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SMALL GAINS SEEN IN AFRICA FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISTS

(GIN) - This year, World Press Freedom Day on May 3 centered around the importance of journalists raising awareness about the global environmental crisis and its consequences.

As reporters investigate climate change, pollution, deforestation, supply chain problems, illegal mining and animal trafficking, they have been facing new and often deadly challenges, according to the United Nations.

According to the U.N. agency UNESCO, in a survey of 905 journalists across 129 countries, more than 70% of reporters experienced attacks while working on environmental stories ranging from mining and deforestation to protests and land grabs.

The attacks come in many forms, from legal threats and online harassment to physical violence and death threats—although physical attacks were most common.

They’re carried out by authoritarian governments, corporations, and criminal groups.

“As an environmental journalist,” said reporter Justine Calma, “I’m horrified but not surprised. I’m also somehow relieved that

there’s data to document the stories journalists share with each other while out in the field or recovering over a meal. This is the kind of ugly thing that doesn’t go away unless you stare it in the face.”

The theme for this year’s World Press Freedom Day was “A Press for the Planet: Journalism in the face of the Environmental Crisis.”

Judith Akolo, a reporter with Kenya’s KBC, said she would like to see more done to pre-

pare students for reporting climate change.

“You go to journalism school, you are taught how to report business, you are taught economics. But no one even trains us how to report science!

“Media institutions need to take an interest in training journalists in science and climate change.”

One country attempting to cope with serious environmental devastation is the central African nation of Chad. More than one million people have been displaced by floods and more than 465,000 acres of farmland devastated, worsening already dire food insecurity.

The landlocked country is among the hottest and driest in the world and has experienced persistent drought for decades.

“I know from experience that the work we do can piss a lot of people off,” said environmental justice reporter Calma. “Holding a company, government, or criminal organization accountable for wrongdoing makes a story worth telling. It may also be a story worth suppressing in the eyes of the perpetrator.”

Geneva hosts global U.N. forum on people of African descent

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The third session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) took place from April 16–19 at the United Nations Offices in Geneva, Switzerland, with the theme as “The Second International Decade for People of African Descent: Addressing Systemic Racism, Reparatory Justice, and Sustainable Development.” This was the final session of the International Decade for People of African Descent, which began in 2015.

The Permanent Forum sessions have been held at the U.N.’s Geneva and New York City offices and have given people of African descent from all over the world the opportunity to come together, discuss their specific community concerns, and compare notes about the degrees of citizenship for Black people in different countries.

Governments have been eager to send their representatives to the Permanent Forums, mostly to publicly affirm their efforts to end racism in front of a larger audience. Because they are being called to an international stage to point to the policies they have enacted to aid their Black citizens, this decade for people of African descent saw some tangible human rights gains for African descendant communities.

During this last session, Brazil’s Anielle Franco noted she had been able to attend two of three forum sessions as head of her coun-

try’s Ministry of Racial Equality. Brazil has the highest population of people of African descent living outside of Africa: More than 55 percent of the country is Black. The work of her ministry, Franco said, shows Brazil’s “nonnegotiable commitment” to tackling racial inequalities. “Our country has matured in understanding that there is no economic, social, or sustainable development without racial equality,” she said. “There is no development without guaranteed rights for all.”

“Though my country has never fully lived up to the values of freedom and equality

for all, we’ve also never walked away from them,” Desiree Cormier Smith, U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice, told the conference. “And that is largely thanks to civil society, particularly Black civil society.” Black efforts to free their communities from racism in the U.S. are felt everywhere, and Cormier Smith said the same scenario has taken place in other countries. The work of Black civil society benefits freedom fighters everywhere, she said—it’s what led to the

(GIN photo)

Djibril Diallo (second from left) of African Renaissance and Diaspora Network and other delegates to third session of Permanent Forum on People of African Descent hold Red Card Pledge cards. (Djibril Diallo photo)

Gone to the dogs: New Bronx shelter opens doors to five pet-owning

families in city-run pilot program

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

It’s no fur-ever home, but five units at the Uplift Families Residence shelter in the Bronx’s Castle Hill neighborhood will permit pets during stays. Urban Resource Institute (URI), the operating nonprofit, unveiled the pilot program last Thursday, May 2, in a ribbon cutting ceremony outside the facility.

“Right now pets are not allowed in shelters for families experiencing homelessness,”

City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías said during remarks. “And the forced separation is more difficult for family members of all ages to enter shelter, causing emotional trauma and prohibiting New Yorkers from seeking the help and safety net they need.

Healing does not happen alone…that’s what makes pet friendly shelters like this so urgent and necessary.”

The pilot will run for six months. NYC Department of Social Services Commissioner Molly Wasow Park told the Amsterdam News that she sees the initiative as a building block. The Uplift Families Residence property is notably owned by URI, cutting out the red tape nonprofit shelters often face with leasing. But in the meantime, the pilot tackles how the department can keep pets and their owners together during crises while also respecting the needs of other shelter residents.

“We’re really looking toward how URI does manage to respect the needs of [both] families with pets [and] those without,” Wasow Park

Primary: Greater Harlem Coalition holds 68th and 70th Assembly District candidate forums, polling

By ARIAMA C. LONG

Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

As the state’s June primary election approaches, the Greater Harlem Coalition (GHC) held its usual public forums with state assembly candidates in the 68th (East Harlem) and 70th (Central Harlem) districts to openly discuss community issues with voters and poll whom they are likely to vote for.

GHC represents the interests of Harlem block associations, nonprofits, faith-based organizations, and small businesses, with a focus on addressing the systemic issue of oversaturation of city shelters and state drug treatment centers in Harlem.

“We’re all united in the mission to make Harlem a place where everyone can thrive,” said GHC co-founder Syderia Asberry-Chresfield at the forum. The other

co-founders are Dr. Carolyn A. Brown and community activist Shawn Hill.

The 70th Assembly forum included three candidates: community advocate Shana Harmongoff, housing organizer Joshua Clennon, and campaign manager Jordan G. Wright. Other candidates, such as Alpheaus Marcus and Maria Ordoñez, did not attend.

Several attendees seemed dissatisfied with the forum’s live chat, where candidate Craig Schley’s petitions to get on the ballot were challenged by Wright’s campaign. Incumbent Assemblymember Inez Dickens, who’s slated for retirement and has endorsed Wright as her replacement, tuned in to the event and offered comments in the chat, but was not a part of the forum’s debates.

The 68th Assembly forum included three candidates: Community Board (CB 11) chair Xavier Santiago, district leader William Smith,

See CANDIDATE FORUMS on page 27

National Park Service awards funds for African American Civil Rights preservation

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The historic Louis Armstrong House Museum, the Corona, Queens, home that jazz great Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong bought in 1943 when he was at the height of his celebrity and ready to settle down, has earned one of several preservation grants from a National Parks Service (NPS) fund dedicated to preserving African American history.

The home, where Armstrong lived with his wife Lucille Wilson from 1943 until 1971, was converted into a museum in 2003. It will receive $750,000 from the NPS Historic Preser-

vation Fund’s (HPF) African American Civil Rights grant program, which provides billions of dollars annually for investments in historic preservation projects, to reinforce the structural integrity of the house.

The HPF’s African American Civil Rights grant program was created in 2016 to help maintain and repair historic properties while supporting organizations that are working to exhibit historical information linked to the African-American struggle to gain equal rights.

“Since January of 2021, the National Park Service has invested nearly $193 million in infrastructure and preservation projects for sites that relate specifically to the African

American experience across the nation,” Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, chief spokesperson at National Parks Service, told the Amsterdam News. “And we have also awarded just over a hundred million––and with these grants today, about $135 million––from the Historic Preservation Fund, focusing on preserving and protecting sites associated with Black history outside of national parks and communities across the nation. By the end of this year, we will have awarded $142 million to preservation projects and communities focused on Black history.”

The Alabama Historical Commission, which will receive $75,000 to “develop a traveling virtual reality program using a vintage

Greyhound bus to share experiences and stories of Freedom Riders to schools and organizations across Alabama,” is also among this year’s 39 grant awardees.

Other grantees include the DC Preservation League, which will receive $750,000 to replace the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system at Washington’s historic Howard Theatre; the Michigan Strategic Fund, $75,000 to survey local properties related to the sites mentioned in the old Negro Motorist Green Book for consideration in the National Register; and the city of Hopewell, Va., $750,000 to rehabilitate its 140-year-old City Point House-Shiloh Lodge

Autumn the Goldendoodle enjoys the sights and sounds of Uplift Families Residence ribbon cutting. (Photo courtesy of Urban Resource Institute)

Greater Harlem Coalition holds virtual forum with 70th State Assembly candidates Shana Harmongoff, Joshua Clennon, and Jordan Wright on May 1, 2024. (Ariama C. Long photo)

See BRONX SHELTER on page 27

Freedom to Learn rally in D.C. denounces book banning and attacks on DEI

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

The protesters who gathered in the nation’s capital on Friday were not there to add sonic layers to the chorus in defiance of Israel’s actions in Gaza, as one might expect lately. Instead, they were there to stand against the ongoing banning of books and the attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

Among the speakers at the event was Kimberle Crenshaw, recognized as a scholar of critical race theory and executive director of the African American Policy Forum. “It’s gotten into the business of erasure,” she said. “Diversity, equity, and inclusion is the new moral panic of the nation. It’s the source, they say, of all that ails us. DEI is becoming the new N-word in American politics.”

Crenshaw drew her remarks about book banning from being caught in the crossfire. Her books, several of which express the importance of critical race theory (CRT) as a process for examining the extent to which racism is systemic in the foundation of American history, have been targets of critics, prompting bans in schools across the nation.

“Attacks on our knowledge and our literature have reached unprecedented levels,” Crenshaw said. “It prevents us from learning about our past to create a better, more inclusive future. We know education is the key to democratic inclusion.”

A long line of demonstrators joined her near the Supreme Court, where they railed against the court’s decisions to end affirmative action and overturn Roe v. Wade

Echoing Crenshaw’s comments was Judith Browne Dianis, executive director of the Advancement Project. “First, they passed laws to prohibit Black people from reading,” she said. “Now they are passing laws to prohibit people from reading about what they did. We know about being uncomfortable as Black people. These anti-woke laws and policies are anti-us. They are anti-Black. They are anti-Latino. They are anti-Asian Pacific Islanders. They are anti-immigrant, anti-women, anti-LGBTQ, and especially anti-trans. They are anti-majority. They are anti-democracy. We must connect the dots to the bans of books to anti-CRT, to anti-LGBTQ, to the attacks on reproductive freedom. We must attach it to voter suppression. They want to silence us. They want to make sure that we are erased. But the majority is rising and they will lose.”

Nonprofits want in on creating affordable housing

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

There are increasing signs that affordable homeownership is being pushed out of financial reach for most U.S. families. High mortgage rates and steep property purchase prices have made the dream of families owning their own home seem ever more distant.

But nonprofit organizations believe they can help alleviate some of this stress. A few have written to the U.S. Department of Treasury suggesting a new plan that would allow them to have a more essential role in building and rehabilitating inexpensive homes.

CDFIs, or community development financial institutions, have traditionally been able to access funds for general housing through the Department of Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), but there are no specific set of grants for affordable home ownership work.

“There has not been a specific pot of funds dedicated just for providing cap-

ital for CDFIs to then be able to support affordable home ownership,” Elisabeth Coats, director of the National Community Stabilization Trust (NCST)’s Homeownership Alliance, told the Amsterdam News. “In a way with this letter, we’re not only asking for Treasury to establish something that’s very clear and delineated for home ownership, but we’ve also got lots of requesting correspondence with the Department of Treasury to say, all right, if you don’t want to establish your own program, let’s at least improve CDFI funds, financial assistance programs, or the capital magnet fund (a program through Treasury that is directly intended to support affordable housing).”

Small percentages of those funds are directed to home ownership, Coats contended, and even though the Treasury Department is making some efforts toward affordable housing, those can’t compare with the onslaught of corporate investors who have been able to use all-cash purchases to buy up single-family properties, which are then rarely rented or

sold at affordable prices.

In their letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the NCST and the Homeownership Alliance issued a call for the establishment of a program that would allow “mission-driven organizations” to build and rehabilitate affordable homes for low- and moderate-income (LMI) households.

“With an established program to multiply this crucial homeownership work, mission-driven organizations can grow their portfolios, create new homeowners, and keep LMI families in their homes,” their letter asserts. “American homeowners will not see relief through market forces alone, and the existing federal programs––while welcome––are insufficient to address affordability needs at scale.

“By establishing a source of flexible capital to support homeownership development, the Department of Treasury can counter the lack of supply, aligning directly with the Biden-Harris commitment to lower the cost of housing across the nation.”

DACA recipients offered new healthcare opportunities

By ASHLEIGH FIELDS Special to the AmNews

For 14 years, immigrants covered under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) legislation have gone without federal protection or regulations allowing enrollment in state-run or private health insurance plans provided under the Affordable Care Act. President Joe Biden intends to strike this omission on Friday, May 10, when he will sign off on approval to expand those policies for more than 100,000 DACA recipients.

The U.S. is home to more than 530,000 DACA recipients, commonly known as Dreamers, per national statistics. New York City is home to 35,000 DACA beneficiaries, 81% of whom are currently in the labor force.

“Nearly 12 years ago, President Obama and I announced the DACA program to allow our young people to live and work in the only country they’ve called home,” Biden said in a public address. “Since then, DACA has provided more than 800,000 Dreamers with the ability to work lawfully, pursue an education, and contribute their immense talents to make our communities better and stronger.

“I’m proud of the contributions of Dreamers to our country and committed to providing Dreamers the support they need to succeed. I’ve previously directed the Department of Homeland Security to take all appropriate actions to ‘preserve and fortify’ DACA. And that’s why…we are taking this historic step to ensure that DACA recipients have the same access to health care through the Affordable Care Act as their neighbors.”

This new opportunity will be offered only

for those interested in obtaining services through a Health Insurance Marketplace plan or a state-run Basic Health Program (BHP) for lawfully present noncitizens. New York is one of two states that have implemented the measure; the state’s application for BHP received approval on Mar. 1, 2024, and will remain in effect for five years, from April 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, 2028.

Although this development is a major win for various DACA recipients, it will not permit registration for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPS). Still, Friday’s signature is being called a victory for proponents of immigration reform.

“I commend the Biden-Harris Administration on this latest effort to support immigrant families by expanding affordable, quality healthcare coverage to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients,” Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY13) of Harlem, Washington Heights, and the Bronx said in a statement.

“Our work (on May 10) to support Dreamers will have reverberating implications for many years to come, (by) keeping our communities and local economies strong. I will never give up my fight to ensure Dreamers permanent status and a pathway to citizenship, and remain committed to working with President Biden and my colleagues to protect DACA and provide all immigrant youth with the opportunities and support they need to succeed,” Espaillat added.

As the first Dominican American to serve in the House of Representatives, Espaillat has been a vocal advocate for a progressive approach to changing American immigration

policy, calling for rejection of the many repeals Republicans have been pushing for.

Despite the large number of people in the U.S. covered by DACA, some requirements in the law limit several individuals from receiving the designated status. Those seeking that status must have arrived in the U.S. before their 16th birthday and before June 15, 2007; be under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012 (i.e., under age 41 as of 2022); be currently enrolled in school, have completed high school or its equivalent, or be a veteran; and have no lawful status as of June 15, 2012.

Former President Donald Trump unsuccessfully attempted to end DACA. A 2024 re-election campaign strategy includes campaign staff reiterating his previous claims, made during his time in the Oval Office, that DACA policies are detrimental to the average American worker.

In a post on X, Karoline Leavitt, a Trump campaign spokesperson said, “Joe Biden continues to force hardworking, tax-paying, struggling Americans to pay for the housing, welfare, and now the healthcare of illegal immigrants. This is unfair and unsustainable; and Joe Biden’s handouts for illegal immigrants are especially devastating to Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and union workers who are forced to watch their jobs and public resources stolen by people who illegally entered our country.

“President Trump will put America and the American worker first. He will seal the border, stop the invasion, and expand economic opportunity for American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

Entrepreneur Kelly Ifill presents banking opportunity

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

Guava, a banking hub for Black entrepreneurs and small business owners founded by entrepreneur Kelly Ifill, is as unique as its name suggests.

Ifill launched Guava in 2021 with a vision of putting small Black businesses on a pathway that would lead to generational wealth and economic change. The company takes inspiration from her family’s entrepreneurial experiences with racial disparities and unequal access to capital in the U.S.

Ifill, 37, grew up in Brownsville, Brooklyn, with her father, grandmother, and mother, who would later become deeply instrumental in pushing her toward a better education and opportunities. Like many in the neighborhood, her people originally hail from Trinidad. Her grandmother was a proud entrepreneur who owned a cleaning business. Ifill said she and her relatives all took cues from her grandmother, seeing her as a role model who normalized the idea of working for oneself early on in their development.

“My mom created a space for me to explore as a child,” said Ifill about her mother’s influence. “Especially as first-generation Americans, a lot of us don’t necessarily have [that] right. We have to be a doctor or lawyer. She obviously had high expectations for me, but I was definitely able to explore different things and try things that sparked the foundation of the creative, allowing me to be an entrepreneur.”

Ifill joked that as a child, even though she had many positive role models who were business owners in her family, she was wary of dealing with the difficulties that came with running a business as a Black woman. “I was like, ‘That looks hard, I want a job,’” she said with a laugh. “But here I am.”

Ifill initially became an educator in the city’s public and charter schools, taking an interest in technology along the way. She went on to earn an MBA at Columbia University. After business school, she worked in the venture capital sector for a few years, in educational tech, helping connect startups and emerging companies with funds.

“Again, it came back to my grandmother, my cousins, my uncles, and knowing that more entrepreneurs looked like them than the folks that were getting millions of dollars,” Ifill said about the disparities she witnessed. She began working on laying the groundwork for Guava as a result. Her ultimate goal was to use her bank and networking system to connect local Black businesses to critical resources that they need to survive and thrive.

The company name reflects her cultural origins. “I love guava specifically, and when we were doing the naming exercise, it started off as a little bit of an inside joke,” she said, explaining how her company came to be named after a tangy tropical fruit. “And the more that we stuck with the name, it really fit what we do

THE URBAN AGENDA

By David R. Jones, Esq

Black New Yorker

and how we do it. I built Guava to serve Black and Brown entrepreneurs and as a fruit, it signified the process of growing together and that sense of community.”

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

Measuring New York’s True Cost of Living

New Yorkers are facing an acute affordability crisis, one that extends beyond housing to our overall cost of living. It’s forcing thousands of everyday people—young and old, individuals and families, people of color, people who enrich our city and make it diverse and unique—to leave New York.

Every year, for more than two decades, the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), in partnership with Lake Research Partners, has conducted a rigorous scientific poll—The Unheard Third—to hear from New Yorkers, especially low-income New Yorkers, about their living situations. We ask them about their housing struggles, their healthcare expenses, their economic hardships and more. We also seek their opinions about what can be done to help them get ahead.

With this poll, we always learn something new about what stands between low-income New Yorkers and economic security. But this year’s results have revealed a disturbing new pattern: Moderate- and middle-income New Yorkers are facing increasing financial hardships, owing mainly to the high cost of living in our city. Mostly, these New Yorkers are employed, often earning between 200 and 400 percent of the federal poverty level, i.e., between $62,000 and $128,000 for a family of two adults and two children. Despite this, these families are still struggling to afford housing, to pay for childcare, to repay their student loans and put something away for a rainy day.

These complex and increasing hardships represent a creeping crisis for a segment of New Yorkers often unseen, even ignored, by policymakers. To be sure, it remains necessary to measure poverty and material deprivation. Yet we cannot rely solely on a 60-year-old, federal poverty measure to fully capture the financial needs of New York’s families. Not in 2024. Too much has changed over the decades. We must now—all of us, but especially our city’s leaders—do more to better understand what it truly costs to live in New York City.

