New York Amsterdam News Issue Dec. 21, 2023

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Vol. 114 No. 51 | December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW BLACK VIEW

©2023 The Amsterdam News | $1.00 New York City

KWANZAA: FREEDOM, JUSTICE, AND PEACE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES FOR A NEW WORLD (See stories starting (See story on page 6) on page 19)

Speaker Adams, Mayor Adams sign fair housing framework law (See story on page 4)

Court victory opens door for challenging unconstitutional debt collection tactic (See story on page 4)

Ruth Ndiagne Dorsey with a Kwanzaa setting set up for a media photo at her church, The Shrine of the Black Madonna, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Amis)

New York Leading in Attacking Medical Debt

Urban Agenda by David R. Jones, President and CEO of the Community Service Society of New York - See page 5

)

2 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

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INDEX Arts & Entertainment �������������������Page 15 » Astro ���������������������������������������������Page 18 » Dance ��������������������������������������������Page 16 » Jazz ����������������������������������������������Page 24 Caribbean Update �������������������������Page 14 Classified ����������������������������������������Page 32 Editorial/Opinion �����������������������Pages 12,13 Education ���������������������������������������Page 30 Go with the Flo ������������������������������Page 8 Health ����������������������������������������������Page 28 In the Classroom ��������������������������Page 25 Community ��������������������������������������Page 9 Religion & Spirituality ���������������������Page 26 Sports ��������������������������������������������� Page 40 Unions Matter ����������������������������������Page 10 MAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS INFORMATION U.S. Territories & Canada weekly subscriptions: 1 year $49.99 2 Years $79.99 6 months $30.00

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International AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS FACES PARTY MEMBERS DEMANDING CHANGE (GIN)—The historic African National Congress (ANC), leader of the decades-long struggle against apartheid and the governing party of the Republic of South Africa since 1994, is having a family feud.

Deep divisions are coming out into the open, including former South African president Jacob Zuma recently declaring he would not vote for the ruling ANC in national elections in 2024.

“I have decided that I cannot and will not campaign for the ANC of Ramaphosa in 2024. My conscience will not allow me to lie to the people of South Africa and to pretend that the ANC of Ramaphosa is the ANC of Luthuli, Tambo, and Mandela,” said Zuma, referring to previous leaders of the ANC. Zuma said he would vote for the radical new left-wing uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, named after the ANC’s old armed wing, and urged all South Africans to reject the ANC. “I call on all South Africans to join me in taking the important step and to vote for the MK Party and any other progressive party [that] seeks total liberation,” he said.

Zuma’s remarks added to a grow-

News

(c) Former South African president Jacob Zuma (GIN photo)

ing pile of critiques, often from former ANC officials such as ousted ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, who recently announced the formation of a new party: the African Congress for Transformation (ACT).

A close ally of ex-president Zuma, Magashule was expelled from the ruling party in June for allegedly personally benefiting from money meant to be used to remove asbestos from the homes of people in the Free State province where he was the premier from 2009 to 2018. He also faces charges of corruption in a criminal case.

Another breakaway was announced last month by seven opposition parties, including the country’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and a string of small parties who agree on what they call the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa.

Support for the ANC has slowly waned over the years amid criticism that it has failed to provide basic services and ease poverty for millions of the country’s Black majority. Widespread corruption in state-owned institutions and local and national government has further eroded its popularity.

Other problems include failure to deal with the highest levels of unemployment in the world, a failing electricity supply that has led to regular blackouts, a broken public transport system, and high rates of violent crime.

In an effort to bring the opposition together, a multiparty national convention was organized, led by William Gumede, founder of the Democracy Works Foundation and associate professor at University of the Witwatersrand’s School of Governance.

Participants at the first meeting included party leaders from the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, and Freedom Front Plus.

Herman Mashaba, president of ActionSA, explained his presence at the convention. “ANC will lose its majority, and all South Africans know this, but they have never seen opposition parties putting aside differences to give them hope,” he said. “We must define this agreement with a positive vision for South Africa, not against other political parties.”

Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald asked the parties to set an example by paving a way forward to help save South Africa.

See INTERNATIONAL on page 29

El Chorrillo: The massacre of an Afro Panamanian neighborhood

By JESÚS CHUCHO GARCIA Special to the AmNews Translated by KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff The United States military invaded Panama on December 20, 1989, during the U.S. presidency of George H. W. Bush. Code-named “Operation Just Cause,” the U.S.’s stated purpose for sending 26,000 troops to invade and overthrow the government of former CIA asset Manuel Antonio Noriega, who ruled Panama from 1983 to 1989, was, according to Bush, the “noble goal” of ridding Panama of a president who was also a drug trafficker and racketeer.

“Noriega declared his military dictatorship to be in a state of war with the United States and publicly threatened the lives of Americans in Panama,” Bush asserted when he addressed the nation on the night of the Panama invasion.

“The very next day, forces under his command shot and killed an unarmed American serviceman; wounded another; arrested and

Griselda de Roquebert shows book with photos of Panama invasion during 16th anniversary of U.S. invasion, in Panama City, Panama, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2005. The invasion on Dec. 20, 1989, removed Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega from power, but hundreds of Panamanians died in the attack, including Roquebert’s son, a civilian (AP Photo/ Arnulfo Franco)

brutally beat a third American serviceman, and then brutally interrogated his wife, threatening her with sexual abuse. That was enough.

“General Noriega’s reckless threats and attacks upon Americans in Panama created an imminent danger to the 35,000 American citizens in Panama. As president, I have no higher obligation than to

safeguard the lives of American citizens. And that is why I directed our Armed Forces to protect the lives of American citizens in Panama and to bring General Noriega to justice in the United States.”

Declassified documents show that Noriega was a CIA asset, documented to have played a role in the fatal plane crash that killed Pana-

ma’s military leader General Omar Torrijos. It was Torrijos who had demanded the nationalization of the Panama Canal under the signing of the Carter-Torrijos Treaty of 1977, which saw the U.S. relinquish control of the Panama Canal.

It was not convenient for the United States to have Noriega in power since Noriega knew the whole plot of how cocaine was getting from Colombia to the United States: It was arriving by means of Panama with General Noriega reportedly involved.

An unfortunate incident had occurred between a U.S. Marine and a soldier of the Noriega-created Dignity Battalions that led to the death of the Marine. That tragic incident was enough for the Bush administration to push for the so-called Just Cause invasion under these arguments: Protecting the lives of U.S. citizens Restoring democracy (they used the same rationale in Haiti in 1994 under the code-name “Operation Uphold Democracy”) Re-establishing a U.S.-friendly Panamanian government, to fulfill the Torrijos-Carter pact.

See AFRO PANAMANIAN on page 29

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 3

Fume and gloom: Illegally idling school buses disproportionately affect communities of color, finds report

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member There’s no magic in these school buses.

New York Lawyers for Public Interest (NYLPI) researchers found roughly one in five of the yellow tot-mobiles in New York City idle illegally, with the public health impacts disproportionately and negatively passed to communities of color.

The findings come on the heels of State Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit against Department of Education-contracted companies over violating idling limits last year, particularly in communities of color. Vehicles, including school buses, cannot keep engines running for more than 3 minutes while parked. The limit is shaved down to just 1 minute when parked adjacent to a school.

Last October, the AG’s lawsuit was reportedly settled. However, the issue remains.

“What we decided to do with this particular report is to get a sense of whether or not this issue persists,” said NYLPI Policy and Legislative Coordinator Suhali Méndez. “We found that it was still an issue. Based on May 31 through June 27, which was equivalent to 19 school days,

idling laws and the continued transition to electric buses, I am confident that we will be able to eliminate these sources of pollution and keep the air clean and safe for our children.”

The report’s authors, which include NYLPI and three other ElectrifyNY proponents, recommend rolling out—both literally and figuratively—electric school buses sooner rather than later to meet the 2035 transition deadline. Such vehicles can drive, park, or even idle without tailpipe emissions.

The authors also asked schools to provide drivers with more respite to prevent idling, especially during inclement weather when running the engines while parked for heat Bus depots in the Bronx photographed during NYLPI’s research (Suhali Méndez photo) is legal but still harmful. Encouraging driva total of 142 school buses [at] 40 differ- hood compared to the citywide average. ers to wait inside the schools during harsh ent schools throughout the city, we found “The new report from the Electrify- conditions would cut down on emissions. that one in four school buses were ob- NY Coalition reinforces the need for the Lastly, the authors suggested further eduserved to be idling even though there are city to swiftly transition to an all-elec- cation for bus contractors and schools laws discouraging this very act.” tric school bus fleet,” said Bronx BorResearchers found Bronx Communi- ough President Vanessa Gibson in a Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps ty District 9, where roughly 28% of res- statement. “The pollution spewed into member who writes about public safety for idents identify as Black and around 58% the atmosphere by diesel and gas buses, the Amsterdam News. Your donation to identify as Hispanic or Latino, is home to particularly when they are idling, causes match our RFA grant helps keep him writing at least eight bus depots. The case study significant harm to our Bronx commu- stories like this one; please consider making pointed to higher rates of asthma hospi- nities, and particularly to our children… a tax-deductible gift of any amount today talization among youth in the neighbor- [T]hrough judicious enforcement of anti- by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

City Council hearing reviews flawed street vending system and rollout of Local law 18

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Black, brown, and immigrant vendors showed up in droves last week at a City Council hearing to testify to the city’s flawed street vending system and demand equitable reforms.

The oversight hearing was held on December 13 and led by Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez, who chairs the Committee on Consumer and Worker Protection. Attendees asked representatives of the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP), Department of Sanitation (DSNY), and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) about the incredibly slow rollout of Local Law 18 of 2021, which was supposed to increase the yearly doling out of vendor licensing, and the mayor’s order to move enforcement over street vendors from DCWP to DSNY officers back in March.

They also discussed various bills about vendor-related activity—most prominently, bill T2023-4381, which would prohibit general vending and mobile food vending on a bridge. The bill is considered a visceral reaction to the “dangerous overcrowding” of tourists and street vendors packed

in along the entire length of the Brooklyn Bridge, reported the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

More than 80 vendors arrived to testify to unfair ticketing, arrests, confusing rules and regulations, being waitlisted for years to get a license, and instances of discrimination while vending. Even more were present to show solidarity. They filled almost every seat, including the overhanging balcony. Many wore the yellow hats provided by the Street Vendor project organization.

Language access interpreters were present, supporting translation services for six languages, including Spanish, Mandarin, French, Arabic, and Bangla, to ensure the street vendor community had appropriate representation. They formed a long line outside of the hearing room that wrapped around the City Hall rotunda just to get their hearing equipment.

“Our street vendor community is overburdened by red tape, especially regarding daily operations. No brick-and-mortar business requires its employees to attain their own Certificate of Authority, so why should street vending be any different? As long as the owner/primary operator is legally operating, they should be able to hire employees as necessary,” said Velázquez.

“We must continue to work toward cutting

Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez chairs oversight hearing on street vending on Wednesday, Dec. 13. (Ariama C. Long photo)

the red tape that hinders our local economy from thriving. Good actors work hard to deliver for our community, and we must support them where possible.”

According to a city report from 2021, the City Council okayed new vending regulations under former Mayor Bill de Blasio by creating the Office of Street Vendor Enforcement (OSVE) and the Street Vendor Advisory Board. Local Law 18 of 2021 was then supposed to make room for more “mobile food vendors” or pushcart owners—a separate type of classification from general vendors, to get licenses and permits, reported the Amsterdam News at the time. Among other suggestions to make street vending

easier, the board recommended that the city repeal the panel since it “has not met or altered restricted streets in any way since the early 2000s.”

As of September 2023, the DOHMH has issued 14 out the 445 licenses required to be given out annually to mobile food vendors.

Local Law 18 established a new supervisory licensing application and permitting system that’s only two years old and separate from legacy permits. A portion of those who complete the application don’t follow up to file for a permit, said a DOHMH representative.

The DCWP admitted to a serious backlog, with nearly 11,000 vendors waitlisted See LOCAL LAW 18 on page 27

4 • December 21 2023 - December 27, 2023

Defense Secretary Austin holds press conference in Tel Aviv

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews At the top of America’s military might and operations are two Black men: Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There is also one other significant African American commander: Gen. Michael E. Langley, head of Africa Command and the first four-star general in the Marine Corps.

In a recent article in the New York Times, these powerful positions in the U.S. arsenal were cited, most notably Austin and his second visit to the Middle East since the eruption of the war between Israel and Hamas. During a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday, where he shared the podium with Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, Austin made it clear that the U.S. “will continue to stand up for Israel’s bedrock right to defend itself and will also continue to urge the protection of civilians during conflict and to increase the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.”

He stressed the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians in Gaza as “both a moral duty and a strategic imperative.”

Austin ended his opening comments with a quote from President Kennedy in 1960 that America’s friendship with Israel is a national commitment. “That was true then, and it’s even truer now...and as I’ve said repeatedly, our support for Israel’s security remains unshakable, and it always will.”

Even as he expressed an enduring support for Israel, Austin warned Israel that it could face “strategic defeat” and make the country less secure if it does not do more to protect civilians. This is something Austin said he learned firsthand from his experience in Afghanistan against the Taliban in urban warfare, as well as in Iraq in 2007 against the Islamic State.

There was a bit of humor at the press conference when Austin opened it up for questions, which began with a long rambling one.

“Which one of those 12 questions do you want me to answer?” Austin quipped. The reporter said she had even more.

“You know,” his response began, “we can offer some insight based on our own experience in fighting terrorist groups, and certainly that enabled us to have great discussions. And we also have some great thoughts about how to transition from high-intensity operations to lower-intensity and more surgical operations…we had great discussions on all of those—those issues.”

This was clearly about his urban warfare experiences. “...we had great discussions about the status of the campaign, about goals and objectives, and about how to reduce harm to civilians in the battle space and…the need to ensure a sustained flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” he said.

A few days ago, the crisis in the Middle East was compounded by outbreaks of conflict on the Lebanon border, where the menace of Hezbollah insurgents remains a grave concern, and even more alarming, when three nearly naked escaped hostages, bearing a white flag of surrender, were gunned down by Israeli forces.

More than 70 days into the war and some 20,000 Gaza deaths and Israeli casualties, there appear to be only an increase in bloodshed rather than a cease-fire and the release of hostages.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration continues to receive bad news from the polls that suggest that young Americans are not satisfied with his handling of the war.

We have Black generals at the top of the military, but the question remains: Does that make a difference in the turmoil in the Middle East?

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Harlem mother’s court victory opens door to challenge unconstitutional debt collection tactic targeting Black and brown New Yorkers

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member The experience of a Harlem mom has opened the door to helping others who were targeted by an unconstitutional debt collection tactic.

Sharae Banks was prepared to pay back debt she says she never owed.

A collection agency pulled roughly $16,000 in student loans from the Harlem single mother’s paychecks over a three-year span, greenlit by a default judgment in which a ruling favors the plaintiff because the defendant fails to respond to a court summons.

But Banks says she never appeared in court for the consumer credit case because she was never notified. The debt buyers purchased tuition she allegedly owed Taylor Business School—a defunct college that she withdrew from in the early 2000s—

and claimed they served her with a summons to a Manhattan address formerly belonging to her mom in 2012, according to court documents. The person allegedly served did not match the description of Banks’s mother.

The creditors obtained the default judgment of $16,727.27 in 2013, allowing the agency to pursue legal avenues, such as wage garnishment, to collect the money.

Banks only learned of the judgment in 2016. A year later, the money started coming out of her pay. By 2020, Banks found herself in housing court, struggling to pay rent for her NYCHA unit due to the wage garnishment. There, she learned she could challenge the ruling and was connected to free legal assistance.

Initially, a lower court rejected Banks’s motion to vacate the default judgment, pointing to a 2007 ruling that indicated she waived her right to challenge the case after her

Sharae Banks (Courtesy of Banks and New Economy Project)

wages were garnished for “I was so drained with a year. At the time, she the whole situation, I was worked strenuous hours gonna let them win,” said and felt beaten down to the Banks. “What I mean to say point of waiving her right.

See DEBT on page 27

Speaker Adams, Mayor Adams sign fair housing framework law

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member If there’s one thing Mayor Eric Adams and the City Council can agree on, it is that something has to be done about the lack of housing in the city, even if their methods tend to differ.

Last week, Mayor Adams signed Speaker Adrienne Adams’s Fair Housing Framework legislation into law.

Speaker Adams has been pushing for the city to create a fair housing framework that targets housing production at the community district level since her State of the City address back in March.

Her goal is to equitably combat the “dire” housing crisis that disproportion-

Mayor Eric Adams takes another action to create and maintain more affordable housing across the five boroughs by signing legislation that establishes a “Fair Housing Framework.” City Hall, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023.

(Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

ately burdens low-income working families and the city’s Black population.

“My Fair Housing Framework legislation will help create a plan that is a foundation for building and preserving housing, prioritizing affordability, and improving access to neighborhood investments and

resources. By setting the expectation that every community must help address the housing crisis, the law will establish an important tool of transparency and accountability for solving our housing crisis,” said Speaker Adams in a statement.

The law requires the city

to produce an assessment of long-term citywide housing needs, provide five-year housing production targets for each local community district, and deliver a report on the obstacles and strategies to achieve them as well. The plan would focus on the See FAIR HOUSING on page 27

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Destination Tomorrow’s Sean Ebony Coleman creates services for LGBTQ+ people of color, by LGBTQ+ people of color

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

Sean Ebony Coleman (Courtesy of Destination Tomorrow photo)

Sean Ebony Coleman looks back on yesterday to explain Destination Tomorrow’s work today.

Coleman recalled the care his mom received after her HIV diagnosis back in the 1990s, compared to the treatment for his peers in the House and Ballroom scene—a Black- and brown-led LGBTQ+ subculture—who were dying from the virus at disproportionate rates.

Those experiences led the Brooklynite to get involved with local HIV programs, but he realized there were major gaps in the services provided, especially in the outer boroughs.

“A lot of LGBTQ services were centralized in Manhattan, and the services that were in those outer boroughs were not provided by folks that look like the people that lived among those boroughs and received services,” said Coleman. “I thought we were doing ourselves a disservice by not allowing the folks who had the lived experiences to open and manage those types of services.

“So I started my own.”

Fast-forward to today: Coleman serves as founder and executive director of Destination Tomorrow. The organization offers LGBTQ+ specific services in the Bronx, ranging from youth services to HIV testing. Its housing program provides shelter for up to 90 days to transgender, gender non-conforming and non-binary (TGNC/ NB) adults experiencing gender-based violence or participating in sex work.

Destination Tomorrow is expanding nationwide, including an Atlanta office, but Coleman sees the northernmost borough as his homebase.

“When we first came up here, folks were like ‘Oh, you’re going to open a queer service in the Bronx? They’re homophobic and they’re this…’ [but] we’ve never had any incident of any kind of violence or harassment or any of those things toward staff or clients,” he said. “It’s actually been the opposite. Our neighbors have actually looked out for us. The grocery store across the street donates hotdogs and hamburgers when we do our cookout. We are now a fixture in the borough.

“I love the Bronx. I love the elected officials. They [asked] ‘What can we do? How can we help?’ because they didn’’t want that stain or that stigma about the Bronx

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 5

THE URBAN AGENDA

By David R. Jones, Esq

New York Leading in Attacking Medical Debt Last week, New York became only the second state after Colorado to prohibit credit reporting agencies from collecting information about or reporting on medical debt. And it became the first state to prevent hospitals and licensed health providers from reporting medical debt to credit bureaus.

That’s a big deal.

More than 740,000 New Yorkers currently have medical debt on their credit reports, according to a study by the Urban Institute.

The problem affects low-income New Yorkers, and disproportionately impacts Black and brown patients. That said, it’s also a pervasive problem in upstate and rural counties of New York with some communities having more than 10 percent of their residents reporting medical debt in the collections process.

Black New Yorker not being welcoming to LGBTQ+ community members. This is my home—don’t tell my friends in Brooklyn I said that.”

Coleman maintains that community input for LGBTQ+ services is critical for culturally competent care. Destination Tomorrow staff are often former clients who feel safe and welcomed during services and want to pay it forward.

Beyond Destination Tomorrow, Coleman spends his free time smoking cigars, playing fantasy football, and forgetting his daughter’s age. Just regular dad stuff—that somehow feels like an act of resistance.

“I want folks to recognize [that] 99.9% of trans folks—we’re just like you,” he said, laughing. “I pay taxes, I talk trash on Instagram and Facebook. I do all of the same things that everybody else does.”

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

It’s no secret that a bad credit report can create obstacles to renting a home, qualifying for loans, securing a job and more. But what is not widely known is that our healthcare system is supported by a billing, payments, collections and credit reporting infrastructure where errors are common, according to a 2022 federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report.

But beyond the issue of inaccurate data, there’s a more compelling reason to keep medical debt off of a person’s credit report -- it is not predictive of a person’s creditworthiness. And we know that the financial consequences of medical debt fall hardest on low-income patients, leaving them vulnerable to legal action by hospitals and other providers. Governor Kathy Hochul underscored this in her remarks last week as she signed into law the “Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act (S.4907a/A.6275a).”

“Medical debt is such a vicious cycle. It truly hits low-income earners, but it forces them to stay low-income earners because they can never get out from under it,” said the Governor, who over the past two years has enacted four laws aimed at protecting New Yorkers from predatory medical debt collection practices, including banning medical providers from placing liens on patients’ homes and garnishing their wages in debt collection cases.

The new law, which goes into effect immediately, was approved by the State Legislature earlier this year and championed

by State Senator Gustavo Rivera and State Assemblymember Amy Paulin. It applies to all medical debt, including medical debt charged to medical credit cards. The law excludes medical debt charged to regular credit cards since those bills are aggregated.

It was a great source of pride that the Community Service Society of New York (CSS), the organization I lead, hosted the Governor’s bill signing ceremony. Besides medical debt, the Governor also signed into law three other consumer protection measures: prohibiting price-gouging on medicine during a drug shortage; requiring companies to notify

customers of automatic subscription renewals; and making merchants post the highest price a consumer might pay for a product.

End Medical Debt Campaign Since 2015, nonprofit hospitals and state operated hospitals have collectively sued 75,000 New Yorkers for past due medical debt. CSS research found that in many cases, those being sued were low-wage workers who work retail and service jobs, or live in the state’s poorest communities. The average amount of medical debt triggering lawsuits was under $2,000.

As the operator of Community Health Advocates (CHA), the state’s independent healthcare ombudsman program, CSS helps New Yorkers navigate the complex healthcare system, solve billing issues, dispute coverage denials and understand their healthcare rights. A 2019 analysis of CHA’s Helpline found a 64 percent increase in calls from New Yorkers who said they were afraid and felt helpless as collections agents for healthcare providers came after them with oppressive collections practices.

A year later, we launched the #EndMedicalDebt campaign in partnership with a diverse group of advocates across the state with the aim of alleviating the problem of medical debt and seeking legislative remedies to rein in hospitals and other medical providers that pursue extraordinary medical debt actions that put the financial health of patients at risk.

The campaign was premised on the concept that because they are nonprofit charities that pay no income or property taxes – unlike their patients – and receive millions to cover uncompensated care, New York hospitals should not be in the business of suing patients.

Especially patients who in many cases qualify for hospital financial assistance.

