New York Amsterdam News Issue Nov.23-29, 2023

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Vol. 114 No. 47 | November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

©2023 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City

PANDEMIC-PROOFING THE HOLIDAYS: A GUIDE TO SAFE CELEBRATIONS (See story on page 6)

Clean Slate: A fresh start for some New Yorkers (See story on page 3)

Q&A with Alicia Keys on new musical “Hell's Kitchen” (See story on page 17)

(Adobe stock/StephGil illustration)

With A Stroke Of The Governor’s Pen, NY Becomes 12th State To Enact Clean Slate Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

)

2 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

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INDEX Arts & Entertainment �������������������Page 17 » Astro ��������������������������������������������Page 20 » Film/TV �����������������������������������������Page 19 » Jazz ����������������������������������������������Page 24 Caribbean Update �������������������������Page 14 Classified ����������������������������������������Page 32 Editorial/Opinion �����������������������Pages 12,13 Education ���������������������������������������Page 28 Go with the Flo ������������������������������Page 8 Health �����������������������������������������������Page 16 In the Classroom ��������������������������Page 26 Community ��������������������������������������Page 9 Religion & Spirituality ��������������������Page 30 Sports ��������������������������������������������� Page 40 Union Matters ����������������������������������Page 10 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS INFORMATION U.S. Territories & Canada weekly subscriptions: 1 year $49.99 2 Years $79.99 6 months $30.00

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Pres. George Weah (l) and Joseph Boakai (GIN photo)

LIBERIAN PRESIDENT GEORGE WEAH ‘KNOCKED OUT’ IN CLOSE RACE (GIN)—“I stand before you tonight with a grateful heart and with the utmost respect for the democratic process that has defined our nation.”

With those words, star athlete and Liberian President George Manneh Weah began his concession speech, ending six tumultuous years in the country’s highest office.

“As we acknowledge the results,” he continued, “let us also recognize that the true winners of these elections are the people of Liberia.

Through your peaceful and orderly exercise of your constitutional right to vote, you have once again demonstrated your commitment to the democratic principles that bind us together as a nation.

“Ambassador Joseph Nyumah Boakai is in a lead we cannot surpass. Therefore, a few minutes ago, I spoke with President-elect Boakai to congratulate him on his victory.”

According to Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC), it was mathematically impossible for incumbent Weah of the Congress for Democratic Change to clinch victory, having secured only 785,778 votes against his main rival Boakai of the Unity Party with 814,212 votes—a difference of 28,434.

Boakai is a 78-year-old political veteran and former director of the stateowned Liberian Petroleum Refinery in 1992 when the civil war raged. Although he was not implicated in any scandals, he was accused of turning a blind eye to corruption in government. Others focused on his age, calling him “Sleepy Joe” for falling asleep during a public event.

This time around, the focus was on grievances over Weah’s rule. Boakai called out Weah for his lavish lifestyle and being out of touch with Liberian society. According to the World Bank, half of the country’s population survives on less than $2 a day.

The presidential campaign hinged on accusations that Weah tolerated corruption in government, failed to manage soaring living costs, deliver jobs or stamp out drugs.

While promising to set up a war crimes court, Weah later argued that looking backwards at old crimes would not be the best way to achieve development.

But the need for a court is urgent, a survivor of the horrific civil war massacre told the BBC. "Some people are already telling me that since there's no justice, we should take up arms and start waging war against the people. They believe if we did that, in the future we would get lucrative jobs and live the best lives because they are seeing the example," he told the BBC. The November 14 run-off election was Liberia’s tightest election in two decades and the second transfer of power since the election of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. During her administration, a U.N. mission was assigned to keep the peace over the course of Liberia’s 14-year civil war, which claimed 250,000 lives.

A swearing in ceremony is scheduled for January.

Recent polls in neighboring Sierra Leone and Nigeria were also beset with controversy. Incumbent President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone won re-election, but his main challenger, Samura Kamara, rejected the results, citing “glaring irregularities and violations of established electoral procedures.”

In Nigeria, the two major opposition parties cited vote-rigging and widespread violence while seeking a rerun of the vote. Prize-winning novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie added her voice, writing a withering criticism of the election process that was published in the New York Times. Their objections were overruled and candidate Bola Tinubu was declared the winner.

Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department struck a note for nonviolent compromise. “This is a time for graciousness in defeat,” said spokesperson Matthew Miller, “a time to place our country above party, and patriotism above personal interest…Let us heal the divisions caused by the campaign and come together as one nation and one united people.”

SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOLAR PENS OPEN LETTER FOR CEASEFIRE IN GAZA (GIN)—Thousands of scholars in South Africa’s higher education sector have taken a public stand for a ceasefire in Gaza, imploring other institutions in South Africa to do the same.

An open letter on the subject which began circulating this month has drawn the support of researchers, lecturers, administrators, and students at public universities.

At the same time, a commentary by Suren Pillay, director of the Center for African Studies at the University of Cape Town. Pillay, a Black South African observing the horrific events in the Middle East, reflected on his country’s own violent past. Here are some excerpts from Pillay’s commentary (edited for AmNews style).

two-state solution became unnecessary, moribund, and superfluous.

“Life could proceed. Rave parties could happen in the desert. The normality that had become normal continued in the abnormality of occupation. Until October 7.

“Just as with white South Africans, fear grows exponentially.

And Israel is responding to that fear with a colossal bombing campaign of annihilation. But as white South Africans learned, violence cannot eradicate the ‘problem,’ nor create the life of peace they might long for.”

Pillay concluded, “White South Africans realized their apartheid project was unsustainable, Israelis will, too.”

AT CONFAB IN ACCRA, ACTION PLAN FOR REPARATIONS WINS SUPPORT

Pres. N.A.D. Akufo-Addo (GIN photo)

“I recall the relentless violence that accompanied the last decades of white South Africa’s attempts to make apartheid work. I remember the fears that grew among white South Africans as they put their trust in a sophisticated military capability, a conscription army, a nuclear weapons capacity, and steadfast friends in the West, particularly the United States, Britain and France.

“But the ‘terrorists,’ as the national liberation movements were referred to, could not be crushed by the mightiest army in Southern Africa. By mid-1985, a significant section of the white electorate and some in the ruling party realized that the problem of Black resistance was not going to go away.

“Until October 7, Israel also had the confidence that its sophisticated military and intelligence capabilities, its use of walls and barriers to control and monitor every aspect of Palestinian life, were going to manage its ‘Palestinian problem’ successfully.

“Most Israelis and their political leaders were so confident that any reference to ‘peace talks’ or even rhetorical acknowledgment of a

(GIN)—“It is time that Africa, whose sons and daughters had their freedoms controlled and were sold into slavery, also received reparations.

“No amount of money can restore the damage caused by the transatlantic slave trade...But surely, this is a matter that the world must confront and can no longer ignore.”

With those words, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Akufo-Addo launched a four-day reparations conference in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

The event is expected to produce an African-led action plan to push for reparatory justice, establish an African committee of experts to oversee the plan's implementation, and boost collaboration with the broader diaspora, according to the meeting website.

Attending the Accra Reparations Conference have been senior government officials from across the continent, as well as members of the diaspora community.

In his opening speech, Akufo-Addo called out British and other European countries for enriching themselves during the slave trade while “enslaved Africans did not receive a cent.”

See INTERNATIONAL on page 29

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 3

Wiped clean: Stories of those who will benefit most from passage of Clean Slate Act

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Formerly incarcerated New Yorkers rejoiced last week as a key bill that would automatically wipe old conviction records for certain offenses was finally signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul. The driving forces behind the bill were passionate electeds and those deeply affected by the criminal legal system.

Melinda Agnew, a member of Center for Community Alternatives (CCA) and a formerly incarcerated person, was sentenced to three years’ probation in October of 1999.

She is currently a single mom of three and a caretaker for her elderly mother. “Since then, I have become a mom and a grandma, returned to school, obtained both my bachelor’s degree and my master’s,” began Agnew.

Agnew’s family has suffered greatly from her lack of access to jobs for the last 25 years. She’s been denied promotions and rejected from housing programs. She believes in the end of “perpetual punishment” for other Black and brown formerly incarcerated people.

“With courage and vulnerability, we have come together to share our stories,” said Agnew. “We have chanted side by side at rallies in the freezing cold and sweltering heat.

We have taken precious time off of work and

away from families to file into buses at dawn.

We have stood row after row on marble steps at our capitol and raised our voices to shout ‘Clean Slate, Can’t Wait.’”

People with old convictions face harsh systemic barriers to housing, education, and jobs—an issue that disproportionately affects Black and brown New Yorkers.

The Clean Slate Act is projected to boost the state’s economy by $12.6 billion; be an effective tool to reduce recidivism; and is widely lauded by hundreds of labor unions, businesses, and civil rights groups.

The signing of Clean Slate drew a huge crowd of supporters and electeds, including hip hop figure La La Anthony, Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Judge Marva Brown; and Assemblymembers Clyde Vanel, Brian Cunningham, Jo Anne Simon, and Stefani Zinerman. Councilmember Yusef Salaam, one of the only formerly incarcerated members on the City Council, attended the signing with his wife. Salaam was excited to see the bill pass and for people with similar backgrounds who have already paid their debt to society to have “a real chance at a future.”

Bill sponsors Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz have championed Clean Slate for the past few years. It finally passed in the Senate and Assembly in 2023.

Governor Kathy Hochul and New York electeds that supported the Clean Slate Act, as she signed the bill into law at the Brooklyn Museum on Thursday, November 16. (Ariama C. Long.)

Both were visibly moved at the signing.

“Most importantly, I want to thank the impacted New Yorkers, the people who have lived with conviction records all this time. I want to thank you for your determination, your persistence,” said Myrie. “Every single call, every email, every trip up to Albany, every lobbying effort. You are the ones who got this done.”

Cruz added: “To the naysayers, I want to say, please stop using survivors as a shield,

because if we have the opportunity to forgive those who have wronged us, if they show us they deserve a second chance, I can tell that we need to do that.”

Among those present was Brooklyn native Lukee Forbes, 29, who was incarcerated at the age of 15, spent seven years in prison, and is now executive director of We Are Revolutionary, one of the nonprofits supporting See CLEAN SLATE on page 25

Gracie Mansion ‘sleep-in’ protests city’s attempts to limit right-to-shelter laws and migrant stays

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Advocates are calling for the city that never sleeps to be the city that never lets migrants sleep outside. Protesters gathered outside Gracie Mansion this past Thursday, Nov. 16, demanding the city cease shelter stay limits for migrants and uphold the right-to-shelter decree.

Advocacy groups like the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and African Communities Together (ACT) organized the demonstration, later staging tents and bedrolls for a “sleep-in” a few blocks from the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams to illustrate the street homeless situation.

“We are here because Black asylum seekers are often left out of the conversation,” said ACT Membership and Services Manager Sophie Kouyate during the rally.

A 60-day shelter limit for adult migrants announced in the summer was halved to 30 days earlier this fall. Last month, the city announced a 60-day shelter limit for families with children. Service providers, including ACT, say the restrictions obstruct their ability to connect migrants to the proper resources.

“As we’re seeing it, the limits have only exacerbated the confusion, fear, and instability of arriving asylum seekers,” said an ACT spokesperson by email. “We have droves of community members coming into our office and the overwhelming majority of them all need help with housing. We can barely get around to talking about other services the city can potentially provide because the concern on everyone’s mind is ‘Where am I going to stay tonight?’”

NYIC Executive Director Murad Awawdeh told the Amsterdam News at the protest that organizations “have stepped up to double or triple their capacity” without additional resources. He added that the city’s attempts to erode the right-to-shelter decree, which guarantees temporary housing for every unhoused individual, would affect New Yorkers no matter immigration status.

“This is indicative of how vulnerable and marginalized communities have been treated for decades here in the city,” said Awawdeh.

“What we need is for all communities to see through the scapegoating and see that we’re all in this together, and that we have one fight and it’s a fight for all of our communities, to get the support that they need, so they can not just survive here but to thrive here.”

The mandate stems from the Callahan v.

Carey class action lawsuit and is unique for

major American cities. Last month, city lawyers requested the agreement’s suspension, calling the consent decree “outmoded and cumbersome in the face of the present migrant crisis” in a letter to a New York Supreme Court judge.

Adams has maintained that the challenges to Callahan are not meant to terminate the decree. A spokesperson from his office said there are currently 65,000 migrants in the city’s care and “quite simply, [it is] out of good options to shelter” them.

“Unless those now criticizProtester stages “sleep-in” protest outside Gracie ing New York City’s response Mansion. (Tandy Lau) have realistic alternatives to suggest, we ask that they instead join us in housing for migrants until they could obtain a calling for meaningful help and a decompres- work permit and pay rent, along with demands sion strategy from our state and federal part- of the federal and state government to contribners,” she said by an email statement. “As we ute more and for more affordable housing to have repeatedly said, a city cannot continue to replace vacant buildings and lots. manage a national crisis almost entirely on its After the rally, a Senegalese migrant told own. It’s not fair to asylum seekers and it’s not reporters he was removed from a Brooklyn fair to longtime New Yorkers.” city shelter after the 30-day limit. He said During the protest, ACT Founder and Exec- he’s currently staying at a masjid and was utive Director Amaha Kassa recommended told he could only stay there for two weeks. employing housing vouchers to secure stable See PROTESTS on page 25

4 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Biden’s gaffes no laughing matter

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

and be willing to travel over 1,000 miles,” Biden said. “You could say it’s even harder than getting a ticket to the Renaissance President Biden turned 81 on Monday, tour or, or Britney’s tour. She’s down, it’s and another flip of the calendar accentu- kind of warm in Brazil right now.” ated the attacks from naysayers who beWas Biden merely joking or, as his adlieve he’s too old to seek another term in versaries would contend, having another office. This sentiment was given addition- senior moment? Whatever the case, you can al fuel when he seemingly confused Britney bet it won’t escape the notice of Trumpites Spears with Taylor Swift during the annual and right-wing Republicans.

Turkey Day pardoning.

But a gaffe may be the least of Biden’s “Just to get here, Liberty and Bell had to worries at the moment with several polls beat some tough odds and competition. showing him trailing Trump in the race They had to work hard, to show patience, for the White House among young voters

ages 18 to 34, with 46% of them supporting Trump and 42% for Biden.

This is a significant difference from Biden’s numbers with the younger set of voters in the 2020 presidential race. At that time he won voters ages 18 to 29 by more than 20 points, according to the national exit poll. There is still plenty of time to get back on serve, to borrow a tennis term, with the election a year away and knowing the unpredictability of the polls.

Biden should also be more than a little bit concerned about the African American vote. Polls show this demographic is less

than excited about his reelection, and that could be a deciding factor.

Despite the gloom and doom reports, Biden is doing considerably well on the economic front with joblessness still very low, the big three unions nearly back to par, and inflation showing some good signs of cooling.

Yes, Biden is at the mercy of the clock and calendar, but so was Barack Obama taking it on the chin in 2012, only to rally from life support and overtake Mitt Romney. These are a few narratives that Biden needs to summon to overcome the ever-mounting headwinds.

Narcisse, Salaam rally for Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Criminal justice advocates and electeds rallied behind the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act (FAVC) with a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul and a gathering in Foley Square.

Councilmembers Tiffany Cabán and Mercedes Narcisse and Councilmember-elect Yusef Salaam joined Common Justice, a decarceration group, at the rally. The letter was delivered to Hochul about six months after the bill passed with wide bipartisan support in the state Assembly and Senate, said Common Justice.

“This pivotal piece of legislation will help transform the landscape of support for crime victims and survivors, ensuring that those who have faced adversity are not further burdened by

Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse with supporters of victims compensation bill at Foley Square on Thursday, Nov. 16 (Contributed by Emma Brodsky with Common Justice)

systemic barriers,” said Narcisse in a statement. “This is about creating a New York where every individual’s journey towards healing and recovery is honored and supported. It’s time to turn our promises into action and our compassion into policy.”

The deadline for Hochul to sign FAVC, A2105A/S214, is at the end of the year, and survivors are urging her to pass the legislation.

The current victim compensation system provides state funding for crime victims to reimburse them for costs of recovery and lost wages. However, advocates said that it neglects survivors of violence, who are usually Black and brown, LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and domestic violence victims. They face obstacles like short application windows, mandatory police reporting, and cooperation requirements that hinder access to compensation for marginalized communities.

See FAIR ACCESS on page 27

Black and brown trans activists honored by Comptroller Lander and Public Advocate Williams in Harlem

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Pink and blue met Black and brown as trans activists Kiara St. James and Cristina Hererra were honored by the NYC Comptroller’s Office at Harlem’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture this past Saturday, Nov. 18.

The celebration capped off Trans Awareness Week, which leads up to the more somber Transgender Day of Remembrance each November 20. But the work toward transgender, gender nonconforming, and non-binary (TGNCNB) equity is year-round for the honorees.

St. James, whose award was accepted on her behalf, founded and co-directs the New York Transgender Advocacy Group. A Black woman of trans experience, she is credited with leading the

successful fight for GENDA, which applied the New York State Human Rights Law prohibiting discrimination to the basis of gender identity and expression.

Hererra founded the Translatinx Network in 2007 and currently serves as its CEO. She recalled past honors at the Schomburg and highlighted familiar issues.

“I’ve been here before—a few years back—talking about the struggles that we face as trans women of color, individuals that are immigrants because [it] really feels special for me to share…my story,” she said. “I’m an immigrant from El Salvador, I came here when I was 11 years old with a lot of hopes and dreams, and many of those hopes and dreams have become a reality.

“I was able to live my life cheerfully, like See ACTIVISTS HONORED on page 27

Kiara St. James (not pictured) honored by Comptroller Lander and Public Advocate Williams.

(Ayman Siam/Office of NYC Comptroller)

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

DEVLINHAIR President Julie Jackson on humanizing tech Julie Jackson (Contributed by Leticia Theodore-Greene)

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 5

THE URBAN AGENDA

By David R. Jones, Esq

With A Stroke Of The Governor’s Pen, NY Becomes 12th State To Enact Clean Slate Last week, Governor Hochul signed into law the Clean Slate Act, legislation that will relieve millions of New Yorkers from the perpetual punishment of old criminal records, a burden that has always fallen more harshly on Blacks and Latinos. The new law goes into effect November 2024.

New York now becomes the 12th state to enact common-sense laws aimed at increasing economic opportunities for people who have paid their debt to society and deserve a chance to fully participate in their communities and contribute to their economies. At the bill signing ceremony, held at the Brooklyn Museum, the governor summed up the rationale for making Clean Slate law in New York: “We’re not going to continue to judge people on their worst moments in life when they’ve paid their debt.”

Black New Yorker

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Julie Jackson, 49, is the first African-American president of a tech-forward corporate event production company, DEVLINHAIR (DH), a women-owned company in New York City founded by Dorothy Devlin and Barbara Hair. Jackson’s focused, can-do approach to work has led her to the pinnacle of success at DH. With her appointment, she pledged to put diversity at the forefront to help grow the company.

Born in Manhattan and raised in New Rochelle in Westchester, Jackson’s was the only Black family in the neighborhood at the time.

Her mother was an Alabama native and a nurse. As a child, she was a high achiever and an only child living with her mother. “I’m so fortunate to have the mother that I do, even though when I was younger, it would annoy the crap out of me that we have [almost] the exact same name,” said Jackson. “As an adult, I appreciate all the things that she made me learn and do.”

She initially wanted to be an accountant and lasted a year at a small college nearby, before deciding to switch to an Historically Black College and University (HBCU).

Jackson said that she desperately wanted more culture and diversity. She transferred to the University of Alabama for public relations and French with the help of her mother. After graduation, Jackson worked

in music, public relations, and technology in the 1990s. She was 25 years old by the time she got to DH. She began as a receptionist and worked her way up over the course of 24 years. The conversation to make her a partner in the business began during COVID when the pandemic necessitated more creative tech spaces for companies. Because DH was already tech-based, they were able to help companies pivot to virtual quickly. Jackson took the helm and slowly filled the role of president without the official title.

“Once it was finally announced and we got to the place for me to have the job, the overwhelming response was ‘Finally,’” said Jackson with a laugh.

As president, Jackson has vowed to foster diversity and access for Black and brown youths at DEVLINHAIR. “I want to take advantage of being able to not only uplift people and give them an opportunity, but for us to have the best creative, best voices,” said Jackson.

For the future, she said she’s interested in pursuing teaching younger generations about the tech industry.

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.

One in seven New Yorkers has a conviction history, the majority of whom are people of color, reflecting decades of discriminatory policing and prosecution and resulting mass incarceration. In too many instances, unfounded concerns and raw racial prejudice disguised as business judgment, kept many employers from offering jobs to people with conviction histories. No more.

The Clean Slate Act automatically seals convictions after three years for misdemeanors and eight years for all but the most serious felonies. Sex offenses are never sealed; records remain visible to law enforcement and government agencies that screen those who work with vulnerable people; and people may not receive sealing until they are off of probation or parole. But Clean Slate recognizes that those who have demonstrated their rehabilitation by living safely in the community should, at a certain point, no longer be burdened by a stale conviction.

Clean Slate Is Good for New York’s Economy The economic arguments in favor of Clean Slate are numerous and well-documented.

According to a recent study, Clean Slate will generate $12.6 billion in estimated annual earnings to New York State. Nationally, we lose $87 billion annually in GDP by excluding individuals with conviction records from the workforce. On an individual basis, those with a felony or misdemeanor conviction earn between 22 percent and 16 percent less each year than their peers, adding up to nearly $100,000 over a lifetime. For those who were incarcerated after conviction, however, the effect is a staggering 52 percent loss in annual earnings and over $480,000 in a lifetime. For the state and its citizens, Clean Slate promises an economic windfall.

