New York Amsterdam News Issue April 17-23, 2025

THE LEGACY OF ZERO-TOLERANCE

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Senior housing site in East Harlem receives stamp of approval from Manhattan BP

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

It’s rare when the city, community, and developers can come together to throw their support behind a project, but such is the case so far with Carmen Villegas Apartments–a proposed LGBTQ+ senior housing site in East Harlem.

“Carmen Villegas Apartments is exactly the type of project I am excited to see in this borough,” said Manhattan Borough President (BP) Mark Levine.

East Harlem is a vivacious neighborhood that is composed of about 45% Hispanic/ Latino and 30% Black residents. The “real median gross rent” in the neighborhood has increased from $820 in 2006 to $1,200 in 2022, reported the New York University (NYU) Furman Center. In addition to affordability, the principal concerns for residents in the community is staving off gentrification and displacement in the midst of the city’s ongoing housing crisis.

“Facing a housing crisis where vacancy rates have hovered at around 2% in Manhattan and average rents at around $5,000 a month, we need to continue our efforts to create housing that Manhattanites can afford. This crisis affects all New Yorkers, including the elderly and those on a fixed income, which is why a new development for low-income seniors is so needed,” continued Levine in a statement.

Carmen Villegas Apartments is a proposed LGBTQ+ senior housing site, named after the late Carmen Villegas. She was a “steadfast” community activist and member of Community Board (CB) 11, whose life’s work was to combat displacement and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Villegas passed from cancer in 2012. “This project will be a testament to the work of Carmen Villegas as a community advocate in East Harlem,” said Levine.

a civil rights lawsuit over community preference last year, Verde was one of the last projects built with 50% of apartments set aside for people living in the community district already. The city had to drop that preference down to 20% until April 2029. Starting in May 2029, the share drops to 15%.

This year will also see a new council member elected in city council District 8. Several candidates are running to replace the incumbent Deputy Speaker Diana Ayala, who is termlimited. A few candidates weighed-in with their support for Carmen Apartments as well.

2

The developers want to build next to what is currently the Casita Park Housing for the Elderly, located in East Harlem on 110th Street

and Park Avenue. Casita Park is a 6-story building with 94 units for seniors that was built in the early 2000s. The development plan is to replace Casita’s existing parking lot with a 28-story, 210-unit building with a community space for queer seniors.

At least 70% of the apartments will be for seniors (ages 62+) with incomes up to 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), developed under Housing Preservation and Development (HPD)’s Senior Affordable Rental Apartments (SARA) program, and 30% of the apartments are supposed to go to formerly homeless individuals (ages 55+). The ground floor will be operated by Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE). The housing plan also has green energy and sustainability elements –winning New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA)’s Buildings of Excellence Competition.

The developers are HPD, Ascendant Neighborhood Development Corporation, Xylem Projects, and Urban Builders Collaborative. Their outreach team began presenting their proposal to CB11 in 2022.

“It’s a win-win for the space and housing those with limited disposable income,” said Chair of CB 11 Xavier Santiago.

Santiago said that CB11 has long advocated for affordable housing projects. The only difficulty was making sure the housing continues to benefit the community once built, which is why they championed the pre-Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process. CB11 gave unanimous approval of the pre-ULURP proposal on March 25. Their main recommendations for the developer was to meet local hiring targets and establish partnerships with local workforce development organizations.

He hoped that the building would honor Villegas and be a bastion of housing like Sendero Verde, an affordable mixed-use supportive housing project that took almost 10 years of advocacy to complete. After the city settled

“The Carmen Villegas Apartment proposal is a shining example of the kind of thoughtful, community-centered development we need in District 8. From incorporating public art to creating spaces where neighbors can gather, this project reflects our district’s spirit and values. It meets the urgent need for senior housing, includes wider setbacks for safer streets, and embraces sustainable design through Passive House certification,” said city council candidate Elsie R. Encarnacion, who is Ayala’s chief of staff. “I was fortunate to know Carmen Villegas personally, and seeing her name on this building that will serve and uplift the community, is truly special. It’s a meaningful way to honor her legacy.”

Wilfredo Lopez, also running for Ayala’s seat, applauded “the creation of deeply affordable senior housing” in City Council District 8.

“We need to replicate and expand these thoughtful housing initiatives — integrating supportive services, community space, and sustainable building practices like Passive House design, geothermal energy, and solar panels,” said Lopez in a statement. “I strongly support building environmentally responsible, equitable, and deeply affordable housing and will fight for more truly affordable housing across East Harlem and the South Bronx, because every resident deserves a safe, sustainable, and dignified place to call home.”

Candidate Raymond Santana Jr., of the Exonerated Five, said in a statement that neighbors and friends across District 8 have told him that the cost of housing is always one of their top issues. “I’m excited to see new housing developments coming to our community, a community that has been left behind by our political leadership for far too long,” said Santana. “That being said, with any development project, we must take special care to protect the residents already living in this neighborhood as well as ensure that projects are accessible to New Yorkers of all backgrounds. And while we need more than 216 affordable units for seniors brought to this district, this project is a step in the right direction towards making sure that housing is affordable and accessible for all New Yorkers.”

The full proposal is still in the planning and review process. Approval is still needed from the city council, the Mayor, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Developers anticipate starting construction in June 2026.

Carmen Villegas renderings front building view. (Photo provided by Community Board 11 Land Use Committee.)

NYC Ranked Choice Voting Refresher

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

It’s almost that time of year again. New York City’s voters will be using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to determine their new city leaders in the upcoming 2025 elections season, so now is a great time for a ‘how to’ review of the voting process.

How to vote using ranked choice RCV is a voting system that literally allows voters to choose up to five candidates, in order of preference instead of choosing just one, on a single ballot. In NYC, this voting system is used for the primaries held on June 24, 2025, the general election held on November 4, 2025, and any special elections for city offices such as:

• Mayor

• Public Advocate

• Comptroller

• Borough President

• City Council

If one candidate receives more than 50% of the first choice votes in their race, they win. Simple. However, according to New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB), if no candidate has more than 50% of first choice votes, then votes are tabulated in rounds with the candidate with the fewest votes eliminated each round. If someone’s highest pick is eliminated, then their vote rolls over to the next highest ranked candidate on their ballot. The rounds continue until the candidate with the most votes wins.

• A voter can still vote for just one candidate, if that’s preferred, by selecting only one choice and leaving the other columns blank.

• A voter can still write-in a candidate in any rank

• If the same candidate is selected for multiple boxes on the ballot, it will not be counted.

• The ballot will also be invalid if multiple candidates have the same ranking.

• Check out a sample ballot to practice ranking your choices here at NYCVotes.org.

The city’s Board of Elections (BOE) will still post unofficial election night results, which

doesn’t include affidavit or absentee ballots, at the close of polls on Election Day. The election will be certified up to a week later when all ballots have been counted.

Sidebar: Former Mayor Bill de Blasio once held a mock ranked choice pizza topping election, a fun ploy to get residents to learn about the new voting system in 2021, and ate a slice during his press conference. Out of 20,000 votes, pepperoni was deemed the winner. The inclusion of pineapple

as a pick for pizza toppings to vote on was the most divisive choice.

Voter Analysis of RCV

In 2019, New Yorkers voted on an election ballot measure that would amend the City Charter and implement Ranked Choice Voting. It passed with 73.5% support. The idea was that the new system would increase diversity of candidates and give people more choice in who gets elected. RCV was used for the first time in 2021, the same year in -

Republicans chose to rank candidates in the 2021 elections.

According to the 2021-2022 NYCCFB Voter Analysis Report, Harlem’s city council District 9 was among three districts with the most voters using all possible ranks for their city council race election. That year, former City Councilmember Kristin Richardson Jordan was elected over the late Councilmember Bill Perkins. The top three council districts with the most errors invalidating ballots in any race were all located in the Bronx in majority Black and Latino neighborhoods of Council District 14 (Kingsbridge), District 17 (South Bronx), and District 16 (Highbridge), said the report.

The second year RCV was used was in 2023. All 51 City Council seats were up for election that year because of the redistricting process kicked off by the 2020 Census. For these elections, 58.9% of Democrats and 40.1% of Republicans ranked candidates. Again, Harlem’s District 9 was among the highest percentages of ranked ballots due to a high profile race that saw Councilmember Yusef Salaam of the Exonerated Five elected.

The three council districts with the highest incidence of errors that invalidated ballots were in Black and Brown districts in Brooklyn and the Bronx: District 41 (Brownsville), District 42 (East New York), and District 12 (Co-op City), said the 2023 Voter Analysis Report.

Origin Story of a Voting System

cumbent Mayor Eric Adams was elected as the city’s second Black mayor in history, and for the first time ever a majority women-led city council. During the Democratic primary, Adams beat out 12 ranked candidates in eight rounds. The final round was between him and former NYC Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, said the posted BOE results.

Using a Cast Vote Record (CVR) system, the BOE concluded that 89.3% of Democrats and 56.6% of

For the profoundly curious, there are several “systems” employed to count votes that have been developed in various democracies in different countries centuries ago. The easiest one is whoever has the most votes against one other opponent, wins — which is called a plurality system. When a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote or it goes to ranked rounds is referred to as the majority system.

Under the majority system, the single transferable vote (or RCV) was first conceived by lawyer Thomas Hare in the 1800s in Denmark and Britain as the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the “middle class.” Hare was a big believer in electoral reform and proportional representation that limited the influence of elite political parties.

(New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB) illustrations)

City Council fights back against Adams’ executive order for ‘ICE on Rikers’

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

The Adams administration’s recent decision to allow federal immigration authorities to station on Rikers Island drew severe criticism and resistance from legal experts, advocates and other public officials.

Officially, Executive Order 50 would allow federal law enforcement, including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), to establish offices on Rikers Island for joint investigations with the NYC Department of Corrections’ (DOC) Intelligence Bureau to investigate “transnational” organized crime.

But opponents fear the order will aid the broader national crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration, even though it does not technically greenlight city jail staff to collaborate with federal agencies on deportations, which are civil matters.

On Tuesday, April 15, the New York City Council filed a lawsuit to block Adams’ executive order for ICE to operate on Rikers Island. In 2014, a law was enacted to prevent federal immigration authorities like ICE from setting up offices or quarters on NYC Department of Corrections (DOC) property for civil matters like deportations. Six other federal law enforcement agencies “deputized” by the Trump administration to handle similar immigration

enforcement could also be housed on Rikers under the executive order, according to the legal memo.

The council accused Mayor Eric Adams’ order of being “tainted by the conflict of interest created by the corrupt bargain the mayor entered into — his personal freedom in exchange for an ICE office,” pointing to his recently dropped charges for a federal corruption case and meetings with. Additionally, the council passed a resolution last week allowing Speaker Adrienne Adams to litigate against sanctuary law violations.

“When New Yorkers are afraid of cooperating with our city’s own police and discouraged from reporting crime and seeking help, it makes everyone in our city less safe,” said Speaker Adams in her statement.

“This is a naked attempt by Eric Adams to fulfill his end of the bargain for special treatment he received from the Trump administration. New York cannot afford its mayor colluding with the Trump administration to violate the law, and this lawsuit looks to the court to uphold the basic standard of democracy, even if our mayor won’t.”

Kayla Mamelak, a spokesperson for the administration, says Adams delegated “all powers, responsibilities and decision-making” regarding stationing federal agencies like ICE on Rikers Island to Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro who conducted an independent assessment.

“Cooperation with federal law enforce -

ment — including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Homeland Security, and U.S. Postal Inspectors — will be expressly limited to criminal law enforcement investigations, not civil matters,” said Mamelak over email. “Executive Order 50 is expressly authorized by New York City’s local laws — the very laws enacted by the City Council. While we will review the lawsuit, this one seems baseless and contrary to the public interest in protecting New Yorkers from violent criminals.”

Mastro, who currently sits in for Adams as the mayor visits the Dominican Republic to pay his respects for the recently deadly nightclub collapse, maintains compliance.

“Local Law 58 of 2014 … allows federal immigration authorities to maintain office space on land over which DOC has jurisdiction for purposes unrelated to the enforcement of civil immigration laws,” reads the ex-Giuliani aide’s executive order.

Previously joint efforts between the DOC and ICE cost the city up to $92.5 million in settlement money over allegations of unlawfully extending detainments of non-citizens held on Rikers Island at the behest of federal immigration agents between 1997 and 2012.

Five of the city’s legal defense organizations — The Legal Aid Society, New York County Defender Services (NDS), The Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem and Queens Defenders

— also protested the order by invoking the constitutional rights of every client present and future in DOC custody.

NDS’s Piyali Basak and Scott Foletta say the executive order could have far-reaching effects on not only Harlemites held on Rikers, but for the community as a whole.

“It’s just another way in which people have to worry about all these ways in which their lives already get entangled with the criminal legal system [by] being just another way that connects them further to the deportation systems,” said Foletta, NDS’ immigration director. “Even though we have sanctuary laws that try to prevent our tax dollars and our city resources and state resources being used to deport people, we see very targeted attacks by the Trump administration against sanctuary laws here and in other cities and states to try to cut down that connection.”

“People are scared to help each other,” added Basak, NDS’ managing director. “How are we going to uplift communities if within communities, people don’t trust each other?”

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.

This June 20, 2014 file photo shows the Rikers Island jail with the New York skyline in the background. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Advancing the well-being of New Yorkers healing at home

By RAYMOND FERNÁNDEZ Special to the AmNews

Winnie Province is committed to improving the lives of Black New Yorkers as they recover and heal in their homes. Her work as a nurse started in 2011 in the hospital setting, but it wasn’t until she started working at VNS Health that she transitioned into home care.

Province, 37, who is a mother of two, said, “There are certain rewards that you feel working in home care.” For her, the beauty of her profession lies in guiding and educating her patients closely, witnessing their journey toward recovery and independence, and supporting patients within their households.

She understands how difficult it can be to receive care in the home setting. “Patients at home often feel vulnerable,” she said, “they may be sick and unwell, and also say ‘A stranger is walking into my house.’” This is where she comes in and holds their hand through the process, “Once you build a certain level of rapport and trust, you can achieve any goal.

Both her parents were born in Haiti, her mother was an elementary school teacher and her father began practicing nursing on the island. “My dad, who I look up to as my hero, he’s a registered nurse himself.” Winnie’s original fascination with healthcare came when she was a child and she wanted to pursue a career as a pediatrician, but ultimately followed in her father’s footsteps.

Her father has worked as a nurse in multiple areas of healthcare — as a geriatric nurse, at a nursing home, at long-term care facilities in the Bronx, and also in Harlem

Hospitals during the AIDS epidemic. He would often speak to Winnie about that time, about the lack of education and how difficult it was to experience the death of patients.

According to the CDC, between 1981 and the year 2000, 448,060 people reported with AIDS in the U.S. had died.

Black people and Black representation are and should be fundamental pillars to the healthcare system, said Winnie. “I think a lot of the time, if you are going to see your OB-GYN, you may say to yourself, ‘I want a female practitioner’ because she has parts that I have. For the African American community, I would like to see representation in all scales; Black physicians or Haitian physicians because he or she would understand me a little bit more — understand the way that I eat, understand my life and my struggles.” Adding, “When you find someone that looks like you or can speak the same language and understand

you, it builds a level of trust, rapport, and allows patients to understand what it is that you are trying to educate them on.”

Mistrust in the healthcare system prevails among African Americans for various reasons. A Pew Research report from 2022 found that “49% [of African Americans] say a major reason why Black people generally have worse health outcomes is because healthcare providers are less likely to give Black people the most advanced medical care. A roughly equal share (47%) says hospitals and medical centers giving lower priority to their well-being is a major reason for differing health outcomes.”

Winnie describes home care as a learning experience both for her and the patient — it requires communication, “Asking the patient about their day, while I clean a wound,” and adds, “At home, you have to be fully aware of where your patients are and really be able to care for them, mentally, physically, emotionally.” She says this allows her to see the progress and evolution in patients who may otherwise feel disconnected from their healthcare providers.

For Winnie, “home care is all-encompassing.” After a while, she notices her patients becoming aware of their blood sugar, their blood pressure, and the implementation of a better diet they might have discussed with her. “Witnessing their process,” she emphasizes, “is what really is rewarding.”

BREAK DOWN BARRIERS TO HOUSING

Winnie Province (Provided by VNS Health)

The legacy of Zero-Tolerance

Part 1: How schools respond to students who carry guns

By SHANNON CHAFFERS Amsterdam News Staff, Report for America Corps Member

When Josh Marte brought a gun to his charter high school in Harlem halfway through the 10th grade, he wasn’t thinking of the consequences. Originally, he said, he planned to show it off to a few friends. But when he heard that some other students were planning to fight him, he decided to show them the gun in his backpack as a way to scare them off.

He still remembers the look on the school security guard’s face when he discovered the gun.

“That look on his face of disappointment was like, ‘wow, we’re about to lose a young man for something stupid,’” Marte recalled.

After the incident, which occurred in 2008, Marte was arrested and expelled from the school. His charges were dismissed in exchange for community service and a year of good behavior. He spent the rest of the year at an alternative school, before dropping out entirely after the summer break. With his days unstructured, he got more involved in illegal activity in his neighborhood, and began selling drugs. By the age of 22, he was arrested again.

“Not being in school ... you become a target for people who are doing illegal, criminal activities. [They] say, ‘since you’re not doing anything, or [since] you’re available, here, sell this,’” he explained.

Marte’s story is a familiar one in neighborhoods with high rates of violence, where illegal gun carrying is common among some youth as a strategy for protection. But schools’ response to students possessing a firearm at school (without aiming or firing it) is often criminalization and exclusion.

This two-part series examines the impact of schools’ zero-tolerance response to students carrying guns on campus, and the search for alternative responses that can ensure safe environments while avoiding the harms of exclusionary discipline.

Why students carry guns

Marte says he got the gun that he brought to school from family members in Pennsylvania and began carrying it in his neighborhood in Harlem as a way to protect himself and intimidate others. At the time, he was skipping certain classes at school in order to avoid interactions with kids from outside of his neighborhood.

“Where I lived, there was up the hill and down the hill, and there’s always rival gangs that existed even [before] I was there. So if you went outside, you would be addressed by gang members, whether it was from where you lived, or from [the] opposite [side],” he explained.

Carrying a gun gave Marte not just a feeling of safety, but of respect.

“People know you as a ‘gun boy.’ So they don’t approach you the same, they don’t deal with you the same… that’s the kind of respect I think we just wanted. And it’s kind of silly, when you look back at it now. But as a kid, teenager, you really fall into that mindset,” he said.

A.T. Mitchell, CEO of the Brooklyn-based gun violence prevention nonprofit Man Up! Inc, has seen young people act similarly.

Recently, two students at schools in East New York were caught with a gun. A 14-yearold high school student was caught with a gun in the school bathroom, and an 8-yearold was found with an unloaded gun at his elementary school.

In both situations, Mitchell said, the students were showing off the gun as a way to make people afraid of them.

“They don’t want to use it on anybody, it’s not like they have intent to commit any harm or kill anybody, they just want people to probably be afraid of them so that they leave them alone,” he explained.

Feeling unsafe at school or in one’s neighborhood is a common reason for youth gun carrying, according to academics who have studied the issue. A new study based on a survey of 348 recent high school graduates found that participants who carried a gun in their neighborhood were more likely to bring a gun to school, and that feeling unsafe at school or feeling the need to avoid certain places within campus were other significant predictors for gun carrying.

“If students had places in their school that they felt like they had to avoid, because they were uncomfortable going [there], or they were worried about an interaction, that increased their likelihood of carrying a gun. On the other side of the findings, if students felt safe in their school, they rarely carried a gun,” explained Sarah Britto, study co-author and a professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

In addition to feeling unsafe, research shows that youth who are members of street groups, or who are involved in selling drugs, might carry a gun to school to bolster their reputation or to protect themselves.

