As New York City public school students returned to class Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul had a surprise for them to help usher in the new statewide ban on cellphones during school hours: A new mascot.
Hochul appeared at MS 582 in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn and debuted Frankie Focus, a bright green, furry bespectacled mascot.
“We are going to make sure that when we are in school, we are learning. We are no longer distracted. And I’ve got a friend here, one of my best friends who I want you to get to know, Frankie Focus,” Hochul said. “He doesn’t say a lot, he’s kind of quiet – that’s all right, that’s all right – but he’s very focused on learning in school, focused on the teachers, focused on making friends, and focused on doing a great job as a student here at MS 582.”
Hochul touted the impact and importance of the bell to bell cellphone ban…