New York Form Affidavit: Fill & Download for Free

I think it was well planned to be rigged ! There are hundreds of sworn affidavits by people who saw it rigged. Like a Truck driver he hauled ballots from New York to be counted in other States.

A sketch of what the layout of Seneca Village would have looked like. (Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park)Seneca Village was supposed to be a sanctuary.Created in 1825, the village spanned from 82nd to 89th street, along what is now Central Park’s western edge. The village was home to thousands of freed African American slaves, who had come to New York City seeking refuge. Seneca Village became a safe haven for Black property owners who sought to not be limited to the slums of the Five Points in Lower Manhattan where poorer African Americans lived.[1][1][1][1] By 1855, the village consisted of approximately 225 residents, made up of roughly two-thirds African-Americans, one-third Irish immigrants[2][2][2][2] , who following the potato famine of the 1840s and 50s,made their way to New York City in hope of escaping the perils of starvation and death, and a small number of individuals of German descent.[3][3][3][3]However, after just 20 years, the thriving black community that had made its home there were forced off their property by New York so that the city could embark on one of its most recognizable attractions – the creation of Central Park and free additional land for the affluent white residents of Upper Manhattan to build a park.In the mid 19th century, New York City decided it needed a park. The city was growing fast, and everyone was conscious that this was one metric on which its rivals in Europe had the upper hand. In 1845, the editor of the New York Evening Post wrote a special Independence Day editorial, enviously praising Britain’s acres of parks, noting: "These parks have been called the lungs of London."[4][4][4][4]According to the Louise Chipley Slavicek, author of New York’s Central Park, the pro-park lobby were largely “affluent merchants, bankers and landowners”, who wanted a “fashionable and safe public place where they and their families could mingle and promenade”.[5][5][5][5]Uncovering the Stories of Seneca VillageAnd so in 1851, Ambrose Kingsland, the city’s mayor, agreed to create one.[6][6][6][6] By 1854, the city had chosen generous chunk of land in the centre of the island between what is now 59th and 106th streets, and construction on the park began. (It was later extended four blocks further north). The park is still there today, and everyone loves it: despite centuries of urban development, the park has remained an anchoring chunk of green space among the ever-denser Manhattan streets.By the time the decision to create a park was made, there wasn’t enough empty space left in Manhattan. So the city chose a stretch of land where the largest settlement was Seneca Village, population 264, and seized the land under the law of eminent domain, through which the government can take private land for public purposes.[7][7][7][7] Residents protested to the courts many times, against both the order and the level of compensation being offered for their land; eventually, though, all were forced to leave.Map of the lands included in the Central Park, from a topographical survey, June 17th, 1856; [Also:] Plan for the improvement of the Central Park, adopted by the Commissioners, June 3rd, 1856.(Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?)Seneca Village was first started by Andrew Williams and Epiphany Davis, two prominent black abolitionists, who managed to find a white man to sell his land to black people.[8][8][8][8]Mr. Andrew Williams, a 25 year old bootblack or boot-shiner was the first free African American man to purchase land in New York City in 1825.[9][9][9][9] Charging anywhere from 3 – 5 cents a shine, he worked hard, saved his earnings and purchased three lots of (Central Park) land for $125.00 ($113,000 in today’s money) from a white cartman by the name of John Whitehead.[10][10][10][10]In 1824, a white couple John and Elizabeth Whitehead bought and subdivided land in what is now Manhattan’s Upper West Side.[11][11][11][11]Andrew Williams (Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park)It was unheard of for African Americans to be able to purchase land. However, for whatever reason, Mr. Whitehead was willing to sell it not only to Mr. Williams, but also to the many that would follow. In no time, Mr. Whitehead sold off his farm acreage.At the time, it was rare for black people, slaves or not, to be able to purchase land, though there were a few who would sell to them. Williams and Davis were prominent members of the New York African Society for Mutual Relief[12][12][12][12],as well as the AME Zion Church. Williams was joined by trustees for the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church who bought six lots of land near 86th Street designated for a ‘colored’ cemetery. [13][13][13][13] Epiphany Davis, a Black store clerk and trustee of the church, paid $578 for 12 lots.[14][14][14][14]A 19th century map of part of the settlement, marked with names of some residents. (A Handrawn Map of Seneca Village, the 1800's Settlement in New York's Central Park)By the end of the 1820s there were nine houses in Seneca Village.