lot of work on housing and affordability and workforce work. Mrs. Red was no slouch. she MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: was actually the very first, we love these first, African American, but also the very Форст вумен тобі а депуті каунті езекути форсчестер каунти. MyRye.com: Wow, I didn't know that. Okay. Interesting. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Yeah, but yeah, you know, so we now have the second woman. Fifty years later, it's the second woman. So she really broke barriers. MyRye.com: Right. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: they both broke barriers. They were very involved with so many things in the community, they were incredible. MyRye.com: And and in the plaza area that's named after them, where d where do you define that that area of the plaza? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: I I did this with Ingram Taylor. We went to high school together, right high school. We went to the city and we did a presentation because we really wanted to get this done and we were told kind of quietly, you know what, you need to build a coalition. Get some people that are supporting this. Well, that was not very hard. this all really kind of started when Ingram and I were talking at the Fourth of July event on the Village Green. We're in 2026 and 2022. For that we, Mrs. Redd, had just passed away in June, and we said we, you know, we need to really remember these people for what they have done for the community. we built, it was not hard to build a coalition. So many people signed on, so many people were so involved. We did go to the city. The city basically said, you know what, you work. With our city manager, and we will help you get this done. And it happened. we had politicians, MyRye.com: Mm-hmm. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: we had nonpoliticians, we just it was just an incredible intersection that we would do Zoom meetings and there would be 20 people on the Zoom meeting, you know, to get it done. Yeah. MyRye.com: Right. That's great. That's great. So so as we talk about how Rise changed over the years, one of the things that you and I talked about offline is there's there's a it's really a change in terms of age range. People used to come all ages, move here, live here, retire here. That's really changed with a focus on schools where people come primarily during the school age years to raise their kids and then they they move out. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Mm-hmm. MyRye.com: so as we move to the comprehensive plan. You're taking one of the leads. give us an update on where that stands in terms of the outreach to the community, some of the main goals, 'cause I know you've kicked off several meetings already. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Okay, so actually this week there was a big kickoff meeting. So a couple of big milestones that we have our steering committee that is working directly with our consultants, AKRF. and they had their very first meeting and they started laying out the priorities, their themes, their goals, and it was just really Being a fly on the wall, listening to how this is going to happen. Their role at this point is they're going to start rolling out all different ways of engaging with the community. Can they come out at the sidewalk sales? Can they do small focus groups? Can they meet? Where can they meet? And the ultimate goal is to get a really rich cross section of the people who live in Rye. Not the usual, you know, we've got we've got our people that are flamboyant and are out there, but we also have people that are living in apartments and that are a little bit more quiet and doing, you know, their work and coming home and going to sleep or whatever. So we want to make sure that we are getting a rich cross-section of everyone in the community. they're gonna start working on setting up focus groups, but they're also going to be working on setting up subcommittees. that might work on specific tasks, such as traffic, curve zoning. MyRye.com: I think you could share in terms of the priorities and the themes that you mentioned? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Yeah, you know, AKRF, land use. Rye is Rye is landlocked. There's really not much property out there for us anymore. So what is the community goal and what is it that we're gonna be looking at as we are building in Rye or not building in Rye? How can we do that? Big question. Transportation and traffic. That's something that has changed dramatically over the years. Is there is a lot of traffic in Wai. looking at green infrastructure. you know, I know the school district is going back to talking about busing or not busing or people in the community, but you go to the schools and the traffic is just abysmal. It's very hard to get around the community. flooding, resiliency, moderate income housing because the economics of the community has changed dramatically. how can we live and stay in Rye? How can we make it affordable for people to be able to have their children stay and live here? MyRye.com: You had mentioned the the median household income as well as the purchase price. can you share those stats with me? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Yeah, I just read an article this morning and it was in the White Plains patch. Rye has a median income reported at $483 plus thousand dollars per year, and the housing median cost two point two million dollars. so that's the upper echelon. However, we do have people that are much, much, much, much more modest. in their income, people living on social security, people living on much less. So how do how do we balance that? It's all about finding balance. MyRye.com: And so how do how do we balance that? I mean your background in early childhood education, working not profits, how do we better support those young families and seniors? Any ideas that the city's discussing? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Well, I'm discussing things MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: that I really would love to see us talking a lot more about is as we are building. We're gonna be building. our our old comprehensive plan was about single family homes. we're not gonna be building too many single family homes except knocking something down and building something up in its place, but new real stock that people can afford. we need to be looking at moderate income housing, how That would look in our community, that would give people the opportunity to start here. When I was campaigning, it these people just stuck with me. It was a young couple with two kids, stroller, and they lived on theater framed in apartments. They were both attorneys, and they were lamenting the fact that they don't think that they would be able to afford to stay. in Rye. And that this was a dual-income family, professionals who were worried about their struggle to do it because it's a really appealing community. How do we how do we address this? I think this is one of these things comprehensive planning can help us really dialogue about and figure out how we can diversify economics. in the community a little bit, re-diversify the ethnicity within the community. you know, so it's about making us a little bit more diverse community, but on multiple fronts. It's not all about ethnicity. MyRye.com: Exactly. Exactly. And and and so seniors can stay here as well and retire because more and more seniors Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Exactly. Exactly. MyRye.com: want to stay at home and and they don't want to have to have to move or move to an assisted living or they'd rather just stay at home, Spry, for example. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Right, exactly. You know, for my mom it was something we were able to do, is she stayed in her house until her death. you know, it wasn't an easy thing to do, but it it was very important for her to be able to live in her home. Yeah. So MyRye.com: So let's pivot now to to to just looking ahead in the community. And many of your remarks on Inauguration Day and at the annual meeting at the Square House, you know, you spoke about community progress, the importance of volunteerism, preserving Rice character while moving forward. Can you share some of your thoughts around those those comments? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: well I think, you know, Rye is such a unique community. And there are so many wonderful things that I think it's important for us to be able to look at and figure out how to preserve or refurbish and reuse in a different way rather than tearing things down. I think many people are concerned about. Harrison over here, Porchester over here, what their building is looking like, and kind of seeing things going straight up. is that something that we MyRye.com: Right. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: want to see in our community? So it's it's looking at all of these things and trying to figure out how do we maintain the best, which is that I think small, quaint hometown feel, that little curve to Purchase Street, the Architecture, the dentals, the arched windows, those kind of things. How do we preserve those things? and MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: maintain that, but also make it new at the same time. MyRye.com: And what about you just you've also talked about collaboration, transparency, bringing diverse voices to the table. How do we foster a greater inclusive environment and unity? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: I think so far, six months in, our council and our mayor has done an awesome job of just that, of just really starting to reach out. So we've and this is also with the county. So it's also trying to forge a positive relationship with the county, and there's now an intermunicipal agreement between Rye Town, Rye, and Harrison. First time Harrison has actually come to table with us to talk MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: about flooding and beaver brook and that kind of thing so those conversations are going on it is a first MyRye.com: That is a first. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: it's Liswick which is 14 MyRye.com: Yes. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: communities looking and rye is part of those 14 communities it's been reinvigorated and we're looking at flooding and it's not something water does not care about artificial boundaries of communities. So we have to be working together. The only way to work together is to talk together. So it's really about getting the dialogues done. We're working with Rye Country Day School on what they needed to get done. Osborne Home, it's been a very long process, but they finally got their approvals and it will be senior care is changing. and it's allowing them to be able to update their model and have a programs and services that are going to meet the challenges moving ten, twenty, thirty years into the future, which is what we all need to be doing. So MyRye.com: Exactly, exactly. so just to sum up on on the look ahead, you know, issues are regional. Are there any other emerging priorities that you're seeing with Rye or with the county that residents should be aware of on a regional focus? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: I think I think we're really starting to look we we have been looking, but deep dive into cell service. It's a it's a it's a problem. in certain parts of the city. So there is commission. they're working on the deer population, and there's a committee that's working on that. So there's so many little things that are going on in the community. definitely sustainability efforts. You know, part of the July fourth events is two hundred and fifty years worth of trees in rye. you know, we we we want to preserve those also. It's about our environment. And I think we did a great job. not everybody's gonna think so, but on the leaf blower, I think we came to a pretty quick consensus and I was thrilled this morning to see the city actually had a battery-powered mower doing the village green, and it was so quiet. My dog just kinda laid down and watched. MyRye.com: Yeah. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: so it's good. It's good stuff. MyRye.com: That is good stuff. It used to be, you know, hey, how come I have to do it on my property, but the city doesn't have to do it? So it's good to see. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Exactly. Exactly. MyRye.com: so I just want to pivot to let our our our listeners know if you have a topic or person of interest that you'd like to hear on the My Ride Podcast conversation with Doug French, just email me at French at My Ride.com or let me know around town. so we will move to our last section, which is the lightning round. It's one more short answer, just just to kind of change the case. a little bit. So if you could describe Rye in one Rai's vision for the future in one word, what would that be? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Point. MyRye.com: Quaint. Your proudest moment in community service so far. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: There have been a lot of them, but I think the red project getting that done was just a real big deal. MyRye.com: A favorite rye memory growing up? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Hanging out in the streets with the kids. MyRye.com: What is the toughest part on being on the city council? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: The hours. I work full time and then to go into a city council meeting I'm losing sleep. MyRye.com: Yeah, definitely a lot more hours than people expect going in. to put in the time. Yes. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Exactly. It's intensive. Yeah. MyRye.com: Best Advice for young leaders in Rye. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Educate yourself. MyRye.com: favorite spot to take a walk in Rye. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Couple, Rye Town Park, Village Green. MyRye.com: About your favorite spot for coffee? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Actually, my kitchen. MyRye.com: Great answer. now we do have deer coming up as a topic in a future episode, so that was a nice shout out earlier. But any other suggestion for a future podcast topic or guest that you would recommend? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: I would love to start talking about traffic and you know some green initiatives around figuring out how we can mitigate and get people to learn how to walk. I would love to see a walking and a bike riding, not electric bike, but a bike riding community that we can get out. I walk a lot, and I know one of our other city council employees people, Jamie Jensen is always walking all over the community. She outdoes me, but it's great meeting people and whatever. Yeah. MyRye.com: That's great too. Any final thoughts before we we close out the session? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Thought Rye's Rye is a great community. Rye is a welcoming community and I think we're all just very lucky to be in Rye. MyRye.com: That that's great. Marion, really a pleasure to get to know you better, hear your insights. and also thank you for your service to the community. it's great to have have you on the council. So should people want to contact you, what is the best way? Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: My city email Manderson at Ryan.gov. MyRye.com: And and thank you again, Marion, to our listeners. You can find the full episode, transcripts, and local news and more at myRai.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow or subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. Or give us a comment andor a thumbs up. So thank you all for listening to the MyRai Podcast conversation with Doug French. And we'll see you next time. Marion, thanks again. Marion Anderson, Rye City Council: Thank you.