(bright music) (dramatic music) - Welcome back to the last "TVFilm" episode of the season.

I'm your host, Jermaine Wells.

I'm gonna miss you guys.

But we have one more great film to watch first.

Concluding this year's showcase of films by upstate New York media makers.

We're going to watch "Harvey: The Voice for the Voiceless," which paints a portrait of a passionate advocate for the rights of the disabled.

(lighthearted music) Director Chalkley Calderwood shared with us that filming in Long Island proved to be an enjoyable challenge and that Harvey's popularity made it hard to walk even a single block without him being frequently greeted by the local populace.

Let's watch.

(gentle music) - God gave me an angel, a saint, and a mission.

The angel is Ricky, my special child.

The unconditional love you get from a special child is a love experience that people don't know about.

And unfortunately we have the society that frowns upon and looks away from instead of looking to 'em.

That's part of what my life is all about.

God put Ricky here to change my life so I can change lives for others.

And my mission is to be able to help and advocate for families and children with disabilities.

- He's known for his incredible advocacy for people with special needs.

I mean, that's first and foremost when you think of Harvey Weisenberg and his tenure in the state assembly.

In any year, he was always the loudest voice arguing for changes either legislatively to ensure that people are getting the services they deserve.

And then very important from an Albany context, that money be in the budget to provide services.

- Many people in this chamber refer to him as the voice for the voiceless.

He's known for many other things as well.

But his hallmark achievement is the care and the protection of the developmentally disabled in this state.

And this really was an outgrowth of his experience as a parent of a child who was developmentally disabled.

(gentle music) - In the summertime, Ellen was at a beach club called the Coral Reef.

I was in charge of the lifeguards there.

She was getting a divorce and we became friends.

And now I saw Ellen with a special child.

The love that Ellen had for Ricky and two daughters, she was just a wonderful person.

We got married.

- My brother Ricky was born with cerebral palsy.

Growing up in the family with four children at home to take care of, dad, working mom taking care of us, and the fact that Ricky was the main priority in the family.

It was my mom, my dad and Ricky.

He couldn't speak for himself, he couldn't do for himself.

So if my parents had to do, they had to do.

Didn't bother me because I was with Ricky.

- My dad played a big part in our athletics and our sports, obviously, 'cause he was a coach and we grew up playing every sport, practicing.

My dad is a great person.

His main goal was just really to help people.

- One of my sons was an All-American football player, the other one played professional basketball.

I coached the East Meadow High School.

I was a teacher there for 20 years, taught special ed, but I was also an assistant principal.

Was just a wonderful life experience.

- You know, Harvey truly is an example of someone who came from the community.

He wasn't a politician in the usual.

He wasn't plucked from a smoky backroom.

You know, Harvey had been a police officer.

He's been a forever lifeguard.

He was an educator, he was a local elected official.

He was totally immersed in community concerns.

- [Harvey] I was just honored by the Lifeguard Association.

It's 65 years I've been a lifeguard and I'm still certified.

Everybody calls me Mr. Long Beach.

People feel that way because, listen, I've been here my whole life.

I know everybody in Long Beach and everybody knows who I am.

What I love about Long Beach are the people.

- When you walk down the boardwalk, you can't get very without, "Harvey!

I love you, Harvey!

Thank you, Harvey!"

- [Bystander] Harvey, keep it going, pal.

- We're doing the best we can.

- Grew up in Long Beach, known Harvey forever.

He's there when we need him.

- Yeah (indistinct).

- My hat's off to this man.

- We got the same barber.

(citizen laughs) - Harvey, you are the quintessential spirit of Long Beach and Atlantic Beach and our shore front communities.

And you care so much about the people there.

- He has always been here for our community, for this center that he was the president and put the shovel in the ground.

And he's helped more people than he even knows, whether it was bills or things he's passed.

His presence means so much.

His presence shake the ground on many, whether it's Republicans, Democrats, or Independents.

He's never cared what party you have been from.

That's what I learned from him.

- He has been very key in this community to uplift, to enhance, and to help this community and this center grow, and to be a viable part of Long Beach for the African American community.

- Harvey got more bills through the legislature than anybody.

He was absolutely relentless, and I think people responded to him because people understood that it wasn't for any other reasons than a pure motivation for him to make our society better.

