New York Amsterdam News E-edition Issue May 2-8,2024

‘RUNAWAY RENTS’ TENANTS FACE ANOTHER HIKE

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MORE U.S. TROOPS ORDERED TO LEAVE AFRICAN BASES

(GIN)—Another group of American military personnel has been ordered to pack up and withdraw from an African base in the Central African nation of Chad, three senior U.S. officials said this week. This comes amid a broader, involuntary reconfiguration of Washington’s security policy in a volatile part of Africa.

The officials said the repositioning could be temporary because the U.S. intends to negotiate with Chad about their security relationship, including potentially returning the troops who departed.

It is the second time in a week the Biden administration has acknowledged that it will comply with a host nation directive to remove deployed forces from an African country deemed integral to U.S. counterterrorism operations in the region. Earlier, officials said the United States had agreed to pull more than 1,000 military personnel out of neighboring Niger.

The discussion of the U.S. military presence in Chad—a vast landlocked nation in Central Africa—is particularly sensitive given the rejection of the Western military partnerships in

Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

The Special Forces troop departure, first reported by the New York Times, follows an apparent disagreement between U.S. officials and a Chadian general, who claimed that Washington failed to produce documents justifying its military presence in Chad’s capital of N’Djamena and asked the Americans to “immediately stop” their activity at the base.

Chad’s leader, Gen. Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who has ruled since 2021, has not called for removal of French soldiers based in Chad, but has built ties with leaders in central African states and with Russia.

Earlier this year, Déby went to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin, who said the two countries had “great opportunities to develop our bilateral ties.”

That meeting marked a shift from just last year, when U.S. intelligence officials warned that Russian mercenaries were working with rebels to overthrow Chad’s government, which then was seen as too pro-Western.

The three former French colonies of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali face growing threats from Islamist extremist organizations, are

ruled by military juntas, and are increasingly looking to Russia for military assistance. In recent years, each has demanded that French military forces, which historically had been their lead international counterterrorism partner, leave their countries.

The United States has not had a security relationship with Mali or Burkina Faso since their coups, but had maintained its presence in Niger, which includes a newly constructed drone base that cost $110 million to build. While U.S. security assistance paused after Niger’s military seized power last summer,

Cuban minister talks U.S. blockade and its consequences on Afro Cubans

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Last November, 187 members of the United Nations’ General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution to end the United States’ economic blockade of Cuba. This is the same resolution U.N. members have been voting in favor of since 1992: it’s a call for the United States to end the 62-year-old trade embargo that makes it illegal for U.S. companies to do business with Cuba.

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s deputy minister of foreign affairs, told the Amsterdam News that the unending blockade has hurt all Cubans, especially Afro Cubans.

Statistically, more white Cubans have migrated from Cuba since the establishment in 1959 of Fidel Castro’s revolution. Black or mixed-race Cubans have tended to have less resources and have not always had the ability to migrate––even if they wanted to. Today’s Cuban society is dominated by more people of color than it was in the past.

“Whites have relatives in the United States; whites are more convinced that they’ll make out better in the United States than in Cuba,” Fernández said. “Blacks are more distrustful that it will be better for them in the United States. They see movies about racism and police abuse and shootings and all that. Some are more concerned with what can happen to them in the United States. They don’t suffer that in Cuba.”

In the following interview, Fernández de

Cossío spoke about how Cuba is faring now. (This interview has been edited for clarity): Fernández de Cossío: The embargo––we call it an economic blockade because it’s a bit more than an embargo––its aim is two things: making the Cuban economy collapse and, in addition to that, to deprive the government from its capacity to ensure social

justice in Cuba. That’s the role the government has played in the past 60 plus years. That role is the one that ensures a more equitable standard of living for the whole population, regardless of your wealth, your income. And the [United States is] open about it, they want to drain the government from its resources: …subsidized food, subsidized education, subsidized electricity, subsidized transportation. And if you look at Cuban society, the people of darker skin have more to suffer than the people of lighter skin. Because today Cuba is much more equitable than it was 64 years ago. People of darker skin do not have such a subordinate condition in society as they had in the past. But still we have not achieved total equity in that. And because we haven’t achieved that, when you apply a policy of making the whole population suffer, it is the ones in the lesser conditions that suffer the most.

AmNews: If this has been going on for 64 years now, what’s the work around? Obviously, you’ve been able to survive, to some extent, right?

F.C.: With difficulty.

AN: With difficulty, but you’ve survived with some support?

F.C.: Because of the social nature of our society. Because the whole point has been to be fair and to distribute for everybody. That’s why we have not had the level of social breakdown that we’ve had in many nations in Latin America. …The level of violence, we haven’t had it.

(GIN photo)

Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba’s deputy minister of foreign affair. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

Taking the temperature: Mayor Adams’ new climate budgeting process

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

New York City has taken preventative measures to integrate climate targets into the budgeting process, following pent-up frustration over delayed reactions to the ever-unstable climate crisis. Mayor Eric Adams announced the initiative during his executive budget rollout last Wednesday, April 24.

For 15 years, New York City has been directly impacted by the consequences of climate change, city officials said. The city has seen record-breaking heat waves, increased rainfall, rising sea levels, and tidal flooding, often marked by historic events like Hurricane Sandy in 2012, Hurricane Ida in 2021, and the eerie yellow-tinted skies last year caused by air pollution from Canadian wildfires. The crises are linked by their disproportionate impact on “environmen-

tal justice areas” in historically vulnerable Black and brown neighborhoods, particularly in Central Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan, Southeast Queens, and the Bronx.

Both the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) urge “aggressively” reducing emissions and adapting to climate change conditions in their latest reports.

“This is the greatest city on the globe and resiliency is the cornerstone and foundation of who we are,” said Adams at the executive budget press conference last week.

The city’s $111.6 billion executive budget for Fiscal Year (FY25) 2025 does a combination of good and controversial things. It recommited $514 million to Department of Education (DOE) programs, like pre-K and 3-K, that previously faced cuts and were supported with “temporary stimulus money,” said the city. It also restored $22.6 million for cultural institutions—including museums, performing arts centers, historical societies, zoos, and botanical gardens—which were also facing budget cuts. Public libraries were still left out.

For public safety, the budget earmarks $62.4 million to beef up the police force on city streets and subways, as well as two more police academy classes this year. The city estimates there will be a total of 35,000 additional uniformed officers in the coming years. Adams also reduced asylum seeker costs by $586 million from last year’s and this year’s

NYC BOE reviews election fraud accusations and petition signature challenges

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Petitioning season formally wraps at the beginning of April during New York election years, kicking off the true contest of out-lawyering fellow candidates to get their names knocked off the ballot for the next month. Accusations of signature fraud abound in this objection period, leaving the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) and the courts with the task of sorting through it all.

Operating within the newly adopted city and state designating petition guidelines, which drill down on terms and rules, the NYC BOE held its commissioner’s cover sheet review on April 19 and then an encompassing seven-hour-long, at times combative, commissioner’s hearing on

April 23 to review the bulk of these claims of election fraud.

“So the motion is made and seconded? Candidate is off the ballot” is what a commissioner would say, often with little fanfare. Every petition form is presumed to be valid upon filing if it contains enough signatures for the candidate’s desired office.

Any registered voter can then challenge the validity of a petition, which usually occurs within a few days of the last filing date. In the best cases, objectors will challenge several candidates in a race or multiple races and the BOE will find the claims invalid. The candidates are safely on the ballot until the state primary on, this year, June 25.

In undesirable circumstances, candidates or their representatives are harangued, scrutinized, dragged through the mud by their opponents, sued, overburdened with the

sheer bureaucracy of the electoral system, or kicked off the ballot by the BOE. In the worst cases, criminal charges are filed against a candidate with possible prison time eventually, but experts consider that rare.

It’s a delicate routine that most candidates running for elected office leave in the hands of election attorneys if they can afford to do so.

“Petitioning challenging is an age-old practice where often, party organizations seek to knock off challengers from the ballot,” said New York Law School Professor Jeffrey M. Wice, who focuses on redistricting, voting rights, and census law. “New York makes it complicated and time-consuming—petition challenges are often successful because of clerical mistakes, illegible writing. There’s a number of reasons a candidate can be removed from the ballot if there are enough

fraudulent or incorrect signatures.”

Because of the high level of competition between candidates, some resort to shadier tactics, like forging dates on signatures or signing dead people’s names. Black and brown candidates are not immune to this.

Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, who is running for re-election to the Assembly in the 68th District and is a district leader, has had a penchant for digging up election fraud since 2013 because of his lowkey rivalry with district leader Johnathan Ruiz. “We would first work together and then we actively started supporting different candidates and running against each other,” said Gibbs as he headed out to check with residents about their signatures last week.

“The first time he beat me, I looked at his petitions thoroughly and I was like, ‘These are

AM Zinerman, tenants demand more fair housing

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

State legislators are taking aim at bad landlords on and off the city’s worst landlord list as the housing crisis comes to increased prominence. Assemblymember Zinerman highlighted the need to enforce and expand the fair housing laws so that everyone can feel their reach.

“Unfortunately, far too many New Yorkers, far too many people in my beloved borough of Brooklyn, do not have the same experience,” Zinerman said at a press conference on April 23. “They live with vermin, rat and roach infested apartments. They have no heat sometimes, no hot water.”

Zinerman held the press conference in front of two buildings on Willoughby Avenue in Bed-Stuy. The buildings belong to Larry

Hirschfield, a landlord who has 19 buildings on the watchlist–16 in Brooklyn and three in Harlem. Ten of Hirshfield’s buildings are in Zinerman’s district. She said it’s tiresome that the same people end up on the list every year and not enough is being done for the tenants who have to live in subpar conditions in the meantime.

“They’re not for the people,” said resident Patricia Morgan, 63, who’s lived in the 611 building since 1993. “Just recently we had a situation where we couldn’t get in the building or out because the lock was broken. People had to go to work and they couldn’t do it. We had to call the fire department to break the lock. That happened maybe three weeks ago and we’ve been emailing whoever we should and they have not been replying.” Other groups in attendance were the office of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams,

Mayor Eric Adams announced the city’s executive budget for Fiscal Year 2025 at City Hall on Wednesday, April 24. (Ariama C. Long. photo)

A Bed-Stuy resident speaks with Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman about building conditions and tenants rights on April 23. (Ariama C. Long. photo)

Plot to oust White House press secretary or more fake news?

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

News of a possible internal plot to remove White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was a moment of excitation for the conservative media, especially the New York Post and Fox News. But such a plot was denied by the Biden administration and White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates. “Not only are these claims wildly false, the reality is the polar opposite,” Bates told the press.

“Karine was never approached by anyone with such a message. She spends four hours preparing every day. And neither Jeff nor Anita did any such thing; both have been unflinchingly supportive of her.”

Bates was referring to White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients and Biden’s senior adviser Anita Dunn, who allegedly were recruiting notable Democrats to urge Jean-Pierre to resign.

The Post’s sources said that JeanPierre’s bosses were unhappy with her habit of reading prepared answers directly from her binder, which they viewed as an inadequate response from Biden, who is in the midst of a re-election campaign.

“Every press secretary uses the binder,” Bates said. “Why is she being singled out?”

The origin of what appears to be just another dose of “fake news” is not clear, but was bolstered to some extent by Steve Doocy of Fox News, who said a “very high ranking person...told [him] that the story was absolutely true. They would like her to step aside, but she just won’t go”

It seems incredible that the Biden administration would even consider such a critical change at this moment, when Biden is fighting for his political life, if not for democracy itself. Ousting Jean-Pierre, the first Black and openly gay person to hold the position of press secretary, would be doubly disastrous.

A message to her various online accounts was not answered as this issue of the Amsterdam News went to press.

FTC ruling could end noncompete agreements

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a proposal to adopt a near-total ban on noncompete agreements (NCAs) between employers and workers.

The ban, which would end the prohibition on some workers being able to leave a job and get hired by another company in the same industry or to potentially start a company in that same industry, would go into force nationwide.

According to the FTC, 18% of the U.S. population––some 30 million people––have signed NCAs.

“Noncompete agreements bind about one in five American workers. That’s astounding,” FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter said during her agency’s announcement of the deci-

sion. “And this is not limited to one sector of the economy or category of workers. Low and high wage workers, skilled and unskilled workers; this problem affects so many. And in fact, it really affects all of us. Even if no one in your family is subject to a noncompete agreement for their own employment, the record in our rulemaking proceeding makes clear: noncompetes prevent new business formation, slow innovation, and deprive consumers of the better products and better prices we expect from competitive markets.”

Unions applauded the announcement. The Teamsters took to X/Twitter to call the FTC proposal, “A BIG win for working families and a big defeat for predatory corporations!”

Studies have found that when

employees sign NCAs it limits their ability to earn income, because they’re stuck working for one employer who has hired them based on the skillset they have for that specific industry. The National Bureau of Economic Research wrote that enforcement of NCAs can be detrimental to the economic prospects of Black workers because “Black individuals are less likely to migrate far away from their hometown, and they are less likely to migrate in response to earnings increases elsewhere. [T]hese

See FTC RULING on page 36

Local and ethnic media get financial boost in state-enacted budget

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

The well-documented struggles of the local journalism industry, ranging from layoffs and shuttering outlets to declining readerships and newspaper subscription losses, prompted state legislators to step in and offer some potential relief.

Gov. Kathy Hochul’s recently enacted budget, with bipartisan support, made room to financially bolster local broadcast, print, and ethnic media with $30 million annually in payroll tax credits for the next three years.

The move to include the Newspaper and Broadcast Media Jobs Program was an eleventh-hour decision in this year’s budget, according to state lawmakers, but a critical one. The program adds a tax credit for qualifying, independently owned print media or broadcasting outlets “including those that have experienced workforce or circulation decline in the last five years.”

New York Amsterdam News Publisher and Editor-in-Chief Elinor R. Tatum said, “Having this legislation passed as part of the budget

is a gamechanger for media across the state and will allow for sustainability and potentially the opportunity for growth in an industry that has been struggling for many years.”

The budget sets aside $26 million for staff retention, and helps pay half of a reporter’s salary (up to $50,000 each year) with a cap of $300,000 per newsroom. It also earmarks $4 million to dole out a $5,000 credit per newsroom to hire new employees.

“[As] a Black female business owner, so often when there are

either incentives or tax credits for businesses, media is left out of those opportunities and here we finally have something made for media, which I think is so important when we’re talking about an organ that helps preserve democracy,” Tatum added.

Local news outlets historically have been the first to break news on a crisis or disease, and are watchdogs in neighborhoods plagued by environmental issues, high rents and taxes, and systemic racism. But numerous studies have highlighted the consequenc-

es, particularly for communities of color, that come when news and political coverage disappears at the community level. Decreases in voter turnout and engagement, fewer people running for office—particularly Black candidates—and an erosion of trust in sources of information are just a few of the consequences of the growing news desert and an increase in political polarization. The media jobs program is modeled after the New York Local Journalism Sustainability Act (S625D),

Photos of New York Amsterdam News print newspapers from 2023 and 2024. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Kim Avilez is fostering community and financial education in Staten Island

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

Kim Avilez has been appointed as a trustee at the Staten Island Museum, which means she will be instrumental in crafting and managing policies that help one of the city’s major museums interpret the Staten Island community. It’s a role in line with the work she’s been doing for years now.

Avilez comes to the museum from the banking industry. She spent years at the executive level at J.P. Morgan Chase as a vice president, managing $3 to $45 million company portfolios in its commercial bank and small business banking divisions.

After giving birth to her son, Antonio, Avilez trimmed her work schedule to spend more time with him at their home. But then a friend asked her to help plan a party. Another needed help organizing an event. It was becoming clear Avilez needed to formally organize the increasing requests for work, so she founded Glow Event Management Co., which specializes in event planning for weddings, corporate and social galas, and travel destination events.

Black

New Yorker

With Glow Event taking off, Avilez strengthened bonds with people she had come to know in the community. Born and raised in Far Rockaway,

Queens, Avilez moved to Staten Island more than 20 years ago. “As I like to say, I married into the island,” Avilez told the AmNews. When she started dating Tony, the man who would become her husband, he was living in Staten Island and running a local business. His family had moved from Brooklyn to Staten Island when he was 10. Avilez knew Staten Island because of family visits. Ever since she was a child, she’d been coming to see her great grandmother, great aunts, and uncles who lived in the Mariners Harbor neighborhood. She had an affinity with Staten Island even before she made it her home.

After graduating high school, her New York life was altered when she went away to try to attend college in Alabama. Although her grandmother lived there, the pacing and feel was just too unfamiliar, so she returned to New York. “I really wasn’t sure about what I wanted to do next. And at the time, my family was not in a financial position to say, ‘Okay, Kim, we can send you to school.’ I realized I had to work and find a way to do this on my own. My mom suggested that I get a job at the bank.” Her mother told her an entry-level bank job could give her time to earn an income while she figured out her

schooling situation.

As a part-time teller at what was then Chemical Bank, she had the flexible hours she needed to pursue her education. “My first job was at 1411 Broadway in the middle of the Garment District in Manhattan. And that literally began my kind of love affair with the industry itself. It was great because the bank paid for a portion of my education, allowed me to begin studies in business, and had an additional curriculum that they had within the firm on various skills.” From a part-time teller, Avilez kept moving forward: she transitioned to full-time, and ended up getting a supervisory and then management position in less than a five-year period.

With 40 bank tellers and other supervisors reporting to her, she delved into understanding leadership development and how to support and develop teams. “I spent the next several years moving into different roles within the branches, getting an opportunity to develop as a manager and as a leader within our branch network.”

Leading teams and meeting with business clients sparked Avilez’s interest

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Kim Avilez

Tenant reps walk out of Rent Guidelines Board vote as stage is set for raising rents on stabilized units again

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Two empty chairs sat stage left by the time New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board (NYC RGB) issued a preliminary vote allowing landlords to raise rents on rent-stabilized residential units this past Tuesday. The initial hikes were initially locked to a range of 2 to 4.5% for one-year leases and 4 to 6.5% for two-year leases beginning in October. A final vote on June 17 will determine the exact percentage for rent increases.

The vacant seats were assigned to the two tenant representatives on the board, Adán Soltren and Genesis Aquino, who walked off in protest given the seemingly inevitable rent hike despite mounting evidence of financial hardship that rent stabilized tenants already faced. They abstained from the preliminary vote, which went 5-2 in favor of the agreed upon increase; the two nays came from the owner representatives who argued the rent hike range was not high enough.

The move from the board affects nearly one million households protected by the Rent Stabilization Law, which set a legal limit to how much property owners can charge for qualifying apartments, typically those in pre-1974 buildings with six or more units. The board determines the exact limit.

The NYC RGB’s formation came as the actual Rent Stabilization Law passed in 1969, giving the sitting mayor authority to appoint nine members—five from the general public, two representing tenants, and two representing property owners—to the board. The members are tasked with convening between March to June to review housing affordability standards for both renters and expenses for landlords, culminating in a preliminary vote with a final vote to follow.

But the ultimate rent increase the NYC RGB agrees upon is almost guaranteed to stem from the initial range in the first vote, according to Soltren, who spoke to the Amsterdam News on the morning of the vote. In fact, Soltren said, there was a dispute among the board about whether they could even legally deviate outside the preliminary vote’s scope.

“You’re not voting on a specif-

ic number necessarily as to what the upward or downward adjustment would be,” he said. “You’re saying what the range would be so that for the number in the final vote with land somewhere in [that] range…certainly tonight’s vote is going to set the goalposts as to what the final vote will yield.”

To be clear, the NYC RGB does not specifically vote on how much to raise rents, but whether the city should increase them at all. It can even decide on a rent rollback to reduce costs. Yet Soltren, who also works as a supervising attorney for the Legal Aid Society, pointed out the two could be conflated given the board’s recurring decision to raise rents despite data—which informs the vote—pointing to historical financial strains on tenants.

The rent guideline board’s reports found median rents last year for rent-stabilized households made up around 28.8% of its income, and broadly reported a significant increase in non-payments and residential evictions. Homelessness within city shelters also increased, even when the newly-arrived asylum seekers were not accounted for. And under 1% of rent stabilized units, which make up 41% of rentals in 2023, remained empty.

Last year, protesters led by several progressive city council members, including Brooklyn’s Chi Ossé, took over the preliminary vote stage at Cooper Union to vocally advocate against rent increases. But a 2 to 5% increase for one-year rentals and a 4 to 7% increase for two-year rentals were agreed upon anyway. A 3% increase for one-year rentals was ultimately agreed upon.

This time around, the board proceedings were similarly drowned out by protesters, whose boos and “shame” chants paired with orange thunderstix rivaled those of the Knicks playoff game across the East River. They only paused to cheer on Soltren and Aquino during their remarks and subsequent vote of “no confidence” in the board and the Adams administration.

“Rent stabilization has always served more people of color than market rate apartments,” Soltren said in his remarks. “In 2023 alone, 71% of the rent-stabilized households are headed by people of color. Despite the massive displacement of Black New Yorkers in the last two decades due to gentri-

rent stabilized units into market rate units [through] something that’s called a substantial rehab so essentially, it’s taking rent stabilized units off the market.”

fication and unaffordability, Black New Yorkers still comprise 23% of the rent stabilized housing stock.

“What message are you sending to Black and brown New Yorkers when this administration and this board are calling for a third increase in three years that would likely total about 10% or more?”

After the preliminary vote, Soltren said he cited data from the most recent New York City Housing and Vacancy Survey (NYCHVS) conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. He will still need to sit on several upcoming public board meetings before the final vote, he said. After his walk-off, he is unsure how those convenings will shake out.

Civil rights attorney Robert Desir, who works at Legal Aid Society with Soltren, pointed to rent-stabilized housing as key to keeping longtime residents in majority Black and brown communities. He says fair market housing, which is not stabilized, is often out of reach for such renters, preventing them from remaining in the neighborhood if a rent increase leads to eviction over non-payment. Median rent for a rent stabilized unit was $1,500 a month last year, according to the NYCHVS. Comparatively, the median fair market rental asked for $2,000.