“As our study indicates, there are multiple reasons for students carrying guns, so we shouldn’t expect a simple solution to solve the problem,” Britto said.

Yet for years, the response to student gun carrying has been premised on the idea of a simple solution: zero-tolerance policies. In 1994, the federal government passed the Gun-Free Schools Act (GFSA), which mandated that states pass legislation requiring local education agencies (in New York, this includes both traditional public schools and charter schools) to suspend students for at least one year for having a firearm on campus, and refer those students to law enforcement. Although administrators have the option to modify this suspension when handling individual cases, many adopted a zero-tolerance approach following the law’s passage, making a year-long

suspension the norm across the country.

The passage of the GFSA coincided with the wave of “tough on crime” policies under President Bill Clinton. As fear of violence and crime spread, with politicians and the media fueling panic about the upcoming generation of so-called “superpredators,” lawmakers designed policies that used incarceration to remove those deemed threatening. These policies often targeted poor, Black, and Brown Americans.

Decoteau Irby, a professor at University of Illinois Chicago, co-authored a study that examined the political context that led to the GFSA’s passage, as well as its long-term impacts.

“All of these mostly anti-gang type measures, War on Drugs-type measures eventually crept into and found their way into, first, around schools, and then actually into school settings,” he explained.

Although the GFSA’s stated purpose was to reduce school gun violence, there is little evidence that the law has had any deterrent effect. In fact, the number of gun violence incidents at schools has increased in recent years. In addition, the GFSA encouraged schools to adopt zero-tolerance policies for more minor infractions, leading to a steep increase in school suspension rates, even as juvenile violent crime rates declined sharply after 1994. By 2015, the suspension rate across the country had doubled from the 1970s, and Black students were three times more likely than white students to be suspended or expelled.

At the same time, the number of police officers in schools increased, meaning more students who misbehaved came into contact with the criminal legal system. Studies have shown that increasing visible signs of security, like adding metal detectors or increasing police presence, has not had an effect on crime at school.

The harm caused by exclusionary discipline Mitchell expressed his concerns about the effectiveness of a one-year suspension as a response to firearm possession at school.

“I know this is looked at from a case-by-case basis, but it’s excessive to me,” he said. “I can understand that there’s certain parents who may be fearful, because… they may not want their kids to be in danger. [But] I just think that [it’s] a cry for help.”

“It’s catastrophic,” agreed Johanna Miller, director of the Education Policy Center at the NYCLU. “If a student is a danger to themselves or someone else, you need to get that kid some help and make sure they can’t hurt anybody. But that’s more like an emergency response than a yearlong suspension, which is much past when the emergency has happened.”

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said she feels the GFSA should be revisited, explaining that “a suspension for a year outside of school is not See ZERO-TOLERANCE on page 30

Josh Marte was expelled for bringing a gun to his high school. He now works as a violence interrupter at Street Corner Resources, a violence prevention organization in Harlem. (Photo courtesy of Street Corner Resources)

Home sweet yours

Brooklyn BP Reynoso announces initiatives at 2025 State of the Borough Address

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

As he gears up for re-election, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso delivered his 2025 State of the Borough address last week at Boys and Girls High School in Bed-Stuy.

“Opportunity is what makes a difference in our neighborhoods and for too long systemically opportunities have been snatched from our neighborhoods,” said Reynoso. “I want to show that government can work and show up for them now.” Reynoso, a Brooklyn native, is the son of Dominican immigrants. He began the night’s address with a moment of silence for the victims of a deadly roof collapse at a popular nightclub in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic a week ago. 221 individuals have been reported dead and over 150 injured.

Pastor Steven Eugene Carter Sr. of Mount Ararat Church of Brooklyn delivered the invocation, student Suleila Clarke sang the National Anthem, and the Nelson Mandela Drumline gave an energized performance. Afterwards, Reynoso presented plans for 2025. “Section 8 housing, food stamps,

school scholarships, welfare, Women, Infants and Children [WIC]. That’s not luck. It’s government. It’s all the resources New York and this country used to take a bet on

“And now it is my honor and responsibility to back Brooklyn.”

Building on his commitment in his first

Myrie releases Black Agenda for mayoral campaign

By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

State Senator Zellnor Myrie, a mayoral candidate in this year’s election, released a Black Agenda for NYC this week.

“I am a proud Afro Costa Rican, son of two Black immigrants that came to New York City close to 50 years ago,” said Myrie at a press conference in City Hall Park on Monday, March 13.

“I grew up around Black New Yorkers, who understood that if you work hard you had opportunity in this city to be successful. To be on the path to success. But for too many Black New Yorkers, that is no longer a reality. The city is different, and the next mayor of this city has to have an agenda that will help Black New Yorkers.”

Most of his Black Agenda draws on his personal experiences as a native Brooklynite or from years of legislation and advocacy as a state senator, centering around closing the racial wealth gap, public health and safety, economic development; universal 3-K/ pre-K education and afterschool for all programs; and climate resiliency, flood protection, and disaster response in neglected communities like Southeast Queens, the Northeast Bronx, and east Brooklyn.

Myrie said that it’s especially important to protect civil rights pioneered by Black leadership during the current federal administration. “We have a president who is explicitly targeting Black people throughout this entire country,” said Myrie. “A president that is eliminating Civil Rights litigation, that is charging employees charged

comprehensive plan for Brooklyn, Reynoso announced a new partnership with Brooklyn College to launch New York State’s first credit-bearing Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) Advanced Certificate Program. The program will prepare healthcare, mental health, early intervention, and early educational professionals to support pregnant mothers and birthing parents experiencing mental distress. Brooklyn College is piloting the two courses this Spring and will host its first full cohort in Fall 2025. “Our midwife at Woodhull, Ms. Helena Grant, wasn’t going to let me off easy,” said Reynoso, who is a father to two small children.

“She made sure I knew from day one, just how bad things were. That as an Afro-Caribbean woman, my wife was about eight times more likely to die from pregnancy related causes than her white counterparts.”

Reynoso has vowed to “make the borough the safest place in the city to have a baby.”

For long-term plans, Reynoso advocated for more affordable housing throughout the borough by eliminating parking minimums and allowing more housing to be built; protecting the last active port in Red

See BOROUGH ADDRESS on page 27

with enforcing civil rights. Victories we fought for for decades to achieve are now being erased under this president.”

He is hardly the only mayoral candidate hoping to sway Black and Brown voters by speaking directly to the community with policy directives and campaign promises.

In a crowded race, he’s one of four prominent Black candidates: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and former Assemblymember Michael Blake. Myrie has raised $3.8 million in donations so far, said his campaign.

However, according to recent polls, former Governor Andrew Cuomo is not only leading the race but has huge support from Black and Hispanic voters.

“As a state Senator representing a predominantly Black district, Andrew Cuomo has not been a friend to the Black community. Andrew Cuomo has come to our community to rehabilitate his image. He’s come and sit in our pews on Sundays and then on Monday he cuts our schools,” said Myrie. “He has stood in the way of tenant protections, he’s cut rental assistance, he’s cut our hospitals. He proposed to close SUNY Downstate, starving of money in the middle of a pandemic. I look forward to making that record very clear to my community.”

A large part of Myrie’s push to close the wealth gap is to promote more homeownership among Black New Yorkers. This in-

cludes establishing a first-generation homebuyers fund, increasing enforcement of anti-discrimination laws in mortgage lending, partnering with Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/ WBE) developers to build affordable homes in historically Black neighborhoods, combatting deed theft, and advocating for tax lien reform.

Black maternal health and men’s mental health are key parts of how Myrie plans to address public health. The agenda plans to fund dedicated birthing centers in Blackmajority neighborhoods, expand Medicaid coverage for doulas and midwives to reduce high maternal mortality rates among Black women, as well as expand free mental health services and career pathways for young Black men, and create a trauma center in the Rockaways in Queens. In terms of public safety and preventing gun violence, Myrie plans to expand the Every Block Counts program — a pilot program launched in October 2024 in the Bronx and Brooklyn. He wants to implement the program in the 40th, 42nd, 44th, 46th, and 47th Precincts in the Bronx and the 73rd and 75th Precincts in Brooklyn. These seven precincts are considered the city’s highest-risk areas. He also plans to restore funding to the Department of Probation (DOP) Next STEPS Program. Myrie continues to poll behind Cuomo, Adams, A. Adams, and other candidates like Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and City Comptroller Brad Lander. The Democratic primary will be on June 24 this year.

me. Brooklyn backed me,” said Reynoso.

BK BP Reynoso on stage with his wife and two sons. (Ariama C. Long. photo)

State Senator Zellnor Myrie pictured with a youth basketball league. (Photos contributed by Myrie’s campaign)

Divine Nine News

NY chapter of Delta Sigma Theta unpacks Project 2025 and its impact on Black America

By N’DELLA SEQUE and GILDA GILLIM Divine Nine News Guest Columnists

In Harlem, a powerful community conversation is taking place — led by Black women who are committed to service, justice, and education. The New York Alumnae Chapter (NYAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is leading that charge. As the first graduate chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., NYAC serves Manhattan through scholarship, social action, and community service. In 2024, NYAC launched a five-part social action series titled “Unpacking Project 2025: Examining the Impacts on the African American Community.” The series reflects the Sorority’s national Five-Point Programmatic Thrust, focusing on educational development, economic development, political awareness, international involvement, and physical and mental health.

Starting in October 2024, NYAC brought Harlem residents together to explore the threat of Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda developed by the Heritage Foundation. The proposed plan could reshape the federal government, cut essential social programs, roll back civil rights protections, and dramatically change public education, healthcare, and economic policies that directly impact Black communities.

Part One: Understanding Project 2025

The first event took place on October 24, 2024, in partnership with Shiloh Baptist Church. Nicole Yearwood, NYAC member and CEO of EducatedVoter.net, moderated a panel of experts.

Panelists included: Dr. Basil Smikle Jr., a professor at Columbia University; political analyst Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq., executive director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College; and Nick E. Smith, executive director of Community Resist Inc. and former NYC First Deputy Public Advocate.

DST-NYAC, Unpacking Project 2025 - Part II: First row (L-R): Moderator: Tremaine S. Wright, former New York State Assembly Member; Panelist Juanita O. Lewis, executive director of Community Voices Heard; DST-NYAC, Chapter President Jimyce G. Johnston; and Erika L. Ewing, Corresponding Secretary, DST-NYAC. Second row (L-R): DST-NYAC Members: Tracey Green; Dr. Carla Münoz-Ling; Mimi L. Woods, Second Vice-President, DSTNYAC; DST-NYAC Social Action Chair Pascale E. Bernard; Jamel Scutchins; Qamar Said; Gilda D. Gillim; Belva Flowe; and Kioka Jones on March 12, 2025 at Mother AME Zion Church. (Photo by

Panelists warned that Project 2025 threatens to cut voting protections, social safety net programs, and diversity and inclusion efforts. An inspiring moment came during the event when a young attendee registered to vote on the spot. This story was later shared by Dr. Smikle during national broadcasts on MSNBC’s “Chris Jansing Reports” and “The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle.”

Part Two: The Economic Impact

On March 12, 2025, the series continued at Mother African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a historic Harlem landmark. This session focused on economic development.

Moderated by Tremaine Wright, former New York State Assembly Member, the event featured Juanita Lewis, executive director of Community Voices Heard. They discussed how federal job cuts, reduced social

services, and the rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs in the workplace would disproportionately harm Black families and communities.

Part Three: Education Under Attack

The third installment took place April 3, 2025, at Shiloh Baptist Church. Dr. Monica George-Fields, CEO of REACH Educational Solutions, moderated the discussion on education.

Panelists included Dr. Meisha Porter, former NYC Schools chancellor; LeRoy Barr, vice president of the American Federation of Teachers; and Dr. Sean L. Davenport, superintendent of Harlem Community School District 5. They explained how Project 2025 seeks to defund public education, end programs like Head Start, and dismantle DEI efforts in schools — actions that would severely impact Black students.

To share your Divine Nine News, please contact us at d9@amsterdamnews.com and at amsterdamnews.com/d9news

Part Four: Healthcare NYAC will return to Mother AME Zion Church on May 21 from 6:308:30 p.m. for Part Four of the series, which will focus on healthcare access and equity. For more information, visit www.dstnyac.org or email socialaction@dstnyac.org.

About Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated was founded in 1913 on the campus of Howard University to promote academic excellence, stimulate participation in the establishment of positive public policy, and to highlight issues as well as solutions for community-wide. For more than 104 years, the New York Alumnae Chapter has served Manhattan and supported underserved communities through scholarship, community service, and social action.

Gilda D. Gillim and Erika Ewing of The New York Alumnae Chapter (NYAC) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.)

Union Matters

Chicago teachers reach contract deal for the first time in more than a decade without a strike

By SOPHIA TAREEN Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — For the first time in over a decade, Chicago’s public school teachers have a new contract without a strike or threat of a walkout. The four-year agreement includes pay hikes, hiring more teachers and class size limits.

While negotiations between the Chicago Teachers Union and the district didn’t escalate this time, there was unprecedented turmoil surrounding the unusual yearlong talks. The drama included the school superintendent’s firing, the entire board resigning and historic elections that tested the union’s power.

Now, Chicago faces uncertainty with Trump administration education cuts and looming questions about how the nation’s fourth-largest school district will pay for the contract.

The turmoil

While all parties are celebrating the agreement now, there’s been no shortage of turbulence.

Perhaps the main reason negotiations didn’t devolve into a strike, as was the case in 2019 and 2012, was union ally Mayor Brandon Johnson. A former teacher and CTU organizer, the union helped elect him in 2023.

He spent months trying to oust Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez, an appointee of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in a public spat.

“All of that chaos and turmoil there clearly dragged down the bargaining and probably shut it down for a fair amount of time,” said Robert Bruno, a University of Illinois professor of labor and employment relations.

Johnson wanted a $300 million loan to cover the new contract and a pension payment, which Martinez and the board rejected as fiscally irresponsible. District officials and good government groups argue that borrowing would incur high interest rates, but Johnson has pushed back, saying rates are “relatively” low. In October, the board resigned in protest.

The next month, the city held its first school elections. The transitional board — a mix of union-backed candidates, charter school supporters and independents — includes mayoral appointees until it’s fully elected in 2027.

In December, the board moved to fire Martinez, though he’ll remain until June. At one point, Martinez accused new members of meeting privately with the union and won a judge’s restraining order.

The talks

The union started contract talks last year with more than 700 requests, a record for the almost 30,000-member union.

Union leaders say their goal is always equality in the segregated city. Roughly 70% of the 325,000 students in the district are low-income and more than 80% are Black or Latino.

But district officials said those lofty requests would have cost over $10 billion.

The district’s annual budget is roughly $10 billion.

The new agreement’s price tag is about $1.5 billion.

“We stayed true to our values,” Martinez said after the deal was announced. “We succeeded in keeping the best interest of our students always at the center.”

Both sides touted transparency. For the

first time, some bargaining sessions were publicly livestreamed.

It was also the first time in nearly three decades the union was allowed to bargain on issues like class size. In 1995, a Republican-led Illinois legislature passed a law limiting collective bargaining rights largely to pay and benefits. Democratic leaders changed that in 2021.

CTU President Stacy Davis Gates celebrated the contract as a win that protects students, particularly those who are vulnerable under Donald Trump’s presidency.

“It’s big, it’s complex and it is certainly a step in the right direction,” she said.

Johnson also took a victory lap, trumpeting his union ties.

“When I was running for office, they said it would be a liability,” he told reporters recently. “But it sounds like to me that

no other mayor could have brought Chicago Public Schools, the Board of Education, the mayor’s office and the CTU together to the table to make sure that our children get exactly what they deserve, which is a fully funded, well-rounded education.”

The deal

Under the deal, teachers will get 4% retroactive raises as the contract expired last year. Then they’ll get 4% or 5% raises each year after.

Starting next year, the median teacher pay will be $98,000. By the contract’s end in 2028, the average teacher will earn around $110,000, according to the district.

The district, which employs roughly 7,000 teachers, will hire 800 more, and nearly 100 additional librarians. Teachers will get an extra 10 minutes of daily prep time, for 70 minutes total.

Also, class sizes will be limited by grade level. For instance, kindergarten will have the smallest and be capped at 25 students.

Union leaders announced Monday that 97% of members who voted approved the deal. Davis Gates called it “overwhelmingly historic levels” of support for a contract that built on previous years’ work, including strikes.

The future

Experts say what happened in Chicago could give other unions momentum. Los Angeles teachers, who are currently negotiating, noted CTU in a recent newsletter.

“Organizing is how we resist political agendas to dismantle our public schools and public services. And we can Win Our Future in Los Angeles, just like our union siblings in Chicago,” the United Teachers Los Angeles newsletter read.

Still, serious funding questions remain.

The district has a roughly $500 million annual deficit and a pending $175 million pension reimbursement to the city. The district is also about to enter contract negotiations with the principals’ union.

Martinez said the first year of the contract is covered, but there’s uncertainty after that.

Where the two sides agree is that the talks took too long. As Trump took office, union organizers said there was more gravity to their work, even as both sides in the Democratic stronghold are aligned on issues including immigrant rights. “We had a sense of urgency, we had a sense of responsibility,” Davis Gates said. “The district shared the responsibility, but not the urgency.” School officials accused the union of taking their time. “We should have had this contract months ago,” Martinez said.

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) President Stacy Davis Gates speaks about the Teachers Union Contract Ratification Vote Results during a news conference at CTU headquarters in Chicago, on Monday, April 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh photos)

Signs are displayed during a news conference for the Teacher’s Union to Announce their Historic Contract Ratification Vote Results at CTU headquarters in Chicago on Monday, April 14, 2025.

Vengeance of the tariff sheriff

Most Americans remain baffled by Trump’s reckless imposition of tariffs, some of which made little rhyme or reason in the world of economics, except how these actions would clearly impact daily purchases and income. One number that certainly stood out for even lesser-informed citizens was the 145% maximum rate on Chinese imports.

We, however, were more interested in the tariffs imposed on two African nations: Gabon and Lesotho. Both are examples of Trump’s indiscriminate application of tariffs. His tariffs on goods that the U.S. does not and cannot produce, such as the manganese from Gabon, so essential in the production of steel was much like many of his policies — go figure! Similarly, his saddling of Lesotho, a poor, tiny southern African nation with a 50% tariff rate, was unsettling, and among the highest issued.

To sort out a portion of this tariff dilemma we turn to Wally Adeyemo, a deputy secretary during the Biden administration. Back in February, he was a panelist at the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University event co-hosted by Hillary Clinton to discuss Trump’s policies. He began by noting that the use of unilateral tariffs means that nations that have been “traditionally our allies and partners” may have to rethink their relationship to the U.S.

“One of the things the president has done is that he has taken what often used to be a separation between foreign policy and economic policy, and in lots of ways, melded them to say that the chief interest for him is really around what can we do to further America’s economic interest in the world,” Adeyemo said. Moreover, with an eye toward the policies of future leaders, he said, “One of the most important things for me is thinking about who are going to be, the next set of leaders, not only in our country, but around the world, because leadership matters. The only way things get done is when you have good leaders who think creatively about the future and are willing to make hard decisions.”

America is clearly not at this point with either a leader who thinks creatively or is capable of making hard or rational decisions. At the moment, Trump has hit the pause button on his tariffing measures, though that hardly means a break for clear thinking. Was he at last conceding to pressure from his fellow Republicans, the billionaire clique, or key investors? Even more problematic is a possible respite to merely recalibrate and apply even stiffer, more far-reaching tariffs, if that’s conceivable.