Now that the Fair Medical Debt Reporting Act is law, the EMD coalition is setting its sights on passing legislation to reform the state’s outdated Hospital Financial Assistance Law (HFAL). The law requires all New York hospitals with funding from the State’s $1 billion Indigent Care Pool (ICP) to have a financial assistance application and policy.

But it is abundantly clear from continued lawsuits and aggressive debt collection action against patients that those eligible for financial assistance were not properly screened, were unable to complete the application process, or were improperly rejected.

The “Ounce of Prevention Act (S.1366/A.6027),” would require one common financial assistance application for all hospitals to follow and modernize the eligibility rules, ensuring that patients qualifying for financial assistance can receive the healthcare they need without the fear of facing financial ruin.

We hope the Governor will be back soon to sign that too.

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

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

6 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Watership down: Why are we always fighting for NYC libraries?

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Libraries are considered safe spaces for virtually all communities––seniors, homeless individuals, students and working families. They store rare collections and artifacts, provide free research materials and safe study space, offer educational and English language courses, access to the internet, and provide computer and job training. For lower-income, Black, brown, or immigrant communities these things are crucial to survival.

To protest the loss of library services due to city budget cuts, totaling $46 million this year, book lovers came together in Brooklyn this past weekend to hold a candlelight vigil.

The Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), The New York Public Library (NYPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL) leadership in a joint statement said that public libraries provide vital services that are a lifeline for many New Yorkers. Despite cuts, they remain committed to continuing to serve communities as best they can in challenging times.

“There is more than one way to ban a book. There’s a way to ban a

Councilmember Lincoln Restler lights candles at library vigil. (Ariama C. Long photo)

book where you take it off the shelf and then there’s systematically defunding our public institutions, systematically defunding the public sector workers who make it possible,” said American Library Association (ALA) President Emily Drabinski, who lives in Brooklyn and attended the vigil.

Drabinski is unsure why libraries are constantly targeted for budget cuts as opposed to police or jails, but she takes it as a sign of the city’s priorities. She said the budget cuts in-

dicate a lack of support for school libraries and students in the face of the city’s immense literacy challenges, which Adams launched reading initiatives and more dyslexia screening to combat.

“It doesn’t make any sense why he would underfund or defund the very structures and institutions that are best positioned to fulfill [the] ostensible position as mayor. I find it very confusing,” said Drabinski.

The libraries said that the cuts are a result of the 5% mid-year city plan to

close gaps in the budget that Mayor Eric Adams announced last month for fiscal year 2024. There could potentially be another 5% mid-year budget cut in January. “If this additional round of budget cuts is enacted, libraries will be forced to further reduce hours, including ending universal six-day service, which New Yorkers fought hard to restore in 2015,” they said.

The NYPL and QPL suspended all Sunday service on Dec. 3, and Dec. 17 was the last day of Sunday service at all BPL branches. The decision to close libraries on Sundays was difficult but ultimately that day was chosen because it’s the most expensive day of service and most difficult to staff, said library leaders.

Pre-emancipation in the U.S., a large portion of enslaved or free African descendants and native peoples in this country risked being tortured or killed if they learned to read and write under various anti-literacy laws passed mostly in Southern slave states. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and ’70s, “education was promoted as a great weapon against racism” and libraries were regarded as “temples of learning” and a means to “liberation” by many Black

leaders, wrote librarian Ruth C. Shog. They continue to be reliable and safe cultural centers in Black and brown communities to this day.

“In Black and brown communities we see lots of activity and engagement in the library,” said Drabinski.

“The number of people using public libraries who are African American is a higher rate than their white counterparts. And that includes people who don’t identify as readers.”

Some in the city’s Black literary community are diametrically opposed to the mayor’s cuts.

Dr. Brenda M. Greene is the founder and executive director at the Center for Black Literature (CBL), an English professor, and a senior special assistant to the provost at City University of New York (CUNY’s) Medgar Evers College. “The mayor’s budget cuts to the libraries are devastating to our students, educators, and the community. At a time when books are being banned, history is being censored, homelessness is on the rise, and crime and violence are increasing, cutting the library’s budget is antithetical to what the city should be supporting and promoting in our community,” See LIBRARIES on page 31

Sen Bailey, NYS cosmetology natural hair law for all types & textures

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Senator Jamaal Bailey’s Bill S6528A was signed into law this year. It requires all cosmetologists and natural hair stylists in New York State to be trained to service all hair types and textures––including Black/afro textured hair–– as a condition of licensure.

The big question is: It’s 2023, why do we still have to resort to passing laws against hair discrimination? To this day, despite decades of consistent pro-natural movements in the country and worldwide, Black hair continues to be politicized.

Black students in some states can face disciplinary actions from school administrations for simply wearing ‘long’ natural hair and hairstyles. In some industries or corporate settings, Black adults can face harsh discrimination or be seen as “unprofessional” because of their hair. Black women even risk “intrusive and disrespectful” treatment just trying to get through airport security because of their hair.

“Hair is deeply personal,” said Bailey, who’s been a staunch advocate in the movement to end hair discrimination laws across the nation. He worked alongside coalitions like the The Natural Hairstyle and Braid Coalition (NHBC) and others to pass the CROWN Act of 2019 in the state.

“As a proud husband to my wife and father of two young girls, I want them to feel confident and beautiful when it comes to their uniquely textured hair––and in all the ways it is inextricably linked to our well-being, personal identity, and how we show up in the world.

Individuals with hair of all textures deserve to feel welcomed, understood, and safe when they seek out hair care services,” said Bailey.

The Black hair care industry in the U.S. stems from the late 1860s with Madame C. J Walker, however, Marjorie Joyner was the first Black woman to attend and graduate from cosmetology school in 1912.

Teaching Black haircare stylists and mandating licensing for natural hair is altogether a fairly recent concept in the past few decades.

Culturally, because of a history rooted in racism and segrega-

Black woman with natural hairstyle.

(Semaj Campbell photography via HNBC)

tion, most in the industry didn’t seek out licensing because Black people were barred from professional schools, said NHBC CoPresident Diane Da Costa. If they could afford and were allowed to attend, they were not guaranteed to be educated about caring for natural Black hair but rather how to manipulate it into being straight to adhere to white beauty standards, she said.

“We live in a society that is racist.

Yes we’ve had millionaires, Madame C. J. Walker, bringing hair cultivation to the forefront,” said Da Costa. “[But]

a lot of stylists worked from home.

They did braiding, they did styling because they could not work in a salon. That was the push to bring stylists out of their homes to be professional business owners and thrive.”

New York has a deep legacy in normalizing natural hair, said Da Costa. It was the first state to adopt a natural hair styling license in 1993. Then Assemblymember Gary Pretlow passed a bill in 2017 mandating two natural hairstylists to be on the Secretary of State’s Appearance Enhancement Advisory Committee and additionally form an advisory committee for the inclusion of texture education in cosmetology.

Khane Kutzwell, a Black master barber, founded Camera Ready Kutz in 2007. Her barbershop on Utica Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn is LGBTQIA+ friendly with a largely female staff that caters to all types of natural hair and styles. She attended barber and cosmetology school. It’s upsetting to her that plenty of stylists of color have to know how to handle all types whether or not it’s the majority of hair they work with or not.

“At barber school we worked with all textures of hair, straight to tight and curly,” said Kutzwell, “but in cosmetology it seems it’s mainly straight hair or how to straighten textured hair. I think that in cosmetology it is an absolute must that they should know how to work with textured hair.”

However, she said she doesn’t like that she is asked often by white barbers to teach them essentially in a few hours how to cut textured hair if they’re not familiar with it, when she’s received years of training to specialize in it.

Debra Hare-Bey is a licensed cosmetologist, master braider and celebrity natural hair stylist. To her the dearth of hair texture education is because Black hair hadn’t been celebrated. She believes that hair care is intricately tied to health care since health issues often impact one’s hair. Washing, treatments, scalp assessments, dealing with texture in its natural state etc. are all a part of the service stylists should provide, she said, and that’s not happening widely for Black hair entrepreneurs.

See HAIR on page 31

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 7

Affordable Housing for Rent

266 WEST 96TH STREET APARTMENTS 52 NEWLY CONSTRUCTED UNITS AT 266 West 96th Street New York, NY 10025 UPPER WEST SIDE

Amenities: **Pet-friendly, Dog Washing station, **Large Dogs Allowed, **Multiple pets allowed, Bike Storage, Pedestrian-friendly, Bus stop/ Public Transportation Access, *Shared Laundry Room, Washer and Dryers in one, two and three bedroom units, Dishwasher in units, High-end kitchen appliances, High-end countertops and finishes, Energy-efficient appliances, Air-conditioning, Charging outlets with USB ports, Smart lock apartment entry, Smart controls for heating/cooling, Free Building wide Wi-Fi, High-speed internet, Cable, Online options for leasing, paying rent and making maintenance requests, Fitness Center , Media room, Party Room, resident lounge, work spaces, Outdoor Terrace, Rooftop Terrace, Children’s playroom. Close access to Jogging/ walking/ bike path, Close to schools, Security cameras, Doorman, On-site resident manager, Concierge, Green space, Package room with cold storage, Elevator, Accessible Entrance, Smoke Free (*additional fees apply; **breed restrictions apply)

Transit: 1/2/3; M96, M104, M7, M11 No fee to apply • No broker’s fee • Smoke-free building • More information: https://fetner96.com/ This building was constructed through the Mixed and Middle Income and Inclusionary Housing Programs and is anticipated to receive a tax exemption through the 421-a Tax Incentive Program of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

Who Should Apply?

Individuals or households who meet the income and household size requirements listed in the table below may apply. Qualified applicants will be required to meet additional selection criteria. Applicants who live in New York City receive a general preference for apartments.

A percentage of units is set aside for: o Mobility–disabled applicants (5%) o Vision/Hearing–disabled applicants (2%) Preference for a percentage of units goes to: o Residents of Manhattan Community Board 7 (50%) o Municipal employees (5%)

� �

*Studio 1 Bedroom

2 Bedroom

3 Bedroom

Unit Size *Studio 1 Bedroom

2 Bedroom

Monthly Rent1 $1,096

6

→

$1,689

1

→

$2,018

1

→

-

-

130% AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI) UNITS

70% AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI) UNITS

Unit Size

Household Size2

Annual Household Income3

1 person 2 people 1 person 2 people 3 people 2 people 3 people 4 people 5 people

$40,526 - $69,230 $40,526 - $79,100 $60,823 - $69,230 $60,823 - $79,100 $60,823 - $88,970 $72,960 - $79,100 $72,960 - $88,970 $72,960 - $98,840 $72,960 - $106,750

-

Monthly Rent1

Minimum – Maximum4

-

-

Units Available

80% AREA MEDIAN INCOME (AMI) UNITS

AVAILABLE UNITS AND INCOME REQUIREMENTS Units Available

Monthly Rent1

Units Available

$1,273

3

→

$1,954

1

→

$2,336

5

→

$2,690

2

Household Size2

$2,032

18

→

$3,093

10

→

$3,703

5

→

→

Household Size2

Annual Household Income3

1 person 2 people 1 person 2 people 3 people 2 people 3 people 4 people 5 people

$46,595 - $79,120 $46,595 - $90,400 $69,909 - $79,120 $69,909 - $90,400 $69,909 - $101,680 $83,863 - $90,400 $83,863 - $101,680 $83,863 - $112,960 $83,863 - $122,000

3 people

$96,892 - $101,680

4 people

$96,892 - $112,960

5 people

$96,892 - $122,000

6 people

$96,892 - $131,040

7 people

$96,892 - $140,080

Minimum – Maximum4

Annual Household Income3 Minimum – Maximum4

1 person

$69,669 - $128,570

2 people 1 person 2 people 3 people 2 people 3 people 4 people 5 people

$69,669 - $146,900 $106,046 - $128,570 $106,046 - $146,900 $106,046 - $165,230 $126,960 - $146,900 $126,960 - $165,230 $126,960 - $183,560 $126,960 - $198,250

1 For 1–3-bedroom units, rent includes gas for cooking, heating and hot water; tenants are responsible for electricity. For *Studio units, rent includes gas for heating and hot water; tenants are responsible for electricity including electric stove.

2 Household size includes everyone who will live with you, including parents and children. Subject to occupancy criteria.

3 Household earnings includes salary, hourly wages, tips, Social Security, child support, and other income. Income guidelines subject to change.

4 Minimum income listed may not apply to applicants with Section 8 or other qualifying rental subsidies. Asset limits also apply.

How Do You Apply?

Apply online or through mail. To apply online, please go to https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. To request an application by mail, send a self-addressed envelope to: 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY, 10018. Only send one application per development. Do not submit duplicate applications. Do not apply online and also send in a paper application. Applicants who submit more than one application may be disqualified.

When is the Deadline?

Applications must be postmarked or submitted online no later than [February 16, 2024]. Late applications will not be considered.

What Happens After You Submit an Application?

After the deadline, applications are selected for review through a lottery process. If yours is selected and you appear to qualify, you will be invited to submit documents to continue the process of determining your eligibility. Applicants are usually contacted from 2 to 10 months after the application deadline. You will be asked to submit documents that verify your household size, identity of members of your household, and your household income.

Español

Presente una solicitud en línea en https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. Para recibir una traducción de español de este anuncio y la solicitud impresa, envíe un sobre con la dirección a: 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 WEST 37TH STREET, 19TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10018. En el reverso del sobre, escriba en inglés la palabra “SPANISH.” Las solicitudes se deben enviar en línea o con sello postal antes de 16 de febrero de 2024.

简体中文

访问https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ 在线申请。如要获取本广告及书面申请表的简体中文版，请将您的回邮信封寄送至： [266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 WEST 37TH STREET, 19TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10018. 信封背

Русский

Чтобы подать заявление через интернет, зайдите на сайт: https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. Для получения данного объявления и заявления на русском языке отправьте конверт с обратным адресом по адресу 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 WEST 37TH STREET, 19TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10018. На задней стороне конверта напишите слово “RUSSIAN” на английском языке. Заявки должны быть поданы онлайн или отправлены по почте (согласно дате на почтовом штемпеле) не позднее 16 февраля 2024 г. https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ 에서 온라인으로 신청하십시오. 이 광고문과 신청서에 대한 한국어 번역본을 받아보시려면 반송용 봉투를 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 WEST 37TH STREET, 19TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10018으로 보내주십시오. 봉투 뒷면에 “KOREAN” 이라고 영어로 적어주십시오. 2024년 2월 16일 까지 온라인 신청서를 제출하거나 소인이

面请用英语注明“CHINESE”。必须在以下日期之前在线提交申请或邮寄书面申请 2024 年 2 月 16 日

한국어

찍힌 신청서를 보내야 합니다.

Aplike sou entènèt sou sitwèb https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. Pou resevwa yon tradiksyon anons sa a nan lang Kreyòl Ayisyen ak aplikasyon an sou papye, voye anvlòp ki gen adrès pou retounen li nan: 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 WEST 37TH STREET, 19TH FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10018. Nan dèyè anvlòp la, ekri mo “HATIAN CREOLE” an Anglè. Ou dwe remèt aplikasyon yo sou entènèt oswa ou dwe tenbre yo anvan dat 16 fevriye 2024

Kreyòl Ayisyien

‫ إرﺳﺎل طﻠب ﻋﺑر اﻹﻧﺗرﻧت ﻋﻠﻰ‬nyc.gov/housingconnect. 266: [‫ أرﺳل ﻣظروﻓًﺎ ﺑﺎﻟﻌﻧوان إﻟﻰ‬، ‫ﻟﺗﻠﻘﻲ ﺗرﺟﻣﺔ ﺑﺎﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻌرﺑﯾﺔ ﻟﮭذا اﻹﻋﻼن واﻟﺗطﺑﯾق اﻟﻣطﺑوع‬W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY, 10018]. ‫ اﻛﺗب ﺑﺎﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻹﻧﺟﻠﯾزﯾﺔ ﻛﻠﻣﺔ‬، ‫" ﻋﻠﻰ ظﮭر اﻟﻣظروف‬ARABIC". ]{2024 ‫ ﻓﺑراﯾر‬16‫ﯾﺟب ﺗﻘدﯾم اﻟطﻠﺑﺎت ﻋﺑر اﻹﻧﺗرﻧت أو ﻋن طرﯾق ﺧﺗم ﺑرﯾدي ﻗﺑل [}أ‬.

‫اﻟﻌرﺑﯾﺔ‬

Polskie

Aby złożyć wniosek online, przejdź na stronę https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. Aby uzyskać polskie tłumaczenie tego powiadomienia oraz wniosek w wersji wydrukowanej, wyślij kopertę z własnym adresem 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10018 Wpisz słowo „POLISH” w j. angielskim na odwrocie koperty. Wnioski muszą posiadać stempel pocztowy lub zostać przesłane online nie później niż [16 lutego 2024 r].

Français

Pour déposer votre demande en ligne, rendez-vous sur le site https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/. Pour recevoir une traduction en français de cet avis ainsi qu’un dossier de demande papier, envoyez une enveloppe libellée à votre nom et votre adresse à l’adresse suivante 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10018. Inscrivez le mot « FRENCH » au dos de l’enveloppe. Les demandes doivent être envoyées par la poste ou soumises en ligne au plus tard le [16 février 2024], le cachet de la poste faisant foi. অনলাইেন আেবদন করেত, অনু .হ কের nyc.gov/housingconnect এ যান। এই িব3ি4র বাংলা অনু বাদ এবং আেবদন6 ছাপােনাভােব :পেত এই ;কানায় এক6 =-সে?ািধত খাম পাঠান 266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10018. । খােমর িপছেন “BENGALI” শK6 ইংেরিজেত িলখু ন। অGািIেকশনJিল অবশGই [,ফ.য়ারী 16, 2024] এর মেধG :পাEমাকF করেত হেব বা অনলাইেন জমা িদেত হেব।

বাংলা ‫اردو‬

‫ ﺑراِه ﮐرم‬،‫آن ﻻﺋن اﭘﻼﺋﯽ ﮐرﻧﮯ ﮐﮯ ﻟﯾﮯ‬https://housingconnect.nyc.gov/PublicWeb/ :‫ اﭘﻧﮯ ذاﺗﯽ ﭘﺗﮯ ﮐﺎ ﺣﺎﻣل اﯾﮏ ﻟﻔﺎﻓہ‬،‫ﭘر ﺟﺎﺋﯾں۔ اس ﻧوﭨس ﮐﺎ اردو زﺑﺎن ﻣﯾں ﺗرﺟﻣہ اور ﭘرﻧٹ ﺷده درﺧواﺳت ﻣوﺻول ﮐرﻧﮯ ﮐﮯ ﻟﯾﮯ‬266W96 Lottery c/o Settlement Housing Fund, 247 West 37th Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10018. " ‫ﭘر ﺑﮭﯾﺟﯾں۔ ﻟﻔﺎﻓﮯ ﮐﯽ ﭘﺷت ﭘر ﻟﻔظ‬URDU ‫" اﻧﮕرﯾزی ﻣﯾں ﺗﺣرﯾر ﮐرﯾں۔ درﺧواﺳﺗوں ﮐﮯ ﻟﯾﮯ ﭘوﺳٹ ﻣﺎرک‬ ‫[ﮐرده ﮨوﻧﺎ ﯾﺎ‬16 2024 ‫ﺳﮯ زﯾﺎده ﺗﺎﺧﯾر ﺳﮯ آن ﻻﺋن ﺟﻣﻊ ﻧہ ﮐراﯾﺎ ﺟﺎﻧﺎ ﻻزم ﮨﮯ۔]ﻓروری‬

Mayor Eric Adams • HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion Jr.

8 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

Go with the Flo FLO

ANTHONY Before being found guilty of reckless assault in the third degree and of harassment on December 18 for assault charges brought against him by his former girlfriend Grace Jabbari, Jonathan Majors and his current main squeeze, Meagan Good, went to see “Purlie Victorious” on December 16 at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. A source told Go with the Flo that the “Creed:3 star” and the Harlem actress were accompanied by two security guards, as well as two other women. Good and family members were also with Majors in the New York City courtroom, according to multiple reports. The Marvel star was found not guilty of intentional assault in the third degree and not guilty of aggravated harassment in the second degree.

Majors faces one year in jail if convicted. However, since these are misdemeanor charges, legal experts say it is unlikely the “Loki” actor will serve any time. He will be sentenced on February 16…

Tongues are wagging that CBS Morning’s anchor Gayle King hosted 30 guests, including family members and friends, to watch “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” on December 16 at the AMC Theatre on East 86th Street in New York City. The A-list group included Brooke Shields; King’s CBS Morning co-host Tony Dokoupil and his wife, MSNBC correspondent/ host Katy Tur; Tamron Hall producer Adrienne Lopez; and ABC 7 news reporter Darla Miles.

Refreshments included light bites, popcorn, and soda. “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” will remain in theaters for two more weeks…

After renaming the former Vauxhall Service area on the Garden State Parkway in honor of Whitney Houston, the New Jersey Hall of Fame joined representatives of the Estate of Whitney E. Houston and public officials on December 14 for the unveiling of the service area’s exhibits and additional initiatives in her honor.

Guests are now greeted at the newly redesigned service area by a large image of Houston, accompanied by her biography, and the platinum plaque she earned for her song “I Will Always Love You.” Visitors can also pose for a photo of Houston alongside an interactive Selfie Monitor, in addition to viewing profiles of other New Jersey Hall of Fame inductees…

According to Amazon, Keke Palmer and Pete Davidson will join Eddie Murphy in the upcoming Amazon MGM movie “The Pickup.”

The trio will star in the flick produced and directed by Tim Story through the Story Company. Murphy will also produce with Charisse Hewitt-Webster via Eddie Murphy Productions. “The Pickup” is described as a “heist comedy.” Murphy’s career is on the move. The Oscar-nominated actor’s film “Candy Cane Lane” is currently streaming on Amazon, and Netflix recently released the trailer for “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” in which Murphy revives his 1980s character Axel Foley, according to multiple outlets...

G

O

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

Straphangers take trip back in time during Holiday Nostalgia Rides New Yorkers can travel back in time this month as the New York Transit Museum hosts its annual “Holiday Nostalgia Rides.” Subway riders can ride vintage MTA cars from the 1930s every Saturday in December between (Cyril Josh Barker photos)

10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The vintage trains depart from 145th Street in Harlem on the downtown D line and 2nd Avenue on the uptown F line in Lower Manhattan. The Independent Subway System (IND) cars were used on the

first subway company operated by the City of New York. The cars feature IND’s Depression-era Art Deco esthetic, rattan seats, paddle ceiling fans, incandescent light bulbs, roll signs, and period advertisements.

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

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 9

UNCF’s Dr. Michael Lomax and TheGrio’s Eboni K. Williams honored for fighting antisemitism at Mayor Adams’s Hanukkah reception

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Mayor Eric Adams presented Dr. Michael Lomax, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) president and CEO, and media personalitylawyer Eboni K. Williams with the Shine a Light Civic Courage Award for Community Building at Gracie Mansion’s Hanukkah reception last Tuesday, Dec. 12.

The distinction is for non-Jewish advocates who lead efforts to combat antisemitism.

For Lomax and Williams, the work stems from bridging Black and Jewish communities through overlapping plights against white supremacy. The awardees told the Amsterdam News that the award validated their long-standing efforts in linking the two communities.

“It means a tremendous ton to me—my life’s work broadly is a full and complete liberation of Black people,” said Williams. “And I know that that requires a few different things, [including] one of our strategic partnerships and being in relationship with broad humanity—so my work specifically focused on the restoration of a historic, productive, and successful relationship between Black Americans and Jewish Americans. Together, our communities represent an enormous possibility to liberate one another and free ourselves from anti-Black racism as well as antisemitism.”