“Part of the rent stabilization system serves a good purpose preventing these runaway rents that result in displacement,” Desir said. “And where that’s not guarded, people fall behind, unable to afford the rent and are evicted, [meaning] those folks don’t stand a good chance to be able to stay in that neighborhood, particularly in Harlem. We’ve seen how that area has undergone significant change in the last couple of decades, and

[it is] still happening.”

One protester, Ann Marie Grant, says she attended to support her fellow renters despite living in NYCHA rather than a rent stabilized unit because she fears New York City will be only for the ultrawealthy if middle-class and low-income families can’t afford rent. She says she’s seeing segregation play out in real time in her neighborhood of East Harlem due to cost of living increases and gentrification.

“I see more of my neighbors leaving and new faces taking over,” Grant said. “Gentrification is there and it’s not right. As I said, everybody should be allowed to live together, it’s not about Black versus white.”

But real estate developer Joshua Brown says “mom-and-pop” Black property owners with rentstabilized units like himself are feeling the squeeze that come from high repair costs. While he says those issues need to be addressed by tweaking legislation, the Brookynite says a higher rent increase would help him recoup the roughly $70,000 needed to fix up his building in Bed-Stuy. Brown adds that without those costs, he would not need to raise rent lockstep with the NYC RGB’s increase cap.

“There is an incentive to keep someone who has been there a long time paying your rent on time to not raise their price just so you could possibly get a new one who could flake out within one year or two years,” he said.

“However, there are root causes, there’s no incentive to do it now… what this does sadly is incentivize owners [and] developers to just keep the building vacant so that they can fully renovate the building and now you turn all these

The Rent Stabilization Law itself recently weathered several legal challenges, including in a case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. In March, Mayor Eric Adams signed an extension into law, maintaining rent stabilization in the city until at least April 27. One of those organizations challenging the law, the Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP), also objected to the preliminary vote for not raising the range high enough.

“It should not solely be the responsibility of the RGB to keep these buildings solvent,” said CHIP Executive Director Jay Martin in a statement. “Elected officials need to find ways to reduce the costs of operating housing and provide more financial assistance to vulnerable tenants. But until that happens, the RGB is faced with the Herculean task of protecting this housing stock and must step up to make the unpopular decision to increase rents.”

Mayor Adams also responded to the vote, fearing the range’s two-year cap could seriously hurt renters, but advocated for a middle ground.

“Tenants are feeling the squeeze of a decades-long affordability crisis, which has been accelerated by restrictive zoning laws and inadequate tools that have made it harder and harder to build housing,” he said in an emailed statement. “Our team is taking a close look at the preliminary ranges voted on by the Rent Guidelines Board this evening and while the Board has the challenging task of striking a balance between protecting tenants from infeasible rent increases and ensuring property owners can maintain their buildings as costs continue to rise, I must be clear that a 6.5 percent increase goes far beyond what is reasonable to ask tenants to take on at this time.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Protesters hold up a banner echoing former mayoral candidate Jimmy McMillan’s famous words “[the] rent is too damn high” as the New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board proceeds with a public hearing.

(Tandy Lau photo)

Go With The Flo

ANTHONY

Prime Video teamed up with Ebony magazine for an It Girl brunch event celebrating one of my favorite people, the fabulous Pam Grier, at the AOC Bar in West Hollywood, California to celebrate the actress’s 50th anniversary in the film business, reports Bossip. The It Girls from the ‘90s and ‘00s in attendance to salute Foxy Brown, Friday Foster, and the many other legendary characters Grier played included Shanice, Toccara, Meagan Good, Raven-Symone, Golden Brooks, Tamala Jones, and more. Grier is starring in a new Prime Video Horror Series called “THEM: The Scare”……

A total of $610,000 was awarded at Lincoln Center on New York City’s Upper West Side on April 24 at the PitchBLACK Awards, a culmination of the United States’ largest pitch competition for independent filmmakers and creative technologies focused on subjects about the Black experience. Sponsored by Netflix and PBS, Black Public Media’s PitchBLACK is an annual event that sees creatives compete for money to fund productions. The Black Public Media (BPM) Trailblazer Award was presented to filmmaker Sam Pollard, who was honored for his incredible body of work and for his decades of mentoring future storytellers….. Shadow and Act reported that 50 Cent has opened G-Unit Studios in Shreveport, Louisiana. The rapper-turned-TVproducer said in a statement that the newest addition is an expansion of his G-Unit Film & Television Company and part of his continuing effort to provide a platform for compelling stories. 50 told Billboard, “Bringing G-Unit Studios to Shreveport is not just a business decision, it’s a commitment to fostering talent, creating opportunities, and building a community that thrives through creativity and innovation.”

Everything is coming up roses for TV journalist Tamron Hall. Her show has been nominated for three Daytime Emmys, including Best Sound, Best Talk Show and Best Host. “The Tamron Hall Show” has also been picked up for season six…..

Lifelong Harlem resident Catherine Knowles turns 100 years old, receives citation from AM Gibbs

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Wars can be fought and lost in a century; love can be found and won in a century; the previously perceived “impossible” can become reality, and a person can live their lives witnessing it all in a century. Thus is the case for East Harlem resident Catherine Knowles, who celebrated her 100th birthday last week. Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs was there to commemorate the occasion.

“I feel good,” Knowles said with a laugh. “I don’t feel no different so far.”

Knowles was born April 10, 1924 at Harlem Hospital in Manhattan. She was educated at parochial Catholic schools in her adolescence, she said. As a young woman, Knowles worked for Macy’s on 34th Street in Manhattan. She retired from Macy’s in the late 1980s at age 62, after working there for 32 years.

Knowles and her late husband, Nathaniel Knowles, raised their family in Harlem. She had five children, two of whom are now deceased. Her family said she is an attentive grandmother with her grands, great-grands,

and great-great-grandchildren.

A huge proponent of friendship and traveling, Knowles was a part of a women’s social club called The Friendly Dozen. Social clubs for women were popularized in the 1920s. Some had political affiliations while others offered a sense of community and support. Knowles said her club was primarily for trips, dinners, and monthly gatherings.

“We called them the Dirty Dozen though,” joked her youngest daughter, Darlene. Knowles kept the same energy of “ripping and running in the streets,” having fun at the casino whenever she could, and constantly traveling after her retirement, said her family. Right up until the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, she had all her wits about her. It’s only in the last four years that Knowles’ life has slowed down, said her family.

Knowles’ birthday party, held at the community center in the Franklin Plaza apartments, was a festive affair with at least five generations in attendance.

“I became the first formerly incarcerated New York State legislator. Born and raised here in East Harlem. Always said I’m gonna give back and never gonna forget those who

brought me in,” said Gibbs at the party as he presented Knowles with a citation, which recognizes individuals, groups, and organizations within the district who are commemorating a significant occasion.

Knowles is one of many from Harlem and East Harlem who makes up the district’s Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORC), which is how primarily senior communities are described. There are 60 official NORCs in the city, but about half are funded for services to older residents, said the Department for the Aging.

The secret to her longevity?

“Taking care of myself. Don’t get into no arguments or anything. Just being myself, doing what I had to do. Being in company with my friends and going on trips,” Knowles said.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Centenarian Catherine Knowles at her birthday party on April 10, held at a community center in East Harlem. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs presents centenarian Catherine Knowles with a citation plaque at her birthday party on April 10, 2024. Knowles was surrounded by grands and great-grands at her birthday party.

‘SMOKEOUT Act’ passes shortly after Harlem advocates push law to close down illegal dispensaries

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Local Harlem advocates led by Silent Voices United held an action outside the Victoria Theater on Thursday, April 18 calling for the passing of the SMOKEOUT Act, which fast-tracks the city’s ability to shut down illegal marijuana shops. It passed in the state budget just hours later, and will be effective immediately, according to Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, the bill’s author.

“The SMOKEOUT Act calls for local control and for the power to shut down shops to be put in the hands of the cities and municipalities,” the Queens lawmaker said in a statement. “I am proud to say that New York City and all localities will now have the power to shut down illegal cannabis shops on their own, without waiting for the State Office of Cannabis Management. In New York City, the Office of the Sheriff will now be able to deputize the NYPD and all agencies to help padlock the shops.

“This means New York City can use its full manpower to get the job done. The next few weeks, I will be raiding illegal smoke shops across

New York City with Sheriff Anthony Miranda, padlocking and shutting them down for good.”

Authorities can immediately padlock the worst offenders, including those selling to children, offering unregulated weed products, or operating with illegal firearms on site next to a store with them. Other illegal shops can be shuttered after inspection. Violators can appeal within a week and will receive a hearing within three days.

The instant action stems from an amendment to the New York City Administrative Code, allowing officials to carry out the padlocking and inspections. The law charges the Sheriff’s Office to lead the efforts.

A day later, on Friday, April 19, Gov. Kathy Hochul fully backed the SMOKEOUT Act as a part of a wider effort to shut down unlicensed smoke shops and protect the legal marketplace in her newly cemented enacted budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25).

“We’ve waited far too long for this reckoning with all the illegal shops, and your day has come,” Hochul said during the press conference. “The illicit operators who flout the rules because they know at most they’ll be slapped with a

fine that they have also figured out will take months and months to collect, if ever. Frustrated local leaders have been powerless as these unlicensed shops operate right under their noses, sowing chaos, destabilizing neighborhoods, and attracting other types of crime.”

In addition to padlocking illegal pot shop doors, the state will root out illegal cannabis products sold in bodegas statewide. If bodega store owners continue to sell illegal pot products, the state can take away their liquor, tobacco, and lottery licenses as well as padlock their stores. Lastly, a statewide task force will be charged with busting up illegal cannabis suppliers from outof-state, said Hochul.

“New York State Police will play a key role here, and we’re already recruiting personnel from other agencies to join the effort. We’ll have more details about the formal launch of this task force in the near future,” Hochul said.

“Now, let me be clear. I want to right-size expectations. They got a head start. There’s a lot of them out there. Meanwhile, we’re pushing and pushing and pushing to get more legal licenses in the pipeline, approved, and get more

legal shops open. That is a top priority of mine.”

To be clear, selling cannabis to anyone under age 21 is illegal. While adult-use marijuana was legalized in 2021, rollout for the retail licenses slowed down due to lawsuits over the procurement process. Illegal smoke shops soon popped up at alarming rates during the abeyance.

City Council passed Local Law 107 of 2023 last August, sanctioning commercial landlords for knowingly housing unlicensed cannabis and tobacco retailers through fines. Hochul said the state has now adopted this tactic to hit landlords with a $50,000 fine if they knowingly give cover and fail to evict illicit cannabis operators.

Harlem’s Manhattan Community Board 10 (CB10) addressed unregulated cannabis sales as a key issue this year, pointing to more than 125 illegal smoke shops estimated in the neighborhood.

“We, Manhattan Community Board 10, are vehemently opposed to the proliferation of illegal smoke shops that are flooding our community,” said CB10 chair Marquis Harrison. “These establishments are not only illegal but also pose serious health and safety risks to our residents.

We urge our lawmakers and law enforcement agencies to take swift action to address this issue and protect our community from these illicit operations.”

During the rally, speakers aired out frustrations on the proximity of dispensaries to young people, who are influenced by colorful packaging to appeal to them.

“Our community deserves better, our children deserve better and we will not rest until our voices are heard and our concerns addressed,” said Silent Voices United’s Tiffany Fulton.

“We are happy to support what Ms. Fulton and her organization are doing,” said Shanny Herrera, a representative for Councilmember Yusef Salaam. “We are working behind the scenes on creating legislation because we also want to make sure that the quality of life is good for everybody, especially our children.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Teachers, parents, children and leaders came out to protest the opening of a smoke shop next door to a daycare center. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams speaks to the gathered crowd. (Bill Moore photo)

Union Matters

A progress report on healthcare justice for New York

GEORGE GRESHAM

Four years ago, the greatest health crisis in a century came to New York. More than 83,000 New Yorkers have died of COVID19, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). During that initial surge, Black and Latino New Yorkers were dying at twice the rate of the white population. Why? Many factors of systemic and institutionalized racism. People of color are, for example, employed disproportionally in essential industries where work cannot be done remotely. We live in more crowded spaces. Many of us lack access to preventative healthcare and have untreated chronic health conditions which exacerbate the virus’ severity.

Unlike anything we had experienced in recent memory, the pandemic laid bare the egregious inequities that negatively affect health outcomes in many ways.

This is why over the past months, a coalition of healthcare workers and providers, community organizations, patients and patient advocates, and hundreds of faith leaders representing New York’s diverse communities came together to call on New York’s leaders to take action on healthcare.

In particular, we demanded that New York pass a budget that puts us on a path to fully funding Medicaid, the public health insurance program that provides comprehensive health insurance to more than 7 million New Yorkers, including more than half of all New York City residents.

Indeed, Medicaid is one of the most important and effective safety net programs in our nation’s history, borne out of the Civil Rights Movement and passed into law by the Social Security Amendments of 1965. Through the program, the federal government gives matching funds to states to provide health coverage to residents who earn below a certain income.

Yet for many years, New York State has underfunded Medicaid, causing serious financial hardship for healthcare providers that serve communities with high Medicaid enrollment. On average, hospitals are only reimbursed 70 cents per dollar for the costs they incur caring for Medicaid patients. This has been a major contributing factor to hospital closures and service cutbacks facing our communities.

Paid Juneteenth holiday among contract demands for SEIU security guards

By TANDY LAU

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

A contract covering roughly 20,000 security guards in Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ (SEIU 32BJ) expired at midnight on May 1 as members called on employers to retain their healthcare, increase their retirement benefits, raise their wages, and recognize Juneteenth as an official paid holiday.

Sitting across the negotiating table is the Realty Advisory Board on Labor Relations (RAB), as well as several private companies including Allied Universal that directly employ union members. They enlist SEIU 32BJ security guards to protect landmarks like the Statue of Liberty, Rockefeller Center and the 9/11 Memorial, along with local college campuses and shelters for the unhoused at a time when the city is experiencing mass student demonstrations and an influx of asylum seekers bused in from the southern border.

The Juneteenth demand stands out as critical for what Tammy Murray—the Stockholm Family Shelter’s security supervisor and union shop steward—calls an “overwhelmingly” Black and brown

workforce. Being off on the federal holiday commemorating the country’s second independence day and freedom to enslaved peoples may feel particularly relevant for the legions of Black New Yorkers covered by a new contract.

“Everybody else has a holiday where they get paid but us,” said Murray. “It is the only holiday that we actually asked for, that we want in the contract. Because it means something to us. That’s our independence day.”

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) lent her support to the union while also advocating for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, better known as the PRO Act, to strengthen organized labor across the country.

“I am honored to stand with members of 32BJ SEIU,” said Sen. Gillibrand in a statement. “Anyone who has lived in NYC knows how critical security officers are to the safety of our communities. I want to thank these essential workers for their tireless work to keep our communities safe and for standing up for workers’ rights.”

NYC Comptroller Brad Lander also advocated for the union members’ demands.

“From New York’s most iconic buildings to our city’s shelters, 32BJ security officers are always there keeping us safe and

serving New Yorkers,” he said. “As essential workers, they showed up for us throughout the pandemic and are now guaranteeing safe and secure places for asylum seekers to rest. I proudly stand with these workers because they deserve a fair contract that includes family sustaining wages, healthcare, and [the] ability to retire with dignity.”

There is currently little movement in the negotiations as of press time according to a SEIU 32BJ spokesperson. But the RAB is confident both sides will work things out. 1,300 SEIU 32BJ security guards are covered by the RAB contract.

“We have a great relationship with the union that has resulted in more than 30 years of uninterrupted labor peace,” said Robert Schwartz, RAB’s executive vice president in a statement. “We are looking to schedule additional negotiating sessions in the days ahead in the hope of reaching a fair agreement.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member and writes about public safety for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

SEIU rally on April 25. (Photo courtesy of SEIU 32BJ)

Keep Jean-Pierre and embrace Black youth

Wild rumors and accusations about a plot to force the resignation of White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre have been denied by the Biden administration, and can easily be tossed in the dustbin.

Forcing the first Black and gay person from this significant and prestigious post is inconceivable, but even were that not the case, the president has a few more legitimately pressing concerns on his plate.

African Americans who call into radio shows or write letters to the editor often have several issues in common. The more politically involved point out the need for the Biden administration to address reparations seriously. It’s a word that rarely ever appears to cross his mind because it doesn’t touch his lips. And just a mention of the frustration Black farmers are enduring would end an interminable silence abouton their conditions.

One letter that had special resonance for us came from a woman disappointed in the Democratic Party and Biden for not announcing and promoting specific policies for Black Americans, as they do for others. She wanted the party to court African Americans and help to close the racial wealth and homeownership gaps. Additional problems for the Biden administration are the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the endless humanitarian crisis. Gradually, the increase of young African Americans among the protesters can’t be good news for a presidential campaign that relied so heavily on Black voters in the last election. Their voices can be heard among those calling for a ceasefire and relief for the people of Gaza.

Keeping Jean-Pierre in the White House is vital, and so is reaching out to the disenchanted young Black protesters—our voters of tomorrow.

Breaking stereotypes: former foster care youth’s journey to empower others

By LESLIE WASHINGTON

As I reflect on my journey from a youth in foster care to social worker, I am reminded of the pivotal moments that shaped my path. Growing up in the child welfare system, I experienced firsthand the challenges and triumphs of navigating a world filled with uncertainty and instability.

National Foster Care Awareness Month this May holds profound significance for me. It’s a time to shed light on the critical issues facing children and families within the foster care system and to challenge the misconceptions and stereotypes that often surround them. Foster parents play a crucial role in shaping the lives of these young individuals, offering them love, stability, and guidance during times of upheaval.

I was in fourth grade when I was placed in foster care, along with my sisters; it was a traumatic experience that, to this day, shapes my view of what we, as a society, can do better to support our youth.

Now, as a social worker with the Children’s Village, I am driven every day by a passion to advocate for the well-being of youth in foster care, drawing upon my own experiences to guide and support others on their journey.

My decision to pursue a career in social work was deeply rooted in my personal experiences in the child welfare system. I believe that to enact meaningful change, one must

be actively engaged in the systems they seek to transform. As a social worker, I work directly with families—both birth parents and foster parents—affected by the system, providing them with the support, resources, and guidance they need to navigate the complexities of their circumstances.

I often share my own story with foster care parents, emphasizing the importance of empathy, understanding, and resilience in supporting foster youth. By encouraging open communication and cultivating a sense of belonging, foster parents can empower these youth to thrive and succeed despite the obstacles they may face.

Cyril

To those considering becoming foster care parents, I offer this advice: Do it for the right reasons, recognizing the profound impact you can have on a child’s life. Understand that every child comes with their individual challenges and traumas, but also with immense potential and resilience. Your decision to open your heart and home to a foster child can make

a lifelong difference.

Throughout my career, I have witnessed the damaging effects of stereotypes, which unfairly label youth in foster care as “bad” or “troubled” instead of the reality that they have experienced traumatic experiences in their lives. These harmful perceptions, which don’t recognize that many of these youths’ parents often have encountered traumas of their own, and need more resources and support themselves, not only perpetuate stigma but also hinder the opportunities for these young individuals to thrive and succeed.

Witnessing this cycle underscores the urgent need for intervention and support to break the cycle of trauma and create healthier family dynamics. By addressing the underlying issues that contribute to family separation, such as poverty, housing insecurity, and underperforming education systems, we can empower families to heal and thrive together.

In my role, I engage in community-based case planning and collaborating with fam-

ilies to develop comprehensive strategies for reunification and stability. This involves conducting home visits, facilitating family meetings, and advocating for the best interests of the children in our care. Every interaction and every decision holds significant weight and shapes the trajectory of these youths’ lives.

One of the most rewarding aspects of this work is witnessing the resilience and strength of the families I serve. Despite facing immense challenges, they demonstrate an unwavering commitment to overcoming adversity and building brighter futures for themselves and their children.

As we observe National Foster Care Awareness Month, let us reaffirm our commitment to advocate for the rights and well-being of youth in foster care, break down bias and barriers, and enlist more caregivers to welcome these youth into their homes to create more stable, loving environments.

Leslie Washington is a social worker with the Children’s Village.

Elinor

Brandyn M., 15, sweeps while Abigail Murat supervises residents completing chores in the Williams Cottage at the Children’s Village. Young residents are governed by various rules, including mandatory chores, but also have their own school, which competes in basketball, softball, and track, as well as a state-of-the art activities center (AP Photo/Seth Wenig photo)

The decay of the U.S. education system

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

The decay in the U.S. education system is an alarming national security threat. Most high school and college graduates know little more than their sexual orientation or Taylor Swift’s juvenile lyrics and strutting.

They are unable to write a single, succinct, evocative sentence, like the magnificence of a rosy-fingered dawn. They could not pass the civics test required for naturalization.

They do not know the fundamentals of citizen duties, including informed voting and participation in politics, eternal vigilance over their government servants, and petitioning for redress of grievances.

They do not know the majestic, inspiring gospel of the Declaration of Independence.

They do not know the U.S. Constitution or separation of powers, its crown jewel finding expression in judicial review.

They do not know the Federalist Papers, the greatest assemblage of political wisdom in the history of mankind.

They do not know former President George Washington’s Farewell Address, or former President Thomas Jefferson’s First Inaugural Address, both warning against the bane of extreme partisanship.

They do not know the unhappy history of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Missouri Compromise, the Trail of Tears, or Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America.

They have not mastered the Bible, the Holy Quran, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucius, Seneca, or Epicurus.

They are clueless about Aristophanes, Sophocles, Homer, Virgil, Dante, Plutarch, Chaucer, Shakespeare, James Baldwin, Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, John Donne, John Milton, Samuel John-

son, Balzac, Alice Walker, Washington Irving, James Fennimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, and countless other literary giants.

Parents should be complaining about what’s not in school libraries and classrooms more than what is there. Indeed, if education was made vastly more demanding in reading, writing, and arithmetic, there would be no school time remaining to squander on obscenity or sexual orientation.

The survival of the U.S. is more and more a race between education and ignorance. The new generation is incapable of self-government. They do not understand the importance of process over personality. They are easily swayed by demagogues because their cerebral faculties have left their innate hormonal urges undomesticated. They are lonely, feel worthless, and lack faith, believing in little beyond themselves, and suicidal. They crave more being part of a cult than marching to their own drum and searching for truth without ulterior motives and acting accordingly.