- I passed 337 bills that I was the primary sponsor of.

We had intelligent, caring people with different ideas and views, but we always respected, keyword, respected each other.

You know, you have an argument and disagree and debate and then you go out and have dinner together.

When politics takes over government, there is no government.

And that's what appearing to happen today, right in our own country.

- In this chamber, he gained a reputation as someone who, although a Democrat, would reach across the aisle to his Republican colleagues.

And that was very important back in the time that Harvey Weisenberg sat in this chamber, because the chamber across the way, the State Senate chamber, was controlled for almost that entire period by Republicans.

So if you wanted to get a bill passed and ultimately on the desk of the governor, you needed to work with the Republicans.

If he shook your hand and he said, "Assemblyman, Senator, we have a deal?"

they had a deal.

(gentle music) - I don't know if anybody knows about Wassaic or Willowbrook.

It was almost similar to like being in a concentration camp where Ricky was, I think five.

She went to Willowbrook and he said, "That's a terrible place," and Wassaic was similar.

So she put him in Wassaic place, said, "Come back in six weeks.

He has to adapt to his new environment."

So three weeks later we went back.

And we looked at Ricky, and he didn't look well.

He lost half his body weight.

He weighed 25 pounds.

He had a black tongue.

So we took him, took him home, took him to the pediatrician, and the pediatrician cried.

- When people hear him talk about his son, Ricky, and how Ricky faced abuse on multiple occasions and what that meant to himself and also his wife Ellen.

And then when push comes to shove, $90 million has been cut out of the budget that's supposed to help the salaries of the people who care for the developmentally disabled.

These are people who are earning the minimum wage.

- Who's gonna be there to take care and provide the quality of life, dignity and respect to our children?

We have to hire people who are well-trained and capable, but they have to be able to be paid a reasonable salary so they can live in our society.

- And then to have $90 million cut from the budget, no one was surprised that Harvey Weisenberg stood up on the floor of the assembly and denounced this action.

(bright music) - Nobody in the history ever made a governor put money back in the budget he took out.

And it was $90 million for mental health.

Before I made my speech on the floor, I spoke to the governor and I said, "What are you doing?

Andrew, your mother worked in a group home, and your father and I worked for eight years helping these people."

And he said, "I'm the governor.

I can do what I want."

And I can't tell you what I said.

- Governor, governor, you're taking money away from this budget.

I mean, don't you understand the consequences?

I invite you, governor, I invite the people on the budget to do me a favor.

Come, come with me.

Come to our house.

Come to a group home.

See who the children are.

Talk to the people that work there.

You're gonna get in ear full of dedicated people, our direct care service professionals.

We're not done.

We're not done with this fight.

We're gonna utilize everybody who spoke here today, all of us together to make the governor aware of the responsibility and the consequences of taking money out of this budget.

The money is there.

We put it in an assembly budget.

The Senate put it in their budget, bipartisan, what happened to that money?

And we have hundreds of thousands of people that are being impacted by these cuts.

Their voices have to be heard.

By the way, that's an expression that was given to me many years ago, "You're the voice of those who have no voice."

Well, that's an obligation and responsibility, but now it's ours.

You said it, you feel it.

God bless you, and I thank you.

We're one family here to together we will have success.

And I thank you.

(audience applauds) (gentle music) - [Thomas] You know, that moment really best defines who Harvey is, what he's about, and how he has been effective in pulling on the levers of power and influence to do good.

- The love I get from Ricky, he can't speak or cry, but when I feed him and he holds my hand and squeezes my hand, I feel his love.

- [Vicki] I just love to take my time with him and feed him and talk to him and let him know that he's loved.

It's like he's my child, but he's my brother.

But I love him like he's my child.

There are times he's grabbed onto me so tight he won't let go.

And I don't wanna let go because that's his way of showing his love to me.

And I just love being with him.

- [Harvey] The garden, and it says Ellen's Way.

And the flowers are beautiful and I water them.

And everybody who comes to the boardwalk and they read the plaque about Ellen.

It's all about love and respect.

- The longer they were together, the closer they got.

And they went everywhere together.

They did everything together.

- [Thomas] They were joined at the hip.

I mean, she would come up to Albany, they would be together.

They were total lovebirds.

He talks about her all the time.