Williams, whose laundry list of a résumé includes the Warner Music Group-backed podcast “Holding Court with Eboni K. Williams” and eponymous TheGrio network show “TheGrio with Eboni K. Williams,” sees this “mutual liberation” as the root of her collaborations with JewBelong and wanting to feature the first Black shabbat (sabbath) on national television.

“This is both a personal and a professional honor,” said Lomax.

“I grew up in Los Angeles [and] I had strong relationships with the Jewish community there through my parents and the kids I went to high school with and junior high, people who have continued to be in my life since then and throughout my career. I’ve always gravitated toward Jewish partners and doing the work of education

Eboni K. Williams (left) and Dr. Michael Lomax (center) honored by Mayor Eric Adams (right) at Gracie Mansion during Hanukkah reception (Tandy Lau photo)

reform [to fight] racism [and] antisemitism, so it’s wonderful to have that work acknowledged.”

Lomax, who is Christian, pointed to his Californian upbringing as seeds to his advocacy. Those

relationships blossomed into his role overseeing Dillard University’s National Center for BlackJewish Relations while serving as the HBCU’s president. Those predilections were reawakened

of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh and anti-Black attacks like the Tops Friendly Markets shooting in Buffalo.

The reception overlapped with the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict on the Gaza Strip, with the family of hostages in attendance and demanding their release. It also coincided with a 32% uptick in reported antisemitic hate crimes in the city last month compared to November 2022, according to the NYPD. “Few people embody the concept of light overcoming darkness like the two people we honor tonight: Dr Michael Lomax and Eboni Williams—both who have done so much to promote the shared bond between African Americans and the Jewish community,” said Mayor Adams.

“They remind us that we are a city with people from every corner of the world and, regardless of our differences, our communities will always come together to help and protect our fellow New Yorkers.”

With the “People’s House” full of, well, people, Williams hoped attendees would see past the optics of a Black mayor awarding Black leaders. During her speech, she called upon Jewish Americans to be the friends to Black Americans that they “reasonably expect Black Americans to be to them.”

“That work of mutual friendship…and strategic partnership has to be 365 days a year,” said Williams over the phone. “Nobody wants a friend who only shows up on the worst day of their life.

Black Americans don’t want that and I’m certain Jewish Americans don’t want that…I hope they saw a very proud, non-Jewish Black American woman say ‘I am your friend. I have a mezuzah on my door. You can stay with me, you can feel safe in my home.’

“And I expect to have that same level of safety and security in your home and we demonstrate that 365 days a year, not just when we are under threat.”

Tandy Lau is a Report for America corps member who writes about public safety for the Amsterdam by the 2017 “United the Right” News. Your donation to match our rally in Charlottesville. The RFA grant helps keep him writing white supremacist attack chal- stories like this one; please considlenged Lomax’s complacency: er making a tax-deductible gift He soon saw parallels between of any amount today by visiting antisemitic attacks like the Tree https://bit.ly/amnews1.

10 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Unions Matter Nurses’ strike ends at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital

Truck with sign supporting striking nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital drives past nurse’s picket line outside New Brunswick, N.J., hospital on August 24, 2006.

Before this year’s unfair labor practice strike, the last nurse’s strike at RWJUH took place in 2006 (AP Photo/Mike Derer photo)

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff The nurses at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH), members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 4-200, have ratified a new three-year contract with the New Brunswick, N.J., health facility.

The new contract saw votes in favor from 88% of union members, which won’t expire until January 30, 2026. The hospital’s 1,700 nurses are expected to be back on the job

by January 1, 2024.

“Your Union Bargaining Committee is proud to inform you that the union and the hospital have come to an agreement that addresses enforceable safe staffing standards, reasonable wage increases, and many other enhancements that will improve benefits for nurses to levels great-

er than existed when we commenced our labor strike,” USW Local 4-200 announced to its members on its website.

Judy Danella, a staff nurse at RWJ Barnabas Health who also serves as USW Local 4-200 president, said in a press statement, “This contract would not have been possible if the nurses hadn’t stood together and demanded what our patients deserve. This campaign has always been about safety and quality care, and we are ready to get back to work doing what we love.”

Under the new contract, RWJUH is set to hire 70 more full- and part-time nurses and nurse-to-patient staffing levels will have new enforcement guidelines.

Nurses went out on an unfair labor practice strike on August 4. They contended that hospital management refused to negotiate on key issues, including what they deemed

unsafe nurse-to-patient ratios. The hospital would also not agree to increase salaries or freeze workers’ insurance premiums.

After beginning negotiations for a new contract in April, USW Local 4-200’s contract remained unsettled and expired on June 30. It was extended through July 21, but then, negotiations came to a standstill. By August 4, RWJUH nurses initiated what became a four-month-long walkout, the first strike action by the hospital’s nurses since 2006.

RWJUH is one of the 12 hospitals that make up RWJBarnabas Health, New Jersey’s largest healthcare provider. RWJUH President Alan Lee said in a statement, “Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital has been notified by United Steel Workers Local 4-200, the union representing RWJUH nurses, that the members have

voted to ratify a new, three-year collective bargaining agreement. We are pleased with the outcome of today’s vote and look forward to welcoming our nurses back home.

“The new contract provides for staffing standards that support the highest levels of care provided at academic medical centers, such as RWJUH, and offers a collaborative platform and process for nurses and leadership to address staffing issues and concerns together. It also provides compensation that reflects the value of the role of the RWJUH nurse on the care team, many of whom hold the highest certifications and education levels in their field.

This agreement reflects our shared commitment to providing the highest quality patient care and creating a safe and supportive working environment for our nurses and all team members.”

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December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 11

12 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Opinion More lumps for Trump EDITORIAL

Over the last several days we have witnessed with glee that Team Trump is taking its lumps.

At the top of the week, a jury said Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s personal attorney, must fork over $148 million for defaming Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss.

He claimed the Fulton County election workers had stolen votes from Trump by passing around USB flash drives. A judge in the case will determine the actual amount he will have to pay.

Then on Tuesday, the Supreme Court of Colorado ruled that Trump is disqualified from holding office because he engaged in insurrection with his actions leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

The court is the first in the nation to find that Section 2 of the 14th Amendment applies to Trump. How this will impact the presidential election where Trump is decisively ahead of the other GOP candidates for the nomination is a question now on everybody’s mind. One thing is for sure: it will be appealed and possibly destined for the Supreme Court docket.

Also, on Tuesday, Charles Donohoe, a former leader of the Proud Boys, an extremist group, was sentenced to prison for three years for his role in the plot to storm the U.S. Capitol. He could be eligible for release in a month or two because he has already served time since his arrest in 2021.

What’s next or who’s next? With each indictment, conviction, and sentence, the ringleader becomes more imperiled. It appears to be only a matter of time before the Justice Department lowers the boom on Trump. Already he has warned the American public that on his first day in office, his dictatorship will be imposed.

We wait now to applaud other states who may also disqualify Trump from the ballot, and gradually the Teflon is melting, slowly but surely, his base beginning to show signs of worry and distress.

Meanwhile, the four indictments and countless charges against him are becoming a critical mass that the masses of this country cannot ignore, and hopefully they will take some of those concerns to the voting booth.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher Member

Alliance for Audited Media

and Editor in Chief

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

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

Gov. Hochul must sign Grieving Families Act to help end Black infant mortality epidemic

By CORDELL CLEARE New York State Senator

scientific breakthrough. It simply requires us to correct behavior.

Signing the Grieving Families Act “Everyone deserves a healthy start into law is critical to that effort. from their very first breath, and that New York’s 175-year-old wrongful they can be free from the racism death law says jurors in civil trials that has taken the lives of too many moms and babies for too long, so we will right the wrongs of the past and ensure that every mom and baby gets first-rate care…a state that understands their challenges…and finally eradicate this insidious form of racism, which has plagued our state for far too long. We’re not going to lose any mother or any baby because of the color of their skin.”

Those words came directly from Governor Kathy Hochul’s lips this month.

She was speaking about the infant and maternal mortality crisis that is plaguing people of color in New York. And she is absolutely right. That is why it is so important that the governor sign the Grieving Families Act that the New York State Legislature passed in June with overwhelming, bipartisan support.

Black infant and maternal mortality is an epidemic. And it is entirely preventable.

The problem is racism and discrepancies in the quality of healthcare, not lifestyle choices or genetics, as has long been implied.

Just this month, the National Center for Health Statistics released are only permitted to consider econew data showing the first in- nomic loss. That means in the eyes crease in infant mortality in of our state, a person is worth only two decades, with the rate for what they earn for a living. In other Black babies the highest of words, the lives of children, sethem all. niors, disabled people, and low-inThis is disturbing, but it come workers are worth less in New also means that correcting York State than the lives of corpothe problem does not re- rate executives and other wealthy quire some new cutting-edge individuals.

The Grieving Families Act would allow jurors to consider the grief and anguish of family members who suffer the loss of a loved one. Beyond providing these family members with the justice they deserve, this also creates a needed mechanism to deter bad and negligent behavior.

Currently, if an infant or a mother of modest means dies in New York as a result of malpractice, the consequences for the hospital and healthcare providers are minimal. Creating a mechanism to hold hospitals accountable through steeper financial penalties will encourage hospitals to enhance their patient safety protocols.

The insurance lobby has been fear-mongering about the impact they say this will have on the premiums they charge medical providers—but they are only looking out for their bottom line. The fact is that hospitals simply will not risk having to pay potentially catastrophic damages; instead, they will correct their behavior.

After Illinois allowed wrongful death damages for grief, sorrow, and mental suffering in May 2007, the losses incurred by medical providers dropped by 17% while the premiums providers paid declined 18%, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Over the same period, losses incurred by medical providers in New York due to wrongful death lawsuits increased by 4%.

I applaud Governor Hochul for bringing additional attention to the infant and maternal mortality crisis that so many of us have been sounding the alarm about for years. But if she truly wants to be part of the solution and create a New York that values all lives equally, she will sign the Grieving Families Act.

“Black infant and maternal mortality is an epidemic. And it is entirely preventable.

The problem is racism and discrepancies in the quality of healthcare, not lifestyle choices or genetics, as has long been implied.”

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

DeSantis’s dilemma

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.

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 13

Go see ‘Appropriate’ CHRISTINA

GREER, PH.D.

ARMSTRONG

WILLIAMS

Once hailed as a hero of the right during the pandemic, Florida Governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis has now become a villain to much of it. The reason is tragically obvious: because DeSantis is rivaling Donald Trump, a man who many on the right view as a deity, much more than a hero. But DeSantis should not be underestimated in this race. Despite the numerous attempts to take him down by both the right and the left, he has stood strong, taking on his rivals and showing up when others haven’t. Let’s look at a few examples.

During the pandemic, DeSantis showed his strength by making it clear that he would not bow to the mainstream media, the World Health Organization, corrupt big pharma, or Big Brother government. He forged his own path, taking a stance of a commonsense interpretation of the science rather than blind allegiance to the media’s interpretation of it. In the face of an onslaught of criticism, DeSantis showed strength.

When told that masks and closed businesses would stop the spread, he didn’t require mask mandates; instead, he kept businesses open—unlike other states, he refused to penalize and vilify businesses when they kept their doors open.

In sum, his efforts showed that lockdowns and restrictions were, to a large extent, meaningless and that there was little rhyme or reason to

higher or lower rates of death among states. Florida had the 11th lowest deaths per 100,000 people among the states in 2020 (although there was a practical three-way tie in their ranking), and the 18th highest deaths per 100,000 people among the states in 2021.

Now, like every other state, COVID-19 is essentially a non-issue in Florida. On the other hand, New York, one of the most restrictive states, had the highest rate in 2020 and the 21st lowest rate in 2021. And, once again, COVID-19 is not a significant issue today.

Of course, this didn’t stop every pro-mandate person and organization from going after DeSantis.

Florida was practically the talk of the left during the pandemic, with activists skewing the numbers in a feeble attempt to “prove” that mandates worked.

When it came to education, DeSantis also showed his strength. He firmly refused to degrade the Florida educational system by banning pornographic content from schools and refusing to allow an excessive focus on sexual orientation in the classroom. This common-sense approach to public health and morals demonstrated that DeSantis understood that the loudest people are often in the minority.

It’s clear that the relentless teachings of transgenderism have little to do with respecting them and much more to do with trying to convert people to their ideolo-

gy. As a prize for his efforts to protect children from being brainwashed by this ideology, DeSantis was smeared by the media and activists who referred to his law, which banned the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in classrooms, as the “Don’t Say Gay” law.

This deliberately misleading name dragged DeSantis’s already vulnerable name through the mud and emboldened liberal activists and the media to rally against him with even more strength.

People are beginning to recognize the clear benefits of living in Florida and other conservative states. They are realizing that they are in the minority in liberal states, and so many are choosing to vote with their feet, moving to states like Florida instead of staying in places like New York or California, where they are constantly oppressed by liberal policies and forced to deal with potential violence and the erosion of their children’s identities.

Liberal cities have become havens for crime. Consider detailed crime data, which shows the five most dangerous cities. Four out of these five cities have Democratic mayors. Even when you expand the scope, 16 out of the top 25 cities have Democratic mayors.

It doesn’t take a genius to see the impact that liberal policies have on cities.

And it’s not just crime, either. Take the wellknown map of public feces in San Francisco, which conclusively re-

veals that the city is not just a crime haven but also a public restroom for the state’s ever-expanding homeless population.

Now, the question that remains is whether DeSantis will actually win the Republican nomination. His numbers don’t look too great. He is currently in second place— but by a wide margin: 60% to 12.6% versus Trump.

No doubt he has an uphill battle. But let’s not forget that in the 2008 election cycle, then-candidate Barack Obama was polling nationally in the low 20%s with Clinton at nearly 40%—and Obama ended up winning.

DeSantis is up against a foe who will stop at nothing to destroy his name. If he is to win, he must draw upon the resilience and strategic acumen he has honed over the past four years. He must take notes from this period, which was marked by heavy fire from the mainstream media, big pharma, and special interest groups.

Should he successfully leverage these experiences, DeSantis stands a strong chance of not only holding his ground against Trump, but also distinguishing himself among other Republican contenders and winning the nomination.

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

As some of my loyal readers may know, I absolutely love going to the theater. I try to go at least twice per month, if not more. There are obviously pros and cons to being a theater buff. One of the major cons has to be when a particular play is too long, not well edited or written, or does not resonate with me. One of the pros is that every now and again, you stumble upon a play that moves you so deeply, you think about it for days, weeks, or even years.

Many years ago, in 2014, I saw the play “Appropriate” by Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins at the Signature Theater, a small-ish theater that has three stages and produces some really innovative work, often by playwrights of color.

When I tell you I have thought of this play almost weekly for several years, it would be an understatement, so when I saw “Appropriate” would be staged on Broadway, I jumped at the chance.

What fascinated me about this play is that it is about race—the history and legacy of racism in this country, written by a Black playwright—and does not have a single Black person in it. The effectiveness of Jacob-Jenkins’s storytelling is truly gripping on an intellectual and emotional level.

Without giving too much away, the play centers around three siblings who are clearing out their late father’s home in Arkansas when they stumble upon a photo album filled with photographs of lynched Black men.

The play takes off from there. The audience, luckily, never sees the

photographs, but we are left to envision the horrors through our imaginations—kept in an old gold-bound school photo album, like an album many of us probably had in our homes growing up, filled with pictures of relatives and various stages of our childhood.

The star-studded cast of Sarah Paulson (“12 Years a Slave”), Corey Stoll (“House of Cards”), Elle Fanning (“Maleficent”), and Natali Gold (“Succession”), to name a few, brings a level of detail to the inner workings and tensions of a family processing grief, past traumas and secrets, and a healthy dose of money drama.

The remarkable set transports you to a cluttered and aging Southern plantation and the costumes make each character feel familiar in a way that only the sharp eye of costume designer Dede Ayite (“Malcolm X Opera”) can provide.

“Appropriate” is playing at the Hayes Theater (240 W. 44th Street, New York, N.Y.) until March 3, 2024. I cannot recommend this American drama enough. JacobsJenkins has been one to watch for quite some time and I am so excited that more people will get to experience this brilliant piece of theater.

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; and a 2023– 2024 Moynihan Public Scholars Fellow at CCNY.

14 • December 21 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Caribbean Update

Caricom mediators encouraged by Haiti talks

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews Six months after their first engagement with politically warring Haitian civil society and other groups, a team of former prime ministers has been appointed by Caribbean Community (Caricom) governments to mediate in the situation.

The group says its latest foray into Haiti has encouraged it to continue its efforts into next year because some amount of progress has been made.

At the request of Haitian organizations, Caribbean leaders had, mid-last year, appointed the eminent persons group (EPG) composed of former prime ministers Bruce Golding of Jamaica, Perry Christie of the Bahamas, and Kenneth Anthony of St. Lucia, to attempt to bring the parties together to help revitalize non-functioning state organizations, prepare for possible general elections next year, and liaise with foreign governments to organize a peacekeeping force to help curb the power of heavily armed gangs and warlords roaming the capital and other parts of the country.

The EPG has paid several visits to Haiti.

Its latest wrapped up last weekend and, based on its latest release, the former leaders appear to be more encouraged that groups with diverse positions on a range of issues have, in some cases, eased away from hardline stances and are prepared to continue talking.

One key demand of several stakeholder groups was for the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had taken over government after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise by hired mercenaries, most of them Colombian gunmen. Several have been arrested and charged, while some of the local intellectual authorities of the assassination have also been indicted.

Haiti now has no president, no elected parliamentary official, many provincial mayors whose terms have expired, and a government whose term has also expired.

The Caricom team has said that part of its mandate is to work toward providing “a transitional governance arrangement to take the troubled country to free and fair elections. The negotiations, attended by representatives of a broad cross-section of political and civil society stakeholders,

including Prime Minister Henry, provided an opportunity for narrowing of differences on the details of the transitional governance arrangement.”

In previous releases, the team expressed its frustration at the extent of distance between some stakeholder groups, but now says that “the stakeholders achieved consensus on several aspects of the draft framework and have agreed to continue discussions between themselves in the absence of the EPG on the key areas of the balance of power and representation within the proposed transitional arrangements.”

Haiti is Caricom’s most populous and poorest nation, and the last nation to join the 15-nation bloc back in 2002. Many in Haiti had criticized the region for not doing enough to help pull the country out of the political and economic doldrums, but the prime ministers appear to be signaling an intention to stay the course and return to the island nation in the new year to continue prodding the various groups toward an agreement to restore constitutional institutions and organize general elections in the coming months. A session with Haitian groups

was also held in Jamaica in June.

Meanwhile, the Bahamas has already offered to contribute 150 troops to any multinational peacekeeping force in Haiti, but the main opposition — the Free National Movement (FNM) — wants to know why this is the case when there is rising crime and other problems at home.

“The government should have a candid conversation with the Bahamian people, Madam Speaker, with respect to the deployment of Bahamians in Haiti,” said Leader Mike Pintard in a debate last week. “We are still waiting for the government to take its time and have a candid conversation with Bahamians in terms of its plans in Haiti, Madam Speaker. That’s a reasonable request of our population — as we deploy Bahamians in Haiti, we ought to know several things. The government should explain the rationale of doing so. And I’m certain there are more than enough rational reasons why they are considering it, but explain it to the population. They have an obligation to do so.”

Jamaica and other Caricom member nations have also offered to contribute to a force whenever it is organized.

Hard-line policies against immigrants growing globally FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER While the U.S. Senate and the Biden administration look to boost hard-line policy initiatives against asylum seekers and refugees seeking to enter the U.S. via its southern border, the hard-hitting trend to keep immigrants out is growing globally. Here are some of the countries taking this assertive anti-immigrant stance with new policies in just this past week alone.

1: UK-Rwanda deportation plan wins The Rishi Sunak government in the UK this week won a vote in the House to deport migrants arriving on small boats in Britain to Rwanda to have asylum claims heard there. Even if they were then recognized as refugees, they would be invited to stay in the small African country rather than receiving permission to live in Britain. Tens of thousands of people have been making the dangerous journey across the English Channel each year, often on unseaworthy boats.

The vote came after Britain’s Supreme Court ruled this year that Rwanda was

unsafe for asylum seekers, and that some might be sent on to their countries of origin, where they could be in danger. The new legislation addressed the court’s objections by overriding some human rights law and ignoring emergency orders from the European Court of Human Rights to suspend a flight while a legal case was heard. It also states that “every decision maker must conclusively treat the Republic of Rwanda as a safe country,” contradicting the judges on a point of fact. The government said it has assurances from the Rwandan government, enshrined in a new treaty, that all asylum seekers will be allowed to remain in the country even if their claims fail, but critics argue that declaring Rwanda is safe when the Supreme Court said the opposite is like declaring that black is white.

2: French legislators reject bill The French National Assembly, in its initial reading, has rejected the government’s immigration control and integration bill after the adoption of a preliminary motion with 270 votes in favor and 265 against, as proposed by the National Assembly group Les Écologistes. This immigration bill, introduced by French Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin in February, aimed to enhance measures deterring individuals deemed a threat to public order, address

migrant exploitation, and improve border control. It also sought to streamline the regularization process for undocumented migrants concerning entry, residence, and deportation. The bill faced significant criticism, both nationally and internationally.

3: Australia moves to halve immigration intake The Australian government says it will halve the migration intake within two years in an attempt to fix the country’s “broken” immigration system and aims to slash the annual intake to 250,000—roughly in line with pre-pandemic levels—by June 2025.

Migration has climbed to record levels in Australia, adding pressure to housing and infrastructure woes. Unveiling a new 10-year immigration strategy at a media briefing, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said the migration system had been left “in tatters” by the previous government. Among the new measures are tougher minimum English-language requirements for international students and more scrutiny of those applying for a second visa—they must prove that any further study would advance their academic aspirations or their careers. There are some 650,000 foreign students in Australia, many on their second visa, according to official data.

4: Ireland PM slashes allowances On the heels of an anti-immigrant riot last month in Dublin after the stabbing of a woman and three children outside a school by an Algerian immigrant, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has announced plans to slash allowances for newly arrived Ukrainian refugees using state accommodation from 220 euros to 38.80 euros ($41.90) per week and put a 90-day limit on the time they can remain housed by the state.

5: That Italy deal with Albania is blocked Albania’s Constitutional Court last week blocked, at least temporarily, the ratification by lawmakers of a contentious deal that Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama signed with Italy’s Premier Giorgia Meloni to host two migrant processing centers on its territory to be run by Italy. The court’s chief judge, Olta Zacaj, said the court would hold a public hearing on January18 to determine whether the agreement violates Albania’s constitution. The decision means the Parliament was unable to vote on whether to ratify the deal. The court’s decision followed a petition from the opposition, which has argued that the agreement runs counter to Albania’s constitution and international law.

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

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 15

Arts & Entertainment Film/TV pg 15 | Dance pg 16 | Jazz pg 24

Pg. Pg. 20 18 Your Stars

New musical adaptation of ‘The Color Purple’ sparks excitement before holiday release

(L-R) Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Fantasia Barrino as Celie, and Danielle Brooks as Sophia in Warner Bros. Pictures’ bold new take on a classic, “The Color Purple,” a Warner Bros.