It is time to adjust. We need a True Cost of Living Measure that every New Yorker can see themselves in. Such a measure must consider the well-known expenses— housing, childcare, transportation, debt, taxes, to name a few—that take a big bite out of household budgets. At the same time, this measure must also recognize that New Yorkers must be able to plan for the future—for financial emergencies and retirement—to achieve lasting economic security. Unfortunately, policymakers have been without such a comprehensive measure, leaving them unable to adequately address the hardships confronting more moderateincome households in our city.

Our poll results reveal that increasing numbers of moderate-income families are struggling with food, housing and transit costs, struggling to get out of debt, and struggling to save up for future needs. Often, these families suffer the same hardships as those living in extreme poverty. Sometimes, even more. For example, as compared with our survey results on eviction risk in 2017-2019, this year’s poll showed a big rise (14 percent) in eviction threats for moderate-to-middle income New Yorkers. Now, the majority of New Yorkers at risk of eviction come from this group.

Our survey also revealed a similar trend for transit affordability. In 2023, New Yorkers living above the poverty line experienced transit hardship at the same rate—30 percent—as those living below the poverty line. And, notably, those well above the poverty line, earning up to 400 percent of FPL, experienced rising levels of transit hardship—at 21 percent—levels never before seen in our survey’s history.

Even when measures of economic need try to be more expansive, they fail to properly account for debt. And yet many New Yorkers are carrying multiple kinds of debt—student loans, credit cards, medical debt, mortgage and auto loans, to name a few—that they struggle to pay off. Our poll this year showed that nearly 70 percent of moderate-income households struggle to pay student debt, a seven percentagepoint increase over the previous year. We see similar patterns across several other categories in our poll, including rainy-day savings and food insecurity hardship.

As a city, we should feel deeply challenged by these data. In some cases, moderateincome New Yorkers are struggling just as much as low-income New Yorkers. Yet what’s happening to moderate-income families is often lost in debates that focus either on extreme poverty or on extreme wealth. Furthermore, although there are well-known official metrics to capture the challenges for both extremes, no such measure exists to shine a light on all struggles, including for those who find themselves in the middle.

We are excited that the City of New York is mandated to develop a true cost-of-living measurement in 2024, which 81 percent of the NYC electorate supports. Such a measure must take all New Yorkers—including those straddling moderate to middle income— into account to capture what it truly costs to live with dignity and to attain full economic security in our city.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on April 23 in Crain’s New York Business.

Founder and CEO of Guava Kelly Ifill (Contributed by Kelly Ifill)

Echoes of the Past: Today’s student protests draw from history

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

A hastily constructed blockade of overturned picnic tables and a line of demonstrators who linked arms while singing the chorus of “We Shall Not Be Moved” was all that stood between the NYPD and an occupied Hamilton Hall on Columbia University’s campus last Tuesday, April 30.

Then came the stark sonic contrast of police slicing through a bike lock clamped on the century-old building’s front door by student protesters, and officers dragging the picnic tables by their metal legs against the pavement, marring what protesters said was otherwise peaceful action in their efforts to force the university to divest from Israel.

Ultimately, the NYPD arrested 112 people for charges ranging from burglary and trespassing to resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. That same night, a similar sweep led to the arrests of another 170 protesters roughly 20 blocks north at City College of New York (CCNY).

Exactly 56 years ago to the day, police were called to the same Hamilton Hall. An autonomous Black student demonstration occupied the building for a week to demonstrate against the university’s encroachment on Harlem, namely its planned construction of a private gym on the public land of Morningside Park, which offered limited access and a separate entrance for a public composed largely of nonwhite New Yorkers.

Linking ‘68 to Gaza solidarity

The striking parallels between ‘68 and the current Columbia protests are intentional, said Sherif, a Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) student organizer who will be identified by his first name due to privacy reasons.

“We were inspired as we studied 1968,” he told the Amsterdam News over the phone.

“What happened then meant the world to us, that they confronted the university at a time when the university was very directly tied to very serious depression and a very serious war. It was a moment of study [and] a moment of reflection, and we took ‘68 as a guide [and] as a compass.”

“We chose Hamilton Hall to say we build on the work of our elders, we center them and we are grateful for them for what they have already done, and confronting the university in a different time,” Sherif added.

Hamilton Hall became Hind Hall under the new student occupation, swapping namesakes from Founding Father Alexander Hamilton to Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces this past January.

Organizers like Sherif said the building’s rechristening underscores the significant casualties of the war abroad, which has seen deaths of Palestinian children climb to 14,500 over the past seven months, per United Nations figures, while also calling out a mainstream media they say is an apathetic, if not antagonistic.

But the initial protest started last semester following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and Isra-

el’s subsequent invasion of Gaza, growing this year into an encampment on the university’s South Lawn.

Columbia Prof. Frank Guridy, who teaches a class on the ‘68 protests, told the Amsterdam News the two movements are linked by their polarization, if nothing else.

“Protesters were standing up against the university’s complicity in the Vietnam War [and] what they saw against what they saw as a racist effort to build a gym, a private gym [on] public West Harlem parkland—Morningside Park. There were a host of other issues as well. It galvanized Black and white students together and separately by occupying buildings [and] engaging in civil disobedience.

“The opinion around the Vietnam War was super divided and, in fact, at that time, the antiwar movement was just getting famous in this country against the U.S. war in Vietnam. Even though the Vietnam story and the Gaza story are different and their context is different, the polarization [is] analogous.”

The mayor, governor, and U.S. president have all criticized the movement, accusing protesters of disrupting classes and making Jewish students feel unsafe, while supporters have hallowed the protesters as heroes, with notable progressive-to-leftist figures like Dr. Cornel West, actress Susan Sarandon, and Amazon union organizer Christian Smalls having visited the encampment. This week, Grammy-winner Macklemore released a track titled “Hind’s Hall” and promised to donate the proceeds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees once the song reached streaming platforms.

Following a congressional hearing, Columbia president Minouche Shafik invited police to remove protesters for the first time on April 18 in a letter penned to NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Michael Gerber. She claimed students were suspended for participating in the encampment and therefore “not authorized to be on University property and are trespassing.”

The NYPD’s Strategic Response Group (SRG), a militarized protest unit, arrived and removed more than 100 protesters from the lawn encampment. But police officials deemed the

demonstration nonviolent, even as they arrested and charged them.

Soon after, students erected what would be known as the Gaza Solidarity Encampment on a nearby lawn in defiance. Other encampments began popping up on campuses nationwide as students pushed back on their own schools’ investments.

But the protesters continued to call for the university to divulge its financial holdings and subsequently divest from any links to Israel. When their demands weren’t met at the bargaining table, demonstrators took Hamilton Hall.

‘68 remembered

Mark Naison points to the Vietnam War’s Tet Offensive and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as the flashpoints unifying Black student organizers and the biggest anti-war group, Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), during ‘68. The planned construction of the private gym prompted both groups to spring to action.

Naison, now a Fordham University professor of history and African and African American studies, was aligned with SDS at the time, but was dating a member of the Students’ Afro-American Society. And the two groups were at odds on taking Hamilton Hall after they entered it.

Black student organizers wanted to barricade the building, Naison recalls, but white students did not. It was frustrating, and by the time he got back from lunch, the Black student organizers had asked their white counterparts to leave.

“They barricaded the building, kept the dean in his office, and the white students then proceeded to take four buildings,” he said. “It [became] a seven-day occupation of five buildings at Columbia—it was not planned. And the level of rage among everybody because of the war, the construction of the gym, and the assassination of Dr. King produced this just electric atmosphere and people taking risks they would have never dreamed of taking.” Like the encampments, college students all over the country began their own building occupations.

According to Amsterdam News archives, Hamilton Hall protesters were described as not

only peaceful, but decorous. An op-ed by thenNAACP Executive Director Roy Wilkins, in the issue dated May 11, 1968, recounted the demonstrators tidying up the building and collecting trash for disposal each day, an alien concept in today’s New York City.

“No one of us, thirty or forty years older than these students, can judge them fairly because our times are so far apart,” he wrote. “Trespass remains trespass under our laws and theirs, but who can say that the motives for the action today are not morally more acceptable than they were in 1928?”

Outside agitators or a community united?

Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD believe “outside agitators” are co-opting the protests. They claim 29% of Columbia protesters and 60% of CCNY protesters were not affiliated with the universities at which they were arrested.

“As the anti-Israel protests began to escalate, it became abundantly clear that individuals unaffiliated with these schools had entered these different campuses and, in some cases, were even training students in unlawful protest tactics, many which we witnessed escalating into violent conduct,” Adams said. “What is now even clearer is the extent to which outsiders were actually present.”

That would run counter to the historical record. Amsterdam News reporting on the 1968 protests notes non-student participation; in a piece headlined “Harlem Backs Columbia Sit-Ins,” onlookers noted how local residents contributed to the occupation of Hamilton Hall from outside university gates. Harlem mothers dropped off “huge pots” of food for the protesters, maintaining the Black students needed “balanced diets of hot foods,” even as April rain poured outside. Local high schoolers “invaded the college campus” to collect “meat money” for those inside Hamilton Hall. And white uptown residents joined in support, marching with the picket lines outside campus on 116th and Amsterdam. As the article recounts, there was “no scarcity of chops and steaks” inside Hamilton Hall — all, as one student demonstrator told the paper, “‘Thanks to Harlem.’”

When Columbia football players and wrestlers attempted to blockade food and supplies from entering Hamilton Hall and the administrative Low Library, where SDS had taken over, hundreds of Harlem high school students swarmed the campus to stave them off. In fact, both Naison and Guridy say Harlem’s support of the protesters allowed them to successfully negotiate against the gym’s construction due to concerns of mass urban uprisings in predominantly Black communities following Dr. King’s assassination.

As the AmNews reported recently, the current Columbia protesters demand divestiture from Israel in tandem with calling on the university to end displacement in Harlem. Public historian Tommy Song, who recounted the university’s history of protester crackdowns in The Nation last week, said while Harlemite concerns seem disparate from Vietnam or Palestine, he believes they are a connected struggle. See STUDENT PROTEST on page 15

AmNews archives

Go With The Flo

ANTHONY

“30 Rock” alum Tracy Morgan made a surprise visit to cancer patients April 30 in the Florina Cancer Center at Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) in Ocean Breeze. The multi-award winning actor went room-to-room to help and encourage patients, telling them he almost lost his life 10 years ago in a car accident. Said Morgan, “I ain’t supposed to be here. I still got work to do.” The new three-story Florina Cancer Center opened its doors to patients for the first time this spring. Morgan is very supportive of SIUH’s cancer centers.......

The 150th running of the Kentucky Derby was held May 4 at the Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Yours truly was unable to attend this year. However, celebrities who showed up and showed out in fabulous outfits and hats included: “Abbott Elementary” star Sheryl Lee Ralph, who attended the Barnstable Brown Gala, Beyonce’s fashionista mom, Tina Knowles, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, Holly Robinson Peete, country singer Mickey Guyton and a very dapper Ne-Yo, who wore head-to-toe red...... Thursday, May 2, was a great night in Harlem at the new Renaissance Hotel on 125th Street, as Sista Zock rocked the house with her meticulous blend of jazz, soul and world music. This ongoing night of live music is the brainchild of Mike Garlic, the manager of the hotel’s new very popular restaurant, Victoria. Garlic feels entertainment is a very important entity of what the restaurant has to offer because it was built in what was once the Victoria Theater. Garlic reached out to event producer Roz Nixon to create a weekly music series on Thursday nights, which many people call Friday Eve. With names such as drummer Brandon Sanders and trumpeter Michael Cruse performing in the upcoming weeks, Roz ensures guests of the restaurant and hotel will not be disappointed....... Motown icon Smokey Robinson will make a triumphant return to the stage of the Apollo Theater on June 29 in Harlem after nearly a decade. Renowned as the provider to the soundtrack to our lives, Apollo and Grammy Living Legend Robinson promises to give the audience an electrifying evening filled with soulful hits from his illustrious discography.....

Entrepreneur in the spotlight savors home court for Mother’s Day

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

While Gabrielle Gambrell is incredibly adept at switching from one professional mode to another, on Sunday the marketing communications, branding, and media expert will put work aside to celebrate Mother’s Day with her family. Turning down a spa day invitation with friends, she will relish spending time with her husband Jeffrey Gambrell, son Jeffrey II, 4, and daughter Galia Gabé (Gigi, almost 2).

“I really enjoy my children’s company,” Gambrell said. “I love laughing with them, playing with them. We love to sing; we love to dance. My son is so in love with soccer. I anticipate it’s going to be a beautiful day. We will probably go outside and kick around the soccer ball. That will bring me ultimate joy.”

Gambrell is the founder of Gift of Gabrielle, which provides executive, corporate, and brand consulting services. In addi-

tion to marketing, public relations, and talent management, she works with companies on issues such as workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, and crisis communications. The firm has been named by the PRNet a 2024 Next Gen honoree. The PRNet praised Gambrell’s innovative approach and thirst for knowledge, deep research and the strategic use of AI tools. She utilized these to elevate the talent management firm COLTURE Holdings by strategically promoting its business model and leadership.

Gambrell has also been named a 2024 Top Black Woman to Know by Scripps News and appeared on COLOR Magazine’s 2023 40 Under 40 Powerlist. Her clients have included Pfizer, Comcast, Verizon, the Women’s National Football Conference, Bonfire Women and The Spicy Life as well as colleges and universities.

She has worked one-on-one with Gen Z influencers and helped them develop entre -

preneurial skills. As she tells her story, Gambrell is able to help others most effectively tell theirs.

“I spend a lot of my day consuming the news and consuming information,” said Gambrell, whose undergraduate degree is in broadcasting with a minor in film. “First thing I do when I open my eyes is I thank God, and then I turn the TV on. I’m washing my face, brushing my teeth and getting the kids together while the news is playing. … The impact of media is tremendous. That’s a huge part of who I am and how I navigate life.”

Making it all work and not shortchanging either work or home life, Gambrell said her iPhone calendar app is essential. “If it’s not on my calendar, it won’t happen,” she said. “Whether that’s a business meeting, a client pitch, an interview, mandatory date night—we have date night once a week, no matter what— my son’s Taekwondo, soccer or swimming, a birthday party for

one of their classmates, it has to be on the calendar.

“I have to be as organized as possible,” she added. “Then, something I think as women we don’t always do is enlist help. I am grateful for babysitters. … Being able to delegate accordingly. Knowing that I can’t do it all by myself. Also, my husband is phenomenal. He is superdad; he is my best friend. We will sit down with our calendars. There are a lot of things in place, but those are things that help the car to keep moving.”

Despite her busy schedule, she shares trips to the library, museums, and the park with her children. Gambrell also makes sure they go places—the grocery store, retail establishments and even candy stores— where they can learn about using money wisely. She is intentional in finding time on the calendar to walk around New York City and have her children experience the city’s sights, sounds and communities.

At daughter Galia’s first birthday celebration (Laura Yost photo)

Continued from previous page

As a fourth generation college graduate (her bachelor’s and master’s degree alma mater is Iona University where she is currently a board member), Gambrell considers it essential to pass her knowledge onto others, serving as an adjunct professor at both Columbia University and New York University, teaching graduate students courses on strategic communications, integrated communications (where marketing and public relations come together), digital marketing and public relations. Her blogs cover topics such as millennial motherhood and family, and she’s proud to

share successes and challenges. The Black community has often been “secret sensitive” in her eyes, but Gambrell believes there is strength in sharing stories of both success and adversities. A part of branding is storytelling, and she thinks it’s important to tell your story and trajectory, especially talking about adversity and how it can be overcome. She knows she would not lead the life she lives without the foundation of family.

“I’m extremely blessed and fortunate,” Gambrell said. “I work a lot. I wear many hats. I travel a lot. The lifestyle that I have is completely because of my family unit and the support that I have and the love that I have.”

Gambrell family 2023 holiday photo (Artiise Photography photo)

Gabrielle Gambrell (Photos courtesy of Gabrielle Gambrell)

Speaking with school age girls at a women’s empowerment event

A day for mothers

The heart of your family, the soul of a union

With Mother’s Day approaching, there will be countless tributes and remembrances dedicated to the first person who welcomed us into the world after a nine-month wait. Over the years, some acknowledgments have been happy; some, unfortunately sad; but all make an important statement of fact: “Mom made a difference in my life.”

Maya Angelou said: “There is no influence as powerful as that of a mother.” Former President Barack Obama credits his mother with “What is best in me I owe to her.” Michael Jordan called his mother “his root, my foundation,” while Stevie Wonder said, “Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness.”

Clearly, we know that mothers have a huge impact not only on their own children, but on other peoples’ kids as well. Throughout history, mothers worldwide have played roles from warrior to waitress for their offspring and those of others. In our country, from protesting our involvement in Vietnam to drunkdriving to Black Lives Matter—and so many more issues, mothers have led the marches and held the banners: Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Moms Demand Action, Moms United for Black Lives, Another Mother for Peace, Wall of Moms, and Harlem Mothers S.A.V.E., to name just a few. In each, mothers made a difference for the better, fueled by their personal pain and instinctive empathy.

The same is true of the labor movement. Over the past decade, about 60% of newly organizing workers have been women. Women now are also the faces of some of the largest labor movements in years. For example, after the death of AFL-CIO president and prominent national union leader Richard Trumka in 2021, Liz Shuler, longtime labor leader and supporter of Moms Rising Together, took over as president—marking the first time a woman took the helm of the largest and most powerful federation of labor unions in the country.

See MOTHER'S DAY on page 34

May Day rally for home health care workers demand an end to 24-hr workdays, city council says their hands are still tied

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

For the last few years, a multiracial coalition of home health aides has been in a long-simmering crusade to improve working conditions for its mostly elderly, female, and immigrant workforce. The workers are pushing back against physically taxing 24-hour work shifts while earning staggeringly low pay as they care for the city’s elderly, disabled and hospiced individuals.

Most of their efforts, including the latest rally held last week on May Day or International Workers’ Day, have been to support a city bill that hasn’t gone anywhere—the No More 24 Act (Intro 615), introduced in the city council back in March—which the council says is technically out of its hands because the home health aide industry is regulated and funded by the state.

“It’s unbelievable that May Day originated when people in the 1800s were out there fighting for an eight-hour workday, and now we are out here with elderly home care attendants who are being forced to work 24-hour workdays,” said Sarah Shapiro, Cross Union Retirees Organizing Committee (CROC) representative.

Home care advocates told stories of how long hours and low pay have gone unchecked, even with a state law declaring that a home care worker can only be paid for up to 13 hours per shift.

But the group, which has held multiple rallies to garner support for their cause, including a 5-day hunger strike outside of City Hall in March, says city officials can do more, even with state laws already on the book. Speakers at the rally directed a significant amount of criticism toward City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who hasn’t passed the bill or put it to a vote.

“I was forced to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to take care of my patient. Because I couldn’t get any rest day and night, the old injury on my right leg flared up badly. The doctor diagnosed me with traumatic arthritis,” said former home care worker Jian Hua Deng, who had a translator present at the rally. “I had to have my hip replaced to regain normal function. Today we stand up and refuse to be slaves anymore. What a disgrace to the United States, a democratic country.”

The bill, introduced by Councilmember Christopher Marte, would require care agencies to cap worker shifts at a maximum of 12 working hours per day. They can assign additional hours only in the event of an emergency, but no more than two hours per day or ten hours per week.

He claimed that he spoke with colleagues that would support the bill if it came to the floor for a vote.

The city council maintains that the home health care industry is a state issue, and passing a local law wouldn’t help. Adams did manage to pass Resolution 0202 after the women’s hunger strike that called on the state legislature and Governor Kathy Hochul to increase home care aide wages and improve their working conditions. That did little to assuage the situation.