The governor’s signature on this historic legislation is a victory years in the making. I’ve been speaking out on records expungement since 2016, when my organization, the Community Service Society, launched the predecessor to the Clean Slate New York campaign. We involved ourselves in this work not just for the economic reasons discussed above, but also because of our experience providing direct services to individuals impacted by conviction records.

Through our Next Door Project, we meet with thousands of New Yorkers each year who have been harmed by the criminal legal system.

We see firsthand the devastating psychological and emotional impact of living with a conviction record.

In a state where a background check is almost universally required to get a job, to get an apartment, or to get an education, a person’s hope for a decent life for themselves and their families are permanently reduced by a criminal record.

Clean Slate changes everything. Now that the legislation has been signed, we can provide a concrete date on which the dark cloud cast by their criminal record will be lifted. We can say truthfully to our clients that so long as you continue to remain out of trouble with the law, a better future is ahead.

The punishment which you’ve endured for years is no longer perpetual. There is light at the end of the tunnel, and that light is hope.

Because today is Thanksgiving, I feel called to express my gratitude to some of the people who made this victory possible. I thank Governor Hochul for signing the bill and Speaker Heastie and Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins for making sure it made it to the Governor’s desk. I am grateful to the bill’s sponsors, Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Catalina Cruz, whose dedication to this bill through years of arduous work and hours of conversation, negotiation, and debate has been inspiring and vital. I am thankful to the organizers, advocates, and lawyers who dedicated years to this campaign and to the hundreds of organizations that joined the coalition, including Fortune 500 companies, labor unions, faith leaders, and civil rights groups that worked across differences and in solidarity for this noble cause.

Most of all, I am filled with gratitude for the directly impacted leaders who demanded the laws of this state be changed, who sacrificed countless hours meeting with legislators, sharing their stories, and refusing to be ignored. It is their victory more than anyone else’s. And in the years to come, it will be their successes and triumphs that will determine the success of Clean Slate.

David R. Jones, Esq., is President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the leading voice on behalf of low-income New Yorkers for more than 175 years.

The views in this column are solely those of the writer. The Urban Agenda is available on CSS’s Web site: www.cssny.org.

6 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Pandemic-proofing the holidays: a guide to safe celebrations

(Illustration by StephGil)

A fourth pandemic holiday season is upon us. Here’s how to make your plans safer.

By HELINA SELEMON Blacklight Science Reporter, Amsterdam News Staff Giant feasts, candlelight, decorations, gift exchanges. With so much to look forward to during the winter holiday season, respiratory viruses might be the last thing anyone wants to focus on—but are important to be aware of and to take action on.

As the country enters its fourth holiday season of the pandemic, viruses are the last thing you want to give or receive. It is especially important to take precautions in colder months: Spikes in hospitalizations and deaths from viruses like influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and COVID19 are highest from October through April.

“Respiratory illnesses are more likely

to spread during the winter season because we’re in close quarters,” said Ayman El-Mohandes, a pediatrician, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics, and dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health.

COVID-19 spread is down but not entirely out: Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is still reporting about 2,200 daily hospital admissions. On average, 488 New Yorkers are testing positive for COVID every day, according to the city’s health department, with the most transmission currently on Staten Island.

Black, Indigenous, and elderly Americans are still among those at highest risk of hospitalization and death.

El-Mohandes said that while the most recent variants circulating had milder clinical symptoms than previous ones, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be worried about the spread of the disease.

“COVID is still around; it’s not gone yet,” ElMohandes said. “We should not assume that every single variant is going to be milder.”

In the weeks, days, and hours leading up to your next holiday gathering, here is a virus-fighting plan from New York public health experts for how to usher in a healthier holiday season.

Weeks before: Get your shots

Getting updated boosters even after getting multiple COVID-19 shots is important because the viruses are still mutating and immunity does wane over time. Call 212-COVID19 or visit vaccinefinder.nyc.gov to find a location near you and schedule a COVID-19 booster or your RSV or flu shot.

“Though we’re not hearing about the variants every day in the news like we were before, the viruses are still mutating, and they’re still variations that they’re accounting for in [new] vaccines,” said Lesley Green-Rennis, a public health professor and health educator at BMCC. Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and editor-at-large for public health at KFF, said that COVID-19, like RSV and flu, will continue to be a problem for [the] most vulnerable groups, including seniors and very young children.

Gounder said she got her COVID-19 and flu shots together and her RSV vaccine in a second appointment, weeks before Thanksgiving. For New York City residents, COVID-19 shots are free at NYC Health + Hospitals clinics.

“You can get all three together,” she said. “I would advise getting RSV separate from the other two just because we have seen a little bit more in the way of side effects. Nothing

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS serious, but it’s just more uncomfortable.”

Getting severely ill just isn’t worth it, Gounder said, and a two- to three-week lead time before an event can help avoid a trip to the hospital. NYC Open Data from the city’s health department showed that about 1,595 New Yorkers died of COVID-19 between last December and this February.

In the 2022–2023 season, 176 New York City kids died of the flu.

“The very young may not die from flu or RSV, or COVID, but they are at high risk for ending up in the ER in the hospital or the ICU,” she said. “And just because they didn’t die does not mean that’s not a tremendously traumatic experience for the parents or the child.”

El-Mohandes said RSV vaccines are available for everyone, including babies as young as eight months old. Infants and children, along with people with bronchial asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are especially vulnerable.

He advised treating a trip to your local pharmacy for your shots like all of the chores that are gladly done during the holidays: cooking, going to the grocery store, and picking up the turkey.

“Check it off as one of the things you do in your expression of caring and love for people that you consider family and people [who] are close to you as friends,” he said.

Gounder said that for Thanksgiving, air filtration is a valuable way to reduce the spread of viruses in the air. You can spend about $80 at the hardware store to build a high-quality DIY air purifier . She also counts on having lots of tests available for the holiday season.

Although free supplies are limited, you can still order free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government at covid.gov/ tests. Text “COVID TEST” to 855-48 to find a location near you or go to your local library to pick up free tests.

Before the holiday, Gounder suggested calling guests about the event and agreeing to a plan and contingency plans weeks before the event, in case someone gets sick.

“Don’t wait until that happens, because then it can be a lot more stressful and there might be more tension that could be avoidable,” she said.

Whether you’re staying in town or traveling for the holidays, Gounder said to map out where your most accessible urgent care or minute clinic might be. Aim for one with a pharmacy that can test you and fill a prescription treatment, if needed.

She said antibiotics that people often request are completely ineffective toward fighting viruses.

“That’s the kind of thing you want to do ahead of time,” she said.

For those gathering for a meal or celebration, El-Mohandes advised thinking of the most spacious and well-ventilated place available to host large gettogethers. His tip: Pick the home of a family member or friend with the largest space and have everyone contribute to preparing the meal so that person doesn’t feel burdened.

Weeks before…

Schedule vaccinations. Take COVID-19 and flu together, RSV separately. The ideal is to go to the pharmacy and get two or all three together, so make a date to get shots for yourself and a loved one.

Get tests. Order free athome COVID-19 tests from the federal government at covid.gov/tests.

Build a Corsi-Rosenthal box, a science-approved DIY air purifier ,for hundreds less by going to the hardware store.

Make a plan with family and friends, such as hosting dinner at the largest home to create more opportunity to socialize at a distance.

Get vaccinated. Take COVID-19 and flu together, RSV separately.

to be firm about telling guests to stay home if they are not well. No one wants to do that around the holidays, but “if they have any symptoms at all, they should stay home and keep themselves isolated,” she said.

“Most people get together in multiple units of large numbers of people,” she said, such as at work, with family, with partner’s family, and in school settings. “All of those are opportunities for bacteria and viruses to be transmitted in all kinds of ways.”

For sick guests, El-Mohandes suggested finding alternative ways to connect when illness interrupts plans.

“Maybe have a Zoom call with them as they’re assembled around the table or around the tree…maybe your expression of love is to maintain safety,” he said.

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 7

If you get sick…

What if someone gets a bug? Maybe it’s you. If so, take care of yourself and isolate.

New York City residents who test positive for COVID-19 can schedule an appointment online to get tested at a clinic. For medication, set up a virtual appointment with a clinician.

Residents can also set up a free sameday telemedicine appointment with NYC Health + Hospitals by calling 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319) to get assessed and treated by a medical provider. If you’re feeling severe COVID-19 symptoms, asking for Paxlovid, an antiviral COVID-19 treatment, in that appointment can mean same-day delivery. The drug is very effective at reducing how severe your symptoms are and how long they last. Tamiflu and Xofluza are good antiviral treatments for the flu.

“It’s worthwhile to get a test, because Days before… then you can actually get an antiviral that Check in with family and will do something for you and help you,” Gounder said. friends about the plan; send With COVID-19 cases, the CDC advice reminders. is to isolate until you test negative at least Wear masks more often to two days in a row. Even a faint positive line means a positive test. reduce risk of getting sick, inSick or not, a key to safety over the holcluding on planes, trains, and idays is being clear with yourself about automobiles. the due diligence that is important to protecting your loved ones and yourself in the Make a backup-plan to get hours, days, and weeks leading to gatherfood to family members who ings, said Green-Rennis. Know what you get sick…and encourage them are comfortable with and need to do help to stay home! advocate for it.

“Everything kind of goes back to like Day of your gathering: Test! your own personal knowledge and convicBefore you leave, take a COVID-19 test. tion,” she said. “You may be asked about If you’re hosting, encourage your guests to it. Being comfortable enough to…say it test before they leave home and have spare in a very polite way to use it as an opportunity to educate others and [make] sure tests on hand just in case.

Green-Rennis said public health actions, that you’re doing everything that's in your like washing hands frequently and avoiding power to stay safe.” touching others and then touching one’s eyes or mouth, help reduce the risk right before and during a gathering.

El-Mohandes said that close proximity If you get sick... at the dinner table creates higher risk, so if temperatures permit, sit outdoors where Test with an at-home COVIDmore ventilation is possible.

19 test or make an appointment at a NYC Express Testing clinic. RSV and flu tests are Hours before… available at local pharmacies.

✓ ✓ ✓

Days before: Travel safely

Green-Rennis said that people often neglect taking care of one important factor for good immunity: stress.

“People are anxious about the holidays, and they stress themselves out. All of that impacts your immune system, which makes you more at risk,” she said.

Gounder, who is traveling for the holidays, said that in addition to being current with respiratory vaccines, she continues to wear masks in crowded public settings like the subway, airport, and planes, and especially encourages it in the days leading up to a holiday trip.

“Those are the three places I consistently continue to wear a mask,” she said. “Remember that COVID-19 vaccination is really more about preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death, not necessarily infection and transmission, so masking is an effective option to prevent getting and spreading the virus.”

Another good motivation to mask: It’s not worth the risk of missing out. “You don’t want to lose the opportunity of celebrating with your loved ones and with your family,” ElMohandes said.

He also advised being “extra cautious” in the days leading up to travel and wearing a mask on buses and trains as well. Strangers may be willing to take more risks than you would, “so just be cautious that way,” he said.

If you’re heading somewhere for the holidays, check out the incidence and prevalence of COVID-19 or other diseases wherever you’re traveling, Green-Rennis suggested.

If guests get sick in the days leading up to a gathering, Green-Rennis encouraged hosts

✓

everyone before you ✓Test leave the house. Gounder said holiday plans with friends this year will include group testing.

hands, avoid wiping face ✓Wash and touching eyes.

✓Mask indoors when possible. ✓Turn on air purifier. social distancing. ✓Practice Eat outside, if possible .

✓Seek an antiviral treatment if you get a virus.

indoors and avoid con✓Mask tact with others. A consid-

erate move, even if you’re sick with something besides COVID-19.

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

8 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

G

O

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS W I T H T H E F L O

Go With The Flo Hip Hop roots highlighted at Hostos’ FLO

ANTHONY Actresses Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Danielle Brooks were all in attendance at a special screening of “The Color Purple” on November 20 at Vue West End in London, England. Other cast members who also attended included Colman Domingo and Corey Hawkins as well as director Blitz Bazawule. The musical version of The Color Purple has already been on Broadway twice and now it has been turned into a movie with Oprah Winfrey, who was nominated for an Academy award in the original film, as one of the producers. H.E.R., Halle Bailey and Aunjanue Ellis also star in the flick, which opens Christmas Day.......

Although Cassandra Ventura and Sean “Diddy” Combs resolved the claims that she filed against him November 16 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the rape allegations against Combs have cost him at least one employee at his Revolt TV media company, reports Page Six. On November 20, popular podcaster Dawn Montgomery announced on X that she would be stepping down from the role because of Ventura’s allegations against the rap mogul. Montgomery posted, “I won’t be signing on to do the third season of @revolttv’s ‘Monuments To Me’ podcast. I am a SA survivor and I cannot be part of a show that’s supposed to uplift Black women while Diddy leads the company,” she wrote, adding, “Believe Black Women.” ......

On November 16, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) hosted its 15th annual ASCAP Women Behind the Music event in Atlanta, Georgia.

Presented by the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul department, ASCAP Women Behind the Music recognizes and encourages female trailblazers in the music community by honoring songwriters, artists and executives across the industry. ASCAP honored Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter Summer Walker, LVRN Executive Vice President and General Manager Amber Grimes and Atlantic Records Senior Director of A&R Sammye-Ruth Scott for their leadership, art, and contributions to the music industry. Guests enjoyed a beautiful reception with music provided by DJ Tee Y.......

The SRG-ILS Group (Universal Music Group/Virgin Music) announced the arrival of Lalah Hathaway to the SRG family. The five-time Grammy award-winning singer/ songwriter/producer and 10-time Grammy nominee’s long-awaited follow up to her 2018 Grammy nominated album “Honestly” is currently being completed for release in early 2024. Said Claude Villani, CEO The SRG/ILS Group, “Lalah Hathaway is perhaps the finest vocalist on the planet, period! We welcome her with open arms to SRG/ILS Group. Expect greatness!” ....

‘Born In The Bronx!’ exhibit The Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture, in partnership with the Bronx Council on the Arts, recently opened the exhibit “Born In The Bronx!” which highlights the roots and evolution of hip hop, the global phenomenon that originated in the South Bronx in the 1970s.

Curated by Johan Kugelberg and Joe Conzo Jr., the exhibit’s expansive collection of photos and memorabilia, from vinyl records, flyers and artwork, to images of graffiti, break dancing and MCing, seeks to showcase the diverse and innovative elements of hip hop that shaped the Bronx and the entire world.

Kugelberg and Conzo have staged

Curator Johan Kugelberg (right) with DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore (Lila Wolfe photos)

versions of this exhibit internationally in London, Tokyo, Sweden and France since 2005. Two years later, Kugelberg and Conzo founded the Cornell University Hip Hop Collection, the largest archive in the world devoted to tracing the history of hip hop. In 2008, they worked with Cornell on staging the world’s first large-scale “Hip Hop History Symposium.” Winner of the New York Public Library Best Books for Teens Award, their 2007 book “Born in the Bronx:A Visual Record of the Early Days of Hip Hop,” was reissued this year in an expanded edition with an introduction from LL Cool J. The book

will be available at the gallery in a special signed edition.

“Born In The Bronx” opened on November 15 and featured such luminaries as legendary Bronx DJ Grand Wizzard Theodore, widely credited as the inventor of “scratching” and known for perfecting needle drops and other techniques.

The Longwood Arts Gallery @ Hostos is located at Hostos Community College/ CUNY, 450 Grand Concourse (off 149th Street) in the Bronx. For more info, visit www.bronxarts.org/programs/connector/longwood-art-project/longwoodart-gallery and www.hostoscenter.org.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS O U T & A B O U T

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 9

‘Faces of Harlem’ exhibition documents a fast-changing community

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff The third consecutive year of the Faces of Harlem exhibition will be coming to an end on November 30.

The outdoor photographic presentation has been on display in front of Harlem’s Morningside Park (Morningside Drive and 114th Street) since August 5. As you walk up the sidewalk next to the park, you are witness to what essentially serves as outdoor proof of the lives of everyday Harlemites. You come across scenes of 1970s and 1980s vendors at East Harlem’s La Marqueta, photos of individuals from Harlem’s current LGBTQ and transgender community, and profiles of Olympic champion fencers and fencer club participants from the Peter Westbrook Foundation.

There are views of young girls primping and preparing for a dance recital and perfectly timed, still-frame shots of Harlemites swinging and twirling and laughing while dancing the Lindy Hop. “It’s nice to see some beautiful artwork,

you know—photography, that’s outside,” commented Patricia Charles as she and her sister and brother took time to view the photographs. “It’s nice that it’s outside.”

The three siblings, who grew up near the old Polo Grounds, came to the Morningside Park location specifically to view Faces of Harlem because they heard it would be coming down by the end of November. “We tend to go to museums more often,” said Charles’s sister, Maria Ricardo.

“We were actually trying to go to a museum today, but when we heard about this exhibition, we said we prefer to come here and see these.

“It’s nice to see these photographs of Harlemites and also the different sectors.”

She remarked on the pictures that show some of the worship practices of Dominican Americans and other prints that displayed a varied range of people dancing the Lindy Hop. Ricardo laughed and said, “We were remarking on how we thought we recognized one or two people from the Jazz Mobile. There’s one guy who has spats

on—I’m sure that’s him––I’ve seen him there dancing all the time!”

The 2023 Faces of Harlem exhibition features 10 photographers: Tamara Blake Chapman, Jan Anthonio Diaz, Flordalis Espinal, Jeremy Grier, Marcia Bricker Halperin, Elijah Mogoli, Katsu Naito, Kaila Burke-Ozuna, Lindsay Perryman, and Laila Annmarie Stevens. Five youth photographers––Mikayale Despaigne, Salvador Peña Nissenblatt, Jeremiah Nunez, Marilyn Romerick, and Jack Van Clief––also contributed works for the presentation, which stretches from 114th to 124th street.

Sade Boyewa El, the exhibition’s founder and chief curator, said the Faces of Harlem presentation is her passion project. After moving to Harlem in the early ’90s, she said she saw historic Harlem change before her eyes.

“I guess I perceive myself as a social documentary photographer,” she said. “It was always, for me, documenting people and their stories, because nothing is permanent—what we see here today, whether it

is a building or people or…whatever it is, it may not be here tomorrow.”

Boyewa El started documenting how Harlem was changing from an historical perspective, but she soon realized that one person could not cover everything. “Every photographer looks at things through a different lens,” she said. “We all know different people; we all have different stories to tell. I can’t tell all the stories—it’s impossible, because I don’t know everybody, so I started calling on other photographers.”

For the past three years, Faces of Harlem’s free outdoor exhibition has hung the work of Harlem-themed photographers in neighborhood parks for a total of four months. Funded via community donations; grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; and support from organizations like NYC Parks, the West Harlem Development Corporation, Morningside Park, Photoville, Fuji Film, and more, the nonprofit Faces Of Harlem (FOH) public art initiative puts out an annual call for photographers to document how Harlem is and what it’s becoming.

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Profiles of Peter Westbrook Foundation fencer club participants by Jeremy Grier.

Sade Boyewa El, founder and chief curator of ‘Faces of Harlem’

Perfectly timed, still-frame shots by Elijah Mogoli show Harlemites swinging and twirling and laughing while dancing the Lindy Hop.

Scenes from East Harlem’s La Marqueta in 1970s and 1980s

by Marcia Bricker Halperin

10 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Union Matters NYCHA’s caretakers say their job stress can easily be mitigated

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) workers start their day early. By 8 a.m., they’ve clocked in and are settling down for the morning muster. A local supervisor goes over the day’s schedule, details any major concerns, and answers urgent questions.

Then NYCHA workers are sent out on their assignments: maintaining the city’s 2,411 affordable housing buildings.

It’s a hard job, one that requires care and concern about what you’re doing—and oftentimes about your own physical safety.

Alicia Knox says she is trying to finish up with her Heating Plant Technician (HPT) classes so she can move on to operating hotwater boilers in NYCHA buildings.

Becoming an HPT, or Caretaker H, would remove her from her current Caretaker J role, where she cleans buildings and does minor maintenance repairs.

“Honestly, my opinion is what we do now is a lot: The buildings, the complex—it’s a lot of work. Trying to keep up the building behind the tenants, it’s a lot of work,” she said.

Knox and other workers spoke of their Sisyphean efforts in trying to keep NYCHA grounds and buildings clean and then watching as tenants, particularly unsupervised kids, come along and throw garbage and trash in the hallways and on the outdoor grass.

Caretakers complain that while they are cleaning up, some residents are dirtying up the place at the same time by throwing objects out of windows. Several times, caretakers have been hit in the head by garbage thrown by residents.

Many workers enter NYCHA on the janitorial track, at the Caretaker J level. Janitorial workers are responsible for cleaning hallways and elevators, compacting and stacking garbage, and sanitizing public areas.

Caretaker G is a grounds-level

Juan Santiago, a long-term caretaker at Taylor–Wythe Houses in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, loves his job, especially now that he can get equipment he needs when he asks for it.

worker whose job often includes emergency snow removal; raking and packing up fallen leaves; operating and maintaining Bobcat machines, sweepers, lawnmowers, tractors, and plows; and keeping the grass clean and maintained. “I don’t have a lot of guys, so I do most of the work really,” said Craig Rogers, supervisor of grounds at Manhattan’s ElliottChelsea Houses. “They say I work miracles, despite the amount of staff I have. They tell me every day, ‘You do a good job, you work miracles every single day.’”

Other caretaker career levels offered by NYCHA are pest control technicians, plasterers, emergency service aides, and housing supervisors.

NYCHA has a janitorial and groundskeeper training center for its prospective workers.

There, trainees are shown a mannequin model that illustrates how to dress for the job—with a daily uniform, equipment supplies, and a hardhat, which most workers tend not to use.

