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City Council releases LGBTQIA+ policy report
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
The New York City Council’s LGBTQIA+ caucus fears that the federal funding to support the city’s queer community will be cut under the incoming Trump administration. They released an agenda last month that outlines protections and budget items they want to cement into the city’s policies.
The city has been considered a safe haven for members of the LGBTQIA+ community for decades, but that in no way means that queer New Yorkers are completely protected under the law. In more Republican-leaning Nassau County, for instance, electeds enacted a ban against transgender girls and women from participating in sports this year.
According to the New York State Health Department’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from 2022, over one million adults (an estimated 7.9% of the state’s population) identified as LGBTQIA+, many of whom were below the age of 34, without a high school education, lived in households earning less than $25,000 a year, or were adults living with a disability.
About 7.1% of the state’s LGBTQIA+ population identified as white, 7.2% as Black, 10% as Hispanic; and others identified as another race or non-Hispanic multiracial, said the survey.
In June 2023, the City Council’s LGBTQ-
IA+ caucus released the first version of its policy report, entitled The Marsha & Sylvia Plan. They passed four laws from the plan: Int. 564-2022, established a commission on queer older adults; Int. 976-2023, reported on the number of queer and homeless youth in the city; Int. 831-2022, established resources for women and gender-expansive people in jail and reentry services; and Int. 887-2023, required corrections department to give a monthly report on housing
discrimination and gender identity.
This November on Transgender Day of Remembrance, elected officials and advocates released the Pride in Policy report, which essentially is a wishlist of policies and budget proposals they hope to pass over the next few years. The caucus specifically aims to protect the LGBTQIA+ community from the “incoming incursions of the Trump administration.”
Big decisions loom for new NYPD commissioner Tisch on disciplining police misconduct
By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member
Just one NYPD officer has ever been fired for misconduct from a Civilian Complaint Review Board investigation (CCRB), according to the independent oversight agency. Will that change with new police commissioner Jessica Tisch, who was appointed just over a week ago on Nov. 20?
MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS INFORMATION
Several crucial cases will soon reach Tisch’s desk, according to a CCRB source; while the agency independently investigates and substantiates police misconduct allegations, the NYPD commissioner gets final say on implementing the substantiated discipline. While fireable allegations are substantiated by the CCRB, the police rulebook is what actually identifies and enforces the disciplinary measures, not the Board. Lt. Jonathan Rivera, who killed Washington Heights man Allan Feliz during a Bronx traffic stop, faces possible termination after an ongoing disciplinary trial over the past month. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado will soon come to a decision on the case, which will be reviewed by Tisch, who will ultimately decide if Rivera keeps his job.
“This is a huge test for her,” said Yul-
san Liem, a director at the Justice Committee, which works with victims of police violence. “People who care about police accountability, which is everybody, are going
be watching to see what she does in the Lt. Rivera case. She could be like all the predecessors, and just feed into this pattern See LGBTQIA+ POLICY REPORT on page 29
NYPD COMMISSIONER on page 25
Rally on behalf of Allan Feliz outside Lt. Jonathan Rivera’s disciplinary trial at One Police Plaza. (Justice Committee photo)
The New York City Pride March on June 25, 2023. (Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit photo)
Health advocates in Africa worry Trump will reimpose abortion ‘gag rule’ governing U.S. aid
By FARAI MUTSAKA Associated Press
EPWORTH, Zimbabwe — Carrying her infant daughter, 19-year-old Sithulisiwe Moyo waited for two hours to get birth-control pills from a tent pitched in this poor settlement on the outskirts of Zimbabwe’s capital of Harare.
The outreach clinic in Epworth provides Moyo with her best shot at achieving her dream of returning to school. “I am too young to be a baby-making machine,” she said. “At least this clinic helps me avoid another pregnancy.”
But the free service funded by the U.S. government, the world’s largest health donor, might soon be unavailable.
As he did in his first term, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is likely in January to invoke the so-called global gag rule, a policy that bars U.S. foreign aid from being used to perform abortions or provide abortion information. The policy cuts off American government funding for services that women around the world rely on to avoid pregnancy or to space out their children, as well as for health care unrelated to abortion.
Four decades of on-again, off-again restrictions
The gag rule has a 40-year history of being applied by Republican presidents and rescinded by Democratic presidents. Every GOP president since the mid-1980s has invoked the rule, which is known as the Mexico City Policy for the city where it was first announced.
As one of his first acts as president in 2017, Trump expanded the rule to the extent that foreign NGOs were cut off from about $600 million in U.S. family planning funds and more than $11 billion in U.S. global health aid between 2017 and 2018 alone, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.
The money — much of it intended for Africa — covered efforts such as preventing malaria and tuberculosis, providing water and sanitation, and distributing health information and contraception, which might also have repercussions for HIV prevention.
Women’s health advocates are “uneasy” in the wake of Trump’s victory, said Pester Siraha, director of Population Services Zimbabwe, an affiliate of MSI Reproductive Choices, an NGO that supports abortion rights in 36 countries.
The policy stipulates that foreign NGOs that receive U.S government funding must agree to stop abortion-related activities, including discussing it as a family planning option — even when they are using nonU.S. government funds for such activities.
Biden pardons son and then embarks for Angola
By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
During Trump’s first term, MSI did not agree to those conditions, effectively making it ineligible for U.S government funding.
Siraha said that a blueprint offered to Trump by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation in its plan known as Project 2025 indicates that the new administration could enact “a more comprehensive global gag rule.”
Even NGOs in countries that outlaw abortion, such as Zimbabwe, are affected. Population Services Zimbabwe, for instance, closed its outreach clinics during Trump’s first term after losing funding due to its association with MSI Reproductive Choices. Such outreach clinics are often the only healthcare option for rural people with limited access to hospitals due to poverty or distance.
“It leaves women with no place to turn for help, even for information,” said Whitney Chinogwenya, global marketing manager at MSI Reproductive Choices.
Some NGOs in other African countries, such as Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, and South Africa, rolled back services, including clinics, contraception, training, and support for government and community health workers, as well as programs for young people, sex workers, and LGBTQIA+ communities. Other services shut down entirely.
The risk of unplanned pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and related deaths increased in many of the affected countries, according to the U.S.-based Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights.
Chinogwenya said her organization’s donor income dropped by $120 million during Trump’s first term. The money would
have provided 8 million women globally with family planning help, preventing 6 million unintended pregnancies, 1.8 million unsafe abortions, and 20,000 pregnancy-related deaths, she said.
The gag-rule policy “leads to more unintended, unwanted, unsupportable pregnancies and therefore an increase in abortion,” said Catriona Macleod, a professor of psychology at South Africa’s Rhodes University who heads the university’s studies in sexuality and reproduction. “This legislation does not protect life … it’s been called America’s deadly export,” said Macleod.
Trump’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Damage isn’t always easy to repair
President Joe Biden rescinded the gag-rule policy in 2021, resulting in Population Services Zimbabwe receiving $9 million, about 50% of its donor funding, from USAID in 2023. “But we haven’t regained all the loss we suffered,” said Siraha. “You need a minimum of five years to have an impact. If we then have another gap of five years, it means we are reversing all the gains.”
Her organization estimates that 1.3 million women could lose out on the care they need in Zimbabwe, leading to an additional 461,000 unintended pregnancies and 1,400 maternal deaths if the gag rule is reinstated. Overseas aid budget cuts by other Western governments will make it harder to find alternative funding, Siraha said.
See U.S. FOREIGN AID on page 29
Having pardoned his son, Hunter, President Joe Biden arrived in Angola, his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, at the start of a fourday trip to showcase a U.S.-backed railway project, possibly to counter China’s commitment to Africa. In 2015, Barack Obama was the first president to visit that part of Africa. Angola was not Biden’s first stop, however. He visited the island nation of Cape Verde and had a brief meeting with the country’s prime minister, Ulisses Correia e Silva. Cape Verde was once part of Portugal’s colonial possessions in Africa, along with other territories like Angola and Mozambique. Angola was a key point of departure for the millions of captive Africans during the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and Biden’s itinerary includes a visit to the National Slavery Museum in Luanda as well as travel to the port city of Lobito for a look at the proposed rail project.
At some point, it would benefit Biden and Wanda Tucker to share their impressions of the country. Dr. Wanda Tucker is the Faculty Chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department at Rio Salado College in Tempe, Arizona. Tucker, 61, traveled to Angola in 2019, believing her ancestors were among the first captives brought by the English slave traders to the colonies 400 years ago. In the journal she kept, she wrote, “I closed my eyes to feel the motion of the boat and imagined, for several months, Anthony and Isabella in the bottom of the ship, feeling the movement of the ocean swaying back and forth. How frightening was that?” Tucker was trying to envision the voyage of an enslaved relative, whose descendant could have been the child of William Tucker, the first named African born in what became the U.S. The notes in her journal are reminiscent of the experiences of Alex Haley as he sought to trace his roots back to Africa.
Pehunco community members, including village mayor, with U.S. representatives from Army Corps of Engineers Europe District and embassy, open new community health clinic in Benin. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Jennifer Schmeltzle)
President Joe Biden arrives at Amilcar Cabral international airport on Sal island, Cape Verde, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024, en route to Angola for long-promised visit to Africa. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
NYC says ‘yes’ to pro housing plans
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Mayor Eric Adams’s citywide rezoning proposal and the city council’s equitable housing plans are finally becoming more concrete, working in tandem to combat the rampant housing crisis.
The goal is to combine the mayor’s ambitious zoning changes with investments that will create and preserve affordable housing especially on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) campuses, homeownership, neighborhood infrastructure for sewers, streets, and open space, tenant protections, housing agencies, and new neighborhood planning efforts. In sum, it is one of the most signif-
icant housing plans in New York City history, with an estimated 80,000 new units to be developed over the next 15 years.
New York City is currently facing a severe housing crisis, with a citywide housing vacancy rate of 1.4% — the lowest percentage since 1968. The lack of housing is greatest for the most affordable homes, and most New York City renters are rent-burdened (paying 30% or more of their income on rent).
Record homelessness, rising evictions, and widespread housing insecurity are impacting New Yorkers across the city, resulting in less safety and stability for communities.
Adams first announced his City of Yes for Housing Opportuni-
ty (CHO) in 2023, which was met widely with skepticism from other electeds and the public. The proposal called for citywide zoning reform to allow various entities to build more housing in every city council district. The City Council held a two-day hearing on Oct. 21 and 22, thoroughly reviewing the CHO proposal.
On Nov. 21, the City Council voted to pass CHO. As part of the agreement, city leadership committed $5 billion in funding for their City for All housing plan, which includes a $1 billion contribution from Governor Kathy Hochul. The funding also includes $2 billion towards Mitchell-Lama developments and NYCHA housing, $2 billion for
Fed Up: City held in contempt over jail conditions as federal judge favors receivership
By TANDY LAU
Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member
Federal judge Laura Taylor Swain held the City of New York in civil contempt last Wednesday, Nov. 27 for failing to properly implement court-ordered reforms in city jails, particularly on Rikers Island, stemming from a 2012 class action lawsuit over unconstitutional detainee conditions. The case, Nunez v. City of New York, was settled in 2015 and required the NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) to comply with a laundry list of changes and report them to a monitoring team.
Additionally, Swain is “inclined” to install a receiver, a federallyappointed third party to assume control over jail operations from the city until those reforms are met. The measure is largely seen as a last ditch effort but is also regarded as long overdue by many criminal justice advocates. Parties will meet with the monitor and file “proposed frameworks” by Jan. 14, 2025, for how the takeover could work.
Contempt orders result from disregarding the court’s authority — Swain writes that conditions are “demonstratively worse” than when the city agreed upon the reforms. The ruling specifically points to noncompliance towards 18 provisions spread across four court orders pertaining to issues like use of force, staff discipline, and jail security.
The Nunez plaintiffs’ previous attempt to hold the DOC in contempt, which was made in an effort to point out issues with intake on Rikers Island, failed last year. Their co-counsel, Debra Greenberger, says Wednesday’s decision was a big step toward keeping people held in city jails safe.
“What we have asked the court [to do] was to hold the city in contempt [for] a large number of provisions of the court’s orders,” said Greenberger over the phone. “And it’s important to realize that those orders are orders the city agreed to. ‘This is important to make the jail safe [and] to meet the constitutional requirements’ — those are all things the city said, [it agrees] those are necessary. And then they didn’t do that.
“Then the monitor, who has been painstaking in pointing out each time the city has violated these orders, would tell them and the city would continue not to do it…we saw contempt as an important piece of the puzzle to try to figure out how do we change things.”
While criminal contempt orders have led to jail time for notable figures like former White House aide Steve Bannon and ex-Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, civil contempt is not punitive in nature and intends to ensure compliance. Ultimately, Swain ruled “imposing a term of incarceration on Department [of Corrections] or City leaders until compliance has
been achieved would do little to advance reform.”
Other contempt remedies considered besides receivership include fining the city and releasing Rikers Island detainees (which would require authority beyond Swain from a three-judge panel). Both were disregarded.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams pointed to improved relations between the monitor and the DOC following his appointment of current commissioner Lynelle Maginley-Liddie last December noted in Swain’s contempt order.
“Commissioner Maginley-Liddie has also proven herself to the court and the monitor as the necessary steady hand to continue protecting those in our care and who work for the DOC,” Adams’ spokesperson said in a statement. “We are proud of our work, but recognize there is more to be done and look forward to working with the federal monitoring team on our shared goal of continuing to improve the safety of everyone in our jails.”
While Swain credits Maginley-Liddie — the second Black woman to head the DOC — with
developing more transparency and cooperating with the monitor, she notes past commissioners also started their tenures with strong working relationships but ultimately failed to comply with court orders. The judge remains noncommittal on whether Maginley-Liddie’s “good intentions” will effectively usher in the mandated reforms.
The DOC blames the increased violence on increasingly violent charges among those detained, pointing to recent bail reform laws mitigating the number of people held in pre-trial detention for non-violent felonies. However, Swain notes no evidence correlating a person-in-custody’s charges with excessive use of force and dismissed the argument’s relevance to the city’s “obligations to provide safe and humane treatment to those within its jails.”
To be clear, those held in pre-trial detention are innocent until proven guilty.
“These people are charged, they’re not convicted, but regardless of the crime they were charged with, [are] entitled to have a minimum consular constitutional level of safety, and the city jails have violated that,” said Greenberger. “And it’s not just that they have violated the end piece, which is that the jails are unsafe. Many of our contempt provisions are about the building blocks: they’re not staffing jails appropriately. That has nothing to do with See FED UP on page 33
See YES on page 31
Barika Williams, the executive director at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), (at podium) joined electeds at the City for All press conference at City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 3. (Ariama C. Long photo)
Advocates led by Jails Action Coalition’s Victoria Phillips (center left) call for closure of Rikers Island jails and federal receivership this past January at Thomas Paine Park. (Tandy Lau photo)
Liberation-based therapist
Tanisha Christie
Black New Yorker
By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff
Tanisha Christie, 53, founder of Liberation-Based Therapy and longtime wellness advocate, has provided mental health support and wraparound services in the New York metro area for those in need for years.
“I started the practice for people who saw themselves at an intersection in a crossroads, and the other reason I started was for therapists of color,” said Christie. “In social work school, most of the clinical internships went to people of whiteness and mostly people of color get case management positions, so if they were interested in doing more clinical work, they didn’t get the training.”
Christie was born in Queens as a first-generation Panamanian-American. She moved around a lot as an adolescent, going to high school and college in Arizona. She pursued a career in arts for social justice, working with groups from all walks of life, after earning a master’s in media and documentary film from the New School.
“Everybody’s an artist and … the muscle of imagination needs to be exercised, and if you can dream it, you can be it. In that work, I was trained in anti-racism and anti-oppression,” said Christie.
She realized that she wanted to engage with people more deeply on a therapeutic level and earned a master’s degree in social work from Hunter College. She is trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and diversity in social work through the Ackerman Institute for the Family, and has New York State Certified Divorce Mediator certification. She began her practice in 2021.
Christie recently announced a move to partner with Globalizing Gender found-
er Natasha R. Johnson, 47, who runs a nonprofit that also focuses on culturally aware alternatives for gender-based violence survivors and has been operating in the city for the last decade.
This partnership aims to combine their resources, funding, expertise, and networks to promote trauma-informed care for domestic violence (DV), gender-based violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors, as well as those who have experienced horrific cultural practices, such as female genital mutilation and cutting (FGM/C), child marriage, forced marriage, human trafficking, and breast ironing. Together, they plan to serve individuals, couples, and families (integrated and open) in New York and New Jersey, along with nationally focused wellness training and initiatives.
“There are a host of hurdles that folks have to sort of jump through as they seek remedy to gaining any level of recourse for themselves as they think about what it means to extricate themselves from the cycles of violence,” said Johnson about their work.
“We’ve created service and products to make it easier for folks to plug into what service could look like meaningfully. This is just another branch of what that looks like to harness the fact that we overlap in our business. There have been plenty of times I’ve tagged Tanisha in to be our clinical director and she’s tagged me in.”
For more information about accessing the services that Liberation-Based Therapy provides, email office@liberationbasedtherapy.com or visit www.liberationbasedtherapy.com.
For Globalizing Gender, email natasha@ globalizinggender.org or visit www.globalizinggender.org.
THE URBAN AGENDA
By David R. Jones, Esq
A City of Yes and a City for All: The Mayor and City Council’s grand zoning bargain
Today, the City Council will be voting on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, one of the mayor’s citywide zoning reform proposals. If passed, it would be the largest reconsideration of the city’s zoning code in more than half a century: no small feat for a politically embattled, deeply unpopular mayor.
The City of Yes has been making its way through the city’s notoriously complex land use review process for over a year. At the onset, the zoning package included many commonsense reforms to the city’s zoning code: tweaks to residential zoning that would allow for modest apartment buildings along commercial corridors; removal of minimum parking requirements for newly built apartment buildings; an allowance for slightly bigger buildings across the city if they include new affordable housing; lessen the barriers for office to residential conversion; modest increases in density around transit in low density areas; and the legalization of “accessary dwelling units (ADUs)”, the wonky term for basement or attic apartments that many New Yorkers already live in.
The Adams administration’s PR blitz around the City of Yes has painted it as a solution to the city’s housing crisis and its extremely tight (1.4 percent) vacancy rate.
Individually and together, the zoning changes in the package would have made the city more livable over time. But, on their own, zoning reforms cannot address our housing crises. Even in an ideal market environment, construction takes time, meaning that it will be years until units built as a result of the City of Yes will be ready for move in. And very soon, we will enter an uncertain market environment, to say the least: threats to impose tariffs on construction materials and conduct mass deportations, as well as stubbornly high commercial mortgage rates will make it difficult to build, no matter how welcoming a local zoning environment may be.
Further, even if those post-City of Yes units actually get built, they will inevitably be too expensive for low- and even many middleincome New Yorkers, without added tax incentives or subsidies. As the Community Service Society of New York demonstrated in a recent report, a typical renter household in New York City earns just 59 percent of the Area Median Income, meaning most renters are low-income. The package does include a small affordability provision, which allows developers to increase the size of their buildings by 20 percent, if the added apartments are permanently affordable. But the share of affordable units it would generate, even under ideal conditions, would not make much of a dent in the city’s rent
burdened and unhoused population.
In order to push the City of Yes through, Mayor Adams had to garner buy-in from the City Council. The post-negotiation package, which the Council will be voting on today, reflects both the best and worst political impulses of our city.
First, the good—and it is very good, indeed: Under Speaker Adrienne Adams’ leadership, the City Council was able to leverage the mayor’s need for a political win to trade its support for more immediate fixes to the city’s affordability crisis.
Dubbed “City for All,” the City Council’s addition to the City of Yes is a massive $5 billion commitment for housing and infrastructure capital and other spending that will protect residents long before the 80,000 units promised in City of Yes materialize. It includes $2 billion for development and preservation of the city’s existing affordable housing stock, like Housing Development Fund Corporation co-ops, Mitchell-Lamas, and public housing. City for All will help keep people in their homes with funding for public housing rental arrears and initiatives like the AntiHarassment Tenant Protection program. It will also re-house people who are homeless with additional funding for CityFHEPS, the city’s rental assistance program.
While this $5 Billion commitment addresses some of my concerns about the City of Yes’ lack of immediate relief for low-income New Yorkers, the negotiation between the Mayor and City Council unfortunately resulted in some negative changes to the package. Yielding to its most conservative and protectionist members, the Council watered down some of the best aspects of the mayor’s proposal. The final package limits where ADUs can be legalized, leaving countless basement apartments in legal limbo, resulting in unsafe living conditions for many tenants. It also preserves parking requirements and limits on multifamily construction in the city’s low-density neighborhoods, severely curtailing the impact of both proposed changes.