“The funding and regulatory framework of home healthcare is determined by the state through Medicaid and State Department of Labor regulations and policies,”

said a city council spokesperson. “Arguments that assert Int. 615 could alter this dynamic to protect home health aides are either misinformed or intentionally misleading and irresponsible. The Council’s position is that the state should enact legislation and policy changes to ensure home care workers are appropriately paid for their work and protected. We implore these advocates and workers against 24-hour home care shifts to make their voices heard on the state level, where a solution that improves the conditions of home care workers and maintains care for

Gregory Floyd President, Teamsters Local 237 and Vice President at-Large on the General Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Hundreds of home care workers led a rally at City Hall on May 1 to advocate for the city council to vote on the No More 24 Act. (Ariama C. Long photos)

Cross Union Retiree Organizing Committee (CROC) organizing member Sarah Shapiro speaks on stage at the rally on May 1.

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On view in the

Melissa and Keith Meister Gallery, located in the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals

Lock him up, but not yet!

Judge Juan Merchan has held Trump in contempt for the tenth time for violating the gag order imposed in the hush money trial.

The judge has warned him that if he persists in defying the order, he will consider jail time for the former president.

“Mr. Trump, it’s important you understand, the last thing I want to do is put you in jail,” the judge said. “You are the former president of the United States and possibly the next president as well.”

Jail time for Trump would be insufficient unless it’s long enough to cover the contempt many Americans would hold for the injustices he committed during his reign of terror. At the end of the day, Trump suggested he would be willing to go to jail. “I’ll do that sacrifice any day,” he said.

Rather than put him in jail—and that would certainly arouse his relative quiet base—let him endure the testimony for the next several weeks. And some of it is getting very interesting. For example, on Monday, it was disclosed that a former Trump Organization executive, through handwritten notes, exposed serious tax fraud by Trump.

The notes revealed $180,000 in reimbursement to Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and so-called fixer. The payment consisted of a $130,000 wire transfer, the same amount paid to Stormy Daniels, $50,000 for tech services, plus an additional bonus of $60,000. Trump’s lawyer tried in vain to have that information struck from the record.

Trump has the nerve to declare that the trial is “interference” in his campaign, striking irony for someone unsuccessful in actually trying to do just that; there are three other trials on the docket that will directly determine the extent to which he is guilty of such a nefarious gambit.

Yes, hold Trump in contempt—It’s a shame that the people you have disparaged are not given a chance to register their disgust and contempt for you and what you’ve done to them as thief, ah, chief of state.

The end of acceptable exploitation

By BRENDA MYERS-POWELL and JANET JENSEN

In the wake of recent allegations against Sean “Diddy” Combs and the subsequent raid during a sex trafficking investigation, the glaring spotlight has once again illuminated the exploitation faced by women of color at the hands of powerful individuals.

The shocking revelation surrounding Combs and other celebrities including Russell Simmons, Jeffrey Epstein, and R. Kelly serves as a harsh reminder of how easily society can overlook egregious acts of sexual exploitation, especially when perpetrated by those with wealth, celebrity, and power. It’s a sobering reflection of how deeply ingrained societal norms can obscure the harsh reality of exploitation, allowing it to fester unchecked.

It’s crucial to understand that this issue transcends the actions of one individual. It is about confronting systemic injustices that not only enable but perpetuate exploitation. We must vehemently challenge the dangerous notion that money and influence grant immunity from accountability. No one, regardless of their vast economic status or celebrity, should be above the law.

Having endured the horrors of sex trafficking amongst pimps across the Midwest for 25 years, I now dedicate my life to activism in the fight against commercial sexual exploitation. I have borne witness to the profound impact of exploitation on marginalized and underserved communities, especially while growing up in Chicago. These recent highly publicized events underscore the urgent need for systemic change. We cannot afford to continue to ignore the suffering of those ensnared in the sex trade. Let’s change the narrative to one that supports those exiting the sex trade by providing the resources needed to sustain a life beyond the one they are coerced into.

accountability of exploiters through criminal justice and provide quality services for survivors through workforce development, mental health care, and more.

Sexual violence is complex. It is difficult to understand the scope, size, and reach of it as it is normalized and even celebrated by businesses, governments, and cultures. Ending it requires a laser focus on three categories of sexual violence: human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault. It is massively important to shed light on people in power taking advantage of their influence to contribute to the harms of the sex trade. Make your voice heard on this issue and stand up to support survivors.

can create a society where exploitation is met with unwavering condemnation and swift action.

Exploitation must never be tolerated, irrespective of the perpetrator’s fame or influence. It is time to rewrite the narrative and prioritize justice for survivors. By standing together and demanding accountability, we can pave the way for a future where all individuals are treated with dignity and respect, free from the looming threat of exploitation and abuse.

As a rape survivor, and an unwavering advocate for victims’ rights, I refuse to accept a society where powerful individuals can exploit and abuse with impunity. The allegations against Combs serve as a stark reminder of the systemic failures that allow such injustices to persist. I stand with survivors like Brenda: We must demand

92% of women in the sex trade report physical violence and almost half say they have attempted suicide. Mere condemnation is insufficient. We need concrete, actionable solutions to support survivors and prevent further harm. This includes establishing comprehensive exit strategies and robust resources for those trapped in exploitative situations. Furthermore, we must hold buyers accountable for their complicity in perpetuating the cycle of exploitation. It is time to dismantle the systems that profit from the suffering of vulnerable individuals.

Now, more than ever, is the time for collective action. We urge communities to rally behind survivors, advocate for legislative reforms, and educate individuals about the signs of exploitation. By fostering a culture of accountability and solidarity, we can ensure that perpetrators are held responsible for their actions, regardless of their status or wealth. Together, we

While the testimony coming out about Combs and others is beyond disturbing, the shining light is that these men of wealth, celebrity, and endless financial resources are being held accountable for their actions. It shows that no one is above the law and the victims will have their day in court. We could not say that 40 years ago or even 10 years ago, but today we have made progress.

We will not rest on our laurels and say, “good enough.” Progress is only made when we unite in protecting victims of sex trafficking, provide necessary resources, create legislation, and help those being victimized. The Jensen Project cannot do this alone; we need your help in ensuring that progress does not end today.

Brenda Myers-Powell is a Member of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and founder and CEO of Ernestine’s Daughter, a survivor-led program serving trafficked women and girls in Chicago.

Janet Jensen is the Founder and CEO of The Jensen Project, an organization dedicated to empowering survivors and reducing sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

Reyes: Executive & Investigative Editor

Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor

“We need concrete, actionable solutions to support survivors and prevent further harm. This includes establishing comprehensive exit strategies and robust resources for those trapped in exploitative situations.” (Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File photo)

Freedom of speech is our deliverance from terror

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

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

Freedom of speech protects speech that is both loved and hated. The United States Supreme Court instructed in Terminiello v. Chicago (1949), “[A] function of free speech under our system of government is to invite dispute. It may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger.”

But like all other rights, freedom of speech has limits. Evenhandedly applied reasonable time, place, and manner limits are acceptable, for example, when prohibiting picketing outside homes in a residential area at 3 a.m. in the morning or blocking pedestrian or vehicle traffic.

Viewpoint-based restrictions, however, are suspect, such as permitting protesting Hamas terrorism but forbidding protests against Israeli actions in Gaza. The Supreme Court set forth the standard between protected and unprotected speech in Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969):

“[T]he constitutional guarantees of free speech and free press do not permit a State to forbid or proscribe advocacy of the use of force or of law violation except where such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action.”

On elite college campuses across the country, have protests crossed the imminent lawless action line of Brandenberg? Or have they violated reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions?

Take Columbia University. Tents and an encamp -

ment have trespassed on university property to protest an alleged Israeli genocide of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, a charge that is pending before the International Court of Justice. But why have the protestors been silent over the Chinese genocide of Uigurs or Myanmar’s genocide of the Rohingya? Does that skewed response betray anti-Semitism or other ulterior motives?

George Soros’s Open Society Foundation has funded many student leaders of the protests. As reported in the New York Post, Malak Afaneh of Berkeley, co-president of the Berkeley Law Students of Justice in Palestine, has spoken at numerous anti-Israel events. He took his anti-Israeli tirade, uninvited, to disrupt a dinner at the home of Dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

The protests call for a “third intifada” or “uprising,” a term that terrorist organizations in the Middle East use as synonymous with violent terrorism directed at Israel. The first intifada ran from 1987 to 1990 and the second from 2000 to 2005. Approximately 1,000 Israelis were killed in Palestinian terrorist attacks during the second—but is a third intifada imminently likely to unfold with Hamas decapitated in Gaza?

What about the “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” chants? The etymology is curious. It first surfaced in a 1977 campaign manifesto of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party: “Between the sea and Jordan, there will only be Israeli sovereignty.” But in the context of 2024 and fierce

opposition to Israeli actions in Gaza, the chant might reasonably be interpreted as seeking the eradication of Israel—an objective not likely to succeed.

The Hezbollah terror flag was displayed at Princeton. A similar incident transpired in Manhattan amidst the burning of American flags, which the Supreme Court held is protected by the First Amendment in Texas v. Johnson (1989) and United States v. Eichman (1990).

Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah has claimed his organization has 100,000 trained fighters. Hezbollah was responsible for the bombing of Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 241 U.S. military personnel.

Individuals who openly advocate for membership in Hamas and maintain that “there is nothing wrong with being a fighter” in that terror organization also chanted “Death to America.” That confidence is wildly misplaced. It is a federal crime to provide material assistance to a foreign terrorist organization, including joining as a member.

At Yale, a Jewish studentjournalist was stabbed in the eye with a Palestinian flag by a Palestinian protester, the crime of assault. Furthermore, incidents have been reported nationwide in which Jewish students are intentionally barred from accessing campus property, which is also a crime of false imprisonment or blocking a thoroughfare. The incidents would constitute hate crimes with proof that the victims were selected because they were Jewish.

A credible threat to kill a

Jew is criminal. Creating a hostile education environment based on race or religion also violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. New York Governor Kathy Hochul tweeted, “Calls for genocide on college campuses violate New York’s Human Rights Law, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, & SUNY’s Code of Conduct. We’re prepared to take enforcement action if colleges & universities are found not in compliance.”

The Supreme Court has held that Title VI creates an implied private right of action, enabling victims of racial or religious discrimination on campus to sue violators for damages or injunctive relief.

Hundreds of protestors have been arrested throughout American colleges and universities. The vast majority will receive a slap on the wrist and return to protest immediately. Private Title VI suits are necessary to deter and discover the ulterior motives and hidden funders of the anti-Israeli protests.

We need to strictly punish illegalities while protecting speech we hate, short of inciting imminent lawless violence that is likely to succeed. Freedom of expression is often cathartic and prevents violence. Students should be resilient to namecalling remembering the rhyme, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

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

Happy Mother’s Day

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

Happy Mother’s Day to all of the folks who identify as a mom, grandmom, auntie, big sister, stepmom, bonus mom, adopted mom, play mom—you name it. Honestly, for me, May 12 is a day for me to celebrate all of the women in my life who have nurtured, encouraged, and pushed me to do more and be better; those who let me just sit at their knee and listen and learn; and to all of those women who just let me be myself.

My mother, Gloria Greer, has been my steadfast supporter in every journey I have taken in my life. Even when I deviated from the best path, she waited patiently with love for me to use the tools and lessons she instilled in me in order to find my way back to my foundation and value systems. I am also so blessed my mother modeled friendship while I was growing up. Because of this, I am able to cultivate longstanding and meaningful relationships with so many different types of women. Her friends, my “aunties,” were bonus mothers filled with varying personalities, but always filled with an abundance of love and support.

As I age, I am so blessed to have friendships where I am able to be an auntie to so many of my friends’ little ones. I also have friends whose mothers have become bonus moms to me. My beloved “Ms. Linda” passed in January, and I miss her dearly. Her daughter is my dear friend and colleague, Dr. Niambi Carter, who

has shared her reflections on motherhood and loss. She has made me think deeply about the role of our mothers in our lives, in that no matter when one loses their mother, it is always too soon. My grandmother passed when my mother was almost a sexagenarian, and she still felt like she wanted and needed more time with someone who knew her and loved her across time and space like no other.

For those who have lost their mothers, Mother’s Day can be a mixed holiday filled with beautiful memories and a profound sense of loss and longing. I am told the pain of losing a mother never fully goes away. For those who struggle during the holidays, do know there are so many people who may want to reach out but do not know exactly how to, for fear of saying the wrong thing. During this holiday season, please let those of us who want to support you be there for you. Let us know what you need and how you need it.

To all of the mothers and those who do mothering for others, collect your flowers and words of appreciation. You truly make the world a much better and safer place for all.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of The Blackest Questions podcast at TheGrio. She is a 2023-24 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

Caribbean Update

Caribbean governments ramping up security before cricket World Cup

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments are jointly ramping up security before the T/20 Cricket World Cup, which is scheduled to run for all of June in the region and in the U.S., because security agencies have detected a possible terror threat from groups in northern Pakistan.

The Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) announced over the weekend that it was collaborating with U.S. federal agencies and the umbrella International Cricket Committee (ICC) to deal with a possible terror threat, mostly aimed at games and commercial activities in the Caribbean. The tournament involves nearly two dozen countries and kicks off on June 1, with games from Guyana in the south to Jamaica in the north. Some of the bigger games attracting global television audiences and traditional rivalries, such as Pakistan versus India, will be held in the U.S., including Nassau County, N.Y.; Lauderhill, Fla.; and Grand Prairie, Texas. The final set of games will be played in the Eastern Caribbean nation of Barbados.

Trinidadian Prime Minister Keith Rowley, who has regional leadership responsibili-

“As preparations heighten for the global cricketing spectacle, the Antigua-based Cricket West Indies says it is aware of recent developments and is working to ensure everything goes smoothly.”

ties for security, said recently that IMPACS had advised governments of an Islamic State threat to the tournament. The security agencies said that the Pro Islamic State media outlet had called for attacks against the World Cup by warning that the group had said in Urdu that “people indulging in amusement would ultimately face the day of reckoning. This is not a game but rather a blood deal.”

As preparations heighten for the global cricketing spectacle, the Antigua-based Cricket West Indies said it is aware of recent developments and is working to ensure everything goes smoothly.

“We want to assure all stakeholders that the safety and security of everyone at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup is our number

one priority and we have a comprehensive and robust security plan in place,” the body said.

The ICC supported its regional affiliate, noting that “we work closely with authorities in the host countries and cities, and continually monitor and evaluate the global landscape to ensure appropriate plans are in place to mitigate any risks identified to our event.”

Asked by the Trinidad Express newspaper for an update about preparations, Rowley said the threat is being taken seriously.

“Given the fact that bad actors can choose to misbehave in any way possible, it makes it virtually impossible to completely seal off all opportunities,” he said. “However, in order to ameliorate these dangers,

we at the local and regional levels have remained alert to many threats and singularly or together have our intelligence and other security agencies working to protect the population in countries and at venues throughout the tournament.”

As time draws near, security agencies said greater security attention must focus on explosive ordnance disposal and training, and stepped-up monitoring in stadiums, hotels, and tourist areas, and at border entry and exit points.

“Host nations should monitor and control the flow of people to reduce the possibility of overcrowded areas, which provide soft targets for terrorist attacks,” an advisory stated. “Stakeholders must conduct strict screening measures at ports, stadiums, hotels, tourist attractions, and of critical infrastructure to inhibit the movement of weapons or Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) [and increase] the safety of stakeholders, including participants and spectators.”

Competing teams will come from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the West Indies, the U.S., Canada, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, Oman, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Oman, and Uganda.

Light comes bursting forth for this immigrant

For eight long years Iu Mien immigrant Cheng “Charlie” Saephan was in a dark valley—battling cancer and living only on a disability income at age 46. But from the darkness, light has come in the form of a $1.3 billion dollar gift from the universe.

Saephan immigrated to America in 1994 and used to work in the aerospace industry before he got ill. Last month, as the jackpot rose to a record $1.3 billion, he and his wife and their friend, Laiza Chao, bought 20 Powerball tickets in their hometown of Portland, Oregon, with dreams of winning.

Saephan did not just dream; he prayed. “I prayed to God to help me,” he said. “My kids are young, and I’m not that healthy.”

He said that after praying, he wrote out all the numbers from 1 to 69 on a sheet of

paper that he put under his pillow.

“I slept with it for two weeks, and then I win it,” he said with a beaming smile at a press conference last week, as he wore a vibrant blue sash reading “Iu-Mien USA.”

He lifted the oversized check for $1.3 billion above his head at the Oregon Lottery headquarters.

The total amount to be received by Saephan, his wife, and friend Chao is $422,309,193.97 after taxes, per the Oregon Lottery. Saephan’s Powerball win is the state’s largest in history and was officially revealed by the Oregon Lottery on April 29. Previously, the biggest Oregon jackpot was announced in 2005 and worth $340 million.

Saephan’s incredible luck in clinching an enormous Powerball jackpot in Oregon has not only transformed his life but also spotlighted the Iu Mien people, an ethnic group with roots in southeast Asia, particularly Laos.

“I am born in Laos, but I am not Laotian. I am Iu Mien,” he proudly declared, shedding light on his cultural identity.

During the Vietnam War, many Iu Mien individuals were recruited by the CIA and U.S. military to engage in guerrilla warfare in Laos, disrupting the Ho Chi Minh trail.

This historical context adds depth to Saephan’s story, revealing a community with a resilient past. Today, there are about 50,000 to 70,000 Iu Mien people living in the United States.

Saephan’s own diligence and faith paid off when he discovered he had won the staggering jackpot from the pile of 20 Powerball tickets. An Oregon resident for 30 years, he said he was at his Portland home when he discovered he’d won the April 6 drawing.

He initially thought he’d come up empty when checking his bundle of tickets but realized he hit the jackpot when looking through the last few.

“I call Laiza as she’s driving to work. I told her you don’t have to go to work now. We won the lottery. We won the jackpot!” Saephan recalled during the press conference. Chao is to receive 50%

of the winnings.

With the jackpot winnings, Saephan intends to provide for his family, ensuring a good life for them. His plans include purchasing a dream home and securing top-notch medical care for himself as he continues his fight against cancer.

“My life has been changed. Now I can bless my family and hire a good doctor for myself,” Saephan said.

The news of his win not only brings hope to his loved ones but also shines a light on the power of resilience and perseverance in the face of adversity. Saephan’s story serves as a beacon of hope, inspiring immigrants and all people to persevere in their own journeys, regardless of the challenges they face.

It’s a testament to the transformative power of luck, faith, and the unwavering human spirit. Congrats Charlie, God knows you deserve this breakthrough! Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focusing on Black immigrant issues.

Student protest

Continued from page 6

“When folks see protests happening in Harlem [and] protests happening on Columbia’s campus, [they] tend to think those two are distinct,” he said. “And yeah, they are absolutely distinct in a lot of ways…but I think what folks also tend to forget is that the category of the student and the category of the resident is arbitrary, and they’re both socially constructed as well…[if] we view the boundary of the university as arbitrary, then we understand that anybody who protests the violence of the state will go punished.”

Alex Vitale, associate professor of sociology at Brooklyn College, said distinctions between student protesters and “outside agitators” are “incredibly misguided,” especially for local public universities like CCNY.

“Some of the best things about CUNY are its deep ties to communities,” Vitale said. “I have students involved in research projects [and] internships on bringing community leaders to campus. Now we’re being told any involvement of the community is a danger, is to be excoriated [and] is to be prevented…this will alienate the community from the university in ways that will hurt our students.”

CUNY marches against tuition hikes

Now a prominent voice in the police abolition movement, Vitale was once a graduate student organizer during the CUNY student protests in the 1990s. He recalls the protests arriving off the heels of building occupations by Hunter College students of color in response to budget cuts and tuition hikes.

Soon, small-scale demonstrations popped up and representatives from many CUNY campuses began meeting. They ended up converging into one centralized walkout march on City Hall. Vitale found himself on the coordinating committee.

“A decision was also made not to apply for permits or cooperate with the police department in structuring the event,” Vitale said. “And another decision was made not to invite elected officials to speak. And the feeling on both fronts was that this was how movements get watered down, get taken over by party politics, get turned into pep rallies for elected officials that don’t really deliver.