“My son worked for [about] six months at Marcy Projects, and he literally got hit in the head with a bottle,” said Juan Santiago, a long-term caretaker at Taylor-Wythe Houses in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg. “Luckily, he had his helmet on, but he still got cut on his ear. When he got hit with that bottle, he decided not to go work in housing anymore, and that kind of worked out because he got a better job, and he’s doing much better now. But…wow, he’s around this building, and somebody’s right [at] the window, pouring the garbage, throwing stuff out the window. They don’t care.”

Santiago said he loves his job, especially now that the Taylor-Wythe Houses are under the care of property managers, Iason Carter and Rachel Terebo. Having the ability to get the equipment he needs, when he asks for it, has made work less stressful, he said.

But not all NYCHA property managers respond to requests made by NYCHA caretakers, and that can lead to low worker morale.

NYCHA has a janitorial and grounds training center for prospective workers (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

taker Gs. Edmonds believes the mix of ethnic groups at TaylorWythe is another plus that helps to keep the property from deteriorating. “It’s because it’s mixed… over here, they care about where they live. That’s all it is.

“See, over here, my manager enforces the rules. When residents throw stuff out the window, we see what line it’s coming from. We get letters and we stick notices underneath their doors to show that we are aware, we know that it’s coming on this line and that it needs to stop. And when we put the letters under the door, they stop throwing stuff out the window.”

Joelle Garcia’s job means dodging outside debris and being ready to confront any surprises when he’s indoors. After ensuring the lobby of the building he cleans is taken care of and has no hazards, he travels to the top floor Keeping NYCHA properties and works his way down, cleanfrom deteriorating ing up and dispatching of any Vanessa Edmonds, the Tay- tripping or slipping hazards. He’s lor-Wythe supervisor of grounds, constantly having to clean urine leads herself and two other Care- and feces in the building—that’s

a normal day. On other days, he might have to clean up blood or food waste that’s been left in the hallways or elevators. On designated days, he deep-cleans the floors and stairwells.

When Garcia wraps up trash that has been sent down the building’s garbage chute, he’s constantly confronted with glass and metal. Tenants have been known to throw anything and everything down the chute—even dead animals. While Garcia is in the basement, using the garbage compactor to separate the trash for disposal, he’ll come across a used mouse trap and dead rats, cats, snakes, hamsters, sometimes even puppies. He’s dealing with hundreds of residents who create hundreds of pounds of garbage every day.

Rushelle Paige, a Caretaker J for 20 years, came to work at NYCHA when she was living in the Linden Houses. A tenant association president had written her a recommendation letter for the job, See NYCHA continued on next page

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS Continued from previous page

and she was called to come work for NYCHA in the year 2000.

“Most of the residents have respect, but some of them are just lazy,” she said. “Some of them just don’t have home training. Most of these people are coming from shelters; when you get the ones with bags from the shelter, they’re mostly homeless and when they come out here, they still want

to tear it up because they’re not used to the cleanliness, the discipline. It depends on where they’re coming from.”

Numerous NYCHA caretakers are themselves NYCHA residents—they were encouraged to apply to become NYCHA workers. Residents applying to become workers take classes with the NYCHA Resident Training Academy (NRTA), which is funded by the anti-poverty Robin Hood Foun-

At this building, because tenants throw trash out the window, NYCHA put up screens to keep flying debris from hitting employees as they head to work

dation. Academy classes teach janitorial, construction, and pest control methods that will be used on the job.

The job itself is union-repped: Members join and form part of Teamsters Local 237, where they gain healthcare benefits, a pension plan, access to a college savings plan, dependent care assistance, and other perks. The perks help because the job can be tiresome.

Iason Carter at the Taylor-Wythe Houses has received citations applauding his managerial style, which has made Taylor-Wythe one of the nicer places to work, NYCHA workers told the Amsterdam News.

“It’s the culture. Unfortunately, and I hate to say it, but in our development, which is about 60% Hasidic, we, for some reason, don’t have that epidemic of the trash out the windows like we do in other developments…or feces,” Carter explained. “It’s far and few between. Occasionally, we’ll have some homeless people venture into the buildings, but that’s far and few people: That’s not from the residents doing it.”

Carter insisted that it’s important to use his role as property manager in partnership with his onsite caretakers. “It’s important

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 11

Iason Carter, property manager at the Taylor-Wythe Houses, has received citations applauding his successful management style

to listen to people, have a conversation,” he said. “As a property manager…it’s about listening to people. [If a caretaker] sends me an email, I’m right on it. Rachel’s right on it. You know what I’m saying? People––I’ve learned–– when you brush them off, they become antagonistic, so even

when folks want to tell you something and you don’t want to hear it, give them the forum.

“Most people here have worked in other developments with a lot going on so, when they come to Taylor-Wythe, they don’t want to leave, because we don’t have a lot of problems going on here.”

12 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Opinion More evisceration of the Voting Rights Act EDITORIAL

The strength of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, one of the monumental achievements of the Civil Rights Movement, continues to be assailed. On Monday, a federal appeals court issued a ruling effectively barring private citizens and civil rights groups from filing lawsuits, which has been a key provision of the law. It is a move that adds to the evisceration of the Act. Only the federal government, the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Eighth Circuit ruled, can now legally challenge under Section 2 of the Act, a crucial element that prohibits election or voting practices that discriminate against Americans based on race.

Experts on the issue believe the ruling will be appealed, which means the conservative-leaning Supreme Court is the final arbiter. There is no absolute certainty that the court will abide by the weakening of the section since earlier this year, it found Alabama had drawn a racially discriminatory congressional map.

Even so, we cannot forget the damage done in 2013 when the court struck down Section 5 by a 5-to-4 vote, thereby freeing five states, mainly in the South, to change their election laws without federal approval. One of the main determinants in that decision centered on the question of whether racial minorities continued to face the historical Jim Crow barriers in those states. And that may yet be a factor in this latest iteration.

With our democratic rights perilously on the ropes, we need this law to be protected and guaranteed, particularly as we move into an election season that may be the most existential and consequential in our nation’s history.

Back in July, when gerrymandering was delivered a blow in Alabama, former Attorney General Eric Holder posited, “Other states should view this map [of Alabama] and this process, as both an example of basic fairness and a warning that denying equal representation to Black voters, violating the Voting Rights Act, and defying federal court orders is a direct tie to an odious past and will no longer be tolerated.”

Well, Eric, let’s see to what extent the odious past is still with us.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher Member

Alliance for Audited Media

and Editor in Chief

Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor Damaso Reyes: Investigative Editor Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising

Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus

Calling on Governor Hochul to Do Right by Black and Brown Crime Survivors

By COUNCILMEMBER MERCEDES NARCISSE A violence epidemic is growing in our communities, and as such, requires innovative solutions. According to the Alliance for Safety and Justice, one in four Americans report being victimized in the past 10 years, and around half were victims of a violent crime. This issue has deeply affected New York City, especially the 46th City Council District, including the 69th, 63rd, and 61st precincts, where we’ve been affected by unprecedented levels of gun violence.

We know the beauty and strength of our communities. From young families just getting started to our seniors who have lived here decades, the 46th District residents and all of New York, deserve to feel safe walking to and from the train, the grocery store, school, and everywhere in between.

Our solutions must be creative, multi-faceted, and rooted in the expressed needs of those who are most impacted. We begin to end the cycle of violence by supporting and investing in people who cause harm as well as people who suffer.

Under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA), states must compensate victims of violent crime for expenses incurred long after a violent attack: the cost of upgrading home security, replacing personal property, medical bills, moving expenses, and funeral costs for loved ones.

For some survivors, the application itself is a burden. New Yorkers must report their harm to law enforcement and cooperate throughout the process. We know, however, that over 50% of violent crime victims do not report their harm to the police.

We also know that domestic and intimate partner violence survivors, LGBTQIA+ victims, and immigrant survivors are particularly disadvantaged by this law enforcement requirement.

Black victims are especially impacted by the law enforcement requirement. The long history of racial profiling, over-policing, and violent enforcement has sowed distrust in communities of color. The disadvantage is apparent: half of applications

denied for failure to cooperate with police are from Black victims.

It’s our duty as representatives to remove any barriers that impede vulnerable citizens’ access to this vital compensation. We must support all victims by guiding their path to healing. That’s why I introduced a resolution calling upon the governor to sign the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act, S.7573 (Myrie)/A.8619 (Meeks), which would expand the forms of evidence accepted by Office of Victim Services (OVS) to demonstrate survivors’ harm to include medical records, orders of protection, statements from victim service providers, and more.

rather than interrupts, cycles of violence.

Law enforcement cannot be the lone solution to end cyclical violence.

Thankfully, commanders across precincts are beginning to recognize their responsibility to work restoratively and listen to community partners to prevent violence. For example, when Devonte Lewis was fatally shot in Sheepshead Bay, Derby St. Fort, at that time captain of the 61st precinct, worked with the anti-violence coalition We Build the Block and neighborhood activist Darwin Ellis to bring together the young men who were deeply affected by Lewis’ death for paid weekly therapy discussions.

Under his leadership, officers were given a network to connect young people to necessary resources. Participation in this program can result in lesser sentences for young people, and of the few participants who have recidivated, none have committed gun-related offenses. We are heartened by successes like these because it indicates strong community networks and positive intervention has lifechanging benefits.

The violence that plagues our communities does not happen in a silo, and we must interrogate the external factors that drive crimes of desperation in conversations of justice. I’m reminded of the poet and activist, Audre Lorde, who said, “There is no such thing as a single-struggle issue because we do not live single-issue lives.” Crime, especially in marginalized communities, is tied to the pressures of financial hardship, institutional racism, and the trauma of experiencing violence itself. While these realities do not excuse the harm done, they provide insight into preventive approaches.

I cannot stand for a system that punishes victims—of violent crime or of systemic injustice. We can support neighbors in their most vulnerable moments. We can remove one link from the chain of harm. Together, we can disrupt cycles of violence and restore health and safety in our communities.

Our solutions must be creative, multi-faceted, and rooted in the expressed needs of those who are most impacted. We begin to end the cycle of violence by supporting and investing in people who cause harm as well as people who suffer.

This legislation is now at a crucial point. Currently, the bill is awaiting Governor Hochul’s signature, but time is running out. If it isn’t signed by December 31, we lose our opportunity to support the countless survivors who are barred access to these life-saving funds. Because of this urgency, my colleague Councilmember Tiffany Cabán and I spearheaded a letter backed by 26 fellow city councilmembers supporting the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act and urging Governor Hochul to sign this critical piece of legislation into law.

If we’ve learned anything from past reforms, such as the 1994 Crime Bill, it’s that responding to violence with violence, including over-policing, harsh sentencing, and labeling children as “superpredators,” only perpetuates harm.

When people who cause violence are incarcerated, they face additional threats of violence in prison settings. This feeds,

Councilmember Narcisse represents Council District 46, which includes the neighborhoods of Bergen Beach, Canarsie, Flatlands, Georgetown, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Mill Basin, Mill Island, and Sheepshead Bay.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS O P I N I O N

Ordinary Americans are the nation’s unshakeable greatness 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.

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 13

Happy Thanksgiving CHRISTINA

GREER, PH.D.

ARMSTRONG

WILLIAMS

Thanksgiving is a time for both festivities and reflection.

The United States has had the best of times and the worst of times, prosperity and depressions, joys of peace, and privations and cruelties of war.

But throughout these vicissitudes there has been one bright constant: the decency of ordinary Americans unhesitating in risking that last full measure of devotion under the banner of liberty and justice for all.

That has been our inspiration and our deliverance from despair over our chronically flawed leaders earmarked by avarice, narcissism, megalomania, and duplicity.

The history of America is largely a history of the courage, industry, ambition, thriftiness, and selflessness of ordinary Americans.

The roots trace back to immigrants fleeing Europe at great risk in quest of religious liberty and economic opportunity. They did not confront death for money. They sought to create a “city on a hill” as a beacon to all peoples seeking government by the consent of the governed.

Who started the American revolution?

Ordinary farmers!

Remember the opening stanza of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Concord Hymn:” By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flags to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled

farmers stood And fired the shot heard ’round the world.

Ordinary soldiers suffered most at Valley Forge.

The American Declaration of Independence underscored the equal dignity of everyone, from the highest to the lowest: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

The United States Constitution was established and ordained by “We the people of the United States.” Among other things, it expressly prohibits titles of nobility. In other words, every man or woman is a king or queen, but no one wears a crown.

Alexis de Tocqueville in “Democracy in America” underscored that voluntary associations established by ordinary Americans were the nation’s most distinctive and vital sources of strength.

President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address celebrated the sacrifices of ordinary soldiers who died that this nation might live, who risked that last full measure of devotion so that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan preached, “[I]n view of the constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of

citizens. There is no caste here. Our constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”

The Statue of Liberty blazes forth with “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.”

Stand in awe at the Meuse-Argonne Cemetery and Memorial in France, where the remains of more than 14,200 Americans died in a “war to end war.”

Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner gave their lives to secure civil rights for Blacks in Mississippi.

Detroit housewife Viola Liuzzo was assassinated by the Klan in retaliation for advocating universal civil rights on the last night of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights March.

Not enough can be said about Jackie Robinson’s courage in confronting racism and shortstop Pee Wee Reese’s conspicuous friendship amidst a howling assembly of bigots in the grandstands.

And who can forget 9/11 hero Todd Beamer on United Airlines flight 93 over Pennsylvania, shouting “Let’s roll” on a sui-

cide mission to prevent Al Qaeda terrorists from reaching their target?

The fundamental decency of the American people is demonstrated daily by the flood of immigrants seeking refuge and opportunity here. In contrast, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Burma, and sister tyrannies have few takers, a vote of no confidence.

America is an idea, not a race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or nationality. President Lincoln, in a message to Congress on July 4, 1861, taught that the leading object of government was “to elevate the condition of men— to lift artificial weights from all shoulders—to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all—to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life.”

But complacency we cannot afford. We must resist the temptation to strike Faustian bargains, exchanging decency for self-aggrandizement or selfishness. Never miss an opportunity for kindness, benevolence, or expressions of gratitude. It costs nothing. And you will make the world a better place.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Armstrong Williams (@ ARight-Side) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. www.armstrongwilliams.co | www.howardstirkholdings.com

Thanksgiving has never been one of my favorite holidays. I always felt the focus was on eating way too much, watching way too much football, and ignoring the historical struggles of Indigenous people who were living on the land well before “Americans” came. The holiday always felt like an overindulgence, as well as a revisionist history of the ills that the settlers inflicted on this land.

However, I will admit, as I get older, the meaning of Thanksgiving is shifting for me and I am much more appreciative of this dedicated day to celebrate with family and friends.

The history of this nation is brutal. The settlers attempted to eradicate native peoples after a dinner that was essentially a ruse. I am learning more about the history of Indigenous people so I can properly honor their legacies and contributions while celebrating and eating.

I am blessed to have deep connections with family and friends who have essentially become family members over the years.

Each Thanksgiving, when I sit down at the table, I am reminded of just how thankful I am to still have both of my parents alive and healthy. I look around and see the faces of people I genuinely love. And I look at the delicious food in front of me and am so grateful for the bounty that is present.

In addition to the abundance of food, I think of the various recipes passed down from generation to generation when family members had very different economic and political circumstances. I think

of my loving grandmother and how she taught me her sweet potato pie recipe or how my father smokes the turkey on the grill no matter the rain, snow, hail, or elements outside. I see the dishes from friends that represent their various heritages and stories from their loved ones and ancestors as well.

This year, as with every year, there are families who cannot afford to sit down and have laughter and debates over the Thanksgiving table. Some people must work during the dinner hour. Some people do not have a home to even put a table in. Others may not feel like celebrating because of having lost a loved one and the memories are too hard to handle. So many different experiences on Thanksgiving must be acknowledged.

Because of this, I am trying to reframe my attitude and focus on gratitude.

I am grateful to be able to have another year with family and friends. I am grateful for the abundance in front of me. And I am committed to making sure I can support a family (or an institution helping families) to ensure others have the opportunity to make memories on this complicated day.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to all.

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; host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio; and a 2023–2024 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

14 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Caribbean Update

Some Caricom countries delay signing new EU-ACP agreement, fear links to same-sex issues

BY BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews Last week, more than 40 of nearly 80 third world or developing nations signed on to the new economic partnership agreement between the European Union and its former colonies in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). However, a number of Caribbean and African nations have backed away from signing for now because of concerns about the EU imposing some controversial western values on these countries.

The new Samoa Agreement replaces the Cotonou Agreement that the two groups had signed back in 2000 and basically governs aid and trade arrangements between Europe and countries which it had formerly colonized.

A number of social and academic activists in the Caribbean in particular, have railed against the news deal, urging governments not to sign the documents because of concerns that references to human and other rights in the agreements will eventually force the region to amend domestic legislation allowing for same sex marriages, the introduction of sex education in state

schools, and related issues. EU and ACP officials who had worked on the documents during months of negotiations leading up to the signing in Samoa last week, say there are no such references in the agreement and activists are reading way too much into the various clauses without justification.

Nonetheless, Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, The Bahamas, Grenada, and Dominica have delayed signing the deal, with authorities in Jamaica and Trinidad in particular being urged by civil society groups not to sign because such will open the door to Europeans imposing LGBTQ-plus demands like same sex marriages on local societies. Guyana has also not signed because authorities have made a rather strange request for a reservation relating to economic migrants and refugees.

Flabbergasted EU and ACP officials say they have nothing to work with from the Caricom head office nation and it is up to Guyana to come on board when ready as they are not even sure what the reservation means and intends. Cuba has also delayed signing but the reason is unknown. Those who have not signed have until mid-next year to do so.

Of those in the Caribbean which have not

signed on, Jamaica was among the first to air its objections in public, with at least 15 civil society groups piling on the pressure for Jamaica to refuse to do so. The Andrew Holness government has come under severe pressure from these groups in a country which is globally known to abhor same sex relations especially when it involves men with men.

Announcing the signing delay last week, Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said this will delay further consultations with domestic groups to ensure no local laws are breached.

“Throughout the negotiations which concluded in 2021, the government had taken on board the views of the various stakeholders, including members of civil society.

After what was in fact three years of challenging negotiations, the government was satisfied that the language of the text in the final agreement would not supersede Jamaica’s domestic legislation. Notwithstanding, the government has taken note of concerns which continue to be raised by stakeholders in the domestic space, so we will continue consultations with the aim of providing assurances regarding the government’s un-

failing intent to always protect the interest of Jamaica and Jamaicans with the laws of Jamaica as our guide,” Johnson Smith said.

With Jamaica backing away for now, Trinidadian Catholic Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon has also criticized the Samoa agreement, saying its human rights clauses will cause social trouble in the region. “They will have to impose abortion legislation, transgender, LBGTQ, comprehensive sex education, a whole range of values will be imposed because of the signing of that document.

The EU is imposing upon us an ideology that is not ours and a value system that is not ours. And if we don’t understand and wake up and smell the coffee quickly we will find ourselves with values, with laws, with expectations and with things being touted as right that has nothing to do with us Caribbean people. Wake up and smell the coffee. It ain’t far away, it is right here. Thank God for that.

Our government got wind of it, have seen and understood and they are saying they don’t have enough information to be able to sign. Thank God for that. Jamaica came out clearly and said we are not for sale,” said Archbishop Gordon, according to the CMC News Agency.

Number of undocumented migrants in U.S. tops 10 million FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER As Donald Trumpeto plans a widespread expansion of his first administration’s hard-line immigration policies if elected to a second term in 2024, including rounding up undocumented immigrants already in the U.S. and placing them in detention camps to await deportation, the Pew Research Center has released new data about the estimated number of undocumented migrants in the U.S. According to Pew, there were some 10.5 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. as of March 2021. This represented about 3% of the total U.S. population and 22% of the foreign-born population—a modest increase over 2019, but nearly identical to 2017.

The new estimates, however, do not reflect the apprehensions and expulsions of migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border after March 2021, as migrant encounters at the border have reached historic highs.

The country with the most number of undocumented migrants in the U.S. remains Mexico, with 4.1 million or 39% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants in 2021.

After Mexico, the countries of origin with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in the U.S. in 2021 were El Salvador, 800,000; India, 725,000; Guatemala, 700,000; and Honduras, 525,000.

Three Central American countries—El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala—together represented 2.0 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2021, or almost 20% of the total. The unauthorized immigrant population from the Northern Triangle grew by about 250,000 from 2017 and about 700,000 from 2007.

Venezuela, meanwhile, was the country of birth for 190,000 U.S. unauthorized immigrants in 2021. This population saw particularly fast growth, from 130,000 in 2017 and 55,000 in 2007.

Among countries with the largest numbers of U.S. unauthorized immigrants, India, Brazil, Canada, and former Soviet Union countries all experienced growth from 2017 to 2021.

The six states with the largest unauthorized immigrant populations in 2021 were California, 1.9 million; Texas, 1.6 million; Florida, 900,000; New York, 600,000; New Jersey, 450,000; and Illinois, 400,000.

In 2021, these six states were home to 56% of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants, down from 80% in 1990.

Meanwhile, the share of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. workforce was slightly less than 5% in 2021, compared with 3% of the total U.S. population. Overall, about 7.8 million unauthorized immigrants were in the U.S. labor force in 2021.

That was up slightly from 2019 but smaller than every year from 2007 through 2015, Pew said.

Since 2003, unauthorized immigrants have made up 4.4% to 5.4% of all U.S. workers, a relatively narrow range. Fewer than 1% of workers in Maine, Montana, Vermont, and West Virginia in 2021 were unauthorized immigrants.

Nevada, 9%, and Texas, 8%, had the highest shares of unauthorized immigrants in the workforce.

The news comes as the Mexican government last week responded to the Texas Leg-

islature’s passage of Senate Bill 4, which creates a state crime for entering the state illegally from Mexico and allows state and local authorities to deport undocumented immigrants, saying it “categorically rejects” Texas’s latest proposal to arrest and deport immigrants to Mexico.