Jefferson advised, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

As Washington’s first State of the Union address elaborated:

“Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness. In one in which the measures of government receive their impressions so immediately from the sense of the community as in ours it is proportionally essential.

“To the security of a free constitution it contributes in various ways—by convincing those who

are entrusted with the public administration that every valuable end of government is best answered by the enlightened confidence of the people, and by teaching the people themselves to know and to value their own rights; to discern and provide against invasions of them; to distinguish between oppression and the necessary exercise of lawful authority; between burthens proceeding from a disregard to their convenience and those resulting from the inevitable exigencies of society; to discriminate the spirit of liberty from that of licentiousness—cherishing the first, avoiding the last—and uniting a speedy but temperate vigilance against encroachments, with an inviolable respect to the laws.”

We desperately need a new birth of education. No student should be permitted to graduate from high school or college without passing an exacting civics test and writing a lucid essay about the principles of natural law and government enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and Constitution.

During the regular school term, students should be required to devote at least eight hours per day to reading or writing. Debate contests should be preferred to athletics, the thinker to the armored knight. Parents should be required to visit teachers monthly and be tasked to encourage and monitor the study habits of their children. They should read with them at least one hour each evening an age-appropriate book.

Self-government without education and critical thinking is a fantasy. Aristotle advocated state-supported public education for all to foster good judgment and wisdom. But education should not end in the classroom. It should be with us every moment of the day, like inhaling and exhaling. It is our deliverance from an animal, hormonal existence.

Checking in on our Mental Health

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As the leaves begin to appear on the trees and flowers begin to bloom, all seems better in the world. It’s amazing just how much the changing of the seasons and the newness of spring can brighten one’s spirit and change attitudes all around.

For some people, however, good weather is not enough to assist them with their mental health needs, and it is important for us to check in with ourselves and with those we love on a regular basis.

We can begin to think and talk more openly about the ways our mental health affects so many facets of our lives, from our eating and sleeping habits, to our relationships—whether personal, romantic, or professional—to the ways we view ourselves, our life chances, and those around us.

My friends who have struggles with mental health issues have told me one of the hardest things they ever did was to tell others they were struggling. However, once they did open up, each friend said they felt like a weight had been lifted off of their body and spirit. They weren’t automatically “cured,” but it was an important first step to acknowledge there was a problem and begin the journey to seek help.

I am also a firm believer of therapy as maintenance. Many of us have best friends and family members we love and trust, but they may not necessarily be licensed professionals to help us with our short- and long term issues. Finding a licensed ther apist is difficult and can also be very expensive, but there are more web sites to assist individuals, couples,

and teens. Websites like The Black Therapy Network (www.theblacktherapynetwork.com), Therapy for Black Girls (www.therapyforblackgirls.com), or Therapy for Black Men (www.therapyforblackmen.org) are great places to start your mental health maintenance journey.

So many families are also living with loved ones who struggle with mental health issues, fearing the day they might need to call authorities to assist them with a family member in severe crisis. The NYC Health Department (www.nyc.gov) has a resource page that helps families with everything from important phone numbers, services provided, transport to an emergency room, counseling, assessment, and other services provided. In addition, by calling the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline hotline by dialing 988, New Yorkers can speak to someone to assist them in their time of crisis (nyc988.cityofnewyork.us/en/).

We must play the cards in our hands, not the ones we wished we’d been dealt. In doing so, we can be more honest about our own needs and the needs of our loved ones. Let’s use this month to assess, learn, and support.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions pod

24 Moynihan Public Scholars

Caribbean Update

Barbados backs away from paying descendants of slave owner for land

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

Perhaps Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley thought that she was doing the right thing legally, but it was clear that she had not planned for the national backlash that followed.

Mottley, one of the most outspoken and militant Caribbean prime ministers, took to the national airwaves last week to announce plans to pay today’s descendants of a former British slave and plantation owner at least GBP 3 million for 53 acres of an estate the family still owns on the island so it can be used for national housing purposes.

Mottley had argued that acquiring the land by compulsory acquisition or eminent domain would have breached the local constitution, so the cabinet was simply prepared to pay the family of British parliamentarian

Richard Drax the money for the portion of the land at the Drax Hall plantation the family still owns from the slavery era. In all, the Draxes own 617 acres.

Taken aback and shocked by the national outcry that followed the cabinet’s plan to pay a family that had enslaved their foreparents, Barbadians railed against the decision, forcing Mottley to make a national address addressing plans to halt the payments.

Drax is a conservative lawmaker from the South Dorset constituency who has been having talks with the PM and the reparations commission in recent months about owning up to the actions of his ancestors. Mottley said she is dissatisfied with the pace of the negotiations and wanted to speed up the process.

“Given the conversation, I believe that it is appropriate for us to pause the acquisition to allow

for greater conversation to take place, and also for us to be able to see where we are, in terms of being able to get some kind of reasonable settlement with Mr. Drax, recognising that in our conversations, without prejudice to anything else, he is aware that the government of Barbados feels strongly about this and will pursue these matters,” Mottley said as locals lambasted the administration.

“I understand the concerns of many Barbadians who may feel that they have been robbed of the opportunity of having an appropriate settlement for the reparations that ought to be made as a result of the blood, sweat and tears of Barbadians over centuries. I want to make it clear this is not a matter that we take lightly. At the same time, I need to remind us that Barbados is a country governed by the rule of law. We have never made it a habit

where we have expropriated people’s land. When people have land that is the subject of compulsory acquisition, by law, we are due to pay for it.”

Among those protesting the moves were local legislator Trevor Prescod, special envoy on reparations and empowerment in Mottley’s office, and David Commissioning, the island’s ambassador to the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and a reparations commission member.

Prescod was brutal in his attack on Drax, saying “that estate is a cesspool of evil, that estate called Drax Hall. We deserve to have that estate as a form of redemption. I stand by this without fear of any consequences. People across the world have highlighted Drax Hall as a major estate and one that is a microcosm of the challenges we face as a people. Any effort by the government to think, regardless

of what legal instrument they are using, that we should give Drax a cent more, I feel it is wrong,” the Nation newspaper quoted him as saying.

Commissiong made it clear to the Amsterdam News that “we have to step up the pressure on Drax. The time has come for that. Little did we know that our people have so embraced the reparations idea that they would have passionately objected to the idea of Drax receiving any money whatsoever for this blood-soaked land. This has been a valuable learning experience for all concerned.”

Drax has been resisting calls to make actual payments for his family’s role in the slave trade that dates back to the mid-20th century, lasting for at least 200 years. He has said that today’s generation had nothing to do with slavery, although he is worth more than Sterling 150 million today.

Immigration judges order record number of deportations in first half of FY 2024, TRAC finds

In a startling revelation, U.S. immigration judges issued a staggering 136,623 deportation orders during the initial six months of Fiscal Year 2024, according to an analysis by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan, nonprofit data research center affiliated with the Newhouse School of Public Communications and the Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University.

This figure marks a significant surge compared to the peak removals observed in FY 2019 under the Donald Trump administration, with today’s pace of new removal orders soaring by 50 percent. This surge coincides with the expansion of immigration judges during the current administration.

The findings shed light on the geographic distribution of these removal orders, providing a detailed portrait of the areas most affected across the country. New York City emerged as the epicenter of deportation activity, with just under 11,000 removal orders issued to immigrants residing there. Following closely behind was Harris County, Te., which witnessed more than 8,000 removal orders, while Los Angeles County, Calif., faced nearly 6,000 removals. Despite the prominence of those three top regions, Dallas County, Tex., and Miami-Dade County, Fla., also witnessed substantial deportation figures. The disparity is evident in Miami-Dade County, with only one-fourth of the removal orders compared to New York City and less than half compared to Los Angeles.

The trend persists with the next four counties having the highest deportation numbers being primarily located in Texas and California. Montgomery County, Tex., stood

out as the residence for just under 2,000 immigrants ordered removed, with San Bernardino County, Calif., and Travis County, Tex., closely trailing behind.

Orange County, Calif., registered the ninth-highest deportation figures, showcasing the contiguous counties of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Orange as significant deportation hotspots, accounting collectively for more than 9,000 removal orders in the past six months.

In contrast, Cook County, Ill., represented by Chicago, ranked tenth in deportation numbers, reflecting relatively fewer completed court cases despite its status as a major metropolitan area and recipient of new asylum seekers.

These findings underscore the widespread impact of deportation orders in various regions, highlighting the complex dynamics in the U.S. immigration system and the need for comprehensive reform to address the challenges faced by immigrant communities nationwide.

Alarming lack of representation

Meanwhile, analysts also found that as immigration judges accelerate the issuance of removal orders, fewer immigrants ordered for removal manage to secure legal representation to advocate their cases.

ATRAC examination of year-by-year trends over the past decade reveals a nuanced trajectory.

Between 2016 and 2019, the total number of removal decisions saw a modest increase, but there were notable improvements in representation rates. However, the onset of partial government COVID-19 shutdowns precipitated a sharp decline in decisions, coinciding with a surprising uptick in the likelihood of finding legal representation. This anomaly probably stemmed from the decreased demand for immigration attorneys due to the reduced number of court hearings, subsequently alleviating supply constraints, TRAC found.

Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, rep-

resentation rates have plummeted as removal hearings surged. Last year, representation rates dwindled to a mere 20 percent. Data for FY 2024 illustrates a further decline, with only 15 percent of immigrants ordered for removal managing to secure legal representation. This decrease is in stark contrast with the current representation rate of 30 percent for all immigrants in the court’s backlog. The implications are profound: Immigrants without legal representation face significantly higher odds of being ordered for removal. This disparity underscores the urgency of addressing the challenges encountered by immigrants navigating the legal intricacies of deportation proceedings in the Democratic Biden administration.

Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focusing on Black immigrant issues.

VIDA vs. DSA: ‘Who are our enemies?’

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

Vanguard Independent Democratic Association (VIDA), a Black-led civic organization with origins in the 1960s in central Brooklyn, threw the gauntlet down at the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and its candidate slate at a heated public meeting this past Monday.

On one hand, some of VIDA’s ire is reflective of the widening generational rift between “old guard” Democrats and younger “insurgent” socialist Progressives in New York. The groups have been at odds since U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) won a congressional seat in 2018 and prophesied a wave of other DSA-backed candidates seeking city and state office.

On the other hand, a historically Black community like Bedford-Stuyvesant has contended with gentrification, skyrocketing rents, deed theft, and displacement since 2010, in line with the changing racial makeup of the neighborhood. The national DSA has roots in the Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee (DSOC) and the New American Movement (NAM), which began with student-led grassroots organizers in the early 1970s. It’s now operated by the DSA National Political Committee. There are looming concerns that progress made in the face of redlining, disinvest-

ment, and crippling crime rates—led by Black leaders from within the community—will be lost to a much larger white-led organization that’s outside the community.

“When Bed-Stuy was do or die, nobody wanted to come in,” said Rev. Dr. Robert Waterman of the Antioch Baptist Church. His words boomed over a large, fiery crowd in front of VIDA’s office. “The Crips and the Bloods, and the gangs, and no-policing that allowed you to move out while

everyone else is moved in. Then the cops come. Now it’s ‘Bed-Stuy stay alive,’ and everybody wants to live in Bed-Stuy and they want to push you out.”

Many of the newer residents are millennials and Gen Z, white and Black, who are more “anti-establishment” and unaware of Bed-Stuy’s historic ties to the fight for civil rights, VIDA President Henry Butler said. But beyond that lack of institutional knowledge, Butler is concerned for Black

incumbents and believes they have been targeted by the DSA.

“They have a bad habit of going after Black women,” said Butler, speaking on past instances where electeds like former Councilmember Laurie Cumbo had unpleasant run-ins with DSA members at home or their office.

The inciting incident behind this recent attack on the DSA stems from a post from

see VIDA VS. DSA on page 36

Crowd outside of Vanguard Independent Democratic Association (VIDA) office on Monday, April 29.

Community activist Marlon Rice (center left), The B.R.O. Experience Founder & Executive Director Barry Cooper (center), and Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman (center right) in front of VIDA office on Monday, April 29. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Health

Factcheck: False—Long COVID is just in your head

By DEREK LAMB AND JANA ZAHLAN

As COVID-19 infections continue to rise around the globe, so has the number of people diagnosed with Long COVID. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Long COVID is a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems that people experience after being infected with the virus that causes COVID19.” A survey conducted by the CDC last June showed that one in 10 U.S. adults who reported having COVID-19 in the past had Long COVID symptoms at the time of data collection.

Still, Long COVID symptoms, such as fatigue and a range of mental symptoms given the umbrella label “brain fog” has led to the disease being often dismissed as a psychological issue. Dr. Michael Peluso, a physician and infectious disease researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, discussed the myth of Long COVID being a psychological issue in an interview with the AmNews

When asked whether Long COVID is a psychological issue, Peluso stated that “the broad answer is no...Medicine has always been very bad at addressing issues that it doesn’t understand, and often those issues get kind of dismissed as either issues that people are imagining or making up.”

As the pandemic progressed, scientists and doctors began to better understand what Long COVID is and how it occurs. Peluso explained that the current understanding has shifted beyond a purely psychological origin of the condition.

“The important message is...that is not our current biological understanding of it,” said Peluso, but notes that “that is the way, unfortunately, that people who are skeptical of the condition or don’t want to deal with someone who has the condition try to dismiss it.”

While many questions regarding Long COVID and its treatments remain unanswered, Peluso emphasized that significant progress has been made toward our understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying this syndrome. He explained that Long COVID can develop in several different ways, including persistence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or malfunctions of the body’s normal processes, such as the immune system and blood clotting system, among others. However, he added that despite this progress, physi-

cians do not currently have ways to test patients suffering from Long COVID symptoms.

Long COVID has entered the mainstream conversation as a disease that comes after recovering from a viral infection—a socalled post-viral disease—but it’s not unique.

To learn more about how the symptoms of Long COVID come about, the AmNews also spoke with Dr. Douglas B. Kell, a professor of systems biology at the University of Liverpool. Dr. Kell is an expert in blood clotting and has been re-

searching Long COVID since the early days of the pandemic.

“SARS-CoV-1 had post-viral syndromes. It’s likely that Gulf War syndrome was a post-viral [disease] ... post-Dengue as well, so these diseases aren’t nearly as common or prevalent as COVID, but it’s clearly Long COVID that has brought this into prominence,” Kell explained.

He added that when SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, gets into the blood, proteins on the surface of the virus start to interfere with the body’s normal systems that control the clotting of blood.

In particular, this leads to the formation of small persistent clots, called ‘microclots’, which are “clots that have clotted into an anomalous form…[making] the clots more resistant . . . so that’s why they’re hanging around,” he added.

These stable clots then travel throughout the body through the bloodstream. Sometimes, they can get stuck, blocking blood vessels and preventing oxygen-rich blood from getting to tissues in the body. The cells that end up being starved of oxygen stop working normally, leading to the symptoms of Long COVID.

“Which ones in particular are most starved are the ones that manifest the particular subset of symptoms that you happen to have,” Kell explained. “If [microclots] are in the CNS [Central Nervous System], it’s brain fog, and if they’re in the muscles, it’s muscle fatigue, and so forth.”

Researchers, including Dr. Kell, are currently working on developing treatments for Long COVID that tackle the varied origins of the disease. But even though treatments for the physical symptoms of Long COVID are still under development, “we do have good treatments for mental health symptoms,” said Peluso, “but people are often hesitant to seek care for those things...because they don’t want their physical symptoms to be dismissed.”

If you are recovering from #COVID19 or experiencing #longCOVID, you can call 212-COVID19 to receive specialty care, or visit www.nychealthandhospitals.org/ services/covid-19 to learn more about NYC’s COVID-19 Centers of Excellence. For additional resources about COVID-19, visit www1. nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/index. page. COVID-19 testing, masks, and vaccination resources can also be accessed on the AmNews COVID-19 page: www.amsterdamnews.com/covid

People protest during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions hearing to examine addressing long COVID, focusing on advancing research and improving patient care. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib photo)

May 2024 Dance Calendar

By CHARMAINE PATRICIA WARREN Special to the AmNews

This month’s calendar is jam-packed!

BAM’s annual DanceAfrica festival returns for the 47th year with “The Origin of Communities/A Calabash of Cultures,” celebrating the traditions and contemporary innovations of dance from Cameroon, affectionately known as “Little Africa.” DanceAfrica 2024 invites the community to experience a multi-faceted exploration of dance, music, film, and art. DanceAfrica 2024 performances, under artistic director Abdel R. Salaam, will include offerings from the Cameroonian dance company Cie La Calebasse, founded by choreographer and dancer Merlin Nyakam, DanceAfrica Spirit Walkers, Women of the Calabash, and the Billie Holiday Theatre’s Youth Arts Academy Dance Ensemble.

For more information, visit https://www. bam.org/danceafrica24.

STILL

RUNNING:

Through May 7 (virtual): ALL ARTS’ 2024, “Past, Present, Future Dance Film Festival,” premieres films by Ayodele Casel, Raja Feather Kelly, and Katy Pyle. The annual initiative features newly commissioned films in which dance artists partner with filmmakers to explore the past, present, and future of their work.

For more information, visit https://www. allarts.org/2024/03/past-present-future-announcement/.

ALSO THIS MONTH

:

May 2–June 8: Kyle Abraham, choreographer, performer, and artistic director of A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, curates the Danspace Project’s 16th Platform, “Platform 2024: A Delicate Ritual.” The series of performances reflects Abraham’s interest in each performers’ rituals, desires, and artistic exchanges. Featured will be new work by Nicholas Ryan Gant + Shamel Pitts (May 2–4), intergenerational evenings of performance with David Roussève + taisha paggett (May 23–25), and Vinson Fraley + Bebe Miller (June 6–8).

For more information, visit https://danspaceproject.org/calendar/

May 5: The 11th CrossCurrent Dance Festival, in collaboration with Flushing Town Hall, will present the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Lenora Lee Dance, and New Asia Chamber Music Society.

For more information, visit https:// www.flushingtownhall.org/event-detail. php?id=608.

May 10–11: The Japan Society closes their contemporary dance program, “Beyond Ballet, Beyond Hip-Hop,” with the North American premiere of “Dying Swan & Its

Cause of Death” by Japanese prima ballerina Hana Sakai and cellist Udai Shika.

For more information, visit https://japansociety.org/performing-arts/.

May 10 & 12: The World Music Institute and Asia Society New York present “Dancing the Gods 2024: Festival of Indian Dance” at the Asia Society, with performances by Kasi Aysola & Archana Raja and Rama Vaidyanathan, curated by Rajika Puri.

For more information, visit https://asevents.eventive.org/schedule/65d4fae436e55f 006eb9a964.

May 10–12: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to NJPAC with Amy Hall Garner’s “CENTURY”; Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish’s “Me, Myself and You”; and Alonzo King’s “Following the Subtle Current Upstream.” In celebration of Max Roach’s centennial, the company will also perform “Survivors,” a 1986 work set to Roach’s drumming and Abbey Lincoln’s vocals. Each performance ends with Ailey’s signature masterpiece, “Revelations.”

For more information, visit https://www. njpac.org/event/alvin-ailey-american-dancetheater-2/.

May 10–25: “S A T U R N: A Revelation,” conceived by j. bouey, is “an immersive dance performance installation, direct action for community support, and multi-camera live broadcast…[that] introduces the Inter-Dimensional Time-Traveling Disco Space Opera Dance Band,” the Living Ancestors, according to the release. George Del Barrio is the designer. For more information, visit https://www. jackny.org/s-a-t-u-r-n-a-revelation.

May 11: The Boogie Down Dance Compilation returns to BAAD!, with eight NYC choreographers taking the stage with original

dance performances.

For more information, visit https://www. eventbrite.com/e/boogie-down-dance-compilation-tickets-883638936847?aff=oddtdtcreator.

May 11–12: The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company will launch its 36th anniversary season at Hostos Center for Arts and Culture, celebrating the 2024 Asian American Pacific Islanders Heritage Month. Highlights include “Betwixt and Between” by Jacek Luminski and Peiju ChienPott, “Reincarnation” by Aloe Ao Liu, and “Carousel Divertimento for 7 dancers” by Chen. For more information, visit https://mpv. tickets.com/schedule/?agency=HCAV_PL_ MPV&orgid=56451#/?view=list&includePack ages=true.

May 16–17: Under artistic director Dante Puleio and in collaboration with the City College Center for the Arts, the Limón Dance Company and Limón2 come together at Aaron Davis Hall for “Experience the Legacy: Limón Dance Company,”—three works by Limón: “Missa Brevis,” “The Exiles,” and “There is a Time ”

For more information, visit https://www. eventbrite.com/e/limon-dance-companytickets-859124242737?aff=oddtdtcreator.

May 16–18: Sidra Bell Dance New York and saxophonist, composer, and arranger Immanuel Wilkins Quartet will offer the world premiere “COMMUNION” at Gibney. “This elegiac experience is a series of impressions, human huddles, and hybrid forms of movement set against a wild mixture of textures, design, and sound,” according to the release.

For more information, visit https://gibneydance.org/event/gibney-presents-sidra-belldance-new-york/2024-05-16/

May 16-Jun. 2: The 19th La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, curated by Nicky Paraiso, will present new and recent works by 11 choreographers and companies with diverse creative practices and approaches to performance. Featured will be Arthur Avilés, Yoshiko Chuma with Dennis O’Connor and composer Dane Terry, Dancers Unlimited, Emerging Choreographers/Hunter College MFA Dance Program, Anabella Lenzu, NUU Knynez, Koma Otake, Ilaria Passeri and Evelyna Dann with composer Stefano Zazzera, the Pioneers Go East Collective, John Scott, and Chris Yon & Taryn Griggs.

For more information, visit https://www. lamama.org/.

May 17–18: As part of Harlem Stage’s 40th anniversary celebration, the signature series E-Moves will bring back nora chipaumire with “ShebeenDUB,” “…which transforms the historic Harlem Stage Gatehouse into a sonic and visual statement of radical Black indictment of Empire. Featuring the monumental afternow sound installation, including the soundshitsystem, designed by Ari Marcopoulos and Kara Walker and constructed by Matt Jackson Studio, the evening unfolds in three parts,” according to the release. For more information, visit https://www. harlemstage.org/emoves-dance-series.