“We invited union people, of course, all kinds of students to speak instead…and the goal

was to try to be disruptive—to occupy streets as much as possible. So the NYPD took a very strong stance towards the whole thing and said, ‘We’re gonna just barricade you into the park.’”

In the end, some tuition increases and budget cuts were rolled back, according to Vitale.

The Amsterdam News’ reporting from the time details the protests leading up to Vitale’s action, pointing to a multiracial coalition of “concerned students” fighting to stop thenGov. Mario Cuomo’s budget cuts, which would raise tuition by $500 and eliminate tutoring and counseling services.

In 1991, CCNY students took over a building despite suspension threats. Hunter College students, who were already occupying a university building on their own campus, held a hunger strike in solidarity. The AmNews noted the scenes were reminiscent of 1960s protests when the building takeovers reached their second week. A New York Tech student advisor told the paper that the protest was nonviolent when police were sent in, despite direct demands by the Black and Puerto Rican Legislative Caucus to the CUNY Chancellor not to send in NYPD to clear the buildings.

The call heard around the world

Police intervention has been a constant in campus demonstrations throughout the city’s history, though there has been some variation in how they have come to be involved; campus administrators historically have not defaulted to requesting police action.

“The Columbia occupation in ‘68 lasted for a week when police were called,” Guridy said. “There [were] certainly people who were on for police intervention. But the university didn’t call the police until there was an impasse [in] recent negotiations between student activists and the administration. We have plenty of well-known stories of police violence against protesters in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, [with] Kent State being the most prominent example.

“But I do think there is more of a knee jerk reaction [now] to employ police for all sorts of purposes, including the repression of peaceful protests, people exercising their democratic rights.”

A Columbia College Student Council op-ed in The Guardian last Saturday accused Shafik of flouting university bylaws established in the wake of the ‘68 protests by calling police on campus. Guridy confirmed the notion.

Maximizing Your Bank Branch Experience

In a world of online tools that let you make banking transactions with the touch of a button, the idea of visiting a branch might seem unnecessary.

However, if you haven’t visited your local branch recently, you might be surprised by what it has to offer. Your branch is much more than a place to deposit and withdraw money—it can offer the opportunity to build valuable relationships with people who can help you achieve financial independence.

Diedra Porché, Head of Community and Business Development at Chase, talks about how the bank model has evolved to maximize the branch experience for customers; how connecting with your local branch team can help you think differently about money and investing for your future.

Q: How can a customer feel connected to a bank branch?

I love that question because we ask ourselves the same thing every day. Being part of the community means meeting with local leaders to find out what they need from us and then designing our branches around that. For example, at some of our community branches we have what we call a living room where we can host financial workshops, small business pop-up shops or nonprofit organization meetings. We also hire locally. You feel much more connected talking about financial aspirations with people from your community who went to the same high school, place of worship or maybe frequented the same recreation center down the street when they grew up.

Q: How can I build a relationship with my bank?

Customers should feel comfortable sharing their goals, needs and wants with their banker. Also, it helps to remember the Community Manager is there to help solve your finance

challenges and build a roadmap for success. You might have a short-term or long-term goal to open a business, build your credit, become debt-free, buy a home, or save for retirement, and our community team can help. At Chase, we strive to make dreams possible for everyone, everywhere, every day. Your financial future starts with building those relationships.

Q: How can customers change negative perceptions they have about managing their money?

Far too often, customers are intimidated when they visit a bank. Our goal is to demystify banking and money myths empowering people to make the right decisions. For example, a big myth is assuming you need a lot of money to have a bank account. You don’t! Another myth is you need to carry a balance on your credit card to build credit— actively using your credit card can demonstrate that you can use credit responsibly, but carrying a balance won’t necessarily improve your credit score. Finally, having an understanding of mobile and online banking safety is key. There are so many safeguards and protections in place to guard your personal information and funds.

Q: What’s an easy step one can take to shift their financial behavior right now?

Cultivating self-awareness is a good first step. Start by taking inventory of your spending. Be honest with yourself about what you need and what you want. Too often, people confuse the two, which leads to bad decisions. Rent is something you need to pay. An extra pair of shoes is something you may want but before you buy them ask yourself if that’s the best use of your hard earned money. Too often, our beliefs and our fears shape our financial realities. If any of those beliefs are limiting your financial behavior, it’s important to question and examine them, and then decide you’re open to learning something different.

Q: What’s one perception about banking that you’d like to change?

I think folks are surprised there are so many resources available and accessible both at our branches and online, it’s always a good idea to visit a nearby branch and speak to a Community Manager or banker. Outside of what we offer in-branch, our teams also work with local neighborhood partners who provide a variety of services to support the community, businesses and residents. I had a unique piece of feedback from an employee who started with the bank and had lived in the same community his whole life. When he visited his local community branch, he said, “Diedra, when I walked in, I felt dignified.” Every time I recount that story, it warms my heart because that’s what we want—we want our centers to belong to the community.

Sponsored content by JPMorgan Case & Co.

Diedra Porché

Health

Food as Medicine: Hope in the battle for food insecurity and disparities

By HEATHER M. BUTTS, JD, MPH, MA Special to the AmNews

In early 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) approved New York’s request to amend to its Medicaid Section 1115 waiver through a demonstration amendment called the Medicaid Redesign Team. As described in a previous article in the AmNews, this approval gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services (DHHS) the ability to waive parts of the Medicaid law, which in turn gives states such as New York the freedom to improve their current Medicaid programs, and approve pilot or “demonstration projects” that promote the objectives of Medicaid programs. One such project is Food as Medicine

In an interview about the 1115 Waiver, the AmNews asked Amir Bassiri, Medicaid director for the New York State Department of Health (DOH), about the program. Bassiri said this is a topic he is “very passionate about...There are a subset of individuals, particularly those who are above the age of 65, and in a managed long-term care program—they could get Meals on Wheels type services…it’s very limited and they’re costly and we haven’t necessarily seen the uptake that we had originally hoped [for], which is what we think the waiver will really jump-start.”

According to Bassiri, “if you are an individual on Medicaid who may have chronic conditions, maybe suffering from substance use disorder, serious mental illness, or…pregnant, you would be eligible for a range of new food services, including weeks of groceries that would be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement; cooking supplies; …[they] could really benefit from food is medicine.”

According to Erika Hanson, clinical instructor with the Health Law and Policy Clinic and the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at the Harvard Law School, in an interview with the AmNews, “the 1115 waivers, and really all of the flexibilities in Medicaid in

particular, are one of the biggest policy levers that we have right now to advance [food is medicine]...the White House releasing their National Strategy actually endorsed the use of Medicaid 1115 waivers to expand the use of food is medicine in prevention to address things like food insecurity…There’s a ton of momentum.”

Some of this momentum in Food as Medicine, according to Hanson, is a direct response to many of the disparities that were uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York waiver proposal included discussion about the pandemic and food insecurity disparities by race and ethnicity, as well as diet-related chronic conditions like diabetes, with these chronic conditions being comorbidities for death during COVID-19. “ [It’s] waivers like this that connect folks to

health-related social needs services like Food is Medicine…if there’s a pandemic [that] happens again, hopefully we’re in a better position where folks are not facing those extreme health inequities again.”

The authors of the article “Food is medicine: actions to integrate food and nutrition into healthcare” said that “[a] global epidemic of diet-related chronic disease has prompted experimentation using food as a formal part of patient care and treatment. One of every five deaths across the globe is attributable to suboptimal diet, more than any other risk factor including tobacco. Individual interactions with the healthcare system are an important opportunity to offer evidence based food and nutrition interventions.”

A wealth of research cited by the authors shows that food and nu-

trition interventions provided by the healthcare system can lead to increases in positive health outcomes for individuals, as well as lower healthcare costs and less actual use of healthcare services.

The ultimate goal, according to the authors, is for a “healthcare system in which nutrition and food are a routine part of evidence-based disease prevention and treatment.”

Examples of these interventions include tailored meals, nutrient supplements, vitamins, and more.

New York prepared for the passage of the 1115 waiver through a statewide project and then a coalition

Hanson also said that research and interventions such as food is medicine have been shown to address health issues such as diabetes and high Body Mass Index (BMI), and reduce food insecurity, as well as being cost-effective.

“The 1115 waiver that you see in New York…is really a great opportunity to expand a process to these services and also sustainably fund them,” Hanson said.

Many services attempting to combat such issues, according to Hanson, are funded through grants, but “the idea of funding through Medicaid…gives these social service organizations and these community-based organizations a chance for sustainability to grow and think about [being] permanent in the future.”

To learn more about the New York State Food as Medicine project, go to https://thefoodpantries. org/home/new-york-state-foodas-medicine-project/. To learn more about food policy work in the city of New York, go to NYC Food Policy: https://www.nyc. gov/site/foodpolicy/index.page

A sign advertises free food for opening of Florida City Community Fridge and a food distribution. Research shows that food and nutrition interventions provided in the healthcare system can lead to increases in positive health outcomes for individuals (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Arts & Entertainment

‘Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion’ at the Met

By RENEE MINUS WHITE Fashion & Beauty Editor

The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute recently introduced their spring ’24 exhibit, “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion,” on view from May 10 through Sept. 2, 2024, with a morning press conference and a glamorous evening Gala benefit, the latter of which is the department’s primary source of annual funding for exhibitions, publications, acquisitions, operations, and capital improvements.

The Met Gala Benefit was a $75,000 ticket. The dress code was “The Garden of Times.” This year’s cochairs were Jennifer Lopez (who looked lovely in silver), Anna Wintour, Chris Hemsworth (Sleeping Beauty’s prince), Bad Bunny, and Zedaya. Shou Chew, CEO of TikTok, and Jonathan Anderson, creative director of LOEWE, served as honorary chairs. It was party time, and all the stars were out, looking glamorous!

When I arrived at the Met for the press conference, security was tight yet very polite. Across the street from the Met, there was a huge press presence (photographers, TV networks, social media, newspapers, magazines, influencers, and just ordinary people). Folks waited patiently, standing, sitting on the curb and in their own chairs, for hours to get a glimpse of celebrities posing in their gorgeous designer fashions.

The “Sleeping Beauty: Reawakening Fashion” exhibition features approximately 250 garments and accessories that are connected visually through nature. The fashions are opulent and well restored.

On entering the exhibition, a sequence of self-contained galleries is organized in three sections, focused on earth, air, and water. One gallery, arranged as a garden, includes a glass greenhouse displaying hats blooming with a variety of flowers and surrounded by subtle “smell-scapes” that challenge olfactory expectations.

The show takes advantage of life’s sensory capacities. Throughout the exhibit, there are aromatic histories of hats bearing floral motifs; walls of galleries are embossed with the embroidery of select garments; soft voices read poetry and stories, and birds chirp.

The illusion technique known

as Pepper’s ghost shows how the “hobble skirt” restricted women’s stride in the early 20th century, exemplified by an evening dress with a hobble skirt by Jeanne Hallée from 1913–14. The ghost illusion shows a woman in the design slowly evolving into an insect.

Popularized by couturier Paul Poiret, the hobble skirt was critiqued by French caricaturist Georges Goursat, who likened its wearers to distorted insects due to their hunched posture and limited stride. Tight around the knees, the garment featured an elongated silhouette with a high, small bust and long draped skirt that narrowed to a point at the hem, forcing its wearer to walk with a clipped, mincing gait, or hobble.

Hallée’s design epitomizes the segmented shape parodied by Goursat, featuring a gilded abdomen extending into a flared peplum over the hips.

According to Andrew Bolton, curator in charge of the Costume Institute, “When an item of clothing enters our collection, its status is changed irrevocably. What was once a vital part of a person’s lived experience is now a motionless ‘artwork’ that can no longer be worn or heard, touched, or smelled.”

While preparing for the exhibit, some of the clothes, accessories, and other garments from various periods needed mending by sewing artisans. Some galleries feature actual “sleeping beauties”: gowns

lying flat on the floors in vignettes— so fragile, they can no longer be used to dress mannequins.

“The Met’s innovative spring 2024 Costume Institute exhibition pushes the boundaries of your imagination and invites you to experience the multisensory facets of a garment, many of which get lost when entering a museum collection as an object,” said Max Hollein, the Met’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO. “‘Sleeping Beauties’ will heighten our engagement with these masterpieces of fashion by evoking how they feel, move, sound, smell, and interact when being worn, ultimately offering a deeper appreciation of the integrity, beauty, and artistic brilliance of the works on display.”

The exhibit includes creations

by designers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Hattie Carnegie, Lilly Daché, Hubert de Givenchy, Deirdre Hawken, Stephen Jones, Guy Laroche, Madame Pauline, Mainbocher, Elsa Schiaparelli, Sally Victor, and others.

A coat by Jonathan Anderson for LOEWE has been planted with oat, rye, and wheat grass that will start out alive and gradually die during the exhibition.

Two examples of Charles James’s “Butterfly” ball gown—one in pristine condition, the other a “sleeping beauty” with extensive damage— demonstrate a rare instance of duplicates in the collection.

TikTok sponsors this exhibit. LOEWE and Conde Naste provide additional support. For more info, visit www.metmuseum.org.

Your Stars

Designs from Met Gala’s Spring ’24 collection at Costume Institute, on view May 10–Sept. 2, 2024. (Renee Minus White/A Time To Style photos)

Public art enhances sounds in Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza

by BRENIKA BANKS Special to the AmNews

Accessible public art embedded with sounds is an enhancement for The Social Sculpture Project at Lincoln Center. Two Black women’s passions led to the creation of their works on display in the center’s Hearst Plaza. Ebony M. Burton’s “Ultramarine” and Sadah Espii Proctor’s “adrift: the bayou project” both incorporate blues, sounds, and deep dives into historical matters. Burton, an Oakland, California native, anticipates changing the narrative of art belonging to the “upper-class” through her outdoor pieces.

“Often, art is seen as something for the elite,” said Burton. “I knew I wanted to do something that felt big and that would stand out from the rest of the area.”

Likewise, Espii is delighted to have her art in an outside space. The proud Virginia Tech alumna, with a Liberian and Guyanese background, was influenced by the stories of those who lost their community, San Juan Hill. That community, once home for African American and Caribbean culture, was destroyed when Lincoln Center was created. This relates to Espii’s piece with the idea of Black people always looking for “home.”

“Ultramarine” focuses on the lapis lazuli

stone and its shade of blue, historically the most expensive color in the world during the Middle Ages. Burton’s installation redeems this specific shade, along with imitated lapis lazuli stone. “It’s a combination of new and reclaimed materials,” said Burton. The NYU Tisch Alum kept a huge collection of buttons, citing over 20,000. “Those are all used or vintage buttons, but they are also beads, sequins and other materials from plays that I have worked on.”

Burton’s bright blue oasis provides color to the gray, dull setting of Hearst Plaza, comparable to Espii’s blue frames. “adrift: the bayou project” is a multilayered, multidimensional exhibit surrounded by the story of spirits from decades ago in search of home and separated families. This interactive audio work has three blue frames serving as the main physical component, and a component which consists of digital newspaper letters from the post-Reconstruction Era.

Espii’s fascination with how people walk around, unaware of liminal space, is a contributing factor to this artwork. “Those that are curious to activate and be able to see the stories and to listen, that’s how we access that space in between,” said Espii. The aspect of sound was equally essential to Burton as her seven pieces for “Ultramarine” all have accompanying soundscapes

via QR codes. She worked with a composer who was familiar with her art and who understood her vision. Burton’s audio addition was intended as a break from the city’s fast pace for visitors. “Each of them incorporates sounds of direct interaction with each piece,” said Burton. Sounds include hearing ringing, distinct sounds of buttons while viewing her installation. She undoubtedly wanted an oasis, pop of color to be mainly featured in her art amongst the grays and browns of the city. She revised her work several times, searching for what was necessary for that space. “I wanted something that would draw the eye from a distance,” said Burton. Her revisions helped Hearst Plaza eventually become home for “Ultramarine.”

Espii, meanwhile, aimed to explore the idea of what home meant for the Black diaspora in the U.S. Many freed slaves of African descendants post-Reconstruction Era were forced to migrate; while others also voluntarily migrated. A space created for Black people’s comfort, rest, mourning, and reflecting seemed necessary. Espii associated memory and remembering with storytelling in an artistic form.

The newspaper clippings within her project connect to Black families’ postings in publications to assist with finding lost family members, especially those

separated during slavery. An audio from one of her three frames said: “Knowledge of the whereabouts or death of Betsy Burr is wanted by her daughter […] The above was forwarded to us through the mails and we asked the newspapers of the state to publish it.”

The postings of the misplacement of loved ones in Black newspapers was also read out loud in churches on Sundays. This method helped many families find each other. Espii encourages everyone to investigate the letters beyond her piece at Lincoln Center and understand more of the Reconstruction Era. The art of remembering is still strong and easier in the present day via social media. According to Espii, the medium is different and quicker, but people still participate in reuniting and remembering.

Burton’s piece will certainly be remembered for its vibrant blue and green with an eye-catching gold as an accent color. Her goal is for the plaza’s visitors to feel brighter and view her work as a highlight while passing by. She believes some people can see the many buttons associated with her art, immediately understanding and appreciating this labor of love. “I just love creating!”

For more information, please visit www. lincolncenter.org/socialsculpture

Ebony M. Burton posing with artwork, “Ultramarine” in Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza which presents a bright blue oasis and other shades of blue (Brenika Banks photos)

from

Ebony M. Burton posing with artwork, “Ultramarine” in Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza

Sadah Espii Proctor posing with a frame

her artwork, “adrift: the bayou project.”

Ebony M. Burton standing with one of her seven pieces from her project, “Ultramarine” in Lincoln Center’s Hearst Plaza.

Historical letters from Sadah Espii Proctor’s “adrift: the bayou project” when QR code is scanned.

Lincoln Center visitors observing from Sadah Espii Proctor’s “adrift: the bayou project" in Hearst Plaza.

HOROSCOPES BY KNOWYOURNUMB3RS

By SUPREME GODDESS KYA

May is filled with great news, community support, social networking, self awareness, a splash of exuberance, and doing what you love to do. It’s time to position yourself where you love to be. The footwork, foundation, and follow up tasks are essential to progressing to new levels. Adaptability, flexibility, and consistency are the ingredients that will make it happen. Speak the magic words, ask for the things you need, and more. In the days leading to May 15 around 5:33 p.m., build on the changes that are occurring within your environment and see what hidden messages show up in divine order when you follow suit in your plan. Opportunities will present themselves to you out of the blue in divine alignment.

You can sense the new energy within your soul. It’s time for a change and to intentionally put yourself first. See what feelings and feedback you receive. When you receive information, digest it first as it can be tasteful or distasteful news. Not everyone loves your style of work or the quirkiness of how you operate. From May 8 around 7:20 p.m until May 10 around 11:00 p.m., be mentally sharp on decision making. Think grand in terms of your investments and the new development of ideas about what’s to come. The end result is the goal.

Control, compassion, confidence, and competence are key terms this May. To see it is to believe what you see, hear, feel, and sense when your mind seems as if it’s playing tricks on you. You are more in tune with other people’s feelings and tuning into the unknown of the spiritual realm. Your conversation is more intriguing and enlightening. From May 10 around 11:13 p.m. until May 13 around 6:18 a.m., focus on the details clearly enough that you are not selling yourself short. No need to over-deliver—just deliver firmly and see how things will flow for you.

May requires your time, concentration, and patience in applying your resources to investments and giving birth to new concepts. New ways of operating will assist in functioning differently. Old and new folks, issues, and outcomes will occur like backstabbing energy. Always remember, when you are progressing forward some things need to be cleared to move forward. From May 13 around 6:36 a.m. until May 15 around 5:15 p.m., stick to your foundation. Although detours occur to derail you, they will assist you on your journey with intel you needed to experience before executing the mission. Push through and own up to your past, present, and figure obligations.