Let’s Talk About the Manufactured Crisis of ‘Reverse Discrimination’

By ALPHONSO DAVID

These days, it is becoming harder and harder to keep up with the rampant disinformation that the radical right is pushing. On day one, the new administration took a sledgehammer to long-established diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The far right incorrectly posits that these programs are discriminatory and wasteful. These programs are not only legal but they promote greater fairness and opportunity across society, lead to greater innovation and result in higher revenues for companies. Now, the right wing legal movement is going a step further by trying to redefine the legal standards needed for white plaintiffs to prove discrimination.

Earlier this month, the United States Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. The case involves a heterosexual white woman who sued her employer under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, arguing that she was demoted and replaced by a gay man and denied promotion in favor of a gay woman. She claims that both positions were awarded to people less qualified than her.

still a persistent problem. Some may recall the landmark 2004 study, when two economists submitted fake job applications with fictitious names in Boston and Chicago. They found that applicants with names suggesting they were white received 50% more callbacks from employers than those whose names indicated they were Black.

nomics. The study showed that when white employees engaged in self-promotion for job advancement, it worked out in their favor.

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher and Editor in Chief

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

Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman

In plain terms, she is arguing what is commonly referred to inaccurately as “reverse discrimination.” Before we get into the merits of her individual case, it is worth noting that these types of cases are being brought more frequently in courtrooms across America. However, the contention that “reverse discrimination” against majority groups is widespread, especially against white males, is simply untrue and not supported by data.

Let’s start with hiring. Despite new laws and changing attitudes, racial discrimination in hiring is

Nearly two decades later, in 2021, researchers sent more than 80,000 fake job applications for entry-level openings to Fortune 500 firms. On average, the researchers found that applications with distinctively Black names were about 10% less likely to get a call back than similarly qualified white applicants. While progress has been made, the penalty that Black people face in the labor market is still steep.

When it comes to promotions and upward career movement, the numbers paint a similar picture. As any professional knows, in order to move up the ladder, you have to promote your successes to upper management. However, Black employees are penalized for self-promotion more than any other racial group, according to a 2022 study from the London School of Eco-

Break promotion data down by gender, and the story is not much different. On average, women are 13% less likely to be promoted than men. While women hold more of the top jobs in companies than ever before, they lag behind men on crucial early promotions into management. In fact, the share of women in the lowest rung of corporate manager roles has grown by just two percentage points from a decade ago – which tells us that women might be getting in the door, but they’re not progressing to director, vice president, or senior vice president positions And when we look at Black women, the numbers are even more abysmal – with just 4% in the C-suite, compared to 62% for white men.

That said, to all the people who claim that white people are being “reversediscriminated” against at scale, I would love to see the peer-reviewed studies they are getting this data from. But as any serious person will tell you, that data does not exist, which brings us back to the case before the court.

This plaintiff is arguing

“reverse discrimination” because she is heterosexual. Under well-established precedent, plaintiffs from majority groups must provide more evidence than minority plaintiffs to show they have faced discrimination. The bar is obviously higher because discrimination against majority groups is not widespread or systemically embedded into labor and employment markets. Now, the court will decide whether or not that higher burden of proof is supported by the Constitution. Putting the legal analysis aside, the most practical consequence of the court ruling in favor of the plaintiff is that more “reverse discrimination” claims will be filed. Right now, companies are already facing political pressure to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. If the court makes it easier for majority groups to sue, the environment for promoting fair workplaces will suffer.

Those in favor of changing these standards are doing so because they believe the Constitution should be “colorblind.” The problem is the theory ignores the reality on the ground. It is political cover for a decades-long agenda focused on rolling back the progress of the Civil Rights Movement. Now, they claim “reverse discrimination” is rampant and must be curbed by the courts. This is nothing short of a manufactured crisis. The data clearly show that marginalized communities continue to confront discrimination and bias. Now is not the time to weaken our laws and policies. Instead, we should build towards the promise of equity.

Alphonso David is a civil rights attorney, and the president and CEO of the Global Black Economic Forum.

Alphonso David (Nicholas Cardamone photo via Wikimedia)

‘Hands on’ the AAUP

By HERB BOYD

During my long labor career, mainly in Detroit and New York City, I have been a member of four unions –– UAW, Teamsters, SEIU, and the American Association of University Professors. Two of them –– the UAW and the AAUP –– have been in the spotlight for their stance against Trump’s brutal policies. While the UAW has been somewhat equivocal on Trump’s tariffs, presenting mixed reviews, the AAUP has been more defiant, particularly at Harvard University where it has filed a lawsuit challenging the cuts. In the lawsuit, the union and other plaintiffs argue that the Trump administration has “failed to follow steps required under Title VI before it starts cutting funds, including giving notice of the cuts to both the university and Congress.”

Their action at Harvard is consistent with earlier lawsuits to block what they deemed as Trump’s unlawful and unconstitutional DEI orders. “In the United States, there is no king,” the lawsuit states. “The President can exercise only those powers the Constitution grants to the executive, and only in ways that do not violate the rights the Constitution grants to the American people. In his crusade to erase diversity, equity, inclu-

sion, and accessibility from our country, President Trump cannot usurp Congress’s exclusive power of the purse, nor can he silence those who disagree with him by threatening them with loss of federal funds and other enforcement actions.”

Harvard, like many of the 130 colleges and universities with endowments over $1 billion are potentially endangered by Trump’s assault on DEI, which I believe is the main target he aims to eliminate and thereby do away with every vestige of affirmative action so critical to Black studies, Latino studies, Asian and Native American studies.

“The elimination of DEI programs and initiatives at public academic institutions are a threat to the democratic purpose of higher education as a public good,” said AAUP President Todd Wilson. “The AAUP is proud to stand up and defend our campuses and communities from the vague and destructive executive order.”

Although I am no longer an active member of the unions mentioned above, I am proud to know that they are generally poised to fight against the erasures proposed by the Trump administration. I am hoping that the resolution taken by

the AAUP at Harvard gathers the notice from the media that was given to Columbia University’s capitulation, and that other institutions follow Harvard’s lead. “Harvard stood up today for the integrity, values, and freedoms that serve as the foundation of higher education,” said Anurima Bhargava, one of the alumni behind the letter. “Harvard reminded the world that learning, innovation and transformative growth will not yield to bullying and authoritarian whims.”

I have no idea what it will take to turn back Trump’s tsunami of decimation but part of the resistance must come from the leadership on the nation’s campuses and Harvard has put forth its challenge, despite the possible loss of considerable funds. No doubt it will take a sustained critical mass of protest to arouse and change the outlook of Trump’s base, and if he continues with his undemocratic actions it’s hard to imagine it will not eventually touch all Americans, including the 77 million who gave him this power of total devastation and suppression of our civil and human rights.

Yes, “Hands Off!” our treasured organizations, institutions, and progressive students and “Hands On!” the AAUP.

Building takes time — HAVP can keep New Yorkers housed today

By STATE SENATOR ZELLNOR MYRIE

As a state senator deeply committed to addressing New York’s housing crisis, I have long advocated for comprehensive housing solutions that tackle both the immediate needs of our residents and the long-term systemic production challenges we face. My plan to create and preserve one million homes across the city over the next 10 years is a testament to this commitment. However, while we work diligently to increase housing supply, we must also confront the urgent reality that continues to create homelessness affecting far too many New Yorkers today.

Recent data from the State Comptroller’s office paints a stark picture. Between January 2022 to January 2024, homelessness in New York more than doubled. Alarmingly, nearly a third of New York’s homeless population are children under the age of 18, one of the highest shares in the nation. The number of homeless children has surged from 20,299 in 2022 to 50,773 in 2024. Moreover, people experiencing homelessness in 2024 were disproportionately Hispanic or Black. These statistics are not just numbers; they represent individuals and families in our communities who lack the basic human right of shelter.

While building new housing is essential, we must immediately implement

measures to assist those currently without homes and those at risk of losing their homes. The Housing Access Voucher Program (HAVP) offers a pragmatic and compassionate solution. My Senate colleagues and I have proposed allocating $250 million in the state budget to HAVP, funds that will provide crucial rental assistance to thousands of individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of eviction, enabling them to secure stable housing now.

The urgency of this moment is further heightened by looming federal cuts to rental assistance programs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has warned that nearly 8,000 New York City households relying on federal rental aid could lose their support as the Trump administration cuts funding to Emergency Housing Vouchers, allocated as part of the American Rescue Plan. These cuts would force thousands of families onto the streets, escalating our homelessness crisis to catastrophic levels. At a time when federal housing support is in jeopardy, New York must step up to protect our neighbors. Investing in HAVP is not just a stopgap measure –– it’s a necessary safeguard against an impending disaster.

HAVP is designed to be flexible and responsive, allowing recipients to use vouchers for housing in both the private market and existing affordable housing develop-

ments. This approach not only addresses the immediate need for shelter but also promotes economic diversity within our communities. Furthermore, by reducing the number of individuals in shelters, we can alleviate the strain on our emergency housing systems and allocate resources more effectively.

Investing in HAVP is not just a moral imperative and a reflection of our shared values; it is fiscally responsible. Stable housing leads to better health outcomes, improved educational attainment for children, and increased employment opportunities. By preventing homelessness, we reduce the long-term costs associated with emergency medical care, law enforcement, and other social services.

As we continue to pursue long-term strategies to expand New York’s housing stock, we must not lose sight of the immediate needs of our most vulnerable neighbors. Funding the Housing Access Voucher Program at $250 million is a critical step toward ensuring that every New Yorker has a place to call home. I urge Governor Hochul to partner with the legislature and support this vital initiative. Together, we can address the housing crisis with both the urgency and the comprehensive planning it demands.

State Senator Zellnor Myrie represents District 20 in Albany, and is running for mayor of New York City.

Spring has sprung

CHRISTINA GREER, PH.D.

There is something so special about the newness of spring. When I look at the trees around me, with their budding branches, I am always amazed. In the dead of winter, it is hard for me to imagine anything green or blooming on these barren trees. Even after all of these decades, the emergence of life every spring still fills me with wonder and surprise and gratitude.

I like to use the budding of spring as a time to reset and readjust my priorities in life. The school year is coming to a close and I am preparing for the summer months. Election season is barreling towards the June 24 primary and I am trying to organize my political priorities for the rank choice voting in the primary election. As always, I am trying to balance the right amount of rest and work.

One of my favorite activities to help me usher in spring is to visit the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). I have my favorite trees I like to hug. I even have certain paths I enjoy and I always spend time watching dragonflies on the waterlilies. My favorite tree is a massive tree called a Caucasian Wingnut that spans several yards and seems to have a personality all its own.

There is a modest admission fee to help maintain the beautiful gardens and the 52 acres of nature in the heart of Brooklyn. However, admission is free for BBG members year-round and children under 12.

There are also community tickets whereby a portion of each day’s tickets are available free

of charge to those who need them. There are several other groups eligible for free admission to the botanic gardens, go to www.bbg.org to see the various lists.

Some folks enjoy the New York Botanic Garden located in the Bronx. That beautiful plot of land encompasses 250 acres in the heart of the Bronx with quite a bit of tree, bird, and floral diversity as well. And, of course, there’s always Central Park in Manhattan and Prospect Park just a few blocks from the BBG.

However you choose to celebrate spring, whether you’re birding throughout the five boroughs or enjoying the cherry blossoms at the BBG, I hope you will take a moment to enjoy the new energy and new leaves surrounding you. As the weather (slowly) gets warmer, we will hopefully see new attitudes and new commitments to the beauty that surrounds us. Throw on a little jazz and start strolling through your neighborhood if you can. Dust off your binoculars and start looking at the birds returning from South America. And be sure to stock up on allergy medication as needed! Enjoy the newness of springtime and all of the possibilities it brings.

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 co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.

Caribbean Update

Gangster coalition plotting to seize power in Haiti, says CARICOM

By BERT WILKINSON Special to the AmNews

Caribbean Community governments recently rang alarm bells to tell the world that they have intelligence that a coalition of heavily armed and resourced gangs is plotting to overthrow the interim administration in Haiti.

The same governments, which had late last year worked with a plethora of Haitian stakeholder groups to help establish an interim government to prepare for general elections next year, now fear that the gangs have made such inroads into daily life that the administration might be violently overthrown, as has been the case with numerous past governments on the Caribbean island nation of about 11 million.

Life in Haiti’s capital and in nearby areas has been beset by attacks by a growing number of gangs determined to upset the status quo. The situation has been deteriorating in the aftermath of the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The CAR-

Are

A protester holds up a sign that reads in French, “Security is a right, Haiti deserves it” during a protest against insecurity in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)

ICOM member nation has not held elections since 2016 as it operates with basically no elected lawmaker, mayor, or other officials. The bloc, in its statement late Sunday, did not say whether it thinks that its schedule for early 2026 elections is in jeopardy or whether such plans will proceed regardless of the security situation.

“The heads of government of

the Caribbean Community [CARICOM] are deeply concerned by recent reports that a coalition of criminal gangs is threatening to seize power and compel a change in the governance arrangements in Haiti at this time. This is completely unacceptable. CARICOM strongly condemns any attempt to replace the transitional arrangements by force and violence. These

arrangements were put in place by Haitian stakeholders to pave the way for free and fair elections by February 7th, 2026 to return Haiti to constitutional authority,” the 15-nation bloc stated.

Clearly tired of political tinkering and interference by Western governments over the decades, Haitian stakeholders had insisted that its fellow Caribbean neighbors work with them to return the country to constitutional governance. Numerous meetings were held in Jamaica and in Haiti to set up the same interim government that the regional bloc now says could be in danger of collapse. “In view of the looming threat. CARICOM has been in consultation with Haiti and its international partners to urgently provide further security assistance to Haiti. CARICOM salutes the efforts of the Haitian security forces and the multinational security system, spearheaded by the Kenyans, to enforce order and to protect the citizens of Haiti.”

The alert from the bloc came hours after authorities restated the intention of security forces

to beat back and eliminate criminal gangs as they noted that the country “is in the grip of unprecedented massacres and acts of violence. The criminal nature of the actions of armed gangs, which are supported by a transnational criminal network and a mafia sector in Haiti, today threatens the very foundations of the nation. The restoration of security throughout the national territory remains and will continue to be the strategic priority of the transition, launched in 2024. This priority is also the major and legitimate demand of the Haitian people, who are demanding the safe and complete resumption of social, economic, political and cultural life,” the interim council said in a statement.

On the same day, Sunday, the US embassy issued its latest travel advisory to Americans noting the level of “increased violence and insecurity, as well as threats and attacks against law enforcement and prisons. Depart Haiti as soon as possible when commercial options are available if you feel safe to do so.”

green card holders protected by the U.S. Constitution and the right to free speech?

FELICIA PERSAUD

IMMIGRATION KORNER

The ongoing detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a lawful U.S. permanent resident and former Columbia University Student and the hunting by ICE of Columbia student, Yunseo Chung, a 21-year-old U.S. student and permanent resident, who has lived in the U.S. since she was 7, has ignited critical debate around a question many green card holders and immigrants are now asking: Am I truly protected by the U.S. Constitution, especially the right to free speech?

Khalil, who is married to a U.S. citizen, was arrested on March 8 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for his involvement in pro-Palestinian campus protests. Despite not being charged with a crime he remains detained in a facility in Louisiana. The government initially leaned on a rarely used Cold War-era provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act,

citing potential foreign policy consequences, and later accused him of immigration fraud.

His case isn’t just a legal test — it’s a constitutional one.

At the heart of this issue lies the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which promises that “Congress shall make no law” abridging freedom of speech, religion, the press, assembly, or petition. For many, this language has served as a beacon of liberty, signaling that anyone on U.S. soil — citizen or not — has the right to express themselves without government retaliation.

But Khalil’s detention challenges that assumption.

Legal scholars overwhelmingly agree that the Constitution protects “the people,” not just citizens. That category has traditionally included green card holders, temporary workers, students, and even undocumented immigrants. So yes, green card holders like Khalil are protected under the U.S. Constitution. They can attend protests, speak out, publish articles, and practice religion just like any American citizen.

But there’s a painful catch. Unlike citizens, permanent residents can still be deported, even without a criminal conviction.

Under immigration law, if the U.S. government finds what it deems “reasonable grounds” to believe someone is engaged in or may engage in terrorism or activities that could harm U.S. foreign policy, it can initiate removal proceedings. No conviction necessary, just suspicion.

In Khalil’s case, the allegation — strongly denied by his wife and legal team — is that he distributed “pro-Hamas” flyers. No actual criminal charges have been filed but his detention suggests the government is using his immigration status to punish what it perceives as “dangerous political expression.”

Chung was one of several students arrested this year in connection with a protest at Barnard College. The high school valedictorian who moved to the United States with her family from South Korea at age 7, has not been detained by ICE. She remains in the country, but her lawyers would not comment on her whereabouts.

Agents historically prefer to pick

up immigrants in jail or prisons.

Other types of arrests are more difficult, often requiring hours of research, surveillance and other investigative resources.

This raises a sobering reality: green card holders technically have First Amendment protections, but those protections can be more fragile than for citizens. They may speak freely, but that speech — especially when it intersects with foreign policy or is critical of the U.S. government — can carry immigration consequences.

It’s not the first time America has wrestled with this contradiction.

From deportations of anarchists in the early 1900s to anti-Communist purges of immigrants in the 1950s, and the denial of visas to political dissidents, the U.S. government has repeatedly used immigration law as a tool to silence controversial political speech.

Khalil’s case echoes this troubling history. It sets a dangerous precedent where lawful permanent residents could be stripped of their status, not because they broke the law, but because their speech was deemed “inconvenient” or “unpopular.”

It’s important to remember that the First Amendment was never intended to be popular. It was designed to protect unpopular views, dissent, and debate –– even when that debate makes those in power uncomfortable.

So, are green card holders protected by the Constitution? Absolutely.

But the durability of that protection –– especially the right to free speech –– is only as strong as the country’s willingness to uphold it for everyone, regardless of immigration status.

Khalil’s detention and the move to arrest Chung, is not just an immigration issue –– it’s a free speech issue, a human rights issue, and a wake-up call.

Because when the government starts making exceptions to the First Amendment, we’re all one step closer to losing the freedoms we claim to cherish.

EDITOR’S NOTE: 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.

Advocates want a focus on justice as U.N. launches 2nd ‘Decade for People of African Descent’

By KAREN JUANITA CARRILLO Amsterdam News Staff

This week, the United Nations hosted the fourth session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. Once again, different countries sent their various representatives to address the assembly and deliver statements denouncing racism and calling for its eradication.

The Permanent Forum is one of the first gatherings for the U.N.’s Second Decade for People of African Descent which will be from 2025 to 2034. What made this year’s session of the Forum a little different was that many attendees were also raising questions about what is expected to occur following this week’s gathering. The Permanent Forum brings together community advocates and political representatives to discuss the most urgent humanitarian issues facing Black communities, yet many attendees want to know how those urgent issues will be solved.

One Forum event designed to deal with that question featured a discussion about the organizing work that people in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) have been able to do. “Caricom has been at the forefront of the Reparatory Justice Movement, formulating the region’s 10point plan as a framework within which reparatory justice can be realized,” Jamaica’s ambassador to the United Nations, Brian Christopher Manley Wallace, said as he introduced the “Apology and Repair” event. “The [Caricom] plan calls upon European governments to acknowledge and apologize for their role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade, and to provide remedial actions for this crime against humanity.”

The “Apology and Repair” event was moderated by former BBC News anchor Laura Trevelyan. It detailed how discussions began between descendants of enslaved Africans and those of British Caribbean enslavers, including Trevelyan, whose family is recorded as having enslaved 1,004 Africans on the island of Grenada. Another family in attendance were New Zealand-based sisters Kate Thomas and Aidee Walker, the de-

scendants of John Malcolm, who enslaved over 2,000 Black people in Jamaica in the early 1800s.