“The Government of Mexico reiterates its rejection of any measure that contemplates the involuntary return of migrants without respect for due process,” said the statement from Mexico’s secretary of foreign relations.

The statement added that Mexico “recognizes the sovereign right of any country to decide the public policies that should be implemented in its territory,” but Mexico also has a right to defend the estimated 10 million people of Mexican origin in Texas and “establish its own immigration policies in its territory.

“The Government of Mexico categorically rejects any measure that allows state or local authorities to detain and return nationals or foreigners to Mexican territory,” the statement added.

The writer is publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, the Black Immigrant Daily News.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 15

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16 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Health Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center president/CEO of reflects on diversity, cancer care, and his legacy

By HEATHER M. BUTTS, JD, MPH, MA Special to the AmNews Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., FACS, president and CEO of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), spoke with the Amsterdam News for a Q & A about the MSK, cancer care globally, and what he hopes to achieve at the hospital. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center President and CEO Selwyn M. Vickers (Photo Courtesy of MSKCC)

AmNews: Please tell us about your background.

Vickers: I grew up in rural Alabama, in an area called the Black Belt. My family were educators in the 1920s and ’40s and ’50s. I grew up with a tremendous value of education being the great equalizer in life.

We moved to a town in Alabama called Tuscaloosa, where my dad got his Ph.D. in the ’70s and I gained insight into higher education. He was one of the first four or five African Americans to get a Ph.D. from the University of Alabama, and then we moved to a town called Huntsville, where he taught at a

historically Black college. Huntsville is driven by two historically Black colleges, but mostly by a federal installation called the Marshall Space Flight Center, a NASA installation where all of the rockets for NASA are made.

As a kid growing up, I lived on a street with Japanese and German engineers, African American families who were Ph.D.s—70% of the people of the town were from across the world or the country, so it was a unique environment that was integrated with those who had a significant amount of achievement.

I think fundamentally, out of all of those influences, the biggest may have been my grandmother, who in the 1920s traveled over 200 miles to get a high school degree and then [took courses for] 10 summers in the 1930s and 1940s to get a bachelor's degree. She was a huge influence on me and how I pursued education. My grandfather on my father’s side taught himself how to write and read at 44, and became mayor of his town. Those individuals were fundamental, along with my parents.

I left Alabama, went to school at Johns Hopkins, and stayed there for 16 years, for

It’s Lung Cancer Awareness Month MSK.ORG/RLC

undergraduate and medical school, and eight years of surgical training.

I’m a surgical oncologist with a focus on pancreatic cancer. I went to a fairly unique place in the south, the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Medicine, then to the University of Minnesota as the head of surgery, then back to University of Alabama School of Medicine as the dean. After about 91/2 years I had become the CEO of the health system there, but took the job for this opportunity to lead MSK. AmNews: How do you see the role of MSK in fostering more of a sense of trust in medical research in more Black and brown communities?

Vickers: I think a lot of the history that we have builds on a skewed or inappropriate value for human life in certain communities, and that often carries over into how we treat people for their diseases or how we use investigational studies to include them.

I think in the bigger picture of society, we have to continually push the message that See HEALTH on page 29

This month, the MSK Ralph Lauren Center is encouraging the LGBTQ+ community to breathe with pride and take the first steps to quit smoking or cut down. Did you know LGBTQ+ people have higher rates of smoking compared to non-LGBTQ+ people?

Ready to make a plan to quit or cut back? MSK can help.

Point your smartphone camera at the QR code, and tap the link to learn more.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 17

Arts & Entertainment Theater pg 17 | Film/TV pg 19 | Jazz pg 24

Pg. 20 Your Stars

Alicia Keys serves up the sounds with new musical ‘Hell’s Kitchen’

By KRISTIN FAYNE-MULROY AmNews Managing Editor Alicia Keys’s résumé is extensive and ever-growing. The multipleaward-winning singer, songwriter, musician, and producer is also a best-selling author; actress; film/ television/Broadway producer; skincare brand co-founder; entrepreneur; and longtime activist. And the multi-hyphenate powerhouse is now adding “musical theater composer and lyricist” to the list.

Conceptualized by and featuring music and lyrics written

by Keys, her new musical “Hell’s Kitchen,” which has been in previews at New York’s Public Theater and officially opened November 19, has been extended twice and now runs through January 7, 2024. Directed by Tony nominee Michael Greif (“Rent”), with book

by Pulitzer Prize-finalist Kristoffer Diaz and choreography by the prolific Tony-nominated Camille A. Brown, “Hell’s Kitchen” is loosely based on Keys’s life growing up in the NYC neighborhood of the same name, and features both newly created music and many songs from her beloved catalog.

The show’s press materials describe the musical’s coming-of-age story: “In a cramped apartment hanging off the side of Times Square, 17-year-old Ali is desperate to get her piece of the New York dream. Ali’s mother is just as determined to protect her daughter from the same mistakes she made. When Ali falls for a talented young drummer, both mother and daughter must face hard truths about race, defiance, and growing up. Ali feels trapped, until the sound of a neighbor playing piano opens the door to an unexpected friendship and a radically different future.”

“It’s not [autobiographical]!

People will be like ‘Whoa, did you really...at [age] 17?!’ And I’m like ‘Nooo!’ Keys said, laughing, during a recent phone interview with the AmNews. While she did grow up the daughter of a single mom in

the storied neighborAlicia Keys (Amanda Charchian photo) hood, navigating situations and life events similar to those of the show’s protagonist, she stresses that audiences should not expect it to be a “word-for-word, thing-for-thing” adaptation of her life story. “‘Loosely based on’ really surrounds the elements of the spirit, the experiences, of growing up in the city … that [are] just very unique to growing up in the way that I grew up.”

The production, a product of over a decade of work and preparation, is only one of many achievements Keys is currently celebrating.

Along with presenting “Hell’s Kitchen,” she’s also marking the 20th anniversary of her second album, the multi- writing with somebody else, then platinum, Grammy-winning “The I am thinking about what they’re Diary of Alicia Keys” with the dig- feeling and what they’re going ital release of “The Diary of Alicia through with the situation, and Keys 20” on December 1. This year with what their emotion is. And in also saw the addition of an Alicia a way, that’s similar, because I do Keys-themed display in the “Leg- write from an emotional place all ends of Rock” exhibit at the Rock & the time. Whether it’s me or someRoll Hall of Fame, which includes body else, it is coming from that clothing and artifacts from her place of, just, feeling, so in that blockbuster “As I Am” tour. way, it’s similar. But it’s different The AmNews was lucky to because the topic may be differcatch a few minutes with Keys by ent, the way I approach it might phone, where she shared some be different, or the style that I’m thoughts about her songwriting putting it in is going to be a little process, collaborating on the mu- bit different. So I think fundamensical, and more. tally, from an emotional standAmNews: I’d love to start with point, it’s the same. But from a a few questions about your writ- point of view? It’s different. And ing process, and whether writ- that, I think, is actually what’s fun ing a song for yourself—that you about it, too. would sing to express yourself— AmNews: I love that there’s fun feels different from writing a song involved! That’s beautiful. for someone else to sing. Is it a AK: It really is! It’s actually really different feeling? Is the process fun. I really enjoy the writing prodifferent? cess, and I think what I like the AK: That’s a great question. If I’m most about the writing process

is how unpredictable it is. You don’t know what you’re gonna get. You never know what you’re gonna get! Never, never, never; I don’t care what. I’ve written the songs I’ve written and I still don’t know what I’m gonna get. There’s something really amazing about that and I think it’s kind of humbling, too.

Some people look at music like a formula, but I don’t.

And so sometimes you hit it—sometimes there really is this emotional capturing of a moment, a feeling, a flutter, an anger, whatever it is.

And sometimes you nail it and you get it, and it’s perfect and effortless. And sometimes you just have to work so hard for it, and sometimes that’s just as rewarding. But sometimes you’ve worked so hard for and it adds up to nothing. But eventually it will add up to something, somewhere, somehow. So I don’t think any of this is ever in vain, but I think the mystery of it is what makes it [really exciting].

AmNews: While listening to you describe that, I thought about your background. You’re a classically trained pianist, so that means a lot of diligence, practice, structure, and adhering to a discipline. But it sounds like, once you have that, that it then frees you up to go for the unpredictability of creating and writing. You have your tools in place so you don’t have to worry about that part of it. You can just be open and free to see what comes.

AK: That’s so interesting, because when I was…well, not in the beginning, but at certain parts of my life, I used to feel so, so struc-

tured, and it felt like I had to have this in place so that this would be ready, and I had to be ready for this so that I could do this And I would go into these sessions and I’d bring all my material and all the chords, I would have them all ready, because I knew that people didn’t really know what I could do at that point, and I [felt] I had to show them and prove [to] them, like “I’m going to show it and I’m going to be ready for it,” with specific instruction and everything, and it wasn’t until later that I learned how to let go of that and just allow things to happen.

It took quite a long time for me to get to that place where I could allow things to happen, but when I did, I really discovered another part of the process that was really, really special. Maybe it was like the letting go of the attachment to the outcome. I think that was me getting more mature, to find my way to that ability, because I wasn’t always good at that. At all.

AmNews: Do you hear any of your songs differently now, after hearing them performed in this production? Do any of them now sound new to you, hearing them from someone else?

AK: Everything! Ev-er-y-thing is new! This is the craziest part of the whole thing with “Hell’s Kitchen” that I’m really grateful for and that’s kind of fascinating, because I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with this [project]. I’ve been developing this, we’ve been developing this pretty much for 13 years.

And I realized that with many of these songs, not all of them, because there are a lot of new songs, there are a lot of songs that I think people might never have fully, truly known.

With a lot of the songs that maybe [they] do know, I would ask myself, “‘Why didn’t I ever think to perform the song like this before? And what made me not do this before?” And I don’t know why. I don’t know why I never thought of it.

I guess that it was meant to be for See ALICIA KEYS on page 18

18 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 A

Alicia Keys Continued from page 17

this. And because of that, it really, really becomes new. And I think that it’s enough new so that it’s unique, [but also] enough of what you’re needing so that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable. I really love that about it.

AmNews: The score includes original songs of yours that you reworked or revised for the production, as well as completely new material. What was the re-working process like?

AK: It’s very natural, and I think that’s the thing about this process, because it’s been going on for quite a while—we got to know [the story] and it has its own personality, and it has its own thing that it wants to describe and make you feel.

I think the music naturally evolved, and was reworked to enhance that in the best way possible, as opposed to it being like a hard thing that doesn’t feel right or that you have to struggle with. You really get it, because it makes sense.

For example, this moment [in the story] is describing this relationship between these two people, and to make that really, really come off, they have to share these words.

How do these words, when they share them, feed us into what we just saw, and into where we’re going? And should they be relating to these words to do that?

Then you can kind of quickly see how that happens, and then the organic nature of the talent in the room takes it to the level [where] it needs to be. And then boom, you’re like, “This is perfect! This is what I never even knew it should be,” because I was just following what it needed and what it wanted.

AmNews: Did you know which parts of the story would contain new material, and which parts would contain already-existing songs?

AK: There would be parts of it that we know for sure. Before we even wrote, before Kris Diaz even wrote one word, we knew that, “This song, this song, this song, and this song, definitely [are going to be in it]. This one represented the city; this one represented the love between mother and daughter; this one represented the grit, and…boom.” So we knew those were in, and anything else had to be explored.

I have to say that it’s been a really incredible process, between the book writer Kris Diaz and the director Michael Greif, really understanding the nuances of how to put the story together. That also suggested songs that even I sometimes wasn’t thinking about. There would be times where Michael might say, “You know, I really think we should do this,” and I’d be like, “Nah, I don’t like it.” But then we would try it, and I’d be like, “Damn, you’re right. We should do it!” [Laughs.]

It’s really cool to be sparked by different people. The beautiful thing about “Hell’s Kitchen” is everybody’s in their element and everybody is a pro in their element, and it’s so wonderful to be inspired by what they bring to it. So I think that, in those

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Director Michael Greif and composer Alicia Keys in rehearsal for “Hell’s Kitchen” (Joan Marcus photos)

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Maleah Joi Moon in rehearsal for world premiere production of “Hell’s Kitchen”—a new musical with music and lyrics by Alicia Keys, book by Kristoffer Diaz, music supervision by Adam Blackstone, choreography by Camille A. Brown, and direction by Michael Greif.

Company in rehearsal for world premiere of “Hell’s Kitchen”

ways, there were parts that we knew would exist, and there were parts that we discovered along the way. And then there were even things we tried, and then we realized, “No, that’s not doing what we need it to do... we need a new song, we need something that doesn’t exist, whatever that might be.”

Then it would be the process of me creating that song.

That’s kind of how it flowed, in that way.

And it evolves over time. You might think it works, and over time…we’d find that it might not land in the way we need it to, so then we’d adjust.

AmNews: How did you and Kristopher Diaz come to work together?

AK: Oh, my gosh, he’s been with me in this process the longest. At the very beginning, I was really looking for different writers that could fulfill this concept, this energy of the city, this truth of this timeframe of the ’90s. The feeling of, what did that culture really feel like?

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the experiences, of growing up in the city— the vibe of the people, the look, the feel, their backstories, so that they really, really come to life…I think that what I’m most proud of, is the way that you can really find yourself in this piece; no matter where you are or who you are, you find yourself because there’s so much truth in the origin of the people that are expressed here.

In that way, we’re very much the same, in the truth of the city, the grit of the city, and the way that that gives you a certain independence—a certain experience that was just very unique to growing up in the way that I grew up, and so in those ways we’re similar.

[Even] the character of the building, which is called Manhattan Plaza, is a part of the spirit of how you get introduced to this community. Those things are similar.

But Ali is actually a lot more naive than I was, and she’s actually a lot more innocent, even. I think she grows and she arrives to where she’s getting, for sure, which is so beautiful about her art, but I think I was probably… in those ways, we are quite different. I was a lot more, like, street, naturally, in the way that I was experiencing, and where I was going and how I was doing things, than she would be in this story.

Many people, naturally, are going to kind of think about the specifics. It’s very important that it’s clear that it’s not autobiographical. It’s not! People will be like, “Whoa, did you really...at [age] 17?!” And I’m like, “Nooo!” [Laughs.]

It’s not like a word-for-word, thing-forthing, but it’s more the experience that can be infused in it, to give it the reality that you can really [connect with].

You really have to have experienced it to know it—you can’t pretend it. You have to really have lived it.

Different people I spoke with and was meeting with, they were good, but it didn’t just quite land. And when I met Kris, it was as if we were just there. Like, “Oh, you know about this?”

He had the same or similar experiences that I had. It was just a beautiful, super-amazing connection, and I knew right there, okay, he was going to be able to get it. And he really has. I mean gosh, he’s so good.

AmNews: We’re told that “Hell’s Kitchen” is very loosely based on your life.

Can you share whether there are ways in which the character of Ali [played by Maleah Joi Moon] is very much like you, For more info about “Hell’s Kitchen” and and if there are ways in which you and for tickets, visit www.publictheater.org. she are very different?

AK: You know, the “loosely based on” This interview was transcribed using Otter. really surrounds the elements of the spirit, ai and has been edited for length and clarity.

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November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 19

‘Lakota Nation vs. United States’ depicts centuries-long battle for justice

Still image from “Lakota Nation vs. United States” (Image courtesy of IFC Films)

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews Oglala Lakota writer Layli Long Soldier’s measured, almost solemn, narration, contrasted with images so stunning as to rival those of Ansel Adams, provides a dramatic sensory backdrop to the documentary “Lakota Nation vs. United States.”

Now playing at DOC NYC and streaming on AMC+ and Amazon Prime Video, the Jesse Short Bull- and Laura Tomaselli-directed film is a literal survey of the ongoing battle between America’s federal government and the Lakota Nation, historically called the Sioux and more properly known as Oceti Sakowin, over their ancestral homeland, the Black Hills in South Dakota and Wyoming.

The Battle of the Greasy Grass (also known as Battle of Little Bighorn), the Battle of Wounded Knee, Standing Rock, and Mt. Rushmore are all well-known sites of standoffs or outright violence between the Lakota and the federal gov-

ernment. “Lakota Nation vs. United States,” however, shows viewers that the struggle took place both on the battlefield—and off.

Lakota activists Phyllis Rogers, Candi Brings Plenty, Nick Estes, Nick Tilsen, Milo Yellow Hair, and Kathryn Two Bulls; lawyer and writer Mary Kathryn Nagle; and author Edward Lazarus (“Black Hills/White Justice”) comment on the historical events that mark the struggle for power centered around land for Native Americans in general, and for the Lakota people in particular. The doc includes extensive archival photos and news footage, footage from popular television and movies, and legal documents.

Much of the struggle took place in the courts, with the government issuing hundreds of treaties indicating they would stop encroachment on Lakota land, or compensate for the land with money or other land.

There’s a question of why the government went to

the trouble of creating the treaties—as often as these treaties were signed, they were broken, and military and law enforcement were brought in to quell any resistance to the seizure of Lakota land.

“Lakota Nation vs. United States” highlights perhaps the most egregious example: the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, where the Sioux nations agreed to cede much of their rightful land if the government recognized the Black Hills area as their sovereign land and ceased incursion. As soon as white settlers discovered there was gold in that area however, they broke the treaty and began settling (and mining) the land.

“While the Indians are barely surviving, because the 7 million acres of the Black Hills have been taken away, the whites in the Black Hill region are getting fabulously wealthy off the gold deposits there,” said Lazarus. “That wasn’t just any gold strike. That was the richest gold strike as prob-

ably there’s been in the history of humankind.”

One of the mines, Lazarus explained, “yielded many hundreds of millions of dollars in gold over time, and became the foundation of the Hearst family fortune, one of the most powerful families in the history of the United States.”

As Lazarus indicated, the Native Americans were suffering—not simply because their land was taken but because of the other fronts on which the federal government and white settlers waged war against them.

The buffalo, a source of food and trade for the Lakota, were being systematically slaughtered by the whites.

Eventually, the situation forced the Lakota into a state of dependency, which in turn forced them to reluctantly agree to other outrageous concessions, leading to further suffering.

“Lakota Nation vs. United States” details how the law was used to separate the Lakota from their religion and traditions. The law was

used to forcibly remove their children and put them into boarding schools with the stated aim of “killing the Indian and saving the man.”

Another law, the Dawes Act of 1887, further weakened social cohesion and increased economic insecurity among the Lakota. It also paved the way for giving another 90 million more acres of land to white settlers.

“Lakota Nation vs. United States” also makes the case that popular media was heavily used to perpetuate negative stereotypes of Native Americans, including the Lakota: They were, as Estes said, “dehumanized,” and “made into caricatures.” Further, he argues, the media was used “to make [whites’] invasion look like self-defense.”

Estes made one of the most poignant statements in the film: “The organizing principle of any settler society is the elimination of the native. The intent of treaties, the intent of removal, the intent of boarding schools, has always

been the elimination of native people to gain access to the land. That is, fundamentally, the intent of the United States is access to native land.”

The Lakota continued to fight and finally, in 1980, the Supreme Court ruled the U.S. should settle with them for $105 million. They refused on the premise that the land was sacred and not for sale.

“Lakota Nation vs. United States” chronicles the Landback campaign, which the Lakota have instead leaned into. Landback is basically their nomenclature for what other groups might term reparations, but with an emphasis on land. The settlement funds are still available but the Lakota, with a population of roughly 150,000 today, continue to refuse the money. According to the title card at the end of the film, that money would be worth just over $1 billion today. The current net worth of the Hearst family, by the way, is reportedly $21 billion.

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HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA WWW.KYAFRENCH.COM | CONSULTATIONS 866-331-5088 NOVEMBER 23, 2023—NOVEMBER 29, 2023

Rebirth of A New Nation: This numerical cycle week allows things to unfold naturally just as a joker always shows its poker face. Speaking of jokers and poker, face the full moon in Gemini at 4 degrees; not everything you hear is true. It’s a great time to talk things out and to try to control your mentality, emotions, temper, and sexual nature during this full moon, as some things that are hidden or were missed are right in your face. Seek within to find the balance in you and keep tabs on your expenses. Write down what you are grateful for, expressing gratitude for the circumstances you experience to better yourself. “The vibration of gratitude attracts more positive things into your life.” Cherie Roe Dirksen

The theme song is “For the Love of Money” by The O’Jays. Cappy, you have

Some stories have twists, turns, and sharp bends that curve you to stop right in your tracks. In the department of love and family, business and personal, it’s best to listen carefully, choose wisely, and allow the 411 to fall right Dec 22 June 22 and lose the distraction that wants to stay around like a blood-sucking vaminto your lap. Continue to work on what you are building on, be it a relationJan 21 July 23 pire. You are on a true mission that requires your undivided attention. From ship, project, or task you need to complete. During the start of November 29 November 24 around 3:29 p.m. until November 26 around 7 p.m., put youraround 1:54 a.m., dig deep within to find the gift within you. If you are in a self first and watch the magic flow that will have you glowing. relationship, take your time, be committed, or call it quits if you are not serious. Otherwise, if you are single, you can meet people at the perfect moment when you are less expecting it.

 your work cut out for you this cycle week. You are going to run, skip, hop and Capricorn make arrangements to get whatever you need done. Get focused, concentrate

Change, opportunity, travel, endings, and fulfillment. The detours you will experience are clues for the overall task at hand. You will see once you set aside Aquarius your emotions, that it is business, nothing personal, just knowing people opJan 22 erate differently. Think about the planet Mercury when it travels through Feb 19 different signs; not everybody will inner-stand your point of view. From November 26 around 7:40 p.m. until November 29 around 1 a.m., life is life and people will be people, some are for you, and some are not.



 Cancer

It’s time to shine, the drumroll is playing for one heck of an entrance that you are not expecting. You don’t always have to be in the driver’s seat; allow someone to drive you around to check out the beautiful scenery. There are things that have Leo July 24 been occurring in the background, like a background check, yet this is a surprise Aug 23 opportunity. From November 22 around 12:10 p.m. until November 24 around 3:00 p.m., you have been positioning yourself for a few years to accomplish a task and now the time has come to see your payoff. Review the facts before agreeing.