It’s an eye-catching week filled with business meetings, traveling, new alliances, self discovery, marketing, advertising, indulging in your time, etc. Things that are way too easy can throw you off track. Keep your schedule handy to take notes and review your availability to ensure you don’t overbook or overextend yourself. In the days leading up to May 15 around 5:33 p.m., free yourself from the hustle and bustle of life. Run the errands you need to do for yourself before helping someone else. You will get the answer you seek through conversation. You are a problem solver this week; you folks make it make sense.

May is a month of wish fulfillment of your goals being accomplished. The tough challenges occur only to build your character, confidence, and competence on how passionate you are about ending one thing to allow the new to occur. This is a wait-and-see with a twist of a “monkey in the middle” dose of action going on. Sit tight for a bit then make your move once you gather all the facts and grab the ball from the other player, putting them in the middle for them to sit for now. From May 8 around 7:20 p.m. until May 10 around 11:00 p.m., listen and be open to the advice you ask others to share with you. You may experience a bump, bruise, slight accident, or cut on yourself this week. Watch your step and pollinate the people’s minds with words of encouragement, wisdom, and motivation. Do it for yourself as well.

Rebirth of A New Nation: It’s the calm before the hype. It’s the inner tone expressing the outside on a worldly perspective, slowly yet surely. The calm effect is more present when Jupiter enters Gemini. The song by McFadden & Whitehead, “Ain’t No Stopping Us Now” is the energy for this cycle week. The great, great old-school mixed with the stern grandmother/grandfather energy is bringing security and opportunities, setting foundations and many new ways to invest, bringing in financial gain. Remember when Kanye said in his song “All Falls Down,” “They made us hate ourselves and love they wealth.” Get grounded in the new moon in Taurus on May 7 at 18 degrees with your vision and mission, for the purpose. You must apply the work with some sweat and skin in the game to feel secure from within in what you do on a daily basis. “Don’t downgrade your dreams to match your reality. Upgrade your belief to match your vision.” —Unknown

Moving forward can be a breeze until the breeze turns into gusty winds. That’s when things get twisted, blowing in all five directions. That’s due to you stirring up something that was sleeping and you are clearing out what’s no longer needed to apply yourself more effectively. From May 10 around 11:13 p.m. until May 13 around 6:18 a.m., continue to put your needs first in a good way. When you do great, the reward will follow suit. Focus on the message of what seems to nag at you like stagnation energy. You have to flow and be grounded in self-worth.

When you apply yourself, blessings pour in as a reflection of your consistent effort with the right amount of pressure to make things happen. The universe is decoding messages to you in subliminal ways to focus your attention on higher things that elevate you right now in a moment’s notice. From May 13 around 6:36 a.m. until May 15 around 5:15 p.m., it’s a spiritual cycle week with a bit of déjà vu and confidential matters arise. Remain true to you. When opportunity presents itself to you, the opposite does the same to lure you in. Balance and boundaries are key.

The nursery rhyme “Pop goes the Weasel” is this kind of cycle for you. The more you do the same dance, routines, and daily activities, the better you get at them. Then comes the sudden change and that’s the “pop goes the weasel” part, when everything suddenly changes from its normal way of operating. In the days leading to May 15 around 5:33 p.m., when it seems like you’ve already been there and heard it all before, it’s showing up for yourself that needs to be addressed for change. Listen to your gut feeling, then passionately follow where your heart and mind pull you. As long as you are in alignment, the change will happen.

One must go where the unknown world exists. In any beginning, it’s new until you’ve learned how to navigate the newness which becomes familiar. Your social life is picking up quicker than usual as decision making is on the rise. Ask yourself, what is it you truly want to do? Where do your heart and mind meet to be in sync? That is where you can expand, and explore other areas for growth to connect and stay in flow. From May 8 around 7:20 p.m. until May 10 around 11:00 p.m., running errands this week teaches you something about yourself that only you know is true within. You can be the limelight, guru, or life of the party—yet where are you the light in your life?

Keep your cool as things may start off rough with detours, no responses, folks not getting back to you, and a bit of delay. Wait patiently; those who do great deeds will reap what they sow and vice versa. Financial gains on investments, projects, or receiving an approval of something you applied for are all in disbursement mode. From May 10 around 11:13 p.m. until May 13 around 6:18 a.m., the pushback you received from the background party is just a test before moving forward on the next chapter of life. It doesn’t last long.

Paint the picture now with all the resources you have available. When you start piecing it all together, it is one part of the circle of life. Humans play a role and have a part they partake in someone’s life at a certain moment. From May 13 around 6:36 a.m. until May 15 around 5:15 p.m., with the piece, you have to create a moment of memories to assist in painting the picture. Are you ready for a shocking revelation the universe has in store for you? It’s on its way through the pipeline, Beltline, and the Q line to showcase in full effect. Things are not what they used to be. It’s all changing constantly through every action humanity creates. A different story script is playing out daily. It’s past time for action. It’s already in play.

The Schomburg Center’s annual Black Comic Book Fest returns to Harlem

By LEAH MALLORY Special to the AmNews

The Schomburg Center’s annual Black Comic Book Festival recently returned for its 12th year and united Black comic book enthusiasts for a celebration of creativity, diversity, and empowerment. The event was held April 26-27. From vibrant comic-filled booths and engaging panels to thrilling cosplay showcases, the festival offered an immersive experience for fans of Black comics, while advancing the careers of

Black and POC creators.

This year, attendees saw the addition of new elements such as a musical, alongside long-standing favorites like the cosplay showcase and drawing workshops.

While preserving its legacy of au -

thentic Black representation, the festival highlighted more voices within the community including LGBTQ+ and Black women’s voices.

See our video to learn more at: bit.ly/3wi8hZw

IYANU PANEL AT THE 2024 SCHOMBURG BLACK COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL (LEAH MALLORY PHOTOS)

COSPLAYER AT 2024 SCHOMBURG BLACK COMIC BOOK FESTIVAL

MIKE ALLEN AT RAE COMICS BOOTH TALKS TO FESTIVAL ATTENDEE ABOUT COMIC SERIES

DISPLAY COPY FOR “WEIRDO” NOVEL BY TONY WEAVER JR.

KID LOOKING AT COMICS

Only Suzan-Lori Parks could tell the ‘Sally & Tom’ story like this

BY LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

Suzan-Lori Parks has a way with words and of looking at a moment in history and sharing it from the Black perspective that is pretty raw, straightforward, and refreshing. That is exactly what she does with her new play, “Sally & Tom,” playing at the Public Theater. This phenomenal playwright gives us a play within a play, with a theater company putting on a production based on the relationship between slave master and historical figure Thomas Jefferson and the enslaved Sally Hemmings, with whom he had six children.

In the production, Luce/Sally is played by Sheria Irving. As Luce, Irving is a writer of the play and plays the leading female role of Sally. She makes it clear that the relationship between Jefferson and Hemmings was no love story. It was rape. She was 14 and he was 41.

Throughout the production, Sally’s character is at the beck and call of Jefferson and has no means of escaping this man’s desires. Sally has a brother named James, also enslaved to Jefferson and is his dresser. He is disgusted by the things his sister has to do, but he also realizes that she has no choice. The dual role of Kwame—the actor in the play within a play—and James, the character, is stunningly delivered by Alano Miller, who also has a moving speech where

he gives Jefferson a piece of his mind. Or does he?

The role of the other star of this small, struggling theater company is Mike, who plays Tom (Jefferson) in the play, and is performed by Gabriel Ebert. Life mirrors art, because he is in a relationship with Luce.

It’s interesting to realize the parallels that Parks draws with this play. Luce is in a re-

lationship with Mike and, just as Jefferson made Sally feel, she experiences being underappreciated, underestimated, and blatantly disrespected. However, Parks lets her modern-day character Luce choose a different road, and it’s simply because she can. Luce has learned a great lesson from working on the script for this story. She finds her own power.

Everyone in this company plays more than one role. Leland Fowler plays actor Devon and Sally’s enslaved brother-in-law Nathan, and he brings humor and affection to these roles. Kristolyn Lloyd is quite feisty and supportive of Luce in her roles as actress Maggie and as Mary, Sally’s enslaved sister. Sun Mee Chomet portrays the dual roles of actress Scout and Jefferson’s daughter Polly, and js amusing in these roles. Kate Nowlin is delightful in the roles of actress Ginger and Jefferson’s daughter Patsy. Daniel Petzold displayed his versatility as he handles not two but four roles: Geoff/Cooper/Colonel Carey/Mr. Tobias.

There is something special, gripping, and sensational about sitting in the audience at a Parks production. This play provided a sense of having seen a story told in a very needed way and from a perspective that gave respect and recognition to the atrocities that enslaved people had to endure under Thomas Jefferson. The words of Parks beautifully meld with the tremendous direction of Steve H. Broadnax III.

This production has marvelous technical features, including scenic design by Riccardo Hernandez, costume design by Rodrigo Munoz, lighting design by Alan C. Edwards, and sound design by Dan Moses Schreier. The production also features music composed by Parks and Dan Moses Schreier. The play runs through May 12. For tickets, visit publictheater.org.

‘Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors’—a tragic story that must be told

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

Greed, corruption, discrimination, cruelty, disregard for human life—all these words describe what happened to the residents of London’s Grenfell Tower, and you hear the story in their own words when you step through the doors of St. Ann’s Warehouse (45 Water Street in Brooklyn) and witness “Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors,” a devastatingly real-life and tragic story.

This new play by Gillian Slovo tells the true stories of the people who survived the highrise fire in Grenfell Tower in North Kensington in London, England, on June 14, 2017. The program for this production provides blow-by-blow timelines that give a history of the public housing building in the Kensington and Chelsea sections of London. Stepby-step you can read about the project being in disrepair, and tenants of Grenfell Tower starting a blog to campaign for repairs to be made. This play will have you engrossed as the actors’ words are the actual statements from the survivors.

Because this play is about a real event and something that directly affected real people, it is poignant that it begins with the actors telling you their names and whom they are playing, and give a brief description of that person. Every moment is packed with stun-

ning, detailed information about a sense of a community where neighbors looked after each other. There’s a sense of comfortability and family history as you get to meet and know these people—some who lost their loved ones and are here to tell both their personal stories and those of the family members they lost.

Slovo’s work is a call to action because the families affected have still not gotten justice. The production reveals that families in this building, although labeled as poor, were of

varying financial and ethnic backgrounds. There are also accounts of how racism and cruelty were alive and well, making people terrified for their lives.

The characters introduced to the audience are not just the people who were affected, but also the executives of the companies who were responsible for what occurred and did not have any concern about the part their company played in 72 people dying and everyone else being displaced.

This superbly talented ensemble of actors

plays the survivors and other roles as well, including firefighters and corporate executives of the companies who used inferior products for the renovation work in Grenfell Tower.

The company of actors and the survivors they portray are also in the program. This extraordinary cast includes Joe Alessi, Gaz Choudhry, Jackie Clune, Houda Echouafni, Mona Goodwin, Keaton Guimaraes-Tolley, Ash Hunter, Rachid Sabitri, Michael Shaeffer, Dominique Tipper, and Nahel Tzegai.

When you have lived through the stories from the fire, which, thank God, you don’t see images of, a screen is lowered and you see videos of interviews with the survivors whose stories you have just experienced. What an amazing, touching, and effective moment that is.

This is followed by everyone in the audience getting to stand up for these victims, participate in a silent march, and hold picket signs in memory of this tragedy. You get to ask for justice. You will definitely remember all the emotions that you felt during this unique theatrical experience.

The play is inspirationally co-directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Anthony Simpson-Pike.

“Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors” only plays through May 12. Make your way to St. Ann’s Warehouse to experience a production you will never forget. For more info, visit stannswarehouse.org.

Scene from “Sally & Tom” playing at Public Theater (l–r): Sheria Irving, Alano Miller, Daniel Petzold, Gabriel Ebert, Leland Fowler, and Kristolyn Lloyd (Joan Marcus photo)

Scene from “Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors,” playing at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn (back to front) Joe Alessi, Dominique Tipper, and Houda Echouafni (Teddy Wolff photo)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Reggie Workman, Kori Withers, Nona Hendryx

To say NEA Jazz Master bassist and educator Reggie Workman is a walking legend, or an icon, would still not represent his broad-spectrum resume. The native Philadelphian has played on some of the most significant jazz albums ever recorded with the likes of Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard, John and Alice Coltrane, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Wayne Shorter, Archie Shepp and Trio 3 (one of the most inventive collaborations in jazz history). The educator is a respected elder and a brilliant jazz bassist whose style ranges from bop to hard-bop and beyond.

On May 11, Workman will continue his musical odyssey in a collaborative theatrical script with his daughter, actress Ayana Workman, “that explores the resistance of women in today’s society,” accompanied with improvised music by the bassist and multi-instrumentalist and singer Jen Shyu, and movement directed by choreographer, dancer, poet and writer Maya Milenovic Workman.

“I found a junction across impulse produced by avant-garde jazz music unified with physical theater, poetry and film,” said the choreographer. “I believe that improvised sound, which extends into any space, merges with movement in a collapsed, expanded, and elevated mosaic of possibilities.”

The multi-dimensional free musical event takes place at St. Paul’s Chapel Trinity Church Wall Street, at 209 Broadway (7:30pm). You MUST reserve a spot; visit the website at https://www.eventbrite. com/e/reggie-workman-pulling-tickets-881007827127

Bill Withers’s music tells a story, and not just any story, but a soulful reflection of life with a rhythmic cadence that transported listeners to a Baptist church on Sunday morning; it was the tambourine on his “Moanin’ and Groanin’” that made you feel so good. His vocals preached a beautiful lyricism that expressed his soul, cemented in ethics that, like an oak tree, refused to bend and instead sang “Grandma’s Hands,” “Lean On Me,” and even when there “Ain’t No Sunshine,” if you just have faith there will be a “Lovely Day,” in “Harlem.” These legendary songs became major hits across the United States, and anthems in some parts of America. “My father understood humanity’s pain and shared songs of loves and losses in a world that needed hope,” said daughter Kori Withers.

Celebrate Mother’s Day Brunch on May 12 with a special musical tribute to Bill With-

ers and his iconic song “Grandma’s Hands,” at Manhattan’s City Vineyard (233 West St. at Pier 26) at 12 p.m. The singer and songwriter Kori Withers, who follows in the tradition of her father, and special guest, the legendary singer Valerie Simpson, will deliver a soulful rendition of Withers’s classic hits. They will be accompanied by guitarist Marcus Machado, music director and percussionist Everett Bradley, and bassist Winston Roye.

Bill Withers’s iconic song “Grandma’s Hands” has been released as an illustrated book and an animated music video to celebrate his memorable song. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the event. Kori and Marcia Withers, his daughter and wife, have been promoting the children’s book with special readings across California.

The delightful 32-page rainbow-colored picture book breathes warmth into “Grandma’s Hands” with vivid, touching illustrations portraying a young Bill finding joy and unconditional love in the care of his grandmother. It demonstrates the profound impact elders have on our lives. For old folks like me, it sparks memories of my grandmother making pecan raisin cookies, letting me lick the bowl once she was finished, and the many times she saved me from getting my butt beat by my parents. The artwork is by awardwinning illustrator R. Gregory Christie. “Grandma’s Hands” is published by Freedom Three Publishing.

“My mother and I felt the best way to honor Dad and his grandmother was [by] doing this book on ‘Grandma’s Hands,’ one

of his favorite songs,” said Kori. “We hope the book will serve to champion Grandparents Day. We are trying to pave the road he forged, to make it easier for those coming through.”

For tickets visit citywinery.com/city-vineyard-nyc.

On May 10, join Kori and Marcia Withers for “Grandma’s Hands” story time at the Harlem Library, 9 West 124th Street at 10:30am. At 3:30pm they will be at Grandma’s Place Harlem, 84 West 120th Street.

The singer, songwriter, and model Betty Davis was an innovator and an avant-gardist who consistently forged her own path without apology. As in a Shakespearean play, Davis was the Shrew who could not be tamed. She had success in Europe, but in the United States, she was denied television performances. However, her live performances and recordings gave her a devoted cult following. Her looks, her sound, the fashionable Afro-funk style and sexuality of it all, immediately mesmerized her audiences. Davis is credited with introducing her husband trumpeter, Miles Davis, to selfstyled rocker guitarist Jimi Hendrix and funk rocketeer Sly Stone. Davis’s album “Filles de Kilimanjaro” (Columbia 1968) features Betty on the cover and includes a song named after her “Mademoiselle Mabry” (Miss Mabry).

On May 16, Symphony Space (2537 Broadway) will present Nona Hendryx: A Funk-Filled Tribute to Betty Davis. Hendryx (the mother of Afro-Future Funk) is another inventive musician, songwriter, and record producer forging her own path. Hendryx, along with an all-woman band with musical director Etienne Stadwijk pays tribute to the fierce soul star, whose influence has rippled through the decades.

“Betty Davis was an iconoclast, a shape shifter, and a woman on fire—singing and setting alight everything in her path,” said Hendryx. “With eyes ablaze, heels pounding, strutting across a stage, she was a phantasmagorical peacock, speaking her truth. Like quicksilver, she imagined and defined her own beliefs and visions.”

An independent documentary directed by Phil Cox entitled “Betty: They Say I’m Different” was released in 2017; two years later “A Little Bit Hot Tonight,” was released, her first new song in over 40 years, which was performed and sang by Danielle Maggio, an associate producer on “Betty: They Say I’m Different.”

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Betty Davis’s self-titled debut in 2023, Light in the Attic Records reissued three of her albums: “Betty Davis: They Say I’m Different,” “Is It Love Or Desire?” and her first official release of 1979 tracks, “Crashin’ From Passion.”

This presentation is part of Nona Hendryx in Residence at Symphony Space. For tickets, visit the symphonyspace.org.

Nona Hendryx (Chester Higgins photo)

Schomburg Center conference looks at ‘Slavery in New Netherland & the Dutch Atlantic World’

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

During a recent two-day conference, book authors and academic researchers came together to talk about the role the Netherlands played in slavery.

The “Slavery and the Slave Trade in New Netherland and the Dutch Atlantic World” conference was cosponsored by the nonprofit New Netherland Institute and held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on May 3, and at the New-York Historical Society on May 4. The conference looked at how efforts of the Dutch to play a role in the growth of European trade in the 1600s went on to affect Africans and Indigenous people in the Americas and Asia.

The New Netherland Institute aims to promote awareness about the role the Dutch played in the establishment of New York City and the Americas.

The conference plays a part in the Netherlands’ “Slavery Memorial Year,” which is marking the 150th anniversary of the end of slavery in Suriname and the Dutch Caribbean. The Dutch government is commemorat-

ing the Netherlands’ “Slavery Memorial Year” through July 1, 2024.

The Dutch parliament first created the Dutch West India Company in 1621, to combat the economic advances the Spanish and Portuguese were making when they developed trade routes and then enslaved African and Indigenous people in lands bordering both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

It’s been a struggle for the descendants of the enslaved to have Dutch colonial history truly acknowledged in the Netherlands. Conference participants said it’s slowly beginning to be a part of the Dutch collective memory—but too slowly for many historiographers.

Nancy Jouwe, a lecturer from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, talked about how the Dutch created a global empire by participating in the transAtlan-

tic slave trade and enslaving people in Indian Ocean locations. The establishment of the New Netherland colony—which was ceded to the British in 1664––brought Dutch culture and language to this area. It became so entrenched that when the abolitionist Sojourner Truth was born into slavery in New York State more than a century later, Jouwe said, “she was severely punished by one of her

owners because she couldn’t speak proper English as a young child because she spoke Dutch until she was nine years old.” Even the yearly celebration of Pinkster, she added “shows how African Americans transformed this Dutch religious observance into a celebration of African cultural traditions during the spring.”

Valika Smeulders, head of the history department at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, spoke of how art helped to normalize the enslavement of Africans in Dutch colonial societies. “The colonial period saw the emergence of a class who liked to display their newly acquired power,” she said. “The international nature of this elite’s power figured prominently in their presentation—the representation of themselves in the world. They could boast about their power and possessions in remote places by

having an exotic servant physically present in their homes, and by having this Black servitude committed to canvas.”