If the City of Yes passes the City Council today, it will take a long time for us to see its impact, especially in the impending era of political uncertainty, which will undoubtedly have an impact on the city’s real estate market. However, many of the City for All’s spending priorities—like additional rental assistance and rent arrear relief—should have a more immediate impact.
Still, the question remains: with likely withdrawal of already insufficient resources, are City of Yes and City for All enough?
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 expressed in this column are solely those of the writer. The Urban Agenda is available on CSS’s website: www.cssny.org.
Tanisha Christie (left) and Natasha R. Johnson (right). (Contributed by Tanisha Christie)
‘We Quit America’: Our exit from a country designed to kill Black people
By YANIQUE REDWOOD
This article is excerpted and adapted from the book “We Quit America.”
Quitting America was not one decision; it was many decisions over time. It was small moments of awareness, like a flashlight pointing to the exit in a smoke-filled burning house: I couldn’t see my own hands as they reached out to help me find the way, but I moved toward the exit anyway. I felt the heat closing in behind me. I couldn’t breathe. My nostrils burned. And slowly, my eyes, although stinging, adjusted to the painful truth: America is bad for Black people. And there is no making it better. I had to get out.
America shames, denies, and diminishes
My first awareness that this country hated me was when Blake, a white high school classmate whom I believed to be a friend, flashed what I now know was racism. I can still see his sandy-brown hair, thin round spectacles, and smirking alabaster face as he dismissed my acceptance into Georgia Tech, my top choice for undergrad. “It is because she is Black and female that she got in,” he said as my classmates gathered in the back of physics class to congratulate me and to ask about my GPA and SAT scores.
I felt such shame as I stood there, learning for the first time that something other than my high GPA (above a 4.0, weighted because of advanced classes) and strong SAT effort (an 1180, which meant I had outperformed 73% of test-takers) may have been at play in my acceptance. Affirmative action, a set of policies to improve educational and employment opportunities for minoritized groups that had been shut out of higher education and jobs because of histories of racism, may have rescued me, yes. Bias in college admission testing; underfunded schools in Black neighborhoods; and racist narratives that follow Black students around every day, telling them they are not smart enough, are all in the way of accepted forms of achievement — grades and test scores.
In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action in college admissions. This ruling denied the current and abiding role of structural racism in higher education access and the need to correct for its impacts, and will make it less possible for Black people and certain other racialized peoples to go to college. I wasn’t even aware of affirmative action at the time Blake made the remark. Even if my race and gender had been part of the admission calculation, was there nothing about my high school performance he might have celebrated? In one fell swoop, he diminished my four-year effort to graduate at the top of my class.
As my classmates’ smiles dissipated, so did my excitement about my future.
America
steals Black wealth
My awareness continued during the twoyear period in which every white household except one exited my previously all-white neighborhood after my family moved in when I was in college. In graduate school, I soon learned about studies that investigated the tipping point at which white people leave neighborhoods when Black people move in. One study found that the percentage of Black neighbors immediately preceding the tipping point is about 5–20%.
Can you blame white people? The policies and practices of redlining, a federal government program to rate neighborhood mortgage risk based on race, had synonymized low property values with the presence of Black people, thus fueling white flight. As a result of these dynamics, houses in Black neighborhoods historically have lower values than similar houses in white neighborhoods (Perry and Donoghoe, 2024). Thus, by the time the 2008 recession hit, my mother’s house went from stagnating equity to being underwater.
She lost her house in a short sale.
America harms Black love and puts pressure on Black families
With the rise of white nationalism in the United States, I began daydreaming about returning to Jamaica, the land of my birth, and to a time when I was not Black. The tiny island would be a welcome reprieve from
the unceasing racist ideology spewing from the political right since the election of President Barack Obama. My husband affirmed that a move to Jamaica was wholly possible and believed our nearly decade-long marriage, which was becoming strained, might have a better chance of surviving outside of the U.S. context.
Our family therapist, a Black man, had telegraphed to us that Washington, D.C., eats Black couples alive. The desire to make a name and career for oneself, along with the financial strain caused by living in one of the most expensive cities in America, was often too much for the Black couples he counseled, even those who loved each other and wanted to make it work. The couple who referred us to this therapist is no longer married. Both partners worked in relatively high-profile jobs and were driven in their careers. We also referred another couple to this therapist, and this husband and wife, too, are no longer together. She was a successful executive and he was a federal government employee. They had two kids, one with special needs.
The stress of living in DC as a Black couple was made more challenging by long commutes, early-morning gym time, late-night dinners, and 12-hour workdays. We were exhausted. We became like college roommates who slept in the same place but missed each other, always on the way to or from class. Ronnie left for the gym each
morning at 5 a.m. with a small suitcase filled with work clothes (often missing a pair of socks or his belt) while I was waking up with my computer to start the day. He cooked dinner after he got home, as I sat at the kitchen bar paying bills or making household to-do lists. We traded text messages and phone calls during the day, but it wasn’t enough to keep a marriage healthy.
And there is no making it better
At the same time, we were growing weary about whether our social justice work could produce the results we had hoped for. Ronnie had been working for the Democracy Collaborative on new economic configurations that could replace racial capitalism. As a public health-trained scholar, I was leading a private health foundation and working to move its grantmaking and other programs from a focus on health equity to one on racial justice. But I was burning out — and fast — and racialized aggression from my white peers compounded my stress. A board-suggested mini sabbatical was like a rescue tube for this drowning CEO.
Even during these periods of weariness, Ronnie and I found a certain kind of validation in Black comedy. I can’t tell you how many times we have watched Katt Williams’s “American Zoo” skit. It is so apropos for all our activism and is remarkably telling of Black people’s efforts in this country. We had been “tryin’ shit and tryin’ shit” as an activist couple in a long line of Black people in America who had done the same. Take stock of the arguments we as Black people have crafted to beat back racism, some of them in direct conflict with each other even when by the same person.
The famous debate between W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington is instructive. Du Bois was of the mind that a liberally educated Black elite should guide the way to progress and that education, political power, and integrationist strategies would be our way into society. Washington argued that African Americans needed a more industrial-based education that shaped practical skills and trades. He believed that would allow Black people to work our way up from the bottom of America’s socioeconomic hierarchy.
Even now, Black public intellectuals and organizers present cogent arguments for our path forward. Some cry “Defund the police!” and others say, “We need pleasure in our movements.” The point here is that Black people try shit! We have prayed for relief, and we have strategized. We have been conductors on the Underground Railroad, and we have conducted ourselves according to white society’s expectations. We have protested, and we have led uprisings. We have burned down plantations and police stations, both of which have been See WE QUIT AMERICA on page 7
Yanique Redwood and Ronnie Galvin. (Rodcliffe Hume photo)
We quit America
hubs of state-sponsored violence with “officers” intent on controlling Black bodies. We have accommodated. Boy, have we accommodated! Working in and for white people’s companies. Working hard to stay between the lines to hold onto that salary needed to pay the bills.
We have gone to the most elite schools, and yet our quality-of-life outcomes are different from those of other racial groups. For example, within 40 years or so of matriculating, Black men who had graduated from Yale’s class of 1970 accounted for 10% of deaths among class members even though they only made up 3% of the class (Howell, 2011). What this demonstrates is that elite education doesn’t protect us from the darts of structural and interpersonal racism. In fact, the striving it takes to “make it” — to contend with and negotiate our way in America — is killing us faster and more efficiently than other racial and ethnic groups, save perhaps Native Americans on some measures.
We have also built our own businesses and communities in a self-determined attempt to insulate ourselves from racism — and each time, white mobs, threatened by any semblance of Black progress, burned them to the ground. We have fought in wars and come home to discrimination.
We have voted and turned out the vote. It has been said on occasion that we (Black women in particular) have saved democracy. And still — look at where we are.
This is also why we quit. We have worked hard on this American project, yet America at every turn digs in its heels and resists the kind of transformative change required for Black people to realize our freedom. Each time it seems as if change is coming, such as with the election of a Black president, America wags its index finger like the late basketball player Dikembe Mutombo and says, “No, no, no. Not today.”
Perhaps not ever.
“We Quit America” can be purchased from www.wequitamerica.com.
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New Central Park ice rink and pool opening soon in Harlem
By JASON PONTEROTTO Special to the AmNews
The redevelopment of the former Lasker Rink and Pool in Central Park is nearing completion and slated to open in early 2025.
The new site, called the Davis Center at the Harlem Meer, will be a state-of-theart facility featuring the ice rink during the winter, a pool during the summer, and a public green space in the fall and spring. The center encompasses both the indoor facility and the outdoor site. One of the main differences of the revamped resource will be year-round access. The center is named after Kathryn and Andrew Davis, who donated $40 million to the project. While open to all park-goers, the site will feature recreational activity aimed at serving the surrounding Harlem community and reconnecting Central Park to Black and Brown residents.
The entire project cost $160 million between investments of $60 million from the city and $100 million raised by the Central Park Conservancy, a not-for-profit organization responsible for raising the operating budget that has led in work in restructuring the north end since the 1980s. The design was a collaboration between the conservancy, Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture and Design, and Mitchell Giurgola Architects.
Chief architects were Christopher Nolan, Susan T Rodriguez and John Doherty.
The Lasker Rink and Pool was erected in 1966 in Central Park. While it functioned for many decades, the site was marred with issues, needed renovations, and developed a reputation of being an eyesore for the community. According to the conservancy, it was a”systematically flawed and failing facility” that was flood-prone, obstructed access from the rest of the park, and was only open half the year.
Restoration work on the Meer began in 1986. Later in 2019, the new design was officially announced with ground first being broken physically in 2021.
New design
The Davis Center building will be covered by a green roof, blend with the topography of the site along its eastern slope, and be invisible from above, creating a more “scenic overlook.” Green roofs also create protection from urban heat island effect by providing shade and cooling. The indoor gathering facility will be underneath the roof that directly connects to the outdoor room of the pool/ice rink/public green space. Amenities inside the center will include women’s and men’s locker rooms, concession space, skate rentals, and public restrooms. The public green is a new addition for the
site; previously, the facility would be closed off in the spring and fall months. During the “shoulder” months of spring and fall, an artificial turf will be installed to create the green space for relaxing, playing games, picnics, wellness classes, and more activities.
The entire site is 8 acres; Central Park as a whole totals 843 acres. There was a major focus on making the project eco-friendly and sustainable. Repairing the ecology and hydrology of the site was fundamental to the new design. Sustainability was also important, involving natural and watersourced materials such as the green roof, energy- and water-conserving systems, and bird-safe glass.
Harlem community access
One main component of the site will be to serve surrounding Harlem residents in response to the historic cutoff between the park and the community.
“We know that to many in the local community, Central Park has previously felt unwelcoming or exclusive in nature, and with this project, we aim to ensure that all truly feel welcome in this public space,” according to a spokesperson for the conservancy. “Harlem deserves world-class facilities and programming that prioritizes the community. The previous Lasker facility fell short in its design and offerings,
and we’re working to fix that.”
According to the conservancy, the majority of the programming will be free or low cost, and local nonprofit partners will be able to use the space for programming. The conservancy’s 110th Street Harlem Gateway Coalition, a task force with local Harlem business owners, leaders, and longtime residents who work to make Central Park more of a welcoming space for Harlem, will also help in connecting the community with the new Davis Center. The group includes Community Board 10 members such as Karen Horry and Cicely Harris, Jessica Spaulding of the Harlem Chocolate Factory, pastor Wesley Wilson of the Second Canaan Baptist Church, Barbara Askins, president of the 125th Street BID, and more.
This latest attempt to bridge a gap between Harlem community members and Central Park evokes the story of Seneca Village, a predominantly Black settlement community that existed between 1825 and 1857 where the park is now. As New York was expanding, the settlement community was dismantled to build Central Park, and the mostly working- and middle-class Black community of Seneca Village was displaced. Properties were seized through eminent domain, a reflection of the continued gentrification that exists in Harlem and beyond.
Rendering of pavilion and outdoor room with public green area that park-goers will be able to enjoy in spring and fall months (Rendering: Central Park Conservancy photo)
All Stars Project raises 800K for local youth
Contributed Press Release
The All Stars Project (ASP) of NY held its annual benefit, hosted by Troy Iwata and ASP youth at the Prince George Ballroom, to celebrate with youth performances and raise funds in support of its award-winning free youth development programs in NY. The event raised $804,991 from nearly 250 attendees to benefit youth in New York, particularly in communities of color.
The event convened ASP corporate partners from organizations including Goldman Sachs, Mu Ventures, Google, Elliot Management, BofA, Mount Sinai Faculty Practice, Deloitte, PwC, and HPS Network, along with the inspiring ASP team and youth participants from underserved neighborhoods who are enhancing their personal and professional
development through opportunities with the organization.
The evening’s honorees were co-chair of the ASP of New York Board Jessie Fields, MD, Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai Faculty Practice; and member of the ASP of NY board Audrey Melofchik, Global Chief Brand Experience Officer, VML. The honorary event chair was Joe Peiser, Global CEO, Commercial Risk Solutions, Aon.
The All Stars Project is a national nonprofit organization providing programs where underserved youth learn to perform on stage — and in life. ASP after-school development offerings reach nearly 10,000 youth and their families every year free of charge in New York City, Newark, Jersey City, Chicago, Dallas, the San Francisco Bay Area, and virtually.
Divine Nine News
By KAYLYN KENDALL DINES Special to the AmNews
Welcome to the Divine Nine News column, a space in the AmNews that was created to announce events, spotlight programs, and profile members of Black Greek letter organizations, along with showcasing their accomplishments. This is a dedicated resource for sharing news about chapters worldwide and member organizations of the National PanHellenic Council, Inc.
We look forward to hearing about your chapter’s upcoming events or ideas for profiles of your organization or members who are doing great things in the communities you serve. Connect with us. Tell us about your in-person, virtual, or hybrid events at amsterdamnews. com/d9news and d9@amsterdam-
In the meantime, we are honored to have Willis L. Lonzer, III, general president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. serve as a Divine Nine guest columnist, especially during this week as his organization celebrates their Founders’ Day.
A message from Willis L. Lonzer, III,
General President of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.®
The Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. was founded on Dec. 4, 1906, by seven college men at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. The founders, eventually designated as “Jewels,” were Henry A. Callis, Charles H. Chapman, George B. Kelly, Nathaniel A. Murray, Robert H. Ogle, Vertner W. Tandy, and Eugene K. Jones.
The concept of a fraternity for African American men was well received by the broader African American community at universities in the United States and Canada. This resulted in rapid linear growth of the fraternity through the establishment of Alpha Phi Alpha collegiate chapters
at multiple universities around the United States, and even the establishment of the first alumni chapter in 1911 in Louisville, Ky. As a result, Alpha Phi Alpha became the first intercollegiate Greek letter fraternity in the world established for men of African American descent. Today, Alpha Phi Alpha has 850 chapters for college/university and alumni members on the continents of North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has continued to promote its foundational aims of manly deeds, scholarship, and love for all mankind, as well as its motto: First of all, servants of all, we shall transcend all. These tenets are echoed by the mission statement of the fraternity: “Alpha Phi Alpha develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for our communities.”
The mission statement of the fraternity is reflected through its widereaching programs. These programs, originally designated as “national programs” because the fraternity’s community advocacy was primarily in the United States, are now global due to the placement of its chapters internationally. They are “Go to High School, Go to College
Left to right John Rankin III, Audrey Melofchik, Stanley Zhu
Left to right Ines Charles, Michi Moscosco, Samantha Moore, Courtney Derby
Left to Right Yvette Schmitter, Dr. Jessie Fields, Coumba Bathily, Ken Meyerson
Union Matters
Painters’ union educates kids about offshore wind jobs for National Apprenticeship Week
By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff
Offshore wind farms are set to become a major source of electricity in New York State — it will soon be common to see strong ocean winds driving turbine blades that transmit energy via underwater cables to power generators.
The state currently has five offshore wind projects in active development off the Atlantic Coast, and according to the New York State Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), “is well on the way to developing 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035, enough to power up to 6 million homes.” And that will be a good thing for labor.
Davon Lomax, political director for District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), said the influx of investment in offshore wind farms will create jobs.
“There’s been tons of money pumped into the offshore of Long Island [for the South Fork Wind project],” Lomax told the Amsterdam News. “They’re building some wind turbines and bids are going out now for more wind turbines. Our job in the labor unions is to prepare our members and future members for this kind of work that’s coming out, because you’re going to need a lot of [workers] for everything from underwater stuff to what we do as painters and coatings, and electrical –– you’re going to need a large workforce in the next few years.” The union is focusing on younger future workers for these opportunities.
“Our job is to do the training and let high school kids know that there’s a future in this industry and you can make a lot of money,” Lomax said. “If college isn’t for you, this is a good middle-class living that you can make.”
IUPAT recently joined Community Offshore Wind to host a free workshop that showed that union-based welding, glasscutting, and painting jobs are soon to be available in the offshore wind farm industry. More than 400 high school students from Queens Technical High School, Long Island’s Uniondale High School, Brooklyn Tech, and Brooklyn STEAM took part in the day-long program alongside non-high school young adults from WE ACT for Environmental Justice and the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.
The workshop was part of National Apprenticeship Week, when organizations showcase employment programs that people can look to for developing job skills. Community Offshore Wind is a renewable energy company jointly owned by RWE AG, a German multinational energy compa-
ny, and the British multinational National Grid. IUPAT organizes painters, decorators, bridge and structural steel painters, civil service painters, lead abatement workers, architectural metal glassworkers, and allied trades.
“Community Offshore Wind is committed to making sure every New Yorker who wants a career working on offshore wind has access to the training and support they need to do it,” Doug Perkins, president snd project director of Community Offshore Wind, said in a statement. “That’s why we’re working closely with IUPAT and labor partners across industries and trades to educate the next generation of New Yorkers about the opportunities available to them and investing millions of dollars in training programs and facilities, workforce development, and wraparound supports for workers in the offshore wind industry.”
The company’s press statement added that “Community Offshore Wind’s most recent proposed project would create nearly 700 jobs on its own and the developer is firmly committed to utilizing union labor for the construction of the project. The project will also generate roughly $3 billion in economic activity, which will create hundreds of additional jobs.
“To ensure equitable access to these opportunities, Community Offshore Wind will invest up to $250 million in education, workforce development programs, and services that address barriers that prevent New Yorkers in disadvantaged communities from accessing job opportunities.”
The incoming Trump administration has expressed a desire to curtail offshore wind farm developments, but already long-term projects have been in the works for years and will outlast the upcoming national administration.
“A lot of the world is moving toward offshore wind,” Lomax said. “And not just that, but you have hydrogen energy, and then you have nuclear energy... A lot of the world is moving toward this type of technology.
“We’re really excited about the offshore wind opportunities for our membership and future members where we will be having folks work with dignity and safety, and providing for their families.”
IUPAT offers free apprenticeship programs. Salaries for first-year IUPAT apprentices can be anywhere from 17 to 21 dollars an hour, including medical and retirement benefits; a journeyperson’s salary can range anywhere from $40 to close to $100 an hour. Students can either go to the union’s website and sign up for alerts about recruitment opportunities or have union reps visit their schools to talk about what is available (https://www.iupat.org/).
Students participate in IUPAT and Community Offshore Wind-sponsored metalworking demonstration during National Apprenticeship Week (Community Offshore Wind photo)
Wells Fargo recently hosted a series of free interactive and educational cooking classes, Sabor y Sabiduría: Flavorful Lessons in Financial Literacy, at e.terra Kitchen in East Harlem as part of its Banking Inclusion Initiative, their 10-year commitment to accelerate access to affordable mainstream bank accounts and financial education for the more than 5.9 million unbanked and 18.7 million underbanked U.S. households. These households are disproportionately Hispanic, and many call East Harlem home and face challenges with financial mobility.
Participants were guided through a stepby-step cooking demonstration by Harlem’s Frances Roman, owner and head chef at Cocotazo, and a discussion on the essential “ingredients” (i.e., how to establish credit, reduce debt, and build savings) that can set people up on the path toward financial success and address their own barriers to banking. Presenters included Patty Juarez, executive vice president and head of Hispanic & Latino Affairs at Wells Fargo; Victoria Leandra, award-winning journalist and speaker; and Wells Fargo’s Operation HOPE financial coaches Terry Peña and Melody Maisonet.
(Photo Credit: Francis Montoya (@slingshotmenace) Courtesy of Wells Fargo)
Let Biden’s trip to Africa renew our interest in the continent
We hope President Biden’s trip to Angola inspires a more extensive discussion of Africa, its history, and its connection to African Americans, particularly the Atlantic slave trade. One tipping point has already surfaced, indicating that a port in Angola played a key role in the departure of captives from the continent. And we are excited to learn that Dr. Wanda Tucker’s name has entered the discussion since she claims her ancestors may have been among the first to arrive in what was to become the U.S.