[15][15][15][15] This number would continue to grow throughout the 1830s as African Americans from neighboring York Hill moved to the area. They were displaced to make room for the Croton Reservoir on 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue – a storage unit for the water gathered by the Croton Aqueduct – after William Mathews sold his land to the government for the project.[16][16][16][16] Providing fresh water to the city, the reservoir was eventually torn down in the 1890s.The people of Seneca Village lived in homes ranging to one to three stories and were spread out which was in stark contrast to the crowded homes of poorer black people in the city. Slowly, the community started to take shape. Homes were built, some with barns and stables. Soon, three churches were erected, as well as a school.The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church was established by Reverend Richard Allen in 1801 and was the most prominent African church in the country.[17][17][17][17]The African Union Methodist Church opened in 1837 when William Mathews a deacon purchased land on 85th street.The church buried African Americans in Seneca Village until 1852 when a law prohibiting burials south of 86th Street was enacted.[18][18][18][18] They had had at least two burials between 85th and 86th but were forced to bury their loved ones in the Cypress Hills Cemetery in Brooklyn the following years. Colored School #2 was located in the church’s basement indicating that a majority of the children of Seneca Village pursued education.[19][19][19][19]The First African Methodist Episcopal Church Branch Militant opened its doors in Seneca Village on August 4, 1853. A box put into a cornerstone contained a Bible, hymn book, the church’s rules, a letter with the names of its five trustees and copies of newspapers The Tribune and The Sun.[20][20][20][20]The prospect of owning land in Seneca Village was exciting for more than one reason. Owning land meant voting rights, as well as refuge from the slums of lower Manhattan.[21][21][21][21] Despite New York State’s abolishment of slavery in 1827[22][22][22][22] , discrimination was still prevalent throughout New York City, and severely limited the lives of African-Americans. Seneca Village’s remote location likely provided a refuge from this climate. It also would have provided an escape from the unhealthy and crowded conditions of the City, and access to more space both inside and outside the home.New-York Historical SocietyCompared to other African-Americans living in New York, residents of Seneca Village seem to have been more stable and prosperous — by 1855, approximately half of them owned their own homes.[23][23][23][23] With property ownership came other rights not commonly held by African-Americans in the City — namely, the right to vote. In 1821, New York State required African-American men to own at least $250 (roughly $6,180) in property and hold residency for at least three years to be able to vote. Of the 100 black New Yorkers eligible to vote in 1845, 10 lived in Seneca Village.[24][24][24][24]The fact that many residents were property owners contradicts some common misperceptions during the mid-19th century that the people living on the land slated for the Park were poor squatters living in shanties.[25][25][25][25] While some residents lived in shanties and in crowded conditions, most lived in two-story homes. Census records show that residents were employed, with African-Americans typically employed as laborers and in service jobs, the main options for them at the time.[26][26][26][26] Records also show that most children who lived in Seneca Village attended school.Albro and Mary Joseph Lyons, prominent residents of Seneca Village (Double ambrotype portrait of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons)Seneca Village also served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.[27][27][27][27] During its heyday, many of the village’s basements served as hiding places for people looking to escape slavery. The name of the city helped discern this as Lucius Anneaus Seneca[28][28][28][28] , a Roman philosopher and statesmen, whose book Seneca’s Moral was read carefully by many African American activists in abolition.[29][29][29][29] Prominent Underground Railroad abolitionist Albro Lyons owned land lived in Seneca Village so the possibly of a potential connection is further solidified.[30][30][30][30]Particularly after the Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850[31][31][31][31] ,a lot of people were being abducted on the street and being sent down South into slavery because they weren’t allowed to testify against themselves. A community like Seneca Village away from the city held attraction for the Underground Railroad. And if Seneca Village was actually a destination for slaves to escape to freedom, then the Irish who lived there were also complicit in making sure they stayed safe.[32][32][32][32]However, as the people of Seneca Village were thriving, the people of lower Manhattan were looking for other, more aesthetically pleasing things to do with the area it occupied. Lower Manhattan was overflowing with immigrants at the time, and the wealthy, affluent families were beginning to look for other places to make their homes.