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You feeling and smelling yourself this cycle week? Just make sure you freshen up everything else around you and tidy up your home. People want to There is much talk about this, and the bottom line is do what’s in your best meet you, invite you out to events and some want to sponsor or partner with interest. Changes are occurring in all aspects of your life. Mentally, physicalPisces Feb 20 you. The choice is yours. The choices we make lead us to experience different ly, emotionally there’s a forward movement decision that’s been constantly on Virgo Mar 20 Aug 24 paths, like choosing door number 1, 2, or 3. They may all end well, it’s just the your mind. Now is the time to decide. Once you do, there’s no looking back.

Sept 23 route you take. Are you ready to let go and be great? On the dawning of NoWhen you outgrow something, that’s a signal for change. From November 24 vember 29 around 1:54 a.m., go do the thing you dream of, that burning deep passion within around 3:29 p.m. until November 26 around 7 p.m., you are a mastermind at you waiting to be released. It doesn’t want to suffocate anymore. heart, like a gymnast in gymnastics. Go for it; everything else is ahead of you, not beyond.

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Leave some wiggle room in your schedule to do the things you need and People, things and habits will test you to see what you will do, as if you want to do. All work and no adult time isn’t always fun. Your adult time can were in a not-so-great relationship and want out. There’s a time in peobe your relaxing time, a conversation that inspires you, time with family ple’s lives where peace, happiness, and one’s own well-being are more Aries Libra and friends, or the tv show that sparks a new idea. This cycle week allows important than going back. If it doesn’t help you grow, then it is not for Mar 21 Sept 24 Apr 21 Oct 23 the epiphany to recall your memory of a special moment or something that you. From November 26 around 7:40 p.m. until November 29 around 1:00 puts a smile on your face. From November 22 around 12:10 p.m. until Noa.m., get uncomfortable to get comfortable in a place that allows you to vember 24 around 3:00 p.m., you will begin to meet the right people, see the right signs, grow and connect with others who are like minded. All aspects of finance, romance, busijoin the right conversation and be in harmony at a certain time. Check on your health and ness, personal and home life surface in the mind, yet it’s nothing you can’t handle; only do not renege on the task you set to do for yourself. make it happen until you are satisfied with the outcome.

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There is no need to fight against yourself when the folks that govern are Sometimes words cannot express the way you feel. It’s better to wait at odds with you. Remember there is always a way out when you have and see if information will be revealed to you, or if you reveal something learned the lessons after hitting the same four brick walls. Apply the skills to someone. Whatever it is, it’s nothing you can’t handle. If the energy is Taurus Scorpio of what you learned to think your way out into a different mindset or outfamiliar, then you already know how this is going to play out. This cycle Apr 22 Oct 24 May 21 Nov 22 come. From November 24 around 3:29 p.m. until November 26 around 7 week, you just so happen to see or hear something without asking or digp.m., when you do find your way out, you notice how bright the stars are ging around for it. In the dawning of November 29 around 1:54 a.m., the in the sky at night and how bright the sun shines during the day. You are equipped with universe knows when to reveal things as there are no accidents nor coincidences in the everything you need to survive in this world. universe. It is what it is. Your eyes and ears are a witness to what you see.

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What’s your next move? Traveling far and short distances is on your itinerary.

When a plan comes together, all you had to do was apply faith to your Meet up with family, friends, associates, and groups. Certain memberships or action. Nothing can stop the transfer process of getting to you. Let’s just say organizations will want to meet with you. An offer of your dreams or someGemini Sagitarius the package was sent and you received it. It’s a month full of new possithing you’ve been thinking about presents itself to you. Make the best decibilities with potential offers to travel places and meet new folks. From NoMay 22 Nov 23 June 21 Dec 21 sions that are conducive to what you do. From November 26 around 7:40 p.m. vember 22 around 12:10 p.m. until November 24 around 3:00 p.m., it feels until November 29 around 1 a.m., not every offer is good and sometimes not good when the things you ask for come just in time to enhance the current accepting an offer puts you in a position to receive better opportunities ahead that may come process. It boils down to choosing a direct or connecting flight. What path will you choose? with more perks. Get out of your own way and take a back seat to see the bigger picture ahead. Change is inevitable; it doesn’t wait, it happens whether you are ready or not.

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November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 21

Food

Celebrity chefs embrace International Taste of Harlem

By JARED MCCALLISTER Special to the AmNews Harlem culinary celebrities, who regularly serve up large portions of love for Harlem, are excited to participate in the International Taste of Harlem (ITOH) and celebrate the world-famous neighborhood’s global array of restaurants, eateries, and bakeries.

Presented by the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, the ITOH is highlighting 30 internationally themed uptown establishments now through November 26, encouraging Harlemites to support local businesses while urging neighborhood residents to circulate more of their disposable income in Harlem.

The celebrity owners—Kenneth Woods of Sylvia’s Restaurant; chef Marcus Samuelsson, Red Rooster of Harlem; chef and baker Aliyyah Baylor, the Make My Cake bakery; Melba Wilson, Melba’s; Norma Jean Darden, Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too; baker Alvin Lee Smalls, Lee Lee’s Baked Goods; chef Elhadji Cisse, Ponty Bistro; and Betty Park, Manna’s Renowned Asian and Soul Foods— are excited about ITOH, and ready to share their wares with customers.

Tim Zagat, co-founder of the Zagat Survey restaurant guide, is thrilled about the ITOH. “As a Jewish kid who grew up on W. 117th Street, I’m proud of my family being Harlemites. I acquired my taste for eating in the Harlem community. There are great restaurants in the neighborhood, and it’s ever-growing,” Zagat said. “I’m proud to promote Sylvia’s, Patsy’s, Melba’s, and all the other restaurants in the International Taste of Harlem.”

Woods is president and CEO of Sylvia’s Restaurant, which has been serving “Southern comfort food” for decades. In addition to running the family-owned restaurant, Woods manages the establishment’s catering hall and the Sylvia Food Products line.

The Harlem restaurant was founded in 1962 by his mother, South Carolina-born Sylvia Woods, who earned the “Queen of Soul Food” moniker.

Red Rooster Harlem was a dream come true, said Ethiopian-born Samuelsson, who co-founded the popular establishment that’s a proud ITOH restaurant.

“It was my lifelong dream to own a restaurant in Harlem. I’ve accomplished that dream, and I’m happy to say I now live in Harlem with my wife and son,” he said.

During the ITOH, the celebrity chef, restaurateur, and television personality will be showcasing Red Rooster’s “creative comfort food,” and its Ginny’s Supper Club event space. In addition to his businesses, Samuelsson made a personal commitment to Harlem by moving into the neighborhood.

Harlem-born Baylor is a longtime Harlem resident who’s looking forward to sharing her specialty cakes, cheesecakes, cupcakes, and pies with dessert-seeking ITOH patrons.

“My family are bakers, and I learned baking from my mother and grandmother in our Harlem apartment,” said Baylor. “I’m proud that my mother and I now have bakeries in Harlem to keep the family tradition and recipes alive.”

Wilson is another ITOH participant with neighborhood roots. “Sylvia Woods, the Queen of Soul Food, was my aunt. I come from the Woods family tree, and I’m proud to have my own restaurant in Harlem,” said Wilson, who proudly boasts that she was “born, bred, and buttered in Harlem.”

Her 18-year-old Melba’s restaurant is known for “Southern classics served in a relaxed and homey retro setting.”

Although Darden is an award-winning former fashion model, the focus of her Harlem restaurant—and its food—is all about her grandmother, “Miss Mamie.”

Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too restaurant is known for “comfort food based on family

recipes.” Darden is hoping ITOH patrons will enjoy her special soul food based on the recipes of “schoolteacher, social worker, and businesswoman, Miss Mamie.”

Smalls founded Lee Lee’s Baked Goods and created a special culinary niche in Harlem: He bakes delicious rugelach pastries. South Carolina-born Smalls, who was a professional baker at New York-Presbyterian Hospital years ago, found a rugelach recipe and ultimately put his “his own twist” on the traditional Jewish dessert. He invited ITOH customers to visit and taste his “cross-cultural” treat “in the Village of Harlem.”

Senegal-born Cisse’s Ponty Bistro is described as “a unique three-star blend of delicious and affordable cuisines and cocktails.”

After honing his culinary skills by working with internationally renowned chefs, Cisse aspired to open his own restaurant.

At Ponty Bistro in Harlem, Cisse created a menu that melds cuisines. ITOH patrons can choose from traditional Senegalese foods as well as cuisine inspired by French and North African cultures.

Park is a model of diversity and commu-

nity pride in Harlem. Manna’s specialty is soul food offered in a no-frills, pay-by-thepound style, and she’s been in Harlem for more than 35 years.

“I’m honored to be Harlem’s ‘Seoul’ sister,” said Korea-born Park. “I love Harlem and Harlem love Manna’s.” Park said she is happy that her family-owned eatery is part of the ITOH, calling Harlem “a magical place for international foods, festivities, and fun.”

During the COVID pandemic, when it was hard times for Harlem, the celebrity chefs and others used their establishments and their fame to aid the Support Harlem Now! Initiative of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, providing Harlem residents, businesses, and first responders with needed assistance and supplies.

Park and Manna’s Restaurant, Wilson and Melba’s restaurant, Elhadji’s Ponty Bistro, Woods’s Sylvia Restaurant, and restaurateur Matthew Trebek’s Lucille’s Restaurant were among the establishments making substantial contributions to the cause.

For more information on the ITOH, contact Baron Carr of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce at (212) 862-7200.

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New School presents Romare Bearden exhibition & symposium

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the Amnews

Romare Bearden, “Baptism,” 1976. Silkscreen on paper. (Courtesy of Romare Bearden Foundation)

“In Common: New Approaches with Romare Bearden,” proudly presented by The New School, is set to authentically engage art enthusiasts, esteemed scholars and activists alike with an exhibition, three-day symposium, and a forthcoming publication that will offer new insights into the multifaceted legacy of the influential artist, social activist, and scholar.

This exhibition draws from the extensive Romare Bearden Foundation collection and other private collections. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore a carefully curated selection of Bearden’s works, providing a window into his keen exploration of race and racial stereotypes. Bearden’s art often drew inspiration from “history, literature, the Bible, jazz,” and the vibrant communities of African Americans who influenced his visionary works. In Common will also feature works by six contemporary artists: Black Quantum Futurism, Kahlil Robert Irving, Lorraine O’Grady, Hank Willis Thomas, Mickalene Thomas, and Charisse Pearlina Weston.

These artists, both established and emerging, have visions that resonate with Bearden’s, offering a compelling multigenerational dia-

tributions to art and society.

The exhibition, after opening November 9, will be at the AnnaMaria and Stephen Kellen Gallery in the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center, 66 5th Avenue, through January 15, 2024.

The three-day symposium, “In Common: Romare Bearden and New Approaches to Art, Race & Economy” will include: Day One: The Power of Purposeful Creativity Thursday, November 30, 2023 6:00-8:00PM EST Wollman Hall, 5th Floor Day Two: The Artist as Activist Friday, December 1, 2023 9:00AM-7:30PM Starr Foundation: UL-102 Day Three: Art and Public Engagement Saturday, December 2, 2023 9:00AM-2:00PM Wollman Hall, 5th Floor

logue on the political agency of art.

Co-organized by prestigious institutions including the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy; the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, Schools of Public En-

gagement at The New School, the Romare Bearden Foundation, and the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University. This collaborative initiative reveals the many facets and dimensions of Bearden’s art and con-

The symposium is free and open to the public, with pre-registration required.

For more info and to pre-register, visit www.event.newschool.edu/incommonsymposium.

Black art exhibitions on view: Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé and Barkley L. Hendricks

By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé ‘Works from the '90s” | Until December 16, 2023 Thomas Erben Gallery | 526 West 26th Street, Floor 4, New York NY 10001 Nigerian-British lens-multimedia and 3D art innovator Oladélé Ajiboyé Bamgboyé returns to the Thomas Erben Gallery 23 years after his groundbreaking solo interactive exhibition, “The Unmasking, Part II” exhilarated the art world. His new exhibition “Works from the ’90s,” highlights his most seminal works from the era.

The show features three pieces.

“A group of seven large-scale silver gelatin photographs collectively titled “Defining Self Sufficiency (1993)” portrays the artist in his Glasgow kitchen,” according to the release from the gallery. In “Celebrate (1994),” Bamgboyé choreographs his body in a series of eight multiple-exposed color photographs. “The video ‘The Hair or the Man (1994)’ addresses our often subtle and benevolent attempts at defining an Other,” the release continued.

Installation view, north wall (Fernando Sandoval/MW photo)

Thomas Erben began his professional involvement in the art world in 1989 as a private dealer focusing on contemporary American art. From the outset, the program has been multidisciplinary and internationally oriented, showcasing both

Barkley L. Hendricks (1945 to 2017) was a true pioneer in contemporary portraiture. Emerging in the late 1960s, Hendricks drew inspiration for his work from and simultaneously challenged the traditions of European art. His distinctive style, which emphasized the presence of beautiful Black human beings as subjects, is a testament to the diversity that is an integral part of American culture. Hendricks not only celebrated the artistic traditions of Europe but also engaged in a dynamic dialogue with them.

“Through a selection of some of Hendricks’s finest portraits displayed in the context of the Frick’s holdings, this exhibition celebrates and explores the remarkable work of this pioneering American painter with an unprecedented display of paintings drawn from private and public collections,” according to the Frick Collection.

Organized by Aimee Ng, curator at the Frick, and Antwaun Sargent, consulting cuemerging and established artists. rator “Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Barkley L. Hendricks: Portraits at the Frick” considers the complex place of European painting in Hendricks’s art and the Frick | Until January 7, 2024 Frick Madison | 945 Madison Avenue at evolving role of the Frick in modern American culture.

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November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 23

‘Merrily We Roll Along’ is a B’way hit!

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ playing at the Hudson Theater (141 W 44th Street) is a stupendous Broadway hit. This musical, with fantastic music and lyrics by the incredible Stephen Sondheim and a wonderful book

by George Furth, has dynamic direction by Maria Friedman; entertaining choreography

by Tim Jackson; and lovely, vibrant orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick.

From the time the story begins, you will find yourself captivated. This musical screams clever, funny, and so well thought out. It’s one of those storylines that gives you the present and then takes you through the characters’ pasts so you understand what their journeys through life have been and how they are connected.

This was such an imaginative musical to watch, I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

It is also filled with showstopper numbers that will have you going wild with shouts and applause—at times, I could hardly contain my joy.

We witness the journey of playwright Franklin Shepard and his co-writer Charley Kringas.

Even though these two have enjoyed success on Broadway, Frank wants so much more.

Their best friend from college, Mary Flynn, is

a writer, and she and Charley are the grounded ones in this threesome. Meanwhile, Frank falls in love with Gussie Carnegie, the leading lady in their musical.

Gussie, too, has dreams of fame and fortune, and will do whatever it takes to get her heart’s desire. Gussie often finds herself surrounded by Hollywood phonies, which makes sense, since she’s as phony as they are.

This musical is full of laughs, friendship, betrayal, infidelity, love, selfishness, and lessons learned, but maybe too late. I hope that my description piques your curiosity. It will have you smiling, laughing, and appreciating the journeys we all take in life. You will also realize that, while the journey may change a person, that person still chooses to be changed. What am I talking about? Go find out!

This cast is absolutely delightful. Frank is marvelously performed by Jonathan Groff.

You see his metamorphosis from a naïve composer trying to get a break to getting that break, being blinded by ambition, and finding himself in a lonely place in the end.

Daniel Radcliffe is phenomenal as Charley, and gives the character just the right temperament. You can feel his frustration with Frank, but also his deep love.

Lindsay Mendez is not only hilarious as

Mary, she has one of Scene from “Merrily We Roll Along” at Hudson Theater with (L-R) the most show-stopDaniel Radcliff, Jonathan Groff, and Lindsay Mendez. (Matthew ping voices in the cast.

Murphy photo) Gussie is stunningly played by Krystal Joy Brown, who is quite a joy to watch. Her voice is absolutely lovely.

One of the funniest of the characters, who is sad at the same time, is Joe the producer, played captivatingly by Reg Rogers. This stage veteran brings all of his years of experience to the stage and delivers his lines with ease, humor, and grace. He is a pleasure to watch.

The ensemble members absolutely did a Katie Rose Clarke is moving as Beth, Frank Shepard’s wife, who finds that her groovy job, especially as they take us back husband changed with his success. When through time. Every scene in this musical is Frank cheats on her, her pain is palpable. memorable. If this musical does not come Frank and Beth have a son, Frank Jr., a role away with not only Tony nominations, but adorably played by Brady Wagner at the Tony awards I will be shocked.

For more info, visit www.merrilyonbroadperformance I attended. He alternates in way.com. the role with Max Rackenberg.

Black Spectrum Theatre’s ‘Last Block Association’ set to return February ’24

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews Carl Clay is a man of the theater and of his Queens community who creates plays that talk directly and boldly about issues in our Black communities. At Black Spectrum Theatre (177th Street and Baisley Boulevard), people get to come in and experience a slice of life they can definitely relate to.

Clay brings out the solid foundations that our ancestors have given us and tells the truth about how we as a people don’t stick together. He writes funny plays, but they also always have an important message that has to be realized.

In his recent work “The Last Block Association,” which he wrote and directed, he wrote about Pauline, president of a block association in Queens. (It was lovely to read, in the show program, that his inspiration for this play was his parents, who ran their local block association when he was a child, and that he participates in block associations now as an adult.) This play gives a great deal of information about the pride of Black homeowners, the spirit of wanting to protect the community, but also the negative feelings that come with people of different cultures moving into one’s neighborhood.

As Pauline tried to not only maintain the block association, but to improve it, she was faced with many obstacles, from arguing neighbors to police targeting a young Black man and falsely arresting him; to a young, single mother illegally living In a neighbor’s basement while they were gone.

Scene from “The Last Block Association” at Black Spectrum Theatre (L–R) Kevin Shivcharran, Swavian Loney, Joy Renee, Fulton C. Hodges, Amer Zafer, and Ashlee Danielle.

With all these issues, the last thing this block needed was gentrification. Pauline was ready to welcome neighbors, but she saw the danger to the block when a new family moved in and tried to get neighbors to sell their homes. Pauline and her neighbors had different situations happening in their lives, but most could come together to say, “You will not break up this block.”

Pauline’s neighbors include Tina, a single mom struggling to survive; Jamal, a young man active in the Black Lives Matter Movement; and Mr. Brown, an older homeowner who is the love target of Ms. Josey, an older homeowner who is desperate not to be alone and truly appreciates Mr. Brown’s demeanor.

Mr. Hart is rude, crude, and will go beyond

(L–R) Aaron Watkins, Jade Mason, Ashlee Danielle, Fulton C. Hodges in “The Last Block Association (Black Spectrum Theatre photos)

usual means to make sure his block is kept intact. Mr. Strong is the untidy neighbor suffering from some mental issues.

Then there are the two quarreling neighbors, Mas-Mood and Farmer. They live next door to each other and bicker constantly.

The final player in this story is Mr. Yankovic, who is honest about the fact that he will not be the only Jewish person living there if he has any say-so. He does not understand the importance or the history of these Black and brown families on this block.

This was a story that showed that money does not have to be everything. We can learn to appreciate each other and work with each other.

The cast was definitely to be appreciated.

Ashlee Danielle was wonderful as Pauline.

Jade Mason was hilarious as the comic relief Ms. Josey. Aaron Watkins was amusing as Mr. Brown. Fulton C. Hodges was delightful as the rude and crude Mr. Hart; he always has fun with his roles and so do we.

Swavian Loney was quite entertaining as Farmer as was Amer Zafer as Mas-Mood.

Darnell Shelton was funny as Mr. Strong, Joy Renee gave a stellar performance as Tina. Matthew Sirju was stirring as Jamal.

Kevin Shivcharran gave a memorable performance as Mr. Yankovic.

“The Last Block Association” just closed, but is scheduled to come back in February 2024, so it is something you can put on your calendar. For more information, visit www. blackspectrum.net or call 718-723-1800.

24 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

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Malcolm X personified at the Met Scene from Anthony Davis’s “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” (Marty Sohl/Met Opera photo)

After languishing in silence for 37 years, “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” has made a thunderous return to the Metropolitan Opera from now through December 2.

“X” first arrived on the Philadelphia stage in 1985 and its revised version premiered at New York City Opera in 1986. Pianist Anthony Davis composed the music; his brother Christopher Davis, actor and director, wrote the story; and the libretto was written by their cousin Thulani Davis, poet, author, and playwright.

The cast stars Grammy Awardwinning baritone Will Liverman, who triumphed in the 2021 Met premiere of Terence Blanchard’s ”Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” as Malcolm, alongside soprano Leah Hawkins as both his mother, Louise, and wife, Betty; mezzo-soprano Raehann Bryce-Davis as his sister Ella; bassbaritone Michael Sumuel as his brother Reginald; and tenor Victor Ryan Robertson as Street and Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad.

The opera presents 12 vignettes from the life of Malcolm X, from youth to death: abject poverty in Depression-era Lansing to adolescence in Boston to Mecca (the site of his pivotal hajj, the traditional Muslim pilgrimage), as well as a number of places in New York City, including a mosque, the streets of Harlem, and finally, the site of his assassination in 1965: the Audubon Ballroom at Broadway and West 165th Street.

It’s not a question of what took this production so long to return to the great stage, but why Malcolm X’s words seem more crucial today than during his journey on Earth.

Anthony Davis points out, “Yes, the opera has returned at a defining moment in history. We are on the verge of seeing people attempting to erase the past by banning books, the critical race theory, and suppressing voting rights.”

