New York Amsterdam News April 10 - 16, 2025 by AmsterdamNews

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NAN mayoral forum draws big-name candidates

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

The National Action Network (NAN), with founder Rev. Al Sharpton playing host, held a mayoral forum last week that drew big-name candidates such as former Governor Andrew Cuomo and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.

The forum was held at the Sheraton Hotel in Manhattan from April 2 to 6, during NAN’s

annual convention. The forum’s panel included Sharpton, former Congressmember Max Rose, and CEO and Executive Director at Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) Jennifer Jones Austin.

There were short Q&As with Cuomo, Adams, and other leading mayoral candidates, such as State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, former City

Comptroller Scott Stringer, State Senator Jessica Ramos, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, and former Assemblymember Michael Blake on the main stage.

“My administration would be about [what] my administration has always been about: diversity representing all New Yorkers and getting things done,” said Cuomo. “Remember what we did: raised the minimum wage

Mayor Eric Adams escapes prosecution as feds drop corruption case

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for re-election, is free to take a victory lap this week after news broke that a federal judge moved to dismiss his corruption case on Wednesday, April 2.

“My fellow New Yorkers, today finally marks the end of this chapter,” said Adams in a brief address held at Gracie Mansion.

“As you have heard … the judge has dismissed it with prejudice. Making it clear that it can never be brought back. Let me be clear, as I’ve said all along, this case should have never been brought and I did nothing wrong. I’m now happy that our city can finally close the book on this and focus solely on the future of our great city.”

Adams earnestly thanked his high-profile attorney, Alex Spiro — who has represented celebrities like rapper Jay-Z. He also thanked his supporters and his faith in his address.

Since 2023, Adams and his administration have been under intense scrutiny from federal Manhattan prosecutors because of alleged fraud in his 2021 mayoral campaign and potential connections to the Turkish government. There were a series of raids, subpoenas, resignations, and indictments, starting with Adams’ chief election cam-

paign fundraiser, 25-year-old Brianna Suggs. The tension ramped up over the course of several months among Adams’ top officials and agency heads as people opted to resign abruptly from their positions.

Adams was finally indicted in September 2024 on a five-count felony charge, includ-

ing bribery, conspiracy, campaign finance violations, seeking and accepting improper gifts, and donations from a foreign national. His trial was to begin in April of this year. If convicted, he would face a maximum sentence of 45 years in prison.

Adams maintained his innocence and refused to resign. He switched gears, controversially hiring Spiro to represent him. He was also heavily criticized by Democrats for spending months “cozying up to Republicans,” though Adams was adamant that he never discussed his case with President Donald Trump.

On Monday, Feb. 10, 2025, prosecutors in Manhattan were told to drop federal corruption charges against Adams in a memo to acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon from the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ). This came shortly after it was reported that Adams deliberately told his remaining commissioners and top officials not to criticize Trump or interfere with immigration enforcement in places like schools and hospitals.

Even with the DOJ order, Adams wasn’t yet free and clear. He still had to make his case for dismissal in front of Judge Dale E. Ho in Manhattan. In a hearing in February 2025, Ho reviewed the situation in order to decide whether or not to grant the DOJ’s request.

(L-R) Former Congressmember Max Rose, former Governor Andrew Cuomo, National Action Network (NAN) Founder Rev. Al Sharpton, and CEO and Executive Director at Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) Jennifer Jones Austin. (Ariama C. Long photo)

New York City Mayor Eric Adams delivers remarks to the media outside of Gracie Mansion on Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Five years since Daniel Prude’s death, namesake bill inches closer to law

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

This past March 23 marked five years since the police killing of Daniel Prude during a mental health crisis response in Rochester. The deadly encounter sparked local reforms and bolstered national movements like the 2020 summer protests for George Floyd, who was murdered by officer Derek Chauvin about two months later.

In 2021, then-rookie State Senator Samra Brouk introduced Daniel’s Law with permission from Prude’s family. The bill would ostensibly limit local law enforcement’s role in responding to mental health crises. Many municipalities already have civilian mobile units to deploy instead of police to mental health calls, such as the Person in Crisis team in Rochester and B-HEARD in New York City. Daniel’s Law would connect them to state funding and more uniform protocols.

“The entire point of Daniel’s Law is that every New Yorker should be able to count on a safe mental health response when

they need it, and right now that’s not the case,” said Brouk over the phone. “Even within certain cities, it’s a patchwork system. In addition to this patchwork system of the state, and the entire point of having Daniel’s Law passed and be fully funded, is that we say goodbye to a patchwork of response plans and hello to a consistent, uniform response so that everyone is safe,no matter where they are in New York State.”

Brouk reintroduced the bill this year with amendments, including the creation of a statewide Behavioral Health Technical Assistance Center. The legislation passed the New York Senate’s Mental Health Committee with bipartisan support and the State Senate Majority’s One-House budget resolution includes $20 million to enact the first phase of Daniel’s Law and $2 million to create an assistance center. Phase one would fund six to eight pilot programs across New York State, from urban to suburban to rural communities. While Daniel’s Law intends to provide more structure and consistency for non-police mental health call responses, Brouk said the legisla-

tion also acknowledges regional and geographic differences.

“Notably, [Daniel’s Law] is coming with dollars,” said Brouk. “The biggest piece here is that not only is the state saying this is something that’s important to do and it’s the right thing to do, and it’s going to help alleviate our mental health crisis, but we also are putting money behind that to aid in it.”

Advocates in the Daniel’s Law coalition such as Ruth Lowenkron, director of the Disability Justice Program for the New York Lawyers for Public Interest, feel the recent push is optimistic.

“We are very excited, or certainly cautiously optimistic, about the push for Daniel’s Law that is coming very, very strongly from the chairs of the Mental Health Committee,” Lowenkron said. “We are seeing some movement that Daniel’s Law is definitely making and has made an appearance in both One-House budgets. More or less, the [State Assembly and Senate] are thinking of it the same way, and we’ve been advocating very much with the legislature [and] with the governor to say now is the time.”

My Sister’s Keeper initiative expanding statewide for New York

By JASON PONTEROTTO Special to the AmNews

Nearly 600 young women of color from across New York state school districts filled the Gould Memorial Library at Bronx Community College for the official statewide launch of My Sister’s Keeper (MSK). A focus of the initiative is also to eliminate disparities for young women in STEM fields.

The event was to announce the state’s formal commitment to provide financial resources for the local MSK initiatives at state schools.

Representatives of over 52 school districts were in attendance.

The program from the NY Department of Education developed out of My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) and aims “to build safe and supportive communities where girls feel valued and create clear pathways to opportunity.” Students from 4th to 12th grade are eligible to join.

Speakers included elected officials such as Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson who delivered an impassioned keynote speech, New York State board of regents Chancellor Lester A. Young, Commissioner Dr. Betty A. Rosa, and board member Aramina Vega

Ferrer. At the front of the stage were posters of innovative women throughout history including Vice President Kamala Harris, Hazel Dukes, Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor. The theme of “lift as we climb,” was demonstrated throughout the

event as speakers emphasized the importance of supporting sisterhood and mentorship.

“I’m more than excited, more than proud, because it is finally with the sisters’ time to shine,” said Cheyenne Purcell, 18, a senior at the Mathematics Science Re-

search and Technology Magnet High School in Queens.

Purcell, along with other classmates have been part of the MSK NYC initiative which was launched in 2020.

“I’m very glad and proud to be a part of the year that we become [a statewide program],” Purcell shared.

The MBK task force was first created by former President Barack Obama in 2014 following the killing of Trayvon Martin. He challenged state leaders to adopt regional programs and New York became the first to launch a statewide program in 2016, accompanied by a $20 million investment.

In 2015, Obama also spoke at Lehman College in the Bronx for the launch of the MBK Alliance.

During the launch, Purcell and classmate and MSK peer Elialah Hasan, 18, spoke on a panel with other young women from city schools about their experience and the work they focus on with their groups from mentorship, self love, and community service.

“I love building up my sisters,” Hasan said about her more senior role with students at her school. “I just hope and pray that they take this and run with it.”

Both young women credit their teacher, Sandra Stokes, who accompanied them to the launch, for suggesting that they join the program. Stokes has worked closely supporting the MBK program at their school and said she saw firsthand how MSK was often overlooked in terms of receiving funds and support.

“From our principal to our superintendent … it’s been girl power and team support, so it’s nice to finally get the recognition that we are deserving of,” said Stokes. Purcell and Hasan are looking to pursue careers in business and real estate and say they will continue to support the program.

Commissioner Rosa and Chancellor Young will serve as executive leaders for the statewide initiative.

In response to President Trump’s crackdown against programs supporting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), Rosa told the Amsterdam News that she is looking to protect this “movement,” no matter what happens at the federal level.

“This is about creating, you know, equity, opportunity and access,” Rosa said.

“We’re going to continue the movement of supporting our students, to

In this Sept. 3, 2020 file photo, Joe Prude, brother of Daniel Prude (right) and son Armin, stand with a picture of Daniel Prude in Rochester, N.Y. Newly released transcripts show that grand jury investigating police suffocation death of Daniel Prude last year in Rochester voted 15–5 to clear the three officers involved in his restraint of criminally negligent homicide charge sought by prosecutors. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

See DANIEL’S LAW on page 36

Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson delivering the Keynote Address. Gould Memorial Library, Bronx Community College. March 21, 2025. (Jason Ponterotto photo)

2025 tax lien sale cometh, May 20

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

The city’s property tax lien sale puts many homeowners at risk of losing their homes because it publicizes outstanding tax and sewer debts, particularly for Black and Brown individuals, seniors, and veterans.

“For most New Yorkers, the tax lien sale is a little-known process, but for far too many homeowners, many of whom should never have been on the list in the first place, it carries devastating consequences,” said Khari Edwards, a candidate for Brooklyn borough president this year. “The tax lien sale needs to be completely overhauled to protect New Yorkers who may be on the financial brink, and until it is, the city and state must put a moratorium on any future sales.”

When a property is on the tax lien sale list, it means the owner owes property taxes or has water, sewer, and other property-related charges. The city can then sell the debt to an authorized buyer who has the right to collect what’s owed, opening up homeowners to predatory debt collectors. Commercial properties can be on the list for one year, while a residential property can get up to three years before the city moves forward with foreclosure.

Between 2017 and 2021, tax lien sale-affected rental properties and units were concentrated in Black and Brown City Council districts, according to a research brief produced by the East New York Community Land Trust (ENYCLT). In addition, the vast majority of residential units in lien sale properties are owned by absentee landlords, so the process puts renters at risk of losing their homes as well.

The city’s Department of Finance (DOF) recently posted the 2025 property tax lien

list for all five boroughs — a first since 2021.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State Attorney General Letitia James decided to cancel the lien sale in response to outcry during the COVID pandemic in 2020. The next lien sale is scheduled for May 20, 2025.

More than 3,400 Brooklyn one- and twofamily homes are currently included on the tax lien list.

Edwards’ late mother, Elenora Bernard, was killed at the age of 77 in her home in East Flatbush in 2022. After her death, it was discovered that her house and finances had been in flux, said Edwards, who is the executor on her account after probate. The tax lien sale is incredibly personal for him this year. “My mom would’ve turned 80 and it’s emotional for me because now I’m seeing she had a $100,000 tax lien on water that she wasn’t even using,”

said Edwards at a rally he held in front of her building on March 31 to raise awareness about the coming sale.

“She was only making $1,100 through her Social Security a month, so there was no way she was going to be able to keep up. And when she asked for help, of course, I helped pay this bill or that bill but she didn’t even know,” he said.

Department of Education shutdown threatens its purpose of equal access

by BRENIKA BANKS

Special to the AmNews

True to his word, President Trump recently signed an executive order which eviscerates the Department of Education. Many critics feel that the new directive will compromise the department’s purpose of providing funds to public schools and universities. While reducing government spending by eliminating the department may, in a small way, lower the country’s debt, it’s bound to negatively impact Black and Latino communities.

Created as a cabinet-level department of the U.S. government in 1979, its mission is to “promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.” In addition to assisting with funding elementary and high schools, the department also provides federal student aid, including grants, for college students. The DOE supports students

across the nation with federal student loans that can be forgiven, canceled, or discharged, where students may pay back some of their loan(s), or none.

The shutdown jeopardizes the most vulnerable population, Black and Latinos, who depend on school funding the most.

Andy Jimenez, a Black & Latino studies student at CUNY’s Baruch College understands the important role funding plays in higher education. The Dominican-born and raised student spoke about how a lack of educational resources contributes to the cycle of poverty and limited opportunities which further deepens existing disparities in an interview with the AmNews.

“From my perspective, the availability of education funds is absolutely crucial for Black and Latino communities,” said Jimenez. “It’s not just about providing opportunities — it’s about addressing historical inequities and creating pathways to economic mobility.” He describes the abolishment of DOE as

Exterior shot of CUNY’s Baruch College.

Brooklyn Borough President candidate Khari Edwards held rally in Brooklyn on Monday, Mar. 31 to cancel 2025 tax lien sale. (Contributed by R. Dimple Willabus)

Mastering fitness and wellness with entrepreneur Nundiah-Danielle Edwards

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

Fitness and wellness entrepreneur Nundiah-Danielle Edwards, 40, is queen of the “pandemic pivot.” Since 2020, she has uniquely expanded her fitness brand and business to create a safe gathering space for women and families of all backgrounds, occupations, and lifestyles.

Edwards owns and operates the New Body Project, an all-women’s boot camp studio, and Atrium82, an intimate wedding venue and wellness space out of her premier location in Park Slope in Brooklyn. The studio specializes in weight training, strength training, cardio, soundbathing, pilates, yoga, nutrition guidance, and mindset coaching; while the venue side of the business offers a space (about 40-person occupancy) for micro-weddings, elopements, and affordable gatherings and celebrations. Edwards is an ordained minister and officiates weddings as well.

Born to West African-Liberian parents, Edwards remembers fondly travelling a lot as a child. She spent summers in Liberia or traveled extensively abroad. Her father was a pastor, and her mother, who had little education when she arrived in the U.S, became a nursing assistant. Edwards admired her mother for her hard work and diligent achievements while also raising four children.

As a child, she dreamed of being a lawyer and a diplomat. After getting an associates degree in paralegal studies at Berkeley College and working in the field a bit under a state senator in New Jersey, she ultimately decided that she wanted something different. She finished her undergraduate degree at Berkeley and moved onto banking at a major branch in Manhattan. “I was there for about two or three years. The market tanked, my dad became ill and I wasn’t allowed to

New Yorker

THE URBAN AGENDA

By David R. Jones, Esq

The Trump Administration’s Reckless Assault on Public Health

Last week, the Trump administration dealt another blow to the country’s public health system with the decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to cut over $11.4 billion in CDC grants. As a result, New York City will lose $100 million in grants dedicated to infectious disease prevention and surveillance, a setback that will inevitably bring significant challenges for the city’s health department staff and the broader community.

number of tuberculosis cases in a decade, the emergence of local measles cases, and rising concerns about bird flu. The loss of funding will compromise the city’s ability to track and respond to monitor these diseases, which could lead to increased disease transmission and preventable deaths.

take time off to care for him,” said Edwards. Disappointed, Edwards decided to prioritize her family as a stay-at-home mother to her two children after that experience. She also furthered her education at this time, earning a master’s of business administration (MBA) at American Intercontinental University in Illinois. She then sought out a career that allowed her the flexibility to still be a present mom for her kids, making her first foray into fitness in 2015.

“I had a child, I had put on weight, I was depressed. It was just me and this two year old and this brand new baby in the house. Who do I talk to? How do I find myself?,” said Edwards. “I needed to figure out a way to get back to who Nundiah-Danielle was.”

Edwards worked for an all-women’s gym in Gowanus. When that company shut down in 2016, the community rallied and raised $3,000 for Edwards to start her own company. Lacking formal fitness training though, Edwards returned to school to get her certificate at Hofstra University. The New Body Project was born the next year. She struggled to find an official space for it until 2019. Her fitness business was thriving at its home on 6th Avenue, in an elegant stained glass building founded in 1861, when the pandemic temporarily shut down gyms in 2020. Edwards had to innovate.

“It came out of necessity for me,” said Edwards. “During the pandemic when I was forced to shut down my fitness studio, I still had this space and I needed to figure out how I could continue to utilize this space and generate some sort of income for my family.”

She continues to encourage a sense of community among all her clientele and is happy to open the space up to fellow Black and Brown entrepreneurs. She also promotes the Ghana Desk Project, a nonprofit that provides desks to underserved children and jobs for people in Africa and throughout the African Diaspora.

This came on top of the termination of HSS’s grants for state substance abuse and mental health agency programs, resulting in the loss of $300 million for New York to support critical services such as addiction treatment, mental health care, and recovery programs. And adding insult to injury, last week the Trump administration also launched a substantial round of layoffs at HSS, impacting approximately 10,000 federal employees.

New York City’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) relies heavily on federal funding to sustain its operations. Last month, seven CDC employees who worked at the city’s Health Department were terminated amid the federal agency’s layoffs. The combination of these grant cuts and last week’s massive HSS layoffs is likely to trigger additional staff reductions within the health department, including epidemiologists, community health workers, and mental health professionals with the expertise and institutional knowledge needed to respond effectively to public health emergencies.

Layoffs of health experts who study things like asthma, which disproportionately impacts Black communities, as well as smoking and lead poisoning, will also deepen inequities in our healthcare system. Funding cuts will also significantly affect reproductive health services, minority health initiatives, and programs aimed at improving vaccine accessibility in New York’s underserved communities.

The cuts to substance abuse and mental health programs will similarly undermine efforts to address the opioid crisis and provide support for individuals with serious mental illnesses, which unequally impact marginalized populations, including low-income residents and communities of color. Without adequate resources, the city may see an increase in overdose deaths, untreated mental illnesses, and homelessness, further straining social services and public safety.

In essence, these cuts send a clear message that the health of Black and brown people is not a priority. But the ripple effects will extend far beyond communities of color. The grant terminations come as the agency faces pressing public health threats, including the highest

The abrupt nature of these cuts has left DOHMH scrambling to adjust their budgets and operations. In a recent NYC City Council hearing, Dr. Michelle Morse, DOHMH’s Acting Health Commissioner, indicated that the department is exploring ways to retain laid-off staff and sustain critical programs, but that the loss of federal funding will inevitably limit its capacity. The city may need to rely on state and local resources to fill the gap, but these funds are often insufficient to meet the scale of the need.

Adding to the financial strain, New York City receives only a 20 percent match in Article 6 funding for its health programs, compared to the 36 percent match provided to other municipalities in New York State. This disparity has cost the city upwards of $90 million annually since 2019. The reduced reimbursement rate places an additional burden on the city’s public health infrastructure, making it even more challenging to absorb the impact of federal funding cuts.

My organization and other advocacy groups have called for the restoration of the 36 percent match rate to ensure equitable funding and support for New York City’s diverse population. State Senator Gustavo Rivera and State Assemblymember Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas have introduced legislation (S4801/A2705) to right this wrong and ensure NYC is no longer shortchanged

The attempt by the Trump administration to dismantle our public health infrastructure is unparalleled in the country’s history and reflects a complete disregard for public health and safety. Addressing this crisis will demand exceptional leadership from state and city officials to protect the health and well-being of millions who rely on a strong public health system. Letting these cuts go unaddressed risks not only the lives of individuals but the very resilience and stability of New York City as a whole.

Ultimately, addressing these and other federal funding cuts may require raising taxes on the state’s wealthiest individuals – an option that has, so far, been met with resistance from government leaders. However, tackling the scale of these funding gaps seems impossible without asking this group to contribute a more equitable share for the benefit of society. Taking decisive action is imperative before the consequences of inaction become too great to bear.

The New Body Project creator Nundiah-Danielle Edwards outside her private studio located within Atrium82 at 82 6th Ave in Brooklyn. (Ariama C. Long)

What exactly would Zohran Mamdani’s Department of Community Safety do?

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

Can a new dog learn old tricks? Surging mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani hoped so when he announced his ambitious public safety plan last Tuesday, April 1. His vision centers around establishing a new branch of New York City government called the Department of Community Safety, which would enlist civilian social services to handle certain responsibilities — like responding to mental health calls — currently tasked to the NYPD.

On the surface, Mamdani’s game plan seems rooted in the idealism, novelty and the democratic socialist principles fueling his campaign. Yet the Queens assemblyman says “the core parts of this as an idea is to ensure that it is actually implementable.”

The department would not so much invent new policies as it would bolster existing community-based initiatives like the NYPD’s B-HEARD program for mental health calls and the Crisis Management System for gun violence prevention.

“There has been an allergy on behalf of politicians to acknowledge anything that has worked in previous or current administrations,” said Mamdani in a phone interview. “Our approach is to take that which has worked and scale it up to a level commensurate with the crisis and to bring evidence proven approaches that have [been] proven successful elsewhere across the country.

“Some of the failures that we’re seeing in city government today is also a failure to expand [what] is already successful [and] a failure to understand that a crisis is occurring across the five boroughs. Therefore a response to it needs to also occur across the five boroughs.”

He points to how the city’s Crisis Management System reduced shootings across program areas by roughly 40% on average. So why does the network, which deploys violence interrupters to de-escalate conflicts before they become shootings, only operate in 28 of the city’s 78 precincts, he wonders.

Mamdani’s Department of Community Safety would increase Crisis Management System funding by 275%, including by 50% in neighborhoods most impacted by gun violence.

Clubhouses like the seven decade-plus old Fountain House similarly provide Mamdani existing solutions for mental healthcare in his Department of Community Safety plan. Yet Rikers Island is currently the biggest psychiatric facility in the city despite costing almost $500,000 to detain a one person each year, mused Mamdani during his announcement last Tuesday. On the other hand, $4,000 can place an individual with serious mental illness in Fountain House

where he or she can receive healthcare and employment.