Charles Gladstone, whose greatgreat-great grandfather, John Gladstone, was one of the largest plantation owners in the British West Indies, was also in attendance. Gladstone spoke of the shame he felt when he found out his family history –– and as it dawned on him that this part of British history is often ignored.

“This part of our history has been completely buried, and we’ve been told that Britain was a great country, always was a great country –– a lot has been taught about [slavery’s] abolition. And I feel very strongly that we need to completely unpack that history and create the real history,” he said.

“The reason that we need to do that is that it is very clear to me now

that the evils of this crime against humanity are not historical, they’re felt very, very profoundly today, and therefore what I can do is to make a noise. I think that it’s very important that we talk about working together and working mutually, but I feel that my government will not make any moves toward proper reparations unless it is the will of the people. …I think that governments tend to follow what people want rather than lead the way. I have a sense that if thousands of families, like my family, could stand up and say, we would like to do something about this, there is a chance that the government in Britain could do something more substantial. I mean [we] constantly [hear] the government say, ‘We’re not going to do anything because it’s the past.’ But, in fact, my argument is that it’s the present. So, what I’m trying to

do in a very peaceful but incredibly determined way is to try to make as much noise as I possibly can and to explain that the evils of the past are the evils of the present.”

Gladstone and Trevelyan, alongside others, have formed the group Heirs of Slavery, a union of people whose families prospered from African enslavement in the British Caribbean and who are now advocating for reparations.

University of the West Indies Professor Verene Shepherd explained that when Heirs of Slavery members reached out to her and others about making an official apology for the crimes of their ancestors, some people didn’t want to hear from them. “They have decided that saying sorry, apologizing for the crime against humanity in which their ancestors were involved, is their duty,” Dr. Shepherd said.

“Some scoff at this gesture, even Christians who otherwise abide by the philosophy of apology and forgiveness. But an apology highlights the importance of acknowledging mistakes, taking responsibility and expressing remorse, emphasizing a role in repairing relationships, fostering trust, and promoting people.”

Dr. Shepherd emphasized that the apology from the descendants of enslavers is crucial for promoting healing, particularly in relation to Caricom’s 10-point plan, which calls for accountability from former colonial powers for the enslavement of African descendants. This gesture of contrition can pave the way for a broader acknowledgment of the individuals who played pivotal roles during slavery and help the public to understand how the institution operated and why reparations are necessary.

University of the West Indies Professor Verene Shepherd explained that when Heirs of Slavery members asked to make an official apology for the crimes of their ancestors, some people didn’t want to hear from them. (Karen Juanita Carrillo photos)

Charles Gladstone, whose great-great-great grandfather, John Gladstone, was one of the largest plantation owners in the British West Indies, spoke of the shame he felt when he found out his family history.

Chief Judge Wilson calls on Harlemites to reimagine a historic courthouse’s purpose

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

New York State housing courts typically deal with landlord repairs as a third-party. But now the Harlem Community Justice Center (HCJC) will understand what it means to be a tenant.

The problem-solving court operates out of the Harlem Courthouse, a federally-registered landmark in East Harlem undergoing extensive repairs from the city — the building’s owner — due to age and deterioration. On-site programming offered by the HCJC was shuttered during the COVID19 pandemic. Just two services, an eviction prevention help center and a reentry program for healthcare referrals, returned and remain today as “only a small corner of the building is presently usable.”

But the New York State Chief Judge Rowan Wilson sees an opportunity to overhaul the HCJC as construction continues. The state’s top justice recently appointed a working group tasked with restoring and reopening the community court “to effectively respond to the justice needs of Harlem residents.”

“Because the physical plan is in such terrible shape, it also gives you a chance to reimagine how you lay out the space in the building,” said Wilson over a video call interview. “And you can lay it out in a way that

reflects what you want the space to be. So you can think, first, programmatically, what is it we’d like to do here?

“And you’re not constrained so much by what’s in the building, with a couple of exceptions. There are two courtrooms on two different floors and it makes sense to keep those courtrooms as courtrooms. They’re both beautiful courtrooms. They’re in bad shape [and] one of them is being rebuilt now.”

A court for the community

The HCJC moved into East Harlem on 121st Street at the turn of the century as one of several problem-solving courts jointly established by the non-profit Center for Justice Innovation (CJI) and the state’s court system.

As the name suggests, problem-solving courts attempt to solve the problems causing people to fall into the criminal justice system. Some, like the Midtown Community Court, directly hear criminal cases in order to divert those accused of low-level offenses toward services like treatment and mediation. But all in all, the goal is to invest “at the front.”

“We have a lot of flexibility in what cases we send to a court and then in how we handle them,” said Wilson. “Obviously, if you shoot somebody, you’re probably not going to wind up in [a] Manhattan Community Justice Center, but not out of the

question that you’re arrested for possessing a firearm that you might be diverted that way…it really [is about] not using the criminal justice system or the court system more generally, to make people’s lives worse than they already are.”

The HCJC only handles civil cases and is best known for housing assistance, but offered prevention and entry programming like Men’s Empowerment and Youth Project Reset to similarly address underlying factors contributing to crime before the pandemic.

“These community courts that have came into existence around the year 2000 — some a couple years before, some a couple years later — really helped to show that a problem-solving approach to justice that focuses on helping people address the needs that are bringing them into the system is the answer for making sure that they then don’t come back,” said Jessica Yager, CJI’s senior director of Housing Justice Initiatives.

Yager says Harlemites still frequently enlist HCJC services despite the current renovations. 3,151 visits were logged last year, mostly resolving lease renewals and tenant grievance issues or assistance with navigating the court filing process.

Due to the construction, the HCJC’s housing court is held downtown at the Manhattan Civil Court in Chinatown. However, the “free-standing” part still exclusively hears cases from the East Harlem and Harlem

catchment area. They are making it work. But it certainly helps to be physically located uptown.

“There’s still value in the judge, seeing the same tenants, the same landlords [and] understanding the community,” said Yager. “And that can certainly happen even if you’re not physically located there. but it certainly helps to be physically located. First of all, much easier for people to access. And a lot of the folks that we have coming into the Justice Center now for help with housing, are people with mobility issues, people who are elderly, people for whom it’s hard to go downtown.

“And also people are busy so making it easier for people to show up in court is a real value that our justice centers bring to our work…but the other benefit of having the court on site is that you then have the benefit of the wraparound services right there.”

Meet the working group

April 1 marked the working group’s first meeting. Wilson appointed former New York Supreme Court judge Rolando Acosta and current New York Supreme Court judge Ta-Tanisha James to co-chair the taskforce. Both once presided over the HCJC part.

“This has to be an organic process [from the] bottom up,” said Acosta. “The community has to be in a position to identify the

Attorney General Letitia James, second from left, at the first meeting on the future of the Harlem Community Justice Center on E121st St. on Tuesday, April 1st, 2025. On the panel were, l-r, former Corporation Counsel Sylvia Hinds-Radix, James, Judge Ta-Tanisha James, Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, retired Presiding Judge Rolando Acosta and Mindy Jeng, special counsel to the executive director. (Photos by David Handschuh/OCA)

Arts & Entertainment

Kwesi O. Kwarteng’s ‘Friendly Paths’ on display through May 11

By MALCOLM JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

About 5,000 miles separate New York City from Kwesi O. Kwarteng’s home country of Ghana, but his artistry in “Friendly Paths,” the newest exhibit at the Plato Gallery in the Bowery, uses textile artwork as an example of the single thread that connects the two worlds.

“I just want it to talk about my immigrant experience,” Kwarteng said to me the night his exhibit opened. “Basically moving here from Ghana and meeting people from different cultures. In this work there are different fabrics from different cultures. I want different people to come in here and see themselves in each piece.”

In “Friendly Paths,” Kwarteng shuns objective forms in his artwork for multiculturalism. While the viewer could make out landscapes, bodies of water, roadways and skylines, the true viewing pleasure exists in what the compilation of materials creates, not so much in the creation itself. It’s a reflection of the storytelling involved in the journey of immigration.

Kwarteng explained that each piece in “Friendly Paths” took between several weeks and several months to complete.

Most of the pieces appear as abstract paintings on canvases, but a closer look reveals the cloth weaved together to achieve a similar experience for the viewer. This unique form of textile expression has been in Kwarteng’s repertoire since he first began

stitching kente cloth to a canvas more than a decade ago.

Before the painstaking process of dyeing each piece of fabric, many pieces of cloth were collected from Kwarteng’s friends and family. It’s all in an effort to create a

mosaic of culture and expression. Coming from India, Japan, Indonesia and Ecuador, the fabric not only represents different countries, but different cultures that went through the similar action of coming to America.

“Every immigrant comes here and creates a family on their way, on their path to America through this multicultural society,” said Kwarteng. “That’s how we create a friendly path along the way.”

Aside from subject matter, what Kwarteng does to set him apart from many other textile artists is allow each work to thrive its own singularity while also serving as a voice in the choir of his exhibition. While Oxford Languages defines immigration as “the act of coming to live permanently in a foreign country,” there’s myriad experiences that exist within that journey. The anatomy of each piece can captivate the viewer with every stitch and pattern, but nothing compares to overhearing the cultural conversation had by all of the works in tandem. Each canvas displaying a path from a distant future to an uncharted and uncertain future.

“Friendly Paths” by Kwesi O. Kwarteng will be on display at Plato gallery until May 11. For more info, visit kwesiokwarteng. com and platogallery.com.

Kwesi O. Kwarteng, “Family and Friends #4” (2025).

Kwesi O. Kwarteng, “Woven World (Yellow)” (2025) (Malcolm Johnson photos)

Kwesi O. Kwarteng, “Welcome Home” (2025)

Gallery guests take in Kewsi O. Kwarteng’s “Take a Seat” (2025).

Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ is a supernatural scarefest

By MAGRIRA Special to the AmNews

The biggest news to absorb about the new vampire thriller “Sinners,” written and directed by Ryan Coogler, is that this very gifted visual storyteller has created his own original intellectual property (IP), which has the power to transform his financial future from rich to wealthy. If for no other reason than that, you and your chosen tribe should descend on the movie theater like, well, a flock of bats (pun intended) on opening day (April 18), and return next month for a more affordable matinee.

This is a bold, well-planned, historical supernatural thriller about vampires — so vividly imagined and passionately presented that it may leave your jaw slack.

Set in the gritty Deep South in 1932, the story unfolds over 24 hours in the rural town of Clarksdale, Mississippi, home to hardworking sharecroppers, soulful blues singers, violent white supremacists, and longing lovers hoping for more than life has offered them. Enter the Smokestack twins, Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan), who return home after fighting on the German front in World War I and spending time in Chicago — where they worked for Al Capone and learned firsthand how the underworld operates. These are clever men who don’t blink when faced with danger. Their resume reads: hustlers, pimps, and killers.

Now, their sights are set on rebuilding their lives in their small hometown in the thick of Jim Crow America.

As a reminder, Jordan plays both characters. Double the trouble. A testament to Coogler’s skill, he uses state-of-the-art digital techniques to present the twins together — passing a cigarette back and forth, and finishing each other’s lines. Twins, yes. The same person, no. Smoke wears a blue British flat cap. Stack is flashier, in a red-brimmed hat with a smile framed by gold-lined teeth. Stack has empathy. Smoke does not.

This is a horror movie. There’s blood. There’s violence. And, like the best horror films, there are deeper, universal themes beneath the surface. “Sinners” is about the wages of sin on the African American community:

people stolen from Africa, trafficked and sold as property to make others wealthy. Disposable. Dehumanized. The film doesn’t flinch. It acknowledges the full scope of evil in this world — and especially in this country.

This is, after all, the land where, legend says, one can go to the crossroads and make a deal with the devil. That mythology is baked into African American cultural storytelling, and “Sinners” embraces it.

Music holds the emotional center of the film; it’s where the unspoken truths live. Enter Sammie Moore (Miles Caton), known as Preacher Boy, a young man whose talent defies explanation. When he sings the blues, it feels as if heaven and hell both pause to listen. He’s the twins’ cousin, and they hire him to perform at their juke joint alongside Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), a damaged harmonica and piano player who mostly plays in exchange for alcohol.

Now, about the man behind it all: Ryan Coogler. In just over a decade, he’s delivered “Fruitvale Station” (2013), “Creed” (2015), “Black Panther” (2018), and “Wakanda Forever” (2022). With “Sinners,” he levels up again, claiming new ground with original IP that is entirely his. In interviews, Coogler has made it clear this film is personal. His vision is carried out through the lens of cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw. This is Coogler’s fifth film with Michael B. Jordan, and their trust is evident. Jordan gives Smoke and Stack emotional weight. We believe these men are building something together. The juke joint is more than

a club, it’s a symbol of purpose. And to make it work, they need to throw a party big enough to shake the night. That plan, however, draws in the wrong crowd — hungry, evil vampires. That part wasn’t in the business model.

The first hour of “Sinners” is world-building, and it’s a brilliant choice. Coogler knows that if you don’t care about the characters, nothing in Act Two will matter. But it hits — and hard.

Some critics may argue that watching the Smokestack twins spend an entire afternoon prepping their juke joint is a waste of screentime. They would be wrong. People show up to help and are fed for their labor. A local Chinese couple (Li Jun Li and Yao), who own the town’s grocery store, are commissioned to create a billboard. The more the twins interact with the community, the clearer it becomes: everyone needs this. To dance. To forget. To breathe.

Both twins have women they

left behind. Stack had Mary (Hailee Steinfeld). Smoke had Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), a local healer with whom he had a child who tragically died.

Then, the heat rises.

We meet Remmick (Jack O’Connell), a filthy, feral vampire who arrives at a farm where a couple’s Ku Klux Klan robes lie crumpled in the corner. In a flash, we realize: all three are vampires.

In this film, vampires are not romantic symbols of forbidden desire. They are extensions of racist white culture, creatures who drain the life out of African American communities with no remorse. Monsters, not metaphors.

The vampires arrive at the juke joint and ask to be invited in (a traditional rule in vampire lore).

But Smoke and Stack aren’t naïve. They refuse. The vampires then ask Mary to come out, singing a chilling folk tune to lure her closer.

No spoilers here. But once the central characters are trapped and forced to fight for their lives,

“Sinners” transforms into a commentary on cults, control, and spiritual warfare.

The dual mythology at play is rich. Some viewers may miss it, but those attuned to it will feel the vibration. Music as a liberator. Sound as medicine. Vibrations as power, studied by scientists, practiced in healing traditions across cultures. The music in “Sinners” doesn’t just move the story forward. It lifts the film into the spiritual realm. And here’s why I believe Coogler will be nominated for an Oscar in 2026: that guitar Preacher Boy plays? It’s gifted to him by the twins. They tell him it once belonged to the legendary Charlie Patton, the preacher’s son. That detail alone could be its own film. There’s a lot to unpack in “Sinners.” But here’s what matters most: the film will not disappoint you. In any way. It’s not adapted from anyone else’s work, especially not from a white man’s intellectual property. This is Coogler’s story. His vision. His creation.

And that 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes? Earned. Completely.

“Sinners,” directed by Ryan Coogler opens April 18, 2025.

To listen to Ryan Coogler, and other cast members talk about the making of “Sinners” - check out our blog AmNews Curtain Raiser. The links are below.

https://www.amnewscurtainraiser.com/2025/04/venus-d-thomastalks-sinners-with-ryan.html

https://www.amnewscurtainraiser.com/2025/04/twin-brothers-face-darker-evil-in.html

https://www.amnewscurtainraiser.com/2025/04/in-southsins-dont-diethey-wait-ryan.html

(L-R) Jayme Lawson as Pearline, Wunmi Mosaku as Annie, Michael B. Jordan as Smoke, Miles Caton as Sammie Moore, And Li Jun Li as Grace Chow, in Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Sinners,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release. (© 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton in “Sinners”

Actor Andrew Liner on his complex character in ‘Ransom Canyon’

By NADINE MATTHEWS Special to the AmNews

In the Netflix Western drama “Ransom Canyon” debuting April 17, Andrew Liner plays what he describes as “a firecracker. I think he is cocky. I think he is insecure. I think he has a pure heart. I think he’s good. That being said, I think he does things that are perceived as bad, and I think he does make a fool of himself sometimes.”

other, everyone knows everyone’s business, so everything’s constantly getting aired out, which is fun.”

Liner anticipates that the audience will have complicated feelings regarding his character and his character’s mother’s situation. “My mom, who Meta Golding plays, and she’s amazing — it’s definitely apparent I’m mixed — and we’re in the thick of it. I think, in a way, there is a lot of sympathy that [viewers] could have for the two of

Featuring Meta Golding (“Empire”, “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2”), Minka Kelly (“Titans”, “The Butler”), and Josh Duhamel (“Las Vegas”, “Shotgun Wedding”) is what has been termed a “romance-fueled family drama and contemporary western saga” which takes place in Texas. Liner plays Reed Collins, the son of Eoin Macken (“The Night Shift”, “Merlin”) and Golding’s characters. Of the show, which was shot in New Mexico, he explains, “We have love triangles, we have bull riding, horse riding, and a whole bunch of real Texas stuff. But I think the show really plays into grief, love and desire. It’s one of these small towns and everyone knows each

us. [Reed] lies and cheats, and I think those things are perceived as bad. But when you know why he’s doing these things you sympathize. So I don’t disagree with whatever Meta’s character is doing. I sympathize.”

Fans of the comedy “grown-ish” which aired on Disney-owned Freeform TV, might recognize Liner, who played the character Rodney in a number of episodes. Of that experience, which came about at the beginning of his career, he stated, “I went into the experience very shy, kind of scared. I was terrified driving to the Disney lot, and they opened up their arms to me. They took me in, and we had a blast.” Other shows include Vampire Academy on Peacock, the

HBO sci-fi drama “Gray Matter,” and the Hulu legal drama “Accused.”

It was love that led the California born and raised Liner to become a thespian. He recalls, “I chased a girl I had a crush on into a class where we had to do the musical Once Upon A Mattress and we ended up in a loving two-year relationship.”

Though Andrew initially pursued acting in middle school as a means to a romantic end, his competitive spirit pushed him to continue improving. By the time he became a sophomore in high school, he had developed a sincere love for the craft. “I realized that it wasn’t just standing and saying words. I was trying to have a dialogue. I realized I like doing this- finding the reality, the truth, and the person behind everything.”

Though he quickly landed his first role, on “grown-ish” just before college, there were no more roles for the next three years. He didn’t give up. “You start comparing yourself to other people. You’re like, Timothée Chalamet already nominated for an Oscar. What am I doing?” Liner said he eventually realized everyone has their own path. “But I had to practice patience. I had to learn it wasn’t the end of the world if I didn’t get a project. It doesn’t mean that my work was bad. I had to start enjoying the process a bit more. It was a struggle to get to that point in that three-year period, but once I got to that point, literally, like a

month later, everything opened up.”

Born in Los Angeles, California, Liner says he grew up in various areas on the west side of the city. He was also what can safely be described, a jock. Being raised around LA, Liner believes, is what afforded him the opportunity to be one. “I got to play a bunch of different sports. My parents were very focused on us having all the opportunities we could have. I played everything under the sun pretty much, and all year around. I was never inside playing video games. That just wasn’t my childhood.”

His experience as an athlete continues to make a mark today. “I think actors approach things differently than athletes. So I think sometimes I feel like an outsider with actors, but I don’t necessarily feel like an outsider with other athletes. I kind of feel at home there. All top tier athletes had to be playing their sport, 24/7 so I can sympathize with that.”