(gentle music) - After I water Ellen's garden, and they go up and I spend some time with Ellen.

And sometimes I say something that I said to Ellen when I said goodbye to her.

And it's important to me.

Look in the ocean where Ellen's remains are.

And I say, (exhales) "Heavenly Father up above, please protect the one I love.

Keep her always safe and sound no matter where, when she's found.

Help her to know and help her to see that I love her and have her love me."

And I just thank God for what I had and what we had, 50 years of total happiness.

- Harvey is in many ways the youngest 80-something that I know.

I don't see him slowing down at all.

And I think the other piece of it is that Harvey would want to have his life be an example of inspiration for other people, for younger people coming up, for people who may not believe that you can make a difference or that, you know, community activism or elective office doesn't really matter.

And I think that is an important lesson from Harvey's life, that one person can make a huge difference.

- Every year he comes back to this building.

The fight continues even after he's no longer an elected official.

And that will continue throughout his life.

- I mean, 89 years old, he just doesn't stop.

And now with Ukraine and such devastation and just what's going on, if he's able to help, he's gonna do it.

- I touch base with the Ukrainian priests.

I went to them at their churches.

I brought 'em to Long Beach at my church.

I know everybody who works in the city.

And I said, "Listen, we're gonna do something.

We're gonna get money, and you're gonna give it to the Ukrainian women and children."

"Mr. Weisenberg and the people of Long Beach, thank you for making difference and for your support in protecting, treating, feeding the people of the Ukraine.

We decided that your donation, we brought this protective gear for the civilians, helped to open new rehabilitation room for children and youth with disabilities.

We have also sent humanitarian donation of baby formula, shoes and food for the refugees.

We thank you for all you do in these unfortunate challenging times.

Sincerely, Oxana Dimansky."

Well, I told about thank yous.

Every night and every day I say, "Thank you, God, thank you for what I had and what I have."

Because nobody could ask for more.

And I also say today at this stage in my life, "When I die, don't cry for me.

I had the happiest life in the world."

It's all about love.

(clapperboard snaps) (upbeat music) - My name is Chalkley Calderwood, and my film is "Harvey: The Voice for the Voiceless."

The film came about in this very organic and natural way.

I met Kenny Siegal, Harvey's nephew.

And I had known him kind of from the neighborhood, and he was talking about his uncle and how his uncle was kind of this amazing person and also almost hitting 90 at the time, and how his story really needed to be preserved and celebrated.

And you know, part of me when I hear that, I need to do my research because, of course, everyone's grandfather, uncle, father, mother, you know, everyone has an amazing family member.

So I sort of take it with a grain of salt.

But then I googled him and I thought, "Holy smokes, this guy is incredible."

And because he has had such a long career and a long life, he's done so much.

And I really had to narrow it down to this kind of core initiative and core advocacy that he's done his whole life, which is the passion around children and people with disabilities and their caregivers and making sure that they have care and funding.

- The money is there.

We put it in the assembly budget.

The Senate put it in in their budget, bipartisan, what happened to that money?

And we have hundreds of thousands of people that are being impacted by these cuts.

Their voices have to be heard.

- I think it's such a great time for this film because of how Harvey has always worked.

Harvey works incredibly well across the aisle and still does, and always has.

He says in the film, "When politics takes over government, there is no government."

And you know, we see that playing out now, it's a really tricky time.

So I think it's very inspiring to see someone who just dropped party lines and got a lot done.

What I'd like people to walk away thinking about after they watch this film is that, you know, it sounds cliche, but everyone can make a difference and everyone can make a change if they take a step.

When Harvey sees a problem to this day, if someone's wheelchair's broken, he's going to get it fixed.

If defibrillators need to be put into a restaurant, 'cause someone had a choking episode, he will make that happen.

He sees a problem, he acts on it and solves it.

And so I think it's inspiration for giving, helping, volunteering, and just participating in community in a way that is more important now than ever to fill in these gaps that we see.

- That concludes this season of "TVFilm."

I hope you loved it as much as I did.

You can learn more about this season's films and filmmakers and watch episodes on demand at wmht.org/tvfilm.

Don't forget to connect with WMHT on social media and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Thanks for tuning in.

I'm Jermaine Wells, and I'll see you next season.

(uplifting music) - [Announcer] "TV Film" is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State legislature.