The Department of Community Safety would also place mental health specialist teams across 100 different subway stations and convert abandoned MTA retail units into clinics. The plan draws from national models across the country like the CAHOOTS program, which operated for roughly 35 years in Oregon without a serious injury or death. Mamdani says the goal will be to make New Yorkers feel safer on the subway platform, where he believes the anxiety is the highest, rather than at the turnstile, where national guardsmen were deployed last year.

But the City of Eugene discontinued CAHOOTS services this week due to funding constraints (programming will continue in Springfield, Ore.).

And Mamdani’s Department of Community Safety comes with a $1 billion price-tag, $600 million of which will come from existing city money. Mamdani says the other $400 million will need to come from more efficient spending in city government and taxing the wealthiest New Yorkers. Notably, the money will come from reducing the NYPD budget despite recent comments by Mayor Eric Adams calling the assemblymember “Defund the Police Mamdani” when asked about the public safety plan.

“All of a sudden he wants to talk about more community-based policing, something that many of you know, I cut my teeth on this — they’re reinventing the wheel,” Adams said during a press briefing. “Let’s look at the facts. Numbers are down. We’re getting ready to do a report tomorrow on our outcomes. So I don’t know his definition of failing the police. The job of the police is to keep us safe. That’s the job of the police. And so when you do an analysis, all of these candidates that are talking about ‘our city is in chaos, our city is not safe,’ where are they getting the stats from?”

Mamdani argues the Department of Community Safety would allow law enforcement to focus on solving major index crimes rather than busy themselves with responsibilities they are not suited for. He points to the NYPD solving just 39% of crimes and taking 20% longer to respond, blaming the reliance on officers to deal with the city’s “frayed social safety net.”

Additionally, the assemblymember believes pulling police from patrolling the subways and tackling mental health crises will reduce overtime-related burnout and the on-going attrition rate among line-level cops. Mamdani says his findings stem from speaking to law enforcement about “a frustration with just how much is asked of police officers.”

Most polls show Mamdani solidly in

second place after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the democratic primary. He will not face Mayor Adams, who will seek reelection as an independent. Still , Mamdani pointed back to the mayor, ensuring New Yorkers they would not need to choose “between safety and justice” during a previous campaign, particularly in regards to developing trust among undocumented New Yorkers to come forward as witnesses and victims during current federal crackdowns.

“In order to deliver safety, you must also deliver justice,” said Mamdani. “And in order to win the trust of the public, you must show that these two things are interlinked…our current approach has been fraying each and every day, and it is something we can see borne out in the statistics [and] in our desire for police to fulfill each and every responsibility that has been created by failures of the social safety net and also by our inability to actually respond to these specific incidents of violence in a manner that has proven to be successful.”

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.

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani announcing his mayoral campaign in Long Island City last year. (Tandy Lau photo)

21st Annual Women’s Month Tea Party

The 21st Annual Women’s Month Tea Party was hosted by the ARC A. Philip Randolph Older Adult Center and honored outstanding women in the community including Cheryl Manigo, Pearlene

Cliette, Myna Mayors, Nancy Majors and Dr. May Edward Chinn. There was music, Praise Dancers and a Fancy Hat Parade. The Divine Sisterhood Dance Group, a group of blind women who dance, also performed.

Honoree Myna Majors (Bill Moore photos)

The Divine Sisterhood Dance Group Fancy Hat Parade

Cheryl Manigo, Presenter & Friends

Students learn confidence, discover possibilities at 18th Disney Dreamers Academy

By CYRIL JOSH BARKER AmNews Digital Editor

The Walt Disney World Resort welcomes 100 teens selected to participate in the 2025 Disney Dreamers Academy (DDA) for four days of inspiration and empowerment

The Academy marks its 18th year of helping youth from around the nation. More than 1,700 students have been through the program.

This year’s group traveled from 25 states for the all-expenses-paid trip to Disney World. They were selected from thousands of applicants nationwide. Six students from the New York-metro area were selected to participate this year.

Students at the event had interests in medical, engineering and entertainment careers. Several of them already run their own businesses or community organizations.

Actor Tyler James Williams served as the celebrity ambassador for the Disney Dreamers Academy along with other celebrities who participated. Williams is best known for his starring roles in TV series “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Abbot Elementary.”

Speaking to the media at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park, Williams told the AmNews that he hoped the students would get the tools they need at DDA to reach their dreams.

“What happens a lot of times to people is that they hit a roadblock early on that tells them that they can’t do something and they believe that,” Williams said. “I hope we can dismantle all of those.”

Disney Ambassador Shannon SmithConrad served as one of the hosts for the event and said she wanted the students to get everything out of the opportunity very few got to have.

“They were the 100 students selected to be here out of the thousands of applicants,” she told the AmNews. “I want them to hone in on their power, network with each other, learn from each other and have fun making magic, making memories. Then afterwards, they can go out there and live those dreams they came here with.”

Students from the New York-metro area who participated in this year’s Academy included Jamilia Sankoh from Harlem, Michai Taggart from Jamaica, Queens, Nettie Rattray from East Hampton, NY, Anna Park from Fort Lee, NJ and Aubrey Lynn from West Orange, NJ.

Sankoh, 18, aspires to be an obstetrician and gynecologist and establish medical clinics in underdeveloped countries. She has a particular interest in fixing the disparities in Black maternal health.

“I’ve learned so much. I’ve been able to network with various speakers. I also improved a lot in confidence, curiosity, courage and not being afraid to ask questions. I learned that the impossible is possible,” she said.

Taggert, 15, wants to be an architect and

participated in the Disney Imagineers portion of the program.

“They are really helping me pursue my dream,” he said. “They taught me that it’s not going to be easy, but it’s worth the time. I want to make sure people in my community know what I did these past few days and inspire them to maybe come to the Disney Dreamers Academy next year.”

Comedian and radio personality Rickey

Smiley was one of several celebrities who spoke to the students. Coming back for a second year, Smiley told the AmNews he returned to DDA to have an impact on young people.

“I hope they get some unbelievable opportunities, unbelievable networking and meeting other kids from across the country,” he said. “A lot of times, you know where you’ve been but you don’t know where you’re going and you don’t know who you’re going to need. To have all of

to see the artist singing on stage, but there’s a lot that goes into those productions. I’m here to inspire the next generation to let them know there is an avenue for all creative dreams.”

Alumni Dreamers from previous classes also attended the event to offer their help and advice to attendees. Princeton Parker, who was a Disney Dreamer in 2011, was one of the hosts for DDA. He’s been involved with the program for 15 years and works as an Associate Manager, Content Programming & Synergy for Disney Parks.

“We are in a year where we really need young people who take initiative,” he said.

“We’re in times that need inspiration, leadership, community and unity. “Everything we’re doing, from careers to inspiration, is about building leaders with courage and curiosity. That’s what this year is about. Building leaders who are ready to take initiative.”

The teens arrived at the Walt Disney World Resort on Thursday, where they participated in a welcoming rally. The students were treated to a marching band performance, a step show by members of Black fraternities and sororities in the Divine Nine and a musical performance by rock group Infinity song. Afterwards they served as grand marshals in a parade at Disney’s Magic Kingdom theme park

On Friday, the Dreamers heard inspirational speeches and participated in hands-on workshops in various career fields around Walt Disney World. The students attend “Career Quests” sessions where they were separated based on their interests to hear from and network with Disney cast members and other professionals about a vast array of opportunities. The sessions included business and service, entertainment and storytelling and science and technology.

these young people with so much brilliance and so much talent here is absolutely unbelievable.”

Speakers for this year’s Dreamers Academy included musician and producer Adam Blackstone, actors and gospel singers David and Tamala Mann, motivational speaker Lisa Nichols, aerospace engineer Aisha Bowe and Vice President, Commercial Strategy for Walt Disney World Resorts, Sivonne Davis.

Blackstone mentored Dreamers interested in breaking into the music industry. He’s worked with several major artists and recently won his first Grammy Award for best musical theater album for “Hell’s Kitchen.”

“I love to show the next generation about the people that do some of their favorite things that are behind the scenes,” Blackstone told the AmNews. “Sometimes we only get to see the ball player, we only get

Dreamers were taught how to present themselves and make a good impression on Saturday. Teens learned about the value of self-image along with making a good impression. The students learned about creating their personal brand and image via their attire from some of the fashion influencer Jerome Lamar. Several Dreamers participated in a fashion show to showcase their new looks.

With the program closing Sunday, the Dreamers participated in an emotional commencement ceremony, where they were given special rings by their parents and guardians for their work during the event at a breakfast before going home. Gospel singer Tamala Mann and Disney star Adrian Lyles gave performances during the ceremony and Williams left the students and their parents with encouraging words before they headed home.

Disclosure: The Walt Disney Company paid for the travel and accommodations for several media outlets, including the AmNews, to cover the Disney Dreamers Academy. Disney did not review or approve any of our coverage.

Disney Dreamers participate in a parade at Magic Kingdom (Cyril Josh Barker photo)

Actor Tyler James Williams, Drum Major Mickey Mouse and Disney Dreamers (Mark Ashman photo)

Union Matters

MTA could hire 300 more workers for capital improvement project

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

If the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) gets full funding for its proposed $68.4 billion 2025–29 Capital Plan, it will hire up to 300 new workers, agency heads said during an MTA Board — Capital Program Committee Meeting on March 24. The agency wants to be able to hire workers who can replace and/or maintain segments of the MTA system that have been in use for decades and are now degrading. They want to use $6 billion from the planned budget to get ahead of what they call the “decay curve.”

David Solimon, who leads MTA Facility Groups and Readiness, told

those in the meeting about necessary repairs to interior staircases and platform barriers, upgrading signal systems, and overhauling other structural defects. The MTA’s plan also calls for purchasing new trains and electric buses, and installing more elevators.

“We’ve identified additional programmed work to add over 300 jobs in the New York City Department of Subways alone,” Solimon told the meeting. “These additional 300 positions are yet another piston in the economic engine that is the ’25–’29 Capital Plan. These projects are estimated to generate tens of millions of dollars in savings versus the traditional third-party route.”

New Yorkers looking for employment with the MTA can check the

MTA’s career website for open positions and upcoming exams. The website will have job postings and exam schedules for positions such as bus drivers, train operators, conductors, and track workers.

Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, which represents New York City’s bus and subway workers, heralded the MTA’s announcement. The union wrote on its website: “This is a direct result of Local 100 and the International working hand-inhand in Albany to get key members of the state Assembly and Senate to support our efforts to have more capital work assigned to the in-house TWU workforce.”

“You’re talking multiple trades because we do all of it,” TWU Local 100 President John Chi-

arello told the AmNews. “I don’t know if you’re aware of it, but we do masonry, everything –– everything related to station repair. We do track work, there’s electric buses in there; you name it, so, we’re in support of [this plan], obviously. It seems like they know that we could do it cheaper inhouse, too.”

If funding for the Capital Plan comes through, it will lead to work for TWU members, some 75% of whom, Chiarello estimated, live in New York City’s five boroughs.

MTA head Janno Lieber explained during the Capital Program Committee Meeting that

“we’ve discovered that there is certain scope and certain kinds of projects that really do match up much better and more cost-effi-

ciently with in-house work. And we will hire more people in-house to do that work and we will save money by doing it. We’ve talked to the … unions, plural –– especially TWU Local 100 –– and there’s a lot of enthusiasm for this.

“We’ve got to start catching up on what everybody didn’t do, honestly, until 1982. It was a 100-year-old system that was left to, basically …deteriorate because it was bankrupt almost from the day it opened. We all know that history, with the fare and no investment, and we are trying to catch up now. If we don’t, the riders are going to pay the price. That’s the bottom line: We have to catch up with the condition of the system or the riders will suffer. It’s a must-do.”

Workers install platform barriers at 125 Street 4/5/6 Station in East Harlem on Mar.h 24, 2025. (MTA/Megan Armas photo)

Philly’s Center for Black Educator Development is restoring the Black education pipeline

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

The Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) wants to rebuild the national Black teacher pipeline.

Sharif El-Mekki, the founder of CBED, states that his Philadelphia, PA-based organization is focused on creating programs to encourage youth, particularly Black youth, to enter and remain in the teaching profession. The organization has developed a platform to help high school students make it through college and to later support them when they are ready to take on careers as educators.

“The reason for all of this is we see a lot of people saying they want more Black teachers,” El-Mekki told the AmNews, “they want to diversify, but their efforts are disconnected from the social, political, and economic reality of becoming a teacher, particularly for Black youth.”

Getting an education degree and then trying to live off a teacher’s salary can be trying, at best. So to push teachers toward being as debt-free as possible, CBED joined with the United Negro College Fund and created its Future Teachers of Excellence Fellowship. The fellowship awards up to $5,000 a year for each of four college years and up to $20,000 in stipends to educators at the start of their fifth year of teaching.

During the summer, the organization sponsors a five-week Freedom Schools Literacy Academy, which invites high school and college students from across the country to teach first, second, and third graders either in person or virtually. Participants also receive one-on-one coaching from CBED staff.

The organization’s efforts come at a crucial time as data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows that only about 7% of public school teachers are Black. In the book “Teacher Preparation as Social Activism at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” the authors point out that before the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka decision, Black educators made up 35% to 50% of the school workforce in the 17 states that had racially segregated schools.

Black educator attrition rates are higher, but so is morale

There’s been an undermining of the Black teacher pipeline ever since Brown vs. Board of Education, contends El-Mekki. “Brown vs Board closed Black schools and they fired Black teachers –– up to 100,000, according to Dr. Leslie Fenwick. So yes, we are absolutely seeing a decrease in interest as well as a high attrition rate for Black teachers. Yet, interestingly enough, the Black teachers who do exist inspire other demographic

Sharif El-Mekki, founder of CBED, with a student taking part in CBED’s 2024 Black Men in Education Convening.

groups, and I think that’s because they see them as teachers with a life mission to sup port the next generation of their communi ty. The interesting phenomenon is that the attrition rates are higher, but the morale is higher for our specific demographic group, according to survey data from Education Week as well as Educators for Excellence which is a nonprofit group.”

CBED focuses on developing Black teach ers by emphasizing a pedagogical approach and historical perspective. El-Mekki worked as a teacher and principal in Philadelphia for 26 years before founding his organiza tion. He attributes his cultural awareness and appreciation for education to his up bringing, influenced by his parents, Aisha El-Mekki and Hamid Khalid, who were members of the Black Panther Party.

Point number 5 of the Black Panther Par ty’s famous Ten-Point Program states, “We believe in an educational system that will give to our people a knowledge of self. If a man does not have knowledge of himself and his position in society and the world then he has little chance to relate to any thing else.” El-Mekki agrees with the senti ment, “This idea of knowledge of self: a lot of our professional development and train ing is in literacy because we believe litera cy leads to liberation. But we also believe in this idea of a positive racial identity and un derstanding accurate history. We ground all of that in our professional development as well as Black teaching traditions and tech niques. We look at how Black communities have always viewed teaching and learning in their communities. We’ve taken some of that, some of the research, and poured that into our curriculum, where students learn the connections between how we lead classrooms, the ethic of care, the es sence of self, the nature of education, and the purpose of it. As well as the history of education created and led by Black communities.”

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Signs of the times

20,000 people met

Literal signs of the times against government oppression were abundant from coast to coast on Saturday, each one of them denoting a message of resistance and defiance of Trump’s edicts as well as his repressive and often unconstitutional policies. “Hand Off Social Security,” “Don’t be a chicken in the coup,” “Musk Must Go!” “No Kings, No Oligarchs” “Trump, Putin’s Chump” and “Elon and the Felon” were just a sample of the outrage on the posters hoisted by protesters. If we didn’t join the thundering masses voicing their opposition to the growing discontent, our foot soles may not have been on the ground but our souls, our hearts and minds moved with the marchers. We are also in accord with Rep. Al Green in his speech during the mass demonstrations and his promise to bring articles of impeachment against Trump.

“We need a Senate that will convict him this time,” the Texas representative said, “and I want you to know, from my heart … I understand that he is a Goliath. He has control of the generals in the military. He has control of the Justice Department, the Republican Party, but my friends, for every Goliath, there is a David.” These words resounded from a man who had openly defied Trump in the House chamber and now promising to wage his fight in legislative and Biblical terms.

Green extended his complaints to the situation in the Middle East, echoing a sign that read “Let Gaza Live” and noting that the “Injustice in Gaza is a threat to justice in the United States of America … there must be home for the Palestinian people.”

With some 1,200 rallies nationwide, this was the largest turnout thus far against the Trump administration, and it is our hope that this is just the beginning of the mounting resistance to the forces that jeopardize every facet of our democracy.

Let us hear from you, give voice to your sign!

The authoritarian boomerang is coming

By ALICÉ NASCIMENTO

Lately, more people are saying that “authoritarianism is a boomerang.”

In my experience, a debt crisis is the wind that carries it.

Before the current crop of techno-authoritarians came to power, venture capitalists and hedge fund managers used a playbook designed to steal our futures and keep us in debt. Black, Latin, and Indigenous people know this playbook because it’s as old as colonialism itself: buying up debt and suing nations for maximum payout.

We’ve been here before. The main difference in Jim Crow 3.0 is how debt injustice is propped up by our financial systems and inequality is automated. Put another way, predatory hedge funds have spent decades making it more expensive to be poor for all of us.

They’re using a simple formula — “Buy, dominate, extract” — tested first in the Caribbean, South America, and the Congo. I’m not talking about something that happened 200 years ago, either. I’m talking about the last few decades — 20 years, 10 years, in your recent memory.

When a country is already buried in debt, at a certain point, it has to admit it can’t pay back the loans it has taken out to pay for essential services. Creditors such as banks or other countries will sometimes look for a way to recover some of the money they’re owed by selling that debt — and that’s where the vulture fund playbook comes in. These hedge funds buy the debt cheaply, and then sue the struggling nation, forcing it to pay back the full amount, plus interest. As a result, debt-burdened nations have to dramatically cut their budgets to make ends meet. This includes cuts to essential services that result in school and hospital closures, dwindling disaster funds, and pensions whittled down to nothing.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

Damaso Reyes:

Executive & Investigative Editor

Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor

Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor

Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising

Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of

This is why your cousins are still trying to figure out if they can afford to move from Puerto Rico to the continental U.S. It’s why your auntie from the Democratic Republic of Congo moved to Brooklyn but still makes time to raise money for loved ones back home. It’s why your family in Grenada is prepping for the next climate disaster while they’re still struggling to recover from the last one.

The government told them there was no money to help, in part because New York-based hedge funds

sued these debt-burdened nations into further disaster.

A legal loophole in New York State law made this possible.

Half of the world’s sovereign debt bonds are issued under New York State law and move through its legal system. Hedge funds preying on nations’ debt also rely on rulings in the federal court system here to benefit their bottom lines.

How is this happening? Because the laws that set rules for how businesses can buy up debt for less than it’s worth have a loophole that allows hedge funds to turn around and sue immediately for the full original amount. That’s the floodgate we’re fighting to close. As New Yorkers, we’ve seen how predatory hedge funds scavenge our resources to enrich themselves while our people face widespread job loss, unlivable wages, cuts to public services, and displacement.

Hedge funds are cashing in on colonialism because the economic system that sustains them keeps getting deregulated in the name of “what’s good for business.” It never asks “what’s good for people?” Over the past 20 years, these funds have purchased debt for pennies, then sued nations to demand full repayment — driving the closure of schools and hospitals, the end of pension funds, and cuts to support services that help with climate disaster recovery.

Our pain is their payday.

The Debt Justice Alliance formed because we’re working New Yorkers who have been directly affected by these predatory debt practices. Right now, our neighbors are selling plasma to afford their meds or setting up gofundme accounts to keep a roof over their heads — while hedge funds are making bank off the debt crisis.

Vulture hedge funds have tried to

defend their predatory policies over the years, but the same hedge funds that reject accountability measures have sued national governments into austerity, resulting in dwindling disaster relief funds and hospital closures. Setting common sense standards for debt recovery is about creating pro-people policies that protect our neighbors and loved ones.

If there’s one thing you should know about New York, it’s that we don’t sit by while corporations empty our wallets. We’ve seen it all, from Madoff to MLMs to memecoin. The sovereign debt crisis is costing New Yorkers millions at a time when our tax dollars could be going to fund libraries, schools, and better healthcare.

The Debt Justice Alliance has been organizing for four years to close the loophole. We’re a coalition of Black and Latin, working-class, and directly affected people organizing together to stop predatory hedge funds. It’s a scam — and we’re here to stop it, because recovering from debt should be an actual possibility in our lifetimes, not a far-off dream.

Last year, we won a big step forward after working on a bill to close the loopholes that made it through the New York Senate. This year, we’ve brought two bills to the New York State assembly to fight to protect Black and Latin communities, working people, and our loved ones. We’re working to make just debt recovery a reality for all.

Alicé (Ah-lee-see) Nascimento is director of campaigns at New York Communities for Change (NYCC), one of the largest grassroots community organizations in the U.S. and a member of the Debt Justice Alliance (DJA). She works on a variety of campaigns at NYCC, from corporate and Wall Street accountability to climate finance.

Alicé Nascimento

Over

at the Minnesota capitol to protest against Republicans, Donald Trump and Elon Musk gutting services, raising prices, and threatening to slash Medicaid and Social Security. This one one of hundreds of protests across the country. (Fibonacci Blue photo via Wikimedia)

Remembering Paul Robeson

By HERB BOYD Special to AmNews

By the time you read this the commemoration of the deaths of the Rev. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will have passed. Past also will be the celebration many set aside for the memory of the great Paul Robeson, and his stalwart stand against racism, fascism, and as the tyranny of the state returns with terrifying currency under the Trump regime. Robeson, who died in 1976, would have been 127 years old on April 9. Few citizens were as gifted, talented, and outspoken against the injustices ordinary folks faced than Robeson. When the “Red Scare” and McCarthyism rained persecution down on the land, particularly for those

daring to voice militant opposition to state power, Robeson was undaunted and bravely endured the wave of repression.