While a student at Chapman University in Orange, California, Liner also turned his sights to writing, and producing. “I never wanted to be just an actor, just a pawn in someone else’s game. I have stories to tell. I’m adopted and I’m mixed and I’m Jewish, and there’s a lot of things about me that I think many people sympathize with. But if the industry is not going to give me anything, am I just going to sit here waiting? No, I’ll go do it myself.”

Music and Well-Being

MAY 3 AT 2:00PM

In partnership with Northwell Health and Mother AME Zion Church, these FREE music and wellness events offer workshops led by expert facilitators from Northwell Health, enriched with performances by NY Phil musicians and cultural partners.

FREE and open to the public on a first-come, first-seated basis.

Mother AME Zion Church 140 West 137th Street

“Grown-ish,” “Vampire Academy,” “Ransom Canyon” actor Andrew Liner (Tommy Flanagan photo)

Trends

View Jennie C. Jones’ ‘Ensemble’ at the Met’s Roof Garden

By RENEE MINUS WHITE Fashion & Beauty Editor

The Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled “Ensemble,” a site-responsive installation by artist Jennie C. Jones at a recent press conference. This exquisite exhibition is now on view at the Met’s Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden from April 15th until October 19, 2025.

“Ensemble” is composed of three large sculptural forms that are based on string instruments — a trapezoidal zither, an Aeolian harp, and a one-stringed instrument — bounded on two sides by a floor piece that acts as both a metaphoric conductor of the ensemble and a boundary-marker of the stage-like area. The sonic potential is amazing, as the sculptures sit quietly in place, waiting to be heard. One would think that a strong wind on the roof could produce, even, a tiny sound.

Born in 1968 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Jennie C. Jones is the second African American woman artist to be commissioned by the Met for a Roof Garden installation. Overlooking Central Park and New York City’s skyscrapers,”Ensemble” is the 12th in the series of commissions for the outdoor space.

Ms. Jones explained, “I drew inspiration for ‘Ensemble’ from the Roof Garden’s location and The Met itself,” and was also inspired by Black avant-garde music. You’ll notice that the sculpture’s powder-coated aluminum surfaces, in deep red colors, contrast with concrete blocks that resem-

ble travertine, a material used in constructing the Museum’s Great Hall and throughout its buildings.

The mechanics of the sculptures, including the strings and tuning mechanisms, were partially inspired by some of the contents of the Met’s musical instruments galleries. Jones based one particular piece on the shape of a sound absorber used in one of her earlier works (2013); the freestanding Aeolian harp appears massive in form but requires viewers to lean in close in order to hear any potential sounds produced by the wind.

“We are thrilled that Jennie C. Jones has brought her unique artistic vision to the Met’s iconic roof garden, “said Max Hollein, the Museum’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO. “Elevated high above the sounds and rhythms of New York City, her innovative installation seamlessly combines form, color, line, and acoustics, challenging visitors to engage with sculpture in new and unexpected ways.”

David Breslin, Leonard A. Lauder curator in charge, Modern and Contemporary Art, added, “Jennie C. Jones’ fidelity to abstraction invites viewers to pay attention to the quieter pathways where profound meaning reside[s]. By combining the sensorial experiences of casual art and sound, Jones is one of the most thoughtful and compelling voices in contemporary art today.”

The exhibition is also accompanied by a publication available at the Met’s gift shop. For more info, visit metmuseum.org.’

“Ensemble” artist Jennie C. Jones talks with Max Hollein, CEO and Director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. (Renee Minus White/ A Time To Style photos)

“Ensemble” by Jennie C. Jones

Ava DuVernay, Misty Copeland, and more join in celebrating Dance Theatre Of Harlem’s 2025 Vision Gala

(Contributed press release)

Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) recently hosted its annual Vision Gala at New York City Center and the Ziegfeld Ballroom. This year’s gala honored Ford Foundation President Darren Walker with the Arthur Mitchell Vision Award, presented by filmmaker and producer Ava DuVernay.

The evening celebrated Mr. Walker’s extraordinary contributions to the arts and social justice. Ava delivered a powerful speech, celebrating Darren as a true champion of the arts, creatives, and the underrepresented. “Darren has always seen the

beauty in the bold, the precision in the daring, the grace in the fight,” she said.

The gala also featured a powerhouse lineup of honorary chairs, including dance and film legend Ben Vereen, TV host and legal analyst Sunny Hostin, art curator and academic Isolde Brielmaier, actress Bianca Lawson, acclaimed visual artist Mickalene Thomas, and trailblazing model and activist Bethann Hardison. Notable guests included Law Roach, Misty Copeland, Brandon Blackwood, Bevy Smith, Alicia Graf Mack, Thelma Golden and more.

Guests enjoyed performances by

the Dance Theatre of Harlem company, including a special presentation of We Are All Brown – Commemorating Brown v. Board of Education with an oration by Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund. The evening concluded with dinner and dancing at the iconic Ziegfeld Ballroom, with entertainment by DJ D-Nice and Kenny Burns.

The night was electric —- and the joy hit new heights when Executive Director Anna Glass and Kenny Burns revealed that the $1.3 million goal wasn’t just met, it was smashed with an additional $132,000 raised in the room.

New tune drops from Trey Songz; Matt James stops by Wingstop BK; Dave Chappelle to host JALC gala; Sean “Diddy” Combs pleads “Not Guilty” to new charges

Tongues are wagging that Trey Songz dropped a new track called “Lost In Time” on April 11. The production is moody, melodic, and cinematic, while his vocals stay grounded and soulful. Trey is currently on the road for the Millenium Tour 2025, with 25 + dates across the U.S. and Europe. The smooth crooner has been previewing new material live, and early reactions to “Lonely” have been overwhelmingly strong and expects the same for “Lost In Time”.......

Former star of “The Bachelor,” Matt James, stopped by a Wingstop event in Brooklyn, New York on April 10 to celebrate the opening of a new bar. The establishment exclusively serves Wingstop’s chicken tenders in 12 flavors. Bar Tender by Wingstop is now open to the public for anyone that loves tenders. If fans don’t reside in the Big Apple, they should check out their local Wingstop, even though we can’t guarantee that they will run into Matt James.......

Jazz at Lincoln Center announced Dave Chappelle will host the organization’s 2025 Gala, Duke at 125, on April 30 at 7:00 p.m. in Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, at Broadway & 60th Street in New York City. Proceeds from Duke at 125, an exclusive benefit performance, support Jazz at

Lincoln Center’s mission to entertain, enrich and expand a global community through jazz. Chappelle, an alumnus of Washington D.C.’s Duke Ellington School of Arts, is an amateur jazz pianist. The gala concert will be anchored by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis..... Sean “Diddy” Combs pleaded not guilty on April 14 to new sex trafficking charges filed a month prior to when the disgraced music mogul’s federal trial will finally start. Combs entered not guilty pleas to a new Mann Act filed April 3 and an allegation that he forced a woman into sex trafficking between 2021 and 2023. The Mann Act is a federal law that makes it a crime to transport someone across state lines for illegal sexual activity. Sources say Combs came to court with white hair and beard.....

Alicia Graf Mack, Robert Garland, Misty Copeland, Anna Glass Michelle Miller (left), withThelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator of the Studio Museum in Harlem.

Trey Songz in 2017 (Public domain photo)

(L-R): Martino Moore, Sharon Madison, Janice Vickers, Tangela Richter, Leslie Wims Morris, Anna Glass, Darren Walker, Charles DeSantis, Isabel Kallman, Bonita Stewart, Terri Prettyman Bowles, Trey Muldrow (Jason Crowley BFA photos)

Broadway production looks at Journalism vs. McCarthyism

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

From the time that “Good Night, and Good Luck” begins at the Winter Garden Theatre at 1634 Broadway, you know you are being taken back to a golden television era: CBS Studios at Grand Central in 1954, when broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow took on Senator Joseph McCarthy and the chaos and paranoia McCarthy promoted throughout this country as he charged people in all fields of life with being communists and proceeded to destroy them. This play shows how determined Murrow was to call out McCarthy’s attacks on the American project.

This play is written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, who also wrote the film of the same name. Clooney leads the cast as Murrow, and the other cast members also portray real life people of the era. It was very interesting to see what was happening behind the scenes as Murrow went against McCarthy and tried to use journalism as a means of fighting a terrible enemy. The way this play is presented is very poignant — with black and white commercial ads from

the time period, black and white live video of Murrow’s weekly television broadcast “See It Now,” and all the detailed action that happens behind the scenes and what it costs the doers. People who went against McCarthy were then targeted by him and sometimes people lost

more than their jobs.

The entire cast, working as a well-oiled machine, also features Mac Brandt as Colonel Anderson, Will Dagger as Don Hewitt, Christopher Denham as John Aaron, Glenn Fleshler as Fred Friendly, Ilana Glazer as Shirley Wershba,

Clark Gregg as Don Hollenbeck, Paul Gross as William F. Paley, Georgia Heers as Ella, Carter Hudson as Joe Wershba, Fran Kranz as Palmer Williams, Jennifer Morris as Mili Lerner, Michael Nathanson as Eddie Scott, Andrew Polk as Charlie Mack,

Aaron Roman Weiner as Don Surine, Greg Stuhr as Phil from Legal, with ensemble members R. Ward Duffy, Joe Forbrich, Imani Rousselle, JD Taylor, and Sophia Tzougros.

The play reveals the truth about McCarthy, his lies, and the consequences he faced, while also sharing the sad consequences faced by those who went after him. This play looks at how the use of media in our society can be a source of misinformation and corruption, and how powerful this source of information is. There is modernday footage of newsmakers and it is overwhelming to behold, but it will also have you take a pause and think about the images we are bombarded with every day, whether via the television or all types of social media.

This production has a very creative technical team with scenic design by Scott Pask, lighting design by Heather Gilbert, video/ projections design by David Bengali, sound design by Daniel Kluger, costume design by Brenda Abbandandolo and hair & wig design by Leah J. Loukas. For tickets visit goodnightgoodluckbroadway.com.

Commentary: ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ — What good news looks like

By MARK WINSTON GRIFFITH Special to the AmNews

If you want a deeper appreciation for the Broadway production of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” co-written by George Clooney and starring Clooney as the iconic television journalist and CBS correspondent, Edward R. Murrow, take a time machine back to 2005, and then watch the original movie that was co-written and directed by Clooney.

There isn’t much difference between the story itself or the telling of it in the film and the subsequent play. Like the movie before it, the Broadway show, which opened earlier this month with celebrity fanfare at the Winter Garden Theatre, dramatized the moment when Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly, took on “the junior senator from Wisconsin,” Joseph McCarthy, during the Red Scare of the 1950s. The play is faithful to the movie script and both seamlessly weave live-action performances with archival television footage. The play even manages to capture the look of the film, which

was shot in black and white.

What’s striking is how differently the story resonated with audiences in 2005 than it does with contemporary Broadway theatergoers in 2025. The 2005 filmmakers and audiences (I among them) still identified with the depiction of a 1950s media ecosystem dominated by broadcast television. The national news, delivered daily by print newspapers and nightly on television by a handful of white men, was portrayed with gauzy nostalgia, but was still familiar and relatable to 2005 adult viewers.

By comparison, it was easy to dissociate from the story’s social context — the government overreach, the brazen denial of constitutional rights, and the federal mob looking to root out “unpatriotic” thoughts and dismantle the political left. You didn’t have to be naive in 2005 to dismiss communist witch hunts as part of the dissonant, unevolved past.

But what was once up is now down. Twenty years after the release of the film, entire generations have abandoned legacy

news and broadcast platforms for social media, streaming and mobile devices. Instead of the coast-to-coast village that used to ritually gather around television sets like a national campfire, algorithms now dictate and atomize our media consumption, coaxing us to collide against one another like angry particles.

By 2025, it’s the political setting, not the media landscape, of Broadway’s “Good Night, and Good Luck” that is all too familiar. It’s impossible to sit in the theater and not viscerally recognize the fearmongering, retributional blacklisting, censorship, and disregard for due process that is depicted. In Joseph McCarthy we find the inspiration for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. The communist menace of the Cold War could easily be swapped out for the “wokeness” witch hunts of today. Like the Air Force reservist, Milo Radulovich, whose cause was championed by Murrow in 1953, today legal residents, because of their immigrant identity or political beliefs, are dragged through Kafkaesque ordeals by federal law

enforcement without even being charged with a crime. And when the government threatens CBS and demands patriotism and “loyalty,” it’s easy to see Trump’s assaults on any press institution that dares to hold him accountable. If the movie was a parable, the play stands as allegory.

The political morality of “Good Night, and Good Luck” is straightforward, but the journalistic ethics are slightly more murky. Murrow is heroic and impeccably principled in his fight against censorship and domestic facism, but Clooney is careful to note that early in Murrow’s career at CBS, he actually signed a loyalty oath to the network, and by default, to the United States. Also, Murrow is shown to be selective, even stingy, in his willingness to take on other government and civilian bullies of the day.

But we find Murrow battling Goliaths on multiple fronts, as he is both triumphant over and put in his place by advertisers and the CBS President who pays his salary, William S. Paley. The play sensitively explores the balancing

acts between the often competing interests that shape journalism: Advertising and editorial. Publisher and editorial. Information and entertainment. News and commentary.

When Murrow complains that the comedian Milton Berle is the most trusted man in America, should we join him in his lament or dismiss him for his smugness? When Murrow leads his crusade against McCarthy, is he a reporter? A pundit? A propagandist? By today’s standards — shaped by the internet, media oligarchy and the post-truth, and the Fox-ification of news reporting — these questions feel rather quaint. And perhaps that’s the point, or at least should be. We don’t need to reclaim the selfsatisfied, white male-dominated, press paradigm of the past. We may no longer even have the luxury of relitigating what journalistic integrity looks like. But what we do need is the national courage to ensure all journalists can, without fear or reprisal, responsibly inform our citizenry and safeguard democracy.

Glenn Fleshler and George Clooney in a scene from “Good Night and Good Luck” playing at the Winter Garden Theatre on at 1634 Broadway (Emilio Madrid photo)

Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Old Friends’ is a glorious time at the theater

BY LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

There is a beautiful tribute happening right now at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on W 47th Street where “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends” is playing. The musical tribute features beloved songs from many of Sondheim’s musicals including “Company,” “A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum,” “Into The Woods,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “West Side Story,” “A Little Night Music,” “Gypsy” “Sunday in the Park With George,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and more. The songs had music and lyrics by Sondheim and were devised by Cameron Mackintosh.

If you are going to do a tribute to a musical theater master, you have to have the best of

Broadway singing talent on the stage, and this production does. It stars Broadway legend and repeat Sondheim musical performer, the one and only Bernadette Peters, along with the stupendous vocals of Lea Salonga. The cast sing their hearts out and they will make your heart soar with the joy of being in the room. The entire company is an ensemble of incredibly gifted performers and includes Jacob Dickey, Kevin Earley, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Kyle Selig, Maria Wirries, Daniel Yearwood, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills, and Peter Neureuther. This is a marvelous Manhattan Theatre Club production. For more info and for tickets, visit manhattantheatreclub.com.

‘John Proctor is the Villain’ teaches valuable lessons that stir the soul

By LINDA ARMSTRONG Special to the AmNews

There is nothing more rewarding about going to a Broadway play than sitting in a theater and being riveted by a story that is timely, funny, and shocking, and addresses a societal flaw that has been happening for longer than we all want to recognize. As I sat in the Booth Theatre on W 45th Street, I got to experience Kimberly Belflower’s poignant, powerfully gripping and stunning new play, “John Proctor is the Villain,” about a group of high school students and their teacher in a small town in northeast Georgia, who are reading and dissecting Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.” They discuss how the story focused on the Salem witch trials and how it also drew a comparison between those trials and the McCarthy era of the 1950s. The students discuss the lessons in the story, including how a lie that can be spread and believed can go on to ruin people’s lives. The teacher, Mr. Smith, trumpets his belief that, in the story, John Proctor is a hero. That thought is shared by some of the students in the class, but as they break down the story and the actions and words of John Proctor, a dark side of this character is revealed.

Themes running through this play include male authoritative figures dominating female characters, and women feeling powerless and ignored. Belflower cleverly brings in other ways of being to her characters as the female students form a feminist club. Belflower hands the audience a

modern-day version of the John Proctor character, in a manner of speaking. We see how a trusted male authority figure is not exactly what he seems to be. This production also shines a glaring light on how the #MeToo Movement has been seen from two different sides.

This play is about innocence lost, corruption winning out — or is it? When you see it, and I pray you do, you will be moved and appreciative of having such a brilliant, bold,

unforgettable experience at a very relevant Broadway show.

This cast will have you jumping to your feet by the end of the 105-minute, nointermission production. Sadie Sink is absolutely phenomenal, her energy is outof-this-world as Shelby. She is a force to be reckoned with and has a marvelous stage presence. The other members of this cast are all on point.

Amalia Yoo is dynamic as Raelynn. She

shows the different levels of emotion that the character experiences so vividly. Scenes that pair Sink and Yoo are absolutely stunning and moving. Gabriel Ebert is charming and engaging as the teacher Carter Smith. Playing the roles of the other students, we have Morgan Scott who delivers a feisty and memorable performance as Nell. Maggie Kuntz is memorable as Ivy, a teenager whose life is turned upside down, you have to see the play to find out why. Fina Strazza is versatile as Beth, she lets you see the characters innocence and vulnerability, while also trying to make a stand for females. Nihar Duvvuri is amusing as Mason. Hagan Oliveras does quite well as Lee, a high school teenager who just wants things to be the way they were between him and his ex-girlfriend. Molly Griggs is wonderful in the role of teacher Ms. Gallagher, who was raised in this town and who knows its secrets. “John Proctor is the Villain” will take you on an emotional rollercoaster that you will not forget! What an amazing piece of theater. Danya Taymor is a phenomenal director. Every scene pops as the intensity of the storyline builds up to an explosive ending. The technical aspects of this production are handled beautifully and include scenography by AMP featuring Teresa L. Williams; costume design by Sarah Laux, lighting design by Natasha Katz; sound design and original composition by Palmer Hefferan; projection design by Hannah Wasileski; hair & makeup design by J. Jared Janas and movement direction by Tilly Evans-Krueger. For tickets, visit johnproctoristhevillain.com.

Bernadette Peters sings “Send in the Clowns” in “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends” playing at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre W 47th. (Matthew Murphy photo)

Sadie Sink and Amalia Yoo in a scene from “John Proctor is the Villain” playing at the Booth Theatre on W 45th Street. (Julieta Cervantes photo)

Harlem Late Night Fest, Latin Meets Swing

Harlem, the place to be. So hip, Roy Haynes once told me, cats said they would rather go to Harlem than to heaven. In those days through the 1970s damn near every block was screaming with sonic soul, from the Savoy Ballroom to Minton’s, Gold Brick, Celebrity Club, Showmans, Lenox Lounge, Paris Blues, to Sugar Ray Robinson’s spot. That thrill, that soul explosion, the tradition of it all, and the community comradery, remains in sound and spirit.

Now in its final week (concludes on April 20) the Harlem Late Night Jazz organization is absorbed in its 3rd Annual Harlem Revival that’s been bellowing through popular Harlem venues. “This revival promises an unforgettable celebration of all genres on the jazz history tree,” said Dakota Pippins, creator of jazzhistorytree.com. “It’s a way of honoring the legacy of Harlem’s music scene while welcoming new audiences to experience the magic of live performances in Harlem.”