In recent years, people have asked, “Where is Brother Malcolm? We need him.” For many Blacks, particularly in Harlem, the human and civil rights activist was a community warrior later pushed to a national/international platform. While still being groomed (by Elijah Muhammad) for Minister of Mosque #7, he could be seen walking through Harlem, conversing with Harlemites. He would often speak at the corner of 125th Street

and 7th Avenue (where Pan Africanists and revolutionaries spoke), attracting huge crowds with his dagger-sharp words, hitting topics such as economic empowerment and Black life inequalities.

One such street scene is captured by baritone Liverman, standing on a ladder and delivering fiery words to a crowd (chorus) holding signs proclaiming “Liberty or Death” and “Police Brutality Must Go!” The amazing dancers (choreographer Rickey Tripp) throughout stood in unison with clenched fists in the air, the Black Power salute (similar to John Carlos’s podium stance with Tommie Smith at the 1968 Summer Olympics).

Tony-nominated Robert O’Hara said he was looking for a new avenue for the Malcom X biography. His new lane became an Afrofuturistic dreamscape sequence of events to adorn Malcolm X’s life story. “A spaceship has crashed into the Met,” he explained, “and a future race of people are telling the story of this icon.” The spaceship, with its colorful lights, hovers above the stage, projecting real images from Brother Malcolm’s life and other historical footage. At one point, the spaceship displays the names of Black victims of police brutality, such as Breanna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tray-

von Martin, and George Floyd.

Ironically, composer Davis wasn’t totally convinced the Afrofuturism concept would work, but now says, “It was the perfect concept for X’s music.”

Davis’s music is a spirited assortment, from improvisational avant garde to bebop and hard bop jazz, to the operas of Richard Wagner to Indonesian gamelan music. “The function of the orchestra is so important: The emotions of every scene come from the orchestra,” said Davis. “All the music, from the ’30s to ’60s, captures the life of Malcolm, from the Lionel Hampton Orchestra with a young Charles Mingus on bass to Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday.

Later, when he joins the Nation of Islam, his conversion invokes the world of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and my mentor Max Roach.”

Malcom was part of the music and known by many musicians.

Davis inserted his improvisational ensemble Episteme, within the traditional orchestra. Who ever heard of avant garde in an opera with blues and gospel? “In setting words to music, I studied Billie Holiday to understand the elasticity of time, the polyrhythmic play that allows the voice to rise and swing to assert its independence.”

Connecting all those musical parts in this revised score was no easy task,

but Kazem Abdullah was brilliant in his role as conductor, making it work like a smooth bullet train ride. The singers, too, had their work cut out for them as they navigated a score with ever-changing beats and blaring sounds.

A big, romping scene that brewed all those musical ingredients into one gigantic gumbo pot was young Malcolm Little’s (boy soprano) arrival in Boston, landing under the negative tutelage of flamboyant hustler “Street,” played by the dynamic tenor Robertson, who stole the show. The scene was riddled with futuristic costumed dancers movin’ and groovin’ seductively to modern jazz and hip hop. It was the sounds and actions of the big city, where another young boy was about to be swayed down the wrong path, a theme that unfortunately traveled from the past to the now and finds its way into our future.

Baritone Liverman has a shining moment when portraying Malcolm in his dark, gloomy penitentiary cell, spouting his soliloquy: “I shined your shoes, I sold your dope/But the crime is mine/I will do your time! You want the truth/ But you don’t want to know.” Powerful words that reflect the intellectual cowardice and shamelessness of capitalist America.

Costume designer Dede Ayite’s at-

tention to detail rings with perfection. The celebratory scene with the Nation of Islam, the women in their all-white uniforms and brothers in blue, is memorable. Witnessing those beautiful Black women in all white, as well as the brothers, is a sight to behold: The Fruit of Islam in real time at Mosque #7 will always be such a sight.

The scenes with the Nation of Islam and Elijah Mohammad are critical, once getting past their terrible breakup and accusations (el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz and Mohammad). Leah Hawkins brought her big, lush soprano to the role of Malcolm’s mother, as well as that of wife Betty. The newly added scene of the husband/wife duet ending the second act saw Malcolm expressing his anxiety about leaving the Nation.

He stated, “Elijah gave me life.” His ministry, a speaker of truth, mentoring young men, inspiring Black communities across the country, was basically due to Elijah. But he, too, gave life to Elijah.

Honestly, I was all set for the assassination scene as something big and dramatic but no. “I didn’t want to overdo the assassination scene, I can still see those photos,” said Davis. The shots fired rang drama, but the spaceship’s lights provided a serene moment—Malcolm’s ascension to the stars, a martyr whose actions and voice transcended his planet presence.

And if you believe the 1968 words of Kwame Ture (Stokely Carmichael), “Few people get the right to die for what they believe in…” The “X” ending is a transcendental moment.

Afrofuturism lives.

It was an Afrofuturistic culmination, not really an ending. The spirit, vocal cadence, philosophy, books, and activism of el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz will travel the globe throughout eternity. That is the existence of Afrofuturism! As Sun-Ra, the pioneer of Afrofuturism and jazz improvisation, composer, and poet who wore futuristic garments and played music, noted: from the future with roots in the past.

The lesson learned from “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” is there is no spaceship. The human beings using this planet are the spaceship. We are the salvation for the world. We are the outer-beings, the pride, determination, and resilience who can change the world.

We belong to the human race. And as with Brother Malcolm, life does not end at death when you have a definitive message to share.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Clean slate Continued from page 3

the law. He said Clean Slate helps break a punitive system.

His father had been killed in his native country of Panama when he was a child and his mother had been battling cancer and a HIV/AIDS diagnosis. He moved from Brooklyn to Albany as a teen to live with her. Even though he was gifted academically, he said the stress of the situation often led him to skip school and run away. He was placed on probation, which he continued to violate by running away and hiding at friends’ houses. One group of his friends ended up robbing someone while he was with them, he said, and he was convicted for assault. His friends testified that Forbes didn’t hit the victim, but he ended up pleading out to a sentence.

“They wanted me to do as much time as possible. It was more about punishment than looking at the actual case,” said Forbes. When he was released, he experienced homelessness because both of his parents were deceased. He struggled in jobs until eventually attending the New School for multimedia and diving head first into advocacy work. He’s also received therapy and counseling, and has integrated trauma care into his nonprofit organization.

“I kinda made a route for me [through advocacy] after seeing that I was just getting stuck in low-end positions at fast-food

places,” said Forbes.

Forbes believes that as a young Black boy, he was discriminated against harshly, with his youthful offender status denied, and was subjected to “legal segregation” after his release.

Khari Edwards, who served as the first vice president of color for external affairs at Brookdale Hospital and ran for Brooklyn Borough president in 2021, was one of the financial backers of the Clean Slate campaign and was at the signing. He concurred that old convictions are like “paper handcuffs,” especially for young Black children who often know or have family who are justice-involved.

“If you give a mom a job and enough to pay for childcare and groceries, then you’re less likely to have a child [who] goes out and gets involved in that justice-impacted world,” said Edwards, who now works for a cannabis investment group called Ayr Wellness. “There’s a reality that we don’t look at these building blocks as to why someone is selling or joins a gang. It becomes a vicious cycle [and] giving someone an opportunity can cut those paper handcuffs. Now they don’t have to go to that side to survive. It’s really about survival.”

In her speech, Hochul admitted that the state is behind in passing the law because of a lingering fear of incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people. New York became the 12th state to have a Clean Slate law, joining states like Utah, South Dakota, Oklahoma, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.

“Other states have done this,” said Hochul, “and to those that want to weaponize this as a political issue, I just need to point to deep

red states like Oklahoma, South Dakota, Missouri. They’re way ahead of us on this and they’re showing you it works…the evidence is there: Give people jobs, they don’t commit crimes. Crime rates go down. It’s common sense, people.”

In Michigan, a Harvard Law Review study found that within two years of clearing conviction records, people were 11% more likely to have a job, were earning 25% more, and were less likely than members of the general public to be convicted of a crime.

Resolutions in support of the law have passed in 15 cities and counties across the state, including New York City, Buffalo, Westchester, Albany City & County, Syracuse, Ulster County, Columbia County, Newburgh, Hudson, Ellenville, Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Catskill, and Schenectady.

This version of the Clean Slate law (S.7551A/ A.1029C) allows criminal records to be sealed years after an individual is sentenced or released as long as they complete probation and haven’t committed another crime. Records of individuals with eligible misdemeanor convictions will be sealed after three years and for those with certain felony convictions, after eight years. Law enforcement will continue to have access to the records, but they won’t apply for housing or job applications.

The law carefully leaves out automatic sealing of convictions for sex offenders, those who have committed non–drug-related Class A felonies and/or murder, or domestic terrorists, nor will it apply to gun background checks, said Hochul.

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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.

Protests Continued from page 3

After that, no other housing has been lined up for him.

“I don’t know what I have to do,” he said.

Later that Thursday, the city announced agency budget cuts, naming the $12 billion in projected spending toward the new arrivals as a key reason. City officials told the Amsterdam News during a briefing that scapegoating migrants over the cuts was a serious concern, it was a matter of resources, and “if [the city doesn’t] have the resources to fund to pay for this, [it has] to find it somewhere.” They hope that “somewhere” is the state.

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.

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26 • November 16, 23, 2023 - November 22, 29, 2023 34

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

IN

THE

CLASSROOM

Memphis Slim, blues singer, guitarist, and pianist

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews Last week, our focus was on Memphis Tennessee Garrison, and now the male counterpart, Memphis Slim, the legendary blues vocalist and pianist, gets his moment in this column. It might be posited that Slim was to the blues and music what Garrison was to education and civil rights. Both gave the city of Memphis additional notice and acclaim.

Unlike Garrison, John Len Chatman was born in Memphis—on September 3, 1915. Not much has been written about his youth, but by the time he was 25, his first recording was for Okeh Records. It was done using his father’s name, Peter Chatman, who sang and played piano and guitar. Soon he was performing under the moniker “Memphis Slim,” which would be popularized through some 500 recordings.

He was a teenager when he began performing in dance halls and juke gambling joints in Memphis, Arkansas, and southeast Missouri. As a member of the Great Migration, Slim settled in Chicago by 1930, where he often teamed with fellow bluesman Big Bill Broonzy.

In the early 1940s, he recorded “Beer Drinking Woman” and “Grinder Man Blues” on the Bluebird label. Both were part of his repertoire, where his forte was the slow blues, according to Robert Palmer in his book “Deep Blues.”

At Bluebird, Slim was a regular session musician, and his phenomenal prowess on the piano can be heard backing performers such as Washboard Sam, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Jazz Gillum, but it was mainly his association with Broonzy that brought him wide popularity. After World War II, he assembled several leading “jump bands,” rivaling Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five.

In 1946, he signed with the Miracle label and was soon in collaboration with bassist Willie Dixon.

After the success of “Every Day I Have the Blues” (1947), which was originally titled “Nobody Loves Me” (and popularized by numerous singers, including Joe Williams), folklorist and producer Alan Lomax brought Slim to Decca Records, which showcased an expanded release of the blues. Two years later, he expanded his combo to a quin-

ACTIVITIES FIND OUT MORE Few blues anthologies miss listing his formidable accomplishments on piano and vocals.

DISCUSSION Not much is mentioned here about his personal life, and that may be a consequence of his life on the road.

PLACE IN CONTEXT Born just before World War I, Slim made his mark on the blues scene, with some 500 recordings.

tet by adding a drummer, and this led to more recordings at King and Peacock Records.

Among his most popular songs of this period were “Messin’ Around,” which reached number one on the R&B charts in 1948, and “Harlem Bound,” often listed among the great songs about the historic community.

By 1951, Slim was recording with Premium Records, the successor to Miracle, where his tune “Mother Earth” gained considerable traction and sales. (The Premium recordings were later purchased by Leonard Chess, although Slim was never a Chess artist.) Three years later, he was on the United label, where he backed several performers. In 1959, his stint with Vee-Jay Records was an opportunity to feature a col-

lection of his hit tunes, including “Rockin’ the Blues,” and “Slim’s Blues.” When Willie Dixon’s classic debut album was released in 1959, Slim received almost equal credit for his formidable accompaniment on piano.

In the 1960s, given his talent and exposure, Slim began appearing outside the U.S., mainly touring with Dixon. Additional engagements occurred after they recorded with a roster of other musicians.

Together, they released several albums for Folkways Records, most notably one recorded at the Village Gate with Pete Seeger.

Slim’s prominence as a complete entertainer attracted countless promoters and impresarios in Europe, and by 1962, he was living in Paris.

His talent was requested by filmmakers and television hosts who

expanded his name and reputation throughout Europe, with occasional visits to the U.S. In 1986, Slim was named a Commander in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of France.

Near the end of his life, Slim forged a friendship and musical partnership with drummer George Collier and they toured Europe, but after Collier died in 1987, Slim only rarely appeared in public. He died of renal failure on February 24, 1988, in Paris at the age of 72. He is buried at Galilee Memorial Gardens in Memphis.

Later, he would be honored by the U.S. Senate with the title of Ambassador-at-Large of Good Will. He was posthumously inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame in 2015.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY Nov. 21, 1971: Michael Strahan, defensive stalwart of the NY Giants, born in Houston, Tex. Nov. 23, 1949: Radio personality, Tom Joyner, was born in Tuskegee, Alabama.

Nov.24, 1868: Pianist and composer Scott Joplin was born in Texarkana, Tex. He died in 1917 in Harlem.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Fair access

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 27

My Bklyn. My Care.

Continued from page 4

“While this bill would be a major victory for survivors, we want to be clear: This bill keeps us all safe,” said Executive Director of Common Justice Danielle Sered in a statement. “The Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act promotes public safety by addressing violence at the root. Currently, New York state is experiencing a decline in violent crime and this bill would stand to bring these numbers down even further.”

This barrier is especially strong for Black victims, said advocates.

Salaam, a member of the Exonerated Five who were wrongly accused and convicted of raping a woman in Central Park in 1989, spoke to the distrust felt by the Black community toward law enforcement, and why passing this legislation will be crucial for these survivors to get the financial help they need.

“The current bill as it stands retraumatizes survivors because of the racism and bias that’s embedded in it,” said Oresa NapperWilliams, founder and executive director of Not Another Child Inc. She lost her son to gun violence in 2006. Her organization has taken members to Albany to advocate for the passing of the bill for years.

Cabán said that forcing people who have legit reasons to avoid police to interact with them is “clearly cruel,” especially given that the likeliest to become victims of violence are low-income Black boys and men under 35.

“At Safe Horizon, we work with tens of thousands of survivors who seek police assistance in the aftermath of a crime, and tens of thousands who choose other ways to find safety and healing,” said Safe Horizon Vice President of Government Affairs Michael Polenberg. “Both cohorts of survivors deserve the same opportunity to seek reimbursement for expenses incurred as the result of a crime. We are grateful to the many survivors and advocates who have repeatedly called for expanded paths to crime victim reimbursement, and again call on Gov. Hochul to sign this bill without further delay.”

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.

Trans activists honored Continued from page 4

many of my siblings here, and I can say that I live every day to celebrate life, which is very precious, and unfortunately, not everyone in our community is able to say that.

We still have a lot of work to do, but I used a lot of that struggle that I lived through when I was a teenager to create a safety net.”

The two advocates were commended by NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and Public Advocate Jumaane Willians. Actor Frank L. Humphrey III sang and a screening of “Outlandish,” an experimental short film about trans women of color, was shown.

Comptroller Brad Lander told the Amsterdam News the hallowed library plays an important role as a venue.

“It has long been a place that worked hard to include the LGBTQ Black community and history,” he said. “In a world where often identities can wind up excluding, building those identities in more inclusive ways is really powerful and [there’s] something special about doing it here.”

During the celebration, Williams pledged to create more opportunities for TGNCNB New Yorkers.

“We must acknowledge this pain in the prejudice at its core, especially the trans people of color and do all we can to prevent future harm as we remember in solemnity,” he said. “We also celebrate the lives of those we have lost, and the resil-

Cristina Hererra honored by Comptroller Lander and Public Advocate Williams (Ayman Siam/Office of NYC Comptroller)

iency and resolve with the community and movement.”

On Monday, three government buildings—City Hall, the Bronx County Courthouse, and the David N. Dinkins Manhattan Municipal Building—were lit up in blue, pink, and white for Transgender Day of Remembrance.

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.

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28 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Education Sugar Hill Children’s Museum exhibits face east and look forward at early education on race and gender

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Bahauddin “Bobby” Alam’s life is recounted in rich detail through “Along 155th Street, Where Windows Face East,” an exhibit at Harlem’s Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling.

A Smithsonian-inspired period room recreates the Bengali jazz musician’s 1950s apartment overlooking Jackie Robinson Park; followed by a map comprehensively tracing his tour across India; and ending in a display of collected items, including his guitar, steamer trunk, and eraspecific outfits. Visitors will get to know Alam intimately by the exhibit’s conclusion.

But “Bobby” never actually existed—he’s the invention of married artist duo Chad Marshall and Priyanka Dasgupta.

“Bahauddin [is] actually a fictional character made up by us to point to the real history of Bengalis who lived as Black in the early 20th century during the laws against Asian immigration in the U.S. at the time,” said Dasgupta.

“They came here mostly as men, found love in Black and Latino communities, and lived as Black in different parts of the U.S., a lot of them in Harlem.”

While Alam is fictitious, his story isn’t. The artists were researching a real-life Bengali jazz musician named Bardu Ali but couldn’t find a photo. Hidden history is, after all, hidden. Coincidentally, they came across anthropological picture archives used by the British to categorize South Asian people in dehumanizing, pseudoscientific fashion. One portrait stood out to Marshall: a Bengali peddler.

“He looked like a jazz musician from the 1940s with his coiffed hair,” he said.

Marshall painted over the peddler’s garb with a dapper outfit of jazz drummer Chick Webb. The image, originally meant to categorize and simplify a nameless man, ultimately became the dignified portrait of Bobby Alam. Other pictures of Bengali men were also transformed into Harlem jazz scenes, with the im-

“Where Windows Face East” exhibit at Sugar Hill Children’s Museum along 155th Street (Timothy Lee photo)

portant rule of never modifying the subjects’ faces.

“We started to think about the reduction of these individuals into these stereotypical, ‘barbaric’ settings, because they’re all bare-chested figures [with some] holding bows and arrows and in loincloths,” said Dasgupta. “You’re stripping this person of all the nuances of his life and reducing him to this phrenological, stereotypical image and then slapping a label at the bottom.

“We said we’re going to pull all of the images from this manuscript to talk back to history and also say, ‘What if these people could have lived these really complex, rich, fabulous imagined lives?’ They became Bobby and then Bobby’s friends, fellow Jazz musicians, family members, and lovers and muses, and whoever else he encounter[ed], and then we wanted to point back to the archive.”

Alam also hits close to home for the artists. The period room similarly overlooks to the east like their own Harlem apartment. Dasgupta, who is Bengali, said Alam sees beyond the park when he looks out the window—he’s facing both Asia as an Indian and Mecca as a Muslim, complicating the idea of home. Marshall, who is Black, sees an opportunity of Black and South Asian unity through art and hidden history, which the artist couple can examine uniquely through their own identities.

“Certainly, many years [were

represented by] a media portrayal of strife between the two communities, and we wanted to do something that was counteractive of some of the traditional portrayals you see in the media of Black and brown [including South Asian] relations,” he said. “This is certainly a story of things that happened.

While Bobby is an amalgamation [and] creation, he’s not created from nothing.”

“Along 155th Street, Where Windows Face East” aligns with the museum’s attempts to speak to children at eye-level about com-

Display of Bobby Alam’s belongings (Priyanka Dasgupta photo)

plicated identity issues like race and gender, while keeping the tots engaged. Artist-in-residence Cecilia Jurado Chueca said the goal is to raise sophisticated children.

“The kids are very open and if you don’t sugarcoat everything, they get it,” she said. “You’re actually presenting through art things that are pleasant to know.”

Chueca said the hard questions—like one from her son about why his skin is darker than his white father’s—can be answered quite constructively through honest conversations

Hallway for “UNTOLD STORIES: Six Women Artists in Conversation” (Tandy Lau photo)

about race.

She currently curates “UNTOLD STORIES: Six Women Artists in Conversation,” an exhibit examining womanhood through a worldwide lens. Chueca said the pieces in that exhibit often push youngsters to question gender roles in their own communities. One sculpture illustrates a wife’s creative pursuits while her husband serves as homemaker. Another artist snapped photos of Black queer women in New York City at a time when education about sexuality is under attack elsewhere in the country.

“I think that it’s important for kids to know that there are multiple identities, and that they can explore it without feeling that anything is wrong,” said Chueca.

It isn’t all serious: When the youngsters are exhausted from exploring the deep questions of race, gender, and sexuality, there’s an arts and crafts table nearby for them to play.

Along 155th Street, Where the Windows Face East and UNTOLD STORIES: Six Women Artists in Conversation runs until Feb. 18, 2024.

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.

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International Continued from page 2

“The entire period of slavery meant that our progress, economically, culturally, and psychologically, was stifled. There are legions of stories of families who were torn apart,” Akufo-Addo said. “You cannot quantify the effects of such tragedies, but

Health

Continued from page 16

the issue of diversity—inclusion of people from all walks of life—is actually in pursuit of excellence. Anything short of that, you’re probably less than your best.

From the point of view of research, it’s not as good as it can be if it doesn’t include representation of people from all walks of life that make up America. A lot of the research we have, as effective as it is, could be better if it were inclusive of people of color. I think MSK clearly plays a significant role in doing all that it can to increase exposure, enrollment, and engagement from people from different walks of life.