Exemplary of this unwavering conviction is this statement in 1954 from Freedom , a newspaper he created: “Now, if you preach the doctrine of peace, friendship and brotherhood among the world’s people — you may still run into a little trouble in the United States. That old devil McCarthy may set out to get you! But a lot of Americans are waking up to the fact that to be the victim of an attack by McCarthyism may not be fatal. In fact, the only thing fatal for the American people would be the failure to fight the McCarthyite madness. McCarthyism means destruction of the constitutional rights of free speech and free press and free

Beware of misinformation and disinformation

religion. It means the prohibition of free assemblies … We must counterpose to the Big Lie the Big Truth of our times … that different social systems must live together in peaceful cooperation and competition, that the American people will not be abrest of the rest of the world until we choose a government really dedicated to the needs and welfare of the working people, the poor farmers, the Negro millions and all the oppressed of this land.”

Happy birthday, Paul, and let your words and courage be an inspiration to those now marching in your massive footprint for freedom and justice. And unlike Trump in his messages, I will resist the temptation to emphasize in caps the correlations — they should leap out at you!

We are in a fight for our democracy and the amount of misinformation and disinformation in our various communities is rampant. There are complex networks specifically targeting Black communities and sowing seeds of dissention and apathy in the political process. Luckily, Esosa Osa, founder and CEO of Onyx Impact, has founded an organization to help fight adverse information in order to strengthen our community. Osa is clear that information opens doors. She said, “Black people deserve resilient information sharing ecosystems that build trust, power and community. Adverse information — information created to mislead or harm — doesn’t just close doors, it builds walls of distrust and disillusionment.” What we witnessed in the past election cycles, at all levels, was specific targeting of Black communities with information that was distorted, an outright lie, or intended to suppress the vote.

Onyx Impact seeks to map and understand the Black information landscape. Just as we know our money has power, so does the way we process information, both political and otherwise. Onyx also seeks to expose adverse information networks and operations targeting Black communities. Onyx empowers Black communities by investing in Black media and Black Gateway influencers and platforms. Healthy and accurate information is necessary for Black people to make informed decisions from good faith entities. As we move forward in uncertain political terrain, we must do so with as much accurate information as possible. So many people rely on social

media as their primary source of news. Indeed, social media can introduce one to ideas and debates that may not be readily in their respective information circles. However, it is important for us to work a bit harder and find media outlets from verified and trusted and well-versed sources. As technology and the use of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT become more sophisticated, we must take the extra steps to be sure the information we receive (and share) is accurate. So how do we move forward? As always, we must have a plan. We must invest in our political and media education by spending time reading articles by trusted media sources, not just opinion leaders. We must invest and support Black media since it is those outlets who are literally investing in the future production of Black knowledge. We must also be careful not to inadvertently spread false information. Take the extra moment to check the source of information before spreading it far and wide to your various family and friend circles.

Many of us have elections in our various cities and states this year. Others are beginning to gather information about candidates and issues for the 2026 midterms. We are in serious times and we must be deliberate about gathering and disseminating correct information to our communities.

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of book “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream” and is cohost of the podcast FAQ-NYC.

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

(Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection. )

Caribbean Update

Caricom fears mount over Trump’s tariffs

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

As the current chair of the Caribbean Community (Caricom), Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley thought it was wise to address the bloc at the weekend about the perils of acrossthe-board tariffs announced recently by the Trump administration, arguing that these latest measures might well be one too many burdens for the region to bear.

Describing the tariff imposition as “among the most challenging of times for our region since the majority of our members gained their independence,” Mottley suggested an urgent high-level meeting with officials in Washington and urged the region to genuflect to old trading partners like the European Union, while developing strong trade ties with Africa and nearby Latin America.

From the recent announcement by Trump himself, the average Caricom member state was slapped with a 10% tax increase, except bloc headquarters Guyana, which exports hundreds of millions of dollars in crude oil to the U.S. in addition to rice, rum, fish, and shrimp, among other products. The region’s largest and most re-

Mia Motley, prime minister of Barbados, speaking during “SDG Moment” event at United Nations headquarters, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. Event was to highlight urgency and importance of United Nations’ sustainable development goals. (AP Photo/ Seth Wenig)

source-rich member state ended up with a 38% calculation rate that left authorities astonished.

“My brothers and sisters, there’s trouble in our Caribbean waters,” said Mottley in a televised address.

“I say simply to President Trump, our economies are not doing your economy any harm in any way. They are too small to have any negative or distorted impact on your country, so I ask you to consider your decades-long friendship between your country and ours, and look to the Caribbean,

recognizing that the family ties, yes, are strong. Let us talk, I hope, and let us work together to keep prices down for all of our people.”

Making the case for the region, she pointed to a string of trade assistance programs implemented by successive American administrations for the Caribbean as far back as the 1980s, including the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) that has provided protective cover and some level of preferential treatment for regional exports. “We will see how

these tariffs will impact that,” said Mottley. “That spirit of cooperation largely enabled security, social stability, and economic growth on America’s third border in the Caribbean, or as we have agreed as recently in our meeting with Secretary of State Rubio, what is now our collective neighborhood.”

Citing an example of possible economic peril from the slew of controversial policies being enacted in Washington, Mottley singled out threats to impose at least a $1 million levy on any ships built in China that makes port calls in the Caribbean, bringing normal merchandize to the region, as one that will present major financial burdens if implemented in the coming months.

“We are working and will continue to work to become more self-sufficient, but I want every Caribbean man and every Caribbean woman to hear me,” Mottley said. “This trade war and the possibility of a $1 million to $1.5 million levy on all Chinese made ships entering U.S. harbors will mean higher prices for all of us at the corner shop, higher prices at the supermarket, higher prices at the electronics store, higher prices for us at the shop, higher prices for us at the restau-

rant, higher prices for us at the current dealership and beyond.”

One way to make it easier for Caribbean citizens, she said, would be to “buy local and buy regional. The products are better, fresher, and more competitive in many instances. If we work together and strengthen our own, we can ride through this crisis. We may have to confront issues of logistics and movement of goods, but we can do that, too,” Mottley said.

Attempting to put the regional economic and trade dilemma in perspective, she said that it matters if governments zero-rate import taxes. “It will not make a lick of difference, because our economies are small and vulnerable. This crisis, my friends, will impact not only goods, but it may also have a large spillover effect on tourism. We suggest that the region takes steps to sustain the tourism industry, as it is likely to worsen and many of our source markets will have negative impacts on people’s ability to travel. We call on our regional private sector and the tourism sector to come together and to work with governments to collaborate for an immediate tourism strategy to ensure that we maintain market share numbers as a region

International students beware: You’re on thin ice under Trump 2.0

A Caribbean immigrant student recently found herself in an unexpected and frightening situation: held for hours at Miami International Airport while trying to re-enter the U.S. on what she believed was a valid student visa.

Her only mistake? Trusting her university’s international student immigration/visa coordinator, who failed to inform her that her F-1 student visa had expired and that traveling under those circumstances could put her re-entry — and her academic future — in jeopardy.

After being questioned for two nerve-wracking hours by several immigration officers at the airport, she was finally released and, luckily for her, granted a waiver allowing her to remain in the U.S. until her semester concludes in

May — but the warning was clear: She must leave the country at that time and re-apply for a new visa from her home nation’s U.S. consulate. Whether her visa will be renewed in time for her next semester is anyone’s guess.

This case is just one example of the increasingly hostile environment facing international students under the second Trump administration. Recently, we’ve seen a disturbing wave of actions:

• Student visas revoked

• Dorm rooms raided

• Green card holders arrested

• International students threatened with deportation for joining peaceful campus protests

All while the administration has slashed STEM research funding, undermining the very programs that bring international scholars to U.S. campuses in the first place.

Now comes news that Trump is considering a new travel ban, one far broader than the seven-country ban from his first term. This one could

target as many as 43 countries, according to an internal memo reported on by the New York Times

The effect is already being felt on campuses. Brown University recently urged all international students and residents to avoid international travel during the recent spring break. Columbia and Cornell have issued similar warnings, echoing guidance issued even before Trump was sworn back into office.

For many international students, the message is unmistakable: You are not welcome here.

“This crackdown has a chilling effect,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, a Cornell law professor and expert on immigration law. “As we saw in the first Trump administration, similar policies prompted a decline in the number of international students applying to U.S. colleges. It took the entire Biden administration just to recover from that decline.”

According to the National Science Foundation, Trump’s first travel ban in 2017 led to a 2.2% drop in in-

ternational undergraduate applications and a 5.5% decline for graduate students. Those numbers only rebounded recently, with international enrollment finally beginning to surge in 2023, inching back toward pre-pandemic levels.

But that fragile recovery is now under threat — again.

Beyond the human impact, there’s also a significant economic toll. International students are often full-paying students, contributing billions annually to U.S. universities and local economies. Their decline could financially destabilize many institutions, especially those already struggling post-pandemic.

What can be done?

According to the law offices of Warner Norcross + Judd, the responsibility now falls on university administrators, visa coordinators, and department heads to be proactive. That means they must:

• Provide accurate and timely visa compliance information.

• Offer legal resources and emergency planning for students facing sudden status changes.

• Advocate for commonsense immigration policies through coalitions like the American Council on Education (ACE), and NAFSA: Association of International Educators (NAFSA).

Because here’s the truth: it should never have come to this.

No student — especially one in legal status — should be detained or face deportation because of bureaucratic failure, political grandstanding, or a lack of accurate guidance. And no nation that claims to value education and innovation should be closing its doors to the world’s brightest minds.

Felicia J. Persaud is the publisher of NewsAmericasNow.com, a daily news outlet focused on positive news about Black immigrant communities from the Caribbean and Latin America.

Can one of Africa’s largest refugee camps evolve into a city?

By ADRIAN BLOMFIELD Associated Press

KAKUMA, Kenya (AP) — Windswept and remote, set in the cattle-rustling lands of Kenya’s northwest, Kakuma was never meant to be permanently settled.

It became one of Africa’s most famous refugee camps by accident as people escaping calamity in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo poured in.

More than three decades after its first tents appeared in 1992, Kakuma houses 300,000 refugees. Many rely on aid to survive. Some recently clashed with police over shrinking food rations and support.

Now the Kenyan government and humanitarian agencies have come up with an ambitious plan for Kakuma to evolve into a city.

Although it remains under the United Nations’ management, Kakuma has been redesignated a municipality, one that local government officials later will run.

It is part of a broader goal in Kenya and elsewhere of incorporating refugees more closely into local populations and shifting from prolonged reliance on aid.

The refugees in Kakuma eventually will have to fend for themselves, living off their incomes rather than aid. The nearest city is eight hours’ drive away.

Such self-reliance is not easy. Few refugees can become Kenyan citizens. A 2021 law recognizes their right to work in formal employment, but only a tiny minority are allowed to do so.

Forbidden from keeping livestock because of the arid surroundings and the inability to roam widely, and unable to farm due to the lack of adequate water, many refugees see running a business as their only option.

‘World-class entrepreneurs’ Startup businesses require capital, and interest rates on loans from banks in Kakuma are typical-

ly around 20%. Few refugees have the collateral and documentation needed to take out a loan.

Denying them access to credit is a tremendous waste of human capital, said Julienne Oyler, who runs Inkomoko, a charity providing financial training and low-cost loans to African businesses, primarily in displacement-affected communities.

“We find that refugee business owners actually have the characteristics that make world-class entrepreneurs,” she said.

“They are resilient. They are resourceful. They have access to networks. They have adaptability. In some ways, what refugees unfortunately have had to go through actually makes a really good business owner.”

Other options available include microloans from other aid groups or collective financing by refugeerun groups. However, the sums involved are usually insufficient for all but the smallest startups.

ances or vouchers of about $10 or less a month.

Another beneficiary is Mesfin Getahun, a former soldier who fled Ethiopia for Kakuma in 2001 after helping students who had protested against the government. He has grown his “Jesus is Lord” shops, which sell everything from groceries to motorcycles, into Kakuma’s biggest retail chain. That’s thanks in part to $115,000 in loans from Inkomoko.

Trading with other towns is also essential. Inkomoko has linked refugee businesses with suppliers in Eldoret, a city 300 miles (482 kilometers) to the south, to cut out expensive middlemen and help embed Kakuma into Kenya’s economy.

Other challenges

Some question the vision of Kakuma becoming a thriving, self-reliant city.

Rahul Oka, an associate research professor with the University of Notre Dame said it lacks the resources — particularly water — and infrastructure to sustain a viable economy that can rely on local production.

One of Inkomoko’s clients in Kakuma, Adele Mubalama, led seven young children — six of her own and an abandoned 12-year-old she found en route — on a hazardous journey to the camp through four countries after the family was forced to leave Congo in 2018.

At the camp it took six months to find her husband, who had fled two months earlier, and six more to figure out how to make a living.

“It was difficult to know how to survive,” Mubalama said. “We didn’t know how to get jobs and there were no business opportunities.”

After signing up for a tailoring course with a Danish charity, she found herself making fabric masks during the COVID19 pandemic.

Able to borrow from Inkomoko at half the rate charged by banks, she expanded, taking on 26 employees and buying new sewing machines. Last year she made a profit of $8,300 — a huge amount when many refugees live on allow-

“You cannot reconstruct an organic economy by socially engineering one,” said Oka, who has studied economic life at Kakuma for many years.

Two-way trade remains almost nonexistent. Suppliers send food and secondhand clothes to Kakuma, but trucks on the return journey are usually empty.

And the vast majority of refugees lack the freedom to move elsewhere in Kenya, where jobs are easier to find, said Freddie Carver of ODI Global, a Londonbased think tank.

Unless this is addressed, solutions offering greater opportunities to refugees cannot deliver meaningful transformation for most of them, he said.

“If you go back 20 years, a lot of refugee rights discourse was about legal protections, the right to work, the right to stay in a country permanently,” Carver said. “Now it’s all about livelihoods and self-sufficiency. The emphasis is so much on opportunities that it overshadows the question of rights. There needs to be a greater balance.”

School children in Kakuma refugee camp, Kenya.

(D. Willetts via Wikimedia)

Education

NY kids’ choir hits the right notes, but will their funding fall flat?

BY CHRISTIAN SPENCER Special to AmNews

Singing and dancing children from the Reaching for the Arts program had local politicians cheering at Verdi Square in Manhattan recently, but beneath the melodies and smiles, the Black woman-led nonprofit is struggling to stay financially in tune.

On March 28, children of various ages, genders, and races from five schools were united by one beat: honoring women who have contributed to the city’s arts and culture.

Sharon Daly-Johnson, founder and director emerita of Reaching for the Arts, spearheaded the exhibition in collaboration with the Broadway Mall Association. The event, part of a broader campaign to highlight the role of arts in public spaces, drew roughly 50 spectators to Verdi Square.

“It’s so inspiring to see them do a program for Women’s History Month,” said Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, who represents the Upper West Side and parts of Hell’s Kitchen. “I think it’s the first time that’s been done, and that just shows the Broadway Malls can be an integral part of community life. It’s not just making sure the malls look beautiful during the holiday season. We have an event here to show the culture and the other art installations that are located along the mall. It’s the biggest part of our life, so I’m happy to be here to celebrate the 191 Choir and the singers and the school, and all of you.”

Councilwoman Gale Brewer also made an appearance, joining Rosenthal in her support for the event as the ongoing struggle for arts education funding continues.

For many in the crowd, the performance was a heartening celebration of local talent. The allure of the children’s voices and the female-dominated energy of their dancing was engrossing.

Erica Raposo, mother of Alyssia, who enthralled onlookers with her solo performance, said that Reaching for the Arts has nurtured her daughter’s natural talent: a voice powerful enough to rise above the heavy traffic of the busy 73rd Street station.

“Alyssia’s been singing since she was really, really small, but she’s never had any actual formal training,” Erica said. “She’s been singing with the Reaching for the Arts Choir for about two years now.”

Gail Collymore-Bey watched with similar pride as her granddaughter Ria took the stage. Although new to the Reaching for the Arts Choir, Ria’s enthusiasm was palpable.

“She just started school at PS180 in February, and she’s been doing the choir, I would say maybe like three, four weeks now, maybe a month,” Collymore-Bey said. “She’s got a beautiful voice. She’s got a very cute voice.”

When asked about Ria’s future in the arts, Collymore-Bey smiled and let her granddaughter answer for herself. “Singer,” Ria responded without hesitation.

Accompanying her was Ria’s great-greatgrandmother, a testament to the strong family support behind these young performers.

After the performance, the children celebrated their success with a Dunkin’ Donuts treat. Yet, while the children’s joy over hot cocoa and Munchkins was evident, Johnson’s ambivalent sense of bittersweet accomplishment left a lingering question about funds.

“We work with as many students as possible, mostly focusing on students of color because they don’t have the ability to get the lessons — the private lessons — to go into these performing arts high schools or careers,” Johnson said.

Brewer and Rosenthal both spoke to the significance of the event and offered their support for arts education amid ongoing funding challenges.

As the Amsterdam News previously reported, only 3% of the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) budget is allocated to arts education. The terms and conditions passed by the City Council last year revealed that, between 2020–2023, one in five NYC public schools lacked a certified arts teacher.

“I’m here, just like everyone else, to say that it’s wonderful to have a community. Thank you, Broadway Malls, because you make a community, not just with the horticulture up and down Broadway Avenue, but also by bringing us all together,” Brewer said. “If we don’t have arts in New York, we don’t have New York City. [The] arts are so important. Arts education is important because these young people will be the audiences of the future.

Serving the underserved for a decade

Founded in 2015, Reaching for the Arts will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year. Johnson has dedicated herself to helping students, especially those from underserved communities, gain access to opportunities in the performing and visual arts, paving pathways to prestigious schools like LaGuardia High School.

“We got them into performing arts high schools automatically,” Johnson said.

For children who live for music, dance, and performance, though, affording private lessons and career-building opportunities is often out of reach. This is especially true for those marginalized by their circumstances, which is why Johnson is committed to providing a place where they can thrive.

“I want to say it’s almost the end of Women’s History Month, but it’s the beginning of budget season in the City Council and the state legislature … Make sure that you tell your elected officials [to] support Broadway Malls and the arts.”

The road to securing funding has been anything but smooth. Johnson’s frustration, visible by the tears in her eyes, stemmed from delayed grant funds going back years, making it difficult for Reaching for the Arts to continue its work.

“Well, it’s interesting you say that, because we write a grant every year, and we’ve already gotten the grant through Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal … I don’t mean to sound political, but after Gale Brewer took over, we haven’t received our grant money at all. We’re missing $40,000 in grant money. It’s just unbelievable how much ... I’m surprised we’re still surviving because we haven’t seen that grant money in years. We’ve apparently (gotten) our $20,000 grant this year, but we still haven’t seen that, either,” Johnson said.

Crowd watches members of children’s choir sing. (Christian Spencer photos)

Granddaughter Ria and grandmother Gail share a hug after choir wraps up.

Arts & Entertainment

Dance Calendar April 2025

By CHARMAINE PATRICIA WARREN Special to

the AmNews

Apr. 10-13: As part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, curated by Nicky Paraiso, with guest curators: Martita Abril, Blaze Ferrer, Adham Hafez, Keith A. Thompson & danceTactics performance group will premiere “Love Alone Anthology Project.” For more information visit lamama.org.

Apr. 11-12: The annual curated Future Dance Festival happens at 92NY and “…connects the next generation of choreographers and dance filmmakers with the current genera-

tion of directors and industry leaders,” notes the release. Featured will be 16 emerging choreographers and 8 emerging dance filmmakers. For more information visit 92ny.org.

Apr. 22-27: Kyle Abraham and his company A.I.M. will present a mixed program at The Joyce including new works by Andrea Miller and Rena Butler, plus other works Paul Singh and Abraham. For more information visit joyce.org.

Apr. 22-26: The Uptown Rhythm Dance Festival, a multi-night performance and workshop program opens at the 92nd Street Y offering rhythm-based dance forms includ-

ing tap, hip hop and street dance, Kathak Indian dance, flamenco, Appalachian flatfooting, Irish step dance, live music and more. For more information visit 92ny.org.

Apr. 25-27: Alexis Chartrand and Nic Gareiss, and Megumi Eda shares a program as part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival. For more information visit lamama.org.

Apr. 25 – 26: Miro Magloire’s New Chamber Ballet will be a repeat of Magloire’s 2023

Well, inspired by the compositions of contemporary composer Anthony Cheung at Mark Morris Dance Center. For more information visit newchamberballet.com.

Apr. 25-27: Jesse Zaritt and Pamela Pietro, and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd share a program as part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival. For more information visit lamama.org.

Apr. 26-27: As part of the La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival and at Community Arts Space, Amalia Suryani will premiere of “Ta’na Nirau,” “…rooted in the dance, music, and storytelling traditions of the Dayak tribes of Borneo, Indonesia, who are grappling with multiple existential challenges,” notes the release. For more information visit lamama.org.

Dancers Mykiah Goree and Gianna Theodore of A.I.M by Kyle Abraham. (Carrie Schneider photo)

‘Triumph in the Trenches,’ a new ‘Green Book’ for Black professionals

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

“Triumph in the Trenches (Volume 2): The Green Book for Black Professionals” is a comforting new book of essays that will offer support to readers who may not realize the impact of the stresses they encounter in their everyday work environments.