For Jennifer Tosch, founder of the Black Heritage Tours, which looks at New York’s Dutch colonial period in Amsterdam (Netherlands) and New York State, this is personal. She has traced and recovered more than 200 years of her family’s history from Suriname, the Netherlands, Scotland, and the United States; she even traced her heritage as far back as to Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

“The experiences of enslaved individuals have been integral in undertaking this economic prosperity we’ve been talking about,” Tosch said. “Enslaved Africans and Indigenous peoples have played such a vital role in the building of infrastructure, roads, agriculture—not simple things. They weren’t just transported as cargo; they weren’t just incidental. They came with knowledge, with skills. The colonizers didn’t just capture people that knew nothing.

“And when we talk about planters: Who did the planting? I want us to get back to accessing this ancestral memory, acknowledging the importance of the lived experience.”

Nancy Jouwe, a lecturer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, talked about how the Dutch created a global empire by enslaving people but rarely teach this history.

Jennifer Tosch, founder of Black Heritage Tours, speaks at Schomburg Center’s “Slavery and the Slave Trade in New Netherland and the Dutch Atlantic World” conference (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Nancy Jouwe, a lecturer at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, shows old photo of Afro Suriname community commemorating 100 years of abolition of slavery.

Student protest

Continued from page 15

“The University Senate was created in 1969 as a governing structure to represent all constituencies in the Colombia community because of the lack of consultation and transparency and inclusion in the university government before ‘68,” he said. “What’s happened under this administration that they have circumvented all the rules—trampled over them completely— that we have in the Senate and other university bylaws…we have these long standing norms and laws that are directly a response to what transpired [in] ‘68 when the police came on campus and arrested students. And so the current administration has absolutely disregarded those rules.”

In a May 1 letter to the public which a Columbia spokesperson pointed to in response, Shafik thanked the NYPD “for their incredible professionalism and support” for dismantling the encampment and occupation. She acknowledged the history of ‘68, but called the protests “acts of destruction, not political speech.”

“Columbia has a long and proud tradition of protest and activism on many important issues such as the Vietnam War, civil rights, and the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa,” Shafik wrote. “Today’s protesters are also fighting for an important cause, for the rights of Palestinians and against the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. They have many supporters in our community and have a right to express their views and engage in peaceful protest.”

The details of what exactly happened in Hamilton Hall continue to unfold as of this story’s press time, but it is already known that an officer discharged their gun during the raid.

The Legal Aid Society (LAS) recently estimated more than 40 campus protesters charged with low-level offenses should have been issued desk appearance tickets to show up to court on their own, rather than be arrested and detained. The public defender service subsequently asked for an investigation.

And then there’s the specific deployment of the SRG to a peaceful protest, which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez lambasted over X (Twitter). “Not only did Columbia make the horrific decision to mobilize NYPD on their own students, but the units called in have some of the most violent reputations on the force,” the congresswoman wrote on April 24.

Recent court ordered reforms stemming from police misconduct settlements from Black Lives Matter protests limited the SRG’s use.

But NYCLU staff attorney JP Perry, who represented the plaintiffs alongside Attorney General Letitia James and Legal Aid, told the AmNews that such protections are more limited on college campuses, particularly for private universities like Columbia but even for public ones like CCNY.

However, general guidelines established either by the settlement reforms or the NYPD’s own guidelines still must be followed.

“A lot of provisions of the settlement do apply and the principle should apply to a situation like this,” Perry said. “But could we say that Columbia shouldn’t have called the NYPD? That’s

probably not something that the settlement could prohibit.”

Learning from history

Naison believed the Morningside Park gym’s construction was a “foregone conclusion” when he and 12 other activists from Harlem and Columbia were arrested at the build site. But a year later, the university scrapped plans for what critics called “Gym Crow.”

Guridy can’t predict how things will shake out for the pro-Palestinian cause. He imagines protester amnesty could be a more immediate achievement. But he can’t fault them for thinking big.

“What social movement history tells us is that movements almost always call for things that seemed unimaginable,” he said. “And very often, they achieve the unimaginable. Whether that’s the abolition of slavery in the 19th century, the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, the divestments of South Africa—all those things were unimaginable, which is not to say that this movement is going to achieve all of its goals.

“I have no idea if they’re gonna achieve their goals…but I do know social movement history shows us that it’s not unusual for movements that call for the unimaginable for them to be able to achieve them.”

After Hamilton Hall’s sweep, Columbia’s campus remains closed and its centerpiece graduation was recently canceled. A CUAD member was allegedly hit by a counterprotester’s car and subsequently arrested along with the perpetrator this past Tuesday. And the

movement seems no closer to a free Palestine as Israeli tanks moved into Rafah on the southern Gaza Strip this week.

But Sherif tells the Amsterdam News that they will not be deterred. He said many of the protesters no longer care for their degrees and are centered on the cause of the Palestinian people.

“For us, this is about divestment, it’s about the university at the very least calling for a ceasefire, and it’s about amnesty for all students and faculty who have been disciplined for speaking up for Palestine,” he said. “For us, it’s also about ending the encroachment of Columbia into Harlem. it’s making sure that our demands are centered. And it’s also making sure the NYPD gets off campus…we say divestment will happen.

“It’s just a matter of how long it’ll take for these administrators to recognize that we will not stop until we succeed.”

Editor’s note: The author attended Columbia University with Song, who is quoted in this story. Amsterdam News Executive Editor Damaso Reyes participated in CUNY protests as a high school reporter organized by Vitale, who is also quoted in this story.

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

Philippa Schuyler, gifted and talented musician and writer

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews

If you haven’t heard of Philippa Duke Schuyler by now, then imagine how astonished Kathryn Talalay was in the early 1980s, when she discovered by chance a file with “Philippa Duke Schuyler” embossed on the cover. “How had I not heard of Philippa Schuyler?” Talalay asked in her biography of the famous woman. “News of her death had made the front page of the New York Times. The 1939 World’s Fair dedicated a day to her. She was profiled in the New Yorker. Why had such a bright star burned out? And most intriguing, where were all those music manuscripts, those thousands of lost notes?”

Thus began Talalay’s research into Schuyler, a woman, she wrote, who “exerted an extraordinary influence on the culture of her times.”

Schuyler was born on August 2, 1931, in Harlem. Her father, George Schuyler, was a distinguished Black journalist and author, and her mother, Josephine (Cogdell) Schuyler, was a white Texan heiress. Almost from birth as a mixed-race child, Schuyler began acquiring attention. “Philippa first attracted public attention when her parents discovered that she could read and write at the age of two and a half,” Talalay wrote. “She was playing Mozart at four, composing at five. She had spectacular success as a child prodigy, concertizing widely and winning numerous awards.”

At the age of 4, Schuyler could switch effortlessly from the typewriter to the piano, her imagination flowering on each instrument in words and compositions. It was during this phase of her development that she was profiled in newspapers for her ability to spell, including the longest work in the dictionary: pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, a lung disease resulting from inhaling volcanic rock dust. She was also a promising poet.

Schuyler’s emerging genius, according to her mother, was due to her mixed heritage—something akin to “hybrid vigor”—and her diet of raw food, all of which conformed

to her notion of the power and benefit of miscegenation.

By the time she was 8, Philippa was performing with the New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts at Carnegie Hall. Three years later, she became the youngest member of the National Association for American Composers and Conductors. However, none of these achievements were successful in shielding her from the persistent racism she encountered as she grew older. Moreover, there was the challenge of reconciling with her mixed-race heritage.

nate passion of hers, one that she pursued in earnest by the early ’50s, publishing travel articles and being one of the few African American reporters for United Press International. Some of this coverage was included in her books, including a biography, “Adventures in Black and White”; “Who Killed the Congo?”; “Jungle Saints,” about Catholic missionaries; and “Kingdom of Dreams,” about the interpretation of dreams and was co-authored with her mother.

There seems to have never been a sustained romantic interest, although Schuyler did have an abortion. She never came to grips with her racial identity, and although she shared her parents’ conservative views, eventually they differed on many things—she even decided that her parents’ marriage was a mistake.

On April 15, 1967, Schuyler gave a concert on South Vietnamese television. This was her second visit to Vietnam, not only to perform but also as a war correspondent for the Manchester Union Leader and to serve as a lay missionary. On May 9, she was among the passengers on a United States Army helicopter that crashed into Da Nang Bay. She survived the crash but could not swim and drowned. A week later, she lay in state at St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church in Harlem. As Talalay wrote. “John Lindsay, then mayor of New York, paid his respects, as did hundreds of other friends and acquaintances. President Johnson and Mrs. Johnson sent a basket of white and red flowers.”

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

The best and most comprehensive source about Philippa Schuyler’s life is Kathryn Talalay’s biography, “Composition in Black and White: The Tragic Saga of Harlem’s Biracial Prodigy” (New York: Oxford University Press, 1995).

DISCUSSION

Talalay’s book offers some interesting insights into Schuyler’s personal life, which was conflicted and in many ways unfulfilled.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

Born during the Great Depression, Schuyler lived to be caught in the throes of the war in Vietnam.

CLASSROOM IN THE THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

Schuyler was 15 when she graduated from Father Young S.J. Memorial High School, a school specializing in liturgical music. We can only guess how the rumors she heard during her teen years about being “a genetic experiment” affected her coming of age and her prowess as a pianist and later as a journalist.

By the late 1950s, after acclaimed recitals and performances before world leaders, including Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, Schuyler began devoting her concert appearances abroad, mostly in Europe.

Journalism was always an alter-

More than 2,000 people attended her funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on May 18, 1967. Her parents established a memorial foundation in her name, but her mother was profoundly affected by her death and took her own life two years later. The Philippa Schuyler School for the Gifted and Talented remains in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn, dedicated to preserving her memory and offering artistic training for aspiring youth. At one time, there were plans to produce a biopic, starring Alicia Keys as Schuyler. Halle Berry owns the film rights to Schuyler’s biography.

May 6, 1931: Baseball immortal Willie Mays was born in Westfield, Ala.

May 7, 1946: Vocalist Thelma Houston was born in Leland, Miss.

May 9, 1970: Ghostface Killah Dennis Coles of the Wu Tang Clan was born in Staten Island, N.Y.

Philippa Schuyler (World Telegram & Sun photo by Fred Palumbo via Library of Congress Public Domain Media)

Candidate forums

and district leader Tamika Mapp. Incumbent Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs, who’s running for reelection, did not attend due to “unforeseen circumstances.”

According to the City Comptroller’s office, most predominantly white community districts have no shelters, and substance use treatment programs are much more likely to be in “neighborhoods with a higher percentage of people living below the poverty line” like Harlem and East Harlem.

Both forums covered similar topics related to this oversaturation issue, such as medical redlining, disenfranchisement, structural racism, battling addiction in communities of color, fostering mental health resources for the youth, and building up small businesses.

A large part of the discussions centered around Dickens’s bygone Fair Share A9571 bill, which limits the amount of addiction and substance abuse facilities to five within the jurisdiction of any community board; Congressmember Adriano Espaillat’s Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 2023 (H.R.2804); and Manhattan’s CB 11 and CB 10 moratoriums on New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) centers from previous years.

The 70th candidates all discussed the ex-

Bronx Shelter

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said. “And how they address challenges that may come up with an animal that hasn’t been trained or isn’t vaccinated, how we manage the tensions that come up between two animals that, say, don’t get along. There’s a lot to be learned.”

Uplift Families Residence is the first New York City family shelter to adopt such arrangements. The pilot stems from URI’s decade-old PALS program, which implemented such pet-friendly policies at the nonprofit’s domestic violence shelters, encouraging survivors to seek shelter without leaving their animals behind or in boarding.

In 2021, URI and the National Domestic Violence Hotline found 97% of domestic violence survivors considered keeping pets “an important factor in seeking shelter.” Around half said they would refuse shelter without their pet. So far, the PALS program has temporarily housed more than 575 pet owners and 775 pets.

Inside the Uplift Families Residence, units are prepped for residents, whether they walk upright or on all fours. Feeding bowls, chew toys and a big bag of kibble are neatly arranged in one room while a litter box and scratching post are ready to go in another. But the program isn’t limited to just furry friends; PALS has

isting bills and their approach to legislating for opioid and drug treatment facilities and shelters in the community. “We’re not going to arrest our way out of this,” Wright said. “Our folks have to be treated with love, kindness, and compassion. There is no universe where we’re going to send someone to jail and they’re going to end up in a better situation than when they went in.”

Harmongoff, a proponent for mental health resources, added, “I would invest in community-based prevention initiatives, education, and early intervention programs to address the root causes of substance abuse. A lot of times, there (are) underlying issues—people have lost their jobs, people are getting divorced, family members have died, so there are underlying issues that we first must tackle.”

Wright and Harmongoff supported reintroducing Dickens’s bill and strengthening the community board moratoriums, but Clennon called for new action.

“The community board is just an advisory board—it’s not enough,” Clennon said. “We need more urgency and more action from our state representatives. I’ve been in meetings with Shawn Hill (and) Syderia, with the heads of OASAS, and they seem to be intent on doing what they want and really disregarding the voices of our community, so we have to advance new legislation. A lot of candidates mention Inez’s bill that is in the State Assembly—unfortunately, it hasn’t gotten any support from any other of her

accommodated reptiles and birds in the past, often providing the terrariums and husbandry required for exotic pets.

“It means to so many New Yorkers that they don’t have to leave their pets behind during this time of crisis,” URI CEO Nathaniel Fields told the AmNews. “[If] people who are experiencing housing and security need a safe place, [well] they could bring their pets with them. We all know during COVID, pet adoption went up. During times of crisis, we need our pets even more to provide that comfort and sense of well-being.”

Shelter staff added that by keeping pets in human shelters prevents overcrowding in animal shelters, protecting New York’s status as a no-kill state.

According to shelter staff, there will be little interaction between the pets and other residents inside the building, since every neighbor may not be an animal person. Notices inform residents which units are participating in the PALS program, with additional signage posted about expectations for residing pet owners and safety tips for children on interacting with animals.

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

colleagues in the New York State Assembly, so we need to advance new legislation that we can build a coalition around.”

In the 68th Assembly forum, the topic of community board moratoriums and collaboration was even more tense as Mapp and Smith took issue with Santiago’s position as board chair.

Since Dickens’s bill “hasn’t gotten any traction” in the Assembly, Santiago said he would propose legislation that would mandate approval from the community board and public for treatment centers, similar to how liquor licenses for restaurants require board review before the state doles them out.

Santiago defended his board’s moratorium and said the city’s health department has outrightly lied to them about building more shelters and centers. He said the board has been chasing down electeds, including Espaillat, about the oversaturation issue.

“Historically, the facts are the facts,” Santiago said. “We had a moratorium and they cited it here in the community without our permission. They did, and it’s factual: (a) lie to the community board.”

Smith said he would support Espaillat’s community engagement bill and that Santiago hasn’t done enough on the community board to change the situation. “I hear that you said that you’re an advisory component and I hear a lot of trying. The next assembly member needs to be someone who’s action-oriented and is results- and so-

lutions-based, not focused on ‘I’m going to try’ and ‘I’m going to hear you out,’” Smith said. “We need people (who) hear people out and initiate and effectuate change.”

Mapp also pushed back on Santiago, saying no one at the community board has been listening or vocal about her resolution.

“Assemblymember Inez Dickens…has the bill, which has been in Albany for two years,” Mapp said. “The reason why it hasn’t been getting any traction is because our elected officials didn’t want to pick it up, so I have been writing a resolution to include the restriction—making sure that it resembles, like Xavier said, the liquor and the cigarette store [approvals]. I’m the first one that came out with that and (have) been working on that bill for the [past] four years. When we introduced it to the community board, it was always pushed back [by] the community board.”

The GHC’s end-of-the-event polling showed favor for Santiago and Smith in the 68th Assembly race based on the forum. In the polling of the 70th Assembly forum, half of the attendees said they’d vote for Clennon and a quarter for Wright.

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

These cities raised taxes—for child care. Parents say the free day care ‘changed my life’

By ARIEL GILREATH of The Hechinger Report

NEW ORLEANS — Last summer, Derrika Richard felt stuck. She didn’t have enough money to afford child care for her three youngest children, ages 1, 2 and 3. Yet the demands of caring for them on a daily basis made it impossible for Richard, a hairstylist, to work. One child care assistance program rejected her because she wasn’t working enough. It felt like an unsolvable quandary: Without care, she couldn’t work. And without work, she couldn’t afford care.

But Richard’s life changed in the fall, when, thanks to a new cityfunded program for low-income families called City Seats, she enrolled the three children at Clara’s Little Lambs, a child care center in the Westbank neighborhood of New Orleans. For the first time, she’s earning enough to pay her bills and afford online classes.

“It actually paved the way for me to go to school,” Richard said one morning this spring, after walking the three children to their classrooms. City Seats, she said, “changed my life.”

Last year, New Orleans added more than 1,000 child care seats for low-income families after voters approved a historic property tax increase in 2022. The referendum raised the budget of the program seven-fold—from $3 million to $21 million a year for 20 years. Because Louisiana’s early childhood fund matches money raised locally for child care, the city gets an additional $21 million to help families find care.

New Orleans is part of a growing trend of communities passing ballot measures to expand access to child care. In Whatcom County, Washington, a property tax increase added $10 million for child care and children’s mental health to the county’s annual budget. A marijuana sales tax approved last year by voters in Anchorage, Alaska, will generate more than $5 million for early childhood programs.

The state of Texas has taken a somewhat different tack. In November, voters approved a state constitutional amendment that allows tax relief for qualifying child care providers. Under this

provision, cities and counties can choose to exempt a child care center from paying all or some of its property taxes. Dallas was among the first city-and-county combo in Texas to provide the tax break.

The recent local initiatives are focused on younger children— infants and toddlers—more than ever before, said Diane Girouard, a senior state policy analyst with Child Care Aware, a nonprofit research and advocacy group.

“In the past, we saw more of these local or state-driven initiatives focusing on pre-K, but over the last three years, we’ve seen voters approve ballot measures to invest in child care and early learning,” she said.

One reason: People saw the economic impact of a lack of child care during the pandemic, said Olivia Allen, a co-founder of the nonprofit Children’s Funding Project.

“The value of child care and other parts of the care economy became abundantly clear to a lot of business leaders in a painful way,” Allen said.

For some Americans, the child care crisis has continued, keeping them from being able to hold down jobs and advance in their

careers. The number of parents who reported missing work because of child care surged in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak; it has yet to recede to pre-pandemic levels. In Louisiana, 27% of households with kids under age 5 reported a child care disruption in February or March, according to Census Household Pulse Survey data analyzed by the Associated Press in partnership with the Education Reporting Collaborative.

In New Orleans, a city with many in the service industry and other low-wage jobs, the City Seats funding has been transformative for parents struggling to hold down demanding, mostly non-unionized jobs. The program has also been a boon for the child care centers themselves.

Richard had struggled off and on to find affordable child care since dropping out of college when she gave birth to her oldest son, now 12. That’s even though she immediately put her name down for a spot at child care centers when she discovered she was pregnant. “Literally, when you see the ‘positive’ line, you fill out an application,” she said of taking a pregnancy test.

Now that she can think about

building a career again, Richard has set her sights on finishing her college degree. Her dream is to have a career in forensics.

Another parent, Mike Gavion, who has two children enrolled at Early Partners in the Garden District, said City Seats allowed his wife to finish school and get a nursing job. Before the program was available, Gavion’s wife had to care for the children, now 2 and 4, and could only make slow progress through the coursework she needed to qualify for a job.

“It really gave us an opportunity,” Gavion said. “If we had to pay for two kids, I don’t think she would have been able to do nursing school.”