May 18: As part of the BAAD! “Boogie Down Dance Series,” Alethea Pace presents “between wave and water,” a site-specific multimedia performance walk rooted in reclaiming the history of an African Burial Ground in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx.

For more information, visit https://www. eventbrite.com/e/between-wave-and-water-tickets-884234879327?aff=oddtdtcreator.

May 18: “Harlem Mouse/Country Mouse,” a retelling of Aesop’s fable “City Mouse and Country Mouse,” brings Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) together with students from the school, under the direction of DTH artistic director Robert Garland, and Tai Jimenez, director of the DTH School.

For more information, visit https://www. dancetheatreofharlem.org/harlemmouse/.

May 21: For the “OPEN AiR” series at CPR, Malcolm-x Betts will present an hour-long solo about Black queer love entitled “what happens when things become undone?”

For more information, go to www.cprnyc. org/events/open-air-malcolm-x-betts.

May 22: Sara Michelson will curate an evening with Oren Barnoy, Dominica Greene, Seta Morton, and Stevfni.XYZ for CPR’s “OPEN STUDIO” series, which offers artists a place to experiment with new work and work in development in an informal setting.

For more information, visit www.cprnyc. org/events/open-studios-curated-by-sarahmichelson.

Cie La Calebasse (Tony Turner photo)

‘Challengers’ is a steamy, cinematic grand slam

By DWIGHT BROWN NNPA News Wire

Sometimes, three’s a crowd. Sometimes, not. Especially when a very desirable female tennis star enjoys making two male tennis players compete for her affection. “Whoever wins, gets my number,” is the credo.

As a teenager, Tashi Duncan (Zendaya, “Dune”), was once the queen of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) juniors. She won tournaments, was on the verge of big endorsements, and was a media darling. Back then, from a distance, her two biggest admirers were American Tennis Professional (ATP) junior players Art Donaldson (Mike Faist, “West Side Story”) and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor, “The Crown”). Those two schemed to meet, seduce, and endear themselves to Tashi. What they hadn’t fathomed was that she would smack their emotions around like tennis balls.

The screenplay by Justin Kuritzkes curiously eschews a linear narrative. Instead, it starts with the older trio in 2019 when roles have switched. Art is a world champ, Tashi is his wife and demanding coach who presses him to beat his opponents (“Decimate that little bitch!”). Patrick, who beat Art unmercifully on court in their younger years, is now washed-up. He’s back competing on the challenger circuit, where tennis players dwell until they earn enough points to get into the main regular tournaments and slams (Australian, French, Wimbledon and U.S.). It’s a crucial time for Art, who’s won the three grand slams but not the impending U.S. Open. Now, his game is rocky and so is his relationship with Tashi.

Kuritzkes makes the young woman the emotional powerbroker. She snaps her fingers, and both men come running. These

days, she bosses and nurtures Art, while Pat is her boy-toy. It’s an intriguing dynamic.

Add in that it’s a Black woman dominating the two white guys, and the modern verve in the characters and relationships, and we have a very refreshing film. In fact, watching the romance, jealousy, envy, yearning, and lust play out over 2 hours and 11 minutes (editor Marco Costa, “Bones and All”) is a spectator sport. Tracking the different time periods, mood swings, betrayals, and twists and turns is enough to make your head swivel left to right and right to left— like fans watching at a tennis match.

Director Luca Guadagnino garnered acclaim for his Oscar-nominated gay, MayDecember romance “Call Me by Your Name.” His subsequent films, “Suspiria”

and “Bones and All,” didn’t make a dent, but “Challengers” proves that it was the projects, not his direction. He makes sense out of the jigsaw puzzle script and viewers will never feel lost due to his astute guidance. He masterfully leads the young actors through titillating bedroom scenes, which are frisky and erotic, never dirty. But the film does have an ‘R’ rating, so you might think twice before inviting your great granny or kid to sit next to you at the movie theater.

Guadagnino magically gets the lead cast to hit and serve the ball like pros. Their flat forehands, topspin backhands, and serves look like the real thing. Great fakery for a tennis movie, and better than 2017’s “Battle of the Sexes.” The sleight

of hand is so good that hardcore tennis players won’t cringe, except when the actors don’t bend their knees enough and grip the racquet handle too high and not at the base. Guadagnino also gives the three main actors room to play and develop their characters. Their authenticity is helped by the realistic dialogue and conversations that sound like excellent writing, improvisation, or things you’d overhear tennis players say.

Faist, as Art the man/boy who’s in constant need of reassurance, gets to the heart of his timid character: A cuckhold.

O’Connor (“God’s Own Country,” “Peaky Blinders”), a very versatile U.K. actor, drops his British accent and is thoroughly believable as the aggressive, cunning seducer. Zendaya’s beguiling Tashi herds her two admirers like sheep. She’s tall, lean, and has a typical tennis champ’s body akin to that of a Venus Williams or Maria Sharapova. Her cocky, Serena Williams tennis walk, sports star mannerisms, and quick-stepping footwork mimic the real thing. She’s flirtatious, reckless, and caring all at the same time.

Music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Oscar winners for “The Social Network” and “Soul”) pumps up the volume with EDM and house music. J.W. Anderson’s costumes fit the courts and casual lifestyle. Cinematography by Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (“Call Me by Your Name”) is nimble in exterior shots during tennis matches and sensual in steamy hotel bedroom scenes.

“Challengers” is a top of the league sports-drama-romance movie. Fans of the genre will enjoy watching the highenergy tennis and the boy-girl-boy love triangle. It’s hard to figure out who will win in the end; that’s the mark of a very competitive match.

Zendaya as Tashi in “Challengers,” directed by Luca Guadagnino, a Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures film. (Niko Tavernise / Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures photos)

Zendaya as Tashi and Josh O’Connor as Patrick in “Challengers.”

Mike Faist stars as Art and Zendaya as Tashi in “Challengers.” (Niko Tavernise photo)

‘Wall to Wall Prince’ offers day-long celebration on May 4

By LEAH MALLORY Special to the AmNews

Calling all Prince fans! Symphony Space’s free performance marathon Wall to Wall Prince returns on May 4, from 3 p.m.–11 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in Manhattan.

The celebration—split into two-hour increments—will feature a diverse lineup of music, film, dance, and more, with a roster of artist tributes honoring the talent and influence of Prince and a unique feature to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his hit “Purple Rain.”

The event kicks off with a segment diving into the spiritual life of Prince, featuring an exclusive discussion with the crew adapting “Purple Rain” for Broadway. Performances will include tap dancing, brass displays, spoken word, and other artistic expressions. DJ Stormin’ Norman will provide live DJ sets throughout the day.

Guests have the option to stay for the entire celebration or stop by a few sessions. A live stream will also be available for those who cannot attend in person. Admission is free. For more info, visit https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/wall-to-wall-prince.

and

Preserving history: the legacy of the 1965 ‘Friends of Old-Time Music Concert’

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH

Special to the AmNews

A live recording of a concert can be a time capsule, capturing a moment that reverberates through history. On June 14, 2024, Smithsonian Folkways Records will unveil “The Complete Friends of OldTime Music Concert,” a remarkable relic from April 1965. This concert, featuring Bessie Jones, John Davis & the Georgia Sea Island Singers, alongside Mississippi Fred McDowell and Ed Young, stands as a testament to the intersection of Black folk traditions and civil rights activism. At the heart of this recording are the haunting melodies of the Georgia Sea Island Singers. Led by Bessie Jones and John Davis, these Black folk songs and spirituals resonate with a deep connection to African roots. Their lyrics, encoded with messages of resistance and resilience, echo the struggles of generations past. From the brutal realities of slavery to the ongoing fight for equality, these songs serve as both a testament to the past and a rallying cry for the future.

Accompanying the Georgia Sea Island Singers are Mississippi Fred McDowell, a master of country blues, and Ed Young, a virtuoso cane fife player from Mississippi. Together, these artists create a tapestry of sound that captivates and inspires. Yet, beneath the surface of their music lies a profound

subtext—a commentary on the tumultuous times in which they lived.

As folklorist Alan Lomax optimistically proclaims in the concert’s introduction, we are the road to world peace and integration, and the silence of the Black performers speaks volumes. Their songs tell a different story—one of struggle, perseverance, and defiance.

For Mable Hillery, a civil rights activist and member of the Georgia Sea Island Singers, music was not just a form of expression but a tool for change. “If I can’t

(Image via https://folkways.si.edu/)

march, I can sing,” she declares, embodying the spirit of resistance that permeates the concert hall.

For Peter Siegel, who recorded the original concert, the significance of this event extends beyond mere entertainment. “Bessie Jones and John Davis were very aware of their mission to help people understand this music—where it came from and how it could inform the future.” he explains. Indeed, the Friends of Old-Time Music Concert was more than just a gathering of talented musicians—it was a call to

action, a plea for justice, and a celebration of resilience.

As we listen to these timeless recordings, let us not only appreciate the artistry of the performers but also honor the legacy they have left behind. Their voices, echoing across the decades, remind us of the power of music to unite, to inspire, and to effect change. In a world still grappling with issues of race and equality, their message remains as relevant today as it was in 1965: The fight for justice continues, and music will always be our weapon of choice.

Bessie Jones and two great-grandchildren at home on St. Simons Island, 1973. (Public domain)

GLR¥A

Rakiem Walker Project at last year’s Wall to Wall Women of Soul event. (Ellen Qbertplaya photo)

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA

WWW.KYAFRENCH.COM | CONSULTATIONS 866-331-5088

Apply the footwork and network in May, a month to upgrade yourself in areas that need a tune-up and a bit of polish for shining to match the frequency of your energy. This cycle week, build the foundation to whatever it is you are working on. By doing so you gain insight and information to elevate you further on your quest. Stay focused on the vision and take a break to enjoy the amenities in life. The awkward moments that reveal themselves to you pull you by your coattails and put you on notice. Remain still to allow the information to play itself out before making a move. From May 6 around 5:42 p.m. until May 8 around 7:11 p.m., add the ingredients of gratitude, thankfulness, faith, and happiness to keep you smiling, shining, and winning on the inside about your agenda. You will meet who you need to meet and be where you need to be in divine harmony of alignment.

Write the plan, and make it detailed and simple to execute. Gather your resources, even if you have to connect the dots of the old material to combine it with the new to piece it together. Now you’re cooking with gas. Sometimes it takes a moment to develop and arrange all the facts to receive a better perspective for your project and its trajectory. Follow up on your agenda for a smooth outcome. Follow up on what occurred during April 30 until May 2; those are hints of what’s leading up to May 8 around 7:20 p.m. and two days after.

Currently, Neptune in Pisces is tiptoeing around to give you instructions on how to play and plan your next move before Neptune retrogrades July 2 through December 7, 2024 at 29 degrees. There are folks in the background doing their part and you continue to do your part; no matter how slowly it’s moving or tight is getting you must push through like a pregnant woman giving birth. Review, revise, rearrange to stay on task to further your mission for the new upcoming growth. Pisces is the last sign in the zodiac. It’s “do, or the universe will kindly invite you to the movement forward.” For things that were formerly swept under folks’ feet and nose, the carpet is being pulled away swiftly to see the truth. From May 5 around 7:13 a.m. until May 7 around 7:07 a.m., the preparation of deja vu is in effect like the matrix.

The seeds are planted and the growth process has begun. Now secure the foundation with a strategic plan, similar to finding a secret ingredient in the family lineage for generational wealth to continue to evolve. No time for playing games, as the north node in Aries and south node in Libra are getting closer to the initiation of new beginnings, lasting eight more months. From May 4 around 4:41 p.m. until May 6 around 5:33 p.m., get as much accomplished in the timeframe mentioned above to position yourself according to your plans. Insert the detours that occur in your life where they fit and take notes to keep you on task.

After a cycle has ended, it’s only the beginning of another assignment/ chapter quest to navigate and learn, gaining wisdom to the next level, mission, assignment, or adventure. Life on all types of levels exists at once on earth and you do what works for you and keeps you elevated. The world you built and the people who you influence will be your supporters. Who knows where they come from? The universe has put them there to cheer you on. From May 6 around 5:42 p.m. until May 8 around 7:11 p.m., life is what you make it as it works with you on a spiritual level as you take part in the physical realm for both to connect. Take what you learn to share and help someone on their journey in life.

The snowball effect is in effect. In life you receive hits and take hits that later in life hit you like a curveball to help you innerstand why certain events occurred during a certain time. As you end one thing, habit, person, or place, pick up a healthier habit that will benefit you during the crossing over into the new. The details in the midst of the change will assist in making wiser choices in life. Begin planning the foundation of that new idea, and follow up on what occurred during April 30 until May 2, which are hints leading up to May 8 around 7:20 p.m. and two days after. Life has interesting turns, twists, ups and down slopes to assist you on your quest.

your agenda in the smoke of the chaos.

Rebirth of A New Nation: May is an eye-opening and jaw-dropping month. On April 8, 2024 the solar eclipse occurred exactly a month from the May 8, new moon in Taurus at 18 degrees within 7 degrees of Venus, Uranus, Jupiter, highlighting events like a highlighter. It’s a week where you’ll need to send the email with a cc and bcc for proof of actual receipt of whatever you send or submit. Information travels swiftly, further than the oceans, rivers, and lakes can hear. The weather communicates back: the rain sends its message, the air circulates into deep conversations that lead into gusty winds, wild waves, calm waves, tornadoes, storms that trigger lightning and thunder, and make the Earth quiver and tremble. The birds are chirping, and the animal and mammal kingdoms seek to have order and balance while being grounded. The Mothers and Daughters of the earth are awakening and rising like the sunrise and sunset. A quantum leap is needed to restart your energy. “May every sunrise hold more promise and every sunset hold more peace.”—Umair Siddiqui

What seems like a blessing is something you already initiated a while ago that came on time for you. The Bible says in Galatians 6:7 “ a man reaps what he sows” be it good or indifferent. How connected are you to your spiritual self? Are you receiving messages? Are folks from your past showing up in ways you never imagined? There must be something that needs to be done, addressed, said, or whatever, because it’s showing up. Take it as a sign to move forward in life. From May 5 around 7:13 a.m. until May 7 around 7:07 a.m., tap into your God energy.

Things are moving in a skyward direction. Change is great once you actually see the operation in effect after applying the necessary work to build a foundation. This is a turning point into a new direction. New levels and doors are opening to you. Choose the best opportunity that corresponds with the partnership you are building. From May 4 around 4:41 p.m. until May 6 around 5:33 p.m., everything we do is a relationship. In a relationship we have to consider a term called valuable consideration. This is not a one-way street; sometimes it happens four ways that may include a roundabout loop experience. Finances, business and personal matters get a boost this cycle. Take notes as things are happening swiftly.

It’s a mastermind week to create a masterpiece of your choice. You have a lot of material in your arsenal to utilize in a book form, a workshop, a PowerPoint, or to create a business etc. You are the creator of your reality. What do you want to create? From May 6 around 5:42 p.m. until May 8 around 7:11 p.m., this week, ask yourself what is your passion? That thing you naturally do? It’s a self improvement week to impress yourself on how far you can maximize your strength to do a certain task.

March was a rebirth period of transition. April is a new cycle to give birth in a new way, a new direction leveling up on higher dimensions of thinking and operating. This week, take notes as if you are reading the small fine print in the contract. Ask when the information is not clear or when you don’t understand something. April came to teach you to be self-reliant and a bit selfish. May teaches you to have compassion. Open up a bit, cry it out, dance it out, speak out on what bothers you or has been stagnant in your energy. Look in the mirror— it tells a story of the life you are living. April 30 to May 2 contain hints of what’s to come leading up to May 8 around 7:20 p.m. and two days after.

The old folks saying is true. “Where’s there’s a will, there’s a way” Where’s there’s a plan, there’s a play in action to complete the mission. Think brand new; it feels great, be it driving a new car, touching something new, entering a new home, having a new baby, getting a new job etc. Learning the functions and structure is key. From May 5 around 7:13 a.m. until May 7 around 7:07 a.m., create the newness and go with the ebbs and flows of the process to see the end result. Family obligations need your attention and TLC, but you need to put your freedom and peace of mind on the schedule.

Say it ain’t so: What is happening right before your very eyes is what occurred in your dream: Deja vu, revelations of all kinds are coming out the woodwork. Who said what? Who did what? Where is it happening? Your mind is sharp and real as the spiritual and physical plane exists. From businesses to organizations, from state to local to your neighborhood, things are developing on all levels.

‘Macbeth (an undoing)’ is brilliant in Brooklyn

BY LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

“Macbeth (an undoing),” written and directed by Zinnie Harris and presented by Theatre for a New Audience at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, is a brilliant play. It is the first part of the Shakespeare Exchange, a reciprocal Transatlantic partnership between Royal Lyceum Edinburgh Production and Theatre for a New Audience. I’ve never seen anything like it! Harris’ play has a great deal of humor and breaking of the fourth wall, and a very gory aspect to it that leaves you stunned and amazed.

You have the characters from Shakespeare’s “MacBeth,” but they are not taking you to another level of drama; rather, there’s an element of meeting the audience where they are having fun, with elements of foreboding, bloody murders, survival of the fittest, guilt, and

Hell yeah!

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

madness. Harris tells a story that will have you engrossed from the opening moments straight to the unique finish. This play was such a pleasure to experience first-hand, I really don’t want to give specifics away. You have to make plans to see it, and you won’t soon forget it.

The cast is superb! Nicole Cooper is an explosive, mesmerizing Lady Macbeth. You see her dedication to Macbeth and her ambition for his and of course, her success, no matter the cost. She is sexy and

charming, but also ruthless and deadly. Her character goes through so much emotionally until she becomes, dare I say it, a little sympathetic. Adam Best is magnificent as Macbeth. He plays the role with such intensity, you feel for this man who knows he’s done wrong and quickly turns to madness. Special mention must go to Liz Kettle as Carlin, who not only gets the evening going with laughter and joy, but performs multiple roles, each in a distinguishing manner that demands your attention and appreciation.

This company demonstrates its versatility as the actors effortlessly maneuver multiple roles. Emmanuella Cole is stellar as Lady Macduff/Mae and brings a separate, vital energy to each role every time she takes the stage. As Lady Macduff, Cole is quick to point out her station as opposed to that of her cousin Lady Macbeth. She also demonstrates shrewdness coupled with a vast vulnerability. Thi-

‘Hell’s Kitchen’ is great on Broadway!

“Hell’s Kitchen” is hell yeah, GREAT on Broadway! This new, fabulous musical is conceived by Alicia Keys, who, of course, does the music and lyrics. It features some of her most beloved, inspiring songs, with a very engaging book by Kristoffer Diaz. This musical is creativity at its best! There is also music supervision by Adam Blackstone, orchestrations by Tom Kitt and Blackstone, arrangements by Keys and Blackstone, music consulting by Kitt, musical direction by Lily Ling, stunning, delightful and inspiring choreography by Camille A. Brown and spoton direction by Michael Greif. This musical is coming off a very successful run at the Public Theatre. And now that it is on Broadway, I know it has found a home! Keys conceived of the idea to write this semi-autobiographical story about growing up in an artists’ building in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan.

The audience gets to hear the story of Ali, a 17-year-old girl, who lives with her single mother, Jersey. Her mother works two jobs to make ends meet and tries to have a tight leash on Ali with the help of friends and the building doorman, Ray. Ali perceives all of this as strict. Ali also shares that her life is lonely in their apartment. She introduces the audience to the creative people that

live throughout her building. It is an environment where creative juices thrive. Ali meets Miss Liza Jane who practices piano every day in the Ellington Room and Miss Liza Jane ends up teaching Ali about much more than piano. She teaches about her heritage and the female ancestors who have come before her, expressing themselves through the art of piano playing and making music. Ali finds herself attracted to a man named Knuck, who plays a plastic bucket and sticks outside of her building with his two friends. Ali longs for love and excitement. She wants to be a part of the thriving city she lives in. Her interactions with Knuck prove that you can’t judge a book by its cover. She thinks that he is a thug, but he is definitely not. In

fact, he is actually devastated by how society judges him based on how he looks. We get to know a lot about the mother/daughter relationship between Jersey and Ali, as well as Ali’s father Davis, which is a painful one. Ali has two best friends, Tiny and Jessica, who try to get her to reconsider her attraction to Knuck, due to her mother’s predictable negative reaction, but they can’t dissuade her. This musical is a gorgeous experience to behold as we get to hear so many Alicia Keys songs including “You Don’t Know My Name,” “Kaleidoscope,” “Teenage Love Affair,” “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready)”, “No One”, “Empire State of Mind” and of course “Girl On Fire.” There are many other songs as well that will grab your attention and keep you

erry Mabonga is quite impressive as Macduff/Doctor. As Macduff, his loyalty to the murdered King Duncan is admirable. His need for justice is palpable. Star Penders is quite amusing as Malcolm and eerie as Missy. James Robinson delivers a fine performance as Banquo. Marc Mackinnon is memorable as Duncan, the betrayed King of Scotland. This is an ensemble cast that works as a cohesive unit and brings Harris’ extraordinary script to life in a way that is stupendous to experience. The ensemble members also include Taqi Nazeer and Laurie Scott. The scenic design by Tom Piper is hauntingly clever. Alex Berry’s costume design gives a modern day take that works. Lighting design by Lizzie Powell gives just the right effect, as does the sound design by Pippa Murphy. This original work is worth experiencing and embracing. For more info, visit www.tfana.org.

amazed. What I love the most about this musical is that Ali isn’t the only one performing these songs. In fact, they are generously portioned out to the cast members and it makes sense because this cast is full of powerhouse voices. Maleah Joi Moon is making her Broadway debut as Ali and without a doubt, this girl is on fire! She is a star in every sense of the word! Shoshana Bean is poignant, empathetic, and powerful as Jersey. She shows the character’s protective maternal side, while also displaying vulnerability. She has such an extraordinary vocal instrument, you will find yourself taking a breath when she finishes a song, because she does it with such intensity! Brandon Victor Dixon as Davis is delectable! He has a natural stage presence and a charm that simply captivates. Kecia Lewis-Evans as Miss Liza Jane is a force to be reckoned with. Her voice is something out of a heavenly choir, it’s stunning! She plays this character with a great deal of heart, humor and reverence for the ancestors. Her character is someone who genuinely cares about those around her. Chris Lee is touching as Knuck. He represents the unfortunate scenario that happens to so many young Black men who are judged by their looks as a threat, when they are anything but that. His character’s attraction to Ali is innocent and sweet. Jackie Leon plays Jessica, one of Ali’s best friends

and this young lady has such an amazing, phenomenal voice. What a delight she is to listen to! Vanessa Ferguson is wonderful as Tiny, Ali’s other best friend. Other members of this extraordinary cast included Nyseli Vega who plays Millie, one of Jersey’s best friends and she brought the spice! At the performance I attended, the role of Crystal, Jersey’s other best friend, was performed by Badia Farha and she did a magnificent job with it. Chad Carstarphen was charming in the role of Ray the doorman, who looked out for Ali per Jersey’s request. Lamont Walker II and Jakeim Hart play Knuck’s friends, Riq and Q, and they delivered amusing performances. Of course, with all that great music playing you have to have funky dressed, phenomenal dancers doing choreography that would knock your socks off, and this musical definitely has that. The energy and moves on the stage got a few bodies moving in the audience. I was one of them! The costumes by Dede Ayite were perfect! Scenic design was beautifully done by Robert Brill, as was lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Gareth Owen and projection design by Peter Nigrini. Seeing this musical will put everyone in a “Empire State of Mind.” The audience was on fire with a standing ovation that continued even when the actors had left the stage!