This book, co-authored by motivational speaker Rev. Dr. Xenia Barnes, looks at the challenges Black people face in predominantly white or white-acculturated workspaces. The book posits the world of work as on some level equal to the world Black drivers had to learn to navigate through during the segregation era, when Black people had to use the “The Negro motorist Green-book” to understand how to safely travel through areas where their mere presence could offend white people and might get them hurt.

Often, being one of the few individuals of African descent in such an environment can lead to feelings of loneliness, as well as the belief that you must exceed expectations to be seen as worthy of keeping your job.

The ten contributing authors to “Triumph in the Trenches” write about some of the different challenges and stresses they experienced at work, a place where we spend so many hours of our day. Though it is commonly believed that sharing our voices at work can benefit an organization, several authors mention that they realized being less visible was psychologically safer: “…I was deemed fit to serve but never to lead in the way I knew I was capable –– as the servant leader I aspired to be,” writes Dr. Carrie Young-McWilliams. “To even maintain my position, I was told I needed to change myself entirely: dress differently, adjust my hair and eyebrows, soften my 6-foot frame to appear less ‘intimidating’ for my male counterparts, and moderate my tone. This was the feedback I received –– not about my qualifications, not about my accomplishments, but about my appearance and presence.”

Professor Shakira Releford writes that “The DEI training came and went, and little changed. People returned to their comfortable patterns, checking off the ‘diversity’ box without ever confronting the deeply ingrained biases that shaped the workplace. The organization had a few more minority hires, but Janelle knew that wouldn’t fix the issue. What was needed was a shift in the organization’s culture, not superficial representation.”

“The convenience of a short commute,” writes Carolyn D. Wells, “temporarily sweetened the sour reality that I did not belong here –– not because of some shortcomings of mine but because I deserved better. I deserved to work in a fair and psychologically safe environment.

I deserved to be included and to be authentically ME without feeling as though being myself was not good enough.”

“[S]elf advocacy is non-negotiable,” writes Leila Lawson. “Speaking up about unfair treatment and negotiating for deserved recognition sets important precedents. When traditional paths prove blocked, creativity and networking can forge new routes forward. Building a strong support network of mentors and allies provides crucial guidance and encouragement.”

Rev. Barnes, who recently took part in a virtual book signing with me for “Triumph in the Trenches,” explained that she uses the phrase “trauma to triumph” in the book to point to how people are capable of starting over and making sense of the stresses and psychological pain they find themselves going through. Recurring slights from colleagues, workplace demands, and unrealistic performance quotas that are accepted and not challenged will slowly but surely wear a person down. When we speak up and confront trauma, Dr. Barnes said, we can create frameworks that help us understand that we do not embody the trauma we’re going through. We can begin to move forward toward the triumph.

“It starts from the top,” Barnes said during the virtual talk. “Workplace culture plays such a huge role in productivity. Because if you don’t have a strong workplace culture –– and I don’t mean icebreakers and us going to hang out for happy hour afterward, I think people have this idea that we all must be friends for all of us to have a good workplace culture. That’s not what good workplace culture is. Good workplace culture is understanding that someone needs space today and allowing them to have space. Good workplace culture is understanding that right now might not be the best time or space to have this discussion, so we’re going to have it at a later time. Good workplace culture also means having uncomfortable conversations but also ensuring that you’re actively listening and not just listening to the sound. Because if you don’t do those things, then you create ideological safety issues where people feel like their voice is muffled, they feel like they’re on mute, and then you have people showing up to work unhappy. They’re just doing the bare minimum, because it’s like, ‘I’m just here to get my check, and after that, I’m clocking out.’ If you want people to show up and be productive, then they have to feel like they’re seen, they need to feel like they’re heard, and they have to feel like they have value.”

The next book reading/signing for “Triumph in the Trenches” takes place on June 28 at 45 Main Street in Brooklyn, NY, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.. For more info, visit www.revdrxeniabarnes.com.

Front and back jackets for the book “Triumph in the Trenches (Volume 2): The Green Book for Black Professionals.” (Contributed photos)

Stevie Wonder’s ‘Songs in the Key of Life’ celebrated at Symphony Space

By MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH Special to the AmNews

Few pop artists are as universally recognized for their musical genius as Stevie Wonder. And perhaps no album exemplified Wonder’s brilliance more than “Songs in the Key of Life.”

The original LP, released in September 1976, was an epic double album of 17 songs, with an additional seven-inch EP, entitled A Something’s Extra, containing four bonus tracks. It went on to win 4 Grammys, including Album of the Year, and sold more than 10 million copies world-wide.

The most commercially successful songs on the album, “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” and the saccharine “Isn’t She Lovely,” were the least of the album’s considerable achievements. At a time when album play required a constant moving of the record player needle in order to land on the most worthwhile singles, “Songs in the Key of Life” was one of those cherished albums that allowed you to drop the needle once, go about your business, and enjoy each side from start to finish. It wasn’t just a collection of tracks, but a celebration of love, life, and the Black cultural experience, tempered with meditations on loss and pain.

That’s why it’s easy to see why the Upper

West Side’s Symphony Space chose to enlist the talents of Broadway vocalists to cover “Songs in the Key of Life” for a benefit concert this past Monday night, with the benefit being Symphony Space itself. And who better to mine the emotional depths of Stevie’s masterpiece than performers who repeatedly animate and interpret songbooks for a living?

The concert’s production team was remarkably faithful, almost to a fault, to the source material, offering each song from the original album, back-to-back, in the precise order in which they appeared on the original album. Judiciously left off the evening’s playlist were the instrumental “Contusion” and the bonus tracks, ”Saturn,” “Ebony Eyes,” “All Day Sucker,” and “Easy Goin’ Evening.”

A threesome consisting of Blu Allen, Keirsten Hodgens and Mariah Lyttle started the evening off with a rendition of “Love’s in Need of Love Today” before assuming their place as backup vocalists for the rest of the numbers. Their dutiful execution set the tone, with each subsequent artist competently delivering their song from the middle of the stage, accompanied by a house band.

There were indeed standouts. Jhardon DiShon Milton, performing “Sir Duke”

alongside Adrianna Hicks, featured a voice that was wonderfully Stevie-like in its tonal quality. Jenn Colella deftly held “Knocks Me Off My Feet” as a silky jazz standard. Heath Saunders, eschewing the mostly R&B vibe of the evening, added a touch of poppy rock in his American Idol audition interpretation of “Pastime Paradise.” Ali Louis Bourzgui and Adrianna Hicks provided lovely harmonies in “Ngiculela,” and Nikki Renée Daniels was haunting in “If It’s Magic.” Amber Iman’s penultimate performance of “As” was the strongest and most inspiring of the evening. And of course, each artist was allowed to belt out solos as the entire company performed the final number, “Another Star.”

The audience was, in turn, hard to disappoint. The crowd on-hand, which skewed older and whiter, possibly reflecting the mostly Upper West Side Symphony Space donor base, responded to each number with an appreciation buried deeply within their generational love of Stevie. As she was leaving the show, the woman sitting in front of me remarked that she’s been a Stevie fan ever since she watched him perform “Fingertips” way back in the day, when he was a teenager known as “Little” Stevie Wonder.

Still, there were far fewer lips moving, butts shaking and shoulders swaying than I

hoped for. In fact, “restraint” is the word that most characterized the evening. If you’ve ever been to a Stevie Wonder dance party, you know how much spiritual and kinetic energy is freighted by Stevie’s pre-1990s music. And if you are not closing your eyes, holding your heart and tilting your head towards the sky throughout a Stevie concert, then you ain’t really Wonder-ing.

Perhaps the featured artists were saving their voices for their main gigs, or were held back by the house band, which performed with the mood range of a lounge pianist. Either way, I kept waiting for barn-burning renditions that never fully arrived. Even “As” was not afforded the escalating tempo and energy that makes it one of Stevie’s most emotionally transcendent compositions. And inexplicably, the producers decided that “Ordinary Pain” would only feature Stevie’s vocal portion, and leave out the Shirley Brewer “Reply,” a deliciously brutal rejoinder and takedown that memorably begins with the line, “You’re just a masochistic fool.” The performing artist, Zachary Noah Piser, more than held his own with a crooner’s command of the number, but without the Brewer rebuttal from the original album, the producers again missed an opportunity to bring down the house.

Broadway stars singing Stevie Wonder’s “Songs in the Key of Life” at Symphony Space. (Sean Sime photo)

AmNews FOOD

‘SheDidThat’ serves up food, beverages and culinary connections

By BRENIKA BANKS Special to the AmNews

Black-owned eateries and beverage brands continue thriving in Harlem and beyond. Brand strategist and executive producer Renae Bluitt held her She Did That 2025 Food & Beverage Scene event in Brooklyn on April 6, an event that welcomed over 400 visitors and 50-plus Black-owned retailers. A main spotlight was the 3 p.m. panel moderated by Bluitt and which featured DarDra Coaxum, co-owner of Harlem Shake and HRLM Champagne; Sharene Wood, president & CEO, HH Bespoke Spirits & Beverages; Ria Graham, co-founder of Kokomo restaurant in Brooklyn; and Zewiditu Jewel, president of The Brown Collective.

The panel revealed relatable and professional information about all the women navigating their businesses while working with a family member or spouse. Coaxum shared that becoming an entrepreneur wasn’t the exact plan she had. Things fell into place after Coaxum filled in for her father during a business meeting which went well. “He wanted somebody from Harlem to show up and represent who we are,” said Coaxum. That unexpected yet well received opportunity turned into her co-owning Harlem Shake. “I learned a lot of my business skills from my business partner, and I took that and applied it to HRLM Champagne,” said Coaxum. “HRLM Champagne is another one of my dad’s brilliant ideas.”

Food and beverage services appear to be a promising avenue for U.S. companies with majority-Black or African American ownership. According to Pew Research Center, in 2022, about 7% of Black-owned businesses were in the accommodation and food

services sector. Pew Research Center also reported that most Black or African American majority-owned businesses (90%) are in urban areas, like New York City.

As the panel moderator, Bluitt highlighted the reality of how working with family or a romantic partner could be a scenario “that some people would love to enter into” but also one that “some people may shy away from for fear of what that could do to impact the business relationship.”

Bluitt asked the panel of four ladies what inspired them to go into business with a family member or partner and how they navigated the personal and business relationship. This question gave the women a chance to authentically share with the attendees.

Sharene Wood’s vision and purpose of going into business with her husband was to change family circumstances for the

better. She said one must have high emotional intelligence to work with family. “I think collaboration is what’s needed, even if it’s between friends, partners, families,” said Wood. “I think if I tell you I’m in history-making business for my family, who better yet to make history with than with my husband?”

Coaxum described the transition from a personal to business relationship with her father as pretty smooth. “I think my father and I have a pretty good relationship and if you know him, please don’t tell him this … I’m the boss!” said Coaxum. She expressed appreciation for her father’s acknowledgement of her strong decisions as a business owner while establishing necessary boundaries. “Boundaries are definitely important,” said Coaxum. She highlighted the importance of understanding each other’s

roles and not overstepping boundaries. Bluitt sees the importance of continuing occasions like this, like last year’s She Did That 2024 Holiday Bazaar event, that are made to bring many Black-owned businesses into one space. She told the crowd “SheDidThat” was created because it was something she needed. “Community is so very important as an entrepreneur,” said Bluitt. “I don’t think any of us would be sitting here if it weren’t for the communities that support us every single day, that inspire us, that remind us of our ‘why.’”

Coaxum is inspired as a Black woman and business owner by not shying away from her Blackness. “On my [HRLM Champagne] sign I wrote ‘Woman-owned and Blackowned,’” said Coaxum. Her father wasn’t fond of her emphasizing her champagne business being “Black-owned” because of the possibility that it may limit her success. Coaxum strongly didn’t believe she was limiting herself. She conveyed to her father that at the end of the day, the people who support her will be her people. “So, if I want to highlight that to sell my champagne, then that’s what I’m going to do,” she said. Expanding oneself without limitation are words Coaxum lives by. Ria Graham believes in finding a way to grow their business no matter what. She is convinced that regardless of how great someone’s champagne or donuts are, it isn’t great if no one knows about it. All five women are making their marks in Black-owned businesses and family businesses.

For more info, visit https://shedidthat.co/.

Sources:

https://www.pewresearch.org/shortreads/2025/02/12/a-look-at-black-ownedbusinesses-in-the-us/

SheDidThat x Madamenoire Queens of Food & Beverage Scene post panel with Ria Graham (far left), Zewiditu Jewel (left), Renae Bluitt, Sharene Wood and DarDra Coaxum (right). (Brenika Banks photos)

DarDra Coaxum, co-founder of both Harlem Shake and HRLM Champagne and her crew at the SheDidThat x Madamenoire Queens of Food & Beverage Scene event.

SheDidThat x Madamenoire Queens of Food & Beverage Scene panel sign for the event on Sunday, Apr. 6.

Haute Spring/Summer ’25 offerings from Hats By Bunn in Harlem

By RENEE MINUS WHITE Fashion & Beauty Editor

Yes, it’s Spring/Summer ’25, but folks wear hats all year round. With Easter on the horizon, I stopped in at Hats By Bunn, located at 2283 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. last weekend, and spoke with Mr. Bunn — who’s been a hat maker in New York for over 50 years — about what’s new, and how to buy a hat this season.

“Unlike designers who mostly sketch, I create and make my hats from scratch,” he shared, escorting me back to his workroom where he was blocking hat shapes. He creates custom, classical hats for all occasions. “What inspires your hat styles?” I ask. “I watch folks walking down the street. I‘m also inspired by whatever music I’m listening to,” he smiled.

“What’s new for Spring/Summer ’25?” “Well, everyone comes in the shop asking for Beyoncé’s cowboy hat,” he smirked. “Do you have one in the shop?” “Yes, it’s a Harlem cowboy hat,” he laughed. When he showed it to me, of course, I had to try it on. “You look slick,” he complimented, and we had a good laugh.

For Spring/Summer ’25, the baseball cap creates a stir and has become a fashion accessory staple. You can wear caps, casual and dressy alike, adorned with pins, ribbons, jewels; or sporty, with many odd attachments. For men and women, international designers are

showing a wide variety of hats every which way on the Spring/Summer ’25 runways. Baseball caps accessorized evening gowns, business suits, beachwear, and loungewear.

The Bennie, another hit, is a hat that goes with every look. Sailor hats are back, along with sun hats, scarves, and turbans.

The way you wear your chapeau defines your style. Mr. Bunn shared tips on how to choose a hat that’s right for you.

AmNews: When a person buys a hat, what should they look for?

Mr. Bunn: It’s a combination of things. Pay attention to what you see in the mirror. Your hat must fit your personality and your rhythm. Hats are very personal.

AmNews: Are brims wide or shorter this season?

Mr. Bunn: Brims are determined by your stature. Remember, what looks good on someone else may not look good on you. Look for a hat that complements you, your face, and how you dress.

Hats By Bunn’s prices start at $50. Store hours are Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Visit www.hatsbybunn.com for more info.

Fashion & Beauty editor Renee Minus White, an original member of The Chantels, a 50’s Doo Wop group who sang “Maybe,” is the author of “Maybe: My Memoir: A Chantel’s Story,” available at Amazon.com.

Gayle King heads to space — stuffed animals; Terrence Howard claims Diddy tried to ‘steal his manhood’; Lizzo attends the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

ANTHONY

GO WITH THE FLO

Lizzo showed off her incredible weight loss in a strapless burgundy evening gown at the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony on April 5, 2025. The svelte songstress slayed in the couture dress boasting a ruched and pleated long skirt that hugged her new flawless figure. The prestigious event was held at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California.......

Visionary Pharrell Williams is now in the champagne business. Williams is already the creative director of Louis Vuitton. Now, he has teamed up with the couture clothing line’s subsidiary, French champagne house Moet & Chandon, to launch a limited-edition birthday collection which redefines what it means to toast to life. The Moet & Chandon X Pharrell Williams collaboration launched globally last month. Said Pharrell, “The best part about a birthday are the people who want to celebrate it with you.” The “Happy” crooner went on to say that he first toasted with Moet & Chandon for his birthday when he became old enough to drink. The collection includes: The Limited Edition, The Bow Capsule Collection, and The Jewel Masterpiece. Cheers!.........

“Empire” star Terrence Howard told PBD Podcast host Patrick Bet-David that Sean “Diddy” Combs tried to steal his “man card.” None of the reports on the incident indicate that the disgraced music mogul ever directly made a pass at the actor. According to multiple reports, on April 4, the Oscar nominee spoke about this experience with Puffy, but never said when it actually happened. Howard told Patrick, “Puffy invited me for weeks, asking me to come and teach him how to act, he wanted me to be his acting coach for a while. Next thing you know, P. Diddy asks, ‘Will you help me? I want to hear your music.’ So, I came over there and played the music. He’s sitting there, just looking at me.” Following that meeting is when Howard’s assistant told him that Puffy wanted to hang out with him the next week. When Howard asked, “For what?” the assistant told his boss that he thought Puffy was trying to have sex with him. After that, Howard said he “cut off all communication with Puff.” Did it ever enter Howard’s mind that since Combs was pursuing an acting career that he may have wanted acting lessons, or since he was running a record empire, he might have wanted to give him a music deal? Combs’ trial on sex trafficking begins next month........

Gayle King is taking a special collection of stuffed animals to space with her on the Blue Origin flight on April 14. The “CBS Mornings” anchor will join an all-female crew which includes former helicopter reporter Lauren Sanchez and songstress Katy Perry. King told the Daily Mail she asked her daughter Kirby and her grandson Luca Lynn Miller for their favorite stuffed animals to take to space and keep her company. Bon Voyage!.....

Mr. Bunn in front of his store. (Renee Minus White/A Time To Style photos)

Renee Minus White in Mr. Bunn’s Harlem cowboy hat.

Hats By Bunn, Spring/Summer ‘25 collection.

Stars unite to celebrate Club Quarantine’s 5th anniversary at the Apollo

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

As legendary hip-hop artist and DJ D-Nice played music on turntables on the stage, hip-hop icon Rakim performed some of his greatest hits, including “Know the Ledge,” “Paid In Full,” “I Know You Got Soul,” and “I Ain’t No Joke.” At the same time, actor and New Kids on the Block founding member Donnie Wahlberg danced on stage. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment that signifies what Derrick D-Nice Jones created during the pandemic: Club Quarantine. In the virtual place, people could unify during the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic as it began five years ago. That special moment on stage, and the event itself, could only happen at the world-famous Apollo Theater, and with the uncertain political climate we are enduring, it was a much-needed night out for the thousands in attendance.

It was the second Club Quarantine anniversary that Jones, who wore a jean jacket emblazoned with CQ5 that mirrored those of New York City’s subway lines, hosted at the Apollo Theater as he celebrated the third anniversary in Harlem.

Some of the many highlights included a performance by singer and actress Deborah Cox, who honored the late Whitney Houston by performing her 1980s hit “I Wanna Dance

with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and digging into her catalog to perform “Sentimental” and her Billboard chart-topping “Nobody’s Supposed To Be Here.”

Moore looked fabulous in a yellow ensemble and performed her 1970s hit “You Stepped into My Life.”

Jones came from behind the turntables to hug Moore before she left the stage.

Grammy-nominated singer Case took the stage with a red leather jacket with his name emblazoned in white letters and performed some of his biggest hits, including “Happily Ever After,” “Missing You,” and “Touch Me Tease Me.”

Shirley Jones of the Jones Girls performed the group’s late 1970s/early 1980s songs “Nights Over Egypt,” “Who Can I Run To,” and “You Gonna Make Me Love Somebody Else,” while 1980s star Lisa Lisa performed “Can You Feel The Beat” and “I Wonder If I Take You Home.”

Things turned emotional when De La Soul took the stage as Jones let Maseo take the helm at his DJ set up, honoring group member Trugoy the Dove, who passed away in February 2023, and DJ Clark Kent, who died in October of last year.

Other performers included hiphop artists Dres of Black Sheep, Nice & Smooth, Melle Mel, and R&B singer Raheem DeVaughn, while a four-piece band led by Chris Rob performed with Jones and the various acts throughout the night.

After the event, a star-studded afterparty took place at The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, a few steps east of the Apollo Theater. It was a unique event that could only happen at the iconic Harlem venue.

Tony Award winner and Grammy nominee Melba

Derrick “D-Nice” Jones stands on stage at his Club Quarantine Fifth Anniversary event at the Apollo Theater. (Derrel Johnson photos)

Deborah Cox belts out a note at Club Quarantine’s Fifth Anniversary event at the Apollo Theater. Melba Moore steps onstage at the Apollo Theater.

How cultural nonprofits can survive in a Trump era

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews

Born and raised in Parkchester, Bronx, Sean Martin, nonprofit fundraiser, advocate, podcast host, and author of the forthcoming memoir, “Beyond the Bronx,” recently spoke with Amsterdam News about the landscape for nonprofits under the Trump administration.

Martin believes that in large cities like New York, with culturally and economically diverse constituents, nonprofit funding remains deeply inequitable. With growing federal pushback against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, these disparities are at risk of deepening. Communities which need the most support are being left behind.

After graduating from LaGuardia High School, Martin attended Bronx Community College and then received his undergraduate degree in economics from Ithaca College. Martin started his career in marketing, which suited his personality. He explained, “ I’m a natural people person. I’m a natural connector. I love engaging with people. So I’ve always been in the field of sales and marketing.”

Martin was forced to pivot in 2017, but made the best of it. “I finally took a chance on myself,” he said. “I took some money we [my family] were supposed to buy a home with, and started my own business in the durable medical equipment industry, specifically here in the New York City area — and it took off.”

Martin’s success was the catalyst for another pivot. “I was feeling empty. I had made it out. I live in a suburban neighborhood, but I wasn’t feeling good about life.”