Pictures release. (Photos Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures/© 2023 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc)

By MAGRIRA Special to the AmNews At the New York screening of “The Color Purple,” I could tell by the excitement rustling through the audience that the message and the movie meant something to those assembled.

A woman dressed in what I can only describe as her “very Sunday best” asked me to take a picture of her next to the film’s poster. I took my time, sensing its significance to her. She removed her coat, and I held her pocketbook as she adjusted positions (my left side being my best). Click.

Click. Click. She checked and approved the photo. “Thank you, sis, I’m so excited to see this,” she said, and by then, I felt equally enthused.

During this moment, I also studied the poster and realized this film was being positioned as a new perspective on the now classic novel and movie. With Fantasia Barrino in the lead, it’s safe to call this version a musical.

“The Color Purple” opens on Christmas Day and is based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer

one of Whoopi Goldberg’s best performances (alongside Oprah Winfrey in a career-defining role, no less) and inspired a stage production that garnered just as many Tony Award nominations and one win.

To say that Barrino (as Celie) and the rest of the cast of the 2023 remake of “The Color Purple” have big shoes to fill is an understatement.

Directed by Blitz Bazawule, the cast features a number of extremely gifted Broadway veterans, including Barrino, Danielle Brooks (as Sofia), (L-r) Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as Young Celie and Halle Bailey as Taraji P. Henson, Corey Young Nettie in Warner Bros. Pictures’ bold new take on a Hawkins, and Halle Bailey. classic, “The Color Purple,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release Early Oscar buzz began Prize-winning book. The first film about Af- with veteran Variety writer Jazz Tangcay rican American women in the early 1900s echoing the sentiment: “Oscars, make room South was released in 1985 and earned 11 for Fantasia! This is a powerhouse perforAcademy Award nominations. It showcased mance as Celie. Blitz assembled an incred-

ible roster of talent to pull off this stellar adaptation. Taraji P. Henson is a powerhouse, and this film is perfection on every level, from acting to crafts.”

Is Bazawule’s vision of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple” a new classic? Well, what I learned from watching the film and feeling the audience’s reaction is that this 2023 version is as powerful and necessary as when these characters were first introduced to the world.

Supporting a film by purchasing a ticket is one of the most direct ways to show your encouragement and appreciation for the work put into creating it. Especially for family-friendly films like this one, releasing on Christmas Day, your ticket purchase can contribute to the success of the movie.

In the film industry, profitability often determines the future production of similar movies. If viewers want to see more movies with similar themes or styles, showing support through ticket purchases is crucial. It’s a way to demonstrate that there’s an audience eager for these kinds of stories, which can influence future film production decisions.

16 • December 21 2023 - December 27, 2023 A

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THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS & E N T E R T A I N

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NYCB’s India Bradley makes historic debut in Balanchine’s ‘The Nutcracker

By ZITA ALLEN Special to the AmNews

The New York City Ballet (NYCB) made history this holiday season with two performances by talented young Black ballerinas.

On Sunday, December 10, the NYCB’s India Bradley swept onstage and into history as the first Black ballerina to dance Dewdrop, a major role in George Balanchine’s perennial holiday favorite, “The Nutcracker.” Displaying a sublime mix of technical precision, mesmerizing musicality, and charismatic self-assurance, Bradley danced the demanding role created for the choreographer’s wife, the late Tanaquil Le Clerq, when the ballet premiered back in 1954.

As if that wasn’t mind-blowing enough, on Friday, December 15, and Sunday, December 17, the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) provided another momentous occasion in presenting Alexandra Hutchinson as Dewdrop as one of the guest artists marking the NYCB’s 75th anniversary season.

Designed to display Le Clerq’s technical versatility, the role requires a ballerina to execute a fast-paced flurry of piques, balances, battement développés, pirouettes, and fouettes to Tchaikovsky’s score with style and grace.

Bradley did just that.

“We watched history being made,” said her mother, Judy, tears streaming down her cheeks as she went backstage clutching a bouquet of flowers for the daughter she said started taking ballet when she was very young. “India loved to perform and she was very talented,” said her mother, whose own career included dancing with the pioneer Katherine Dunham and the Ailey II company, as well as singers Aretha Franklin and Anita Baker, and teaching Horton technique. “At home, India would create a makeshift stage and dance for family and friends, then demand everyone clap.”

On December 10, clap they did, wildly, and without even being told.

After the performance, family and friends clustered around to congratulate a teary-eyed Bradley. NYCB Associate Artistic Director and former Principal Wendy Whelan also joined the excitement, posing for a picture or two with Bradley and her mom to commemorate this emotionally powerful moment.

Hutchinson’s proud mother and father were similarly filled with pride after their daughter’s performance.

To celebrate, the parents, who diligently shepherded her to ballet classes when she was just a starryeyed aspiring ballerina, were joined backstage for a champagne toast by DTH Artistic Director Robert Gar-

(L-R) NYCB Assoc. Artistic Director Wendy Whelan, DTH Artistic Director Robert Garland, Alexandra Hutchinson, DTH Executive Director Anna Glass, NYCB Artistic Director Jonathan Stafford and NYCB Executive Director Kathy Brown. (Cherylynn Tsushima photo)

India Bradley as Dewdrop with company in New York City Ballet’s production of George Balanchine’s “The Nutcracker” (Erin Baiano photos)

land, Executive Director Anna Glass, DTH Board members Whelan and Jonathan Stafford, and several current and former dancers. Glowing, Hutchinson said that “words can’t describe how much it meant to be representing DTH” in “this historic space where Mr. Mitchell was famed for being the first Black principal.”

Giving a nod to Hutchinson’s DTH community, Garland said her ballet brothers and sisters were “sharing this moment with love” on What’sApp. “The Nutcracker,” Balanchine’s first evening-length story ballet for the NYCB, is a dazzlingly entertaining work comprising two acts, four scenes, and a prologue. It has a history that involves Russian composer Tchaikovsky, ballet choreographers Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, German storyteller E.T.A. Hoffman’s 1816 tale “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King,” and an adaptation by Alexandre Dumas pére, the French writer of Afro-Caribbean ancestry who wrote “The Three Musketeers.”

A popular holiday production, this tale of the magical transformation of children’s Christmas Eve presents into fantastical characters has broad appeal. A 14-foot tall Christmas tree rises onstage to a towering 40 feet. A toy nutcracker comes to life when everyone has gone to bed, except little Marie, who is terrified by an army of sword-wielding mice that the Nutcracker slays with the help of an army of toy soldiers.

And that’s only Act 1.

Magically, the Nutcracker transforms into a prince and, in Act II, leads Marie into an enchanted forest filled with dancing snowflakes, and then

who was one of the two lead Flowers (with Meaghan Dutton-O’Hara).

In both Bradley’s and Hutchinson’s performances, as snowflakes flitted across the stage in several groups of four, it was lovely to see each group including at least one Black ballerina. Pinch me.

Of course, whether this was a glitch on our racially sensitive radar or a harbinger of things to come remains to be seen. Either way, this is no reason to stop supporting beautiful Black holiday productions like the Debbie Allen Dance Academy’s “Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” in Los Angeles, California, or Ballethnic’s “Urban Nutcracker” in Atlanta, Georgia, among others. After all, all representation matters.

The significance of this season’s production featuring India Bradley’s debut and Alexandra Hutchinson’s guest appearance must be celebrated and supported as a significant step in the right direction by a major American ballet company as the artform continues to struggle to address an egregious tradition of Eurocentric bias.

Speaking with both Bradley and her mom and Hutchinson’s parents, it was clear that, while saying they were ecstatic is putting it mildly, they all remain grounded. Hutchinson, who performed brilliantly despite a minor spill ( two other dancers fell before she did), credited Mitchell’s legendary discipline and resolve, saying. “I couldn’t let that fall defeat me. We’re going to meet challenges in life, whether big or small, and instead of wallowing in that moment, I’m just enjoying all of the wonderful moments and living my best life.”

to the Land of Sweets where dancers portray everything from coffee from Arabia to Chinese tea, candy canes, and marzipan shepherdesses and a Mother Ginger whose eight children appear from under her massive skirt.

Then, there is Dewdrop, who darts among the dancing flowers, dazzling the audience with her speed and grace before ceding the stage to the Sugarplum Fairy and her Cavalier as the fairy tale ends with Marie and her prince making a classic Christmas exit by soaring overhead in a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer.

In years past, Black and brown children would have struggled to imagine themselves in its magic wonderland by seeing themselves in the casting of “The Nutcracker.” Of course, in 1955, after Arthur Mitchell joined the NYCB, during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, they could see themselves as Coffee, a role he danced in the ballet with commanding dignity. This year, with Bradley’s and Hutchinson’s performances, no mental somersaults were necessary.

Not only was there Bradley’s dazzling Dewdrop darting about the stage with mesmerizing brilliance, and Hutchinson’s with stunning self-assured elegance, but sprinkled throughout the various casts, whether among the children, dancing flowers, acrobatic candy canes, gliding angels or delicate snowflakes, there seemed to be dancers of color everywhere.

Afterward, several Black audience members said they had to pinch themselves to make sure they weren’t dreaming.

There were also appearances by NYCB dancers like Olivia Boisson,

Mitchell’s spirit was there, too, for Bradley. In fact, she said that just before stepping out on stage, she was overwhelmed with emotion and remembers hearing a voice in her head demanding, “Open your eyes and get it together!”—the voice of Mitchell, whose fierce determination after the death of Rev. Martin Luther King created the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Dancer/teachers Andrea Long, Endolyn Taylor, Virginia Johnson, and Mitchell mentored her and the DTH pre-professional program prepared her so that when she auditioned for NYCB’s School of American Ballet, she’d be successful.

Ever mindful of the proverbial shoulders she stands on, Bradley’s success seemed a little bittersweet as she recalled Black ballerinas who came before her, like Raven Wilkinson, Janet Collins, Debra Austin, and Delores Brown, and who experienced racism’s trials and tribulations. Then, too, there is Mitchell’s famous anecdote about his own 1950s NYCB debut and the audience member so shocked at the sight of a Black man appearing on stage partnering Le Clerq that he shouted, “My God, they’ve got a n***** in the company!”

While, in the words of Bob Dylan, the times might be a-changin’, Bradley, like Hutchinson, sees her success in perspective: “I haven’t experienced half of what those who came before me experienced. What they had to go through is so unfair,” she said. “I do know they would say they went through that so I and my generation could do what we’re doing now.”

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Rebirth of A New Nation: What a joyous Winter Solstice and a golden timeline moment to shift your attitude, which changes your position and how you operate, even if you are the most gentle, most respectful, and most loving person living and breathing on earth. You can change by simply changing your mind. Think about when you rearrange the furniture in your home, change the paint color on your walls, clean your car, sweep the floor, or when you change your mind about something: the feeling is different. Changing your perspective is simple mentally, physically, and emotionally. The Full moon is in Cancer at 4 degrees; what foundation are you laying? And when you do, stay committed. You already know what yesterday, last week, last month, last year, and even a few minutes ago brought you. You can change the outcome by taking the first step. “You have to get serious about your practice!” Dharma Mittra

Happy Solar Return around the Earth, Cappy! It’s a cycle week filled

Are you ready to motivate and operate in a new direction? It’s time to end anything that’s been straddling the fence, pulling on your heartstring or that is holding you back. Write down the things in life you Dec 22 June 22 delivered to you. Remember, you have your plan as other folks want you dream of accomplishing and then work towards that dream. It’s a time Jan 21 July 23 to join their agendas. Pick the best events, places, agendas to attend that to give your character a new makeover and boost your confidence. From are in alignment with what you do, be it business or personal. From DeDecember 26 around 10:15 a.m. until December 28 around 7 p.m., trust cember 21 around 9:50 p.m. until December 24 around 3 a.m., keep moving forward in yourself in the process or get left behind doing the same dance, talking the same talk, your life just like the wind does. It keeps circulating and blowing in all directions. Ac- and walking the same walk. Let whatever go for your own progress. The best is yet to knowledge what you feel until it reveals itself to you. come as you work on you. What a relief when you do!

 with instantaneous jaw-dropping moments and sudden meetings of Capricorn alignment taking place. Take a deep sigh of relief as information is being

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While you are managing your immediate obligations for business and Rihanna said in her song, “Shine bright like a diamond.” You are shinhome, schedule time for self on the calendar before the day ends. You ing bright even when you think you are just doing what comes naturally will be amazed when you put yourself first or do for self: it puts you into to you. Other people see different things, like the way you carry yourAquarius a better position to perform your duties mentally and emotionally. Take self, how you operate in business and personal affairs, and the way you Leo Jan 22 July 24 time to smell the roses, flowers in the garden, and drink plenty of fluids assist others and still carry your own weight. Take time to pamper yourFeb 19 Aug 23 to keep you hydrated this cycle week. Any partnerships you are associatself with wealth and beauty wellness. In the days leading up to Decemed with are heading in a new direction. From December 24 around 3:15 ber 28 around 7 p.m., although things slowed down a bit in the second a.m. until December 26 around 9:45 a.m., keep your eyes peeled and ears open. week of December, things are now speeding up. Catch the details, hints, and clues that will guide you to something you need to see, hear, feel, and do.

Get a handle on your affairs before all the work and effort you put in is forfeited. Tidy up your affairs and be firm about what content, products, You may be networking with folks who live a far distance away, or and services you are providing. When the opportunities arise, show and people who are working for big labels, high-end companies, and folks Pisces prove you are the right person for the position. Show your work ethic and with a high profile within your community. People will seek your guidFeb 20 Virgo experiences of what you accomplished so far. Follow where your heart ance, counsel, and advice, and some need a bit more information. GovMar 20 Aug 24 and mind are guiding you. From December 26 around 10:15 a.m. until ernment contracts are a theme, as is working with children’s programs Sept 23 December 28 around 7 p.m., every opportunity isn’t for you. Continue to be hungry or the social aspects of a program within your local community facility. enough for the golden opportunity.

From December 21 around 9:50 p.m. until December 24 around 3 a.m., it’s a week full of resources, information, and an opportune time to excel in your métier. Keep excelling.

Decide on what feels right to you. Your heart will tell you or give you a signal on how to navigate. It’s a cycle to trust the messages you are reThis week you are both introverted and extroverted. When you are in ceiving, including the ones that are visual through dreams and certain concentration, planning, cleaning, clearing and organizing mode you Aries conversations that feel like they remind you of something. A great week are introverted, getting things accomplished. A true “Please do not disMar 21 Libra to resolve any legal affairs and get a jump start on preparing the paperturb” mode. When you need the social realm of life, you are a contagious Apr 21 Sept 24 work for submission. This cycle week is about change and mainly getting extrovert and people love to converse with you and be a part of your auOct 23 serious about it. In the days leading up to December 28 around 7 p.m., dience because of the wealth of knowledge you share. From December once you do decide, the rest will follow, so stick with the program and the new flow will 24 around 3:15 a.m. until December 26 around 9:45 a.m., be mindful of folks who just start flowing in like water. want to get close to you or be in your energy field riding your coattails.

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TWhat seems mysterious is the universal way of delivering messages or Say yes to the opportunities that are in your best interest that are information to you. It’s a cycle to be still and listen more than you talk, as being presented to you. Kind of like in the television series “Say Yes some folks are for you and some are against you. When you receive that to the Dress,” you like what you are being offered. Be sure to read Taurus nudge in your body and a change in your behavior, check in on how you all the fine print even if it’s a gig you have done before. Keep in Scorpio Apr 22 Oct 24 feel. The answer you seek will surface. Your six senses will communicate mind that the timeline is different from when you first begin. From May 21 Nov 22 to you. From December 21 around 9:50 p.m. until December 24 around December 26 around 10:15 a.m. until December 28 around 7 p.m., 3 a.m., the details are within everyday life aspects, be it conversation, the things you follow your inner voice and if it comes when you are crossing paths watch and wear, songs, and places you visit. These are life’s way of communicating to in your daily affairs, share the messages. The universe works in mysterious ways humanity what shapes and makes our day. in the physical realm of life.

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December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 19

Kwanzaa is growing in popularity

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff Kwanzaa celebrations have steadily become the norm over the past few years, with events growing in popularity throughout the tri-state region, across the country, and around the world.

The seven-day commemoration of the Nguzo Saba—each day heralds an important African principle—brings celebrants together so they can salute each other in Swahili (an African language spoken in more than 14 of the continent’s countries) and recognize the value of their cultural traditions.

“Habari Gani?” or “How are you: what is the news?” is the greeting that starts Kwanzaa every day between December 26 and January 1. Over the subsequent seven days, responses to that question are based on understanding and finding ways to enact Kwanzaa’s seven principles: Umoja (Unity), Kujichagulia (SelfDetermination), Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility), Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics), Nia (Purpose), Kuumba (Creativity), and Imani (Faith) are each acknowledged with an offering of libations, lighting candles, eating and sharing food, reading poetry, sharing music and dance, and having people talk to and commune with each other.

Kwanzaa encourages Black people to take the time to reflect on themselves and their role within the African diasporic community.

Dr. Maulana Karenga, chair of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach, designed Kwanzaa as an African American cultural holiday in the aftermath of the 1965 Watts Uprising in Los Angeles.

Kwanzaa was celebrated for the first time on December 26, 1966.

This past December 4, 2023, Karenga described the ideology behind Kwanzaa on the Institute of the Black World 21st Century’s “Vantage Point” radio broadcast. He talked about inviting members of his Black nationalist US (United Slaves) Organization to his home and asking them to help organize around the seven principles.

“I’d already created the seven principles. I called these people together and I said, ‘We have to answer…Malcolm’s call to continue the struggle…to keep the faith and hold the line,’ so we built this organization…taking the vanguard attitude about the party.

“Usually there is a vanguard organization that either turns into a mass party or creates a…mass movement that leads to the revolution. I just thought that we shouldn’t try to create a mass movement now. What we needed to do is programmatically influence organizations, help them build themselves, and step back.”

Your ancestors guide you to live by the seven principles Even though Kwanzaa is not a religious celebration, it was undeniably influenced

by the fact that Black people are traditionally very spiritual, Karenga said. That religious trait, and his growing respect for the political and spiritual impact of the philosophies of Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, were very instructive.

“We’re very spiritual: Black people would say we’re very spiritual, we’re a spiritual people,” Karenga told “Vantage Point” host Dr. Ron Daniels. “I stayed away from that for a while because I didn’t want…to create a religion. I didn’t want to get religious, but I had to deal with it. As you know, [my] position [is] that Black is our ultimate reality, and from that, I do Liberation theology.” Karenga added that when he traveled to St. Louis to attend a convention of the National Council of Negro Clergymen, he asked them why they were still calling themselves “negro,” and how they could worship a white god they had no relation to. He told them that “if we have a God, it’s three things: One, he has to be in our own image. Second, he has to have a historical basis with us and walk with us and work with us and fight with us. And he has to be in our own interest.

“So, what does [a white god] do for you?

How, over time, does he serve your interest?”

Karenga said his creation of Kwanzaa was designed with those thoughts in mind. It was initially only celebrated among U.S.based Pan-Africanist organizations, but the reach of the holiday has expanded and grown internationally.

Kwanzaa is now a regular end-of-the-year celebration in schools, community centers, and various cities. The greeting card company Hallmark has a special line of Kwanzaa cards and the U.S. Postal Service has been printing Kwanzaa postage stamps since 1997, when it printed its first commissioned Kwanzaa painting created by the artist Synthia Saint James.

Internationally, the National Association of Black Supplementary Schools (NABSS) and T.A.P. Project help organize Kwanzaa celebrations in the United Kingdom. Brazil’s University of São Paulo’s Institute of Advanced Studies (IEA) just held a Kwanzaa-Writing Festival this past December 13 through 15, which had participants look at the contributions Black Brazilians have made to their country. Groups in Spain, the Bahamas, Kenya, Zimbabwe, France, Jamaica, and Canada organize yearly Kwanzaa events.

Kwanzaa festivities culminate with participants drinking from a unity cup (kikombe cha umoja) and honoring their ancestors at the Karamu Ya Imani (Feast of Faith), where special dishes celebrating Africa’s diasporic cultures are served. That act of unity comes just before lighting the final candle on the seventh and final day of Kwanzaa, which celebrates Imani and the concept of Black healing worldwide.

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Kwanzaa: a Regeneration Celebration at the Apollo Kwanzaa selections from the Apollo Theater Foundation (Shahar Azran via The Apollo photos)

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member The Apollo’s Historic Theater in Harlem (253 West 125th Street) is celebrating its decades-old Kwanzaa tradition this year with live performances featuring Grammy-nominated singer and spoken word artist MC Mumu Fresh.

“The Apollo is extremely committed to Harlem and the community that we operate out of,” said the Apollo’s Senior Director of Programming Leatrice Ellzy. “Kwanzaa is a program that’s been happening [here] since 2006, so

it really is a legacy, and we started doing Kwanzaa on its 40th anniversary.”

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga. It’s held from December 26 to January 1 annually. It invites Black Americans, and any other participants, to reflect on the seven basic principles—Umoja (unity), Kujichagulia (self-determination), Ujima (collective work and responsibility), Ujamaa (cooperative economics), Nia (purpose), Kuumba (creativity), and Imani (faith)— over the course of seven days.

Despite Kwanzaa not being commercial or widely celebrated at times, Ellzy said that the Apollo is dedicated to holding space for this piece of Black culture. “My father used to say it’s important to maintain ties because the further you get away from the tree, [the] more difficult [it is] to maintain those traditions, those things that bind us,” Ellzy said.

Abdel R. Salaam of Forces of Nature, the artistic director, choreographer, and creative force behind the show and a true lover of the arts, is excited to blend modern, West African, house, and hip-hop dance styles that encapsulate the Black experience and the true principles of Kwanzaa. Salaam has co-produced the show for the past 17 years.

“We are a group of people [who] have roots, legacies, and traditions that come from the continent of Africa and the diaspora—the middle passage—and even before that,” said Salaam.

The celebration is on Saturday, December 30, with a matinee and evening show. Tickets, starting at $25, are on sale now at www.ApolloTheater.org and in person at the Apollo Theater Box Office. Harlem residents, employees, business owners, and students can save 50% on tickets through Apollo’s Half Off for Harlem program at www.ApolloTheater.org/half-off-for-harlem.

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.

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December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 21

Harlem gift store NiLu rolls out the red, black, and green carpet for Kwanzaa this year

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member If Christmas is in Hollis, then Kwanzaa is in Harlem, and local uptown stores like NiLu are prepping for the seven-day pan-Afrikan holiday. After all, the fourth day observes the principle of Ujamaa, or cooperative economics.

This past Tuesday, Dec. 19, NiLu owner Katrina Parris braced herself for a shipment of Kwanzaa goods. A delivery man navigated the small storefront, zigzagging a standing dolly stacked with boxes between shelves of precious Black-made gifts while shopping for both Kwanzaa and Christmas was in full swing.

Parris said her store’s Kwanzaa stock will continue to grow as the holiday’s first day, December 26, approaches. She showed off her current, already impressive collection of gifts and goods. There are candles and cards and, of course, kinaras, which Parris is especially proud of. She said they’re handmade from real wood and had to be shipped around Thanksgiving to make it to her store in time.

And while Christmas might require a spruce or fir tree, Kwanzaa is the actual evergreen holiday.

NiLu storefront in Harlem.

Kwanzaa supplies at NiLu. (Tandu Lau photos)

“I think that…it’s a concept in which those principles are all year-round,” said Parris.