(L-R) Adam Best, Taqi Nazeer, Laurie Scott, Emmanuella Cole, and Nicole Cooper in a scene from “Macbeth (an undoing)” playing at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn. (Gerry Goodstein photo)

A scene from Hell’s Kitchen playing at the Shubert Theatre—The cast— (Center) Maleah Joi Moon. (Marc J. Franklin photo)

Public Art comes to Harlem with new large-scale sculpture exhibition

By LEAH MALLORY

Special to the AmNews

A new large-scale sculpture exhibition opens in Harlem this week, with eight featured locations to host the sculpture installations, bringing public art to residents uptown in a welcome change. It’s the first large-scale sculpture exhibition in the neighborhood. “We don’t have a lot of galleries in Harlem,” said Savona Bailey-McClain, executive director and chief curator for the West Harlem Art Fund. “But what we do have is a lot of park spaces.” Bailey-McClain explained that while art is frequently confined to lavish spaces like museums and galleries, the Harlem Sculpture Gardens seeks to disrupt that practice by making art publicly accessible.

Several historic parks will be utilized for the exhibition, running from Morningside Park to Jackie Robinson Park. Visitors are encouraged to stop by every venue, including Harriet Tubman Triangle, Frederick Douglass Circle, and the City College of New York Campus.

“[Public art] gives the opportunity for those who don’t always feel welcome in institutions, the possibility to see, to engage, and to experience,” said Dianne Smith, a multidisciplinary artist presenting her work in the exhibition.

Smith’s piece,“Echoes of the Path,” incorporates small aluminum wire sculptures for a commentary contrasting the urban and natural environment.

The metal, she said, mimics the shape of trees in nature, while the aluminum signifies the urban environment through its concrete composition. It’ll be featured at

St. Nicholas Park. She identified her geographical and cultural background as major artistic influences.

“I’m a child of the diaspora, so my work responds and connects to the cultural landscape of Harlem,” she said.

For Bailey-McClain, capturing the cultural diversity of New York City is a goal of the exhibition, as illustrated by the roster of artists and the variety of art on display.

“We have several artists, Latino artists. We have two Asian artists,” she said, offering examples. “We also incorporated abstract works that deal with contemporary art in New York City.”

The exhibition further aims to increase traffic and visibility to the venues. Michael Gormley, executive director of the New York Artists Equity Association, noted that these spaces are often underutilized, reinforcing the impor-

tance of accessibility.

“If you’re going to make art accessible to everyone, you take it to their communities,” said Gormley.

The Harlem Sculpture Gardens is a year-long project headed by the West Harlem Art Fund and New York Equity Artists Association in collaboration with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, local community boards, and other neighborhood groups.

The exhibition is a reform of an existing artistic vision by Bailey-McClain, a veteran within the public arts sphere. Years ago, the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation approached her to carry out a project presenting sculptures in all four historic parks in Harlem. Years later, they approached her again for another iteration. This time, she wanted to create something on a bigger scale.

“We made sure that different organizations and artists in all five boroughs were aware of what we were doing,” she said. “We’re trying to create a new scene in Harlem

that’s contemporary that can be seen as more relevant with young people, and so we reached out to various groups." After initiating an open call for proposals and receiving fewer submissions than expected, she accepted all of them. Now, as the project comes to fruition, Bailey-McClain is optimistic about the impact it will have on the community.

“I had a resident across the street come over and shake my hand. She was so happy. She felt like the art was making her day,” she said. “So we want people to see that what’s normally downtown, or maybe in downtown Brooklyn, can happen uptown. We can have sculptures on a large scale in Harlem, and people would respect it, and they would welcome it, and they can understand. And they can ask questions.”

The Harlem Sculpture Gardens will run from May 2, 2024, through October 30, 2024.

For more information, visit https:// harlemsculpturegardens.com/

Image of the work in progress for St. Nicholas Park (Photo courtesy of Savona Bailey-McClain)

Carole Eisner’s sculpture “Konnected” (Tyreese Nacho photo)

Dianne Smith, “Echoes of the Path” (2024), Handwoven aluminum and teak wood, Harlem Sculpture Garden, St. Nicholas Park, Harlem, NY. (Photos courtesy of the artist)

Ben La Rocco with his installation “Playdate” with Carol Diamond. (Tyreese Nacho photos)

“Folded Alphabets” by Fletcher Benton.

Dario Mohr with his sculpture “Ancestral Annual” with Cody Umans

Peter Miller, “Tetrahedral Antisphere”

Dizzy’s, Smoke, celebrating the Duke at 125

Dizzy’s Club welcomes an intergenerational piano duo featuring Bertha Hope and Mike King for the second installment of its “Duke at 125 Residency” May 2-3 with two sets each night. Both share a perfectionism in their musicianship that allows for spontaneity and collaboration. Hope brings a wide musical vocabulary from pianists Richie Powell and Elmo Hope.

“Duke inspired us all with more music than we will ever learn,” said Hope. “He kept that band under great sacrifice for us to carry on for the next couple of centuries.” It is acknowledged that Ellington wrote or collaborated on over 1,000 compositions, especially those with Billy Strayhorn. Many of these compositions have become jazz standards, which speaks to his recorded jazz legacy. His granddaughter Mercedes Ellington recently shared with me that, during a Russian tour, Duke wrote on napkins and even his shirt sleeves at restaurants. With such a creative flow, it’s possible some of his compositions may turn up in an old footlocker or a Washington D.C. attic at some point. PERHAPS!

“My reimagination of Duke represents all of me and all the influences I’ve learned and have been motivated by [from] the many musicians I respect,” said Hope during a recent phone interview. “There will be heavy Duke melodies. I will play Bertha Hope inspired by Duke’s spirit.” The younger King has cut his chops with such notables as Gary Bartz, Billy Hart and tours with Dee Dee Bridgewater, Soul Understated, and his Mike King Trio.

Dizzy’s concludes its “Duke at 125” series with “Marc Cary & James Hurt Play Ellington” concluding on May 4-5. These two eclectic pianists are prepared to take audiences on an Ellington expedition that is yet to be experienced by longtime Ellington aficionados. Cary and Hurt will extend a few twists and turns to Master’s works.

“We both love Duke and will go through some of his repertoire like ‘My Little Brown Book,’ ‘A Flower is a Lovesome Thing,’ and ‘Black, Brown, and Beige,’” said Cary. “We know how to work with each other and know what to do. James and I have some different stuff brewing some piano and keyboards. There will be some original pieces I wrote that were inspired by Duke.”

Cary has a close connection to Ellington other than music. He was born in New York but, like Ellington, grew up in Washington, D.C. He attended the Duke Ellington School of the Arts and says, “Duke is at the base of my great love for this music.” He goes on to say during our phone conversation,

“Cootie Williams [Ellington’s trumpeter] was my grandfather’s first cousin. He recommended my grandfather [Otis Gamble], also a trumpeter, to Ellington but because of family responsibilities he couldn’t join the orchestra. Not willing to go on the road for those long stretches, he started a union band in Providence, Rhode Island. When I’m celebrating Ellington, I am also celebrating the history of my family.”

Ellington’s quote, “Musicians should play with one foot in Africa and the other in the present” is a concept these two musicians have followed. “Marc and I have similar interests in music of various cultures [to include the Diaspora] which led to some recordings together and a longlasting friendship,” said Hurt. “Duke Ellington set a high example of how to explore the full range of music with a wide lens from a global perspective. I appreciate the deep listening that goes on in this special setting and look forward to the music.”

There are two sets each night: May 4, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.; and May 5, 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

ing rooted in that hard hittin’ bebop and the blues enticing enchanting swingin.’

For reservations and times visit smokejazz.com.

A major Ellington celebration will take place on May 6 (at Manhattan’s Symphony Space) with the production of “The City of Jazz” that was inspired by a short essay Duke Ellington wrote in 1959, capturing his view on the all-inclusive nature of jazz, a metaphorical place with “no city limits.”

For reservations, visit jazz.org

One of the jazz world’s most eminent alto saxophonists, Charles McPherson, who enjoyed an extensive run with master bassist and composer Charles Mingus, appears at Smoke Jazz and Supper Club (2751 Broadway) for a now four-day engagement thru May 5.

Smoke, known for presenting the best in jazz, is pulling out all stops for this 25th anniversary. McPherson, with bebop references dancing out of his horn, will be celebrating the release of his new Smoke Sessions album “Reverence.” McPherson’s Quintet features an all-star cast with pianist Jeb Patton, trumpeter Terell Stafford, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Billy Drummond.

It’s somewhat of a mystery why this native of Joplin, Missouri, who has influenced generations of musicians and listeners for over six decades, whose career has played an integral part in the history of jazz, has yet to become an NEA Jazz Master. But for sure there is no mystery to his play-

The characters take on titles of Duke’s compositions like “Satin Doll” and “Night Creature,” a composition he wrote for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The Duke Ellington Center Big Band will have the musical direction of Eli Yamin. Special guest artist and eight-time Grammy Award winner Arturo O’Farrill will be featured in the evening’s lineup of dancers, vocalists, and surprise guests, including drummer Bobby Sanabria, Broadway veteran Ty Stephens, tap dancer DeWitt Fleming Jr., and jazz singers Antoinette Montague and Marion Cowings. Cabaret singer Sidney Myer will be narrator of this event with cohosts Mercedes Ellington and Tony Waag.

The event is presented by the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in Association with the American Tap Dance Foundation. Founded in 2004 by Mercedes Ellington, the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization dedicated to scholarship, education, and performance connected to the legacy of Duke Ellington.

“We’re looking forward to a fun family birthday party to celebrate my grandfather and his remarkable legacy—we are pulling out all the stops for this milestone event!” said Ellington.

For tickets visit symphonyspace.org. or decfa.org. Symphony Space / Peter Jay Sharp Theatre, is located at 2537 Broadway; show is 8pm-10pm.

Marc Carey (Photo courtesy of Jazz at Lincoln Center)

Jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington appear at a news conference in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, Jan. 28, 1966. (AP Photo)

Budget

budget. He attributed these “savings” to the 30- and 60-day shelter notices and reduced per diem household costs, which he categorized as “tough choices” to make.

New York City is aiming to be among the global cities to establish a climate budgeting office, following places like Oslo, London, and Mumbai. The Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Jacques Jiha spearheaded the Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Task Force within that office to lead the development and implementation of climate budgeting.

“We are the nexus of everything taking place in city government so from my perspective it was appropriate for it to be at OMB because we can see and track all the investments,” Jiha said in a budget session, “and we can make sure that the investments the city makes has the appropriate impact on the environment.”

The plan is to align capital and budget decisions with the overall goal of reaching net-zero gas emissions by 2050, and creating resiliency plans that accommodate extreme heat and flooding.

Those directives entail requiring climatespecific information with new funding requests and capital projects as well as prioritizing sustainability projects: electrification in buildings and vehicles, renewed roof coatings to cut indoor temperatures, stormwater man-

Election fraud

Continued from page 3

good signatures,’ so I didn’t bother [to challenge]. The second time, I saw the same pattern on signatures, so I went to the BOE and started putting in names and you see them in red—that means these people are deceased. I said, ‘Let me walk to the door.’And I take the signature to folks and they are pissed.”

According to the current BOE New York County’s recorded objection ledger, Gibbs has had his own petitions challenged by a few people, including his opponent in the Assembly race, Xavier Santiago. Gibbs also challenged Santiago and candidate William Smith, but his main targets were 68th District leader candidates Juhaib Choudhury, Nina Saxon, and Ruiz.

Gibbs planned on suing all three based on incorrect dates and improper witnesses—the latter is a serious violation he said he found in their petitioning forms. Witnesses to petition signatures have to be accurately reported and aren’t usually the candidates themselves. Gibbs’s sleuth team double-checked the dates and people collected through residents’ home security cameras.

Some candidates have the double worry of being targeted because of their race or ethnicity, especially if they’re the only person of color running for an office in a primarily white district or county. Such is the situation for Westchester County District Attorney candidate William Wagstaff III, who is running against DA candidate

agement and upgraded catch basins, expand tree canopies, renewable diesel for ferries, more staff to carry out Local Law 97 (LL97) building efficiency compliance, a study of Rikers Island energy infrastructure, an offshore wind hub at South Brooklyn Marine Terminal, and a climate innovation hub at Brooklyn Army Terminal.

So far the city’s assessment concluded that out of the $97.7 billion in capital projects funding, $65.7 billion potentially impacted net-zero emissions goals, with 24% of that already supporting green infrastructure and 8.4% supporting gas powered equipment.

According to the city, “a significant portion of the city’s affordable housing stock and

more than one million small and mid-sized buildings” are especially vulnerable to energy inefficiencies because they usually use natural gas for heat and hot water, which is expected to continue to burn because many of those buildings don’t have to comply with LL97 emissions targets. There’s also the issue of the state running behind on building largescale renewable energy projects.

Though disappointed with other elements of the city budget, environmentalist groups like New York League of Conservation Voters (NYLCV) and Climate Works for All were tentatively excited about the climate budgeting process.

“While the release of the new Climate Bud-

Susan Cacace to replace DA Miriam Rocah. To summarize, Wagstaff received complaints from his volunteer petitioners and multiple people who had signed petitions for his candidacy that they were being “menaced, intimidated, and threatened” by investigators hired by Cacace to question the validity of the petitions they signed, according to his campaign. Wagstaff’s team slammed the tactic as an attempt to disenfranchise voters, specifically Black voters, in Westchester.

By April 14, Cacace filed a lawsuit alleging that Wagstaff had committed election fraud by sub-

geting publication is welcome news, when it comes to on-the-ground policy, this budget takes us in the wrong direction,” said NYLCV in a statement. They criticized the current executive budget for cuts to the Department of Parks and Recreation and the city’s curbside composting program.

Faiza Azam, a Climate Works for All spokesperson, found the announcement encouraging. Azam said the organization is adamant about the need to address climate impacts by restoring cuts to and fully funding the Department of Citywide and Administrative Services’ energy resilience projects, dedicating $600 million for green schools and funding for more LL97 staff to decarbonize buildings. “It’s not enough to restore cuts to education without investing in green and healthy public schools, so our students, teachers, and school staff can breathe clean air,” Azam said in a statement. “And it’s not enough to claim a brighter future where every child is able to thrive when Black and Brown youth continue to weather the worst effects of the climate crisis and remain most vulnerable to recordbreaking storms, heat, and wildfire smoke.”

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

to question and intimidate were women, Black women, and women from Mount Vernon,” Patterson-Howard said.

The courts ruled in favor of Wagstaff on April 25, allowing his name to appear on the ballot.

Sarah K. Steiner, one of the state’s leading election law practitioners, attended the BOE commissioners’ meeting this Tuesday on behalf of several Queens County candidates and said the Wagstaff accusations were “shameful,” in her opinion. “They misconstrued so much and turned something that was nothing into something they could get some headlines for before it all went away. I hate when that happens,” Steiner said. “It was done as a campaign technique. I don’t think anybody thought there was actual fraud.”

mitting “improperly witnessed signatures.”

The Westchester community corralled huge support for Wagstaff with a rally in front of the Westchester County courthouse. Mount Vernon Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard, who nominated Wagstaff, said at the rally that she has no qualms with Cacace hiring campaign staff to confirm petition signatures, and has challenged signatures herself. “But what I do have a problem with is the intimidation tactics that were used to disenfranchise my constituents and women, because I believe 80 percent of the people they went to challenge,

The BOE is now moving on to the fairly short appeals process for candidates who were removed from the ballot. Determinations commence on May 1. Steiner said she doesn’t “necessarily” consider being removed from the ballot a sign that someone is unfit for office, but she thinks that the petitioning and objection process leaves a lot of room for “human error” as it stands now. She is in favor of reforming the traditional paper process to include electronic petitioning to reduce the likelihood of fraud claims.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member who writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Mayor Eric Adams, NYC Commissioner of Cultural Affairs Laurie A. Cumbo, and union members gather in front of City Hall to announce the city’s executive budget FY25 on April 24. (Ariama C. Long. photo)

Photo of District Attorney candidate William Wagstaff (center podium) speaking to advocates, voters, and elected officials at the Westchester County Courthouse at a rally on April 13, 2024. (Ariama C. Long. photo)

Charles McGee, highly creative artist and deep thinker

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

Charles McGee was a versatile artist who preferred to let his art speak for him. A recent article in the Detroit Metro Times provided a retrospective of his work, noting that a section of the city would now be called the Charles McGee Legacy Park. How the reticent McGee, who died three years ago, would feel about this is, to some extent, found in how he viewed himself in the artistic realm.

“The world is my canvas,” he said in an interview with One Detroit. “I’m just one little speck on this canvas. I’m trying to understand that order that holds the world together. I think that if we understand it, we respect it. When we all work together, we understand more. We tolerate more. We live better lives.”

McGee was imbued with an understanding and tolerance that were critical to his living a better life—and a profound and productive one. Born in Clemson, S.C., on December 15, 1924, he was raised by sharecropping grandparents. He said his first artistic inspiration occurred while he was picking cotton, where “he observed firsthand the

order and harmony that exists within nature.” His formal education began after he moved to Detroit when he was 10 years old.

Unlike the bucolic life in Clemson, Detroit was a fast-paced city.

To McGee, “everything was on the move and it hasn’t slowed down yet,” he told a reporter. Reflecting on these early years, he said, “I learned something not being in school—because life is school...I learn something every time I move. Every time I go around a corner, something new is revealed to me.”

When you live for nearly a century, you have traversed a lot of terrain, turned many corners, and accumulated a wealth of knowledge and wisdom. Even so, McGee did acquire some classroom lessons at George Washington Elementary School and art classes at the McGregor Public Library in Highland Park, an enclave of Detroit. Later, at Cleveland High School near Hamtramck, another Detroit enclave, McGee was a creative designer and coordinator of float construction for the school’s parades. One of the first jobs he had after high school was working for the Briggs Manufacturing Company, where he learned welding that would later

be useful to his development as a sculptor, just as he would invest working as a cartographer in his mixed media works.

In 1943, perhaps before the city exploded in a race riot, McGee enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving three years as World War II raged. He was stationed in Nagasaki, as part of the Allied occupation of Japan, after the atomic bomb was dropped.

Back in Detroit, McGee used the GI Bill to attend classes at the College for Creative Studies, then known as the Society of Arts and Crafts. By the mid-1950s, he was part of the emerging Black consciousness that grew out of the Civil Rights Movement. He was a member of a cadre of Black artists—Harold Neal, Henri Umbaji King, Leroy Foster, et al.—who extended their artistic creations with Afrocentric themes.

“I think there was always a Black consciousness,” he said, “but I don’t think it was exhibited on the same scale as it has been since Stokely Carmichael or Malcolm X. I think Malcolm X was one of the people who made Black people aware of Black people.”

A one-year sojourn in Barcelona,

in 1968, helped McGee embark on a different artistic motif, one embodied by abstract form, although he continued to create works of realism. His “Noah’s Ark: Genesis,” created in 1984, is on display and part of his collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts. His sculpture “United We Stand,” located outside the Charles Wright Museum of African American History, is representative of his expansive imagination.

The students whom McGee taught at Western Michigan University from 1969 to 1987, and at other institutions, all benefited from his desire to inspire them with a collective outlook, a sense of humility, and respect for others.

In 2008, McGee was the inaugural recipient of the Kresge Eminent Artist honor, administered by the College for Creative Studies and given to an artist for professional achievements, cultural contributions, and commitment to the local arts community. Being the first award is symbolic of McGee’s creative genius, and the artistic vision and production he bestowed on Detroit, specifically, and the world generally. He died on February 4, 2021 in Detroit at 96.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

McGee’s legacy can be found in the files at the Detroit Institute of Arts, Center for Creative Studies, and several universities in and around Detroit.

DISCUSSION

There is a vast collection of articles about and interviews with McGee’s, but very little about his personal life.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

McGee was a tireless artist, working in several forms, all of which expressed his singular vision.

CLASSROOM IN THE THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

April 29, 1854: The Ashmun Institute, later renamed Lincoln University, became the first college for African American students.

April 30, 1983: Robert Maynard is the first African American to gain a controlling interest in a major newspaper, the Oakland Tribune.

May 1, 1867: Howard University, the historically Black university, opens.

Charles McGee posing with his artwork “Regeneration,” 2007. (Photo by Ray Manning; courtesy of Henry Ford Health)

With a lot of constraining resources, we strive for equitable distribution and equitable services for all. That has helped us. But it doesn’t mean that we have not gone through very difficult moments and that it has not constrained our potential for development. Our country will be more prosperous, and each Cuban will be more prosperous, if not for U.S. policy.

AN : Okay, of course, you’re going to have people here who are going to say, well, it’s because you have an authoritarian government.