Martin decided his calling was to help those in need, people like him who grew up poor and working class in New York City. “I decided

that my true purpose in life was to take all the things that I’ve learned, and go back to neighborhoods like the one that I’m from.”

Martin launched a podcast, “The Real Mentors,” aimed at teaching core principles of success for those who are underserved, or who lack resources, opportunities, or the connections possessed by the more privileged. “Success leaves a blueprint, and it leaves clues, but if no one shares those clues with you, you’re gonna probably get lost along the way.” Martin explained. “Entrepreneurs donate their time and their knowledge as well, to come and speak to different organizations, primarily of color here in the New York City area.”

Martin’s new line of work brought him into contact with nonprofits, making him even more sensitive to the challenges they currently face. The Trump administration has given a number of indicators that support for many nonprofits, particularly those in the cultural space, will be retracted, including:

• Placing 80% of staff at National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on administrative leave

• Abruptly seizing leadership of the Kennedy Center

• Canceling the Challenger Grant, which funded programs for underserved communities.

• Canceling millions of dollars in previously awarded grants for arts and culture organizations

• Indicating a potential 80% grant reduction to the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

• Issuing an executive order aimed at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture labeling some of its programming “divisive ideology.”

Further, massive tariffs will negatively impact many art galleries and a new requirement demanding those seeking NEA funding agree not to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, or “gender ideology,” jeopardizes production and casting decisions for a number of projects.

Martin suggests self-sufficiency as one response to the cuts in nonprofit arts funding. “I would ask people of color, since when did we start counting on the government to solve our problems and do right by us? By taking that approach, we can empower ourselves. We are resilient, and we will come out of the other side stronger.”

He also believes Blacks and other people of color should turn to the private sector for funding. “There are so many different avenues in the private sector, creative ways that starting a business can integrate the capitalist system for good. If you start a business and you’re in the community, why not take a few percentage points to donate back to the community or the charity of your choice?”

Martin applied that philosophy to local nonprofit KR3TS (Keep Rising To The Top), a 34-year-old organization based in Harlem providing comprehensive support for dancers. After developing a relationship with the founder and head, Violeta Galagarza, Martin leveraged his own resources and relationships to help the group. “I called in some favors. We were able to finance and fund the building of a new 1000-plus square foot, beautiful hardwood sprung dance floor for these dancers.”

Pointing to his own professional background, Martin believes better marketing can also benefit organizations seeking other avenues for funding. “You have resources in everyday individuals, and we’ve just got to do a better job about promoting it. Nonprofits are often locally-based and word doesn’t necessarily get out. Marketing can always be improved upon.”

Ultimately, Martin believes the resilience and creativity of the Black community and other communities of color will be key to their survival of what promises to be a radical restructuring of society along racial, ethnic, class, and gender lines. “The reality is, many people are going to be affected by these changes,” said Martin. “But if we take a victim’s mentality, we’re gonna slide backwards. So why not put our energy toward finding more creative ways to find funding? Let’s look at obstacles as challenges.”

An unforgettable evening with Nnenna Freelon at JALC

By DR. DJIBRIL DIALLO Special to the AmNews

I recently had the privilege of attending Nnenna Freelon’s electrifying performance at Dizzy’s Club, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center in Manhattan. The atmosphere was alive with energy, and Nnenna’s soulful voice wrapped the audience in a warm embrace.

Nnenna Freelon, a seven-time Grammy Award nominee, graced the stage with her latest recording, “Beneath The Skin” (Origin Records). Moving beyond the classic American Songbook standards, she captivated with original compositions that spoke straight to the heart.

As she beautifully shared, “I’m taking a lesson from my garden — from the flower that trusts itself to be enough.”

Accompanied by an outstanding quartet — Keith Ganz on guitar, Miki Hayama on piano, Kenny Davis on bass, and Jeremy Warren on drums — Nnenna’s performance was a masterclass in blending jazz with a touch of blues, pouring passion and soul into every note. It was truly an evening of musical magic and storytelling. One of the most special moments of the night was being introduced backstage to Nnenna herself. We shared a brief but meaningful conversation about the pos-

sibility of her lending her incredible voice and talent to the ARDN Campaign to Give A Red Card to All Forms of Discrimination and Violence Against Women and Girls. Her enthusiasm for using her artistry to inspire positive change left me deeply moved and motivated.

A huge thank you to Sandra Trim DaCosta for the invitation and for making this unforgettable evening possible. Special appreciation also goes to Anré “Rey” DaCosta and the Bullion Team for their dedication and support in making the event such a resounding success. Additionally, I extend my gratitude to Ed Keane, Nnenna Freelon’s manager, for his instrumental role in bringing her remarkable talent to the stage. It was also wonderful to see Gail Allen, the talented jazz singer and a guest of Sandra, whose presence added to the warmth and spirit of the evening.

Music has a way of bringing people together, lifting spirits, and igniting change — and Nnenna Freelon exemplified that spirit last night.

I left the concert feeling inspired and even more committed to our mission.

Dr. Djibril Diallo is President and CEO of the African Renaissance and Diaspora Network (ARDN)

Nonprofit advocate and podcast host Sean Martin. (Ledora Bro photo)

Nnenna Freelon recently performed at Dizzy’s Club, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center (Ron Scott Associates photo)

Jazz Notes: The importance of community arts

It was the commitment of renowned saxophonist, composer, educator and community activist Jackie McLean and his wife Clarice “Dollie” McLean, who cofounded and nurtured the Artists Collective, Inc. into a celebrated arts institution. Dollie as executive director was invited to the White House in 1996, by first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in a ceremony that highlighted organizations in President Clinton’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities report, Coming Up Taller: Arts and Humanities for Children and Youth at Risk.

“It wasn’t easy attempting to create an arts program for Black youth in Hartford, Connecticut,” said Dollie. “It took us 14 years to raise the $8 million for the Artists Collective new building at 1200 Albany Avenue. When the city showed us the property it was just a vacant lot, a demolished school building. It took two years just for the Board of Education to sign over the property to the city of Hartford. We were met with a great deal of push back regarding our project but I refused to give up. Once I decide to do something, that’s it. One of the city representatives told me, ‘Dollie, you don’t wear combat boots but you wear those three-inch heels just like combat boots.’”

The McLeans, both native New Yorkers living on the Lower East Side, had no intention of moving anywhere near Hartford, Connecticut. Dollie was enthralled with the theater and dance performances, loved fashion, and attended Textile High School which later became Fashion H.S. (she made her own stylish clothes and later, as a mother, she became her babies’ seamstress). As a young talented dancer, she studied at the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and with the New Dance Group. Later while pursuing an acting career, she was accepted into the prestigious Negro Ensemble Company under its cofounders’ actor Robert Hooks and playwright Douglas Turner Ward. By 1968, Jackie was touring and gigging locally but accepted an offer to teach an African American Music course at The Hartt School of the University of Hartford. He eventually became the architect of the university’s African Ameri-

can Music Department (now the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz) and its bachelor of music degree in Jazz Studies program. McLean noted in the 1980 documentary “Jackie McLean on Mars,” that “taking that position offered me the opportunity to turn down gigs and not worry about where my next check was coming from to support his family.”

The saxophonist commuted from New York to Hartford but as Dollie noted with a laugh, “one day he came home and said, ‘whoever is moving with me to Hartford should start packing.’” Just that fast Jackie, Dollie, and the kids relocated to Hartford. The new professor observed on his regular walks past Albany Avenue in the hood that drugs had infested yet another Black community as it was done by design throughout the United States. Having successfully over-

Students participating in the workshops were excited to inform their friends about their new cultural experiences in the arts. As the student population grew, the Artists Collective scurried to and from various locations. In 1975, they found a space but had to vacate after one year. By 1983, they finally found a home that blossomed for ten years at 35 Clarke Street. “We used posters to cover the cracks in the wall and rolled up our sleeves cleaning to make it a very special place,” said Dollie. “Since Jackie was busy at the university, I became synonymous as the leader of the Artists Collective. I was writing proposals and formatting our plans. But I was never really community conscious but I used all my skills from the arts, my dancing, theater and music. With Jackie as co-founder we were able to get grants from the Endowment for the Arts and others. Once I instituted the theater department, Roger Furman (playwright) agreed to come up and teach a weekly class.”

nated as the economic development anchor of the revitalization of the Albany Avenue area, opened in 1999. During McLean’s reign it was hailed as the state’s premiere cultural institution, emphasizing the arts and culture of the African diaspora. The Collective was such an inspiration to children and the community of Hartford that Rep. John Lewis visited on more than one occasion. Once again in 2010, McLean was invited to the White House where first lady Michelle Obama presented her with the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award. The Obamas’ love for music also prompted them to extend their invitation to the Collective’s Youth Jazz Orchestra (that had to be reduced to a quartet for the trip led by its new leader saxophonist and composer Rene McLean, who accepted the baton from his dad Jackie).

Jackie

Korner SF 12/82 (Brian McMillen / commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Jackie_McLean.jpg)

come his own battle with heroin addiction, he didn’t want to see more young people fight that drug battle. Jackie’s dedication to young people and the community were seeds for the Artists Collective. He and bassist Paul Brown began enlisting kids right off the street. ‘The Artists Collective started in our living room in 1970,” said Dollie. “We had meetings every Monday for at least one year to get the program off the ground. I coordinated meetings and did all the paperwork. The meetings included our co-founders: Paul Brown, a local Hartford musician, dancer Cheryl Smith (African and tap dancing), and visual artist Ionis Martin. Our mission was to teach young people about their cultural heritage through the arts.” Without a permanent home, workshops were given in various locations such as churches, museums, and the library.

During their stay on Clarke Street, the Artists Collective engaged their students with after school arts programs and a sixweek summer program with classes from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students flocked to their music reeds, piano, theater, dance ballet, African and tap and visual arts classes in the blazing sun even though the building lacked air-conditioning.

Famous alumni who began their early chapters at the Collective include: actors Eriq La Salle (“Coming to America”), Tony Todd (“Candyman”), and Anika Noni Rose (“Dreamgirls”); drummer Cindy Blackman and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Greene. McLean retired in 2019 and does not have any affiliation with the Collective but noted, “I am happy it’s still there and hope it continues to strive. I received over 50 or 60 awards but it’s more important that what I accomplished continues and the fact that I loved what I was

In 1984, under McLean’s direction, the Collective began a capital campaign to construct a new 40,000 square foot state-of-the-art cultural center that included practice and dance studios, a theater, large music room, and administrative and faculty offices. McLean successfully raised over $8 million and the cultural center that was desig-

doing and touched so many young lives. Once, as he and I were walking down the street, a car pulled up and the driver ran up to us and said, ‘thank you so much the Collective saved my life!’ That was most important to Jackie. We were trying to save lives and inspire young people. It’s a great feeling to see them now as men and women.”

McLean at Keystone

Congressman John Lewis with Dollie McLean at a reception in 2014. (Photo courtesy of The Artists Collective)

to the highest in the United States of America, put money in people’s pockets, passed the best-paid family leave program in the [USA], passed marriage equality that said everybody’s love is the same and it went all across the nation.”

Cuomo scored a key endorsement from Reverend Dr. Kevin R. Johnson of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem over the weekend. Johnson is among about 50 other clergy endorsements Cuomo has received so far.

For Mayor Adams, the forum was his first real campaign event since his federal charges were dismissed and he announced he’s running as an Independent and dropping out of the Democratic primary. He pushed back on the plan to “Close Rikers” as “flawed.” Instead, he proposed to create a state-of-the-art psychiatric facility to help people who are dealing with mental health issues.

“There isn’t a level of inconsistency in who I’ve always been, and we cannot allow the media to distort the record of who I’ve been. I fought against policing that was improper while a police officer. I navigated the crisis in Albany while I was in Albany,” said Adams. “I have been consistent. If you do an analysis of my commentary throughout the last 40 years, you’re not going to find anything that I’m saying now that I didn’t say then. I’m going to fight any White House that is not going to benefit our city.”

Speaker Adams spoke about protecting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the city level, pushing back against President Donald Trump; and highlighting issues like Black maternal mortality, expanding pre-K and 3-K childcare, and housing affordability.

“I prayed about it, because you all know I’m a woman of faith and I also got, as we say in the business, ‘incoming’ from a lot of elected officials and some nonelected officials and I was encouraged by my family as well to get out there and do something,” she said about why she is running. “The city needs a leader. The city needs something different. The city needs to go without trauma, without drama, without scandal, without corruption. The city needs something different.”

Lander recounted his record of growing pension funds that are managed by Black, Latino, Asian and women asset managers, and pushing the city to sue the federal government for taking $80 million in immigration funds out of the city’s bank account during his time as comptroller. He also said that he would convert four of the city’s municipally owned golf courses to 50,000 affordable housing units.

“I really love the job as comptroller — helping make sure we’re investing with more diverse asset managers, [creating] affordable housing, and auditing every city agency, but the city is broken right

now,” said Lander about why he’s running. “It is not working for working people.” Mamdani drilled down on making the city more affordable and safer by raising corporate tax rates and creating a new Department of Community Safety. “As the next leader of this city, I will make it clear to Donald Trump and the White House that New Yorkers are non-negotiable. I’m not willing to give up a single New Yorker,” Mamdani said. “I say that as we have ICE [immigration] agents pulling New Yorkers out of their own apartment buildings, pulling people off of the subway.”

Ramos spoke about quality of life issues in her community, homelessness, low wages and inflation, childcare, getting promised healthcare to retirees, affordability, and supporting Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/ WBEs). “All I’ve done is fight poverty because I’m tired of my communities being so poor,” she said. “We work, we work, we work, but it doesn’t really amount to much in this economy, and City Hall plays a really big role in bridging that gap in income and inequality.”

Stringer also recounted his record as comptroller dealing with diversity in pension funds and advocating to end stopand-frisk. His platform is focused on making the city more affordable by cutting childcare costs for working families. “The rent is too high, inflation is too high, and if we don’t start electing mayors who know what the hell they’re doing, we are all going to have to leave because the city needs real leadership that knows the city government.”

Myrie spoke from his recently released Black Agenda, which focuses on legislation he’s passed while in office, closing the racial wealth gap, public health and safety, economic development; universal 3-K/pre-K education, and afterschool for all programs.

“I plan to be a mayor that doesn’t just talk about it,” said Myrie, “but a mayor that’s actually about action.”

Wrapping up the forum, Blake passionately called out rampant anti-Blackness nationwide and vowed to combat it on a city level. His platform focused on building more affordable housing, making repairs to New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) infrastructure, changing the Area Median Income (AMI), and implementing a vacant apartment tax.

“We need a new generation of leadership,” said Blake. “We need to have someone who is serious about helping our people. As the only person in this race who can actually say that I have defeated Donald Trump, when I was the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee; as the only person in this race who can say that I have White House, state house, and local experience; as the only person in this race who can say right now that I have been a public servant and and I run my own small businesses, I am uniquely qualified for this moment.”

Mayoral candidate, State Senator Jessica Ramos. (Ariama C. Long photos)

(Center) Mayoral candidate, State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani.

Mayoral candidate, Former State Assemblymember Michael Blake.

Sgt. Joe Harris, a heroic pioneering paratrooper during WWII CLASSROOM IN THE

By HERB BOYD

Special to the AmNews

On Saturday, April 5, as thousands took to the streets to protest the draconian policies of Trump, several family members and military personnel assembled to pay tribute to Sgt. Joe Harris, who died on March 15 in Los Angeles. Harris was believed to be the oldest surviving World War II paratrooper and a member of the U.S. Army’s first all-Black parachute infantry battalion. He was 108.

At his funeral services in Inglewood, California at the Lewis Metropolitan CME Church, Harris’ grandson, Ashton Pittman, reminded attendees of his grandfather’s courage, kindness, grace and love. “Together, we come together not only to say goodbye, but to honor and celebrate the life of a truly remarkable man … a man, who was not just the patriarch of our family, but the heart and soul of it; a man whose presence filled every room with wisdom, love and unshakable strength.”

Many of these qualities were evident during his tenure as a member of the racially segregated unit, the historic 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion, nicknamed the “Triple Nickles.” The battalion was essentially dispatched to protect the U.S. from deadly Japanese balloon bombs during the war, bombs that would explode and start massive fires. “He served his country with courage, even when the same country didn’t always serve him in return,” his grandson added. Among his daring feats were 72 combat jumps, earning him recognition in military publications and mainstream media.

Born Joseph Harris on June 19, 1916 in Westdale, Louisiana, he was 25 when he joined the military in 1941. He completed paratrooper training in Texas

and according to Professor Robert L. Bartlett, now retired from Eastern Washington University and who specializes in the 555th, in 1944 and 1945, the Japanese launched thousands of balloons to be carried by the Pacific jet stream to the U.S. mainland to explode and start fires. Such attacks prompted the U.S. to recruit Harris and hundreds of other Black men, train them and send them into blazes on the West Coast, where they fought fires, Bartlett said.

Like so many African

Americans in the military during WWII, Harris experienced an extensive barrier of racist restrictions, including being barred from going to the base commissary and using officer’s clubs unless they were designed for Black people. “This unit had to fight to be recognized as human beings while training to fight an enemy overseas, fight in their own country for respect even within the military,” Bartlett said.

During the funeral services, Sgt. Jordan Bednarz, a representative of Liberty Jump Team and Round

know us — because we are now custodians of this history — is to bring this story forward,” Bednarz added. With assistance from the Harris family, Bednarz galvanized a movement, known as Operation Perseverance, to honor African American men for their resolve during World War II. And prior to Harris’ death, they dedicated a landing zone in Tuskegee, Alabama, named “Sgt. Joe Harris Dropzone.” At the end of his military career, Harris worked for the U.S. Border Patrol, and spent more than 60 years living in Compton.

ACTIVITIES

FIND OUT MORE

Various military and mainstream media devoted coverage to the passing of Sgt. Harris, including extensive notice by the Associated Press.

DISCUSSION

Harris was also part of the Buffalo Soldiers and had a salute to him in June on his 108th birthday.

Canopy Parachuting Team, presented Pittman with a uniform of his own — and inside one of the pockets a photo of his grandfather, according to the AP report. “So my takeaway … this man inspires,” Bednarz said. “I was looking for a reason on why that is, and it didn’t take me long. It’s because I know that inside each of you is more than a little Papa Joe. My only prayer is that leaving here today all of us that were fortunate to know Joe, to know you, and for all of those out there that will someday

Following the funeral services, a procession departed with a WWII Willy Jeep escort to Inglewood Park Cemetery, where Harris was placed to rest. Hours later, it was reported that the Harris family and friends hosted a celebration of life at their home in Compton, located on 131st Street, which could be renamed in his honor. On site, his paratrooper uniform was on display and an enlarged photo of Harris smiled down over gatherers. In the afternoon, the 82nd Airborne Division from Fort Bragg coordinated a WWII C-47 flyover above the home where Harris raised his family and a generation of neighborhood children who went on to become officers, pharmacists, teachers, and even the mayor of Compton, said Rev. Omar Bradley, who delivered the eulogy.

“As long as we devote not just our words, but our flesh to the purpose of freedom and justice for all, in Joe Harris — his legacy and his commitment and his pride and his points and his dignity will live forever,” Rev. Bradley said. “And that shall never die.”

Harris is survived by his son, Pirate Joe Harris Sr., and two daughters, Michaun Harris and Latanya Pittman, and five grandchildren. His wife, Louise Harris, died in 1981.

PLACE IN CONTEXT

For a man who lived more than a century, particularly from a military perspective, he experienced the full gamut of racism and segregation.

THIS WEEK IN BLACK HISTORY

April 8, 1946: Media mogul, Robert Johnson, founder of B.E.T., was born in Hickory, Miss.

April 9, 1898: The renowned Paul Robeson was born in Princeton, N.J. He died in 1976.

April 10, 1962: Actress Jasmine Guy was born in Boston, Mass.

Sgt. Joe Harris via the Associated Press

NYPD accepts majority of oversight recommendations from inspector general

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

An annual report from the Office of the Inspector General for the New York Police Department (OIG-NYPD) showed the police department is accepting and complying with many recommendations made by the oversight agency, including more transparency for the Community Response Team (CRT), as previously reported by the Amsterdam News.

“The OIG-NYPD’s Annual Reports provide a comprehensive overview of the issues addressed and recommendations made by the office since its founding,” said Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber. “This year’s Report features OIGNYPD’s 23 investigative reports and one statement of findings — three of which were published in 2024 — and provides updates on the status of 240 recommendations.

“Most notably, nearly 70% of the recommendations have been deemed accepted or implemented by the NYPD. This report demonstrates OIG-NYPD’s impact on police oversight and its dedication to furthering transparency and increasing public confidence in the police.”

The NYPD accepted six of the seven recommendations for CRT, only refusing to publish unit-specific data for the street team, which police critics and the OIGNYPD expressed concern about as a lack

of transparency. However, the department agreed to reforms such as publishing the unit’s purpose on the NYPD website and tracking deployments.

No information about CRT was previously available online, except in the police department’s social media marketing. A reality TV-esque YouTube series from the NYPD featured the unit heavily. An official confirmed that Jonathan Diller, the slain officer whose funeral President Donald Trump attended last year, was a member of the unit “of highly trained officers whose mission it is to restore order.”

The report also provided updates on the police department’s compliance with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act, which mandates public impact and use policies for police surveillance tools, after the OIG-NYPD audited technologies like the “Digidog” and Times Square K5 robot. The department agreed to five recommendations and rejected two. Another probe into the NYPD’s drone use led to 10 recommendations that were all accepted or implemented.