[33][33][33][33] The upper, eastern part of the island is where they started looking, directly across from Seneca Village. Once all of the affluent families started moving to the Upper East Side, they started wanting outdoor space.When Powerful White New Yorkers Demolished An Entire Black Village To Build Central ParkReal estate developers quickly jumped on the idea of an exclusive community bordering lush parklands and began looking into securing the area in the center of Manhattan — including the prime real estate that Seneca Village stood upon.The city government authorized the taking of land between 59th and 106th Streets between Fifth and Eighth Avenues in 1855 to adjust to the new demand. Land was flooded for the Central Park Lake and soil was brought in to cover the land and all the agriculture that had existed on it.[34][34][34][34]Many settlements had to be uprooted to make way for Central Park including Harsenville (though part remained intact), the Piggery District and the Convent of the Sisters of Charity.These areas were home to Dutch, Irish and farming villages. Nearly 7,500 lots of land home to roughly 1,600 people were displaced to make way for the grand park.[35][35][35][35]Martel’s New York Central Park by Pierre Martel, 1864When New York City decided to move the park to the Seneca Village and surrounding area, they gave the residents of the settlement two years to pack up their things and leave. The government also offered to buy the properties but often for much lower prices for what the land was actually valued for. It was hoped that the removal of the inhabitants '”will be effected with as much gentleness as possible'' while at the same time describing them as less than human”.[36][36][36][36]Andrew Williams filed an Affidavit of Petition to the Commissioners of Central Park in the State Supreme Court of New York where he detailed his annoyance with the low valuations the city placed on his property.[37][37][37][37] 1855-56 found Williams in court being offered $3,500 for his land which was worth more than $4,000.[38][38][38][38] The Government had enacted eminent domain (eminent domain refers to the power of the government to take private property and convert it into public use), to take his land and after supposedly offering him $3,500 ($99,000).[39][39][39][39] The Fifth Amendment provides that the government may only exercise this power if they provide just compensation to the property owners.[40][40][40][40] Williams was eventually forced to take $2,335 ($66,600) and leave immediately.[41][41][41][41]He rejected the lower offer and settled his claim for his land by using the rights afforded under the law of eminent domain to reclaim the land.Some of the Seneca Village residents were paid for their land, but most of them were not. Epiphany Davis lost over a hundred dollars as she was forced to give up her home.[42][42][42][42]The sign, acknowledging the area where Seneca Village once stood. (Local Ecologist)After it was obliterated in 1857, the story of Seneca Village was lost for more than a century. At the end of a Central Park plaque commemorating Seneca Village, there’s an apparently innocuous line, noting: “The residents and institutions of Seneca village did not re-establish their long-standing community in another location”.[43][43][43][43]In the years after the 1827 slave emancipation, the safest way to live as an African American was in a separate, “enclave” community.[44][44][44][44] As the village was destroyed, so was this safe haven for what based on census records was a “black middle class”.[45][45][45][45] Many of the residents stayed relatively local to New York (after the village was demolished), but what they did not do was stay together. And that’s what’s so tragic: it was a community, and then the community was gone.It wouldn’t be until 1992 when Roy Rosenzweig and Elizabeth Blackmar published their book The Park and the People: A History of Central Park that the old town was brought to the public gaze.[46][46][46][46] Recently researchers have begun excavating the site on which it once stood, hoping to shed light on the lost village and give due credit to those who lived there. However, as of now, the only official artifact acknowledging the village’s existence is a small sign, dedicated to the people who once called it home.In the late 1990s the New York Historical Society launched Before Central Park: the Life and Death of Seneca Village which was an exhibit curated by Cynthia Copeland and Grady Turner. Wall, along with professors Nan Rothschild from Columbia University and Copeland, started the Seneca Village Project in 1998 working towards the ‘study of the village in an educational context and its commemoration.’[47][47][47][47]Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central ParkThe Seneca Village Project began excavating the location in Central Park where the community existed in 2011. They conducted studies of historical maps, soils, and ground penetrating radar which allowed for the pinpointing of locations where artifacts could be found.[48][48][48][48] With the excavations the Seneca Village Project was able to find the foundation walls and cellar deposits of the home of church porter William Godfrey Wilson, his wife Charlotte, and their eight children.