Biden’s journey also reminds us of a recent article by linguist Dr. John McWorter in the New York Times back in November. The crux of his opinion is that Black Americans should dismiss their focus on ancient Egypt as “a historical precursor to American blackness.” True, as he asserts, Black Americans are “not on the whole their descendants,” but he avoids the issue of what color the ancient Egyptians were.
Avoided, too, is the vital link between West Africa and Egypt, a subject given lengthy and profound insight by the late Senegalese scholar Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop. In his book “Civilization or Barbarism — An Afrocentric Anthropology,” Diop (1923–1986) connects the Wolof-speaking people of Senegal with ancient Egypt, both mythically and linguistically. He compares the ancient Egyptian language with Wolof.
“Sa” is the Egyptian god who nourishes the intelligence of truth. Diop cites it as similar to Sa, the Wolof word for to teach, to instruct. Diop has a long list of corresponding words from the two language groups. There is certainly an authoritative ring of similarity in the names of King Tenkhamenin of Ghana and the pharaoh Tutankhamun.
This may not be the place for a scholarly discourse on linguistics, but it is one we hope can be continued elsewhere among our enlightened Africanists with the sole purpose of taking Biden’s trip to a wider plateau of knowledge and community.
Climate change must be taught in our schools
By LEWIS THOMPSON JR.
Climate change instruction in our educational institutions is not where it should be currently. It’s a sad state of affairs when the world is visibly changing around us and our youth don’t know what to make of it. It’s also unfortunate that our youth are witnessing climate change as a polarizing issue in our society. With accurate information and a comprehensive curriculum, we can equip our youth with the knowledge needed to propel society toward a more sustainable future.
Before I became a graduate student, not only did I have a limited understanding of climate change, but I also did not pay much attention to climate issues and the way they were affecting my community, even though climate change was happening in Brookly, where I was born and raised, all the time — from noise pollution, diesel exhaust lingering in the air, sweltering summers, frigid winters, and a malodorously polluted Gowanus Canal.
From K–12, the closest thing I had resembling climate education was in either a biology or earth science class. Although my teachers were great with explaining concepts, the topics were usually covered in a short amount of time. It was not something that piqued my interest in climate change.
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A comprehensive education about climate change should not start at the graduate level. It should start from grade school and continue through high school and postsecondary education. Teachers should also have resources and training about how to impart climate knowledge properly to their students. Unfortunately, the reality is that teachers do not have the resources to educate their students about issues related to climate change. An ar-
ticle published in State of the Planet, a news site operated by the Columbia Climate School, highlighted the need for the professional development of teachers. The article noted that the two things that teachers cared most about regarding climate education were guidance about what to do and how to obtain the resources to do it.
Teachers having resources to present climate information would be beneficial to students who reside in urban areas. It comes as no surprise
that people who live in urban areas are most affected by climate change, which can manifest itself through health disparities such as respiratory and heat-related illnesses. People of color have disproportionate levels of illnesses related to climate change, such as heat stroke or asthma. The students who live in these areas are aware of what is happening in their communities, yet they may not be aware of the broader implications. The right thing to do is provide them with climate literacy.
It is in our collective best interest to guide students’ curiosity about climate change. This involves eliminating disinformation and providing students with factual, evidence-based information. It also includes putting the knowledge into practice so students can influence the social issues involving climate change that they care about.
Lewis Thompson Jr. is a graduate student at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.
Lewis Thompson Jr.
Connection to mental healthcare shouldn’t depend on race in New York City
By JANE WARREN
We live in stressful times: Inflation, crime, soaring housing costs, an entrenched affordability crisis and the tailwinds of the COVID-19 pandemic are just a few things rattling New Yorkers. It’s no wonder our mental health is crumbling.
Rates of anxiety, depression, and children’s behavioral health all increased after the start of the pandemic, and nearly one New Yorker in four experiences a mental health disorder in any given year.
Our young people are also struggling. The number of public high school students who reported feeling sad or hopeless increased from 27% to 38% over the past decade, according to the city’s firstever mental health report, released in May.
Despite an uptick in people seeking therapy, data shows communities of color are disproportionately affected here in New York City: Black, Latino, and Asian American and Pacific Islander New Yorkers are all less likely to be connected to mental healthcare than their white counterparts, resulting in glaring inequities in care.
In the wake of July having served as National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, now is a key time to raise awareness about these and other challenges that BIPOC communities face when it comes to mental illness. These discrepancies have grown and metastasized over time: Systemic racism, discrimination, and economic inequality compound with the social stressors being felt by all New Yorkers to
To make matters more concerning, there is a stark geographical divide when it comes to access to mental healthcare.
Residents in neighborhoods like the Northeast Bronx, Kingsbridge, and Borough Park all lag significantly behind their more affluent counterparts in receiving treatment. These and other communities may also have limited access to culturally competent care, where providers understand their specific needs and backgrounds. The stigma about mental illness can be even stronger in certain cultures, further discouraging individuals from seeking help.
Acknowledging the mental health struggles of communities of color is a crucial first step and can serve as a valuable springboard for conversations about how to both reduce the stressors at the core of the mental health crisis and ensure equitable access to mental healthcare for all. For starters, BIPOC communities need increased access to basic resources, including health programs, efficient and accessible community infrastructure, Wi-Fi, and healthy food.
Our communities also need more culturally responsive social services and providers. Experts have said people are more likely to seek help from providers who look like them or come from similar backgrounds. Only 4% of therapists are Black in the U.S., and few of them are men.
Solving the problem in its entirety may sound like an overwhelmingly
It’s December already!
Can you believe it is almost the end of the year already? It feels like just yesterday I was ringing in the new year and wondering what the year would bring. The presidential election did not go as I had hoped, but in a strange way, the undesired result has made me dig deep and remember not only who I am, but also my amazing ancestors who survived the unthinkable and have prepared me for this moment in time.
large mission, but something each of us could do right now is work to strengthen our community by building bonds in our neighborhoods. We all lead busy lives, but we’d be stronger if we joined community organizations; created local initiatives; volunteered with local organizations; or attended local events like festivals, fairs, and community gatherings.
This sense of community involvement helps strengthen bonds between friends, neighbors, and local leaders, giving us valuable opportunities to determine common issues, concerns, and ways to better serve the community. Areas of common need and interest could provide an opportunity to unite and act for change.
Above all, getting involved in the community is a valuable way to listen, have open conversations, learn from others, and chart a roadmap for how to prioritize well-being, diversify mental health services, and broaden community access.
These disparities in access to mental healthcare don’t only harm those who aren’t receiving help, but our city as a whole.
We can’t expect to solve these problems immediately, even during National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, but we can put them in the spotlight for discussion, raise awareness, and keep working toward building a more equitable future.
Jane Warren is director of behavior health services for RiverSpring Health Plans.
December can be a hard month for many. It’s filled with holiday vibes, which can make many people feel lonely or increase their feelings of missing loved ones. December also reminds people of the various things they did not accomplish in the year and the clock that has now mostly run out. For others, December is a month filled with anxiety about bills, holiday gatherings, unachieved accomplishments, and even anticipatory anxiety about the new year ahead.
These past few weeks, I have told many friends that I do not subscribe to feelings of anticipatory anxiety. I believe all is in divine order, so whether I miss a train or miss a deadline, I must be willing to give myself a modicum of grace. In doing so, I find that my ability to extend grace to others increases with each passing day.
Although cold weather is just now arriving, it is always difficult to live and work when it gets dark at 4:30 p.m. For many friends, the dark weather affects their mood and wellbeing. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is
real — lack of sunlight — and December can really bring out latent depression and feelings of being overwhelmed. Add a little national politics chaos and anxiety about the future of the nation and job security, and December can be an incredibly overwhelming month. By no means am I suggesting that folks not feel what they need to feel. What I am suggesting is that you are not alone in feeling that December can be a lot. As my students say, “December is doing the most!” and that isn’t a compliment. I do suggest pacing yourself this month. Acknowledge the somewhat hectic energy that may be surrounding you or the malaise you may feel when thinking about the future — your own and that of the nation. However you choose to spend the last month of the year, don’t forget to take stock of all of your accomplishments, no matter how small or large. I have also found that focusing on gratitude helps me combat the winter doldrums and the dark weather that arrives just shortly after lunch. As this year comes to a close, just remember that you still have time to give yourself some wins going into the new year.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.
create a toxic environment that has a deep impact on mental well-being.
CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.
(Alex Green photo via Pextels)
Caribbean Update
Caribbean colonies want more autonomy from Britain as UK moves to reset relations
By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews
With growing regional demands for Britain to pay reparations for the slave trade and with increasing clamor for more Caribbean nations to become republics and be governed by local heads of state, Britain’s overseas colonies say they want a reset of relations and greater political and constitutional autonomy.
The call to review relations between London and its remaining colonies was made at a just-concluded summit with the new labor government in Britain after its accession to power in general elections in July.
Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos, Anguilla, and Montserrat are remaining colonies in the Caribbean. Over the decades, each and every one has become an associate member of the larger 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom). Bermuda recently announced plans to become a full Caricom member as the current leadership appears to look more regional than toward London for political fellowship.
Reporting on the recent joint ministerial council meeting in London, BVI Premier Natalio Wheatley said the leaders are pleased that the United Kingdom wants “a reset of relations,” noting the importance of the first meeting with the government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Lammy is of Guyanese descent.
“It was the first JMC (joint council) to be organized by the new labor government, which I believe made a
genuine effort to reset the relationship,” Wheatly told reporters after returning home. “In terms of tangible outcomes, the UK expressed its openness to the constitutional relationship evolving to be more democratic.”
Wheatley said colony leaders detected a more “positive and constructive” attitude and approach by the labor government in dealing with its colonies in the Caribbean. The issue of reparations was not listed as an agenda item or appear to form any part of the discussions, nor
was there any plan by any of the territories to push for independence.
BVI politicians have been particularly sensitive about their relations with Britain since 2022, when the then-Conservative government threatened to reimpose direct rule from London over the chain of islands due to allegations of corruption, lack of transparency in the tendering process, state land sales, and other complaints.
The premier said that after discussions, he remains confident that the threat will disappear in the coming months.
“I welcome the steps outlined by the Overseas Territories Minister Stephen Doughty to bring the good governance reform program to a close and lift the order in council, pending a final quarterly review by the governor and a UK ministerial assessment in the first half of 2025,” Wheatley said of expectations that the direct rule threat will be abandoned next year. “I am confident that the VI government has done the necessary work to justify the removal of the order.”
Under current arrangements, Britain is still responsible for defense and in some cases, finance
and immigration, as well as foreign policy decisions of its territories.
During his address to the group, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer did give hope that discussions about greater autonomy could begin in the coming months, noting Britain’s continued intention to defend “security, autonomy, and rights, including the right of self-determination.”
Starmer said that “because it is the first of a new government, this is an opportunity for me to make absolutely clear, to repeat no doubt what others have said: that we want to reset the government’s relationship with our overseas territories and that’s part of a bigger piece of work that we’re doing, resetting on the international stage — being clear about the role of the UK in an ever more volatile world — but that does include the reset with you. That is why it’s really important for me personally to be here, because I need to get to know you, you need to get to know me, you need to feel that you can get in touch with me, or David or Stephen, any time you like. It’s not a remote relationship. You know who we are and how to get hold of us and how to have a discussion on any issues.”
Six recent immigration changes from the Biden Administration
The Biden administration is leveraging its final weeks in office to implement significant changes to immigration policy quietly and efficiently before Donald Trump’s return to office and the anticipated shift toward a stricter immigration agenda on Jan. 20, 2025.
Here are six recent changes.
1: DHS and DOL announce additional H-2B visas
The Departments of Homeland Security (DHS) and Labor (DOL) have announced a temporary final rule granting an additional 64,716 H-2B temporary nonagricultural worker visas for fiscal year 2025. These visas aim to assist U.S. employers in sectors like hospitality, landscaping, and seafood processing, where finding qualified domestic workers has proven challenging.
Of the supplemental visas, 44,700 are allocated for returning workers who held H-2B status in the past three fiscal years, and 20,000 are reserved for nationals of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, and Honduras. The visas are divided among several allocations based on employment start dates.
Employers must prove they face irreparable harm without these workers and ensure that they have exhausted the domestic labor market. Measures to protect H-2B workers from exploitation are included, with stricter scrutiny for employers previously found in violation of labor laws.
For further details, visit uscis.gov.
2: Lebanese nationals can now apply for Temporary Protected Status
The Department of Homeland Security has designated Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months, allowing eligible Lebanese nationals residing in
the U.S. since Oct. 16, 2024, to apply for TPS, employment authorization documents (EADs), and travel permits. Applications are open through May 27, 2026. F-1 students from Lebanon may also qualify for Special Student Relief. For more details, visit uscis.gov.
3: Belize added to H-2 visa programs
The DHS, in consultation with the Department of State, has updated the list of countries eligible for H-2A and H-2B visa programs, adding Belize for the first time. The revised list retains all previously eligible countries, supporting U.S. employers in hiring foreign workers for temporary agricultural and nonagricultural roles. The list remains valid until Nov. 7, 2025, subject to potential amendments based on compliance and U.S. interests.
4: USCIS clarifies naturalization requirements for lawful permanent residents
The U.S. Citizenship and Immi-
gration Services (USCIS) has updated its Policy Manual to clarify that naturalization applicants must demonstrate lawful admission for permanent residence only at their initial admission or adjustment to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status. This guidance aligns with the 4th Circuit’s 2024 decision in Azumah v. USCIS and applies to all pending or new applications, effective immediately.
5: USCIS updates medical exam validity for Afghan nationals
USCIS has updated its Policy Manual to make immigration medical examination documentation valid indefinitely for Afghan nationals who arrived during Operation Allies Welcome (OAW) and meet specific criteria. This change means eligible individuals will not have to repeat their medical exams when applying for a green card. The guidance applies to Form I-485 applications pending or filed on or after Nov. 13, 2024, and aligns with a
recent Centers for Disease Control (CDC) decision.
6: USCIS updates custody guidance for children acquiring U.S. citizenship USCIS has also revised its Policy Manual to clarify legal and physical custody requirements for acquiring or deriving U.S. citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The update expands guidance about legal custody determinations, physical residency requirements, and pre-2000 derivation claims under former INA Section 321. It also reinforces the Oath of Allegiance requirement. These changes are effective immediately and aim to ensure consistency in adjudications and align with Executive Order 14012, promoting equitable access to citizenship. Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focused on positive news about Black immigrant communities from the Caribbean and Latin America.
Honorable Natalio Wheatley, MHA, premier of British Virgin Islands (Public domain photo)
Right Honorable David Lammy, MP, UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Affairs (Image via official Number 10 Flickr feed)
International News
Presidential elections spark hope for Afro-Uruguayans
By JESÚS CHUCHO GARCIA
Special to the AmNews
Translated by KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff
In the 1990s, new organizations emerged that rejected the outdated, narrow-minded view of Africans and their descendants. A new dignified, anti-racist, and inclusive political agenda emerged.
Afro-Uruguayan leader Romero Rodriguez, founder of Mundo AFRO, was instrumental in moving millions of Afro-descendants from a naïve consciousness to a critical and transformative one. In Uruguay’s last presidential elections, this progressive political organization won and is expected to reignite the Black agenda, which the country’s political right had stalled.
AmNews: How did the Mundo Afro organization come into being?
Romero Rodriguez: Mundo Afro arose at the end of the last century in the context of the struggle against the military dictatorship in Uruguay. Many neighborhoods where Black people lived were destroyed during that time, and several families were sent to a concen-
tration camp on the grounds of the former Martin Reina factory. It was there that we began to organize. The first struggle was clearly against the dictatorship, but we also began to understand how racism was linked to that repressive process. We discovered that more than 1,600 people, mostly Black (90%), had been expelled from their neighborhoods.
After that experience, the mainstream clubs — which at that time were quite conservative — encouraged me to create a movement to fight against the dictatorship and racism, and to give visibility to Uruguayan Afro-descendants. That was how Mundo Afro magazine was born, which brought together a diversity of opinions, and with it, we began a struggle against racism and racial discrimination, and for social transformation.
Over time, we expanded our analysis of structural and systemic racism. In 1988, we defined our programmatic bases during a congress that brought together some 600 people. We identified three major areas of action: The fight against racism locally, in municipalities and intendancies, especially in Montevideo.
Our action had and has a profoundly anti-imperialist profile, and the main focus has
See AFRO URUGUAYANS on page 29
Honduran
activist Celeo Alvarez poses with Uruguayan leader Romero Rodríguez and Jesús Chucho García. (Oswaldo Bilbao photo)
Biden-Harris administration moves to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage for anti-obesity medications
By STACY M. BROWN
The Washington Informer
With the controversial appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the incoming president’s planned sweeping changes to health policy, the Biden-Harris administration is addressing a critical issue while still in office: obesity.
A new proposal aims to expand Medicare and Medicaid coverage for anti-obesity medications (AOMs), potentially providing millions of Americans with access to life-saving treatments.
Obesity, which affects an estimated 42% of the U.S. population, is a chronic disease linked to increased mortality and serious conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke. Despite recent advancements in obesity treatment, including medications that can reduce heart attack risk and Type 2 diabetes, these drugs remain prohibitively expensive, often costing up to $1,000 per month without insurance.
The Biden-Harris proposal seeks to broaden Medicare and Medicaid coverage for these medications, reducing out-ofpocket costs by up to 95% for some enroll-
ees. The expanded coverage could benefit an estimated 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries and 4 million Medicaid enrollees.
“This proposal ensures that Americans can access treatments they need to lead healthier lives without financial burden,” a senior administration official said.
Kennedy’s controversial appointment raises questions about the future of healthcare
The proposal comes as President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to appoint Kennedy as HHS Secretary has drawn widespread criticism. Kennedy, known for his distrust of pharmaceuticals and promotion of healthcare-related conspiracy theories, has repeatedly criticized the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for what he calls its “aggressive suppression of psychedelics.”
On his podcast, Kennedy described the United States as “the sickest country in the world,” blaming a healthcare system focused on “pills and potions” rather than building immune systems and promoting holistic health.
Kennedy has also advanced the debunked theory that vaccines cause autism, a stance that has alarmed public health officials. Even the “New York Post,” which
previously praised Kennedy, warned that his confirmation could be disastrous for public health.
In a 2023 editorial, the “Post” highlighted Kennedy’s claim that “all America’s chronic health problems began in one year in the 1980s,” calling his views both unscientific and dangerous.
If confirmed, Kennedy would wield significant power to reshape the healthcare system, with much of his rhetoric on psychedelics and the pharmaceutical industry mirroring that of Elon Musk, who Trump has also tapped for a cabinet position.
Biden-Harris administration focuses on affordable healthcare
In contrast, the Biden-Harris administration continues to prioritize accessible healthcare.
Since taking office, President Joe Biden has strengthened Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act through measures like the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. These efforts have already delivered significant savings for millions of Americans, including insulin price caps, free vaccines, and a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap for prescription drugs starting in 2025.
The proposal to expand AOM coverage builds on this record, aiming to address obesity comprehensively through prevention, treatment, and systemic change. The administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health has already integrated nutrition and obesity counseling into Medicare and Medicaid, targeting diet-related diseases such as obesity.
Looking ahead
As the U.S. prepares for a dramatic shift in health policy under Trump, the Biden-Harris administration’s final actions emphasize reducing costs and expanding access to life-saving treatments. Broadening AOM coverage could soon give millions of Americans the support they need to address obesity and its related health challenges.
The Biden-Harris administration’s efforts are in stark contrast to the incoming leadership at HHS, whose unorthodox views and conspiracy theories have sparked significant public concern.
“We can lower drug prices and improve health outcomes for Americans,” Biden said.
The post Biden-Harris Administration Moves to Expand Medicare and Medicaid Coverage for Anti-Obesity Medications appeared first on the “Washington Informer.”
Arts & Entertainment
Alvin Ailey celebrates ‘Legacy in Motion’ through Jan.5
By ZITA ALLEN Special to the AmNews
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) returns to the New York City Center for its annual five-week holiday engagement, Dec. 4–January 5. This season’s production, titled “Legacy in Motion,” celebrates the beloved Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, who transitioned a few weeks ago, and reflects the spirit of the Alvin Ailey legacy with a mix of familiar masterpieces and exciting new works.
The season’s new works include world premieres of Ailey Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing’s “Sacred Songs,” Hope Boykin’s “Finding Free,”
Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels,” and Jamar Roberts’s “Al-Andalus Blues.”