Officials crush more than 200 illegal mopeds and scooters seized in 2024 on Staten Island as New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City

Department

Commissioner Edward A. Caban announce NYPD’s enhanced summer enforcement strategy to help remove illegal motorized scooters, mopeds, bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and other unregistered vehicles from city streets Wednesday, June 5, 2024. (Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office photo)

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Q&A with Mary-Powel Thomas, director of the Citywide Doula Initiative

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

Mary-Powel Thomas is the Director of the Citywide Doula Initiative and also the director of Healthy Start Brooklyn, and she spoke with the Amsterdam News for a Q&A about doula initiatives, partner programs, and eligibility for doula care. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

AmNews: Please tell us about your background in the doula world?

Mary-Powel Thomas: I was the first director of the By My Side Birth Support Program, which started in March of 2010, which eventually grew into the Citywide Doula Initiative in 2022. We brought in seven other community-based doula programs through a request for proposals, and we've been partnering with them in the work ever since.

AmNews: Could you talk about doula care in the different boroughs in New York based on the report “The State of Doula Care in NYC.”

Mary-Powel Thomas: One of the most ex-

citing things about this report is the data that we have now from the New York City birth certificate worksheet. We have never known how many doulas were out there, how many doulas were providing support. …There was an estimate from a survey called Listening to Mothers about 10 or 15 years ago that estimated maybe about 6% of births nationwide were attended by a doula .... In the Bronx, for instance, which has the lowest levels of doula support, the CDI provided almost half of the support, so without the CDI, it would have been much smaller, I think, in terms of differences among the boroughs. The other boroughs are starting to catch up, and doulas are becoming more and more well-known which is wonderful because the more they're well known, the more demand there will be, which eventually will lead to more supply.

AmNews: Do you think there's going to be a bigger push to let even more people know that they're eligible for doula care?

Mary-Powel Thomas: I think there's two answers to that. One is for the Citywide initiative specifically, and one is broader, right, so I guess I'll start broader. The state

has done some work on sharing information ...We're also part of a group called The New York Coalition for Doula Access, that's a statewide group that [was founded] in 2011. So there are more and more doulas registered as Medicaid providers, and they're on that directory, and people are looking [and] potential clients are finding people there and reaching out. In terms of the Citywide Doula initiative, we are trying to strike a balance between publicity and capacity, so we don't want to do a huge publicity push and then not have the ability to provide services for all the people who are interested. We do lots of outreach at health fairs. We have a partnership with a group called Bronx Rebirth which works with hospitals … Our team that works with hospitals, one of the things they do is help hospitals develop referral pathways ... The other thing I'll say is we also want to make sure that we're really reaching people who need the service and might not be hearing about it through the usual channels.

AmNews: Can you talk about workforce development?

Mary-Powel Thomas: There were a couple of successes related to workforce development. Sustainability has improved. The

health department doesn't have a direct role in workforce development except through the Citywide Doula Initiative, and there's a sister program called Healthy Women Healthy Futures ... so those two organizations do provide training, but there are lots of others.

AmNews: Could you talk about a recent bill that became law to require a directory of community doulas?

Mary-Powel Thomas: The directory is already up, and we actually have heard some of our doulas who enrolled as Medicaid providers are getting calls, which is exciting. You can filter by county ... if you're in Kings County, you can find all the doulas who work there or New York County.

AmNews: Is there anything else you’d like to tell the Amsterdam News readers?

Mary-Powel Thomas: [Doulas are] available in all the boroughs. We have partners that are definitely willing and able to accept new clients ... we want as many people in the community who are interested to be trained in helping support expectant mothers and birthing persons.

For more information please visit: https://

Mary-Powel Thomas (photo courtesy of Mary-Powel Thomas)

The DOF is supposed to send homeowners warning notices in the mail 90, 60, 30, and 10 days before the sale. Many homeowners say they end up on the list without being properly informed by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that they owe money to the city before the 90 days, especially when it comes to unpaid water bills.

“I noticed that my bill was increasing tremendously,” said Margaux Jones-McDuffie, a Clinton Hill resident. “One of the meters that DEP has to read was broken. I didn’t know at all that the meter was broken for four years since 2021. To my surprise, I ended up with a bill close to $9,000. I never missed a payment in 29 years of owning my building. I always paid on time. Never had a problem, never had any disconnected notices sent to me, so I was appalled.”

Jones-McDuffie said that she pays online and never received a notice or letter informing her specifically of a broken meter. Instead, she was given “estimates” on the back of her bill. She had to call DEP to get an agent to inspect her house. She said it’s ridiculous that the reason for the estimated bill isn’t highlighted on the front for consumers to know what’s happening.

According to Richard Flateau, a licensed real estate broker for the last 25 years, founder of Flateau Realty Corp. in Brooklyn, and former chair of Community Board 3, one of

his commercial properties had a meter problem and he received a high water bill.

“It was way worse before,” said Flateau about the lien process. He worked with Dr. Annette M. Robinson, a former Brooklyn Council member who was in office from 1991 to 2000, and the late Mayor David Dinkins to address the housing lien crisis in the city. Before 1996, the city would seize and foreclose on properties, often converting buildings to cooperative ownership or transferring them to not-for-profit entities without the courtesy of the lien sale list, according to the research brief.

Jeffrey Golkin, a long-time property tax attorney and reform advocate, said he’s been struggling to reform tax law in the city for the last 40 years. He also served under Dinkins on the former mayor’s advisory council. Golkin explained that the tax lien process was referred to as an In Rem Foreclosure then. Regardless of name, Golkin said the city has had a penchant for “egregiously” overtaxing and over-assessing properties in distress for decades, likening the lien process to an “animal out of control.” He criticized the city’s historically corrupt tax assessors for compounding the issue by sending out overpriced bills without proper on-the-ground resourcing. He said that the whole design is “fallout from bad policy” and little political will from recent mayors and the current Mayor Eric Adams to change the system.

“People cannot maintain their buildings with the difficulty in the market right now,” said Golkin. “It’s a systemic situation. Older

properties are hard to maintain with utilities, insurance, repairs, and you have to remain current on your taxes.”

Edwards has been canvassing Brooklyn homes on the lien sale list while campaigning, informing residents about the upcoming sale and the existing exemptions that protect some property owners. Residents who qualify for the Senior Citizen Homeowners Exemption, Veterans Homeowners Exemption, or Disabled Homeowners Exemption shouldn’t be included on the lien sale list, but are encouraged to apply in advance to ensure their exemption is recognized before the sale occurs. Certain homeowners whose total household income does not exceed $107,300 and who do not own additional properties also qualify for removal from the lien sale list.

“Many homeowners are unaware that this is happening or that they owe any debt to the city. Seniors, veterans, and disabled homeowners often don’t realize they are supposed to be protected from this entirely,” said Edwards. “This lack of awareness is a result of the government’s failure to communicate with the public and help homeowners avoid potential displacement and financial ruin.”

Advocates are all for abolishing the tax lien sale in favor a more equitable debt collection system. In the meantime, Golkin advised that entering a payment agreement with DOF can slow the lien process down for homeowners, while tax attorneys like him challenge unscrupulous property assessments in court and ideally get a property removed from the list altogether.

Flateau suggested that homeowners be as proactive as possible by reaching out to DOF and DEP directly, entering a payment plan, or attending educational forums about the tax lien process often held by nonprofits and elected officials.

“Putting a home on the lien sale list is a last resort, usually because we cannot reach a homeowner or because they refuse to communicate with us,” said Robert Wolejsza, DEP press secretary, in a statement. “Almost all people on the lien sale list haven’t paid a bill in at least a year. DEP wants to work with homeowners and we offer flexible payment plans. Property owners on the lien sale list can get off the list immediately by calling DEP and working with us to get into a payment plan. Any customer who believes their bill is not accurate can file a dispute.”

Wolejsza said that DEP routinely tests meters to ensure they are recording consumption accurately and working properly. He noted that customers can check their meters and bills in real time by signing up for My DEP Account. High water bills can be the sign of a leak, and property owners who fix leaks promptly may be eligible for a leak forgiveness program, he added.

More information about the city’s tax lien sale process is on the NYC 311 Portal. Homeowners who need help with their property on the tax lien list can call 311 or 212-NEW-YORK (212-639-9675). Additional free resources are at the Office of the Taxpayer Advocate or from nonprofits like Legal Aid Society’s Foreclosure Prevention project.

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Religion & Spirituality

We need a new story; we’re the ones to create it

REV. DR. JACQUI LEWIS

FIERCE LOVE

My job as a pastor, preacher, public theologian, author, and activist is to invite folks into the story of God loving and healing the world and counting on us to be partners in that work.

Here’s what I mean. Some people think of themselves in relationship to a god who is waiting to reward them or punish them, depending on what they do and the god’s mood. Some see themselves as puppets — that God has already predestined their future, and they are just being moved about with no choice. Some people think of God as a mean “Daddy” who will punish all the people they hate.

The story I try to impress upon folks is that we are Beloved Partners who have agency, choice, gifts, and callings that we must use to heal ourselves and the world. This partnership is our responsibility. This partnership is our privilege. We are called to partnership — like Moses was a partner, liberating God’s people from enslavement; like Mary was a partner, giving birth to a revolution of values; like Hagar, who — although kicked out of Sarah and Abraham’s

house because she was pregnant with Ishmael — partnered with God to save her baby and became the matriarch of Islam; like Paul, who had a transformational experience and stopped torturing the people who followed Jesus and became an advocate for this new way of life; like Rabbi Jesus, who partnered with God to grow a movement of love and justice.

To be sure, there is more than one narrative strand in the scriptures I preach, but this partnership strand is the one that transformed my life. It gave me power over my circumstances, liberating me to march for justice when I was a child; to stand up for myself in the face of abuse; to forgive myself when I failed; and to start fresh, believing that God wanted me to live, to flourish, to be a change agent.

This partnership with God gives me and my community agency and imagination to work for voters’ rights, to stand up for trans siblings, to support Palestinians and Jews around the globe, to demand peace in wartorn places, and to be in the streets to perfect our union.

Our partnership with God (the Holy Other, Higher Power, G-D, Jehovah, Allah; whatever you name that mystery) for whom my favorite name is Love means we are leaders, family. And if you don’t believe in God, it’s cool — atheists and agnostics hear me say that we are all responsible for healing ourselves and the world.

The place where our hearts are broken? Pay attention to that. Go there. We are powerful in that broken place; our superpowers flow from that broken place. Our anger and rage result from that broken place and we can channel those feelings to fuel our activism.

Of course, we are angry and sad at the state of our nation and world today. Yes, we have grief and frustration. Of course, there are days when we just want to put our heads in our hands or stay in bed. But our ancestors were partners with God. Their grief was acute and prophetic. Their prophetic grief opened their eyes and hearts wide enough to expect a better world and to work to make it happen. Their grief was a portal to a vision of a preferred reality. They could weep and wipe their tears and move toward the better day. They reminded themselves of the stories of the partners before them who marched when tired, who protested when frightened, who wrote policy and music, who made art and food for their families, who sang and danced and prayed their hope in the face of despair.

Psychologist Howard Thurman says leaders tell compelling stories that change the stories that already exist in the minds of

followers. I believe people want and need stories that are authentic and true; stories that answer their existential questions, and make sense of their lives. Being leaders means changing the story. That’s what Cory Booker did for 25 hours and 4 minutes recently. That’s what John Lewis and Fannie Lou Hamer, Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Ruby Sales, and Martin Luther King Jr. did.

That’s what Toni Morrison and James Baldwin did. That’s what Issa Rae and Charles Randolph Wright do now.

That’s what we must do.

We need a new story in this nation. Most of America’s peoples, it might be said, yearned for the story that has been called the American Dream. That mythical story promises equality to a broad diversity of races and ethnicities, and accommodates differences in physical and mental ability, gender and sexual orientations, religions and beliefs. That story promises the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That story promises freedom to live, work, learn, play, and grow where one chooses. That story promises that each of us can worship the god of our choice, in the way that we choose, or choose not to believe in God at all. Many of us have become clear that the so-called American Dream is a nightmare for most of us. We need a new story — one not founded on white supremacy and domination. One grounded in respect and mutual flourishing. We need a new story formed by a fundamental belief that humans are wonderful, that we need each other to survive, and that we are called to protect and steward each other and creation. We need a new story in which we are protagonists, not puppets.

We don’t have apathy in this new story; we have agency. We are tired in this story, but we take a break and then we jump back in, and we wrestle with injustice until we defeat it. We fight until freedom comes for all of us.

I’m in the business of changing the story. You are, too. This is our responsibility as humans on the planet. Let’s go!

Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is senior minister and public theologian at Middle Church in New York. She champions racial equality, economic justice, and LGBTQIA+/gender rights. Featured on MSNBC, PBS, NBC, CBS, and NPR, she is the author of several books, including “Fierce Love” and the “Just Love Story Bible.” Countless individuals and communities. She inspires through her podcast, “Love Period”; in columns and articles; and on stages, in churches, on the street, and in digital spaces around the globe.

DOE

Continued from page 4

“devastating” for Black and Latino students, especially CUNY students.

The Department of Education also oversees and reviews federally recognized accrediting agencies which helps CUNY maintain access to federal funds. With the proven positive influence the Department of Education has on schools like Baruch College, shutting down the department eliminates its beneficial advantages.

Dr. Arthur Lewin, a professor of Black & Latino Studies at Baruch College for over 40 years, thinks it’s a mistake for DOE to be shut down. “Education is essential for every community,” said Lewin. “Whatever we can learn about our history from the Department of Education is certainly welcome.”

Dr. Lewin, who is also an author as well as a Jamaican and African descendant, is a believer in not waiting for others to give Black people their history. “We must write it, read it and spread that knowledge ourselves — the loss of these [education] funds provides impetus for us to do so.”

This mindset impacts Dr. Lewin’s proactive teaching by bringing his classes to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “We customarily visit the Egyptian exhibit and then proceed to the African exhibit — both separated by the entire length of the building,” said Lewin. On a recent class trip, his class visited an exhibition called, Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876–Now. “I was happy to see that this exhibit acknowledges not only that Egypt is in Africa, but that African Americans have long identified with Ancient Egypt, and for good reason,” said Lewin.

“That day at the MET, I learned that true power came from places often ignored or dismissed,” said Jimenez. “It made me realize that so much of what we’re taught is just a glimpse, a few pages in a textbook that we rush through without ever truly understanding.” Jimenez anticipates pursuing more knowledge, creating opportunities, and building a meaningful life.

Financial cuts from the Department of Education challenge how Black and Latino students will have the needed resources for higher education.

“After 45 years, the United States spends more money on education by far than any other country yet near the bottom of the list in terms of success,” said Trump at a recent public appearance.

Senior Publicist Dana Swinney from myWhy Agency, representing OneGoal, explained that barriers will arise for postsecondary students who rely on federal financial aid, college and career readiness programs. OneGoal, a 15-year-old organization, has provided solutions to students of color, students with special needs, low-income communities, and LGBTQ+ students.

“The cuts are already confusing and may cause delays or disruptions in critical areas of support for students,” said Swinney. She also said residual effects can include college acceptance withdrawal letters, losing financial support, underfunded schools and fewer educators.

Additionally, the Department of Education provides guidance, resources and support for families, students and schools impacted by natural disasters with their Natural Disaster Resources. Federal support is effective for education funding despite the president’s views. Congressional approval is still needed before the department is officially abolished.

Affordable Housing for Seniors

Application Period Opens: April 15, 2025

Israel Senior Citizens Housing is accepting applications for placement on the waiting list for studio and one-bedroom apartments in a HUDsubsidized, Section 8 housing community for seniors.

Rent & Affordability

This is a HUD Section 8 property. Tenant rent is based on 30% of the household’s adjusted gross monthly income.

Amenities:

24-hour security guard, elevator access, on-site service coordinator, community room, laundry facilities, parking (subject to availability), walking distance to Rockaway Beach Boardwalk.

Eligibility Requirements

• Households must consist of one or two persons.

• At least one applicant must be 62 years of age or older at the time of application submission.

• Applicants will be subject to income, asset, and other eligibility requirements to determine final qualification.

• Households must meet the following income limits:

o 1-person household: Maximum annual income of $56,700

o 2-person household: Maximum annual income of $64,800 *Income limits are subject to changes by HUD updates

Application Process & Deadline

• Deadline: All applications must be postmarked by June 10, 2025. Applications received after this date will not be considered.

• Selection Process: Applications will be selected through a random lottery-based selection process. A maximum of 1,500 applications will be accepted.

How to Apply:

Request an application by mail:

JASA Housing Management, c/o: Israel Senior Citizens HDFC Waiting List, 247 W 37th Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10018

Pick up in person: Management office at 155 Beach 19th Street, Far Rockaway, NY 11691 (Weekdays, 9 AM – 4 PM)

Black & Latino Studies professor Dr. Arthur Lewin at CUNY’s Baruch College post class with student Andy Jimenez (left, green jacket) in attendance.

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212-932-7440

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. FLUSHING BANK, Pltf. vs. A.Z.N. REALTY LLC A/K/A A.Z.N. REALTY L.L.C., et al, Defts. Index #850050/2024. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale entered Jan. 14, 2025, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on May 14, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises k/a 13 East 37 th Street, New York, NY 10016 a/k/a Block 867, Lot 12. Said property beginning at a point on the northerly side of 37 th Street, distant 245 ft. easterly from the corner formed by the intersection of the northerly side of 37 th Street with the easterly side of Fifth Avenue, being a plot 98 ft. 9 inches x 25 ft. Approximate amount of judgment is $7,638,745.19 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale. PAUL SKLAR, Referee. JASPAN SCHLESINGER NARENDRAN, LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 300 Garden City Plaza, Garden City, NY 11530. #102158

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

NYCTL 2021-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Plaintiffs -against- NADER ANSARY A/K/A ANSARY NADER, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein on December 24, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 7, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known and designated as Block 1212 and Lot 1108 on the New York County Tax Assessment Map.

Said premises known as 182 WEST 82ND STREET, #5E, NEW YORK, NY 10024

Approximate amount of lien $306,620.58 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 158170/2022.

JERRY MEROLA, ESQ., Referee

Phillips Lytle LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiffs 28 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Rochester, NY 14614

{* AMSTERDAM*}

Notice of formation of RCK9 LLC . LLC Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 3/27/ 2025 . Office location: New York County. SSNY is designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 196 Spring St, Apt 2, New York, NY 10012. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

NYCTL 1998-2 TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Plaintiffs -against- WALTER V. GERASIMOWICZ A/K/A WALTER GERASIMOWICZ, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion entered herein on December 11, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 116 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 7, 2025 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, known and designated as Block 1171 and Lot 1945 on the New York County Tax Assessment Map. Said premises known as 220 RIVERSIDE BOULEVARD, ST 139, NEW YORK, NY 10069

Approximate amount of lien $1,879.76 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 160744/2022.

JEFFREY R. MILLER, ESQ., Referee

Phillips Lytle LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiffs

28 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Rochester, NY 14614

{* AMSTERDAM*}

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

THE COLUMBIA CONDOMINIUM BY ITS BOARD OF MANAGERS, Plaintiff -againstIR 96TH ST HOLDING LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated September 28, 2023 and entered on October 2, 2023, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 116 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on April 30, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known as Unit No. 25F in the premises known as "The Columbia Condominium" together with an undivided 0.002716% interest in the common elements. Section 7 Block 1868 and Lot 1240. Said premises known as 275 WEST 96TH STREET, APT. 25F, NEW YORK, NY

Approximate amount of lien $96,753.84 plus attorneys fees and costs as awarded in the judgment, along with interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 154633/2021. ALLISON M. FURMAN, ESQ., Referee

Schwartz Sladkus Reich Greenberg Atlas LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 444 Madison Ave., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022

{* AMSTERDAM*}

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF BRONX

OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC,

-against-

JORGE MUJICA, ET AL.

NOTICE OF SALE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of Bronx on August 16, 2017, wherein OCWEN LOAN SERVICING, LLC is the Plaintiff and JORGE MUJICA, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the BRONX COUNTY SUPREME COURT, 851 GRAND CONCOURSE, COURTROOM 711, BRONX, NY 10451, on May 12, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 1035 HOLLYWOOD AVENUE, BRONX, NY 10465; and the following tax map identification: 5421-54.

ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE BOROUGH AND COUNTY OF BRONX, CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No.: 380444/2009E. Jody P. Vorchheimer, Esq.Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC, 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/ CLERK DIRECTIVES.

SMITTY SMARTYPANTS DAYCARE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/28/2024 Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 2186 5th Ave #5A, New York, NY 10037 . Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of RESERVE MANAGEMENT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/25/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: c/o Certes Partners, 1359 Broadway, Ste. 800, NY, NY 10018. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , NYCTL 2021A Trust and The Bank of New York Mellon as Collateral Agent and Custodian , Plaintiff, vs . 187 Street Mazal LLC , Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion dated August 14, 2024 and entered on December 27, 2024 , I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at Room 116 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on April 23, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., all that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York, Block 2170 and Lot 29. Said premises may also be known as 659 West 187 Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $47,989.20 plus interest and costs.

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

Index #156380/2022.

Elaine Shay, Esq., Referee

The Law Office of Thomas P. Malone, PLLC, 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 553, New York, New York 10165, Attorneys for Plaintiff

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. KENNETH R. TEMPLE, PATRICIA LARAINE TEMPLE and NYC DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS -SLRLU, Defts. - Index # 850365/2024. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated March 19, 2025, 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, April 24, 2025, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.03434696076644787% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 48TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 12 East 48th Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $33,234.29 plus costs and interest as of January 6, 2025. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Thomas R. Kleinberger, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

IGLESIAS NOTARY AND MANAGEMENT LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/14/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: Business Filing Incorporated, 187 Wolf Road, Ste 101, Albany, NY 12205. Purpose: Any lawful act.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT NEW YORK COUNTY

MCLP ASSET COMPANY, INC., Plaintiff against

KEVIN C. LAU, et al Defendant(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, NY 10591.