[49][49][49][49] Included in the finds were a child’s shoe, a roasting pan, and a tea kettle.The collective was also able to pinpoint deposits from behind two houses that were buried in the ground and located in another part of the village.How America’s first black middle class village was destroyed to make way for Central ParkExcavations attempt to place Seneca Village in a much wider narrative, in which African Americans’ role in the nation's early public life has been erased. There’s been a denial that there were African Americans in New York City. In 1991, a slave burial ground was discovered during excavations to build a new office block north of City Hall – a reminder that nearly a quarter of the city’s population was black by the time of the American Revolution.[50][50][50][50]Archaeologists, historians and members of the African American community are trying to get knowledge of the Seneca Village into the New York City school curriculum[51][51][51][51] and other school curriculum because people don’t know about middle class African Americans.Fragments of crockery found during the Seneca Village dig. (New York destroyed a village full of African-American landowners to create Central Park)Another key part of the Seneca Village Project is an attempt to trace the genealogies of those who lived there, and find any living descendents.[52][52][52][52] So far, unfortunately, this has been unsuccessful. Researchers hoped that with a population of almost 300 people that there would be descendants of Seneca Village, able to share part of their family history. If you know someone who may be a descendant of Seneca Village, contact Diana Wall at [email protected] and/or Nan Rothschild at [email protected] continuance of a community made up of African-American landowners, in the middle of Manhattan, could have made for a very different New York – or even a very different United States – today. It’s a reminder that seemingly small decisions, like uprooting a certain community, or bulldozing a council estate, can change a city for good. You have to wonder whether all the mingling and promenading was worth it.Footnotes[1] Five Points District, New York City, New York (1830s-1860s)[1] Five Points District, New York City, New York (1830s-1860s)[1] Five Points District, New York City, New York (1830s-1860s)[1] Five Points District, New York City, New York (1830s-1860s)[2] The unknown Irish story of New York’s Seneca Village [2] The unknown Irish story of New York’s Seneca Village [2] The unknown Irish story of New York’s Seneca Village [2] The unknown Irish story of New York’s Seneca Village [3] The Story of Seneca Village[3] The Story of Seneca Village[3] The Story of Seneca Village[3] The Story of Seneca Village[4] New York destroyed a village full of African-American landowners to create Central Park[4] New York destroyed a village full of African-American landowners to create Central Park[4] New York destroyed a village full of African-American landowners to create Central Park[4] New York destroyed a village full of African-American landowners to create Central Park[5] New York City's Central Park[5] New York City's Central Park[5] New York City's Central Park[5] New York City's Central Park[6] History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research[6] History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research[6] History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research[6] History Engine: Tools for Collaborative Education and Research[7] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nyhistory.org/sites/default/files/Seneca_Village_NYHS.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiu5_rZvvTjAhWOG80KHWGGClsQFjAYegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw19LKMehXoJceMyWirg0Mwv[7] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nyhistory.org/sites/default/files/Seneca_Village_NYHS.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiu5_rZvvTjAhWOG80KHWGGClsQFjAYegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw19LKMehXoJceMyWirg0Mwv[7] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nyhistory.org/sites/default/files/Seneca_Village_NYHS.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiu5_rZvvTjAhWOG80KHWGGClsQFjAYegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw19LKMehXoJceMyWirg0Mwv[7] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.nyhistory.org/sites/default/files/Seneca_Village_NYHS.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiu5_rZvvTjAhWOG80KHWGGClsQFjAYegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw19LKMehXoJceMyWirg0Mwv[8] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[8] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[8] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[8] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[9] Andrew Williams: Census Entry[9] Andrew Williams: Census Entry[9] Andrew Williams: Census Entry[9] Andrew Williams: Census Entry[10] SENECA VILLAGE[10] SENECA VILLAGE[10] SENECA VILLAGE[10] SENECA VILLAGE[11] Seneca Village: Page Three[11] Seneca Village: Page Three[11] Seneca Village: Page Three[11] Seneca Village: Page Three[12] The New York African Society for Mutual Relief (1808-1860)[12] The New York African Society for Mutual Relief (1808-1860)[12] The New York African Society for Mutual Relief (1808-1860)[12] The New York African Society for Mutual Relief (1808-1860)[13] African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Cemetery[13] African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Cemetery[13] African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Cemetery[13] African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Cemetery[14] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://medium.com/%40interestingshit/the-sad-tale-behind-central-parks-destruction-of-seneca-village-346b8ee6ddc2&ved=2ahUKEwjlu6ClyPTjAhVEaM0KHT-qAc8QjjgwEHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JD56dyAGxg8sSQviuRiDc[14] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://medium.com/%40interestingshit/the-sad-tale-behind-central-parks-destruction-of-seneca-village-346b8ee6ddc2&ved=2ahUKEwjlu6ClyPTjAhVEaM0KHT-qAc8QjjgwEHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JD56dyAGxg8sSQviuRiDc[14] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://medium.com/%40interestingshit/the-sad-tale-behind-central-parks-destruction-of-seneca-village-346b8ee6ddc2&ved=2ahUKEwjlu6ClyPTjAhVEaM0KHT-qAc8QjjgwEHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JD56dyAGxg8sSQviuRiDc[14] https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://medium.com/%40interestingshit/the-sad-tale-behind-central-parks-destruction-of-seneca-village-346b8ee6ddc2&ved=2ahUKEwjlu6ClyPTjAhVEaM0KHT-qAc8QjjgwEHoECAgQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0JD56dyAGxg8sSQviuRiDc[15] Seneca Village: Black history in Central Park[15] Seneca Village: Black history in Central Park[15] Seneca Village: Black history in Central Park[15] Seneca Village: Black history in Central Park[16] Croton Reservoir[16] Croton Reservoir[16] Croton Reservoir[16] Croton Reservoir[17] AME Zion Church — Harriet Tubman Home[17] AME Zion Church — Harriet Tubman Home[17] AME Zion Church — Harriet Tubman Home[17] AME Zion Church — Harriet Tubman Home[18] Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895[18] Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895[18] Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895[18] Encyclopedia of African American History, 1619-1895[19] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25617485?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[19] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25617485?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[19] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25617485?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[19] https://www.jstor.org/stable/25617485?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents[20] Seneca Village: Page Five[20] Seneca Village: Page Five[20] Seneca Village: Page Five[20] Seneca Village: Page Five[21] The Story of Seneca Village[21] The Story of Seneca Village[21] The Story of Seneca Village[21] The Story of Seneca Village[22] Slavery and Emancipation in New York[22] Slavery and Emancipation in New York[22] Slavery and Emancipation in New York[22] Slavery and Emancipation in New York[23] The Story of Seneca Village[23] The Story of Seneca Village[23] The Story of Seneca Village[23] The Story of Seneca Village[24] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[24] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[24] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[24] Before Park, Black Village; Students Look Into a Community's History[25] Seneca Village: The Community that Died so Central Park Could Live[25] Seneca Village: The Community that Died so Central Park Could Live[25] Seneca Village: The Community that Died so Central Park Could Live[25] Seneca Village: The Community that Died so Central Park Could Live[26] Seneca Village: How racism and white supremacy led to the creation of New York City's iconic Central Park[26] Seneca Village: How racism and white supremacy led to the creation of New York City's iconic Central Park[26] Seneca Village: How racism and white supremacy led to the creation of New York City's iconic Central Park[26] Seneca Village: How racism and white supremacy led to the creation of New York City's iconic Central Park[27] SENECA VILLAGE[27] SENECA VILLAGE[27] SENECA VILLAGE[27] SENECA VILLAGE[28] Page on loebclassics.com[28] Page on loebclassics.com[28] Page on loebclassics.com[28] Page on loebclassics.com[29] Did Stoicism Condemn Slavery?[29] Did Stoicism Condemn Slavery?[29] Did Stoicism Condemn Slavery?[29] Did Stoicism Condemn Slavery?[30] Double ambrotype portrait of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons[30] Double ambrotype portrait of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons[30] Double ambrotype portrait of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons[30] Double ambrotype portrait of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons[31] Fugitive Slave Law of 1850[31] Fugitive Slave Law of 1850[31] Fugitive Slave Law of 1850[31] Fugitive Slave Law of 1850[32] Irish Immigrants and the Underground Railroad[32] Irish Immigrants and the Underground Railroad[32] Irish Immigrants and the Underground Railroad[32] Irish Immigrants and the Underground Railroad[33] Ephemeral New York[33] Ephemeral New York[33] Ephemeral New York[33] Ephemeral New York[34] The Lake[34] The Lake[34] The Lake[34] The Lake[35] 160 Years of Central Park: A Brief History[35] 160 Years of Central Park: A Brief History[35] 160 Years of Central Park: A Brief History[35] 160 Years of Central Park: A Brief History[36] A Village Dies, A Park Is Born[36] A Village Dies, A Park Is Born[36] A Village Dies, A Park Is Born[36] A Village Dies, A Park Is Born[37] Little Known Black History Fact: Seneca Village[37] Little Known Black History