If you’re on a clinical trial, you get the most attention, the most detail, the most monitoring. People of color sometimes think that being in a trial gives us something less than standard care, but it’s typically better than standard. However, places like MSK that are large academic centers don’t often have a ton of people who are in white coats looking like people of diverse backgrounds, so you don’t necessarily feel comfortable.

We clearly have to work on both our internal environment and partnerships that allow us to expand our influence and connectivity to build trust and familiarity in those communities. That trust factor is significant because we often haven’t done a lot of work to dispel those issues.

AmNews: Can you speak to later-stage cancer diagnoses in Black and brown communities?

Vickers: I do think that because of many factors in life that affect our daily activities, whether it’s our income, our housing, the economic environment, healthcare doesn’t often rise to the top of everybody’s interest. Clearly, screening does not. It does arise when I have a symptom and I don’t feel good. Yes, I go to the doctor, but for many people dealing with

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 29

they need to be recognized.”

Akufo-Addo said he welcomed a similar call for reparations from Caribbean nations.

“We in Africa must work together to advance the cause,” he said to applause from the audience that included African, Caribbean, and other high-level delegates.

In response, the delegates agreed to establish a Global Reparations Fund to seek compensation owed to millions of Africans

enslaved during the transatlantic slave trade.

The delegates did not specify how such a reparations fund would work, but Gnaka Lagoke, assistant professor of history and Pan-African studies, said it should be used to “correct the problems” the continent faces in all sectors of its economy.

Togo’s Prime Minister Victoire Tomegah Dogbé also attended the conference. She listed the “scars of exploitation, disposses-

sion, and cultural erasure [that] persist, manifesting themselves in contemporary challenges such as economic inequality, political instability, and cultural disintegration.”

Activists say reparations should go beyond direct financial payments and also include development assistance to countries, restitution of colonized resources, and systemic correction of oppressive policies and laws.

the daily struggles of life, the idea of getting a screening exam is a novelty.

What can and often does happen is people come to their own ideas, often from local communication and conclusions that lead them to not show up until something has gotten really bad. The idea of prostate cancer— we’ve done a reasonable job of getting African American men aware that although PSA examinations may not work for everybody, it is still vital for African Americans to know what the risks are, get an early diagnosis, and then have the ability to try to gain information.

For breast cancer for women, we have a greater propensity for triple negative disease.

The tumor is more aggressive, and although the incidence of breast cancer is not any greater in Black women, the death rate is more significant in Black women, largely because of the fact of late presentation and presenting with a highly aggressive subtype of tumor.

Invariably, whenever we address care and outcomes for people of color, we improve it for everybody. There’s a halo effect.

had a very nice study that demonstrated the impact of food insecurity on individuals’ ability to stay in clinical trials. Those are factors we don’t often think about. Can you get a meal if you’re late to the clinic? If you’re going to miss a meal, are you going to be willing to stay to get your infusion? Transportation is an important factor for people as well.

The challenge is, academic medical centers aren’t naturally geared to deal with all of those determinants and yet we do have to partner and stretch ourselves, because a lot of these services are available in the community—we have to work to connect patients to them.

We don’t have great infrastructure to foster new schools and education. We don’t have great infrastructure to provide access to fresh vegetables and fruits in areas that are food deserts. We don’t have great infrastructure to affect community parks and sidewalks.

All of these things effectively affect a person’s ability to get to healthcare, to sustain their treatment, and actually have a good outcome.

It takes the effort of bringing different parts of our organization and community together to create the support and wraparound services that would allow an individual to complete their journey when it means they’ve had a diagnosis of cancer and there’s going to be that three-, four-, five-month journey to get their cancer treated.

best in class, and I want to create a world where care and access for people is what we are proud of and we know our outcomes are good and some of the best in the country, and I want to make sure those are broadly known.

At the end of the day, any leader wants to leave a legacy of added value.

AmNews: Where can individuals get MSK care beyond the upper East Side?

Vickers: We have a new clinic in Brooklyn, we’re in Long Island, we’re all over. We understood that Manhattan couldn’t be the only place that people should get access to us. We have partnerships with other hospitals where people of color find themselves as their comAmNews: What changes do you want to munity place and we’re growing those rela- implement and what do you want your tionships as well. legacy to be at MSK? Vickers: I said I wanted Memorial Sloan KetAmNews: Could you talk about fac- tering to be the cancer hospital of the world, tors that link to cancers and work MSK is and that means culturally and geographically. doing regarding preventive measures for I can go to Harlem and my barber has never individuals? heard of us. I want to expand individuals’ beVickers: Our doctor Francesca Gany is liefs that in their own backyard is the world’s working in the space of health disparities and best care. We can be partners. has a significant amount of work that looks I want to sustain and build on the pillars of at those determinants that affect people ac- excellence in science and discovery. I want us cessing healthcare and how they are affect- to grow to be a global organization, and even ed by both economics and education. She more so clinically. I want our science to remain

STAY UPDATED WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR COMMUNITY VISIT WWW.AMSTERDAMNEWS.COM

Cancer resources Cancer screenings at the Ralph Lauren Center (Harlem): https://www.mskcc.org/locations/directory/ralph-lauren-center-cancer-care/cancer-screening-ralph-lauren Melanoma screening: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/ types/melanoma/screening New York State Cancer Services Program: https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/ cancer/services/ Prostate cancer screening: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/riskassessment-screening/screening/prostate-diagnostic Breast Cancer Screening Program: https://www.mskcc.org/cuidadosenmsk/cancer-care/risk-assessment-screening/screening/breast-cancer-screening-programs Lung Cancer Screening Program: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/riskassessment-screening/screening/lung

30 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Religion & Spirituality

Helene Nomsa Brath joins the celestial revolutionaries

By HERB BOYD and CINQUE BRATH Special to the AmNews

To list her influence in science, civic affairs, political activism, and militancy would consume the bulk of this article, but we would be remiss not to cite her critical role in the discovery of asbestos in New York City school buildings and the later commendation she received from the United Federation of Teachers for its eradication. Her niece, Gretchen Green, said, “I just want to

The crowded chapel and passionate encomiums for Helene Nomsa Brath last Friday at Unity Funeral for her homegoing celebration created such heat that many attendees shed their coats and fanned themselves. No relief from the room’s temperature came when Councilman Charles Barron Nomsa Brath delivered his memory of Brath and her family.

With an open casket behind him, Barron spoke as though he was speaking directly to her. “So, my sister,” he began, “before you take your celestial rest, stop by Malcolm X’s house...go see Rosa Parks... see Harriet Tubman, and check out Marcus Garvey and all those revolutionary giants who are up there, and keep an eye on us and make sure we stay on the right track...and do something to those sellout Negroes...Rest in peace and power, my sister, for a job well done.”

Brath was 81 when she made her transition this year on October 30.

She was predeceased by her husband, Elombe, who died on May 19, 2014.

Barron continued to provide a tone of celebration for the fallen freedom fighter that had been established by her sons, each of them reflecting on a portion of her remarkable say I will remember my aunt as being cool, life and legacy. Her eldest son, Mgavi calm, and collected, and very intelligent, Elombe, said that on occasion, “I’m asked and [I] never heard her raise her voice.” if I’m related to Elombe Brath,” and acThis was later corrected by her older sister, knowledges and humbly accepts the com- Yolette Green, who was raised by Brath. She pliment, noting that the apple never falls reminded the audience that “she birthed that far from the tree “but I inform them six boys, so we know she raised her voice, a that the scientist comes from my mom.” lot—you just missed it.”

That influence and inspiration delivered She was a great artist who loved doing by his mother played a critical role in his hair, Gretchen added, including her own, becoming a professor at the NYU Tandon which was in “locks” and the style that was School of Engineering. created using black thread. This was a comThat scientific background was empha- plement to the Black is Beautiful phase of sized and confirmed when her son Man- her commitment and in concert with her della read her obituary: “In 1974, Nomsa participation and leadership in the Grancompleted a Bachelor of Arts degree in dassa Models, which New York State SenaAnthropology with a minor in Biochem- tor Cordell Cleare emphasized as the most istry from the City University of New York impressive of her many achievements.

(CUNY) Hunter College. Following her A representative from the office of the graduation, she embarked on an education- Public Advocate read a letter from Jual journey where she played a pivotal role in maane Williams that highlighted her dedimproving opportunities for children.” ication and commitment to advocacy in

New York over the years. The letter demonstrated the advocacy work she was engaged in before the office of Public Advocate was officially invented.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat offered kind words and recognition.

A touching moment came when three members of the Exonerated 5 (Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam) who still live in the NY area, led by newly elected City Councilmember Salaam, spoke about her pivotal role in attempting to establish and prove their innocence when it was unpopular to do. This same sentiment was reflected in a letter that current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent to the family, which was read.

Letters from other elected officials, such as Assemblyman Al Taylor and Eddie Gibbs, punctuated the program acknowledgments.

Judith Burgess, formerly of the New York Urban League (NUL), clarified her role in Nomsa’s appointment as national spokesperson for the NUL’s Project PRISM (Partner for Reform In Science & Math).

The event was pretty much a flawless homegoing except for a misnomer about a significant part of her story—that she was elected to the Community School Board for District 3. In actuality, she and her good friend Ruby Kitchen both ran for several coveted positions on the school board, but Kitchen and another woman won.

Losing her race led Brath to putting her efforts into being president of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA). This turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it placed her directly active in the asbestos battle and other advocacy concerns for parents facing difficulties with advocating for themselves and their children.

After the funeral services, a repast was held at the Dwyer Cultural Center. Nomsa will rest in peace and power at the Trinity Cemetery in her beloved Harlem.

Nomsa is survived by her two daughters— Yolette Green and Dr. Ann Lyons; and six biological sons—Mgavi Elombe, Ramses, Cinque, Segun, Seku, and Mandella; as well as a host of brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and greatgrandchildren.

HAVE YOUR LOVED ONES MEMORIALIZED IN THE AMSTERDAM NEWS’ OBITUARY SECTION. FOR MORE INFO EMAIL: William.Atkins@amsterdamNews.com

Reflections on the life of Ms. Willieen Jowers

By MAL’AKIY 17 ALLAH Special to the AmNews

Ms. Willieen Jowers (Mal’akiy 17 Allah photo)

A host of admirers, friends and relatives attended two days of memorial services on Nov. 2 and Nov. 3 for Ms. Willieen Jowers at Brooklyn’s John’s Funeral Home (509 Liberty Ave.) She transitioned onto the ancestral realm on Oct. 25, at 92 years-young.

Although she resided in Brooklyn for several decades, she was born Oct. 18 1931 in Cameron, South Carolina, and migrated to northern New Jersey in 1943 with her father William, mother Ola, brother Jabo, and sister Marion. The following year they crossed the Hudson River and settled in Harlem. She attended Murry Bergtraum High School, and later relocated to Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant section. Mother Earth, as she was also known, had four children—Pauline, Clarence (A Allah), Otis (B Allah), and Harold—as well as “her own child,” Crystal Charles.

During the Nov. 2 memorial many mentioned Willieen’s sense of humor and sarcasm, love for her community and family, and how she enjoyed advising local youths. People who knew her also remembered how outspoken she was and that she didn’t have a problem with letting anyone know what’s on her mind. When someone needed a place to rest, she always welcomed them with open arms.

One of her great-granddaughters reflected on some memories they shared together, then read a touching poem dedicated to “the Matriarch of the family.” Her grandnephew added: “She told me, ‘Always love yourself, because nobody will love you the way you’ll love yourself.’”

“I’m going to miss my great-grandmother,” one of her great-grandsons said. “There’s so many memories I could share. She really took care of me as a child, and I really do appreciate that. I’ll never forget her. Grandma, I just wanna say I love you.”

He later read her obituary, after several other relatives also paid their respects.

The following morning a brief service was conducted prior to her body being interred at New Jersey’s Rosehill Cemetery.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 31

Harlem’s Ali Center hosts turkey giveaway

Community members came out on this windy and rainy day for the Turkey Giveaway at the Muhammad Ali Islamic Center in Harlem. The center’s pantry works all year to provide food for those in need, especially on Thanksgiving. More than 500 folks took part in the giveaway. (Bill Moore photos)

32 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

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SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - COUNTY OF NEW YORK HILTON RESORTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff, -against- ANDREW OVIKUROM ORU, if living, and if he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO.: 850030/2020 FILED: OCTOBER 25, 2023 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 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 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. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justice of the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated October 23, 2023 and entered October 23, 2023 NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT: THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Timeshare Mortgage in the amount of $109,286.23, recorded in New York County Clerk's Office on October 3, 2011 in CRFN: 2011000349327 of Mortgages covering the (1) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit, (2) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit, and (3) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit which all comprise a portion of the premises known as 102 WEST 57th STREET, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10019-3302. The relief sought in the within action is a final Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale directing the sale of the (1) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit, (2) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit, and (3) .009864% undivided tenant in common interest of the Timeshare Unit which comprises a portion of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage. New York County is designated as the place of trial on the basis of the fact that the real property affected by this action is located wholly within said County. Dated: February 1, 2023, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590, (516) 876-0800. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.

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NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST Gerarda Ragone a/k/a Gerarda Anna Ragone, Individually and as Trustee of the Ragone Living Trust; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered June 21, 2023 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre St, New York, NY 10007 on December 6, 2023 at 2:15PM, premises known as 415 East 37th Street Unit 14K, New York, NY 10016. 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 969 Lot 1114. Approximate amount of judgment $75,165.09 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850017/2018. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District. Allison Furman, 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) 4304792 Dated: October 19, 2023 76999

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF KINGS SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Index No: 510883/2023 Plaintiff Designates Kings County as the Place of Trial The Basis of Venue is the Location of the Plaintiff place of Business and the Premises. Premises: 1143 Saint Johns Place, Brooklyn, New York 11213 Block:1251, Lot: 50 Saint Johns Organization LLC. Plaintiff, -against- Unknown Heirs of Vilna Smart, a/k/a Vilna E. St. Louis et al, and “John Doe”, “Jane Doe”, distributes, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees of said Defendants or any one, being unknown to Plaintiff, it is being intended to designate persons or parties having or claiming an interest in or a lien upon the premises, if the aforesaid individual/s defendant/s are living, and if any or all of said individual defendants be dead, their heirs at law, next of kin, distributes, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest of them, fee owners, tenants or occupants of the premises and/or persons or par- ties having or claiming an interest in or a lien upon the premises, Defendants, 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 the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint.

Dated:04/04/2023 Manhasset, New York 11/06/2023 By Leslie S. Nizin, Esq., Attorney for Plaintiff, 55 Fair- way Drive, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030, 718-263-2411 To: Unknown Heirs of Vilna Smart, a/k/a Vilna E. St. Louis et al. NOTICE: THE NATURE OF THIS ACTION AND THE RELIEF SOUGHT. THE OBJECT OF THE ABOVE CAPTIONED ACTION IS TO SEEK A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT ESTABLISHING THAT THE PLAINTIFF HAS A 100 PERCENT INTEREST IN FEE SIMPLE FOR REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1143 Saint Johns Place, Brooklyn NEW YORK, 11213, BLOCK1251, LOT 50.

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #146081 for beer & wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer & wine at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 103 Lexington Ave., NYC 10016 for on-premises consumption; Pongal Restaurant NYC Inc.

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Notice is hereby given that license serial number NA-034323-145414 for a On-Premises Hotel liquor license has been applied for by the undersigned to permit the sale of beer, wine and liquor at retail in a Hotel under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at the Renaissance New York Times Square located at 2 Times Square, New York in New York Country for on-premises consumption. TSQ Hotel Owner LLC and Merritt Hospitality LLC, 2 Times Square, New York, NY 10036.

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Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. NAYDA FIGUEROA AND CARISSA R. VILLANUEVA, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850135/2020. 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 5th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 10th 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 0.00986400000% undivided tenants in common interest in 57th Street Vacation Suites located at 102 West 57th Street NY, NY. Block: 1009 Lot: 37. Mortgage bearing the date of December 31, 2016, executed

by Nayda Figueroa and Carissa R. Villanueva to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $26,373.60, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on March 8, 2017, in CRFN 2017000092280. 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.

Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v.

CHRISTOBELLE KEELSON-ANFU, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850135/2018. 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 5th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 10th 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 5,000/28,402,100 tenants in common interest in Phase 1 of HNY Club Suites located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Section: 4 Block: 1006 Lot: 1302. Mortgage bearing the date of April 11, 2014, executed by Christobelle Keelson-Anfu to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $30,000.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on August 14, 2014, in CRFN 2014000271732. 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 In pursuance and by virtue of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly granted and entered on or about July 26, 2023, in an action pending before the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, entitled SND Management v. 321 East 84th Street Owners, Inc., et al., bearing Index No. 850152/2017, by The Honorable Francis A. Kahn, III, IAS Part 32, I, the Referee, duly appointed in the action for such purpose, will expose for sale and sell at public auction to the highest bidder on December 6, 2023, at 2:15 p.m., in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, at 60 Centre Stret, New York, New York 10007, the mortgaged premises designated as Block 1547, Lot 11, in the City of New York, Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, State of New York and known as 321 East 84th Street, New York, New York.

The approximate amount of the judgment is $4,996,965.97 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. The sale is subject to the New York County Auction Part Rules.

STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF NEW YORK THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, F/K/A THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR REGISTERED HOLDERS OF CWABS, INC., ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-6, Plaintiff, v.

Dated: November 6, 2023 New York, New York Thomas P. Kleinberger, Esq. Referee 411 5th Avenue New York, New York 10016 David P. Stich, Esq. Attorney for Plaintiff 521 Fifth Avenue, 17th Floor New York, New York 10175 (646) 554-4421 Notice of Formation of QBV CAPITAL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/21/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated an agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: 1 Union Square, South 210, New York City, NY 10003.

Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #23-147164 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 238 Madison Ave., NYC 10016 for on-premises consumption; Jupiter 23 LLC

Notice of Qualification of PALACE CAPITAL LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/10/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/05/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Tarter Krinsky & Drogin LLP, Attn: Gina Piazza, Esq., 1350 Broadway, 11th Fl., NY, NY 10018. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 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.

NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

ALLAN A. JOHNSON, 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 May 3, 2023, I, Scott H. Siller, Esq. the Referee named in said Judgment, will sell in one parcel at public auction on December 20, 2023 at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, at 60 Centre Street, County of New York, State of New York, at 2:15 PM the premises described as follows: Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Apt/Unit 5F a/k/a: 300 West 140 Street a/k/a: 301 West 139 Street a/k/a New York, NY 10030 Block 2042 Lot 1123 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, City, County and State of New York.

The premises are sold subject to the provisions of the filed judgment, Index No. 850102/2019 in the amount of 584,567.02 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 101862-2 Notice of Formation of BRODSKY FLATIRON LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: The Brodsky Organization, Attn: J. Dean Amro, 400 W. 59th St., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF FORMATION of limited liability company (LLC).

Name: MEKBROS, LLC. Articles of Organization filed with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/19/2023. Office location: New York Co. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served and address SSNY shall mail a copy of process is 39 W. 14th Street, New York, NY 10011. Purpose: any lawful purpose.

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 33

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v.

YAKUBU O. AFOLABI, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850172/2017. 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 5th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 10th 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 5,000/16,783,800 tenants in common interest in Phase 2 of HNY Club Suites located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Section: 4 Block: 1006 Lot: 1302. Mortgage bearing the date of February 23, 2015, executed by Yakubu O. Afolabi to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $31,875.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on May 29, 2015, in CRFN 2015000181419. 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, Emigrant Funding Corporation, Plaintiff, vs.

Hershey chan Realty, Inc., ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to an Amended Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on July 14, 2023 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the portico of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on December 6, 2023 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 44 Bowery, New York, NY 10013.

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 202 and Lot 28.

Approximate amount of judgment is $4,103,570.52 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850215/2021. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee Borchert & LaSpina, P.C., 19-02 Whitestone Expressway, Suite 302, Whitestone, New York 11357, Attorneys for Plaintiff Notice of Formation of JDW SOCIAL, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: John David West, 536 W. 47th St., Apt. PHE, NY, NY 10036. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK THE BOARD OF MANAGERS OF 435 EAST 117TH STREET CONDOMINIUM, Plaintiff -against- CHRISTINE HEALEY, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated June 29, 2023 and entered on July 3, 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 December 13, 2023 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, State and County of New York, known and designated as Section 6 Block 1711 and Lot 1203. Said premises known as 435 EAST 117TH STREET, UNIT NO. 3, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $57,680.99 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 152950/2022.

GEORGIA PAPAZIS, ESQ., Referee Mitofsky Shapiro Neville & Hazen, LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 152 MADISON AVENUE, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10016 Notice of formation of Limited Liability Company (“LLC”).

Name: Albany State Street GP LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York (“SSNY”) on October 17, 2023.

N.Y. office location: New York County. The SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to Albany State Street GP LLC, c/o CSC, 80 State Street, Albany, New York 12207-2543. Purpose/character of LLC is to engage in any lawful act or activity.

34 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -against- JJL CAPITAL CORP., et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated July 18, 2023 and entered on July 20, 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 December 20, 2023 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY; known as The NYH Condominium. Together with an undivided 3.1810% in common interest percentage. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 27, 2003 and November 3, 2003 as CFRN # 2003000442512 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1006 and Lot 1302. Said premises known as 1335 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $21,722.48 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850089/2018. SCOTT SILLER, ESQ., Referee, DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorney(s) for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Board of Managers of 207-209 East 120th Street Condominium, Plaintiff, vs. Kwame Leslie Dougan, Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on April 5, 2022, a Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on June 26, 2023 and an Order duly entered on October 13, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the portico of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on December 6, 2023 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 207 East 120th Street, Unit 1F, New York, NY 10035 a/k/a 207-209 East 120th Street, Unit 1F, New York, NY 10035. 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 1785 and Lot 1001 together with an undivided 10.2363 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $37,331.07 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #158033/2019. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee Adam Leitman Bailey, P.C., Attn: Danny Ramrattan, Esq., One Battery Park Plaza, 18th Floor, New York, New York 10004, Tel: 212.825.0365, Attorneys for Plaintiff Notice of Qualification of FOCUSED RESEARCH ORGANIZATION FOR IMMUNOLOGY, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/31/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/05/23. 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.