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered February 6, 2025, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at Room 130 at the Supreme Court, New York

County, 60 Centre Street, New York, New York on April 23, 2025 at 2:15 PM. Premises known as 200 East 94th Street, Unit 2012, New York, New York 10128. Block 1539 Lot 1516. The Condominium Unit (the "Unit") known as Residential Unit 2012 in the building (the "Building") known as Carnegie Park Condominium ( the "Condominium") and by the street address 200 East 94th Street, New York, New York, Borough of Manhattan, County of New York, City and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is

$755,529.61 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 850624/2023. Cash will not be accepted at the sale.

The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 1st Judicial District's

Covid-19 Policies and foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing. Referee will only accept a certified bank check made payable to the referee.

Paul Sklar, Esq., Referee File # 2296-004151

Notice of Formation of Limited Liability Company (LLC) Name: Emmy Eats LLC Articles of Organization filed by the Department of State on New York on: 01/02/2025 Office location: County of New York Purpose: Any and all lawful activities. Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) is designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: c/o Ivey, Barnum & O'Mara, LLC, STOP JAH 170 Mason Street, Greenwich, CT 06830

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT BRONX COUNTY

PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff against

ANGELA MCGHEE AS BENEFICIARY UNDER THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF

STANFORD SHAW A/K/A STANDFORD SHAW, et al Defendant(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Margolin, Weinreb & Nierer, LLP, 575 Underhill Boulevard, Suite 224, Syosset, NY 11791.

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered October 15, 2018, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at the Bronx County Courthouse, Courtroom 711 at 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York on May 5, 2025 at 2:15 PM. Premises known

as 4084 Wilder Avenue, Bronx, New York 10466. Block 4984 Lot 33. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being at Edenwald, Borough and County of Bronx, City and State of New York.

Approximate Amount of Judgment is $137,370.70 plus interest, fees, and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index No 32231/2015E.

The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 12th Judicial District's

Covid-19 Policies and the Bronx County foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing.

Charlane Brown, Esq., Referee File # 17-0930

Seeking M/WBE bids for construction side at 2259 Crotona Bronx. Contact bidding@taxaceny.com

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK.

EAST WEST BANK, Plaintiff -against- HOP CHONG TRADING COMPANY, INC., et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered February 28, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 116 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on April 23, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City and State of New York, known as 38 East 73rd Street, New York, New York 10021, Block: 1387 Lot: 49. Approximate amount of lien $8,564,556.48 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850313/2024.

PAUL SKLAR, ESQ., Referee

Pryor Cashman LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

7 TIMES SQUARE, NEW YORK, NY 10036

{* NY AMSTERDAM NEWS *}

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT: NEW YORK COUNTY. NYCTL 19982 TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Pltf. vs. WEN DENG, if the aforesaid individual defendants are living, and if any or all said individual defendants be dead, their heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, committees, devisees, legatees, and the assignees, lienors, creditors and successors in interest of them, and generally all persons having or claiming under, by, through, or against the said defendants named as a class, of any right, title or interest in or lien upon the premises described in the verified complaint herein, et al, Defts. Index #158597/2022. Pursuant to judgment of foreclosure and sale

entered Jan. 8, 2025, I will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on May 14, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises k/a 310 W. 52 nd Street, SU 104, New York, NY 10019. Approximate amount of judgment is $2,626.51 and $2,682.59 plus costs and interest. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

ROBERTA ASHKIN, Referee. THE DELLO-IACONO LAW GROUP, P.C., Attys. for Pltf., 312 Larkfield Road, Lower Level, East Northport, NY 11731. File NO. 22-000140 - #102159

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS OWNER TRUSTEE FOR RCF 2 ACQUISITION TRUST, Plaintiff AGAINST KAREN M. LORCH, RONALD J. LORCH, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered September 10, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the New York County Courthouse in Room 130, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY on April 30, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 140 East 63rd Street Apt. 11A, New York, NY 10065. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block 1397 and Lot 1556. Approximate amount of judgment $2,375,077.45 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850298/2023. Christy Demelfi, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 22-004129 84096

IPPSOLAR CROSSROADS

ESS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 09/26/2024. Office location: NEW YORK County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: PAUL JEUN; 200E 33RD ST., #30E, NEW YORK, NY, 10016. Purpose: Any lawful act.

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. NYCTL 2021-A TRUST AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON, AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN, Plaintiffs -against- NING FANG a/k/a NINA FANG, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein on June 28, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 116 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 7, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, known and designated as Block 1032 Lot 1291 on the New York County Tax Assessment Map. Said premises known as 350 WEST 42ND STREET, #27D, NEW YORK, NY 10036

Approximate amount of lien $109,745.84 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 158989/2022.

JEFFREY R. MILLER, ESQ., Referee

Phillips Lytle LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiffs 28 East Main Street, Suite 1400, Rochester, NY 14614

{* AMSTERDAM*}

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF New York , Wilmington Savings Fund Society, FSB, not in its Individual Capacity, but Solely as Owner Trustee of CSMC 2019-RPL11 Trust , Plaintiff, vs . Unknown heirs at law of Hyunjeong Han, IF THEY BE LIVING and if they be dead, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on May 17, 2023 and a Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on January 9, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 30, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 70 Little West Street Unit 22G, New York, NY 10004 a/k/a 70 Battery Place, Unit 22G, New York, NY 10280. 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 16 and Lot 1878 together with an undivided 0.36855 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $665,379.10 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850044/2021. Cash will not be accepted.

Thomas R. Kleinberger, Esq., Referee

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

Argentinos en NY LLC. Filed with SSNY on 01/25/25. Office: NY County. SSNY designated as agent for process & shall mail copy to: 339 West 48 St #1C, NY. NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstJEFFREY A. HILLS, PATRICIA E. HILLS, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated on September 17, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on April 30, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenantin-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 0.0381% in common interest percentage. This a foreclosure on ownership interest in a timeshare unit, a studio penthouse on a floating use basis every year, in accordance with and subject to declarations. Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions dated October 27, 2003 and November 3, 2003 as CFRN # 2003000442512 as recorded in the Office of the City Register, County, City and State of New York. The Timeshare Unit is also designated as Block 1006 and Lot 1302. Said premises known as 1335 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY 10019

Approximate amount of lien $62,870.27 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850201/2023.

TOM KLEINBERGER, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39357 {* AMSTERDAM*}

RADIANT REFLECTIONS

BEAUTY SALON LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/25/24. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 2505 Adam Clayton Powell, Front, New York, NY 10039. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Supreme Court-New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. V. ANTOINETTE TURNER BEALE, Deft. – Index # 850276/2024. The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS A. KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 12th day of March 2025 and duly entered the 13th day of March 2025 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York.

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

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHTTHE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 0.0147201260419194% in the premises at Block 1283 and Lot 1002 located at 12 East 48th Street New York, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of June 20, 2020, executed by Antoinette Turner Beale to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $18,876.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on December 30, 2022, in CRFN 2022000465769. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT.

Seeking M/WBE bids for construction site at 3060 3rd Ave Bronx. Contact bidding@taxaceny.com

NOTICE OF SALE

STILLWATER ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, AS TRUSTEE OF LBC2 TRUST, V. 3RD AND 36TH STREET LLC, ET. AL.

NOTICE OF SALE

NOTICE IS HERE BY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgement of Foreclosure dated October 23, 2024, and entered in the Office of the Clerk of the County of New York, wherein STILLWATER ASSET MANAGEMENT, LLC, AS TRUSTEE OF LBC2 TRUST, is the Plaintiff and 3RD AND 36TH STREET LLC, STANLEY GUREWITSCH, ERIC NEMIROFF, ALL STATE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, UNITED ACQUISITION LEASING CORP., THE MURRAY HILL TERRACE CONDOMINIUM, BY THE BOARD OF MANAGERS are the Defendants. I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the NEW YORK COUNTY SUPREME COURT, ROOM 130, 60 CENTRE STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10007 on April 23, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 201-205 East 36th Street, Unit C-, City of New York, County of New York, Block 917, Lot 1001. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgement Index# 850110/2022. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/CLERK DIRECTIVES. Elain Shay, Esq – Referee. Elaine Shay Attorney at Law, 757 Third Avenue, 20th Floor, New York NY 10017. David Pikus, Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., 17 State Street, 34th Floor, New York, NY 10004, attorney for Plaintiff.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. 57TH ST. VACATION OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstELISABETH HOERNER AS CO-ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF MARY J. HOERNER, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated on July 30, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 7, 2025 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 tenantin-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 10019

Approximate amount of lien $25,511.03 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850027/2023. CLARK WHITSETT, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590

DLG# 37913 {* AMSTERDAM*}

CITY CRAWL ADVENTURES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/09/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 242 W 61st St, Apt 3A, New York, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of SILLY WITCH LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/20/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 09/18/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 50 Murray St., Apt. 1104, NY, NY 10007. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Mikasho LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 1/23/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 2425 95th Street Fl 1, East Elmhurst, NY 11369. Purpose: Any lawful act.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK

BDS III NY 1369 BROADWAY LLC, Plaintiff, - againstBROADWAY STAR REALTY, LLC,

JOSHUA GOLDBERG, Defendants.

Index No. 850029/2022

NOTICE OF SALE

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated September 5, 2024, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 14, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York, bounded and described as follows: BEGINNING at the corner formed by the intersection of the southerly side of West 37th Street with the westerly side of Broadway; being a plot 71 feet 8 and 1/8 inches by 41 feet 1 and 1/8 inches by 85 feet 7 and 2/3 inches by 43 feet 4 and 1/2 inches.

Said premises known as 1369 BROADWAY, NEW YORK, NY.

Approximate amount of lien $41,881,623.83 plus interest & costs.

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

Index Number 850029/2022.

MARK L. MCKEW, ESQ., Referee

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 3 World Trade Center, 175 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007

{* AMSTERDAM *}

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF [SHOP N DROP ONLINE LLC]. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of NY (SSNY) on [03/10/2025]. Office Location [NY] County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against it maybe served. The P.O address to which the SSNY shall mail a copy of any process against the [LLC] served upon him/her is: [7014 13TH AVENUE, SUITE 202 Brooklyn, NY 11228]. The principal business address of the [LLC] is [228 Park Ave S #977430, New York, NY 10003].

ACLM GROUP LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/13/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 99 Wall Street, Suite 1020, New York, New York 10005 Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of 123A 7TH HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/03/25. 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 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT BRONX COUNTY

RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN TRUST 2013-TT2 BY U.S. BANK NATIONAL

ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, BUT SOLELY AS LEGAL TITLE

TRUSTEE, Plaintiff against ANDREA DAVIS, et al Defendant(s)

Attorney for Plaintiff(s) Knuckles & Manfro, LLP, 120 White Plains Road, Suite 215, Tarrytown, NY 10591 and .

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered July 31, 2017, I will sell at public auction to the highest bidder at the Bronx County Courthouse, Courtroom 711 at 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York on April 21, 2025 at 2:15 PM. Premises known as 851 East 220th Street, Bronx, New York 10467. Block 4679 Lot 13. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and being in the Borough of and County of Bronx, City and State of New York. Approximate Amount of Judgment is $658,107.47 plus interest, fees, and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed

Judgment Index No 382261/2009. Cash will not be accepted at the sale.

The foreclosure sale will be conducted in accordance with 12th Judicial District's

Covid-19 Policies and the Bronx County foreclosure auction rules. The Referee shall enforce any rules in place regarding facial coverings and social distancing.

Ricardo Oquendo, Esq., Referee File # 2600-000011

White Tiger 2024 LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/01/2024. Office location: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 3857 White Plains Rd, Bronx, NY 10467. Purpose: Any lawful act.

CADENCE TEMPO CONSULTING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/03/2024 . Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: The LLC 228Park Ave S#943518, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Formation of 39 E 1ST HOLDINGS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/03/25. 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 122072543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

REFEREE'S NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION, Plaintiff - against - DAVIS BERGMAN, et al Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered on January 9, 2025. I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse located at 60 Centre Street, New York, New York 10007 on the 30th day of April, 2025 at 2:15 PM. All that certain piece or parcel of real property, situate and being a part of a condominium in the Borough of Manhattan, County, City and State of New York.

Premises known as 225 East 46th Street, Unit 12F, New York, NY 10017.

(Block: 1320, Lot: 1723)

Approximate amount of lien $327,829.92 plus interest and costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed judgment and terms of sale.

Index No. 850049/2023. Scott H. Siller, Esq., Referee.

Stein, Wiener & Roth LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff

1400 Old Country Road, Suite 315 Westbury, NY 11590

Tel. 516-742-1212 GREGMAN-79220

Dated: January 10, 2025

During the COVID-19 health emergency, bidders are required to comply with all governmental health requirements in effect at the time of sale including but not limited to, wearing face coverings and maintaining social distancing (at least 6-feet apart) during the auction, while tendering deposit and at any subsequent closing. Bidders are also required to comply with the Foreclosure Auction Rules and COVID-19 Health Emergency Rules issued by the Supreme Court of this County in addition to the conditions set forth in the Terms of Sale. Auction Locations are subject to change

Notice of Formation of I LOVE JUICY 200, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/24/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 200 Amsterdam Ave., Unit 20B, NY, NY 10023. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of USHG DETROIT F&B LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/12/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 853 Broadway, 17th Fl., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Supreme Court-New York County – Hilton Resorts Corp., Pltf. v. VERONICA NKOSI, ANDREA B. THWALA, and BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF HC SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., Defts. – Index # 850096/2021. The foregoing summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Honorable FRANCIS A. KAHN, III, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated the 13th day of March 2025 and duly entered the 14th day of March 2025 in the office of the Clerk of the County of New York, State of New York. TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS:

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

NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is for the foreclosure of a fractional interest of 0.0450946335738578% in the premises at Block 1006, Tax Lot 1304 located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas NY, NY. Mortgage bearing the date of August 14, 2016, executed by Veronica Nkosi and Andrea B. Thwala to Hilton Resorts Corporation, a Delaware Corporation, to secure the sum of $65,915.00, and interest and recorded in the Office of the Clerk of New York County on March 27, 2017, in CRFN 2017000117556. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the Mortgaged Premises as described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above.

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

DOMINIQUE ANNAMARIE CONSULTING & STRATEGY

LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/18/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S #272012, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of 155 EAST 79TH PROPCO LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/17/25. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Standard Management Services LLC, 9 W. 57th St., 46th Fl., NY, NY 10019. DE addr. of LLC: c/o Corporation Service Co., 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF BRONX

US Bank National Association, as Trustee for Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Securities Corp., CSAB Mortgage-Backed Trust 20064, CSAB Mortgage-Backed Pass-ThroughCertificates, Series 2006-4, Plaintiff AGAINST Martina R. Garcia; et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered May 8, 2018, and amended August 23, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction at the Bronx County Courthouse, 851 Grand Concourse, Room 711, Bronx, New York on May 12, 2025, at 2:15PM, premises known as 1500 Vyse Avenue, Bronx, NY 10460. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Bronx, City and State of New York, Block 2995 Lot 120. Approximate amount of judgment $857,204.83 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index# 381047/2011E. Only cash or certified funds payable to the Referee will be accepted as a deposit in the amount of ten percent of the purchase price. Leticia Arzu, Esq., The Bozeman Law Firm, PLLC, 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: April 6, 2025 For sale information, please visit www.Auction.com or call (800) 280-2831 85060

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK, NYCTL 2019A TRUST, AND THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON AS COLLATERAL AGENT AND CUSTODIAN FOR THE NYCTL 2019-A TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. KATHERINE MOSLEY A/K/A CATHERINE MOSLEY, IF LIVING AND IF SHE BE DEAD, ANY AND ALL PERSONS UNKNOWN TO PLAINTIFFS, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion dated January 6, 2025 and duly entered on January 6, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 30, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 123 West 142nd Street, New York, NY 10030. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block 2011 and Lot 25. Approximate amount of judgment is $131,692.39 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #159074/2020. Roberta Ashkin, Esq., Referee

Bronster, LLP, 156 West 56th Street, Suite 703, New York, New York 10019, Attorneys for Plaintiff

Seeking M/WBE bids for construction site at 1981 Crotona Bronx. Contact bidding@taxaceny.com

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstADEJORO ADEOGUN, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated on July 30, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street New York, NY on May 7, 2025 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 10019

Approximate amount of lien $18,839.87 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850039/2020. CLARK WHITSETT, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 38638 {* AMSTERDAM*}

Hugues Loiret Saint Loup LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/11/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 33 W 46th St - Ste 800, NY, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful act.

IL BAMBINA VINTAGE LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/27/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 251 E. 2nd St., APT. PHA, New York, NY 10009. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of X11 FIRST AVE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/25/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/07/24. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of SBOS FUND I GP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/19/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/13/25. Princ. office of LLC: 590 Madison Ave., 23rd Fl., NY, NY 10022. 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 Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, 401 Federal St., #4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Investment management is purpose of entity.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK, U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE, SUCCESSOR IN INTEREST TO BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE AS SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO LASALLE BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR WAMU MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES SERIES 2006-AR13 TRUST, Plaintiff, vs. DAHLIA DAMAS, THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR OF NEW YORK COUNTY, AS LIMITED ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF GUITI MIODOWNIK BENADON, ET AL., Defendant(s).

Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale and Decision + Order on Motion duly entered on November 13, 2024, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction in Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007 on April 30, 2025 at 2:15 p.m., premises known as 55 Wall Street, Unit 735, New York, NY 10005. All that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York, Block 27 and Lot 1067 together with an undivided 0.3251 percent interest in the Common Elements. Approximate amount of judgment is $730,474.85 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850117/2016.

Roberta Ashkin, Esq., Referee

Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC, 10 Bank Street, Suite 700, White Plains, New York 10606, Attorneys for Plaintiff

Notice of Qualification of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PARTNERS, LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 08/27/15. Princ. office of LLC: 1145 17th St., NW, Washington, DC 20036. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of ER NORTHWAY LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/24/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/18/25. Princ. office of LLC: 60 Cutter Mill Rd., Ste. 601, Great Neck, NY 11021. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122070543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State of DE, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of USHG HoldCo, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/12/25. Office location: NY County. Princ. office of LLC: 853 Broadway, 17th Fl., NY, NY 10003. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of FLATIRON DRAGADOS CONSTRUCTION HOLDING LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/06/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 12/01/09. Princ. office of LLC: 810 Seventh Ave., 9th Fl., NY, NY 10019. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Qualification of PAMALICAN ASSET MANAGEMENT US LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/10/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/25/25. Princ. office of LLC: 535 5th Ave., 4th Fl., NY, NY 10017. 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 RCPRE I 729 7TH AVE LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/28/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 03/12/25. Princ. office of LLC: 590 Madison Ave., NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Secy. of State, 401 Federal St., Ste. 3, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Supplemental Summons and Notice of Object of Action Supreme Court Of The State Of New York County Of New York ACTION TO FORECLOSE A MORTGAGE Index #: 850267/2024 U.S. Bank National Association, Not In Its Individual Capacity But Soley As Trustee For The RMTP Trust, Series 2019-C Plaintiff, vs Carlin C. West AKA Carlyne West, AKA Carlyne C. West, Tony Zamora As Heir To The Estate Of Steven James Zamora If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In 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, Carla Fierros As Heir To The Estate Of Steven James Zamora, Unknown Heirs Of Steven James Zamora If Living, And If He/She Be Dead, Any And All Persons Unknown To Plaintiff, Claiming, Or Who May Claim To Have An Interest In, Or General Or Specific Lien Upon The Real Property Described In This Action; Such Unknown Persons Being Herein Generally Described And Intended To Be Included In 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, People Of The State Of New York, United States Of America On Behalf Of The IRS, Board Of Managers Of Le Domaine Condominium, Criminal Court Of The City Of New York, New York City Parking Violations Bureau, New York State Department Of Taxation And Finance, Commissioner Of Social Services Of NYC, John Doe (Those unknown tenants, occupants, persons or corporations or their heirs, distributees, executors, administrators, trustees, guardians, assignees, creditors or successors claiming an interest in the mortgaged premises.) Defendant(s). Mortgaged Premises: 403 East 62nd Street, Unit#19B New York, NY 10065 To the Above named Defendant: 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 Supplemental Summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiff(s) attorney(s) within twenty days after the service of this Supplemental Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this Supplemental Summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York). In case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. The Attorney for Plaintiff has an office for business in the County of Erie. Trial to be held in the County of New York. The basis of the venue designated above is the location of the Mortgaged Premises. TO Tony Zamora, Unknown Heirs of Steven James Zamora Defendants In this Action. The foregoing Supplemental Summons is served upon you by publication, pursuant to an order of HON. Francis A Kahn of the Supreme Court Of The State Of New York, dated the Twenty-Sixth day of February, 2025 and filed with the Complaint in the Office of the Clerk of the County of New York, in the City of New York. The object of this action is to foreclosure a mortgage upon the premises described below, dated December 20, 2006, executed by Carlin C. West AKA Carlyne West, AKA Carlyne C. West and Steven James Zamora (who died on June 13, 2019, a resident of the county of Santa Clara, State of California) to secure the sum of $1,000,000.00. The Mortgage was recorded at CRFN 2006000707984 in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County on December 29, 2006. The consolidated mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed August 12, 2009 and recorded on August 28, 2009, in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County at CRFN 2009000277626. Plaintiff is also holder of a mortgage dated August 13, 2009 executed by Carlin C. West AKA Carlyne West, AKA Carlyne C. West and Steven James Zamora to secure the sum of $29,113.45 and recorded at CRFN 2009000277627 in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County on August 28, 2009. Said mortgage was consolidated with the mortgage referred to at CRFN: 2006000707984 by a Consolidation, Extension and Modification Agreement executed by Carlin C. West AKA Carlyne West, AKA Carlyne C. West and Steven James Zamora dated August 13, 2009 and recorded August 28, 2009 at CRFN 2009000277628 in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County to form a single lien in the amount of $975,000.00. The consolidated mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed June 4, 2012 and recorded on June 21, 2012, in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County at CRFN 2012000244218. The consolidated mortgage was subsequently assigned by an assignment executed January 3, 2020 and recorded on January 15, 2020, in the City Register of the City of New York, New York County at CRFN 2020000018724. The mortgage was subsequently modified by a Deferral Agreement on December 28, 2021. The property in question is described as follows: 403 East 62nd Street, Unit#19B, New York, NY 10065 HELP FOR HOMEOWNERS IN FORECLOSURE NEW YORK STATE LAW REQUIRES THAT WE SEND YOU THIS NOTICE ABOUT THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY. SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME. IF YOU FAIL TO RESPOND TO THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION, YOU MAY LOSE YOUR HOME. PLEASE READ THE SUMMONS AND COMPLAINT CAREFULLY. YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY CONTACT AN ATTORNEY OR YOUR LOCAL LEGAL AID OFFICE TO OBTAIN ADVICE ON HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF. SOURCES OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE The state encourages you to become informed about your options in foreclosure. In addition to seeking assistance from an attorney or legal aid office, there are government agencies and non-profit organizations that you may contact for information about possible options, including trying to work with your lender during this process. To locate an entity near you, you may call the toll-free helpline maintained by the New York State Department of Financial Services at 1-800-342-3736 or the Foreclosure Relief Hotline 1-800-269-0990 or visit the department's website at WWW.DFS.NY.GOV. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME AT THIS TIME. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO STAY IN YOUR HOME DURING THE FORECLOSURE PROCESS. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO LEAVE YOUR HOME UNLESS AND UNTIL YOUR PROPERTY IS SOLD AT AUCTION PURSUANT TO A JUDGMENT OF FORECLOSURE AND SALE. REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU CHOOSE TO REMAIN IN YOUR HOME, YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR PROPERTY AND PAY PROPERTY TAXES IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE AND LOCAL LAW. FORECLOSURE RESCUE SCAMS Be careful of people who approach you with offers to "save" your home. There are individuals who watch for notices of foreclosure actions in order to unfairly profit from a homeowner's distress. You should be extremely careful about any such promises and any suggestions that you pay them a fee or sign over your deed. State law requires anyone offering such services for profit to enter into a contract which fully describes the services they will perform and fees they will charge, and which prohibits them from taking any money from you until they have completed all such promised services. § 1303 NOTICE NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this Foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to your mortgage company will not stop this foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. DATED: March 10, 2025 Gross Polowy LLC Attorney(s) For Plaintiff(s) 1775 Wehrle Drive, Suite 100 Williamsville, NY 14221 The law firm of Gross Polowy LLC and the attorneys whom it employs are debt collectors who are attempting to collect a debt. Any information obtained by them will be used for that purpose. 84969