Fact: Seneca Village[37] Little Known Black History Fact: Seneca Village[37] Little Known Black History Fact: Seneca Village[38] Death of Seneca Village[38] Death of Seneca Village[38] Death of Seneca Village[38] Death of Seneca Village[39] Eminent Domain[39] Eminent Domain[39] Eminent Domain[39] Eminent Domain[40] fifth amendment - Google Search[40] fifth amendment - Google Search[40] fifth amendment - Google Search[40] fifth amendment - Google Search[41] History of the Community[41] History of the Community[41] History of the Community[41] History of the Community[42] The Lost Village In New York City[42] The Lost Village In New York City[42] The Lost Village In New York City[42] The Lost Village In New York City[43] Place Detail: Seneca Village[43] Place Detail: Seneca Village[43] Place Detail: Seneca Village[43] Place Detail: Seneca Village[44] New-York Historical Society[44] New-York Historical Society[44] New-York Historical Society[44] New-York Historical Society[45] Seneca Village: The Black Community That Was Destroyed To Create Central Park[45] Seneca Village: The Black Community That Was Destroyed To Create Central Park[45] Seneca Village: The Black Community That Was Destroyed To Create Central Park[45] Seneca Village: The Black Community That Was Destroyed To Create Central Park[46] The Park and the People[46] The Park and the People[46] The Park and the People[46] The Park and the People[47] Before Central Park: The Life and Death of Seneca Village[47] Before Central Park: The Life and Death of Seneca Village[47] Before Central Park: The Life and Death of Seneca Village[47] Before Central Park: The Life and Death of Seneca Village[48] Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park[48] Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park[48] Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park[48] Seneca Village destroyed to make way for Central Park[49] Seneca Village 2011 Excavation[49] Seneca Village 2011 Excavation[49] Seneca Village 2011 Excavation[49] Seneca Village 2011 Excavation[50] African Burial Ground | [50] African Burial Ground | [50] African Burial Ground | [50] African Burial Ground | [51] Marilyn Nelson's [51] Marilyn Nelson's [51] Marilyn Nelson's [51] Marilyn Nelson's [52] Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?[52] Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?[52] Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?[52] Can You Help Find the Descendants of Seneca Village?

Ms. Belforti is correct when she says, “New York law protects my right to hold both my job and my beliefs.” And, truly, there is nothing preventing her from holding her beliefs, while doing her job. She doesn't have to approve of gay marriage. She simply has to sign, as an elected official of the town, that a marriage license has been properly issued to two people who are legally entitled to marry in the state of New York. She is not endorsing their marriage. She's simply registering their intent to marry.EDIT 12.14.11: A couple intending to marry must appear in person before the town clerk and fill out a form entitled, State of New York, Department of Health, Affidavit, License, and Certificate of Marriage. The clerk's function is pro forma, to determine that the parties have appeared and sworn to the answers they have given on the form. The line to which she must attach her signature reads,"Subscribed and sworn to/affirmed before me. Signature of town or cityclerk _____________________ Date___.I'm sure there are many situations in which town clerks such as Ms. Belforti are called upon to issue marriage licenses to couples they do not think should marry. When one party is drunk or impaired by drugs for instance. Or when a much older person wants to marry someone of barely legal age. Or interracial marriages before the civil rights movement. Regardless of personal feelings, such officials are required by law to do the duty the people elected them to do.The New York State Oath of Office reads,"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution of the United States, and the constitution of the State of New York, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of ............, according to the best of my ability."If Ms. Belforti's religious objection to gay marriage is so strong that she feels unable to issue a license to a gay couple, as it clearly seems to be, then she is no longer faithfully discharging the duties of the office.. New York law protects her right to hold both her job and her religious beliefs as long as she is doing her job. But she is not doing her job. Without knowing what the state law says (it might allow for a "reasonable accommodation" such as having the deputy sign all marriage licenses by appointment) it's hard to say what her options might be. It does seem to me that if the law requires the clerk to sign marriage licenses, and she is present in the office at times when people are permitted to apply for a marriage license, and she then refuses to do so, there are grounds for impeachment or recall, along with the possibility of a civil action against the town for sexual bigotry.The simplest solution is for her to decide which is more important to her, her bigoted beliefs (which she is entitled to hold) or her job as town clerk. Then she should either sign or resign. All the other options require some sort of legal or political action.