“Sacred Songs” is set to a reimagined mashup of music from the 1960 premiere of Ailey’s seminal “Revelations,” which was later omitted as it evolved into its current universally celebrated version. Inspired by the roots of that creation, Rushing resurrects and reimagines those spirituals with the collaboration of musical director Du’Bois A’Keen, as an offering to the present need for lamentation, faith, and joy. Live music accompanies performances on Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. and Dec. 22 at 2 p.m. Former company member Boykin’s “Find
ing Free” explores person
ful work that merges her movement-language with
pianist Matthew Whitaker’s jazz- and gospel-influenced music to examine the challenges and restrictions that propel us forward throughout life’s peaks and valleys.
Lubovitch’s “Many Angels,” his first world premiere for AAADT, showcases his choreography and musicality, set to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5. A choreographer for 60 years, Lubovitch has frequently been asked “Why do you make dances?” For Lubovitch, “Something may exist in the world simply for the sake of itself. For example, a dance.”
Also on the program is the 25th anniversary production of Ronald K. Brown’s “Grace,” which depicts individuals on a journey to the promised land, expanding from a single angel-like figure in white to the fireball intensity of 12 powerful dancers. Here, the secular and sacred meet in a tour-deforce connecting African and American dance.
Another favorite returning to the Ailey stage is Elisa
“Many Angels,” he said, “is inspired by a question posed by 13th-century theologian St. Thomas Aquinas: ‘How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?,’ illustrating that some questions have no logical response but are understood as a question of faith. It is not really about angels. (Well, maybe a little).”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations,” Ailey Spirit Gala, 2022 (Donna Ward photo)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels” (Paul Kolnik photo)
Monte’s “Treading,” a sculptural, mesmerizing duet featuring fluid, intricate movements that combine with Steve Reich’s evocative music to create an aura of mystery and sensuality.
Roberts, another former Ailey dancer, presents “AlAndalus Blues,” inspired by Miles Davis’s “Sketches of Spain” and Roberta Flack’s haunting “Angelitos Negros.” It is “an abstract ensemble piece that journeys back in time to the golden age of Al-Andalus, evoking the northern African Moors who flourished in the south of present-day Spain prior to the Christian Reconquista,” Roberts said. Rushing said recently that “this season, we celebrate the lineage and legacy of Mr. Ailey, highlighting his acclaimed works, as well as new ballets by choreographers for whom he paved the way.” He added that “dance is both a reflection of our past and a guide to
composer, visual artist, and GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant in a program hosted by Honorary Chairs Gayle King, co-host of “CBS Mornings” and editor-at-large of Oprah Daily, and Phylicia Rashad, two-time Tony Award-winning actress.
The engagement also includes All New, All Ailey, and Ailey Classic programs, as well as Family Matinee performances each Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by Q&A sessions with Ailey’s dancers.
our future.”
The Amsterdam News caught up with Roberts, who joined AAADT in 2002 and who has enjoyed a flourishing career since his first full-length work for the company, “Members Don’t Get Weary,” premiered at NY City Center in December 2016 to critical acclaim. Speaking of his love and gratitude for Jamison’s
friendship and guidance, and the warm familial ties that bind the Ailey artists to one another and the organization, Roberts said, “Judi was like a fairy godmother. I’ve really taken everything that she’s said and everything that she’s done for me to heart to become what some think of as the prototypical Ailey dancer. I think she always tried to
FREE HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
DECEMBER
tell us all the stories of the great times that she had with Mr. Ailey and all of the wonderful ballets he created for her. I took that type of oral tradition very seriously and I am so grateful to her, every single day. In fact, when you say ‘the AAADT,’ it’s more than just the organization — it’s the people — it’s Judi, Chaya, Matthew, Sylvia, every-
body. It’s all those people who made that place feel like home.”
The season kicks off with a one-night-only Opening Night Gala honoring dance educator Jody Gottfried Arnhold and showcasing the 25th anniversary of “Grace.” It will include a performance by Tony- and GRAMMY Award-winning artist Leslie Odom, Jr. with
The Ailey Classics program highlights a selection of repertory spanning the breadth of Ailey’s catalog, including excerpts from “Memoria,” “Night Creature (sections 2 and 3), “Pas de Duke” (first song), “Masekela Langage” (Morolo), “Opus McShann” (“Gee Baby” and “Doo Wah”), “Love Songs (A Song for You),” “For ‘Bird’ — With Love (“Bird Lives” and “A Night in Tunisia”),” and “Hidden Rites (of Love).” The season finale on Jan. 5 is a special program celebrating Alvin Ailey on his birthday.
Joining AAADT this season are Leonardo Brito, Jesse Obremski, Kali Marie Oliver, and Dandara Veiga. All of the new company members have strong Ailey backgrounds as Ailey II alumni (Brito, Oliver), students from the Ailey School (Brito, Obremski, Oliver, Veiga), or graduates of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program (Oliver). Jessica Amber Pinkett, a former member of Ailey II and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, also has returned to the company. Maria Bauman is this year’s Ailey Artist in Residence, in the second year of the program that invests in and partners with choreographers who reflect Ailey’s cultural inquiry, participatory values, and worldview of curiosity.
The new AAADT season promises to be a celebration of a rich legacy even as it looks to the future.
For more info and or tickets, visit www.ailey.org/ performances.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels” (Paul Kolnik photo)
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels” (Paul Kolnik photo)
jan 15 boyz II men
christmas with cece winans
featuring special guest Roman Collins Fri, Dec 20 @ 8PM sold out! Sat, Dec 21 @ 8PM
Twelve-time GRAMMY®-winning gospel artist CeCe Winans lights up the holidays with joyful music.
The 80/65 Tour
Sat, Feb 8 @ 8PM
80 years young, 65 years in showbiz — and Patti LaBelle (“Lady Marmalade”) is as fabulous as ever on The 80/65 Tour patti labelle
forces of nature
dance theatre
Sun, Dec 22 @ 3PM
Celebrate Kwanzaa with this spectacular West African dance performance by Forces of Nature Dance Theatre
Fri, Feb 14 @ 8PM
Anything can happen when the iconic actor-comedian Chris Tucker (Rush Hour, Friday) unleashes his unstoppable energy. chris tucker
Sat, Dec 28 @ 10AM, 2PM & 6PM Sun, Dec 29 @ 10AM & 2PM
With bark-loads of interactive fun, PAW Patrol Live! A Mighty Adventure will leave tails wagging and kids cheering. paw patrol live!
Fri, Feb 14 @ 8PM
Prudential Center | 25 Lafayette St., Newark
Mark your calendars for A Night of Love, the ultimate R&B experience featuring Fantasia, Trey Songz and Tamar Braxton a night of love
AmNews FOOD
Talking SCHOP! It’s A Pasta Night
KYSHA HARRIS FOOD EDITOR, @SCHOPNYC
You did it! You made it through the first big meal of the holiday season. Take a beat and start planning the next one — it will be here before you know it.
While I cooked a full Thanksgiving meal for a client last week, the actual day was a little compromised because of my sick fur son, Angus. However, just as I did during the pandie (my affectionate nickname for the COVID-19 pandemic), I packed up Angus and his brother, Benzo, to ride around the city to pop in, get some Thanksgiving squeezes…and get a plate of food. No shame!
I am glad I rallied because we got to eat some damn good food. From my mother’s home, Ron’s cabbage and Brussels sprouts combo made me question why I haven’t mixed the two before, and mom’s sausage stuffing with giblet gravy was on point this year. From Raquel and Alex’s home, the herb stuffing, truffle parmesan mashed potatoes, and Kathy’s mushroom Wellington was absolutely incredible. Not to be outdone, desserts of Alex’s homemade key lime pie, my nephew Spencer’s salted caramel ice cream, and I found Marcia’s (Raquel’s mom) foot up in her sticky toffee pudding.
Hopefully, your leftovers are done by now and you are most likely craving the polar
opposite of Thanksgiving food. Well, I have a suggestion for you: Apologies to our Italian readers, as I am sure this dish was on your holiday table — but it’s time for a pasta night.
No, I am not referring to a mid-week pantry meal. I am talking about the new restaurant in Brooklyn, Pasta Night (575 Vanderbilt Avenue, 718.483.8443), ffrom Renato Poliafito, the former co-owner of Baked and current co-owner of the celebrated Ciao, Gloria. It is a counter-service restaurant anchored by a rotating menu of pasta plus traditional Italian appetizers, entrees, desserts, and more.
Born from pre-pandemic monthly pasta dinners at Ciao, Gloria across the street, Pasta Night is a thoughtful approach to fine dining in a casual setting. Whether for an aperitivo (cocktail, appetizers), an after dinner dolci (sweet), or a full Italian meal, diners order at the counter, and are given a placard to take to their table for runners to deliver.
My friend Kate and I met in the modern trattoria space, at the grocery wall of Italian pantry essentials for sale. The vibe is light, the staff helpful and attentive.
We started with drinks. White wine for Kate, while I had the PN Spritz with Cappelletti, prosecco, and soda water, garnished with Castelvetrano olives. It was so nice, I had it twice.
To eat, we started with their house made focaccia, meatballs in marinara, tangy giardiniera, chickpea fritters, and house salad. All were a great start, especially the salad
of baby lettuces, shaved fennel, radish, olives, dried apricots, citrus vinaigrette, and smoked almonds. Loved that combination of ingredients.
While our pastas of pesto with sweet sausage and cacio e pepe were good, if not over-sauced, we were joyous for two of our desserts. The melon gelato — not sorbetto — with crispy pancetta and bosco nero, dark chocolate cake with diplomat cream, and amarena cherries, were a dream.
So if you need to take a moment from holiday planning and you find yourself in Prospect Heights, step into Pasta Night and enjoy your best dolce vita!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a chef, food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 22 years. Follow her on Instagram, @SCHOPnyc and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.
Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@ SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD.
Pasta Night in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn
Pasta Night spritz
Pasta Night appetizers
Pasta Night desserts
SCHOP! client Thanksgiving menu (Kysha Harris photos)
CCNY celebrates Baldwin’s 100th birthday with Dec. 5 event
By JULIAN MICHAEL CALDWELL Special to the AmNews
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”
That’s a quote from the 1972 book “No Name in the Street” by James Baldwin, the late Harlem native born a century ago. The sentiment still serves as a rallying call for many today.
This week, the City College of New York (CCNY) is continuing its semester-long celebration of Baldwin’s 100th birthday, honoring one of the most celebrated writers and influential activists in American history. On Thursday, Dec. 5, from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., CCNY will host a symposium of music, panels, and more, including participation from Baldwin’s family and friends.
Born in Harlem Hospital on Aug. 2, 1924, Baldwin would go on to have a prolific career as an author whose works included “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” “Giovanni’s Room,” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” the latter of which was adapted into a film in 2018, 44 years after the book was published. Baldwin is also revered for his poetry and essays that spoke squarely and poignantly inspired the creation of movies and docu- that includes Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted, and Black.” Students from Baldwin’s alma mater, DeWitt Clinton High School, will
founder of the Baldwin United Fund, will accept the President’s Award from CCNY on behalf of the Baldwin family, and take part in the event’s keynote conversation, “A Conversation Among Intimates” with James Baldwin’s biographer Herb Boyd and Baldwin’s friend, the poet Quincy Troupe. Writers and historians Maurice Wallace, Kima Jones, Manan Ahmed, and Boukary Sawadogo will explore Harlem’s impact on Baldwin’s work in “Baldwin in Harlem: Our Hometown Giant,” a panel moderated by CCNY professor Emily Raboteau.
Scholars Farah Jasmine Griffin, Rich Blint, and Soraya Palmer will delve into the effect of Baldwin’s international travels, including his extensively documented life in France, in a panel called “Baldwin in the World: His Trans-Atlantic Legacy,” moderated by CCNY assistant professor Kedon Willis.
The symposium will be held at CCNY’s North Academic Center (NAC) Building (160 Convent Avenue) and is free to the public. Refreshments will be served. CCNY caps its James Baldwin Centennial Celebration on Friday, Dec. 6, with “Exploring James Baldwin’s Harlem,” a community walking tour highlighting locations where Baldwin lived, wrote, and studied. The walk starts at 10 a.m.
To register for either or both events, visit https://archivesasmuse.commons.
James Baldwin’s nephew Trevor Baldwin at “A Century of Baldwin: The Legacy Lives!” celebration at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall (Contributed press photo)
Award-winning author and journalist Herb Boyd (Photo courtesy of subject)
Travel & Resort
London on your budget
By JORDANNAH ELIZABETH Special to the AmNews
I worked to be very practical, if not kind, in my analysis of traveling to and visiting London. The city is interesting, culturally exciting, and full of wonder, but I experienced racism and aggression (particularly intense passive-aggression) while spending nearly eight weeks in London, and with the tenseness of economic overwhelm.
I’m told the city is three times as expensive as it was since the beginning of its 14-year, rightwing, Tory leadership. The stress of opposing political views and the general sea of people are concerns. (I find London to be more populous than New York, just as a visceral experience of moving around the city). I advise you to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for possible culture shock.
London is a tough town, but if you enjoy the restaurants, shopping, and cultural offerings, the pressures may not push you to feel stressed and exhausted. Sequester yourself in your hotel or hostel for at least a couple of hours of peace and rest.
The positives of London
London, the capital city of the United Kingdom, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Known for its rich history, iconic landmarks, and diverse culture, it attracts millions of visitors each year. However, as with any major global city, the cost of visiting London can vary greatly, depending on your travel preferences, budget, and length of stay. This article explores the economics of visiting London, breaking down key factors such as accommodations, transportation, food, entertainment, and other costs that travelers should consider when planning their trip.
Accommodation costs
Accommodation is one of the largest expenses for any traveler, and London is no exception. The city offers a wide range of options, from budget hostels to luxury hotels, catering to different types of tourists.
Budget accommodation
For those on a tight budget, London offers hostels, budget hotels, and even Airbnb options. Prices for basic accommodation can range from £20–£60 per night for a shared dormitory or single room.
Mid-range accommodation
For more comfort and privacy, mid-range hotels and private rooms in guesthouses typically range from £80–£200 per night, depending on location and time of year. Central areas like Westminster or Covent Garden are more expensive, while neighborhoods farther out from the center, such as East London or Shepherd’s Bush, can offer more affordable choices.
Luxury accommodation
For those seeking a luxurious experience, high-end hotels in iconic areas like Mayfair, Knightsbridge, and Chelsea can cost anywhere from £250 to well over £500 per night. Some world-famous luxury hotels, such as the Ritz and the Savoy, can charge thousands of pounds per night.
Transportation in London London has a comprehensive
public transportation system, making it relatively easy to get around the city, even for firsttime visitors. However, transport costs can add up if not managed wisely.
Oyster cards and Travelcards
The most cost-effective way to navigate London’s public transport system, including the Tube (underground), buses, and trams, is by using an Oyster card or a Travelcard. An Oyster card is a prepaid smartcard that can be used on all forms of public transport. The daily cap for travel using an Oyster card is £14.90, ensuring that you won’t pay more than this in one day, regardless of how much you travel.
Contactless payment
Tourists can also use their contactless debit or credit cards for travel, which operate in the same way as the Oyster card, with the added convenience of not needing to purchase a separate card.
Taxis and ride-sharing
Traditional black cabs and ride-sharing services like Uber are also available, but are more expensive. A typical taxi ride within central London can cost £10–£30, de-
and location. International options like Indian, Middle Eastern, and Asian cuisines are often less expensive than traditional British fare.
Fine dining
For a more luxurious experience, London is home to some of the world’s best fine-dining establishments. A meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant can set you back £100–£200 per person or more for tasting menus with wine pairings.
Grocery stores
pending on the distance.
Walking and biking
Given the city’s many attractions located relatively close to one another, walking is a practical and inexpensive way to explore London. The city also offers an extensive bikesharing program, with bikes available for hire at around £2 per ride.
Food and dining
Dining in London offers an incredibly diverse range of options, from cheap eats to Michelinstarred restaurants. The cost of food largely depends on where and what you choose to eat.
Street food and casual dining
For budget-conscious travelers, London’s street food scene offers affordable options. Markets like Borough Market and Camden Market feature a variety of inexpensive yet delicious options, typically ranging from £5–£10 per meal. Fast-food chains and casual cafés cost around the same.
Mid-range restaurants
A three-course meal at a mid-range restaurant typically costs between £20 and £40 per person, depending on the type of cuisine
If you’re staying in an apartment or self-catering accommodation, shopping at supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Waitrose can help reduce food costs. A basic grocery shop for a week can cost between £30 and £60, depending on dietary preferences and cooking habits.
Attractions and entertainment
London offers an array of attractions for tourists, many of which are free, but some notable landmarks and activities come with an entrance fee.
Free attractions
London is unique in that many of its most famous museums and galleries are completely free to visit. Attractions like the British Museum, National Gallery, Tate Modern, and Victoria and Albert Museum offer free entry, although donations are encouraged. Similarly, it’s free to explore landmarks such as Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace (from the outside), and the South Bank.
Paid venues
Several well-known attractions charge for entry. The Tower of London costs around £30 for an adult ticket, while a visit to the London Eye can cost around £27. Tickets to West End shows vary but generally range from £25–£100, depending on the show and seating. Popular attractions like the London Dungeon and
(Pixabay photo)
‘Romeo+Juliet’ recreated for a new generation
BY LINDA ARMSTRONG
Special to the AmNews
Over the decades, I’ve seen many productions of “Romeo and Juliet,” the classic William Shakespeare tragedy of the love between two teenagers from families at war — the Montagues and the Capulets. However, I have never seen a “Romeo + Juliet” the likes of the production at Circle in the Square Theater on West 50th Street. This is a retelling with a great deal of humor, singing, and a diverse cast of color and orientations — a production as inclusive as you can possibly get.
Throughout this production, the cast had a great time, with a lot of playfulness onstage even before the production officially start ed. It is quite enjoyable to sit in the theater and watch the actors come on stage, dance to music provided by a DJ and play around, throwing stuffed animals and treats to each other. By the time the story began, you al ready felt the vibe of getting ready to see something special and something new. A narrator introduced herself and the characters she would be playing and then proceeded to introduce all the other actors and the characters. Every actor on that stage was absolutely invested in bringing this story together in a very different and incredibly en tertaining way. Kit Connor is phenomenal as Romeo. He is funny, sexy, and keeps you mesmerized. He brings all of Romeo’s emotions to the surface and you feel everything — his passion, love, anguish, and despair. Rachel Zegler is stunning as Juliet. She has an amazing singing voice that grabs you and holds on. Her Juliet was amusing, passionate, and sympathetic. The entire ensemble cast brings their A game, as many perform multiple roles but do so very distinctly. Gabby Beans is brilliant as Mercutio/The Friar/Prince. Tommy Dorf man is funny and poignant as Tybalt/The Nurse. Sola Fadiran brings the charm, humor, determination, and anger as Capulet/Lady Capulet. Taheen Modak is memorable as Benvolio/ Apothecary. Gian Perez is quite funny in his multiple
roles of Samson/Paris/Peter. Daniel Bravo Hernandez is impressive as Abraham/Friar John. Jasai Chase-Owens performs well as Gregory/Servingman and Nihar Duvvuri is good as Balthazar.
Go and experience it for yourself and take someone young with you, so that they can hear Shakespeare’s words and see the beautiful delivery that these thespians bring to the table. They bring humor to lines that were previously not funny, and it just works. This production has amazing music by Jack Antonoff, exhilarating movement and
choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and delightful direction by Sam Gold. The scenic design by dots is very minimal, but it is also very creative. The costume design by Enver Chakartash is very daring and will hold your attention. Lighting design is well done by Isabella Byrd. Sound design is by Cody Spencer. Hair, wig and makeup design are excitingly delivered by Robert Picken and Katie Gell.
This “Romeo + Juliet” has enormous Teddy Bears as part of the set. They are in the lobby and in the theater, Romeo even sleeps on one, but there is definitely nothing soft and cuddly about this production — it is on fire, it is fierce, it is love, passion, desire and tragedy!
Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence soon to be in-laws … Baby #2 rumored for Nelly and Ashanti … Flavor Flav parties in Vegas
It was a great Thanksgiving weekend for the families of Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence. Murphy’s eldest son, Eric, asked Lawrence’s oldest daughter, Jasmin, whom Martin shares with my Delta Sigma Theta soror, Patricia Smith, to marry him over the holiday. The coosome twosome have been dating for more than three years. They posted a joint post on Instagram of Eric getting down on one knee and asking Jasmin to marry him. They captioned the photo “11.27.2024. We’re engaged!” Eric gave Jasmin a gorgeous ring in a room filled with white rose petals and lined with bouquets of white and light-pink roses and candles. When their kids first started dating, Eddie joked that Martin would have to pay for the wedding. The two legendary actors starred together in “Boomerang” and “Life” …
On Nov. 25, the Luisa Diaz Foundation hosted a spectacular fashion show, “Kindness Cool,” at Cucina 8 1/2 in Manhattan, attracting a star-studded crowd dedicated to promoting kindness through fashion. Notable attendees included Dorinda Medley, “Real Housewives of New York” cast member, and Barbara Kavovit, owner of Evergreen Construction and a former “housewife” known for her entrepreneurial spirit. Fashion designer Nicole Miller and real estate developer and philanthropist Ian Reisner, the owner of Parkview Developers, were also on the scene. Former Mrs. Universe Luisa Diaz closed the event, walking the runway in a fabulous sequined dress …
Word on the curb is Ashanti and Nelly are reportedly expecting their second child. The Jasmine Brand is reporting that baby #2 is on the way, a year after they secretly tied the knot in December 2023. The celebrity couple’s first child, Kareem Kenkaide, was born July 18, earlier this year …
We hear:
Raising Cane’s hosted a star-studded party for F1 in Las Vegas on Nov. 23. From artists to movie stars to rappers and more, it was a can’t-miss A-list event hosted by Raising Cane’s owner and founder Todd Graves. Talent at the soirée included Flavor Flav, Axl Rose, Winnie
Keegan-Michael
and more …
Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler in “Romeo + Juliet” at Circle in the Square Theater. (Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman photo)
Dizzy’s, Village Vanguard, 92NY, Jazz Forum, Sistas’ Place
As the December holidays approach, drummer, percussionist, and composer Ulysses Owens, Jr. and his big band return to Dizzy’s Club with early cheer for a swinging five-night engagement from Dec. 3–7.
In a relatively short period of time, Owens has created a sparkling repertoire of both original compositions and arrangements of works by Mulgrew Miller, John Coltrane, and Terence Blanchard. His big band sound is a bright sky of improvisation and orchestrations that dance in the tradition of those drummers who inspired him from that earlier swing era.
The native of Jacksonville, Fla,. will take his audiences on a stimulating voyage that will capture the essence of Harlem clubs like the Savoy Ballroom. Some of his exceptional big band members will include saxophonists baritone Jason Marshall, Bruce Williams (leader of Roy Hargrove Big Band) on alto, Erena Terakubo, pianist Luther S. Allison, and special guests organist Matthew Whitaker (12/7) and vocalist Charles Turner III (12/6–12/7).
Two shows each night at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. For more specifics and reservations, visit jazz.org.
Eight-time Grammy Award-winning bassist and composer Christian McBride brings his distinctive boundless jazz to the Village Vanguard (178 7th Avenue South) for a residency that goes from Dec. 3–8, featuring his experienced colleagues to make his quartet: saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, guitarist Mike Stern, and drummer Marcus Gilmore.
Of the bassist’s five standing bands, this is yet another configuration he has formed with skilled musicians who are part of his inner circle of first-call musicians. McBride’s music can swing harder than his Philadelphia roots or groove in hard-bop rhythms.
On Dec. 10–15, McBride appears at the Village Vanguard with Inside Straight, one of his working five bands. He says the name represents a badge of intent and maybe a deflective maneuver: He’ll brand this music as conventional before you ever have the chance. By now, though, we all know that none of McBride’s music is conventional — it sparks attention like a quick sun shower or bolt of lightning. Inside Straight features the talents of alto sax Steve Wilson, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Peter Martin, and drummer Carl Allen.
For tickets to both performances, visit the website: villagevanguard.com.
92NY’s Lyrics & Lyricists 2024–2025 season continues from Dec. 7–9 with a tribute to the uncompromising singer/song-
writer, pianist, and civil rights activist Nina Simone with Rebel with a Cause: The Artistry and Activism of Nina Simone. The 2024 Tony nominee singer/actress Amber Iman celebrates Simone’s legacy in this new show, written by Tony-nominated playwright Jocelyn Bioh (“Jaja’s African Hair Braiding”) and directed by actor/artist/educator Reggie D. White (“The Inheritance”),
with musical direction and arrangements by Michael O. Mitchell (“MJ: The Musical” and “A Wonderful World: The Life and Music of Louis Armstrong”). Iman will provide gems from Simone’s songbook, from standards like “I Put a Spell on You, “I Loves You, Porgy,” and “My Baby Just Cares for Me” to ballads like “Plain Gold Ring” and protest anthems like “Mississippi Goddam” and “Four Women.”
“I made my Broadway debut in 2013, playing the High Priestess of Soul, Nina Simone,” said Iman. “I’ve been carrying her with me ever since. I’ve read every book, listened to (almost) every song, and watched every video I could find, to understand who she was. She was put on this Earth as an artist, to use her voice. I’m looking to build a conversation with Nina — about and around her. These songs feel timely and necessary, with a softness in her lyrics we don’t always acknowledge. Who she is as a Black woman has inspired, encouraged, and challenged me, and I hope it does that to the audience.”
For times and ticket information, visit 92ny.org.
Percussionist Tito Puente, Jr., who’s carrying on his father’s musical legacy in grand fashion around the globe, comes to Tarrytown’s Jazz Forum (1 Dixon Lane) from Dec. 6–7 with two shows each night, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
In an interview with Aspen Public Radio (2024), Puente said he never really cared about Latin mambo music, although his father was known as the “Mambo King.” His interest, like most his age during the 1980s (Gen X), was fixed on pop, rock, and
hip-hop. “I was into, of course, Metallica, Def Leppard, Guns and Roses — all those great, great rock bands,” he recalled.
Once Puente began traveling with his influential father and those spirited mambo and Afro Cuban beats hit the teenager, he quickly understood that he was also part of this great music that his father played so well. “My father was known as the king of Latin music, ‘el rey de los timbales’ — the king of timbales, which is the percussion instrument that he played, but for sure, I am not the prince,” said Puente.
Puente, Sr. was a pivotal force in the history of Latin music in America, with the likes of Celia Cruz, Mario Bauzá big band leader Machito, his sister Graciella Grillo, percussionist Chano Puzo, and contemporaries like Eddie Palmieri and the Fania All Stars.
Puente enjoys a dual role as performer of this great music of his award-winning father while introducing a younger generation who may not be aware of his music. “I think that the newer generation is catching onto it. I’m really aiming toward those fans who might not know too much about Afro Cuban music or mambo. Today, they call it salsa, salsa music.”
The sound and cultural history of Latin music is alive and swinging with Tito Puente, Jr., catch him live and be ready to dance or at least move and groove in your seat. For reservations, visit jazzforumarts.org.
Harlem-born pianist and composer Danny Mixon makes his way to Brooklyn on Dec. 14 for a one-night-only performance at Sistas’ Place (456 Nostrand Avenue, Frederick Douglass Square; formerly Nostrand and Jefferson Aves.) the jazz club where music represents the three R’s: Resistance, Resilience, and Resurgence.
Mixon’s piano voice has been a force in bands such as Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and with Kenny Dorham, Frank Foster, Joe Williams, and Grant Green. Over the last 20 years, he has gained recognition by leading his own bands, mainly quartets and trios, playing in a traditional straight-ahead vein. Being a Harlemite, he has had a long association with the storied Lenox Lounge, and is committed to the blues and soulful runs.
For this one-night stand, Mixon will be joined by his quartet, featuring award-winning vocalist, educator, jazz activist, and radio host Antoinette Montague with saxophonist James Stewart, bassist Bryce Sebastien, and drummer George Gray.
Mixon and Montague are longtime collaborators with magical chemistry that ignites an explosion of swinging soul and blues. The singer goes home with her radiant gospel-toned songs. Gospel-woven tunes spiked with blues and hard bop are surely needed during these times. Two shows, at 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. For reservations, call 718-398-1766.
Ulysses Owens, Jr. (Photo courtesy of usojazzy.com/epk)
Nina Simone (Public domain photo)
NYPD commissioner
with corruption and impunity in the NYPD, or she can make the right decision and the just decisions.”
The CCRB also substantiated allegations against NYPD officer Derek Bernard over shooting Bronx man Raul de la Cruz during a mental health response, which could lead to his firing. However, the determination might change after the NYPD filed a reconsideration request, according to CCRB spokesperson Clare Platt.
Tisch will also set the stage for how officers are disciplined for racial bias, which the CCRB began investigating in 2022 through a new unit headed by Darius Charney, a civil rights lawyer who famously took on the NYPD for racial profiling and unconstitutional stop-andfrisks. The first trial for a substantiated complaint on racially biased-based policing will occur later this month, although exact details are not publicly available.
For de la Cruz, he sees accountability as the officers leaving the force. He experiences schizophrenia and speaks primarily Spanish. His father sought help for him by calling 311, but told the dispatchers about a knife. An armed police response arrived, with a language barrier. His lawyers say his gunshot wounds were life-threatening.
“I’m not good — I don’t sleep well, I have panic attacks, and I can’t sleep,” de la Cruz said over email. “I still have a surgery I need to get done. I have a hernia in my stomach, they said my muscles in my abdomen are still open. I have limited movement. I can’t walk right, and I use a cane. I felt really physically healthy before. Now I’m sick.”
Samy Feliz remembers his brother Allan Feliz as his role model. He shudders at the thought of Rivera still carrying a gun. The deadly police encounter, which started with an allegedly erroneous seatbelt stop and ended with Allan Feliz half-naked with gunshot wounds on the ground, occurred more than five years ago, but NYPD delays pushed back the disciplinary trial until recently, even as the CCRB substantiated fireable charges last May.
“We have to explain to his son what was it that happened to him and why he shouldn’t fear officers,” said Samy. “Because every time he gets a reminder that he looks like his father, he feels like he’s going to be targeted by police.”
This past September, ProPublica reported the NYPD, under Tisch’s predecessor Edward Caban, buried more than 400 complaints investigated and substantiated by the CCRB this year. Notably, the officers who fatally shot Black New Yorker Kawaski Trawick in his apartment were not disciplined under Caban, who ultimately resigned in September after federal agents raided his home.
But while Caban boasted a deep career in an NYPD uniform and direct rela -
tionships with line-level officers, Tisch worked largely on the tech side of city governance, with her decade-plus in the NYPD on the civilian side. In fact, the two bring nearly polar opposite resumes: Caban began his career patrolling the South Bronx. Tisch is a billionaire heiress with an Ivy League education. But none of that matters for the families of de la Cruz and Feliz — only that accountability is met.
Since her appointment, Tisch has largely talked about continuing her work modernizing the department’s operations.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for how the new commissioner would approach officer misconduct.
Ruth Lowenkron, who directs the Disability Justice Program for New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, which represents de la Cruz, remains unsure about Tisch’s stance on the CCRB but feels optimistic about her track record with disability rights.
“When she was involved in the Department of Technology in city government, we worked with her in the context of making 911 accessible to people with hearing impairments,” said Lowenkron. “And she made that a priority to ensure that we could call when you can and text when you can’t. So we were very pleased working with her, and we have the highest of hopes as she comes on as commissioner.”
For Lowenkron, a vocal proponent for removing police from mental health responses, de la Cruz’s complaint is a byproduct of a bigger issue. So while correcting police conduct remains the key issue, she sees it impossible for the NYPD to properly respond to such situations without arriving unequipped to handle medical issues and potentially escalating the conflict.
Samy remains skeptical about accountability for his brother’s death, even with Tisch replacing Caban.
“We want the police commissioner Tisch to understand that this is a pivotal moment for her, where New Yorkers don’t feel safe because of officers like Lieutenant Rivera being on this police force,” said Samy. “The only way that you can prove [it] to us is by firing officers like Rivera. Until that step into the right direction is shown, where transparency is shown and these cops are actually held accountable for their wrongdoings, that’s when New Yorkers are going to feel a little bit safer with the process.”
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
9 Tips to Practice Good Credit Hygiene
Good credit can help unlock the door to a brighter future.
That’s not just a metaphor – your credit score is one of the first pieces of information lenders review before approving you for a mortgage, business loan or other purchase requiring finance. A strong credit history could help position you as a more trustworthy borrower.
Think of building credit like practicing good hygiene. The more you maintain good financial habits and clean up past mistakes, the better your credit can be.
Shakima Figuera-Collins, a JPMorgan Chase Community Manager in Brooklyn, offers these nine important tips to help establish and maintain good credit health.
1. Check your credit reports
Reviewing your credit report is the first step in finding information that may be affecting your score. You have a credit report with the three major bureaus. You can access your ExperianTM credit report for free with Chase Credit Journey®.
2. Monitor your credit score
This three-digit number can be key to your lender’s decision and helps determine the interest rate offer you’ll receive. With a higher credit score, you may be able to lower your interest rate. Keep in mind, credit score is just one of the many factors considered. The five main categories that determine your credit score are payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and types of credit used (10%).
3. Pay off delinquent accounts
Bring any delinquent accounts current, or work to pay them off when you are able. Delinquencies include past due payments, charge-offs, collections or judgments.
4. Make payments on time
Every on-time payment is important as it helps
demonstrate good financial behavior. It also takes time to rebuild your credit score after delinquencies and late payments.
5. Avoid new debt
Because hard inquiries can also affect your credit score, try to avoid applying for multiple lines of credit in a short period of time. Hard inquiries will appear on your report for two years.
6. Know your debt-to-income ratio
Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is the percentage of your monthly income that goes toward paying off debts. Keep DTI ratios low, as this shows you’re more likely to be able to afford monthly loan payments.
7. Keep low balances
Paying off your revolving loans every month is beneficial for your payment history while lowering the total amount owed. Try to keep your balances at or below 30% of your credit limit to help your credit score.
8. Keep accounts open
Closing accounts lowers your total amount of available credit and increases the percentage of credit in use, which can have a negative impact on your score and credit history. Borrowers who have credit available but don’t use it all or pay it off every month likely appear more credible to lenders.
9. Know how much you can afford to spend
Understanding your personal finances helps avoid getting into debt you can’t pay off, which could potentially harm your credit. Knowing and maintaining your personal budget reduces the chances of missing payments.
Keep your credit clean
Building good credit is a gradual process. While it takes time for derogatory marks to disappear from your credit report, there are steps you can take now to start improving your credit score.
As with any healthy routine, once you’ve gotten started, it can be easier to maintain. Over time, you’ll be on your way to establishing healthy credit hygiene and solid financial health.
For informational/educational purposes only: Views and strategies described may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any individual. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates are not responsible for, and do not provide or endorse third party products, services, or other content.
Sponsored content by JPMorgan Chase
CLASSROOM IN THE
Rev. Robert Dixon, Sr., last of the Buffalo Soldiers
By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews
Mixed views arise when it comes to a discussion about the famed Buffalo Soldiers. Should they be honored or despised? What role did they play in the annihilation of Native Americans? All of these questions arrive again as we note the passing of the last of the soldiers, Rev. Robert W. Dixon, Sr., who died on Nov. 15 near Albany at 103 years old.
We have no evidence of Dixon’s responses to the above questions, but we do know he served unwaveringly in the U.S. Army’s all-Black regiments, though there is no indication that he participated in the wars against Native Americans. He was born long after the original soldiers accomplished their missions on battlefields.
Dixon was born on Sept. 11, 1921, in Manhattan and grew up in the city. He was one of five children of Benjamin Dixon and Louise (Hammond) Dixon. He enlisted in the Army in 1941, and during World War II he was a corporal stationed in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. At this location, he was a member of the Ninth Cavalry Regiment, who trained cadets in horseback riding and mounted tactics.
This unit was part of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers, so-called by the Native Americans because of the texture of their hair and their fierceness in warfare. They had distinguished themselves in battle during the Spanish-American War, most notably for rescuing Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders who were facing defeat in Cuba.
In 1946, the Buffalo Soldiers, who were composed of the 9th and 10th Cavalry regiments, were disbanded, after the Army became totally mechanized. Before Dixon’s passing, Mark Matthews was considered the oldest living member of the unit, and he died at 111 in 2005. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Dixon remained in the Hudson Valley after military service and worked for IBM in Poughkeepsie, New York. He retired in 1977 as a manager of a company that manufactured computer motherboards. His membership at the Central Baptist Church in Salt Point, in Dutchess County, later evolved into his role as a part-time pastor. He had a longer association at Mount
Calvary Baptist Church, in Albany, where he was a pastor for 36 years.
Both Dixon and his wife, Georgia, a psychiatric nurse, had prior marriages. They moved to Albany in 1977 after being offered a job as pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church. Along with his religious duties, he was active in civil and social affairs, including assisting in creating the Community
Police Review Board in Albany, and serving as chair from 1984 to 1998. He also led a commission to build a memorial honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the city. Dixon was often reluctant to recount his war experiences, and at some point also refused to mount a horse. Besides his wife, Dixon is survived by six children: Carolyn Suber and Terry,
David, John, Jacqueline and Robert Dixon Jr.; nine grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. His son Gerald died in the 1980s.
The Buffalo Soldiers have been immortalized in film and song. In 1983, the famous reggae master Bob Marley composed and recorded “Buffalo Soldier” and Danny Glover starred in the 1997 movie “Buffalo Soldiers.”
ACTIVITIES
FIND OUT MORE
There are several books on the soldiers, including countless articles and chapters in historical books about Black Americans. But see T.G. Steward’s book for starters.
DISCUSSION
Wish we had more information on his early years in Manhattan and where exactly he lived.
PLACE IN CONTEXT
He was not born soon enough to be a member of the original Buffalo Soldiers but did much to extend their legend.
THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY
Dec. 1, 1940: Actor/comedian Richard Pryor was born in Peoria, Ill. He died in 2005.
Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks defied the segregation laws of Montgomery. He died in 2005.
Dec. 4, 1955: Vocalist Cassandra Wilson was born in Jackson, Miss.
Rev. Robert Dixon, Sr. with an award as a Buffalo Soldier (Photo courtesy of the Warwick Advertiser)
Continued from page 9
(University)” — Education; “A Voteless People is a Hopeless People” — Civic Engagement; Project Alpha — Mentoring; and “Brother’s Keeper — Respect for Our Elders and Family is impactful in the communities that we serve.
The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity also conducts philanthropic programming initiatives with the March of Dimes, Good Health Wins, the Boy Scouts of America, and Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America.
Alpha Phi Alpha historic and prominent members include civil rights activists Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John H. Johnson, NAACP founder W.E.B. DuBois, John Mack, Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian, Dr. Cornell West, and Dick Gregory; government leaders U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, President of the Republic of Liberia H.E. Joseph N. Boakai, Sr., Jamaican Prime Minister Norman Manley, Justice Thurgood Marshall, United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, New York City Mayor David Dinkins; musicians Duke Ellington, Donny Hathaway, Lionel Ritchie, Gerald Albright; actors Hill Harper, Omari Hardwick, Darryl Bell, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Tim Reid,
Joseph C. Phillips, Will Packer, Christian Keyes, Kevin Powell, Barry Jenkins, Rusty Cundieff, Benny Boom, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II; media figures Roland Martin, Stuart Scott, Stan Verrett; businessman Robert Smith; athletes and sports figures Leonard “Lenny” Wilkins, Jesse Owens, Mike Powell, Quinn Buckner, Wes Chandler, Eddie Robinson, Fritz Pollard, Art Shell, Charles Haley, Gene Upshaw, Wes Unseld, Carnell Lake, and Eric Davis; and many others.
General President Willis L. Lonzer, III, Ph.D. is a leader in the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, business, and his community with more than 30 years of experience as a trained biomedical scientist, including more than 24 years of global pharmaceutical research and development and global medical affairs experience. A native of Richmond, Va., he matriculated to Delaware State University, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in chemistry with a minor in German. While at Delaware State, he joined the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. through the Gamma Sigma Chapter on Nov. 15, 1986. After college, he attended graduate school, pursuing an interest in biomedicine. He holds a Ph.D. degree in biochemistry from the University of Akron. Lonzer was a postdoctoral fellow and researcher in physiology and biophysics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio.
London
Continued from page 22
Madame Tussaud’s charge around £25–£35 for admission.
Theater
and performances
London is famous for its theater scene, with West End musicals and plays attracting a global audience. Tickets for major shows can range from £20 to £150 or more, depending on the production and seating choice. Discount booths like TKTS in Leicester Square offer a chance to purchase tickets at lower prices.
Other costs to consider
SIM cards and Wi-Fi
If you’re traveling internationally, purchasing a local SIM card for mobile data is a common expense. Prepaid SIM cards can be bought from stores like EE, Vodafone, or Three, starting at around £10–£30 for a plan that includes data, calls, and texts.
Shopping and souvenirs
London offers numerous shopping opportunities, from luxury stores on Oxford Street and Bond Street to independent boutiques in areas like Shoreditch. Budget for souvenirs, which can range from small trinkets costing a few pounds
Reduce Your Cancer Risk by Eating Healthy
Learn to make healthy, low-cost meals through our free online cooking series led by Karla Giboyeaux, a registered dietitian at the MSK Ralph Lauren Center in Harlem.
to high-end fashion items that can cost hundreds or thousands of pounds.