The Wellness Odyssey LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 10/31/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S #187967, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Halwa NYC LLC filed w/ SSNY 12/29/24. Off. in NY Co. Process served to SSNY - desig. as agt. of LLC & mailed to the LLC, 228 Park Ave S #850152, NY, NY 10003. The reg. agt. is United States Corporation Agents, Inc., 7014 13th Ave, Ste. 202, Brooklyn, NY 11228. Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of WONSEOK JANG DENTISTRY

PLLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/18/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of PLLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 28 Bailey Rd., Millburn, NJ 07041. Purpose: Dentistry.

TACC Farms LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/14/2025. Office location: Orleans County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 3710 Tuthill Road, Albion, New York, 14411. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Notice of Qualification of STANDARD POWER NOVA LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/25/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/13/25. Princ. office of LLC: 551 Madison Ave., Fl. 4, Ste. 450, NY, NY 10022. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Corporation Service Co. (CSC), 80 State St., Albany, NY 122072543. DE addr. of LLC: c/o CSC, 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with Charuni Patibanda-Sanchez, DE Secy. of State, DE Div. of Corps., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

PHR NPL Fund IV, LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 7/18/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: P.O. Box 230653, New York, NY 10023 Purpose: Any lawful act.

Antioco Enterprises LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 2/20/2025. Office location: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 4380 Vireo Ave Apt 2O, Bronx, NY 10470. Purpose: Any lawful act.

Wellbeeings LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/18/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 228 Park Ave S PMB 772261, New York, NY 10003. Purpose: Any lawful act.

SUPREME COURT-NEW YORK COUNTY- HILTON RESORTS CORP., Pltf. v. DAWN TREHARNE-ESPARZA, Deft. - Index # 850381/2024. Pursuant to Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated March 19, 2025, 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, April 24, 2025, at 2:15 pm, an interest of an undivided 0.0147201260419194% tenant in common interest in the timeshare known as 48TH STREET VACATION SUITES located at 12 East 48th Street, New York, NY. Approximate amount of judgment is $41,510.76 plus costs and interest as of January 3, 2025. Sold subject to terms and conditions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale which includes annual maintenance fees and charges. Thomas R. Kleinberger, Esq., Referee. Cruser, Mitchell, Novitz, Sanchez, Gaston, & Zimet LLP, Attys. for Pltf., 341 Conklin Street, Farmingdale, NY.

St. John’s alumna Amanda Belgrave honored for her remarkable achievements

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

St. John’s University alumna Amanda Belgrave credits her background as a student-athlete with her ability to succeed in the business world. Recently named an assistant vice president at Lloyds North America on March 29, Belgrave was honored by her alma mater’s university luncheon celebrating Women’s History Month.

“Being a student-athlete completely influenced my life. Every lesson and principle that I have today is because I was a track and field athlete,” said Belgrave, a four-year track and field standout who competed in the long jump and triple jump. While a student-athlete, she earned both a B.S. in finance and an MBA. She was honored for her achievements at St. John’s and after.

“You learn about time management, of course, because you have a busy schedule, but also the discipline to stick with something that may be hard in the moment but will pay off in the future,” Belgrave explained. Over the course of her time with the Red Storm, Belgrave tallied five career wins and had a topfive finish in the triple jump at the 2021 Outdoor Big East Championships.

Growing up on Long Island, she enjoyed racing the other kids, but by middle school realized she wasn’t the fastest. Sprinting provided an adrenaline rush, but she decided to try jumping and found she loved being in the air, noting that there is nothing like it. Being able to do that in college as a Division I athlete made her feel like she

was living the dream. She had originally planned to go to SUNY Binghamton, but a visit to St. John’s and a meeting with an academic advisor made her see this was the place for her.

“I could have graduated and not gotten my MBA,” said Belgrave. “I had a full-time offer and internship interviews at investment banking compa -

nies, and I turned them down to come back to school to finish out my MBA. I did it because I was on task to do something really amazing and I was enjoying what I was doing so much with track and field as well. Going to school can be hard, but when you’re doing something you love as well as pursuing your degree, it makes it so much easier.”

UConn wins its 12th NCAA Championship in spectacular fashion

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

It was the lopsided victory that no one expected. Three one seeds advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Tournament, but the team that hoisted the trophy was the lone two seed, University of Connecticut. It was the 12th national title for the Huskies, who even with frequent trips to the Final Four, had not made it to the finish line since 2016. Despite having a rough season and slipping in the national rankings, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and freshman sensation Sarah Strong brought their A-plus game to Tampa, Florida, where the Final Four was staged, prevailing over the tournament’s overall top seed UCLA 85–51 and trouncing the reigning champion University of South Carolina 82–59 in the final. Fudd, who will return to UConn for another season, was named Most Outstanding Player. Strong broke all the freshman records and Bueckers showed that like other Huskies before her, she lives up to the hype.

been an easy road for

Bueckers. Her freshman season (2020-21) was played with the pandemic literally hanging in the air. The NCAA Tournament

took place in a bubble — with a training room that consisted of only a few yoga mats and some free weights. After sophomore

year and a return trip to the Final Four, she tore her ACL, missing the next season. Upon her return last season, UConn coach Geno Auriemma declared her better than ever, which she proved in spectacular fashion throughout this year’s NCAA tournament.

“I have an overall sense of gratitude for everything that’s happened, through the ups and downs, I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Bueckers. “To be able to be shaped to be the person that I am today and the team that we are today. Obviously, you feel like on the other side of a hard time is a really big blessing, and we stuck to it, we kept the faith. To be rewarded with something like this, you can’t really even put into words.”

Auriemma spoke about the team shifting during the season from enjoying playing together to having an unbreakable bond. Added Bueckers, “Through all the hard work we put in as individuals and as a team and how much we stuck together through the good times and the bad … we felt like we were so connected and nothing could break us.”

Although she has received AllAmerican and Player of the Year accolades, the collegiate game has not

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma celebrates with players and coaches following the team’s 82-59 victory in Sunday’s NCAA Division I national championship game. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Amanda Belgrave at St. John’s Women’s History Month luncheon. (St. John’s Athletics photos)

Amanda Belgrave with her track & field family (l-r) Samuel Inniss, Malia Jones, Belgrave, Jasmine Davis and Dolce McPherson.

Knicks face potential playoff opponents to close the regular season

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

The Knicks are acutely aware of what’s ahead of them in the postseason. Every game will be crucial. Every possession is valuable. They will have little margin for error, their flaws magnified against possible opponents they have yet to defeat this season.

As the Knicks conclude the regular season, they are experiencing what is analogous to dress rehearsals going up against teams they may face in the playoffs. They hosted the Boston Celtics, the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed, at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday endeavoring to avert an 0-4 record against the defending NBA champions. The Knicks were unsuccessful, losing to the Celtics, who improved to 59-20, by 119-117 in overtime. It was the closest the Knicks have played the Celtics this season. Yet forward Josh Hart said that moral victories were not good enough.

“Nah, I don’t think there’s anything positive about it,” he said. “I think we’re playing good basketball and that’s kind of where we want to be towards the end of the year, going into the playoffs, playing our best basketball. We played well. We didn’t play well enough to win, obviously. We got to continue to build.”

Center Karl-Anthony Towns, who led the team with 34 points and 14, was aligned with Hart.

“No, we don’t take moral victories. We did a better job, but it’s about getting the win and we didn’t do that tonight.”

The Knicks, the current No. 3 seed, have not yet clinched that spot for the playoffs. They are 50-29 and have three games remaining, including tonight’s road match up with the No. 6 seed Detroit Pistons (43-36).

The No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers are just two games behind the Knicks at 48-31. The jockeying for seedings from the No. 3 through No. 6 positions is still fluid and may not be decided until Sunday, when the NBA regular season ends.

As is the case in being winless versus the Celtics, the Knicks are 0-3 this season against the East’s top seed Cleveland Cavaliers, which has solidified the No. 1 standing with a 63-16 mark. Only the Western Conference’s Oklahoma City Thunder have a better record, as they were 65-14 when the played the Phoenix Suns last night. The Knicks will meet up with the Cavaliers tomorrow at the Garden and the Nets at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Sunday before the playoffs open the weekend of April 19. The playoffs will begin in earnest after the conclusion of next week’s play-in tournament, which will feature the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds from each conference.

The Celtics and Cavaliers are a barometer and seemingly immovable obstacle for the Knicks, which made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals last season. A year ago, they were disadvantaged by multiple players being out with injuries and succumbed to the Pacers 4-3. Tuesday’s loss was only the second game back for Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson after he missed 15 straight recovering from a right ankle sprain.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau maintained that for the moment, it is irrelevant how the Knicks fare against teams they may come across in the postseason.

“I mean, I don’t think it has anything to do with who we might see or might not see. I mean, there’s so much that goes in that we have to do before that, which is win tomorrow and the next day and the day after and get there.”

As the Nets’ season closes, guard Dariq Whitehead makes a strong impression

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

The Brooklyn Nets selected three players in the 2023 NBA Draft: forward Noah Clowney from Alabama with the 21st pick of the first round, guard Dariq Whitehead of Duke at No. 22, and forward Jalen Wilson out of Kansas in the second round at No. 51. The Newark, New Jersey, native Whitehead, who played one season at Duke, has appeared in the least amount of games among the three for the Nets, which were 25-53 before hosting the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night at the Barclays Center. But he may be the most talented.

The 20-year old Whitehead was projected to be a lottery pick before undergoing two surgeries to his right foot before the draft. He also had season-ending surgery in his rookie year on January 2024 to address a stress reaction in his left shin after playing in only two games.

by now how talented I am offensively. We’re going to make shots. For me, it’s just doing the right thing on (the court), earning coaches’ trust, being in the right spots on defense … like I said, and from there I know that everything else (is) going to take care of itself.”

Whitehead also discussed his growing confidence bolstered by the encouragement from his coaches and teammates.

“You hear your teammates, and you hear coaches say, ‘go out there and shoot 10 threes,’ and for me, it’s not just shooting 10 threes … I want to go out there and take the shots that I know I can make.”

Whitehead then gave an honest assessment of his career thus far.

This season, the 6’6” Whitehead has seen floor time in just 16 games prior to Tuesday. Yet, with starting point guard D’Angelo Russell logging a nominal 13 minutes in a 105-90 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Barclays last Thursday, and sidelined with right ankle soreness in Sunday’s 120-106 loss in Brooklyn to the Toronto Raptors, Whitehead was afforded additional time and had his best back-to-back performances of his short NBA career.

Toronto. He nailed a combined eight threepointers in the two games, including five against the Timberwolves.

“I’ve been out (of college) for two years. At this point, it’s a reality check with myself. I know I’m not going to come back (in) four or five months and just gain coach’s trust. I got to continue showing that I’m working on my body, taking care of my body, doing the right things outside of basketball. So that he’s comfortable with putting me in there and knowing that I’m not having any setbacks or anything.”

He scored in double figures in two-straight games for the first time as a pro, dropping 17 points versus Minnesota and 13 against

“Just do the right things,” Whitehead responded when asked how he will take advantage of the increased opportunity. “I’m sure me, as well as the coaching staff know

The Nets host the Atlanta Hawks tonight, then play the Timberwolves on the road tomorrow and close out their regular season at home on Sunday versus the Knicks.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and center Karl-Anthony Towns try to slow down Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Brooklyn Nets guard and Newark, New Jersey native Dariq Whitehead is finishing the team’s regular season trying to establish a solid NBA future. (AP Photo/Albert Pena)

Wagner hooper Taleah Washington takes part in prestigious coaching program

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

This season, Taleah Washington, a graduate student guard at Wagner College in Staten Island, tied an NCAA record for the second most assists in a women’s game with 22. To think, she almost didn’t come to Wagner. After completing her bachelor’s degree in psychology and human services at Old Dominion, Washington felt she’d accomplished her goal of being the first person in her family to graduate from college.

“I was so ready to get into coaching and get into my big girl job,” Washington recalled. “I ended up talking to Coach T (Wagner coach Terrell Coburn) and he said I could get a master’s and still play. I took that leap of faith.”

Washington will graduate with her master’s in leadership and ethics in May. This past weekend, Washington took a huge step forward in pursuing a career as a basketball coach, something she’s wanted to do since she was a kid by taking part in the WBCA’s highly selective “So You Want to Be a Coach” program held in conjunction with the Final Four.

“I want to get into coaching to inspire the younger generation with basketball,” Washington said. “It’s growing so fast

now; it’s the perfect time.”

Her desire to become a coach began when she was in elementary school and her father would take her along as he coached a boys’ high school team. Once her father saw she had an interest in basketball, he switched to coaching girls because there wasn’t a program for girls.

“When he was coaching boys, because I was so intrigued with everything that was going on. He was coaching varsity and I was helping with [junior varsity],” she said. “It came so naturally. … My mom has pictures of me literally coaching high school boys and … I had the board with the plays.”

Last weekend, Washington not only met fellow participants, but also some of the great coaches of the game. In addition to detailed programming about the coaching profession, “So You Want to Be a Coach” participants attended the Final Four semifinal games. All of the players her father coached graduated from high school and most went on to college. Now, it’s her time to carry on that family tradition.

“When I found out I was accepted, I was so ecstatic,” she said. “On the court, off the court, I want to help the next generation.”

IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis hunts the WBA title in Atlantic City

By DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

This Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Philadelphia boxing star and IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis (33-0 29 KOs) will face the WBA welterweight champion, Lithuanian Eimantas Stanionis, in a unification bout at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City and broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.

“I’m the best in the world in the welterweight division,” Ennis recently said in advance of the fight. “Whatever he does, I do better. I don’t think he’s watched my fights; I never get tired. It’s going to be a long night for him. It’s my belt and his belt. It’s time to claim the crown.”

Ennis has arguably been the most impressive welterweight in boxing over the past two years. Terence Crawford, who knocked out previously undefeated Errol Spence Jr. in July 2023 to earn the undisputed welterweight championship, has moved up in weight with a potential fight versus Canelo Alvarez, who holds the WBA (Super), WBC and WBO super middleweight titles.

“We’re going into deep waters,” said Stanionis. “They are building a superstar, but I am going to f**k up all their plans! He’s a good fighter, but we all have two hands and two legs. No one is unbeatable. I’m coming to fight; I’ll be standing

all night that’s for sure.”

Camden, New Jersey-born Raymond Ford (16-1-1, 8 KOs) aims to become a two-time, two-weight world champion when he faces Thomas Mattice for the WBA Continental North America SuperFeatherweight title. Other local fighters on the card include Atlantic City’s Francisco Rodriguez taking on Camden’s Naheem Parker, Philadelphia’s Tahmir Smalls battling Earl Bascome, and Newark, New Jersey’s Zaquin Moses taking on Alex Palette.

Boxing will see arguably the most ambitious fight weekend in years beginning on Friday, May 2, with a tripleheader in Times Square featuring Ryan Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) battling Rolando Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) for the WBA Welterweight title, Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KOs) taking on Jose Carlos Ramirez (29-2, 18 KOs) and WBO Super Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez taking on battle Arnold Barboza Jr. (32-0, 11 KOs).

The next day, Mexican superstar Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) will face IBF super middleweight champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KOs) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Finally, undisputed junior featherweight champion and Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue (29-0, 26 KOs) will defend his title against Ramon Cardenas

14 KOs) in Las Vegas.

(26-1,

IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis (left) pictured defeating Karen Chukhadzhian last November, will meet WBA title holder Eimantas Stanionis on Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing photo)

Wagner guard Taleah Washington, who tied an NCAA record for the second most assists in a game, hopes to forge a future career in coaching. (Wagner Athletics photo)

Sports

At the 89th Masters Tournament begins, Black golfers are glaringly absent

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor

There are 95 golfers scheduled to tee-off today in the opening round of the 89th Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Over half of the field, 48, are golfers from the United States. None are Black.

A year ago, 89 golfers approached the first tee at the Masters, with the singular Black man being Tiger Woods.

Since Lee Elder became the first Black golfer to compete in the Masters in 1975, Woods is the only one to have worn the symbolic championship green jacket.

Of his 15 victories in the sport’s four major tournaments — the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and Open Championship, also known as the British Open — five have come at the Masters, his last in 2019.

Woods will not be in this year’s event as he underwent surgery last month to repair a torn left Achilles tendon sustained while training at home. Neither will Harold Varner III., one of the few other notable Black golfers who competes on the LIV Tour.

The 34-year-old Varner III., from Akron, Ohio, who finished tied for 29th at the 2023 Masters, did not qualify for this year’s staging of the tournament.

Woods’ historic 1997 Masters title at the age of 21 made him the first Black and youngest player ever to win the venerable tournament. It elevated him to one of the world’s most famous and recognizable people, as his multiethnic background and magnetic aura appealed to a vast and diverse global demographic.

Woods proclaimed himself to be “cablinasian,” a term he coined representing a mix of caucasian, Black, American Indian and Asian

— as the son of a Black father, the late Earl Woods, and Asian mother, Kultilda Woods, who was born in Thailand and passed away at the age of 80 this past February. Nonetheless, Tiger Woods was embraced by a large swath of the African diaspora as a Black man. Millions lauded him as a trailblazer in the lineage of boxer Jack Johnson, the first Black heavyweight champion, and baseball legend Jackie Robinson, who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier and is celebrated annually in this country on April 15 on the eponymous Jackie Robinson Day. Comparable to Johnson and Robinson, Woods’ emergence in the late 1990s as the greatest golfer on the planet was expected to be the catalyst of succeeding generations of Black golfers that would become fixtures in a sport predominated by whites since it originated in Scotland during the 15th century.

There was a palpable discovery of golf by Black men and women in countless urban and suburban communities across the United States and beyond as Woods’ remarkable achievements continued. But the so-called “Tiger Effect” never actually manifested into a lasting momentum. A range of factors have resulted in the stagnation — and some would argue regression — of Black participation and ascendance on the amateur and professional levels in golf. A few barriers that come to mind are culture, cost and location. Unlike AAU basketball and youth football, there are relatively few golf programs in inner-city communities. The cost for equipment, lessons and course fees can be exorbitant and prohibitive. And access to golf courses are limited. Encouragingly, there are uplifting organizations

such as the United Black Golfers Association based in Laurelton, Queens that admirably promote the sport and offer opportunities to dozens of youth and adults to engage in golf.

Charles Sifford became the first Black person to integrate the Professional Golfers Association of America, earning P.G.A membership in 1964 by fighting through the legal system in California with the state’s then attorney general, Stanley Mosk, to, in theory, end the exclusionary practices of the organization.

It was a seminal act. But 61 years later, Blacks remain underrepresented.

Harold Varner III competing on the LIV Golf Tour last week and Tiger Woods, pictured at last year’s Masters, are two of the few notable Black golfers in the sport. (Left: Jon Ferrey/LIV Golf via AP. Right: AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

New York Amsterdam News April 10 - 16, 2025

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