“But…it’s nice to be reminded of them at the end of the year.”

She finds those principles in all her goods, not just the Kwanzaa-specific ones. Parris

pointed to an intricately sewn throw pillow with Harlem landmarks stitched into the design, representing Umoja, or unity. She pointed to Black-made journals: Kujichagulia, or self-determination. As for creativity, Parris gestured across the shop.

Parris opened the doors of NiLu (191 Malcolm X Blvd., New York, NY 10026) in 2015, after she felt there weren’t enough platforms in Harlem for makers of color.

The shop houses the crafts and creations of Black- and women-owned businesses that otherwise would not have a brickand-mortar location for their goods. Parris named the store after her sons Nigel and Luke, and said it’s a natural progression from her last business—selling flowers.

“The same people who want to send a bouquet for a wonderful evening are the same people who appreciate a letterpress [card or piece of art],” she said. “[They’re] really intentional about how they give and who they support, and why they shop.

NiLu was created. We live in the community. We’ve been here. These are all the things that I want in the community and I can’t be the only one.”

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

HBCU professors explain Kwanzaa celebrations

By TANDY LAU Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member Seven days, many ways to celebrate Kwanzaa this month for Howard University’s Scot Brown, associate professor of history and author of “Fighting for US: Maulana Karenga, The US Organization and Black Cultural Nationalism,” a book about Kwanzaa’s founder, Dr. Karenga.

“There isn’t a rulebook, but there are rules,” said Brown. “Symbols mean what they mean, but you might have different activities for people to participate in [ranging from] poetry [to] music [to] communal dancing. There’s all kinds of things that build on the improvisational character of Afrikan American and Afrikan world cultures.”

Huberta Jackson-Lowman, Florida A&M University (FAMU) professor emerita of psychology, said observing Kwanzaa involves a year-long reflection and brings families to the same room.

“It's a time [when] we come together, to remember [and] to celebrate the good that we have done and are doing in our community,” said Jackson-Lowman. “And we participate in rituals around the seven principles that are associated with Kwanzaa over the seven-day period [beginning] on December 26 and [concluding] on January 1.”

The retired educator broke down the seven principles of Kwanzaa.

Umoja: “The first day, December 26, focuses on the principle of Umoja, which is unity, and paying homage to bringing our family and our community together.”

Kujichagulia: “Second day, we celebrate Kujichagulia and that is defined as self-determination, which means that we want to encourage our people to define themselves, to not be defined by others, to name themselves, to speak for themselves, and to create for themselves.”

Ujima: “On the third day, we celebrate with Ujima and that means ‘collective work and responsibility’...focusing on the idea that we should share our problems, the problems of our brothers and sisters, and help each other to solve them.”

Ujamaa: “On day four, we celebrate Ujamaa, which is cooperative economics, and here we’re talking about supporting our businesses, creating businesses, and building ourselves up at the economic level.”

Nia: “On day five, we focus on Nia and that means purpose, and we remind ourselves of our traditional greatness and what it is that we see as the contributions that we have made as people of Afrikan ancestry.”

Kuumba: “Then on day six, which is December 31…we’re celebrating Kuumba, which is creativity, and creativity in all of its forms, and what it suggests here is that whatever we do, we should leave our community better

than the way we found it.”

Imani: “The final day is January 1—New Year’s Day—and that day we’re celebrating Imani, which means faith; faith in ourselves and our ancestors and our elders and their guidance toward us.”

Brown said these principles come center stage when he’s back home celebrating Kwanzaa.

“When I am around family members, we [light] the candle together, commemorate the principles, and [think] about the deep things around [the seven principles of Kwanzaa],” he said.

Given Kwanzaa’s deep pan-Afrikan customs, it’s easy to forget the holiday’s relatively young age and largely American observance. After all, the 1966 founding is a year after Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence were born. Jackson-Lowman pushed back on narratives attempting to delegitimize the holiday due to its recency.

“Sometimes people say, well, Kwanzaa is a made-up holiday and to that, I would just suggest that people appreciate the fact that we create those things that we need for our healing for upliftment,” said Jackson-Lowman.

“We made many holidays—Fourth of July, that was made by this country…we have to take the initiative as people of Afrikan ancestry to create the things that we need to help us to move forward in terms of manifesting our highest potential, facilitating our liberation as

people of Afrikan ancestry.

“Because we still are dealing with being oppressed and marginalized as a group of people, Kwanzaa is one of those celebrations, one of those rituals, that can enable us to build community and help us begin to deal with the challenges that we face on a day-to-day basis with the anti-Black racism that is still very much enforced through this country.”

Brown expressed excitement about Kwanzaa’s global future, thanks to modern technology.

“There’s an energy around having exchange and shared inspirations, so that grows and continues to grow,” he said. “And right now, we’re in this beautiful moment where even our physical distance from one another across the Afrikan world doesn’t stop us from being able to share and celebrate together, so I’m seeing Kwanzaa celebrations that are done on Zoom.

“We’re at a point now [where] the future is extremely ripe with possibilities, because new technologies are making us closer and closer to one another, and the traditional barriers to collaboration and cooperation are slowly coming down.”

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

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Abyssinian Baptist Church, AKAs hold holiday pop-up It was a festive day of holiday excitement with scores of community residents shopping and purchasing toys, home-style food and desserts, creative clothing, beauty products, jewelry, and more offered by entrepreneurs at the Black Wall Street Vendor Pop-Up. There was something there for everyone at the event on Saturday, organized by the Building Our Economic Wealth (BOEW) committee of the Eta Omega Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sorority Incorporated,® based in the Bronx.

The Black Wall Street event, which is traditionally held during the winter holiday season, is co-hosted at Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem, in collaboration with the Welcome and Hospitality Ministry of Abyssinian Baptist Church.

According to Pauline L. Monsanto, lead of the BOEW committee, this year’s event brought together more than 300 people, not only from Harlem but from many other New York communities, as well as visitors to New York.

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Anime NYC 2023 was the place to be!

By JASMINE ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews Anime NYC 2023 was the place to be for all people who love anime, manga, gaming, and so much more—it was all on and popping.

The cosplays were out of this world and from all walks of the realm, from anime to games such as Genshin Impact, Fairy Tail, One Piece, Jujustu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Pokemon, My Hero Academia—the list is honestly endless. It warmed my heart to see so many people walk down to Javits with so many cosplays, ready to celebrate another year of Anime NYC and meet other people who love and enjoy the world of anime.

Friday was an amazing start to the 2023 Anime NYC weekend. Vendors and booths included Offset Shwa, which sold cool tech core clothing, bags, and accessories inspired by different anime shows and characters, including Chainsaw Man, Sailor Moon, and Pokemon. The FUNK (For Urban Nerd Kulture) booth sold Black-inspired anime merch like bonnets, and posters with the Black version of anime characters, which was so dope and absolutely beautiful.

There were also a lot of cosplay meetups, from Attack on Titan to My Hero Academia to One Piece.

Saturday was the busiest and most packed day. To begin the morning, there was the Genshin Impact Cosplay meetup, which I had the pleasure of participating in, cosplaying Lumine. It was such an awesome opportunity for everyone who loved Genshin Impact to show off their cosplays and take group pictures.

Then I headed down to the panel for Oshi No Ko and to interview Daisuke Hiramaki and Ciao Nekotomi, director and assistant director of the anime Oshi No Ko. When asked how long it took to produce the show, they said it took two and a half years to produce just the first season and that the initial interest for the project came from word of mouth. Producer Shimpei Yamashita had never heard or read the manga, but a lot of the people they worked with talked highly of it, causing them to look into the story itself and decide to make it into an anime series.

To end Saturday’s adventure, we had front row seats to the Crunchyroll’s Live Night of Music with hosts Tim Lyu and Lauren Moore, a beautiful night music concert that starred four amazing and talented Japanese artists: Co shu Nie, Survive Said the Prophet, SennaRin, and Hiroyuki Sawano. All these artists have con-

(Photos by Dorian Duhon and Najee Wright)

tributed so many beautiful songs to the world of anime and to the world of music in general.

To give a little sneak peek of how electrifying the concert was, Co shu Nie performed some much beloved and known songs, ranging from songs from their own album to songs from different anime openings and endings, from Tokyo ghoul re to JJK and more. When she started her intro

to “Give it back” from Jujustu Kaisen, she let the crowd know how dear this song was to her and how it has helped her through a lot. I could not have agreed more, because this song also

helped me through a lot. I sobbed, screamed, and held my glowstick up in the air, swaying with the crowd, as she serenaded us with this emotional and beautiful song. It was an elec-

trifying time. People were dancing in their seats while others were up and dancing with one another. Truly a way to end Anime NYC night.

Last, but not least, Sunday started off with the Jujutsu Kaisen Cosplay Meetup, which was a chaotically fun event that I also participated in, cosplaying Kento Nanami. Taking group photos, meeting new people, and making content about the common anime that we love is what these cosplay meetups are about. It was such an amazing experience.

The Crunchyroll hall was an experience, with all things crunchyroll and anime, including Crunchyroll merch, exclusive anime merch, photo ops, the Jujutsu Kaisen experience, and more. What a con it was! Amazing cosplays throughout and amazing panels and guests as well, and an experience that everybody should have the chance to enjoy.

If you couldn’t make it this year, that’s okay, because there is always Anime NYC 2024, which will take place August 23–25, with bigger events and panels. Tickets go on sale in January. Make sure to get your tickets so you can experience the event that is Anime NYC.

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Jazz Boxx, Dizzy’s, Kenny Barron, McCune Quartet Mecadon McCune Quartet (Ron Scott photo)

For the month of December, the jazz warrior activist Craig Harris has been playing with special guests during his weekly Friday night Harlem Jazz Boxx series, at the Mt. Morris Ascension Presbyterian Church (15 Mt. Morris Park West). On December 22, trombonist, composer, and arranger Harris will perform with special guest multi-reed player David Murray. The two are friends and have shared the stage many times which affords them an intuitive playing sense. The group will be rounded out with bassist Calvin Jones, pianist Yayoi Ikawa, drummer Kayvon Gordon and Murray on tenor saxophone and bass clarinet.

Harris is a visionary whose music reflects the Black experience from its African roots, the Harlem Renaissance, and his former large ensemble Cold Sweat, to the music of James Brown and the eternal jazz of Lester Bowie, David Murray and Muhal Richard Abrams. These intersections of textured aesthetics are what ignites Harris’s music.

Murray, like Harris, is most interested in invigorating his listeners and taking them on new journeys. The saxophonist was inspired by Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman and Archie Shepp. He was a founding member of the World Saxophone Quartet with Oliver Lake, Julius Hemphill and Hamiet Bluiett.

Murray perpetuates good music, limited parameters of the jazz police be damned.

Mt. Morris Ascension will be swinging with the collaborative efforts of Harris’ band and Murray. The concert begins at 7 p.m.

On December 29, Harris’s special guest will be Jay Rodriguez, a multi-reed player, who is at home playing saxophones and flutes. He has played with Kenny Barron, Tito Puente, Roy Hargrove, Bobby Sanabria and Stevie Wonder. Harris’s weekly series attracts influential musicians on the jazz scene, who rarely perform in Harlem.

For ticket information visit the website harlemjazzboxx.com.

Christian Sands, one of the most dapper pianists on the scene takes the stage at the picturesque Dizzy’s jazz club on December 21-24. For this four-night stay, his quartet will perform new material and holiday favorites from his Mack Avenue release ”Christmas Stories.” The Billy Taylor protégé adds new flavor to the traditional with joyous arrangements (“Jingle Bells,” “Silent Night,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”) and celebrates the Christmastime he remembers from his childhood as a ‘90s kid in Connecticut (“Snow Dayz” and the other side of the experience, “Shoveling”). Sands plays with a sensitive lyrical phrasing that accents every note from ballads to romp-

ing up-tempo melodies. guard.com or call 212-255-4037.

For reservations visit the website jazz.org There is a young jazz band of teenagers We can call him many things: great, a making a big sound on the local jazz front living legend, iconic. In the end, it doesn’t from New Jersey to Harlem. The young matter what adjective we use, the pianist consortium, Mecadon McCune Quartet, and composer Kenny Barron is one of the is named after its leader, composer and most significant jazz pianists in jazz histo- drummer McCune, 18, a freshman at Montry. The Philadelphia native hit the busy jazz clair State University. The other band memstreets of New York City in the early 1960s bers are trumpeter Elijah Allen, 18, and a playing with the likes of James Moody, Roy freshman at NYU; bassist Sam Konin,15; Haynes and Lou Donaldson. Moody re- and tenor saxophonist Ben Sherman, 16, ferred him to Dizzy Gillespie, who hired a junior at LaGuardia H.S. To demonstrate him on the spot without an audition.

McCune’s adventurousness, he leads a piThe NEA Jazz Master has appeared on anoless band. That’s daring enough for an hundreds of recordings as a leader and piv- established ensemble but McCune and his otal player with a host of noted jazz bands. young lions shine brilliantly. “My dad being At the beginning of 2023, Barron added the great pianist he is, I find myself hearyet another album, “The Source” (Artwork ing harmonies even if they aren’t being acRecords), to his long discography. It is his tively played by piano,” said McCune. “Sam, first solo album since his 1981 recording Elijah and Ben all have similar ears so as a “Kenny Barron at the Piano” (Xanadu). The leader playing chordless it’s a welcomed new album contains nine tracks—both jazz challenge. We are trying to go as far as posstandards and Barron originals. sible and playing chordless is something we Barron brings his musicianship and years do often.” of reflection to the Village Vanguard (178 Most recently during their two-set gig at 7th Avenue South) for a two-week engage- Clement’s jazz club in Newark, New Jersey, ment with two distinctive configurations. the quartet presented INSIGHT featuring From December 19-24 (Week One), Bar- Tyler Bullock, an exciting young pianist ron’s quintet will include saxophonist Im- and a junior at Julliard. They performed manuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Steve Nelson, such standards as Thelonious Monk’s “Evibassist Kyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Jon- dence,” Buster Williams’s “Song of the Outathan Blake. From December 26-31 (Week casts,” Geri Allen’s “Unconditional Love,” Two), Barron will be accompanied by sax- and a medley of Miles Davis’s “So What” ophonist Dayna Stephens, trumpeter Mike and John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme.”

Rodriguez, bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and These tunes aren’t easy for established mudrummer Johnathan Blake. sicians, but these young cats were fear“I wanted to mix it up a bit,” said Barron. less. They exhibited stage presence and “Each band is different with different music McCune’s interaction with the audience which makes me play differently for each including jokes was prime, Cannonball Adone. These are musicians who I have played derley would be proud. with and it’s always fun.”

Two nights later the Quartet with guest For tickets visit the website villagevan- pianist Ben Collins-Siegel, a 16-year-old

junior at Newark Academy, performed at Silvana (116th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd.), a haven for aspiring musicians.

The audience is usually filled with a string of musicians, including from Manhattan School of Music, proud parents, and folks looking to hear new music. Mecadon McCune Quartet started late but kept the audience enthralled with tunes from Emmanuel Wilkins, Joe Henderson’s “Afrocentric,” and a few originals.

McCune met bassist Konin three years ago during the summer workshop at Jazz House Kids in Montclair, New Jersey where they immediately locked in. “I love playing with Sam and I think the most important relationship in a band is the link between the bassist and drummer,” said McCune.

The following year at the workshop he met Sherman and it was the same instant connection with him. They all played in the same ensembles in Jazz House Kids, and ended up winning the Mingus Competition, where he met Elijah and again found instant connection. “This band really came together very naturally, and we’re good friends,” says McCune. “I’m a big believer in the sound of a band, and we are all pushing in the same musical direction, with a lot of the same influences, tastes and compositional ideas.”

The drummer’s father, Brandon McCune, is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist, and minister of music for several New Jersey congregations and his mother, Christine McCune, is an opera singer. Trumpeter Elijah Allen is the son of prominent tenor saxophonist and composer J.D. Allen In the words of McCune at performance end, “We enjoyed this fellowship and if you find yourself missing us, look to the moon, for we are amongst the stars.”

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CLASSROOM

Hall of Famer, George McGinnis ACTIVITIES

By HERB BOYD Special to the AmNews Perhaps only the most avid of NBA fans knew of George McGinnis and his stellar performances with the Indiana Pacers, the Denver Nuggets, and the Philadelphia 76ers.

News of his passing last Thursday Dec. 14, 2023 at 73 will refresh the memories of those who marveled at his power and finesse during his more than a decade-long tenure in the NBA and ABA. The numbers he posted and his induction into the Hall of Fame reveal only a portion of what he meant to the sport and his crowd of admirers, a sentiment summarized by the Sixers in a post on X: “George McGinnis was a Hall of Famer on and off the court, earning several accolades during an ABA-NBA career that spanned a decade. He joined our team in the mid 70s and proved to be an incredible force alongside Julius Erving—the duo leading our team to a 1977 NBA Finals appearance. Our sincerest condolences go out to George’s family and friends.

He will be sorely missed.”

McGinnis was born in Harpersville, Alabama, on August 12, 1950, but grew up in Indianapolis. He attended Washington High School where he and his teammate, Steve Downing, led the school to a 31-0 record and a state championship in 1969. He set a tournament scoring record with 148 points in his final four games and that year was named Indiana’s Mr. Basketball.

The accumulation of stag- George McGinnis, 1977 Sports Illustrated cover gering numbers continued in the 1970-71 season at Indiana Uni- his home state with the Indiana His most astonishing season versity Bloomington. He became Pacers of the American Basket- was in 1975 when he nearly averthe first sophomore to lead the Big ball Association. He was the im- aged a triple-double (32.3 points, Ten in scoring and rebounding. mediate centerpiece in the team’s 15.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in In his only season with the Hoo- ascendance and championship 18 games). But despite his hercusiers, he averaged nearly 30 points crowns in his first two years there. lean efforts, the Pacers fell to Kenper game and earned All-Big Ten In 1973, he was named the MVP in tucky in the finals. A powerfully Honors and All-American status. the playoffs, averaging a double built man of 6 feet, 8 inches, and He left the college just before the ar- double (23.9 in scoring and 12.3 a massive 235 pounds, McGinnis rival of the legendary coach Bobby in rebounds) in eighteen playoff could have starred in football, but Knight and nine years before Isiah games. The following season he his prowess on the court was comThomas was the team’s star. was even better, scoring nearly 30 manding whether on the Pacers, McGinnis had the good fortune points per game as he powered his or the Sixers, from 1975 to 1978, or to begin his professional career in way to the ABA MVP. with the Nuggets from 1978 to 1980.

FIND OUT MORE A trove of information on him can be found in the files at Indiana University and the Indiana Pacers, including numerous state archives.

DISCUSSION Certainly in the various repositories, there is more information about his life beyond the court.

PLACE IN CONTEXT His career marks a time when the NBA and ABA began to merge, and he excelled in both, particularly in the 1970s..

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY Dec. 17, 1937: Singer Art Neville, of the famed Neville Brothers, was born in New Orleans.

He ended his career back with the Pacers, and his presence may not have been meant on the court as much as it did improving the team’s attendance numbers.

His number 30 is among the retired jerseys for the Pacers, alongside fellow legends Roger Brown, Reggie Miller, and Mel Daniels— and all four are members of the NBA Hall of Fame. McGinnis was inducted in 2017, in a year that also honored Tracy McGrady, Kansas Coach Bill Self, and Rebecca Lobo.

Dec. 18, 1917: Actor and Playwright Ossie Davis was born in Cogdell, Georgia. He died in 2005.

Dec. 19, 1963: Actress Jennifer Beals was born in Chicago.

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Religion & Spirituality Beloved father and grandfather Tony Barzey dies Antonio (Tony) Ignacio Barzey Caines was born on January 20, 1959, in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, to Marcelina Mela Caines Barzey and Peter Barzey. His family lived in the tight-knit sugar mill community of Santa Fe, where his father served as chief chemist for more than 40 years. He grew up in a loving home with his five siblings: Pedro (deceased), Sarah, Edmund, Peter Alexander, and William. Tony and his brothers loved to play music together, where he contributed by singing and playing the bongos and güiro.

Barzey was intellectually gifted and always excelled in school. He studied civil engineering at the Tony Barzey with daughters Rossmery, Rosiam, and Ginette Universidad Central del Este in the Dominican Republic where, as a teacher’s assistant in the De- attending college and after his fathanks to his talents, he also served partment of Engineering. While ther’s death, Barzey was also train-

ing in agricultural engineering at the Dominican Sugar Corporation, where his father also worked.

In 1980, Barzey married his childhood friend and neighbor, Rocio Brugal, with whom he went on to have his three beautiful daughters. Rossmery and Rosiam were born in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, where they all lived before moving to the Bronx, New York, in 1984. Their youngest daughter, Ginette, was born in New York City.

Tony and Rocio remained close friends even after their divorce.

Continuing with his love of engineering, in his early years in New York City, Barzey took courses in welding at Apex Technical School. He worked in building construction for many years, his favorite jobs being a foreman and driving a forklift. He also held var-

ious jobs as a hospital engineer/ maintainer, taxi driver/dispatcher, and parking lot attendant.

Barzey’s greatest joy were his three daughters. He was proud of their academic and professional successes. Above and beyond that, he was grandpa extraordinaire to his six grandchildren. He was there for every birthday, school play, sports event, school pick-up, and everything in between.

Barzey is survived by his mother, Mela; siblings Sarah, Peter Alexander, William, and Edmund; daughters Rossmery, Rosiam, and Ginette; son-in-laws Landon and Fabricio; six grandchildren, Aaron Anthony, Aaliyah, Austin, Lenox Antonio, Lexington, and Andres; nieces and nephews; and countless family, friends who are family, friends, and acquaintances.

Timekeepers no more, rank-and-file Jehovah’s Witnesses say goodbye to tracking proselytizing hours

By PETER SMITH Associated Press Jehovah’s Witnesses are wellknown for proselytizing doorto-door and handing out their literature on city streets. Less known to the general public is that for the past century, their adherents have been required to make regular reports to their congregations’ leaders about how many hours they put into such ministry.

Those hourly reports were a key metric for a congregation’s spiritual vitality and a factor in deciding who rose to leadership.

Former adherents tell of pressure to meet quotas and guilt when they didn’t.

In a historic shift, that practice ended this month.

For the first time since 1920, leaders of the Jehovah’s Witnesses

have removed the hours-reporting requirement for rank-and-file adherents.

“Our ministry involves much more than counting time,” said Samuel Herd, a member of the denomination’s Governing Body, in announcing the policy change to applause at the October annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, a legal entity central to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ work.

Herd said the Governing Body is “confident that you dear ones will continue to render wholesouled service,” motivated not by obligation but devotion to God, whom they call Jehovah. But he acknowledged that leaders would have to adapt.

“You will have to know the flock well,” he said. “Evaluating a congregation’s spiritual health or a

brother’s qualifications to serve (in leadership positions such) as an elder or ministerial servant will not simply be a matter of computing averages, time spent in the ministry, literature placements and so forth.”

The video of the meeting, held in Newburgh, N.Y., was publicly posted by the organization in early November, although leaked recordings circulated for weeks earlier on unofficial websites.

“This is one of the biggest changes I ever remember” in the organization, said former elder Martin Haugh of York Haven, Pennsylvania.

Removal of the hours requirement applies to “publishers,” or rank-and-file adherents involved in active ministry. They will now only need to file monthly reports saying whether they’ve conducted

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

any evangelistic activity and Bible studies, without specifying hours.