Travel insurance
Travel insurance is essential for any trip, and the cost varies depending on factors such as duration and coverage. On average, travel insurance for a week’s stay can cost between £30–£50.
When to visit
The time of year you choose to visit London can significantly affect your travel budget. The summer months (June to August) are the most expensive, since they coincide with peak tourist season — hotels, flights, and tickets tend to be higher during this time. Conversely, visiting in the winter (outside the December holidays) can offer lower rates, although the weather may be cold and rainy.
Visiting London can be as affordable or as extravagant as you choose. With options for budget-conscious travelers, such as public transport, free museums, and affordable dining, London remains accessible to a wide range of visitors, while those looking to enjoy the city’s high-end experiences may find themselves spending considerably more. To maximize your trip, it’s important to plan ahead, set a realistic budget, and prioritize the experiences that matter most to you. Whether you’re here for a weekend getaway or an extended stay, London offers a wealth of options to suit every financial situation.
Point your smartphone camera at the QR code and tap the link to find festive recipes for the holidays, including a red meat-free version of Pastelón.
U.S. Surgeon General report reignites menthol ban conversation Health
By TANDY LAU
Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member
Last month, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy released the “most comprehensive investigation of commercial tobacco-related health disparities” by the office to date. The 837-page report included key findings on how the marketing of menthol-flavored cigarettes toward Black Americans led to smoking-related poor health outcomes.
“Tobacco use imposes a heavy toll on families across generations,” said Murthy in his statement. “Now is the time to accelerate our efforts to create a world in which zero lives are harmed by or lost to tobacco. This report offers a vision for a tobacco-free future, focused on those who bear the greatest burden, and serves as a call to action for all people to play a role in realizing that vision.”
Limiting menthol sales and marketing could save more than 654,000 lives over the next four decades, according to research cited in the report.
“I remember the Surgeon General’s report from 1998, the first one that came out that looked at health disparities around racial and ethnic minorities,” said Dr. Phillip Gardiner, co-chair of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council. “Unfortunately, the same findings back then have been replicated now: that folks of color, and particularly African Americans, are dying dis-
proportionately of tobacco related diseases including heart disease, lung cancer, and cerebral vascular disease or stroke.”
The findings frequently examine menthol’s impact on Black New Yorkers, from mentioning efforts by the late Rev. Calvin Butts III of
the Abyssinian Church against targeted tobacco ads to a study on family and peer impact for 475 Black and Puerto Rican youth in Harlem. Dr. Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference, recalls how endemic menthol ads were around Harlem before Butts’ efforts and says she has lost family members to smoking-related illness.
“[Nationally] several years ago, we started with not taking any funds from the tobacco industry,” said Dukes over the phone. “And we’ve been working with the New York State Conference over the last five years with the Tobacco-Free Kids program. That is to get the bill passed in the city council as well as the state legislature to ban menthol and [candy-flavored tobacco].”
While the Biden administration mulled over a federal menthol ban, efforts stalled. Other conversations occurred on the state and local legislative level, according to American Cancer Society Action Network’s Michael Davoli. Yet menthol cigarettes remain sold in New York City.
“Multiple times the federal, state, and city government have actually looked at this issue and then failed to do anything,”
See MENTHOL BAN continued on next page
Menthol ban
Continued from page 28
said Davoli. “Meanwhile, people continue to get out on menthol cigarettes and die from tobacco related illness, and this is something that’s been going on for 50-plus years. It’s incredibly disappointing, and here we are now [with] another Surgeon General report coming out, reminding us all about how deadly these tobacco products are, yet there’s still no action from the federal government [and] state governments.”
With the ban likely not happening under President Joe Biden and potentially other healthcare priorities under President-elect Donald Trump, Davoli believes the best shot would be to tackle policy from a state and municipal level. Two states (California and Massachusetts) and roughly 200 municipal-
ities have already banned menthol sales.
Gardiner says the proposed federal ban also focuses on menthol as a minty flavor rather than as a substance, meaning the health and addictive factors would still remain.
While menthol bans remain constantly in a loop despite roughly half a decade of research and advocacy, the experts expressed frustration in how quickly flavored e-cigarettes were banned, which they see as steeped in racial factors.
“This disparity has been going on for a very long time, and as soon as young white folks started using flavored e-cigarettes, there’s a big uproar,” said Gardiner.
“There’s a whole debate about that. In fact, the case is in front of the Supreme Court as we sit here and talk. But [all the] while menthol just languishes.”
Altruistic concerns against a menthol
LGBTQIA+ policy report
Continued from page 2
“This blueprint was developed in coalition with many of the incredible advocates and organizers standing here today, over the course of countless community roundtables, rounds of outreach and over two years of collaboration with queer and trans leaders,” Councilmember Tiffany Cabán, who co-chairs the caucus, said in a statement.
“While we remain committed to leading these efforts, we cannot do it alone. Our work ahead will require our part-
ners across all levels of government to push forward bold solutions to support our queer community,” she continued.
“Our demands will require significant investment that can best be met through increased taxes on the wealthiest New Yorkers, something that is under the state legislature’s authority and not the city’s. Under the incoming Trump administration, federal funding to support the LGBTQIA+ community will certainly be cut.
U.S. foreign aid
Continued from page 3
Forced into difficult choices
MSI Reproductive Choices is lobbying world leaders and alternative donors to fight for abortion rights.
“Trump’s reelection may embolden the anti-choice movement, but the fight for women’s reproductive rights is non-negotiable,” Chinogwenya said.
Agencies that rely heavily or entirely
Afro Uruguayans
Continued from page 15
always been social transformation through awareness of systemic racism.
Can you briefly summarize the impact of the Durban conference?
The preparation for the World Conference Against Racism in Durban was a real achievement. In Chile, we managed to organize the Conference of the Americas, which brought together Black and Indigenous organizations and regional governments to build a common platform. It was an immense logistical effort, led by Luisa Casalet, who was in charge of mobilizing more than 600 people from Uruguay, Argentina, and
on U.S funding might have little choice but “to quiet their guidelines on access to abortion” to qualify for funding, said Denise Horn, an international relations and civil society expert at Bryant University in Rhode Island. In South Africa, where abortion is mostly legal, some NGOs, especially those without alternative funding, stopped openly discussing abortion as an option or changed their guidelines and the information they share publicly, according to an assessment by South Africa’s Rhodes
other countries for the trip to South Africa.
In Durban, our greatest pride was that 75% of the Afro-descendant platform that was presented had been designed in Latin America. Also, the term Afro-descendant was born, which is now widely used, although its origin was a curious coincidence derived from the multiple denominations that each country provided.
Undoubtedly, Durban marked a before and after in the visibility of the racial issue at the global level and strengthened the importance of our struggles.
What can Afro Uruguayans expect from the Frente Amplio center-left coalition?
As Afro-descendants, we expect transformative public policies that include justice, recognition, and reparations. This last
ban largely stem from the perceived criminalization of the tobacco product, with fears of further policing in Black and Brown communities. Candace Prince-Modeste, NAACP Jamaica Branch’s president, says she empathizes with those fears and believes a criminal justice lens is critical, but feels the public health toll is too high.
“Everyone does not feel the same about the issue,” said Prince-Modeste. “There are folks who feel very strongly in terms of preserving the health and well being of their peers. And then there are others who are squarely focused on the criminalization side, and there’s definitely valid points on both sides. But that’s one reason why I think it hasn’t gone as far as I believe it should have in New York City.”
To be clear, banning menthol retail sales has not led to a single arrest, according to Gardiner. But beyond anti-carceral push-
It will be up to city and state legislatures to take on that responsibility.”
Councilmember Chi Ossé added that President-elect Trump campaigned on anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric, especially against transgender students and workers. “New York City has an obligation to build Fortress New York: Defend all our residents against outside threats from potentially hostile agencies while expanding and developing community investment and infrastructure here at home to create the safe, welcoming, and thriving city we deserve,” said Ossé.
The caucus’s policy agenda plans to push initiatives in multiple sectors of
University and the International Women’s Health Coalition, a New York-based NGO.
“Organizations thus have to evaluate what is most important: the non-abortion work they will still be able to do or the principle of pro-choice,” read part of the 2019 assessment report. “Ultimately, these organizations will have to make this difficult decision.”
The long lines of women at the outreach clinic in Zimbabwe’s Epworth settlement underline the need for family planning services in impoverished communities.
point is fundamental: 500 years of slavery and exclusion cannot be ignored.
In addition, we need a critical approach in areas such as education, foreign relations, and cooperation with Africa. Uruguay must strengthen its ties with the Caribbean and sub-Saharan Africa, not only through trade but also by recognizing our cultural and religious roots.
I hope that with the coming to power of the Frente Amplio, we can begin to work together to resume and guarantee the advances of public policies for Afro-Uruguayans. Frente Amplio will begin to work on a government plan that guarantees that the government policies include all sectors, especially the most neglected. It is past time for the government to give more color and diversity to its programs.
back, Prince-Modeste sees enduring menthol sales as a reflection of how endemic smoking is to American life, particularly in pop culture. Even with restrictions, the impact remains, she says.
“Advertisement is pretty much taboo at this point, in some cases outright illegal,” she said. “But when they’ve been exposed to it day in and day out when their grandmother sent them to the grocery store or to the corner store to get it, or if they borrowed one from their uncle. That’s way more impactful than any commercial or any magazine.”
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.
the city’s policies, like building supportive programs and systems within city schools for queer students, supporting people seeking gender-affirming care, expanding outreach to the city’s unhoused LGBTQIA+ people and youth, expanding access to free and low-cost health services for queer and HIV-affected New Yorkers, mandating anti-discrimination and competency training for service providers, allocating funds for queer migrants and asylum seekers, overhauling the city’s foster care and juvenile delinquency systems to better support LGBTQIA+ youth, and passing the Sex Worker Protection Act.
Engeline Mukanya, 30, said she is already struggling to support her three children with the $100 she earns monthly from plaiting women’s hair. Nurses inserted a birthcontrol implant in her left arm to protect her from pregnancy for the next five years. Like many here, she cannot afford private providers, who charge $20 to $60.
“It’s unfortunate that we are so far away from America, yet we are being caught in the crossfire of its politics,” she said. “All we want is the freedom to space our births.”
Education
NYC Computer Lab Initiative, AT&T, DYCD, and partners open Connected Learning Center at Edenwald Houses in the Bronx
By LEAH MALLORY Special to the AmNews
Residents of Edenwald Houses in the Bronx are enjoying a new AT&T Connected Learning Center (CLC), a recent development in collaboration with the NYC Computer Lab Initiative, the New York City Department of Youth and Development (DYCD), and other partners aimed at bringing digital resources to underserved communities across NYC.
The CLC, funded by a $30,000 contribution from AT&T to the NYC Computer Lab Initiative and a $15,000 grant from the DYCD, offers internet access, computer stations, programming such as Microsoft Office training and STEM classes, and other digital resources for seniors, adults, and youth alike.
According to David Solomon Jones, founder and executive director of iKhodi and the NYC Computer Lab Initiative, this is the 11th development under the initiative, which is temporarily located in a mobile office at Edenwald Houses. Jones said the goal is to establish 300 computer labs.
“We are in the process of opening a computer lab in every underprivileged and underserved community in New York City,” he said. “The whole premise is to assist with closing the digital divide.”
John Emra, AT&T Atlantic Region president, said the AT&T Connected Learning Initiative is part of a multi-year, $5 billion nationwide commitment to help improve digital access. This is the eighth center they’ve opened in New York.
He said the center is supposed to provide three things: devices, internet access, and digital literacy. “If you just give [people] a computer and you give them access, [but] if you’re not showing them the power of how to use all of these tools that are along with it, then it’s kind of a waste,” Emra said.
Jones said the partnership between the NYC Computer Lab Initiative and AT&T came together organically because it aligned with his goal of opening labs across NYC and AT&T’s interest in launching a Connected Learning Center in the Bronx. “AT&T is our sole partner with this lab at Edenwald,” he said.
Jones had partnered with the DYCD to launch previous labs.
“This is an example of cross-agency and public-private collaboration,” said DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard.
“This is one time in which DYCD actually put dollars in … about $15,000 from our Safe in the City Grant.”
Jones also mentioned the importance of collaborating with the Edenwald Houses Tenant Association to understand residents’ needs better. He emphasized that programming and community engagement are critical for ensuring the labs are used and effective.
“We’re very hands-on in working with the community to ensure that they not only know the programming is accessible, but also the marketing: first, to make sure they know [the programming exists], and second, to ensure they actually take advantage of the programming we offer to the community,” Jones said.
In 2021, data from the New York City Council revealed that 8.1% of households in the city had no internet, and 28% were without high-speed broadband. For Black and Hispanic households, the numbers were higher, at 35% and 36%. The data also showed that in several Bronx community districts, over 40% of households lacked high-speed broadband service.
“I think what we’re looking at is just providing residents with internet access and programming to keep them engaged, safe, and connected to opportunities, so they and the community can flourish,” Howard said of how the new computer lab is helping to bridge that gap.
E’lyse Murray, a committee chairperson for the Edenwald Tenant Resident Council, Inc. and Edenwald resident of 59 years, expressed appreciation for the initiative. “Educational literacy is key, and should be available to everyone anywhere in any community. We are grateful in this day and age to physically see our computer lab open here,” she said.
Looking toward the future, the collaborators hope to continue narrowing the divide day by day by expanding access to digital resources.
“People should be able to get online. People should have a device. They should have internet access, and they should have digital literacy tools. Those are table stakes in America today. You cannot be part of the modern economy and the way we all live without those three things,” said Emra. “That’s the goal for us, and anything, frankly, short of that is ultimately kind of a failure. I don’t think this is something that we can fail on as a society.”
Edenwald Houses Computer Lab ribbon-cutting in the Bronx. (NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) photos)
Inside look at new computer lab at Edenwald Houses.
DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard (blue sweatshirt) pictured with child and others at Connected Learning Center opening.
stormwater and drainage systems upgrades, $3 million to assist the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in designing new flood maps that guide flood mitigation, $215 million for City Fighting Homelessness and Eviction Prevention Supplement (CityFHEPS) vouchers, and $7.6 million to sustain the Anti-HarassmentTenant Protection (AHTP) program.
Many city electeds and mayoral hopefuls are in support of the pro-housing reforms, but have some reservations about the proposals.
Former Bronx Assemblymember Michael Blake, who just announced his official bid for mayor next year, said that the City of Yes proposal is “commendable,” if implemented effectively. Blake is a homeowner and a small business owner, who founded the KAIROS: Democracy Project. He said he’s committed to ensuring that more New Yorkers can purchase homes and revising the area median income (AMI).
“We must protect tenants and renters, while we equally increase the opportunities for people to become homeowners and for responsible developers to truly create working class and affordable housing options,” said Blake. “To build more housing, which is essential because we do not have enough homes and rooms for our New Yorkers, the city and state must create fair
and conscious-minded incentives for developers to prioritize keeping working New Yorkers in their communities and equally utilize labor union members who are paid livable wages.”
Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso spoke out about the decision to exempt R1-2A, R2A, and R3A contextual districts from City of Yes — or low-density neighborhoods of large, singlefamily detached and semi-detached homes on spacious lots. He said there will be effectively no new housing options for people to live in these communities as a result, keeping certain neighborhoods exclusive and segregated.
According to data from Village Preservation that analyzed neighborhoods between 2010 and 2020, “areas of the city with higher increases in new housing overwhelmingly tended to become whiter, less Black, and less Hispanic — both in the aggregate and in the overwhelming majority of individual neighborhoods.” The data also showed that the areas with lower or more moderate increases in housing units were less likely to displace Black and Brown residents. Nearly all the “high housing growth areas” went through rezoning changes to stimulate greater housing development, said the data.
“Mayor Bloomberg contextually zoned already low-density neighborhoods, making it even harder to build new housing, and now, by exempting the same neighborhoods from the City of Yes proposal, Mayor Adams and the City Council are choosing
to make the same mistakes,” said Reynoso in a statement. “The housing pressure on every other neighborhood will go up – which means if Queens or Staten Island doesn’t grow, Brooklyn is asked to do more than our fair share.”
This week at a press conference at City Hall, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and housing advocates highlighted their funding commitments to their City For All housing plan and discussed City of Yes. Deputy City Council Speaker Diana Ayala said that it was imperative for council members to come up with a complementary housing plan to City of Yes because passing zoning changes alone couldn’t address the housing crisis as a whole.
“I am especially proud that our City For All plan prioritizes funding for public housing residents, whose living conditions have not been enough of a priority. That was really important to us. We really pushed for that,” said Ayala. “I represent the largest public housing stock in the entire city and continue to be very disappointed by the state of our public housing.”
Barika Williams, the executive director at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD), said that it was crucial to include every single neighborhood in the solutions for affordable housing, homeownership, housing production, building conditions in NYCHA, and affordable rents. She credited the city council and advocates for fighting for more deep affordability citywide.
“The council really fought for so that we could get the full affordability that we needed, including mapping [Mandatory Inclusionary Housing] MIH Option 3, which is deep affordability as a standalone,” said Williams. “I know that seems numbers and wonky but that’s the difference between rents that are $2,500 or $2,800, which no one in the South Bronx is affording, versus units that are down below $1,800 that actually reaches our families.”
Public attorneys and housing advocates also commenced the City for All plans for bolstering tenant protections and combating discrimination against CityFHEPS voucher holders.
“The historic inclusion of critical tenant protections in the Council’s ‘City for All’ plan represents a significant step in combating the displacement that has long accompanied rezoning and development in New York City,” said Chief Attorney of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society Adriene Holder. “By strengthening and expanding CityFHEPS to keep tenants housed in communities and restoring funding to the Anti-Harassment Tenant Protection program, alongside other tenant-focused initiatives, ‘City for All’ offers the holistic and responsible housing plan that New Yorkers deserve and expect from their leaders at City Hall.”
Speaker Adams said she expects the committee to pass the city council’s housing plan shortly.
Speeding ruins lives. Slow down.
Religion & Spirituality
What’s God got to do with it? Everything!
I love this scene from Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” which I am quoting from Goodreads:
Shug: More than anything God love admiration.
Celie: You saying God is vain?
Shug: No, not vain, just wanting to share a good thing. I think it pisses God off when you walk by the colour purple in a field and don’t notice it.
Celie: You sayin it just wanna be loved like it say in the bible?
Shug: Yeah, Celie. Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance and holla just wanting to be loved. Look at them trees. Notice how the trees do everything people do to get attention... except walk?
This season, there are lots of conversations about the Divine and Their effect on the universe. Think Gaza/ Israel/ Hamas/ Hezbollah: What’s God got to do with land, identity, power, belonging? Immigration, borders, ICE, Indigenous History Month: What’s God got to do with the doctrine of discovery, Manifest Destiny, and making so-called heathens “Christian?”
LGBTQIA+ humans, sexuality, and reproductive justice: Is God OK with being gay and is God OK with being trans, and what is an abomination? Is Trump the Messiah? Should Christianity be taught in school? Is the U.S. a Christian nation? Think about superior races and inferior genders and ask yourself, “What’s talk of God got to do with that?”
We are heading toward the Winter Solstice and holidays for many major religions. What’s God got to do with these holidays and how we celebrate them? Everything! How we think about God (or don’t think about God) informs how we think about ourselves, the world, and the people in it.
So, what do you think? Below are some questions for conversation at dinner or on a walk.
Do you believe in God or in a higher power? What was your first God-moment?
For me: I fell in love with God when I was 8 years old when I received Communion for the first time. My mother told me the bread meant God would always love me and the wine (grape juice!) meant God would never leave me. God will always love me. God will never leave me. That does not mean God is a protective shield or an insurance policy for life-after-death. God is love. 1 John says it best. God is love, and those who live in love live in God and God lives in them. Love is the way, I believe, the truth, and the life. Jesus was love in the flesh. You and I are love made flesh. God is incarnate in the love that calls us to love our neighbors and to love ourselves. I feel so blessed that I make a living talking, writing, preaching, and teaching about God, a comforter and a waymaker, and a healer and a teacher.
What do you think about the Divine now?
I grew up Christian, raised by two African American parents who grew up in the Black Church in Mississippi. Their parents were Christians; their grandparents were Christian. Just like we all do, my folks had certain scriptures that guided their lives, and therefore guided my early life. Do unto others as would have them do unto you. Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. The 23rd Psalm. Once I had a car accident, a terrible one, and I tied that accident to having disappointed God. I did not die, so the car accident was both punishment and mercy. I went to seminary soon after that and was delighted, mesmerized, and amazed that there were conversations to have about God that could reframe my thinking. I
was on fire with questions, and enjoyed the possibility that maybe some of what I had learned about God was wrong. My vocation, I came to understand, was to listen to a still-speaking God and to help others to listen as well.