A few of the remaining events will take place at the historic New Amsterdam Music Association (NAMA) 107 West 130th Street. On April 17, NEA Jazz Master bassist and composer Reggie Workman presents music students from the New School and a jam session at 8 p.m. On April 18, the oldest organization for Black musicians will continue with “The Masters Jam of the Century, vol. 4” featuring two star-studded bands of master musicians and young lions. No cover

Also on April 18 is the Lindy Hop Revival at the storied Cotton Club from 8-11 p.m. featuring the Cotton Club Swing Band with tap dancer Omar Edwards and professional Lindy Hop dancers. On April 18-19, late night jams curated by drummer and composer TS Monk continue at the historic Minton’s Playhouse (206 West 118th Street). The jam session, set to swing from 11pm3am, will be led by young saxophonist Kevin Oliver, Jr., reminiscent of those nights when house band leader Thelonious Monk jammed until late dawn. No cover.

The Red Rooster presents live performances throughout the Revival with Harlem’s own international organist and keyboardist Nate Lucas, Lynette Washington, LV Project, Greginald Spencer of Apollo Theatre fame, and Michael Cruse. For complete listings and info, visit hlnj.org.

Flushing Town Hall (137-35 Northern Blvd. Flushing) has presented dozens of “Global Mashup” concerts featuring over 100 artists representing more than 100 cultural backgrounds around the globe, and it continues to bring artists and audiences together to honor the global diversity of musicianship.

This may very well be the first time the

Queens music hall has united two cultures whose historical music cross pollinated during the early 1940s in New York City, when Latin Jazz was becoming acquainted with the sound of big band swing and the Harlem cats were into a little Latin Tinge thanks to Jelly Roll Morton.

This rich history of New York-inspired music developed into the “Latin Jazz Meets Swing” Global Mashup, taking place on April 19, at 8 p.m. The 21st century transgression will be integrated with The Steve Kroon Latin Jazz Ensemble and The Patience Higgins Swing Band with trumpeter Eddie Allen, pianist Marcus Persiani, bassist Nathan Garrett, and drummer Brandon Saunders. Their strong dose of spicy Latin beats and swinging rhythms will have you dancing in the aisles. In case your dance steps are rusty, acclaimed dance instructors Mickey Davidson will offer fundamentals of swing dance (frequently partnered and assisted Lindy Hop legend Frankie Manning in workshops), and Vanda Polakova will get you moving with a dance lesson that blends a

little Salsa and swing steps (begins at 7 p.m. prior to performance).

That big band sound of the “Swing Era” was embedded in the heart of Harlem by bandleaders such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Blanche Calloway, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmie Lunceford, and Chick Webb, who led the house orchestra at the dance-crazed Savoy Ballroom where swing dancers like Frankie Manning and Frieda Washington earned international fame.

Cuban bandleader Machito arrived in New York City with another beat that ignited the sounds of Cubop, Mambo, Cha Cha Cha and salsa music along with Afro-Cuban jazz. In 1940, Cuban clarinetist Mario Bauza joined Machito’s Afro Cubans bringing together big band arrangements for straight ahead jazz as well as pronounced Cuban rhythms for those mambo steps. The native New York percussionist Tito Puente later known as “The King of the Timbales” joined the band. Salsa music which is primarily a New York derivative style of elements combining a Cuban and Puerto Rican base with elements of cha-cha-chá, bolero, rumba, mambo, jazz, and R&B.

During his five-decade career, Kroon has established himself as a conga master with a mixed arsenal of percussive effects. He has led his own group for over 20 years with six albums to his credit. His percussive Latin touch was for many years infused into the noted bands of NEA Jazz Master Ron Carter and multi-Grammy winner Luther Vandross.

The prominent saxophonist, flutist, and multi-reed player Higgins is one of Harlem’s most popular musicians, he was the leader of the Sugar Hill Quartet, the house band for the legendary Lenox Lounge. His playing style allowed him the opportunity to play with a diverse group of musicians such as Barry Harris, Archie Shepp, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Stevie Wonder, and tours with Duke Ellington and Count Basie Orchestras. During any given week you can catch Higgins at various venues in the city leading his own band.

Following the performances of Kroon’s Latin Jazz Ensemble and Higgins Swing band, the two will come together for an electric mashup so keep your dancing shoes, there will be no standing on the dance floor.For tickets visit flushingtownhall.org.

Reggie Workman (Ron Scott Associates photo)

Steven Kroon (Courtesy photo)

Continued from page 16

issues they want us to focus on … back in the 2000s when I started, we focused on a re-entry program particularly involving youth that [were] returning to the community [which] can sometimes be controversial, but these are our kids. I [have] lived in Upper Manhattan since I immigrated.

“[In] the Upper Manhattan communities, Black and Brown kids need help reintegrating into our community and we got to do our share of the work. So that’s what that building could be doing.”

Acosta and Judge James will oversee a wide range of stakeholders from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, State Attorney General Letitia James to Neighborhood Defenders managing director Piyali Basak and Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice director Deanna Logan.

But they maintain input from the East Harlem and Harlem community will dictate what HCJC’s reopening ends up like.

“As a public defender office for Harlem, [I] can sort of say what is needed based on what we’re seeing,” said Basak. “But I think this whole project needs to be shaped by the community. I proposed that at the first meeting, and we are thinking about ways to do that and engaging with community forums.”

According to Yager, Harlemites can currently reach out to involved representatives

like assemblymember Eddie Gibbs or state senator Cordell Cleare to provide input.

D.A. Bragg told the Amsterdam News he is excited to participate in the working group, but echoed the need to design the services around community feedback.

“Having resources running in a community that’s been deeply affected by the system presents great promise,” said Bragg over the phone. “Particularly the process of the chief judge has set forth to get meaningful, sustained input from the community as to various needs. I think it’s got great promise, so I’m excited to be a part of it as district attorney and also as a lifelong Harlem [resident].”

“We are excited to explore with our stakeholders the reimagined use of the Harlem Community Justice Center to a space that offers a more robust operation for the community,” added Logan over email. “We look forward to strengthening access to justice within this beautiful historic location, which will service the needs of the community inclusive of justice-impacted individuals — as well as younger and aging New Yorkers alike — regardless of court involvement.”

‘One of the most impressive buildings in East Harlem’

While the HCJC intends to prevent incarceration, the Harlem Courthouse once housed a jail that remains largely untouched since the building first went dormant in 1961. Architecture firm Thom &

Wilson designed the structure in Romanesque Revival-style sometime between 1891 and 1893 with a red brick facade trimmed with bluestone and terra cotta over a granite base.

The NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission describes the Harlem Courthouse as “one of the most impressive buildings in East Harlem.” But age comes before beauty and significant portions of the building were unusable even before the pandemic.

“There were parts of it that really were completely uninhabitable,” said Wilson. “There’s asbestos in the building, and it shut down for a substantial period of time until 1999-2000. And then what they did is they started using some of the spaces that were still usable. They put up makeshift walls to create office spaces and there was one courtroom that was usable.

“It was almost like the court system and CJI were squatting in the habitable parts of the building, and that ran as long as it could. Then once COVID hit, almost everything shut down.”

The reimagining begins

While Wilson maintains community input will dictate much of the programming, he provides clear intentions for the HCJC. He says most people do not want to go to a traditional court, so “the first piece of this vision is to make this building a place people in the community would like to be.”

Since the courtrooms are on the upper

floors, Wilson believes fashioning the ground floor as a multi-purpose space for community-related events would help make the building feel more publicly accessible. If successful, most people will not feel like they’re at court and those who do will see the building as a space “where they can get their problems resolved.”

Acosta sees his role as a facilitator and does not “want to put limitations” on the working group despite his alacrity for the HCJC. He says the taskforce boasts many idealists who have already provided him with ambitious ideas. But he knows many traditionalists are still out there hoping to “do things the way we’ve always done it.”

“Let’s deal with the underlying causes of criminality, rather than react as a system once a crime has been committed,” said Acosta. “I know it sounds a little simplistic, but the definition of insanity [is] you keep doing things the same way and expecting a different result…we should all be engaged in a proactive approach to dispensing justice, rather than continuing to do the things the same way we did 200 years ago.”

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

Freshfruit’s newest digital product aims to support queer community

BY RAYMOND FERNÁNDEZ

Special to the AmNews

Kiki, a social network oriented around celebrating, connecting, and creating opportunities for the queer community, launched recently. Kiki is the work of Wesley Wade, founder and CEO of the media and technology company Freshfruit.

Kiki’s mission is to digitize access to the places where queer existence takes place and revolutionize queer tech.

The launch comes at a critical time. Wade said the current administration has exacerbated the challenges faced by the queer network. He pointed out that efforts to undo diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and infringe on “hardfought” LGBTQ+ rights are at the core of the American political discourse. For him, that means right now is the best time to stand up for his community the way he knows

best: through technological innovation.

By launching Kiki, he aims to create a safe space for his community in the tech world “beyond dating and hook-up apps.”

Wade said he hopes this product will “provide folks with more convenience” when searching for events where “kikiying” and community-building efforts come to fruition. He emphasized that Kiki is a platform “built for us and by us”: It is designed for queer organizers, promoters, and attendees alike.

“Kiki will allow the entire ecosystem of the queer community to connect, whether it be a nonprofit organization, the nightlife and bar communities, and event-goers (who) are looking for activities and things to do,” Wade said. “Not only can folks discover and find activities, but they might be able to find job opportunities.”

Wade was born and raised on the Caribbean island of Jamaica, attended Columbia University, and has lived in Harlem for

almost 18 years. While his business is still young, he hopes to continue venturing into queer tech and that Kiki will become a “synonym of the queer experience.”

In a Q&A published by Freshfruit, Wade stated that “women, BIPOC, and queer folks have unique challenges with finding resources, funding, and making key connections. Less than 1% of funding in Silicon Valley is invested in projects spearheaded by people like me.”

Wade said “the term Kiki came from the Black and Brown queer community,” and inspired the name of this digital product. For LGBTQ+ folks, “kikiying” conveys a space of comfort, a sense of belonging, and “feeling visible and assured,” he said.

Wade told the AmNews that he founded the company thinking about the experiences of young queer folks who “live boldly, unbothered, and unbound.” For him, queer representation in the media often fails to

portray the full potential of the LGBTQ+ group in America, and the messaging about it generally centers around the struggles and stigmas.

“Queer people are creative and dynamic and joyful. You don’t really see that in the media, so I created Freshfruit to embody that idea,” he said.

Wade emphasized that while his digital platform focuses on the queer experience, it also welcomes its allies. “We want to be inclusive of our allies and folks (who) care [about] and support our community … so [we] invite those who enjoy and can participate in the things that we are interested in and like to do.”

In the queer collective, Wade said, a lot of workers depend on “gig work,” so if a bar is looking for a bartender, drag queen, or performer, Kiki could be the bridge for “economic empowerment for businesses [and] job opportunities for queer folks.”

Wesley Wade (Provided by Freshfruit)

Hook’s harbor and waterfront; a citywide Community Board Central Office; Bushwick 1000, a multi-year youth employment initiative; investment in the Interborough Express to better connect transit deserts in Brooklyn and Queens; creating a Youth Advisory Council for high schoolers to weigh in on borough policies; and the Divine Dwellings initiative, which convenes six houses of worship with Bricks and Mortals to facilitate housing development on their land.

He also introduced the first-ever Arts Ambassador: renowned fashion designer Colm Dillane, also known as KidSuper. Dillane provided the audience with a limited edition run of the official Brooklyn pin. Reynoso said he intends to have a design competition that solicits designs from all over the borough.

Reynoso capped off his address speaking to immigrants in the city. He said he’s determined to move away from “fear-based politics” and the influence of President Donald Trump on how the city is governed. “So what we say is immigrants help build this country, they help contribute in a positive way, and we love them, we support them, we’re New York, that’s what we’re about,” said Reynoso, “and Trump hates it. He hates everything about the city that made him. And that’s sad.”

Meanwhile, the borough president race is underway. Reynoso naturally benefits as the

incumbent and is way ahead in fundraising.

He’s received‎ $313,356 in private funds and $624,714 in public funds, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board (NYCCFB) latest payout on April 15.

“This office is actually getting things done,” said Reynoso about his campaign.

“We got over 6,000 people work authoriza-

tion applications. We’re helping hospitals take care of Black women. We’re working with churches to build housing in their lots. These are real tangible things that we’re doing as Borough Hall, and I hope that the residents of Brooklyn and the people that want to vote see that I’ve been able to modify this office into one that can affect

[meaningful] change in their lives and not one that’s just going to be performative.” Reynoso’s main challenger is Khari Edwards, a former vice president of External Affairs at Brookdale Hospital, who made a run at BP in 2021 as well. Edwards received‎ $156,495 in private funds and $542,260 in public matching funds so far.

Brooklyn Borough President (BP) Antonio Reynoso delivered his 2025 State of the Borough address on Thursday, April 10 at Boys and Girls High School in Brooklyn. (Jordi-Lakeem Foster photo)

Snapshot of the auditorium during the 2025 address. (Ariama C. Long photo)

Religion & Spirituality

Fierce love: Learning how to see that love is an action!

Emma Lee Lewis was born on April 11, 1937. I learned to see the world by watching Mommy watch it. I remember her talking back to her favorite story, The Edge of Night. I remember her laughter and delight at The Supremes on The Ed Sullivan Show.

I remember when President Kennedy was killed, watching Mommy watch the coverage on our black and white television. Walter Conkrite was weeping, and so was my mom. I watched her watch the casket carried, “Hail to the Chief” played with gravity. Caroline in a dress like one of mine, John-John saluting his Daddy. She cried; I cried with her.

We watched the Southern Freedom movement unfold, brave straightbacked marchers on a highway peacefully heading to freedom and voting rights. We watched the March on Washington, we watched footage of King on a balcony, lying in his blood, Jesse and them pointing up to a window. We watched Kent State, and we watched Rodney King. We watched the police

drag our neighbor out of his house and beat him for resisting, while he said over and over, “What did I do?”

Little Jacqui asked, “Mommy, can we do anything?” “‘Not right now, but we will,” she said.

Mom taught me how to see. To see what violence and hatred can do, the wounding, the killing, the maiming. To see what democracy looks like. The advocacy, the standing up for neighbor, the marching for freedom and a better world. She showed me what love looks like. Standing up, taking food to sick people, making a seat at our crowded dinner table for our neighbor’s son, so he would not be hungry and alone.

What we see today, family, is not love. It is not loving to grab people off the streets with no due process to enforce borders that keep America white. It is not loving to legislate hatred against Trans people, to erase the stories of BIPOC people, to ban books and history and blind us to our past mistakes, conscribing us to make them again. It is not loving to wreak havoc on the global economy, punishing nations like a petulant child with tariffs that devastate global markets. It is not loving to fire people and cut social service programs and impinge the flourishing of those on the margins. It is not loving to obliterate Gaza, or to be antisemitic; Jews and Palestinians are semitic. It is not loving to invade a sovereign nation like Ukraine, to build America on the back of Congo and Sudan, to ignore the plight of Haiti and nations in the global south. It is not loving to bastardize the faith of Jesus to build a fascist regime.

munities — our church and our movement partners — and I weep from the power of Tituss’ voice, of our multi-allthe-things gathering. Interfaith, many gendered, all the ethnicities. I see how diversity, equity and inclusion are powerful.

Can you see this? Can you see yourself in this movement and feel your ability to change the world with love? Watch and write me in the comments. Tell me what you hear and what you see. https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=x40Urb2F8zY.

One of my rabbis says, “A loving and ethical life is learning how to see.” How to see yourself in the mirror, and to love that self fiercely. How to see your neighbor and feel their inextricable connection to YOU. Their story is part of YOUR story. Their surviving and thriving is YOURS. Their suffering and pain is YOURS. They are your people, and you are theirs. Together, if we remember how to see these truths, we can make this world a better place.

My mommy died two weeks after her 80th birthday, April 25, 2017. I feel her in me in these times and imagine how she would grieve. I am reminded daily that she taught me to see myself as a change agent, as a love warrior, to see the world’s suffering and believe I could do something about it. This “we can love the world into healing” is the essence of the Middle Church, and honestly is the source of my hope in this hot-mess time.

To quote my friend Tituss Burgess in his song, “Love is an Action”

That ain’t love. Love is an action, a verb not just a word. To abuse and take lightly just said to be heard

And everyday actions and reactions are chances in making love active and not just a word

Love does not envy, it does not boast, it does not house conceit

There is no limit to God’s and Grace and There’s nothing love can’t face

This song is the Middle Church anthem. At our annual justice conference a few years ago, Tituss sang this live. When I watch this memory of my com -

Middle Church and I are coming home to love on Easter Sunday (link to press release). We see clearly that we must love the hell out of this world to counteract the hate. You are welcome to join us, exactly as you are!

Love is an action, family, not just a word. Let’s love each other. Hard.

P.S. Our next conference is Freedom Rising: The Fierce Urgency of Now, October 31-November 2. Get your ticket today!

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.

FACTCHECK: True: At-home COVID-19 remedies can work for symptoms but must be used with caution

By CASSIDY STODDART Special to the AmNews

As we embark on the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, we can reflect on how the virus has affected everyone differently. Public health professionals stressed the prioritization of vulnerable groups such as those suffering from immunocompromising conditions and the elderly, in clinics and hospitals to ensure the proper allocation of life saving resources. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised the rest of the population to quarantine and monitor COVID-like symptoms such as aches, chills and fever.

Tracking the development of symptoms every day is critical for your own safety through the utilization of thermometers and pulse oximeters at home. If symptoms persist or worsen it is essential to seek immediate medical care. Some important warning signs include having trouble breathing, skin discoloration, and chest pressure.

Dr. Shaundra Blakemore, a physician in

pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s of Alabama, provides her perspective on athome remedies: “I generally think if it's [the alternative at-home COVID-19 remedy] something that doesn't sound harmful, then I'm not going to discourage it. But not all of those remedies listed have data or papers saying that they are effective. Otherwise we would be recommending it to everyone.”

For those suffering with mild cases, the National Institute of Health (NIH) reported that 80 to 85% of COVID-19 cases between June 2020 and July 2021 were considered mild and “at home remedies” were effective to provide symptomatic relief. The CDC recommends over-the- counter medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to alleviate symptoms.

When it comes to treating the underlying viral infection, these alternative at-home remedies lack a scientific basis that they provide causal alleviation of COVID-19. These alternative remedies can be misunderstood as providing comfort and pleasure while experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

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but Dr. Blakemore iterates that “we [physicians] don’t prescribe anything but supportive measures.”

These seemingly harmless alternative athome COVID-19 remedies pose a potential danger to interacting with agents in prescription medicine. For severe cases of COVID-19, antiviral medication will be prescribed to prevent the virus from spreading through your body. It is critical to inform your physician of all the remedies, including those approved by the CDC. Dr. Blakemore advises patients, “If you're doing any sort of herbal remedy, just make sure you tell your doctor, because sometimes too much of anything can be harmful. So we [physicians] want to know exactly what herb families are being used, just to make sure it's not something that could react with another medication a patient might be on or could ultimately be harmful.”

The Mayo Clinic expands on these recommendations in the at-home COVID-19 protocol by suggesting eating nutritious

(Photo by Diva Plavalaguna)

Zero-tolerance

an appropriate suspension anyway, because it means that we’re saying that the kid is never coming back to school.”

But she emphasized that “there has to be consequences to behavior like having a gun in school. And what we need to do is make sure that there are alternatives that will longterm help kids.”

Recent research has confirmed the adverse consequences of exclusionary discipline. Studies have shown that the use of suspension increases students’ likelihood of future suspension, and is also linked to lower graduation rates and an increased likelihood of contact with the criminal legal system. This phenomenon is known as the school-to-prison pipeline.

“Schools and the exclusionary discipline process sort of serves as a launchpoint for youth eventually entering and making their way into the criminal justice system,” said Luis Rodriguez, a professor at New York University who studies school discipline.

In addition, there is a lack of evidence that suspensions accomplish the stated goals of deterring students from engaging in certain behavior, or improving the learning environment for other students.