F.C.: I know they would say that. But they have an authoritarian government in this place, in this country. And there are authoritarians in many countries. And I could claim that’s a domestic issue of Cuba. But what’s extraordinary is having the most powerful economy in the world spending billions of dollars for over 60 years to make life as difficult as possible for Cuba. Why do they need to spend billions of dollars in destroying the

International

Continued from page 2

negotiations continued, with the United States seeking to compel Niger to agree to reject a relationship with Russia. After a tense meeting last month, the junta canceled the status-of-forces agreement and declared the U.S. military presence “illegal.”

The junta’s spokesperson said the U.S. delegation had tried to dictate that the West African nation not have relationships with certain other countries, including Iran and Russia.

ON ‘FREEDOM DAY,’ SOUTH AFRICANS RECALL A MOMENTOUS VOTE

(GIN)—In April of every year, South Africans mark the anniversary of a momentous vote: when millions of Black South Africans, young and old, brought apartheid to a close. The first all-race election took place on April 27, 1994, and the previously banned African National Congress (ANC) won overwhelmingly. Its leader, Nelson Mandela, became the country’s first Black president,

Cuban economy if, by their own definition, that economy would fail on its own? Why don’t they test it for three years? If something is a failed experiment, why mess with it? Just allow it to fail. The U.S. has dedicated billions of dollars in the past 64 years to destroying the economy of a relatively small country with poor resources and a very modest economy. And they haven’t succeeded totally. They claim that socialism is a failed experiment, that it’s a mismatch from the economy. Then why do they need to destroy it? If you look at the level of legislation, the amount of people in the Treasury Department dedicated to going after Cuban transactions anywhere in the world is larger than the amount of people in the Treasury Department that have gone after the transactions of any other country in the world, including countries with which the U.S. has been at war, including countries that the U.S. today identifies as superpowers that are rivals to the United States. Why would the United States need to do that if what we’re doing in Cuba is such a failure? Why haven’t they been able to break the consensus of the Cuban population

four years after he was released from prison. Preparations for the 1994 election began four years earlier, when F.W. de Klerk, the last apartheid-era president, succumbing to international pressure, announced that the ANC and other anti-apartheid parties would be unbanned.

South Africa was still on a knife-edge in the months and weeks before the election because of ongoing political violence, but the vote—held over four days between April 26 and 29 to accommodate the large numbers who turned out—went ahead successfully.

A country that had been shunned and sanctioned by the international community for decades because of apartheid emerged as a fully fledged democracy.

Nearly 20 million South Africans of all races voted, compared with just 3 million white people in 1989—the last general election under apartheid.

The ANC has been in government ever since 1994 and, while it is still respected for its central role in freeing South Africans, is no longer celebrated in the same way as in the hope-filled aftermath of that election.

South Africa in 2024 has deep socioeconomic problems, none more jarring than the widespread and severe poverty that still overwhelmingly affects the Black majority. The official unemployment rate is 32 percent overall, the highest in the world, and more than 60 percent for young people aged 15–24.

Millions of Black South Africans still live in neglected, impoverished townships and informal settlements on the fringes of cities in what many see as a betrayal of the heroes Mandela referred to. South Africa is still rated as one of the most unequal countries in the world.

The ANC is now largely blamed for the lack of progress in improving the lives

which has an average education higher than most Americans? Can we be so stubborn and so blind that we cannot understand the benefits of accepting U.S. pressure and becoming a colony or a subject of the United States, which is what we don’t want to be?

Cuba sets an example that is not liked in this country: in terms of social justice, in terms of assessing sovereignty, in terms of erasing segregation of different types. It’s disliked in this country, not by most Americans but by powerful people in this country. That’s the reason we are being punished constantly, because it’s an experiment. One of the things that the Revolution did, because it was a commitment, was to redistribute the enjoyment of wealth. You can’t do that in any country unless you redistribute property and access to property. And when we did that, to ensure social justice, is when we came into collision with the United States, because the protection, respect, and the sanctity of private property in this country, which is enshrined in your whole political system, that is seen as an insult, and they can’t accept that 90 miles away.

of so many South Africans, even if the damage of decades of apartheid wasn’t going to be easy to undo.

The ANC is still expected to be the largest party and probably will have to enter into complicated coalitions with smaller parties to remain part of the government, but the expected overriding picture is that more

AN: Okay. So, we now have the main person who’s been able to sort of hold up any progress in terms of Cuba-U.S. relations, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), now under indictment. Do you have any comment regarding Menendez’s indictment, do you see any chance of the blockade now being lifted?

F.C.: I don’t. First, I don’t think Menendez was used by the government as an excuse by the U.S. government. But we’re in the fourth year of this administration––which is the last year, unless they get reelected, they might, or they might not. But it is very evident today that this government, the Biden government, the approach it took was betting on the collapse of the Cuban government, betting on the failure or the incapacity of the Cuban government to continue to provide an equitable social justice for all. And on that basis, there would be in Cuba some level of social collapse and disruption that would lead to an economic evolution to the liking of Washington. It’s very clear today they have been betting on that. So, at least in the coming months, which is what’s rest of this administration, truly we don’t expect change.

South Africans will vote for other parties in a national election for the first time in their democracy.

South Africans still cherish the memory of Mandela and the elusive freedom and prosperity he spoke about in 1994, but the majority now appear ready to look beyond the ANC to attain it.

(GIN photo)

Education Carefully planned and partly improvised: inside the Columbia protest that fueled a national movement

By JAKE OFFENHARTZ Associated Press

Months before they pitched their tents on Columbia University’s main lawn, inspiring a wave of protest encampments at college campuses nationwide, a small group of pro-Palestinian student activists met privately to sketch out the logistical details of a round-the-clock occupation.

They discussed communications strategies and their willingness to risk arrest, along with the more prosaic questions of bathroom access and trash removal. Then, after scouring online retailers and Craigslist for the most affordable options, they ordered the tents.

“There’s been a lot of work, a lot of meetings that went into it, and when we finally pulled it off, we had no idea how it would go,” said Columbia graduate student Elea Sun. “I don’t think anyone imagined it would take off like it did.”

Inspired by the protests at Columbia, hundreds of students have set up protest encampments on at least a dozen other college campuses across the country to protest lsrael’s actions in the war with Hamas. Among other demands, they are calling for their schools to cut financial ties with Israel and the companies supporting the conflict. The protests come as universities are winding up the spring semester and preparing for graduation ceremonies.

Those involved with the Columbia protest, also known as the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment,” describe their organizing efforts as both meticulously planned and heavily improvised. They say the university’s tactics to quell the movement have only lent it more momentum.

Basil Rodriguez, a Columbia student affiliated with Students for Justice in Palestine, a group the university suspended in November, said organizers had been in touch with students at other schools about how to erect their own encampments. About 200 people joined one call with students on other campuses.

To attract the most news media attention, the organizers timed the Columbia encampment to coincide

with university president Minouche Shafik’s testimony last Wednesday to a congressional panel investigating concerns about antisemitism at elite colleges.

The following day, officers of the New York police department flooded the campus, dismantled the tents, arrested more than 100 participants, and threw out their food and water. Shafik said she had taken the “extraordinary step” of requesting police intervention because the encampment had disrupted campus life and created a “harassing and intimidating environment” for many students.

That decision fueled currents of rage that quickly washed across the country, prompting students at other college campuses to set up their own protest encampments.

“We’re standing here today because we’re inspired by the students at Columbia, who we consider to be the heart of the student movement,” Malak Afaneh, a law student and spokesperson for the 100-student encampment at the University of California, Berkeley, said Tuesday.

Just hours after last week’s arrests, some Columbia students jumped a fence to an adjacent lawn, wrapping themselves in blankets until a new provision of tents eventually arrived. In the week since police cleared the first encampment, the second itera-

tion has grown not only larger, but more organized.

“The university thought they could call the police and make the protesters go away. Now we have twice as many protesters,” said Joseph Howley, an associate professor at Columbia and supporter of the encampment.

“The students have experienced a ratcheting up of repression that has prompted them to escalate with their own tactics now.”

The mood was lively and upbeat on Wednesday, as some students passed out matzo left over from a Passover seder and knafeh, a Middle Eastern pastry dropped off by a supportive Palestinian family from New Jersey.

Others attended a teach-in delivered by a Columbia alumnus involved in the anti-apartheid movement in the 1980s, pulled books off the shelf of a “People’s Library,” and helped themselves to art supplies from a craft table. Those who spent the night in one of roughly 80 tents said they used the bathrooms at nearby university buildings. (An earlier experiment with a “camp toilet” had been quickly abandoned.)

At the nearby law library, a group of negotiators representing the protesters has been meeting intermittently with university administrators since Friday to discuss their demands, as well as am-

say it has destabilized campus life, forcing the university to barricade many of its entrances to nonstudents while putting Jewish students in harm’s way.

Omer Lubaton Granot, a graduate student from Israel who is studying for a master’s degree in public administration at Columbia, said the university should have taken “more assertive action” in clearing the encampment. He accused protesters of embracing an aggressive anti-Zionist stance that made him feel unsafe.

“They’re canceling my identity and they’re threatening me as an Israeli and as a Jew,” he said.

nesty for students and staff facing discipline for participating in the protests.

Those talks broke down on Tuesday night, according to lead negotiator Mahmoud Khalil, after he said the university threatened to send in police and the National Guard if the encampment wasn’t gone by midnight. Hundreds of students and faculty packed onto the lawn in the largest numbers since the start of the demonstration.

Overnight, the university backtracked, giving demonstrators a 48-hour extension if the group agreed to block nonstudents from the encampment and remove a certain number of tents. A spokesperson later denied that the university had suggested calling the National Guard.

While there have been confrontations and allegations of antisemitic activity outside the university’s gates, police described students inside the encampment as peaceful and compliant.

Organizers said they had dismantled a few tents for fire safety reasons, but were still admitting outsiders to the encampment as long as they abided by community guidelines, including no photographs, littering, or engaging with counter-protesters. They said they had no plans to leave until their demands were met.

Opponents of the encampment

Officials including President Joe Biden and Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul have also condemned what they described as antisemitism associated with the protests. On Wednesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson held a news conference at Columbia to denounce the encampment, drawing jeers from many students.

Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, noted this week that many of the students were sleeping in the same brand of tents, which he said could indicate that “outside agitators” were responsible for arranging the encampment, an apparently baseless claim that had earlier spread among some rightleaning news media outlets and New York police officials.

Layla Saliba, a Palestinian American graduate student at the Columbia School of Social Work, dismissed the idea. She said the students leading the protest were mostly “nerds” who enjoyed lengthy meetings and consensus-building.

“To imply this is AstroTurfed or paid off, when it has actually been students laying the groundwork for this from the very beginning, is ridiculous,” she said.

As for the similarity of the tents, she said the brand had been ordered in bulk by student organizers. As the encampment expanded, students brought their own camping gear, she said, pointing to the varied sleeping arrangements on the lawn.

“There’s apparently a lot of people here at Columbia who like to camp,” she added. “I’ll admit I was a bit surprised by that.”

Columbia University professors speak in solidarity with students' rights to protest free from arrest at university campus (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

Kim Avilez

in coaching and nurturing talent. When she worked as a Garment District bank teller, she regularly met and spoke with designers and textile workers who were operating small businesses—and she also talked with business owners who had larger companies. “When you talk about banking, it’s not just sitting at a teller window and having conversations. Sometimes I’d have clients and because of the nature of the business that they would run, they would use a term called full deposit. So I could have somebody who’s depositing a significant amount of cash. I could be at a window in a transaction with somebody for 15, 20 minutes. And if you think about this, we’re doing this two, three times a week. You start having conversations with this person and you talk about business: there will be networking events and so I’ll get the invite to come. So, it allowed me to be able to cultivate relationships; they would invite me to things even outside of the bank for networking with some of these clients. So, you get to learn about them: I learned

about their business, I would know their family, their kids, wedding invites, the list goes on because you spend so much time over the course of several years, you get to know folks after seeing them, some of them, daily.”

The connections Avilez made during her years of banking did not go away once she stepped away to raise her son. Some of the first phone calls she received in the lead-up to starting Glow Event came from those longstanding networks. Avilez worked with other women to start the Minority Women in Business Association of Staten Island. She’s also a board president for the NYC Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and vice president of the Staten Island Community Alliance

Knowing that she still maintained deep civic roots, J.P. Morgan Chase came calling again in April of 2022, asking if she would be interested in serving as their vice president and community manager for Staten Island. “The beauty of what I get to do now is a complete marriage of my professional history and career. … I got the call because part of our racial equity commitment was we

were going to now not just have this one [community manager] in Harlem, but to have 1,150 community managers across the country to sit in seats in communities to have more of an intentional impact in communities of color and how we deal and how we speak to generational wealth.”

Now, Avilez works with local Staten Island leaders to sponsor 10 to 15 financial education events a month. She said she looks forward to hearing from more locals who want to talk about financial education. She can be contacted via email at Kim.avilez@chase.com or by phone at 718-806-7656. “I have the privilege and opportunity to be an ambassador on behalf of the firm for my local community here in Staten Island,” Avilez said, “tying in resources connected to financial education and financial literacy, supporting our small business owners, tying them to resources and programming specific to pathways to homeownership, through internal programs that we have here in Chase, and connecting them to local resources from city and state agencies as well to make that a reality.”

from page 10

The governor’s initial budget proposal, announced earlier this year, would have made the aforementioned situation even worse. It included a proposed $1 billion in Medicaid cuts, rather than the additional funding that is so sorely needed. Also on the chopping block were wage cuts to thousands of low-paid homecare workers, as well as paid sick leave protections for our healthcare heroes who continue to be exposed to COVID-19 and other infectious illnesses on the job.

I am deeply proud to share that thanks to the efforts of our Healthcare Justice coalition, not only did we defeat these cuts, but we took important first steps to closing the Medicaid funding gap. Thanks to the advocacy of Speaker Carl Heastie and Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the budget includes notable Medicaid rate increases and a vitally-needed $800 million in support for struggling safety net institutions. No budget is perfect, and this

is no exception. There is still a long road to travel to eliminate healthcare funding disparities in New York, which will take many more budget cycles to get right. This year’s downpayment on a Medicaid rate increase is less than what is truly needed to ensure full access for Medicaid consumers and safeguard standards for quality care.

Nonetheless, the New York State legislature clearly heard the voices of its constituents, tens of thousands of whom made calls, wrote letters, and told their healthcare stories in the halls of our state capitol and on the airwaves. Healthcare equity is a moral and racial justice issue—and it is something we must continue to champion until every person, regardless of income or zip code, has access to the very best care that New York has to offer.

George Gresham is President of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the largest union of healthcare workers in the nation.

Insurance

Religion & Spirituality LGBTQ-inclusive church in Cuba welcomes all in a country that once sent gay people to labor camps

By LUIS ANDRES HENAO

Associated Press

MATANZAS, Cuba—Proudly wearing a rainbow-colored clergy stole and a rainbow flag tucked into her clerical collar, the Rev. Elaine Saralegui welcomed all to her LGBTQ+ inclusive church in the Cuban port city of Matanzas.

“We’re all invited. And no one can exclude us,” Saralegui told same-sex couples who held hands sitting on wooden pews in the Metropolitan Community Church where she had recently married her wife.

These words and this kind of gathering would have been unimaginable before now in the largest country in the conservative and mostly Christian Caribbean, where anti-gay hostility is still widespread.

Cuba repressed gay people after its 1959 revolution, led by Fidel Castro, and sent many to labor camps. But in recent years, the communist-run island barred anti-gay discrimination, and a 2022 governmentbacked “family law”—approved by popular vote—allowed same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

Members of Cuba’s LGBTQ+ community say it marked a milestone that has allowed them to embrace their gender identity and worship more freely in a country that, for decades since the revolution, was officially atheist. Over the past quarter-century, it has gradually become more tolerant of religions.

“It’s huge. There aren’t enough words to say what an opportunity it is to achieve the dream of so many,” said Maikol Añorga. He was with his husband, Vladimir Marin, near the altar, where they joined other congregants at a Friday service who were taking turns to lay offerings of white and pink wildflowers to thank God.

“It’s the opportunity for all people to be present here,” he said—“to gather and participate without regards to their gender, race or religion.”

The Catholic Church, in its doctrine, still rejects same-sex marriage and condemns any sexual relations between gay or lesbian partners as “intrinsically disordered.” Yet, Pope Francis has done far more than

clergy from the U.S. and Canada blessed unions as part of the annual Pride parade.

“It was a beautiful spiritual experience for me, and I believe for those people as well,” said Castro, who heads Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education and is a member of the National Assembly. “First, our campaign was ‘Let love be the law.’ Now, love is the law, and we’re going to keep celebrating it.”

In 2010, her uncle, then-retired leader Fidel Castro, admitted that he was wrong to discriminate against gay people. Asked about this, she said it helped mark a turning point in public attitude.

“I think he was honest. It was good and healthy for him to say this, because it helped the rest who were still clinging to prejudices to understand that this kind of thought can change,” she said.

“Even in a revolutionary leader like him— there were prejudices that evolved, and he was able to understand it and help clear the way for change.”

any previous pope to make the church a more welcoming place for LGBTQ+ people.

In December, the pope formally approved letting Catholic priests bless same-sex couples, a policy shift that aimed at making the church more inclusive while maintaining its strict ban on gay marriage.

The family law in Cuba faced opposition from the country’s Catholic church as well as the growing number of evangelical churches that have mushroomed across the island.

Anti-LGBTQ+ rights demonstrations have faded since 2022. But back then, evangelical pastors spoke out from the pulpit, and handed out Bibles and pamphlets in the streets invoking “God’s original plan” for unions between men and women, and calling gay relationships a sin.

The measure was overwhelmingly approved by nearly 67% of voters. It came after a huge government campaign of nationwide informative meetings and extensive state media coverage amid food shortages and blackouts that have prompt-

ed thousands to immigrate to the United States during one of the worst economic crises to hit Cuba in decades.

At the time, President Miguel Díaz-Canel told Cubans in a video message that he was pleased about the wide support that the measure received despite tough economic challenges. He celebrated, tweeting: “Love is now the law.”

For years, the movement for LGBTQ+ rights has been proudly led by Cuba’s bestknown advocate for gay rights: Mariela Castro, daughter of former President Raul Castro and niece of his brother Fidel.

“This just brings happiness. This just makes people feel truly worthy, respected, loved, considered—a true citizen with their rights and duties,” Castro told the Associated Press. “I think we’ve taken a very valuable step forward.”

Long before same-sex couples were granted the right to marry, Castro was advocating for it, while training police on relations with the LGBTQ+ community and sponsoring symbolical ceremonies where Protestant

In the early years after the 1959 revolution, homophobia in Cuba, she said, was no different from in the rest of the world. In the United States, homosexuality was deemed a mental disorder by psychiatric authorities, and gay sex was a crime in most states. Currently, Russia—a major supporter of Fidel Castro when it was the core of the communist Soviet Union—is bucking the worldwide trend of greater LGBTQ+ acceptance with a multi-pronged crackdown on LGBTQ+ activism.

The previous Cuban Family Code, dating back to 1975, stipulated that marriage was between a man and a woman, not between two people, which excluded lifelong partners from inheritance rights.

The new law goes further than marriage equality, which activists tried to include in the Constitution in 2019 without success— or the ability for gay couples to adopt or use surrogates. It also expanded rights for children, the elderly, and women.

The first members of Saralegui’s congregation began gathering on a house

See CHURCH IN CUBA continued on next page

Same-sex couples stand in prayer with outstretched hands inside Metropolitan Community Church, an LGBTQ+ inclusive house of worship, in Matanzas, Cuba, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. Cuba repressed gay people after its 1959 revolution, led by Fidel Castro, and sent many to labor camps (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa photo)

Funeral services held for William Francis Pepper

William Francis Pepper, a good friend of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the last year of King’s life, died April 7, 2024, with his wife Mina Nguyen-Pepper and daughter

Lilly by his side. He was born in the Bronx on August 16, 1937, to Irish immigrants. He attended Columbia University, the University of Massachusetts, and Boston College.

Church in Cuba

Continued from page 30

terrace in Matanzas over a decade ago to sing and pray.

“The sky was our ceiling and when it rained, we’d all pack into a small room,” Saralegui said. In 2015, with support from the U.S.-based LGBTQ+ affirming Metropolitan Community Churches, they converted a house into their church, decked

with wooden pews and a stained-glass cross that hangs above the altar. A local Tibetan Buddhist group that meets here during the week stores its musical instruments underneath the alter in an example of interfaith partnership.

“This church is a family,” said Saralegui, who has a tattoo of the Jesus fish on one of her forearms and wears a Buddhist bracelet. “It’s a sacred space, not just because there’s a cross or an altar, but because it’s the most sacred space for these people to

come to—it’s where they come to have a safe space.”

After receiving Communion, congregant Nico Salazar, 18, said he was glad to have found that safe space after members of an evangelical church where he grew up attending asked him not to return when he embraced his gender identity.

“It’s the essence of the Bible: God is love, and other churches should emphasize that instead of repressing and harming others with a supposed sin,” said Salazar, who was

born a woman and this year started hormone treatment.

“Sin and love are not the same,” said Salazar, who wore an earring in the shape of a cross.

“And to love,” he added, “is not a sin.”

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

William Francis Pepper (Bill Moore photos)

Lilly Pepper

Vietnam Counsel Representative

Obituary

Fair housing

Community Board 3 and 8, Bridge Street Development Corporation, Brooklyn Legal Services (BLS), Crown Heights North Association, and the Brownstoners of Bed-Stuy.

“As we look to observe the 56th anniversary of the enactment of the Fair Housing law, what is absolutely apparent [in] reality is that we could have an enactment of a law, but the enforcement of that law is a never ending process,” said Betty E. Staton, president of BLS and a former family court judge. The Federal Fair Housing Act outlawed discriminatory housing practices and required localities around the country to advance fair housing policies.

Zinerman suggested a five-point legislative plan to strengthen the fair housing laws and offer recommendations for reform: expand the Public Advocate’s Worst Landlord List statewide to multiple counties, create new landlord list of “cured” repairs for transparency, mandate property management courses for landlords that appear on the list but have not fixed violations within a certain time period, require that landlords have made repairs and taken courses to get off the list; and if a landlord remains on the list for a second year and has not made repairs, their property becomes eligible for state receivership.