Those who sign up for more extensive service, known as “pioneers” or “missionaries,” will continue to record their hours.

Skeptical former adherents, however, are speculating different motives are at play—that adherents’ ministry hours have dropped so noticeably, particularly since the pandemic.

When numbers were growing, “it was always brought up at meetings or in their publications to show the growth of the organization,” said Mitch Melin of Washington state, a former adherent now working to bring awareness to what he calls the “darker side” of the organization, such as its control of Witnesses and the practice of shunning certain members. He speculated that “if they’re

declining, it might be embarrassing to show” the numbers.

Jarrod Lopes, a spokesperson for Jehovah’s Witnesses based at their world headquarters in New York state, disputed this notion.

He said ministry time had been increasing yearly until the pandemic, peaking at above 2 billion hours worldwide. While current hours are below pre-pandemic levels, he said they began rising from 1.4 billion in 2021 to 1.5 billion hours in 2022 as Witnesses resumed door-to-door visits and other ministry.

Former elder Haugh, who left the denomination over what he saw as its mishandling of sexual abuse and other matters, said the hours requirement was once central in adherents’ lives.

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Unconstitutional Debt collection

Continued from page 3

Continued from page 4

to get general licenses; the waitlist is currently closed.

The DSNY and DCWP maintained that they only issue civil summonses in response to violations and do not dole out criminal charges, although the NYPD has oversight if contraband or something similar is found during inspections.

The Street Vendor Reform package was introduced last week by Councilmembers Pierina Sanchez, Amanda Farías, Shekar Krishnan, and Carmen De La Rosa, along with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

It includes four bills that ensure vendors have access to licenses, reduce criminalization and public siting limits, and create a Division of Street Vendor Assistance in the city’s Department of Small Business Services (SBS). The reform bills have been praised by street vendors and advocate groups.

“Street vendors provide a lifeline for many immigrant New Yorkers. They are our smallest businesses,” said Krishnan in a statement. “At our Council hearing, I was proud to join over 200 vendors testifying in support of legislation to reform our street vending system, which includes my bill to decriminalize street vending violations. No vendor should face jail time and a criminal conviction for trying to feed their families.”

De La Rosa, who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, said in a state-

ment: “New York City is renowned for its diverse and dynamic street life, with vendors contributing to the unique character and energy that defines our streets, especially uptown. Many street vendors are immigrants, faced with employment challenges and the economic realities of living in New York City.”

Velázquez is the sponsor of Int. 1062 and Int. 1188, and a co-prime sponsor of Int. 1060, which were heard during the committee hearing. One of the burdens that vendors often face is the ability to display and store goods, according to the City Council. Int. 1062 would allow mobile food vendors to display or store goods on top of their carts. Velázquez’s bill would eliminate the requirement that individual employees of mobile food vending carts or trucks each have a New York State Certificate of Sales Tax Authority. Lifting this requirement would enable street vendors to hire employees without the need for added paperwork and to operate like a traditional business.

is: ‘Forget it, they took the money from me, I so-called owe this. I’m sick and tired of going back to court…let me just give up.

Let me just give them whatever.’

“But I was like, that’s not fair. I never owed that. And I’m sticking with that. I have all my paperwork from when I withdrew and I’ve never owed anything.”

Her experience stems from what her lawyers allege as “sewer service” debt collection. The practice relies on securing default judgments against debtors by ensuring they don’t appear in court, often through improper summons. In addition, Banks thought that financial aid covered her tuition at Taylor Business School, which the NYS Department of Education ordered to shut down in 2006. She left the two-year college believing she didn’t owe a cent.

Banks won her appeal in the Appellate Division, First Department, of the New York Supreme Court earlier this month.

Her lawyers from the Legal Aid Society and New Economy Project laud the legal victory as “far-reaching,” and believe that it will open doors for New Yorkers in similar circumstances.

“It’s constitutional due process—the right to have your day in court and defend yourself,” said New Economy Project staff attorney Raquel Villagra. “That proper service and proper notice that you’ve been sued in court is the fundamental thing that needs to happen for the court to have the power to hear the case and go forward.

Debt collectors have gotten away with this fraud for years. They sue people, lie about serving them with the court papers, and then they secure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of default judgments and disproportionately in Black and brown communities.

“Ms. Banks’s case, and the decision that we ended up getting, upended over a decade of bad case law that barred people from challenging those default judgments, and it will have a huge impact on future cases, too.”

Legal Aid supervising attorney Tashi Lhewa said sewer service debt collection exploits gaps in legal representation,

which occur frequently in Black and brown communities.

“When we talk about consumer debt litigation, more than 95% of the defendants are unrepresented by counsel and nearly 100% of the plaintiffs are represented by an attorney,” he said. “Our current system of litigation is an adversarial system where it’s assumed people with equal resources will fight it out in court and truth will prevail. But if one side does not have equal representation or resources, or is not legally sophisticated, you’re unlikely to prevail.”

Lhewa added that sewer service debt collection often relies on creditors retaining process servers, who deliver legal documents but do not properly serve summons to the debtor before supposed creditors seek default judgments.

State Attorney General Letitia James submitted an amicus brief in support of Banks earlier this year. She wrote that New York has a special interest in sewer service practices, given that almost a million default judgments in consumer credit cases have been entered over the past 20 years. James added that her office “revealed that an extraordinary number of these judgments have been obtained through fraudulent service practices.”

Lawyers representing the debt collectors were not available for comment. Their brief maintained that this case was not an example of sewer service, arguing that her mother’s address was provided on Banks’s Taylor Business School documentation.

Banks said she’s extra-careful with the fine print these days, especially when helping her daughter, a high school senior, with college applications.

“I’m helping her enroll in colleges and I’m reading everything, making sure everything is right,” she said, laughing.

Fair Housing

housing in every neighborhood” with reforms to the city’s zoning code.

The shared burden of a housing approach across community districts seems to be fairly well received. and inequality. Together with our ‘City “Thank you to Speaker Adams, the City of Yes’ plan, the Fair Housing Framework Council, and the Adams administrawill help right some of the great wrongs tion for signing into law the Fair Housof our city’s history. I look forward to ing Framework. Implementing targets for our continued partnership with Speak- more equitable development is an imporer Adams and the City Council to fight tant first step toward meeting our housthe city’s untenable housing and afford- ing needs in every neighborhood in New ability crisis.”

York City,” said Annemarie Gray, Open The framework matches up with the New York executive director, in a statemayor’s “City of Yes for Housing Oppor- ment. “Making good on these values tunity” proposal to build “a little more means doing even more next year. We

look forward to working together on the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity initiative and the state legislative session to make sure every level of government is using its full powers to ensure all communities are part of the solution to making New York fair and affordable for all.”

Councilmember Marjorie Velázquez chairs oversight hearing on street vending on Wednesday, Dec. 13. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Continued from page 4

production and preservation of affordable housing, anti-displacement resources, and neighborhood investments for underserved communities.

“For far too long, the government has let restrictive laws and zoning rules keep us from building the housing New Yorkers need,” said Mayor Adams. “I am proud to stand side-by-side with Speaker Adams to fight the factors that have contributed to housing discrimination

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.

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

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.

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Health Common abortion pill will come before U.S. Supreme Court. Here’s how mifepristone works

By MATTHEW PERRONE AP Health Writer Medication abortion is the preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used—mifepristone—will now go before the U.S. Supreme Court next year.

Demand for the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol has grown as states have imposed bans or restrictions or sought to limit abortions after the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

Conservative groups filed lawsuits targeting mifepristone, which is the only drug approved specifically for abortion, seeking to reverse its approval or rollback policies that have made it easier to obtain.

The Supreme Court will hear a case in the spring that could block mail-order access to mifepristone and impose restrictions on its use, even in states where abortion remains legal.

The restrictions include shortening the window during pregnancy in which the drug can be used and requiring in-person office visits to get a prescription.

Here's a closer look at how mifepristone and misoprostol work and the legal challenges that the drugs face.

How do abortion drugs work?

The prescription medications are taken several days apart.

Mifepristone is taken first, swallowed by mouth. The drug dilates the cervix and blocks the effects of the hormone progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy.

Misoprostol, a drug also used to treat stomach ulcers, is taken 24 to 48 hours later. The pill is designed to dissolve when placed between the gums and teeth or in the vagina. It causes the uterus to cramp and contract, causing bleeding and expelling pregnancy tissue.

While the two-drug combination is slightly more effective, misoprostol is sometimes used alone. That practice is more common in countries where mifepristone is banned.

How are abortion drugs administered?

Abortion medication is currently approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy.

The pills may be taken in a doctor’s office or clinic, where patients sometimes have an ultrasound or lab tests beforehand. Some providers also offer the pills through telehealth visits and send the medication by mail.

The pills account for more than half of all U.S. abortions.

Medication abortion is preferred method of ending pregnancy in the U.S., and one of the two drugs used—mifepristone—will now go before U.S. Supreme Court in 2024 (AP Photo/ Charlie Neibergall, File)

What are the side effects?

Studies and real-use evidence show that when taken together, the pills are safe and up to 99% effective.

Side effects may include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Bleeding is normal; very heavy bleeding is uncommon and requires medical attention.

Serious complications are very rare.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)said last year that about 5.9 million women have used mifepristone since it was approved more than 20 years ago. The agency has received 32 reports of deaths in women using the medication, including two involving ectopic pregnancies, which grow outside the womb. The deaths can’t be definitively attributed to mifepristone, because in many cases, the women had other health conditions and were using other medications.

The medications are not recommended for certain patients, including those with

suspected ectopic pregnancies or implanted IUD birth control devices.

Dr. Stephanie Rand, a New York OB-GYN and abortion specialist with the advocacy group Physicians for Reproductive Health, says pregnancy tests should not be used right away to determine if a medication abortion was successful because the pregnancy hormone may linger in the body for several weeks.

Bleeding with blood clots that include lighter-colored tissue are signs of success, she said.

How much does medication abortion cost?

It varies by location, but the cost of medication abortion is similar to abortion procedures and may total more than $500. Health insurance coverage also varies, with some plans making the pills free or low-cost and others not covering them at all.

Mifepristone is sold under the brand name Mifeprex and misoprostol under the

brand name Cytotec. Both pills are available as generics.

What’s the legal status of mifepristone?

Mifepristone remains fully approved, despite the legal challenges. The FDA and the Biden administration have reiterated that the drug's safety and effectiveness have been repeatedly confirmed by multiple studies conducted since its 2000 approval.

Access largely depends on where a patient lives. Currently, 14 states are enforcing laws that bar abortions, including medication abortions, throughout pregnancy.

Another 15 states have separate laws specifically limiting how mifepristone can be prescribed and distributed, such as requiring an in-person visit with a physician.

Still, some women in states with bans are able to obtain the pills through the mail, which isn’t tightly regulated.

The case now before the Supreme Court began with a legal challenge in 2022 by Christian conservatives who sought to overturn mifepristone’s original FDA approval. A Texas judge sided with the group in an initial victory that would have required the drug to be removed from the market, but an appeals court left the drug’s approval intact, instead issuing a ruling that would have reversed changes the FDA made in 2016 and 2021 that eased access to the drug.

The Supreme Court put all those changes on hold while it considers the case.

How could the Supreme Court’s ruling affect access?

If the justices side with abortion opponents, it would ptobably mean the drug could no longer be sent through the mail, as has been possible since 2021. It would also shorten the window for use from 10 weeks to seven weeks—the latter was approved in 2016.

Other requirements would include reimposing three in-person office visits with a doctor before women could get a prescription. In addition, women also might be required to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary. That’s because a negative ruling would also overturn a determination by the FDA that a lower dosage could be used safely.

The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to decide on the case by late June.

AP writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Afro Panamanian Continued from page 2

‘Operation Just Cause’ massacred Afro Panamanians in the El Chorrillo neighborhood On December 20, 1989, 26,000 special forces soldiers attacked the Afro Panamanian neighborhoods of Colón and Rio Hato, but the most tragic and gruesome attack was on the neighborhood of El Chorrillo, which had been one of the favorite haunts of the Afro Puerto Rican salsa singer Ismael Rivera.

Some human rights organizations speak of 2,000 to 7,000 victims.

The U.S. special troops remained there until February 25, 1990, leaving CIA intelligence services in place who followed up on probable demonstrations against the gringo invasion.

This invasion left 18,000 families without homes, thousands were crippled, people went insane, and families were separated. The invaders did not respect whether someone was for Noriega, a Torrijista, or a pro-imperialist, and even more if anyone

International Continued from page 2

“I don’t think there is anyone in South Africa who will not agree that we are not at a good point in the history of our country.

There must be change,” Groenewald said.

Gumede chaired the discussions and encouraged party leaders to rise above egos and squabbles.

“Every decision the group makes has to be in the best interest of South Africa. It has to be for the future of all of us and for those still to be born.”

UK PLANS DEPORTATIONS TO RWANDA—IN VIOLATION OF BRITISH LAW (GIN)—While UK officials debate the wisdom of sending immigrants seeking asylum to Rwanda, they do so despite a decision rendered last month by the British Supreme Court that found the scheme unlawful because Rwanda is not a safe third country and migrants might be sent back to their homelands, where they would be at risk of abuse.

Nonetheless, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak holds out hopes that new legislation will fulfill his pledge to stop people arriving across the Channel in small boats.

From their safe perch in London, England, members of the UK’s House of Commons voted on December 12 in favor of the “Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Migration)” bill. Vocal opposition from various MPs has not slowed passage of the bill, which passed its second reading by 313 votes to 269.

Safety in Rwanda is far from assured. Rwandan opposition leader Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza described her experience in Rwandan exile as a shock to Rwandans. “We know this is no place for asylum seekers.”

Ingbire Umuhoza was sentenced to 15 years in jail for speaking out about the gov-

was Afro Panamanian: Bombs and shrapnel did not distinguish.

This fact was taken to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which ruled that the U.S. military had committed excesses with its bombing and burning of houses and buildings where civilians lived.

“The IACHR has concluded that the United States did not take sufficient measures to adequately warn Panama of this [military invasion], to safely evacuate civilians, or to prevent or respond to the plight of people who were brought into harm’s way,” the commission said in its 2018 report. “The IACHR also deemed that the way the operation was carried out did not comply with the basic principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality, and precaution established by international humanitarian law (IHL). The IACHR thus established the United States’ international responsibility for violating the rights to life, integrity, and personal security enshrined in Article I of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, to the detriment of those who lost their lives and were injured during the invasion.

“Furthermore, given that several of the deceased victims were children at the time of the events, the IACHR also ruled that the United States violated Article VII of the American Declaration.”

In the 2004 book, “La verdad sobre la invasion” (“The truth about the invasion”) by Olmedo Beluche, the young journalist Dalys Ramos is quoted in her writings about the dangers her family suffered during the invasion: “At about 12:15 a.m., my family and I were trying to get to sleep when a desperate scream was loudly heard, someone shouting that war was coming! It was one of the neighbors who had heard the assaults on Amador. I woke up my family and we were in the living room within seconds. I remember we just had time to change our clothes. The place had to be evacuated.

“In the street we could hear children screaming, ladies crying and people running trying to get out of the place. One of my sisters, who lived near the beach, came to the house with her children, who were still very young, to warn us and we all went out together to take a taxi. Panamanian soldiers were scattered all over the neigh-

ernment in her country. She was among the few who publicly disapproved of the deportation plan cooked up by British parliamentarians. “But I could only do so on social media and in foreign publications and channels, as local media would not dare give me the platform,” she said.

“Rwanda is not a free country because political rights are restricted and civil liberties are curbed. Moreover, it remains among the poorest and least developed countries in the world and the most unequal country in the East Africa region.”

Other human rights violations have included the unlawful jailing of journalist Theoneste Nsengimana since October 2021 for “spreading rumors to cause unrest among the population,” and denial of press credentials to journalists Benedict Moran and Anjan Sundaram for publishing criticism of President Kagame.

Despite no deportations taking place, Britain has already paid Rwanda $300 million.

While Britain hopes to send thousands of migrants, at the moment Rwanda only has the capacity to take a few hundred.

ment reportedly promised to help organize a funeral that would be worthy of the music star’s name, but dragged its feet for months and did nothing.

When the family submitted a budget request of $75,000 to the government, it was not approved and the relatives were left in limbo.

“It is humiliation, if we must call it that,” said the artist’s son, Andre Marie Lokassa, adding that the delay had caused tension in the family.

The Congolese star was finally buried in Kinshasa last Friday, 10 months after his death. The low-key event included family members, Congolese music union officials, and former colleagues.

Other Congolese musicians who were not buried for months after their deaths include composer and saxophonist Kiamuangana Mateta Verckys, who died in October last year and was buried in December, and jazz star Simaro Massiya Lutumba, who died in March 2019 and was laid to rest in May of that year.

Within less than a week after the death of Lokassa, the Congolese music fraternity found itself mourning the passing of another legendary singer and composer: Saak “Sinatra” Sakul. Both men were aged 80 and had been sidelined due to long illnesses.

What was once considered a dead-end career for African musicians with their works copied extensively by artists in the West, today there are many millionaires in the African music world.

One of the fastest-growing industries in the world, African music boasts an ever-increasing number of gifted singers heralding the scene’s arrival. As a consequence, the earning potential of these artists has increased and the richest musicians in Africa now compare with their international peers.

The proliferation of digital music platforms has made it easier for African artists to connect with a global audience and gain recogni-

CONGOLESE GUITARIST LOKASSA YA MBONGO FINALLY FINDS HIS REST (GIN)—The legendary musician Lokassa Ya Mbongo, whose real name was Denis Kasiya Lokassa, died in March at the age 77, after battling diabetes and complications from a mild stroke he suffered in 2020.

Lokassa was one of Democratic Republic of Congo’s best rhythm guitarists, but spent most of his career in Paris, where he led the Soukous Stars band since the 1980s.

He moved to the U.S. in 1996, where he lived until his death. His body was flown to the Democratic Republic of Congo in April.

Lokassa’s body lay in a morgue in Kinshasa, the capital city, in accordance with his wish to be buried in his home country. The govern-

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 29 borhood, but we had to evacuate; we knew that we were in danger and when we were going down the stairs machine gun shots were heard, endangering the lives of innocent people whose only sin was living near the Central Barracks. I looked up and saw three American Cobra helicopters firing in the direction of the building where we were. Maybe they were shooting because the guards who were in the building were firing back, but the intervention was frightening, brutal and shocking.”

The U.S. military violated the right to life.

IACHR’s decision against the U.S. has yet to be implemented, but Afro Panamanians continue to demand immediate reparations, because it was also an act of racism: El Chorrillo and Colón are neighborhoods mostly inhabited by Afro Panamanians. Their struggles for justice and reparations continue and have been promoted predominantly through the work of the Federación Autentica de Trabajadores de Panama (Authentic Federation of Workers of Panama).

Just last year, December 20 was declared a National Day of Mourning in Panama. The invasion is neither forgiven…nor forgotten.

Lokassa Ya Mbongo (GIN photo)

tion outside of their home countries. This has fueled the expansion.

Among the top African musician millionaires are Fally Ipupa of the Congo, $13.6 million; Burna Boy of Nigeria, net worth $16 million, designated among the 100 most influential people globally by Time magazine; Wizkid, the second African musician to generate over a million dollars in a single event, with his performance at Madison Square Garden, net worth $26 million; and Davido of Nigeria, founder of the music label DMW (Davido Music Worldwide), net worth $27.6 million.

Women artists are also breaking the glass ceiling, among them Oumou Sangare of Mali, net worth $12 million; Akothee of Kenya, net worth $10 million; Vanessa Mdee of Tanzania, net worth $8 million; and Angelique Kidjo of Benin, net worth $8 million.

30 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Education Will the state DOE end Adams’s mayoral control of public schools?

Mayor Eric Adams stands in doorway of his old high school classroom as he returns to Bayside High School in Queens to call for continued mayoral control of New York City’s public schools on Tuesday, Mar. 8, 2022. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office photo)

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member A new state law requires that the New York State Education Department (NYSDOE) review the effectiveness of Mayor Eric Adams’s mayoral control of New York City public schools through a series of public hearings that began this December.

The first hearing was held at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx on December 5; the second was in Queens at Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical High School on December 18. The consensus of many testimonies at the hearings protested against Adams’s “unnecessary” budget cuts to education resources and demanded more “checks and balances.” Others testified that the city’s mayors in gen-

eral have been given too much power over schools, allowing politics and favoritism to affect policy and appointments depending on who’s in office.

“I would have taught in New York City for free. I love what I do,” said Celestine Clee-Harvin, an educator from School District 11, at the Bronx hearing. “[But] the scholars of New York City deserve much more than the mayoral control that we have right now.”

Many said that mayoral authority of schools should end.

“We cannot afford to continue to fight with the mayor or anyone else. Our children deserve better.

We deserve better as educators,” continued Clee-Harvin. “I stand up before you flat-foot[ed], 10 toes down, to let you know that we need to educate our children.”

New York City’s public school

system has been under mayoral control for more than the last two decades, beginning with Michael Bloomberg in 2002. It gave Bloomberg the power to appoint the city’s schools chancellor and members to the Panel for Educational Policy (PEP), which runs the city Department of Education (DOE). Before the 1990s, the city’s schools were run by 32 community-elected school boards and the Board of Education.

However, it was riddled with corruption, reported City & State.

In July 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill to extend Adams’s mayoral control for another two years instead of his requested four. Each of the city’s school districts still has its own Community Education Council (CEC) and there are four citywide councils.

“There is no perfect governance system. There are countless opin-

ions about how the schools should be run,” said Schools Chancellor David Banks at the Bronx public hearing. He was appointed by Adams in January 2022. “Yet, I know from firsthand experience the flaws of the previous system and the ways that our students suffered as a result. Mayoral accountability, in contrast, is as close as we can get to a system that is the most manageable, least politicized, and most impactful.”

Ultimately, the state has to decide whether the city’s mayor can continue to have mayoral control under Chapter 364 of the Laws of 2022. The NYSDOE will hold five public hearings total, in which students, parents, teachers, school administrators and staff, and members of the public are encouraged to testify either in-person or by submitting written electronic

testimony by January 31, 2024.

The remaining hearings will be in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Staten Island in January 2024: Boys and Girls High School (1700 Fulton Street), Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, 6:00–9:00 p.m.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Educational Complex (122 Amsterdam Avenue), Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, 6:00–9:00 p.m.

New Dorp High School (465 New Dorp Lane), Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, 6:00–9:00 p.m.

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.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Libraries Continued from page 6

said Greene in a statement.

Greene said that libraries have been “a safe haven” for Black and brown youth for many decades, providing a nurturing and supportive setting for those who do not have the space in their homes to read, write, research, study, and participate in workshops and events that enrich and expand their minds. She thinks cutting these services “sends the wrong message about the power of books and what we value.” Libraries also provide alternative ways for the community to critically examine the issues and to interact with poets, scholars, and literary writers, she said.

“Public libraries supplemented the book mobiles that many of us grew up with,” said Greene. “I eagerly looked forward to the book mobiles that came once a week because there were no libraries close to my home. Books took me to many places and helped me to explore my own and other worlds. If we are truly committed to ensuring that we have a

Hair

Continued from page 6

“All the textures are amazing,” said HareBey. “Hair love across the board. It doesn’t matter, you know what matters, healthy hair. And understanding that healthy hair is really consistent with a healthy body. Those are the conversations we’re having in the natural hair space and that’s where [we’re] trying to take our industry. It’s a holistic opportunity for hair care.”