“All of the ideas about how suspensions are going to change behavior or act as a deterrent are grounded in outdated ideas about how adolescents and teenagers make decisions and how their brains work. I’m very skeptical that they can be effective in any way, both as a deterrent and changing behavior,” said Rachel Perera, a research fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies school discipline.

In fact, reports from the U.S. Department of Education indicate that in recent years, some school districts have been using more discretion when responding to students caught with a firearm.

The Department of Education suggested in their reports that this shift, which they began noting in their report on the 2017–18 school year, is in line with a trend of schools seeking alternatives to exclusionary discipline due to growing evidence about the harms of suspension and racial inequities in their application.

It is unclear how this trend has impacted the response to firearm possession at New York City’s schools.

Both the New York State Department of Education and New York City Department of Education (DOE) emphasized that they treat every incident of firearm possession on a case-by-case basis.

“While that is the expectation that a student with ill intent in possession of a firearm is subject to a one year suspension, each and every one of our cases are looked at as an individual case and we treat them as such,” said Mark Rampersant, Chief of Safety and Prevention Partnerships at New York City’s Department of Education (DOE).

New York City’s DOE does not report data on the number of students caught with a firearm at school who receive a modified suspension. But the DOE’s annual suspen-

sion reports shows that the number of students receiving a long-term suspension for “possessing or using a firearm, bomb, or other explosive” was 41 in the 2021-22 school year, 35 in 2022-23, and 63 in 2023-24 (these totals don’t include charter schools).

Even as Rampersant acknowledged that “there is no evidence that suspensions work, for anything,” he defended the one-year suspensions the DOE does give out for firearm possession.

“We would like to think that a one-year suspension is a deterrent to carrying a firearm or possessing a firearm on school property… [So] we agree that it interrupts the educational process, but so does a firearm in a school,” he said.

The impact of suspensions on students

Students in New York City who are serving long-term suspensions are still entitled to an education, in accordance with New York state law. Where that education takes place depends on each student’s individual situation.

A student who is arrested and determined to have been in possession of a firearm may be incarcerated at a juvenile detention center or Rikers Island, depending on their age. They may also be released on probation or under certain conditions. Students who are suspended but not incarcerated after their initial arrest are assigned to one of the city’s long-term Alternate Learning Centers. Those who remain in detention continue their education at juvenile detention facilities.

Abby Levites worked as a social worker at

Passages Academy, the school that is based in juvenile detention centers. There, she encountered multiple students who were incarcerated because they had brought a weapon to school. What she saw were students that needed more support, not further punishment.

“Working with these kids, I’ve never once been like, ‘I’m in danger, this kid is bad.’ They’re kids, they’re young people, they’re dealing with things that people don’t understand and may never have gone through in their lives. And if they’ve brought a weapon to school, there might be a reason for it, whether it was well thought out or not. And this whole idea of how much we criminalize these young people is just devastating,” she said.

This punitive response can also result in students falling behind due to the academic disruption. Students and advocates have criticized the quality of education provided at some of these Alternate Learning Centers.

“They’re a mixed bag,” Johanna Miller of the NYCLU explained. “Some of them are really interesting places where I think the educators are trying to do a really good job of helping get the kids back into their classroom, and helping them get back sooner. But for the most part, in many cases, they’re a little bit like purgatory for kids, where you don’t really make much progress.”

Marte said his alternative school felt like “preparation for jail.”

“You couldn’t come in with your own pen-

cils or pens. Couldn’t wear certain belts… You almost weren’t expected to do homework, because they didn’t want you to take books and other items in or outside the school,” he said.

He also felt that concentrating students with histories of misbehavior in one place led to that behavior being reinforced.

“It was one big macho challenge, like who was the baddest kid in the school. Everybody was trying to top each other with disrespect towards teachers, top each other with disrespect towards each other,” he recalled.

After the year ended, Marte decided to drop out, because he didn’t want to go back into that type of environment.

Miller said that dropping out rather than attending an alternative school is a common response.

“I think when a kid makes a big big mistake like that, very often the systems just kind of give up on them. And in fact, those are the kids that you probably need to put the most into to bring them back and make sure that they don’t end up in the criminal legal system as an adult. Once you’re in the juvenile justice system, it’s sadly almost inevitable that you will end up in the adult criminal justice system exactly for that reason — because we sort of give up on those kids,” Miller said.

Mark Rampersant of the NYC Department of Education defended the learning centers, arguing that it is a student’s responsibility to make the most of their time there.

“It is incumbent upon the student to really put the investment in. The adults are there to provide the supports. All you have to do is show up and be willing and ready to learn…

For other young people who are not taking the suspension process seriously, you’ll hear some of [those criticisms],” he said.

He also noted that students can have their suspension length reduced if they are on track with their attendance and academic performance.

Still, research has shown that New York City students who are suspended for more than 21 days were less likely than peers with shorter suspensions to earn credits in math and English classes, and were less likely to graduate on time.

“It really sets you back a full year, because there’s just no way to compare the education you would receive at your home school versus the education you’re receiving at an alternative learning center,” said Michaela Shuchman, a Skadden legal fellow at Bronx Legal Services working to reform and replace exclusionary discipline practices in NYC schools.

Students who do choose to continue their education after serving a suspension rarely go back to their original school, Levites said.

“The majority of these kids don’t want to go back to their home schools because that’s where stuff was happening. They might have gotten arrested in front of everybody, there might be beef still, they might hate their teachers. I’ve called [some schools], and the administration has been like, ‘we don’t want that kid back here,’” she explained.

An alternate educational complex in Manhattan. (Photo by Shannon Chaffers)

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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.

L& L CAPITAL PARTNERS LLC, As Assignee of Preferred Bank, Plaintiff -against- 194 ORCHARD GROUP, LLC, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated January 16, 2025 and entered on January 22, 2025, 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 21, 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 a point on the southerly side of 80th Street, distant 200 feet westerly from the southwesterly corner of 3rd Avenue and 80th Street; being a plot 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet by 102 feet 2 inches by 25 feet. Block: 1508 Lot: 45 Said premises known as 168 EAST 80TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY

Approximate amount of lien $11,455,752.04 plus interest & costs.

Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850124/2022. MARK L. MCKEW, ESQ., Referee

Rice & Bush LLP

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 711 Third Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10017

{* AMSTERDAM*}

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, 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

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*}

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 Qualification of ASSURED HEALTH GROUP LLC Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 03/14/25. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Florida (FL) on 01/23/20. Princ. office of LLC: 18100 Von Karman Ave., 10th Fl., Irvine, CA 92612. 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. Cert. of Form. filed with FL Secy. of State, The Centre of Tallahassee, 2415 N. Monroe St., Ste. 810, Tallahassee, FL 32303. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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*}

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 - COUNTY OF NEW YORK. HNY CLUB SUITES OWNERS ASSOCIATION INC., BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF DIRECTORS, Plaintiff -againstSONYE MARIA ALLANAH, et al Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale dated August 27, 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 21, 2025 at 2:15 p.m. premises being an undivided ownership interest as tenant-in-common with other owners in the Timeshare Unit in the building located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY; known as The NYH Condominium. Together with an 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. *referee does NOT accept cash; only bank or certified checks payable to Bruce N. Lederman as referee*.

Said premises known as 1335 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS, NEW YORK, NY 10019 Approximate amount of lien $23,048.53 plus interest & costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment and Terms of Sale. Index Number 850191/2023.

BRUCE N. LEDERMAN, ESQ., Referee DRUCKMAN LAW GROUP PLLC

Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 242 Drexel Avenue, Westbury, NY 11590 DLG# 39352 {* AMSTERDAM*}

NOTICE OF FORMATION of NUSYSTEM SERVICES LLC. Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 04/02/2025. Location: NYSSNY designated as agent for service of process on LLC. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: C/O SABAJ LAW PC 121A, Nassau Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11222 Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

MONTEVIDEO LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 3/27/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 418 Broadway, STE R, Albany, NY 12207. Purpose: Any lawful act. MK WILKINS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/23/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 482 E. 74th Street , 3D, New York, NY 10021. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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*}

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.

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 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.

EL REY VENTURES LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 12/17/2024. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 136 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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].

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK

COUNTY OF NEW YORK

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK BDS III NY 1369 BROADWAY LLC, Plaintiff, - againstBROADWAY STAR REALTY, LLC,

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

JOSHUA GOLDBERG, Defendants.

JOSHUA GOLDBERG, Defendants.

Index No. 850029/2022

Index No. 850029/2022

NOTICE OF SALE

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.

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.

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.

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS

Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION), AS TRUSTEE, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE HOLDERS OF COMM 2013-CCRE13 MORTGAGE TRUST COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, BY AND THROUGH ITS SPECIAL SERVICER, LNR PARTNERS, LLC, Plaintiff, against CHELSEA WAREHOUSE ASSOCIATES LLC, PHILIPPE WEISSBERG, JONATHAN LEITERSDORF, CHRISTOPHER SCHLANK, CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE, CRIMINAL COURT OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, CITY OF NEW YORK ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD, BOARD OF MANAGERS OF THE SPEARS BUILDING CONDOMINIUM, and “JOHN DOE,” “JANE DOE,” AND “XYZ CORPORATION,” said names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the person or parties intended being tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the mortgaged property described in the complaint, Defendants, Index No.: 850022/2025. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANT(S):YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action and to serve a copy of your answer to the Complaint on Plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days after service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service is complete if the 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 on default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. Plaintiff designated New York County as the place of trial. The basis of venue designated is that the real property that is the subject of this commercial mortgage foreclosure action is located in New York County. The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn III, J.S.C, dated March 21, 2025, and entered by the Office of the New York County Clerk on March 24, 2025. The object of this action is to foreclose an Amended, Restated and Consolidated Mortgage, Assignment of Leases and Rents, Security Agreement and Fixture Filing encumbering the premises located at 525 West 22nd Street, New York, New York 10011, Commercial Units 1, 2, 3, 4 and also known as Block 694 and Lots 1001, 1002, 1003, 1004 on the tax map of New York County. Dated: March 25, 2025

McCARTER & ENGLISH, LLP

Attorneys for Plaintiff By: /s/ Yan Borodanski Yan Borodanski, Esq. 250 W. 55th Street, 13th Floor New York, NY 1001 9 973-849-4135

MARK L. MCKEW, ESQ., Referee

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

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 3 World Trade Center, 175 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10007

{* AMSTERDAM *}

{* AMSTERDAM *}

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.

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.

SUTTON TOWER LIN HOLDING LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/3/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 430 East 58th Street, Unit 41B, New York, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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.

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.

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.

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.

RAJAB COLLECTION LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 01/13/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 172 W 127th Street, 705, New York, NY 10027. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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.

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.

LUXWORA LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 4/02/2025. Office location: Ny County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 45 Rockefeller Plaza, 20th Fl , New York, NY 10111. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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.

FLYING LOTUS LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/04/2025. Office location: Ny County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 287 Bleecker St, Apt 5R, New York, NY 10014. Purpose: Any lawful act.

MUDUVE GLOBAL LLC Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 03/10/2025. Office location: NY County. SSNY has been designated as an agent upon whom process against it may be served & shall mail to: 450 Lexington Ave, Unit 27, New York, NY 10163. Purpose: Any lawful act.

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.

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

INDEX NO.: 850417/2024

Date Filed: 03/10/2025

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS WITH NOTICE

MORTGAGED PREMISES: 635 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036

BL #: 1090-1226

Plaintiff designates NEW YORK County as the place of trial; venue is based upon the county in which the mortgaged premises is situate.

STATE OF NEW YORK

SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF NEW YORK

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Plaintiff, vs.

Yiping Zhou, and all the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated; Huizhen Xia Zhou, and all the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated; New York State Department of Taxation and Finance ; United States of America o/b/o Internal Revenue Service; Waterside Propco LLC; The Board of Managers of the Atelier Condominium; New York City Environmental Control Board; New York City Parking Violations Bureau; John Doe #1 through #6, and Jane Doe #1 through #6, the last twelve names being fictitious, it being the intention of Plaintiff to designate any and all occupants, tenants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises being foreclosed herein. 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 attorneys for the Plaintiff within 20 days after the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after service is complete if this 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 Amended Complaint.

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 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. THE OBJECT of the above captioned action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure $129,195.00 and interest, recorded in the Office of the City Register of the City of New York on July 10, 2007, and as CRFN: 2007000350170, covering premises known as 635 West 42nd Street, New York, New York 10036, BL #: 1090-1226 The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. The Plaintiff also seeks a deficiency judgment against the Defendants and for any debt secured by said Mortgage which is not satisfied by the proceeds of the sale of said premises.

TO the Defendants, Yiping Zhou, and all the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated; Huizhen Xia Zhou, and all the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid defendants, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest of any of the aforesaid classes of person, if they or any of them be dead, and their respective husbands, wives or widows, if any, and all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to plaintiff, except as herein stated the foregoing Supplemental Summons with Notice is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Francis A. Kahn, III, J.S.C. of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, dated and filed February 19, 2025.

Dated: March 29, 2025

/s/ Deborah M. Gallo

Deborah M. Gallo, Esq.

McCalla Raymer Leibert Pierce, LLP 420 Lexington Avenue, Suite 840 New York, New York 10170

Phone: 347.286.7409

Fax: 347-286-7414

Attorneys for Plaintiff, JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association 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 Banking Department of Financial Services at 1-800-342-3736 or visit the Department's website at www.dfs. ny.gov.

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.

STATE OF NEW YORK SUPREME COURT: COUNTY OF NEW YORK

NOTICE OF SALE IN FORECLOSURE

U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION AS TRUSTEE FOR TRUMAN 2021 SC9 TITLE TRUST, Plaintiff, v.

ELI SHADIA, ET AL, Defendants.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE THAT In pursuance of a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the Office of the County Clerk of New York County on December 18, 2024, I, Paul R. Sklar, Esq., the Referee named in said Judgment, will sell in one parcel at public auction on May 21, 2025 at Room 130 of the New York County Courthouse, 60 Centre Street, New York, NY 10007, at 02:15 PM the premises described as follows: 150 West 51st Street, Unit 15-9

New York, NY 10019

SBL No. 1003-1244

ALL THAT TRACT OR PARCEL OF LAND situate in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of New York. The premises are sold subject to the provisions of the filed judgment, Index No. 850363/2023 in the amount of $379,247.03 plus interest and costs. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the Court System's COVID-19 mitigation protocols and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale.

Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff

500 Bausch & Lomb Place Rochester, NY 14604

Tel.: 855-227-5072

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

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: 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 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 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 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.

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.

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

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

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.

368 WEST 46 STREET, LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 11/04/03. Latest date to dissolve: 12/31/2053. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 372 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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.

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 , 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

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF NEW YORK WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A. SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE, INC., Plaintiff AGAINST DOUGLAS E. SEWER, INDIVIDUALLY AND SURVIVING JOINT TENANT OF JOSEPH K. SEWER, ET AL., Defendant(s) Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered January 14, 2025, 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 May 21, 2025 at 2:15PM, premises known as 81 West 119 Street, New York, NY 10026. All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the City, County and State of New York, Block 1718 Lot 108. Approximate amount of judgment $1,333,945.21 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of filed Judgment Index #850001/2010. Christy M. Demelfi, Esq., Referee Gross Polowy, LLC 1775 Wehrle Drive Williamsville, NY 14221 00-161915 84298

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.

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

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

NOTICE OF FORMATION OF Nick Ransom LLC

Articles of Organization filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 01/20/2025. Office location: New York County. SSNY has been designated as an agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of any process to the LLC at: 3333 Broadway, D27E, New York, NY 10031. Purpose: Sales, and marketing consulting services.Duration: Perpetual.

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.

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.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT – COUNTY OF NEW YORK

OCEANSIDE NYUC LLC, Plaintiff -against- MAJESTIC HOLDINGS (USA) LLC, et. al. Defendant(s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered herein and dated January 31, 2025, I, the undersigned Referee, will sell at public auction in Room 130 at the New York County Courthouse, located at 60 Centre Street, New York, NY, on May 21, 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 as:

UNIT: 825, Cipriani Club Residences at 55 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005

Block: 27 | Lot: 1085

Approximate amount of lien: $1,126,233 plus interest and costs.

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

Index Number: 850251/2021

MARK MCKEW, ESQ., Referee

Craig Stuart Lanza, PLLC Attorney(s) for Plaintiff 44 Court Street, Suite 1207

Brooklyn, New York 11201

Phone: (347) 556-9795

Email: cslanza@gmail.com

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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.

4056 HARPER AVE LLC, Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 02/25/2025. Office loc: Bronx County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 4056 Harper Ave, Bronx, NY 10466. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

600 WEST 52ND STREET

LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 05/06/14. Latest date to dissolve: 05/05/2114. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 372 W. 36th Street, New York, NY 10036. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

MYSTIC POINTE 2805 LLC.

Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/10/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, Attn: Gennady Perepada, 345 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of OT22N, LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/03/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o The Board of Managers of the Olympic Tower Condominium, 641 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10022. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of OT22O, LLC

Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 04/03/25. Office location: NY County. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o The Board of Managers of the Olympic Tower Condominium, 641 Fifth Ave., NY, NY 10022. 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 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 Qualification of WEST 92ND STREET ASSOCIATES LLC

Appl. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 02/18/22. Office location: NY County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 02/02/22. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to c/o Corporation Service Co., 80 State St., Albany, NY 12207-2543. DE addr. of LLC: 251 Little Falls Dr., Wilmington, DE 19808. Cert. of Form. filed with DE Secy. of State, John G. Townsend Bldg., 401 Federal St., Ste. 4, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

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.

PARK AVE ELECTRICAL LLC. Arts. of Org. filed with the SSNY on 04/02/25. Office: New York County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 2 Park Avenue, 29th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

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 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.

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.

TCC 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, NEW YORK, 14411. Purpose: Any lawful act.

CLINTON ARMS

Beginning on April 21, 2025, applications for the waiting list will be available for an 85-unit building, including 5 units designed for the handicapped, located at Clinton Avenue, Bronx, New York, to families with limited income. Qualifications will be based on Section 8 Federal Guidelines.

Interested persons may obtain an application by telephoning: (516) 466-6520 Ext. 24 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or writing to:

A.M.S REALTY COMPANY LLC

Notice is hereby given that a license, serial #NA-0340-25103028 for beer, wine & liquor has been applied for by the undersigned to sell beer, wine & liquor at retail in a restaurant under the ABC Law at 994 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10025 for on-premises consumption; Limone LLC

98 CUTTER MILL ROAD GREAT NECK, NY 11021 SUITE 240-S

Completed applications sent by regular mail must be returned by June 27, 2025, to the address indicated on the application.

NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED/ AVAILABLE AFTER THIS DATE.

NOTICE is hereby given that a license, number NA-0370-24135212 for liquor, wine, beer & cider has been applied for by the undersigned to sell liquor, wine, beer & cider at retail in a bar/tavern under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law at 4371 3rd Ave; Bronx, NY 10457 in Bronx County for on premises consumption. Zion Restaurant and Lounge Corp d/b/a Zion Restaurant and Lounge

A.M.S.

PINDLE EAST

Beginning on April 21, 2025 applications for the waiting list will be available for a 32 unit building, located on 270 and 272 Pindle Avenue Englewood, New Jersey, to families with limited income. Qualifications will be based on Section 8 Federal Guidelines. Interested persons may obtain an application by telephoning (516) 466-6520 Ext. 24 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or writing to:

240

Completed applications sent by regular mail must be returned by June 27, 2025 indicated on the application.

NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED/ AVAILABLE AFTER THIS DATE.

CARIBE GARDENS

Beginning on April 21, 2025, applications for the waiting list will be available for a 120-unit building, including 6 units designed for the handicapped, located at Humboldt Street, Boerum Street & Johnson Avenue, Brooklyn, New York, to families with limited income.