How has your relationship/responsibility to others been influenced by your perception of the Divine?
My relationship with my spouse, John, is such a holy experience. He is a United Methodist retired clergy, and our life is a theological project! We are being shaped by love, learning to love each other better. I am Nana to two children, and John and I parent their parents with friendship, love, grace, and joy. I love the beauty of creating a container for our family. I have siblings that I love deeply. We’ve lost both our parents now and as the eldest girl, I used to step in as co-madre. But I have discovered instead a responsibility to just BE with them…and to be myself, authentically. There is a deep respect and friendship in that context. God is love, I am love, I am loved, they are loved. Love is the relationship.
What feels sacred to you right now?
For me, my community at Middle Church is sacred. So is my family. Sun on my face. That I can breathe. That there is a diverse web of humanity aching for peace and working toward it, and that I am part of it. That I have the honor of writing, speaking, preaching, dreaming, praying for a healed world. This is all sacred to me. God is in everything; everything is in God. This is what I have come to know. All of it is sacred.
Loves, each of us has a story about the Divine. That story and vision are important. Talk about it, listen to others talk about it. You can learn a lot about your people by listening to their stories, and their God story is just one of them. That story about God? It is critical to how we story everything else.
Happy Holidays!
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister and public theologian at Middle Church in New York. Celebrated internationally for her dynamic preaching and commitment to building a just society with fierce love, Dr. Lewis champions racial, economic, and gender/sexuality justice. The author of several books, including “Fierce Love” and the “Just Love Story Bible,” her work has been featured on NBC, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, NPR and in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Ebony and Essence Magazines.
who the jail population is.
“Posts are unstaffed. This is like security 101, you should have people on posts, right? And people aren’t being disciplined for misconduct again. This has nothing to do with the demographics of the jail population.”
A “federal takeover” remains a common misconception for receivership. While the receiver is ultimately appointed by a federal judge, the role relies on independence to achieve reforms without political pressure or red tape.
The Bill Clinton-appointed Swain enjoys a lifetime term, so the incoming Trump administration’s impact on a federal receivership would be nominal. Experts say the upcoming departure of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who intervened in Nunez and supported both receivership and a contempt order, will not impact the case. Former SEC chair Jay Clayton will likely replace him as Trump’s appointee.
Still, the selection process for a receiver will be a “monumental decision” according to Campaign Zero Executive Director DeRay Mckesson. The prominent civil rights activist says receivership will play a big role in racial justice given the disproportionate number of Black and Brown New Yorkers held in custody.
“There’s a question of, can we, can we think outside the box to get somebody to be the receiver here that is not just a repetition of the same type of leadership we’ve seen in other places across the country,” said Mckesson over Zoom.
Those with carceral backgrounds are overwhelmingly tapped for receivership over correctional facilities, although law professor Clark Kelso was appointed to oversee California’s prison medical system due to his expertise in all three branches in government.
“It’s really important to choose the right person: someone who would have the vision necessary to make the types of reforms that we’re talking about [and] somebody who would have the level of independence and vision to be a reformer,” said Greenberger. “So some of this is just a process of finding the right person. It’s not clear to me whether the city and the plaintiffs will agree on who that person is but I expect if we don’t, that the court would play an active role in choosing the person.”
The Nunez reforms entail all city jails, even as the issue is synonymous with Rikers Island, home of seven active facilities which are scheduled to be closed in 2027 and replaced by four borough-based jails. Although unlikely, closure and receivership could intersect if issues persist past the deadline.
“Closure is a political creature, and this receivership process is inherently not supposed to be a political creature,” said Hernandez Stroud, a senior fellow at NYU’s Brennan Center for Justice. “In a way, they
are running parallel. I don’t think that they have to run at odds with each other.”
While the city council’s direct hand in passing the borough-based jail plan cannot intervene as intimately with receivership, a resolution was reintroduced by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams earlier this year to declare a loss of confidence in the DOC and push for a receiver.
Stroud adds that receivers historically established “significant and positive impacts on systems.” Those reforms range from eliminating overcrowding to securing budget increases to petitioning judges to waive state and local laws impeding constitutional compliance. But the jails will eventually return under the city’s control after any receivership.
“I think that receivers are effective, but ultimately it’s up to the government to maintain a receiver’s work after that receivership ends and judicial oversight fades away,” said Stroud. “Before the case ends, there is a period of judicial oversight to sit back and see whether the government is capable of maintaining the reforms instituted by receivership. One problem sometimes is that receivers spin in ways that [the] government might find politically unsustainable.
“For example, D.C.’s receivership cured a lot of problems with the delivery of medical and mental health care, but there was a subcommittee hearing in Congress after the receivership that, despite all the progress, lamented the cost of delivering healthcare post receivership compared to other comparable systems delivering healthcare within prisons and jails.”
But high price tags do not necessarily belie a profligate receiver; they can also mean necessary resources towards the reforms were not being spent.
“The task for any receivership and judge is to make sure that the receivership’s work sets up the government in the best possible position to maintain the reforms after the receivership terminates,” said Stroud.
On the ground, Swain’s decision signifies a major victory for advocates. Yonah Zeitz, Katal Center’s director of advocacy, recalls the fight for receivership spans years of protests and actions through roughly 90 different organizations. Now, he hopes those same movements get a seat at the table.
“We’d want to see there the avenues for active communities to weigh in [and] to influence the process,” said Zeitz. “We want to make sure that the receiver makes themselves accessible to the communities, the folks that are on the ground [and] most directly impacted by Rikers, because there’s no way that you can effectively shift the long standing, deeper issues without hearing from the folks that are experiencing it.”
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.
KEEPIN’ THE CITY CONNECTED BY SOLVING THE UNEXPECTED.
PARKER - CYBER SECURITY ANALYST
Eric Adams Mayor
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NOTICE OF SALE
Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, Index No. 850088/2022
Six Gramercy LLC, Plaintiff, v. Westside Units 17 th Street LLC, et. al., Defendants.
TAKE NOTICE that pursuant to the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered August 2, 2024, the undersigned referee will sell at public auction on December 11, 2024 at 2:15pm in Room 130 at the Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, NY, NY, the property located at 7 East 17 th Street, Unit 7S, New York, NY 10003 (Block 846, Lot 1312).
The approximate amount of Plaintiff’s lien is $1,519,549.37 plus interest and costs. The premises will be sold in one parcel and subject to provisions of the judgment and terms of sale.
Allison Furman, Esq., Referee
Law Offices of Tae H. Whang, LLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 185 Bridge Plaza North, Suite 201, Fort Lee, NJ 07024, Tel. (201) 461-0300, 415 White Oak Road, Palisades, NY 10964 (By Appointment Only).
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, Titan Capital ID, LLC, Plaintiff, vs. Bowery Shed LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on February 5, 2024 and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on July 12, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on December 18, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 354 Bowery, Unit 4, New York, NY 10012. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 531 and Lot 1204 together with an undivided 16.0 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $890,834.00 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850172/2022. Georgia Papazis, Esq., Referee Vallely Law PLLC, 6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 165, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff
This is to announce that the next meeting of the Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy I Charter School Board of Trustees will occur in person on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 4:30 PM. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th Street, NY, NY.
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BEAR STEARNS ASSET BACKED SECURITIES TRUST 2004-AC3 ASSET-BACKED CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2004-AC3, Plaintiff AGAINST MARC BERNSTEIN, DONNA BERNSTEIN, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered March 5, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on December 18, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 330 East 33rd Street, Unit 4M, 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 936, LOT 4054. Approximate amount of judgment $1,325,461.27 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850325/2013. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the NEW YORK County 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. Mark McKew, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 00296966 82196
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , NYCTL 1998-2
TRust and the Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian , Plaintiff, vs . Larisa Mikhailova , ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion dated March 13, 2024 and entered on May 1, 2024 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 8, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., all that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 862 and Lot 1274.
Said premises may also be known as 325 5 Avenue, Unit No. S72, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $2,755.56 plus interest and costs.
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index #157999/2020.
Sofia Balile, Esq., Referee
The Law Office of Thomas P. Malone, PLLC, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 553, New York, New York 10165, Attorneys for Plaintiff
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST Arnold Quismorio Bengco a/k/a Arnold Bengco if living and if he be dead, any and all persons who are spouses, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienor, heirs, devisees, distributees, or successors in interest of such of the above as may be dead, and their spouses, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors in interest, all of whom and whose names and places of residences are unknown to Plaintiff, Rachelle Bengco if living and if she be dead, any and all persons who are spouses, widows, grantees, mortgagees, lienor, heirs, devisees, distributees, or successors in interest of such of the above as may be dead, and their spouses, heirs, devisees, distributees and successors in interest, all of whom and whose names and places of residences are unknown to Plaintiff, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered July 29, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on December 18, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 322 West 57th Street, Unit 41K1, New York, NY 10019. 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 of New York, City and State of New York, Block: 1047, Lot: 2394. Approximate amount of judgment $1,056,344.82 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850260/2019. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the NEW YORK County COVID-19 Protocols located on the Office of Court Administration (OCA) website (https://ww2.nycourts. gov/Admin/oca.shtml) and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale. For sale information, please visit Auction.com at www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2832. Doron Leiby, Esq., Referee Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon, LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 01-092596-F00 82018
Notice of Formation of CARBONDALE MILL STREET PRESERVATION DEVELOPER, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF SALE
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK
U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR GS MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES TRUST 2018-RPL1,
Plaintiff,
Against ERAN ELYOF, ET AL.,
Defendant(s)
Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale, duly entered 07/26/2024, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction, in Room 130 at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on 12/18/2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 330 East 109th Street, New York, NY 10029, And Described As Follows: ALL that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in theThe Unit Known As Unit No. 5A (Hereinafter Called "The Unit") In The Building Known As By The Street Number 330 East 109 Street, In The Borough Of Manhattan, County Of New York, City And State Of New York.
Block 1680 Lot 1115
The approximate amount of the current Judgment lien is $582,151.89 plus interest and costs. The Premises will be sold subject to provisions of the aforesaid Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale; Index # 850167/2022
Allison M. Furman, Esq., Referee.
SHELDON MAY & ASSOCIATES Attorneys at Law, 255 Merrick Road, Rockville Centre, NY 11570
Dated: 8/6/24 File Number: 38262 SH
PF741 WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/23/2024. Office loc: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 5535 Netherland Ave, Apt 1E, Bronx, NY 10471. Reg Agent: Paul Freyer, 5535 Netherland Ave, Apt 1E, Bronx, NY 10471. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.
Notice of Formation of RJMD HOLDINGS II LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/19/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 201 W. 79th St., NY, NY 10024. 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 SALE
SUPREME COURT- COUNTY OF NEW YORK
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (SUCCESSOR TO BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK N.A.), AS TRUSTEE, ON BEHALF OF THE HOLDERS OF THE THORNBURG MORTGAGE SECURITIES TRUST 2008-1 MORTGAGE LOAN PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2008-1 , Plaintiff, AGAINST ALMI FUNDING LLS SERIES 517 W46 LLC, LT CW 105, LLC, NK CW 105, LLC, BOARD OF MANAGERS OF CLINTON WEST CONDOMINIUM , et al. Defendant(s)
Pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure and sale duly entered on November 9, 2021.
I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre St, New York, NY 10007 on January 8, 2025 at 2:15 PM premises known as 517 W 46th Street 105, New York, NY 10036.
Please take notice that this foreclosure auction shall be conducted in compliance with the Foreclosure Auction Rules for New York County, and the COVID 19 Health Emergency Rules, including proper use of masks and social distancing.
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. Section 4, Block 1075 and Lot 1212.
Approximate amount of judgment $1,367,788.16 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment. Index #850101/2019.
Roberta Ashkin, Esq. , Referee, Aldridge Pite, LLP - Attorneys for Plaintiff - 40 Marcus Drive, Suite 200, Melville, NY 11747
Notice of Qualification of GUZMAN ADVISORY HOLDINGS, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/22/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/21/24. Princ. office of LLC: 405 Lexington Ave., 8th Fl., NY, NY 10174. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 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.
SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS–SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF NEW YORK– M & T BANK, Plaintiff, -againstSAMUEL E. BASS if he be living and if he be dead, the respective heirsat-law, next-of-kin, distributes, executors, administrators, trustees, devisees, legatees, assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest and generally all persons having or claiming under, by or through said defendant who may be deceased, by purchase, inheritance, lien or inheritance, lien or otherwise any right, title or interest in or to the real property described in the complaint; BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE COPLEY CONDOMINIUM AND CLUB; NORTHEAST ALLIANCE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION N/K/A AFFINITY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, Defendants - Index No.: 850040/2024
Plaintiff Designates New York County as the Place of Trial. The Basis of Venue is that the subject action is situated in New York County. 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(s) within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 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. That this Supplemental Summons is being filed pursuant to an order of the court dated October 18, 2024. NOTICE-YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME – If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (M & T BANK) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Honorable Francis A. Kahn III, J.S.C. Dated: October 18, 2024 Filed: October 21, 2024. The object of this action is to foreclose a mortgage and covering the premises known as 2000 Broadway 26C, New York, NY 10023. Dated: November 8, 2024 Filed: November 8, 2024 Greenspoon Marder LLP, Attorney for Plaintiff, By: Raspreet Bhatia, Esq., 590 Madison Avenue, Suite 1800, New York, NY 10022 P: (212) 524-5000 F: (212) 524-5050 No Service by fax) Service purposes only: Trade Centre South 100 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 700, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309 P: (888) 491-1120 F: (954) 343-6982
SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.
THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK AS TRUSTEE FOR THE CERTIFICATEHOLDERS OF THE CWALT, INC., ALTERNATIVE LOAN TRUST 2007-HY3 MORTGAGE PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-HY3, Plaintiff -against- BRUCE HUBERMAN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 1, 2024 and entered on August 6, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on January 8, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City and State of New York, known as Unit No. 16B in the condominium known as "The Gatsby Condominium" together with an undivided 2.16% interest in the common elements. Block: 1602 Lot: 1058
Said premises known as 65 EAST 96TH STREET, UNIT NO. 16B, NEW YORK, NY 10128
Approximate amount of lien
$2,277,363.83 plus interest & costs.
Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.
Index Number 850271/2022. MARK L. MCKEW, ESQ., Referee
Pincus Law Group, PLLC
Attorney(s) for Plaintiff
425 RXR Plaza, Uniondale, NY 11556
Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-24143992 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 64 Downing St., New York, NY 10014 for on-premises consumption; Bird is the Word LLC
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK
INDEX # 152510/24
SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS AND AMENDED NOTICE
Plaintiffs designate New York County as the place of trial. Venue is based upon the County in which the liened premises is situated. Tax Lien Foreclosure of: 655 West 187th Street, New York, NY 10033, (Block: 02170, Lot: 0027)
NYCTL 2021-A TRUST and The Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian, Plaintiffs, against Warren Demurjian as Executor and Residuary Beneficiary of the Estate of Malcolm Demurjian; Linda C. Cherken a/k/a Linda C. Graham; Harry S. Cherken, Jr.; Michael Demurjian, Individually and as Executor of the Estate of Joan Demurjian; Richard Demurjian, if the aforesaid individual defendants are living, and if any or all of said individual defendants be dead, their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest of them, and generally all persons having or claiming under, by, through, or against the said defendants named as a class, of any right, title, or interest in or lien upon the premises described in the verified complaint herein; David Demurjian; United States of America (Southern District); New York State Department of Taxation and Finance; and "JOHN DOE #1" through "JOHN DOE #100", inclusive the last 100 names being fictitious and unknown to the Plaintiffs, it being intended to designate fee owners, tenants or occupants of the liened premises and/or persons or parties, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the liened premises described in the complaint, if the aforesaid individual defendants are living, and if any or all of said individual defendants be dead, their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest of them, and generally all persons having or claiming under, by, through, or against the said defendants named as a class, of any right, title, or interest in or lien upon the premises described in the complaint herein, 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 attorney for the Plaintiffs 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 is made in any other manner than personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may appear within sixty (60) days of service hereof. 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 SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , Sutherland Asset I-AT2, LLC , Plaintiff, vs . 167th Street CF Unit LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on July 31, 2024 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 8, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 446-448 West 167th Street, Unit CF, New York, NY. 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, Block 2111 and Lot 1101 together with an undivided 8.6537 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $4,331,008.67 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index # 850177/2022. The Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale has been assigned, and the ultimate assignee is LBC3 Trust. LBC3 Trust will be the de facto plaintiff and credit bidding at the sale. Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee McCarter & English, LLP, 250 West 55th Street, 13th Floor, New York, New York 10019, Attorneys for Plaintiff
Notice of Qualification of VELAN HORIZON GP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/21/24. Princ. office of LLC: 100 North Main St., Ste. 301, Alpharetta, GA 30009. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 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.
Notice of Qualification of DIFFERENTIAL VENTURES FUND III GP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/04/24. Princ. office of LLC: 350 Park Ave., Fl. 27, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK U.S. Bank National Association, not in its individual capacity but solely as trustee for the RMAC Trust, Series 2018 G-CTT, Plaintiff AGAINST Latasha O'Bryant; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered August 31, 2023 I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 8, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 297 West 137th Street, Unit No. 2574D a/k/a 2574D, Frederick Douglas Boulevard, New York, NY 10030. 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 NY, Block 2023 Lot 1114. Approximate amount of judgment $442,512.46 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850120/2019. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the 1st Judicial District. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: September 23, 2024 For sale information, please visit www. Auction.com or call (800) 2802832 81742
Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-24144463 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 1066 2nd Ave., NYC 10022 for on-premises consumption; Mazi Hospitality Group Corp.
NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT. THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose on a Tax Lien pursuant to a Certificate recorded in the Office of the Register of the City of New York on March 4, 2022, in CRFN: 2022000097156, covering premises known as 655 West 187th Street, New York, NY 10033 (Block: 02170, Lot: 0027). The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the tax lien described above.
NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME IF YOU DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEYS FOR THE PLAINTIFFS WHO FILED THIS FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING AGAINST YOU AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT, A DEFAULT JUDGMENT MAY BE ENTERED AND YOU CAN LOSE YOUR HOME.
SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY OR GO TO THE COURT WHERE YOUR CASE IS PENDING FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON HOW TO ANSWER THE SUMMONS AND PROTECT YOUR PROPERTY. SENDING A PAYMENT WILL NOT STOP THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEYS FOR THE PLAINTIFFS AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT
To the above named defendants: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, J.S.C. of the State of New York, and filed along with the supporting papers in the Office of the Clerk of the County of New York on 11/1/2024. This is an action to foreclose on a Tax Lien. ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of the New York, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 02170 and Lot 0027, said premises known as 655 West 187th Street, New York, NY 10033. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attorney for Plaintiffs, 312 Larkfield Road, Lower Level, East Northport, NY 11731, 631-8613001. Our File # 22-000044
MICRO PRO ASSOCIATES LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/24/24. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, c/o Foster Garvey, P.C., 100 Wall Street, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Formation of DOUBLE LOBSTER LLC filed with the Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/25/2024. Office loc.: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. The address SSNY shall mail process to Max Lifflander, 1700 Park Ave., Apt. 1011, Weehawken, NJ 07086. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
This is to announce that the next meeting of the Harlem Children's Zone Promise Academy II Charter School Board of Trustees will occur in person on Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 4:30 PM. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th Street, NY, NY.
smile from The Lower East Side LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the SSNY on 10/15/2024. Office: New York County. United States Corporation Agents, Inc. designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to United States Corporation Agents, Inc. at 7014 13th Avenue Suite 202 Brooklyn NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.
Notice of Qualification of ALVAREZ & MARSAL FORENSIC TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/21/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 04/13/16. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, 401 Federal St., Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Qualification of FEP BEVERAGE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/15/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/14/24. Princ. office of LLC: 1330 6th Ave., Ste. 3600C, 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.
Notice of Qualification of YAMO PHARMACEUTICALS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/29/24. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/01/15. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 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.
Notice of Formation of 56 WILLOUGHBY LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/02/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: United American Land LLC, 73 Spring St., 6th Fl., NY, NY 10012. 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 CARBONDALE MILL STREET PRESERVATION GP, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/21/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of FLUENT MEDIA, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/03/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Ronald Kreidman, Esq., 94 Southfield Ave., Unit 1604, Stamford, CT 06902. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Notice of Formation of DD LENDER 88 STREET LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/16/24. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 201 W. 79th St., NY, NY 10024. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.
Hollywood Gyms West LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/12/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: LEGALCORP SOLUTIONS, LLC 11 BRODWAY SUITE 615, NEW YORK, NY 10004. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Cartiga LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/05/2024 Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 42 South Broadway, Floor 12, STE 12300, New York, NY 10004. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Simpler Engineering LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 9/09/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 377 Route 35 South, Mantoloking, NJ 08738. Purpose: Any lawful act.
