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YONKERS, N.Y. Dozens of dancing students and a few politicians took over Larkin Plaza Thursday in an afternoon flash mob.
Students from Nepperhan Community Centers Gateway After School Academies turned Buena Vista Avenue, in front of the Yonkers Train Station, into their own dance floor at 4 p.m., shaking and twisting to party beats.
City Council President Chuck Lesnick, Council member Christopher Johnson and Assembly member Shelley Mayer (D-Yonkers) even got in the mix, slide stepping and breaking it down to Cupid Shuffle.
When you get young people to gather and do something positive and fun you have to support it, Johnson said afterwards.
The 20-minute dance party was part of Lights On Afterschool, a nationwide rally to support the importance of after-school programs. Yonkers police shut down the street while the group, many dressed in white Lights On" t-shirts, showed off their best moves.
What you saw here today was us taking a small group of students and celebrating the after-school programs, said Jim Bostic, executive director of Nepperhan Community Center.
Gateway, the largest after-school program in Yonkers, hosts more than 2,000 city school children at six city schools and the Kingdom Christian Cultural Center. The after-school activities help many students find productive ways to spend their free time when teens and children are most likely to get into trouble, Bostic said.
If these kids were not involved in after-school programs they would be roaming the streets of Yonkers and quite possibly involved in the seduction of the streets and the things that contribute to young people making bad choices, Bostic said.
Instead, children can go to the academy and take part in things like robotics, drama and music clubs. The academy also features college and career centers, hoping to set students up for success down the road.
Riverside High School sophomore Angelina Otuya said she wanted to take part in the flash mob to show her support for the academy, which she described as a huge family.
Gateway is very important to me because you dont just have to go home after school, she said. You can come together with all your friends and its fun.
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