Qualifications will be based on Section 8 Federal Guidelines.

SUTTER GARDENS

Beginning on April 21, 2025, applications for the waiting list will be available for a 257 unit building, including12 units designed for the handicapped, located at Blake, Sutter, Schenck, Belmont Avenues, Barbey and Hendrix Streets, in Brooklyn, New York, for families with limited income. Qualifications will be based on Section 8 Federal Guidelines. Interested persons may obtain an application by telephoning: (516) 466-6520 Ext. 24 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or writing to:

A.M.S

Completed applications sent by regular mail must be returned by June 27, 2025, to the address indicated on the application.

Interested persons may obtain an application by telephoning: (516) 466-6520 Ext. 24 between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. or writing to:

A.M.S REALTY COMPANY LLC

98 CUTTER MILL ROAD GREAT NECK, NY 11021 SUITE 240-S

Completed applications sent by regular mail must be returned by June 27, 2025, to the address indicated on the application.

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The Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame inducts inaugural class at NC A&T

By JAIME C. HARRIS AmNews Sports Editor

This past Saturday, in the Deese Ballroom on the campus of North Carolina A&T, a historically Black college and university (HBCU) located in Greensboro, North Carolina, the newly founded Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame (BSWHoF) inducted its inaugural class.

The event, organized by Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame founder Rob Parker, and supported by the NC A&T’s student chapters of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and the Associated Press Sports Editors, welcomed longtime journalists Michael Wilbon, Claire Smith and Bill Rhoden as the first three members of BSWHoF.

Wilbon is noted for his career as a beat writer and columnist for the Washington Post, author of several books and currently one of ESPN’s most prominent on-air figures. Smith is the first woman in the writers’ wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame having covered baseball for The Hartford Courant, New York Times and Philadelphia Inquirer. Rhoden, a former New York Times columnist and author of the seminal book “Forty Million Dollar Slaves,” is one of the driving forces behind ESPN’s Black-led media platform Andscape.

In addition to honoring the aforementioned trio of inductees, the ceremony paid posthumous tribute to legendary sports

media figures Bryan Burwell, Thom Greer, Sam Lacy, Wendell Smith, Larry Whiteside, and Ralph Wiley, who Parker, a 2023 National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame inductee, coined “The Original Six.”

In consummating the Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame, Parker, a native of Queens, New York and graduate of Martin Van Buren High School, whose resume includes being a former sportswriter for the New York Daily News, the first Black sports columnist for both Newsday and the Detroit Free Press, founder and editor of the baseball website MLBbro, and a current sports talk host for Fox Radio, said to this writer:

“Our history in telling the stories of sports that are also deeply tied to our culture, is a result of many men and women that have paved a path for not just generations of sportswriters, but the athletes they have covered.” As an educator who has taught a baseball masterclass at North Carolina A&T and teaches a baseball writers class at the University of Southern California, Parker envisioned the BSWHoF being housed at an institution of higher learning.

“I was so impressed by the students and the journalism program (at NC A&T), I thought ‘man, this would be a great place to expose students to some of the greats in the business,’” he said in a recent interview with Greensboro’s WFMY News 2.

NYC Parks hosts Jackie Robinson Day Festival in Harlem

by DERREL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

At a time when African Americans were not allowed to play in Major League Baseball (MLB), Jackie Robinson played his first Major League game for the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn on April 15, 1947, breaking the modernday color barrier in the sport. In honor of Robinson, NYC Parks presented the fourth annual Jackie Robinson Day Festival at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center at 85 Bradhurst Ave in Harlem on Saturday, April 12. Despite the rain, hundreds attended the free, family-friendly celebration honoring the iconic baseball player who once called New York City his home.

“Jackie Robinson Day connects us to our vital parks initiative in NYC Parks,” First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation Iris Rodriguez-Rosa exclusively told the AmNews.

Though the rain kept outdoor activities from occurring, Rodriguez-Rosa shared that volunteers from various Harlem civic associations, organizations, and volunteer groups annually participate in beautifying the park in honor of Robinson.

“When we talk about the equity, accessibility, and affordability at the heart of our parks mission, Jackie Robinson Day Festival embodies these values,” Rodriguez-Rosa said. “The festival is a tribute

and celebration of Harlem’s vibrant spirit, community pride, and the power of recreation to bring people together,” she added.

“Just as Jackie Robinson inspired millions of people, this festival encourages our city’s youth to dream big. We are exceedingly proud of the legacy that he has left, and recognizing him with this festival is something that NYC Parks is proud of doing.” Vendors and organizations on hand in-

cluded the Jackie Robinson Museum, the New York Public Library, and Animal Care Centers of NYC. Activities for children of all ages included face painting, arts and crafts, and baseball clinics. Other entertainment included musicians and an array of dancers.

MLB also held its annual league-wide Jackie Robinson Day this past Tuesday, April 15, a celebration that has taken place since 2004. Every player and all on-

field personnel wore Robinson’s No. 42, a symbol of unity that began in 2009. In these emotionally and spiritually trying times when the accomplishments of those of the African Diaspora are being scrubbed from websites, removed from school curriculums and subject to book bans, it is essential in Black communities and beyond to pay tribute to the achievements of Robinson and other trailblazers.

Journalists (from left to right) Michael Wilbon, Claire Smith, Rob Parker and Bill Rhoden gathered at North Carolina A&T University this past Saturday for the induction of inaugural class of the newly formed Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame. (Black Sportswriters Hall of Fame photo)

Harlem residents celebrated baseball pioneer and civil rights activist Jackie Robinson on Saturday at the Jackie Robinson Recreation Center in Harlem. (NYC Parks / Malcolm Pinckney)

Fordham AD Charles Guthrie leads the Rams into a new era of college sports

By DERRELL JOHNSON Special to the AmNews

From football legends Vince Lombardi and Wellington Mara to baseball Hall of Fame announcer Vince Scully, Fordham University athletics has had a rich history since the school was founded nearly 200 years ago.

As college sports has entered the inevitable era of student-athletes receiving monetary compensation through name, image and likeness (NIL), the leadership of Fordham has entrusted Charles Guthrie, who they hired as the school’s new director of intercollegiate athletics and recreation last November, to navigate the complexities of the business sports, and elevate Fordham’s various programs to the upper echelon of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

The Albany, New York native, who holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in education administration and policy studies from the University of Albany, came to Fordham from his position as athletics director at Akron University. Following his first AD position at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, Guthrie served as AD at San Francisco State University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay then Akron.

He spoke with AmNews about, among other decisions and objectives, hiring Mike Magpayo as the new men’s basketball head coach and winning conference championships in all of the program’s sports.

“Our former coach (Keith Urgo) was a great family man, but at the end of the day, when I took over this role, it was very clear to me from everyone that was involved in the search that they wanted to go and try to win the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship,” he said. “I feel like Coach Mike (who became the first NCAA Division I head coach of full Asian heritage) is going to put us in a good position to try to cut down the nets and deliver on a promise many people have been waiting for since 1992.”

Guthrie was referring to the year the Rams last won a conference title, when they were a member of the Patriot League, and made it to the NCAA tournament.

“When you look at our portfolio and think about cutting down the nets or dog pile, it’s all about the Atlantic 10, so I want to preface that,” he shared. “Far too often in college athletics has become a place where everyone thinks they can compete for a national championship, and they forget about competing for

a conference championship, and so one of the things I want to do is focus on winning the Atlantic 10 across the board.”

Guthrie noted that a primary collective objective of the athletics department is growing the programs to have year-over-year success defined by competing for and achieving A-10 titles.

“Softball has been a dominant program here for like the last 20 years,” he said, with the team advancing to the regional round of the 2022 NCAA Division I softball tournament. “I imagine they are getting close to winning the Atlantic 10 championship. Believe it or not, our women’s tennis team is in first place, and they have a good chance to win the Atlantic 10 Conference championship and go to the NCAA [tournament].”

The team will face Saint Joseph’s on Saturday, then play in the Atlantic 10 Championship to be held in Orlando, Florida, April 24-27.

“Our water polo team, as you saw, went to the semifinal,” Guthrie said of a group that was 32-1 last season before losing to USC in the national NCAA tournament in December. “When we think about a possible national championship, that is the one sport in our portfolio where I believe they could win a national championship.”

Guthrie’s charge is also to develop excellent scholars who represent Fordham. With high academic and character standards, he has set a course that he hopes will elevate the Rams into a leading destination for some of the world’s top student-athletes.

New Yorkers Ashley MacCalla and Olivia Jones take part in USA Basketball camp

By LOIS ELFMAN

Special to the AmNews

Another important basketball gathering taking place in Tampa on the weekend of the NCAA Women’s Final Four was the USA Basketball women’s junior national team minicamp. Forty-five athletes from around the country participated, representing the high school graduating classes of 2026–29. Among the hoopers hoping to be considered for upcoming international competitions were Ashley MacCalla from Middletown and Olivia Jones of Bay Shore.

“It’s a great opportunity to play against girls in my class that are top, and I wanted to show I deserve to be here,” said MacCalla, a 5’11” sophomore guard. “Last year, I got cut from the tryouts. I want them to know I’m better and I’m ready for [competition] … Ever since I got cut, my next goal was to make the team and make everyone where I live proud.”

Trials for the Women’s U16 National Team will take place in Colorado Springs next month. At stake are spots on the USA Basketball team for the FIBA Women’s U16 AmeriCup. Camp participants were well aware that players like UConn stars Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd played on junior national teams while in high school.

“At a young age, I think I was eight when I first watched the Olympic Games,” MacCalla said. “I could imagine myself standing on the podium. That is something I really want to do.”

Jones, a 5’11” junior guard, attends the same Long Island high school that WNBA player Celeste Taylor, who played on several USA Basketball teams, attended. “This is probably one of the coolest things that you can do as a high school athlete,” said Jones. “Having an opportunity to play on the national team … is one of my dreams that I’ve been looking towards. I feel this is one of the biggest things I could do right now. It means a lot.”

Jones said being among such elite company showed her the necessity of constantly building her skills and being versatile. There is always room for improvement, she explained, and a camp like this shows what you need to work on to distinguish yourself.

“Everyone is good when you come to a camp like this,” Jones said. “The way to stick out is constantly evolving and changing your game and perfecting your craft … Having the opportunity to play for a national team that’s an opportunity of a lifetime. Hopefully, that’s something I’m able to do.”

Fordham University athletic director Charles Guthrie (left), new head basketball coach Mike Magpayo and school president Tania Telow. (Fordham University Athletics)

(L-R) High school sophomore Ashley MacCalla and junior guard Olivia Jones (No. 60) are participating in USA Basketball’s minicamp. (USA Basketball photos)

The WNBA adds a new Paige to its book with Bueckers as top pick

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

After icing the cake of her college career with an NCAA Championship on Monday night, Paige Bueckers became the sixth University of Connecticut player to be the top pick in a WNBA Draft. She follows in the footsteps of Sue Bird (2002), Diana Taurasi (2004), Tina Charles (2010), Maya Moore (2011) and Breanna Stewart (2016).

“Just so grateful to be here,” said Bueckers, who was drafted by the Dallas Wings. “I don’t want to take this for granted. I’ve been focusing a lot about being present and being where my feet are, so to be at this stage, to be here, to have a lot of my supporters here and people who have helped me get here, it just means everything to me.”

The day prior to the draft, Bueckers joined her Huskies teammates in a parade to celebrate the program’s 12th national title. Teammates present and past were on hand at The Shed at Hudson Yards to cheer her on and feel the energy of the night. Two other UConn players were also drafted on Monday, guard Kaitlyn Chen and forward Aubrey Griffin. Although she was the presumptive

Emotions run high on WNBA Draft night

By LOIS ELFMAN Special to the AmNews

This year’s WNBA Draft provided a bit more opportunity than in recent years as the Golden State Valkyries, the league’s first expansion team since 2008, took part in its first draft. With the number five pick, the team selected Justé Jocyté from Lithuania, one of several foreign players selected this year.

The addition of the Valkyries means the number of WNBA roster spots grew from 144 to 156, meaning there is an increase in opportunities for players from the U.S. and around the globe. Other countries represented in the draft were France, Australia, Slovenia, Russia and Canada. The New York Liberty’s lone pick was 6-foot-3 center Adja Kane from France, who was picked for future potential.

“As an organization, we pride ourselves on embracing the global nature of the game and are proactive in assembling a deep group of international talent,” said Liberty general manager Jonathan Kolb. “We had a unique opportunity to select Adja Kane, a talented young player from a strong program in France, who will continue to develop overseas for the next few years with our support from afar.”

With the number two pick the Seattle Storm selected post player Dominique Malonga from France, who has played on

number one pick going into the night, Bueckers said she didn’t take anything for granted. Donning a Dallas Wings cap for an interview with ESPN, she admitted to be “running on great fumes” in the hectic days since cementing her place in basketball history.

“Nothing is guaranteed, so for this moment to be here and it actually happen, it’s nerve racking,” said Bueckers, who quickly learned about Tex-Mex cuisine.

“You just have a level of excitement, nervousness, bittersweet feeling knowing that my journey at UConn is over, but excited for the next one to begin. To be able to share that moment with the people sitting at my table and also the people not sitting at my table, they played a huge role in it. So just happiness and joy.”

Bueckers will bring passion and energy to the WNBA and the Dallas Wings, who are in rebuilding mode. She described herself as a selfless leader. Bueckers will play alongside Arike Ogunbowale, DiJonai Carrington and Maddy Siegrist.

“We have established that there’s new levels of standards that are going to be set in play,” said Bueckers. “There’s a new GM, new coach, new assistant coach, a whole new team, so we’re excited for that fresh start.”

the French national team with Storm forward Gabby Williams. Malonga has African heritage from Cameroon and Congo.

Number four pick Kiki Iriafen, who stepped up for USC in the NCAA tournament after JuJu Watkins was injured, honored her Nigerian roots, wearing a dress created by Nigerian designer Nneka C. Alexander. “Being Nigerian, if you ask any Nigerian, is kind of like a personality trait; we’re super proud,” said Iriafen, chosen by the Washington Mystics, which are in rebuilding mode following the retirement of Elena Delle Donne. “In everything that you do, you strive for excellence.”

With the Valkyries drafting Kaitlyn Chen, who played on UConn’s national championship team this year and is a graduate of Princeton, and Harmoni Turner of Harvard selected by the Las Vegas Aces in the third round, the Ivy League presence continues to grow.

“When my name was called, I felt nothing short of thankful/grateful,” said Turner, the 2025 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year, an honor named for the Aces’ head coach. “The hard work has paid off, but I’m nowhere near satisfied. I’m so grateful to receive an opportunity to fulfill my dreams and that’s all I needed—an opportunity. I’m more than excited to join the Aces and cannot wait to showcase my talents and bring back that championship culture. The nerd is headed to Vegas, baby!”

After a stellar career at Harvard, Harmoni Turner was drafted in the third round by the Las Vegas Aces. (Harvard Athletics photo)

Guard Paige Bueckers, who helped lead UConn to the NCAA women’s Division I basketball championship earlier this month, was the No. 1 overall pick in Tuesday’s WNBA Draft. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Sports

Matchups are the key to the Knicks stalling the Pistons as the playoffs open

By JAIME C. HARRIS

AmNews Sports Editor

The Knicks are one of the best teams in the NBA as they open the playoffs on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Madison Square Garden versus the Detroit Pistons in their best-of-seven series.

The eye test, their regular season record, and individual performances confirm this assertion. The Knicks ended the regular season 51-31, one game better than their 50-32 mark last season. Center Karl-Anthony Towns, point guard Jalen Brunson, and multi-skilled forward OG Anunoby are among the top players in the NBA.

Anunoby in particular, justified the Knicks signing him to a five-year, $212.5 deal last July. He is their most versatile player who has composed a possible First Team All-Defensive campaign and proven to be a 20-plus point per game scorer when necessary. One does not need to delve deep into the trendy discipline of analytics to determine Anunoby’s irreplaceable value to head coach Tom Thibodeau’s squad.

A year ago, when the playoffs began, there was palpable and reasonable optimism among the Knicks’ ardent fan base that they would at minimum push through to the Eastern Conference Finals as the No. 2 seed behind the No. 1 seed and eventual NBA champion Boston Celtics. But injuries derailed them, with center Mitchell Robinson

shelved in the first round with a stress injury to his left ankle and Anunoby sustaining a season-ending left hamstring strain in Game 2 of the conference semifinals versus the Indiana Pacers. As icing on the cake, Brunson fractured his left hand in the 130-109 Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Twelve months later, however, despite a slightly improved regular season record, there isn’t the same confidence among the Knicks cognoscenti that they are a championship contender. The Cleveland Cavaliers, unexpectedly by most followers of the NBA, commanded the 82-game regular season with a 64-18 record, second in the entire league to the Western Conference’s Oklahoma City Thunder which finished 68-14. The No. 1 seed Cavaliers and No. 2 seed Celtics (61-21), were a combined 8-0 versus the No. 3 seed Knicks this season, an ominous and revealing outcome, as well as a harsh reality check.

Nevertheless, defeating the physical, young, athletic No. 6 seed Pistons is the Knicks’ immediate order of business. And the x-factor for the Knicks in the series may be forward Mikal Bridges, for whom the Knicks traded five first round picks to the Brooklyn Nets last July to acquire. Bridges has had a solid season. The 28-year-old, 6’7” forward is the only Knick that played in all 82 games, extending his regular season consecutive games played streak to a league-leading 556. Bridges averaged 17.6 points on 50%

shooting. However, his 35.4 percentage on 3-point attempts was his lowest since he shot 33.5% in his rookie year of 2018-2019 with the Phoenix Suns. For his career, Bridges is a 37.1% three-point shooter. In 39 postseason games, 35 with the Suns and four with the Nets, Bridges has shot 47.2% overall and an efficient 37.9% on 3’s.

Although Bridges has been steady this season, he has not had a stretch this season where he has matched his reputation as one of the NBA’s most impactful two-way players. The Knicks parted with significant draft capital to obtain Bridges with the vision of him and Anunoby counteracting Boston’s prolific wing tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jalen Brown. Now he and Anunoby will be tasked with neutralizing, or at least minimizing, the damage the Pistons emerging superstar Cade Cunningham can inflict.

The 6’6” Cunningham, the Pistons point guard, is demonstrably too big for Brunson as his primary cover. So the assignment of limiting his effectiveness is a collective charge but it is Bridges who can tip the balance of the series by making Cunningham labor on both ends of the floor. The 23-year-old, No. 1 overall draft pick in 2021 averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists — fourth in the league — and 6.1 rebounds on his way to being selected to his first All-Star team. In four games against the Pistons this season, the Knicks are 1-3 and have been punished by Cunningham.

He has posted averages of 30.8 points, 8.3 assists and five rebounds. Cunningham operates at a high rate (40%) out of pick and rolls with big sturdy big men Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart providing metal door heavy screens to free him to operate in the midrange, get into the paint, or isolate in favorable engagements on switches facing bigger, less fleet-footed defenders on the perimeter. Bridges and Anunoby fighting through screens to stay attached to Cunningham, who can create shots for his teammates as adeptly as he can for himself, is critical.

Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff will look to exploit advantages for Cunningham, who is supported by veterans Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schroder and Malik Beasley, and rising youngsters Duren and Ausar Thompson. But playoff series are a string of games with each taking on a life of its own. The Knicks have enough offensive weaponry and experience to make game-to-game adjustments to get by the Pistons. It’ll be challenging, but the pick here is the Knicks in 6.

The Knicks’ Mikal Bridges (No.25) and the Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham will be a compelling matchup in the teams’ opening round playoff series. (L: Bill Moore photo, R: AP Photo/ Duane Burleson)