The Marketing Closet LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/16/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 7014 13th Ave Ste 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Purpose: Any lawful act.
HIRING
Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0267-24143364 for beer & wine has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer & wine at retail in a cafe under the ABC Law at 882 1st Ave., Store 1, New York, NY 10022 for on-premises consumption; CFL1 LLC
Bedrock DigitalOps LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 08/28/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 7014 13TH AVENUE SUITE 202, BROOKLYN NY 11228 Purpose: Any lawful act.
O&E Enrichment2 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/5/2024. Office location: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 335 Concord Avenue, Bronx, NY 10454. Purpose: Any lawful act.
The Human Resource Consortium LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 8/26/24. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: J.W. McCrory, 1900 SE 15th St, Ft Lauderdale, FL 33316. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Secondz Avenue LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/18/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S #126365, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Tom Pina Edit LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on September 22, 2024. Office location: Dutchess County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 152 N Walnut Street, Beacon, NY 12508. Purpose: Any lawful act.
DNA WATCHES NYC LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/12/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 15 W 47TH ST STE 900, NEW YORK, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful act.
Samantha Lassoff Coaching & Consulting LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 06/07/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S PMB 985264, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.
MEMBER RELATIONS ASSOCIATE
Long Island, New York City, Westchester areas of New York State
CSEA, one of New York largest Public employee unions is seeking a candidate for a member Relations Associate to cover Long Island, New York City and Westchester areas of New York State. Under the supervision of the Director of Member Benefits, the Associate supports CSEA’s visibility and engagement initiatives to CSEA members and potential members. Additional responsibilities include developing and attending visibility, engagement and informational programs for CSEA Locals/ Units and potential bargaining units; representing CSEA Member Benefits at Region, Local/Unit meetings and other CSEA-sponsored events; presenting information in large and small group settings and in one-on-one member contacts; responding to concerns from members, activists, elected leadership and staff; making referrals to other CSEA departments; distributing and disseminating member publications and/ or other union publications for internal visibility and external campaigns; prepares reports on member contacts and events, identifies and assists in problem resolution; performs outreach to Local and Unit leaders to identify opportunities to engage CSEA members.
Significant travel expected.
Qualifications:
High School Diploma or Equivalency Certificate and 3 years satisfactory responsible business experience, preferably in a labor union environment, which must have involved extensive public contact; OR Graduation from a recognized college or university for which a Bachelor’s Degree is granted, or from a recognized school of labor relations; OR a satisfactory equivalent combination of the foregoing training, education and experience as determined by CSEA. Must become proficient in the use of appropriate computer software and hardware and have strong public speaking skills. Must have a valid NYS driver’s license and a car available for business use. Applicant can live anywhere in the territory served. Salary $50,952 and excellent benefits including health, vision, and dental coverage, defined pension retirement plan and generous paid time off plans.
To apply, please visit cseany.org/jobs, email to cseajobs@cseainc.org or send resume to Director of Human Resources, PO Box 7125, Capitol Station, Albany, NY 12224. Please note MRALINYCWESR/nyan on all correspondence. Equal Opportunity Employer
The Caimans women’s basketball team of Hostos Community College is still becoming familiar with each other. They opened the season at 7–0 and are at home in the Bronx tonight to take on the Borough of Manhattan Community College — but the squad is completely different from the 2023–2024 group.
“This is probably the hardest scheduled season I’ve had,” said Dwight Shaw, in his fourth year as head coach of the Caimans women’s basketball team. “On top of that, I have no returnees on this team: Everyone is brand-new. Last year, we had a lot of big personalities. This year, everybody has personality, but there is no real alpha, so this is a different year for me. I’m learning how to coach better and keep the camaraderie and chemistry together.”
Sophomore point guard Kiara Huggins appreciates the team’s chemistry and how they came together. “As soon as we started playing together more, we kind of clicked,” said Huggins, who is from Harlem. “It’s kind of like a sisterhood. We’re close on and off the court.”
Hostos women’s basketball won
NJCAA Division III national title in 2018 and 2019, a goal the current Caimans hope to equal. At the same time, Shaw and previous Hostos coaches have always placed an emphasis on the student-athletes also excelling in their studies.
“I always want them to be better than how they started with me,” said Shaw, who recruits talented NYC players. Some choose to go away for college but find themselves returning back to the city and playing for Hostos.
“They give me an opportunity and a chance in their second year, and I make sure I make it a home environment and conducive to them learning the right way to play basketball,” he said. “I believe that I, my staff, the athletic director, and assistant athletic director put in the work every day, on and off the court, for the best student-athletes we can produce. The kids I recruit respect that. It’s a family environment.”
Furthermore, Shaw asserts the foundation to be competitive is sturdy. “We are Hostos Community College and we have had success in the past, so every night, every team gives us their best,” he said. “I make sure that I put ourselves in the best possible position to be successful continuously.”
Point guard Kiara Huggins operates Hostos’ offense. (Photos courtesy of Hostos Community College)
Daja White has been an effective presence in Caimans’ lineup.
Jackson State and Southern go head-to-head for spot in Celebration Bowl
By JAIME C. HARRIS
AmNews Sports Editor
When Deion Sanders was leaving Jackson State in December 2022 to take the head coaching job at the University of Colorado, he was adamant that the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, Thomas T.C. Taylor, was the man to be his successor.
The 46-year-old former JSU quarterback and wide receiver, who played for his alma mater from 1998 to 2001, has honored Sanders’s ringing endorsement early in his tenure after being named the program’s 22nd head coach by winning the SWAC East division this season with an 8-0 record (10-2 overall). He is taking his team into this Saturday’s Southwestern Athletic Conference championship game (ESPN2, 3:00 p.m.) at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson to face the Southern Jaguars, who took the SWAC West.The Jaguars finished 7-1 in the conference and 8-4 overall. It will be the second time in the last three seasons that JSU and Southern play each other in the conference championship. The
victor will meet MEAC champ South Carolina State, which is 9-3 and ended their conference schedule 5-0, in the Cricket Celebration Bowl (ABC, 12:00 p.m.)
on Dec,14 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga., for what is considered the HBCU national championship.
On Monday, Taylor was named
the 2024 SWAC Coach of the Year. Tigers senior running back Irv Mulligan earned the Offensive Player of the Year award wandhile first-year running back Travis Terrell Jr., a kick and return specialist, garnered Freshman of the Year.
“I told the coaches this morning, since that was announced, I’m nothing without you guys,” said Taylor on Monday via Michael Chavez of the “Clarion Ledger.” “I tell the players as well. We got some players out here [who’ve] been doing some great things.”
Southern’s junior defensive end Ckelby Givens was voted the conference’s Co-Defensive Player of the Year. The Jaguars are helmed by 56-year-old rookie head coach Terrence Graves, who was hired last December after serving as Southern’s assistant head coach/ special teams coordinator/ linebackers coach. Graves has coached in the SWAC, for 24 years with positions at Grambling State and Mississippi Valley State.
Jackson State head football coach Thomas T.C. Taylor will lead Tigers into Saturday’s SWAC championship versus Southern. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Knicks clinch a quarterfinal berth in the Emirates NBA Cup tournament
By JAIME C. HARRIS
AmNews Sports Editor
The Knicks didn’t create any drama or anxiety for the home crowd at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Playing to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the Emirates NBA Cup (which was rebranded this year from its original name: the In-Season Tournament), they took a 9 point lead over the Orlando Magic to end the first quarter, increased it to 20 (71-51) by halftime, and won by 121-106.
The Knicks won the knockout round a year ago in the tournament’s inaugural season, eventually losing to the Milwaukee Bucks in the quarterfinals. They will host the Atlanta Hawks next Wednesday. The Milwaukee Bucks and Magic are the other Eastern Conference representatives. The Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, and 2024 Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks advanced in the West.
Conspicuously absent are the 19-3 Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the best record in the league. Two of their losses came against the Hawks last week in back-to-back games in the East’s Group C bracket; the Cavs finished 2-2. Two other noticeable eliminations are the 2023 tournament champion Los Angeles Lakers and defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. The Lakers ended the opening round 2-2 in the West’s Group B. Despite
having the same 3-1 record as the Hawks in the East’s Group C, the Hawks held the tiebreaker advantage.
Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson envisions the young tournament gaining more significance as it evolves in the years ahead. “Yeah, I think it’s going to contin-
ue to grow, too — it’s still early,” Brunson said after his team’s victory over Orlando. “But I think as it picks up traction, it is going to be great for a long time. Obviously, if you’re able to be part of it and move on, it’s definitely a plus for sure.”
The Knicks, which are 13-8 overall and
in fourth place in the Eastern Conference going into tonight’s game at the Garden versus the Charlotte Hornets, were 4-0 in the East’s Group A, have won three straight, and are 8-2 over their last 10 games.
Center Karl-Anthony Towns, playing with force and evident high intensity on Tuesday, paced the Knicks in points and rebounds versus the Magic with 23 and 15, respectively. Brunson provided 21 points and guard-forward Josh Hart notched a triple-double with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists. Starters Mikal Bridges (19 points) and OG Anunoby (18) also scored in double figures. According to Tom Thibodeau, though, it was their defense that facilitated the outcome.
“I like the way we started the game. Obviously, setting the defensive tone – I thought [Anunoby] and [Bridges] were phenomenal defensively, to get us going. And then, I thought we played very unselfishly,” said Thibodeau. “The guys played together and created good shots for each other. They’re a great defensive team, so I think that was important. I thought our bench gave us a big lift when they went in there as well. I thought [guard Miles McBride] and [Jericho Sims] brought a lot of energy to the game and we needed that.”
After taking on the Hornets, the Knicks will host the Detroit Pistons at MSG on Saturday then meet the Raptors in Toronto on Monday.
Injuries have shorthanded Nets battling through adversity
By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews
After an impressive and encouraging three-game stretch from Nov. 24 through Nov. 27, in which the Nets defeated the Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns on the road, they hit a skid, losing three straight, including two at home at the Barclays Center, heading into last night’s game in Brooklyn against the Indiana Pacers.
The Nets were 9-13 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings before hosting the Pacers, which were 9-11. Injuries are beginning to take a toll on the Nets. Several of their top rotation players have missed games since the start of the season.
Small forward Cam Johnson was out for Monday’s game with a sprained right ankle and is day-to-day. Point forward Ben Simmons did not play Monday and left Sunday’s game for back injury maintenance; he has but has not played backto-back games all season. Forward Ziaire Williams was sidelined Monday with a left knee sprain. Forward Dorian FinneySmith has not played since November 27 due to a left ankle sprain.
On Nov. 27, the Nets announced that leading scorer Cam Thomas would miss
Brooklyn Nets guard Tyrese Martin has taken advantage of his increased opportunities, scoring an NBA career-high 30 points against the Phoenix Suns in a 127-117 Nov. 27 win.
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
three to four weeks with a left hamstring strain. Forward Noah Clowney has a left ankle sprain and will be re-evaluated next week. Small forward Bojan Bogdanović has yet to make his season debut as he recovers from a left foot injury.
The Nets’ depleted lineup was a factor again on Monday night in a 128-102 road loss to the Chicago Bulls; they were outscored by 20 points in the second half.
First-year Nets head coach Jordi Fernandez did not make excuses or mince words when criticizing his team after the defeat.
“It was on our side a lack of competitiveness in the second half,” he said. “They had 21 fast-break points in the second half, not in the first half. We knew they were a running team. We knew they were shooting a lot of [3-pointers]. They made six in the second half.”
Fernandez said 21 points off 13 turnovers is unacceptable, “It means that every time you turn it over, you’re just giving them the ball to score, and that obviously reflects on the fast-break points,” he said. “It’s not good enough and we have higher standards … this was not good.”
Fernandez could have reasonably used injuries as a cause for the setback, or playing three games in four nights, including back-to-back losses against the Orlando Magic last Friday and Sunday, both at the Barclays, but did not when asked if that were a factor.
“I don’t care who’s playing. If they wear a Nets uniform, I’m going to go out there and believe that we are going to fight, compete, and we are going to have a chance,” he said. “Now, if we do like the other day (against Orlando), where we played a very good team, and we fight, compete, and we end up losing the game, I’ll tell them that I’m proud of them.”
Two young Brooklyn players have taken advantage of their playing time, making strong impressions by filling in for injured teammates: Guard Tyrese Martin knocked down eight threes and exploded for a career-high 30 points against the Phoenix Suns last week. Guard Dariq Whitehead scored a career-high 18 points versus the Bulls after nailing six threes.
Knicks forward Josh Hart looks for center Karl-Anthony Towns in New York’s 121-106 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Coaches vs. Racism to host first Women’s Roundball
Classic
By LOIS ELFMAN
Special to the AmNews
On Dec. 7, Coaches vs. Racism (CVR), a national nonprofit launched in 2020 that is dedicated to ending systemic racism through sports, will host its fourth annual Roundball Classic — the first one to feature only women’s teams. The tripleheader will take place in Washington, DC., and two of the six teams will be from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Norfolk State University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
“This is the first of its kind; we’ve been trying to do this for several years,” said Donnis Henry, CVR co-founder and director of women’s basketball. When CVR reached out to women’s teams as the nation was coming out of the pandemic, they already had commitments for the date and were trying to require minimal travel. While previous Round -
ball Classics have only featured men’s teams, there has been an HBCU presence.
CVR’s mission involves mobilizing coaches in the college, professional, and amateur ranks to create an action-filled, educational, and grassroots approach to inspire positive change through sports. Henry noted the importance of spotlighting HBCU programs, which are often overlooked. In fact, Norfolk State has competed in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament for the past two years.
“HBCUs don’t get the notoriety, publicity, or overall exposure,” said Henry. “Sports brings everything together … With CVR, we are here to help with that and push that needle and push this movement forward as the women’s game continues to evolve.”
The other participating teams are Saint Louis University, Arizona State University, Georgetown University, and Colgate University. Henry said this triple-head -
er provides an opportunity for frank discussion about racism. “We can’t go around it,” he said. “We talk about it … Those [who] are influential within locker rooms have to be willing to step out of that comfort zone and hit it head on.”
CVR also recently launched Good Start, a scholarship program aimed at addressing the financial barriers that prevent students from completing higher education. By providing scholarships and supporting diversity, the program aims to create more equitable and inclusive higher education.
“We can’t let the message fall off,” Henry said. “We have to keep the message going — it’s so imperative, especially with the women. What CVR is going to continue to do with women’s basketball is to push the messaging of how we can unite through sports and keep it so the messaging is on the tips of people’s tongues and the forefront of their minds.”
Ice dancers Kouevi and Homawoo earn a berth to the
U.S. Championships
By LOIS ELFMAN
Special to the AmNews
After earning a spot on the novice podium at the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the ice dance team of Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo have made the move to the junior division. Hard work to increase their technical skills and presentation enabled them to qualify for the 2025 U.S. Championships, which will be held in Wichita, Kansas, next month.
“At the beginning [the move to the junior division] was a little intimidating because we’re competing against people that are older and more experienced than us, but now we’ve gone through the season and we’re coming to a close, we’ve seen it’s been really good for our experience as skaters and showed us things that we want to improve
upon,” said Kouevi. “It’s been a good learning experience and made us confident.”
Kouevi, 13, and Homawoo, 15, train with the Ice Dance Academy at the Ion International Training Center in Leesburg, Virginia. As the season progressed, they became more comfortable with the difficult technical content, and that allowed them to be more expressive.
“It feels pretty good to be going back to Nationals and skating in front of a big crowd again,” said Homawoo. “This is our second year going to Nationals, so we know how everything works. We just have to train well going into Nationals and do what we know how to do.”
Kouevi and Homawoo both attend school rather than studying online (an option for many skaters) — she in eighth grade and he in 10th — so they train before
and after school. They said it’s beneficial to have that balance in life. The medal podium is probably out of reach this year, but there is ample opportunity to learn and to earn the opportunity to compete internationally next season.
“I definitely feel I’ve grown as a partner,” said Kouevi. “About my performance, I believe that it’s pretty easy to see a big difference between last year’s programs and this year’s. I feel junior has allowed me to open my performance aspect. That’s what makes the programs.”
“As a partner, I think I’m growing stronger in the sense of my presence on the ice and trying to perform more,” Homawoo said. “During the season, we’ve definitely gotten a lot stronger because we’re pushing ourselves to do more. Within this season, we’ve pushed each other to be the best that we can be.”
Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo will compete at the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. (Robin Ritoss photo)
Sports
With five games remaining for Giants, pride must be a motivating factor
By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor
“It’s a f***ing mess,” Jay, a longtime Giants fan, texted me last Friday, one day after the team for whom he is “ride or die” dropped to 2-10 after losing 27-20 to the Dallas Cowboys on the road. It was fitting and ironic that the defeat officially eliminating the Giants from playoff contention happened on Thanksgiving Day, because they have perennially been beneficial to opponents.
Over the past seven seasons, the Giants are 37-77. Include the 12 games they have played thus fare in this disastrous campaign, and they are 39-87. Jay’s sentiments are felt by a plethora of fans, some who wore paper bags over their heads at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., last Thursday as a show of frustration.
Giants fans hide their faces under paper bags on Thanksgiving Day at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex., as they watch New York lose to Dallas Cowboys 27-20 to fall to 2-10.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
“I hate to say this, man, but they have to blow this thing up again,” moaned Jay, who is 52 and has experienced the joy of the Giants championship years, including Super Bowl wins in 2007 and 2011. “I can see [owners John] Mara and [Steve] Tisch bringing back [head coach Brian] Daboll and [general manager Joe] Schoen, but they need a total reset. Again!”
The Giants have tried that several times over nearing a full nine-year span, during which they’ve had three general managers and five head coaches. Of those, one
— Steve Spagnuolo — was an interim head coach for four games during the 20172018 season after Ben McAdoo was fired. The fingers of accountability are pointing firmly at Mara and Tisch for the nearly 10-
At 3-9, Jets try to find a way to escape from losing
Jets quarterback
Aaron Rodgers shows his frustration in the second quarter of Sunday’s 26-21 home loss to the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo/ Adam Hunger)
year period of the repeated overhaul of the front office and coaching staff.
Fans such as Jay are rightfully cynical, though, about whether the Giants will align and produce synergy between the four most critical components of an NFL franchise — ownership, general manager, head coach, and quarterback — soon. There is no recent evidence that gives them hope. Their faith that it will happen, if they have any belief left at all, is blind. They will watch their team play its final five games, with a Week 12 match-up this Sunday hosting the similarly languishing 4-8 New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium, already looking toward next season. On Monday, Giants wide receiver Darius Slayton said there remains a professional obligation to give maximum effort as a collective and strive to win despite their circumstances.
“Regardless of the situation, nobody goes out there and plans to lose or wants to lose,” Slayton stated. “At the end of the day, you prepare and you practice, and you get your mind and body right to win. Regardless of what your current predicament might be, the ultimate goal is to go out there every Sunday and win the game.”
vise grip
By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews
The New York Jets season seems like a soap opera in which fans have been hoodwinked, bamboozled, and led astray. The team fired head coach Robert Saleh after a 2-3 start. Since interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich replaced Saleh, the Jets traded for sixtime NFL Pro-Bowler Devante Adams and demoted offensive coordinator Nathaniel
Hackett and replaced him with Todd Downing, previously the passing game coordinator. To add another episode to the drama, they also terminated general manager Joe Douglas three weeks ago.
The result of the moves? The 3-9 Jets have sandwiched Ulbrich’s only win, beating the Houston Texans 21-13 on October 31, between two three-game losing streaks. This past Sunday at home at MetLife Stadium, the Jets were up 21-7 in the second quarter against
the Seattle Seahawks, nine yards away from taking a commanding 28-7 lead. After overthrowing wide receiver Garrett Wilson for a what should have been a touchdown, quarterback Aaron Rodgers — who turned 41 on Monday — threw a pick six interception as former Jets and Giants defensive end Leonard Will returned it 92 yards for a touchdown.
The Jets would not score another point and lost 26-21, ironically led by their former starting quarterback Geno Smith, who, like
Williams, also played for the Giants.
“We got to figure it out quickly and it’s never on one person,” Ulbrich responded when asked about the team having a chance to win five games in the fourth quarter with Rodgers, but losing all of them. It’s on the entire collective group, from coaches to players to every single human being out there on offense, so we got to be better in those moments.”
Unfortunately for Ulbrich, time will soon run out for the team to get better — they only have five games remaining, beginning on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins on the road.
“(There were) moments where we really played our brand of football to our standard and there were moments that we did not, and that’s kind of been the common tale of this season,” Ulbrich said. “We’ve got to clean it up, because in critical moments, we’ve had breakdowns that don’t allow you to win games.”