Families in New Orleans qualify for City Seats if they have children from newborn to age 3 and earn within 200% of the federal poverty level. But many don’t immediately get a spot: As of April, City Seats had 821 students on its waitlist, according to Agenda for Children, the nonprofit that administers the program.

About 70% of the City Seats budget pays for children to attend centers ranked as high quality on the state’s rating system. The rest of the budget goes to improving quality: Child care providers have

access to a team that includes a speech pathologist, a pediatrician and social workers.

Participating providers are required to pay their staff at least $15 an hour—on average, Louisiana child care workers made $9.77 an hour in 2020—and abide by strict teacher-to-child ratios and class sizes. They also receive professional development from early learning experts.

Funding from City Seats has allowed Wilcox Academy’s three centers in the city’s North Broad, Central City and Uptown neighborhoods to raise average staff pay to $18 an hour. The Academy’s goal is to raise it even higher—to $25 an hour.

“Teachers deserve it,” said Rochelle Wilcox, the Academy’s founder and director. “They deserve to go on vacation, they deserve to buy a home, they deserve to buy a car. … This is not a luxury.”

Valeria Olivares of The Dallas Morning News and Sharon Lurye of The Associated Press contributed reporting. The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content.

Derrika Richard walks her three youngest children to their child care classrooms at Clara’s Little Lambs in New Orleans. (Ariel Gilreath/The Hechinger Report via AP photo)

creation of gatherings like the Permanent Forum and will be an example for others to follow.

Martin Kimani, Kenya’s representative to the United Nations, reminded attendees that with the U.N. preparing to hold its global governance event, the Summit of the Future, in September 2024, the Permanent Forum was the perfect opportunity to develop sustainable development-related governing recommendations that can be brought back for national delegations to potentially put in place.

Djibril Diallo, president of the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN), attended the recent Geneva sessions and read a statement into the record. He told the Amsterdam News that the main point his organization wanted to raise was the importance of dealing with gender-based violence, particularly as it affects Africandescendant women.

“This was an important platform to advo-

DACA

Continued from page 4

The legality of DACA is under scrutiny in ongoing cases in Texas and New Jersey. Observers believe it will soon reach the Supreme Court.

cate for addressing head-on the issue of violence against women and girls,” Diallo said.

“My entry point was how can we use the convening powers of sports and cultures…to address all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls?”

The ARDN has found that violence and discrimination almost directly lead to the poverty faced by young women of Africa and the diaspora. Statistically, the United Nations Population Fund has shown that women of the diaspora live with poorer health situations and face higher maternal death rates because of racial and other prejudices.

The ARDN brought its Red Card to All Forms of Discrimination and Violence Against Women and Girls campaign to the Permanent Forum and will reinforce that campaign during upcoming events in New York.

“My statement was at two levels,” Diallo told the Amsterdam News: “One, how do we make sure that the issue of addressing gender equality becomes central—becomes a crosscutting issue of the work of the U.N. Permanent Forum, linking it to the sustainable

development goals? SDG 10, for instance, focuses on reducing inequality within and between countries based on race and ethnicity. In that connection, you have a specific subpoint [that] says that the international community should make sure that there is equal opportunity by eliminating discrimination laws and practices, and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and actions.”

Diallo said the ARDN hopes the U.N. Permanent Forum will join in its campaign to increase awareness of gender-based violence issues by using sports and culture as entry points for discussion. This, as well as other topics raised during the forum, is the kind of issue the Permanent Forum can be in front of in continuing to see gains for the world’s African-descent population.

“Even as we celebrate this victory, we must also remember that politically motivated attacks on DACA continue, DACA recipients remain in limbo, and the health and wellbeing of our communities has suffered as a result,” Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, said in a statement.

Preservation

Continued from page 3

No. 33 of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Virginia Free and Accepted Masons. An HPF awardee is in Arkansas where the Little Rock School Board will receive $749,975 toward the preservation of its Central High School, the site of one of the nation’s more notable scenes of racial turmoil. In 1957, nine young Black students at the school faced racist taunts, threats, and

More than 25.6 million Americans are uninsured, according to the Department of

violence from white mobs and the state governor during attempts to desegregate the school. The funds will “replace 22 front façade windows with historically accurate versions,” while the school remains open for daily operations.

The National Park Service maintains 429 national parks across the country, its next cycle of HPF historic preservation grants will take place in the fall. Organizations interested in applying should check the National Parks Service website and search for African American Civil Rights grants.

Health and Human Services. As prescription drugs and medical rates skyrocket, hundreds of thousands of people are forced to choose between food and medical care daily. Federal numbers show that most go without the latter.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is taking a bold step toward equity and inclusivity in

healthcare access by ensuring that approximately 100,000 DACA recipients can enjoy the peace of mind and security that access to health care brings,” said Mayra Macias, executive director of Building Back Together. “By expanding DACA recipients’ healthcare options, President Biden is reaffirming that health care is a fundamental right.”

Djibril Diallo, president of African Renaissance and Diaspora Network, holds Red Card Pledge card during a recent interview.

(Karen Juanita Carrillo photo)

Photo of the Corona, Queensbased Louis Armstrong House Museum. (CTA Architects photo)

Religion & Spirituality

Obstacles remain as women seek more leadership roles in America’s Black church

By DARREN SANDS

Associated Press

No woman had ever preached the keynote sermon at the Joint National Baptist Convention, a gathering of four historically Black Baptist denominations representing millions of people.

That changed in January when the Rev. Gina Stewart took the convention stage in Memphis, Tennessee—the Southern city home to Christ Missionary Baptist Church where she serves as senior pastor—and delivered a rousing message, asserting that Jesus not only included women in his ministry, but also identified with their suffering.

But what happened next put a spotlight on the obstacles women in Christian ministry continue to face as they carve out leadership space within the patriarchal culture of the Black church in America. Several women pastors told The Associated Press that it should serve as the breaking point.

“This is an example of no matter how high you rise as a woman, you’re going to meet patriarchy at the top of the hill,” said Martha Simmons, founder of Women of Color in Ministry Project, which helps women navigate the process of getting ordained. “The next Norton Anthology of African American preaching is probably 20 years away, but that sermon will be in there.”

Despite the enthusiastic reception for Stewart, the original recording of her historic sermon disappeared from the convention’s Facebook page, setting off a social media firestorm—driven mostly by women—protesting its removal. A recording of the sermon later appeared, but it was followed by accusations the convention edited her closing remarks, which challenges the four allied denominations to support women in ministry.

Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, did not reply to requests from The Associated Press for comment. He said at another January meeting that he believed the Facebook page had been hacked and he planned to involve the FBI.

“I still don’t know what happened with the sermon, but what is clear is that this

was a form of erasure,” Stewart said. “I was just as shocked, stunned and surprised as everyone else.”

It is symptomatic of a larger problem, according to several Black women pastors interviewed by the AP. They emphasized how they were worn down by the physical and psychological toll of working in a maledominated culture.

In some denominations, women have made progress. The African Methodist Episcopal Church estimates that one-fourth of its total staff are women, including 1,052 ordained ministers.

In the Black church as a whole, male pastors predominate, though there’s no comprehensive gender breakdown. Simmons estimates that less than one in 10 Black Protestant congregations are led by a woman, even as more Black women are attending seminary.

The conditions aren’t new, but the public discourse over women’s equality in ministry has rapidly gained ground due in large part to the bullhorn social media provides, said Courtney Pace, scholar-in-residence with Memphis-based Equity for Women in the Church. Pace noted how Facebook afforded Eboni Marshall Turman a venue to

publicly share her grievances before filing a gender discrimination lawsuit in December against Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York.

The late theologian and civil rights activist Prathia Hall underscores this dynamic, said Pace, who wrote “Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall.” In the book, she details how Hall was a key inspiration for Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

“The kind of thing that happened to Gina Stewart happened a lot to Prathia Hall,” Pace said. “When she was doing her work, we did not have social media, or cell phones with voice recorders and cameras in every hand. So who knows what the response to Prathia would have been with an empowered public like we have today.”

Hall was born in Philadelphia in 1940, the daughter of a Baptist preacher. As a youth, she took part in local speech competitions where she melded folk religion and liberation theology.

But not all of Hall’s relationships within the insular preaching fraternity of the National Baptist Convention were as collegial as her relationship with King, whom she said in later years did more with “I have a

dream” than she could have.

Many theologically conservative Christian churches, including some Black Protestant denominations, prohibit women from preaching. They frequently cite certain biblical passages, including one they interpret as saying women ought to “be silent” in churches. Even in denominations without explicit bans, women with leadership aspirations often must contend with a patriarchal culture.

Last month, the audience was dotted with young Black women at an event hosted at the Howard Divinity School in Washington. A group convened a panel about the evolution of Black women’s role in the church.

Inside the cavernous Dunbarton Chapel that Howard Divinity shares with the Howard School of Law, a half-dozen Black women representing a range of independent churches and Black Protestant denominations spoke about persevering through instability and transition.

Their current duties, some of the women said, left them exhausted and unable to grieve the members they lost to COVID-19.

One speaker was Rev. Lyvonne Briggs. In 2019, she was being overworked and underpaid as an assistant pastor of a large Baptist church in California. Her marriage dissolved.

She restarted her life in Atlanta. During the lockdown one Sunday morning in her apartment, Briggs went live on Instagram and held a self-styled worship space for 25 people to share their experiences. It became known as The Proverbial Experience, which Briggs describes as an “African-centered, womanist series of spiritual gatherings to nourish the soul.”

In two years, Briggs grew her church into a digital community of 3,000. She also wrote “Sensual Faith: The Spiritual Art of Coming Back to Your Body,” a treatise on liberation from the sexual politics and objectification of Black women’s bodies in the church setting.

“I don’t ascribe to this idea that the Black church is dead,” Briggs told the AP. “But I do acknowledge and promote that we have to eulogize what it used to be so that we can birth something new.”

See BLACK CHURCH continued on next page

Rev. Gina Stewart preaches during church service at Rankin Chapel, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Washington. “I would hope that we can knock down some of those barriers so that their journey would be just a little bit easier,” said Stewart. (AP Photo/Terrance Williams photo)

Black Church

Continued from page 30

One preacher who fashions himself an expert on the topic of women’s role in the church, Walter Gardner of the Newark Church of Christ in Newark, N.J, sent a video link of one of his lectures when queried by the AP about his beliefs. At the end of one session, Gardner suggested that women, overall, ignore Scripture and are incapable of being taught.

That’s a mindset Gina Stewart would like to change, on behalf of future generations of Black women.

“I would hope that we can knock down some of those barriers so that their journey would be just a little bit easier,” said Stewart, who has continued to charge forward.

In a given week, her preaching schedule can take her to multiple cities. As an example, she traveled to Washington earlier this month after accepting a soughtafter invitation to preach at Howard University’s Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel.

Stewart’s goals mesh with those of Eboni Marshall Turman, who gave the Martin Luther King Jr. Crown Forum lecture in February at Martin Luther King’s alma mater, Morehouse College. In December, after not being named a finalist, she had sued Abyssinian Baptist Church and its pulpit search committee

for gender discrimination over its hiring process for its next senior pastor, an assertion the church and the committee disputed. No woman has ever held the post.

A former Abyssinian assistant minister, the Rev. Rashad Raymond Moore, said in an email to The Associated Press that of the several dozen applicants for the senior pastor job, “none were more exciting, promising and refreshing than Eboni Marshall Turman.”

Added Moore, who now is pastor of New York City’s First Baptist Church of Crown Heights, “Pastoral searches in Black congregations, historically socially conservative, are often mired in the politics of discrimination, including biases based on gender, sexual orientation, marital status and age.”

Marshall Turman, a Yale Divinity School professor, offered pointed critiques in her first book at what she deemed the inherent patriarchy of Morehouse’s social gospel justice tradition. She adapted her recent lecture’s title from the last speech ever given by King, the all-male college’s most famous alum.

The title was blunt: “I’m Not Fearing Any Man.”

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

May Day

Continued from page 10

individuals with disabilities and other significant needs can be achieved.”

The state budget for 2024 included a minimum wage increase up to $15 for home care and non-home care workers. In the state’s financial plan for 2025, it’s noted that the wage increase costs are over $2.4 billion. New York City home health care workers and certain counties receive supplemental benefits that should include “paid leave, differential wages, premiums for certain shifts, education, and fringe benefits.” The state is also supposed to automatically increase the minimum wage to keep up with inflation from now on.

Meanwhile, the coalition has some support from the state level with Assemblymembers Harvey Epstein and Ron Kim, as well as Senator Roxanne Persaud. The senator introduced Senate Bill S6561, which limits the amount of hours a home care worker can be assigned.

“My father passed away on January 12 of this year,” Kim said at the rally. “For a year and a half he suffered from cancer, and toward the end, it was his home attendants that gave him the care he needed. When the time came, what he desperately needed were the extra hours of care. I called the insurance companies, they said we can give [him] 24-hour shifts.

“But I said no, we need split shifts,” he

added. “And guess what they did—a day after my father passed, they called me saying, you got your split shifts. I shared that story because the system is broken [and] it’s broken because they prey on unpaid work that you put in every single day. It’s broken because they exploit immigrant workers [and] we normalize it because they think they can get away with it.”

The state’s responsibility for home care aides falls between the state Department of Health (NYS DOH) and Department of Labor (NYS DOL). The state DOH said that workers should be able to rely on fair pay schedules in accordance with the DOL’s Wage Order and home care agencies are responsible for compliance with these rules.

“The State Department of Health does not comment on proposed legislation,” the NYS DOH wrote in response to an Amsterdam News inquiry, indicating that further inquiries should be directed at the state DOL. “The New York State Department of Labor does not hold a position on proposed legislation. Our role is to enforce the labor laws as they are written and ensure that all workers are protected under those laws.”

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

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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, May 14th, 2024 at 7:30am. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th ST, NY, NY.

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, May 14th, 2024 at 7:30am. The meeting will be held at 245 West 129th ST, NY, NY.

MTA REAL ESTATE (MTA RE) Request for Proposals

RFP no. MR05062024: Lease of one retail unit at 2 Broadway, New York, New York. For information on this RFP, please go to https://new.mta.info/agency/ real-estate/

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

Notice of formation of Jeff Multi-Service LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) 02/10/2022 Office in NEW YORK Co. SSNY designated for service of process. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process served against the LLC to 87 Hamilton PL 1S New York NY 10031 USA. Purpose: Any lawful purpose

Notice of Formation of LUMI STUDIOS, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/25/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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

NOTICE OF SALE

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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. EMIGRANT BANK, Plaintiff -against- MARCO CASELLA, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on February 28, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on June 12, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as "The 75 Wall Street Condominium" in the Condominium Building known as Unit 38M. Together with an undivided 0.20188% interest in the General Common Elements and .34107% interest in the Residential Common Elements. Block: 31 Lot: 1333 Said premises known as 75 WALL STREET, UNIT# 38M, NEW YORK, NY 10005 Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850121/2022. SOFIA BALILE, ESQ., Referee Terenzi & Confusione P.C. Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 401 Franklin Avenue, Suite 304, Garden City, NY 11530

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

NOTICE OF SALE

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

Dated: April 25, 2024 New York, New York Paul Sklar, Esq. Referee 551 5th Avenue, Suite 2200 New York, New York 101760001 (917) 697-7073

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

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

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

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

NOTICE OF SALE

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

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

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

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-24115102 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 1712 2nd Ave., NYC 10128 for on-premises consumption; Cilantro East NYC LLC

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 VRMTG ASSET TRUST, Plaintiff, vs . Lindsay Frimodt, if living, and if she be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, ET AL., Defendant(s).

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

Doron Leiby, Esq., Referee Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, New York 10591, Attorneys for Plaintiff

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

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

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

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

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

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

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York, U.S. Bank Trust National Association, not in its Individual Capacity but Solely as Trustee of Homeward Opportunities Fund Trust 2020-BPL1, Plaintiff, vs. 203 W. 139th St. Realty Corp., ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on November 28, 2022 and an Order to Substitute Publication duly entered on January 12, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Courtroom 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on June 12, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 203 West 139th Street, New York, NY 10030. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2025 and Lot 28. Approximate amount of judgment is $2,009,861.89 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850046/2022. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee

Friedman Vartolo LLP, 85 Broad Street, Suite 501, New York, New York 10004, Attorneys for Plaintiff Firm File No.: 213217-1

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

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

TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

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

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT

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

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

STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF NEW YORK

NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

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

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

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

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

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

Sophie Amelkin Music LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on April 14, 2024. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 110-20 71st Avenue, Apt 204, Forest Hills, NY 11375. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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

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

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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

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

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

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

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

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

Index Number 850247/2022.

SCOTT SILLER, ESQ., Referee MASONE, WHITE, PENKAVA & CRISTOFARI

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

69-34 GRAND AVENUE, P.O. BOX 780569, MASPETH, NY 11378

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

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

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., Plaintiff, v. MD ZIA M. HADER A/K/A MD ZIA MOIN HAIDER, LAILA FARZANA, ET AL, Defendants.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT

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

353 East 104th Street, Apartment 7B New York, NY 10029 SBL No.: 1-1676-1429

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

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

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP

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

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

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

INWOOD BREAD LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/26/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 30 Seaman Ave, 4M, NY, NY, 10034. Purpose: Any lawful act. GBM Capital LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/5/24. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 405 E 54th St., #12D, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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

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

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

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

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

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

Index Number 151581/2023.

ROBERTA E. ASHKIN, ESQ., Referee

Belkin Burden Goldman, LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

60 East 42nd Street, 16th Floor, New York, NY 10165

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

Uptown Clay LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/22/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 14 Bogardus Pl. #5W, NY, NY 10040. Purpose: Any lawful act.

NOTICE OF SALE

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

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

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

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

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

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

APM LUXURY LIMO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/4/2024. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 205 W 115 St Suite 4A, NY, NY 10026. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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

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

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

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK HSBC Bank USA, N.A., Plaintiff AGAINST Rahul Kotwal, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered February 16, 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 June 12, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 45 Park Avenue, Unit 1203 and Parking Unit 7, 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: 892, LOT: 1359 and 1408. Approximate amount of judgment $1,633,685.57 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850122/2019. 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. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee Frenkel Lambert Weiss Weisman & Gordon, LLP 53 Gibson Street Bay Shore, NY 11706 01-091241-F00 79783

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

The pandemic created an opportunity for new movements in industries that haven’t organized before—movements also led by women. In 2021, the gender gap in union representation narrowe d: About 10.6% of men are members of a union, compared with 9.9 percent of women, a proximity not achieved since statistics were recorded in the 1980s. Among the factors contributing to this narrowing gap is that unions can be a route to equal pay. Especially with approximately 25% of households nationwide now headed by a single parent—80% of whom are women—and 21% of children living primarily with a single mother, unions provide the much-needed pathway to worker safeguards and benefits that are of particular concern to women, such as maternity leave, childcare accommodations, paid vacations, and so much more. In fact, s tudies have found that unionization tends to benefit women more than men, especially in eliminating pay disparity

Trying to fight the fight without strong union backing can be a most exhausting, costly, and disappointing struggle. Just ask another hard-working Alabama mom, Lilly Ledbetter, who unbeknownst to her, worked for over two decades in a Goodyear tire factory for lower wages because of her gender than those doing similar work. It was only when she was cleaning out her locker upon retirement that she discovered she hadn’t been paid equally, thanks to an anonymous note slipped into her locker.

Ledbetter went on to fight the battle for pay equality for years, first filing a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and later initiating a lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Pay Act of 1963. Although a jury initially awarded her compensation, Goodyear appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overturned the ruling on the grounds that her claim was filed too late— outside of the 180 days from first being employed as required by law.

She received nothing, but she persisted, and in 2009, President Obama, just nine days after being sworn into office, signed into law his first piece of legislation: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

In my own union, Local 237, we fought and won an historic gender-based class action lawsuit, too. We filed against New York City on behalf of school safety agents—70% of whom are women, mostly Black and Latina—performing similar duties as peace officers working for other City agencies, 70% of whom are men—but who earn approximately $7,000 more per year than their counterparts working in public schools.