ROMchip LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/24/2023.

Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 769 Broadway #1102, NY, NY, 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of formation of Currant Productions LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/27/2023. Office location: New York County.

SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon them is 135 W 52nd St, Apt 31B, New York, NY 10019. The principal business address of the LLC is 135 W 52nd St, Apt 31B, New York, NY 10019. Dissolution date: Perpetual. Purpose: Any lawful act or activity.

Notice of Qualification of 1S REO OPPORTUNITY 1, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/02/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 01/09/19. Princ. office of LLC: 370 Highland Ave., Ste. 200, Piedmont, CA 94611. 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: Is to own real estate in the State.

Notice of Qualification of 570 WASHINGTON STREET LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/06/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/04/23. Princ. office of LLC: 40 W. 57th St., 29th Fl., 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., 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.

MHO - My Humble Opinion LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/02/2023. Office: NEW YORK County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 200 E 62ND ST APT 16B, NEW YORK, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

Supreme Court – New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v.

ISKANDAR RIZAL AND ISKANDAR FAREED, if living, and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Deft. – Index # 850171/2018. 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 5th day of October 2023 and duly entered the 10th 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 7,000/28,402,100 tenants in common interest in Phase 1 of HNY Club Suites located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Section: 4 Block: 1006 Lot: 1302. Mortgage bearing the date of January 15, 2015, executed by Iskandar Rizal and Iskandar Fareed to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $43,353.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on June 1, 2015, in CRFN 2015000182108. 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 FORMATION OF M. Perotti LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/08/2023. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it may be served. The Post Office address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the LLC served upon her is: United States Corporation Agents, 7014 13th Avenue, Suite 202, Brooklyn NY 11228.

The principal business address of the LLC is 320 W 38th Street, New York, NY 10018.

Notice of Qualification of RGNMCA BOWMANSVILLE I, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/26/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/25/23. 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., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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Notice of Qualification of THE HEAVY JAMZ LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/23/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 07/05/23. Princ. office of LLC: 111 E. 10th St., #8, NY, NY 10003. 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 DE, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 37

Super middleweights Benavidez and Andrade to square up in Vegas Undefeated super middleweight (R) Demetrius Andrade will challenge unbeaten David Benavidez this Saturday in Las Vegas. (Premier Boxing Champions photo)

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews Two-time super middleweight world champion and interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez (27–0, 23 KOs) will battle two-division champion Demetrius Andrade (32–0, 19 KOs) this Saturday at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas. The payper-view card will be Showtime’s final boxing broadcast as the network recently announced it would cease all sports programming at the end of 2023.

“I do expect to stop Andrade,” Benavidez said earlier this month at a workout. “I’ve been working extremely hard. My last fight went the distance and I was upset about that.

We’re gonna correct the current and stop Demetrius Andrade.”

“I don’t really know his strengths until I get in there, but from watching him, he likes to overwhelm his opponents,” Andrade said of his opponent. That’s really all I see.

November 25 tune in and I’m gonna expose his weaknesses.”

Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr., who trains both David and Jose Jr. (28– 2–1)—the latter will face unde-

feated (32–0) WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo in the co-main event—discussed the personal significance of the card.

“Having my two sons on the same card on November 25 is going to be extremely special,” he said. “It’s what we worked so hard to achieve for all these years.

Through the tears, and the fights and everything, it’s unbelievable.

It’s hard to explain with words.”

Charlo, who last fought in June of 2021, was sure the long layoff would not be a factor.

“I won’t be rusty at all,” he said.

“There’s no excuses in this fight. I hope Benavidez isn’t thinking that I’m gonna be rusty. Because I’ve been working. You’ll see.”

Newark, New Jersey, native Shakur Stevenson (21–0, 10 KOs) became a three-division champion last Thursday when the 26-year-old won the vacant WBC lightweight title by a 116– 112, 115–113, 116–112 unanimous decision over Edwin De Los Santos (16–2, 14 KOs).

“I had a bad performance tonight,” Stevenson said after the win, echoing the reaction of fans attending the fight at the T-Mobile

Arena in Las Vegas. “I wasn’t feeling too good, so I’ll live with it. It’s okay. I came here and got the victory, and that’s all I wanted to do.”

De Los Santos was displeased with Stevenson avoiding trading blows at close range.

“We all know what happened,” said the 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic.

“He came for a track meet. He didn’t come to fight.

“I showed that I am on a higher level because he never stood and fought like he does with other fighters. I did my job. He came to survive. That’s what he did. They gifted him the title, but I’m the people’s champion.”

Former heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua return to the ring on December 23 in Saudi Arabia, albeit not against one another. Wilder

will face previous WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, while Joshua will take on Otto Wallin.

Prior to Joshua’s first career loss to Andy Ruiz at Madison Square Garden in June 2019, a potential Joshua-Wilder match up was in high demand.

Though they have a combined five losses, it is still a fight many would like to happen.

The Howard Bison earns its first Celebration Bowl bid

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor With consecutive wins over Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rivals North Carolina Central University and Morgan State University, the Howard University Bison football program earned its first bid to the Cricket Celebration Bowl, considered the HBCU national championship game.

The eighth annual Celebration Bowl will be held at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, December 16 at noon as the Bison will take on the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) champion.

The SWAC winner will be decided on December 2 at (4 p.m. EST) at Bragg Memorial Stadium on the campus of Florida A&M University when the Rattlers, 8–0 in the SWAC East and 10–1 overall, host the Prairie View A&M Panthers (6–2, 7–4) of the West division.

Last year’s Celebration Bowl saw the game’s first overtime as North Carolina Central of the MEAC bested SWAC representative Jackson State 41–34. The JSU

The Howard Bison’s football program captured the MEAC title and trip to the Celebration Bowl with a 14-7 win over Morgan State last Saturday.

(David Sierra, hubison. com photo)

Tigers were led by former head coach Deion Sanders and his son, starting quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who both now hold the same positions for the University of Colorado.

Howard, 6–5 and 4–1 in MEAC games, sealed their spot with a 14–7 home win over Morgan State last Saturday. In a defensive battle, Bison running back Jarrett Hunter scored the game’s first touchdown as Howard took a 7–0 halftime lead and quarterback Quinton Williams added another rushing TD at Greene Stadium as the 14 points held up versus the Bears (4–6, 3–2).

“Congratulations to the MEAC champion Howard University Bison for earning their first trip to the Cricket Celebration Bowl,” said John Grant, the bowl’s executive director.

Last season, Howard’s basketball program made its first NCAA Men’s March Madness field since 1992 with a 65–64 victory over Norfolk State in the MEAC tournament championship game. They lost their opening game of the single-elimination event to the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks.

38 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Issues at the QB position have defined the Jets and Giants’ season

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Jets quarterback Zach Wilson, pictured in a 16–12 road loss to the Las Vegas Raiders on November 12, has been demoted to third-string on the team’s depth chart (Jets.com photo)

Zach Wilson was finally benched as the Jets’ starter.

His replacement for the time being, Tim Boyle, may not be a better player or more productive than Wilson. But the Jets’ general manager, Joe Douglas, and head coach, Robert Saleh, were acutely aware they could not continue with the beleaguered QB leading the offense when they publicly announced his demotion on Monday.

The Jets are 4–6, effectively if not officially out of the playoff race with seven games remaining ahead of tomorrow’s matchup (3 p.m.) with the Miami Dolphins at MetLife Stadium and in the midst of a squandered season which was primarily the result of inadequate quarterback play.

Referencing Wilson’s stats don’t totally paint a full picture of how poorly he’s performed. Yet a snippet tells enough of the story. In 10 games this season, the 2021 No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft has only six touchdowns, all the while posting seven interceptions and an abysmal QBR of 30.7—arguably the most important metric of a signal caller’s production— ranking him 30th in the league.

On Tuesday, Wilson addressed the narrative of him being a scapegoat of the Jets’ failures, admirably taking a large chunk of accountability for the team unfathomably

scoring just 9 touchdowns.

“Absolutely not,” he said Tuesday. “You’ve got to look at the situation. We’re not scoring touchdowns. Regardless of what I’m doing, my job as a quarterback is to help us score points. I can sit here and say I’ve had a bunch of growth and tremendous whatever this year, but if you’re not scoring touchdowns, it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. And I get that."

However, Douglas is the main culprit.

As the team’s architect, he should have

had a viable plan in the event four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who the Jets acquired last April in a trade with the Green Bay Packers, sustained a serious injury. Wilson had shown no signs he could successfully take the reins coming into this season after looking completely overwhelmed in his rookie and sophomore campaigns.

Then when Rodgers suffered a seasonending left Achilles tear after just four snaps in the Jets’ regular season opening

game on September 11, Douglas imprudently doubled down on Wilson instead of trading for a quality backup by the NFL’s October 31 trade deadline when the Jets were 4–3 and still in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Conversely, when Minnesota Vikings starter Kirk Cousins tore an Achilles facing the Packers two days before deadline, GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, cosigned by franchise owner Zygi Wilf, made a trade with the Arizona Cardinals for QB Joshua Dobbs, who has helped keep them in the race for a postseason spot at 6–5.

The Giants also have experienced severe quarterback issues. Starter Daniel Jones tore the ACL in his right knee against the Raiders on November 5 and his highly capable backup, Tyrod Taylor, was hospitalized with a rib cage injury on October 29 against the Jets while filling in for Jones, who was recovering from a neck injury prior to coming back versus the Raiders.

Taylor is still not ready to play so now the Giants are being guided by undrafted rookie free agent Tommy Devito who played ball at Syracuse University, University of Illinois, and New Jersey’s Don Bosco High School.

Devito earned his first career win in two starts last Sunday when the 3–8 Giants defeated the 4–7 Washington Commanders 31–19 and will get another start this Sunday at home versus the 2–8 New England Patriots.

Resilience and tenacity celebrated at NYAC All Sports Dinner Water polo National Team Champions Chelsea Johnson (l) and Haley Wan.

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews The last three and a half years have been challenging for athletes. Whether it was interruptions in training, illness or the one-year postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games due to the pandemic, athletes needed to stay strong and composed while remaining focused on their goals. That spirit, backed by the legacy of the New York Athletic Club (NYAC), was evident at the NYAC All Sports Dinner on Nov. 13.

Olympic champion discus thrower Valarie Allman earned a silver medal at this year’s World Athletics Championships and reflected on the importance of the New York institution. “The NYAC has such a rich history in athletics and in the Olympic movement,” she said. “I hope to carry forward the legacy that the club represents. It definitely is a motivator to wear that winged foot [the club’s emblem] and to be here to celebrate in person.”

A number of athletes competed at the recently concluded Pan Am Games, including gold medal-winning hammer thrower Deanna Price, a NYAC member since 2016. “It’s amazing to be a part of the NYAC legacy and say, ‘I’m an Olympian. I’m a hammer thrower. I’m a part of the New York Athletic Club,’” said Price.

The Olympians in attendance at the All Sports dinner. (Lois Elfman photos)

The sport of water polo was extremely well represented at the All Sports Dinner.

Spirits were high that the U.S. men’s and women’s teams have qualified for next year’s Olympics in Paris. “I’m excited for the USA team,” said Isabel Williams, a goalie for the University of California Berkeley and a member of NYAC’s team.

Olympic silver medalist and six-time world champion wrestler Adeline Gray spoke on behalf of the honored athletes.

The pandemic impacted Gray’s personal life as she and husband Damaris Sanders had planned to start a family after the 2020

Olympics. With plans delayed for a year, she is grateful for the ongoing support that NYAC offered.

“A lot of us who came out of the COVID experience, whether we got to accomplish our dreams or not, struggled to find our footing,” said Gray, who gave birth to twins in July 2022 and won bronze at the 2023 World Championships, securing the U.S. an Olympic berth. “We didn’t really get to celebrate and have our moment in Tokyo [at Olympics in 2021]. I remember coming here at this club and finally getting to feel like I got to celebrate.”

November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023 • 39

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Ice dancers Kouevi and Homawoo are aiming to make history

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews Heading into this season, novice ice dancers Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo thought their ultimate goal would be earning an invitation to the national development camp held at the conclusion of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

As they approached their final qualifying competition, their goal became even more enticing: an opportunity to compete.

In recent years, the U.S. Championships included only junior and senior divisions, but for the 2024 championships, there will be a small novice field. At the 2024 U.S. Ice Dance Final, Kouevi and Homawoo needed to place in the top five to earn their spot.

They did much better, finishing second in the 13-team field, which puts them in position to make history at Nationals.

“It was a really good learning process for both of us—on the ice and off the ice, mentally and physically,” said Kouevi, 12.

“All of our programs felt very strong. I felt very grounded into the ice. Normally, at a competition, it feels unfamiliar to be at some rinks, but this time, it felt more familiar to me.”

Homawoo, 14, said the time they spent training helped the programs feel strong and they felt very prepared. “[Making Na-

Ice dancers Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo (Photos courtesy of Kouevi and Homawoo)

tionals] means a lot, but also in my mind I knew we were going to go,” he said. “All the hard work we put in toward these programs, it paid off.”

The ice dancers, who are cousins (their mothers are sisters), both attend regular school. They said it keeps them grounded and they enjoy being with kids their age with diverse interests. Their training base is the Ice Dance Academy at the Ion Inter-

national Training Center in Leesburg, VA. While this season has been exciting, it also came with challenges. Kouevi suffered an injury at a competition in September. A positive attitude helped her move past it.

“Obviously, it was physical because it was a physical injury, but for me, it was more mental. The way I wanted to look at it is this is just another bump in the road to success,” she said.

The only ice dance team of which both partners are Black to earn a podium finish in the U.S. Championships was that of Tiffani Tucker and Franklyn Singley in 1993. “It matters a lot to represent our community—to show that we can really skate and there are more of us to come,” said Homawoo, who gains inspiration by envisioning himself at the World Championships and Olympics.

Hunter College volleyball wraps up a satisfying season

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews The Hunter College women’s volleyball team played well all season, finishing with an overall record of 22-10, and an undefeated 7-0 in conference play. The Hawks won their eighth CUNY AC title in nine seasons and with it a return trip to the NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Tournament. Although the season ended with a loss to the nationally ranked University of Mary Washington, Hunter played hard and kept each set close.

“The end of last year, we graduated a few players who played major roles on the team,” said head coach Andrew Woolward. “Fortunately, we were able to get in a few new players, including Tessa Winkleman, who was a major addition for us.

When the season started, obviously one of our biggest goals was to make it to the NCAA Tournament.”

Despite some injuries along the way, Woolward said the talent and commitment of the players carried them to their goals. Once people were healthy, they were poised for success.

Division III does not have athletic scholarships. Also, many students at CUNY institutions have multiple obligations. In addition to their studies, some student-athletes have jobs. Even

The Hunter College Hawks

the coach has another profession. Woolward is an occupational therapist with his own private practice.

“Hunter has a tradition of winning, so it’s getting them at the recruitment process to buy into that vision, buy into that legacy,” Woolward said. “It takes a certain amount of dedication to do that.

Along with that, you have to be a student. It’s finding those student-athletes

Senior setter Kiara Abreu (Photos courtesy of Hunter Athletics)

who can do both.”

As for Woolward, he said he has a very demanding life outside of Hunter volleyball, but he’s able to do it because he is adept at planning and scheduling, a skill he imparts to his athletes. He also has a passion for volleyball, having been a standout student-athlete at Brooklyn College, where he was inducted into its hall of fame.

The team will lose six seniors to graduation, so Woolward expects the spring season will focus on training for returning players. “It’s 16 days of practice, and then we end for spring break,” he said.

“We will spend the time working on refining skills, both individually and as a team during the spring season. Then, we come back in the fall with whoever I’m able to add to the roster.”

40 • November 23, 2023 - November 29, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sports Navigating key absences, the Knicks persevere on the road

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor With absences from regular starters RJ Barrett and shooting guard Quentin Grimes, the Knicks’ depth revealed itself on their recently completed eight-day, five-game road trip in which they were a buoyant 3–2.

They opened the stretch with a 114–98 loss to the Boston Celtics on November 13 and ended it on Monday by falling to the Minnesota Timberwolves 117–100.

Sandwiched between the defeats were victories over the Atlanta Hawks (116–114), Washington Wizards (120–99) last Friday in the second of the Knicks’ four Eastern Conference Group C In-Season Tournament games, and the Charlotte Hornets (122–108). The Knicks are 8–6 overall and 5–4 away from the Garden, and were No. 8 in the Eastern Conference standings heading into last night’s slate of NBA games.

New York will play their first game since Monday and first at Madison Square Garden since November 12 when they host the Miami Heat in their third In-Season Tournament game. The Knicks are 1–1, losing to the Milwaukee Bucks 110–105 on November 3 in Game 1. They will conclude group play at MSG next Tuesday versus the Hornets.

The Knicks are currently in third place in their five-team group. Eight teams each from the Eastern and Western Conferences will advance to the quarterfinals The Indiana Pacers (3–0, East, Group A) and Los Angeles Lakers (4–0, West, Group A) became the first teams to clinch winning their respective groups with victories on Tuesday night.

With Barrett and Grimes back, the Knicks will need all hands on deck when they meet the surging Miami Heat, who were 9–5 and No. 4 in the East having won eight of their previous 10 games going into last night facing the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Barrett, the Knicks starting small forward, returned on Saturday against the Hornets after missing the three prior games due to migraine headaches. Grimes came back on Monday after sitting against the Wizards and Hornets with a sprained left wrist. The voids in the Knicks’ lineup were filled by Immanuel Quickley and Donte DiVincenzo.

The reserves played productively on both ends of the court in the Knicks’ wins, including DiVincenzo, scoring a career-high 25 points against Charlotte, going 7–10 on 3-pointers starting in place of Grimes. Quickley, last season’s runner up for the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year award, posted 20 points in Atlanta and 27 in Washington.

DiVincenzo and Quickley augmented the impactful play of point guard Jalen Brunson, power forward Julius Randle, and center Mitchell Robinson. Brunson led the Knicks in scoring in four of

Jalen Brunson—who leads the Knicks at 24.2 points per game—and his squad return to Madison Square Garden tomorrow to host the Miami Heat after a five-game road trip. (Bill Moore photo)

the five road games, putting up 32 points in back-to-back wins over the Wizards and Hornets.

Randle topped the Knicks with 29 against the Hawks and for the season is averaging 19.5 points per game although shooting a low 37.8%. However, he leads the team

at 5.3 assists per game and is second in rebounding at 10 per outing.

Dominant rebounding has been Robinson’s forte. The 25-year-old, sixth-year veteran was fifth in the league at 11.6 per game going in last night’s schedule and the leader at 6.1 offensive rebounds.

Brooklyn looks to move up in the East during upcoming homestand

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

Eastern Conference. They were homestand this Saturday hostlooking to recover from a 121–99 ing the Miami Heat and looking to loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at move up in the East standings.

AM News AM News The Brooklyn Nets went into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn The Nets have been competitive their game06/01/23 last night (Wednes- on Sunday afternoon, their largin most of their early season games 08/17/23 day) against the Atlanta Hawks est defeat this season. but have not been able to gain wins 6–7 and in the No. 10 spot in the They will begin a five-game against the NBA’s top teams, including two losses to the Boston Celtics, Nets forward Mikal Bridges and his teammates begin a five-game and one each to the Cleveland Cavhomestand on Saturday hosting the Miami Heat at the Barclays Center aliers, Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee (Bill Moore photo) AM News AMBucks, Newsand 76ers.

One area where the Nets have been lacking is matching the force 06/08/23 08/24/23 of opponents. It’s a topic their head coach Jacque Vaughn has been emphasizing going back to last season.

“Nobody’s going to gain 20 pounds in the next two weeks,” AM News AMsaid News Vaughn regarding the team’s lack of physical play. “Our physi06/15/23 08/31/23 cality has to be shown in a different way, whether it is our resilience, whether it is how hard we cut, whether it is how we continue to communicate. So there’s a differlevel of physicality for us that’s AM News AMent News going to extend beyond who’s bigger [and] who’s stronger.”

06/22/23 09/07/23 Summer free agent acquisition Lonnie Walker IV has paid early dividends, setting season highs

in consecutive games by scoring 23 points last week in a 122115 road loss to the Miami Heat AM News and 24 points on Sunday against Philadelphia. Walker IV was av11/2/23 eraging 16.6 points and was tied for the league lead in 20+ point games off the bench with four prior to facing the Hawks.

“It’s great that he is able to stack these games together,” head coach AM News Vaughn said. “He is starting to realize where he can11/09/23 get his shots in our offense and what good looks are compared to questionable looks. I think defensively, we want him to be a little bit more aggressive for us…He has the athleticism News to be a disruptorAM for us.

So that’s the next challenge for him. On the 11/23/23 defensive end. He’s proven that he can get to the rim for us offensively and score the basketball.”

Before Sunday’s game, head coach Vaughn addressed the return of AM News Brooklyn’s leading scorer, guard Cam Thomas, who 11/23/23 has been out since November 8.

“We’ll give you a more

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detailed update this week, but [he’s] just going through the process of getting back on the floor,” he said. “But it’s tough to stay in shape when you’re dealing with [the] lower extremities.”

Following the Heat, the Nets will play the Chicago Bulls on Sunday evening. The homestand continues with the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday, the Charlotte Hornets next Thursday and the Orlando Magic on December 2.

The Nets are 2–1 and the No. 2 seed in the East’s Group C in the NBA’s InSeason Tournament. They have one more group game remaining, playing the Toronto Raptors next Tuesday. A win would advance the Nets to the quarterfinals which will take place December 4 and 5.

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