“If you are not curing your violations, your building will go into receivership and the rent that those tenants pay will go directly to HPD [Housing Preservation and Development] so they can help cure because what happens right now is HBD basically picks up the bill,” Zinerman said.

“We’re saying you’ve proven that you cannot be responsible for managing property. So we’re going to take it off your hands and we’re going to make sure that our tenants are protected so that they can live in safe and affordable and decent housing.” Solomon Acevedo, who is the Deputy Public Advocate for Health Equity and Housing, also announced that Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will be launching a partnership this summer to give landlords an opportunity to hear from tenants in a safe community forum. They’ll also be reviewing each building noted on the current landlord watchlist to verify conditions, repairs, security, and any neglected infrastructure.

“It’s not enough to say you’re not a bad actor, you have to show and demonstrate that you’re doing more,” Acevedo said.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Buildings 609 and 611 on Willoughby Avenue in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Continued from page 3

Bed-Stuy resident Patricia Morgan, 63, speaks about her building conditions on Willoughby Avenue at a press conference on April 23.

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NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 2021A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2021-A TRUST, Pltf. vs. ROBERT S. COBURN et al, Defts. Index #156989/2022. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered December 20, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on May 15, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. prem. k/a 9 West 20 th Street, Unit #2, New York, NY a/k/a Block 00822 Lot 1202 Approx. amt. of judgment is $146,114.72 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale and the right of the United States of America to redeem within 120 days from the date of sale as provided by law. ELAINE SHAY, Referee. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. for Pltf., 312 Larkfield Road, Lower Level, East Northport, NY. File No. 22-000002 #101089

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

MASPETH FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff -against- CALIMERO, LTD., et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 23, 2023 and entered on October 6, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 29, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the City, County and State of New York, bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at a point on the southerly side of 84th Street, distant 123 feet easterly from the southeasterly corner of Avenue A and 84th Street; being a plot 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet by 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet. Section: 5 Block: 1580 Lot: 47

Said premises known as 504 EAST 84TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10028

Approximate amount of lien $716,258.71 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850247/2022. SCOTT SILLER, ESQ., Referee MASONE, WHITE, PENKAVA & CRISTOFARI

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 69-34 GRAND AVENUE, P.O. BOX 780569, MASPETH, NY 11378

Notice of Formation of LONG YEARS AGO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/19/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 1 Columbus Pl., N29B, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 2021A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2021-A TRUST, Pltf. vs. CHINESE AMERICAN TRADING CO., et al, Defts. Index #156803/2022. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered December 19, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on May 15, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. prem. k/a 201 West 72nd Street, Unit 10F, New York, NY 10022 a/k/a Block 01164, Lot 01137 Approx. amt. of judgment is $54,142.31 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of. PAUL SKLAR Referee. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. for Pltf., 312 Larkfield Road, Lower Level, East Northport, NY. File No. 22000024- #101136

Notice of Qualification of SOLAR DG NY SUNNYSIDE 1, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/01/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Harolds Cargo LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/7/24. Office location: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 4372 Wickham Ave, Bronx, NY 10466. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of LINDEN DIGS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/04/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of LP PRESERVATION MANAGER LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/03/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 116 E. 27th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10016. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Real estate investment/development.

Application for Authority of Curated Planet, LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 3/15/2024. The fict. name under which the LLC will do business in NY is Your Tour, LLC. Formed in DE on 1/26/2018. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail copy of process to 400 E. 70th St., #2002, New York, NY 10021. The office address required to be maintained in DE is 838 Walker Rd., Ste. 21-2, Dover, DE 19904. Cert. of Formation filed with the Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE MUSEUM TOWER CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff -againstGARBIS DOGRAMACIYAN, JULYA DOGRAMACIYAN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated December 19, 2023 and entered on January 23, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on June 5, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, The Condominium Unit known as Unit No. 21-F in the Condominium known as "Museum Tower Condominium" together with a .029507% undivided interest in the common elements. Block 1269 Lot 1097 Said premises known as 15 WEST 53RD STREET, APT 21F, NEW YORK, NY 10019

Approximate amount of lien $93,604.01 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 151581/2023.

ROBERTA E. ASHKIN, ESQ., Referee

Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 60 East 42nd Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10165

Notice of Qualification of COFFEE AND TV LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/05/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/22/24. Princ. office of LLC: 1285 Ave. of the Americas, NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF NEW YORK

NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Plaintiff, v.

MD ZIA M. HADER A/K/A MD ZIA MOIN HAIDER, LAILA FARZANA, ET AL, Defendants.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT

In pursuance of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the Office of the County Clerk of New York County on June 28, 2023, I, Roberta Ashkin, Esq., the Referee named in said Judgment, will sell in one parcel at public auction on June 05, 2024 at Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, at 2:15PM the premises described as follows:

353 East 104th Street, Apartment 7B New York, NY 10029

SBL No.: 1-1676-1429

ALL THAT TRACT OR PARCEL OF LAND situate in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York.

Subject to easements, covenants, and restriction of record.

The premises are sold subject to the provisions of the filed judgment, Index No. 850193/2019 in the amount of $597,556.46 plus interest and costs. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the Court System's COVID-19 mitigation protocols and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale.

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP

Attorneys for Plaintiff 500 Bausch & Lomb Place Rochester, NY 14604 Tel.: 855-227-5072

Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. Any unknown heirs to the to the Estates of MELVIN S. JANIS and SHARON F. JANIS, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest, as well as the respective heirs at law, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff, MICHAEL S. BROOKS, NYC TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, and NYC DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU, Defts. – Index # 850185/2021. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 17th day of October, 2023 and duly entered the 18th day of October, 2023 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY, 5165868513.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of: An undivided 15,000/28,402,100 tenants in common interest of HNY Club Suites located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Block: 1006 Lot: 1302. Mortgage bearing the date of July 25, 2019, executed by Melvin S. Janis, Sharon F. Janis and Michael S. Brooks to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $56,469.32, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on October 25, 2019, in CRFN 2019000348437. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, PS Funding, Inc., Plaintiff, vs. 236 West E&P LLC, Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on November 28, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Courtroom 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on May 15, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 235 West 136th Street, New York, NY 10030. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 1942 and Lot 116. Approximate amount of judgment is $1,849,325.16 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850143/2021. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Georgia Papazis, Esq., Referee Chartwell Law, One Battery Park Plaza, Suite 710, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff

Notice of Qualification of AMO DYNAMIC RISK PREMIA ONSHORE FUND, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/11/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/24/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, Dept. of State, Div. of Corps., John Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of SOLAR DG NY SUNNYSIDE 2, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/16/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/01/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Milky Way Group LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/03/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 250 West 50th St, New York, NY 10019. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of LUXURY PRODUCTS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 10 Hudson Yards, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF WELLS FARGO COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE SECURITIES, INC., MULTIFAMILY MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2020-SB80, Pltf. vs. 121 WEST 116TH OWNER, LLC, et al, Defts. Index #850007/2023. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered Feb. 9, 2024, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on May 29, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises k/a Block 1901, Lot 21. Approximate amount of judgment is $5,342,683.76 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, Referee. BALLARD SPAHR, LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 1675 Broadway, 19 th Floor, New York, NY 10019 - #101293

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK

U.S. Bank Trust, N.A., as Trustee for LSF9 Master Participation Trust, Plaintiff AGAINST

Llewellyn C. Werner a/k/a Llewellyn Werner Individually and as the sole member of Hawkes AP, LLC; et al., Defendant(s)

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered December 7, 2022 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on May 15, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 160 West 66th Street Unit 46-G a/k/a 160 West 66th Street, Apartment 46G, New York, NY 10023. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 1137 Lot 1272. Approximate amount of judgment $2,290,728.13 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #810045/2010. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District.

Edward H. Lehner, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC

Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792

Dated: January 11, 2024

Notice is hereby given that Application ID Number NA-024024-111377 for a On-Premises Restaurant license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at Chuck E. Cheese’s located at 133-35 79th Street, Howard Beach in Queens County for on-premises consumption. CEC Entertainment LLC, 133-35 79th Street, Howard Beach, NY 11414.

Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. Any unknown heirs to the to the Estate of SID HAMLER, JR., next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest, as well as the respective heirs at law, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850122/2017. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 26th day of October, 2023 and duly entered the 27th day of October, 2023 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY, 5165868513.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff’s attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of: An undivided .009864% tenants in common interest of 57th Street Vacation Suites located at 102 West 57th Street NY, NY. Block: 1009 Lot: 37. Mortgage bearing the date of May 2, 2009, executed by Sid Hamler Jr. to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $30,510.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on August 17, 2009, in CRFN 2009000258365. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

Notice is hereby given that Application ID Number NA-024024-110895 for a On-Premises Restaurant license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at Chuck E. Cheese’s located at 48-18 Northern Blvd., Long Island City in Queens County for on-premises consumption. CEC Entertainment LLC, 48-18 Northern Blvd., Long Island City, NY 1110-11030.

Notice is hereby given that Application ID Number NA-024024-113227 for a On-Premises Restaurant license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at Chuck E. Cheese’s located at 700 Exterior Street, Bronx, NY 10451-2042 in Bronx County for on-premises consumption. CEC Entertainment LLC, 700 Exterior Street, Bronx, NY 10451-2042.

Notice of Qualification of 200 INVESTORS GP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/11/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Jeffrey W. Bullock, Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Ashley Beale Nutrition, PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/14/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 33 Park View Ave, Jersey City, NJ 07302. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Trustee, for the benefit of the Holders of CD 2016-CD2 Mortgage Trust Commercial Mortgage Pass Through Certificates, Series 2016-CD2; Wilmington Trust, National Association, as Trustee, for the benefit of the Registered Holders of JPMDB Commercial MortgagE SECURITIES trust 2017-c5 commercial mortgage pass through certificates, series 2017-c5; deutsche bank trust company americas, as trustee, on behalf of the registered holders of citigroup Commercial mortgage trust 2017-p7, commercial mortgage Pass-through certificates, series 2017-p7; and wells fargo bank national association, as trustee, on behalf of the registered holders of cd2017-cd3 mortgage trust commercial mortgage pass-through certificates, series 2017-cd3, Plaintiffs, vs . Elmwood NYT Owner, LLC , ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on January 10, 2024 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on May 29, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 229 West 43rd Street, Retail Unit, New York, NY 10036. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 1015 and Lot 1001, as well as all personal property of Borrower as identified in the Mortgage, but excluding any funds held by Plaintiff in any reserve, escrow, or suspense fund, excluding any funds held by Plaintiff in any cash management account, and excluding any funds held by or on behalf of Klaus Kretchmann in his capacity as court-appointed receiver (or any property manager or other agent acting on behalf of the receiver) in that certain foreclosure case pending in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, in Index No. 850176/2020.” Approximate amount of judgment is $344,079,071.86 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850176/2020. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Thomas Kleinberger, Esq., Referee

Polsinelli PC, Aaron C. Jackson, Esq., Aaron P. Davis, Esq., 600 Third Avenue, 42nd Floor, New York, New York 10016, Attorneys for Plaintiffs

NOTICE OF SALE

Notice of Qualification of MACCABEE VENTURES FUND II GP, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/22/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/23/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY122072543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form.filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of STANDBY DEPOSITS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/11/23. Princ. office of LLC: 575 5th Ave., NY, NY 10017. NYS fictitious name: STANDBY SERVICING LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: To provide services related to security deposits to renters and owners and operators of property.

Notice of Formation of ELSINORE ADVISORS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 06/04/23, becoming effective on 06/05/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 446 W. 23rd St., Apt. 3, NY, NY 10011. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Angus Birchall at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

In pursuance and by virtue of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly granted and entered in an action entitled NYCTL 2021-A Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian for the NYCTL 2021-A Trust v. 187 Street Mazal LLC, et al., bearing Index No. 157338/2022 on or about December 19, 2023, by the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, I, the Referee, duly appointed in this action for such purpose, will expose for sale and sell at public auction to the highest bidder on May 22, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, Room 130, New York, New York 10007, the liened premises designated as Block 2170, Lot 30, in the City of New York, County of New York and Borough of Manhattan, State of New York and known as 661 West 187th Street, New York, New York 10033, directed in and by said judgment to be sold. The sale will be conducted pursuant to the Court’s Auction Rules and any COVID Restrictions. The approximate amount of the judgment is $48,694.86 plus interest and other charges, and the property is being sold subject to the terms and conditions stated in the judgment, any prior encumbrances and the terms of sale which shall be available at the time of sale.

Dated: April 25, 2024

New York, New York

Paul Sklar, Esq. Referee 551 5th Avenue, Suite 2200 New York, New York 101760001 (917) 697-7073

David P. Stich, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff 521 Fifth Avenue, 17th Floor New York, New York 10175 (646) 554-4421

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0240-24112543 for beer & wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer & wine at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 6 Ave. B., NYC 10009 for on-premises consumption; CCG G-s 3 LLC

Notice is hereby given that Application ID Number NA-024024-111558 for a On-Premises Restaurant license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at Chuck E. Cheese’s located at 4024 College Point Blvd, Flushing in Queens County for on-premises consumption. CEC Entertainment LLC, 4024 College Point Blvd, Flushing, New York 11354-5111.

Notice is hereby given that Application ID Number NA-024024-114419 for a On-Premises Restaurant license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer and wine at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at Chuck E. Cheese’s located at 1816 E. Gun Hill Road, Bronx in Bronx County for on-premises consumption. CEC Entertainment LLC, 1816 E. Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10469-6012.

Notice of Qualification of BREAKTHRU BEVERAGE GROUP, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/08/15. Princ. office of LLC: 60 E. 42nd St., 49th Fl., NY, NY 10165. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE19808-1674. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of the State of DE, 820 N. French St., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of VERY BEST FEATURE, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/21/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: A show that will be based off a theatrical production.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUN-

TY OF New York , U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR VRMTG ASSET TRUST, Plaintiff, vs . Lindsay Frimodt, if living, and if she be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to an Amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on March 28, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on May 22, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 72 East 3rd Street, Apt. 5D, New York, NY 10003 a/k/a 72-74 East 3rd Street, Apt. 5D, New York, NY 10003. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 444 and Lot 1018 together with a 4.75 percent undivided interest in the common elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $339,431.59 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850114/2019. Cash will not be accepted. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Doron Leiby, Esq., Referee

Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, New York 10591, Attorneys for Plaintiff

Notice of Qualification of 22 VANDERBILT LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/12/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/01/24. NYS fictitious name: 22 VANDERBILT2 LLC. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of the State of DE, c/o Div. of Corps., John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of ESSENCE SELTZER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/26/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 6 Greene St., Ste. 600, NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of SPRING US ESTATES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Wilmington Trust, National Association, not in its individual capacity, but solely as Trustee for MFRA Trust 2014-2, Plaintiff, vs. Antonios Gabriel a/k/a Anthony Gabriel, Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on May 26, 2023 and an amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on June 27, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Courtroom 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on May 22, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 77 West 55th Street, Unit 15G, New York, NY 10019. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 1271 and Lot 1507 together with an undivided 0.5147 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $995,652.99 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850250/2019. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Joseph F. Buono, Esq., Referee Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff Firm File No. 171138-3

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee on behalf of HSI Asset Securitization Corporation Trust 2006-HE2, Plaintiff AGAINST STATE4RS LLC; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered January 18, 2024 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on June 5, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 262 Mott Street, Apt. 4RS, New York, NY 10012. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 508 Lot 1167. Approximate amount of judgment $521,552.09 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850216/2022. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: March 19, 2024 80022

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-24112929 for beer, wine & liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine & liquor at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 1076 1st Ave., NYC 10022 for on-premises consumption; Noah-Serena 10-12 Inc.

Supreme Court - New York County - Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. Any unknown heirs to the Estate of Nick Fravala, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, creditors, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest, as well as the respective heirs at law, next of kin, devisees, legatees, distributees, grantees, assignees, lienors, trustees, executors, administrators or successors in interest of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff, et al., Deft. - Index # 850212/2016. The foregoing supplemental summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 17th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 16th day of November 2023 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY, 5165868513.

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff's attorney, within twenty (20) days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State) In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint.

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of: An undivided 0.00986400000% tenants in common interest of 57th Street Vacation Suites located at 102 West 57th Street NY, NY. Block: 1009 Lot: 37. Mortgage bearing the date of November 19, 2015, executed by Nick Fravala to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $50,915.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on March 22, 2016, in CRFN 2016000101557. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

NOTICE OF SALE

WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF JPMBB COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE SECURITIES TRUST 2014-C24, COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2014-C24, BY AND THROUGH ITS SPECIAL SERVICER, LNR PARTNERS, LLC, Plaintiff v. IRONWOOD REALTY CORPORATION, BEN ASHKENAZY, NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, THE CITY OF NEW YORK, and PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Defendants, Index No. 850274/2021 . Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision and Order on Motion dated December 1, 2023, and duly entered in the above-entitled action and filed in the Office of the New York County Clerk on February 6, 2024 (the “Judgment”), I the undersigned Referee in said Judgment named, will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 130 of the Courthouse, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, the premises directed by said Judgment to be sold. The premises will be offered for sale, as one parcel, on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. The premises therein described are located at 635 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022, also known as Block 1374, Lot 21 on the Tax Map for the County of New York, together with the buildings, improvements, fixtures, machinery, equipment, personalty and other rights or interests of any kind or nature located thereon, and more particularly described in the Judgment. The premises will be sold subject to the provisions of the filed Judgment, Index No. 850274/2021 , and the Terms of Sale, all of which are available from plaintiff’s counsel upon request.

The approximate amount of the Judgment, for the property referred to therein, is $99,758,265.13, plus interest and costs, as provided in the Judgment. The successful bidder will be required to deposit 10% of the bid by certified or official bank check, unendorsed, made payable to the Referee.

Matthew D. Hunter III, Esq., Referee ( 718) 309-1660 Herrick, Feinstein LLP, Attorneys for Plaintiff, Two Park Avenue, New York, New York 10016, (212) 592-1461, Attention: Scott T. Tross, Esq.

Notice of Qualification of ACI VI CLARKSON SH LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/12/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/12/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

15 Barton Road LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/15/23. Office location: Westchester County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 54 N Broadway, Yonkers, NY 10701. Purpose: Any lawful act.

GBM Capital LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/5/24. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 405 E 54th St., #12D, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 322W80 TRUE HOUSE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/19/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 322 W 80th St., NY, NY 10024. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Engel & Davis, LLP, 620 Fifth Ave., Ste. 200, NY, NY 10020. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of URBAN DECAY COSMETICS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 10 Hudson Yards, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of Jeff Multi-Service LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) 02/10/2022 Office in NEW YORK Co. SSNY designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served against the LLC to 87 Hamilton PL 1S New York NY 10031 USA. Purpose: Any lawful purpose Notice of Formation of LUMI STUDIOS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/25/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

VD Legacy, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/8/24. Office location: BX County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 1266 Olmstead Ave. Apt. 3E, Bronx, NY 10462. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Matousek LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on March 1, 2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 304 E 41st St, Apt 604A, NY, NY, 10017. Purpose: Any lawful act.

The Levin-Fragasso Law Firm PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/19/2024. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: P.O. Box 42, NY, NY 10028. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

PB Aesthetics LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/08/2023. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 327 West 35th Street, NY, NY 10001. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Every Impossible Choice LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/12/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: P.O. Box 1043, New York, NY 10014. Purpose: Any lawful act.

INWOOD BREAD LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/26/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 30 Seaman Ave, 4M, NY, NY, 10034. Purpose: Any lawful act.

The Residual Effect LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/13/2024. Office location: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 416 E. 134th Street, Bronx, NY 10454. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Impulso Media LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/02/2023. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 536 Isham St, #52B, NY, NY 10034. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Digital Quill Publishing LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/24/2023. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 400 Chambers St, 9B, NY, NY 10282. Purpose: Any lawful act.

QUE RICO RESTAURANT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/25/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 221 E 23 St, NY, NY 10010. Purpose: Any lawful act.

ARDA Consulting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/26/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 72 Morningside Ave, New York, NY, 10027. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Jenko Consulting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/22/2024. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 217 E 33rd St, Apt 6FE, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

250 MANHT FURN ROOMS

FTC ruling

Continued from page 4

differences predict that NCA enforceability will cause greater earnings penalties for historically disfavored workers.”

Even though legal action around NCAs are not often enforced, once an employee has signed one they are hesitant to do anything that might violate its clauses, the non-profit Economic Policy Institute found: “Most noncompete agreements never make it to court: workers assume they are valid, or workers can’t afford to take on the risk and expense of possible litigation. A typical

from page 4

which is sponsored by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Assemblymember Carrie Woerner. The bill was first introduced in the Senate in 2021, and later amended by Zachary Richner, a news publishing executive and founder of the Empire State Local News Coalition

“I’m elated that our first-in-the-nation local journalism tax credit passed as part of the state budget. In communities all across New York State, newspapers and local broadcast stations have had to close by the dozens in recent years,” said Hoylman-Sigal in a statement. “That presents a problem not only for elected officials like me, who rely on the work of local news outlets to keep our constituents informed, but for our whole democracy as well.”

New York City electeds have historically been proactive in their efforts to preserve local media coverage.

In 2019, former Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an executive order mandating

VIDA vs. DSA

Continued from page 15

Eon Huntley, who is running against incumbent Assemblymember Stefani Zinerman in the upcoming 56th Assembly race. According to a screenshot provided by VIDA, the post read “Know Our Enemies” and linked to a discussion about the “enemies of the campaign and our movement” alongside a small graphic of brownstone houses, a possible allusion to Sun Tzu’s notable quote from “The Art of War” describing how knowledge of one’s enemy is useful in battle. In this context, the battle is for housing.

NYC DSA Central Brooklyn Branch’s social media posts blasted the group for papering signs and caution-taping Senator Zellnor Myrie’s office on April 18, criticizing his support of the state budget as “anti-tenant” and ripping apart the Good Cause Eviction law. Huntley’s post, however, didn’t make a clear enough distinction over who the “enemy” was for triggered VIDA members.