Bailey’s recent cosmetology law goes all the way to the Secretary of State too, and requires

Hours

Continued from page 26

“It showed you how loyal you were to Jehovah by how much time was put in,” he said.

Haugh recalled how a regional supervisor yelled at elders if their congregation’s performance lagged. He said marriages broke up over spouses’ different levels of commitment, and people who were judged as failing at ministry would spiral into depression. “Now they don’t have to have that stigmatization that they’re not putting in the hours,” he said.

On a recent weekday afternoon, Jehovah’s Witnesses were handing out literature to passers-by at downtown locations in Pittsburgh—the 19th-century birthplace of the movement. Those interviewed said they planned to do as much ministry as ever and hadn’t focused on the hours.

“It doesn’t affect our day-to-day life,” said Chuck Ghee, a local elder. “We give the best out of our heart.”

The Governing Body also devoted part of the annual meeting to revising its interpretation of biblical prophecies about the end times—a paramount focus of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 31

literate and informed culture, then our libraries should be the last place where we employ budget cuts. The mayor and his team must find a way to turn these cuts around.”

Diane Richards is the executive director of the Harlem Writers Guild and a writer, playwright, music producer. She is strongly against cuts to city libraries like the internationally famous Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, which began in the home of Arturo Alfonso Schomburg––an Afro Latino scholar that dedicated his life to collecting the works of Africans, Blacks, Latinos, and Caribbeans across the diaspora.

“It happens often. Arts are cut, music, the kinds of things in schools they feel they can cut,” said Richards. “But it has such a negative impact on young adults, children, and even grown adults. We need to read, we need to continue to hone our skills. Writing, reading, knowing our culture, and history. It’s academic.”

City Council members have also railed against the cuts to libraries.

“Libraries are most certainly a community’s

source for information, empowering those browsing the stacks with an almost unlimited fountain of knowledge on all subjects. This is especially true of New York City’s public library system. But, more than that, libraries are civic hubs,” said Councilmember Crystal Hudson. “They serve as places for community gathering, socializing, and vital programming, and they are also one of the few places in the city where New Yorkers of all generations can interact naturally. Cuts to library funding jeopardize all of that.”

Hudson added that the proposed cuts will have outsized impacts in Black and brown, poor and working class communities that rely the most on public services.

Councilmember Sandra Ung said in a statement that one of her top priorities was reopening the Flushing branch of Queens Public Library, which had been closed since the start of the pandemic, because she knew it was an important resource to the district’s largely immigrant community.

“It’s where children improve their reading skills, parents learn English, and residents develop new skills they can use to advance their

careers or transition to a new one,” said Ung. “The administration has made difficult decisions to address a grim budget outlook, but I will continue to work with my colleagues in the City Council to find solutions to ensure that our city’s three public library systems have the resources and funding to continue to provide critical services to our community.”

Council Member Lincoln Restler, who attended the vigil organized by Urban Librarians United on Sunday, is an avid lover of libraries. He noted that there is constantly a fight between city council and Adams to keep library funding in the city’s “austerity” budget last year and this year.

“There is no need for the mayor’s cuts. It is wrong, it is shameful, it is ideologically driven and we must fight back,” said Restler.

that office to promote inclusive hair education and testing for cosmetologists or natural hair stylists. “The current standards in the cosmetology industry often do not adequately prepare professionals to work with diverse hair textures. This knowledge gap disproportionately impacts women and girls of color with textured and diverse hair who face challenges in seeking out services that meet their needs,” continued Bailey.

Weena Jerome-Alexandre is the founder of Renaissance Curls, a natural hair shop on Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem that offers natural hair training classes. Jerome-

Alexandre said that Bailey’s bill is a significant development that is long overdue, however it presents some challenges with hiring practices.

“It’s essential to clearly define the curriculum and ensure that competent instructors are hired,” said Jerome-Alexandre. “While the law presents an opportunity to modernize cosmetology education for hair stylists to learn about all hair textures, there’s a concern that educational objectives might be overshadowed by corporate interests which might overlook the invaluable contributions of groups like the [NHBC] that have been advocating for this for years. Collaborating with

experienced professionals in textured hair care is vital to ensure the legislation’s effective implementation to truly benefit the targeted audience.”

For more information about NYS cosmetology licensing, check out dos.ny.gov/cosmetology.

The Governing Body now accepts that even in the final countdown to Armageddon, nonbelievers might still accept the truth and be saved. That reverses a previous understanding that, once an apocalyptic Great Tribulation gets underway, it would be too late.

That announcement, not yet formally made public, has also been circulating online on the same unofficial sites that distributed authentic recordings of the announced policy change about tracking hours.

“Will all those living during the Great Tribulation have a full opportunity to decide either for the kingdom or against it?” asked Governing Body member Geoffrey Jackson at the annual meeting.

“We don’t know, and we don’t need to know because we’re not the judges,” Jackson said. “We know that Jehovah and Jesus are merciful, that they will always do the right thing.”

Earlier leaders of the organization had raised expectations for apocalyptic events in specific years, such as 1975, that failed to materialize. Current teaching still puts a strong emphasis on the end times, but without predicting specific dates.

Governing Body member Jeffrey Winder said at the annual meeting that God reveals truth gradually and the body is happy to have its understandings corrected.

“Knowing this, we are not embarrassed about adjustments that are made, nor is an apology needed for not getting it exactly right previously,” he said.

Lopes declined to comment on the unreleased teaching videos before their scheduled release in January, after their translation into more than 200 languages spoken by adherents. While he neither confirmed nor disputed the videos’ authenticity, he did say unofficial sites impinge on copyright when they distribute Watch Tower videos without authorization.

The changes come at a turbulent time for Jehovah’s Witnesses. Worship gatherings in India and Germany suffered fatal attacks in the past year from former participants. Believers in Russia, where the denomination is banned, face persecution.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses face intense scrutiny worldwide over the handling of child sexual abuse. A Pennsylvania grand jury has charged 14 men since 2022 with sexual abuse within the organization.

The denomination counts 8.7 million ad-

herents worldwide, with 1.2 million in the United States.

The changes in teaching and the practice of recording hours, taken together, can be seen as a “relaxation of the sectarian identity of the group,” said Mathew Schmalz, a professor of religious studies at the College of Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.

On the one hand, “it’s hard to see the Witnesses becoming a mainstream church, because it would lose some of its appeal to being the possessors of biblical truth” to the exclusion of others, Schmalz said. On the other hand, the organization wants “to have the public take them seriously as a religious organization.”

Former elder Haugh said the changes don’t make up for failures in reforming the handling of abuse or for battling former adherents and critics in court and other venues. “They may be nicer to their own members, but they’ve become even more against their former members,” he said. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

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.

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.

32 • December 21 2023 - December 27, 2023

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STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS IN THE 25TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COUNTY OF HAMPTON Case No.: 2023CP2500241 WILHELMINA RICE - Plaintiff vs.

GENEVA WARE, JEANNETTE SMART GOINGS, ROBERT STINSON, JR., PRENETTA RICE, JAMES SAMUEL STINSON, SR., DERRICK STINSON, DEXTER STINSON, STEVE BRODUS WILLIAMS, all in their personal capacities and as heirs of the ESTATE OF FRANK DEVESE, JR.; THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF ESTATE OF FRANK DEVESE, JR; HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES “JIM” DEVESE; THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES “JIM” DEVESE; HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF MEDILEE DEVESE, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF MEDILEE DEVESE, HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIE DEVESE; THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF WILLIE DEVESE; THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTINE BAILEY DEVESE, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF CHRISTINE BAILEY DEVESE, THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF JESSE DEVESE, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF JESSE DEVESE, THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF ALICE DEVESE STINSON, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF ALICE DEVESE STINSON, THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF CHARLIE DEVESE, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF CHARLIE DEVESE, THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF MURRAY J. HALL, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF MURRAY J HALL, THE HEIRS OF THE ESTATE OF ALICE DEVESE, THE UNKNOWN HEIRS OF ALICE DEVESE, and JOHN DOE, a class made up of all unknown parties who may have or claim some right, title, or interest in the property subject to this action, and Richard Roe, infants, insane persons and Incompetents being fictitious names, designating as a class any person, who may be an heir, devisee, widow, widower, assign, administrator, executor, personal representative, creditor, successor and issue, issue and alienee and all other persons or legal entities, known and unknown, owning, having and claiming any right, title and interest in the parcels of land described in the complaint herein or any part thereof; and JANE DOE, a class made up of all unknown parties who are in the United States military who may have or Claim some right, title, or interest in the subject property - Defendants SUMMONS: TO: THE DEFENDANTS ABOVE NAMED YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED and required to answer the Complaint herein, which was filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Hampton County and to serve a copy of your Answer to the said Complaint upon the subscriber at his office, situated at Post Office box 1346, Orangeburg, South Carolina, 29116, within thirty (30) days after the service hereof upon you, exclusive of the day of such service. If you fail to answer the complaint within the time aforesaid, the Plaintiff will apply to the Court for the relief demanded therein.

NOTICE OF FILING: TO: THE ABOVE – NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU WILL PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the original Summons and Complaint and in the above entitled action were filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Hampton County, South Carolina on August 11, 2023, the object and prayer of which is to obtain Declaratory Judgment/Quiet Title/Possession of real property located in Hampton County, South Carolina, and other relief as set forth in the Complaint.

LIS PENDENS: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT an action has been or will be commenced in this Court upon Complaint of the above-named Plaintiff against the above-named Defendants and against the following property located in Hampton County: Property Address: The exact address is unknown but the property is in Hampton County, South Carolina. Case No. 2023LP25-00016.

ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION: ON CONSIDERATION OF THE FOREGOING PETITION of Glenn Walters, Sr., on behalf of the Plaintiff(s), praying that an Order Directing Service of Process by Publication be granted in the cause of action referenced in the motion and it appearing that such procedure is both necessary and proper, IT IS ORDERED that service of the SUMMONS, LIS PENDENS, NOTICE OF FILING, GUARDIAN AD LITEM NOTICE NISI, ORDER DIRECTING SERVICE OF PROCESS BY PUBLICATION and NOTICE OF INTENT TO REFER in this action be made on each Defendant listed hereinabove, by publication in a newspaper of general circulation for Hampton County, South Carolina, or as most likely to give notice to Defendants; and IT IS ORDERED that publication be made at least once per week for three weeks in a newspaper of general circulation for Hampton County, South Carolina, or as most likely to give notice to Defendants. IT IS SO ORDERED. s/Mylinda D. Nettles, Hampton County Clerk of Court ORDER APPOINTING GUARDIAN AD LITEM AND ORDER OF PUBLICATION: Upon reading and filing the petition of the Plaintiff for the appointment of KOREY L. WILLIAMS, Esquire as Guardian Ad Litem Nisi and attorney for the unknown Defendants who are minors and unknown Defendants under legal disability, If any, herein collectively designated as John Doe, Richard Roe and Jane Doe, and it appearing that the names and addresses of such minors, or other persons under legal disability, if any, whether residents or non-residents of the State of South Carolina are unknown to the Plaintiff and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, and that said KOREY L. WILLIAMS, Esquire is a suitable and competent person to understand and protect the rights and interest of said minor Defendants and others under legal disability, if any, and has no interest therein adverse to the interest of said minors or Defendants under disability, if any, and is not connected in business with Plaintiff in this action or with their counsel. IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that the said KOREY L. WILLIAMS, Esquire, 450 Summers Avenue, Orangeburg, SC 29115, be, and he is hereby, designated and appointed guardian ad litem nisi for said unknown minor Defendants and those other Defendants under legal disability if any, herein collectively designated as John Doe, Richard Roe and Jane Doe and he is hereby authorized to appear and defend said action on behalf of said Defendants, unless said minor Defendants, other Defendants under legal disability, if any, or either of them shall within twenty (20) days after the service of a copy of this Order upon them, exclusive of the day of service, as herein provided, procure to be appointed a guardian ad litem for said minor Defendants or other Defendants under legal disability, if any, for the purposes of this action. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order shall be served upon unknown Defendants, unknown minor Defendants and other unknown Defendants under legal disability, if any, herein collectively designated as John Doe, Richard Roe and Jane Doe, by publication of such notice of this Order is required by law in a newspaper of general circulation published in Hampton County, South Carolina, once a week for three successive weeks as well as any other state or county known to Plaintiff. s/Mylinda D. Nettles, Hampton County Clerk of Court NOTICE OF NISI: TO: ALL DEFENDANTS, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, AND SUCH OF THE DEFENDANTS JOINED IN THE ABOVE ACTION WHO MAY BE INFANTS, INSANE PERSON AND INCOMPETENTS: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that there has been filed in the Office of the Clerk of Court for Orangeburg County, State of South Carolina, an Order, appointing for you as Guardian-ad-Litem, Nisi, Attorney KOREY L. WILLIAMS, whose address is 450 SUMMERS AVENUE, ORANGEBURG, SC 29115, which appointment shall become absolute upon the expiration of thirty (30) days following the last day of the publication of a copy of the filed Summons, Notice of Intent to Refer, and Notice Nisi, herein, unless you or someone in your behalf, on or before the above mentioned date, procure someone to be appointed as the Guardian-ad-Litem to represent you and your interest in the above entitled action.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO REFER: TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that upon the expiration of thirty (30) days following the service of a copy of the Notice of Filing Complaint, Summons, Lis Pendens, Notice of Order Appointing Guardian Ad Litem, Notice of Intent to Refer, and Order of Publication herein upon you, the Plaintiff, through her undersigned attorney, will appear before the Honorable Presiding Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in and for the County of Hampton, State of South Carolina, and will move His Honor for an Order, referring the above entitled matter to the Master in Equity for Hampton County, with finality of authority, and for any appeal to be taken from the Final Judgment and Decree of the Master of Equity for Hampton County, shall be directly to the Supreme Court of South Carolina. /s/ Glenn Walters, Sr. Esquire_____ GLENN WALTERS, Sr., Esquire Post Office Box 1346, Orangeburg, SC 29116 Phone: 803 531-8844 Attorney for Plaintiff Dated: 08/11/2023 - At Orangeburg, SC

101 LEGAL NOTICES NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK 21ST MORTGAGE CORPORATION AS MASTER SERVICER FOR CHRISTIANA TRUST, A DIVISION OF WILMINGTON SAVINGS FUND SOCIETY, FSB AS TRUSTEE FOR KNOXVILLE 2012 TRUST, Plaintiff AGAINST JIN HUA LIN, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered September 19, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on January 10, 2024, at 2:15PM, premises known as 44-46 MARKET STREET, UNIT 10A, NEW YORK, NY 10002.

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 274, Lot 1216. Approximate amount of judgment $831,930.17 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850085/2018.

The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the NEW YORK County COVID-19 mitigation protocols and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale. Clark Whitsett, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 19002279 77271 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK: COUNTY OF NEW YORK. JY TANGEROUS L.P., Pltf v. SIXTH STREET COMMUNITY CENTER, INC, et al., Defts. Index No. 850041/2021 pursuant to the Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 16, 2023 and entered on October 12, 2023, I will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, at the Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York, room 130 on January 24, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., prem. k/a 638 East Sixth Street, New York, New York 10009, Block 387, Lot 128 (the “Property”). Approx. amt of judgment is $1,483,225.50, plus costs, attorneys’ fees and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. Peter Sklar, Esq., Referee. Jacobowitz Newman Tversky LLP, Attys. for Plaintiff, 377 Pearsall Ave., Ste C, Cedarhurst, NY. Notice of formation of Hagley's West 137 Management LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 5/11/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 226 West 136th St, Apt 1R, New York, NY 10030. Purpose: Any lawful act.

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. JOSEPH G. DONOVAN, PATRICIA A. DONOVAN and BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF 57TH STREET VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., Defts. - Index # 850217/2021. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided .015838% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $38,019.21 plus costs and interest as of May 5, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Roberta Ashkin, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. SEAN PATRICK FRANCIS, CATHERINE ELAINE FRANCIS and NYC TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, Defts. - Index # 850039/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 24, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York.

Approximate amount of judgment is $29,758.29 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Allison M. Furman, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. PATRICK FRANK ROSS and CARLA HENRIQUES-ROSS, Defts. - Index # 850403/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00493200000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $15,278.67 plus costs and interest as of August 15, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Roberta Ashkin, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. MARIO ROMO AHUMADA and TAMMY ANN AHUMADA, Defts.

- Index # 850408/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00493200000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57th STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $29,797.40 plus costs and interest as of August 11, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Roberta Ashkin, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK HILTON RESORTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff -against- GEORGE FUBARA TOLOFARI, WOBIA ALEXANNEDRA TOLOFARI, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated June 6, 2023 and entered on June 7, 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 January 3, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an undivided .009864% interest in the common elements. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $45,569.06 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850097/2022.

CHRISTY M. DEMELFI, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. KIM RENAYE NWAGWU, GORDIAH NWAGWU, Defts. - Index # 850402/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00493200000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $20,587.05 plus costs and interest as of August 10, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -against- JULIA ALEXIS AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF EILEEN DUIGNAN WOODS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 29 and entered on September 1, 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 January 24, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .009864% common interest percentage. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $17,972.99 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850024/2022.

ALLISON M. FURMAN, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -against- WILLIAM D. VONVOSS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated July 18, 2023 and entered on July 20, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on January 10, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY; known as The NYH Condominium. Together with an appurtenant undivided 1.4182% common interest percentage.

This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 27, 2003 and November 3, 2003 as CFRN # 2003000442513 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1006 and Lot 1303. Said premises known as 1335 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, UNIT HU2, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $17,119.13 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850042/2020.

TOM KLEINBERGER, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. ALAN ROGER EFRON, MARGARET HOBLIT, Defts. - Index # 850175/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2003, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 8,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the America, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $69,746.92 plus costs and interest as of August 10, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. JOHN THOMAS SHAPAKA and PATRICIA ADELE SHAPAKA, Defts. - Index # 850038/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 5, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 7,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $10,845.39 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Sofia Balile, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. JULIA FAIRBANKS, Defts. - Index # 850419/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $46,108.24 plus costs and interest as of August 16, 2023.

Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Matthew D. Hunter III, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 33

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK HILTON RESORTS CORPORATION, Plaintiff -against- ADEWALE GEORGE, ENATA GEORGE, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated May 25, 2023 and entered June 1, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on January 4, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an undivided 0.00986400000% interest in the common elements.

This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $38,780.17 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850060/2022. PAUL R. SKLAR, ESQ., Referee, DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorney(s) for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -against- JEFFREY A. HILLS, PATRICIA E. HILLS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated March 7, 2023 and entered on April 10, 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 January 3, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .015838% common interest percentage. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations.

Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37.

Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $17,683.86 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850073/2020.

DORON LEIBY, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - COUNTY OF NEW YORK 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff, -against- DIANA GOMEZ JUAREZ , if living, and if he be dead, any and all persons unknown to Plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or generally or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs-at-law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to Plaintiff, Defendants. INDEX NO.: 850070/2020 FILED: DECEMBER 12, 2023 TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance on the plaintiff's attorney within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service or within 30 days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, a Justiceof the Supreme Court, of New York County, dated November 28, 2023 and entered November 30, 2023. Dated: October 6, 2023, Westbury, New York. Maria Sideris, Esq., DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC, Attorneys for Plaintiff, 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, New York 11590, (516) 8760800. WE ARE ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT AND ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. MARTIN J. COYNE, Defts. - Index # 850415/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.00986400000% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $132,551.49 plus costs and interest as of August 16, 2023.

Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Matthew D. Hunter III, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

34 • December 21 2023 - December 27, 2023

101 LEGAL NOTICES

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. FELIX R. SANCHEZ, NYC PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU, NYC TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, NYC ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, COMMISSIONER OF SOCIAL SERVICES, CRIMINAL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK SUPREME COURT, Defts. - Index # 850098/2018. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 8, 2003, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided .09864% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 57TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $12,839.39 plus costs and interest as of October 26, 2017. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

Snackbasket LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/03/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: MYCOMPANYWORKS, INC., 187 E. WARM SPRINGS RD. SUITE B, LAS VEGAS, NV, 89119. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of CORIO GENERATION USA LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/22/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/25/23. Princ. office of LLC: One Lincoln St., Ste. 2400, Boston, MA 02111.

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, Wilmington Office, 820 N. French St., 10th Fl., Wilmington, DE 19801. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. CARL T. ANDERSON, PATRICIA ANN ANDERSON, NY STATE OF TAXACTION AND FINANCE, NYC TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU, Defts. - Index # 850400/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated November 9, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on Thursday, January 11, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.0519144314871446% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HC SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the America, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $75,344.14 plus costs and interest as of August 15, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. SAIF A. AMAN, Defts. - Index # 850037/2023. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 24, 2023, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the NY County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, NY, NY on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 5,000/28,402,100 tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as HNY CLUB SUITES located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Approximate amount of judgment is $32,542.31 plus costs and interest as of March 29, 2023. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Allison M. Furman, Esq., Referee.

Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY. NOTICE OF SALE RSS CD2017-CD-4-NY T5B, LLC, A NEW YORK LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, Plaintiff, vs. THOR 50 BOND STREET LLC, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on September 21, 2023, and an Order Substituting Plaintiff and Amending Judgment Caption Nunc Pro Tunc duly entered on October 25, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse, Room 130, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 17, 2024 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 50 Bond Street, Unit C-1, 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 530 and Lot 1301 together with an undivided 14.00 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $10,995,481.84 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850068/2022. COVID-19 safety protocols will be followed at the foreclosure sale.

Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee Duane Morris, LLP, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036, Attorneys for Plaintiff NIROLA GOLF LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/14/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: UNITED STATES CORPORATION AGENTS, INC., 7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202, BROOKLYN, NY, 11228. Purpose: To teach golf or to engage in any lawful act.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK U.S. Bank National Association, not in its individual capacity but solely as trustee for the RMAC Trust, Series 2018 G-CTT, Plaintiff AGAINST Latasha O’Bryant; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered October 2, 2023 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 130 at the Supreme Court, New York County, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on January 17, 2024 at 2:15PM, premises known as 297 West 137th Street, Unit No. 2574D a/k/a 2574D, Frederick Douglas Boulevard, New York, NY 10030. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, Block 2023 Lot 1114. Approximate amount of judgment $459,098.00 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 850120/2019. The auction will be conducted pursuant to the COVID-19 Policies Concerning Public Auctions of Foreclosed Property established by the First Judicial District. Jeffrey R. Miller, Esq., Referee LOGS Legal Group LLP f/k/a Shapiro, DiCaro & Barak, LLC Attorney(s) for the Plaintiff 175 Mile Crossing Boulevard Rochester, New York 14624 (877) 430-4792 Dated: August 30, 2023 MHO - My Humble Opinion LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/02/2023. Office: NEW YORK County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 200 E 62ND ST APT 16B, NEW YORK, NY 10065. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of HabSchu Holdings, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/21/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 311 11th Ave., Apt. 5306, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Attn: Brian Haber at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qual. of MOSTLY TRUE FILMS LLC Auth. filed with SSNY on 09/21/2023. Office location: New York. LLC formed in TX on 06/08/2022.

SSNY desg. as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY mail process to: 66 Leonard Street, New York, NY 10013. Arts. of Org. filed with TX SOS. P.O. Box 13697, Austin, TX 78711-3697.

Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of JDW SOCIAL, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/11/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: John David West, 536 W. 47th St., Apt. PHE, NY, NY 10036. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

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

Notice of Formation of QBV CAPITAL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 9/21/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated an agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: 1 Union Square, South 210, New York City, NY 10003.

Purpose: Any lawful act.

AC TAXPROS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 8/07/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 157-16 45th Avenue, 1st floor, Flushing, NY 11355. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of 17 EAST 70TH HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/28/23. 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. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of TrayScapes LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/25/23. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Kent Beatty & Gordon, LLP, 11 Times Sq., 10th Fl., NY, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of SUGAR FOODS LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/01/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/18/23.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of (C)worthy, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/14/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 05/05/23.

Princ. office of LLC: 1909 Broadway, Ste. 200, Boulder, CO 80302. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Charitable and scientific purposes.

Notice of Formation of 163 CSTREET LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/21/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 121 Varick St., 4th Fl., NY, NY 10013. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC at the addr. of its princ. office. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Crowdwork Hack LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 07/18/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 685 Post Rd, Darien, CT 06820. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of TET FIFTH AVENUE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/05/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 6400 Georgetown Pike, McLean, VA 22182. 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. Purpose: To own and hold real estate investments.

101 LEGAL NOTICES

101 LEGAL NOTICES

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -against- ANYA SARA HORWITZ A/K/A ANYA SARA HORWITZ LYONS AS CO-EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF CRYSTAL M. HORWITZ, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 22, 2023 and entered on August 30, 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 January 3, 2024 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 102 West 57th Street, New York, NY. Together with an appurtenant undivided .009864% common interest percentage.

This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 10, 2008 and October 31, 2008 as CFRN # 2008000426142 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1009 and Lot 37. Said premises known as 102 WEST 57TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY. Approximate amount of lien $16,794.56 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale.

Index Number 850072/2020.

GEORGIA PAPAZIS, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590

NOTICE is hereby given that a license, number 1356078 for liquor, wine, beer & cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, wine, beer & cider at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 1455 St Nicholas Avenue, New York, NY 10033, New York County for on premises consumption. Casa Latina Restaurant NYC LLC d/b/a Sofia Bar & Grill

NOTICE is hereby given that a license, number 1348260 for liquor, wine, beer & cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, wine, beer & cider at retail in a restaurant under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 2014 29th Street, Astoria, NY 11105, Queens County for on premises consumption. PFE Group NY LLC d/b/a Queens Hidden Treasure

Notice of Formation of WEST 48 MASTER TENANT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/10/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 7 Penn Plaza, Ste. 600, NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Jeffrey Levine at the princ. office of the LLC. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of STRENTA PHILANTHROPIC GRANTING SERVICES, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/27/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 11/10/20. Princ. office of LLC: 600 Brickell Ave., Ste. 1720, Miami, FL 33131.

SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of RGNMCA ITHACA I, LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/01/23. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/27/23. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporataion 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: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of WILLETS TRIANGLE HOUSING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 11/09/23. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 30 Hudson Yards, 72nd Fl., NY, NY 10001. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served.

SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207.

Purpose: Any lawful activity.

WORKSHOP DIGITAL LLC. Arts of Org filed SSNY 10/13/23, NY Co. SSNY desig. agent for process & shall mail to: US Corp Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave, #202, BK, NY 11228.

Purpose: General.

Deborah's Beauty Spa, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/08/2023. Office: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 115 W. 142 St., Apt 6B, NY, NY 10030. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Dewy Dawn LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/16/2023. Office: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail a copy to: 89 Jewel St, Brooklyn, NY 11222.

Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

CREEK CAPITAL, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/8/2023. Office: NY County.

SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail copy to: 180 WATER ST APT 810, NEW YORK, NY 10038. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 37

Howard women’s basketball scores much needed win over FAU

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews It has been a rough start to the season for Howard University women’s basketball. The Bison entered the season with high expectations after earning a spot in the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament in 2022 and making it to the title game of the MEAC Tournament the last three years. The team’s 46–45 win over Florida Atlantic provided the boost of energy it had been seeking.

“I feel my first year I was trying to figure out what my role was,” said sophomore forward Nile Miller, who had nine points and 11 rebounds in the win. “Being able to start a couple of games my first year prepared me. Starting off my second year and being able to be a starter, I’m able to work on certain things. I know my role is.”

Miller, who is from Haddonfield, New Jersey, has started eight of 12 games so far this season. “Now, I know I’m a rebounder; I’m a stretch forward,” she said. “I’m working on my game more because I know my role.”

“We got this,” said Miller, who chose Howard because growing up she went to predominantly white Catholic schools.

“I wanted to experience going to a Black school with more culture and more people that look like me. I feel people who look like me have good intentions for me. It is more family oriented. I’m very happy.”

Miller’s first sport was gymnastics.

When she tired of it, she switched to basketball, which made sense because she was always the tallest person in her class.

By middle school, she realized she was pretty good. She liked the competition and was also motivated by the circle of friends she developed in the game. That team bonding and competitive drive are still motivators.

Miller is looking forward to a MEAC championship and another trip to the NCAA’s tournament field of 68 teams. In Despite the losses, Miller said she and her onship game, falling to Norfolk State. The 2022, Howard won its first-ever NCAA Howard teammates were keeping a positive players are learning from the losses and are Tournament game. Non-conference play spirit. The Bison also had a rough start last preparing for conference play, which starts wraps up on Dec. 30 with a Washington, season, but made it to the MEAC champi- on January 6 DC, match up against American.

Nile Miller has been a vital contributor for Howard. (Howard Athletics photo)

St. John’s scores big win in Madison Square Garden return St. John’s head coach Joe Tartamella with players Jailah Donald (l) and Jillian Archer after their 51-46 win over Villanova at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. (Lois Elfman photos)

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

St. John’s host local elementary school students.

first Big East Conference game of the season for both teams and St. John’s first win over Villanova in quite some time—the It was a tight game with neither team Wildcats are in the post-Maddy Siegrist era building a double figure lead. In the end, (she is now in the WNBA).

St. John’s University women’s basketball “To finish the way that we did, I think, is a prevailed 51–46 over Villanova University. real testament to the grit that they’ve had, reThe game marked the women’s team’s first silience they’ve had, in a year that’s been frustime at Madison Square Garden since 2019. trating at times,” said St. John’s Head Coach It was the second game of a double header, Joe Tartamella. “Also, we’re starting to see with the Red Storm men’s team defeating some of the frustration turn into execution.

Fordham University 77–55 in game one.

“To be able to win a game like this where As evidenced by the score, neither team it’s nip-and-tuck throughout…we were prehad a stellar night offensively. It was the pared enough to be ready,” he added. “We

stayed in the game and we grinded it, and I think we had enough confidence to know what was going to happen.”

Tartamella and players Jillian Archer and Jailah Donald all expressed gratitude for being able to play at the Garden. “Going into it, we were super-excited,” said Archer, a graduate student forward, who had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

“The energy was really great.”

It was a breakout game for sophomore guard Donald. “To play on a big stage like Madison Square Garden was an amazing opportunity,” said Donald, who had 12 points

and six rebounds, earning praise from Tartamella for her impact on the game. “[I need] to keep being very consistent moving forward.”

The Red Storm have two non-conference games and then resume Big East play on January 3 on home court vs. Marquette.

“Everybody in the Big East is very good, and the competition is great, so [I’m] really just bringing my all every single game and trying to stay focused on what we need to do,” said Archer. “When we focus, lock in, and really try to execute the game plan, it shows. We did that today. It’s continuing to do that [that will keep us winning].”

38 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

The Jets and Giants faint playoff hopes end with losses in Week 15

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor This season has been one of what ifs for the Jets and Giants.

What if Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers didn’t rupture his left Achilles tendon four offensive snaps into the team’s regular season opener on September 11?

What if Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, who had his best season as a pro a year ago didn’t sustain neck and knee injuries—the latter a season-ending torn ACL in his right knee on November 5 when the Giants were 2–7 but still not out of the playoff race?

To illustrate the Giants’ realistic postseason chances at that time, the 7–7 Los Angeles Rams are currently the No. 7 seed and hold the final NFC wildcard spot with three games remaining in the regular season. The Giants are 5–9 heading into their 4:30 p.m.

Christmas Day road match up with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Would a healthy Jones have been the impetus for two or even three more wins for the Giants?

The Rodgers and Jones questions, as are the many more what ifs that could be presented are all hypotheticals. Conversely, facts and certainties are immutable. The 5–9 Jets, in being shut out 30–0 by the Miami Dolphins on the road this past Sunday, were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 13th season in a row, ignominiously making it the longest such active streak among all of the major (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) North American professional sports leagues franchises.

The Jets’ defense couldn’t keep the Miami Dolphins defense under wraps in a 30-0 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

(Jets.com photo)

The Giants would need to win all of their remaining three games to reach 8–9 and have a remote possibility of prying open a wildcard spot. Dispiritingly for them, with six teams above the Giants in the standings (eight if the Eagles and Cowboys, which are both 10–4 and tied for the NFC East lead are included) all vying for three wildcard openings, they’ll soon be joining the Jets in the officially eliminated category.

Giants head coach Brian Daboll was asked on Sunday after his squad’s 24–6 road

loss to the New Orleans Saints if he is still trying to instill in his players the belief that the playoffs continue to be attainable.

“Yeah, we are all pros. You get ready to play,” he said unconvincingly. “You get ready to play the next week. That is our job. We will look forward to the opportunity to play next week.”

For Jets head coach Robert Saleh, the reality of another season without a postseason appearance ahead of their home game this Sunday at MetLife Stadium against the 4–10

Washington Commanders is frustrating.

“It’s disappointing, starting from the first series of the year all the way to now. It’s been a constant battle,” said Saleh. “I do appreciate the heck out of our guys. We’ve still got three games left to finish strong.

As bad as we feel now, we’ve got to remember that we felt pretty good last week, too. And we’ve got a good Washington team coming in licking their chops. So we’ve got to go take care of business and take care of that one.”

Student-athletes share their perspectives at SBJIAF Former college softball player Morgyn Wynne. (Bruce Waterfield/OSU Athletics photo)

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews This year’s Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum (SBJIAF) touched on numerous topics, including changes to the NCAA. Just before the start of the annual conference, NCAA president Charlie Baker released a proposal to create a new subdivision within Division I in which some schools will have increased autonomy. This could lead to those schools being able to compensate some student-athletes directly. Schools that opt into this subdivision would have to demonstrate a standard rooted in athlete investment.

Over the course of the conference, athletic directors, conference commissioners, and other pundits in college sports weighed in. Every year, the SBJIAF includes a student-athlete panel, this year titled “What Keeps You Up at Night? The Student Athlete Perspective.”

The first question asked by moderator Rodney Anderson, manager of NIL (name, image, and likeness) business development for Learfield/Sooner Sports Properties, related to experiences with NIL. One clear point is that, for the most part, sports outside of football and basketball—known as the Olympic sports or non-revenue generating sports—have less or smaller opportunities. Those who are social media-savvy do their best to leverage NIL. Former softball player and NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Vice Chair Morgyn Wynne transferred to Oklahoma State University just before the enactment of NIL on July 1, 2021. She used the 2021–22 academic year to build her brand and then saw deals come in during her final year.

“It was really cool to see the progression of people not knowing who I was to people asking, ‘Can you wear this?’ or ‘Can you take a picture and post it on your social media and we’ll give you this [amount]?’” Wynne said. She spoke about a collaboration with a car dealership that had a mission to propel women’s sports, doing community outreach to young female athletes.

In response to Anderson asking how student-athletes prioritize mental health amid the many demands on their time, Clara Vulpisi, a recent graduate and former water polo player at the University of the Pacific, said, “I think we’re moving in the right direction with trying to figure out how to build requirements and standards across Division I, Division II, Division III, ensuring student-athlete mental health and preventing burnout.” She also stated her approval of Baker’s proposals.

Wynne said she nurtured her own mental health by becoming involved in studentathlete advocacy. “That is where I created a balance for myself,” she said. “I have a voice and I have a seat at the table.”

December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023 • 39

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS S P O R T S

Morrell Jr. retains WBA super middleweight title with win over Agbeko

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews David Morrell Jr. retained his WBA super middleweight title with the quick disposal of Sena Agbeko this past Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The referee stopped the fight at 1:43 of the second round.

“This is the first time my dad and my mom came to watch me fight, so it’s really special to have them here,” said Morrell (10–0, 9 KOs). A native of Cuba, Morrell was elated to have his parents, Rafael Sr. and Betty, allowed to emigrate to the U.S. from the island nation on November 2.

“In 2024, I want to fight Benavidez,” said Morrell Jr., referring to interim WBC super middleweight champion David Benavidez.

Agbeko is now 28–3 (22 KOs).

The match was marred by controversy as Agbeko, who is from Ghana, accused Morrell of using performance enhancing drugs.

He claimed Morrell did not want to fight in Las Vegas where drug testing is conducted and instead sought to have their clash in a state where testing is not required. Morrell settled in Minneapolis when he came to the U.S. from Cuba in 2019.

In the co-main event, Jose Valenzuela became an instant candidate for knockout of the year with a brutal knockout of Chris Colbert in the sixth round. Colbert (17–2, 6

98–82 unanimous decision after 10 rounds of welterweight action.

“I felt great in the ring,” the 40-year-old Guerrero said. “Berto is a tough character.

He’s fast, he’s strong. He tied me up a lot.

I’m pumped, I’m excited. Let’s see what’s next after this.”

“I came off a long layoff to try to avenge one of my losses and I was really trying tonight,” Berto said. “My timing was off, but I tried my best. I love this game, but I came up short.”

This Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, former unified heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua takes on Otto Wallin and former WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder will battle Joseph Parker. If Joshua and Wilder both emerge with wins, they are expected to meet up sometime in 2024 in their next matches.

WBA light heavyweight world champion Dmitry Bivol will defend his title against Lyndon Arthur on Saturday’s card. Bivol is best known for handing boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez his second career loss last year.

KOs) narrowly defeated Valenzuela (13–2, 9 wouldn’t be here. It takes two to tango, so I’m The day after Christmas, WBC and WBO KOs) earlier this year by decision but Valen- grateful for him.” junior featherweight world champion zuela did not leave the outcome in doubt the In a rematch that took over 11 years to Naoya Inoue and IBF and WBA junior feathsecond time around. happen between two former world cham- erweight world champion Marlon Tapales “As soon as I went home I went straight to pions, Robert Guerrero (38–6–1, 20 KOs) de- will face off in a highly anticipated fight that work,” Valenzuela said. “I want to thank Chris, feated Andre Berto (32–6, 24 KOs) for the could lead to an undisputed champion in he’s a hell of a fighter. If it wasn’t for him I second time, this time by a 98–92, 99–91, the featherweight division.

David Morrell (right) defeated Sena Agbeko in their WBA super middleweight title fight on Saturday night. (Amanda Westcott/Showtime photo)

Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation alumna bound for Iona University

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor The Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation, a pioneering, Black-led organization, trailblazing a path for a multitude of international gymnastic champions, and started in Harlem in 1996 by Wendy Hilliard, the first Black athlete to represent the U.S. in international competition in rhythmic gymnastics, has helped produce another budding champion.

Phoenix Britt, a nine-year participant of the program, has signed an academic-athletic scholarship to attend Iona University, located in New Rochelle, New York. Britt, a senior at Albertus Magnus High School in Rockland County, will be a member of Iona’s acrobatic and tumbling team.

Iona, which is noted for its men’s basketball program that has appeared in the NCAA tournament 16 times since 1979, including last season, added the acrobatic and tumbling team in 2022.

Britt excels in trampoline and doublemini categories and was the top performer two consecutive years in trampoline at the Elite Challenge in Texas.

“At Iona, I hope to have a successful Acro Tumbling career while maintaining my grades,” said Britt, who also was coached

by Roger Walker, a former World Cham-

pion who began training top Wendy Hilliard Gymnastics Foundation athletes at the CAVU Trampoline & Tumbling in New Jersey due to the COVID shutdown of the WHGF facility in Harlem.

“I also hope to take advantage of the study abroad program so that I can experience different cultures and languages.” A significant appeal for Britt selecting Iona is its close proximity to her home.

“My mom has been to every single performance and competition,” Britt said, “so I’m used to seeing her in the crowd. I’m thankful that my mom and dad can still come and support me from the stands.”

She credits Walker for being instrumental in her journey.

“Coach Roger was the one who introduced Acro Tumbling to me,” expanded Britt. “He told my mom about schools all over the country competing in this fairly new sport and thought I could excel. My mom and I started to give the idea of the sport more thought and after deciding that I wanted to do Acro Tumbling in college, I started to look only at schools that had the sport.

“After attending clinics and open houses, I felt that Iona’s team was the best fit for me.” Britt says she will major in accounting and economics as the focus of her academic pursuits.

“Phoenix came to the WHGF through Camp Dreamers, a community sports program in Washington Heights run by Dave Crenshaw,” said Hilliard, CEO of the WHGF. “We would do gymnastics for them every summer, and Phoenix wanted to join our team. It is an excellent story of how access to sports can make a difference in a young person's life.”

This marks the second WHGF gymnast in two years to sign an athletic scholarship.

WHGF and University Heights High School alumni Zenell Mangal entered her freshman year this fall as a member of the Fisk University women’s artistic gymnastics team. Last winter, Fisk University in Nashville made national headlines when it became the first Historically Black College & University (HBCU) institution to introduce a women’s NCAA Division I artistic gymnastics program.

Wendy Hilliard Foundation alumna Phoenix Britt recently signed an academic-athletic scholarship to attend Iona University. (Phoenix Britt photo)

40 • December 21, 2023 - December 27, 2023

THE NEW YORK AMSTERDAM NEWS

Sports The Knicks face back-to-back game versus Giannis and the Bucks Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein had a career high 17 rebounds in the Knicks’ 114109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on AM News Monday. (Bill Moore photo)

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By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

Newslast night The Knicks were in AM Brooklyn (Wednesday) to play the Nets at the Barclays Center after returning to08/17/23 the Garden from a four-game, six-day road trip facing Western Conference opponents. They opened the game 15–11 and the No. 5 seed in the East.

The Knicks ended the circuit, which began with a 117–113 loss to the Utah Jazz on DeAM News cember 13, with a gutsy 114–109 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

They defeat08/24/23 ed the Phoenix Suns last Friday by 139–122 last Friday in the second game and fell to the Los Angeles Clippers last Saturday 144–122.

The Knicks will now face the force multiplier Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks for AM two straight News games at Madison Square Garden on Saturday and Christmas Day. 08/31/23 Their victory over the Lakers was noteworthy because LeBron James and Anthony Davis were both in the lineup for Los Angeles while the Knicks were minus starting center Mitchell Robinson, who is expected to be out AMfollowing News surgery until at least early February nearly two weeks ago to repair a stress frac09/07/23 ture in his left ankle sustained against the Boston Celtics on December 8.

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To make matters more troublesome for the Monday, they were horrendous defensively, Knicks, Jericho Sims, who head coach Tom giving up an average of 132 points per game.

Thibodeau inserted into the starting lineup “That was a big emphasis, just coming in AM Newsknowing we had to play better defense,” said instead of Robinson’s primary backup Isaiah Hartenstein to maintain continuity, suffered Hartenstein. “I think that starts with com11/2/23munication. I think we did a good job coma sprained right ankle less than four minutes into the game versus the Lakers and was municating and rebounding the ball, so I sidelined for the rest of the night. think we just gotta keep building on that. I The Knicks signed 38-year-old veteran think we’re going in the right direction. free-agent Taj Gibson last week to add exThe Knicks forced the Lakers into 42.4% perienced front court depth. Gibson played shooting overall and 31.7% on 3-point atAM News with his hometown team from 2019-2022. tempts, although many of Los Angeles’ The 6-foot-9-inch power forward 11/09/23 logged misses were a function of their own inabili49 games for the Washington Wizards last ty to make open looks. season. But on Monday, Hartenstein was “It’s very rare we get outscored in the the pulse of the Knicks rediscovering their paint, and [the Knicks] were very deliberate defensive intensity, efficiency, and profi- in trying to play downhill, get to the paint, ciency on the boards. but just constantly coming at you,” said The 25-year-old 7-footer, who isAM in his NewsLakers head coach Darvin Ham. second season with the franchise, had a caJames and Davis did their part to keep reer-high 17 rebounds and nine points in the Lakers in the game until the final 11/23/23 39 minutes and fiercely battled James and minute after the Lakers held a 58–57 halfDavis in the paint. His relentless activity on time lead. James has his 109th career triboth ends was critical to the Knicks 52–41 ple-double with 25 points, 11 rebounds rebounds advantage, 62–52 points in the and 11 assists and Davis registered 32 paint plus margin and holding an oppo- points and 14 rebounds.

AMtime News However, they were countered by the nent to under 110 points for the first since a 119–106 road win against the Toron- Knicks’ Julius Randle’s 27 points and 14 re11/23/23 to Raptors on December 1. bounds, Jalen Brunson’s 29 points and ImIn the Knicks’ previous six outings prior to manuel Quickley’s 20 points off of the bench.

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Nets drop four of five games on difficult Western road trip AM News

By DERREL JOHNSON 06/29/23 Special to the AmNews Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges had lofty goals for the team’s five-game road trip against Western Conference oppoNews nents. But AM the Nets were just 1–4 and their record dropped to 13–13 when they hosted the Knicks07/06/23 last night (Wednesday) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The Nets were 12–10 when they opened the long eight-day stretch on December 11.

That day, they fell to the Sacramento Kings 131–118. On Monday night, they punctuatAM News ed their road trip by falling to the Utah Jazz 125–108. In between Brooklyn had their 07/13/23 lone win versus the Phoenix Suns (116–112) and losses to the Denver Nuggets (124–101) and Golden State Warriors (124–120).

In the midst of the tough collection of games, one of the few bright spots for the Nets was the of guard Cam Thomas, AMplay News who scored 41 points against the Warriors and put up07/20/23 32 in Utah.

“Just the way I was feeling out there, the way I started the game off, I felt good coming in, felt better, getting better by the

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Nets forward Dorian FinneySmith and his teammates returned to the Barclays Center last night (Wednesday) to host the Knicks after a 1-4 road trip.

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day,” Thomas said after the loss to the Warriors about how comfortable he is getting on the court after returning on November 30 from a sprained left ankle which kept him out for nine games.

AM News “Then I probably say [when I was in] in transition when I did the little floater and 10/05/23 that’s when I really felt I was good. So my rhythm is coming back, getting there, where I need to be. So I just want to keep it

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games of the road trip. “Obviously, against Denver was a tough one. Back to back, you know, tough. It was just a tough back-toback. But this game was a good measuring stick. We started off slow, but then we AM Newsfought back, took the lead, and we had a chance to win.”

12/07/23Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said the week-plus trip out west was expectedly demanding.

“At the end of the day, this trip took a toll on us, physically, mentally, and so now we are 13–13 and we got to go home and reAM Newsgroup,” Vaughn said. “I give our guys credit for giving what they had. That’s all I ask is to 12/14/23 give everything that you had tonight.”

up and keep it going.”

The Nets allowed 120 or more points in each of their losses and will need to address defensive issues while playing three straight at home, including facing the Denver NugAM News gets tomorrow and Detroit Pistons on Saturday. The Nets will play the Pistons again 12/21/23 on the road next Tuesday and the Milwaukee Bucks in Brooklyn next Wednesday.

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