Our union may have brought the legal action against the city but it was three school safety agents—Patricia Williams, Bernice Christopher, and the late Corinthians Andrews, all mothers—who made personal sacrifices and persevered throughout years of court wrangling that resulted in equal pay for not only their co-workers, but for retirees as well.

As we remember Mom on her big day, let’s also think about the contributions that all moms make to help the world become a better place both within and beyond their own families. Especially in the labor movement, mothers will always hold a special place. They are the soul. It’s the Sisterhood alongside the Brotherhood, working in partnership for all families, helping them not just survive but thrive.

“Don’t get me wrong,” she added. “I love being an environmental reporter. But sometimes the remote nature of this work can be a risk.”

State actors were responsible for around half of the reported attacks against environmental journalists. This tracks with the rise of pundits and politicians who have tried to erode public trust in media, along with the rise in disinformation campaigns about climate change.

Still, with the world focusing ever more attention on the environment, support for environmental journalism is showing signs of growth.

Several African countries have organizations that bring together environmental journalists. They include the Kenya Environment and Science Journalists Association (KENSJA), Journalists’ Environmental Association of Tanzania (JET), Rwanda Environmental Journalists, and Young Reporters for Environment Ghana.

Other leading African environmental journalism outlets include the Oxpeckers Investigative Environmental Journalism (Southern Africa), InfoNile (River Nile Basin), InfoCongo (Central Africa), as well as MESHA Science and Talk Africa (East Africa); and Water Journalists Africa.

CATASTROPHIC FLOODING TAKES HUNDREDS OF KENYAN LIVES

(GIN)—“Maji! Maji! (Water Water!)

That was the frantic cry heard throughout Mathare, one of Kenya’s overcrowded squatter settlements in the capital, Nairobi, as torrential rains triggered widespread flooding across the capital city.

The rains have been ravaging Kenya since March during some of the most catastrophic weather events in the county for years. More

than 200 people have died, and 1,525 injured.

Thousands have been displaced and 90 reported missing. Nearly 2,000 schools have been destroyed. A rare tropical cyclone, Cyclone Hidaya, added to the worries in Kenya and neighboring Tanzania.

While climate events such as El Nino— the warming of the surface water of the Pacific Ocean, linked to an increase in rain—many Kenyans believe the flooding has been made worse by poorly maintained, frequently blocked drains that have caused water to accumulate.

“The government says they deployed the military and the national youth service and they are stepping up search and rescue missions, but where are they?” Mathare resident Collins Obando asked. “Not one person from the government has come to help us.”

Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently published its findings that low-come neighborhoods had been severely impacted by the floods due to “less solid structures, congestion and poor sanitation infrastructure.”

They cited reports by the Meteorological Department warning that Kenya would experience enhanced rainfall due to El Nino which could continue into 2024.

“Kenya’s government has a human rights obligation to prevent foreseeable harm from climate change and extreme weather events and to protect people when disaster strikes. Extreme weather events such as flooding are particularly threatening for marginalized and at-risk populations, including older people, people with disabilities, people in poverty and rural populations. The unfolding devastation highlights the government’s obligation to prepare for and promptly respond to the foreseeable impacts of climate change and natural disasters,” said Nyagoah Tut Pur, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Kenyan authorities should urgently ensure support to affected communities and protect populations facing high risk.”

(GIN photo)

Baruch College tennis standout Brianna Augustin prepares for championships

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Action gets underway tomorrow in the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Division III Tennis Championships, and the student-athletes of Baruch College have been eagerly awaiting this opportunity. The CUNY Athletic Conference plays its main tennis season in the fall, and Baruch secured its spot in the championships by winning the CUNY title last October. The spring has been filled with training and matches with non-CUNY opponents, but now it’s showtime.

Among the players is junior Brianna Augustin, a political science major. Originally from Haiti, where soccer was the main sport, she discovered tennis after moving to New York City. In middle school, she saw a flier for her school’s tennis team.

“I thought it sounded interesting; I’d never played tennis in my life, but I went and tried out, made the team,” said Augustin, who understood she had a lot to learn about the sport. “I started going to the public courts where the walls are good for practicing. That’s where I met a coach that started

which has continued into college. Being part of a team is exhilarating. “The team we have is amazing,” Augustin said. “I’ve met my core friends from the team. Since fresh-

man year, we’ve been together. Even those who have graduated are still in contact. It pushes you in all ways.”

Being a student-athlete has given her discipline, focus, and time management skills. The competitive edge of tennis readily transfers to the classroom. Augustin strives to see her name on the list of Baruch Bearcats—student-athletes who also excel academically.

Augustin attended the Preparatory Academy for Writers in Queens. Several of her high school mentors spoke highly of Baruch, which helped her with college selection.

During the cold winter months, she and her college teammates have kept each other motivated in anticipation of competing on the national stage. She appreciates the diverse cultures among the student-athletes.

This summer, she will do an internship in addition to training. After college, Augustin anticipates going to law school—her dream school is the Howard University School of Law. She’s currently preparing to take the LSAT exam. Another goal is to become a political commentator or journalist, for which her language skills will be most beneficial.

Canelo Alvarez dominates Jaime Munguia in super middleweight bout

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO undisputed 168pound super middleweight world champion

Canelo Álvarez dominated previously unbeaten Jaime Munguia on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to earn a unanimous 117-110, 116-111, 115-112 victory in his annual Cinco de Mayo weekend card.

Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) and his counter-punching prowess were on full display throughout the fight, but it was a right uppercut that set Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) down in the fourth round. Alvarez was the far more accurate puncher, landing 43.7% of his punches, compared to 25.6% by Munguia.

“This win means a lot,” said Alvarez. “I’m glad that I gave him this opportunity. Munguia is a great guy and a great champion. He’s gonna have a great career. I’m very proud that the whole world is watching us Mexicans.”

“There’s no doubt I would have beaten anyone else tonight,” said Munguia. “He has a lot of experience. I started well, but he’s a fighter who creates a lot of problems.”

“Munguia is a great fighter,” Alvarez added. “He’s strong and smart. But I have 12 rounds to win the fight and I did. I did really good and I’m proud of it. He’s strong, but he’s a little slow. I could see every punch. That’s why I’m the best.”

Alvarez has now gone five fights without winning by knockout or technical knockout. He last finished off an opponent in November 2021, when he defeated Caleb Plant by TKO in the 11th round. The punishment Al-

varez has absorbed, especially in the loss to Dmitry Bivol and the first two fights of his trilogy against Golovkin, have taken a toll on the 33-year-old future hall of famer.

Japanese boxing superstar Naoya Inoue was dropped for the first time in his career by former two-division world champion Luis Nery in the first round of their clash on Monday, but Inoue got up off the canvas and conquered his opponent in

the sixth round by TKO to retain his WBC, WBO, IBF, and WBA junior featherweight world championship.

“I appreciate Nery,” said Inoue, (27-0, 24 KOs, after handing Nery (35-2, 27 KOs) his second loss “That’s why I shook hands with him after the fight. The knockdown motivated me. I am thankful to have fought against a great fighter in Nery.”

A magnificent May for boxing continues as

former champions Vasiliy Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr., clash on Saturday in a battle for the vacant IBF lightweight world championship. The following Saturday, on May 18, Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), who holds the WBO, IBF, and WBA heavyweight world championships, takes on lineal and WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) for the title of undisputed heavyweight world champion.

giving me lessons. From there, then history.” She never envisioned playing college tennis, but grasped the opportunity and ran with it. She found a love for tennis,

Brianna Augustin, a junior at Baruch College, is one of CUNY’s top tennis players. (Stockton Photo)

Canelo Alvarez (right) lands a blow to the face of Jaime Munguia in their super middleweight bout in Las Vegas this past Saturday. (Esther Lin/Premier Boxing Champions photo)

Willie Mays’s legacy expands across cultural generations

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Willie Mays turned 93 on Monday. We often measure our own immortality and human finitude by the timeline and aging of those we revere and venerate.

For builders, the generation born before 1946; baby boomers, the demographic born between 1946 and 1964; and Gen X, those born between 1965 and 1980, Willie Mays is a measure of duration, continuity, and inevitability.

Mays is arguably the greatest baseball player in the history of the sport. His place at the top is decisive for many longtime followers of the game that has been dubbed America’s national pastime—an appellation, according to the Library Congress, that was coined in 1856 by the Sunday Mercury , a weekly New York newspaper published from 1839 to 1896. The impact of baseball on this nation’s complex existence is why Mays is a cultural icon.

Sports historian, journalist, and baby boomer Mel “Doc” Stanley has frequently made his case to this writer for Mays being unsurpassed.

“There is no one who has ever been as good as Mays as an all-around player,” Stanley said. “If you consider what he did as a hitter, fielder, and base runner, playing most of his career at Candlestick Park,

from 1960 to 1971—one of the hardest stadiums to hit and field with the wind whipping off of the water (San Francisco Bay), Mays is hands-down the best of all-time.” Mays retired in 1973 at third on Major

League Baseball’s home run list, with 660—behind only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron. He averaged a remarkable homer every 15 at-bats at Candlestick.

“If Mays didn’t spend most of his career

at Candlestick, he would have hit more than Babe (714) and Hank (755).”

Like his friend and contemporary Aaron, Mays was born in Alabama—Aaron in Mobile and Mays in Westfield. Both were products of the oppressive Jim Crow South and the Negro Leagues. (Aaron played just three months for the Indianapolis Clowns in 1951 before joining the Boston Braves, which later became the Milwaukee, then Atlanta, Braves organization.)

Mays roamed the outfield, primarily playing center field for the Birmingham Barons, New York/San Francisco Giants, and New York Mets, the latter from 1972 to 1973 when he was in his early 40s and well past his prime, a shell of his amazing height of eminence.

Many Harlemites who grew up there in the 1950s can recall seeing Mays strolling through their neighborhoods, enjoying an evening at a local eatery, or famously playing stickball with them on their blocks. One of the most celebrated and recognizable figures in the United States of that era, “the Say Hey Kid,” as he was affectionately known, Mays embraced one of this country’s most prominent Black enclaves as his home.

The 2022 documentary “Say Hey, Willie Mays!” by filmmaker Nelson George illuminates and situates the various aspects of Mays’s indelible life; a life that has reflected many facets, hopeful and tortured, of the United States of America.

MLB will celebrate Negro Leagues All-Star Game on Memorial Day Weekend

By DANTE MILES

MLBbro Special to the AmNews

The National Baseball Hall of Fame Museum will celebrate the opening of its new exhibit “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball” by hosting the inaugural Hall of Fame East-West Classic: A Tribute to the Negro Leagues All-Star Game, on Saturday, May 25, in Cooperstown, N.Y. In replacing the traditional Hall of Fame game, MLB has curated a collection of Black players who have made an impact on the game for decades to take part in this event.

Josh Rawitch, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, didn’t hide his excitement when speaking about the event.

“We are thrilled to host many of the game’s biggest stars of the last two decades for the Hall of Fame East-West classic, a tribute to the heroes of Black baseball who showcased their talents for years in the annual Negro Leagues All-Star Game,” he said. “The incredible enthusiasm from players participating in this legends game—players who faced their own challenges while helping to build on the diversity that has flowed through our national pastime for

more than a century—will make this a must-see event in Cooperstown.”

This modern-day iteration of the historic East/West All-Star Game, which took place from 1933 until 1982, will be coached by Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ozzie Smith. CC Sabathia, a Black Ace who will grace the HOF ballot for the first

time in 2025, is the captain of the West Team, while former outfielder Chris Young will captain the East squad.

Sabathia, who works with Major League Baseball to continue growing its presence in the African American community, knows the importance of events like this to keep the legacy of Negro League legends alive.

Participating stars

Ryan Howard has the most career home runs of any participant, hitting 382 bombs in his 13-year career in Philadelphia. The 2006 NL MVP and 2008 World Series champion finished his career with 1,475 hits, 277 doubles, and 1194 RBI. Howard set the Phillies single-season home run record in 2006 when he hit 56 homers and led the majors twice.

Dontrelle “D-Train” Willis burst onto the scene with the Florida Marlins in 2003 when he went 14-6 in 27 starts with a 3.30 ERA and 142 strikeouts. Willis earned an All-Star berth and Rookie of the Year honors en route to the first World Series championship in Marlins’ history.

Willis’s success started early, but his most dominant performance on the mound came in 2005, when he punched his ticket into the Exclusive “Black Aces” club, going 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and a league-leading seven complete games.

Three-time All-Star Curtis Granderson is one of the best power hitters from the leadoff spot in MLB history. Curtis had 47 leadoff home runs enroute to 344 in his career. He hit 20 or more homers 10 times in his career and topped 40 twice with the Yankees.

Inaugural Hall of Fame East-West Classic will be held on Memorial Day Weekend in Cooperstown, N.Y., to honor Negro Leagues All-Star Game. (MLBbro photo)

Willie Mays (left) with former San Francisco mayors Art Agnos, Mark Farrell, and Frank Jordan before start of April 2018 opening day baseball game between San Francisco Giants and Seattle Mariners in in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Epiphanny Prince elevates to a new role with the Liberty

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Brooklyn native Epiphanny Prince’s basketball history is woven into the fabric of New York City. She first played at Madison Square Garden as a preteen. Her 113 points in a high school game—during Murry Bergtraum’s string of 14 consecutive PSAL titles—broke Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller’s record. She was a valuable offensive presence for the New York Liberty from 2015–18 and returned last year as called upon to help the Liberty make it to the WNBA Finals.

Prince also played with the Chicago Sky, Seattle Storm, and Las Vegas Aces, as well as overseas, during her career.

Those would be her last games as a professional baller, but her association with the Liberty continues as she steps into her new role as director of player and community engagement.

(L) Epiphanny Prince on court with New York Liberty in 2023. (Brandon Todd/New York Liberty)

Prince said she knew the time to retire from playing was at hand when instead of delighting in her career, she started complaining about it. Being based in Brooklyn and settling into her new role is exciting. Now, she will work to elevate the Liberty’s outreach efforts, youth basketball programming, and social responsibility presence throughout the five boroughs. “It means a lot; I’m excited to be home and try to make as big of an impact as possible in the community here in New York City and give the girls in the community an opportunity to see our players and know that they can do it,” said Prince.

Prince is eager to dive into local grassroots basketball. During her time playing with different WNBA teams and overseas, she would hear about grassroots basketball in NYC. “Now, I’m happy to be hands-on, trying to address the needs,” she said.

Some of the Liberty’s rookies are unfamiliar with the city, so she hopes to introduce them to a bit of street basketball. “If they’re interested in that, they should be able to come out and see our streetball culture in New York City,” Prince said. “I think it will be something that’s cool for them.”

The Liberty heads into this season with high expectations after achieving so many team milestones in 2023, including the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup. Prince looks forward to seeing familiar faces at Barclays Center.

“You miss things when you’re away,” she said. “Being able to reconnect with everybody—it’s been good. Everyone’s doing well in life and everyone’s happy for each other.”

Voice in Sport provides female athletes an opportunity to

connect with mentors

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

Launched in 2020, Voice in Sport™ (VIS) is a resource for female athletes to openly discuss everything from training to self-esteem, leadership, nutrition, life after sport, and more. Among the podcasts produced by VIS are discussions about concussions, healthy sleep habits, disordered eating, and handling the rigors of competition. VIS also engages in advocacy work.

“We think it’s really important that young athletes have access to a diverse set of role models,” said Alexandra Suarez, platform manager for VIS. “What we’ve done is created the first global digital sport mentoring platform, which connects professional and current athletes with younger athletes. From there, we brought on teams and clubs.”

The VIS mentoring program enables young athletes to con -

nect with established names in sports, like Allyson Felix, for sessions. All mentors are able to individually set their rates for mentoring sessions, so rates vary based on who is hosting a session.

“Separately, we’re offering a lot of free sessions because of our partnership with the WNBA Changemakers,” said Suarez.

“They’re sponsoring 50,000 athletes with premium memberships and unlocking 144 mentorship sessions for free over the next year.”

Among the WNBA players available for mentoring are Aliyah Boston, Alysha Clark, Ariel Atkins, Betnijah Laney, and Nneka Ogwumike. These will be group sessions, such as for an AAU or club team. Some mentors have discussed dealing with an injury such as a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), which numerous women’s basketball players have experienced.

In a recent session, Atkins spoke about building confi -

dence and avoiding comparison. “She [described] to the athletes times in her life where she didn’t feel as confident as she does now, and I think the vulnerability is really inspiring for young athletes to see—[that] even the pros experience hardships and lack of confidence in their careers,” said Suarez.

Any athlete can join for free and free content is available on the VIS website (voiceinsport. com). There is also paid membership ($2 per month), which gives athletes broader access. Those individuals can view mentor profiles and request a one-on-one session or group sessions.

“We emphasize that mentors don’t have to solve each problem, but we encourage them open up, empathize, and share their journeys,” Suarez said.

“For the younger athletes who are getting mentored, we hope that they will feel like they have somebody who believes in them and their success.”

New York Liberty’s Betnijah Laney is a mentor for Voice in Sport. (Brandon Todd/New York Liberty)

Injuries force the Knicks to plot a new course facing the Pacers Sports

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor

Less than 24 hours after their gripping 121-117 win against the Indiana Pacers on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals best-of-seven series, the Knicks publicly revealed that center Mitchell Robinson, who underwent surgery to his left ankle in December and missed nearly 50 games before returning in late March, has a stress injury in the same ankle is effectively out for the rest of this season.

Robinson sat out Game 4 on April 28 versus the Philadelphia 76ers due to soreness in his sur-

gically repaired left ankle in an opening round series the Knicks ultimately won 4-2. Robinson will be re-evaluated in six to eight weeks. The Knicks faced the Pacers in Game 2 last night (Wednesday) with Games 3 and 4 in Indiana tomorrow and Sunday respectively.

Injuries have been a major storyline and subplot for the Knicks as well as other playoff teams. New York’s All-Star and All-NBA forward Julius Randle had his season end of January 27 when he suffered a dislocated right shoulder versus the Miami Heat at the Garden. Then in Game 4 against the 76ers, key reserve forward Bojan Bogdanovic was injured diving for loose ball when his left

foot was caught under Philadelphia forward Nicolas Batum, who also plunged to the court pursuing the ball. Bogdanovic subsequently had season-ending surgery on his foot.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau had already constricted the Knicks rotation to eight players, with Robinson and guard Miles “Deuce” McBride allocated the bulk of the minutes off of the bench with forward Precious Achiuwa, who has been highly productive when called upon, experiencing a markedly reduced role this postseason. Achiuwa played in only Games 3 and 4 in the Knicks’ previous series against the 76ers and just four minutes

in Game 1 facing the Pacers. The Pacers bench had a massive advantage on Monday, as their four reserves outscored Robinson, McBride and Achiuwa 46-3.

Now, by necessity, Achiuwa will once again need to be a prominent piece to the Knicks altered lineup and Thibodeau will need to reach deeper down his bench as the series progresses. The challenge will be a continuation of the test of the Knicks’ will, resolve and physical fortitude as they have battled attrition for three-plus months.

The Knicks starters already log exhaustive minutes and logically will begin to show signs of fatigue. But guard Donte DiVin-

cenzo, who played 44 minutes in Game 1 against Indiana, asserted the cumulative allotment has neither been prohibitive nor overly taxing.

“I think it’s maintainable,” said DiVincenzo. “Come in tomorrow, watch some film, take care of your body and be ready to go the next day. At this time of the year, it’s less about the wear and tear of your body [and] more about preparing for the next game mentally.

“Watching film, adjusting that way, kinda walking through plays rather than running through stuff. So minutes aren’t a factor right now…Minutes can fluctuate throughout the game [and] throughout the series.”

(L) OG Anunoby and the Knicks will have to play the remainder of their postseason without center (c) Mitchell Robinson, who the team announced on Tuesday is being shut down due to a stress injury of his left ankle. (AP Photos/Frank Franklin II)