“If you say enemies of the community,

employee who is reminded that they have signed a noncompete or receiving an intimidating letter from the employer’s legal counsel simply may accept that working for a competitor is not an option rather than taking the risk of being sued. This results in a chilling effect, as workers stay in their jobs regardless of the actual enforceability of their noncompete agreements.”

Noncompetes hinder economic progress

An April 23 FTC fact sheet assessed that noncompetes have stalled economic progress. Banning NCAs, the agency claims, will lead to a 2.7% increase in new businesses, the creation of more than 8,500 new busi-

agencies to spend at least half of their advertising budgets with community media outlets, leading to a $9.9 million cash infusion for the industry. That financial cushion helped local outlets reach their communities during the onslaught of the pandemic, according to the City University of New York (CUNY) Center for Community Media (CCM). Community-based publishers in the city published an open letter commending de Blasio and calling for the state to follow suit. By 2021, city council approved the creation of the Mayor’s Office of Ethnic and Community Media, a first in the nation. Mayor Eric Adams has held to his effort to have ongoing dialogue with community and ethnic media.

The succession of events in New York City left the state lagging behind in counties outside of it. Hoylman-Sigal said this was greatly evidenced when George Santos, who was eventually brought up on criminal charges and left office, was elected on Long Island in 2022.

“Some of my colleagues have dubbed

I don’t [mess] around with that,” said the B.R.O. Experience Founder & Executive Director Barry Cooper at the rally. “It’s disrespectful, it’s disingenuous and misguided. And as a Black man, it puts fear in my heart because for far too long, they been telling us that we enemies.”

Zinerman, a centrist Democrat, said she was offended as a renter herself that others insisted she disrespected tenants’ rights. “I have a record of protecting tenants in this community. I have a record of protecting homeowners in this community,” Zinerman said. “But yet the people who are trying to convince everyone here and beyond that they’re for tenants, I haven’t seen anything. No receipts at all, just rhetoric.”

Senator Jabari Brisport is a DSA candidate running for reelection and also backs Huntley in his bid against Zinerman. He was in attendance at the contentious gathering. He stayed until after the meeting and offered his perspective to those who asked. Brisport has had an open beef with Zinerman’s stances on certain legislative issues and was not invited to be a speaker during

nesses each year, and an estimated “$400$488 billion in increased wages for workers over the next decade.”

The FTC rule will go into effect within 120 days of its publication in the Federal Register unless it is halted by legal challenges. The United States Chamber of Commerce, a probusiness group, has already said it will challenge the ruling. “Since its inception over 100 years ago,” the Chamber said in a statement, “the FTC has never been granted the constitutional and statutory authority to write its own competition rules. This decision sets a dangerous precedent for government micromanagement of business.”

The business lobbying group asserted that

this credit the ‘George Santos Prevention Act’ because many believe it was the lack of local press coverage that enabled Santos to spin his web of lies undetected and ultimately be elected two years ago,” said Hoylman-Sigal. “Whatever you call it, our new tax credit will help preserve and create good jobs that are important to the success of the local news industry and the longterm health of our democracy.”

Richner was working on a federal bill in DC to help local media, which inspired Hoylman-Sigal’s bill, he said. His news coalition has been instrumental in pushing for state legislation.

“We’re facing a ton of headwinds right now and when a community loses their local newspaper it’s just really bad anyway you slice it,” Richner said. He said he believes community papers can help heal divisive political narratives and are central to preserving a healthy democracy.

“The first step is to stem the tide of closures when you have so many closing each month in our state. We just have to stop the bleeding and then focus on growth and the

the rally. He was briskly acknowledged by several speakers for attending.

He chalked up the unbridled passion to politics as usual aimed at swaying voters.

“There’s a lot of people that I respect here. It’s always an honor to be in conversation with VIDA even though they endorse against me every time,” said Brisport at the rally. “I have factual disputes with a lot of what was said, but clearly people are passionate and I think that speaks to the fact that people in this district are really struggling and that’s why I’m supporting a working-class champion like Eon Huntley.”

Brisport said that over the past seven years the DSA has run over 20 races with about six races in plurality Black districts. He described it as a “tactic” rather than a deliberate “pattern” used against Black incumbents.

“It’s not news to the residents of Bed-Stuy that our communities are under attack: by the real estate lobby, by charter school interests, and by the Israel lobby that are trying to buy our elections,” Huntley’s campaign team wrote in a statement. “There’s a rent crisis, housing crisis, schools are under-

“67% of our respondents agreed that a neartotal ban on noncompete agreements would have a negative impact on their business’s talent strategy and/or compensation strategy. Our survey found that employers would have to reduce the sharing of sensitive information with employees and reduce or defer compensation with employees should this ban take effect.”

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan claims that “Noncompete clauses keep wages low, suppress new ideas, and rob the American economy of dynamism, including from the more than 8,500 new startups that would be created a year once noncompetes are banned.”

way that this is set up incentivizes that.” Other bills aimed at revitalizing local news outlets have also been introduced in the Senate and Assembly in 2023 and 2024, namely the Community Media Reinvestment Act (S2581A/A5900), the Local, Community, and Ethnic Media Commitment Act (S6495A/A6879), and Bill S8132/A9380, which establishes a state office for ethnic and community media.

“The bill should provide urgently needed help to community news organizations like the Amsterdam News to enable them to do more coverage of schools, health care, gun violence, and other urgent topics,” said Rebuild Local News President Steven Waldman, who is also the co-founder of Report for America (RFA).

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

funded, and people are worried about the affordability of their healthcare. Our neighborhoods are undergoing rapid gentrification because our legislators are taking money from the real estate industry and refuse to regulate the rent.”

“It’s unfortunate that people get uncomfortable when we name the structural forces of oppression—including the real estate, private healthcare, and charter school industry—rather than joining together to fight them alongside our neighbors,” said Huntley’s campaign.

Landry Levine of the Central Brooklyn DSA Organizing Committee referred questions from the Amsterdam News to Huntley’s campaign for comment, which did not directly respond to claims that the DSA targets Black electeds by deadline.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about politics for the Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1

Giants and Jets fill holes with first round NFL draft picks

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sport Editor

More than 775,000 fans attended last week’s NFL Draft held in downtown Detroit, Michigan, breaking the previous record of 600,000 football followers that flooded Nashville, Tennessee, in 2019 to partake in the annual gathering that has become the second most popular event on the league’s calendar behind only the Super Bowl.

At the Giants’ and Jets’ draft headquarters in East Rutherford and Florham Park, New Jersey, respectively, the teams painstakingly considered their options before settling on their first round picks. Both selected players that fill pressing needs. The Giants have lacked a world-class wide receiver since Louisiana State University product Odell Beckham Jr. was a three-time Pro Bowler in 2014, 2015, and 2016. The Jets’ offensive line has been unstable for a half decade and with 40-yearold starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers coming back from suffering a ruptured Achilles in the first offensive series of last season, it is imperative the Jets are sound in front of him.

Thus, the Giants selected another dynamic LSU pass-catcher, Malik Nabers, with the sixth overall pick, and at No. 11, the Jets secured offensive lineman Olumuyiwa Fashanu from Penn State. The Giants also drafted safety Tyler Nubin from

Minnesota in the second round (No. 47) and cornerback Dru Phillips in the third round (No. 70) among their six picks. Among the Jets’ other six picks in addition to Fashanu was Western Kentucky wide receiver Malachi Corley (Round 3, pick No. 65), Wisconsin running back Braelon Allen (Round 4. pick No. 134), and quarterback Jordan Travis (Round 5, pick No. 171) from Florida State.

“We had a lot of guys that we liked that would fit in with the way we had them

stacked,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen revealed via Giants.com. “At the time we took him, he was the top receiver on our board.”

Nabers is confident of the versatility and attitude he brings to the team.

“I’m able to play different positions, create separation, open up a great window for the quarterback to throw me the ball,” he said. “Great teammate. Great leader. All in all, a great football player. Dog mentality when I’m out there on the field.”

As for Fashanu, Rodgers expressed his agreement with Jets’ general manager Joe Douglas’ choice of a player who competed in 29 games at Penn State, all at left tackle, starting 21.

“Olu Fashanu didn’t give up a sack his entire college career, which is saying a lot because you’re going against great schools in [the] Big 10,” Rodgers noted. “Olu is a mauler. He’s not going to need to jump in right away. We’ll see if we work him in at guard.”

By JUSTIN PETRILLE MLBbro Special to the AmNews

Heroes get remembered, but legends never die. New York Yankees MLBbros are being immortalized for heroics that have made them legends forever.

Dave Winfield was honored on April 24 for his incredible accomplishments while wearing the pinstripes with a mural a few blocks away from Yankee Stadium.

The mural, titled “Exhibiting Possibilities: Legendary Yankees,” was a collaboration led by The Bronx Children’s Museum, The Players Alliance, the Yankees and the Bronx Terminal Market to feature historically great Black Yankees players.

“We hope that every boy or girl that sees these murals will have their own dreams of greatness on the field and, more importantly, in their communities. We will continue to support the storytelling of excellence surrounding the Black players in our game, and we look forward to continuing to honor our history, particularly our history of Black players,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said during the unveiling of the mural.

An uber-athletic outfielder, Winfield played for the Yankees from 1981-1990,

during which he was an All-Star for all but the last two seasons of his stint in the Bronx. He also won five Gold Gloves and five Silver Sluggers over his time as a Yankee.

Winfield played the first eight seasons of his career with the San Diego Padres, for which he is a member of the franchise’s Hall of Fame and has his No. 31 retired. The native

of St. Paul, Minnesota was a standout for the University of Minnesota’s baseball and basketball teams before being drafted by four organizations in 1973: He was taken by the Padres with the fourth overall pick in the MLB draft, the Atlanta Hawks in the fifth round of the NBA draft and the ABA’s Utah Stars in the sixth round. And despite not playing college

football, Winfield was a 17th round selection by the Minnesota Vikings in the NFL draft.

In addition to the Padres and Yankees, the 6-6, 225 pound Winfield also played for the Los Angeles Angels (formerly the California and Anaheim Angels), Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Indians. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility. Winfield was the first Padres player ever to make it to the venerable HOF in Cooperstown, New York.

Even with the unforgettable accomplishments he had in his first 18 seasons with the Padres and Yankees, Winfield didn’t win a World Series title until 1992, in his one year with Toronto, when he was 41. During that season, he hit the game-winning, two-run double in the 11th inning of Game 6 of the World Series that clinched the title, forever earning him the nickname “Mr. Jay.” Over the course of his career, Winfield, now 72, batted .283, with 465 home runs, 1,833 RBI, a career on-base percentage of .353, and a slugging percentage of .475. He also has 3,110 career hits, which is 23rd alltime. He was a 12-time All-Star, seven-time Gold Glove winner, and a six-time Silver Slugger award winner throughout the entirety of his playing career.

The Giants chose wide receiver (L) Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick in last week’s NFL Draft, while the Jets selected Penn State offensive lineman (R) Olumuyiwa Fashanu at No. 11. (AP photos/Noah K. Murray/Barry Reeger)

On April 24, Hall of Famer and former Yankee Dave Winfield was honored with the unveiling of a mural bearing his image near Yankee Stadium. (MLBbro photo)

Hall of Famer Dave Winfield honored with a mural near Yankee Stadium

Young stars carry their teams in the NBA Western Conference playoffs

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

NBA legends and future Basketball Hall of Famers LeBron James (Los Angeles Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Phoenix Suns) have been eliminated from the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Stephen Curry didn’t even make it that far as the Golden State Warriors’ season ended in the play-in tournament. It is the first time at least one of the three hasn’t been in the second round of the playoffs since 2005.

But a new crop of young players is ushering in the next generation of potential greats, led by 2024 NBA MVP finalist Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Gilgeous-Alexander, a 25-year-old guard, averaged 30.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 5.5 rebounds this season lifting the Thunder to the top seed in the Western Conference (57-25). Eastern Conference powerhouse Boston Celtics (64-18) topped the entire league. His spectacular play has continued in the playoffs, where he’s averaged 27.3 points per game, propelling the Thunder to a four-game sweep over the New Orleans Pelicans to advance to the second round.

The Thunder, the second-youngest team in the league when the season began, will

meet the winner of the series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers. It was tied at 2-2 heading into Game 5 in Los Angeles last night.

“When you take a step back, it’s very hard to beat an NBA team, no matter what NBA team, four times in a row,” said Gilgeous-Alexander after the Thunder’s 97-89 win on Monday.

“You have to do a lot of things right, and a lot of possessions, and there’s so many possessions in the game just to get one, and for a group of guys that I guess you can say we’re young and don’t have the most experience in winning basketball games,” he added.

In addition to Gilgeous-Alexander, Edwards, just 22-years-old, averaged 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season pushing the Timberwolves (56-26) to only one game behind OKC and Denver (57-25) in the final standings in the West. OKC held the tie-breaker over the Nuggets. Edwards was even better in Minnesota’s first-round series against the Phoenix Suns, averaging 31 points per game, including a 40-point performance in game 4 in Phoenix in a 122-116 victory to blank the Suns 4-0. They will next battle the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets in a West semifinals beginning on Saturday. The Nuggets defeated the Lakers 4-1 in the opening round.

Women’s basketball great Candace Parker announces her retirement

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By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

As WNBA teams around the country came to order on Sunday for the first day of training camp, one big name was noticeably absent. By mid-afternoon, it all became clear from an Instagram post: Candace Parker was retiring. After two NCAA titles, two Olympic gold medals and three WNBA titles—the only player to win championships with three different WNBA teams—Parker was drawing this part of her basketball life to a close.

“The competitor in me always wants one more, but it’s time,” wrote Parker. “My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”

Parker admitted that her body has finally had it. She’s had 10 surgeries during her basketball career, and the foot injury that took her out in 2023 has continued to plague her. No one, including her, knew her final game was actually her last, having quietly walked off the court with daughter Lailaa, with whom she’s shared her basketball journey since giving birth in 2009.

“On & off the court I’m proud I’ve always been true & stayed true to ME, even when it wasn’t popular,” wrote Parker. “I’m grateful for family, friends, teammates, coaches, doctors, trainers &

fans who made this journey so special.” Marie Ferdinand-Harris played alongside Parker on the Los Angeles Sparks from 2008 to 2010 when both were young mothers. “We were in a big playoff game and at halftime she was pumping [breastmilk] in the locker room,” FerdinandHarris said. “She was dedicated to her job, which was professional basketball, and to being a mom. I thought, ‘Wow, the life of a female athlete.’”

As the spotlight now focuses on rookie phenom Caitlin Clark, let’s remember that Parker is the only player to win WNBA Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year. While her contracts might not have been as lucrative as Clark’s, the attention was no less. “Candace is one of the reasons why we have this great momentum,” said Ferdinand-Harris.

In recent years, Parker has built a standout career as a television broadcaster. She promises to remain involved in the business of sports, someday owning both NBA and WNBA teams. Being a wife and mother remain her top priority—in addition to Lailaa, she and wife Anna Petrakova are parents to son Airr and are expecting another child.

Parker leaves with a promise: “Forgive me as I mourn a bit, but I’ll be back loving the game differently in a while.”

Candace Parker, one of the most accomplished players in basketball history, announced her retirement from playing professionally. (AP Photo/Noah K.

Anthony Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ 22-year-old All-Star, has led the team to the Western Conference semifinals where they will face the reigning NBA champion Denver Nuggets. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

St. John’s alumna hopes to represent Jamaica at the Olympics

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

After a much-decorated collegiate career at St. John’s University, sprinter Leah Anderson has embarked on a professional track career. Reflective of her heritage, Anderson is representing Jamaica.

While the country has excellent sprinters, its talent is not as deep in the 400 meters as in the shorter distances. The time for qualification in the women’s 400 meters is 50.95. If Anderson falls short of that mark, Jamaica can still name her to the Olympic team. “It feels better to know that I ran the standard,” said Anderson, who has until the end of June to achieve the desired number and has several races over the next few weeks to achieve her goal.

With her bachelor’s degree earned, majoring in illustration, Anderson has been able to focus on training and competing. “It’s definitely different from college,” she said. “You are more in control of your life…Everything is more based on you. There’s less of a team dynamic.”

Anderson is part of the International Elite Program (IEP) with the Central Park Track Club. She continues to train in New York. For the outdoor season,

she’s training at Riverbank State Park. Earlier this year, she ran for Jamaica at the World Athletics Indoor Championships. Getting the call was exciting, and she knew expectations were high. There was even some commotion after her race when she needed a moment to rest, but stories of a post-race collapse were unfounded. “They said my heart was beating fast. I said that’s what happens when you run,” she said.

Pro track has propelled Anderson’s glam quotient. She’s honed her skills at makeup, lashes, nails, and hair. “That’s the world of track and field; you have to look flawless and confident even though it’s a brutal sport and not easy on the body,” she said.

Anderson is keeping her hand in illustration and has created a few commissioned works. Once she’s settled into pro track life, she’ll increase her focus on that. Her goal is to keep running for at least one or two more Olympics. “I have to see how my body feels,” she said.

The World Athletics Relays are this weekend. To keep herself motivated, Anderson does visualization, picturing herself in Paris at the Olympic Opening Ceremony. “It’s going to be a very surreal feeling if I get to go,” she said. “It’s going to be great.”

Olympian Sylvia Hoffman reflects on a challenging but impactful season

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

It was a challenging but fulfilling season for bobsledder Sylvia Hoffman. After winning a bronze medal with Elana Meyers Taylor in the two-man bobsled at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games, Hoffman shifted from brakeman to driver/pilot. With that transition, she also began competing in the monobob and won a race in Austria.

“It has definitely been a journey of being patient, being accepting of learning a new discipline and the technique that’s required to be successful,” said Hoffman. “There’s a lot of planning that goes into it, a lot of logistics. I see myself now as a manager, so to speak. You’re basically in charge because you’re driving the sled and you also have the responsibility of the brakeman that’s behind you whenever you do a two- or a four-person bobsled run.”

Logistics involve travel and transportation, not only of athletes but also of sleds, which are shipped in huge crates. Hoffman shipped a monobob to Europe, which was quite expensive. Sprinter vans typically transport the sleds from site to site for competitions.

At the IBSF World Championships this

winter, Hoffman cheered for Meyers Taylor when she won a medal. “I want to be as successful as I can be, but I will not try to put someone down to do it,” said Hoffman. “I’m going to cheer for myself, but I will always cheer for her.”

Bobsled (or bobsleigh) is a predominantly white sport, but is seeing a growing number of Black women, most of whom came to the ice from other sports. Hoffman was a multi-sport athlete who played basketball in college. Three track and field athletes joined the U.S. team on the World Cup circuit this year. “It’s a community that’s trying to be the best that we can,” she said.

Hoffman closed her season at the U.S. National Championships in Lake Placid, winning the monobob and the two-man (with brakeman Sydney Milani). Making it all the sweeter is that she began the season recovering from injuries, which led to a slow start. She continued on-ice training into early April. After some rest, she is based in Charlotte, N.C., for off-season training.

“We had some opportunities to train with the U.S. Performance Center,” Hoffman said. “It’s a great location and training environment. I’m excited to be in an atmosphere where I can have the resources I need to be great next year, because next year is going to be very important.”

U.S. bobsledder Sylvia Hoffman (Jimmy Reed photo)

Sprinter Leah Anderson, who competed collegiately for St. John’s, is seeking to make Jamaica’s women’s team that will compete at summer Olympics in Paris, France. (Justin Britton photo)

Sports

After a crushing Game 5 loss, the Knicks are eager to close out the 76ers

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sport Editor

The basketball gods have a sense of irony and drama.

After the Knicks overcame a five-point deficit at Madison Square Garden with 45 seconds remaining to improbably defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 104-101 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead in the best-of-seven matchup, 10 days later, they afforded Philadelphia reprisal.

Leading by six points with 28.2 seconds to go in regulation in Game 5 at MSG on Tuesday

night, cerebral lapses, missed foul shots, and the remarkable shooting by 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey erased the 96-90 lead and sent the game into overtime knotted at 97-97.

The Knicks’ lack of discernment and execution on both ends of the court continued over the five-minute OT period and an advantageous circumstance to close out the series morphed into a 112-106 loss. Now, the Knicks find themselves back in Philadelphia for Game 6 tonight (9:00 p.m.) holding a fragile 3-2 lead. In victory, the 76ers became

the first team in the last 25 playoffs to win a game trailing by at least six points in the final 30 seconds of regulation.

Although accountability for the loss should be shared by the Knicks players as well as head coach Tom Thibodeau, guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 40 points, placed much of the blame on his shoulders.

“Not good judgment on my part,” Brunson said. “There was a careless turnover in overtime, and then just making sure we were all on the same page at the end of regulation.”

The Knicks were up 97-94 with 15.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after Josh Hart made one of two foul shots. The one miss would prove to be costly. Philadelphia was out of timeouts but the Knicks were reluctant to foul Maxey, who ten seconds earlier was hit by Mitchell Robinson on a made 25-foot 3-pointer and added a free throw for a game-altering four-point play. Instead of putting Maxey back on the foulline for a possible two points, the Knicks let him launch a 35-foot 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the circle to even the score at 97 with 8.1 seconds showing on the clock. Brunson’s subsequent shot at the buzzer was off the mark.

“In those situations, you talk about what you want to do out there…” said Thibodeau regarding allowing Maxey to get off a 3-pointer. “We could’ve done better in that situation, and we will.”

Maxey, who posted a career playoff high 46 playing 52 minutes. was acutely aware of the gravity of the moment. “What was going through my mind was trying to survive,” he said. “Our season is on the line. I trust my work. I trust what I’ve done all my life, and I just tried to get to a spot, raise up and knock that shot down.”

Right now, Brunson’s extraordinary performance in setting the Knicks’ franchise playoff record of 47 points in Sunday’s 97-92 Game 4 win seems like a distant memory. What is front and center is Game 6. And perhaps Game 7 Saturday at the Garden. Which the Knicks hope to avoid.

Knicks guard Jalen Brunson’s 40 points were outmatched by the Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey’s 46 in the 76ers’ 112-106 win in Game 5 of their NBA Eastern Conference playoff series.

Philadelphia 76ers’ Tyrese Maxey (Bill Moore photos)